Ten in the cold

Two days ago, two Stoogeteers (X. Marx D’Spot and myself) headed out into the winter weather to grab a few more smileys. This was a rather uneventful cache run, and as a result there’s not a lot to write about this time. In the Tennessee cold, we were able to grab ten more finds and only suffered a few DNFs. We also saw a fantastic hide (our last find) and got to meet some other cachers (Josie and the Pussycats). It was a good day, just not a super exciting day. Here are the ten we found followed by those disappointing DNFs:

Creative Thingies – Letterbox Hybrid, 1.5./1.5 by legm

In The Pitts – Traditional, 2/2 by TNLadyBug

Milk or Bread? – Traditional, 1/1 by haley4tn

Down Under – Traditional, 2/2 by x_superman_x

Out in the great wide open – Traditional,  2/2 by x_superman_x (third to find. The FTF had been at 6:54 am, wow. We picked up a trackable here too.)

Rocky Road – Traditional, 1.5/2 by x_superman_x

Peek A Boo – Traditional, 3/1.5 by x_superman_x

Fewkes Mounds – Traditional, 1.5/1.5 by JoGPS

Wilson family tree – Traditional, 1.5/1.5 by x_superman_x

Fox Ridge – Traditional, 1.5/1.5 by shan7on (defintely the coolest hide of the day, you just have to see it for yourself)

And the DNFs: Smiley Faces and Practicing What We Have Learned No. 5 (where we met our fellow cachers).

And just like that, we brought our total up to 219. Hopefully it’ll be a little warmer next time we head out.

Halpert

FTF (x2) and a few more finds

Yesterday morning, RPSwiney and I braved the elements and headed out into the rain in hopes of finding some new caches in the area. The hides had been activated around 2am on Friday which forced me to sit at school all day and hope that no one found them before I got a chance. Luckily, no one did, but when Werner and myself looked for one of them (Cachville 3) we came up empty. We had our eyes on a few further south (see Found three, made four) and passed on the other two in the Cachville series by BlkFt. So, with the caches remaining unfound by Saturday morning, we decided to give them a shot, starting with Cachville 1 rated as a 2/1. The 60CSx led us to a spot in a parking lot very similar to the area where Werner and myself had searched the day before at the other site. Noticing this, I had a pretty good idea of where to look. My idea was right, and I found the cache in very good hiding spot. It took a modified paperclip to extract the container, though, which may give you an idea of where to look if you choose to do so. Once I had the container in hand, I pulled out the logbook and saw exactly what I wanted to see: no names. The Stoogeteers finally had a FTF, which I must say feels pretty good.

Riding the momentum, we proceded onto Cachville 2, also rated at 2/1. This one was exactly like its predecessor, and our second FTF. Feeling exceedingly confident, we headed over to Cachville 3 to give it another shot. With both of the day’s finds being in the same series and being hidden in the same manner (a manner I’d neglected to check for the day before) I was pretty sure we’d get FTF number three in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I was wrong. After searching everywhere you would think a cache would be, we came up empty and decided to end our search as a DNF (sad, I know). The day didn’t end on a sour note, however, because we were able to nab one more smiley before heading home: shoebuster, rated 1.5/1.5 by legm.

Then today, finding ourselves in the vicinity of some caches we hadn’t tackled yet, RPSwiney and myself (this time accompanied by my cousin, a first-time geocacher) headed out again to grab a few more finds. First up was Stone Walls, a 1/1.5 by JoGPS & Family, which was followed shortly by 31-441 (1.5/1.5 by Tennessee Traveler). Neither took too terribly long to locate and both gave us good opportunities to explain the sport to our rookie tag-along. Even better, today’s two finds help me out on one of my New Year’s resolutions: to find at least one cache a week this year. Now, I’ve relieved the pressure for the rest of the week, though I’m sure I’ll find some time to get back out on the hunt at some point. Thus, the weekend of caching comes to a close. Final tally: 5 finds, 1 DNF, and 2 FTFs.

