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I hate geocaching today!


Roman!

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I placed this in OT because it's not really about hating geocaching, just about hating it today, just about sharing your experiences and having fun doing so while leaving yourself open to all the ridicule and off topic posts this forum has to offer.

 

So a new cache came out on Bowen Island, a roughly 20 minute, $50 ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay. Saw it come out on my way to work last night, checked ferry schedules, first one at 6 am so after work off I went.

 

Got to GZ and could not find the hint or the cache, after an hour and further review I saw it was a new cacher, first hide, no finds, I left for the ferry back home, oops 3 sailing wait (1 ferry/hour). Figured it was locals going to the mainland to work and as there were other caches on the island went to look for those. Found 1 of 8 and after 3 hours got back to the ferry, 3 sailing wait, some kind of major camping thing going on and everyone was headed home.

 

Wasted $50 plus gas, no sleep for 24 hours, no FTFs and 8 DNFs and a 3 hour wait, I hate geocaching today!

 

Did you hate geocaching today? If so, why?

Edited by Roman!
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I appreciate, Roman!, that you may have wanted this in OT so that the discussion could possibly be a bit more relaxed, but the topic really is about geocaching. So I'm going to have to move it to Geocaching Topics.

 

What if we change it to an optional topic, why I hate geocaching and/or my lunch today?

 

I had a stale snickers bar and a warm coke for lunch while sitting in a three hour ferry lineup today, I hated my lunch.

Edited by Roman!
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I appreciate, Roman!, that you may have wanted this in OT so that the discussion could possibly be a bit more relaxed, but the topic really is about geocaching. So I'm going to have to move it to Geocaching Topics.

 

What if we change it to an optional topic, why I hate geocaching and/or my lunch today?

 

I had a stale snickers bar and a warm coke for lunch while sitting in a three hour ferry lineup today, I hated my lunch.

You are perfectly free to start a thread in OT about hating lunches. :)

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That cache you found, was it a nano with a mushy log? :drama:

 

I've had bad days of caching, but nothing like that, at least none that lost me $50. I remember going out one time in the pouring rain, in the dark, and getting 6 DNFs in a row. It was still fun. :unsure:

 

Nah, it was an ammo can with a mushy log.

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I'm still waiting for a day when I hate geocaching. (No, not really waiting for it.) There are days it does not appeal to me enough for me to go out and do it (especially when it is -15°F/ -26°C outside), but never been a time I've said "I hate geocaching."

 

Austin

Edited by AustinMN
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I sometimes get frustrated by spending time looking for a cache in the wrong place. Or hoping to look for a cache only to discover I can't actually get close to it while staying in my comfort zone. Or deciding there are too many muggles nearby. But its always an adventure.

 

I only hate geocaching when something happens that screws up my score so that I can't win. Then I break whatever club I happen to be holding.

 

Oh wait, that's golf.

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I can't say I've ever actually hated it. Frustrated because I can't find it sometimes, but not hate.

 

This weekend, I was at a CITO in the rain, because I wanted the souvenir. I was wet and cold, as I hiked around a lake and picked up trash.

My hubby was dry and warm at a wine tasting. One could question which of us made a better choice :)

 

Even a DNF day geocaching is better than being at work!

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So a new cache came out on Bowen Island, a roughly 20 minute, $50 ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay. Saw it come out on my way to work last night, checked ferry schedules, first one at 6 am so after work off I went.

 

Got to GZ and could not find the hint or the cache, after an hour and further review I saw it was a new cacher, first hide, no finds, I left for the ferry back home, oops 3 sailing wait (1 ferry/hour). Figured it was locals going to the mainland to work and as there were other caches on the island went to look for those. Found 1 of 8 and after 3 hours got back to the ferry, 3 sailing wait, some kind of major camping thing going on and everyone was headed home.

 

Wasted $50 plus gas, no sleep for 24 hours, no FTFs and 8 DNFs and a 3 hour wait, I hate geocaching today!

 

This is why one of the first things I do is check who the CO is. Good habit. Then you can weigh whatever risk/cost there is for finding it. Especially a $50 ferry ride... ugh.

