After five and a half years planning we are here in Flores, the most westerly point of Europe, surrounded by the Atlantic ocean, next stop the USA. The scenery is truly amazing and we find ourselves repeatedly exclaiming WOW. With Waterfalls over half a kilometre high and volcano calderas two a penny here it’s hard to describe the beauty. Geocaches however are a contrast often a small fragile plastic bottle from a popular local non alcoholic drink being abandoned in strategic locations, without the respect of private property or stone walls. Our lack of Portuguese is a handicap even with google translate often the text and hint are often incomprehensible.
We have been using a GPS since we started Geocaching way back in 2010. Our first GPS was the eTrex 10 with no maps, we just ‘followed the arrow’, it did however support downloading Geocaching GPX files via USB which made it ideal for Geocaching. A testament to the eTrex’s toughness and simple design is that this model, although revised is still available today. It was bomb proof had no touch screen just a thumb-operated joystick, monochrome display and a pointer to where the destination was, and how far away it was. The eTrex has exceptional battery life but was slow to get a signal and its accuracy was truly hit or miss under tree canopies. This little unit spawned many adventures for us.
After a few years of finding ourselves on the wrong side of a river or having to make a long hike due to a dual carriageway or some other obstacle blocking our progress we decided on the Oregon 450T which had Ordnance Survey maps 1:50 k. This was a revelation and for the first time allowed us to see a map which allowed us to plot a route unhindered by obstructions. The Oregon 450t had a touch screen, a SD card slot for maps and extra data, an electronic compass, a barometric altimeter and could store thousands of Geocaches. We got about 6 years of use and abuse out of these units. Maintenance, mainly due to rough handling, resulted in screens being replaced, buttons fixed and other sundry parts replaced until they both were beyond repair. I recycled parts from both and with some bits off a Russian GPS breaker on eBay, a ‘Frankenstein’ Oregon 550 GPS was created, this had all the same features as the 450T it now sported a 3.2 megapixel geotagging camera. Although this unit has now slightly out of date OS maps it is still fully functional and in constant use to this day.
Garmin 450T By Garmin – garmin.com, CC BY-SA 3.0,
I personally own a Garmin GPSMAP 64s now, I never liked the touchscreen which with my big hands didn’t work so well for me, I love the buttons and simple menu system. The unit has a good sized display that can be read in bright sunlight which was always a problem with the older models and mobile phones. The reception is great even under trees, and the unit is quick to get a GPS lock. The 64s uses GPS + GLONASS + WAAS although not Galileo. I also 3D printed a simple mod that allows rechargeable batteries to be used and charged in the unit whilst connected to USB. Bluetooth is available and in reality only useful for transferring Geocaches to another compatible unit, it’s a battery killing extra I don’t need and is designed for external sensors like heart rate, therefore remains switched off.
Garmin GSMAP 64S By Virgilinojuca – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
So why do we still use this old tech? We get at least a couple of days battery life out of both the 550 and 64s which is a lot more than our mobile phones. If the battery runs out we just pop in another couple of AA batteries and off we go. They survive rough treatment much better than mobile phones. Detailed maps can be downloaded from sites like Open Street Maps and preloaded on SD Cards, these are always available even when there is no phone signal, this is also great for caching abroad where maps can be preloaded. They accurately track our route which can be examined in Garmin’s Basecamp software when we get home. I’m not saying GPS units are more useful than mobiles, but a phone with apps like Geocaching, C:geo, Looking 4 Cache is a perfect compliment to a GPS.
This CITO (Cache in Trash Out) was our first post-covid lockdown official geocaching event since 14 March 2020 and a chance to restore some normality. The weather forecast was iffy so kudos to all who defied the Met Office forecasts and turned out, as on the day, we had only the occasional light shower to contend with. This location was selected because: we have picked here before and know the location, it is fairly child friendly, and above all there was some litter to be picked. It was great to catch up with friends some of whom came from as far as Macklesfield and Oldham. It was also great to see some new faces and junior cachers who made a great contribution. In all 23 assisted with the litter pick including Diapason16 who happened to be in the area looking for a cache, he rolled up his sleeves and mucked in, unlike his daughter, who like a stereotypical teenager rolled her eyes and sat on the wall with her mobile phone :-). We cleared from Penygroes to Groeslon and collected about 12 bags of rubbish from the cycle path. The litter was sorted and taken to Rhwngddwyryd, Garndolbenmaen Recycling Center for disposal.
