How Has Aging Changed the Way You Geocache as Seeker and/or Hider?

[+colleda]

When my late wife and I discovered this pastime we were retired and in our early 60s and physically in good condition. My partner of 50 years passed away almost five years ago. Since then my involvement has somewhat wained, particularly the seeking side. I still maintain about eighty caches. I am now in my mid 70s and this is where the aging part of the topic comes in.

As a seeker I now tend to restrict my geocaching to vacations in foreign countries or opportunistic finds in a place I might find myself and just wonder if there is a cache nearby. I no longer plan cache finding runs as I used to do.

As a cache owner I now find my caching activity more and more affected by my physical condition. I am in good health but my feet are letting me down, both of them affected in various degrees by arthritis, rheumatoid and osteo, bursitis and, occasionally, gout (every couple of years). This means my walking is becoming more limited and I can no longer do long, walking, maintenance runs as I used to. Otherwise, aerobically, I could walk for miles.

A lot of my caches are accessible by bike or car which is not a problem. So. I am now more reliant on finder logs for information and cache condition and veracity of finds. It's been a bit of a bummer lately with extremes in weather adding to the mix. Now, if there is a problem with a (series) cache, I would target just that one for maintenance whereas in the past, I would do a run on the whole series. Example two days ago I had a two kilometre walk on uneven, rough, eroded, bush tracks with some bush bashing ("fight" in orienteering terms) to place a new cache, a replacement for one in a series that kept disappearing. The walk was ok but my feet were quite sore afterwards. That night I was typing up the new listing when I found I had accidently deleted the coordinates from my Garmin. So yesterday I had to go back and get new coords. Overnight our area was hit again with torrential rain which made the trek back to the cache even more tricky. Sore feet again. (I need to find a more comfortable pair of  hiking shoes). I can still climb trees but it's becoming more difficult. I have two tree caches, one of which needs checking (after two DNFs) but that's been put off due to rain - again - and there's been more rain today. I also have a few island caches one of which needs a new log but after a mountain bike crash I damaged a tendon in my right shoulder after which bursitis has set in which means it has become painfull to paddle my kayak.

I feel I am getting closer to a point where I may have to reduce my cache holdings but people seem enjoy my caches so I'll struggle on while I can...

Whoever said "youth is wasted on the young" was right.

 

 

 

 

[+GeoElmo6000]

Thank you for sharing and I'm sorry about your wife.  I don't know much about the people in the forums as it tends to be a pretty closed group but I try to remember there are real people with real life events happening behind these user names.

 

For me I've changed just based on experience and growing interest in other hobbies.  I've seen several geocachers get Lyme's disease or bad poison ivy from this game, which isn't worth it to me for this game.  I used to hike in the woods all day but now I'm super careful and generally find deep woods caches in the winter and not spring through fall.  

 

I also used to crisscross my home area looking for caches but for the most part I find caches these days when traveling to new areas.  When I'm home I have other things I like to do - swimming, cycling, filmmaking, animation, video games, etc.  When I'm on a business trip or a family vacation I take advantage of being in a new place to find caches.

 

With experience I've also taught several geocaching 101 classes, including one coming up in the next month.  I have a great PowerPoint I've created and some great stories to share.  I also like answering questions that new cachers ask on other social media groups.  

 

Hope this answers your question.

[+colleda]

5 hours ago, GeoElmo6000 said:

Thank you for sharing and I'm sorry about your wife.  I don't know much about the people in the forums as it tends to be a pretty closed group but I try to remember there are real people with real life events happening behind these user names.

 

For me I've changed just based on experience and growing interest in other hobbies.  I've seen several geocachers get Lyme's disease or bad poison ivy from this game, which isn't worth it to me for this game.  I used to hike in the woods all day but now I'm super careful and generally find deep woods caches in the winter and not spring through fall.  

 

I also used to crisscross my home area looking for caches but for the most part I find caches these days when traveling to new areas.  When I'm home I have other things I like to do - swimming, cycling, filmmaking, animation, video games, etc.  When I'm on a business trip or a family vacation I take advantage of being in a new place to find caches.

 

With experience I've also taught several geocaching 101 classes, including one coming up in the next month.  I have a great PowerPoint I've created and some great stories to share.  I also like answering questions that new cachers ask on other social media groups.  

