Caching and Adventure Labs

Lower Mainland Cache Bache #9

For the last several years there is a cache bash, that takes place in BC. For 8 years it was known as the Fraser Valley Cache Bash, and spread from Pitt Meadows to Hope, This year they extended it to Horseshoe bay and now its the Lower mainland Cache Bash. I didn't plan on doing any this year, but then noticed there was one close to home, so I made my way over there. I was already looking when I saw some familiar faces walking into the woods. We finally found it as the co-ords were off.

We shared the FTF and I headed back home, as they headed for more caches.

Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred, and Eighty Eight!!

Coming up to getting 8888 finds!! As you may have seen in past blog's I like to mark wierd numbers. Even though I do enjoy finding round numbers and milestones such as 5000, 6000, etc., I like to mark my 5555th, etc. as you can see in part of the list from my Geocaching profile page:

5000th cache Ensconcement Interchange March 17/20 Richmond, BC
5555th cache Two Posts from Blue White March 7/21 Delta, BC
6000th cache BC Spirit Quest #30: Murray's Corners Oct. 26/21 Murrayville, BC

6565th cache Cynthia Street Cache Aug. 11/22 Saskatoon, Sask.
6666th cache DHL9 - The North West Necklace Sept. 25/22 Semiahmoo, Wash.

6969th cache Welcome to San Juan Travel Bug Hotel Apr. 22/23 Friday Harbor, Wash.
7000th cache English Camp Apr. 22/23 San Juan Island, Wash.
7777th cache Bygone Hwy - Basking Rocks May 12/24 100 mile house, BC
8000th cache West Richmond Community Centre AL Nov. 9/24 Richmond, BC

8888th cache ???????? 

Will I make it to 8888 this month? Maybe you will you have to wait till next blog to find out??

NOTE: The highlighted or underlined words in my blog can be clicked on as they are links to other cool stuff!! Also if you click on any of the pictures they become BIGGER!!!

This month I was lucky emough to be chosen to chat on an Online call with 2 Lackey's from Groundspeak. They wanted my opinion of a new thing they are thinking of putting into the game. It's something called "Sharable's" but it's not yet been started. I am waiting to see if they launch this new feature or not!! 

Adventure Lab Geoart

I got to be a part of an adventure Lab geoart builder. It is being spearheaded by a cacher in Victoria called Benicha. When finished it will consist of 124 AL's with 5 stages each totaling 620 finds all from one spot. I did 26 AL's at the San Diego airport back in October when I was thru there, for a total of 130 finds and though that was a lot. 

My Adventure Lab which is the 6th one I have done now is about Shipwrecks around Victoria, BC

Here is the FB post that I saw, that lead me to asking to be a part of it:

I VICTORIA – GeoArt Project

We’re building a large GeoArt in the ocean off Ogden Point — and you can be part of it! We are halfway there!!

Each person creates one Adventure Lab (5 locations) that becomes a piece of the design.

Themes are extended to all of Vancouver Island

I can provide:• A theme• 5 questions• Multiple choice answers

All you need to do is: Add 5 photos Build your Adventure Lab Let me know when you’re ready

I’ll then assign your official ocean coordinate + title, and you can publish.

Bonus: Publishing your Lab may trigger another Adventure Lab credit (sometimes right away, sometimes in 3 months!)

No stress, no pressure — I’m happy to help make this easy

It looked like a fun project, so I asked if I could be part of it. And now I am!!! Mine just went live!! 

Mine is "I {heart} Victoria BC 071"

Now I am hearing they are planning on making one in and around the Kelowna area.

PS: On the right hand side of this webpage is where you can find my YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, links. Please feel free to check them out and follow or subscribe!!!

Blue Switch Day

This month on May 2nd was what cachers have dubbed "Blue Switch Day"

On this day 26 years ago the decision was made to discontinue Selective Availability, ending the intentional restriction on civilian GPS accuracy and significantly improving GPS technology for public use. This date is recognized by geocachers as “Blue Switch Day.”

And this happened the very next day:

The first geocache was placed on May 3, 2000, by Dave Ulmer in the woods near Beavercreek, Oregon. He placed the container shortly after the U.S. government turned off Selective Availability for GPS satellites, creating a fun test to see if others could find a specific location using exact coordinates.

The original "stashed" cache was a black plastic bucket that contained software, books, money, and a slingshot. Today, there is an official Original Stash Tribute Plaque placed at the exact historical site.

M is for MAGIC!!!

Had a show out in Mission and stopped for a few caches along the way. 

This was a cache that I grabbed at this large Metal "M"

There used to be a cache here in the past that I got, but it must have been archived, and now there is a new one here. Plus there is one stage of an Adventure Lab here.

Next month, I will be heading to the States for a show, and then off to Edmonton to visit Family, and will also grab a few caches.....But more about that in Next months Blog....

Well that's it for this month!!

