Hints for Hiders

Geocaching is very much what you make of it. If you like long treks out in the country, great! If you want tree climbing or abseiling off bridges, you can do that too. Would rather blend in around a bus stop in a suit a tie - also thousands of caching opportunities for you! But regardless of where the caches you look for are hidden, there are still good and bad ways to hide them and I'm beginning to be able to accurately predict which ones are not going to be very good. They tend to be hastily placed and ill-thought out and make a caching experience less than delightful. I think it's quite often a case of newbie cachers who have found ten or so and can't wait to hide one. To these people, I implore you, please wait until you've found a few dozen and of differing types and locations. See what works and what impresses you. My first couple of caches were very much of the hastily placed "can't wait to join in hiding!" variety and they embarrass me to think of them. Long archived, I'm pleased to say. I am still guilty of struggling to find a decent place to hide a cache once I've come up with the concept of a puzzle or a perfect container but experience certainly helps.

Below are ten top tips for hiding that awesome new cache of yours so that we seekers will truly enjoy finding it and the favourite points will roll in:

1. Have a good hint: this means something that will actually be of use at GZ, even if it's a bit cryptic. The hint "ivy" when every single tree within a 20m radius is smothered in the stuff is NOT helpful. Anything that doesn't narrow your search down is simply frustrating. "No hint available" is often depressing when the hide is a tricky one but if you don't want to leave a hint, then fair enough!

2. Accurate coordinates: When the hint fails... refer to coordinates! Really it should be the other way around but sometimes the coordinates are so woefully bad that keeping your eyes open and looking for geoflage or consulting the hint first are better tactics. Having said that, the coordinates should be pretty much spot on for the orthodox cacher. Advice here includes using a specialised GPS device rather than a smart phone, and taking multiple readings. Have a look on Google Maps at your coordinates to make sure that they are where you expect them to be and maybe even get a friend to try the coordinates out first before publishing them. It's easy enough to change your coordinates but they must be at least 0.1 miles from all other caches or physical stages of multis. If you are hiding a puzzle or a multi cache final, the coordiantes are even more important to get right because if you need to update them, it's a lot more work to correct!

3. Use the cache attributes: The attributes on a cache page are there to help potential finders. Thankfully the latest way of creating a hide on geocaching.com now adds this in as routine rather than as an optional afterthought. Some people create pocket queries (PQs) based on attributes so if your cache is dog friendly or bike friendly, say so. If it's not available 24/7 this might also be valuable to share. Is it a cache 'n' dash (what our American friends refer to as "Park & Grabs", please use this attribute! Night cache? UV light required? Can bring a snowmobile? You can tell your finders all these things so that people can plan ahead and make the most of their caching experience.

4. A good location: This is probably the most important. Think long and hard about where you are hiding the cache. I do not like caches which don't seem to have any thought behind them and they feel like they've been thrown out of a car window. Please don't go putting caches in people's hedgerows, and even if you do have permission from the owner the likelihood is that curtain-twitching neighbours will get panicky. Don't let your cache look like a bomb. An innocent Tupperware box coated in black tape and magnetically attached to a railway bridge might seem like a good idea and a geocacher might spot the treasure a mile off but to a muggle, this is suspicious. Any cache, if found by a muggle should not cause alarm. I had to spray over a label which said "explosive" on an ammo can because that could have scared the crap out of a geocacher let alone a curious muggle! If part of your box can be left transparent, for example the bottom, then that might be a good idea.

5. Good hide and geoflage: This is linked with the previous point. It's not just about finding a good location but a good way of hiding the cache from muggle eyes. Is under rock best? Under a bridge? Piles of sticks? The point of geoflage is you want the cache to blend in with its environment. Sometimes less is more. Just use enough to hide the cache and mix it up a bit with leaves, moss, some rocks and a log or two rather than a big pile of twenty sticks. Unusual piles of neatly ordered rocks will not help your cache blend in. It'll make muggles think they've stumbled into the Blair Witch Project.

6. Parking and trailheads: Geocaching.com has the helpful option of listing additional waypoints to your listing. Obviously you need the coords for the cache itself but parking coordinates are so insanely useful for visitors who are not familiar with the area or who are coming from a distance. If you have to pay to park, please say so so we can make sure we have spare change. If the parking is a layby big enough for two cars, that might be worth mentioning before a team of cachers turn up to do a series together. Trailheads and other useful waypoints may also be greatly valued by your finders.

