I am always amazed by the amount of trash that litters our highways and byways, no matter where I go Geocaching it seems there is an amazing amount of trash, from recyclables like soda cans, milk cartons etc. to foil, paper, coffee cups, take out containers and the list goes on and on.
How much litter is out there, well according to Adopt-a-Highway, their volunteers picked up over 26,000 tons of litter in Minnesota alone, I am sure that the Province or State you live in isn't any cleaner. What can be done about this mess, Adopt-a-Highway has the right idea and the rest of us can do the same by pitching in and picking up trash where ever we see it.
Geocacher's have a unique tie with the environment, we are in nature more than the average citizen so we have the opportunity to make a difference. CITO (Cache In Trash Out) is one way we have to make that difference, many CITO, events are held every year all over the globe by Geocachers but we can take it further.
CITO can be an event, but even better CITO can be a Geocaching lifestyle. Here are some ideas to reduce trash while Geocaching; always carry some small kitchen catcher garbage bags and once at ground zero and have found your quarry, pickup the trash around the area, actually even if you have a DNF pickup trash anyway, that can equate to several Pounds of trash per year removed from those cache areas. Do you like hiding caches, then here is something I do, when I place a cache I clean up the area, then when I drop back to perform maintenance on my cache I clean up the area again. I made one exception to this I have an urban cache in a trashy area that is actually using the trash as camouflage, this is the only area I haven't cleaned up http://coord.info/GC2WAAM .
If we were all to spend just a few minutes a day picking up litter where we see it the impact could be huge. So make CITO a Geocaching life style.
Keep-on Caching
Showing posts with label Geocacher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geocacher. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
To DNF or not DNF that is the Question
My philosophy is that if I really put an effort into finding your cache, and can't find it then I will post a DNF, if I'm pressed for time and put a half donkey effort (did I mention that this is a family friendly blog) then I probably won't mark it as a DNF but I will go back and try again when I have time.
I heard from a Cacher the other day that they never mark DNF's as they think it makes them look inept. I tried to explain that it was important to the CO (Cache Owner), if they are getting to many DNF,s then they will check on the cache to make sure it hasn't been Muggled.
Part keeping Geocaching fun is to keep the caches well maintained, if we don't mark our DNF's after an honest try at the find, then how is the CO (Cache Owner) to know when things have gone awry.
What is your opinion on DNF's ?
--
NATIONAL GEOCACHER
I heard from a Cacher the other day that they never mark DNF's as they think it makes them look inept. I tried to explain that it was important to the CO (Cache Owner), if they are getting to many DNF,s then they will check on the cache to make sure it hasn't been Muggled.
Part keeping Geocaching fun is to keep the caches well maintained, if we don't mark our DNF's after an honest try at the find, then how is the CO (Cache Owner) to know when things have gone awry.
What is your opinion on DNF's ?
--
NATIONAL GEOCACHER
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Geocaching is it a Game, Sport, or an Addiction?
Geocaching is it a Game, Sport, or an Addiction?
Everyone has their own personal take on Geocaching.
Let's take a look at each; first Geocaching as a game. Games are fun and include playing pieces, the whole family can be involved, as well as, friends. Normally games have a way of keeping score and can be played anytime day or night. Hmmm, sounds familiar, Geocaching is fun and includes playing pieces, such as, Tupperware containers filled with SWAG and a log book, it is also a great way to get together with family and friends, specially if those people have never geocacher before and to see their faces when they find their first cache, OMG!
Is Geocaching a Sport? A Sport usually includes a physical activity, a competitive element and a certain amount of skill. How does Geocaching compare? Starting with physical activity, simply try a terrain level 5, plenty of physical activity there! Many people take up Geocaching for it's physical activity component and many have lost weight and gained endurance because of the sport. Competition, well Geocaching allows you to compete with yourself, friends for numbers, puzzle solving or challenges such as http://coord.info/GC2BV7F, a challenge to find a geocache every day for 99 days (see our previous post on Challenge Caches). Now it comes down to Skill; in Geocaching circles we call it GeoSense, at first finding even easy caches can seem monumental, but the more you GeoCache you build up an awareness of where caches might be hidden or what in the area is different than it should be so you might say you are building your Geocaching Skill just as a Basketball player gets better through repetition. Hmmm, sounds like Geocaching is both a Game and a Sport doesn't it?
How about an Addiction; Wow! That's sounds a bit far fetched, but let's look at it anyway. An addiction can be classified in a number of ways but let's use this one for now. An addiction is the seeking out of a pleasurable feeling or experience resulting from a substance or ACTIVITY. i'm sure no one will disagree that Geocaching is an Activity, but does it cause enough pleasure to have one seek the experience over and over again. sure looks like it to me when folks are eager enough to repeatedly go out and find thousands of Caches individually. I must also confess I am a Geocaching Addict, the other day I had to go over to the hospital to get a portable Heart monitor, I'd had a few heart hiccups, on the way home I scored 4 more Caches. Does the pleasure of searching for and finding Geocaches warrant being labelled an Addiction, you bet it does.
In summation I think you will all agree Geocaching is and Game, Sport and Addiction!
Keep on Caching!
Bill
B&CJones on Geocaching.com
Everyone has their own personal take on Geocaching.
