EveryonesMum's Geocaching Birthday!

Yesterday was EveryonesMum's birthday, and we celebrated in Geocaching style! I, my brother and my father bought her a Garmin Dakota 10 GPS, the Geokids filled her Geobag with all sorts of useful things and her best friend bought her Premium Membership.

With all that in mind, she and I set out today to test run her new unit and so that I was confident she could use it. We talked over how to set up Pocket Queries, and ran a few onto her unit. Heading into Peterborough, we decided that on a gorgeous day like today has been, we would strike onto a walk we had earmarked for a while, Crown Lakes Country Park.

Pulling up, I booted my unit, an eTrex 30, up as mum sorted her own out. At this point, I discovered that my own Pocket Query had not picked these caches up, although has all the ones surrounding it - very odd. I managed to retrieve all the co-ordinates from my phone, however, and input them into my GPSr manually. Off we went!

The park is beautiful! I had no idea it was here, and certainly no idea it was as gorgeous as this! Mum and I have decided to come back with the Geokids and the Geodog one day to wander around; the water is crystal clear and there were opportunities for the children to paddle as well as explore.

In addition to the beautiful lakes and huge open grass land, we suddenly found ourselves trailing through woodland in an almost magical, fairytale setting - tiny bridges and dabbled sunlight all added to a mystical feeling! 

The views from the end of the walk (for once, I walked a cache trail in the correct, chronological order!) were breath-taking too! Mum commented that it felt like we were on holiday, and it really did.

All the caches were in good condition and easy to find, except #9, which we spent ages back and forth on and eventually had to resign ourselves to a DNF, sadly. But, we consoled ourselves with our plans to return another day with the Geokids & Geodog in tow, so we will hit it again then.

On my way home after dropping EveryonesMum off, I swung by GC3298V - Brilliant Fenland, which has been on my hitlist for months but the layby has always been occupied by resting lorries; luck was in my favour today and I quickly had the cache in hand! But here, just like at Crown Lakes, my GPSr didn't have the cache on it, but did have surrounding caches. I need to investigate why this is happening! Looks like I'll be spending the evening resetting all my pocket queries...

-RFF
-Finds Today; RFF - 10, EM - 9
-Finds Total; RFF; 408 (I found some duplicate logs that I had to delete! It bought me back under 400!), EM; 52

Ferry Meadows Rumble - A Cachers' Day Out!!

Pip_Squeek and I have been on the look out for events recently, and we were very excited to attend our first, Ferry Meadows Rumble!

We arrived a little after 10:30 with EveryonesMum and the Anticachers in tow, and signed the log. We stayed around a while and chatted, explored the TB's on offered and I swapped some around before we decided to head out. Unfortunately, EveryonesMum couldn't join us today as she is not yet a Premium Member (Boo!) so she and my Anticacher left to have an impromptu driving lesson, and we dragged Pip_Squeek's Anticacher around with us!

He found a stick to harass us all with...!

We had the intention of hitting all of the FM Rumble series, but that quickly became apparent it wasn't going to happen - they're a lot bigger than they look! We started off chronologically, picking up a few that we were also missing as neither of us had cached the park at all yet but the first cache evaded us. We weren't sure what we were looking for and with a large amount of tree cover, our GPS's kept throwing us back and forth. With such a large selection of trees and possible locations, and with so many caches to find, we moved on after about 10 minutes. 

At #2, we caught up with the Chilly gang and their lovely Geokids. They already had this cache, and thanks to the Anticachers keen eye, we soon did too. Working together for #3, we then split so that we could do up and do GC2PXJC - 007 Octopussy Bridge. I had no idea we had a local interest in the 007 films, so it was an interesting historical aspect for me, but no cache here, unfortunately. :(

Do do do do do, de do do.... DO DO, do do dooooo!

(Sorry!)

