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Are you planning to attend any of the activities around GeocoinFest2018 in Issaquah, WA?
To be entered to win a share of this great BCGA swag, all you need to do is:
Find a Caching in the Northwest podcast host anywhere in the Issaquah area between noon Friday September 28 and noon Sunday September 30. Not sure what we look like? Here we are!
Ask nicely for a draw ticket!
Take both halvesof your draw ticket to the Caching in the Northwest booth inside the historic Pickering Barn at the GeocoinFest2018 Mega Event (GC7CX8F)by noon, Sunday September 30.
Drop half of your ticket into the draw bucket then and there.
We'll make the drawing shortly after 12:00 noon - be present to win!
Special thanks to the GeocoinFest2018 organizing committee and the WSGA for allowing us to have a booth, and to run this free draw! That's it! I hope I get a chance to meet you at GeocoinFest2018 - say hi, ask for a draw ticket, and let me know what you think about the podcast, my blog, or YouTube videos.
If you haven't caught this episode yet, here it is so you can get caught up.
Where Did We Go?
In this episode we spent the day on the Golden Circle Tour. This is likely the most popular tour you take take in Iceland as it hits all the major well known attractions in one day.
The route involves "circling" the southern part of the island nation on the major highway system, taking you from Reykjavik to Gullfoss, Geysir, and Thingvellir National Park. There are plenty other stops of interest along the way, and the highway route "circles" you back to Reykjavik.
This does take a full day in order to maximize the enjoyment of the stops, so plan for that.
An interesting point is that we did the tour "backwards" to what many tour organizers do, but it worked out best that way; Gullfoss and Geysir can get very crowded in the later afternoons.
A pano shot of Thingvellir National Park from the upper parkade and observation deck.
There were some other caches, including a WhereIGo that requires you to visit multiple parks in the Golden Circle to complete it and find the cache.
What Else Did We See?
We made a couple other interesting stops, including one to visit with some Icelandic horses. These creatures are pretty fascinating not only because extremely strict breeding and import/export laws allow them to be the only breed of horse bred here, but also because they have a unique "pace" they travel at that other horses cannot. There was a stop in the morning at a small market with a fantastic deli along Highway 1 before we made the long stretch out to Gullfoss.
Want to Know More?
If you have questions, please post them in the comments section below, or use Twitter @LANMonkeyGC and I'm happy to do my best to answer them.
Are you interested in planning this trip yourself? Well you can rent a car and drive it - all roads are quite passable. Or, Google "Golden Circle Iceland" and you'll get tons of options.
If
there is something else that would be helpful or interesting to you,
please make sure to leave a comment. If you enjoyed it, please make sure
to share it on social media and use @LANMonkeyGC so I can thank you.
Here's some great news; I heard that you wanted to know more about the Blue Lagoon Spa so I'm providing some personal insights on that visit.
Where Is It?
First off, where is it? The Blue Lagoon Spa is located a short drive from Keflavik, or just under an hour from Reykjavik, on the Southern Peninsula.
How Do I Get In?
There are two types of "standard" entry, and then the more luxurious "Retreat Spa" option. You should really book ahead via their website; they have a schedule/ticket system that's quite easy to use.
The two types of standard entry are called comfort or premium. Staff in the pool know which entry you've paid for by the coloured RFID wristband you'll be wearing.
Once through the front doors, there will be two lineups - one for tour groups, and the other for non-tour guests. The staff is highly efficient at getting you signed in, giving you your wristband and towel, and directing you to the change rooms.
What Should I Expect When I Get There?
Both
entries get you access to the lagoon, a silica mud mask, use of a
towel, locker for your stuff, and one free drink. The premium upgrade
gets you use of a bathrobe and slippers, a second mud mask, and
reservations to their on-site restaurant.
Honestly,
you get the full experience with the comfort entry which costs about
79EU, and the upgrade to premium is around 102EU. We didn't even consider the 280EU "retreat spa" option. We really enjoyed the comfort entry for the 3 or so hours we were there. Off you get to the change rooms. You must shower before lagoon entry, and the free lockers work off of the RFID wristbands. A very cool system and all instructions are in English and several other languages. It's really hard to mess up!
