Winter Time

[TheRussian163]

Recently while looking for a city park cach I was very disponted in my DNF. A Blanket of snow caused me not to find anything. Is their any remity for this? Also, how many "Hibernate" over the winter.\

 

Thanks,

TR163

Edited February 14, 2008 by TheRussian163

[+TheCollector]

the only way to find a cache that is under snow is to have luck and a shovel or if you could get your hands on one of these you would never worry about snow

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Hibernate? No. Since December 22nd (the first day of winter) I have found 190 caches. Yes, a lot of those were in Southern California, but over 100 of them were right here in Colorado.

[Guyute1210]

I go into the woods, and use a hiking staff to poke where ammo cans are usually hidden...a lot easier to find than a micro on a park bench, etc...

[+The Pathman]

Around here, You just slap on a pair of cross country skis and look for the winter caches. All of the others are buried under several feet of snow.

 

I must admit that most of the Geocachers around here do stop hunting for the winter unless they are traveling

[+Roarmeister]

Recently while looking for a city park cach I was very disponted in my DNF. A Blanket of snow caused me not to find anything. Is their any remity for this? Also, how many "Hibernate" over the winter.\

 

Thanks,

TR163

 

I asked the same question to my local members in Saskatchewan. But remember, while we don't have a LOT of snow, we do have incredibly cold conditions like -52*C with the windchill AND PEOPLE ARE STILL OUT CACHING!

 

Here are the results so far.

[4] a) Hibernate and wait for spring to get out caching.

[5] Cache only the easy ones (and reachable from vehicle)

[5] c) Bundle up like the "Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man" and continue as usual.

[3] d) "Make like a snowbird" and move south!

[+Hobo2]

look up a recently found cache, then go out and just follow the footprints in the snow, it's easy, you don't even need your GPS.

 

Seriously though, I don't care for winter hunting, I can't wait for spring!!!!

Edited February 14, 2008 by Hobo2

[+gvsu4msu]

I have only been caching since August 07 so i have only been trhought two seasons - Fall and Winter. I have enjoyed winter caching. Some caches are obviously not gonna be found in MI under snow, but others can be with a little bit of work.

 

It has been great to get out this year and enjoy the snow. I don;t ski, snowmobile or ice fish, so this works out just fine. Do I get cold? Somedays, but getting out is the best part.

[+StarBrand]

This winter has been slow for me but I usually get 15 - 25 a month all year around.

[+hukilaulau]

Around here in Long Island NY a lot of folks PREFER the winter. it seldom gets below the 'teens but the chiggers, ticks, and thorns are at a minimum. Of my 42 active caches, 30 of them were found in January. Then I placed 4 new ones in February, and they were all found during an event, including this one, but then, that guy's just nuts!

[+Team_CSG]

In the winter, I do not deal with snakes!!

 

Also adds to the fun of a challenge

[+Aiden's Cachers]

I am also, like hukilaulau, on Long Island and when I do get to cache I prefer the cold. Mostly because my wife hates the bugs and won't come with me when they are out

[+NYPaddleCacher]

This winter has been slow for me but I usually get 15 - 25 a month all year around.

 

I have been caching for a little over a year and that is similar to my monthly totals but this past January I had my best month so far (48). February has been a bit colder, with more snow and ice. According to my stats I have only had 1 caching day this month (with 9 finds) but it's still better than last year.

[+usyoopers]

We don't get out as often in the winter, the snow and the cold put a damper on things for me. We are going to do some virtuals next weekend...

[+TexasGringo]

Record Breaking snow falls and sub-zero temps are making Geocaching hard up here in Madison, WI....and another major snow is expected Sunday.

[+briansnat]

Judging from the logs that have been rolling in on my caches, not many people hibernate in the winter around here (northern NJ).

 

Normally I don't either. Winter is my favorite time to be outdoors. This winter I'm unfortunately laid up with an injury and crutches don't work so well on ice and snow (believe me I've tried).

