GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right? HeadHardHat's Geocaching Insights

HeadHardHat's Award Winning Geocaching Blog is a geocache treasure trove of geocaching information. Years of searchable geocaching insights await you here. HeadHardHat's GeoSnippits Geocaching Videos series can be seen on You Tube. You can also find him on his new GeoSnippits Reboot Podcast series and the Geocaching Podcast. Geocaching the outdoor treasure-hunting game which the participants use a GPS receiver to hide and seek containers called "geocaches" or "caches" anywhere in the world

Friday, August 27, 2010

Next Season of GeoSnippits on Michigan Magazine TV Starts This September

To say that I am excited about filming the next season of GeoSnippits for Michigan Magazine TV is a complete understatement. I am down right geeked about it.

It is so cool to be part of the Michigan Magazine TV family and having the ability to reach out to geocachers in all 50 states is a real working pleasure. Last season we made 26 episodes and expect to make at least that this year as well. I want to thank MMTV's host and co-creator Barry Stutesman for the opportunity to spread the word.

Enjoy this 20 second promo spot and see you on Michigan Magazine TV and the RFDTV network.

GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?
http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------
Twitter me at
@headhardhat

Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at
http://www.geosnippits.com

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Bulgaria Geocaching Commercial - That's some funny right there...

This You Tube video was sent to me by Ivelin Mollov and is a geocaching commercial for Bulgaria. You have to see it to believe...

Here is the link if the viewer is not above:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLcLczyK1hU

Travel Bug Wolfgang Von PitterPat is now in Europe

On an April day in 2008. I believe the sun was shining and the air smelled of honeysuckle. My then 11 year old daughter looked at me with her crystal blue eyes and said, "Daddy, Wolfgang Von PitterPat is going to be okay, right?"

I smiled at my child and said, "Why sure darling, this little travel bug will see the world and go places you might want to visit some day. It will be just fine."

So we took little Wolfgang (a Chinstrap Penguin) to it's first drop off point which was one of my nearby geocaches and it disappeared into the wild.

Little did I know then of the life expectancies of a Travel Bug or Geocoin in the geocaching world. For many, the fates cause them to be lost, stolen, destroyed and just plain misplaced for years at a time. I know of several geocachers who have put out hundreds of travel bugs only to have just a few still in circulation. Then there are the others who chug along happily as they get picked up from one geocache and dropped back into another as they attempt to reach some goal. As far as Wolfgang goes he is on one crazy ride to Antarctica where he wants to meet up with some of his real time buddies.

Until recently Wolfgang has stayed in the United States traveling from one coast to the next. He made it big when his travels included being with the Subaru Leave No Trace gang for a month or two and was given a whole new set of bling.

They took him all over the place on the west coast and even wrote a couple of articles about him in their newsletters.

You can check them out here.

http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/2009/10/update-to-tb-wolfgang-von-pitterpat.html

Now after 10510+ miles Wolfgang Von PitterPat finds himself in the United Kingdom. Who knows what adventures await him overseas? What I can tell you is every time I give my now 14 year old daughter updates about it. Her eyes sparkle just a little more blue than usual. Sure bad things can happen to these travelers but the fun of watching them go over the years is worth the risk.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

GeoSnippits: Making Your Own Emergency Geocaching Repair Kit - EGRK

It happens in geocaching, when you walk up to a geocache and find it in need of repair. If you are like me you hate to see swag, log books, travel bugs and geocoins getting damaged because the geocache they reside in is allowing the elements to get in. Wouldn't it be great to have a self made kit that contains items where you could fix the geocache until the owner could come out and replace it? The GeoSnippits video below shows you just how you can do that.

If you cannot see the viewer above, click this link and it will play on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUOMdW4JzFc

Too Cute For Words - Micah Makes An HHH Fire Hydrant Geocache

This is just too cute. If you have ever listened to the Geocaching Podcast with host XpunkX and Darrylw4 you will hear much and many valuable insights about geocaching.

