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Women vs. Men


GeoCacheKat

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I know that there is definitely a female presence in the geocaching community; I have seen some interesting posts on geocaching safety for the lone female. I was wondering though, how large the female geocaching community is in comparison to the male geocaching community. For example, I know in the online gaming community (such as WoW) gamer-girls aren't as prevalent as the gamer-guys. Does this seem to be the case with geocaching as well, or are the numbers more even?

 

Not that it matters... I am just curious. :)

Edited by GeoCacheKat
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I am female and I am petite. Since the age of about 25 I have been a (UK) size 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and am now back down to about a size 10! Sorry, couldn't resist! :P

 

There was another thread asking a similar question and it was surprising how many more female cachers there are than most of us expected. I'm sure someone will ferret it out for you soon.

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I know that there is definitely a female presence in the geocaching community; I have seen some interesting posts on geocaching safety for the lone female. I was wondering though, how large the female geocaching community is in comparison to the male geocaching community. For example, I know in the online gaming community (such as WoW) gamer-girls aren't as prevalent as the gamer-guys. Does this seem to be the case with geocaching as well, or are the numbers more even?

 

Not that it matters... I am just curious. :)

 

This information is known. At least among the premium membership ranks. I have taken I believe 3 Groundspeak surveys over the years where they have asked demographical information. Will someone from Groundspeak release those figures in response to this thread? Maybe, maybe not.

 

You want my wild educated guess as someone who has been doing this over 8 years and attended 25+ events? It's about 35% female, 65% male. :P

Edited by Mr.Yuck
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hard to truly know as many caching handles are husband and wife teams. If I had to guess, I would safely wager at least 1/3 of the cachers I know are women or male/female couples. How close that number approaches 50%, I have no real idea.

The better question would be - how many single geocachers there are. There should be a way for the lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team.

 

My husband and I are teamed together. Much more fun as a together hobby.

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Around here based both on event just contact with cachers on the trail and such I'de say it's pretty close to 50-50. In fact there are a few lone male cachers from Fr Sill and Altus AFB, but there are almost as many lone female cachers that are local. There are a lot or married team cachers.

 

I'll have to take note at our meet tomorrow.

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hard to truly know as many caching handles are husband and wife teams. If I had to guess, I would safely wager at least 1/3 of the cachers I know are women or male/female couples. How close that number approaches 50%, I have no real idea.

The better question would be - how many single geocachers there are. There should be a way for the lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team.

 

My husband and I are teamed together. Much more fun as a together hobby.

 

I think that is an awesome idea! A way for lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team. Has anyone heard of a romance actually starting up through Geocaching? What a romantic story! Title: Went Geocaching and Lost My Heart!

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hard to truly know as many caching handles are husband and wife teams. If I had to guess, I would safely wager at least 1/3 of the cachers I know are women or male/female couples. How close that number approaches 50%, I have no real idea.

The better question would be - how many single geocachers there are. There should be a way for the lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team.

 

My husband and I are teamed together. Much more fun as a together hobby.

 

I think that is an awesome idea! A way for lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team. Has anyone heard of a romance actually starting up through Geocaching? What a romantic story! Title: Went Geocaching and Lost My Heart!

There have been several geocaching romances and marriages over the years. The most famous in my area is Bryan (Groundspeak cofounder) and Hydee, who recently celebrated 10 Years Since They Met! As matchmaker Moun10Bike said on the event page: "Ten years ago, Bryan met Hydee and Ddog at my geocaching event held at this location. Since that time, he has been lucky enough to marry Hydee, adopt Ddog and add a new boy, Nick, to the family." B) (Ddog is Hydee's son, not a dog. :lol: )

 

And, as lamoracke noted, geocaching has also ended a few relationships. In my area, two well-known ones involved affairs with other geocachers, not arguments over caching. :(

Edited by hydnsek
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hard to truly know as many caching handles are husband and wife teams. If I had to guess, I would safely wager at least 1/3 of the cachers I know are women or male/female couples. How close that number approaches 50%, I have no real idea.