Once you're showered and ready for the lagoon you make your way out and into the WARM water. It looks murky/cloudy, and the temperature ranges from spot to spot - as you get closer or nearer to the water inflows. Generally the bottom is flat and a bit gritty, and the water is super-buoyant. Most of the pool is at an average depth of just over a metre, but it does range slightly.
What Do I Do There?
Now that you are enjoying the warm waters, explore around and head to the mud-mask bar! They will ladel out (literally) a big handful of warm silica mud to apply to your face, and give you instructions such as "not in your eyes, nose or mouth" which is maybe obvious but important.
The mud really feels like wet drywall mudding, and once applied to your face beings to dry quickly. You are expected to wear it for no more than 10 minutes, then you dip underwater to wash it off. Now you see one of the reasons the water is so cloudy! After rejuvenating your face, head over to the opposite side of the lagoon and queue up for the in-water bar. They have a wide selection of pop and juice, you can also get red or white "house" wine, or a local beer. They even have a couple flavours of the Icelandic equivalent of a slurpee/slushie style iced drink.
Amusingly, it's called Krap.
You can enjoy your drink anywhere in the pool, but they prefer you don't roam too far with it, and that you use the provided receptacles for your empty plastic cup. You are expected to keep your visit in the Lagoon to about 2 hours, after which you head back to the change room for another shower. The change rooms are very well appointed with hair-dryers, mirrors, and all the basic amenities so you can dry off and clean up nicely for the rest of your day. I hope this info has been interesting, and maybe even helpful! If
there is something else that would be helpful or interesting to you,
please make sure to leave a comment. If you enjoyed it, please make sure
to share it on social media and use @LANMonkeyGC so I can thank you.
Accompanying each episode of Geocaching Adventures we'll provide a "behind the scenes" blog article to give you details on the cool adventures you saw in the video. What should you expect here? Things like:
GC codes for the caches we found
Maps of where we traveled
Photos and video that didn't make the cut but were still cool
Some of the fun stories we just couldn't squeeze into the videos
First things first, right? So our trip planning was largely (almost entirely!) done via the fact that we signed up for a Landsharkz Geocaching Adventure. We've previously joined them for their Alaskan Adventure and had so much fun we signed up for this Baltic one also.
Pro Tips - unless you can get by for six hours on a bag of pretzels, bring food on the plane with you. Standard fares do not include meals. Also, check your carry-on baggage size, as IcelandAir may have slightly smaller carry-on restrictions than you may be accustomed to.
There is another airport right at Reykjavik, but the primary airport for travel in and out of Iceland is KEF.
Once we landed, we did not need taxis or rental cars as we were part of an organized tour group picked up directly by bus from the airport.
Before we went into Reykjavik, our group did a tour of the Southern peninsula where the KEF airport is, an area called Reykjanes. This is a drive that I would highly recommend as it takes you to some extraordinary sights that really aren't that far from the airport.
Key stops of note in this area include:
Midlina - the bridge across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Reykjanesta - spectacular cliffs and basalt formations dropping into the Atlantic
After our drive-about tour we headed to Reykjavik and some folks did an organized city tour, but as the city was quite walkable for us Monkeys, we chose to opt out and walked around a fairly sizable loop (a few km's).
I hope this info has been interesting, and maybe even helpful! If there is something else that would be helpful or interesting to you, please make sure to leave a comment. If you enjoyed it, please make sure to share it on social media and use @LANMonkeyGC so I can thank you.
Water. Probably one of the poorest planned and most important aspects of the 10 essentials when we go out for a day hike. Don't get me wrong, I know almost all of us grab a water bottle (or two?) before we head out, but do we really think about our hydration much more than this: "I've got some water; I'll drink it when I'm thirsty. I hope it lasts." A recent Twitter conversation with friend Limax7 prompted me to share three simple pro-tips to make sure you are well hydrated on your hikes, regardless of where they are or what season it is.
Tip #1 - Pre-Hydrate
Uh, what does that even mean? It's as simple as it sounds. Drink some water BEFORE the hike. Top advice from professional trainers, athletes, and first aid folks is consistent on this point. Plan on your morning before your hike to drink about 1 litre (1 quart, or 34 fluid ounces) of water in small amounts. We'll talk about the drawbacks to "chugging" water in tip #2. This is super important as you'll be losing fluids through the day and this way you are off to a solid start on staying well hydrated.