Feel your pain. But had nothing like that for quite some time now... B)

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I placed this in OT because it's not really about hating geocaching, just about hating it today, just about sharing your experiences and having fun doing so while leaving yourself open to all the ridicule and off topic posts this forum has to offer.

 

So a new cache came out on Bowen Island, a roughly 20 minute, $50 ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay. Saw it come out on my way to work last night, checked ferry schedules, first one at 6 am so after work off I went.

 

Got to GZ and could not find the hint or the cache, after an hour and further review I saw it was a new cacher, first hide, no finds, I left for the ferry back home, oops 3 sailing wait (1 ferry/hour). Figured it was locals going to the mainland to work and as there were other caches on the island went to look for those. Found 1 of 8 and after 3 hours got back to the ferry, 3 sailing wait, some kind of major camping thing going on and everyone was headed home.

 

Wasted $50 plus gas, no sleep for 24 hours, no FTFs and 8 DNFs and a 3 hour wait, I hate geocaching today!

 

Did you hate geocaching today? If so, why?

 

Kinda your fault for not reading the cache page and noticing all that about the hider...

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I assume that you told the story in the DNF log so that the n000b, if sincere, could learn that bad coords, etc., have negative effects on people?

 

I agree.

 

I would let them know that I spent $50 on a ferry ride just for this cache, and it ended in a DNF after an hour of searching.

Especially because the D rating isn't high, the clue seems pretty clear - a stump with a T carved in it. Also it's a small - which should be at least palm size, so one would expect that with the rating, the hint, the description, the size, that it should be a relatively simple find.

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That cache you found, was it a nano with a mushy log? :drama:

 

I've had bad days of caching, but nothing like that, at least none that lost me $50. I remember going out one time in the pouring rain, in the dark, and getting 6 DNFs in a row. It was still fun. :unsure:

 

3-hour wait: endless.

 

Ferry ticket: $50.

 

FTF dreams: priceless!

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That cache you found, was it a nano with a mushy log? :drama:

 

I've had bad days of caching, but nothing like that, at least none that lost me $50. I remember going out one time in the pouring rain, in the dark, and getting 6 DNFs in a row. It was still fun. :unsure:

 

3-hour wait: endless.

 

Ferry ticket: $50.

 

FTF dreams: priceless!

 

I barely fared better last month when I went to Galiano, that was $85 but at least no three hour wait.

 

Two new caches, one I DNFed, the other I found about 45 meters out after an hour.

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....Got to GZ and could not find the hint or the cache, after an hour and further review I saw it was a new cacher, first hide, no finds ....

PPPPPP :D

 

I hear you, brother. I went down to Argentina, detoured to Córdoba, hired a guide, and off we went into the mountains for a couple of lonely FTFs.

 

Well.

 

Never again will I go that far without checking the hider's profile first. :(

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I appreciate, Roman!, that you may have wanted this in OT so that the discussion could possibly be a bit more relaxed, but the topic really is about geocaching. So I'm going to have to move it to Geocaching Topics.
Gosh... how can we ever thank you enough... :rolleyes:
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I think I can top that. :ph34r:

 

When I was in Hong Kong, I made a trip to Macau and was planning to get a virtual over there but things went wrong for me and run out of coins for the bus fare before I got to the island south of there, so I hiked back to the ferry dock which was a few miles. Found a bunch of caches, but i would never saw what I saw if I didnt ran into that problem.

 

It costs me over 60 bucks for the ferry ride.

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Perhaps my most fond remembrance was the day that I tried for an ftf, and the cache didn't exist... or did it? Further review of maps led me to believe that one number was off, and the cache was straight north a few miles.... in a State Nature Preserve where it was illegal. I believe I was the only one ever to get credit for finding it, and I contacted my reviewer who archived it. I drove close to 100 miles, but all "in my area." I felt like a genius.

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If I have lots of DNF it can get frustrating, especially given my tendency to miss caches that turn out to still be there. (I have told COs before that if I DNF their micro it is not actually a cause for concern.)

 

As such, I tend to avoid certain kinds of hides, at least for Traditionals. DNF on a puzzle final is extra frustrating.