The better question would be - how many single geocachers there are. There should be a way for the lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team.

 

My husband and I are teamed together. Much more fun as a together hobby.

 

I think that is an awesome idea! A way for lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team. Has anyone heard of a romance actually starting up through Geocaching? What a romantic story! Title: Went Geocaching and Lost My Heart!

There have been several geocaching romances and marriages over the years. The most famous in my area is Bryan (Groundspeak cofounder) and Hydee, who recently celebrated 10 Years Since They Met! As matchmaker Moun10Bike said on the event page: "Ten years ago, Bryan met Hydee and Ddog at my geocaching event held at this location. Since that time, he has been lucky enough to marry Hydee, adopt Ddog and add a new boy, Nick, to the family." B) (Ddog is Hydee's son, not a dog. :lol: )

 

And, as lamoracke noted, geocaching has also ended a few relationships. In my area, two well-known ones involved affairs with other geocachers, not arguments over caching. :(

 

What only two affairs? That's on the low side. :laughing:

 

You know, I said 35% female, 65% male, and that was a conservative estimate on the low side. Lil Devil said 40-60 and Totem clan almost 50-50. I'm convinced female representation is no way less than 1/3, but also not 1/2 either. Put me down for female cachers being 35%-45%. Yes, there are a lot of married couples with one account, but there are also many couples with separate accounts.

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hard to truly know as many caching handles are husband and wife teams. If I had to guess, I would safely wager at least 1/3 of the cachers I know are women or male/female couples. How close that number approaches 50%, I have no real idea.

The better question would be - how many single geocachers there are. There should be a way for the lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team.

 

My husband and I are teamed together. Much more fun as a together hobby.

 

I think that is an awesome idea! A way for lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team. Has anyone heard of a romance actually starting up through Geocaching? What a romantic story! Title: Went Geocaching and Lost My Heart!

There have been several geocaching romances and marriages over the years. The most famous in my area is Bryan (Groundspeak cofounder) and Hydee, who recently celebrated 10 Years Since They Met! As matchmaker Moun10Bike said on the event page: "Ten years ago, Bryan met Hydee and Ddog at my geocaching event held at this location. Since that time, he has been lucky enough to marry Hydee, adopt Ddog and add a new boy, Nick, to the family." B) (Ddog is Hydee's son, not a dog. :lol: )

 

And, as lamoracke noted, geocaching has also ended a few relationships. In my area, two well-known ones involved affairs with other geocachers, not arguments over caching. :(

 

What only two affairs? That's on the low side. :laughing:

 

 

yea...we got our share of affairs flying around here. :blink::blink:

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I'd say it's about a 2-1 ratio of men to women. There are many caching couples and many caching families, but I've met far more men with wives/girlfriends who don't like caching than the opposite.

 

While I don't think the male:female ratio is as lopsided as gaming (and WoW - mentioned by the OP - has a less lopsided male:female ratio is than most other gaming, like Magic The Gathering or Warhammer), but I think the outdoors in general appeal to men more than women.

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But who was the instigator? Meaning: When it comes to couples, whose idea was it to start geocaching? I, the female half, started our geocaching adventure. In fact, most of our outings are organized by me.

 

But I can see that it would be more likely that men would be the ones to say "Hey honey, let's go out in the bush and get muddy and covered in bugs so we can find a plastic bucket with McToys in it." The majority of females (bless their lipsticked little faces and painted little toenails) wouldn't even consider that.

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But I can see that it would be more likely that men would be the ones to say "Hey honey, let's go out in the bush and get muddy and covered in bugs so we can find a plastic bucket with McToys in it." The majority of females (bless their lipsticked little faces and painted little toenails) wouldn't even consider that.

Yep, that's my thought as well. I was a competitive orienteer for several years before geocaching came along, and the ratio is even more heavily male there (probably 75/25 max) - racing off-trail through the woods, getting dirty and occasionally lost is not most women's idea of fun.