Many thanks to Inigo Jones Slate Works for letting us use their car park as a base for the CITO
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!
The orginal design of a Geocache
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.
Damp conditions at Cwmorthin
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.
Ready for any weather
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.
A well stocked Cache
Lastly it’s a game have fun and help each other, it’s not that difficult 🙂
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.
There are several Challenge Caches that require you to find the oldest cache in a certain number of countries, hopefully this list will be useful in your quest. We will try and keep the list up to date.
Scotland GCF0 Scotland’s First Traditional 15.12.2000 England GC171 View from Coombe Hill Traditional 14.1.2001 Wales GC2BA First in Wales Traditional 17.2.2001 Northern Ireland GC38D7 pussycat Traditional 10.2.2002
Aland Isles GCGW3M Aland Traditional 1.8.2003 Albania GC17X8V Shqiperia Earthcache #1 – Former river-channel Earthcache 8.8.2007 Andorra GC42E3 Casamanya Traditional 16.3.2002 Antigua and Barbuda GC5D78 Lookout Point Virtual 8.5.2002 Aruba GC5A9A Wish Rock Garden Traditional 17.5.2002 AustraliaGC3E Lane Cove Virtual 18.5.2000 Austria GC1298 Salzig Hund Traditional 23.7.2001 Azerbaijan GC16BJJ Mud Volcano Cache Traditional 30.9.2007 Bahamas GCC411 The Caves Traditional 13.1.2003 Bahrain GCP4ZC The Tree of Life Traditional 1.6.2005 Bangladesh GC2MYW8 DUTCH POINT DHAKA Traditional 26.1.2011 Barbados GCA952 The Barbados Museum Virtual 14.11.2002 Belarus GC1V5WY The Second in Belarus 24.6.2009 Belgium GC40 Geocache Traditional 7.7.2000 Belize GC15D Oh so blue Traditional 6.1.2001 Benin GC1N8B0 Abomey Royal Traditional 14.1.2009 Bhutan GC20P0Z Tang Treasure Traditional 17.10.2009 Bolivia GCG8Q4 Cristo de la Concordia Cache Virtual 4.6.2003 Bosnia and Herzegovina GCJVHV Bukovic Mountain #1 Traditional 12.6.2004 Botswana GCGYHZ Aardvark Virtual 23.9.2003 Brazil GCC67 Mission 4: Southern Bowl Ape 14.6.2001 British Indian Ocean Territory GCK6A1 Diego Garcia B.I.O.T. Traditional 4.8.2004 British Virgin Islands GC4876 Eyrie Virtual 2.4.2002 Brunei GC1H7VK Mar-Cat Traditional 12.10.2008 Bulgaria GCB088 The Orpheus Cache Traditional 30.11.2002 Burkina Faso GC1M1N7 Parc W – Kabougou Traditional 7.1.2009 Burma/Myanmar GCFA5A Mingalazedi View (Myanmar/Burma) Virtual 6.4.2003 Cambodia GC21N8D Phnom Kulen National Park Earthcache 28.10.2009 Cameroon GCGH6Q Wasa Park Virtual 26.3.2003 Canada GCBBA Geocache—Canada’s 1st geocache Traditional 28.6.2000 Cayman Islands GC2978 TO HELL AND BACK Virtual 22.11.2001 Central African Republic GC5XGE4 Bangui la coquette – M’poko le foyer du soldat 14.6.2015 Chad GC1REHX GO TCHAD GO Traditional 13.5.2009 Chile GC3FCD Araucaria in Conguillio Traditional 27.2.2002 China GC201F Berry Virtual Cache Virtual 2.10.2001 Christmas Island GC1TAXW The Christmas Train 5.6.2009 