The Maritime Geocaching Association

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Interview Date:  March 22, 2011
Caching Name: P_from_PACAD5 (also PACAD5 when caching with the family)
Real Name: Paul Molyneaux

1. How did you become involved in geocaching. When did you start?

We heard about geocaching through family members who geocached. They gave us the rundown, showed us the website….within a week we went out and bought a road GPS. Made the rookie mistake and didn’t know the importance of the hand-held unit…which we bought a month or 2 later. We/I started in April of 2010.

2. How did you choose your caching name?

Started off as PACAD5 (Paul, Alison (girlfriend), Callie (cat) Alvin (dog) Dylan (Alison’s son)) but also branched off into p_from_pacad5 when I went out caching on my own….but the dog usually travels with me.
3. How many caches have you found so far?

Just short of 300…not too bad for almost 1 year.
4. What brand/type of GPS do you use?

Seeing as we were so brand new, started off with a Tom Tom road unit. Lots of searching when you just start off with a road GPS

New and unsure how much time would be spent on caching, we looked for a used handheld and acquired an Explorist 200 for $30.00. What a difference a handheld makes. It is low end and manual input of coordinates so eventually would like to get something a little more current. No complaints on the accuracy of the unit though. With a baby on the way it’s not on the priority list.

5. What programs/software or hardware (PDA/laptop/phone) do you use to make caching easier?

Ummmm…write them down in a notepad, input into GPS. Long process but all part of the deal when you’re working with low end GPS units.

6. What type of cache do you prefer seeking – traditional, multi, puzzle, virtual?

It has mostly been traditional at this point. I do plan on working out some puzzles and keeping them handy for when I am out and about as well.

7. Which caches were the most challenging – physically/mentally? Why?

The most challenging…all of them before the purchase of the handheld!
Physically, one that I had to turn around halfway into the hunt would be “where is that bloomin cache – gc1eh5p”…just nasty in the summer with shorts on.

8. Do you have a favorite or favorites among the Maritime caches that you’ve found?

I will mention 2 in Moncton.
Could pass for a waterfall – gcq5zy – what a great cache container.
Rebecca`s back – gc1921g – was very interested in this story when I lived in moncton…its more about the location and history on this one.
Enjoy the caches as well that are on trails so that the dog gets a good walk in.

9. What’s the most unusual thing that you’ve ever found in a cache?

That would either be RAM memory sticks (didn’t work)

10. What are your current caching goals? Is there a certain cache that you can’t wait to do?

No goals at the moment, just get out whenever time allows. Life is about to get even busier so it will be nice just to get out.

It would be nice to get to St. Peters Island off the south shore of PEI, as well as Canada’s first geocache in NS.

11. How many caches have you placed? Do you have a current hiding goal?

I just put out 4 in the last few days to give p_from_pacad5 a total of 10.

PACAD5 has put out 13.

No current hiding goals but it is great to give back and I enjoy reading up on people’s logs when they find a cache of ours.

12. What advice would you give someone that wants to place a cache?

Get 100+ under your belt and then you’ll have a better idea. Have some consideration if you are making someone hike for your cache. Nothing worse then walking for 1km and not being able to find a nano in an evergreen! Unless you are just evil..haha

13. How often do you go caching?

Nothing is set in stone. It can be a full well planned day on the weekend or it could be something that I can grab on my way home from work.

14. What advice would you give a beginning geocacher?

All of this is from experience…I would say that both the road GPS and handheld will come in handy, but the handheld would be priority. Bring extra batteries. Mark your car if you’re heading into unknown woods. Try to go to as many caching events that you can. I have only been to a few and missed alot, but there are lots of great people who will tell you some great stories and share some knowledge.

15. Do you collect geocoins? Of the ones that you’ve collected, which is your favorite?

I have 2…but couldn’t tell you much about them…but I like getting them!

I have 2 bugs out on the go as well and enjoy reading up on where they are at.

