Five Years and Counting

Five years

Took us a few times but stumbled accross it - my first log

And it began there.  With a JacobBarlow cache a few blocks from my house.  I did not find it at once, it took me a few tries to actually run accross it.  It was in a guardrail.  Who knew you could hide something there in plain view, I was amazed.  Then I loaded another.   A PeanutsParents hide out in the field.  It was by my work.  So I wandered over and looked around.  Eventually I found a small cache at the base of a fence.  Amazing

One of my Favorites Freedom by MarcupioI was bitten, with the bug.  There were caches hidden everywhere. 

I look back now and think of where I have came from.  I am working toward cache #4000.  That is funny to me now.  when I first found a few I went back and told Cold1, well he was not Cold1 then, just another goober listening to me ramble about this cool new thing.  We discussed caching and he thought he would give it a try.  I had hidden one in an empty sprinkler in the front of my house.  I told people in the hint to stay away from the rose bushes, he is not so bright, and had to show off his scratches a few days later after scouts. We held a number of discussions of how these other people who had found thousands had to be crazy, nuts. 

My fourth cache was a cache by DrJay.  Little did I realize that this guy I would meet hunting for a cache a few months later would become a friend, along with his family.  (I have to mention Nickum! here as well.  He is awesome).  It is funny how the first four caches were placed by people that I can now call friends.  

We have shared hikes, and got blisters, crippling us in the desert, long drives placing caches,  and hunting for them.  I should at least mention hiding cache in a refrigerator out in the desert, with PeanutsParents.  I have taken hikes that are memorable for bad reasons, "It is only a mile, how bad can it really be." 

At one point I got a phone call.  I was sure that it was because a bomb squad had exploded one of my caches, but alas no, it was an invitation to join the reviewer team.   I wonder now why that decision was made.  I did not know a lot of cachers, actually very few.  Caching to me was something done alone at that point, to get away from everyone.  I had only found a handful in the months before then, but I enjoyed it.

Over time I have had dinner with Jeremy, Bryan (two of the three founders), Ann, MissJenn (awesome lackeys), and with Geoaware and GeoawareHQ, along with four or five other great reviewers.  I love how they listen.  I think many people see the other side of these people.   How they tell us what is going on, or what we need to do to get a cache listed.  We do not realize how much they listen, follow in forums, and take part in discussions behind the scenes. 

Eartha at the DeLorme HQ in MaineI was lucky enough to be a scoutmaster, and be one of a handful to give our opinions on the new Geocaching badge.  It is not perfect, but the scouts did the work, we just looked for something horrible. 

I travelled to Maine, and met awesome cachers at the Mega Earthcache Event, and at Salt Lake to Geocoinfest.  It was great.  I wish I had the opportunity to go to more.

I have seen strange valleys, hilltops, bridges, and cliffs.   I have handled dead animals, spiders, snakes, and other animals, to get to the cache underneath or behind them.  I traveled through areas that had biblical plague proportions of spiders, that still make me shudder.  My little girl scream as I got in my car and realized there was one crawling on my neck. Or opened the letterbox with a spiders eggsack and all the little spiders that spilled out over me.

I dragged a young woman out of a river that was trapped in a fallen tree, and was shouting for help, while I just happened to be hunting for a guardrail cache. I spent that day in Heber caching in the rain, it worked for me as I was soaked up to my chest.

I have climbed trees, and cliffs, and crawled into drain pipes and old mines.  I have crawled through old building foundations, and dug holes to find old benchmarks. All to be the first. Underground, hunting for a micro.

I spent a week running, wandering, and creeping around a graveyard so that I could complete part of a wherigo (still one more to go).

As a reviewer I have published caches from my home, work, a tent at scout camp, from a moving car, and from the top of a mountain.  I have woken up at four in the morning to complete a request from a youth to get his cache placed at a specific time, and and a specific time in the afternoon for a man that was taking his girlfriend to propose to her.  I have been up late at night while my wife waiting patiently in the other room with the candles burning.

I have been called names, swore at, yelled at during events, and received some vile emails.  Yet I have recieved thanks from cachers that I have never met, in helping them with their first hide, or a special one.  I still recall a conversation with a widow, in grief and asking me to archive her husbands caches, she missed him so much.  Caching was part of his life, and every email on his Virtuals hurt her.

I made coins, myself at work, and eventually from some company that I cannot pronounce in China.  A fun experience, nerve racking, but enjoyable. Pathtags, so I could trade with others, and leave them in caches as I went about. I designed our scout councils geocoin and geocache program.  We were going to place 10 caches, and give out 20 coins, and sell 80.   In the end we placed about thirty to 35 caches, gave away 150 as prizes, and sold 1200. Vile Beasts that are around Utah Lake.

I love the events.  UTAG, dinner events, flash mobs, eating at the mall food courts, or other all you can eat places.  We have a great community, and once and a while new cachers come wandering in, or people visiting. I love to see the kids, all exited for the hunt and to see what is over the next rise.  I have loved some of our hiking events. I recall chasing a group that started 35 minutes before me, I was running up the trail, coughing, and ready to die by the time I reached them, and I found an amazing wherigo that day.