7. Maintenance: So you've set up a wonderful cache. But unfortunately the elements have got to it and it's waterlogged, local fauna have shifted it from its hiding place or the lid is broken. Some caching Samaritans kindly fix minor problems by adding additional paper to a full log book, for example, but as the cache owner (CO) it's your responsibility to check on your cache when the "Needs Maintenance" log is used by a finder, or just routinely in a cache's life. So don't hide caches so far away that you can't go check on them or move them if necessary. You can delegate this responsibility to a friend or family member if they live closer and are willing to check on it for you but please, when the cache has been tended to, post an "Owner Maintenance" log and re-enable the cache is necessary. If it's disabled it might not show up on everyone's PQ and reviewers will start asking you to see to your cache or they'll archive it on your behalf. Better to stay on top of your hides and respond to concerns which are expressed in your finders' logs.

8. Don't bite off more than you can chew: As an addendum to the previous point, think carefully about how many caches you can successfully manage at any one time. A lot may be low maintenance but if you have several long trails and hundreds of complicated and far-flung caches, make sure you can dedicate the time required to keeping them in good shape before your local area is just full of geolitter. If you don't want to maintain a cache any more you can offer it up for adoption by another cacher or you should archive it and free up the space for another hider. If you do  use the archive feature, you must remember to actually remove the containers as well otherwise they are nothing more than litter.

Not massively inspiring, but short and sweet in the field I guess?

9. Design your listing: A good cache listing can make a huge difference to the find. For a start it can attract people to actually want to go and find your container. It's a blank canvas for you to advertise on! Explain why you've chosen to hide a cache here. Is there a historical significance to the area? Is there a viewpoint a few feet away? Add photos, edit your text in HTML if you want to snazz it up a bit, and describe what you might find at GZ. Bear in mind that a lot of listings are first consulted out in the field and not on the home PC so put the information about the hide itself at either the top or the bottom of the listing so that it's easily found by the active geocacher.

10. Swag and trackables: Is your container big enough for swaps? The listing should be able to give an indication to potential finders by the listed size and a lot of family caching groups look for containers which are big enough for swaps as it's likely to keep the kids interested - I mean this is a real treasure hunt for them! Do not put unsuitable objects in your cache. I've found sweets which although well intentioned were never going to be suitable to be eaten and would only attract wildlife. A boiled sweet in a cache plus rainfall can equal an incredibly sticky log book. Not nice. Don't put dangerous objects in caches - I can't recall seeing any but I'm sure somewhere, someone's stuck a box of matches in one. Make sure the toys and trinkets you put in are of good enough quality that someone else might actually want to trade. And if you're encouraging trackables to lodge in your cache, make sure that it's not in a prime location for muggling because it's one thing to lose lots of McDonald's Happy Meal toys and it's another to lose someone else's token momento which has been travelling the world since 2006. You can't help it when someone else's travel bug (TB) or Geocoin gets stolen or goes AWOL, but you can play your part in minimising the risk that it will occur because your cache was not suitable.

This sounds like a long list of moaning, but seriously, apply these simple principles and you'll have a fantastic cache which people will be recommending to their friends and fellow cachers at the next event. It'll result in nice detailed logs rather than "Quick find, TFTC" and will earn you other nice comments such as "Definitely worth a favourite point!" You may even encourage other cachers to up their game or place a cache inspired by yours. Everyone's a winner!

67 miles around the Isle of Wight!

As a geocacher, I do a lot of walking on a regular basis. Doing the Cranborne Chase Circular of 100 caches was a 15 mile walk which took all day but then I was stopping every few minutes to look for caches!

I don't think I've ever walked any further than I did that day and I was exhausted by the end of it... so what was I thinking when I said "Yeah, sure!" when asked if I'd like to walk the entire coastal path of the Isle of Wight with a friend of mine? Even though we'll be breaking it up into three days, that's still over 20 miles per day, and no idea what the weather will be like! Not very good if this country's reputation and the year so far are anything to go by!

We'll be walking anticlockwise and stopping off at guest houses in Freshwater Bay and Shanklin. I don't know whether my knees and feet are going to find it a doddle or will be aching and defiant by day three, but we'll see! If I enjoy this, maybe I'll do something similar again.