16. What type of gear do you carry with you on your caching trips? What’s in your geopack?

GPS, gloves, band-aids, batteries, water/snacks, sunflower seeds, pen, camera, phone. Usually a cache that is ready to be placed if the opportunity comes up. Always have additional clothing/shoes in the trunk of the car if needed.
17. What is your most memorable caching experience?

Well one that sticks in my head is at the Dromore Woodlot in PEI. Over 10+ kms of trails in various loops. We set out to grab 4 or 5. After the 1^st grab it looked quicker on the GPS to go off the trail and cut through the woods for the next…..boy did we ever get lost and did not have the car marked. It was mid afternoon in the summer so we were in no danger of darkness…but if anyone knows Dromore. It is huge.
18. What is your best caching story?

I think that it would have to be the Red Dirt Dash last June. It was a fierce competition with geocachers from all over the Maritimes and beyond.

The day was already going to be tough enough with a 2-hour previous commitment right in the middle of the event. After that was complete it was back to the competition…and then the rain began. I don’t think that I have ever been so soaked in my life. We made a call to the event site to make sure we weren’t the only crazy ones still out caching as we had a few hours to go until the event ended. We were rewarded at the end of the day with some BBq’d hot dogs and chips which made it all worth while…and 28 finds.

19. What do you like about geocaching? What keeps you going?

I like the hunt. I like the hide. I like the fact that it brings me to places that I wouldn’t have gone before. Discovered lots of new roads and trails. I like the fact that it can be done 12 months a year and gets you outside. You will never be bored if you are a cacher. I hope that it is something I can do for many many more years!

20. Besides geocaching, what other things do you like to do?

I play softball in the summer and curl every now and then in the winter…sports junkie.

Spending time with family, friends and pets.

I like a good night of cards or board games with friends.

Cooking and eating.

21. What question did you expect us to ask but didn’t. What is the answer?

Maybe – What’s next for PACAD5 with a baby on the way….well we’ll have to insert a letter somewhere into the mix and change that 5 to a 6.

Tromping through the tall grasses, some brushing against his shoulders, Tim Kalvelage of Hastings, Nebraska didn’t know the shape or size of the container he was seeking.

Tim Kalvelage walks around the land surrounding Prairie Lake tracking a geocache container using a GPS unit Thursday.

It could have been an old ammunition container. It could have been as small as a thimble. All he had was a set of coordinates for this treasure hunt known as geocaching. Using the Global Positioning System to determine the longitude and latitude, geocaching is a high-tech game of hide-and-seek. Geocachers place hidden containers, called caches, across the globe for other players to find.

Kalvelage had found a wide variety of geocaches in the last year. For the last 364 days, he had located one geocache each day, a feat few geocachers in the world have accomplished.

This cache would be his 365th.

The weather cooperated Thursday and provided the ideal conditions for the hunt. Temperatures were in the mid-60s. A few days without precipitation kept the ground dry and made trekking though the overgrowth less hazardous.

“This takes you to everywhere that’s not on a tour guide,” Kalvelage said.

-Will Vraspir

The Hastings Tribune

The Maritime Geocaching Association is looking for a coin design that best represents the Maritime provinces. The sky is the limit, however there are a few guidelines that must be followed.

Competition Rules:

1. You do not need to be a resident of the Maritimes, however you must be a geocacher
2. Each design must contain the following:
   • The MGA Logo. Either the classic, or New design. (We can provide large scale copies if requested)
   • The year 2011
   • Space for the trackable number and the words “trackable at www.geocaching.com”
3. Coin must have a front and back design
4. Coin can be no larger than 2” diameter
5. Coin designs must be submitted in one of the following formats: .JPG, .JPEG, .GIF, .TIF or .PNG
6. Include the shape, colors, specific features, etc. Include the Pantone PMS numbers if you have them
7. No limit to the number of designs submitted

Send all designs, to the MGA at contest@maritime-geocaching.com with “MGA Geocoin Design” in the subject. Include your geocache name, real name, email address and phone number in your email.

