Geocaching ... with Gas!

[crtrue]

Well, this comes as an obvious statement, but gas prices have exploded. They are generally topping $3 a gallon around here, where the gas prices tend to be pretty good, and prices up to $4 a gallon are predicted for this summer.

 

Has this affected the way you cache, your transportation, or willing distance to travel? If gas does hit $4 a gallon, is it something you plan to just grit and bear -- for your hobby -- or will you back off on your caching range for the benefit of your wallet?

[+Knight2000]

Has this affected the way you cache, your transportation, or willing distance to travel? If gas does hit $4 a gallon, is it something you plan to just grit and bear -- for your hobby -- or will you back off on your caching range for the benefit of your wallet?

Not really a big deal for us. We just keep the car plugged when we are home and then off we go.

[+Miragee]

Gas here has been $3.49/gallon for the past few weeks . . . Twice this week, other cachers have picked me up at my house, and for that I have been very grateful. I live in the country, and just going into town to get groceries takes a gallon of gas, or more . . . and I drive an economical car. I wish the price of gas did not affect my caching, but it does.

[Luckless]

Cool electric car. I'm always looking at alternative forms of energy. Would it be possible to use electricity from solar panels to charge an electric car?

I remember when you used to get car batteries with lifetime warranties- do they still have those? I know electric car owners used to love those.

[+Trucker Lee]

Here's a thought for those who can..............

 

Take the bicycle! After all, many got into caching for the excercise.

 

For those who live out a bit (like me), drive the vehicle to a safe public parking in the center of a cache rich area, then go on foot or bicycle, letting the gas guzzler sit. Doing a bit of homework before going can help eliminate backtracking.

 

I normally cache from a big truck, and to help me see approximate locations of caches, I will export the filtered caches from GSAK to my mapping program. I also did this for the caches in my county recently, then used the pushpins to plan the most efficient route for an adventure. Just follow your route with the GPSr set to nearby caches listings, and the nearest as you approach it moves to the top. Find it, and continue following the route.

 

Reminder, each time you get off the bicycle, be sure to lock it securely.

[+froldt]

I drive an economical little car, but I live in a rural area, and it's at least a 20 minute drive to the nearest unfound cache. There are some cache rich areas around, but it's still a 30 minute drive before getting to those.

Gas is part of the reason our hunting has begun to slow down. My caching partner got a new job and the schedule slows us down a bit too...

 

As soon as my motorcycle is back up and running, we'll be able to afford to take some longer trips to cache.

 

Since we've found all of the ones in the immediate vicinity, we've taken our list of hiding places and begun hiding more caches. We're enjoying geocaching just as much, and it can be a lot more involved and just as satisfying to hide as to find!

[+Team Crime Scene]

I drive a large F350 Diesel guzzling ford. I have no plans to either stop driving it or place my caching on hold. I use the truck for work and pleasure. As a business owner I'll just pass the expense along to the customers.

[The John]

Does walking to a cache 1 1/2 miles from my house count?

[+thumbs1]

The way effects me is in my voteing. I plan to vote against any and all sitting elected officials. Not one is saying a darn thing about the price of fuel or the rape of the American people. To many on the oil companies pay roll.

[+theninjageocacher]

I'm not old enough to drive yet, so I don't really have a problem but this weekend I've biked to some nearby caches with my brother and sister. It's pretty fun. I can't go caching that often because I have to have my parents drive me, so it's pretty fun to be able to go on my own.

[+Night Stalker]

Boy am I relieved. I read the posters title. I mean he's geocaching and has gas. That has got to be uncomfortable for all involved.

 

Couldn't help myself

 

Actually around here we are using the carpool method. We cache in groups when we can and take turns robbing banks to pay to the gas.

[+ic3scrap3r]

I've recently started geocaching on my motorcycle. It's the only way I can afford to cache now! It is MUCH easier on the pocketbook, but harder on my equipment-wise. I usually carry quite a bit of stuff with me, much of it to repair caches, etc.

 

Now it's:

A few small trade items

GPSr

Palm Pilot for paperless caching

 

I need to get/fabricate a good mounting bracket for my GPSr on the Triple-clamp or on the handle bars as well as hard wire the cord into the electrics.

Edited May 21, 2007 by ic3scrap3r

[+ArtieD]

I drive a large F350 Diesel guzzling ford. I have no plans to either stop driving it or place my caching on hold. I use the truck for work and pleasure. As a business owner I'll just pass the expense along to the customers.

 

No offense...but isn't it kinda unfair to have your customers pay for your recreation?

[+JockoPablo]

Boy am I relieved. I read the posters title. I mean he's geocaching and has gas. That has got to be uncomfortable for all involved.

 

Couldn't help myself

 

Wow, that could give a whole new meaning to "FTF."

[+thumbs1]

ic3scrap3r

 

I do a lot of cacheing on my mc. Depending on the gps you have you can pick up a bracket that will fit the handlebars. I use a Legend and picked up two brackets that came with the back piece for the gps for about 20 bucks. I put one on the mc and on on the bicycle. Works great. As for power I use rechargable batteries and keep a spare set with me. This way I don't mess with power cables. One more thing to forget or rip off.

[crtrue]

I drive a large F350 Diesel guzzling ford. I have no plans to either stop driving it or place my caching on hold. I use the truck for work and pleasure. As a business owner I'll just pass the expense along to the customers.

 

No offense...but isn't it kinda unfair to have your customers pay for your recreation?

 

If they'll pay it, then it's just a mark-up and profit. Now, if he's marking it off as a business expense, then there might be some ethical concerns at play ... but if he is really the type to price gouge for his own interest, competition will spark up and give him something to think about

[+Skeptic1970]

I drive a large F350 Diesel guzzling ford. I have no plans to either stop driving it or place my caching on hold. I use the truck for work and pleasure. As a business owner I'll just pass the expense along to the customers.

 

No offense...but isn't it kinda unfair to have your customers pay for your recreation?

 

There is only one source of money, customers.

[crtrue]

I drive a large F350 Diesel guzzling ford. I have no plans to either stop driving it or place my caching on hold. I use the truck for work and pleasure. As a business owner I'll just pass the expense along to the customers.

 

No offense...but isn't it kinda unfair to have your customers pay for your recreation?

 

There is only one source of money, customers.

 

Obviously you've never robbed a bank

[+Exocet]

Hah. Gasoline here (Krakow, Poland) is (USD) $5.75/gallon and the average wage is between $800-1200/mo.

 

You can, however, buy LPG at $2.32/gallon. A latest-generation LPG kit for our car (Citroen Xsara) was about $1200.

 

My wife and I usually geocache by car but do most of our daily traveling via tram or bus. An all-bus/tram/areas pass is a bit more reasonable at about $30/mo.

 

Prices in the rest of the EU are between 10-15% higher for LPG or gasoline.