Let's take a look at each; first Geocaching as a game. Games are fun and include playing pieces, the whole family can be involved, as well as, friends. Normally games have a way of keeping score and can be played anytime day or night. Hmmm, sounds familiar, Geocaching is fun and includes playing pieces, such as, Tupperware containers filled with SWAG and a log book, it is also a great way to get together with family and friends, specially if those people have never geocacher before and to see their faces when they find their first cache, OMG!
Is Geocaching a Sport? A Sport usually includes a physical activity, a competitive element and a certain amount of skill. How does Geocaching compare? Starting with physical activity, simply try a terrain level 5, plenty of physical activity there! Many people take up Geocaching for it's physical activity component and many have lost weight and gained endurance because of the sport. Competition, well Geocaching allows you to compete with yourself, friends for numbers, puzzle solving or challenges such as http://coord.info/GC2BV7F, a challenge to find a geocache every day for 99 days (see our previous post on Challenge Caches). Now it comes down to Skill; in Geocaching circles we call it GeoSense, at first finding even easy caches can seem monumental, but the more you GeoCache you build up an awareness of where caches might be hidden or what in the area is different than it should be so you might say you are building your Geocaching Skill just as a Basketball player gets better through repetition. Hmmm, sounds like Geocaching is both a Game and a Sport doesn't it?
How about an Addiction; Wow! That's sounds a bit far fetched, but let's look at it anyway. An addiction can be classified in a number of ways but let's use this one for now. An addiction is the seeking out of a pleasurable feeling or experience resulting from a substance or ACTIVITY. i'm sure no one will disagree that Geocaching is an Activity, but does it cause enough pleasure to have one seek the experience over and over again. sure looks like it to me when folks are eager enough to repeatedly go out and find thousands of Caches individually. I must also confess I am a Geocaching Addict, the other day I had to go over to the hospital to get a portable Heart monitor, I'd had a few heart hiccups, on the way home I scored 4 more Caches. Does the pleasure of searching for and finding Geocaches warrant being labelled an Addiction, you bet it does.
In summation I think you will all agree Geocaching is and Game, Sport and Addiction!
Keep on Caching!
Bill
B&CJones on Geocaching.com
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Challenge Caches
Tonight was the monthly get together (Meetup) (Mashup) (Event) called "Pizza and Beer",tonight was themed Challenge Caches. Unfortunately, Ricki's Restaurant in Northhill Shopping Centre, Calgary, our usual haunt was renovating and although they expected to be ready for us they weren't and an emergency plan to move to a nearby Denny's Restaurant was put into effect. All went well thanks to our Host OBA ( One Bad Ant), who is the unexpected author of this blog post since I have utilized some of her material.
99-day challenge - Calgary, Alberta
Alberta Alphanumeric Title Challenge
Alberta Alphanumeric Hider Challenge
100 Alberta Cachers Challenge
Alberta Lonely Cache Challenge
The Bingo! Challenge
The "Cache Every Day of the Year" Challenge
Unknown Baker's Dozen Challenge
2010 Monthly Challenge
Here's a bookmark of other types Challenge caches, there are as many types as there are creative cachers! Email me your favorites and I'll update the list.Challenge Cache Examples
So ...
Do you love them or hate them? Do they go on your ignore list?
Do they add to or detract from your caching experience?
What strategies have you found to meet the challenges?
Challenge Caches, have requirements that have to be met before you can log the cache as found; we have a number of them in Calgary, Alberta.
99-day challenge - Calgary, Alberta
Alberta Alphanumeric Title Challenge
Alberta Alphanumeric Hider Challenge
100 Alberta Cachers Challenge
Alberta Lonely Cache Challenge
The Bingo! Challenge
The "Cache Every Day of the Year" Challenge
Unknown Baker's Dozen Challenge
2010 Monthly Challenge
Here's a bookmark of other types Challenge caches, there are as many types as there are creative cachers! Email me your favorites and I'll update the list.Challenge Cache Examples
So ...
Do you love them or hate them? Do they go on your ignore list?
Do they add to or detract from your caching experience?
What strategies have you found to meet the challenges?
How can we help each other meet the challenges?
By: One Bad Ant and B&CJones
Keep on Cachin'
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
GEOCACHING WHAT THE..... ?
Are you just getting started in the activity of Geocaching? Perhaps you've just heard about Geocaching and have decided to do some research before getting involved. You are probably like most of us when we first heard about Geocaching, we thought what a strange thing to do look for little containers of stuff. I mean really, how many of these Cache things could possibly be out there anyway, the quick answer is over 1.4million according to Geocaching.com the Official Global GPS Cache Hunt site. Another comment by the non-initiated is, "It can't be very popular because I have never heard of Geocaching".
Geocaching is probably one of the worlds biggest secrets, even though nobody is trying to keep the secret. At the time of the writing of this post Geocaching.com reports have over 5 Million registered Geocachers worldwide, that's a lot of people busy at a secret activity.
Can you just imagine how many caches that many people could log as found each month? I will again use numbers from Geocaching.com; for example in the last 30 days 5,578,529 have been logged. I'm sure you are with me, when I say that it's amazing that 1.4 million people hunting around neighborhood parks, wilderness areas and even in the centers of some of our biggest cities go unnoticed.
If you have already found your first cache, then welcome to your new obsession! If you just doing you initial research on the subject of Geocaching then here are some links explaining Geocaching.
I look forward to seeing you out caching soon.
Happy Caching
Bill
B&CJones
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)