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I appreciate, Roman!, that you may have wanted this in OT so that the discussion could possibly be a bit more relaxed, but the topic really is about geocaching. So I'm going to have to move it to Geocaching Topics.

 

What if we change it to an optional topic, why I hate geocaching and/or my lunch today?

 

I had a stale snickers bar and a warm coke for lunch while sitting in a three hour ferry lineup today, I hated my lunch.

You are perfectly free to start a thread in OT about hating lunches. :)

As you wish.

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I've had bad days of caching, but nothing like that, at least none that lost me $50. I remember going out one time in the pouring rain, in the dark, and getting 6 DNFs in a row. It was still fun. :unsure:

 

Well, we did pay $45.50 CDN to take the Confederation Bridge to PEI on our tour of the Maritimes. (That's a very strange amount for a bridge toll?) But there were four of us in the car, and we did find caches on PEI. But not a lot of time to spend. We had to be in Halifax by night fall (And the oldest caches in Canada.) So it wasn't a waste of money. Then the plane from Halifax to St. John's, Newfoundland.

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I've had bad days of caching, but nothing like that, at least none that lost me $50. I remember going out one time in the pouring rain, in the dark, and getting 6 DNFs in a row. It was still fun. :unsure:

 

Well, we did pay $45.50 CDN to take the Confederation Bridge to PEI on our tour of the Maritimes. (That's a very strange amount for a bridge toll?) But there were four of us in the car, and we did find caches on PEI. But not a lot of time to spend. We had to be in Halifax by night fall (And the oldest caches in Canada.) So it wasn't a waste of money. Then the plane from Halifax to St. John's, Newfoundland.

 

I paid $45 for a one day visa for Zimbabwe, $15 entry fee into a national park, and $15 for a guide for 1 cache (and to see Victoria Falls). I have, on several occasions, book business travel itinerary so that I could stay overnight in a country I had not previously visited and paid for 1-2 nights at a hotel (in Barcelona that cost me a little over $200) so I could do some geocaching in a new country.

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Ha, someone else DNFed it two days after I did.

 

Anyways, just bought a kayak a week ago (never kayaked before) and we're going after 2 FTFs that have been out for several months. Looks like about a three hour round trip on the ocean, hopefully I won't hate geocaching today.

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Ha, someone else DNFed it two days after I did.

 

Anyways, just bought a kayak a week ago (never kayaked before) and we're going after 2 FTFs that have been out for several months. Looks like about a three hour round trip on the ocean, hopefully I won't hate geocaching today.

 

You've never kayaked before and you're going on a three hour tour on the ocean? Even "the skipper" had experience driving a boat and look how that turned out.

 

 

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Ha, someone else DNFed it two days after I did.

 

Anyways, just bought a kayak a week ago (never kayaked before) and we're going after 2 FTFs that have been out for several months. Looks like about a three hour round trip on the ocean, hopefully I won't hate geocaching today.

 

You've never kayaked before and you're going on a three hour tour on the ocean? Even "the skipper" had experience driving a boat and look how that turned out.

I assume he's already underway, so we look forward to the story -- or the TV series!

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Ha, someone else DNFed it two days after I did.

 

Anyways, just bought a kayak a week ago (never kayaked before) and we're going after 2 FTFs that have been out for several months. Looks like about a three hour round trip on the ocean, hopefully I won't hate geocaching today.

 

You've never kayaked before and you're going on a three hour tour on the ocean? Even "the skipper" had experience driving a boat and look how that turned out.

I assume he's already underway, so we look forward to the story -- or the TV series!

 

Nah, leave in an hour.

 

Gotta learn somehow.

 

We will be hugging the shoreline the whole trip and besides I can swim and my kayak can't sink.

 

81W1Yj1FdtS._SL1500_.jpg

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Ha, someone else DNFed it two days after I did.

 

Anyways, just bought a kayak a week ago (never kayaked before) and we're going after 2 FTFs that have been out for several months. Looks like about a three hour round trip on the ocean, hopefully I won't hate geocaching today.

 

You've never kayaked before and you're going on a three hour tour on the ocean? Even "the skipper" had experience driving a boat and look how that turned out.