I loved my days off west of the lake, in Heber, helper, or Sanpete valley wandering alone, relaxing and looking for caches. The days with JacobBarlow searching Sanpete valley, Potters ponds, or some other trip.  My trip with PeanutsParents to St George, our hike with DrJay that year in the desert, and all my complaining. Or DK Titan when they came from Denmark, and I spent the day caching with them.

Lets not forget the 200 or so that follow Bluerajah on facebook, or the 800 or so that follow me on G+. Listen to my ramblings, and put up with my craziness.  I have friends from all over that I have never met, Seager, Wendy, and many others that we laugh with and poke fun at. I thank the reviewers in our private forum.  I tend to ramble (like this), and they put up with me.  I have been told many times that I am being stupid, or that my ideas are not practical, or that I am jousting a windmill, but it sure has been fun. By the way... challenges should be their own cache type.

I have moderated in the forums for two years.  I apparently am a Nazi, hate free speech, and dislike veterans and kids.  I was not aware of that before I started moderating. Thanks to those that take me working with them in stride, or have taught me more.

Nothing Like a LPC in the forest. I have a shed full of cryotubes, film canisters, and tubes.  My wife gets mad at me when I buy her new Locknlocks and they vanish (honest dear it is not me).  My son who is twenty that starts sobbing like a little girl when I start pulling over as we drive down the highway, wondering how this can happen to him.  My daughters that will sit and read (usually while I get out and wander through the weeds).

Thanks to MissJenn, Sandy, Tiffany, Moun10bike, and other lackeys who I have dealt with on the volunteer team.  Thanks to Cold1 for keeping it fun. JacobBarlow for the hides, and "one more mile of hiking".  Cold1 for showering last month. DrJay and his family for laughing and having fun.  PeanutsParents for the adventures.  Cold1 for mocking me, and making me realize that I don't know everything, just more than he does. Tal, Art Vandelay, and other local cachers for taking the time to chat and be friends.  RedHiker for his support. 

Thanks to anyone I missed, and everyone that makes the game more fun.

by the way... Your cache sucks... but I will publish it anyway.

Earthcaches and Letterboxes by state

 I was running some numbers and thought it would be interesting to see how popular Earthcaches and Letterboxes are in each state.   I know this varies considerably by the number of cachers that are there.  Areas that have more caches will have more of the different kinds.  But, being bored on a Sunday afternoon, I decided to pull the numbers and see.

Earthcaches

 Being an Earthcache reviewer this was first on my list.  I had to see what was out there.

My observation?  It was no surprise to me that California had nearly 600 eartcaches with the number of cachers, and the size of the area.  Similarly the area around the Great Lakes have a lot.    (I cant seem to fix this skip down.... curse it)

Letterboxes

This one was a bit of a surprise.  California has a ton, nearly 500.  Minn, Utah, Idaho, all come in with 220-240.  They are fairly popular here.  I make a number of stamps and have moved to placing them, so I know that they are enjoyed by a lot of cachers.   Minnisota, not sure why.

I was surprised to see the number of states that have under 25.  Montana, Wyoming, and North Dacota.  Those are close to the states that have a lot.  Then a Cluster in the South, and in New England. Hmm, who knows.   I just htought this was interesting

Update on 2013-04-23 01:56 by firennice

Earthcaches per 1000 cachers. (cachers with more than 200 finds per cacher per cacherstats)

Update on 2013-04-23 01:58 by firennice

The number of cachers tracked by cacherstats (over 200 finds)

Utah Lake Power Trials

I just finished putting a new section together on the Utah Lake Powertrails.

/utah-lake-power-trails/

I would guess the base trails are 750 caches.  Then there are a lot of others in the area, and between some of them that would add many more caches(100-400) that are drive by.  I did not include a challenge powertrail, one that pretty much requires a high clearance, and two hiking ones (one down a trail, one up a mountain) that add 125 more.

If people have questions I will try and fill them in and perhaps toss answers on those pages to help others.

Stupid is as Stupid Does (GC29H1D)

I will just let this story speak for itself

Some of you may have heard, but Vera (Rim Rock Red) and I had an adventure with our Durango after the St. George breakfast. We went out with some friends into the desert NW of Littlefield, AZ. Everything was going great until we got near to the confluence and Utah's lowest spot. We had a steep hill to go down. We made it ok and found the caches. However, when we went to go back up the hill, we only made it about ½ way up before the Durango bogged down. Then it started sliding backwards and slid off the side of the hill. We stopped about 10 feet down from the top sitting at about a 45 degree angle. We couldn't believe it didn't roll over and go down the hill. Since there wasn't anything we could do then since it was getting dark, we headed back to the hotel.

About 8:00am in the morning, I got a call from Billion Johnston. He had heard that we were having problems and wanted to know if we still needed help. I told him we did and he said that he would call some friends and get back to me. In a little while, he called back and said that he and his friends were outside the hotel. We went down and found Ken Ballard, Kenneth Kirkeby, and Michael King along with Billion. After talking it over, we were getting ready to head out when Billion wanted to know if we could handle it without his help. Since he only had a small pickup truck, we said sure and asked him why. It turns out it was his anniversary and he was going to go out and help us. Unbelievable! We told him to go home to his wife because we didn't want to be responsible for a divorce. We already were in enough trouble.