Anyway, I decided that I would use this opportunity to raise money for charity too as I'm really not in the habit of doing sponsored anythings and now is a good time to start! My chosen charity is Crohn's and Colitis UK. I have the privilege of working with a fantastic team in Southampton, looking at research into treatment options, and hopefully a cure, to these really debilitating diseases. The work of the charity is phenomenal and I am proud to support them. Please have a look at my JustGiving page and, if you are willing, please also sponsor me! It'd mean a lot to me, to the charity and to sufferers. Thank you!

I'll blog again once the walk is done; I have the Monday off to recover (and sleep) so maybe then will be an opportune time to do so. :)

Paragliding in Northern Cyprus

My husband and I have recently returned from a very enjoyable and relaxing trip to Northern Cyprus, the Turkish half of the country. I'm pleased to say that I managed to get some caches out there but that's not - for once - what this blog entry is going to be about.

We were staying at a very nice villa which had an array of leaflets about local activities. I had intended to go horse riding or mountain biking - hobbies I enjoy back in the UK - but the leaflets I had been expecting to see weren't there and rather than try to track down the companies on their websites, I had a better perusal of what leaflets were there.

Paragliding has never been something that takes my fancy but after reading the leaflet, I had to admit it sounded pretty good. Before I knew it I was checking out their website for further details (www.highlineparagliding.com) and made arrangements to fly tandem two days later! It wasn't exactly cheap (270 Turkish Lira - about £70) but it was worth every penny!

I met with Angela and Ozgur, husband and wife team, down in Kyrenia Harbour and then went with them in their all-terrain vehicle up into the mountains to the take-off point at 2500ft. Ozgur, a qualified and experienced pilot, got me kitted out with all the necessary equipment including spare parachute which he's never needed to use! He explained all I needed to know and before I knew it we were waiting for the wind to be favourable. All I then needed to do was run down a gentle slope at the top of the mountain and keep running until my feet no longer touched the ground. We were then flying! Ozgur was a very capable pilot and had camera equipment with him to get plenty of photos and videos whilst up there and the views were stunning. You could even see as far as Turkey! As we came in, Ozgur asked if I'd like a little trick of his where he spirals in and before my stomach could get too worked up by this manoeuvre, we were strolling back onto terra firma!

What a fantastic experience! I just wanted to get straight back up there to do it again! Oh well, next time!

Successful trackables?!

When I began geocaching, I'd quite often find equal numbers of Travel Bugs and Geocoins in caches but over the years I've found fewer of both, but particularly Geocoins. After losing all the coins I've ever put out, I've lost faith in placing expensive and beautiful coins in boxes of Tupperware. The problem is you cannot guarantee that the coins will be transferred to "safe" caches. It only takes one muggling to lose a coin, young children taking them thinking they are ordinary swag items, or misguided or dishonest cachers keeping them as souvenirs. One of my coins even went missing from the first cache I hid it in which was gutting.

Geocoins are often very stunning now though, and barely resemble coins sometimes! The best place to discover coins is at events, where cachers often bring their coins with them for the sole purpose of showing them off and allowing them to be "discovered". I do this with the coins I have bought these last few years which I have never allowed myself to release out into the wild.

Travel Bugs are slightly different - they don't have to be very valuable at all and aren't really there for the sole purpose of discovering (although you can, again normally at events is your best bet!) Travel Bugs are there to travel. Find a small object you want to move around the country or the world and attach a TB to it to signify that it is not a swap item. These also go missing sometimes. They will be placed in caches that get muggled or archived, might get accidentally traded or just go totally AWOL. That said, they tend to have a better track record of surviving in the wild.

Missions for TBs vary and you shouldn't pick one up unless you know what it's aiming to do. I foolishly did this when I found a TB in Abu Dhabi in the Middle East. Its mission was to go to China but I brought it home with me unaware of its goal only to find it had come from the UK! Maybe it ended up in China quicker by catching the next plane out of Gatwick, but geographically speaking it didn't make much sense to bring it back to its starting country. Only discover TBs if you're not sure of what they want to achieve. A TB's mission can be anything the owner wants it to be. Common goals are "travel the world" or "attend events" but the mission can be more specific. A rubber duck might want to visit caches by ponds and lakes, for example, and some have a very specific destination country or cache in mind.