 

Hope this answers your question.

Thanks for responding.

I also have other interests outside geocaching. Riding and restoring old MIJ motorcycles, restoring and playing old MIJ guitars and foil windsurfing.

[+MNTA]

Initially I was in the mode I had to find them all. Well fortunately I have realized this is not feasible nor even desirable to me.

 

So I have a set of priorities. 

 

1) Love challenge caches. So I'll seek them out and also search for ones that help with challenges when I travel.

2) Slowly I am clearing out my immediate area of traditional caches one at 5.5 miles and 35 at 10 miles. Considering right now there are 658 I hope I make it before I move.

3) While traveling definitely like to get new counties/states/countries. But really only need one or what is convenient.

4) Look for ones that bring me to interesting places specially along road trips. With Covid spent a lot of time in the middle of nowhere and the app would help tell me where to go a see something special.

 

Never was a huge fan of long hikes, but don't mind the short ones. For me caching is usually a solo activity with a dog or two. Occasionally a kid or a friend. Love forest and country roads, rain or shine. 

 

[+colleda]

2 hours ago, MNTA said:

Initially I was in the mode I had to find them all. Well fortunately I have realized this is not feasible nor even desirable to me.

 

So I have a set of priorities. 

 

1) Love challenge caches. So I'll seek them out and also search for ones that help with challenges when I travel.

2) Slowly I am clearing out my immediate area of traditional caches one at 5.5 miles and 35 at 10 miles. Considering right now there are 658 I hope I make it before I move.

3) While traveling definitely like to get new counties/states/countries. But really only need one or what is convenient.

4) Look for ones that bring me to interesting places specially along road trips. With Covid spent a lot of time in the middle of nowhere and the app would help tell me where to go a see something special.

 

Never was a huge fan of long hikes, but don't mind the short ones. For me caching is usually a solo activity with a dog or two. Occasionally a kid or a friend. Love forest and country roads, rain or shine. 

 

A change, certainly, but was aging an influence?

[+cerberus1]

On 4/13/2023 at 6:23 PM, colleda said:

 I am now in my mid 70s and this is where the aging part of the topic comes in.

As a seeker I now tend to restrict my geocaching to vacations in foreign countries or opportunistic finds in a place I might find myself and just wonder if there is a cache nearby. I no longer plan cache finding runs as I used to do.

As a cache owner I now find my caching activity more and more affected by my physical condition.

 

Yeah...  Until just a few years ago, I'd be in n out of a doc's office no matter what the issue was. Not quite 70 yet.

Most (my) finds are T2 n up, the other 2/3rds was the "gotta get 'em all" FTF monster.  Next year would be twenty years in this hobby.

But a coupla years ago a fall from a leaning tree multi stage because of a false charge from a naked bear (mange) still has me messed up.

Every time I go in for something, another thing comes up on a screen.  Maybe I was a wreck before and just never knew...  

Numerous issues, and just had a stent put in last month on my birthday. A fix for the "small" attack that didn't seem like anything to me.

Google cystoscopy for the fun experience yesterday... and looks like I'll be awaiting a surgery date for that too...

I have two caches to access for OM (I can see both from the truck), and my last found were 9/22.  Maybe age and luck is a factor.  

[+JL_HSTRE]

While I suspect the OP question was intended for older folks, change with my relatively young age has still affected my caching habits. I started geocaching at 28; I'm now 41.

 

I don't do tree climbers now anywhere near as much as I did a decade ago.

 

I like to take daytrips or overnight trips to visit new areas. It was easier a decade ago dragging myself out of bed at 5 or 6 AM, or dragging myself home at midnight. My ability to safely drive at night has also decreased, particularly on unlit roads with headlights coming at me. I'm not sure how much is age-induced night blindness vs changes in headlight technology.

 

Age has also brought about lifestyle changes. I don't kayak anymore because I no longer have friends that kayak, so I don't get kayak caches. I started caching with a job that kept me physically active most days; now I have what is principally a desk job and it's hard to make my work schedule align with good caching weather. My heat tolerance, never really good, has gotten worse with age and lifestyle changes but cold winter weather (i.e. good geocaching weather) also seems scarcer and scarcer here in Florida.

