We are looking for Balsam Bashing volunteers to join us on Sunday 25th July at 10.30am at Hafod y Llyn Isaf, Nantmor, Beddgelert. This is not a geocaching event. We will be working in conjunction with the Snowdonia National Park’s Celtic Rainforest project.
Please register your interest in the comments and we will be in touch with further details.
Just two new caches this week:
GC9CPCG Madam Wen Bryngwran by TegwenEdwards Traditional D1.5/T1.5
Premium Member Only
GC9DVA7 Bricks Glore by TaffyLewis Traditional D2.5/T2.5
Looks like events could be back………… watch this space!
New TB Race
As part of our International Geocaching celebrations we are going to be starting a new TB race, with prizes for the furthest travelled, for the most countries visited and for any TB’s that make it back to 2022 International Geocaching Event. On the website there will be a new page to keep track of all the competing TB’s progress.
Rules
1) The race will last for one year, starting on International Geocaching Day 2021 and finishing on International Geocaching Day 2022.
2) The start will be from 9US International Geocaching event or if geocaching events are still not allowed TB’s to be ‘dipped’ into the nearest cache to the event.
3) The TB can be ‘dipped’ by the owner into another 2 caches before it is to be released into the ‘wild’. No hanging on to it and bringing it to next years event!
4) A country is as defined by Geocaching.com.
5) TB’s distance to be recorded in KILOMETRES not miles and start at zero!
6) There is no limit to how many TB’s you can enter.
Geocaching is both a game and a business
Groundspeak who manage Geocaching are a business. Groundspeak shows adverts on their website if you are not a premium member but this is minimal and restricted to a couple of small ones in your sidebar. They don’t get into big contracts to promote other people’s wares, so the money has to come from somewhere! Premium membership is their primary source for funds and about 7p a day, it isn’t a bad deal for Website in 26 languages, iPhone and Android Geocaching App, Adventure labs & Wherigo. Hours of fun for a few pence a day!
Play Fair
Don’t be a Geocaching tyrant, it’s a game played by many people most of whom you will never meet or know anything about. When Caching, it’s helpful to remember that the cache belongs to the owner, and if they say no photos of logs, signatures required, they are perfectly within their rights to delete your log if it doesn’t live up to the requirements set out in the geocaching page. If you don’t like this, then avoid that users caches, there are millions more out there. While there are rules, people’s interpretation of them may differ from your own. Rules like leaving a throw down when the cache is obviously there goes without saying, but deleting someone’s log for not signing because it’s too wet isn’t fair play IMHO.If you are a cache owner, please try to be understanding. People from all walks of life and all abilities cache, not everyone is as perfect as you might like. When submitting a new cache remember that reviewers are people, volunteers, and fit Geocaching in around their lives. Reviewers try to be objective and ensure everyone follows the same rules, but they are Cachers, like you and I, work with them to get your caches published. Check what is required before you submit a cache and make sure all the required information is on your submission, missing information is the largest cause of rejected caches. It’s not the reviewers job to do the leg work for you when you submit your new entry, if a reviewer rejects a cache and you don’t understand why, ask them.
Go equipped
Having the right equipment makes for a great day of geocaching running out of battery or getting soaked is not. The primary item of course is a pen or pencil, and maybe a spare or two, there must be thousands of ‘lost’ writing implements left by Caches each week. Spare batteries or a power bank is essential for a day’s intensive caching, constantly using the GPS on your device is a heavy drain on batteries, and there’s nothing more infuriating than coming towards the end of lengthy series, only to have your phone die on you.
If you are heading up to the moors or into the mountains, appropriate footwear and waterproofs are the absolute minimum, snacks, water and a whistle should be carried as well. There are many articles on what to carry in your day bag online that can help you better than I can. Check the weather before you set out, because in the UK, it’s not unusual to have 3 seasons in one day. If venturing up a mountain or moors, it is worth noting as you gain altitude, the temperature drops surprisingly fast, around 1°C for every 100m, cold, wet and miserable isn’t a great day and possibly the quickest way to put someone off caching. If you are going into the wild and off the paths for a day hike, tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back, it might just save your life, and don’t forget to let them know you are back at the end of the day.
