2020's caching in review

Hello! 

I hope this post finds you well.

This was meant to be a big year for geocaching - the twentieth anniversary of the game. A raft of exciting announcements were made by Geocaching HQ; like many, I was looking forward to attending Community Celebration events and logging a Locationless cache for the first time ever!

By the end of January, my initial plans were in place: I was going to attend the Prague Giga in May and the UK Mega events in August. I had also set myself some ambitious goals. The main one was to find 1,000 caches by the end of the year (i.e. today), and I was also eager to fill in more of my Jasmer Grid.

Then the pandemic arrived, and the country went into lockdown - putting an end to my regular geocaching outings (for a while), and my hopes of attending events.

As the months went by, I still managed to find some good caches and several great series were completed - from the superb Eastbury Fields loop, to Chalk Downs, RED, and Mercot Meander (the latter is definitely underrated).

My favourite series of the year has to be NameThatTune in the Cotswolds. The walk was simply superb, mostly within some lovely woodland, with spectacular views to enjoy along the bottom stretch. The caches themselves were outstanding - the tableaus were excellent, and extremely well crafted. 

I am pleased to announce that the bonus cache of the NameThatTune series, GC8TDBK, is my Cache of the Year (link to bookmark list). This is partly in recognition of the series as a whole, but it's also a great cache in its own right, with a fantastic surprise to be found inside. This year's runner-up is Be Afraid - a high-quality cache with a Halloween theme... I wish that all caches were of this high standard.

This year has also been my fifth on the GAGB committee, and I have enjoyed working on my various projects. Being on the committee is a nice way to give something back to geocaching, and it has kept me engaged with the game over the lockdowns. I was honoured to have been elected to the position of GAGB Chair last month - I am looking forward to seeing what myself and the committee can do for the GAGB in the year ahead. One of my aims is to increase our membership numbers - so, if you're not a member, please sign up today! Feel free to get in touch if you have any comments - feedback and ideas are always welcome.

So, despite not meeting my geocaching goals due to the unprecedented circumstances, I have thoroughly enjoyed my tenth year of geocaching. Here's to 2021!

Stay safe everyone, and Happy New Year!

Griff Grof

2019's caching in review

Hello!

It's been another year since my last post on this blog. Why? Well, when I complete a cache series, I arrive home and spend several hours writing unique logs for each cache, which leaves me too tired to write a detailed blog post, so I decide to leave it for another day... and then forget about it. Apologies. I'll try my best to keep the blog up to date throughout 2020.

Right now, it's time to review my caching year.

It's been a great one - I've come across some brilliant caches, and visited lots of new places. Compared to 2018, I've found twice as many caches, attended three times as many events, and had four times as many FTFs (only eight, though!). I managed to do this as I've had more free time, having graduated in June. But what were the highlights?

The Aberdeenshire Mega week was excellent and very memorable. I had attended several UK Mega events in the past, but this was the first time we went and stayed in the area for the entire week, with a full programme of side events to attend. Lots of great walks were completed (the Castle Fraser series and Craigievar Castle Walk both come to mind), and the events took us to some fantastic locations. I loved the Mega itself, from the Lab caches, to the opportunity to finally see the Original Can of Beans. It was great to meet so many people and I enjoyed plenty of geochat.

I have completed lots of series' this year. Some of my favourites include: Eastleach Valley (a stunning Cotswold walk), Yarningale Common Circular (some creative hides), Buscot Bunker Bimble (a superb walk along the Thames Path), Bah Humbug (a nice route, with good quality caches) and several placed by the sundowner, as he always throws in a special field puzzle or two.

It was hard to choose my 'cache of the year', but I eventually settled on YCC07 Cachers Express, due to its unique concept/container... the favourite points speak for themselves! The runners-up are: Manchester Central Library, Cromwell's Seat (my 3,000th find) and stage 1 of Bah Humbug #6, which was very sneaky.

In November, I was re-elected as a member of the GAGB committee - thank you to everyone who voted for me. I look forward to working with my fellow committee members, and hope that we will achieve a lot in the year ahead. If you have any thoughts, feedback, or ideas regarding how the GAGB could improve or do things differently, please let me know!

So, that's 2019, but what are my goals for 2020? It's a big year for geocaching, as May 2020 marks twenty years since the first geocache was placed. March 2020 marks ten years since I found my first geocache. I'd love to find my 4,000th cache, but my main aim is to attend a Giga and, of course, log the first active Locationless cache in 15 years before it's archived for good.