Tip #2 - Bring the Right Amount for Your Day
Exactly how much water you will need for any hike will of course be affected by certain variables - heat, duration of the hike, incline of the hike, your personal health, etc. Most medical professionals agree that people should drink 2 litres (~1/2 gallon, 2 quarts, or 67 fluid ounces) of water per day. So use that as a baseline, minimal amount to bring on a day hike.
I get it though - water is HEAVY! Consider "caching" water along your route to have it available on your way back and not have to carry it the full distance. Have a .5 or 1 litre water bottle tucked behind a tree or under some rocks (sealed tightly, and with no flavouring so as not to attract animals to it) then drop a waypoint on your GPSr or phone. Split your daily water carry between members of your team, and consider using lighter containers for the water such as collapsible water bottles, or maybe even a hydration pack. The small amounts of weight & space it saves can end up making a big difference. On a hot day, or a longer hike, add another 1-2 litres to your daily carry of water. You can cache a litre at the "half way back" point of your hike (of course, not if you are hiking a loop!). Ultimately, you need to be the best judge of how much water to carry but you will rarely regret carrying too much. Lastly, don't "chug" your water. It's tempting and we've all done it. But you are far better off to "sip" your water at regular intervals, perhaps every 10 minutes as a guide. On a hot day day or at high elevations your water intake should equal approximately 1 litre per hour. So doing the math, if you are going on a 4 hour hike on a hot day, you should pre-hydrate, and then carry approximately 4 litres of water! I know - that's a lot of weight!
Tip #3 - Have a Back-Up Plan
Plan B, right? So what happens if you didn't bring enough water? We won't get into the details of heat stroke, heat exhaustion, dehydration, muscle cramps... you likely know all this. But be aware, running out of water is serious business. So what's your Plan B? Essentially what I'm getting at is how will you get water while you are out on the trail? Try and figure out if there are natural or man-made water sources along your planned route. Hiking trail review sites or geocaching logs are good sources of intel - don't rely on the fact that your topo maps show a creek or pond! In the event there is no water source on your hike, then make certain you bring MORE than enough with you.
Myself and many of my hiking friends always carry a LifeStraw with us. It's a great "Plan B" because it filters the Cryptosporidium and Giardia from natural water sources. The beauty of these types of filters is they are reusable, inexpensive, effective, and light to carry. If you are planning a longer hike, consider a pump or bottle-press type filter such as Katadyn products. These are a bit bulkier and heavier, but can process larger amounts of water that you can bottle/store for later use.
Get Home Safe!
So that's my quick three pro-tips you can use to make sure you avoid any issues with hydration on your geocaching or other hikes. One last note - don't get tricked by Winter or cool Spring/Fall weather! Your body needs the same base amount of water regardless of the temperature and climate, so don't fall into the trap of "it's cold out so I only need 500ml for a day of hiking." So that all said, go outside and "cache safely, and cache often!" LANMonkey's Geocaching Adventures are written by Jay Kennedy, outdoor adventurer and photo-journalist. All content is affiliated with the Wander Network. Experience his adventures on Twitter and Instagram by following @LANMonkeyGC, and subscribing to LANMonkey on YouTube. He is also a regular co-host of the Caching in the Northwest geocaching podcast.
Caching in the Northwest - you might have heard of our little podcast? Well we are calling for #DNFAvengers to assemble! Starting NOW share your stories and photos of how you turned that blue frown upside-down and you'll be entered to win one of several prizes from CachingNW and our sponsors! So here's the deal; you can enter as often as you'd like - the more you enter the better your chances! And there's a few different ways to enter, check them out and try them all for the best chances to win! To make it even juicier - everyone who at least enters ONCE will receive some HTML to add a virtual badge for your Geocaching profile - a special Caching in the Northwest #DNFAvengers badge! 1. Twitter - tweet your #DNFAvengers story, and make sure to include that hashtag. Fit in @CachingNW and if you are able, @LANMonkeyGC also to make sure we see them! Include a photo for maximum impact! 2 contest entry "points" per post - as long as it has #DNFAvengers and @CachingNW. 2. Facebook - post about your #DNFAvengers story, and again, lead off your story with #DNFAvengers and add @CachingNW! Remember, photos make everything better. Again, 2 entry points per post with the hashtag and include @CachingNW. 3. Call in- to 253-693-TFTC email us a voice recording from your phone or computer, or use the voice recording widget on CachingNW.com and tell us your #DNFAvengers story in your own voice! We'll play it on the podcast and enter you in! Getting the story in YOUR voice gets you 5 entry points. 4. Email us at feedback@cachingNW.com and explain your #DNFAvengers story in under 150 words (we're slow readers!) for a 3 point entry. So to sum up - show everyone that you are one of the true #DNFAvengers by posting to Twitter, Facebook, or sharing your story by audio or email to us and start racking up your entry points for the random draws - first draw will be Thursday May 3 at 5:00pm pacific, and the winner announced just after 9pm pacific on the live podcast!