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But who was the instigator? Meaning: When it comes to couples, whose idea was it to start geocaching? I, the female half, started our geocaching adventure. In fact, most of our outings are organized by me.

Same here. When it comes to getting muddy, that's me too. Spent a lot of time this week grooming and mucking out horses and getting stuck in muddy fields just for the fun of it. A lot more females than males do this here.

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But I can see that it would be more likely that men would be the ones to say "Hey honey, let's go out in the bush and get muddy and covered in bugs so we can find a plastic bucket with McToys in it." The majority of females (bless their lipsticked little faces and painted little toenails) wouldn't even consider that.

 

:laughing:

 

I see a hornets nest building!!

 

Chances are, the lipsticked and toe-nail painted women won't allow their men to go out geocaching by themselves. And if they did, logic would say - would result in an a torn relationship or an affair?

 

So now - it boils down to: The majority of the female geocaching community go au-natural with dirty hiking boots, torn jeans, and baseball caps. Or in my case - I'm the dirtball of the family (I'm female and I work around machinery - :laughing:).

 

So - more logic would say that 90% of the male community is single or in a relationship (or married) to a au-natural type of woman (or significant other)?

 

:ph34r:

Edited by Lieblweb
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But I can see that it would be more likely that men would be the ones to say "Hey honey, let's go out in the bush and get muddy and covered in bugs so we can find a plastic bucket with McToys in it." The majority of females (bless their lipsticked little faces and painted little toenails) wouldn't even consider that.

 

:laughing:

 

I see a hornets nest building!!

 

Chances are, the lipsticked and toe-nail painted women won't allow their men to go out geocaching by themselves. And if they did, logic would say - would result in an a torn relationship or an affair?

 

So now - it boils down to: The majority of the female geocaching community go au-natural with dirty hiking boots, torn jeans, and baseball caps. Or in my case - I'm the dirtball of the family (I'm female and I work around machinery - :laughing:).

 

So - more logic would say that 90% of the male community is single or in a relationship (or married) to a au-natural type of woman (or significant other)?

 

:ph34r:

Agreed. The male vs. female question isn't so much a factor as is the outdoor-type vs. non-outdoor-type. However, if I had to guess, I'd say that a higher percentage of males are outdoor-types than are females, hence the higher male participation in geocaching.

 

You'll not catch a perfect-nail-type person (male or female) out bushwhacking. And you'll never catch me with perfect nails. :D

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hard to truly know as many caching handles are husband and wife teams. If I had to guess, I would safely wager at least 1/3 of the cachers I know are women or male/female couples. How close that number approaches 50%, I have no real idea.

The better question would be - how many single geocachers there are. There should be a way for the lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team.

 

My husband and I are teamed together. Much more fun as a together hobby.

 

I think that is an awesome idea! A way for lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team. Has anyone heard of a romance actually starting up through Geocaching? What a romantic story! Title: Went Geocaching and Lost My Heart!

There have been several geocaching romances and marriages over the years. The most famous in my area is Bryan (Groundspeak cofounder) and Hydee, who recently celebrated 10 Years Since They Met! As matchmaker Moun10Bike said on the event page: "Ten years ago, Bryan met Hydee and Ddog at my geocaching event held at this location. Since that time, he has been lucky enough to marry Hydee, adopt Ddog and add a new boy, Nick, to the family." B) (Ddog is Hydee's son, not a dog. :lol: )

 

And, as lamoracke noted, geocaching has also ended a few relationships. In my area, two well-known ones involved affairs with other geocachers, not arguments over caching. :(

 

I'd say more than a few marriages. In addition to Bryan and Hydee, didn't the Podcacher couple meet through geocaching (I could be wrong about that). Mopar and GeoHo,CarleenP and Stunod, FallenFaery and Special Ed come immediately to mind. And GC.com has a series of Love story videos like this one

 

Without doing a poll I'd say those who say it's about 60/40 male female are just about right. I think it's evened out some in recent years. If this question was asked 8 or 9 years ago I would have said close to 80/20 male/female.

