Dan Q

Kind: Checkins

Dan Q found GC7D4FG Canker Well – Magic Waters No More

This checkin to GC7D4FG Canker Well - Magic Waters No More reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

I’m staying not far outside Ilkley this week doing voluntary work, and needed to come down into town to pick up a teammate from the station (and charge the batteries on the car!). Took the opportunity while waiting for the latter to come find this cache. SL, TFTC!

Dan Q found GC88YX7 Return of the Obelisk (Virtual Reward 2.0)

This checkin to GC88YX7 Return of the Obelisk (Virtual Reward 2.0) reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Today I’m driving most of the way up the M1, and I’ve parked nearby mid-journey to recharge: both the car’s battery and mine, with some lunch and a walk around the local geocaches.

As I climbed the hill to this virtual I initially thought I might have trouble seeing the obelisk through the dense foliage, but I was quickly proven wrong as it rose up and above the trees. Blackbirds jostled for space atop it: apparently the status of being “king of the castle” counts for something, even though it’s clearly impossible for them to nest up there!

Thanks for bringing me here, and TFTC!

Dan stands under a brick obelisk under a mostly-clear blue sky. He is smiling and pointing at the landmark.

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Dan Q found GC9G9YR Countdown to Extinction

This checkin to GC9G9YR Countdown to Extinction reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Stopped nearby to charge the car during a long journey up the M1, and came to find a couple of local caches while I waited. This one was a quick and easy find, but to retrieve it I first needed to manufacture an appropriately-shaped tool! Fortunately a nearby tree had conveniently dropped something that could be made to serve. TFTC, SL.

Dan Q found GC98HTF Walk by the Firehouse #2.0

This checkin to GC98HTF Walk by the Firehouse #2.0 reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

The geokid asked to go find a cache this morning while his big sister went off to a playdate. We opted to tackle this one, which I’d failed to find a long while ago when it was missing. This time we had no such difficulty, and the geokid put his hands right on it! Nice, TFTC.

Five year old boy on a footpath with two thumbs up.
Victory pose!
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Dan Q posted a note for GC531M9 Walk by the Firehouse #1

This checkin to GC531M9 Walk by the Firehouse #1 reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Out for a walk with the 5-y/o geokid we decided to check up on this cache to ensure it was still accessible in spite of the ongoing work to rearrange the footpaths around here. Yup, it’s still accessible (and as devious as ever!).

Dan Q couldn’t find GC6FD5Y Cumnor Minions – Bob

This checkin to GC6FD5Y Cumnor Minions - Bob reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

0/2 for the geokids and I this morning. Hunted a long while on and around the obvious place, later reassured by the hint, but eventually expanded our search based on recent logs (which suggest the hint is wrong). Interrupted by a suspicious local we decided to make an excuse to leave. Hint, possibly coordinates, maybe more needs looking at by CO.

Geohashing expedition 2022-02-20 52 -1

This checkin to geohash 2022-02-20 52 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Outside a warehouse full of sheet aluminium, Kitts Green Road, Birmingham.

Participants

Plans

I’m hoping to find the 2022-02-19 52 -2 hashpoint one day earlier and one graticule over, and I think I can stretch the range on the electric car enough to be able to return home via this hashpoint too.

Update: managed to change the car after finding the 2022-02-19 52 -2 point, so I can make this. Probably be there about midday, weather-permitting.

Expedition

Following my successful expedition to 2022-02-19 52 -2 (which completed level 6 of my minesweeper grid) I stayed overnight in a delightful converted hayloft near the hashpoint before pressing on the following morning to this hashpoint (via a whole series of delightful geocaches in and around the village of Blakedown).

I didn’t expect much of this hashpoint, but I wanted the excuse to recharge the car before going for another leg of my journey – either a trip up to visit a friend in Lichfield or else a hashing expedition one graticule further East where today’s hashpoint seemed to be in a graveyard! But more on that later.

I parked at the Morrisons car park at (52.757778, -1.752222) at 14:48 and hooked up to the charger there (once I eventually found it). I had some difficulty making it work, but it seemed to get started eventually. Then I began my walk to the hashpoint. This was far from the picturesque walk of yesterday, taking me through a series of housing estates that were nondescript at best, unpleasantly scuzzy at worst. Shooting video as I walked, I was at one point loudly mocked by a group of young men passing in an artificially-loud car, but it was an activity that soon had to end anyway as the rain began to pour down. At around 15:11 my GPSr ran out of battery power (I’d failed to find its charging cable the night before) and there’s a clear gap in my tracklog: fortunately I was also equipped with not one but two backup devices (my phone, of course, and my watch), so I was able to continue heading in the right direction, and when I found a convenience store near (52.739167, -1.998333) I bought some AA batteries (my GPSr can have its rechargeable battery removed and 3 × AA batteries put in its place to allow it to continue) and pressed on to the hashpoint.

As anticipated, the hashpoint was on a road dividing a light industrial park from a housing estate, right outside a plant specialising in bending plate aluminium; I reached it at 15:23:48. I walked back the same route as the rain began to fall more and more heavily: by the time I reached the car it had become torrential. The dubious charging point I’d used had taken £16 from my bank card but provided only enough charge to take the car from 66% to 67% battery, which – combined with the rapidly-worsening weather – made me rethink my plans to visit Lichfield or explore further East and I instead used my remaining distance to take a long (slow, wet, diversion-filled) drive home. Ugh.

Tracklog

My GPSr kept a tracklog of my entire two-day expedition:

Download tracklog.

Photos

I shot video of most of this expedition but don’t have time to edit it, so here are stills from the video instead:

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Dan Q found GC8V990 NANOBLITZ You’ve got some Rattle

This checkin to GC8V990 NANOBLITZ You've got some Rattle reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

A hard walk to an easy find, but this cache has definitely caught the worst of the stormy conditions. Its hiding place has flooded and the container is drenched. Dried as best I could, but it needs CO attention. TFTC.

Dan Q found GC8V997 NANOBLITZ Ground

This checkin to GC8V997 NANOBLITZ Ground reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Getting down the muddy bank (picture attached) to this one was a bit spicy! Like those before me, I found the cache wedged tight into its hiding space. But unlike them, I was able to construct a crude lever with which to set it free! SL, TFTC.

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