The MGA reserves the right to alter the winning coin design if necessary to allow for the actual coin production. If needed, the alterations will be discussed with the winning coin designer.

Prize details will follow!

We live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Lets show it off!

We’re making a calendar, and we need your help.

Since this year is our first year for this project photos from any year are allowed. They must be taken near a geocache in the Maritimes or be maritime geocaching related.

Please resize to a reasonable size. The 12 best will be placed in next years calendar so full resolution pictures will be requested at that time.

In addition to the calendar, these entries will be entered into the Photo Contest we’ll be having later this year!

Also mention or link to the cache the picture is related too.

Please post only entries to this thread. Questions and comments should not be placed in this thread.

Example of a submission

A Hike for FunkyNassau

Hey Gang,

Due to some requests by members, I’ve added a Live Tweeting Section to the site. I’ll be adding a HowTo Shortly, but for now you can reach the Live Tweet Tracker by either clicking the previous link, or by Selecting Live Tweeting from the Navagiation sidebar on the Front Page.  Or.. just goto this post

Append the hashtag #MGeo to any post and it’ll pop up below!

Finding a geocache may not have the meaning of a hidden immunity idol but its global allure is seemingly unstoppable. Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a GPS-enabled adventure played around the globe. Consider it worldwide GPS treasure hunting.

The hobby began in 2000 when the U.S. Military degraded the GPS signal for civilians by ditching the “service availability.” Dave Ulmer tested the idea of locating a hidden object with only its coordinates and his GPS device. The rules for the finder were simple: “Take some stuff, leave some stuff.” He posted his findings on an Internet GPS user forum. The rest is history. The name of the activity became “geocaching.”

Jeremy Irish created Geocaching.com in September 2000. It was believed that 75 caches existed worldwide. Explosive growth created Seattle-based Groundspeak.com with his partners Elias Alvord and Bryan Roth. Their avocation became their vocation.

Eric Schudiske, Spokesperson and Social Media Specialist at Geocaching.com, stated that annual growth has been phenomenal. “Geocachers can be found on every continent on earth from Antarctica to Asia and in almost every country.” It is estimated that more than 5 million people on the planet participate in geocaching. This is determined by the number of Geocaching.com active accounts, he said.

Geocaching via snowshoes adds several new dimensions to the experience. Snowshoeing and geocaching are natural fits according to Schudiske. “Hikers discovered the purposeful nature geocaching adds to their outdoor adventure. When the weather turned cold, hikers strapped on snowshoes and kept geocaching,” he said.

The affinity for geocaching via snowshoes has drawn more than hikers to the mix as evidenced by a recent Facebook post which exceeded 189,000 hits and a plethora of responses that spanned the globe.

The long winters in northern Idaho created the ideal outlet for snowshoeing according to Annie Love. Her father introduced her to geocaching in 2004 when her famly searched for caches in the Bruneau Sand Dunes near Boise.

She was hooked. Love has worked at Groundspeak.com for four years in the business development and related sectors. “I like to joke that I begged for a job here. Geocaching was a hobby of mine and when I realized that the company that ran the website was in Seattle, I knew I wanted to work there,” Love said.

Becoming involved in geocaching is a snap.Create a free account at Geocaching.com. Premium memberships ($30 per annum) provide additional benefits related to search, map, statistics, Favorite Point functions, and more.

Families account for a major percentage of memberships according to Schudiske.

Geocaching rules are casual and evolve as the adventures mature (Extreme and Scenic Geocaching, for example). Schudiske noted a few universally understood rules:

• 1: If you take something from the cache make certain to leave something of equal or greater value;
• 2: Write about your ‘find’ in the cache logbook;
• 3: Log your experience at Geocaching.com.

Additional rules respective to hiding a cache and the like may be accessed at Geocaching.com.

