Taking A Break

[+LeeinVa1]

I am curious if anyone else treats geocaching as a seasonal activity. I tend to do most of my searching for caches from October - April. Not sure what the climate or weather is like in your neck of the woods, but from May - September in virginia, it is hot, wet, humid. Woods are full of new underbrush, ticks, chiggers, snakes and a few other items. This also gives me a chance to renew my interest in this activity.

[+ChileHead]

Nope. Year 'round. It gets darn cold around here in winter, but that's easily fixable by putting on clothing. It's much harder to cool down in the South (well, you can follow the example of NudeCacher, but even that wouldn't be cool enough.) I would probably cache less in the summer if I lived down South as well. Actually, we've had a heat wave during the last 2 weeks (90+ degrees). I've had a hard time getting my butt out in the woods.

[+robert]

I tend to slow down a bit caching-wise this time of year but with all of our events going on I'm still involved and having a great time. The numbers slow down but the fun never stops!

[+werethehekowie]

The equipment is paid for. Opportunities abound. For my pleasure I go when I feel like it. I also search for other uses for my GPSr. Thinking about hikeing in the wilds of Maine and not getting lost. Jay

[+Jhwk]

Haven't finished a full year yet, but I seem to enjoy the hunts now more than when its 20 degrees outside. Yeah I battle the ticks and spiderwebs and such, but I would rather be sweating like a hog than freezing my tale off.

[+Mr. Fantastic]

I have not yet made the two year mark, but I can say that I prefer caching in the fall and winter. It is more comfortable for me to add layers than it is to dress to prevent ticks and then sweat excessively. I was unable to cache last summer at all because of family commitments, but my caching this summer has been sporadic to say the least. I am just less fond of poison ivy, ticks and West Nile-carrying mosquitos than I am of the solitary nature of winter hikes.

[+ChileHead]

I have not yet made the two year mark, but I can say that I prefer caching in the fall and winter. It is more comfortable for me to add layers than it is to dress to prevent ticks and then sweat excessively. I was unable to cache last summer at all because of family commitments, but my caching this summer has been sporadic to say the least. I am just less fond of poison ivy, ticks and West Nile-carrying mosquitos than I am of the solitary nature of winter hikes.

That's easy for you to say. All you have to do is stay in your car and stretch your rubbery arms all the way to the cache.

[+Pork King]

I started last year at the end of July (and I do live in the South). Hot, humid, muggy, and when the air isn't so thick with humidity, it is equally as thick with deer flies in the summer. As winter finally rolled around, I did my first "long sleeve" cache and realized how much I enjoyed the cooler temps, as well as the defoliation of plants that help with the sats AND possible helps reveal the cache a bit more (and don't even get me started on kudzu).

But, in summer, you tend to see more wildlife, the flowers are out, green everywhere... Each season has its own advantages to being out in the woods.

 

Cachers do it year 'round!

[+Renegade Knight]

I take time off all the time. This years goal is to hit 1000. I've got 6 months to get 75 caches or so. No problem. I can even slow down. Today I build shelves and moved stuff out of storage. Yesterday we did 4 caches on a trip to Driggs on the Backside of the Tetons. It's Like Jackson Hole used to be before they make it into a rich and toursist trap.

 

Lately I've found other adventures worth of going on. There is a creek where a certain mineral (not gold) can be found in the gravel bars. Another area where fossiles are in every rock you pick up, another still where quarts crystals line a cliff wall. There are mines to explore and a lot of things I was interested in and doing before geocaching came along. It's about time I picked up a fishing pole again too. Maybe I'll plant a cache, maybe I'll find one. Life goes on. Geocaching fits well withe a lot of the things I do so I'll be around a long time. How many caches I'm finding will ebb and flow.

[+Cait&aly&unc]

I'm sorry but I just don't aquaint #'s with how successful I am as a geocacher. it's real hot and humid today. I went caching. Found 2, DNF'd 2. No biggie. Am I crazy or did this become a competitive thing? I get what I can. If I don't I log my DNF's and hope that it wasn't me. If it's too hot Caity doesn't want to go. She can't hack it. Aly doesn't like it cold. I hate the vines and thorn's and tick's. We do what we can. And most importantly when and where we want. Freedom of choice. Our country was founded on it. Embrace it.

[+TeamAO]

We're new to geocaching, but hiking wise, it's the greatest to hike when it's just cold enough to kill off all the jaggers but not snowing cold. Usually November, February, March are the best times to hike off trail, which is geocaching minus the treasure hunt, right?

