Our geocaching has really slowed down these days due to winter. It’s not that I don’t like winter. In fact, I couldn’t wait to go walking this morning so I could enjoy the snow that was falling.

After a combination of snow, rain, and below-zero temperatures, the trails have transformed into sheets of bare ice. Where it isn’t ice, the snowmobilers have left tracks impossible to walk in. Walking is taking your life in your own hands.

I have to admit that I miss it. I miss being out on the hunt. I bought a pair of YakTrax for walking on the trails. Hopefully, that will help. In any case, the weatherman is promising warmer temperatures this weekend. We may even hit 30 degrees. You know you’re from Minnesota when…

Photo by watford

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This weekend is going to make for some tough geocaching. Last weekend, it rained, no, it poured. All day Saturday it rained and rained. Then, it froze. Temperatures are dipping below-zero tonight. That means only one thing: I have to add an ice pick to my geo-bag.

It’s so hard geocaching when it freezes like this. A soggy logbook is one thing. However, when it cracks apart because it’s frozen, that’s a totally different ammo can of swag.

So, these are the times I gravitate to the “winter friendly” geocaches. I wish more geocachers would list this as a characteristic of a cache. It’s so frustrating to go after that 1.5/1.5 cache only to learn that it is impossible to find under a foot of snow.

In any case, it’s going to be a tough geocaching weekend.

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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Woodstream. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fall leading into winter is a tough time for wildlife. Minnesota is a classic example. Right now, there is about 14 inches of snow on the ground. Temperatures have barely climbed above zero. If those are not stressful conditions, then I do not know what stress is.

As a geocacher, I naturally have a great love of the outdoors. We have had our share of nuisance wildlife issues from woodpeckers to red squirrels. Here are some Animal Trapping Tips.

Look for a cause for nuisance wildlife selecting your home. Are garbage cans easily accessible? Are there other things that wildlife can get into that are making your home desirable? As long as your house offers the vital things that animals need, they will target it. If you do not remove the cause, you are only perpetuating the problem.

Be careful when dealing with trapped wildlife. These are stressed and scared animals. Approach them slowly and cautiously. Consider using a humane trap such as Havahart Easy Set Large Animal Trap or the Havahart Easy Set Small Animal Trap which protect you from contact with the animal.

Release animals promptly back into the wild. Do not prolong their stress nor yours. After you’ve removed the nuisance wildlife, take extra measures to prevent future conflicts. Remember, an animal that approaches a home is desperate. Most wildlife would prefer to avoid humans. Do not tempt them with food or desirable habitat for the good of their safety and your own.

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One aspect of geocaching that I especially enjoy is encountering wildlife. Since geocaching often takes you off the beaten path, you have new opportunities to observe wildlife, in situ. For me, that is priceless.

January marks National Bird Feeding Month. It’s a time to remember our feathered friends that add to the enjoyment of the outdoors. It is also a time to create awareness about the proper way to use a bird feeder. If you’re going to set up a bird feeder, you’re committing to the long haul. A bird feeder is a reliable source of food. Make it one.

Birds are vulnerable this time of year. Food resources are scarce. The weather can be tough, like this past week in the land of 10,000 lakes. Below zero temperatures and significant snow cover are especially challenging for all wildlife.

Place the feeder well away from buildings and trees to discourage squirrels. Squirrels are hungry too, but their metabolism gives them more of an advantage. Besides, a bird feeder, properly placed, can benefit resident populations and migrants alike. These are stressed animals, in need of food. Use a squirrel guard to prevent loss of seed stock.

Provide other food sources such as suet and fruits to supply a complete diet. Birds are stressed as it is, to say nothing of dietary deficiencies. Give them a source of high quality nutrition to help them through the stressful winter months.

Birds add so much pleasure to our time outdoors. Return the favor and provide them a reliable food source when they need it most.

Photo by *clarity*

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I want to wish everyone the best of new years. Here’s to your plans and goals. May you achieve your dreams.

Photo by The Gifted Photographer

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I have always enjoyed maps. Perhaps it is from those days of family vacations. While my dad drove us, I would often be the one with the map, navigating to the next exit or tourist site.

As a geocacher, you learn to love maps very quickly. They help you plan your geocaching trip. Topographical maps guide your trail walking. Road maps get you to your destination. However, there is so much more to be learned from maps.

One of the many items on my bucket list is a trip to the Lake District. I want to go to a place where walking is such a revered activity. The pictures that I have seen of the Lake District are truly breathtaking. There is good news then for British walkers and travelers. Maps from the British Geological Survey are now online.

While I have written before about all things outdoors from outdoor clothing to geo-hazards, there is one aspect of hitting the trails that I had not considered–false compass readings from magnetic rocks.

As you probably know, shown on every topo map is the map declination. This diagram shows the between the local magnetic field and true north. This is the direction toward teh geographic North Pole. Since the surface of the Earth is curved, this figure is necessary for proper navigation. Ignoring it can mean the difference between reaching your destination or ending up someplace very different than you intended.

So with geocaching, map reading becomes a necessary skill because as we all know, our GPS unit will direct us in the direction as the crow flies, not necessarily the most convenient one.

Another good use for topo maps is to find alternative routes. How many times have you gone out specifically to an area to geocache only to find out that there is construction at the main entrance or spring floods have washed out part of the trail? Been there, done that.

A good map gives you that bird’s eye view of the site. You can choose your path to avoid the steep elevation or head to it if flooding is directing your course. A good use I’ve found for topo maps is also to identify areas of wetlands. Sometimes, the best way to a geocache is to bushwhack–but not when you have to slog through a half mile of wetlands.

Maps are your friends. They have so much to tell you. The location of the geocache is only the start.

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This time of year, the hunt is on for winter-friendly geocaches. Polar regions have permafrost. Minnesota has perma-snow once the first snowfall arrives, at least through the end of winter.

For us, a winter-friendly cache is one not likely to be inaccessible because of snow or ice. That means, it’s not located under a log or rock, where it’s likely to be buried under a foot of the white stuff. More often than not, we go after one of those “easy” 1.5/1.5 caches only to find the find impossible. Later, when we go back to erase that DNF, there it is, an easy grab. I hate that.

I kind of wish that classifying a cache as winter-friendly or not were more routine. I can understand how it can be hard to visualize what winter conditions may bring. We consider that when it is a cache that is only boat accessible. For my part, I’d like to know what I’m up against going for a cache in the winter, but I suppose that is just part of the game.
Photo by macthanos

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