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Coldest Temperature?


geoguyver

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Somewhat cold today in Minnesota. About 10:00 a.m. it was 12º F with a windchill of -4º. I didn't make it out to do any caching today but I wondered what temperatures geocachers have braved to hunt down a cache.

 

Any one have tips to keep their batteries from slowing down in the cold weather? :huh:

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That's sounds awesome! How many folks were there participating? Have you posted a story about the day? Would definately like to read. If you do please let me know. Thanks!

According to TravisL there were 56 people meeting up at Red Robin after the cache machine. Plenty more left early (or kept caching late) because of the weather. Snow-lympia Cache Machine

 

Back on topic. We're wimps out here. The 20s are the coldest I've gone out in and if it weren't for the cache machine colder than I'd probably ever go out in.

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I've been skiing before when the windchill was -35F but I couldn't imagine caching in that weather, especially not with the kids.

 

The relatives in California didn't understand why we liked living in Colorado so much. We told them once, "It was 4 degrees when we got to the ski area and warmed up to 7 by midday."

3 days ago it was 68 degrees for the high. The running joke here is that you can use your heater in the morning and the AC in the afternoon. If ya don't like Kansas weather, just wait 5 minutes and it'll change.

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I've been skiing before when the windchill was -35F but I couldn't imagine caching in that weather, especially not with the kids.

 

The relatives in California didn't understand why we liked living in Colorado so much. We told them once, "It was 4 degrees when we got to the ski area and warmed up to 7 by midday."

3 days ago it was 68 degrees for the high. The running joke here is that you can use your heater in the morning and the AC in the afternoon. If ya don't like Kansas weather, just wait 5 minutes and it'll change.

It's that way here sometimes, though not this time of year! We're around 40-50 daily and 20-30 nightly.

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Coldest I've been out geocaching was 10 degrees (F). But there were 70 mph winds, so I'm sure that the windchill was double digit negatives.

 

Coldest I've been outside was skiing when it was 20 below (F). I think with the windchill that day it was somewhere around 55 below.

I got stuck in a snowdrift out 4-wheeling several years ago in -20 temps with -75 windchills. Had to walk 3 miles before someone picked me up.....just a tad chilly.

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How cold? Pretty derned I'd say. I tried to get to the thermometer on my Meridian Platy but my fingers just couldn't seem to navigate through the menus. Plus it is a feature I haven't used before. On my personel scale, the dog kept trying to sneak back to the truck, this indicated that the brass monkey needed shelter for the night.

 

The device for storing cannon balls on sailing ships was refered to as a monkey. These were often made out of brass. When the weather was very cold the brass "monkey" would contract faster that the iron cannon balls causing them to fall off. Hence the term cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. Or so the stroy goes. :(

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The coldest? I don't recall the exact temperature but it was last winter and I was bundled to the hilt. Kind of like that kid in "A Christmas Story" "I can't put my arms down," he whined.

 

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It was a cache in New Jersey (Bottom Of Lake Passaic - III) and it was on the other side of a swamp. The ground was covered in snow and I could'nt locate an obvious trail. So, being the consummate bushwhacker that I am, I proceeded to march straight across the frozen march 3/4 of a mile. I found the cache and the trail.

 

Happy caching and stuff!

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Currently 10 below at my house. I can't go caching due to above average snowfall this season. We are currently at 54 inches of snow. Average for this time of year is 33. All those poor caches burried till the spring thaw.....

 

I tried to do some caching earlier this winter, but the caches I found were encased in ice and I did not want to spend the time to chip them out.

 

Guess I will wait till May when all the snow melts.

Edited by Bilder
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Any one have tips to keep their batteries from slowing down in the cold weather?  :)

LITHIUM batteries will give good performance down to about minus 40°F. They also have a 10 year shelf life and very good service life. I typically get 30 hrs use from a set of AAs in my Garmin V. A set of 8 costs about $16 USD at WalMart. That works out to about 27 cents per hour for batteries that will never let you down. I wouldn't use anything else.

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I wasn't Geocache hunting, but one time went out on a hike for an hour or two. It was beautiful out and I wound up coming home after nearly 8 1/2 hours.

 

It was -20 F when I left and it was -22 F when I came back. There was 3 feet of snow pack on the ground. I do not remember it being windy. I was well dressed for it, just did not realize how long I was gone. My wife was in a panic thinking something had happened to me and not knowing which way I had headed. And yes, I was also well equipped for a winter hike.

 

Ahhhhhh......Maine.....the way life SHOULD be !