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

Caching south of the Border

States Trip

Booked some shows down in the states. I originally had one booked in Ellensburg, Wash.,

but then decided may as well do some more shows to make the trip longer and more profitable, so I booked a couple more shows. Ended up making it a 3 day tour to Ferndale,

 then Ellensburg, and end back up this way in Bellingham before coming back across the border back into BC.

I built a list of 47 52 63 caches that I may want to get while down that way. As you can see by the numbers, I kept adding more caches to the list. I have many puzzles that I worked out as I am trying to get 14 puzzle caches in 3 days for a new souvenir that Groundspeak is giving out.

I ended up not getting as many caches as I wanted to get. Several were in areas that there was so much snow. The Pass(Steven's Pass) that I had to go over to get to Ellensburg which is in the Snoqualmie Mountain area(Home of the A.P.E. Cache and the Snoqualmie Tunnel) was shut down the night before I had to cross it. Luckily they had plows working all night to get it clear. I made it to Ellensburg early and was able to set up and check into my hotel.

I found a cache in Ellensburg called "Kleinberg Caboose" with 106 favorite points. It was a big huge electrical box

and it had a lock on it and they gave you the four digits but they didn’t say what the four digits order was so you had to figure it out yourself. When I first got there, I started to monkey around with it a little bit, trying a few different combinations out of random order, and didn’t seem like it was going too fast for me so I went back to the vehicle and asked Google for all the combinations using those four numbers, and it’s spat out 24 different combinations. I went back and systematically went through them one by one and when I got to the 17th code, the cache box opened. If I would’ve started from the back end of the numbers, It would’ve been way faster. LOL

This was the container opened, after figuring out the Combination. Full of swag!!!

The next day I headed back to Bellingham for my 3rd show in the states, and was able to find many more Puzzle caches to complete the 14 that I needed. In total I only found 14 puzzles, 3 Traditional's, 1 Wherigo cache, and 1 Adventure Lab with 5 stages. 23 total finds out of the 63 I had on my list. lol. 

That's OK though as I go down to the states often, and will get more next time.

PS: On the right hand side of this webpage is where you can find my YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, links. Please feel free to check them out and follow or subscribe!!!

Blue Switch day, AKA the day Geocaching was born!!!

Have you ever thought about what makes GPS possible?
With the flip of the “Blue Switch,” or Selective Availability, GPS became dramatically more accurate, and a new kind of adventure known as geocaching became possible, turning the whole planet into a playground.
Before Selective Availability was discontinued, the U.S. government made GPS less accurate for everyone except the military, for national security reasons.
On May 2, 2000, the decision was made to discontinue Selective Availability, ending the intentional restriction on civilian GPS accuracy and significantly improving GPS technology for public use. This date is recognized by geocachers as “Blue Switch Day.”
The first geocache was hidden on May 3, 2000, marking the beginning of geocaching—a journey full of innovation and experimentation. Today, there are 3.4 million geocaches in 191 countries.

NOTE: The highlighted or underlined words in my blog can be clicked on as they are links to other cool stuff!! Also if you click on any of the pictures they become BIGGER!!!

Puzzle Event

Went to an event called puzzles: lets put our heads together

It was a 2 hour event which was attended by about 12 people helping each other figure out puzzle caches they have been working on. Always nice to get some insight into puzzle caches. I was given a few hints to help solve 2 caches I've been wanting to get just beyond Blaine, Washington. They are a part of a 25 puzzle series called the X-Men series. I have figured out and found all but the last 2.

Next month, I will be heading to the States a couple of times for a few shows.....But more about that in Next months Blog....

Well that's it for this month!!

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

Geochallenge of the Month and Return to Gold Country??

Geochallenge of the Month (April)

This months Geochallenge from The Geocaching Vlogger was to find and do a Wherigo cache. Wherigo's are played like a game on a different app from the regular caching app. You need to go to several places and answer questions, to move on to the next spot. The one we did was called "Langley Murals II" 

We looked for a Wherigo closer to us, but the majority of them near me are in and around Langley.

BLUE Switch Day

It’s no secret that GPS is a huge part of our lives. When we find the fastest way to work, check the weather at our location, tag our location on social media, or order a ride share or dinner from an app, GPS is responsible for it all. We can even add finding a geocache to this list! This is all thanks to a change made to GPS in the year 2000

When GPS was first developed, it was only available for use by the U.S. military. Eventually GPS was opened up to civilians but with Selective Availability. This meant that although everyone had access, the accuracy was lowered for civilians. On May 2, 2000 the U.S. government “flipped the switch” so high-accuracy GPS was available to everyone. For reasons unknown, geocachers know this as Blue Switch Day. However, there really wasn’t a blue switch!

Opening up accurate GPS technology to everyone around the globe launched a flow of innovation and new cutting-edge technology that changed the world forever. It created an entirely new world of possibilities. It’s not a coincidence the first geocache was hidden the day after on May 3, 2000, and the game of geocaching was born!

