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Without Geocaching I would have never…


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I love this blog post topic. Great post, Adam!

 

Geocaching blog

 

 

Written by our featured content partner, Adam Redshaw (ukcachemag).

Geocaching is so much more than a treasure hunt. Our brilliant hobby offers something for everybody and we all benefit from so much more than finding the treasure of a cache container. For many, geocaching is a key part of their social and family life. It is even a large part in their personal development. As a community we teach others, yet we also learn and overcome some of our fears.

Are you a teacher or are you a student? Perhaps you are a mix of both?

Finding a geocache for the first time is not always so easy: we need an app or a GPS, we need to understand about Difficulty/Terrain, geocache size, and attributes. We need to develop our geo-senses to understand the minds of other geocachers and think where they may have hidden the geocache.

Perhaps the cache owner has taken us to a new area, or even a different country. You start learning other skills like rappelling or scuba diving. No doubt you will look at solving some puzzles and perhaps learn about codes and encryption. You will start to read signs and looking for hints even when you are not out geocaching. You will become much more aware of local history and places. We are all having our own adventures and creating memories that we may not have otherwise explored without geocaching. 

These adventures all stem from the hard work that other geocachers have done over the past nearly 20 years. It’s true then that other geocachers become our teachers. Geocachers make up a large community around the globe. From finding or hiding caches, to hosting events, to solving puzzles, geocaching can always teach you something new. So, when’s the last time you went out of your comfort zone? Teacher, student or both – find your own mix.

Without geocaching I would never have _________________. Fill in the blank with your own stories below!

 

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Without geocaching I never would have started filmmaking.  I even made a short film about how I went from being a muggle to a geocacher to a filmmaker, told through my drawing on a whiteboard (see below).  Filmmaking is such a great hobby, as it lets me be creative and have fun and work with really great people.  It lets me set goals and achieve things outside of my normal career and family responsibilities.  

 

 

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9 minutes ago, GeoElmo6000 said:

Without geocaching I never would have started filmmaking.  I even made a short film about how I went from being a muggle to a geocacher to a filmmaker, told through my drawing on a whiteboard (see below).  Filmmaking is such a great hobby, as it lets me be creative and have fun and work with really great people.  It lets me set goals and achieve things outside of my normal career and family responsibilities.  

 

 

You are SO talented! That was really fun to watch, and a great response to the topic!

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Caching has become a big part of my life in the last seven years, particularly since retiring in 2016, but the I would never have... things that come immediately to mind are:

  • Bought a kayak (for all those T5 water caches)
    Kayak.jpg.7905bddeb3ae77aa5008bcd01945fd2c.jpg
     
  • Bought a RAV4 (for all those remote forest caches)
    RAV4.jpg.c0c1f850dd619f31870dfb804058e61f.jpg
     
  • Visited Lord Howe Island (twice, to redeem my DNFs from the first trip!)
    LordHoweIsland.jpg.eceee02d39caf1d4045ee235a1bba377.jpg
     
  • Walked for kilometres along forest trails with a ladder strapped to my back
    Ladder.jpg.a4f14ac4bea1e042d9fdb93380d72777.jpg
     
  • Found those amazing mountain tops
    Mountains.jpg.0a473c17bfcd7767cc646d8db0c4578a.jpg
     
  • Made a bunch of wonderful new friends
    Friends.jpg.c5eb02bc73ce7397343e188b699eeedf.jpg
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1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

Oh man... if a butterfly flaps its wings...!

So many things in life have happened and changed because of this hobby. SO many things.

 

Yeah, it would be hard to pick out just one or two. There are the countless places I would have never visited, the people I would have never met, the tools I would have never owned, the obscure cipher knowledge I would have never learned...

Edited by The A-Team
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Without geocaching I would never have ...

 

 - found a state game lands smaller than my backyard.

 - found areas that, if you weren't a local, you'd never know were there. 

 - got the other 2/3rds to not only challenge her height fears (three steps on a ladder tops...), but get her to drop off a cliff using rope, and climb back up.

 - got her water issues down to where we both have kayaks and a few boats (she has two boats of her own).

 - met folks, and made some friends out of our own group.

 - found awesome hunting and fishing opportunities, some game-specific, never aware of.

 - realized that areas previously posted were now open, showing more options for hiking.

 - If it wasn't for a Blog from this site, I never would have known about the smallest park in the world.