Back on track at #4, and catching Chilly again and they left and now the finds start rolling in again. We joint find #5 and split again - we had already decided to do it in an order that felt logical for us, so we headed for #6, then #8, #7 and #9, resulting in us zig-zagging across the field. At #9 we headed for an interesting piece of local art, passing a family on the way down, only to realise we were heading the wrong way and turned ourselves around. In doing so, we caught the eye of the family we passed and they came and introduced themselves as Rivereagle, and we shared the find with them after their geokids had struggled - Lovely to meet you all!

Triumphant Gandalf-Cacher!

We were warned by Rivereagles that the next cache's co-ordinates were out, as they were working the opposite way around, and so we were cautious at the next, using the clue that they had given us. We were joined by not one but two other cachers, 2versus1 and Smiglet, and Pip_Squeek claimed the find by eye here. Onwards with 2versus1 and while we hunted by the bank, Mrs2v1 claimed the find at #11, after we all thought Mr2v1 had got it! We stayed with them for #12 and then split again, and feeling rather like we were stalking them stumbled upon the Chilly gang again, we shared our find at #14.

Back at the main centre of Ferry Meadows, we decided enough was enough for one day, and after having found Frenchtart and Canillo25 to help us with the last find, we packed up and went home.

The caches were a lovely circuit but I'm not sure they're worthy of being premium caches - It's such a shame that everyonesmum couldn't join us! Mind you, it is just my opinion that a cache should be exceptional in order to attract the premium only tag, perhaps I'm being snobbish with that.
After reading through comments on this post, and a bit of googling, it appears in a chinese-whisper sort of way I've misunderstood this! Although my understanding that Premium caches can be exceptional containers or locations is correct, it is also accepted that they are in high-footfall, high-risk areas where muggles are likely to destroy containers. It also turns out that Everyonesmum could have joined us and there are ways to allow her to log the finds, but from what I've read on the forums it's becoming increasingly controversial, with a quote from a Groundspeak moderator being; "We are currently looking into out Guidelines in regards to basic members logging Premium Member cachers and will clarify this issue in the future". I wait with baited breath.... (Thanks to HolyWarrior/MarcusMaximi for helping me clarify this!)

The event was lots of fun and I have lots of trackables to catch up with now, as well as some new ones to trael it. It was really lovely to see so many cachers around, meet with them and to share our experiences with them - Really looking forward to the CITO events now!!

OH! I just remembered - This took me over 400 too! Yippee!!

-RFF

-Finds Today - 18 + 1 event each, just the event for EM.

-Finds Total - RFF; 402, PS, 284, EM; 44

Mother's Day Geocaching!

My mum (who caches as everyonesmum) and I had planned to go Geocaching for Mothers Day, so this morning I headed over to South Linconshire to celebrate with her.

As part of my Mother's Day plans, I had intended on buying her Premium membership, but recent problems with her mobile phone have put me off (it appears her GPS has stopped working entirely... :( ) Regardless, we decided we would head out to Bourne and walk Bourne and Back.

It was a beautiful day, and after a few false starts trying to find somewhere to park, we started at #14, and the easy find set the tone for the day. Approached #1, we watched a few suspected muggles who we ascertained were where we wanted to be, prompting a discussion about whether they were fellow cachers or not. By the time we reached GZ they had moved on, and after another easy find with nothing signed today on the log, we figured they were muggles and continued to follow them up the road...

.. Until they had stopped at the next GZ! As we approached we introduced ourselves, discovering they were not local cachers and after a conversation about the previous cache (which they had failed to find, hence no log!) and GPS devices, they decided to turn back and try the previous again, and we headed onwards.

A beautiful walk through a local village and a conversation about our desires to own beautiful, large houses before turning across the field and working our way back towards the A14, and over it. So far, all the caches have been really lovely with a 100% success rate and a variety of hides - This is such a lovely trail! After a scary hide at #9 (it made me jump, until I realized what it was!), we paused and watched the cows in the field opposite. The sign warns of a bull in the field, and from the amount of calves skipping around, it's definitely been busy! (Unfortunately, my camera photos weren't the best here!)