Yesterday XpunkX sent me this 20 second video of his son Micah just after making one of my Fire Hydrant geocaches. I smiled ear to ear when I saw this. Just click the link below to see it.

Micah Fire Hydrant Geocache Video Link

Be sure to stop on by the Geocaching Podcast for some great geocaching insights - http://geocachingpodcast.com/

Monday, August 2, 2010

Adding Some New Geocoins To My Collection

I do not get the chance all that often to add to my ever growing geocoin collection. Yet when I do I am a kid in a candy store. To date I have over one hundred geocoins and growing. Today in the mail I have now added four more and put one extra into my unregistered pile for trading or possible swag. These particular geocoins were purchased from the Geocoin Store and the Geocoin Club (GCC) of which I am a member.

Wanna see? Well of course you do. Geocoins are one of the points of interest that make geocaching fun and interesting for many of us. Here is what I purchased.

I really like this one. It has a nickel finish with 3D shull and ship in a deep blue resin. The back of a coin is a compass set in the same blue. Why did I buy it? I love the whole look to it with the pirate theme. The coin itself has a good heft to it and feels right when you hold it.

I also purchased another with a red background and copper metal instead of the nickel. It is a good looking coin but for some reason I really am liking this one better.

I love Sherpa geocoins. In case you don't know a Sherpa geocoin has a whole on one side with a strong magnet in the middle. There you can place a pathtag that gets carried along with the coin as it travels. This green themed geocoin is geared to showcase pathtags but I have other types of Sherpa geocoins as well. Again great weight and feel when you hold it.

Take a chance, you never know what you might get. With GCC you can purchase what they refer to as their grab bag. In it you have a chance to pick up three random geocoins for the price of two. You don't know what you are going to get but that is part of the chance of a grab bag. In my case I lucked out. The first coin goes back to May of 2007 with the Hide and Seek geocoin. It didn't make me go all goo-goo or nothing but it was cool to be able to pick up a geocoin that you can't get anymore except in something like this.

Now this geocoin made me smile. Not because the coin itself is overly amazing but because when I first started joining the GCC was back in May of 2008 which was the Brings May Flowers dual geocoin. In other words the shape of the April geocoin fits into the May geocoin which was my first. Now my geocoin set is complete which I was rather pleased to receive this unexpected geocoin.

My third and final geocoin was the June 2008 Copernicus geocoin of which I already have so that will be in my trade-able geocoins collection or possibly given away as swag to some geocaching find that I am impressed with.

So there you have it. A small but very recent sample of my geocoin collection. Everybody collects one thing or another. For me these geocoins are something that brings out the pirate in me and also can fill a rather large treasure chest display. How cool is that?

What is your favorite geocoin? Send in a photo and it may make it on my blog or an upcoming GeoSnippits video. Email it to: headhardhat@gmail.com

Monday, July 26, 2010

Geocaching Wales: Read About Our Fellow UK Geocachers on the Other Side of the Pond

I get a lot of requests to add or swap links with fellow geocachers all around the world. Some are quite good and some not so much. Because of that I am a bit picky as to what I add to my blog list. The blog I am going to show you now is very much in the good read category and it comes from some of our fellow geocachers in the UK.

It's called Geocaching Wales and even though the geocacher who created it (Dayle Rees) is relatively new to the game he already has two writing contributors Nitroglysarine and Red Kite. Together they have captured some beautiful photos of the Welsh countryside and also some very interesting new geocache designs. What I think I like the most about this particular blog is that the format is crisp and easy on the eyes.

I highly recommend giving it a try ---> http://blog.geocaching-wales.co.uk/.

-HHH

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Walking Up to a Trashed Geocache

It is sad when walking up to a geocache that has been trashed or worse. It's easy to blame muggles but other factors can cause it. For example the weather, including wind and flooding. Snow and ice have been known to move or crush a geocache. Then there are the animals who just love getting into or carting off a container.

