WOOT! The Adventure to a First To Find Begins.

Boy, nobody was more surprised than me when I happened to notice a mystery cache smack dab in the middle of Raleigh had sat there for two days and no logged FTF. So taking a slightly altered route towards home I stopped by the area to take a chance of finding clean log sheets.

I was hoping for a relatively quick find but instead it quickly turned into a rather lengthy adventure. It started out simple enough by reading the description and attempting to find ground zero, in other words where we think the exact spot where the cache should be. I searched high, I searched low, I searched in between and all around. Could not find the little micro cache anywhere. Very frustrating and I think to myself, "I know it's here I can hear the darn thing breathing". I read the description again and validate my conclusions, I know it just has to be right here yet one little piece of the puzzle was missing, but what? This particular mystery cache was a series of directions all pointing from different directions towards the cache. Simple right? How hard could this actually be and yet 30 minutes vaporized already. I continue on through barbed wire and grape vine, grasping through Virginia Creeper and other questionable greenery, I am getting frustrated but I know this is a FTF and there is no way I am walking away from it.

Finally, after rereading the description for the gazillionth time it clicks. That one little fact which just didn't make sense at the time finally became clear and boom there was the cache. Right there all the time. Nothing can cause so much frustration and yet bring so much satisfaction at the same time. The worst thing you can do is give up. Keep on trying.

With hindsight I realized after finding this tricky cache there were some basic rules that I should keep in the back of my mind each time I go hunting for caches. See if this helps you.

Tips to the Wise,

- Read and understand the title of the cache. Not always easy - why? We usually interpret our first initial thought of a concept and stay with it. So if we read the title and come to a conclusion it usually takes some external factor to make us change our minds. If we make an inaccurate conclusion we will most likely be looking in the wrong place for a cache. In the case of this cache I did not fully understand what the title meant so the playing field was wide open. It wasn't until after I found the cache it made sense.

- Read and understand the description. In the case of this cache I looked for almost an hour and almost gave up twice before finding it. Again it wasn't until after I found the cache to fully understand one little invaluable piece of information in the description. In fact as I was rolling through the description the seventh or eighth time I kept saying to myself, "this doesn't make sense, why did they say that?". This is usually the point that gets overlooked the most and is usually the key to solving the puzzle. You just don't realize it at the time. So if you ever find yourself doubting your conclusions it is usually when you are the most correct. Find your doubts while problem solving and pursue them.

- Take Nothing For Granted. In Geocaching the obvious is your worst enemy. Because we tend to look for something that is "hidden" we forget to open our field of view to ALL that is around us. Some of the best compliments that I have received for my caches is by taking advantage of this very point. It also brings the greatest shock appeal when discovered. Nothing brings a bigger surprise than having a cache "appear" by always being right in front of you. This particular cache did just that for me. It gave me a preconceived notion of where it could be and then turned up right where I thought it should be but couldn't see it at the time.

- Use the Hint. Hints usually are the lifeline needed to give us that moment of change in our thought process. I have found it is better not to read the hint too early because if you use the hint initially you have nothing to fall back on. There is nothing left to help you change your thought process. If you do decide to use your hint be sure to try and understand it thoroughly. If you take the hint for granted it can trap you just as easily as the title or description.

Well I hope this cache log turned tutorial helps in some way. In the world of Geocaching every little bit helps.

Cache Found! Cupcake cache in Raleigh,

Cache Found! Cupcake cache in Raleigh, NC.

I just had to find me a cache this morning and this one was fun. The past couple of weeks it has been hot down here. Like real hot, upper 90s / low 100s hot. I'm sorry, I love caching but when it is so hot your travel bug melts off of your rear view mirror.... it's hot out!

So today we are actually NOT going to be in the 90s but a comfortable mid 80s which is normal for this time of year. So the bug got to me and I hit a quick grab and go on the way to work. As seen in the photo it was a cute cache container and I really enjoyed the gold doubloon I found within. Great fun in da morning.