Colombia GC15VAG El futbolista Carrasposo / The “carrasposo” Soccer 8.9.2007 Cook Islands GC1NEQ4 Rarotonga Cook Islands – Canuck Cache 10.2.2009 Costa Rica GC6CCA Christopher Columbus’s 4th and Final Voyage Virtual 14.6.2002 Croatia GC2499 Saint Ivan Traditional 25.10.2001 Cuba GC5B6F Cuba Libre Traditional 18.5.2002 Curaçao GCKT6P Pittig Ding Traditional 11.10.2004 Cyprus GC926F The first traditional in Cyprus Traditional 21.9.2002 18.8.2001 Czechia GCE50 Tex-Czech Traditional 1.6.2001 Denmark GC6A Kippers in the Jungle (Denmark’s first) Traditional 20.9.2000 Djibouti GCPAFJ Lac Assal, Really Deep 14.6.2005 Dominica GC1T0RW Emerald Pool Earthcache 29.5.2009 Dominican Republic GCG1CM A walk in the Park Virtual 21.4.2003 Ecuador GC934A The Fake Equator Virtual 25.9.2002 Estonia GC263 HE-stash / HE-aare Traditional 10.2.2001 Eritrea GCRCNC Dur Ghella Cache Traditional 19.11.2005 Ethiopia GCB5D7 Erta Ale Volcano Traditional 6.12.2002 Falkland Islands GC17CXT Falkland Islands 2nd Albermarle Harbour 14.11.2007 Faroe Islands GCMPFC Skansin Traditional 5.2.2005 Fiji GC7590 Malololailai 20.7.2002 Finland GC72 Sun Gear Traditional 30.9.2000 (Premium Member) France GC7A2 La Vigie Traditional 22.4.2001 French Guiana GC2WC1G Savane-roche Virginie Earthcache 16.5.2011 French Polynesia GCG9B6 Hidden Tahiti Treasure Virtual 11.6.2003 French Southern and Antarctic Territories GC51G4H L’une des caches les plus isolées du monde Traditional 1.4.2014 Gabon GC2D6HR Cookie Tin Traditional 7.8.2010 Georgia GCV3AH Georgia on my mind Traditional 27.3.2006 Germany GC26C Medieval View Traditional 11.2.2001 (Premium Member) Ghana GCH6Z7 Baboon Country Traditional 9.11.2003 Gibraltar GCA227 1st Gibraltar Traditional 28.10.2002 Greece GC1B5B Agia Irene Traditional 18.8.2001 Greenland GC8074 El Conquistador’s Treasure Traditional 11.8.2002 Grenada GCGGQX What a Hole Virtual 23.7.2003 Guadeloupe GCR847 Castle cache Traditional 6.11.2005 Guam GC357C Two lovers point Virtual 26.1.2002 Guatemala GC2A86 Tikal Traditional 27.11.2001 Guernsey GC3209 View.1 Traditional 13.1.2002 Guinea GC4H7R6 The first cache in Guinee: Le Dauphin 27.7.2013 Guinea-Bissau GC57XD4 Lugajole Traditional 22.6.2014 Guyana GC206AP Kaieteur Falls Earthcache 23.10.2009 Haiti GC8D0 Cruise Cache – Labadee Beach Traditional 1.5.2001 Hong Kong GC251B Lantau Virtual 21.10.2001 Hungary GCD68 FakeCastle 24.6.2001 Iceland GC7AD7 Karin Near Kistufell Traditional 5.8.2002 Indonesia GC1488Indonesia One – Bali Traditional 24.7.2001 Ireland GC43 Europe’s First Traditional 3.6.2000 Isle of Man GC5A4C Manx Traditional 20.5.2002 Italy GC17B3 Bergwind Traditional 15.5.2001 Japan GC268C Oku Hamanako Traditional 14.11.2001 Jersey GCB662 Jersey number One Traditional 15.12.2002 Kenya GC53 Rift Valley Virtual 15.6.2000 Latvia GC1J94K Trebas 3 litru burka Traditional 14.6.2003 Liechtenstein GCC2F4 Liechtenstein’s First Traditional 12.1.2003 Lithuania GCGCMZ Tulip time Traditional 12.5.2033 Luxembourg GC4871 Grand Luxembourg