Is this a game?

I am angry today folks so I hope you don't mind a little venting on my part. I try to keep this as upbeat and positive as possible but I need to get some stuff off my chest.

THIS IS A GAME! At what point does geocaching become more than that and such ugliness can be exposed and thrown at each other for the sake of a silly game?! There is no winner. No one can "WIN" at geocaching. Its not possible. There are aspects of this game that appeal to everyone and EVERYONE is entitled to their own opinions. My opinions and game play are just that...my own. No one is going to influence that or change the way I play my game. I am unapologetic and firm in my feelings. I do not pursue "public opinion" nor will that ever influence what this thing has come to mean to me. With that being said, here is a little about me...

I am not a fan of garbage micros and will share that openly. Urban micros have their place because it is complicated to hide large things in that environment but somewhere along the way these have become an easy way for folks to take up a 528' circle to drop trash to facilitate the game of numbers some folks play. Which leads me into the numbers chat... I don't care about numbers in ANY way shape or form. I don't ask how many finds someone has because what you TAKE from the game means nothing to me. I will ask, however, how many hides you have because what you have GIVEN back to the game is much more important to me. So, if we happen to meet in the geocaching realm please do not bore me with your "ranking", or your position on some non existent totem pole because all that does is flare up my ADD and I start thinking about bike rides or shearing sheep.
 
These are my thoughts and opinions and they are going to differ from EVERYONE else's and that, my friends, IS OK!!! We can have those varying opinions and coexist. Shit, I would even go as far as to say we could be friends, as long as you don't expect me to bend to your game. The picture perfect example of this would be my friendship with a guy named Jason. We couldn't be more different in our geocaching game if we tried but we both long for adventure and thrive on that with each other. Proud to call him my buddy and when it comes to caching we set down our differences and get to the business of the game which, in case some of you have forgotten, is getting out, hiding, finding, and enjoying the places these folks have taken you.
 
Now when you push your agenda to the point of physical action please do not be surprised if I "give and take" along with you. Why is it such a surprise to you when I take a stand against something? Is it because I dont hide behind "sock puppet" accounts? I call it how I see it and let you explain yourself? I prefer DIRECT communication to resolve conflicts? Tell me please? I am all ears! But these questions will go unanswered no doubt because apparently that is not how "we do business" here. We like to grumble from behind our key boards, inflame the masses, and never engage in any form of resolving communication. This is my perception and I acknowledge that folks see everything differently but if we never voice what we perceive there is never a chance for growth.

I apologize for the randomness and lack of structure in this post but these things were flying off my mind and I often like to just let my mind wander where it will. Again I would like to stress that these are MY thoughts and opinions. This is MY game. I will play as I will.

P.S. I am a member of the "DIRTBAG" geocaching society, not the "CLASSY" geocaching society... so please dont waste my time with comments about my "class"...

 

The day of Evacuation

23 June,2012, I had just completed my first ever power trail and wrapped up my day of a personal best of 54 finds with my good friend and chapter VP Erik(OF-Erad). As we got home we noticed a very large plume of smoke billowing up in the hills to our south west. A fire had been started in the Waldo Canyon area and was growing at a very fast rate.

All the news outlets were saying this fire had potential to be a bad one and the evacuation notices began to come in. This fire was moving in multiple directions at varying speeds frustrating not only the fire fighters but all those who lived at the base of our beloved mountains. 

Fast forward now to Tuesday the 26th of June, 2012. The smoke was still billowing as I headed into work that morning but it had become a common sight at this point and I didnt think much of it. They were saying they had it 5% contained and were making progress. As the day progressed the smoke became more and more ominous. The sigle stack had now become a cloud that reached thousands and thousands of feet into the air and consumed the sky. This is not good. Something began to feel off. After wrapping up things at work I began to head home and into this cloud of smoke. Now the radio began to explode. The fire had turned east taken a full on charge towards the city, nearly doubling in size in a matter of hours. The pre evacuation notices now turned into a full on flight for life. The traffic on the freeway had nearly come to a stand still when I received the first of two phone calls. "We are being evacuated hun. Where are you"? My heart dropped a little, I am on my way. I got off the phone as I entered the heart of the smoke cloud. Dark as night, snowing ash, and a heavy scent of smoke surrounded me. I now felt a brief panic. This fire had become something more than a news report, more than something we watched on tv and shook our heads at, it became a threat to my family. After fighting the traffic I was able to get home and now begun the furious packing. We loaded clothes, important papers, and a few comfort items(my geocoins were loaded prior to my will... just saying) but then came the decision of what matters the most? What one thing do you grab as you run out of the door? I grabbed my adventure frog(the mascot of our shenanigans in FL), three books(celebration of discipline, hitchhikes guide, and the hobbit), and my favorite hat(RHB!). Now it was time to go. We rolled out as the fire sat on the hill behind our home, ominous, angry, and unrelenting. A tsunami of flame. 