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But who was the instigator? Meaning: When it comes to couples, whose idea was it to start geocaching? I, the female half, started our geocaching adventure. In fact, most of our outings are organized by me.

 

My boyfriend was the one who actually told me about Geocaching, though he is the neat one. He (lovingly) calls me "dirt sitter" because I have no problem getting dirty and you are more likely to see me sitting on the ground than primly sitting on any available seat. He has no actual interest in geocaching, but I love getting dirty and exploring new places.

 

And, as lamoracke noted, geocaching has also ended a few relationships. In my area, two well-known ones involved affairs with other geocachers, not arguments over caching. :(

 

I love the fact that romances have been made through this! Sad that love has ended because of this too, but it seems to me that if a person strays, there are already potential issues in the relationship.

Edited by GeoCacheKat
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Agreed. The male vs. female question isn't so much a factor as is the outdoor-type vs. non-outdoor-type. However, if I had to guess, I'd say that a higher percentage of males are outdoor-types than are females, hence the higher male participation in geocaching.

 

You'll not catch a perfect-nail-type person (male or female) out bushwhacking. And you'll never catch me with perfect nails. :D

 

How about semi perfect nails?

 

Actually, even the 'perfect nails' can enjoy this hobby. Ain't nothing wrong with a little LPC from time to time.

 

I'm just jealous because I'd never have perfect nails even if I tried!!

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At the event today it was 56% men and 44% women.

 

Were they all geocachers tho? I know some couples where one does not geocache but does accompany their SO to events.

 

If Mrs. Yuck ever shows up at an event with me (she never has, but you never know), you'd better not count her as a Geocacher. I think she's been to about 20 of my 2,300 career finds at gunpoint. OK, not really gunpoint, but you get the idea. :P

 

I'd better edit that. Close to 100, if sitting in the car counts. What a trooper. :D

Edited by Mr.Yuck
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hard to truly know as many caching handles are husband and wife teams. If I had to guess, I would safely wager at least 1/3 of the cachers I know are women or male/female couples. How close that number approaches 50%, I have no real idea.

The better question would be - how many single geocachers there are. There should be a way for the lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team.

 

My husband and I are teamed together. Much more fun as a together hobby.

 

I think that is an awesome idea! A way for lonely cachers to find a caching buddy/team. Has anyone heard of a romance actually starting up through Geocaching? What a romantic story! Title: Went Geocaching and Lost My Heart!

Here is a thread you might want to read.

Edited by Snoogans
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But I can see that it would be more likely that men would be the ones to say "Hey honey, let's go out in the bush and get muddy and covered in bugs so we can find a plastic bucket with McToys in it." The majority of females (bless their lipsticked little faces and painted little toenails) wouldn't even consider that.

Yep, that's my thought as well. I was a competitive orienteer for several years before geocaching came along, and the ratio is even more heavily male there (probably 75/25 max) - racing off-trail through the woods, getting dirty and occasionally lost is not most women's idea of fun.

 

Some of us females don't mind getting dirty, snowy, wet, whatever.;) We had a snowshoe event today--54.5% female human, 36.4% male human, 9.1% female canine. I looked at a group shot of a hiking event from last summer: The adult women outnumbered the adult men, but the percentages including kids were 50% male human, 39% female human (including a 3-year-old who should count triple because she was so darn tough, hiking 10+ miles without whining!) and 11% canine, gender unknown.

 

Interpretation? Up to you.

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If Mrs. Yuck ever shows up at an event with me (she never has, but you never know), you'd better not count her as a Geocacher. I think she's been to about 20 of my 2,300 career finds at gunpoint. OK, not really gunpoint, but you get the idea. :P

 

I'd better edit that. Close to 100, if sitting in the car counts. What a trooper. :D

But does she have perfect nails? :P

Edited by hydnsek
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But I can see that it would be more likely that men would be the ones to say "Hey honey, let's go out in the bush and get muddy and covered in bugs so we can find a plastic bucket with McToys in it." The majority of females (bless their lipsticked little faces and painted little toenails) wouldn't even consider that.