Want to make sure you can earn all10 souvenirsavailable from Geocaching.com between March 19 and April 8? Well I'm here to help you on your stellar mission.
I've got 5 simple tipsthat will get you your 10 souvenirs, or my name isn't Buck Rogers!*
#1 - Build Your Crew!
First things first - if you're going shoot for the stars (or the souvenirs) you'll need to build your team. Remember the Mary Hyde events and activities from last year? Well it's the very same system for the Friend League support to get you ship-shape and on your way.
Make sure you check in on your own Friend League page to ensure that your crew is set up by going to: Dashboard > View Friends > Get motivated with your friend league!
(pro-tip - just click the last "your friend league" link, and then bookmark it so you have a quick way to get there in the future!)
Do you already have a great crew amassing huge points? Awesome! If not, just click the "Add Friends" green button and send some friend requests to your geocaching buddies. For more tips on great Geocaching Friends etiquette, check this post from last summer!
#2 - Know the Score!
Next important thing to know is HOW to get those valuable points! This simple table from Geocaching.com explains what you most need to know.
Action
Point value
Log a Found it on any geocache (Traditional, Virtual, Webcam, Wherigo)
5
Log a Found it on a Multi-Cache or Letterbox Hybrid
10
Log a Found it on a Mystery Cache or EarthCache
15
Attend any event
15
Drop off trackable
4
#3 - Start the Countdown!
T minus 19... 18... OK, you get it. Take a look at your calendar, and message some of your friend league - see if you can't pick a time to get out caching together between March 19 and April 8.
You can send messages individually on the My Friends page using the "Send Message" link on each friend's "card" on the page.
But it might be even easier, if you are already all on Facebook or Twitter, to start a group chat for planning purposes.
#4 - Find Unexplored Space with Your Crew!
You've got the team, you've got the dates, but where to go? Make sure the adventure gets max points for everyone by using the Geocaching.com Search page.
Enter
an area to start your search from and you'll get the initial list. But
now click on the Filters green button, and make sure to click the radio
buttons for "I Haven't Found" and "I Don't Own."
That done, next thing to do is enter in the names of your space crew in the "Not Found By" box.
Now click the Search button again and you'll see the caches that will maximize your teams points!
#5 - Earn Nine for Ten!
So you know how to get points, but what are your targets? Why the planets of course! OK, the souvenirs named after planets! And to help you out here's the next great table Geocaching.com provided so we can all know the score(ing system).
Souvenirs
Points needed on the Friend League (individual)
Planetary Pursuit: Earth
5 points
Planetary Pursuit: Venus
10 points
Planetary Pursuit: Mercury
20 points
Planetary Pursuit: Mars
40 points
Planetary Pursuit: Jupiter
65 points
Planetary Pursuit: Saturn
100 points
Planetary Pursuit: Uranus
200 points
Planetary Pursuit: Neptune
300 points
Planetary Pursuit: Pluto
500 points
Official Space Explorer
Collect all planet souvenirs (500 points) and earn this meta souvenir.
Note that as like other souvenir events in the past, the tenth souvenir is "automatically" earned by achieving the prior 9. Pay attention that these are individual points in Friend League, so you'll have to earn those points yourself to get the souvenirs, not total points in your League.
*full disclosure - my name isn't Buck Rogers, but these are still great tips!
Most importantly - get out there and cache safely, and cache often! The LANMonkeys