Carry extra logbooks and pencils. We all know that it’s the Cache Owners’ responsibility to keep caches maintained, but sometimes life gets in the way, if you discover a cache with a full or wet log, please be kind and drop a new log in for them, don’t forget to message the cache owner and let them know what you have done. Please don’t slap a “Needs Archiving” on straight away, a simple message to the cache owner or a “Needs Maintenance” log is sufficient.
Get Social and meet other Cachers
Geocaching can be a lonely game, it is usually played in secret, and that’s half the fun. There are lots of events where Cachers gather and share stories of their adventures and great finds. There’s all sorts of social events from Cache In Trash Out which could be a litter pick or working with an environmental group to remove an invasive species from an area to a get together for a chat. It’s a great way to make new friends and catch up with old ones.
SWAG
People who cache with kids love SWAG (Stuff we all get), it makes the day more exciting searching for treasure and primes the next generation of Cachers. The golden rule about SWAG: if you take something, leave something of equal or higher value. Kids and some adults love to find treasure, and it’s so much better if they can take a new toy away and leave something behind for others. If we want to keep the sport alive and growing, it’s our responsibility to pass our enthusiasm to the next generation.
Ideas for what to put in: Small toys, Key Rings, souvenirs like woodies or path tags, Trading cards (in a waterproof seal easy bag), foreign coins, rain ponchos
Do not put in: Perishables, e.g. sweets that go horrible quickly and mess up a cache, non family friendly items, fireworks, lighters, drugs, alcohol and any illegal materials should also not be placed in a cache, although if someone is considering placing any of the above items they really need to have a word with themselves.
Lastly it’s a game have fun and help each other, it’s not that difficult 🙂
Just two new caches this week and Ecobake has already got the FTF on one!
GC9D712 St Patrick’s Time & Tide 🔔 Cemaes Bay, Anglesey by Team Marzipan Traditional D1/T1.5
GC9DH5M This grass doesn’t grow…. by hayleycox Traditional D2.5/T1.5
Future Events
As Sully pointed out I have gone completely mad as there is no Monday 31st in July this year! It looks as though Covid restrictions are going to be with us for a while longer here in Wales which makes all geocaching events and N&N’s impossible. So we will carry on arranging unofficial events until the rules change, at least this allows us all a chance to meet up and do something nearly ‘normal’. The next scheduled event will be August 21st International Geocaching Day.
We would like to thank everyone for all the contributions of food, sweets and sundries which all added to making a very enjoyable afternoon/evening. So nice to see our geocaching friends in person and not on a zoom call. A special thanks goes to Mike (Team Marzipan) for suppling and organising the games, Pete (naturesbyte) and Julie (Bess’s Friends) for manning the BBQ’s. Hope to see everyone at our next scheluded event, International Geocaching Day on the 21st August. If all restrictions are lifted on the 19th July N&N’s will resume on Monday 31st July, venue to be confirmed.
We have something for everyone this week, seven new caches in Rhosydd Quary and mountains around Llyn Cwmorthin, a church micro and a nice traditional.
GC96DPJ This Italian is called Tony by Borderterrierist Traditional D1.5/T1.5
The following are all Premium Member only:
GC9D4FY Rhosydd Quarry – Llyn Clogwyn-brîth by meltdiceburg Traditional D2/T4
GC9D4G6 Rhosydd Quarry – Llyn Cwm-corsiog by meltdiceburg Traditional D2/T4
GC9D3NR Cnicht by meltdiceburg Letterbox D2.5/T4
GC9D4GE Llynnau Diffwys – The Island by meltdiceburg Traditional D2.5/T4.5
GC9D4FB Allt-fawr by meltdiceburg Traditional D2.5/T4
GC9D4EM Ysgafell Wen by meltdiceburg Traditional D2/T4
GC9D4F1 Moel Druman by meltdiceburg Traditional D1.5/T4
GC9D99M Church Micro 14053…Llanfair yn y Cwmwd by Saints1 Traditional D1.5/D1.5
4th July BBQ
All looking good for Sunday, weather forecast OK….ish, the tents will be up just in case of a shower, Oh and all current Covid restrictions will be observed. Hope to see you there………..
So how did you discover geocaching? A question I have been asked many times by fellow geocachers. I had never heard of Geocaching until I received a phone call from a very good friend, the conversation went like this:
“Have you heard of Geocaching?”
“No.”