Geocaching groups and organizations form organically. These groups exist from South Africa to Asia, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and beyond. Joining groups or organizations is a way to learn from veterans and meet other geocachers.

One such group in Washington is headed by Greg McCaddon, a systems analyst who has been a geocaching member since 2003, and a member of the Washington State Geocachers Association for nearly as long. McCaddon initiated Hike-of-the-Month (HOTM) excursions designed to access different trails in the region.

His snowshoe geocaching debut was a memorable trip to breathtaking Artist Point on Mount Baker. “The snow was about 200 inches deep and was a lot more work than I anticipated making me question what I was doing out here. Ultimately, I had a lot of fun,” McCaddon said.

McCaddon uses geocaching as a menas to an end. The HOTM has evolved into a destination event to attend. Snowshoeing has an allure that is hard to resist, he said. ‘For me, it is not only the destination, but the journey to get there and back that makes it part of the adventure. Words and pictures do not do justice to enjoying the beauty Mother Nature has to offer,’ MCcaddon said.

Love emphatically agreed. “I love getting out in nature. I love the destinations geocaching takes me to,” she said. Love enjoys the comaraderie and the outdoor pursuits such as snowshoeing that enhance the experience. “Playing in the snow never gets old for me,” Love said.

Geocaching is an amazing way to engage the entire family. The search for a geocache adds a fun, purposeful element to snowshoeing that is exciting for both the adults and the kids, Schudiske said. McCaddon sees nothing but growth in snowshoe geocaching. “I see lots of videos and blogs of geocachers going out on snowshoes to continue playing a game that they enjoy so much,” he said. Love envisions a lot more snowshoe geocaching endeavors on the horizon due to the explosive growth and the complementary nature of both activities.

Snowshoe geoaching is an economical way to engage families in the joy of using technology to explore new territories, meet people, exercise, learn environmental stewardship through the CITO (Cache In Trash Out) philosophy, and enjoy a sense of community while communing with nature, Schudiske said.

Which device one uses to track coordinates is really a matter of personal preference. The applications at Geocaching.com can seamlessly be implemented via various cell ‘phones (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7…) or GPS devices  (Garmin, Magellan, DeLorme…). Check the reviews and information page at the Geocaching.com site.

McCaddon emphasized the safety factor in addition to the wealth of enjoyable elements related to snowshoe geoaching. He vowed to never become a statistic and stressed the importance of being prepared for anything. McCaddon typically lugs gear and supplies to last three days. This includes a shovel and an array of tracking and communication portals (Twitter, Facebook, geocaching forums…) so that people know his location and progress.

The botton line: Use the technology to maximize both the safety and fun of each adventure. Suggestions regarding gear checklists from beacons to sleds to space blankets and hot chocolate can be accessed at Geocaching.com

Geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. Implement this simple concept and challenge yourself in the spirit of adventure to commune in new ways with your family and Mother Nature and learn more about both.

This post courtesy of :

Snow Shoe Magazine!

Links:

http://www.geocaching.com

http://www.groundspeak.com

Founders – Irish/Alvord/Roth
http://www.geocaching.com/lostandfound/default.aspx

To access more information about geocaching:
http://www.geocaching.com/lostandfound/default.aspx

Facebook Page – Geocaching.com
http://www.facebook.com/geocachingdotcom

Facebook Video – McCaddon +
http://blog.geocaching.com/2011/01/snowshoe-geocaching-a-geocaching-com-video/

Groups and Organizations:
http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=198818

Extreme and Scenic Geocaching
http://extreme-caching.com/index.php?p=1_2_Extreme-Caches

GPS Reviews
http://www.geocaching.com/reviews/gps

The Image above was taken by Gregory Pleau (used with permission) on one of his evening excursions.  This picture is an example of what is called “light painting”.  In this case the foreground trees were illuminated with his LED flashlight.  By brushing the flashlight back and forth on the foreground object he was able to bring life to a dark image.  You can see a version without the light painting to the right. This is a great nightscape picture.   He did have the advantage of a tripod. Any kind of a long exposure will require a tripod and some kind of shutter release mechanism.  I use the IR remote control on my Nikon.