Many times a flimsy or poor quality container can become easy pickings. As in this case a cheaper Glad container was used and what looks like a squirrel knocked it out of it's home then made short work of it. Even if the big toothed rodent hadn't munched it, the heat and sun already was warping the container pretty bad.

I rescued two Boy Scout travel bugs and cleaned up the rest. One of the travel bug plastic bags had the top sealer chewed off. Just goes to show you that these containers area vulnerable to all sorts of situations. Always consider this when placing your geocaches.

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Geocoin Proxies: Some Things Need To Be The Real Thing

What I really enjoy about geocaching in general is the creativity of our fellow geocachers. The way many of us strive to make the game, sport and obsession better through subtle adaptations. I heartily agree with most of them but not necessarily about this. I am talking about Proxy Geocoins. What are those you may ask? Geocoin proxies are cheap representations of an original geocoin that is sent out into the wild to represent the geocoin itself. A carbon copy if you will, except many times not even that good.

You have to understand this is my opinion and I place a high reverence in regards to geocoins. I am massing a fair collection of which I have purchased over the years and I have sent a handful out into the wild. Geocoins was one of the reasons geocaching appealed to be so very much. The look, heft and feel of a geocoin always brings the pirate out of me. Yes, yes, it's the shiny things that get me going.

Then it happened. If you look at the photo above you notice what looks like three travel bugs, yet in fact the bottom one is a proxy geocoin. Someone took a wooden circle and laminated a wheel on both sides and put the id code onto the side of the wheel itself. I actually went to the geocoin page to investigate further since I had not heard of proxies before. There it showed what I really wanted to see which was some very nice shots of the actual geocoin and then some lame excuse that they did not want to send the real geocoin out for fear of losing it. Wha-wha-wha... Somehow I felt cheated from the experience. I really wanted to see the real thing and some geocoin wanna-be is not going to swing it.

Yeah it's only a geocoin yet more recently I have seen other proxies and they weren't even as good as the one shown above. More like a hand written blurb laminated with the id number. Cheap, cheap, cheap... I have lost some of my geocoins that I placed in the wild and that unfortunately is part of the game. Yet I will put more because I love the connections they make with other geocachers and with the feeling when I find them. Finding a piece of laminate or some other fakery is just not going to cut it. we want the real deal.

That's my opinion, what do you think?

-HHH

Sunday, July 18, 2010

West Virginia Rest Area Park and Grab.

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Friday, July 16, 2010

So Cool To Do A Multi Geocache Made For HeadHardHat

I was honored when I found out that a multi geocache existed with HeadHardHat in mind. The real kicker is it was in Roseville, Michigan just a few miles from where I was visiting. So I absolutely have to find it.

For those who do not know, a multi geocache is done in stages or waypoints where one location can lead to another and another until the final geocache is found. There can be clues, riddles or coordinates to get you to each stage. This particular multi has three stages.

I want to thank Gsix5666 for making this fun geocache. If you want to check it out. Look up - GC26ZDQ - A Bad Day On The Job with Head Hard Hat.

It has a very creative final geocache that I enjoyed very much.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Doing Some CITO While Geocaching

It's always a good practice to do some Cache In Trash Out when geocaching.
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A Geocaching Michigan Trend?

I am not sure if this is a Michigan trend or not but I do not remember seeing this in other states as much. I am talking about the use of plastic containers to keep the log books dryer. I have seen it here all the time and feel it is a great idea. What do you think?
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Doing Some Geocaching in St. Clair Shores, Michigan

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Monday, July 12, 2010

Wow A Geocache I Haven't Found

Thought I had found all the geocaches at all the Ohio Turn Pike Service areas. Yet here this one was.
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Driving Thru The West Virginia Clouds.

It is so cool to me when you drive in an area of mountains that has no wind to speak of and low flying rain clouds. Very beautiful here with the lush green foliage below it.
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Dropping Bubba's Teeth In Virginia

At Virginia's welcome center dropped of travel bug as promised.
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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Working With Geocaching Camouflage Ideas

While I am waiting to get on the road to start filming Treasure Cache TV (there has been an unexpected delay) I have been passing the time working on different ways to camouflage a geocache.

