Interview Date : July 8 ,2010
Caching Name : Jim52
Real Name : Jim Carter
1. How did you become involved in geocaching. When did you start?
I have been using a GPSr for hiking, hunting & fishing for years. I first used a GPSr on a hike in Gros Morne NFLD (the Long Range Mountain traverse). That was a 4 day backpack hike where there were no trails. We made good use of the GPSr as we were able to continue on a day that we were fogged in.
About 2 years after that Ma & Pa mentioned the sport to me at a card game. I almost quit the sport as I couldn’t find any caches. I was using the wrong Datun at the time. I was using NAD27 instead of NAD84 (which geocaching.com uses). My old topo maps were Nad27.
2. How did you choose your caching name?
Took my name and the year I was born.
3. How many caches have you found so far?
Too many. lol 11714
4. What brand/type of GPS do you use?
Right now I’m using a Garmin Legend HCx but soon hope to be using a Garmin GPSMAP 62
5. What programs/software or hardware (PDA/laptop/phone) do you use to make caching easier?
GSAK:to keep my caching database. I have a database for NB, NS, & PEI also Puzzles solved and not found as well as puzzles not solved yet.
OziExplorer: Which contains my Alantic Canada Topo Maps and aerial photo maps of NB. I usually print out these maps of the area that I am going to cache in. This gives me a bigger map to follow rather than the little map on my GPSr
Geosphere: Which runs on an iPodTouch or iPhone. ( Paperless caching) This program holds the logs, hints , and description of the caches.
6. What type of cache do you prefer seeking – traditional, multi, puzzle, virtual?
Puzzles are my favorite as long as they are not too tough.
My favorite puzzles are where you have to read the hiders mind, they drive me nuts.
You shouldn’t have to read a book or watch a movie to solve them.
I also like a full size cache that takes me to a great view or a nice hike.
7. Which caches were the most challenging – physically/mentally? Why?
My most challenging cache was Mountain Trilogy Third (difficult) GCWPZ6. It was a 5 – 5 mystery cache. You had to cross- over a blown down area of forest at a 90 degree angle.
I see it is still active today but I also see nobody has tried for it. ( See my log below )
September 12, 2006 by jim52 (11713 found)
Surprized to see no one from the North has found this cache yet as it’s been out for 3 months. Bushwacked
up the hill from cache # 2. I came back down from the hill on the wrong side and had to go back up and over. I set
my GPSr for where I entered the woods from cache # 1. A 1.4 km bushwack.
Was I ever in need of food & water when I got back to the car. Because I started from the wrong road this series
of caches took me a little over 5 hours to complete. Thanks
8. Do you have a favorite or favorites among the Maritime caches that you’ve found?
My favorite is another Escondedores mystery cache. Fireflies Hunting Night Cache GCVZEB.
It was a night time cache where you had to locate different fireflies and determine which ones they were by the timing of their flicker to get the correct number to solve the final cache.
It took me 2 tries to solve this one. See logs below
September 13, 2006 by jim52 found
Tried this cache at night before and only got 2 fireflies
( A B ) & ( G H ). Came back today and found ( E F ) & (I J ) one of these I think ( I J ) was not flashing.
Couldn’t find ( C D ) so I took a guess as to their values and got lucky and found the cache.
Really liked this cache. Thanks
July 15, 2006 by jim52 DNF
Great idea for a cache. Tried this one but was only able to find 2 fireflies.
My compass has declination set to true north so maybe this was the problem. Maybe
it was the summer growth of ferns and such or maybe I just didn’t find them. Spent an
hour trying and will be back, maybe in the fall when the other bugs are gone and the
foliage is off the trees. Thanks for this hunt.
9. What’s the most unusual thing that you’ve ever found in a cache?
A condom in a cache in Fundy National Park.
10. What are your current caching goals? Is there a certain cache that you can’t wait to do?
I would like to find a cache on every day of the year.
I just finished one that I was trying to reach for several years.
(It called the fuzzy challenge) Finding all 81 combination of caches.
That is Diff 1 to 5 times Terr 1 to 5
11. How many caches have you placed? Do you have a current hiding goal?
I have hidden 263 but have about 171 still active and that is still too many to do proper maintenance on, so I won’t be hiding too many more in the near future.
12. What advice would you give someone that wants to place a cache? What steps do YOU take when placing a cache?
1) Find at lest 100 first to see how others hide theirs.
2) Try to make your cache at least as good as the best you found in that 100.
3) No micros in the woods – no fun to find.
4) Keep them off the ground because caching is a year round sport.
13. How often do you go caching?
I usually do an all day caching trip once a week.
I rotate to the north, Saint John, Fredericton, PEI & NS.
I will look for caches near home at any time.
14. What advice would you give a beginning geocacher?
Go to the events and talk to other cachers.
Don’t get discouraged if you have trouble finding them at first.
Log your DNF’s – that is very important.
Always thank the cache hider for the caches they placed out for you to find.
15. Do you collect geocoins? Of the ones that you’ve collected, which is your favorite?
I have about 25 – not much of a collector.
My favorite was a tribute Geocoin for 1701eh ( his Geocaching name )which was given to me by Cache Agent.
An Ontario geocacher who was killed in an auto crash coming home from a caching event.
We had e-mailed each other several times and I felt like I knew him.
We were going back and forth in the Canadian stats and when he reached 1701 caches, I e-mailed him and said now that he has reached his name sake in cache finds he can slow down. He replied and said to me
I see that you slowed down when you reached 52. One day I would like to find one of his caches.
16. What type of gear do you carry with you on your caching trips? What’s in your geopack?
I bring a flashlight, compass , map of the area I’m caching in, a small First-Aid kit, jack knife, spare log sheets, extra batteries, bug spray, pen and the important toilet paper.
Also lots of water.
17. What is your most memorable caching experience?
A caching trip to Bermuda. Loved the pink beaches and the turquoise water. Finding a few virtual caches in the area taught me about the Island.
18. What is your best caching story?
I can’t think of a one story, as their are so many.
What I like most is when they are long hikes that I go with my wife and dog.
Like when we hid A hike for digger1952 ( Up the Friar’s Nose ) GC1HMHC
19. What do you like about geocaching? What keeps you going?
Sometimes I ask myself that, I guess I am addicted.
While partaking in this sport I have written off two cars.
Got a traffic ticket as I didn’t put my seat-belt on quick enough.
Lost a pair of glasses.
Was with Hillbilly Bob when he hit a moose and his car was written off. Nobody was hurt.
And broke my nose while helping Incepit find a cache that I had already found.
( Tripped on a barbwire fence and landed on my face into a stump. )
But I guess it’s the thrill of finding something different just around the corner.
20. Besides geocaching, what other things do you like to do?
Cycling, hunting, hiking, walking the dog, reading the newspaper at McD’s, going to the movies or concerts with my wife. etc.
21. What question did you expect us to ask but didn’t. What is the answer?
Do you prefer caching alone or in a group.
My answer would be ( in a group ) It’s more fun.