No tripod?  No Camera?  No problem!  The image to the right was taken using my blackberry.  I was out night caching with some friends. We wanted a picture of the well so we used a few headlamps on the foreground and a flashlight on the background.  You can’t “paint” as much when you have relatively short exposures.   You need long exposures for the best effect.   It helps if you steady your camera against a tree, building or other suitably stable object. 

High intensity LED flashlights are the key.  I find that the combination of my 100 Lumen Rogue 2 and 50 Lumen Link allow me to capture some good pictures on location at night with my Blackberry.  Longer exposures and larger lights, like those used by Gregory above,  allow for even more creativity.  

This post via CacheAtNight.

Why are Fire Tacks so bright? The short answer is that they are retroreflective. Retroreflective means that much of the light shown at an object will be reflected back to the source.  You most frequently see this effect on road signs. These signs are designed to be visible from distances sufficient for the sign to be helpful.

Stops signs you can’t see until it’s too late are not helpful.

In every day circumstances most objects we see are either diffuse reflective of mirror reflective.  In mirror reflective materials the light is often directed away from the viewer. In this way these materials do not always appear bright to person holding the light source.  The same cannot be said for the person viewing the reflection! Shiny or mirror like objects may seem like a good choice for building a night cache but generally they are not.   There are more useful for creating effects that would make an night cache interesting but they do not work well as trail makers. 

Diffuse reflection is what you get from something like snow or a white sheet of paper. The return path of the light source is spread out in many directions. In this situations the object will appear bright from a variety of angles but not much light is sent back to the viewer. We percieve these objects as being brighter than their surroundings but they aren’t necessarily very bright at all.  These kinds of materials are best suited for increasing contrast between objects during the day.  Increased contrast is helpful at night if you are trying to make it easier for the cacher to distinguish writing or shapes that make up part of your night cache. 

Retroreflective materials in contrast can return as much as 58% of the light to the original source.This is why retroreflective materials are visible from great distances. There is one draw back to retroreflective materials and that is they have a very small effective observation angle. This is the angle between the light source and your eyes. Typically for the observer to notice the retroreflected light their observation angle must be less than 1°. In most cases an observation angle over 2° renders the fire tack ineffective. It is for this reason that headlamps are best when you are following Fire Tacks. The retroreflective nature of Fire Tacks make them the best choice for trail markers.  (Remember to use them for the trail out as well as the trail in, use different colors to distinguish the inbound and outbound trails.)

The narrow limit of the observation angle is one of the reasons that Fire Tack brand reflective trail markers are not flat. Flat trail markers are only visible to the observer from head on or slightly to the side. By making Fire Tacks three dimensional the observer has a better chance of seeing the trail.

The type of material used in the reflective trail marker also influences its brightness. Fire Tack brand trail markers use ASTM type VI and above materials while other brands use ASTM type II materials. If the reflective material on the trail marker does not have a geometric pattern on it then you are looking at a type II material. There is a significant difference in the apparent brightness in these materials.

Note: Fire Tacks is the brand name of reflective trail markers from WildTech Corporation.

This post via CacheAtNight.

Found this really neat article on NotAboutTheNumbers.com:



No dear reader, you haven’t been punked – or in this case, steampunked.

Today’s DIY cache tutorial will actually teach you how to build a Steampunk GPS – an object that would perfectly fit an imaginary Victorian age of brass or copper clockworks and steam-powered inventions that go far beyond 1800s technology.

According to Wikipedia: “Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s.”

Specifically, it involves “an era or world driven by steam-powered machines” – often Victorian Britain – that “incorporates prominent elements of science fiction or fantasy”.

Imagine anachronistic machinery based on a 19th-century perspective -  Utopian dirgibles, anyone? - and futuristic innovations - such as the analog computer – all operated by goggle-wearing heroes.