I can't wait to see what the next year (and decade) of geocaching will bring!

Griff Grof

2018's caching in review

Hello!

This is my first post in twelve months... apologies for not keeping this blog up to date.

Another year is almost over, which means that it's time for me to look back at the best caches I've found, assess what I've achieved, and set some goals for the year ahead.

My Cache of the Year is Tibi Dabo Claves. I first came across this cache in January while using Project-GC's D/T Matrix tool. I skimmed through the cache page and was hooked. After working out the first part, I put it aside for a few months and returned to it in the summer. As things became clearer, I managed to work out the final two stages and obtain the coordinates. The journey to the cache was challenging, but very memorable. Once at GZ, the elusive cache was finally found! I felt a great sense of achievement! It's one of those caches I know I'll remember forever.

The competition was close this year, with The Ghost of The Corpus Clock taking second place. A brilliant and surprising method was used to provide the information required to calculate the coordinates. I have no idea how the CO managed to make this work. This is a VERY special cache, and I suggest you add it to your To Do list to understand what I'm talking about!

Runners up include More Christmas Crackers and Secret Santa. These were my only FTFs of the year. The first one was in a stunning location with fantastic views. The second was reached following a good walk, and was also in a nice spot. Both caches were filled to the brim - I won't spoil it by saying what was inside them.

I have also enjoyed several series' this year. These include: SF, Grantchester Grind and the Little Compton extra loop. The latter was placed for our tenth CacheWalker Twixmas Bash, which was a great success - there were over 50 of us on the group walk!

I found my first caches in the Americas this year. I visited Colombia (South America) over the summer, and managed to find three (well, there aren't very many there...). The first was Santuario de Monserrate, placed in a special location overlooking the city of Bogotá. I was waiting for a new cache to be published there... I've now been FTF on at least one cache in three countries (UK, Spain, Italy) and a fourth would have been great! Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be...

There are lots of things I didn't manage to do which are on my list for next year. I'm keen to finally complete my D/T grid. I would also like to find my 3000th cache. With just 182 caches to go, it's certainly an achievable goal. Above all, I want to focus on finding quality caches. Finally, I promise that I'll make more of an effort to post on this blog!

So, I've thoroughly enjoyed geocaching in 2018. I've found some excellent caches, many of which have taken me to new places. Bring on 2019!

Happy New Year.

Griff Grof

2017's caching in review

Hello!

Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts on my blog this year. I haven't been caching much, so there hasn't been much to write about!

However, I decided it was still worth writing my annual 'In Review' blog post.

In August, we went on holiday to Italy, and found some fantastic caches. These included some Earthcaches in Rome, including in tourist hot-spots like the Trevi Fountain; the Earthcache within Vatican City was also great. I'm not really a fan of urban caching, but I do enjoy finding Virtuals/Earthcaches/Webcams in cities.

The main highlight of the holiday was our stay further south. Our visit to Pompeii was particularly notable. I was pleased to see that there were several caches within the ruins; the first one I found was inside the Theatre of Pompeii. It was tucked away inside the theatre itself - I have no idea how it's still there with so many muggles around! We also found a cache within the Amphitheatre of Pompeii, which is the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre in the world. It was brilliant to find these great caches in such a beautiful and historic location.

A few days later, I had a surprise FTF! It wasn't planned at all. We were in the area, and I checked the Geocaching app to see whether there were any caches nearby. There was one a few hundred feet away called Pictum Ferratum. After searching for a few minutes, I decided to check the recent logs to see whether the last finder had logged a DNF. I was shocked to see that it had never been logged before - despite being published in 2015! We kept searching and eventually I spotted it. The log was indeed blank - I couldn't believe that I was FTF on a foreign cache so long after its publication. This, in addition to the fact that it was in a breathtaking location, made it a very memorable and special find.

In the months that followed, I completed several series' and found a few more special caches.

The CacheWalker Twixmas Bash is always a highlight for me. This year's event (held today) was organised by Hogshunters, and they did a fantastic job. The walk was very enjoyable, with some good new caches to find along the way (see GC7FYQ0). The event itself was great as always - it was nice to continue geochatting and putting faces to names. Two reviewers were in attendance, and they kindly handed out some special trackable tags to all the attendees. Perfect to use for our CacheWalker TB race! It was also nice to receive a gift from our hosts - CacheWalker pens! Overall, it was a throughly enjoyable day - big thanks to Hogshunters for organising CacheWalker's ninth Twixmas/Twinew event!