“Well Google it. I think you and Pete will love it”
My friend was walking her dogs on their daily walk through the churchyard when one returned with a small Tupperware box in his mouth labeled “Official Geocache, Do Not Remove”. Having no idea what it was she cautiously opened the box to find a seal easy bag, inside a piece of paper with dates and strange names, plus a marble and a couple of plastic toys. Not sure what to do with the box she took it home and did an internet search, this lead her to the Geocaching site, which in turn revealed that the box was a church micro geocache. From the pictures of the tree and the hint she was able to return the cache to its rightful obvious hiding place.
We did as we were told and did ‘Google it’. We were surprised to find that there was a cache placed on one of our regular dog walks hidden under a little bridge that we had crossed hundreds of times unaware of its existence.
Our first geocache.
GC20FZM Stambourne troll replacement by Foxfords 17.1.2010
Friday night in our local pub we met up with Sian whose first question was “I didn’t realise you were geocachers”. It turns out that she was the owner of our first find. Small world.
And the rest, as they say, is history – we were hooked!
July 4th BBQ
Just a week to go before our American themed unofficial geocaching event on the 4th July. We will be lighting the BBQ at 3pm and partying until the last person leaves. To give us an idea of numbers please log a ‘will attend’ in the comments.
For anyone that has not been to an event at our house the coord’s are N53 02.994 W004 14.177
Parking will be in the field at N 53° 02.988 W 004° 14.295 (Hopefully we will have mown the grass!)
Very close by is GC8CCV6 Under Ann@Birdbrook and Naturesbyte’s nose.
This week we have two new caches and, yes, one is a new 9US cache! It will be a deja vu moment for anyone that found the previous ‘Aberlleiniog Castle Trail, Broadwalk’. The cache is a replacement of the multi that has had to be archived due to the disappearance of the information board.
GC9CXPB Fruit of the Forest (2) by Ijrk Traditional T1.5/D1
GC9CZA6 Aberlleiniog Castle Trail, Broadwalk by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional T2/D2
Cwm DJ’s favourite 10 caches (to date)
Who, other than geocachers, would repeatedly put their hands into nasty disgusting crevices in search of a container to log a smiley face? Such is the ‘sport’ of geocaching.
Though I’ve been caching since 2007 my find rate has been relatively low compared to my friends (1,384 finds as of June 2021). However, this doesn’t mean I haven’t had great enjoyment out of Geocaching.
Also, despite the fact that my caching area has been slight, it has taken me to numerous places I wouldn’t have otherwise. I’ve seen some spectacular views, visited historical locations, places with industrial heritage, geological features, engineering, chapels & churches, & not to mention the birds & animals encountered on route. In fact, my first wild deer sighting was while doing the Rhobell Fawr series & my first otter sighting was also while out caching.
So here are my ten favourite caches which I’ve listed in the order they were found.
No. 3 – Folly Foot Castle (GCG7BH) – BESS’S FRIENDS – 5th Aug 2007
How often have we seen in a log ‘Thank you for bringing me to this location that I never knew existed’. To prove this, my first choice is with only my third ever cache find. Though it is less than 4 miles from home, I never knew it existed until geocaching brought me here, so thank you Bess’s Friends.
No. 325 – Yllethr Cache (GC19FN2) – thefortytwa – 12th March 2013
Though dry, there had been a really cold spell prior to me getting this cache beside Llyn Bodlyn (Reservoir). Combined with a strong wind, which had blown the reservoir’s water over the dam, resulted in an icy spectacle. Ice had accumulated on the rushes as though they were frozen fingers.
Ice clad steps & guardrail.
Extent of the overtopped ice formation.
No. 474 – Suitable for Miners! (GC4YHHG) – A Mine Explorer – 24th Feb 2014
Though only a small section of the mine was encountered the spectacle that greeted you as one ventured underground to find the cache was mesmerising. The toil the miners endured to retrieve the copper from the mine must have been backbreaking, their legacy now mainly forgotten. The vivid colour of the percolated copper bearing rock was worth seeing.
No. 556 – Dee Bore Earthcache (Cheshire/Flintshire) (GCND09) – Jan and the percey boys – 14th July 2014
Though I now know what pillow lava is & what it looks like, the signs left by receding glaciers & various geological features due to earthcaches, this is the earthcache I chose as a favourite. It may not be as spectacular as the Severn bore & definitely nowhere near the scale & grandeur of the Grand Canyon (give it another 5 million years, who knows), it is still a spectacular natural phenomenon.
