Good morning everyone. According to Project-gc, there are 68 caches in Manitoba that are listed as large. Ontario leads the way with 487 large caches. North Dakota has 22 caches listed as large. If you like finding large caches, then California is the place to be. 695 caches are listed as being large.
With the length of daylight getting shorter as this side of the globe enters the Winter months, there's a good chance you'll be doing some caching in the dark. There's nothing more stealthy than sneaking around unnoticed in the dark. Almost ninja like. Except for that flashlight that you're using. I've done my fair share of finding caches after the sun has gone down. A good flashlight is a must. The light on your phone is ok, but it doesn't help you see further distances like a good flashlight will. If you're doing an actual night cache, then you absolutely need a very good flashlight. I do own a good flashlight. This particular one hasn't been used for caching just yet. My other trusty flashlight was kept in my car, until it was stolen. Aside from the usual pens, tweezers, reachy stick, rubber boots that would be good to have as part of your Tools of the Trade (TOTT) or regular caching gear, a flashlight is a must. I have used cheaper flashlights and the light off my phone.
I have done actual night caches and they are fun to do. Sadly, it's been a few years since I've done one. They do take time to set up and you need the right location. Any type of street lighting, or natural daylight could spoil the experience. Maybe if night caches had their own icon, we might see more of this type of cache?
Looking for regular caches in the dark can be challenging. You can't simply scan the area and possibly spot the cache from a distance. You can only see where your flashlight is pointing. It can take patience and time. A good geocacher will have that, patience and time. Having good coordinates is very helpful. Nothing more aggravating than searching for a cache in the dark with bad coordinates. That has happened to me and I'm sure to many others as well.
When I'm using my flashlight and I'm near ground zero, I have a tendency to put my fingers over the light to reduce the amount of light and making me less obvious and suspicious. Nothing more suspicious than waving a bright flashlight around at trees in a park. Yes, it does limit my light, but I try to be as stealthy as possible. If I'm finding that being stealthy isn't helping find the cache, then it's full flashlight time. My patience has run out.
When you're doing a daily caching streak of any significance, chances are, most of your day will be spent at work when it's light out. The window of finding a geocache during natural daylight is minimal. Searching at night becomes the normal for you, as it was for me. Sometimes it took awhile to spot, and sometimes it was right in your face as you pointed the flashlight in the right direction. Having a geo-trail in the snow was helpful too. In cases like that, you almost don't need the flashlight. Just follow the trail and spot an area where someone was standing. Chances are, the cache is nearby. I have taken advantage of situations like that.
Looking back at some of my pictures, I don't think I've done much night caching in a very long time. It was by chance that I happen to be about an hour West of the city on a Friday evening. I just dropped the boys off to spend the weekend with their Mom. I haven't cached in the area for over a year, maybe two or three years. I honestly don't remember. There are a bunch of newer caches that have been published in the past two years for me to find. By the time I arrived at ground zero for my first search, it was dark. There are very little streetlights in the area as well. I was caching in the dark. I forgot to grab my handy dandy flashlight when I left home. All I had was the light from my phone. The big question is, how's my caching mojo? There's is an old saying "If you don't use it, you lose it". I haven't done any real geocaching in quiet sometime, and I'm doing it in the dark with limited lighting. There were five caches in the area that I wanted to get. How many will I actually find?
With the length of daylight getting shorter as this side of the globe enters the Winter months, there's a good chance you'll be doing some caching in the dark. There's nothing more stealthy than sneaking around unnoticed in the dark. Almost ninja like. Except for that flashlight that you're using. I've done my fair share of finding caches after the sun has gone down. A good flashlight is a must. The light on your phone is ok, but it doesn't help you see further distances like a good flashlight will. If you're doing an actual night cache, then you absolutely need a very good flashlight. I do own a good flashlight. This particular one hasn't been used for caching just yet. My other trusty flashlight was kept in my car, until it was stolen. Aside from the usual pens, tweezers, reachy stick, rubber boots that would be good to have as part of your Tools of the Trade (TOTT) or regular caching gear, a flashlight is a must. I have used cheaper flashlights and the light off my phone.
(I was batty enough to climb this tree to get this cache)
I have done actual night caches and they are fun to do. Sadly, it's been a few years since I've done one. They do take time to set up and you need the right location. Any type of street lighting, or natural daylight could spoil the experience. Maybe if night caches had their own icon, we might see more of this type of cache?
Looking for regular caches in the dark can be challenging. You can't simply scan the area and possibly spot the cache from a distance. You can only see where your flashlight is pointing. It can take patience and time. A good geocacher will have that, patience and time. Having good coordinates is very helpful. Nothing more aggravating than searching for a cache in the dark with bad coordinates. That has happened to me and I'm sure to many others as well.
(not the type of container you want to be searching for among a bunch of trees)
When I'm using my flashlight and I'm near ground zero, I have a tendency to put my fingers over the light to reduce the amount of light and making me less obvious and suspicious. Nothing more suspicious than waving a bright flashlight around at trees in a park. Yes, it does limit my light, but I try to be as stealthy as possible. If I'm finding that being stealthy isn't helping find the cache, then it's full flashlight time. My patience has run out.
When you're doing a daily caching streak of any significance, chances are, most of your day will be spent at work when it's light out. The window of finding a geocache during natural daylight is minimal. Searching at night becomes the normal for you, as it was for me. Sometimes it took awhile to spot, and sometimes it was right in your face as you pointed the flashlight in the right direction. Having a geo-trail in the snow was helpful too. In cases like that, you almost don't need the flashlight. Just follow the trail and spot an area where someone was standing. Chances are, the cache is nearby. I have taken advantage of situations like that.
Looking back at some of my pictures, I don't think I've done much night caching in a very long time. It was by chance that I happen to be about an hour West of the city on a Friday evening. I just dropped the boys off to spend the weekend with their Mom. I haven't cached in the area for over a year, maybe two or three years. I honestly don't remember. There are a bunch of newer caches that have been published in the past two years for me to find. By the time I arrived at ground zero for my first search, it was dark. There are very little streetlights in the area as well. I was caching in the dark. I forgot to grab my handy dandy flashlight when I left home. All I had was the light from my phone. The big question is, how's my caching mojo? There's is an old saying "If you don't use it, you lose it". I haven't done any real geocaching in quiet sometime, and I'm doing it in the dark with limited lighting. There were five caches in the area that I wanted to get. How many will I actually find?
A nice size container is always a welcome sight at anytime of the day. Always a nice surprise when you turn around with your light source and the cache is hanging right there in your face.
The container is considerably smaller at the second stop, but it was quickly found. Two for two so far. Will my luck continue?
This one was a little trickier as GZ was pointing me to the middle of a field with a couple of nearby trees. With a Winter friendly attribute, It had to be on one of those trees. You never know what you'll find in the dark.
Another quick find with the lights reflecting off the water. There wasn't much ground to cover between the road and the lake.
Ending my sweep of the area with a coffee can container. Five for five. Not bad since I haven't done much caching. The mojo was clicking on this night. I actually feel inspired to go out and find more caches again.
That's all for this week. Until next time, be happy, be safe, enjoy life, hug your geo-pets (I hugged mine already this morning), and most of all, just have fun. Peace out.
(She can be such a princess)
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