Last month, I was re-elected as a GAGB committee member. Thank you to everyone who voted for me! I will continue to oversee the GAGB's website and social media channels.

Having considered all the caches I've found in 2017, one more has been now been added to my 'Cache of the Year' bookmark list: Pictum Ferratum. Why? It's in a stunning location, with breathtaking views, and the unexpected FTF made it particularly memorable.

In sum, I haven't found many caches this year, but I've been on some nice walks and found some quality caches. And that's what geocaching is all about.

Happy New Year and all the best for 2018.

Griff Grof

2016's caching in review

Hello!

This is my first post in months, sorry about that! I haven't been caching very much as I've been busy studying. However, I've still been on some fantastic walks and found some great caches this year. I've written several articles for the GAGB's Seeker Magazine about a few of them but sadly never got round to writing anything here.

This is my annual 'in review' blog post in which I recount the highlights of 2016's caching and assess the degree to which I've met the goals I set myself at the start of the year.

These were my goals:

1. Reach 3,000 finds
2. Find more than 576 caches (my current record)
3. Find more quality caches 
4. Complete more of my D/T grid
5. Place my next series

At time of writing, I've found 2,535 caches - so I am still not near to 3,000. I've found 258 caches this year. Whilst not my best count, it's still more than I found in 2013 and 2014. I filled in only one more space in my D/T grid with GC5X3MZ. However, it's not all doom and gloom! Far from it!

I have found some excellent, quality caches this year - and that's what matters most. I have just updated my Cache of the Year bookmark list highlighting my favourite finds. This year's winner is Mont Tendre: le sommet 1679m (GC59HC1). It's placed at the summit of Mont Tendre, which is the highest point of the Jura Mountains in Switzerland. The walk up was fantastic; the sun was out and our surroundings were simply beautiful. It was a unique experience to see so many friendly cows up there and hear their bells ringing, from both near and afar. The views were gobsmacking from the summit. We could see across Lac Leman to France and Mont Blanc, which is the highest mountain in the Alps. The sense of achievement was great and finding a nice cache container in good condition was the icing on the cake. We had a great walk back down the other side of the mountain too. You can read my article about this trip in a recent issue of the GAGB's Seeker Magazine.

The competition for my Cache of the Year has never been closer, with Amour Series Bonus (GC6D641) as the runner up. This was an immense ammo container that served as the finale of a super series of Multi caches. Each Multi had an ingenious first stage, each of which put a smile on my face. The caches themselves were all ammo cans. Other notable caches include Pi In The Sky (GC446E2), Magic Eye View (GCTV41) and Reloader's Cache#20 - Romainmôtier & le Nozon (GCQ8YJ).

I also thoroughly enjoyed various events. The Geolympix Mega was excellent and so was the GPS Maze, which was in the UK for the first time. I also had a great time at the CacheWalker Twixmas Bash yesterday. We were very lucky with the sunny weather for the pre-event group walk! Next year is CacheWalker's 10th anniversary so I'm excited to see how we'll celebrate it - I'm sure I'll have a lot to report in next year's 'in review' post!

In addition to meeting my goal to find quality caches, I managed to achieve my final one - to place a new series. It's called Brailes Bonanza and consists of 20 caches on a hilly route of 6 miles. I first walked the route back in May 2015, so I already had an idea of where I was going to place the caches. I really love the route - it's my favourite of all the series' I have placed! The views are fantastic and the area is so quiet. I chose the final route and designed the cache placements to reflect what I perceive to be the perfect formula for a series. Obviously this is subjective! I'm happy that several of the caches have quite a few favourite points now. I'm really looking forward to walking the route again and maintaining the caches in 2017.

Once again, I can conclude that finding quality caches is far more rewarding than seeking numbers and improving stats. The fact that I've managed to write a reasonably blog post having not found many caches or improved any stats is a testament to this.

Happy New Year and all the best to all for 2017.

Griff Grof

2015's caching in review

Hello!

It has been a while since my last post. I had begun to take a different attitude towards this blog - I thought there was no point posting about older cache loops since the majority of people have already completed them. I've been finding these older ones over the last couple of months. I thought it was more worthwhile reviewing newer caches on here.

Last week I realised I was wrong! There are almost 3 million caches in the world, and no one is anywhere near to finding all of them. A cacher may stumble across this blog who has never been anywhere near these supposedly old series', but wants to know if they're worth completing. So, rest-assured that in 2016 I will be blogging a lot more after caching.