[+edexter]

     As I get older I notice three major changes in my caching activities:  fewer long high mile hiking (and driving) days, much more cache selectivity, and more time spent placing and maintaining caches than in the past.  The first change is partly do to aging and partly due to "clearing out the radius" of nearby caches.  I'd much rather hike than drive and as the distance to the nearest "unfound good caches" increases, I'm less willing to drive an hour there and back.  About five years into the game, I pretty much lost interest in micros within 200 feet of parking and since they are about half of all placements, my field of interest shrank.  Most folks place single stage caches, but since I like to hike around the woods, once I started placing caches, I placed mostly multis that have five or six stages and involve a walk of a mile ot two (on average).  Multis are exponentially harder to find, place and maintain than single stage caches but way more fun to my mind, and since they are closer to home the ratio of drive time to woods time shifts the right way for me.  Plus, I know I'm going to enjoy the area and the cache since I only place stuff I'd like to find.

edexter

[+Harry Dolphin]

On 4/15/2023 at 4:40 PM, cerberus1 said:

 

Yeah...  Until just a few years ago, I'd be in n out of a doc's office no matter what the issue was. Not quite 70 yet.

Most (my) finds are T2 n up, the other 2/3rds was the "gotta get 'em all" FTF monster.  Next year would be twenty years in this hobby.

But a coupla years ago a fall from a leaning tree multi stage because of a false charge from a naked bear (mange) still has me messed up.

Every time I go in for something, another thing comes up on a screen.  Maybe I was a wreck before and just never knew...  

Numerous issues, and just had a stent put in last month on my birthday. A fix for the "small" attack that didn't seem like anything to me.

Google cystoscopy for the fun experience yesterday... and looks like I'll be awaiting a surgery date for that too...

I have two caches to access for OM (I can see both from the truck), and my last found were 9/22.  Maybe age and luck is a factor.  

 

I love hiking!  I've hiked across the Grand Canyon.  In ten years, I section hiked half the Appalachian Trail.  When I learnt about Geocaching, my first find was a mile hike in Wawayanda State Park for a BrianSnat cache.  (That was almost nineteen years ago!)  I am hooked!  Now, I have major back problems with major pain.  The doctors can't seem to be able to anything about the problem.  Hoping pain management medications will help.  Now, I'm mostly doing P&Gs.  Hoping less pain will get me back into hiking to find geocaches.

[+JL_HSTRE]

1 hour ago, Harry Dolphin said:

I've hiked across the Grand Canyon.

 

On a tightrope?

[+Smitherington]

8 hours ago, JL_HSTRE said:

I've hiked across the Grand Canyon.

Actually a couple miles of that hike is vertical.

[+WRASTRO]

We joined the caching community December 26, 2003, the day after my wife gave me a GPSr for Christmas. Our kids were 13 and 10. We were 47 and 46. We found six caches the first day and have never been crazy for finding big numbers. In 2022 we finally passed the 5,000 find milestone. Our kids are now in their 30's and we are well into our 60's. We still enjoy getting out and finding caches. Found several this past weekend. When we started, my son and I did some pretty good mountain hikes. Not so much these days. I can still easily do a 10 mile hike without much pain and suffering. Glad for that. I now am more aware I am not invincible, so I pay more attention to my surroundings. Still having fund and still loving caching.

 

[+ADKer]

When I set out to "go geocaching", I've become very selective about the caches I find. I look for high favorite point percentages, and almost always exclude micros. Back when I started, I would try to get all the caches in an area just because they were there. Nowadays, I have no problem leaving some green on my map if they don't seem "worth" getting. 

 

Now if I'm hiking and there's a 0 FP micro on the trail, I'll stop to quickly grab it, but I never go out of my way to find a micro. 

[+Jayeffel]

WhenI first started way back in 2016 I had no clue what I was doing, then in 2017 got busier. Now my age tells me to be careful, watch out  for longer walks, rougher terrain, hard to find caches etc.

 

But the most limiting factor now is financing the trips further from home, not real far but it still adds up. I can only go maybe 50 miles.   And also my wife's health note concerns me more also, I am sort of afraid to leave her alone, even though at 72 years of age I cannot pick her up when she falls - but can call! Also feel somewhat awkward going on a hobby run when she is stuck either at home, in the hospital , or a nursing home,. But I do need to get away at times. 