My TBs have had varying degrees of success. A lot of them have gone missing, unfortunately. Until recently my light up hooting owl keyring had successfully completed TWO missions but is now missing. Send the Dragon an Owl was a TB I created as a way of saying thank you to a friend who had released TBs in my honour. Its first mission was to reach the cacher in question, and to my amazement it did! He took photos to prove that it had successfully reached him! After that I set it the mission of getting back to me by coming to a cache near my home called "Owl's House". Again it succeeded. My good fortune ran out after that, however, when I decided to see if I could get it to fly up to an owl themed cache near Liverpool. It has not been seen since May 2012.

My other successful TBs have been two little plastic gingerbread men (well one man and one woman) I won out of a 2p machine in an arcade. I glued a TB to the back of each and placed them together in the same cache. The mission? To race each other! "You can't catch me; I'm the gingerbread man!" To my utter amazement they are both still going strong even though they were released in August 2012. Doesn't seem like a long time, but for TBs on a mission, that's quite an achievement!

The Gingerbread Man has travelled 5291.3 miles and after a quick holiday to Spain has been batted around Germany for many months. Germany is a very good country to have a TB - alongside America and Britain, geocaching is very popular there.

The Gingerbread Woman, by contrast, has done many more miles (8821.1) and yet has travelled less. The mileage comes from crossing the Atlantic and then visiting a number of States in the USA. She has only been to a quarter of the number of caches as her husband, but when she does travel, she travels far!

I really hope that both these little TBs continue to travel far and wide. The race might not be directly against one another and my little married biscuits might have been apart for over a year but they're both keeping themselves busy and meeting lots of really cool people. I think Mr Gingerbread might have picked up some German too!

Christmas is coming!

I've seen some pretty nice seasonal hides before, but I was not expecting one Christmas-themed cache I found to be attached to a full-size artificial tree just standing there innocently in a woodland! Would have been cool, if a little impractical, to have the cache as a gift-wrapped ammo can at the bottom!

"Have an Encounter with the Long Arm of the Law"

The heading of this entry is a reference to a potential requirement from a geocaching challenge cache called "I Challenge You To Play... CACHEBUSTERS!" which I have now at last qualified for by having an encounter with the police. I must reassure you that this is not required to claim the cache, but it is one possible route you can take across the "Blockbusters"-like board. Well, I needed to do that or go without caching for 30 days, and that's just unreasonable!

But any geocaching encounter with the police is going to be an interesting one, if not scary or bizarre. Recently I was looking for my latest cache-nemesis. We've all had them, right? The cache that you just keep DNFing. What adds insult to injury in this case is that it's not even difficult and everyone else seems to be posting "Easy find" type logs which makes me feel even more incompetent!

I went back for the umpeenth time to look for this little blighter and spent many minutes looking for a magnetic cache on top of a railway bridge where everything seems to be made of iron. The hint really isn't much to go on in this location. Frustrated with myself and getting impatient, I was surprised to look up and find a male and female police officer coming towards me; they'd parked their van on the kerb nearby.

I'm afraid to say that the first fleeting thought that ran through my head was "Ooh, I qualify for that challenge cache!" quickly followed by "Oh, no, they think I'm placing a bomb here!" I was behaving weirdly at a major railway bridge next to an international airport. I must look so dodgy! Still, I cleared thoughts of panic from my mind as I knew I was innocent - if incompetent - and waited to hear what they had to say.

"Are you OK? We stopped because you looked sad and were leaning over a railway bridge." A wave of relief washed over me. Oh, they think I'm suicidal! That makes sense. Well this cache is annoying, but it's not that annoying! I have never been one to make up an excuse when muggled, although I've heard my share of great ones (see below!) I'd much rather say I'm doing an online treasure hunt and let them walk away from me feeling relieved but disinterested. Police though generally know about geocaching from all the times it gets bad press (areas cleared when they think they've found a bomb, and actually it's just a badly placed cache).

I asked them if they'd heard of geocaching, and sure enough they had. They asked what the hint was and then made some suggestions, although they weren't all very good ones (try the statue down the road, for example). I know the coords might be out a bit, but they're not that bad! I kinda wished they'd stayed to help me look but they did actually have real work to be getting on with. Convinced that I was not about to end my life or anyone else's they bid me well and drove on. A good experience with the long arm of the law. Phew!