Quest I (virtual part) 2.4.2002 Macedonia GCB82C Tupolev 154 Traditional 23.12.2003 Malta GCHEQ7 The Ring of Clapham Junction Traditional 4.1.2004 Malaysia GC9FDB Welcome to KL Virtual 24.10.2002 Mauritius GCH02Z Garden Treasure Traditional 22.9.2003 Mexico GC6CB Viva Baja #2 Traditional 12.4.2001 Moldova GCT1QN First Cache in Moldova Traditional 16.1.2006 Monaco GC2DC2 top of monaco Traditional 24.12.2001 Montenegro GC1095F Dome View 4.1.2007 Netherlands GC198 Amsterdam Urban 1 Traditional 21.1.2001 New Zealand GC46 Geocache by Kevin Anderson (Wellington) Traditional 26.5.2000 Norway GCBBF Norges første, I Bergen, The first cache in Norway Multi 9.6.2001 Poland GC26A9 Ndebele Virtual 1.11.2001 Portugal GC8EF9 AZGTJ – Translant Chess Cache Traditional 15.5.2001 Romania GC5D8 Dracula’s Castle Traditional 1.4.2001 Russia GC162E Mutnovsky:1 (Nikolay Kam:2) Traditional 12.8.2001 San Marino GCNTKF [BAU] San Marino #1 Traditional 5.5.2005 Slovakia GCKRD6 Mokre nohy (Wet Legs) Mystery 6.7.2001 Slovenia GC103E Prvi Geocache v Sloveniji Traditional 29.6.2001 South Africa GC185 Sentinel View Traditional 18.1.2001 Spain GC2D4 Montserrat 18.2.2001 Sweden GC4D Match Stash Traditional 11.8.2000 Switzerland GC2A5 Gstaash Traditional 27.1.2001 Ukraine GC11WCJ Verecke pass (GC896 – Honglalás) Traditional 25.7.2005 USA GC30 Mingo Traditional 11.5.2000 Venezuela GCE64 Arekuna Traditional 20.6.2001
GPS is now a part of everyday life, the ability to know exactly where you are on the planet was the dream of every navigator for millennia, now this is available at the press of a button. GPS is widely used in a variety of technologies such as mobile phones apps, cars navigation for both mapping and incident reporting, wildlife tracking which has yielded some interesting results for migratory birds and mammals and preventing crime by tracking desirable objects. This tech has only been available to the public since the year 2000 and has since become the most popular method of accurately establishing a location within metres.
Introduction
A short history of GPS Systems
The first publicly available Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) was the USA’s Navstar GPS satellite constellation. This was a satellite-based radio navigation system owned by the United States government established in 1978 for the USA military and made public in the year 2000 by the Clinton administration. America’s newest GPS system is now just one of many that provide geolocation and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. Other GPS systems include Russia’s GLONASS, the European Union’s Galileo, and China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System which offer varying degrees of accuracy, the Galileo system being the most accurate at less than 1 metre for public use and up to 20 cm accuracy for paying customers in 2021.
Artist’s concept of a NAVSTAR Global Positioning System satellite, a space-based radio navigation network.
How does a GPS work?