Some of you may recognise a pattern here. New Year's Eve. "In review". Cache of the Year. Yep, it's time for my annual post reviewing my caching throughout the year - what I achieved, what I failed miserably at and what I hope to gain from Geocaching next year.

A good place to start is by looking at the goal I set myself earlier this year:

"This year I hope to get to 2,000 finds; it'd be nice to find than 522 caches (my current record) throughout the year. However, I will be concentrating on QUALITY caches, as I hope to truly rediscover what I have loved about Geocaching. Along the way, I'll be trying to beat previous stats records, as well as hopefully filling in more of my D/T grid. Most of all, I hope to have even more time to go caching this year. I also hope to place a new series, my first in three years."

Well, I have certainly achieved many of these things. I found my 2000th cache back in July. It was a fantastic walk along a beautiful stretch of coastal footpath and I couldn't have picked a better cache given the fact that I was in the area at the time and rapidly approaching the milestone. As I wrote in a blog post at the time, I had hoped to find a cache called Montserrat for my 2000th. This is the oldest cache in Spain, on a mountain of the same name. Unfortunately I didn't even find it when holidaying in Spain a month later - maybe next year - maybe I can get a move on and make it my 3000th! Despite this, I am still glad that I got to find a quality cache for the occasion!

The view from my 2000th, Start Point

It feels like 2015's caching was all about the summer. I found almost 100 caches the week I found my 2000th, and I beat my most in a month throughout August, setting 159 as my new record. I had a great time walking the final two loops of the GMS series in the Chilterns (see 2012 post), caching on Dartmoor and completing what I consider to be my favourite series of the year, TRotAM (see #1).

But there were also some great walks during the winter months, such as the Great Cotswold Walk which I wrote quite a bit about on this blog earlier this year. All these great trips helped me notch up more cache finds to finally beat my 2012 record of 522 for a calendar year - this year I found 576! So, my goal has been achieved in that I have beaten some previous stat records. I haven't been so successful in terms of filling in more of my D/T grid. I had trips to the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia planned to fill in some rare squares but these never happened. However, I filled in 9 spaces in my grid, the most I've filled in since 2010. I hope to complete a lot more of my grid next year as one of my main goals.

Views along the TRotAM series - Mam Tor ridge

I also said that I wanted to place my first series in three years. This hasn't happened. I walked the route way back in MAY but never got round to placing the caches - I guess I was concentrating on finding this year more than hiding. However, I've got everything in place to set the series next year - as long as someone doesn't beat me to it - fingers crossed! I reckon that I will wait until June/July as it's a good walk for the summer. Watch this space!

Finally, I recall that a year ago today I said that I hoped to "rediscover Geocaching". Have I? Of course I have! Every year I update my Cache of the Year Bookmark List, and this year the title goes to TWW - The Worcestershire Whopper! - it is a fantastic, quality cache which I will remember for some time. Not far behind it are Santa Margarida (GCQ9C4), When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney (GC6738V) and the caches I found whilst visiting Imber last week, GC434WG and GCKCJV. Obviously I didn't find all the "gems" I had wanted to this year with several trips not materialising, but there's always next year. I have rediscovered Geocaching - every cache I've found this year has oozed quality in one way or another, and none have been found simply for the numbers. I hope you too have played the game in the way you most enjoy it - whether you prefer quality, quantity or a bit of both.

So, in summary, next year I hope to find more great caches, possibly beat my best in one year again and fill in more of my D/T grid. 3000 would be nice, but I know it's going to be a busy year, and you've got to be realistic - I'll try though!

Keep your eye out for washknight's Interrogation questions soon - he sent them to me several months ago and I've been meaning to post my answers - it'll happen, I haven't forgotten.

All I have left to say is Happy New Year. Thanks to all of you who have been a part of my Geocaching in 2015, it has been my best caching year yet. It was an honour to be elected onto the GAGB committee last month, thanks to all of you who voted for me. I'm joint webmaster, and I look forward to helping out in other ways as well over the next year.

Bring on 2016 with even more quality walks and caches

Griff Grof

2014 in review

Hello!

It's been months since my last post - you've guessed it, I haven't been caching much! However, I've been working towards a cache known as TWW - when I find it, I'll write about it and the feeder caches!

