Northern Exposure – An Interview With Bobcatw98
3/1/2004
Ken Braband
Bobcatw98 is an active geocacher and WGA member from the northern part of our fair state. For this month’s Article of the Month, we asked Bob to tell us about his geocaching adventures and his approach to the sport.
1. Please describe a little about yourself: Where you’re from, family, job, other hobbies, etc.
Well, I live in St. Croix County, my wife Cat and I have a 12-year-old-daughter, and I’m a survey technician. When not working or geocaching, we like to camp, garden, hike, bike, and canoe. (Not all at the same time of course.)
2. How and when did you first hear about geocaching?
I first read about geocaching in the fall of 2002. I was reading Professional Surveyor magazine and they had an article about geocachers teaching the sport to Boy Scouts. They listed the geocaching web site so I logged on. The rest, as they say, is history.
3. Were you a GPS user before you started geocaching?
No.
4. When did you find your first cache, and what was it?
I found my first cache on 10/20/02. It was The Lil Otter’s âCaddie Woodlawâ cache just outside of Downsville. The weather was crappy and I had NO idea what I was doing. I wondered back and forth trying to get my Garmin to tell me where to look. Since I walk rather fast, the GPSR kept jumping around. It was tough. Finally, I decoded the clue and found the stash spot. Even though the weather was as bad as it was and I knew I was alone at the park, I still looked around to make sure no one saw me! I was quite green!
5. What do you enjoy most about geocaching?
It’s tough to pick just one thing that I like about geocaching. It’s the outdoors, the adventure, the thrill of the hunt, the people that I meet, (both cachers and noncachers), the sights, and the challenges.
6. What is your system for planning your routes when you visit an area? (For example, What GPSR do you use? Do you download to it, to a PDA, a laptop, or just print sheets?)
I use a Magellan SportTrak map. I started geocaching using a Garmin but had some issues with it after I dropped it for the twentieth time so I bought the Magellan. It’s been really dependable. When I know I’m going to be heading out, I pick the zip code for a town that’s central to where I’ll be going. I print the sheets and then organize my route so as to hit the farthest caches first and then geocache my way home. I enter the coords manually but I think my Magellan is set up to take the coords from the computer. I need to read up on that.
7. Do you have any tips or tricks that you like to use to find geocaches?
When I first get near ground zero, I look for places I might hide a cache. I’ve learned, though, that what I think is a good spot isn’t always what others would use. Specifically, Tricolorâs hides are in spots that fit the container. He doesn’t try to “hide” the container but rather “puts it where it belongs”. FOEFN is another who I’ve learned from. There are others as well. These two are just cachers whose technique I’ve “borrowed”.
8. How many geocaches have you found (as of this writing)?
592
9. How many geocaches have you hidden?
Cache Stashing: 101
10. Do you always hunt alone, or do others go with you sometimes? If so, who?
I usually hunt alone. Occasionally, my family comes with and I’ve taken a few newbies out a time or two but for the most part, it’s just me.
11. How many geocaches have you found in Wisconsin?
More than I can count and way less than I want to.
12. Which was your favorite Wisconsin geocache and why?
Again, you put me on the spot. I can’t pick one favorite. My first will always be one of them. Other great ones are:
* Dave was here—Now gone but what a great spot this one was in!
* Thistle Dew—Found this one when there was “thistle dew.” It was a tough one! Almost gave up but then……
* ScatterBrains and ScatterBrains 2—great cache series!
* Little Falls Covert Cache—You just gotta see it to believe it!
* Nectar of the Gods—Pure geocaching at it’s finest!
* Devils Lake West Bluff—came at it from the top. What a great work out!
There are a lot more. I just can’t list them all. The Wisconsin geocachers have some spots/ideas to share. I really appreciate all their efforts!
13. Which was your favorite all time geocache anywhere, and why? (If the answer is different from the previous one)
One of my all time favorites is Ko’D River Dance. This one took me out over a frozen river and made me test my courage. It was a stretch! Another has to be Chaos. I found this one with my daughter and had to act all calm and courageous but it was a tough task from the start! Before we got 0.1 miles from the truck, we came across one of the biggest snakes I’ve seen in a long time! When we got near the cache stash it was another challenge! Great hide!
14. Did you notice any type of pattern or similarity in Wisconsin geocaches that you have not seen in other areas?
I’ve only hunted in two states so I can’t really say I’ve seen anything “Sconnie Specific” but I can say that the Wisconsin caches found are typically placed so that the stash spot is the reason for the cache and not the cache the reason for the spot. In other words, I’ve hunted caches that were in spots that no one would normally go into and for good reason. Pretty much all of the Wisconsin caches I’ve found were in areas that EVERYONE would go to if they knew about it.
15. What was the most difficult geocache you hunted in Wisconsin in terms of terrain?
Two come to mind: Devils Lake West Bluff and Devils Lake Revisited. I found only Devils Lake West bluff but had a great workout looking for both of these! I’ll be back!
16. What was the most difficult geocache you hunted in Wisconsin in terms of how hard it was to find?
This one would have to be The Three Legged Dog. It was a great hunt albeit a difficult one to figure out. In fact, I liked it so much that when I got word that the owner was going to move out of town and thus the cache would be archived, I adopted it! So, it’s the only cache I own that I’ve logged a find on!
17. Did you have any unexpected surprises while hunting geocaches in Wisconsin? If so, what?
Well, I found some things. One that comes to mind is a chain saw. It was locked up and the spark plug wire was cut. I took it to the park entrance and left it hoping the owner would come find it. Another time, my truck was making a funny noise. We were hunting a cache up in Bayfield County and had to drive on a curvy logging trail. Well, we hit a stick (I think it was more like a tree), it made a clang, and then the noise went away.
18. Anything else you’d like to add?
I guess the only other thing I can say is, “If you hide it, he will come!”…………………..eventually.
Oh yea! One more thing. I’d like to publicly thank the person who nominated me for the WGA board of directors. Unfortunately, my schedule is such that I would not be able to properly serve the members of the WGA at this time. Thank you! Thank you sooo much!!