We finally got out there at the top of the hill. After some discussion, it was decided that the best way to do it would be to go down the hill and come about half way back up, right beside the Durango. There was a sort of flat area right there. So we all went down and came back up, with Ken B first, Kenny K second, and Mike third.

They found a rock on the other side of the hill and wrapped a chain around it. Then they hooked a snatch block to it and ran Ken B's cable from his winch through the pulley. Then they ran a tow strap through the front windows of the Durango and hooked that to the cable end. This would keep the Durango from rolling over. They wrapped another tow strap around the hitch and hooked it to Kenny K's cable from his winch. Mike chained his Jeep to the back of Kenny K's Jeep, to keep them from being dragged down the hill with the Durango.

Then Ken B went down and rocked the front wheels back and forth, letting the front end of the Durango slowly swing down the hill. Then he went and dug out some of the dirt from under the front wheels on the downhill side. He kept repeating this procedure until the Durango was aimed straight down the hill. Then Ken B and Kenny K removed the rocks from in front of the Durango. Kenny K climbed in through the front window. Then they removed all of the straps and Kenny K started down the hill. Slowly he went down and when he got to the bottom of the hill, about 100 yards down, a loud cheer went up and there was applause. We had picked up some spectators during the rescue and they were clapping and cheering along with us.

I just wanted to say thanks to our new friends from the Southern Utah Geocachers Association. They wouldn't take any payment and just told us to pay if forward. So, if somebody up north in the Salt Lake valley needs some help, let me know so I can get rid of this debt and put it on somebody else's shoulders. :)

Enjoyable Hunts

Once and a while you just have one of those days.

Most of the time I avoid puzzles, but I still give them a look once and a while.  I always hope that I can find them, and that I will stumble across something.  However I don't have any luck.  I really stopped hunting for them a few years ago.  When I was asked to be a reviewer I had a dozen or so solved. I had someone accuse me of getting the answers and not solving them. So I gave up on them altogether.

Well I rarely look at them anymore.  However at home or at work, I look at those that are nearby and think about them.  Usually skimming them over, seeing if I see the solution.  Normally a quick look lets me know I have no idea what I am doing and I move on. 

However this time I actually saw something.  I was looking at a cache and things clicked in my mind. A few phrases rang out and that made me start to look on my computer and work through the solution. Then I jumped into my truck and took off. 

I tore through ground zero for nearly an hour. I was sure I was at the right place but worried that it was gone.  I emailed some photos and some info to the cache owner and had some words of encouragement that I was on the right track, but hunting just a little off where it actually was. 

More hunting today and I stumbled across it. It made me happy in so many ways.  The cache was listed nearly a year ago, and I was the first to actually find it. Thanks for the nightfox for the cache and dealing with me.  It was fun. I rarely go after puzzles, so this was a double fun cache.

If I had to pick some of my favorites, this would be one of them, because it just worked out, and is memorable to me.

On the cache page he had a rhyme, so I put one together for my log.

Enjoy

Yesterday I did sit at work all alone,
Eating lunch as I waited to answer my phone.
I nibbled my lunch and surfed the wide net,
searching for a cache, in which to go get.
I looked toward those that sat nearby,
Then I stumbled on this and said "oh My!"
A number of times I had looked in passing,
and most puzzles to me just seem quite harassing.
But I suddenly saw some clues to my eyes,
that made me scramble to claim my prize.
To the waiting location I scurried and flew,
In the rusty old truck I went hitherto.
I wandered to the east and then to the west,
Looking so hard and doing my best.
I finally gave up as the hour flew past,
and as the trash about made me gasp.
I did try so hard, but the horror did build,
and my dreams for the find was instantly killed.
For I knew I was there, so close, yet so far,
now here i was, heading to work in my car.
I wandered to work, all lost and confused,
Yet my coworkers just looked as if they were bemused.
I sent all my notes from my near hour search
To see if twas searching near the caches perch.
"Yea" I was told, "you were close, oh so close my friend,
Keep looking you will find it, if you hold to the end."
So with glad heart, I wandered back to the trail,
and quest long and hard for the holy grail.
For lo and behold it stood before me,
How dumb could I possibly be.
For a moment I thought I was as dumb as cold1
Then I laughed as I thought that he weighed a gross ton.
For I opened the cache, and I was first to find,
a rarity for me, and my name twas there signed.
I commend the Nightfox for the hide this great day,
and the adventures and sights that I saw on my way.
Twas a nice spring day to undergo this fine quest,
I claim with a favorite point tis one of the best.
Some may think over-hard, at this puzzling hide,
to those please stay at your home and inside.
Ignore the fun, and the trek that awaits
go find a lamp post or a cache on some gates.
The reward that is had from a this tricky hide,
Will warm you year round with a joy deep inside.