Halpert

Found three, made four

After starting today’s short caching run with a lovely DNF, we got ourselves on the tiniest of rolls with two consecutive finds. First off was Marvels of STEEL, a 2.5/1.5 by JoGPS. We encountered no troubles in finding this standard little magnetic cache and were able to sign the log quickly and move on. The next cache on our list took a little longer to locate, however. Behind the Old Trees is a 3/3 by CelticsDude111 that is in one of those places where you really need a good GPS lock and just can’t seem to find one. Eventually, we resorted to scouring the area and just setting down the 60CSx. This proved to be a good tactic and we were able to grab the smiley along with a trackable (Zodiac Gemini Female Geocoin). Running short on our already limited time, we hopped back in the Mini and drove to our next DNF, Caution. Low clearance. After failing there, we were able to snag one more find at Quick Cache, another cache by CelticsDude111 (this time rated 1.5/1.5) and bring our grand total for the day to a magnificent three.

The real geocaching fun came later, though this time it was in the shop rather than the field. In fact, you could say that the fun is yet to be had, since the caches manufactured there this evening have yet to be deployed. Rest assured, though, that these will be quality hides employing a technique that the Stoogeteers have yet to see in this area. If all goes according to plan, at least one should be placed tomorrow and hopefully activated some time next week. Only time will tell. Stay tuned for the late breaking news on our future caches.

Halpert

196 + 4 = 200 (at long last)

Yes, the Stoogeteers have reached the 200-mark. The January rain that fell over Nashville threatened to derail today’s campaign, but I persevered and got the four finds needed to reach our goal. The rain did kind of put a damper on the photography though, so I’m sorry to say that there aren’t many pictures from the day’s hunt. We got to 200, though, and that’s what matters.

Find #197: Shy’s Hill (2/3.5 by FireFighterEng33)

The day started with a nice little hike up Shy’s Hill, site of one of many encounters in the Battle of Nashville. Atop the hill (which would have given me a great view had the fog not been so dense) I found the cache in a fallen tree as it’s hint suggested. The rain was beginning to fall, so I cut my stay at the higher elevation a little shorter than I would have liked, leaving the flags, embattlements, and canon behind for the dry car below. Three caches to go.

Start climbing here

Find #198: Bats (1.5/1.5 by Warner Parks)

After driving around in the rain and having to post a disappointing DNF for •here• by sduck (a search that included stepping in some animal’s former meal soon followed by me having to get that off my shoe) I made my next find just off a trail in scenic Edwin Warner Park. However, this park loses its scenic quality on days like today, when the trails are wet and the sky is gray and it’s just above freezing as far as temperature goes. The hardest thing about this one was staying reasonably dry and clean while hiking to it. The search itself lasted all of twenty seconds. TNLNSL. Only two left now.

Find #199: Gitty Up 2 (1.5/1.5 by JoGps & Family)

After yet another disheartening DNF (this time in front of the Warner Park nature center where the 60CSx told me I was a foot away from Getting Back To Nature as I stood in the middle of the road having searched the surrounding areas multiple times) I headed up the scenic drive in search of our 199th cache. The rain had been reduced to a light drizzle, but time was becoming a factor now and I had to hurry if I was going to make it home by 3:30 as requested. I got within ten feet and searched all the promising spots but came up empty. I had to find this one fast so I pulled out the iPhone 3G and opened the Geocaching app hoping to get a helpful hint. My wish was granted. The hint gave me a great idea of where to look and I found the cache pretty quickly after that. It was a nice hiding technique, one that removed gravity from the equation (not literally, but if you find it you’ll see what I mean). With the log signed and time running out, I sprinted back to the car and made a beeline for…

Find #200: William’s Tribute (1.5/1 KLifeMom)

This virtual cache is made up for it’s non-physicality by taking me to a really cool place, which is half the fun in this great sport of geocaching. We’d passed this one up a few days ago because we couldn’t see where we were supposed to go to find the information, but today I spotted the site from the road. I pulled over, put on the hazards, and sprinted across the wet field with my camera (so I wouldn’t have to remember any information in my haste). I reached the graves of William Scruggs, Sr. and his wife Sarah under the only tree the field had to it’s credit and took the necessary snapshots I needed in order to answer the quesition of how long the husband mourned for his wife. My work done, I ran back to the car and managed to get my shoes only a little wet. Once home, I emailed the owner and received credit for find number 200. Despite the weather, it had been a good day of geocaching, but then again, it usually is.

Halpert

Click here to see photos from today on Flickr.