So why do these event belong in a geocaching blog you ask? Well here is the rest of the story... The second phone call was from my dear friend mentioned before. "I have three beds made and dinner going. When will you get here?" Before I had even thought about where I was going to take my family, my friend, a geocacher, a Dirtbag, had already prepared his own home to receive my family of seven. As we pulled into his driveway Erik and his lovely wife Louisa were standing there with open arms and caught each one of us as we got out of the car. Once we got the kids in and settled Erik and I stood in the driveway decompressing from what was going on around us. It was here my dear friend did the greatest thing he could have at the time. "So you got a cache today yet"? I chuckled as a tear dropped. "No, I got wrapped up with other stuff today". He put his hand on my shoulder and told me to come over here. (The cache) Sure enough there at his home was a cache of his and he handed me the log.  "No matter what happens today or tomorrow, we got you bud". These beautiful people became more than friends this day. They became family. Our dear friends. Our guardian angels. 

A few days later the firefighters gained control of the fire and stopped it less than a mile from our home. But this point is totally irrelevant because no matter the outcome, home or no home, my family was intact and safe because a fellow geocacher saw beyond numbers, caches, methods of game play, and looked into the human side of this silly game. They opened their home, their hearts, and gave my family rest. We will be in debt to them forever for this and I only hope at some point and time I can offer, if even just a slice, what they gave to my family. Thank you guys, we love you both!

The Colorado Adventure Begins...

"Now that was a party"... I cant believe my days, for now, are done in the Fort Bragg/Fayetteville area of North Carolina. Between the caching and Dirtbags my last year in that God forsaken place was not only tolerable but fun. Geocachers in that area seem to be like none other across the country. They like to have fun, they like to socialize(virtually or otherwise), they like to find silly things hidden by sillier people, and they hold tight to the fact that this crazy game is just that, a game. Whenever real life would raise its ugly head the game stopped and the issues were tended to and then it was back to playing. Feeling got hurt from a time to time but that was inevitable in circles where different backgrounds, morals, and beliefs are rolled into one big shaker and tossed at random. There are so many fond memories of the last year to list them all would be ridiculous. So I will sum up a couple highlights.
Coinfest 2011: Dorks galore and we were rockstars. Dirtbagged Signal the frog and threw Groundspeak into a tizzy. Epic
Kayaking with the DGS: Zinyata, Gen09,and myself spent the day on a lake looking for caches on islands but only found twitterpated snakes and goose eggs. No we literally found like 100 goose eggs. But the best part of that trip was watch e6c maneuver a canoe, by himself, along with us.
My day of Caching with Bob: Bsteadham and I headed out for a day of caching in the keys. BEST. CACHING. DAY. EVER. That story is a whole post in of itself for another day.
DGS:Chunkymunky06: Dinner was rudely interrupted by a cache popping... "Dana get the car! Richard let's go!" We split and got to GZ first. A quick jog through the tunnel and bam! FTF. Thanks for the cache guys.
And finally there was the going away party... A GC.com event broadcast around the world! Beer, geocachers, beer, ustream, Jagermeister, beer, and I sang something... What a night that was and set the standard for how going away parties ought to be! Thanks for a fantastic send off fellas.

The adventures were great but fall far from the relationships I have established and the people I have come to know as friends, geocachers, and family. Now onto GCCO!

My first year.

Hard to believe that over a year ago we set out on our first adventure to find a container stashed in the woods for us to sign and trade goodies. Oh what a year it has been too. To go over all the details of that year would simply be impractical so I will chronologically highlight the momentous occasions...


