6th Geocaching Anniversary!

Danoshimano celebrates 6 years of caching

Danoshimano celebrates 6 years of caching

Willow Creek Ravine on New Year's Day

Willow Creek Ravine on New Year's Day

Down in Willow Creek Ravine

Down in Willow Creek Ravine

New Year's Day 2010, my 6th anniversary of geocaching!

Luckily I learned several decades ago that consuming vast quantities of alcohol on New Year's Eve only resulted in starting the new year feeling like crap. In fact, on this morning as Jennifer and I headed for a hike in the woods we were reminded of a beautiful New Year's Day many years ago where we didn't even want to open the blinds and let the sun into the room. (That was the year we really figured it out.)

With a coating of fresh snow clinging to the trees, we had a great hike through the Willow Creek Ravine just north of Barrie. The trails were even snowmobile-free at first, although the snowmobile season did seem to get under way by the time we were heading back. (Do they have to put snowmobile trails everywhere? What about those who just want to enjoy nature?)

After taking a round-about route, we eventually made our way to the site of a geocache that had eluded me when it was first published in late November. I chalked up a DNF instead of a FTF, but later learned the published coordinates were off by something like 16 m, although I was the only seeker to be fooled by this small descrepancy. 

This time the coordinates were correct, and while I was wondering if it was going to be difficult searching snow-laden coniferous trees, Jennifer had already found the cache. It was a somewhat winter-friendly hide, since it was hanging on a tree branch, however, another metre of snow will have this one completely covered.

After spending five years of steady increases in the number of "finds", 2009 saw a decline. This was due to two factors: First, I took up a new sport with Jakob (paintballing) that occupied a lot of weekend time. Second, I came to value the experiences of geocaching far more than racking up numbers in an imagined race with other geocachers.

Here's looking forward to some great geocaching experiences in 2010!

The CLEMENTS Family | Barrie, Ontario CANADA