Some of the excuses I've heard cachers make for their questionable behaviour:

• I work for the slug-protection society
• I'm looking for a glove (the muggle then stopped to help look for it! Ha, busted!)
• I'm looking for my dog (whilst feeling up a metal bridge over a river!)

My excuse could be my interest in fungi, but telling the plain truth is normally the best way to go. You might even get another pair of eyes helping you look!

World War 2 Bunkers - history-laden thrill-seeking geocaching!

Most of the caches I've found have been on or near ground level, and the occasional one has been up a tree. But it's not often that I get to go underground to find a cache or two. I mean, GPS doesn't work down there! That said, there have been some slightly more unusual experiences in Wales with Bunkered? and DAVROS, both highly recommended!

 Entrances to Bunkered? and DAVROS respectively

Recently though I had the privilege of caching with DJ-DeKay and The Human Man to find two more underground hides. Thankfully I have always been able to cache with others for these subterranean hides, which serves the dual purpose of having better memories with more fun, and the practical aspect of physical help if needed (both with getting in/out of the bunker and in case anything were to go wrong).

I had found out about two underground Second World War bunkers which weren't very far from one another, and both of which had a cache in them. We set out for the first, Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler? and spent more time looking for the opening than the cache itself! What stickoflage! The way in and out of the underground shelter involved a bit of a scramble over various articles under the entrance, all firmly in place, I might add! Not a lot to see when down there except a few mammal bones from poor rodents who couldn't get back out, and a nice big cache!

The second bunker at Subterranean Adventure was much better when it came to furnishing. It had a hatch and a very old rusty iron ladder down into the bunker. Against advice to have one person remain above ground, we all went down and had a sniff around, although not too literally because it stank of "old" down there. It was furnished with a cupboard, tables, a light switch I wouldn't trust, and a burnt out double mattress - no idea how that fitted down the small hole! There was also a bent spoon and a bit of a newspaper from 2008 - not exactly the 1940s, but still...

Sometimes it's good to get away from the norm in geocaching, to stop looking for Tupperware at the base of trees, and start digging down into some history. Favourite points were duly awarded for all the caches mentioned here, and a big thanks should go not only to all the cache owners but also to my great friends who cache with me in during such memorable escapades!

Groundspeak's 31 Days of Geocaching Challenge

Avid cachers will be aware that Groundspeak set geocachers the challenge of logging either a "Found It" or "Attended" log on at least one cache every single day of August 2013. I was having reservations about being able to do this challenge but as the month has progressed, it's been OK. A couple of hairy moments when holidaying in Ireland where I wondered whether I'd manage to get my daily cache, but wonderfully I've had an opportunity to cache every day so far. How are you faring, assuming you've been tempted by Groundspeak to take on this challenge yourself? Comment below! As if to persuade us, a total of 31 souvenirs can be earned to reward us for our craziness, and a lovely little calendar it makes up when completed:

This video made me laugh, as it sums up what goes through a lot of determined cachers' minds this month. This scene has had quite some going over by various people, adding their own captions for whatever storyline they're making, but for the 31 Days of Geocaching challenge, I think this is wunderbar! Geocaching is taken very seriously in Germany, after all!

Geocaching in Ireland

Woo, finally! Cached in Ireland! I've only been to Ireland once before and that was a day trip to Wexford, spending a couple of hours in the rain after a pretty rough crossing from Fishguard. Very pleased to be able to supersede this experience with a ferry crossing from Holyhead which was not nauseating, good weather and a few days travelling the country.

Two new caching souvenirs earned!

Sadly I was only there for a few days, but in that time I got to visit the lovely tourist-friendly town of Kilkenny and peaceful Cavan near the Northern Irish border. I also enjoyed Ireland's own Daniel O'Donnell in concert twice (not really my type of music, but great live). Caching-wise, Ireland is not nearly as bountiful in caches as the UK which made keeping up my August caching streak a challenge but there are some good ones out there up and down the country because they're placed with consideration rather than for the numbers. Would I come back? Yeah, definitely! Shame the ferry crossing from Swansea to Cork has stopped because that would have been ideal. 