Also, on Sunday I attended the 2014 CacheWalker Twixmas Bash, rescued by strongsRus and Calabrian Dreamer who executed a magnificent and uplifting group walk and a great, welcoming event in Shenington with delicious bacon butties by RTM.

Don't think I'm going to go in to the details though (I rambled on way too much in my log anyway) as this is my annual post reviewing my year's caching.

The year began with a find rate of 43/day - that would have equated to over 15,000 finds over the year. Of course, that's impossible - I'd be surprised if anyone could find 43 caches every day of the year. Yet, 43 a week is perhaps feasible at a push - that'd have upped my count by over 2,000. You've guessed it, I couldn't keep that up either.

In fact, I only found 149 caches this year - that's nearly half the total I found last year, which I already thought was the lowest I could go. What's more, I beat my own slump record - I went 128 days without a single find.

I wouldn't believe you if you said that I've been caching for five years - I'm certainly not where I wanted to be numbers-wise; I hit 1,000 in April 2012 and had aimed to hit 2,000 by December 2013 at the very, very latest; I've still got 296 caches to go!

But, you know what, who cares. I've felt disillusioned with Geocaching recently, but I hope that's about to change. It is a very different scene to how it was five years ago, with new caches and walks being of low standards compared to the 'classics' I remember from my early caching days. Change can be good though, and there are some excellent new concepts for caches popping up; such as what I've seen in the feeder caches for the TWW cache I'm working towards.

This year began with a surprisingly good larger series, before finding my first Lab Cache, completing a CacheWalker walk by Wrighty, a fantastic series in the heart of Gloucestershire, the summiting of two mountains, some great caches in Spain and a superb Wiltshire loop before we concluded the year with the Twixmas event's Shenington Shuffle series.

As is now tradition, I have selected my cache of the year. The title goes to 'Ashton Circular 1- ABFTN Dog & Bone' (GC5AWQ0) - as one of the feeder caches for TWW, I shan't go in to too much detail as I'll talk you through it in a future post. I will, however, say that the first stage was fantastic, the second good and solvable, the twist brilliant and the container superb and well-stocked - it's easy to see why everyone who's found the cache has awarded it a favourite point!  Not far behind were El Predró de Pals (GCVBCR), The First in Wales (GC2BA) and the CacheWalker Twixmas event day (GC5HGYE). If I had found more caches the whole result could have been different - for what I found, though, the winner and runners-up are no-brainers!

So, what does 2015 hold? Well, only time will tell - I'd love to finally hit 2,000, but I've said that for three consecutive years now - of course I'm going to try, though. Most of all, I want 2015 to be the year I truly rediscover Geocaching - enough with these milestones, stats challenges and find rates. Bring on the gems - virtuals in fascinating locations, great caches in beautiful spots, and loops so good that you realise why you've stuck with the hobby for so many years. I want to rediscover the brilliance of the sport; be taken to new locations, enjoy new experiences and be wowed by fantastic caches.

Happy New Year - hopefully you too will consider re-approaching Geocaching in the light you most enjoy it in.

Griff Grof

2013's caching in review

So, another year over; but it wouldn't be complete without my annual 'Caching In Review' post. This year, I set myself the goal to get 2000 finds, grab 100 more Wrighty caches and find more than 510 caches throughout the year, all whilst beating stats records along the way. How did I do? Quite frankly, not well. Firstly, though, let's take a look back on the caching year as a whole... 

It all started with an epic hike up two peaks in the Brecon Beacons, and finished with  a cracking CacheWalker. In between, I can firmly say that we did not complete a single poor series this year: each one was only selected if the series had a considerable amount of favourite points and/or I could see evidence of positive reviews. Consequently, I have thoroughly enjoyed every caching trip this year... Therefore, this year has been more quality-focussed, rather than quantity-focussed. I've found some very memorable caches, and the highlight, for me, was finding five 5/5s in a single day - previously, I had embarrassingly found none. No surprise, I can confirm that my Cache of the Year for 2013 is "Below Above - Fallen Monarch" ( GC2GAMT ) - It was difficult choosing just one of these caches, but I chose this one as there was more to see (workmen's tools, interesting graffiti, a crane etc) in comparison to the other caches. Also, your first 5/5 is always going to remain more memorable than those which follow after, this was also my reasoning behind selecting it. 