[+Pork King]

...hike off trail, which is geocaching minus the treasure hunt, right?

What's the point of that???

[nobby.nobbs]

year long with me. more likely to be put off by the rain than anything, but then we don't get many extremes here.

 

geocaching without the hunt????why?

[+tanisdad]

I havn't been caching long, but with the weather we have in New Mexico, I would expect caching year round is going to be what I do. It gets a little hot in the summer, but with low humidity. Snow is fairly uncommon in the winter and a good jacket usually keeps you nice and toasty.

Edited July 18, 2005 by tanisdad

[+One of the Texas Vikings]

I am curious if anyone else treats geocaching as a seasonal activity. I tend to do most of my searching for caches from October - April.  Not sure what the climate or weather is like in your neck of the woods, but from May - September in virginia, it is hot, wet, humid. Woods are full of new underbrush, ticks, chiggers, snakes and a few other items. This also gives me a chance to renew my interest in this activity.

I agree, there are a lot of people who do go out, but it now has been a month since our group has been out. Houston is the same, but you have to add gators, too,no ticks, or few... If we do go in the summer, we do it before 9:00am, while it is still cool, you know 88-90 degree cool mornings...That way, the humidity is only about 150%.

 

So I do notice that it just too darn hot and humid, since we only have 3 seasons;

"Summer, July and August".

 

But, getting out sure is nice in February !!!!!

[+sept1c_tank]

Actually, there is very little activity on my agenda that is seasonal (I typically canoe, hike, geocache and camp in all weather--even extreme cold, hot and wet conditions). But sometimes, I have to take a break from the stress of it all and just procrastinate.

[+wimseyguy]

Nope, geocaching is a 24/7/365 activity for me. Yesterday it got into the high 90's in NC with a heat index over 100 (and it's not a dry heat )

My solution was to get out at 7:30 while it was still in comfortable mid 80's and the humidity hadn't built up yet, and do a few that involved a little bit of hiking; at 11:30 I focused on some urban micros that had stumped quite a few who had already been there, and by 2:30 I shifted into honeydo mode to get ready for evening grilling company.

I always wear lightweight convertable pants to protect my legs in the woods, and then unzip them (just the legs you pervs) for the urban hunts.

[+briansnat]

I geocache pretty much year round. I do know geocachers who don't do much geocaching in the winter because it's too cold and some who don't do much in the summer because its too hot. Funny because they live in the same area.

[+reveritt]

All year long.

[+Team RedHawk]

I'm kind of a wimp. I stop caching while the temp is above 110 which it has been for the last month (116 today ). you know it is going to be warm when you low temp is 93. I'll probably wait til September to start again. I'll spend the time planning my next cache.

 

Hawk

Team RedHawk

[+Yamahammer]

Well, we were fixing to start toning it back some with the heat/humidity/Heat indexes over 100, but just when we say that, another 2-3 caches pop up and we're off!!! Gotta get 3 new ones tonight.

 

[+treasure_hunter]

Cachers do it year 'round!

Thats my point of view! Never let up.

[+One of the Texas Vikings]

I'm kind of a wimp. I stop caching while the temp is above 110 which it has been for the last month (116 today ). you know it is going to be warm when you low temp is 93. I'll probably wait til September to start again. I'll spend the time planning my next cache.

 

Hawk

Team RedHawk

But, it's a DRY heat, right ?

[+graldrich]

It is NEVER hot or cold enough to stop me from caching!Cached this week in a 116 cool degree's!

[+vree]

anything above 72.5F is too warm for my taste. plus i prefer to cache in long pants so if it's a good hike, warm weather is even more uncomfortable. i definitely prefer fall/spring/winter (in that order) to summer. fewer leaves on the trees, cooler weather, fewer bugs... ahhh... can't wait.

 

based on the small number of logs recently in my area, i'd say southwest michigan cachers, in general, are wimpy in the humid, uberhot summer weather.

[+geognerd]

In winter, I won't geocache below 30 degrees. I figure I'm good for 30 mins of wandering around outside around freezing. I wouldn't want to be out that long when the temps are in the 20s though. Last winter, my first geocaching winter, had me searching NGS benchmarks. In the suburbs, they're typically quick to find and in urban settings, so you don't have to spend much time out in the cold or snow. This summer, my routine has been to head out at 6:30AM Saturdays to beat the heat (and avoid the muggles). Being the weekend, I want to sleep in, but I can't resist the thrill of the hunt. I concur with vree13 on the order of my favorite geocaching seasons and the reasons.