These are three of six (that we counted) calves!

We bypassed off the trail slightly to visit the Church Micro in Dyke, a tiny church that we have driven past several times and totally missed each time!

The puzzle element was a nice addition here and we quickly found GZ, with a confusing sign about sheep...

Sheep... problems? Sheep... for sale??

The cache took a fair bit of finding here, and I think given a few more weeks, it'll be too overgrown to find. :(

Moving on, we picked up #10 (covered in ants!) and begun hunting for #11, but I fear this is already a muggled one. There's only a certain number of places it can be given the hint, and there's a spot that looked perfect and recently prepared, but no find here. :( We passed the same cachers we discovered earlier between #11 and #12 (they had doubled back to find their DNF, then started the circuit in reverse) and then finished off.

Disappointingly, now I'm home, I've discovered my Pocket Query managed to omit a few results, which means we walked straight past 2 caches along the footpath we were on. At least we can collect them once we are sure #11 is in place.

After stopping for a cup of tea and a slice of cake in Bourne, we decided we would attempt to clear up the town in terms of caches, so we set off to pick up an easy find near Bourne Woods - a little too easy, I suspect! GC1G2W3 - Puzzler 2 - By George You've Got It was out in the open, but I suspect that the normal location for it is inside the flood underneath the stile, so I tried to hide it as best I could. :(

From here we headed into the centre of town, but we didn't have any luck on any of the caches - although I don't think my phone managed to save the waypoints for GC1NQCX What a Load of Baldocks, because I couldn't find them!! :(

We finished up with one last traditional cache, and a small multi that helped us explore the Elsea Park (more houses I would love!) then headed home.

It was a really lovely day, and something we really must do more often!

-RFF

-Finds today - 18 each

- Finds total: RFF - 383, Everyonesmum - 43

Back to Manea!

The sun is shining, my Geocar is back on the road properly and I've got my GPS running again. Time to finish off the Manea Meander that I started last weekend.

Taking El-Woodio with me (although Pip_Squeek is away in Lincoln!) and my OH, we decided to do most of the remaining series by car.

The first stop was GC4AM6X - Church Micro 1718 Manea Methodist. I'm a fan of Church Micros, and although this church doesn't look impressive, it does have an interesting history. After a quick find for El-Woodio, we moved on, parking the car around the corner and picking up the Manea Meander at #10, which was a slightly trickier hide, but by combining the hint and Google we found the cache, and aiming to do Manea Lakes and Woods too, except this one appears completely missing! :(

"I'm a tree!"

Back in the car, we discover the fishing lakes in Manea but don't attempt the cache here as there were lots of fishing folk around, but we did pick up #10 down "Straight Road" (exactly as described!).

We finished up with the last of the caches - all hits - and then doubled back to pick up #17, my only DNF last week. With the help of Hill Hiker's hint in their log, we were able to grab the cache (although not literally, had to leave the container in place!) and explore the abandoned houses some more, before heading back for some lunch.

I meant to collect the cache and dash series that is nearby, leading down to Chatteris, but we were so busy discussing lunch that I forgot all about it! I'll watch the two DNF's in the village and do that mini series when I return for them. :)

-RFF
-Finds today: RFF & EW - 6 each
-Finds total - RFF; 364, EW; Goodness only knows - he needs to catch up with his logging!

Manea Meander

I've been out of the loop a little recently, the Geocar broke down and having retrieved every local cache, it left me totally stranded. This weekend, I have managed to obtain a new car (Woohoo!) and once we get past a few teething problems, I'm back on the road completely. So, we took it out today.

Pip_Squeek is ill and El-Woodio working, so I collected the Geodog and took my Anticaching OH off to seek out the Manea Meander. It's glorious weather, so it would be rude not to!

I had no idea that the RSPB was out here, and Welches' Dam is very pretty! The first find was easy and set a good tone for the trail, obtaining each cache quickly as we went around. Even though the wind was strong, the sunshine was glorious and the Geodog really enjoyed being somewhere different.

