Bye Bye 2013, hello 2014!!!

A quick blog to end the year!!!

So this is the last day of the year....and also the last day of my caching commitment I made on January 1st of this year. The goal was to get at least a cache a day for the year of 2013.
Well I can gladly say that I persevered and attained that goal.
365 days, 1051 caches, some easy, some not so easy and some even difficult!!!
Many days it was tough, especially with life getting in the way. This year had me finding a new job which took me away from my family, we also moved from Vancouver Island to the mainland, and we were also busy with our little guy growing up and becoming more of a toddler.
But in all that went on, it was a great year as I look back on it. Having an awesome wife sure helped, as it was her many times that kept our plans in motion.

Until next year,

Keep caching

and have an

Awesome New Year!!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

 

Magic Convention, Space event and of course....Caching!!!

These last few months were quite busy as we were in the middle of getting ready to move from Vancouver Island over to the mainland, I also attended some geo-events and a magic convention.

Note: Please remember that the highlighted words are links and will take you to a different webpage that will be of interest!!!

Three of Clubs Magic convention:

What a great convention. This convention takes place in one of three city's each year, hosted by the respective magic club.(Seattle, Victoria, and Vancouver- Hence the name "The Three of Clubs")
Last year I was the VP of the Victoria magic circle and we hosted the Convention. Myself and 6 others were on the organizing committee and we were in charge of running the convention and making sure everyone attending has a terrific time.
This year it was in Vancouver and since I am moving over this way I volunteered to help run things.
I was one of the guys that helped keep the convention running smoothly( well almost smooth). I ran the sound and camera for the shows, speakers, lecturers, and special guests. Everyone had a great time and it was one of the best "Three of Clubs" conventions ever.

 

 

This is the Space event that myself and 80plus other cachers attended:

A travel bug was being taken up to space by a teacher as a classroom project.
Yup its true!!! A Geocaching Travel Bug is hitching a ride with astronaut Rick Mastracchio straight to the International Space Station. The mission was to launch from Kazakhstan at 4:08 GMT on November 7, which is November 6 at 8:08 p.m. here in the Lower Mainland. The TB is now up in space. Very Cool!!!

Still maintaining my cache a day commitment. I'm still going on day 349, just 16 more till the end of the year. I always take lots of photos while I am caching. Here are just a few.

 

 

 

 

I have been working in Langley area, and it seems there is a couple of different Tree climbing cache series. I have grabbed quite a few after work, some have been easy, others were a bit harder. Although I was able to climb one of them up about 30-40 feet, I came to one that was closer to the ground but the tree was such a shape that I could just not get started up it. But as it just so happens, I had something on the truck that was able to help me as you will see in the pic. Hey, I saw no rule saying these could not be used. LOL!!!

The Easy way to climb!!

 This one was fairly easy to climb but quite high up, I was not even sure I was in the right tree until I was up about 35 feet and spotted the cache container.

 

 

I want to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas, and an awesome New Year!!! 

 

 

See ya next YEAR!!!

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

 

Souvineers and Geo101 events

Note: Please remember that the highlighted words are links and will take you to a different webpage that will be of interest!!!

Hello fellow cachers and blog followers....

So here we are almost at the end of the year, and I have not gotten this blog out at the time I wanted to as we have been very busy. We are in the process of moving again...this time to the mainland. 

I made a commitment to grab at least a cache a day on Jan 1st after finding 12 that day. There were times that it was tough(rainy days, work, life, etc)but as of writing this I am still going strong.
(day 307) I have grabbed quite a few at 5 in the morning on the way to work just to make sure I have one. Lol.
After looking at my stats recently, I decided to up my challenge...Instead of just the year long caching streak, I decided I want to break 1000 caches for the year 2013. I started doing as many caches as I could each day to bump up my numbers and as of right now as long as I get at least 1.8 caches per day till the end of the year I will hit it. The other morning on the way to work I got 7 caches between 4:30 and arriving to work.(Not an obsession at all. lol)

Int. caching day

August rolled around and Groundspeak was giving out souvineers (virtual peices of art work for doing specific things....)for every day of the month. While some people made a decision to get a cache a day for august I was already in motion so it was sort of a no-brainer for me to get them all. On aug17th I actually received 3 souvenirs.

Block Party

Groundspeak HQ

 

Had to go to Whistler for work and while I was there I found some very cool cache sites. (after all that is what caching is all about...where it takes you and the people that you meet!!!!)

 

 

 

 

 Found a few cool caches in and around Vancouver and over on the sunshine coast as well.

 

 

 

 

 Can you spot the caches...I did!!!

Last month I helped organize a Geo101 event in Victoria, and spoke to everyone on behalf of the BCGA.
Landsharkz, Soobaxm, The Incredibles, Barbatlarge, krisandtim, and the rest of the team did an awesome job and made it a great event for all who attended. The weather was awesome and a lot of newbies got to go caching nearby. I gave some helpful tips and discussed some of the new policies in BC.

