The Urge to be Outside
Post #2 for the year.
I’m not sure what has happened recently but I have this urge to get outside more, more specifically out walking in the bush.
I’ve Started Geocaching Again
Geocaching is a like treasure hunting with GPS to find some sort of container so you can sign a piece of paper. To find out more about it and a better explanation do check out the official website, it’s free to play.
A bit of a backstory
Geocaching came about due to rules around the use of GPS satellites being relaxed around the year 2000.
I started looking for them in 2002, back then you couldn’t use your phone and you have to use a dedicated GPS unit. I saved up and got the almighty Garmin eTrex.
I went to some great places, saw some great sights and I think back then there was only the one type of cache you could find.
Then I stopped.
Fast forward to 2011, and I started doing it a bit more, this time I was using my phone, but it was a clunky experience, mainly due to my phone. I went to some cool places, saw some great sights.
Then I stopped.
Fast forward to 2018, this time I used a brand new account, and for some reason found only 1 in January, and didn’t think about it again until December, where for some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I went crazy on it for 21 days of December, finding 80 caches.
I’ve been into swamps, cut up by blackberry, found interesting locations, interesting caches and really enjoying being outside in random locations.
So it Continues
So far this month I’ve found 21
My current goal is to find at least 1 per day, once I get to the end of the month I’ll re assess if I’ll try to keep up with that crazy goal (I think it will be hard to do as caches get further and further away)
I have a little bit of regret for not carrying on with it from way back in the day, back in 2002 when things were different. But the thing I do like with Geocaching is you can pick it up anytime, do it at your own pace, and find the ones that you want to find.
Is there a correlation?
Is this new found enthusiasm for the outdoors related to the fact that I hardly check Facebook anymore, and when I do I don’t see any updates from anyone? I’m not sure, but maybe.
Now I’m Making Lists
I’m currently making lists of gear I need to get, gear to go on longer walks with, which in turn will turn into tramping for multiple days. I’ll see how I go.