We collected #1, #2, #3 and #4 and then the reservoir  around the corner caught out attention. We set by the bank a while and ate a snack, and the Geodog spend a while trying to get to the water to drink (The clean water we provide is clearly sub-standard!)

At the next cache, we found a beautiful memorial garden, as promised by the cache description. It's such an odd place to find something like this, but it was still stunning. With the Geodog on a very tight lead, we spent some time here before moving on.

At #8, I discover a new trackable which I collect as I'm not travelling with any at the moment and I feel I can definitely help this one! We discuss our plan of action, and decide that fatigue will win us over and we cut the loop short as suggested by the CO, heading back towards Welshes' Dam. This is where I strike my first DNF of the day, which is always disappointing, but I wasn't able to update my PQ before I left, and it's about 3 weeks old, so it's possible this is MIA. (Having gone back and checked, this one has been archived. Glad I didn't spend too long here!)

Coming back up to Purl's Bridge, we pause outside the (unfortunately closed) Ship Inn and regather ourselves, before the other half spots something very unusual. Along the road back to the Dam, there are 6 abandoned houses in various stages of being built. One has just the foundation struts in place, but another further down has half the cladding around the outside, and had windows until they were smashed. We spent some time wandering through them, and wondering what their story was. At home, I can't find any information about them but I can only assume the recession hit them too hard. It's a shame, they had stunning views across the Fens - I wonder if someone will give me one and finish it off for me!!

On the way back to the car we hit another DNF but I was tired and didn't really put a lot of effort in. We spent some time exploring the RSPB visitors centre, then headed home. It was a really nice day. :)

-RFF
-Finds Today: 11
-Total Finds: 358

Keeping busy: The First izaacwilson loop! - Photo heavy!

I hadn't intended on doing a lot of Geocaching this week... shows you how wrong you can be!

I had dropped my Anticaching OH at my parents for a driving lesson with my mother, and they planned to be out all day. I had bought lots of work to do to get on with while they were out, but the moment I sat down the sun began to shine... Who am I to resist?!

I checked up on a cache of mine (GC4QHGH Stamford and Deepings' Canal - Not Another Tree) after it was reportedly stuck in the tree trunk. A lot of fiddling, and a fear of loosing my arm 127-hours style in the tree trunk and I had retrieved it, but it couldn't go back where it was! I've relocated it to a new tree.

Izaacwilson's West Deeping and Back series had been published a little while ago, which dismayed me slightly - it took a lot of the route I was going to use for the Stamford and Deepings' Canal, but I should have got there sooner! I've since spoken to Izaac, and he's happy for me to direct Stamford and Deepings' Canal walkers along his route.

With the sun shining and my Geodog eager to go (for once!), we set off and started with #14. Ironically, I had stood at GZ earlier today on my way back from my maintenance run and idly looked, knowing there was a cache somewhere here but not properly knowing what I was looking for or where it was. Now I knew, it was a quick find. We were joined by a red kite here soaring directly above us (and very low!) but I just wasn't quick enough with my camera to catch it.

I know this walk well and it's a pleasant one. We quickly pick up #13 and #12 along the route the dog regularly walks. From here, we join the path of the canal (which is why the field moves in a strange, curvy route) and there are more quick finds.

Coming towards Tallington, the farmer has set up a small wooded area; when we used to walk this walk regularly, there was often a gentleman with two small, pitbull-esque dogs who we eventually reported to the police for harassment; he used to follow my mother and myself around the field making horrible sexual comments or shouting abuse. It's the main reason we stopped walking it. I have no idea if he's still around, but I thankfully didn't encounter him today. I did, however, find the first caterpillar I've seen this year!

From here I cut across the field (naughty! But it's not being used at the moment) to the railway line. The new boards here say that they are eliminating the footpath across the line entirely (a path that has been temporarily disabled for 2 years) and making the permissive footpaths permanent. About time they did something!