Edited April 23, 2023 by Jayeffel

[+luvvinbird]

Three years of Covid-19, two bouts of cancer and, worse yet, turning 74 in a couple of months has changed my outlook on a lot of things. I'm much more selective and a lot less excited about a lot of the geocaches I seek. Tree climbing? Forget it. Challenge caches? Not interested. FTF's? Meh. But, without question, I still enjoy finding a nice, creative container placed in a clean, thoughtful location. As long as it's a short trip for me and my cane, lol.

[+brodiebunch]

Time and to an extent, age has been factor in my geocaching habits. I may be one of the younger responders to your post-58yo. My work is seasonal, busy from May to October and very slow November through April so the chance to geocaching every weekend like I used has tapered off a lot. In the winter the weather is a big factor here. My region is chock full of micros and puzzle caches, I prefer small to regular sized geocaches. We have found so many of them locally (within 30 miles of my home coordinates) that we must travel further and further away to find those sized geocaches. So I told myself that each month I would take a three day geocaching road trip to other parts of my state to geocache. I economize on those trips, staying in cheap motels and bringing my own food. Many times on those road trips I do the power trails as they can be easy to find many in a short time. My annual goal is 366 finds per year. My partner will go geocache with me but his foot gives him problems now, he gets bored with power trails and he has hobbies of his own to keep him occupied. I have fallen a few times while out hiking and geocaching so I now I never stray too far from the road when geocaching. Oh, we gave up being geocache hiders when we moved to a neighboring county. 

[+geodarts]

Before I retired I was caching less and less.  Then, a year or so later, right before the pandemic , I had a serious accident and an associated stroke.  I was in the hospital for two or three months and had to teach myself how to walk again (with some help).  So age is only one of the issues.  
 

* In some ways it has kept me caching.  I began to cache again for exercise, to help meet goals, and to help with both physical and mental recovery.

 

* Balance is still a major issue so tree climbing is out.

 

* I passed my driving test but I would not go out for a day of caching on my own and limit my driving.  

 

* Bending down can be hard.  It feels like losing my breath. Headaches are an issue. I usually do better earlier in the day, but I DNF more.

 

* I can’t hike as long as I used to. Since getting Covid elevations are a problem. Two years ago I could cache at 10,000 feet as part of a 4 - 5 mile hike.  Almost a year after Covid I still can’t do that. 

 

* I can kayak but getting out of a kayak to seek a cache needs the right factors.  Biking is still out so caching along bike paths is not the same.

 

My doctor once told me that it was unfair how much we had to work as we got older just to keep healthy.  But aging is part of life and in many ways I’m doing better than some.  I still have the same type of interests — the type of caches I do have not changed except for the physical limitations.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2023 by geodarts

[+SoonerCardsFan]

Getting older is not for the weak. I had both hips replaced in Aug '18. I've still been in some constant pain since then. I can't sit for more than a half hour or so without the pain level increasing. So day long caching like I used to do is out. Sometimes my legs go numb/weak. So climbing or walking too far is a thing of the past. So I now filter the map to 2.5 and under terrain with no hiking.

[retatcdude]

When I first started GC and discovered this forum, I was 71.

Today I am 78 and more interested in the sport now.

Living in the suburbs of San  Francisco, I have to be careful about where I walk.

A lot of two-legged nasties out there but, along with my GPS, I carry a stout walking stick and the Bowie knife I carried in Vietnam.

My wife has a few health issues so I cannot stray too far from her.

I am basically just searching within 10 miles from home.

[+PlantAKiss]

Yeah...someone lied about "the Golden Years."  They aren't so golden when it seems every day you get a new ache or pain or disease or illness. It's really weird--your body just decides its not going to do something anymore.  You have little control over it. Some things can't be fixed.

 

Definitely its hard getting around in a nimble fashion. My worst issue is not age related. For some reason the balance nerve in my right ear decided to go AWOL so I have balance issues and vertigo attacks. The balance issue affects my caching more than anything...uneven terrain, rocks, climbing anything I have to either not do it or be so so so careful. I did discover that using trekking poles helps me with my balance. They are awesome! Should have gotten them sooner. They give me 4 "legs"! But the poles won't fix my aging body. As long a I CAN get out and be mobile, I'll look for the cache types I enjoy doing when it's possible for me to go hunting.