Fortunately the past weeks were not completely fruitless. I managed to put out a seven part multi-cache called Six Little Green Stages: Multi Decoder Challenge, put out a rather clever cache in Oxford called Frankly, I Think You're Screwed and am working on something new that I think everyone will enjoy called HHH's Puzzle Tubes. More information to come in the next day or two.

Until then...

A Little Caching, A Little Rain, A Whole Lot of Friends

Had a really great day on Saturday. Spent the afternoon with my daughter Amanda (Geoness) caching in the Fuquay-Varina, NC area.

We started out by being able to get a handful of caches during the afternoon and even though we did not get huge numbers we did visit some real interesting places. For example, the photograph to the left shows the remains of an old mill off of Terrible Creek Pond. This was actually a DNF for us and with more search time I am sure we will eventually find the cache but that day we were tied to the clock and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. There were just so many areas the micro sized cache could be. Micros in general tend to be frustrating for me and after a short while my eyes were wondering much more on the actual mill wheel, granite pilings and other ancient tid bits that were just way too cool not to explore. We will come back soon and take another swing at this fun cache but for that afternoon more caches were waiting for us.





One of the most fun and most painful was a rather sharp edged adventure called The Heart of Fuquay which put us in a nice wood surrounded by wild raspberries and briers. It did not help that we were in shorts because of the heat but we managed to make it through and I just loved seeing Amanda's eyes get wide when we found the ammo box filled with goodies.

We traded a small tea set for Amanda with one of my signature first aid kits and the satisfaction of another smiley waiting for us when we log in at home.




Of course the icing on the cake for the day was attending the Our Friends the Wolves 5K Celebration Event. Here our good friend Horsegeeks a.k.a. Kenny and his wife hosted a fantastic get together at his home. The event was to celebrate the 5000th cache found by team Billwolf1 which is utterly amazing. About 30 of us invaded Horsegeeks Ranch where we had great food, fantastic conversation and a whole mob of fun people. Even though we did get a brief thunder boomer that came through it was not enough to even slow us down. What a fantastic time was had by all.

Cache Found! Wake Forest,NC.

Cache Found! Wake Forest,NC.

Missed FTF's, Night Vision Goggles, Mutants and Fellow Cachers

Missed FTF's - Well that's it then.. I am selling the house for a new pair of night vision goggles!

My phone went off last night around 11 p.m. telling me a new cache was posted. Jumped online and saw the cache named "The Lion Sleeps Tonight 3" was right on my way to work.

"Perfect", I thought. First thing in the morning I will drop off my daughter at the bus stop and boogie right over for a quick First To Find.

All the way over to the cache site I was really hoping to beat TimMcGrawlookalike to the punch, especially since the post came out so late last night. Would I make it in time? Would nice clean log sheets be waiting for me? My hopes were high as I opened the cache to see my prize, but nooooooooo. Not only did Mr. TMLookalike hit it last night but another relentless cacher mobettamerf who I do not think actually sleeps beat me too . Heavy sigh, better luck next time. Congrats to all and I will be out there next time.. Me and my night vision goggles .

MUTANTS! - If you have been reading my blogs you will see every once in a while a Mantis Sighting. Photos of this interesting TB have been taken by me in five states from North Carolina to Michigan and back (twice). With the permission of the owner I have been hanging onto the little guy for several months now and even though he seems to enjoy hanging from my rear view mirror very much I think it is time to let him go back into the wild.

There is a problem though. I too enjoy having a travel bug hanging from my rear view mirror but what could possibly replace my well travelled friend? Meet my new little friend - Mutant Mantis!

This guy reminds me so much of the old great B movie mantis monsters. Seen at left teasing my daughter Brianna. Mutant Mantis is going to be travelling where ever I go and will be photographed doing what movie monsters do, wreaking havoc upon the world! So look often to see what MM has been up to. Last I heard he was heading for down town Raleigh, NC. This should be fun!

Fellow Cachers- You just never know who you are going to bump into in the morning whilst caching. Was pulling up to my Taxman Cometh cache to verify it's coords and who do I see with a GPS in his hand but my friend Ringer2410. I scooted by not wanting to disturb his hunt but he must have seen my car and pulled up next to me after he was done. He apparently must have liked the hunt cuz he used cool descriptions like "very clever and devious". Just love making geocaching fun. We gabbed a good ten minutes or so before having to head off for work. This brought a smile to my face because it is always a treat getting some time to actually talk face to face with fellow cachers.