 

Also as BCGA Vice President I was privy to an early announcement of the upcoming mega event on Vancouver Island "earthcache" coming in August 2014

Sounds as if it will be larger than last years mega that was held at the same location. (Island spirit)
Looking forward to coming back to the island for this event!!!

 

Came across this cool site for putting some stats on your profile page if you wish, plus it helps figure things out when you do some of those challenge caches.
http://www.mygeocachingprofile.com/

 

Also found this list that compiles 100 things that should or will happen to you as a cacher at one point or another, whether you like it or not. How many can you check off?

1. Log a multi cache.
2. Become FTF.
3. Hide your own cache.
4. Log your 100th find.
5. Buy geocaching stuff online.
6. Think “this would make an excellent hiding spot” on your way to work or school.
7. Geocache on your vacation, to the horror of the rest of the family.
8. Cache abroad.
9. Participate in an event.
10. Listen to a podcast about geocaching.
11. Upgrade to a new GPS.
12. Download GSAK.
13. Go geocaching in a group.
14. Log a mystery.
15. Cache in the dark.
16. Phone a friend to get help finding a cache.
17. Get lost.
18. Log a traditional.
19. Organize an event.
20. Walk the birds’ path even if it’s not the most suitable one.
21. Use a flashlight while searching for a cache.
22. Move a TB or a coin.
23. Buy and send your own TB or coin.
24. Have a pre-packed geocaching bag.
25. Randomly meet another geocacher.
26. Drop your GPS in the water.
27. Log the wrong date online.
28. Log a DNF.
29. Drive on a private road.
30. Visit http://www.awesomegeocaching.com.
31. Miss your favorite TV show to log a cache.
32. Google “geocaching” out of boredom.
33. Say or think “only one more cache”.
34. Have a dream about geocaching.
35. Register in a local or national geocaching organization.
36. Have your photo taken while up in a tree.
37. Geocache in a metropolis.
38. Buy a lock n’ lock container.
39. Hope for an update/new feature on geocaching.com (or other similar website).
40. Log a webcam cache.
41. Brag about a geocaching achievement.
42. Get weird looks from muggles.
43. Get stopped by the police.
44. Have a special music playlist for geocaching trips.
45. Stare for ages at a physical map.
46. Do something physical you would otherwise never have done.
47. Pick up trash while geocaching (CITO).
48. Stand right next to a cache without seeing it.
49. Park where you shouldn’t park.
50. Log an earth cache.
51. Film a geocaching adventure with a video camera.
52. Have the phone number of another geocacher in your cell phone.
53. Upload a photo to geocaching.com.
54. Search online for a cache of a specific difficulty.
55. Become surprised when darkness falls.
56. Try to place a cache that gets denied by a reviewer.
57. Blog about geocaching.
58. Ask a newbie question about geocaching on a forum.
59. Write a cache description in a foreign language.
60. Explain geocaching to a muggle.
61. Download something related to geocaching.
62. Become wet during a search.
63. Write the wrong date in a physical log.
64. Read about geocaching in a newspaper or magazine.
65. Log your 1000th cache.
66. Think “what the heck am I doing here?”
67. Accept a challenge related to geocaching.
68. Become FTF for the 10th time.
69. Log DNF three times in a row.
70. Participate in a CITO-event.
71. Wish that your GPS device was better.
72. Find something really fun in a geocache.
73. Have a bad GPS reception.
74. Run out of batteries at an unsuitable moment.
75. Wish that you could be out geocaching, when you’re stuck with something else.
76. Log a cache that would not be possible to take without the help of someone else.
77. Bring a friend for a geocaching trip.
78. Trade up a cache, meaning to leave something of greater value than what you take.
79. Log a cache in a cache bomb.
80. Log all caches in a cache bomb.
81. Criticize a fellow geocacher.
82. Log at least 10 caches in a day.
83. Attempt a 5/5.
84. Complain that people don’t put the cache back at its original location.
85. Not put a cache back at its original location.
86. Complain about bad coordinates.
87. Pretend to tie your shoes to avoid muggles.
88. Tell a friend about geocaching.
89. Fix a damaged cache that belongs to someone else.
90. Become thrilled about an e-mail from geocaching.com.
91. Applaud another geocacher.
92. Be annoyed by all the trash in caches and then place something useless yourself.
93. Lose your GPS.
94. Geocache together with children.
95. Take a break of over a month.
96. Tease someone who can’t find a cache that you have already found.
97. Forget to log a cache online.
98. Log a cache in a cave.
99. Log a letterbox cache.
100. Complete everything on this list.

I have not done 26 thankfully!!
Did 36(but no one to take pic)
Have not done 44 or 59 or 85, 98 and 100
Doing 57 as we speak!!!
93...My wife angelcheeks has.lol
97 read blog "A cache a day"

This coming month is a busy one as I will be attending and helping at the "Tri-City Three of Clubs Magic Convention" and also.....“WE’RE GOING TO SPACE!”