[+briansnat]

When I started in 2001 I was in my early 40's and in pretty good shape and hiked a LOT.  6-8 miles was common and 10+ miles on occasion (though I admit I was usually wiped after anything over 12 miles).  As a result, many of my hides were hidden while hiking and were usually between a 1 and 8 mile hike from the closest parking. The rockier and steeper the terrain the better.  I was known for some pretty physically challenging hides. 

Fast forward to today and I'm old enough that I received my Medicare card in yesterday's mail.   I'll be 65 in a few weeks. I have two knees that start screaming about 2 miles into any hike and because of that I don't hike nearly as often as I used to. Accordingly,  the stamina to do anything more than about 3 miles just isn't there.  After three miles I feel like I used to after 12. I'm sure the extra 40 lbs I've gained since 2001 hasn't helped.

I don't hide much these days. I think I've hidden two caches in the past 5 or 6 years when it used to be two or three a month.  More than anything it's because I don't feel like going through the effort and expense only to receive largely "TFTC" and "Found" logs.  If people aren't enjoying them, I don't see the point.

I used to go after the tough hides. Long hike, rock scrambles,  thick brush, thorns, way off trail, etc. Not a lot would discourage me.  Now if I see one of those I often think, "Not today, maybe next time I'm here". So yes, age has certainly changed things.  


 

[+NanCycle]

Having passed my 81st birthday and 20th cacheversary, a lot has changed.  I used to be an avid cyclist, but have given up bike riding altogether, because of balance issues and fear of falling.  I used to enjoy hiking, but now I'm limited to very short (maybe half a mile at most) walks on a basically level surface.  I'm just glad that I can get out at all; I know a lot of people my age who can barely walk around their homes.  

[+Goldenwattle]

24 minutes ago, NanCycle said:

Having passed my 81st birthday and 20th cacheversary, a lot has changed.  I used to be an avid cyclist, but have given up bike riding altogether, because of balance issues and fear of falling.  I used to enjoy hiking, but now I'm limited to very short (maybe half a mile at most) walks on a basically level surface.  I'm just glad that I can get out at all; I know a lot of people my age who can barely walk around their homes.  

A more active lifestyle than many is likely why you are still more active than many your age. That and if you controlled your weight.

[+Viajero Perdido]

For me, I think it worked in reverse.  I've been fighting back against aging, and it seems to be working.  Even though the clock is ticking, it seems like my aging has slowed right down, and at times it felt like it was going in reverse.

 

Because...  I fixed up the diet (no thanks to the official advice).  Low carb, keto.  Kept up the biking and hiking.  And especially, I focused even more on the hardest caches, the high-terrain ones that might be on a mountain top, or at least, deep in the bush somewhere.  Get a good workout, and get a special smiley at the same time.

 

I've also directed my vacations to those rare places that can offer a caching hike, a real workout, every day for weeks, yet with a great meal just after coming down to the trailhead.  Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, I'm looking at you.    Will be doing that again shortly, to celebrate a milestone birthday on a mountaintop.  With a cache nearby, of course.

 

So far, I'm winning. 

 

PS, I avoid the medical system like the plague (see tagline about trust).  I saw my Dr. once in the last 5 years, and that was only because they threatened to delete my file if I didn't prove I was still alive.  So I grumbled in for a checkup and tests, yeah yeah, got the usual rote advice based on 20yo conventional wisdom...

 

Edited October 3, 2023 by Viajero Perdido

[magellan315]

I no longer have any patience for micros littering the landscape and gamers who are only interested posting the most number of finds. 

[+paleolith]

On 10/2/2023 at 10:16 PM, NanCycle said:

I used to be an avid cyclist, but have given up bike riding altogether, because of balance issues and fear of falling.

I'm 74. I switched to a trike five years ago. I do not miss the road rash! With a Rohloff hub, 20" drive wheel, and judicious choice of chainring and cog, I have an 11" low gear -- and because of that third wheel, I can ride at one mph and get the benefit of that low gear.