Special Note - Received a really nice email from Team P and USAFSP. They came by the Oxford, NC area this last weekend and hit everything. Since I have about twenty caches there myself including two series (Barnyard Fun and Playing On The Train Tracks). They had me on standby incase needed. No need necessary because they hit 43 for the day! So congrats to team P for doing a fine job of caching and in 100+ degree heat ta boot!

Upcoming HeadHardHat Caches Coming Your Way!

(Left - Note the all seeing eye of this cache gaurdian. What is it's secret? Click photo for a better look)

Sometimes it is a real flip of the coin whether I enjoy more the finding of caches or placing them. This week was the latter and it opens up some new territory for me.


First is a real zinger in the Oxford, NC area. It's called "HHH's The Taxman Cometh" (GC1CXX1). Fun for the whole family to find and a fairly quick grab for some and maybe not so much for others. Either way have fun, I know I did putting it there.





The second in the Clayton, NC area is what I would refer to as a newbie to intermediate level series entitled:


"Little Green Cache: Decoder Series Challenge" (GC1CVWY). It's a decryption puzzle cache series where you start with a quick grab and go smiley which leads you through a series of other decryption caches and then ultimately to a rather bizarrely hidden final cache. Should be a rather scenic and down right fun afternoon for all.





These should all be active by this weekend. It is supposed to be a real scorcher but the unactivated FTF coin which lies in wait should be a really good incentive.





Have fun folks!





-HHH

Daughter Geoness and HeadHardHat in Fuquay-Varina, NC

Well daughter Geoness and I took another swipe at Fuquay- Varina, NC for a couple of hours and pulled away with some nice nature trails and some Grab and Go's. Added ten caches to our ever growing list.

Seen to the left is her Geoness doing what she loves to do and that is finding ammo boxes. Sure she loves being first to find the micros. Mainly because the deal is who ever finds the cache first gets to sign first. But the ammo boxes is pure buried treasure.

I feel the same way too.. Shy of a half dozen ticks going for the ride we had a real great afternoon together.

I don't know who looks more forward to our time together but I know I am savoring mine while I can. She isn't going to stay 12 forever....

That would be 500 feet of pure bushwack!

That would be 500 feet of pure bushwack! Cache Found! Falls Lake, NC.

So I say to myself.. Pure bushwack.. Hmmmm, It's only 500 feet. How bad could it be? Then as I trek through the woods it dawns on me that this is a NCTrecker cache. Greatttttt, I'll never find it.. But I must.
So as the mosquitos are dining on my flesh, the flys buzz my ears, hair and face. I look down and brush away the rather large orb spider from my pant leg, I press on.
The cache area is hidden well under the lush canopy of green. There are possible hiding places piled on top of possible hiding places and this is the master of cami - well great but I press on.
So at the 30 minute mark of playing "bouncy arrow" I just look and prod and look some more. Finally there as if it was a part of the host I find the cache. WooHoo!
Somehow the bushwack back to the car was not quite so "thick". Thanks NC for pushing me out of my comfort zone and into the thick woods.
P.S. Still haven't seen a snake yet - thank goodness.

And the Winner Is...

Okay I had to laugh when I found this particular cache on the way to work this morning. It was unexpected and quite creative and really set the tone for today.

What you are looking at is a Tivo remote controller and the log is placed where the batteries go. There are two magnets that hold it to it's host.

What a great idea.

TNLNSL TFTH!

Post From HeadHardHat's Phone

Yes went caching in rain.

Yes soaked and smell of pine.

Yes in woods.

Two days without a cache. Going through withdrawals and can't help myself. Plus add $4.00 a gallon gas my pickings between work and home is getting pretty well picked. But sometimes ya just need a quick grab and go.

I'm not obsessed... Right?

Congrats to Mobettamerf for FTF Finish of Entire GTLD Series

Getting The Lowe Down Mystery Series

Congratulations to our FTF cacher Mobettamerf for finding GTLD#5!!! Not an easy task by any means. Read below how this series came to be and what you have to do to complete it.

