Cacher of the Month! – Mud in the Face!
Eric and Janet
1. How did you become involved in geocaching. When did you start?
We were introduced to geocaching by a friend about a year before we joined on April 6 2007. After doing our first few caches we fell in love with the sport.
2. How did you choose your caching name?
When picking out a geocaching name for ourselves, I was reminded of an outing on a ATV trip when scouting for moose. I got stuck in a very deep mud hole that rendered an expensive repair bill on the ATV and one cell phone that was in my pocket at the time. I ended up waist deep in this mud hole for almost an hour before freeing the ATV. When arriving back home I was greeted by my wife and a camera, she took a picture of me with all the mud that covered me from head to toe. Hence our geocaching name.
3. How many caches have you found so far?
As of today July 14, 2010 we have 2763 enjoyable finds and many DNF’s to our name. And someday we hope to turn them into a smiley face.
4. What brand/type of GPS do you use?
We stared caching with a Magellan Explorist XL, we were not able to get it repaired so now we cache with a Garmin 60 CX, that we are happy with. We also use our home computer and our lap top when traveling to download caches to our gps.
5. What programs/software or hardware (PDA/laptop/phone) do you use to make caching easier?
GSAK!
6. What type of cache do you prefer seeking – traditional, multi, puzzle, virtual?
We prefer seeking traditional caches, mainly because of the interesting cache containers and the way and places they are hidden. Also because of there sizes they are able to hold traders, T.B.’s and geo coins that we like to move on. Sometimes our grandchildren join us and they get more enjoyment out of the sport when they find a bigger cache than finding a micro stuck to a guardrail.
7. Which caches were the most challenging – physically/mentally? Why?
I found the hike to the top of Turtle Mountain with a group of great cachers was a challenge for me that day because I was suffering from a very bad chest cold. I probably shouldn’t have attempted it, but didn’t want to back down after committing myself. On the way out to join the others at the starting point, I stopped and picked up 2 packages of Halls and ate them all during the afternoon hike. Although I was not feeling the best, I was not disappointed because the view from the top of the mountain made it all worthwhile, and rewarded with a cache at the top.
8. Do you have a favorite or favorites among the Maritime caches that you’ve found?
(Feel free to list a favorite for each type of cache) Do you have a favorite in a nearby Province?
If I was to single out a favorite cache out of all the ones we have done to date, I guess I would have to say it would be the ones that were hidden on top of Mount Carlton and the other near by mountains in this range. Without them being place there we may have not made the hike. To have hiked to the highest point in the Maritimes is a great accomplishment.
9. What’s the most unusual thing that you’ve ever found in a cache?
It is nice, from time to time, to make a good trade at a cache. One of the first that I can remember was when I found a whistle carved out of a piece of wood. It may not have been much to the younger generation, but I have not seen one of these since I was a child. So it was nice to somebody was still carving these. I still have it. Another time was after hiking back into the woods and coming across a well hidden cache, upon opening it, to my surprise someone had put a lady’s Cameo in the cache. I sort of felt that a young cacher might have gotten into his or her grandmother’s jewelery box. I still have it….This is why they refer to geocaching as treasure hunting. There is treasure in them there caches….
10. What are your current caching goals? Is there a certain cache that you can’t wait to do?
We have done 75of the Story Teller Series, and have 25 left to do. We hope to return soon and do these. When we cross the Peninsula Princess we look towards a cache called Sandy Point cache GCK4TY and keep saying to ourselves, one of these days we are going to do this one. We have done a cache on each end of the Dobson Trail, one being at the Moncton end and the other being at the border of Fundy Park. Our goal is doing all the caches between these to points on the trail in stages. We would like to make a caching event out of each stage, this way maybe others who have the same interest in doing the trail will join us.
11. How many caches have you placed? Do you have a current hiding goal?
We have placed 65 caches, and have 2 earthcaches. We do not have any current hiding goals, but hope to place the next one at a place that will be enjoyed by all.
12. How often do you go caching?
Anytime that we get free time we may go for a few caches or maybe make an all day or weekend trip, depending where we are. Doesn’t matter how many we find, we just enjoying been out.
13. What advice would you give someone that wants to place a cache? What steps do YOU take when placing a cache?
It is always nice to see new cachers starting out, the only advice that I would give for a beginner is not to get discouraged if you feel that your gps does not lead you to ground zero. We all have to broaden our search. Our gps may not read the same as the one that placed it, especially in heavy tree cover or around some rock formations. You may have to do a little looking, that is the fun part. The rewarding part is to make the find. From time to time we end up with a DNF due to different reasons.
14. Do you collect geocoins? Of the ones that you’ve collected, which is your favorite?
We have several geo coins and T.B.’s traveling the world. We also have a few coins that we have in our collection that we do not send out. The one that is our favorite is one that was given to us by a fellow geocacher. We drop off and retrieve it from caches, and we call it our geo buddy.
15. What type of gear do you carry with you on your caching trips? What’s in your geopack?
We carry a geo pack with us. The number one thing that we have in it is extra batteries. We also have our calling cards, along with some traders, a T.B or geo coin that we are moving on. We also carry extra baggies and a cloth to wipe out any damp caches that we find.
16. What is your most memorable caching experience?
One of the most memorable caches for me is Snider Brook Cache. This is the second cache that we found and it is the most beautiful spot with a waterfalls. This spot is not far from our home and we didn’t even know that the falls were there. The cache is no longer there. Another one would be the cache on top of Mount Carlton, because I was able to see such a long distance and the climb was something that I wanted to do for a long time.
17. What is your best caching story?
Our best caching story that we would like to share with you would be when we went to PEI last Jan. There was a lot of snow here and none on the Island so we thought it would be a good time to go because we don’t like to follow geo tracks in the snow. The first day that we were there, they had a major snow storm and everything was closed except for a some fast food places. When we first went to the cache site there were to many muggles around so had to come back later. When we returned there was a van from N.S. there. We decided to wait until they left and then try for the cache. But they were cachers and wouldn’t put it back with us setting there,so they left with the cache. So we had to return again. This time the cache was there in it’s hiding place and we knew that they were cachers that had a hard time to replace the cache!!!!. When we logged our find we put in that it is hard enough to contend with the muggles but even harder when cachers takes the cache for a drive, before replacing it. We had a good laugh over this. After logging our find we received an email from the ones that drove off with the cache. They were having a good laugh about it too. We were pleased to have had the chance to meet them at the Geobash in N.S. and had another good laugh about it. Over the next few days of caching while in PEI the snow continued to fall and lots of drifting. We cached right through and enjoyed the experience. We made many finds and got lots of nice pictures of the snow. This was winter caching at it’s finest and one trip we won’t forget soon.
18. What do you like about geocaching? What keeps you going?
The thing I like about geocaching is all the places that it takes you to that you may not get to see otherwise. We enjoy the outdoors and the exercise is appreciated, and the chance to meet other cachers on the trail and trade a few stories. And of course it is something that we get to do together.
