My first geocache in another country came with a stop to sort out international phone plans in a McDonald’s parking lot.
That probably tells you something about how 2017 went. There were impressive destinations, a few very ambitious caching days, and plenty of ordinary moments that became part of the adventure.
By the end of the year, I had added 1,380 finds, visited 17 U.S. states and Ontario, and finally put another country on my geocaching map.
The year had room for Wisconsin Geo-Art with friends, a family vacation in Hawaii, a return to Midwest GeoBash, our spontaneous Canadian detour, and a twelve-state road trip in October. There was also plenty of caching closer to home.
The numbers behind the year
I began 2017 with 10,424 finds and finished with 11,804. The year’s 1,380 credits include 1,360 regular cache records and 20 individual Lab finds.
Project-GC records 99 caching days, averaging 13.9 finds on the days I went caching. Some outings were a quick opportunity between other commitments. Others involved a much longer list of coordinates.
Finds through the year
Read the chart data
| Category | Finds |
|---|---|
| Jan | 68 |
| Feb | 116 |
| Mar | 207 |
| Apr | 166 |
| May | 347 |
| Jun | 75 |
| Jul | 132 |
| Aug | 29 |
| Sep | 85 |
| Oct | 82 |
| Nov | 10 |
| Dec | 63 |
May was the busiest month, with 347 finds. March followed with 207 and April with 166. November contributed ten, which is a useful reminder that every month does not need to become an expedition.
North of the cheddar curtain
A big part of May’s activity came from a Wisconsin outing with CanisMinor and djpd1023. We targeted the WGA and Lighthouse Geo-Art series, along with other caches on the route.
My original log described an adventure that carried us from one day into the next. We signed or stamped as CDS, and I referred to the destination as “north of the cheddar curtain.”
Apparently, a large collection of puzzle caches was a perfectly good reason to cross into Wisconsin and keep going.
Those searches helped take me past 11,000 finds. 169 WGA Geo-Art (GC6W6BZ) is one of the May 26 finds in that stretch of the record.
The appeal of Geo-Art is partly the planning and partly the satisfaction of working through the searches together. This outing gave us plenty of both. It also helps explain why the May bar on the chart stands considerably taller than most of its neighbors.
A historic cache in the Hawaiian woods
Our Hawaii vacation had plenty to enjoy beyond geocaching. I also made time for a hike with LEGOexplorer to Geocache (GC23), Hawaii’s oldest active cache, originally hidden on July 21, 2000.
We were short on time, but the find was straightforward and the cache was in good shape. My log mentions the hike, the sights and sounds, and being taken off the beaten path. I gave it a favorite point for the experience.
I like the photograph of us together with the ammo can. It records a walk we had made time for during a family vacation, with a little geocaching history at the destination.
The family also got a chance to tease me about planning. We drove to Hanauma Bay, discovered it was closed on Tuesdays, and had to return another day. I had apparently checked the coordinates more carefully than the opening days.
Our successful return gave us another good family photograph. Hawaii became one of my nine new U.S. geocaching states that year.
Canada, phone plans, and a new country
California joined my map during a work trip. Free time was limited, so I had made it a goal to find at least one cache before leaving. I managed three.
Later in July, bapierson, LEGOexplorer and I attended Midwest Geobash 2017 (GC6R9J1). After the Bash, we made a last-minute decision to visit Niagara Falls.
On July 16, First Break (GC6JQXQ) in Windsor became the first Canadian cache for all three of us. For me, it was also my first geocache outside the United States.
The stop gave us time to arrange international calling and data plans. Sitting in a McDonald’s parking lot getting everyone’s phones ready was a very practical beginning to an international adventure.
Niagara Falls supplied the scenery afterward, including a boat outing and the familiar red ponchos. On the return crossing, I remember getting the “third degree” from U.S. border officials. Our quick detour had given us quite a bit to remember.
Twelve states in a little more than forty-eight hours
October brought another road trip, this time with CanisMinor, mjholley and pandababy427. We left on Saturday evening and returned on Monday evening, covering approximately 2,500 miles through twelve states.
Six of those states were new to my caching map: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Our stops included GO BIG RED (GC943) in Nebraska and Missouri’s First – Watts Mill (GC37), two caches with histories stretching back to the hobby’s early years.
We took a photograph together with the ammo can at GO BIG RED. Pictures like that give the trip its people as well as its places.
At Bi-State (GC829D) in Texarkana, the Texas–Arkansas boundary provided a particularly appropriate photo opportunity for a trip spent crossing so many state lines.
The original trip records contain 65 credited visits: 64 finds and a Webcam capture. The six new states were a substantial addition to my map, and we came home with a good collection of photographs together.
Where the regular finds happened
Read the chart data
| Category | Finds |
|---|---|
| Illinois | 542 |
| Wisconsin | 332 |
| Indiana | 268 |
| Michigan | 51 |
| Ohio | 47 |
| Hawaii | 31 |
| Minnesota | 22 |
| South Dakota | 22 |
| Oklahoma | 10 |
| Ontario | 6 |
| Missouri | 6 |
| Kansas | 4 |
| Arkansas | 4 |
| California | 3 |
| North Dakota | 3 |
| Iowa | 3 |
| Nebraska | 3 |
| Texas | 3 |
Friends, familiar places, and a little variety
Travel supplied some memorable chapters, while Illinois still accounted for 542 of my regular cache records. Wisconsin added 332 and Indiana 268.
The community was part of the year too. At WEEK TEN – This is for you spierson82 (GC6Z549), mjholley hosted a tribute event for me. My original reaction began with surprise that there was an event for “little ’o me,” followed by appreciation for the familiar faces and conversation.
I recorded 28 event attendances during 2017, including GeoBash. They were opportunities to catch up with people as well as add another entry to the logbook.
A year of different cache types
Read the chart data
| Category | Finds |
|---|---|
| Traditional | 872 |
| Mystery | 402 |
| Event | 27 |
| Multi | 25 |
| Lab finds | 20 |
| Virtual | 12 |
| EarthCache | 12 |
| Wherigo | 6 |
| Webcam | 2 |
| Letterbox | 1 |
| Mega-Event | 1 |
Traditional and Mystery caches made up most of the year, with Multis, Virtuals, EarthCaches, Wherigos, Webcams, a Letterbox and events adding variety.
Looking back, I remember the long Wisconsin outing, the Hawaiian trail with LEGOexplorer, and our family’s first Canadian smiley. I remember the phone plans, the Tuesday closure I had missed, and the photographs with friends at old caches.
Those are good things to find in a year. The 1,380 smileys came with plenty of stories attached.
Field Notes
- Year
- 2017 · proposed publication December 31, 2017, awaiting approval
- Total credits
- 1,380: 1,360 regular cache records + 20 individual Lab finds
- Caching days
- 99; average 13.9 finds per caching day
- Busiest month
- May: 347 finds
- Year-end counter
- 11,804, up from 10,424 at the end of 2016
- Geography
- 17 U.S. states and Ontario; two countries in the regular records
- New U.S. states
- California, Hawaii, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas
- First international cache
- First Break (GC6JQXQ) · July 16 · also bapierson’s and LEGOexplorer’s first Canadian cache
- Selected highlights
- 169 WGA Geo-Art (GC6W6BZ) · Geocache (GC23) · Midwest Geobash 2017 (GC6R9J1) · GO BIG RED (GC943) · Missouri’s First – Watts Mill (GC37) · Bi-State (GC829D)
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