[+JonInNH1]

I haven't been able to locate my hibernate switch this winter, and if I did, I don't think it could be turned off.

There's nothing like finding a cache in winter and not having to check for ticks! There's also the bonus of following geotracks in the snow which can make a three star a one.

[+The Leprechauns]

Ordinarily, I like caching in the winter. Caches in the woods are often easier to get to, without all the heavy undergrowth to bushwack through and all the tree cover to mess up the GPS signal. Nothing beats the still silence of the woods after a fresh snowfall, where you only hear the crunch-crunch-crunch sound of your own footsteps. Even urban caches can be easier -- winter is the best time to nab caches in areas where lots of muggles congregate in good weather, like playgrounds. A good pair of gloves and a hiking pole solve the search challenges, and multiple light sources solve the problem of short days.

 

But this year, without intending to do so, I've been hibernating. My last cache finds were on December 31st, when I found 7 to meet one of the goals I had set for myself. It was a great day and I am looking forward to the next one. It just hasn't happened yet. A combination of bad weather, winter illnesses, my work schedule and my daughter's school and social schedule has kept us away from signing any logbooks. With my available time, I've spent two days on cache maintenance. Winter can be a tough time for a cache owner who tries to maintain their caches. Even after fixing several, I still have four caches disabled right now, four others that need to be checked, and many others in various stages of planning and waiting to be hidden.

[+PJPeters]

I go into the woods, and use a hiking staff to poke where ammo cans are usually hidden...a lot easier to find than a micro on a park bench, etc...

You have to be careful when you do this - if it's a plastic container (some regular containers are), you could break the plastic when it gets cold and a bit brittle.

 

I don't hibernate in the winter. It's actually my favorite time of year to get out. Maybe not so much when it's 0 with wind chills in the -teens, but I still enjoy it.

Usually, you go after the PnGs and easier stuff. But keep an eye out for the difficult stuff that gets found when there's snow on the ground. Makes it a lot easier!

[+Hobo2]

I think I need my waders on for most of this, and not just because it's winter.

 

I just don't believe some who say they winter cache, well I guess it depends on where and what the conditions are like. Micros hanging in trees with little snow on the ground, ok, but I sorry, I just can't picture anyone going out in two or three feet of snow looking for a cache. My GPS at best only gets me to within three feet of the cache. So people want us to believe they pack a shovel with them, start digging a three foot diameter circle in the snow, all this to find a frozen cache. Then they say they move on to the next cache, and get five or six finds in a day? Sorry, I'm just not buying most of it. I do think it is possible to get a few, if your a die-hard, but not to the extent some are leading us to believe. If the snow is only a few inches fine, but not two or three feet as some are claiming.

[+Scrubsjm]

Our winter has not been bad at all, only a few snow falls and the temps when we've been caching mostly haven't been much below 20. We did do a several mile hike up a mountain in 13 degree weather one week to get a FTF, but that's been the worst of it. We've probably gotten about 200 caches since it got cold.

[+beezerb]

Arkansas state parks in the middle of the winter in the middle of the week. Does it get any better than this?

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?II...mp;LID=36209328

[+JDandDD]

Had been winter caching up to the beginning of Feb but now the snow has become impossible here on the southern tip of Georgian Bay (Ontario). We are now over 10ft of snow for the year and snow depths are way beyond being able to poke with a stick. Don't normally hibernate but this would be the year.

 

JD

[CoyoteTrust]

I don't cache much in the summer but I enjoy winter caching. Some caches are harder to find due to snow cover, especially if no one's been out there seeking it recently. But with the foliage cleared away, that helps on sat reception in the woods, there are no bugs, snakes, or poison ivy plants (altho' the vines on trees can still get ya').

 

Temperature-wise it's been pretty cold in IL. Many cachers recently attended an annual breakfast event and still went out caching afterward ---- it was near 0 degrees and windy. Last Sunday was even colder and windier, but I went out in the forest to get some caches, as did some other folks. The forest does a great job of blocking the wind anyway.