 

I think this will be edited when thinking about it some more...   :)

 

Edited by cerberus1
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Without geocaching I would never have

 

Visited 48 USA states soon to be 49 USA states

Visited all states in Finland, UK, Germany and Norway

Visited all states except one state in Sweden

Got to know a lot of not well known places where I live

Wouldn't have gone on a road trip around Europe and log caches in 22 countries all in one trip

 

 

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Then of course there is that refugee from Mendocino, Calif. by the name of NYPaddle cacher ... a voice of reason in the" darkness of the forums / fora".  Sorry I missed you for the Cornell hockey game.

 

Ahhhhhhh then having chow with AKiteFlier at a taqueria with FizzyMagic and another mountain of a man ... sorry Dave your handle escapes me.

 

And the list could go on for a loooooooonnnggggggg time

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And I'm a stickler for details. How do I know I would have never done something? If I answer it, it has to be something exclusively related to geocaching; like, visiting some other country is something I may have done without geocaching, even though it was geocaching that did prompt it :) lol

Tough to answer literally, but loosely there are SOOO many answers! :laughing:

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10 hours ago, humboldt flier said:

Then of course there is that refugee from Mendocino, Calif. by the name of NYPaddle cacher ... a voice of reason in the" darkness of the forums / fora".  Sorry I missed you for the Cornell hockey game.

 

Ahhhhhhh then having chow with AKiteFlier at a taqueria with FizzyMagic and another mountain of a man ... sorry Dave your handle escapes me.

 

And the list could go on for a loooooooonnnggggggg time

 

BTW, I"m going to be out that way next week, spending a few days in Fort Bragg, then a couple on Red Bluff.

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16 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

found areas that, if you weren't a local, you'd never know were there. 

 

Also,... found areas that, even if you were a local, you'd never known were there.

 

There are so many good responses to this and so many things that this activity has provided that weren't expected upon taking it up.

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26 minutes ago, coachstahly said:
17 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

found areas that, if you weren't a local, you'd never know were there. 

 

Also,... found areas that, even if you were a local, you'd never known were there.

 

Yeah, this is one I'd chalk up to geocaching :)  I doubt anything else I could have done would have led to exploring as much as geocaching has prompted, both local and away. The aspect of enjoying finding places that, literally, you never would have visited otherwise, is something I think unique to geocaching!  I don't mean visiting some touristy spot for a popular geocache - who knows if a vacation would have led there. But the chances of any other reason taking me to some obscure trail system in a town 3 hours from home to soak my feet in a gorgeous trickling stream? Yeah -- thanks, geocaching!

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6 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

 

BTW, I"m going to be out that way next week, spending a few days in Fort Bragg, then a couple on Red Bluff.

Enjoy "Fog Bragg" ... I will be splitting time between Redding and Gilroy.  Rattle my chain on message feature ... perhaps we can meet and press some flesh.  There is a rather "unique letterbox trail" S.W. of Red Bluff beyond the radar domes.

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10 minutes ago, MartyBartfast said:

Have got into tree climbing.

You know, that's another one I think... sure I can't say whether I'd have taken up arborist activities, but geocaching absolutely got me enjoying climbing various random trees that would have no other reason to be climbed except for a geocache :laughing:

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When I was kid our family would take the proverbial "Sunday afternoon drive" usually up into the mountains or nearby hills. Along the roads we drove on there would minor roads or some cases dirt tracks leading off into the woods. I would always ask my dad if we could drive up that road to see what's up there. His was response was always "On our way back" So on our way back I would ask that same question and his response was always "Oh, we do not have enough time now". 

 

I cannot decide if I was more disappointed at missing that opportunity to explore or at my Dad lying to me. 

 

Now I am older, I drive an SUV and now I go up those roads and dirt tracks because they lead to geocaches. 

 

Without geocaching I would never have come to the "two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference."

 

Hokey? Schmaltzy? Picayune? Probably all three but when I take road trips where I can geocache, I always think of Robert Frost's poem.  

 

 

 

 

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If I had never found geocaching.... I would not have met so many wonderful people both here in Australia and on my overseas travels. The friendships I've made are amazing. Also, as a result of this game, I was invited onto Danish Community Radio in Copenhagen for a two hour program to discuss geocaching in Australia. We even had talk back with people phoning in to ask questions. It was a hoot!!!!!

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If I hadn't started geocaching I wouldn't have met many of my best friends. I'm from Utah, USA, but I started geocaching in Korea. Living in Seoul, I've met and made friends with geocachers around the world. 

Before geocaching I only went to a few tourist places in Seoul. After geocaching, I've been all over the country and discovered amazing things that most Korean people don't know are in their own country. Then I visited family in Utah and was amazed to discover things I didn't know about in my own hometown. 

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