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Any one have tips to keep their batteries from slowing down in the cold weather?  :)

LITHIUM batteries will give good performance down to about minus 40°F. They also have a 10 year shelf life and very good service life. I typically get 30 hrs use from a set of AAs in my Garmin V. A set of 8 costs about $16 USD at WalMart. That works out to about 27 cents per hour for batteries that will never let you down. I wouldn't use anything else.

Thanks for the tip!

 

I ended up going out today to look for a benchmark that was close to my office. The temperature today is 3º with a windchill of -12º. I was only out for 25 minutes so it wasn't too bad at all!

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+15°C / 59°F

This is as warm as it gets in Finland, so we'll start here. People in Spain wear winter-coats and gloves. The Finns are out in the sun, getting a tan.

 

+10°C / 50°F

The French are trying in vain to start their central heating. The Finns plant flowers in their gardens.

 

+5°C / 41°F

Italian cars won't start, The Finns are cruising in cabriolets.

 

0°C / 32°F

Distilled water freezes. The water in Vantaa river (in Finland) gets a little thicker.

 

-5°C / 23°F

People in California almost freeze to death. The Finns have their final barbecue before winter.

 

-10°C / 14°F

The Brits start the heat in their houses. The Finns start using long sleeves.

 

-20°C / -4°F

The Aussies flee from Mallorca. The Finns end their Midsummer celebrations. Autumn is here.

 

-30°C / -22°F

People in Greece die from the cold and disappear from the face of the earth. The Finns start drying their laundry indoors.

 

-40°C / -40°F

Paris start cracking in the cold. The Finns stand in line at the hotdog stands.

 

-50°C / -58°F

Polar bears start evacuating the North Pole. The Finnish army postpones their winter survival training awaiting real winter weather.

 

-60°C / -76°F

Korvatunturi (the home for Santa Claus) freezes. The Finns rent a movie and stay indoors.

 

-70°C / -94°F

The false Santa moves south. The Finns get frustrated since they can't store their Kossu

(Koskenkorva vodka) outdoors. The Finnish army goes out on winter survival training.

 

-183°C / -297.4°F

Microbes in food don't survive. The Finnish cows complain that the farmers' hands are cold.

 

-273°C / -459.4°F

ALL atom-based movent halts. The Finns start saying "Perkele, it's cold outside today."

 

-300°C / -508°F

Hell freezes over, Finland wins the Eurovision Song Contest

 

...And we just keep on caching :)

Edited by Divine
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I was going to go look for one today but it started snowing (nothing major, just flurries) so I decided to come home. It was windy out too and I was miserable. The actual temperature was 1 degree and the windchill was -18. Bah, it's going to be warmer later this week (in the 50s) so I'll try again later this week!

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Any one have tips to keep their batteries from slowing down in the cold weather?

I am considered brave here in desert Arizona for the cold. 30degrees and I'm out side shirtless, with only a speedo on, and in a non-heated swimming pool. Awe dedication. Everybody else here are a bit sisy along with our desert batteries. Our batteries must be warm blooded or something, 30degress and they don't even work. My recommendation to you would be to learn to orienteer and use a map.

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The coldest it has been recorded around here was -25 (I think the windchill as reported was about -58). :rolleyes: That was back on Jan. 20, 1985. I remember it well, you see I, er I mean a 'friend' of mine took a dare to climb an approximately 100' tower in a nearby railroad yard. :) The dare was won as all could see the next day by the flag of old socks waving from the top. :rolleyes: It took about an hour for my, er my 'friends' glasses to defrost.

 

Oh to be young and dumb again! :)

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My recommendation to you would be to learn to orienteer and use a map.

Umm... yeah... thanks.

Just so you know, I meant no offence by that, it was just a friendly suggjestion, read my signature and profile and you will see that I orienteering competativly. I usually use topographic maps to get to the area of a cache and then turn on my GPS to look. I have found many using only the description and map, and not all of these were urbans either. I hope that comment didn't rub off the wrong way!!

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Just so you know, I meant no offence by that, it was just a friendly suggjestion, read my signature and profile and you will see that I orienteering competativly. I usually use topographic maps to get to the area of a cache and then turn on my GPS to look. I have found many using only the description and map, and not all of these were urbans either. I hope that comment didn't rub off the wrong way!!

Yeah, I checked out orienteer. No offense taken friend. I just wasn't sure what that had to do with cold weather and batteries. I am going to check out more on orienteering though. Thanks! :)

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