Sure there are tons of geocaches out there where the geocache is hidden inside an object like a tree stump, pvc pipe or other clever technique. My challenge was to hide a geocache in plain site or at least close to plain site and still hide it enough for muggles to miss it. If I was able to create a hide that was more difficult for a geocacher to find as well then all the better.

One of the techniques I have been working on is the use of camouflage netting for larger geocaches. The issue that comes to mind for a larger geocache is how good can a camouflaged geocache really be to fool the average geocacher? We are giving the coords to where this larger hide is and unless the cover is flawless it will get found. I guess the best we can hope for is that the geocache stays out of site of the muggles and is a bit of a thrill for the geocacher. So how can we hide it good enough to present a challenge?

Above you see a basic example of camouflage netting utilizing pine needles and leaves for cover. Below this mask of brown is a medium bright green ammo box laying on a 4'x8' netting which has been folded over top and covered with the nearby terrain. The nice thing about the netting is that the leaves and needles easily trap in the netting itself and stays there even with heavy wind. From a distance of 10 feet this is almost impossible spot so the geocacher would have to basically kick the geocache to find it.

If you read my blog post: HeadHardHat's Resin Clup O' Dirt Nano Geocache you will see how the use of resin can create creative camouflage covers for small geocaches like nanos. This can no doubt create even more challenging hides to infuriate the masses. To prove it if you look at the first photo of this post and see if you can find the nano geocache hide. Draw a circle around where you think it is and send it in to me via email ( headhardhat@gmail.com). The first five people to correctly do so will win a GeoSnippits path tag... It's right there... Really.

Good Luck!

-HHH

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

HeadHardHat's Resin Clump O' Dirt Nano Geocache

I want to thank Seth Jones who sent in a photograph a few weeks ago of a modified version of my bondo Evil Ant Hill geocache. You can see it here: ClickMe where you will note that instead of bondo, a resin was used to create the geocache.

Over the weekend I wanted to see if I could make a geocache that was thinner than my ant hill geocache and use something really small like a nano. Below are the steps I took to make it.

As usual I fully expect my readers to come up with a zillion versions of this and add their own twists. I say go for it but before you do check out my version. FYI - You can get resin at many craft stores near you.

I started out by taking some Styrofoam and scraping out an area that would have a very rocky or dirt clod look to it. About two and a half to three inches in diameter.

When it comes to using resin there are many different ways of making a mold including plastics, Styrofoam and plaster of paris. Try different ways and see what works best for you.

Next, make a small portion of the resin and fill just enough of the very bottom to create a base for the nano to sit upon and yet not fill up the entire mold.

Let the resin harden over night or until it is not tacky to the touch.

Set the nano on the hardened resin base and then fill to just under the lid of the nano with more resin.

Let harden again over night.

Carefully remove the hardened resin from the Styrofoam and pick as much of the mold away from the resin as you would like.

Personally I wasn't sure if I liked how it was looking at this point but the longer I played with it the more it really started looking like a rock, bark, a stone, etc.

Use your favorite combination of base spray paints and stone textured paints to colorize this geocache. I used a green and brown base with grey stone to give it a mold or bark look to it.

Note the bottom of this geocache and the nano cap is sticking out for easy access.

After playing with several different camouflage combinations of paint colors and the nice texture of the Styrofoam for the top section I was amazed how quickly I could closely duplicate a look of tree bark, moss, mold, even old asphalt.

This is a great addition to my Evil Ant Hill collection of geocaches and I hope it inspires you to make all sorts of variations for your geocaching enjoyment.

Have fun!

-HHH

GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?

http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------
Twitter me at
@headhardhat

Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at
http://www.geosnippits.com

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Kebi100's Version of my Main Valve PVC Geocache

Photogropher and fellow geocacher Kebi100 sent in his version of one of my PVC geocaches. Check it out.