NOV 2010: I took my first trip Key West Florida for training and of course had to find something. Magic of the Music(http://coord.info/GCA5B4) was the first one I found on this crazy island and yielded my first ever Geocoin.( http://coord.info/TB284XY)

JAN 2011: I went for my first streak...11days in a row I found a cache. Most of them were during my lunch and was accompanied by Operator361(Now a banned member after making some silly decisions...). The most memorable of these excursions was hitting up an e6c cache called "Escape from Shawshank"(http://coord.info/GC257P1) I should have known better than to try a cache of his while on a lunch break but hey, why not. Sure enough I ended up underground, wet, and smelling like "Andy Dufraine" on the other end. January also was the month we left our first official "mark" on the geocaching world. The Ghost of Garnerway (http://coord.info/GC2MD3J) was placed and published as the first of many Munky adventures.

MAR 2011: The third of March marked both joy and sadness as I found my second 5/5 (http://coord.info/GC2BMTN) but lost my father in law. Kenneth Paul Kirby was a wonderful man, great coach, and loving father. We miss you Ken!

APR 2011: Now here is where my geocaching story changes forever. Early in the month of April I was introduced to this group of folks who lovingly called themselves "Dirtbags". These were not your typical geocachers. Their HQ was a local brewery, they played by their own guidelines, and knew how to not only have fun but make this game I had grown to love so much better. To say I was smitten would have been a lie, I wanted in! My interest was noted and soon everything would change.

MAY 2011: The email came in! My challenge was issued and I began my journey to become a Dirtbag. The outline of my challenge was simple, filling in the blanks, not so much. Time to hide a cache worthy of those three little letters D.G.S. So out of the smoke comes Chunkymunky06 boasting A DGS hide... that was not received well. Those damn turtles! (http://coord.info/GC2W8VN) I had overlooked a small detail in my placement and Mr Dan Ward was the first to not only exploit, but dance, mock, and shoot a video(http://youtu.be/S8-RoRG6kbk) of the oversight. Cooler heads prevailed and after a short time I had fixed my mistake and took a shot at Mr. Ward myself.(http://youtu.be/8BfYfxwI1Y4) Between the video and cache I secured my seat into this group of ragamuffins and now proudly tote the title of DIRTBAG!

JUN 2011: Saw my attendance at the first ever Dirtbag event(http://coord.info/GC2QGAD) and also presented me with marching orders to the great state of Alaska...

JUL 2011: Back in Key West where I completed the Duval Crawl Geocaching Challenge. This unpublished challenge involves 7 hours of consuming adult beverages over three establishments then finding a cache no earlier than 2:30am. Later the same morning found me on a boat in the middle of the ocean watching special folks parachute into the sea as I fed the fish over the side of the craft. Jager and geocaching...never again!

AUG 2011: This month was my highest find rate thus far but more importantly showed the depth of care that was provided by some geocaching friends. Due to a technical error in the Army system our house had been cleared and our household goods on their way to Alaska but we were not going anywhere. Homeless and confused, Genese09 and Zinyata stepped, gathered us up and saw to our well being. For this I will be forever thankful. I love you guys!

SEP 2011: Find # 500!! The annual trip to our Island yielded not only a week of great adventure, wolf sightings, Dad beating his ghost, but granted me find 500!(http://coord.info/GL6GWAGE).

Oct 2011: 24 October 2011 exactly one year after my adventure began a cache pops and I head out. My buddy Jerry planted a cache right next to my home and I nailed the FTF(http://coord.info/GC2WV4M). So one year to date I was at 542 finds, coutless adventures, a new "family" of Dirtbags, and just warming up!

So now for the next chapter. We head to Colorado soon for adventures out west. Stay tuned...

Find 200!