To my delight I was able to cache in Staffordshire and Anglesey too on the way there and back (four new counties in total!) Nothing special about the motorway service station cache in Staffordshire but I am very pleased to at long last get the cache at the station in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, the longest place name in the UK. Not been here for years and years (since before the concept of geocaching was even conceived) but I was aware of the cache placed at the station and thankfully was able to nab this one before the ferry crossing to Ireland. Being able to pronounce this name has been my party trick for years, and it doesn't look like I'll have anything better to offer any time soon!

Oh, and a new Irish-themed multicache is going to be placed somewhere in Hampshire soon. Just working on the concept for it now! Watch this space!

Memories of the Midlands Mega

A big thanks to cheesescones for making the weekend of the West Midlands Mega 2013 (3rd August) a fantastic experience in every way, with loads of familiar faces met, merchandise bought, trackables discovered, Jasmer and D/T stats increased and of course superb caches found!

At "Glorious Gloucestershire" for my third oldest find to date.

This year's main event was at the Heritage Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire with a number of side events too. Almost unintentionally we ended up doing 11 icons in a day yet again (we'd aimed for this at the Geolympix in Oxford last year!) and it was nice to get another web cam and Wherigo, personally. A couple of CITOs were welcome too, although I have yet to do a CITO in a litter-laden area although I can suggest a few areas! I'm not much of a planner so if anyone wants to hold a CITO, contact me and I'll make some recommendations!

My most unusual find during my CITO milestone - a very waterlogged "30" wreath!

Cheesescones and I both hit a minor milestone whilst away, and both of us managed to make a CITO (one each) the milestone itself. Many miles were covered into various surrounding counties to pick up unusual D/T combos and very old caches. Exhausting, all in all, but fantastic. Hope to be at the Kent one next year. Think Scotland's a little out of my reasonable distance to travel!

A Mega log book!

King Alfred's Cakes

I love all mushrooms but these are something a little unusual, even for fungi. Legend has it that King Alfred the Great was left to watch over some cakes baking, but being preoccupied, forgot about them and they burnt. These tough 'shrooms resemble burnt cakes, hence their name. If we're being scientific about it, they're really called Daldinia concentrica as their insides have a concentric pattern.

Much like burnt cakes, they are largely regarded as inedible, although they're not dangerous to eat. They have been used to relieve cramps according to folk remedy and are sometimes known as Cramp Balls. You're most likely to see them attached to dead ash and beech trees, amongst other broadleaved trees and whilst they are in season during the summer to autumn, they can hang about for many years!

Caching by bike

I love long car journeys to interesting places. I love long walks in the woods or across fields in the sunshine. I love hacking across country on horseback when I get the opportunity... but cycling is a different kind of pleasure, and also something I don't get the chance to do very often, which is what makes it so exciting. My bike is still in Wales and despite the kind offer of one of my colleagues to have his spare bike, I had to decline simply because I have nowhere at all to keep one, not even a garden or communal space. A bike of my own will have to wait until we get a different place.

Meanwhile I have taken to hiring bikes in Brockenhurst in the New Forest where the bikes are good quality and the people are friendly. I can see myself remaining a loyal customer to Cyclexperience until the day I get a bike of my own (in England!). I decided it would be nice to combine cycling with my passion for geocaching like I used to years ago when I'd cycle up the Tawe in Swansea to Pontardawe and pick off caches en route.

I was provided with a map of the area I'd opted to venture, a route taking me west to Burley and then north and back towards Brockenhurst again, making a complete circuit. I lost the way a couple of times, but then I also had my GPSr telling me in not so many words "There's a cache over there; why not make a detour and pick it up?" Of the eight I stopped for, I thankfully found them all, and some were in pretty remote areas which made cycling to them even more appealing. Glad I had my detailed map of the New Forest with me as the route map I'd been provided with didn't show up all the paths I was taking, and the spare batteries came in useful for my GPSr. How reassuring to be able to pinpoint your location when you're in a place you've never been before. Don't know that I would have got back by 5pm without it!