GPS systems use sets of dedicated satellites, called constellations, these are not stationary but are circling the earth so ‘rise and set’ twice a day, the satellites constantly send out signals, the GPS receiver listens for these signals they don’t transmit anything back to satellites. To determine the location of the GPS satellites two types of data are required by the GPS receiver: the almanac and the ephemeris. The almanac contains information about the status of the satellites and approximate orbital information allowing the receiver to see which satellites should be visible. After establishing what satellites should be available for you to get a fix, your GPS receiver requires additional data transmitted by each satellite, called the ephemeris, this data gives very precise information about the orbit and location of each individual satellite. The GPS receiver uses the ephemeris data to calculate the location of a satellite within a couple of metres and then by using the information that was transmitted to the GPS, your position can be calculated by triangulation using the delta in time signal transmitted and when it was received plus the location of the satellites. The ephemeris is updated every 2 hours and is usually valid for 4 hours, so If your GPS receiver has been off for a while, it may take up to several minutes to receive the ephemeris data from each satellite, before it can get a fix, this is known as a cold start. Obstacles such as mountains and buildings block the relatively weak GPS signals, this will ‘lengthen’ and therefore distort the time to receive the data or even give a false location. On a Mobile phone, there is an additional A-GPS mode which uses the cell towers to calculate the initial position of the user very quickly but with less accuracy, unlike pure GPS this may send information back to a server where that might be helpful to process position. Once the receiver calculates its distance from four or more GPS satellites, it can figure out where you are to approximately a 7.8-metre accuracy and depending on the system in use the accuracy might increase. Using GPS for locating a point of the earth is a key component for Geocachers in their quest to find caches, hence the saying follow the arrow.
One of the Galileo Satellite Constellation
Tips and tricks 1 Having obstructions between the GPS and satellites causes issues where 3 – 4 satellites cannot be seen simultaneously, this is most often seen in cities and forests where accuracy quickly degrades.
2 Multi-path or Signal reflection occurs when the GPS signal is reflected off buildings or other objects, this can delay the time-clock signal sent out by satellite and cause a miscalculation again resulting in degradation of accuracy.
3 In the Northern Hemisphere Face the internal Antenna toward open Southern, SW, SE, in the Southern Hemisphere revers this, most of the satellites are clustered around the equator, this will make getting a fix and maintaining on easier.
4 Low batteries invariably cause issues with GPS systems, make sure that your batteries aren’t on their last legs.
5 When you switch on GPS after moving more than 25 miles or replacing batteries keep it in one position in the open air to allow the ephemeris data to update, it will get a fix far quicker than moving with it.
6 Keep firmware up to date, if there are any bugs in your GPS program an update will fix the issues. If there are more up-to-date base maps in GPS standalone system, an update will repair that, too.
7 GPS systems are not infallible so use common sense and your Mk 1 eyeball to check what you are being told by the system matches reality, learn to read a map and research where you are going. Most Geocachers will have stories of reaching a river or cliff face and being just meters from a cache that could not be reached without retracing their steps and trying another path.
Some areas have it all, great countryside and some of the best geocaches. If you have a favourite location and would like it to be included here, please contact us.
The Moseley’s Recommend Kentisbeare
If you are ever in Devon, you must visit a little village called Kentisbeare! This area is filled with fantastic geocaches placed by a geocacher called heartradio.
We travelled to Devon for the Mega in 2017, but decided against camping on site because we dragged along a then 6 month old Moseley_Bach with us, so we stayed in a static caravan near Kentisbeare, and accidentally stumbled across these caches nearby.
In this village and the surrounding area you can find traditional caches, multi caches, a devious mystery cache geo-[he]art, earth caches, letterbox caches and wherigos! And within these caches, there are Church Micros, Village Halls, Little Bridges, Village sign and a Fine Pair!
We spent days exploring the numerous paths and finding the varied containers and some near impossible caches.
We had to message heartradio a few times for some help, and he always obliged. He passed us one day as we searched for a particular difficult cache and stopped to say hello!
We didn’t manage to complete his caches, and will hopefully return to the area one day to find more!
Global Positioning System (GPS) when first developed was only available to the US military. Later civilians were allowed access with Selective Availability (SA) but the GPS signal accuracy was greatly reduced.
May 2nd 2000, on the instructions of President Bill Clinton, the US government turned off its Selective Availability. By “flipping the switch” everyone had access to high accuracy GPS signal. Twenty-four satellites around the globe processed their new orders, and instantly the accuracy of GPS technology improved tenfold. Tens of thousands of GPS receivers around the world had an instant upgrade. Even though there was not a blue switch, for some unknown reason, geocachers refer to this day as Blue Switch Day.
With the availability of accurate GPS signal the world changed forever with the introduction of new technologies that today we take for granted. Gone are the days of the road atlas!
May 3rd 2000 saw the first geocache hidden by Dave Ulmer in Oregon and the beginning of the game that we know today.