It started out as a simple TB Hotel and then transformed into a double secret decoder encrypted series. My 'Getting The Lowe Down' series was originally designed to have a nice place for people to trade trading bugs and geocoins in the 40/42 area of Garner, NC. The TB Hotel did so well I thought it would be a good starting point to a secret cache. So GTLD #2 and #3 were born.

Number three is a real treasure trove of which I check regularly and will most likely be changing into a huge ammo box. It currently is stuffed with one ups and other goodies that people have traded. The last log stated it was actually so packed with swag the cacher couldn't put the extra goodies they brought. Did I mention how much I love well stocked caches? Anyways I was getting so many nice comments on this series I decided to expand it but what would make it even more interesting? The answer was a decoder encrypted double secret cache hunt!

Recently a new geocoin was introduced which actually is a Pocket Decoder. This decoder allows the creation and decryption of incredibly secure messages. Now I actually bought one but the nice thing is there is a paper version anyone can print off for free. So you do not actually have to buy it to find these types of caches. Note- they are sweet though so you might want to consider getting one.

GTLD #4 and GTLD #5 were created for this new challenge. In GTLD #4 is a symbol used to decipher the secret message with instructions of where #5 is, what type of cache it is and a well rounded hint. The plan is simple. Find the symbol, decipher the message, get to the hidden mystery cache. Read below what you have to do to complete this series.

- Find GTLD #1 - Retrieve first half of coords to GTLD#3
- Find GTLD #2 - Retrieve second half of coords to GTLD#3
- Find GTLD #3 - Retrieve encrypted message to GTLD#5
- Find GTLD #4 - Retrieve decoder symbol and decrypt message
- Find GTLD #5 - Mission Accomplished

Do you have the right stuff to find Getting The Lowe Down #5? Time will tell who has the fortitude.



Again Way To Go Mobettamerf!!!

Troubles in Smithfield. Cache Found!

Well some times you get days like today. Went out with daughter Geoness to take our first swipe at the Smithfield, NC area and I cannot stress enough how bad it was. I have never seen anything like it.

Granted this was the first time I just loaded my Garmin with about 100 caches for the area and did not load up my palm with the cache info and cache hints. Since we were going for numbers I was not hitting anything more than a two in difficulty. No biggie right? What I didn't see were all the other DNFs for each of the tries we went for. What a shame. Long story short we had only three finds for the first 13 attempts. Very frustrating but it was the first time we had hit such a string of a blatant lack of maintenance.

By the time we hit the tenth DNF we decided to leave and hit a richer cache area and had no problems there. Sorry folks but this was a waste of $4.00 a gallon gas. Won't be going back there till we see the caches being better taken care of.

Almost forgot bumped into USAFSP and the rest of Team P who also were hitting dry spots in the Smithfield area. In fact the cache we were both going for turned up to be a DNF for both of us. Usafsp was telling me how he had gone as far as found a muggled cache, actually replaced the cache, gave the owner the new information and coords then the owner did not even bother to redo the coords. Tacky.

Team P are all such a nice family and Geoness and I had a great time talking to them. I wish them the very best in their Geo pursuits. Hopefully we can meet up again at a local event.

Hope Smithfield can get the caches cleaned up. It's a nice little town but gas is just too expensive for such a hit and miss place.

Sweet end to a quick round of caching.

Sweet end to a quick round of caching. Found nine this afternoon.

Lov'n Freshly Painted Ammo Boxes

Nothing says love'n like freshly painted cache ammo boxes. Note the subtle cami backgrounds, the textured stone finish, heavy sigh. Click the photo to really see the work done. Go ahead, I'll wait. You wouldn't believe what they looked like yesterday.

Shown here are two small caches (right and top right), one large night vision goggle box (center - thought I wasn't going to get them huh?), one larger but not quite trunk sized ammo box (left with two sided top) and a micro sized eclipse cache (bottom right).