Couple years ago I did an Adventure Cycling tour in Vermont. I was far and away the slowest in the group, but I was the only one who rode up the 14% grade at Mount Jay. All the others walked at least a bit. I did three other AC tours recently, but probably won't do any more -- that's where age has hit me, I can still ride all day but not fast enough to get the full pleasure from an AC group.

Edited October 7, 2023 by paleolith
gramma

[+onionpond]

As my wife and I have aged, we also don't have the energy we used to. These days we tend to limit our finds to the Caches with the most favorite points. We also like to attend Event Caches to catch up with old friends and meet new cachers. I also have spent more time in the shop, making Caches that are fun to find, and make the hobby more enjoyable for seekers in the area. We get a lot of enjiyment from the kind logs we get from the hides we have set out.

[+gimligliders]

We started geocaching back in '09 and are currently in our mid-60s. My husband is much more fit than myself. A few miles south of our city there is a wildlife management area in an elevated forest that is rife with caches. A couple of years ago, we found some of these caches with two friends. Yesterday, we returned to grab some more caches in the area. We found 7 caches, which required some sustained, steep hiking. I had much more difficulty than two years ago. The other three of us managed much better. Returning back to the vehicle, I was sure that it would be such a relief to walk downhill. However during the last 350 metres, I began to experience sharp pain in one of my knees. I knew then that this would be my last time hiking these hills. Back at the car, I told them that in the future, I would not be finding caches in this area with them anymore and that I would stay home and be happy to cook up a nice dinner that they could enjoy when they were finished. 

 

Normally, I have no issues while walking. My balance is not great and I've taken a few tumbles while caching, mainly due to uneven ground. I have adopted the practice of using a walking stick (NOT a cane) to help with this. It really helps-even just crossing a ditch to get to a cache. I know that yesterday I would have fallen coming down that steep hill without my stick. 

 

As I compile a database of caches in GSAK, I do look carefully at cache descriptions with a T rating of 3 or higher. For many of these, it is my husband who makes the grab while I stand nearby and offer moral support. He is pretty much game to try for any cache, regardless of rating. Even at his age, he loves to climb trees!

 

[+dahollander]

Age does limit my ability to find all the rough terain caches, after falling on a steep gravel grade and breaking my finger I changed my habits.

Have learned to look closely at the description of cache sites, poison ivy is common for many which for me can be serious problem.

[+zoothornrollo]

We just returned from a four-month road trip - drove the Alaska Highway, spent 5 weeks in our 50th state together, slept in our van (not a campervan, just a regular van with a sleeping platform and room for our gear) 90+% of the nights, found a cache at the Arctic Circle, and pinched ourselves often to see if it was all really happening.  We are both 68 and were wondering how our age was going to affect us on this trip.  Well, on the second day out, I experienced my first-ever grand mal seizure.  Hubby got me to ER and then had to drive almost 600 miles back home in a state of anxiety.  As for me, I remember none of that day.  After a consultation with a neurologist, brain MRI, and obtaining several prescriptions, we set out again two weeks after the first departure.  The anticonvulsant I am taking has side effects (low stamina, unsteadiness on my feet, not feeling like my regular self) so I compensated by using trekking poles and sticking to easier trails, letting my husband get out of the van to find the caches by himself more often than I used to, and knowing my limits.  We had a fantastic road trip and returned safely.  I suspect the medication more than my age is the culprit, but we were already slowing down after 16 years of caching anyway.  We burned out on power trails long ago and are more selective in the ones we attempt to find.  The best thing about this hobby is the wide variety of types of hides, difficulty levels, and the plethora to choose from... something for everybody and for every age.  We have no plans to stop caching, but are quite happy to pass up a bunch knowing there are plenty more ahead.

[+colleda]

It's eleven months to the day since I started this thread and I thought I should do an update on how my caching is going as there has been a somewhat recent change which is affecting my caching ability as far as maintenance is concerned.

My mobility has been affected by a recurrence of rheumatoid arthritis which has affected my feet, imagine walking barefoot on marbles. Luckily, I can cycle ok. I have some caches (a series) on islands which I would normally maintain by kayak however the arthritis in my shoulders is restricting my ability to paddle. I may have to archive those.  ATM I am doing my best to keep up the maintenance. I have a list of specialist appointments coming up soon which, hopefully, may improve things - rheumatologist, haematologist and urologist. Aging is a baitch.

