MnGCA

[Team Hooligan]

With all the snow we have had this winter, we have had a long off-season for geocaching. I remember last year on St. Patricks Day I put out a cache and a travel bug and there was no snow. Now we still have quite a bit, but it should start to go quick. So what have you area cachers been doing? Are you looking forward to getting out? We are!!
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If I'm not Crazy, am I Sane???

[Arcticabn]

Sorry, but at least some of us have been out all winter. Silent Bob, S4xton, Spaceman7 and myself did a 40 cache day in February. Many of the sites were a$$ deep in snow but that didn't stop us. Made the truging up and down the hills more difficult but we had a goal set and were bound and determined to make it.

Otherwise, been spliting my time caching here in Minnesota/Wisconsin and the other half of the time caching in Southern California.

Priorities are priorities.
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Airborne All the Way!

[RJ]

Actually, I prefer geocaching in the winter months. Frozen ground, no bugs/ticks, no people, no heat/sweat, no mud, no rain, no leaves to block gps signals, no tall grass, and frozen swamps. Granted, it's a lot more difficult to have to dig around and free the cache from winter's glacial grip than to turn over a piece of bark, but the challenge makes it more enjoyable.

I will say that I get skunked more easily in the snowy months because I tend to give up a lot quicker than when there's no snow. There's just so much ice and snow removal I can do before I fall prey to the next cache on my list beckoning me to come find it. Ahh, geocaching. What a sport!

[jonsom]

The snow is almost gone down in the Twin Cities, I bet it wont be long until it is gone up North too. I can't wait to get my boat out of storage and on the water.
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"The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

[Pony Owner]

I can certainly tell you... there is a HUGE difference between caching in the winter in MSP and "up north". I've done both, and there are three major factors.
1. Weather/Depth of snow (up north, the snow is still 3-4 feet deep over many of the caches). This is especially significant when caches are "under a log" etc. Frequent sub-zero days (and don't get me going on 'windchill') add to the difficulty level.
2. Numbers of people looking/leaving tracks. In the Metro area, lots of cachers are around to constantly visit the caches, often leaving a trail for the next folks to find. Caches don't usually go a week without someone finding them in the Metro.
3. Cache density/placement. In the MSP metro area, you can hardly go two miles without being near a cache. The caches 'up north' are fewer and more distant between. There are few "park and grab" type up north (where there are HUNDREDS in the MSP metro area).

In short... ya gotta WORK at the caches in the northern areas.

DISCLAIMER: the following is a rant
Regarding the concept of quality vs. quantity. I find it very hard to believe that anyone would be able to do a 40 cache day in the northland. Then again, that kind of 'easter egg hunting' where everyone has to have a basket full (or else they go home crying) never appealed to me.

MSP Metro Cachers... if you (like me) have gotten bored with the 'far too easy' caching that has run rampant in the area, spend a day (or two, or several) hunting for caches well-outside the Metro area... seek out caches that haven't been found in two, three, or four months... and don't wait until spring/summer to do it. CHALLENGE yourself to participate in a 'higher level' of caching... and really make this a sport we can continue to enjoy.

Here is my typical day..."Minnesota Point" cache in mid-Febuary. Pick a day when it is 3 degrees and the wind is 15 mph (this is a fairly common scenario for the area). This is a two mile (each way) hike, so wear your thermal underwear.

Rant officially done.

If you don't like what I said, tough. We all have opinions (and I've read all kinds on the forum boards)

NOTE: I have been pleasantly surprised to see certain individuals (yes, even in the Metro area...which I love) who have taken it upon themselves to place WONDERFUL caches. You know who you are, and you get my most sincere thanks. And thanks to you, I have something challenging and FUN to do today. KEEP IT UP!

And yes, one of these days I'll place the queen-mother of all caches so you can thank (or curse) me too. lol

[s4xton]

What I do is reserve "quality" caches, in that opinion of quality, for days where I want to spend all day finding a couple caches... like I did in Red Wing yesterday with a couple friends. Most of the day was spent hiking and hiking... most of it for just two caches... where we can spend the time to enjoy the hike and challenge.

For the "quantity," that's the whole point of doing 40 in a day... is to make a challenge out of it.

It's two different types of geocaching, and they both are challenging in different ways.

I don't enjoy picking up one park and grab though, generally... I like to make a challenge out of it.

Just my opinion.

-Aaron

[eagleyes]

We just returned from 5 weeks of caching in the SW-USA. One of the benefits of retirement. I have returned with at least a dozen TBUGS which I will start distributing this next week. Being that it is still frozen UP NORTH, I will distribute them in the CITIES. I know the bug owners want the bugs moving. In the meantime, I will reactivate my cache here and refurbish my caches for the Ely area-so they will be ready to put out once the ground is defrosted for good. We cached in the desert- and the mountains- watching out for rattlers, scorpions, killer bees, cougars, and javelinas. We crawled into the belly of a defunk WWII bomber to retrieve a TBUG, and found other cleverly concieved and creative caches. Found lots of WHERE'S GEORGE dollars- which bought us lunch a couple of days. We wound around mountain trails-where only goats should go- finding caches in ghost towns and as well as historic urban areas. Saw a lot of the USA and realized how unique the regions of our country are. Looking forward to more caching in Northern Minnesota this year, and another picnic- in Eveleth's Veterans Park- right?
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LIFE IS GOOD;CABIN LIFE IS GREAT