Dan Q

Kind: Checkins

Dan Q found GC97PZV 1 BH

This checkin to GC97PZV 1 BH reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Finishing my morning walk where, perhaps, I should have started it with the first cache in this enjoyable series. Took a while for a good GPSr fix and I walked up and down the path a few times before spotting the container. But then – disaster – this replaced cache has a brand new log book… and I’ve dropped my caching pencil somewhere between the last cache and this one. Unable to sign log, but hopefully attached picture showing CO’s replacement message will suffice.

TFTC, and the series in general. So glad to be able to take this lovely walk from Fairlawns this year. FP awarded here for the series in general.

Fresh geocaching log book with a message stating that it's a replacement, added January 2023, held in a hand.

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Dan Q found GC97WPR 7 BH

This checkin to GC97WPR 7 BH reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Distracted by the cattle eating their breakfast and the increasingly beautiful sunrise, almost forgot to look for this cache. Read the hint but still didn’t have a clue until I spotted something out-of-place in a field. Sure enough, it was the cache. Nice hide! TFTC.

A group of brown-and-white cattle eat hay from a feeder in a grassy field, sandwiched between two shipping containers which seem to act as a makeshift shelter.

This expedition also sees me using StreetComplete to update OpenStreetMap metadata. Here, I got to correct the “stile” to a “kissing gate”. Fun!

A deep red sunrise behind some power lines, over a green field and a shadowy hill.

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Dan Q found GC97WPC 6 BH

This checkin to GC97WPC 6 BH reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Sunrise taking off in earnest now with reds and pinks on the horizon, and my spine – unhappy for sleeping in an unfamiliar bed last night – is enjoying getting a stretch from the walk, too. Stared right at this cache for a moment thinking “well that’s where I would hide it, but would the CO” before reaching to check and, yup, putting my hand right on it. Now on through the cattle field!

A red, pink and grey sunrise behind power lines and bare trees.

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Dan Q found GC97WP6 5 BH

This checkin to GC97WP6 5 BH reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

I can see why the previous log moved this cache; pleased to see you be a good hiding place on the other side. Also pleased this wasn’t another nano! Light’s grown enough now to add a smiley selfie from the path. Greetings from Oxfordshire, and TFTC!

Dan, wearing a grey hoodie, waves to the camera from a dry wintery footpath.

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Dan Q found GC97WN0 4 BH

This checkin to GC97WN0 4 BH reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Got carried away with my walk and briefly overshot this one: realised as I reached the quarry road. Turned back and found the cache in the third place I looked. Said hi to a rabbit and the horses, up and foraging for their breakfast in the early light, before moving on.

Dan Q found GC97WKD 2 BH

This checkin to GC97WKD 2 BH reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

A nonprofit I volunteer with has, years ago, held our Christmas bash at the nearby Fairlawns Hotel. We haven’t been in several years and – even though we missed Christmas itself by a full month! – decided to return here this year.

I’m often an early riser, especially when away from home, and enjoy making the most of the first light with a walk. Last time I was here there wasn’t a geocache in sight, so imagine my delight to find that now there’s one right on the doorstep! Armed with a torch to fight off the renaming pre-dawn darkness, I braved the cold and came out to explore.

Found the obvious hiding spot quickly, but my sore back (Fairlawns’ mattress was somewhat softer than I enjoy!) made retrieval challenging! Still, a success once I was on my hands and knees! TFTC, and Merry Christmas I guess!

Dan Q archived GC8W7QW Forgotten Bridge

This checkin to GC8W7QW Forgotten Bridge reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Out on a walk with the dog along the footpath nearby I elected to drop in on this cache for routine maintenance. But as I approached the GZ I learned that the footbridge that provided this cache with its home clearly wasn’t as “forgotten” as I’d thought! The council have been up here again and rather than just signing the log as they did last time they were on a mission to replace the entire bridge!

When they did this with the bridge that hosted GC90RH3 they gave me enough notice to remove the cache, but not this time: by the time the geopup and I discovered the “new” bridge the cache container was long gone. (It was a modified ammo can, so I might reach out and see if they happened to retrieve it during the demolition and can give it back!)

Ah well; it was a fun cache while it lasted.

A French Bulldog in a blue jacket stands on a newly-constructed wooden footbridge. The footbridge is sandwiched into a hedge and spans a ditch separating two fields. The dog is sniffing at the bridge, as if she's hunting for something.

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Geohashing expedition 2023-01-02 51 -1

This checkin to geohash 2023-01-02 51 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Muswell Hill, Piddington, Oxfordshire

Participants

Expedition

I bundled the dog into the car and drove out to Piddington, a couple of kilometres North of the hashpoint. Cherwell Council advertise a circular walk that seems to circle from the village (which looked like a good place to park) up to Muswell Hill, the summit of which is near the hashpoint.

She and I walked through Piddington, past the church, and up onto the path. A soggy kilometre or so later we quickly discovered that this was going to be more-challenging than I’d anticipated. We quickly got bogged down in a flooded field and needed to double-back. With my socks already soaking wet and the dog in a similar condition, we found a different route that looped around the entire hill and through an alpaca farm (or were they llamas?), then we worked our way up the South face of the hill, over the summit, and down to the hashpoint. We got there at 11:00 UTC, took a quick look around and pulled the closest thing a dog can manage to a silly grin, and then hacked our way back (by road) to Piddington for the drive home and some dry clothes.

Tracklog

Entire expedition

Walking part only

Photo

Dan - a man with a beard, wearing a grey fleece with a white poppy attached - crouches alongside his French Bulldog in a green field under a blue sky with a few wispy clouds.
Multi-species silly grin.

Video

Also available on YouTube.

Dan Q posted a note for GC9GKJA A Fine Pair # 1625 ~ Eynsham

This checkin to GC9GKJA A Fine Pair # 1625 ~ Eynsham reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Visited today after the recent log suggesting the container had been removed and the log dumped. Couldn’t find the log hidden anywhere, but the cache container is intact and in place (just missing a log book!). I’ll try to get up and hunt for the hidden log later this week, or else replace it with a new one.