[+cerberus1]

13 minutes ago, colleda said:

It's eleven months to the day since I started this thread and I thought I should do an update

Yeah...  Just finished my third round of chemo (after the BCG) and between the urologist and cardiologist I'm getting one day a week, starting last week.  A big improvement over walking a packed trail, small park loop every day.   I was going bat-"stuff" crazy !       

Still no lower body strength I need for pushing up rope, even ladders hurt like Hades.  I'm probably gonna have to ask for help doing an OM.

I don't get cystoscopy until June, so I'm working to it.   But I can walk...  One day a week...   Hey, it's actually a big deal.   

[+ivss_xx]

On 3/14/2024 at 10:04 AM, colleda said:

I may have to archive those.  ATM I am doing my best to keep up the maintenance. 

If you want to see your caches keep going and find like it's not feasible to maintain them, you may consider reaching out to other local cachers to see if someone would be keen to adopt.

 

But to add to your original topic, that's an interesting thing to think about. Being in my mid-30s it's not something that would cross my mind yet. However it has already been more than 15 years since I started caching, and, not as a person, but as a geocacher, I can already be considered "old-school" .

I used to wander around until early hours in the mornings with friends, or alone, while geocaching and urban exploring. Nowadays I don't really do that anymore. I also used to do more things that could lead to injury/arrest than now, while caching. Which is probably more result of better guidelines and mature cache placements but also getting older definitely plays part there.

[+barefootjeff]

On 3/14/2024 at 8:04 AM, colleda said:

My mobility has been affected by a recurrence of rheumatoid arthritis which has affected my feet, imagine walking barefoot on marbles. Luckily, I can cycle ok. I have some caches (a series) on islands which I would normally maintain by kayak however the arthritis in my shoulders is restricting my ability to paddle. I may have to archive those.  ATM I am doing my best to keep up the maintenance. I have a list of specialist appointments coming up soon which, hopefully, may improve things - rheumatologist, haematologist and urologist. Aging is a baitch.

 

I'm sorry to hear that and hope your specialists can help improve things for you.

 

[+colleda]

On 3/15/2024 at 11:27 AM, ivss_xx said:

If you want to see your caches keep going and find like it's not feasible to maintain them, you may consider reaching out to other local cachers to see if someone would be keen to adopt.

I'd prefer to archive. It would give others a chance to place their own and also enable previous finders to revisit the islands. There have been some terrains changes since the originals were placed. One island has disappeared, gone, blown away.

[+colleda]

18 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

 

I'm sorry to hear that and hope your specialists can help improve things for you.

 

Thanks Jeff.

[+ScribblyBear]

I've passed up a few caches because they were SO far up a tree, it wasn't even funny.

[+barefootjeff]

This is perhaps not directly age-related, but it seems to be becoming a more frequent problem for me. Twenty years ago, almost to the day on my 50th birthday, I experienced a sudden onset of very loud tinnitus in my left ear, and while the tinnitus subsided somewhat over the coming weeks and months, pretty much anything above normal conversation level became uncomfortably loud. After much to-ing and fro-ing betweeen doctors and specialists, this was eventually diagnosed as Meniere's disease, although thankfully I haven't experienced any of the spinning vertigo normally associated with that and just feel a bit wobbly-headed, usually early on in an episode. To cut a long story short, that episode eventually ended after about four months, with the tinnitus greatly diminished and the normal hearing dynamic range mostly restored, but it's occasionally flared up again with varying severity. About a decade ago, my specialist twigged that it might be being triggered by my strong allergy to grass pollen, as those early attacks all seemed to start in mid spring, and since then treating the allergy has largely kept the Meniere's at bay. Until now.

 

I had a flare-up of the symptoms in March this year, most likely triggered by an unusual throat infection, but that was relatively mild and had mostly cleared after about four weeks. But now it's happened again, this time likely triggered by a change in some other medication I'm on, and I'm back to square one with very loud tinnitus (although that's now starting to subside), some wobbly-headedness and pretty bad amplification of louder sounds. The latter makes travelling any distance beyond my local suburb unpleasant, as continuous mechanical noises become almost unbearable, so that pretty much puts an end to any caching until I start to go into remission again. It also means I can't attend events, go out with our regular caching group or engage in most of the social side of the game apart from online chatting.

