Tag: outdoor adventure

Geowhat?: Building Relationship through Adventure

Shirleyjdietz3 Comments

A few years ago, on a walk in the woods, my daughter took out her phone and started looking at some kind of directions on it. Then she disappeared into the brush while I stood on the path trying to figure out what was going on.

I could hear her walking back and forth, kicking leaves around and looking under fallen trunks of trees. Finally she found it, whatever it was, and our geocaching adventures began.

To make the explanation short – people hide things and give map coordinates so other people can find them. The instructions are on an app that can be downloaded on any phone. When you find the cache, you add your name and the date to a list kept with the cache, and if appropriate you can leave some little trinket of your own. There are all kinds of embellishments to this game, including levels of difficulty, endless variety of hiding places, and contests and conferences to attend. Since getting hooked on this and reading some of the blogs about it, I have found caches almost everywhere I go.

Some caches are very small and hidden so well!

A hole was drilled in this post where the cache was hidden. The paper was rolled up and placed in a plastic casing. Only the string gave it away. We hunted a while for this one.

Some are ridiculously obvious and silly, but still…

This log was found in a big 5 gallon plastic pail with a red lid. They aren’t all that easy!

Some are in remote woodlands.

Some are on city streets, or very busy public places.

This tiny rolled up log was found inside the plastic ice cream cone on the porch of a busy ice cream store, dangling from the awning above our heads.

One fall day Julia and I were out hunting on a trail near Hayward and we ran into a friend of mine. We hadn’t spoken to her for a few years and when we explained what we were doing, she disclosed that she had placed most of the geocaches that we were looking for! Neither Julia or I have placed (hidden) any of our own caches but I think that will be the next step. All we need to do is choose a water proof container of some kind, something that can be hidden or camouflaged, include paper and pencil, plot the coordinates of the hiding place and register on the app.

This really is a fun, outdoor adventure that is virtually free to anyone with access to a cell phone. Doing fun things with others helps to grow relationships and make great memories. I highly recommend giving this a try if you’re wanting to spend time with someone who is adventurous and doesn’t mind being outdoors. Geocaching!

One of my favorite vlogs (video blog) is by world famous The Geocaching Vlogger and it is hilarious. I learned so much about geocaching from his videos and find them addicting. So entertaining! Check it out here: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCA0ptTLSLXKFsL4eOnF6RZg

Times and Travels: Revisiting the AT

ShirleyjdietzLeave a comment

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Countless stunning views on the trail

Last night when I should have been sleeping I was instead thinking about how I would get back to my car after hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail. This is a step beyond getting time to do it, or finding a suitable section to hike. I am in the commitment stage.

It has been a long time since my first hike in 2002, with four high school girls. We were all newbies.

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Seriously, we were blessed to have made it out alive.

And thirteen years since my last hike in2004 (when we could have died in freezing rain).

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The lady with the crutches backed out (for obvious reasons). 39 degrees, brrrr. Seriously, we were blessed to have made it out alive.

It takes longer than that for a dream to die however, and countless times I have gotten the maps out, looked at the pictures and considered possible hiking companions. I finally have hopes of getting back on the trail, possibly for this year’s birthday treat in April. The excitement is building.

Hiking the AT is kind of like birthing a baby. It’s an arduous process, but if you wait long enough you forget the horrible parts and remember the joy. I want to re-visit those times, all of them, and make sure I remember the ones that are crucial to health and safety.

One of my reasons for wanting to hike now is to see what damage the last thirteen years have done to my body. Another dream of mine, hiking down into the Grand Canyon, is scheduled for this fall and I need to know if I can do it. Since I have reasons for being in North Carolina these days (daughter Julie’s new home), some trips on the AT will be good conditioning and a test of my stamina. A friend has offered a place to stay in Franklin, NC and there are several sections near there that I’ve not done. It feels good to have a fun challenge and a goal on my list.

I didn’t have a blog back then and I’ve never published a good account of all we saw and did on those hikes. I’m going to do it now as a way of remembering. The 2017 A to Z Challenge is coming up in April too so I have a lot of writing to do in the days ahead.  Hiking and writing, two of my favorite things, should make this a fun spring. Just sayin’…