Oh the plans that I have for these just makes me giddy. Can't give you all the specifics, hush-hush you know, but I can tell you one is going to be a mega Pocket Decoder mystery cache in the Garner/Clayton, NC area, one will be a nice sized cache for my BarnYard Fun series and another is upgrading one of my current TB hotels to include a deluxe suite (not the eclipse box).

Whew so much to do and the weekend fast approaching. I have to get busy...

L8tr, HHH

First Mystery Cache Found. Oxford, NC.

My First Mystery Cache Found. Oxford, NC.

And you thought my other photos were blurry? Well this happened by accident but it is a good one. I didn't want to give away too much about this particular mystery cache even though the owner tells what you are looking for right in the description. I did however wanted to prove that I actually did it and of course there is always the log I signed. Either way I had a ball figuring this one out and this shows I found it.

How many unknown cache types have you found recently and where?

Three Caches Found Before Breakfast.

The sun was just starting to rise and already have Three Caches Found Before Breakfast. On the way to work and hitting a few areas around the east side of I-440 in Raleigh, NC. Found three quick grab and goes including this unexpected ammo box cache.

Pictured below is also a unique cache container. Simple idea but I have not seen before this. It is a basic small plastic bag covered with cami tape. Great idea.

Quick Snapshot in Front of the Garner Police Department

Always looking for a photo opportunity while caching. Cache Found in Garner!

Yep that's daughter Geopants and I taking a quick snapshot in front of the Garner Police Department. The sun was going down so the shot is a bit blurry but hey ya have to have some fun while caching.

We picked up a quick five caches tonight including two beautiful areas by Lake Wheeler.

Just having too much fun and still keeping legal.

Holy Secret Decoder Ring Batman!

Okay it is no secret that I am a complete and utter geek. Know it, acknowledge it and embrace all the wonders of it. So when I found out that someone was coming out with a pocket decoder geocoin, my must have it button went off big time.

I don't want to sound like a commercial but this is one of those items that fits my personality. I always carry at least one geocoin in my pocket everywhere I go. It is an item that I can hold and flip from finger to finger while I am trying to think or when I get going on a subject of interest. Some people chew pencils, others twiddle their thumbs, I like to spin coins. Anyway this geocoin is actually the size and shape of an actual pocket watch which is perfect. The decoder is based off of several known coding processes and has interchangeable center wheels.

I love it because I can now make some rather creative new mystery caches. My brain is already hard at work devising some ways to really shake the routine cache finds. Including easy decodings with letter for letter swapping and the more secure Vigenere Cipher with using a keyword. I know this type of coding has been around forever but now it is always in my pocket when I need it.. My inner geek dances with joy.

Will keep you informed of my new mystery caches soon.. Stay tuned.

BTW you can check out the Pocket Decoder Geocoin at http://www.thecachingplace.com/pocketdecodermain.htm

Oqnf Twv! (Have Fun!)

200 Caches Found!

200 Caches Found!

I thought this was going to be a quick grab and go for my 200th cache. Then I noticed my GPS was off about 50ft. The cache site was actually my first thought because it is such a cool place. Looked around area and saw cache surrounded by thick spider webs. Never saw the beastie but used stick and some anxious moments snagging the cache.

With cache in hand I gleefully signed the log and put back in place... Love making milestones..

Morning Cache Found!

Morning Cache Found!

Only three until #200

Only three until #200.

We love benchmarks, it defines us and how we are doing in a particular point of interest.

In regards to Geocaching we count how many smilies we get or in other words how many caches we have found. I am just tickled pink to be hitting my 200th in the next day or so.

Shown above is #197 (Fuquay-Varina, NC) which means three more to go. Most likely will be tomorrow we will see but where or when ever it is I will post it here.

Swamp King Found! Fuquay -Varina, NC

Cache Found! Can we say SWAMP? Oh what fun and not a bad photo either. I was out by Fuquay-Varina, NC this afternoon. After getting all my chores done this morning and before the heavy rains came in I had some caching time by myself. One of my first tries was a little cache called The Swamp King. Now last year I am sure people had no problem walking right up to the cache due to the conditions of the drought. This year the drought is nothing but a memory and the swamp king was in his glory. Glad I had my calf high waders cuz I was gunna need them.