2017 Souvenir
In celebration of this Blue Switch Day geocaching first introduced a souvenir in 2017. To obtain your Blue Switch Day 2021 souvenir simply find either a geocache, an Adventure Lab or attend an event anytime between May 2nd to December 31st.
Back in 2014 events were few and far between in North Wales, with most being hosted by visiting geocachers and usually consisting of a quick meet at a well-known tourist spot. Around this time Geocaching HQ started issuing souvenirs that could only be obtained by attending events. After driving 120 miles on a very wet, cold, horrible Sunday afternoon to spend 15 minutes standing around a trig point getting soaked we decided things needed to change. So naturesbyte and I began to host souvenir events. With the same faces regularly attending these events we all decided to form a group to share ideas and the responsibility of organising events. What were we going to call ourselves? The 9 comes from the number of regular attendees and the Usual Suspects comes from Ecobake’s logs. Occasionally he wasn’t the First to Find on a new cache and if one of us had won the race he would put in his logs that he had been beaten by one of the usual suspects.
Results of our 1st CITO
With our group name sorted, 9 Usual Suspects geocaching account was opened on the 4.8.2015 with our first event at Witches Brew Tea Rooms, Pwllheli on 22.8.2015. 2015 also saw us host the GIFF (Geocaching International Film Festival) for the first time, it has since become a regular event in our calender. With 2016 being a Leap Year someone had the bright idea of having an event and maybe setting a few caches…….. Leap Day was celebrated with 2 events, breakfast and evening, with the publishing of the 29 series during the breakfast event.
In April 2016, with the support and loan of equipment from Gwynedd Councils Tidy Town Scheme, we organised our first and very successful Cache In Trash Out (CITO) at Lon Cob Bach, Pwllheli. We have since hosted at least 2 CITOs a year at 7 different locations every time filling the trailer.
As we all enjoy each other’s company and geocaching together it was decided to meet up once a month for an evening event, this has been a great help in planning events, caching trips and our general adventures. The first Nosh & Natter was held at the Antelope Inn, Bangor on 9.5.2016. March 2020 would have seen Nosh & Natter 40 but sadly was canceled due to Covid 19 lockdown. There are now far more than 9 suspects attending our events and involved in the planning of our activities. Our trips to date have taken us to Wales’s oldest cache, Europe’s First, Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, Prague and of course Piratemania, Geolympics and UK Mega’s.
Our Caches
The Original 29 Series
As mentioned above the 29 series went live for Leap Day 2016 during our breakfast event in Pwllheli. What better way to celebrate Leap Day than to have a new series of 29 caches over a distance of 29.2 miles? The series starts in Pwllheli and finishes in Bangor but can be done in any order. It was decided that all caches were to be drive-bys or very short walks to enable the series to be easily completed in a day. As there is a lack of Church Micros in North Wales we tried to include as many as possible. This was our first attempt at placing caches and naively we thought we were allowing ourselves plenty of time to hide the caches and get the paperwork complete……. 6 weeks ample time! Soon it became very apparent that it was not going to be quite as easy as we had thought. As we started putting caches in for review the rejection rate was far higher than expected, mainly due to some obscure SSSI’s and lack of correct permissions. With the 29th February getting forever closer the pressure increased to find cache sites that would pass the Reviewer. Our well thought out direct route began to get more and more slight diversions and we had to drop the standard of some locations/hides. With 2 days to go we had 30 caches reviewed, which one to drop? Only one answer, start the numbering from 0 – 29 and include them all.
