Geocaching in bad weather

[+buzzy_cacher]

Put it this way: Rain, rain, come and stay, go and keep the muggles away!

[John E Cache]

As long as my partners want to go...... so will I.

Having the proper gear is basic to this sport.

Of course, the proper gear is useless in the rain if you suffer from excessive sweating at low air temps, as I do.

Every body gives of water vapor and the trick is to let the vapor out before it condenses into water. The new gear keeps the the inner layer warm so nothing condenses and the outer layer breathes. Also, never ever wear cotton. Cotton gets cold and clammy. Poly and wool stay warm when damp.

[+popokiiti]

Put it this way: Rain, rain, come and stay, go and keep the muggles away!

Thanks buzzy_cacher - now I will look at the rain in a different way...and try not to moan about the grey, cold and miserable days quite so much! Maybe we could change the last part to "you will keep the muggles away?"

Edited November 21, 2009 by popokiiti

[+DodgeExplorer]

Oh come on DENelson83, just because your place almost floated away in the flood this week doesn't mean we get a lot of rain, hows your geocat.

[+DENelson83]

Oh come on DENelson83, just because your place almost floated away in the flood this week doesn't mean we get a lot of rain, hows your geocat.

One DE to another, she's just fine. How'd you like to rendez-vous with me one of these days and we'll go caching together?

[+smstext]

the weather doesnt bother me, but when the rest of the family are included then this is when we either do none or no more than an hour. This weekend with the strong winds too and how sodden the ground is has caused us to cancel any caching. However if the weather had been dry between 9-3pm today as bbc weather site said last night then we would have done some urban ones, but sadly the forecast was wrong so i stayed in making up a cache and getting our travel slugs ready for the family race in january.

[+catsnfish]

Here is part of a story about our bad weather caching, the complete story is in The Online Geocacher magazine.

 

The sky was dark and ominous as we neared the turnoff to Ocheyedan. We logged the traditional cache there and followed the road a short ways to a small gravel parking lot. Vic is checking out the sky and the walk to the top of the hill, not a steep climb really. Partway up, the pathway changes from compacted soil to gravel and rocks… cool.

 

The wind is picking up and when we reach the top there is a pretty stiff breeze. To be honest we didn’t expect this Earthcache to be impressive. To Vic it wasn’t, but to me the shape of the hill, the view and the wind kind of mentally transported me to the deck of a sailing ship. A ship’s captain, sailing off to gain fame and fortune!

 

“Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies, farewell and adieu to you ladies of” #kraaaaccck# the sky was beginning to light up and we were on top of the second highest point in Iowa, so we took the requisite photos and head for the car.

 

I didn’t even have time to strike up my “Captain Morgan” pose. As soon as the van door shut, Whoosh, the rain came down in buckets. Vic looked at me and said,

”Jack and Jill went up the hill,

To log the kame feature.

A bolt cracked sound,

They both ran down,

And rain came pouring after.”

 

and I knew she had enjoyed it as well.

 

From this point on till the evening it was t-storm tag. We’d pass a cache... Nope too much rain. If it let up, we’d try for one, and even got out once with an umbrella in a little wooded area, which didn’t work well because the area had low dense branches and it would have been crawl or tear up the brolley.

 

We found the cache and made the trades in the van instead of standing in the rain. The best tag of the day was when we had a park and grab. Got out, crossed the street without a sprinkle, signed the log and cold torrential rains soaked us before we got back across the street. I could swear the howling wind said “you’re it!”

[benji55545]

I love caching in the snow. It's so quiet... It definitely makes finds harder if there's a lot of it, though.

The rain is okay. Sometimes I go out anyway, other times I'll chose to stay at home and watch a movie or something.

 

Snow caching was a lot easier in my old car, a CRV. I will miss that 4 wheel drive this winter.

[+GeoGeeBee]

Not so fun to go out in the woods.

 

Rainy days in the woods are the best! Wet leaves don't make crunching noises when you walk on them, so you'll see more wildlife. And there aren't many other people out. I love a good hike in the rain, as long as it's not too cold.

[+rosebud55112]

Now, it might be a different story when it comes to cold, sleet, and slushy snow/ice. But, we'll see. I've only been caching since June. I have yet to experience winter caching.

 

Not that I'm trying to cast aspersions or anything, but how did you come to have a logon here 15 months before you started caching?

[+The Jester]

Not so fun to go out in the woods.

 

Rainy days in the woods are the best! Wet leaves don't make crunching noises when you walk on them, so you'll see more wildlife. And there aren't many other people out. I love a good hike in the rain, as long as it's not too cold.

That's when we call it 'snow'!

[+Chewy_06]

We live in the Pacific Northwest. Bad weather? What bad weather? Ok, maybe a few days of sub-zero and some snow, but the rest of the time, not a problem. Mind you, I wear shorts and sandals year round so my perspective may be a little off kilter.

 

Seriously though, we started doing this because we had to walk the dog anyway & she certainly seems to enjoy the wetter weather anyway, so really, there's not a major difference. It just means putting on the Tilley, pulling the weather sheild over the camera backpack, putting on the galosh-like hiking boots and packing a towel in the car to dry the lab off when we get back.

 

If you ask me, it seems to be a better time of year - fewer muggles and a higher chance of actually finding the trackables that are listed in the caches. The only real disadvantage is the lack of light - i'm not comfortable doing more than a drive up in the dark and workdays see me leaving in the dark and getting home in almost dark, so we don't have much time left for caching on weekdays.

[+anakerose]

Personally I love caching in the rain. Most of the time there's less people around to worry about.

[+DENelson83]

Well then, I just don't have the right gear. I need a waterproof breathable t-shirt and a waterproof breathable coat. I want to keep warm and I want to keep dry.

[+jellis]

depending how bad is bad, I love to cache in some weather because less muggles.

[+DENelson83]

And as it turns out, I'll never have the right gear. I suffer from hyperhidrosis, meaning I sweat buckets after walking only a kilometre, no matter what the temperature.

[JohnX]

[Winter caching in particular here is abominable without the right gear, but can be very pleasant with it,

Having lived in the Twin Cities and Fargo, North Dakota I can attest that the right winter clothing can prevent a lot of misery or even death. Unfortunately, you can spend a lot of money buying the right stuff.