 

BTW it's amazing how warm a calm, 20 degree day feels after experiencing single digits and wind. Fun stuff.

 

Hobo

"I just don't believe some who say they winter cache, well I guess it depends on where and what the conditions are like. ...... If the snow is only a few inches fine, but not two or three feet as some are claiming."

 

Believe it -- it's true around here. 8)

Edited February 17, 2008 by CoyoteTrust

[+supertbone]

In southern CA the winter time has only enhanced caching. No snakes and no heat.

Edited February 17, 2008 by supertbone

[+skeezicks]

I hike and cache all year long.Even in snowy conditions,you can usually find caches that can still be found.There is still quite a bit of snow on the ground here,but my wife and I found 5 caches yesterday.

[Guyute1210]

I think I need my waders on for most of this, and not just because it's winter.

 

I just don't believe some who say they winter cache, well I guess it depends on where and what the conditions are like. Micros hanging in trees with little snow on the ground, ok, but I sorry, I just can't picture anyone going out in two or three feet of snow looking for a cache. My GPS at best only gets me to within three feet of the cache. So people want us to believe they pack a shovel with them, start digging a three foot diameter circle in the snow, all this to find a frozen cache. Then they say they move on to the next cache, and get five or six finds in a day? Sorry, I'm just not buying most of it. I do think it is possible to get a few, if your a die-hard, but not to the extent some are leading us to believe. If the snow is only a few inches fine, but not two or three feet as some are claiming.

We went caching in ~4-6" of snow on the ground last saturday, and found 3 of the 6 we went looking for. One of the three was mostly luck, but the other two were found. We rarely get more than 1' of snow on the ground at any one time, but still try to get out most weekends for a hike or two...

[+dew cache]

Well down here in Texas I used to prefer to cache in the winter as long as it is not raining. The bugs are not out and without leaves many caches are eaiser to find. That is until last week when I broke out in the worst case of PI in my life I am real bad shape now. I did not see any, it was also dead, and got some of the oil on me. I did not take the same precautions when I see the stuff and did not wash off with cold water as soon as I get home in fact I went to bed on it with me I guess because I did not take a shower until Sunday morning before church. Now I have a big wash to do, I have put anything I might have wore last weekend as well as anything I know I wore from Saturday afternoon until my shower on Sunday morning in it.

[+sunriseoverwater]

This is my first winter of caching, and while I didn't originally plan to hibernate, I haven't been out since late November. Right now Manitoba is just emerging from a 6 week or so cold snap, with temperatures consistently in the -35 or -40 Fahrenheit range with the windchill. I just don't enjoy being outdoors when I can get frostbite while trying to sign the cache log! But quite a few people do seem to cache through the winter. I think they're nuts, but maybe they're just tougher than I am.

[+ironman114]

Record Breaking snow falls and sub-zero temps are making Geocaching hard up here in Madison, WI....and another major snow is expected Sunday.

 

117" of snow and 17° weather didn't stop me from trying (hence my avatar and ice beard). Neither did 48" of fresh powder on another cache!!

 

It did keep me from logging a found it though.

Edited February 19, 2008 by ironman114

[+TexasGringo]

***117" of snow and 17° ***

 

17 degrees would be a heat wave....for the next few days we are expecting -10 actual and wind chills to -25.

 

We have already broken the old snow record here in Madison, WI. I don't think the city has any salt for the roads left. The snow has exceded what they planned for. Most of the roads are still iced over and lots of accidents.

 

The Geocachers here are sitting by the fireplace. Sunday it is supposed to be 36 degrees...guess I'll wear my shorts.

Edited February 19, 2008 by Drooling_Mongoloid

[+Team HTMC]

I just use GSAK to filter those caches found in the last month or two. Those will be the ones that are accessible in the snow.