You can see all the step by step instructions by watching my GeoSnippits Video here:

If the viewer above does not work go directly to You Tube by clicking here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za2JgZnjI_Q

Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

A Very Nice Modification of My Evil Ant Hill Geocache

I received an email from fellow geocacher Seth Jones who sent me some photos of a modified Evil Ant Hill Geocache. Check out what he wrote:

I got a smallish box, lined it with a plastic bag, and then made a small pile of dirt (you need it to be fairly pure dirt, for easier removal later. No rocks, grass, twigs, etc)

-- Then I made a large batch of plaster of paris, and poured it over the dirt, making a plaster cast of the dirt hill. After it set, I peeled it out of the plastic, and washed the dirt out of the bottom. I then filled the cavity where the dirt was with a 2-part resin from the craft store. Before the resin set, I implanted a small plastic container with a screw-top lid. You've probably seen it: it's a touch bigger than a bottle-cap.

After it set overnight, I cracked it out of the plaster, and chipped out the crevices. (soaking it in water really helped here). I then hit it with some textured brown spray paint. I placed it at the base of a tree just at the edge of some woods. There are some vines climbing the tree that provide a small buffer of deadspace around the trunk. I have the container there, amongst the leaves.

Way to go Seth! A very EVIL geocache to be sure!

You can check out my original version by visiting here:

http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/2009/10/headhardhats-evil-ant-hill-geocache.html

Saturday, June 19, 2010

HHH's Fire Hydrant Geocache Modified...

A big thanks to Cornellfinch from Portsmouth, England who twittered me this post in the groundspeak forums.

Apparently a geocacher who goes in the forums by kywaterfowler took my fire hydrant geocache up a notch. See Below:

If you are a member of groundspeak you can see the whole entry here:

http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=252638

Check out my GeoSnippits Video showing how to make this cool geocache by going here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1YCbcphy7E

I absolutely love it when someone takes a cool idea and makes it their own.. Way to go!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

GeoSnippits: Different Types of Geocaches

One of our viewers who recently started geocaching sent in a request for us to go over the different types of geocaches available. So we did just that and turned it into an episode for Michigan Magazine TV. Obviously because we only had about five minutes to work with I was only able to discuss a few. We will do more in another episode. Stay tuned.

If you cannot see the viewer above you may see the actual video by clicking the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7_2gD-0mzc

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Bon Voyage HHH: Don't Forget the Little People

I had the absolute pleasure of attending a geocaching event in my honor called "Bon Voyage HHH: Don't Forget the Little People". It was put together by fellow geocacher and good friend NCBiscuit to celebrate Geoness and myself going out on the road to begin filming our television show Treasure Cache TV.

At the event a bunch of us do what we do at any time we get together. We eat food and talk about geocaching. Throw in some fun rounds of pool and watch England and the USA tie it up in the World Cup, fun was had by all.

As a going away present Geoness and I were given one of the largest Lock N Lock boxes filled with goodies from North Carolina and the NCGO. I am going to do my best to add some of these trinkets in the show itself. Let's see if we can do some creative hiding :)

I want to thank NCBiscuit and the rest of the NCGO gang for giving us such a fine send off and for them to know that it would be impossible for me to forget such a fine group of amazing friends.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Setting Up Your Own Geocaching Camping Adventure

(photos by Annie Love)

What a combination. We love geocaching and we love camping. Why not combine the two for an outrageous weekend of outdoor fun?

To me geocaching and camping is like Martin and Lewis, Superman and Clark Ken, Peanut Butter and ... well you know. Needless to say they go together very well. Think about it, not only do you get the opportunity to really explore National and State parks. Many of which do allow geocaching but there are usually a ton of them in the neighboring communities near by. A geocaching smörgåsbord as it were. As you walk the trails and discover the different points of interest within the park system you can get your Indy Jones on and view wonders that only the ones willing to explore will find. Geocaching is made for just that.

So if you love fishing, camping, boating, hiking, nature trails and oh yeah, geocaching you definitely need to pack up the family camper and head out to a National or State part that allows geocaching. You will be so glad you did.