A list of all 30 caches:
GC6AMBB 0 of 29, TB Hotel (Traditional) GC6A5M7 1 of 29, Lon Cob Bach (Traditional) Archived GC6A5NV 2of 29, Lon cob Bach, Gwylfan Viewpoint (Traditional) Archived GC6A7W9 3 of 29, The Layby (Traditional) Archived GC6A7ZN 4 of 29, Yr Eifl Quarry View (Traditional) Archived GC6A81X 5 of 29, Trefor Beach (Traditional) Archived GC6A94Q 6 of 29, Field Puzzle (Traditional) Archived GC6A95N 7 of 29, Formerly Known as Trefor Pier View (Traditional) Archived GC6A96M 8 of 29, Just before St. Beuno’s Well (Traditional) Archived GC6A9KX Church Micro 8975… Clynnog Fawr (Multi) GC6A9EW 10 of 29, Cycle Path (Traditional) Archived GC6A9NK 11 of 29, Aberdesach Beach (Traditional) Archived GC6A9PE 12 of 29, Pontllyfni (Traditional) Archived GC6A9RB 13 of 29, 1984 (Traditional) Archived GC6ANZ7 14 of 29, The High Wall Glynllifon (Traditional) GC6BZ8F 15 of 29, On the Way to Glynllifon (Traditional) GC6AJ1N 16 of 29, Take a Break at Llanwnda (Traditional) Archived GC6AJ24 Church Micro 9068…Llanwnda (Traditional) GC6AFN7 18 of 29 In view of three bridges Caernarfon Morfa (Traditional) Archived GC6AFPK 19 of 29, The Old Workhouse (Traditional) Archived GC6AGT1 20 of 29, Cibyn (Traditional) Archived GC6AGTC 21of 29, The Old Ferodo Factory (Traditional) Archived GC6AGTJ 22 of 29, Derelict Building (Traditional) Archived GC6AGTV 23 of 29, The Griffiths Crossing (Traditional) Archived GC6AH85 24 of 29, Felinheli (Traditional) Archived GC6AH8A 25 of 29, Come and Feed the Ducks (Traditional) Archived GC6BWY0 26 of 29, Parc Menai (Traditional) Archived GC6AH8M Church Micro9069…Bangor – Our Lady (Traditional) GC6AJ2W 28 of 29, Cerrig yr Orsedd (Traditional) GC6AH90 29 of 29, Sit down and Admire the Bridge (Traditional) Adopted by RichieBlod
For everyone that has completed the series Lon designed a profile badge.
Copy and paste the following text to your profile page:
This series was placed as part of a project to encourage people to get outside to improve their health and wellbeing. We worked with Menter Môn, Llangoed Community Council and Wales Co-operative Centre to host an afternoon of geocaching activities which included a CITO and this series going live. The series was originally 7 caches designed as an introduction to geocaching, showing a variety of cache types, containers and hides guiding you around the castle grounds. We have since added another cache to the trail to replace GC63XZD Abberlleiniog Castle by Duncan Feegles which has been archived.
GC7R8HF Aberlleiniog Castle Trail, The Beginning (Traditional) GC7R9KV Aberlleiniog Castle Trail, Up and Behind the Tree (Traditional) GC7R9FE Aberlleiniog Castle Trail, Hazel Tree (Traditional) GC7R9JR Aberlleiniog Castle Trail, Metal Gate (Traditional) GC9CZA6 Aberlleiniog Castle Trail, Boardwalk (Traditional) GC9JWGW Aberlleiniog Castle Trail, The Castle (Traditional) GC7C5VW Aberlleiniog Castle Trail, on the Way to the Beach (Traditional) GC7R9K8 Aberlleiniog Castle Trail, The Bonus Cache (Mystery)
Lon Eifion Cycle Path
Lon Eifion cycle path runs from Caernarfon to Bryncir following a disused railway line though some beautiful North Wales countryside. A regular 9US litter picking site.
GC73WMR Lon Eifion, Remains of another Day (Traditional) Archived GC73VXB Lon Eifion, TB Hotel (Traditional) GC73WKK Lon Eifion, Lon Eifion 8! (Traditional) GC90J0V Lon Eifion, Mynydd Graig Goch View (Traditional) GC90HVH Lon Eifion, The End (Puzzle) GCA4DX7 Bats, Bats, Bats Traditional
Traeth Lafan Nature Reserve
Traeth Lafan is an internationally important ecological area consisting of 2500 hectares of intertidal mud and sand – a bird watchers paradise! Another 9US CITO site.