Sadly on this occasion I also had something of a breakdown and I have no recollection of how it happened. It didn't seem to be a straight forward puncture, which I've had before. No, I stopped to try and help direct some other cyclists and when I started off again my bike felt heavy and hard to cycle. I wondered if I had lost the knack or knackered myself?! The odd squishing sound that accompanied my laboured pedalling told me something was wrong and sure enough my rear tyre was all squidgy, to use the technical term. I had the option of calling the hire centre for help or a replacement bike but by this time I was so close to Brockenhurst that I decided to persevere. Unfortunately it got a lot worse and soon my inner tube was caught up in the spokes. The bike's entrails were spilling out everywhere and in my inexperience at resolving bike problems, I only made the situation worse. Shamefully I pushed the bike on its front wheel through the town and gained some muscle in my arms just by supporting the rear wheel the whole way. Despite this, I still had an awesome day and will be going back for more! Next time, remember to take the repair kit, girl.

This was not supposed to happen!

Westbury White Horse

Decided to do something a little special for my minor milestone of 2100 and as I was in the area, White Horse View seemed a good one. Many times have I been through Westbury on the train to or from Wales and seen the massive horse out the window, but at last I have been able to get right up close to it, so close in fact that I sat on its ear. The are some good views from below but you can get right to the top and see across Westbury and beyond. The history of the horse is uncertain but it's thought to date back to the eighteenth century. Why it's there no one really knows either, although other white horses were made to celebrate victories. Originally the horse was purely the chalk in the hillside but it's been painted and preserved now so that it doesn't have to be scrubbed clean all the time!

The horse is one of several in the Wiltshire area, but probably the most anatomically accurate (which is saying something, really). Other chalk figures tend to be outlines like the Long Man of Wilmington or the Cerne Abbas Giant. I find them a little eerie, to be honest, but also fascinating, perhaps like my love/hate relationship with huge chimneys, cooling towers and other industrial superstructures.

Boris biking in the capital

If you're ever in London and looking to get around, you'll probably go down to the Tube or perhaps take a tour bus or even cruise along the Thames. What about cycling, though? Well, to be frank, I can't think of many things more daunting than cycling through the capital, but I was willing to give it a try what with the fairly recent incentive of Boris Johnson's to get hired bicycles dotted around the capital to encourage green commuting. We spent a while just getting the bikes out, then with much trepidation cycled away from London Bridge, trying to get to grips with these rather heavy and awkward bikes. The next half an hour was spent cycling round in circles through quiet streets and a nearby playground. 

I think cycling through central London is some way off for the likes of me. I'll stick to the New Forest, thanks! Hats off to those who do use eco-friendly transport in such a city though. If ever you're in London, it's worth giving the Boris bikes a go, just for a laugh!

First attempt at action filming

It's not something I see myself doing on a regular basis, but there have been a few occasions when I have thought "wouldn't it have been good to have filmed that?" but my hands were too busy grabbing handlebars, pulling me through a tunnel or gripping a dog sled so I was unable to hold my camera. Typical that the most exciting moments are also the times when my hands aren't free! I decided to invest in a cheap action camera to see if it's something worth pursuing. I'd say that I don't do enough interesting or thrill-seeking stuff to make it worth my while to buy a better one.

Today, biking in the New Forest, I thought I'd take it out for its first spin, with varying degrees of success!

Problems I've encountered include:

• Incredibly poor audio - part and parcel of buying a cheap model
• Inaccurate time - for some reason the time carries on from when it was last switched on!
• Wrong angle - There was only one place where I could attach it to my helmet but that meant that the angle was too high and so to see the road I had to look down the whole time which was a little impractical, if not dangerous
• Seasickness - partly my filming, partly the nature of trying to use it when juddering up and down on gravel. Perhaps the issue could have been resolved by attaching the camera to the handlebars, but I don't know it would have made a huge amount of difference (but at least it would probably be pointing  the right direction!)

In all honesty, I think this little gadget will live in a cupboard doing nothing most of the time. I might get it out for the odd interesting event where holding a camera is inappropriate and I certainly want to take it to Go Ape but I'm not expecting decent footage any more!

May the Fourth be with you!

Groundspeak decided to celebrate 4th May with its tenth World Wide Flash Mob, an event I've never previously attended for whatever reason. But today, being a free Saturday I committed to two out of three reasonably close 15-minute events to celebrate the occasion and earn yet another souvenir for my profile. 