The First Geocache was hidden on May 3rd of 2000 in Oregon, United States by Dave Ulmer. Dave placed a 5 gallon bucket that contained Delorme Topo USA software, videos, books, food, money, and a slingshot! The geocache is not there anymore but there is a Plaque to honor it. The GC code for the plaque is GCGV0P. However the Original Cache placed by Dave Ulmer is still listed on the website. The GC code for the original "stash cache' is GCF. Can you Believe that, just one letter in the GC Code. Below is the original email Dave Ulmer sent out on his internet group. The first ever geocache is still listed it on the website and is here at;  "GCF"  

Well, I did it, created the first stash hunt stash and here are the coordinates:

N 45 17.460 
W122 24.800

Lots of goodies for the finders. Look for a black plastic bucket
buried most of the way in the ground. Take some stuff, leave
some stuff! Record it all in the log book. Have Fun!

Here is the Video of this Historic Cache called "The Original Stash"

NOTE: The highlighted or underlined words in my blog can be clicked on as they are links to other cool stuff!! Also if you click on any of the pictures they become bigger!!!

GOLD Country Caching

 

Well, the trip to the Gold Country in May, did not happen when we were hoping to because of the current restrictions on travel in BC. We have postponed it until Travel restrictions are lifted.(Hopefully in June) I had 143 caches setup in a list which we would go for over 2 or 3 days and we would travel roughly 850-900km round trip. 71 of them were Gold Country Caches. Inside each of these besides the log book are stickers, and once you collect 24 stickers from different caches, you can send them in and you receive a very cool geocoin shaped like a gold bar. I have already received 2 of these very cool coins, from the "Gold Country Geotour"

I am looking forward to when the travel restrictions are off to heading up there for a few days. It gives me more time to add more caches to my list. lol

These are the 6 Gold Country Regions. We had only planned to go up as far North as Clinton, but maybe we will change that and go further North, when we are able to head that way.

Change of plans

Since we were already planning a few days caching for the Gold Country and I took a couple of days off already, we decided to go caching closer to home. I searched out some cool caches with some higher fave points and cool locations. On Friday May 14th we did 15 caches and we started close to the US border then we headed East grabbing caches just above the border and then heading over to Cultus Lake area. 

We then headed back west thru Abbotsford, and back down into Langley. Today was about getting some cool caches, not about lots of caches. One of them I had to solve a rubik's cube to get the co-ords. Good thing I have been solving them since high school. lol 

On Saturday we decided to go out to Shady Island. (PS. It was not that shady) This little island is just off Steveston, and you can get there either by boat, swim, or wait for the tide to go down and cross on the rock breakwater.

We headed over at noon when the tide was low enough to cross on the rock breaker wall. We ended up only finding 5 caches as it got too late and we were concerned about the tide coming back in, as we had to turnaround and head back to where we started. I was able to log a new challenge cache that was over there called "I'm An Islander! Challenge" and also do a tree climb cache. 

I had to climb this tree to get a multi cache called

 "Very High and Dry"

A HUGE heart shaped rock

Found 2 of these while on the island. They are either waypoint markers, or Cairn's of some sort. Would be neat to find out why they are there.

Beautiful beach on the south side of the Island. 

PS: On the right hand side of this webpage is where you can find my YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, links. Please feel free to check them out and follow or subscribe!!!

FAVORITE POINTS

As you know, if you are a cacher, you are allowed to award Favorite points to cool caches that help other cachers see what's good out there. Usually this helps me plan my trips for caching. I am not a numbers collector that goes after power trails or every cache in my path. I enjoy caches that are cool, or bring me to an awesome place. Do you award Fave points to awesome caches?? My newest cache "Unexplainable Magic Clock" has got quite a few Fave points already. It has a 79% rate of Favorites so far. 

Looking to fill my Grid

So, I decided maybe I should try to fill my Fizzy Grid. That's the grid of 81 different Difficulty/Terrain

numbers. 

As you can see I have 3 combinations still to find as of May 1st.(Editor note: On May 15th I got a 4/5 on our trip to Shady Island) I have never been in a rush to fill this grid, but thought maybe it's time, as I've been caching since 2008. I found a 4.5/3 in my area which is a challenge cache called "MCW-10 mcwilli adds a little flair" and so I started to complete the challenge. The basic challenge is to find a full month of Non-Traditional caches. You can use previous finds from any month you choose. So thanx to a macro on GSAK I started checking all my months and found I did not have any complete months that I could use. So I looked at the upcoming month of May and found I only needed 6 days to find a Multi, puzzle, wherigo, virtual, earthcache, or Letterbox. I have other months where I only need a couple of days to complete the challenge, but thought why not do it this month and get it done. I have already signed the challenge cache and posted a note. (Editor Note: at time of publishing this blog, I only need 3 more specific days to find and log a Non-traditional cache to log the challenge cache)

I will write more about this in my next blog, and let you know if I was able to complete the challenge. Until then, Stay Safe, Wear your Mask, and Wash your Hands!!

 

Well that's it for this month,

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65