GC7C4Z2 Traeth Lafan Nature Reserve (Traditional) GC7C5VW Traeth Lafan and North Wales Coastal Path (Traditional) GC7C4Y9 Traeth Lafan Wherigo (Wherigo)
Dorothea Slate Quarry
Dorothea Quarry
Dorothea Quarry is a fascinating place full of industrial history which as the buildings and structures decay is slowly being reclaimed by nature. A great place to explore but please be aware that the buildings are all structurally unsafe. The caches were all published as part of our ‘Magic Makers’ weekend. We have not given any hints on these caches but have increased the difficulty rating by a point.
GCA9NZC Bright Eyes Revived (Traditional) GCA9RBX Fly Over (Traditional) GCA9WT2 The Gateway to Talysarn Hall (Traditional) GCAADDX Out for Zero (Traditional) Archived GCAADZA Cornish Beam Engine House (Multi)
The above cache should have been part of the 29 series but the area is shown as being a SSSI on the magic map. Anyone who has found this cache will know it is far from being an area of scientific interest. It currently holds the 9US record for getting published, original put in for review on the 30.1.2016 and finally being published on 23.9.2016!
GC7ZC3Q Sionyn68: Tu hwnt i… /The Wrong Side Of… (Traditional) GC8HB9N The Old School (Traditional) Archived GC8HBC5 End of the Road (Traditional) Archived GC8HBDM Rhos y Pawl (Traditional) GC8YYEK War Memorial #1221 ~ Pwllheli (Multi) GC8DH3W Church Micro 12800…Llanfaglan (Multi) GC76QEW Spoiler (Puzzle) GC76QD8 Not a Karsahian (Puzzle) Archived GC9NJ42 Caernarfon Town Walls, Porth y Aur (Traditional) GC9PPEA Dinas Dinlle, The Middle (Traditional) Archived GC9PPD8 Dinas Dinlle, the Disappearing Coastline (Traditional) GCA0C7V Under Bess’s Friends Nose (Traditional) GCAAC90 Take a Break, Look at that View!
Leap Year 2024
A new series of 29 caches went live on the 29th February 2024 to replace the original 29 series which was getting increasingly difficult to maintain. All caches were placed along Lon Eifion Cycle path between Inigo Jones Slate Works and Caernarfon.
GCAJNTY Lon Eifion, Another Tree by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAJNTZ Lon Eifion, Araneae by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5 GCAJNV0 Lon Eifion, Afon Seiont by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D4.5/T1.5 GCAJNV2 Lon Eifion, BOT by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAJNVC Lon Eifion, Posted by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAJNVE Lon Eifion, The Crossing by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D4/T1.5 GCAJNVJ Lon Eifion, Rail Bridge by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3/T1.5 GCAJNVP Lon Eifion, Fron Goch View by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAJNVQ Lon Eifion, Gated by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAJNVW Lon Eifion, Meet Ivy by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAJNWJ Lon Eifion, Meet the Bison by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAJNW6 REALLY SideTracked – Bontnewydd by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D5/T1.5 GCAK6FF Lon Eifion, Afon Gwyrfai Bridge by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5 GCAK7VY Lon Eifion, Fence by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAK6FZ Lon Eifion, Meet Nagini by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5 GCAK6GC Lon Eifion, Gate Crossing by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAK6MK REALLY SideTracked – Dinas by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D1.5/T1.5 GCAK6MY Lon Eifion, Meet Kermit by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5 GCAK6N1 Lon Eifion, Hole in One! by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAK6N4 Lon Eifion, Meet Hazel by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3/T1.5 GCAK6N6 Lon Eifion, Rotcelfer by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1 GCAK6NC Lon Eifion, Deathly Hollows by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAK6NE Lon Eifion, Meet Roland by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAK6NJ Lon Eifion, Gates by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5 GCAK6NP Lon Eifion, Oak Tree by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D4/T1.5 GCAK6NW Lon Eifion, Sycamore Gap by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T2 GCAK6P3 Lon Eifion, Design by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5 GCAK69C Lon Eifion, Tafarn Pennionyn by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3.5/T1.5 GCAK6PA Lon Eifion, Inigo Jones by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3/T1.5