With my GPS in one hand and my walking pole in my other I did my little jaunt in the swamp. Black mud, skeeters, green vegetation everywhere. Was actually surprised that I did not bump into more wild life and/or snakes and other reptiles. Tons of birds but not a snake to be seen. Not even the usual hitchhikers. Though it definitely smelled and felt swampish.

Made short work of the very nicely hid cache, signed the log and traded one of my signature first aid kits for some poison ivy patches. Then off I go back whence I came.

The photo really tells it all. Lush green and a very eerie glow with the sun shining through the canopy. That was a very enjoyable trek.

Flower Hill FlashMob, Zebulon, NC

My first FlashMob event! What a great time had by all. Even daughter GeoPants had a great time hiking in da woods.


In case you have never heard or attended a FlashMob event before. In the GeoCaching world a flash mob is when a group of cachers basically invade an area. In this case Horsegeeks set up an event at the Johnston County area called Flower Hill. It is a 10-acre nature preserve owned and managed by Triangle Land Conservancy.




Their website states "For many generations, Johnston County residents have known about this place they called a “freak of nature,” where rhododendron and galax and other mountainous plants grow far from their nearest relatives."


It is amazing and even if we hit it past the rhododendron peak the scenery was gorgeous. Trails are well marked, up kept and all 20 of just had a ball. There were four caches in the park in which the first three were warm ups for the fourth and most challenging at a difficulty of 3.5 out of 5. Called Moccasin Creek slip and slide you had to go down an extremely steep grade trail made mostly of wet clay topped with wet leaves and pine needles. Basically it really was an over sized slip and slide as a couple of us can contest to. Thank goodness for the nearby trees or this could have been a disaster. The sides of the trails went almost straight down and for what looked like several hundred feet.



The start of Moccasin had a warning sign of which we completely ignored. We are cachers don't ya know. Besides several of us came earlier and made sure it was safe for all who dared to venture down. It was quite fun and since we took our time and was very cautious only a couple of "slips" happened.



Once we made it down the trail we were treated to the nearby creek and some fantastic scenery. The cache was made quick work of and signed as FlashMob for all of us. Then the fun and realization came to yours truly. We had to climb back up the trail. Oh Goody!



In truth I and everyone made it up with hardly a heavy puff between us. Of course in my case I actually had to start breathing to get to puffing but hey I am getting back in shape.. Well round is a shape after all..

Spent a couple fantastic hours with some new friends and I cannot wait for our next invasion. Caching by yourself or with a buddy is a great way to invest in our hobby but when you get a bunch of us together. Look out. It brings out the best in all of us.

Again I want to thank Horsegeeks for taking us to such a wonderful place. I also encourage you to come out and explore this lush and rare oasis of mountain greenness. Also a thank you to daughter GeoPants for taking so many great photos of the journey.

Here is their website if interested.

http://www.tlc-nc.org/news/Preserve%20guides/Flower%20Hill%20guide.pdf

Post From HeadHardHat's Phone

Argh, not one of the most focused photos of myself but it was darkish out, raining and I had about 2 hours sleep last night. Guess I really was out of focus and to top it off with only one cup of java in me too.

Cache Found! This was number two of three for this morning on the way to work. Note the magnetically held silver bison tube under lamp skirt.

Number three was definately more interesting to behold. Check out this soup can protector of the cache.

Post From HeadHardHat's Phone

Doing my Tuesday night cache runs after work. Took daughter Amanda who now wants to be called GeoPants. Not to say she is getting hooked on caching but I find less time of me holding the GPS then before I started taking her along for the fun. We were going for a quick grab and in a parking lot. She asked if she could try using the GPS and I said sure just follow the arrow and watch the distance. Next thing you know she walks up to the cache site and has it in hand. They grow so fast - sigh. So I guess we are going to be Team Hard Hat Brotherhood from now on..

Picked up an additional six caches for our efforts and on our very last cache bumped into Farb and Teenykins. Funny to me was GeoPants and I were wrapping up with the sun already down and Farb was just starting. Have to get me a pair of night vision goggles on my next trip to the ammo box store.