 

If there's a silver lining, I currently have 53 active hides, all in bushland locations I enjoy visiting, so at least with the ones closer to home I can fill in part of the day with a hike out to check on those. Unfortunately it's pretty rare for a new cache to be published within half an hour's drive of here, which is about my limit at the moment, but there's always a chance. There's also a good chance that, in the course of my wanderings, I might come across a spot calling out for a new cache, which would give me something to keep me occupied for a few days while waiting for the symptoms to eventually subside.

 

I don't know whether this is likely to become an increasingly frequent problem for me as I grow older, or whether it's just the well-above-average rainfall of the last few years that's fuelling lots of vegetation growth and filling the air with allergens. I hope it's just the latter but time will tell I suppose.

[+colleda]

3 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

This is perhaps not directly age-related, but it seems to be becoming a more frequent problem for me. Twenty years ago, almost to the day on my 50th birthday, I experienced a sudden onset of very loud tinnitus in my left ear, and while the tinnitus subsided somewhat over the coming weeks and months, pretty much anything above normal conversation level became uncomfortably loud. After much to-ing and fro-ing betweeen doctors and specialists, this was eventually diagnosed as Meniere's disease, although thankfully I haven't experienced any of the spinning vertigo normally associated with that and just feel a bit wobbly-headed, usually early on in an episode. To cut a long story short, that episode eventually ended after about four months, with the tinnitus greatly diminished and the normal hearing dynamic range mostly restored, but it's occasionally flared up again with varying severity. About a decade ago, my specialist twigged that it might be being triggered by my strong allergy to grass pollen, as those early attacks all seemed to start in mid spring, and since then treating the allergy has largely kept the Meniere's at bay. Until now.

 

I had a flare-up of the symptoms in March this year, most likely triggered by an unusual throat infection, but that was relatively mild and had mostly cleared after about four weeks. But now it's happened again, this time likely triggered by a change in some other medication I'm on, and I'm back to square one with very loud tinnitus (although that's now starting to subside), some wobbly-headedness and pretty bad amplification of louder sounds. The latter makes travelling any distance beyond my local suburb unpleasant, as continuous mechanical noises become almost unbearable, so that pretty much puts an end to any caching until I start to go into remission again. It also means I can't attend events, go out with our regular caching group or engage in most of the social side of the game apart from online chatting.

 

If there's a silver lining, I currently have 53 active hides, all in bushland locations I enjoy visiting, so at least with the ones closer to home I can fill in part of the day with a hike out to check on those. Unfortunately it's pretty rare for a new cache to be published within half an hour's drive of here, which is about my limit at the moment, but there's always a chance. There's also a good chance that, in the course of my wanderings, I might come across a spot calling out for a new cache, which would give me something to keep me occupied for a few days while waiting for the symptoms to eventually subside.

 

I don't know whether this is likely to become an increasingly frequent problem for me as I grow older, or whether it's just the well-above-average rainfall of the last few years that's fuelling lots of vegetation growth and filling the air with allergens. I hope it's just the latter but time will tell I suppose.

Let's hope it clears up before summer when those darn cicadas emerge and form their choirs.

I had mild tinnitus for years but since I started wearing hearing aids, about eight years ago, it is now barely noticeable. Hmm.

Edited June 11 by colleda

[+Ltljon]

On 8/11/2023 at 3:02 PM, briansnat said:

When I started in 2001 I was in my early 40's and in pretty good shape and hiked a LOT.  6-8 miles was common and 10+ miles on occasion (though I admit I was usually wiped after anything over 12 miles).  As a result, many of my hides were hidden while hiking and were usually between a 1 and 8 mile hike from the closest parking. The rockier and steeper the terrain the better.  I was known for some pretty physically challenging hides. 

We share a lotta similarities in age & cache qualities. What many thought were horrific hides were just an average hike to us. We thought everybody growed up playing miles from home in the woods! Nowdays I hardly ever go on any extended hikes due to two worn out knees from playing in the woods most of my life! My how things have changed. I try to do a little maintenance when I have to but seem to get as much a kick outta fixing somebody else's anymore. The new does wear off a little after 20 years but I'll always pay my dues in hopes of giving back a little of what it gave me.