First Caches of 2009

The Stoogeteers wasted no time in getting started caching in the new year. Werner, X. Marx D’Spot, and myself all loaded up into the Mini this afternoon in a (futile) attempt to reach the 200 cache mark. Things started of promisingly at Jack of Diamonds Holly Tree Gap Getaway, a 2/1 hidden by naivevanguard in the Deerwood Arboretum in Brentwood. We found the cache, and then found out we had no pens on us so Werner sprinted back to the Mini to get one. With pen and cache in hand, we signed the log and left for the next hunt.

Werner on the run.

Our next three finds were all nice and close together back in the woods off Manley Road and all were by prolific area cacher salpal. The first was King Swing’s Rockwall. This 2/2 gave us our second find perhaps our most memorable experience of the day. As we were walking through the woods up to it, we noticed a school bus that looked to be in pretty bad shape out in a clearing to our right. After we found the cache, we went to explore the wreckage. The whole thing was covered in rust, all the windows were gone, the right side tires were blown out, and half the engine was laying on the ground beside it along with some rusty farming equipment. To top it all of, the bus was no longer in the normal driving position but rather precariously perched on its right side. Not what we expected to see in the woods, but it did provide us with something else to poke around along with the caches.

Look, a bus.

We followed a gravel path that wound back through the woods to our next find, a 1.5/1.5 called Swing Away. This cache also came with a diversion: a rope swing. After we found the cache itself, Werner entertained himself by swinging for a bit and several times almost crashed into the tree which would, of course, have been hysterical. From there, it was another short hike down the path and up a hill to the 2/3 known as King of the Hill. Our caching experience showed us exactly where this one was once we got up to it, and we quickly had find number four under our belts.

We then took advantage of Happy Hour at Sonic before heading back up Hillsboro Road to grab Alan’s Side of the Bridge, a 1/1 by none other than salpal. From there, we first failed to find a good parking area to begin our search for A Stroll in the Park and then failed to find the multi-cache itself, giving up the hunt for the sake of time. We will be back for that one though, at some point.

Further south down Hillsboro Road we found cache number six: Behind the Building, in the Trees, a 1.5/2.5 by (drumroll, please) salpal. I saw some geoswag I’d never seen before inside this one, namely a novel. The addition of the book made it a little harder to reseal the container, but we got the job done. We bounded back through the field from whence we’d come as the sun dipped further below the horizon and our time grew more and more limited. In somewhat of a hurry, we drove a little further down and started our search for our final cache of the night: Franklin Foreign Coin Exchange. The difficulty of the 3/3 hide by GeoGyn is especially true for searches conducted just after dusk with no flashlights available. Luckily, the light from an iPod Touch is sufficiently bright to provide enough assistance to locate a cache, though it still a little longer to find the thing in the woods in the dark. We got it, though, just as we were about to call it quits. In celebration, we ran in disorganized formation back to the Mini and listened to Coldplay all the way back to Werner’s house. Hopefully we’ll get those other five caches soon and finally cross over the 200 threshhold.

Halpert

Click here to see the day’s photos on Flickr.

Success and Failure

Let’s start with the success. Yesterday, myself and X. Marx D’Spot did locate one geocache. NOTICE me is a 2/1.5 by x_superman_x that took all of five seconds to find. Sometimes you need finds like those to bolster your confidence and make you feel better about your caching abilities. This was certainly the case yesterday, for that find would be our only success of the day.

Our two failures consisted of one cache we’d never sought before and another that has perplexed us for quite a while now. The first DNF was stressed is desserts spelled backwards. This 3/1.5 (also by x_superman_x) escaped our grasp somehow, and thus we now await a helpful hint from the owner.

The second DNF was a cache that has been in our sights ever since we first failed to find it. Granny’s Grass Cache is another 3/1.5 by Southpaw hidden somewhere unknown to us in Granny White Park. On our first attempt back in the summer we (Halpert, Werner, and X. Marx D’Spot) searched for around 90 minutes to no avail. Some time later, Werner returned for a quick look around in hopes of finding it. Again, no success. Then yesterday, we returned once again to where the GPSmap 60CSx said it should be, being told multiple times we were zero feet from the cache, and yet again we failed. This one is getting annoying. I’m sure once we find it, it will all make since and we’ll be kicking ourselves for missing it. Until then, however, we remain perplexed. But hey, at least we got one cache yesterday.

Halpert