Authors HG Wells and Jules Verne both wrote of steampunk ideals, though the example you’re most likely to recall is that hideous 1999 movie Wild Wild West starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline and Salma Hayek.

In a nutshell, it’s a steam-powered alternate history most often replicated today by modifying one’s electronic gadgets to make them look a century out-of-date.

Though before you pooh-pooh the idea, it’s worth remembering that the Chinese actually invented the compass around the middle of the 3^rd century but didn’t begin using it for navigational purposes until the 11^th century.

In this case, our inventor is Greek geocacher Richard Preen (GC handle r10n), who earlier gave It’s Not About The Numbers a sneak preview of his latest electronic puzzle cache.

After he began building puzzles last year, Preen found himself with some spare components so decided to create a functional Steampunk Compass.

“Based around a Arduino Duemilanove, this was a really quick and simple build. Taking a reading from a digital compass, the Arduino controls a servo to position the clock hand.”

Not completely satisfied, he remodelled his project into a Steampunk GPS, creating “a device that instead of pointing north will point to any programmed co-ordinate”.

Unfortunately while the end result is accurate only to 10 degrees, he says it “can always point you toward home, or to a geocache”.

BUILD YOUR OWN STEAMPUNK GPS

STEP ONE – THE PARTS

Interior:
Box/case
Small servo
Arduino Duemilanove
HMC6352 Compass Module

Mini breadboard
Female-female hookup wire
Male Headers
9-volt battery and connectors
EM-406A GPS Module

Exterior:
4 clock cogs
1 hour hand
4 screws
Glue

STEP TWO – CONNECT THE ELECTRICS

“Couldn’t be simpler,” Preen says. The digital compass connects:
SCL to Arduino Analog pin 5
SDA to Arduino Analog pin 4
VCC to Arduino 5V
GND to Arduino GND

The servo connects:
Signal to Arduino Digital pin 10
VCC to Arduino 5V
GND to Arduino GND

To connect up the GPS module, either wire it up directly or “splash out and get a shield”.

“Everything can then be just placed in a box. The only important thing is that the compass module must be ‘fixed’ so that it moves with the box.”

STEP THREE – CONNECT THE COGS

“This was trial and error. I went to a local clock repair shop and got cogs that geared up from one around to four. This gave me a 90-degree turn on the servo – equal to roughly a 360-turn on the final cog.

“To test the positioning of the cogs before I started putting them into the final box, I put nails through them and tried them out on some scrap wood.

“Next I drilled a hole in the lid of the box, big enough to fit the shaft of the servo, and screwed the servo to the inside of the case. On the outside, I then screwed and glued the main drive cog directly into/onto the servo’s shaft.

“All the other cogs are free to rotate around simple screws. The final cog has an hour hand from a clock glued to the top of it. This allows the cog and hand to move together freely around the final screw.

“After playing with the gearing between the first and final cog, it turned out that moving the servo from 80 degrees to 145 gave a full rotation on the compass cog.”

STEP FOUR – SOURCE CODE

Steampunk GPS – Source Code

“The attached code should pretty much speak for itself. Using the TinyGPS library, your current position is taken and the direction to the final location is calculated. Moving the box in another direction gives you the required heading, and this is what is displayed via the servo.

“Your final destination is specified in the attached code:
#define DESTINATION_LATITUDE ( 37.916553f * DEG_TO_RAD ) // destination imitos
#define DESTINATION_LONGITUDE ( 23.815278f * DEG_TO_RAD ) // destination imitis”

STEP FIVE – THE FINAL DEVICE

“I didn’t position the cogs close enough to each other so there is a little play between them. The hour hand can move about 10 degrees without the servo cog turning – so the acuracy isn’t quite as good as it could have been.

“But that aside it looks pretty good on my coffee table at home.”

Of course, you’ll definitely need some steampunk googles if you ever plan to operate this unit outdoors.