Now, back to those goals: I reached 1555 finds, meaning I found 229 caches throughout the year. I doubt I found even 20 Wrighty caches, let alone 100. I would say that the only stat-related thing I achieved was filling in more squares in my D/T grid thanks to more unique caches, such as the Below Above's. But don't think for one second that I'm disappointed! I've had a blast, and I feel even more welcome in the caching community as I've continued to help CacheWalker grow, and joined several other groups/forums, and attended their respective events. I have even been out in to the field with caching friends on several occasions, which, always, adds to the enjoyment. 

So, what does 2014 hold caching-wise for Griff Grof? Well, I'm going to push forward to 2000 as fast as I can (will probably kick off the year with a series of 46 caches,) and I might even push myself to find 1000 throughout year - it's been an ambition from mine from the start... little and often might to the trick - thankfully, I've got plenty of unfound local caches! However, I will NOT compromise on quality for quantity - choosing destinations by favourite points and positive reviews will continue - not sure how good the series of 46 is, though - it's only new! I'm also hoping to beat my current Geofrenzy by finding 100+ caches in a day, fill in more of my D/T grid and calendar and beat any other stats-related records set. Finally, I hope to attend as much events as I can... I haven't been to many this year! 

So, watch out! Griff is back, and he's here to stay - 2014 will be a good one. 

Happy New Year to you all!

Griff Grof

Another years caching over... 2012 in review

What a year 2012 has been for caching! Unlike 2011, it hasn't really had any major downs - apart from not finding much caches in the second half - but instead has seen a rise in the quality of caches, and I've surprisingly managed to break ALL my previously set records. You're in the right place as I'll be reviewing my years caching in detail, looking back to the past, and the future as another years caching begins tomorrow. It's surprising how quickly time does fly, and this year was no exception!

The year kicked off with some ABFTN caches, which were very clever. We then embarked on several trails in Wiltshire, before Wrighty invited me to an event with him on January 15th - never before would I have imagined the local caching celebrity, Wrighty, to invite me caching - it was an honour! We went caching in the area beforehand, and generally had a great day.

I went with him again in February where we completed the QBS series, before summiting White Horse Hill and going onto the Cold War Cache, which I can announce is my cache of the year! This was where my new rule of quality over quantity began taking play - one simple cache could represent hundreds!

This month was also the start of a long and fun journey, as I attended the CacheWalker Butcher Bash event, having helped out with some of the activities. I launched a new forum as admin for CacheWalker on February, and introduced all sorts of new ideas such as Weekly Polls. The forum was the start of a journey for me with CacheWalker, as I ended up co-organising the next two CacheWalker events after that, which was an honour to play such a part in a caching groups of what was originally my local caching celebrities!

March and April saw me break whole new records. In March I finally logged my 1000th find, Topofthehill, after a super day - it was my main goal of the year, and it was already achieved on a very worthy cache. April saw me break an even bigger record, which wasn't even a goal, originally! I found 156 caches throughout the month, which I felt was a huge achievement. Plus, by this time, my series 'Snowshill Scramble' was receiving very positive reviews, and I enjoyed checking over it on my first maintenance run. I also checked over my resoundingly popular (somehow) Westcote Wander and got each and every cache back into tip-top condition.

The summer truly was a festival for Geocaching, as the Geolympix branded it as. After a quieter month in June having missed out on the CacheWalker climb up Snowdon, July brought more records and highlights for the year. I attended the Geolympix Mega event, on the very day that I managed to bag 11 icons in 11 hours. Then two days later, I broke my record for most in one day, with the Geolympix Mega Ring, bagging 65 caches in a day! The summer continued with some caching Spanish-style, and then in September it ended with a rather wet CacheWalker picnic event!

In October, I remembered I had set myself another goal to find 100 more Geocaches by my fave cache hider Wrighty. So, we set off to do one of his most talked about series' "Many Steps" which was wonderful, and one of my highlights. Caching then took a slow down until Twixmas, as things got busy elsewhere in life (in other words... 'taxi's' were booked! Haha!)

And, of course, the years caching concluded in true CacheWalker style yesterday at the Twixmas Bash.  A perfect end to a good years caching.

So how did I do? Well I didn't find 100 more Wrighty caches, so that's one for next year! But I did beat my best in 1 year, one of my original goals, hitting 510 caches for the year. I also managed to reach my last original goal - to find my 1000th cache. So overall a successful year of caching for me, the best yet.

What does 2013 hold? Will I spur on to 2000 finds? Will I find 200 more caches by Wrighty? No goals set yet, just going to go with the flow and enjoy whatever the caching world has in store for me next year.

Happy new Year to all!

Griff Grof