Yep, that's my thought as well. I was a competitive orienteer for several years before geocaching came along, and the ratio is even more heavily male there (probably 75/25 max) - racing off-trail through the woods, getting dirty and occasionally lost is not most women's idea of fun.

 

Some of us females don't mind getting dirty, snowy, wet, whatever.;) We had a snowshoe event today--54.5% female human, 36.4% male human, 9.1% female canine. I looked at a group shot of a hiking event from last summer: The adult women outnumbered the adult men, but the percentages including kids were 50% male human, 39% female human (including a 3-year-old who should count triple because she was so darn tough, hiking 10+ miles without whining!) and 11% canine, gender unknown.

 

Interpretation? Up to you.

So do dogs count as well? Never thought about that. ;)

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But who was the instigator? Meaning: When it comes to couples, whose idea was it to start geocaching? I, the female half, started our geocaching adventure. In fact, most of our outings are organized by me.

 

My husband was the one who came up with the idea to start geocaching (a few years before we were even engaged). Circumstances had him spending nearly all his spare time in the garage, so I spent my time reading forums and solving puzzle caches while waiting for him to have time for us to go out together. After about a month of this I got fed up and started finding those puzzle caches - I figured since I did all the hard brain work then I deserved to go look for them! He joined in a couple weeks later on a road trip, but since then it's pretty much me doing most of the caching. He'll join me if I need a 4x4 to access caches, if we're on vacation, or for FTFs (he can get pretty competitive). A lot of the time he'll watch from the car/truck, or have a nap while I take a caching break on trips.

 

So, to go back on topic. We've got a lot of families/couple teams in my area, and several solo cachers (both male and female). Probably about 40-60 split here.

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If Mrs. Yuck ever shows up at an event with me (she never has, but you never know), you'd better not count her as a Geocacher. I think she's been to about 20 of my 2,300 career finds at gunpoint. OK, not really gunpoint, but you get the idea. :P

 

I'd better edit that. Close to 100, if sitting in the car counts. What a trooper. :D

But does she have perfect nails? :P

 

No. I think I generally have longer nails, although she does paint hers often. What was the topic here? :P

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Has anyone heard of a romance actually starting up through Geocaching?

 

Yes.

My wife and I met through Geocaching.

Our wedding was an Event Cache.

We were married by a fellow Geocacher, who also happens to be a Travel Bug, and (unbeknownst to us) was the reviewer who published the event! :o

 

:cute: Wow...Great story.

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I'm the outdoor type, always have been. Country girl through and through even though I live in a city now.

 

A female friend in another province told me about GC and the kids heard about it in girl guides and scouts. I thought good family activity. Except DH hates it and DS is hit and miss with it. When DD is not in school we do caching together but mostly it is me by myself. Which at times concerns me. I wish I had a buddy to call up and go with.

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I'm the outdoor type, always have been. Country girl through and through even though I live in a city now.

 

A female friend in another province told me about GC and the kids heard about it in girl guides and scouts. I thought good family activity. Except DH hates it and DS is hit and miss with it. When DD is not in school we do caching together but mostly it is me by myself. Which at times concerns me. I wish I had a buddy to call up and go with.

 

DH heard about it first from a colleague. He was keen on the GPS but slowly over a couple of years, lost interest in the game. I got my own GPS and have been caching on my own for about the last 8 years. Haven't been able to get anyone else interested but that's OK, I like being able to cache on my own terms. Other friends/family I've cached with want to call it quits after a couple and go shopping. <_<

 

Last year I broke my leg while caching. Hopped to the car. Drove to the hospital myself. Got a cast. Phoned DH and told him not to worry. Then drove myself home. Another time I got stuck in a snow covered ditch on a country road. Things I learned -- have CAA/AAA, carry a fully charged cell-phone, take a hiking stick, wear good boots with ankle support and don't make sudden moves on a muddy slope AND I learned that I'm more resilient then I thought I was.