Yeah! A Geocaching Travel Bug is hitching a ride with astronaut Rick Mastracchio straight to the International Space Station. The mission is currently scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan at 4:08 GMT on November 7, which is November 6 at 8:08 p.m. here in the Lower Mainland.

To celebrate this special event there are several events happening all over the world. I will be attending one in the Vancouver area, but more about those two events next month.



See ya next month

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

Groundspeak HQ and the Snoqualmie Tunnel

Note: Please remember that the highlighted words are links and will take you to a different webpage that will be of interest!!!

The last little while I have been doing a bit of travelling around, due to work and some play.

Molly's Reach

Persephone

Welcome to Beachcombers

While working in Sechelt I was able to grab a bunch of caches including one that was close to Molly's Reach in Gibson's and was a tribute to the show that made the diner famous. While there I had a great supper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



                                                                                        Log book in a Log

 

Block Party and A.P.E. Mega Event

We went down to Seattle for the Groundspeak block party on aug17, and the A.P.E. Event, on the following day.

We got down a day early to relax, check out some sites such as the Seattle Space needle, and of course grab some very cool caches. After taking a ride up to the top of the Space Needle and checking out some of the sights around it.

 

 

 

We then decided to head over to Pike Place Market. Not only is there a Magic store there that was on the agenda, but there was also a cool(OK maybe a bit gross) cache that I had my sights set on. It was a cache that I have been studying for the last couple of months.

It is called  "Double Bubble toil & Trouble"  and it is at the site of a local landmark

 

 

 

I looked at about 300 photos that are on the cache page and was able to come up with one that may help. I saved this pic and the day we left for Seattle I emailed it to myself, so I would have it on hand when at the cache sight. When we arrived there was at least 8 other cachers on the scene who had been looking already for about an hour. I started chatting with them, and gave them my take on the Hint, and showed them the pic I had. Within 10-15 seconds the cache was in hand!!!! (Yes it was in my hand)

 

Geocache in hand!!!

We then did a bit of shopping and then headed back to the hotel.

The following morning it was time to head over to Groundspeak Headquarters for their annual Block Party Event 

We arrived early so we decided to do some of the nearby caches that Groundspeak placed around the event area. Most of the caches were easy to find as there was usually about 10-20 other cachers already there signing the log. One was in a “Chairy Tree”

The "Chairy Tree"

Jenna, Dayton, and Oliver meet the Bridge Troll

 

We had an awesome time hanging out with more than 3000 other cachers on a super sunny Seattle Saturday. We also got to log Groundspeak HQ, while at the event.

 

Got to take a pic with the 2 co-founders, I had already met Jeremy at the Mega event in Drumheller a few years back.

 Bryan and I

Jeremy and I

 

 

Got to discover some cool TB's including one that went to space.

This travel bug, was launched aboard Soyuz TMA 13. Which was also the 100th Soyuz launch to date. It was 10 days aboard the International Space Station and left behind in the Russian segment of the ISS, in locker #218.

The following day was a very exciting day(well for me at least) A few years back we were in Carnation, Wash. For Geowoodstock VIII(My first Mega) and we got to hike into the Snoqualmie Mountains to find one of the last remaining "A.P.E. Caches"

We(Angelcheeks and I) did the hike with our good friends Tom and Heather (Coast2coast2coast and Toby&Me)

But the "Iron Horse Tunnel" was closed for major repairs, so we had to hike up the back side to get it. But it was definitely worth it.

This year for the "Going APE 2013" event the tunnel was open. YAY!!!

We signed into the event by logging our names on the board hanging off the APE.

We(Angelcheeks, Crazyboy02, our little guy and myself) then headed down the trail towards the entrance of the 4.7km long tunnel, that is normally a chilly 5-10 degrees Celsius . As we approached the tunnel you could feel the chill of it even from about 200 metres away. When you enter the tunnel, you feel like you have just entered a different world...a world of the underground. Very Cool!!!

Entrance to Iron Horse Trail

Monsters???

Exit the Snoqualmie Tunnel(Iron Horse Trail)

Halfway thru the tunnel we came across the keeper of the cache in the tunnel.

 

 

Upon coming out of the tunnel you feel as if you have been transported into a whole different world or place. We took a short break, and then headed a bit further up the trail to grab the A.P.E. Tribute cache.

Although the original cache has been archived as it was muggled, they had a tribute cache in its place. While there we met lots of other cachers milling around and telling stories of the original cache. Chatted with a fellow cacher who is a “Geocaching Vlogger”

www.geocachingvlogger.com

We also got to check out another TB at the Tribute cache, that had been to space as well.

After mingling about for a bit, we knew we should get going, so back thru the tunnel it was. This time we decided to time our trip into darkness. We were underground for 43 minutes....one way!!!

Oliver and I ready to make the journey back thru the tunnel

See ya next month

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65