I assume he's already underway, so we look forward to the story -- or the TV series!

 

Or a new edition of a book that I've read. It's called "Deep Trouble" by Matt Broze. Matt is/was the owner/designer of Mariner Kayaks, a company in Washington state. The book chronicles a dozen or so stories where kayakers got into "deep trouble" after kayakers that were unprepared for the conditions they encountered went out on trips just like Roman describes. The incidents (some involving death) often were directly related to a lack of experience or ignorance regarding how quickly things can go bad paddling on open water.

 

 

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Ha, someone else DNFed it two days after I did.

 

Anyways, just bought a kayak a week ago (never kayaked before) and we're going after 2 FTFs that have been out for several months. Looks like about a three hour round trip on the ocean, hopefully I won't hate geocaching today.

 

You've never kayaked before and you're going on a three hour tour on the ocean? Even "the skipper" had experience driving a boat and look how that turned out.

I assume he's already underway, so we look forward to the story -- or the TV series!

 

Or a new edition of a book that I've read. It's called "Deep Trouble" by Matt Broze. Matt is/was the owner/designer of Mariner Kayaks, a company in Washington state. The book chronicles a dozen or so stories where kayakers got into "deep trouble" after kayakers that were unprepared for the conditions they encountered went out on trips just like Roman describes. The incidents (some involving death) often were directly related to a lack of experience or ignorance regarding how quickly things can go bad paddling on open water.

 

I wouldn't call where we went open water, it's sheltered by all sort of islands, big and small and we were never more than 500 meters from shore. We also had friends in their canoe (the CO) of the cache following us just in case as we did have to go ashore for the caches.

 

I have motor boated the waters and also have thousands of hour paragliding so I am very familiar with both the water conditions as well as weather.

 

I also have all the the safety gear and am a very competent swimmer.

 

I was well aware what I was getting into and sorry to say, we survived without incident, sometimes life isn't stranger than fiction.

Edited by Roman!
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Ha, someone else DNFed it two days after I did.

 

Anyways, just bought a kayak a week ago (never kayaked before) and we're going after 2 FTFs that have been out for several months. Looks like about a three hour round trip on the ocean, hopefully I won't hate geocaching today.

 

You've never kayaked before and you're going on a three hour tour on the ocean? Even "the skipper" had experience driving a boat and look how that turned out.

I assume he's already underway, so we look forward to the story -- or the TV series!

 

Or a new edition of a book that I've read. It's called "Deep Trouble" by Matt Broze. Matt is/was the owner/designer of Mariner Kayaks, a company in Washington state. The book chronicles a dozen or so stories where kayakers got into "deep trouble" after kayakers that were unprepared for the conditions they encountered went out on trips just like Roman describes. The incidents (some involving death) often were directly related to a lack of experience or ignorance regarding how quickly things can go bad paddling on open water.

 

I wouldn't call where we went open water, it's sheltered by all sort of islands, big and small and we were never more than 500 meters from shore. We also had friends in their canoe (the CO) of the cache following us just in case as we did have to go ashore for the caches.

 

I have motor boated the waters and also have thousands of hour paragliding so I am very familiar with both the water conditions as well as weather.

 

I also have all the the safety gear and am a very competent swimmer

 

I was well aware what I was getting into and sorry to say, we survived without incident, sometimes life isn't stranger than fiction.

 

Since you wrote that you were going out "in the ocean" it is not unreasonable to assume that you were going out into open water. If you're going to be making use of that kayak a lot more I would recommend reading that book and taking some classes which focus on safety and you might find that you're not as aware of what you might be getting into as you think. As someone with many hours of training and many years of experience paddling a kayak in less than optimal conditions I just cringe a little bit when I see someone without any experience go out into places which *can* result in serious incidents. I'm glad that you survived without incidents, but people that drive without a seatbelt or drive while intoxicated might survive without incident for many many years but that doesn't make it safe.

 

Sure, getting those FTFs might be nice but the only reason I mentioned anything is that I don't want to see *anyone* hurt because they haven't taken the time to understand to fully understand the risks involved with open water paddling.

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