A flash mob event is a quick sudden gathering of people for a common purpose who before the predetermined time act naturally. At the given moment though, there is suddenly a mass gathering of apparent strangers, much to the bemusement of those not in on it - in this case muggles. For several years now Groundspeak has proposed dates when the whole geocaching community should do this type of event and that's what makes it a world wide thing. We might not all be meeting at precisely the same moment (not really fair given the time zones) but we all come together on that calendar date.

So the May the Fourth bit made the theme of a Star Wars nature although having still never watched the films, I am merely drawing upon what little I know to see me through all the references. All the films are on my bucket list but I would rather borrow than buy them just in case I don't enjoy them. 

Thanks Bernie for hosting the first this morning at 9am (not early for me! I had a nice hour's lie-in this morning!) with the blustery wind and a nice view out across the Solent. Plenty turned up - a fair number of trackables to log, new faces (as ever!) to see, as well as old ones. And a queue for the log book. Much the same later on at 1:15pm for Mellers' second WWFM event of the day, this one with a rather delicious cake theme! It was also good to spend time doing normal geocaching with FfiLli after the first event. Always makes a welcome change to cache in the company of others, although there are pros and cons to caching alone.

Next significant event... the West Midlands Mega!

CITO in the sunshine!

Today I was able to adorn my profile with a new BadgeGen badge (Silver CITO) and souvenir (CITO 2013):

But more importantly than that I got to take part in a great event where I had the opportunity to contribute to the upkeep of our local environment by litter-picking with dozens of other cachers on Meon Shore in what is turning out to be an annual event. Much better than last year which was a total wash-out, the sun was out the whole time!

Another highlight of the day was spending time with other people of like mind, particularly Cat a Tonic and Mellers. Many thanks for your company!

I look forward to the next CITO event, whenever that may be. They tend to come only in annual waves and at Megas so maybe I'll take part in one in the Midlands in August. Always feels so satisfying at the end though; wish these were more common event types. 

Reviving my inner orienteer!

It's been far too long since I took up a detailed O map and compass to locate controls at a run. Very glad I got in contact with Southampton Orienteering Club and turned up to the event this morning. I think perhaps the orange course was a little too basic for me, but I thought it would be best not to overestimate it! I was looking forward to going to the next events, but I am otherwise committed for the next few weeks. Oh well, in time!

Cache #2000 in South Wales

I hadn't intended to get my 2000 cache milestone whilst enjoying a four-night stay back with my parents in Wales but as cheesescones, cloudspotter and I went and mopped up loads of caches in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and West Glamorgan I thought that I would be within touching distance of this large milestone. Time to seriously consider what cache it should be before I overshoot it and find I've landed myself with a dull cache 'n' dash for the big one!

Bunkered? was a cache I'd been eyeing up for some time, ever since it was published in fact! But living so far away I never really got the chance to seriously consider it! Now was my opportunity though so when I was on cache number 1993 cheesescones and I made our way to Pembrey Country Park via some caches en route (Sluice Gate being another excellent hide). I have been to Pembrey a few times and done some great orienteering there but I love it so much - to me it's like a small taste of heaven right here, right now. There's just something for all the family there. So being able to get my milestone in one of my favourite places on earth (Rhossili Bay and Toronto being the main others) was a real pleasure.

Did the cache disappoint? Hell no! I won't give away all the details just in case you're ever in the area and want to have a go yourself, but basically it involves a bit of crawling through an old disused bunker. When I saw what I had to do, I had doubts for a second then threw myself in (literally) and enjoyed the different caching experience. Cache found, number 2000 achieved, favourite point duly awarded!

When I got home later, I read up more on the history of the area and found that Pembrey has actually got a rather sinister history and the neighbouring forest is supposedly haunted. Make of that what you will, but it was a little creepy seeing the very bunker I'd been in filmed briefly for an episode of Most Haunted! (See below)

Caches that make you laugh

I won't give away the name or location of this, but let's just say that when I found it I couldn't resist a smile!

Caching and nature spotting in Stanley Park

Stanley Park is a lovely large park in Vancouver full of wildlife and plenty of geocaches and whilst finding caches was really cool, as ever, stumbling upon the final of a multi by accident was a welcome addition to my  caching total! Even better than the geocaches (!) were the creatures I don't see in the wild back home in the UK...

Herons (not unheard of in the UK, but not a common sight):

Black squirrels (and very tame at that):

Raccoons (watching one and being snuck up on by another!):