At the next cache (#7) is one of my favourite local curiosities, a camouflaged ladder!

One of the local farms tells me it's a hide for shooting from. He's probably right. There's a lot of animal traps around here too. The Geodog likes the bridge, but not the water; she's not a great fan but wants a drink. In the end, her fear wins out and she gives up trying to reach over the bridge to the water.

This is the first point I really experience any trouble with the Geodog too. She won't get over the stile! In the end I lift her over, but she objects greatly to this and ensures that I'm aware of it.

This part of the walk is one of my favourites. I love the river here, but the field usually houses sheep. I wonder where they are over the winter? The dog gets down to the river here, but the ground it's as secure as she thinks and she ends up shoulder deep in water, which put her off the entire mission! She also ended up covered in mud, which she hates....

 ... But not as much as she hated being stuck in the mud at #3!

She waded around in the water while I signed the log, and then found she had sunk and couldn't get herself out! I was worried that I would have to wade in myself and pull her out, but thankfully she worked herself free before it came to it. The field in between #2 and #3 usually has cattle in, but again they're not here today. Again, I had to physically lift the dog over the stile here, but only because she was too lazy to jump over it; most dogs should manage it, both big and small.

This joins the route of the canal again, and while the rain has been so heavy the canal itself has re-flooded. and the footpath walks along the old towpath, with the river on one side and the canal on the other.

It was a lovely walk and I enjoyed it, and although the caches will pull people in to walk it (which is great!), they're not exceptional and become very predictable. It would be nice to see some variety in the containers Nevertheless, it's a nice series and I look forward to putting it to good use alongside my own caches! :)

-RFF
-Finds Today: 14
-Total Finds: 340

Playing Bingo, and a long trek south....

Following on from our recent disappointment on a day out caching, I have spurred myself into new ways of finding Geocaching to be "not all about the numbers" - the smilies are great and all, but it's not the be all and end all. Since the new year Pip_Squeek and I have been aiming to fill up out D/T grids, but that's not enough for me.

Heading down to celebrate a friend's birthday, I searched around Bluewater in Kent for any caches I may have a go at while I'm there, and stumbled up GC2XRTH - Blockbuster-Stylee Bingoish Challenge. This looks like just the thing I'm after! I'm in the area regularly visiting said friend, so I can claim the cache when it's complete. I sign up. :)

Yesterday, I headed down south to celebrate. This was the perfect opportunity to fill a box - 2 caches 100km apart in a day. Before I leave the Fenland, I head up and claim GC2J3M1 - Poppies on Parade - Friday Bridge. Pip_Squeek had this one a little while back, I had never got around to it, so this is the perfect opportunity. It gives me a starting point, and as long as I claim a cache in Greenhithe or the surrounding area, I can fill that square.

Heading down, I usually stop Birchanger Green for a rest, but a little bit of Geo-searching locates GC1VBN7 The Takeley Heathen Stone, an EarthCache nearby which I decide to pick up instead. I had worried about this, as Earthcaches have been known to take a while, but this is a quick one. It also gives me two different types of Geocaches... I could be onto another square here, 4 different types of geocaches in one day.

After battling the QE2 Bridge, with an accident halfway across causing chaos, I pick up my friend and persuade him that Geocaching is something he really, really wants to do on his birthday. Naturally he gives in and we head out for a multi; GC4Y2JA Church Micro 5171 - South Darenth St George. I'm the second to find, and the on-site puzzle is nice here. A good little cache. :)

The final cache needed to be different... There is a letterbox cache close to Bluewater, but my Anticacher isn't keen on geocaching, let alone geocaching and walking. Instead, I have a puzzle on standby that I had solved last time I had visited my sister, but had never got around to claiming, so we grab that one instead.

Overall, I feel it's been a really productive day. It's been so nice to chase purpose, not numbers, and this is something I can see myself really getting into.. :)

-RFF
-Finds today: 4
- Finals total: 326