No. 599 – Sunny Day at Siabod (GC58XCM) – meltdiceburg/the Magna Demarooner – 17th Sept 2014
This was a film cannister cache on the island in Llyn y Foel, to the east of Moel Siabod. It hadn’t rained for 3 weeks (What? Yes, I know this is Wales) so I was hoping that the water level in the lake would be a bit lower than normal, to make for an easier crossing to the island.
The water level was certainly lower than usual, by about 60 to 90 cm I’d say (2 to 3 feet). This exposed more rocks to make the crossing easier, but you still had to get your feet wet. The water never reached my knees though on the route I took, but you had to be very careful of the very slimy & slippery submerged rocks.
No. 603 – Gwyddno’s Mountain Challenge (GC1D3GX) – Gwyddno – 24th Sept 2014
The challenge consisted of finding clues from one multi-cache & four traditional caches scattered in remote locations across Eryri. Once all the clues were found you needed to work out the location for the final mystery cache. Not only was this a memorable challenge series but my first 5/5 also. There are still only 24 finds of this cache in its 13-year existence.
No. 747 – Crag Lough (GCJ3QF) – THE SMILEYS – 24th June 2015
I’ve not ventured as far as many of you have & my favourite, out of the few I’ve done outside Wales, was while walking a 3 day walk along the central section of Hadrian’s Wall. Situated at Sycamore Gap, made famous for its scene in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner as Robin Hood.
No. 885 – Tyrau Mawr (Great Towers) (GCQFE6) – climber1958 – 17th Sept 2016
This was a letterbox hybrid cache on the modest peak of Tyrrau Mawr; a western outlier of the Cadair Idris range. Spent some time here admiring the spectacular views while having a bite to eat. Llynnau Cregennen below & Barmouth & the Mawddach estuary beyond. Still only 36 finds in its 15 ½ year existence.
No. 929 – Halloween tunnel – day or night – it will be dark (GC6W42F) – sionyn68 – 13th Nov 2016
I doubt that any local cacher wouldn’t have one of sionyn68’s caches in their top 10. The ingenuity, workmanship & trickery in his caches are renowned across this fabled land. On this occasion it was the location & what greeted you which stands out. Since I mainly cache by myself, venturing into those dark & forbidding places brings the heightened sense of adventure.
No. 1073 – 9 Usual Suspects Go Swashbuckling on Cei Ballast (GC76XBB) – 9 Usual Suspects – 15th July 2017
It was difficult to pick out an event that stood out amongst all the others, as they have all been superb. The hospitality, hearty fare, comradery & friendship, with puzzles, games & quizzes. Not to mention all the Nosh & Natters, CITO’s, GIFF’s & Christmas parties (pre-Covid).
There’s one constant in most of these events that needs special attention I believe & that is to Ann & Pete’s dedication & commitment in showing us all a good time; & Ann’s scrumptious cake of course.
In the end I picked this event as it involved us making an effort by dressing up & then the expedition to Cei Ballast. The fact that I won the award for the best event log of 2017, at that years’ Christmas party, tipped the balance.
For the video of 9US pirates raiding and plundering Cei Ballast click here
As you can probably tell from my choice of favourite caches, I tend to cache in some of those remoter Eryri locations.
Submitted by David – Cwm DJ.
If you would like to share your top caches or locations please let us know.
This week there were 4 new caches published in our area and with Ecobake hunting for Scotlands first there is a chance for a FTF.
GC9CPGW Townswomen’s tree by llw66, _josiem Traditional D1.5/T1
GC9CKWG Toilet break by MrsLalone Traditional D1/T1
GC9CTHV Eisteddfa views by ClareSion14 Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GC9CGRH Pirate Treasure by epheliadavenport Traditional D1.5/T1.5
Latest News on Events
Due to the increase in Covid cases restrictions have not been lifted as promised from the 21st June, the limit of 30 people that can meet up outside remains in place in England, therefore Geocaching UK are continuing their ban on official events for the whole of the UK. So, our American themed BBQ will still be going ahead on the 4th July but sadly not as an official Geocaching event.