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Things I learned -- have CAA/AAA, carry a fully charged cell-phone, take a hiking stick, wear good boots with ankle support and don't make sudden moves on a muddy slope AND I learned that I'm more resilient then I thought I was.

Amen to that (especially that last sentence)!!

Edited by Lieblweb
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But does she have perfect nails? :P

 

:laughing:

 

We forgot something....

 

High heels

 

I guess we can openly 'razz' those with perfect nails & high heels since 100% of the women on this forum won't be offended. :lol:

Hey wait!! <_< I'm offended by tha.... :unsure:

 

uhh hold on. You said women didn't ya? :huh:

 

Carry on. :ph34r:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:laughing:

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:laughing:

Hey wait!! <_< I'm offended by tha.... :unsure:

 

uhh hold on. You said women didn't ya? :huh:

 

Carry on. :ph34r:

:laughing:

 

We won't tell anyone..... and if you wear long pants, we might not notice. :P

 

(reminds me of going to this one night club (when I was younger), this older gentleman looked like any other guy...but when you looked down at his feet, Yup...there they were...high heels. :o )

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Here is a thread you might want to read.

 

 

Thank you for the link! I think it is so romantic for a couple to meet through geocaching! I love reading the stories. :wub:

 

:laughing:

Hey wait!! <_< I'm offended by tha.... :unsure:

 

uhh hold on. You said women didn't ya? :huh:

 

Carry on. :ph34r:

:laughing:

 

We won't tell anyone..... and if you wear long pants, we might not notice. :P

 

 

Just be careful not to wear heels to a cache! Would hate to hear that you twisted your ankle! ;)

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But I can see that it would be more likely that men would be the ones to say "Hey honey, let's go out in the bush and get muddy and covered in bugs so we can find a plastic bucket with McToys in it." The majority of females (bless their lipsticked little faces and painted little toenails) wouldn't even consider that.

Yep, that's my thought as well. I was a competitive orienteer for several years before geocaching came along, and the ratio is even more heavily male there (probably 75/25 max) - racing off-trail through the woods, getting dirty and occasionally lost is not most women's idea of fun.

 

Some of us females don't mind getting dirty, snowy, wet, whatever.;) We had a snowshoe event today--54.5% female human, 36.4% male human, 9.1% female canine. I looked at a group shot of a hiking event from last summer: The adult women outnumbered the adult men, but the percentages including kids were 50% male human, 39% female human (including a 3-year-old who should count triple because she was so darn tough, hiking 10+ miles without whining!) and 11% canine, gender unknown.

 

Interpretation? Up to you.

I've noticed that there seem to be a lot of females actively involved in geocaching in the PNW.

 

In our area, off the top of my head, I'd have to say some of our strongest cachers number:

 

10 females who cache by themselves or occasionally drag their husbands along

4 males

5 couples who are fairly even in their enjoyment of caching.

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But who was the instigator? Meaning: When it comes to couples, whose idea was it to start geocaching? I, the female half, started our geocaching adventure. In fact, most of our outings are organized by me.

 

But I can see that it would be more likely that men would be the ones to say "Hey honey, let's go out in the bush and get muddy and covered in bugs so we can find a plastic bucket with McToys in it." The majority of females (bless their lipsticked little faces and painted little toenails) wouldn't even consider that.

 

It was my idea to start Geocaching. He thought it sounded like a good idea & has decided that he quite likes the activity :D

 

But does she have perfect nails? :P

 

:laughing:

 

We forgot something....

 

High heels

 

I guess we can openly 'razz' those with perfect nails & high heels since 100% of the women on this forum won't be offended. :lol:

 

:unsure: I DID paint & decorate my nails Friday - before a GeoBreakfast event followed by a day of geocaching Saturday :anicute: But in no way offended. Like nails painted/decorated even if they are going to get muddy, dirty, chipped, etc :)

 

Also the question of, if it's a team account, which member uses the forums? :unsure:

 

I (the female half of the Duo) use the forum. Although he could figure his way around the site he just leaves the forums & trip planning to me

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