There we sat ready. Loaded in the car on our way to reach our second Geocaching milestone. Our 200th find. We were at 197 when we began the day. A carefully laid plan would take us to a great #200 hidden somewhere under the city of Fayetteville NC. The day started with an ever so creative hide of one ABNDaddy(a Ft. Bragg, Fayetteville, Spring Lake superstar) My crew and I made quick work of this one and moved on to 199. This hide would prove to be a great warm up to the ultimate goal. As we stood on the outside of a rather full drainage tube my strength began to waiver. "Do I really want to climb through that...uh...stuff to sign a log"? OF COURSE I DO!!! Now the next question, "who is going with me"? Morgan didn't hesitate a wink, "I'll go Dad". So off we went. 100 feet of crawling for me and squatted walking for her we got to the hide, signed the log, and headed out! Wet smelly feet would prove to be the theme of the day as we tackled some hides of the ever challenging "e6c" of the "Dirtbag Geocaching Society" (you can find them on youtube) Now for find 200! GC243PH DGS: The Underground Art Exhibit was our target! Yet another climb through a delicious smelling tube of god knows what to find a hide and sign a log. This one carried a twist. After a 50 meter crawl we got to the cache which contained only paint markers. The log was the tube itself! We signed with the team name(see pic above) snapped a couple pics and headed back.  My team never ceases to amaze me. From my fearless 3 year old to my tech savvy 12 year old. The Munky Crew cannot be stopped. Where one goes we all follow. We are one in the same, treasure hunters, explorers, modern day pirates, Geocachers!

A cache with my buddy

I was asked today to help a very dear friend of mine move some of his household goods to storage in preparation of his upcoming move. I have known "Los" for almost three years now. Our friendship developed when I was given the glorious chore of being our company's operations sergeant(all possible sarcasm intended). Shortly after that I found out he was a true hockey fan and wings faithful! Instant friendship! We continued to develop a relationship over the years, talking hockey, work, kids, and whatever came about. During a conversation a few weeks ago I found out my good buddy was also known as "locckdown" on my newest hobby Geocaching. As we sat in McDonalds today eating lunch I pulled out my phone and fired up my Geocache Navigator. There it was. 500 feet away. "So Proudly We Wave". I looked at Los and told him we're doing it! Off we went for a brisk walk, got to the GZ with ease and searched for a min before I saw it hanging from a branch. We signed the log, looked over the "treasure", and put it back as we found it. I have no doubt that this may be the only time Los and I get to hunt together. Once again I will have to say good-bye to a dear friend as they move along in this big green machine.  Saying good-bye to those I have grown to love has become one of the few things I can say that I truly hate. But such is life. So when the time comes I will stand and "proudly wave" as my buddy moves along. Take care brother!

Our Adventure Begins

On a sunny warm October day the sport of Geocaching was introduced to me through Blackberry App World of all places. So with a fresh app on my phone, gps in hand, we headed off on a three mile hike to find these "cache" things. Oh the journey it was! Myself and my five children have never been ones to take the path of least resistance. We could have taken the road out and around, adding a mile or so but no, not us. Not me. We hung a left into the North Carolina bush to find ourselves a shortcut. It wasn't until I was neck deep in thistle bush, three out of five children in tears, and my youngest perched on my shoulders that I realized the error in my ways. My sense of adventure, an inherent trait of McGlynn men, had put us in a less than fun situation. I had broken the first rule of geocaching not even an hour into the game. Thankfully for me my kids have short term memories and heal quickly! After we came out of the killer brush we entered into out first GZ(GeoZone- an area where the cache is located). Searching high and low we were successful in finding #1. GC29GT6- Memorial Day Cache. An ammo can packed FULL of goodies for the kids, a sign in log, and other trinkets of wonder. Tears were gone, scratches were fading, I was a hero. It was like a drug almost. I was instantly hooked. My kids.... well 2 out of 5 joined my obsession, the others would come along eventually. So we were victorious, we had found the treasure, now it was time to head home. Really. Three miles back. Sigh. Then from east came the most glorious sight I had ever seen. A flaming red chariot descended on us as if from heaven itself. It pulled up next to us and from inside the vessel an angelic voice spoke almost in a song. "You guys wanna ride home"? My wife, Jill, whom I had spoken to before we left and told her what we were doing and where we were going, was on her way home from work and thought she would swing by to see if we wanted a ride. I kissed her. The kids kissed her. She saved us! The ride home was short and full of stories of our adventure. Jill drove shaking her head thinking me crazy for embarking the way we did. But in the end it was only the beginning. We are now on #145. We have been all over this wonderful "backyard" of ours. We have found old wooden bridges, beautiful little churches, smelly pig farms, and trickling streams. We have crossed massive canyons(ish), found wonderful local food markets, located a VW bug enthusist-NC style, and nearly been arrested(thats a whole other post LOL). Bottom line is we have found a hobby, we have become treasure hunters, modern day pirates, GEOCACHERS!!