Caches Nos. 39 to 46 – Technology Change 2 – Garmin Vista HCX

When I had been camping with my friends I had been impressed with DivingDJ’s Oregon 300 and the map function thereon, so when I got back I started watching Ebay for a suitable replacement to the basic Etrex I had… A few days later a ‘New’ Vista HCX was offered for sale at £135… 2/3rds the RRP so I snapped it up. (The basic Etrex was sold on Ebay for £50, a tenner more than I bought it for !)

On the following Sunday I decided to take it for a test drive on a 4 mile walk around Swinsty Reservoir and collect the series of caches that had been placed there
 
July 5th 2009 – Dob Park Bridge Cache GCZAAV – Cache #39
First I had to do a little stop on the way to pick up a cache further down the Washburn Valley, pretty obvious from about 25 feet away where the cache was going to be… but you wouldn’t find it by accident.
From this cache I retrieved my first Travel Bug – TB26Z3H – Clankenn Amber
 
July 5th 2009 – Land Of The Witches GCQZY5 – Cache #40
Park in car park… head over to ice cream van to buy ice-cream… proceed to walk on footpath round reservoir.
This cache wasn’t so easy to find as the hint refers to a particular item… of which there are two at the cache site… I spent a while looking around the wrong one before trying the other and finding the cache.
  
July 5th 2009 – Swintsy wincy spider GC14CMT – Cache #41
One of the harder ones to get during the walk, not because of dificulty of finding it, but because the walk is very popular on a sunny Sunday and there were a lot of people around and about this one
 
July 5th 2009 – Up a Level ! GC1CBZ0 – Cache #42
Branching off the main path and up into the woods left behind almost all the other walkers, and provided a test for the Vista, how good was it under tree cover ? answer pretty good, it led me straight to this cache anyway 🙂  
Took my second Travel bug from here – TB2QFH4 – Mustard’s Cheeky Monkey
 
July 5th 2009 – Teddy Bears’ Picnic GC14RYW – Cache #43
This cache is in the middle of a forest that is being forested, any paths and trails that were there have been obliterated as have most of hte trees. The cache itself is not where the clue and hint led you too but a few yards away having been found and rescued by a Forester who kindly moved it to a safer similar place nearby
 
July 5th 2009 – Holding half of the water back…. GC1CBY1 – Cache #44
An easy one to find even on a roadside filled with Muggles (have I mentioned Muggles before ? – The Geocaching worlds term for non caching folk, taken from the term for non-magical folk in Harry Potter)  A magnetic cache so it was a quick reach down, swipe the cache container, walk a few yards open it and sign the log (looking like you are writing a note in a notebook) then walk back and replace the container – by this time there’s a new set of Muggles about so they none see you both retrieve and replace the cache. 
 
July 5th 2009 – Troll’s Treasure GC1KE4A – Cache #45
This is not a cache on the circuit around Swinsty, but is only about 100 yards down the path towards Fewston reservoir, biggest hazard finding this cache are the nettles !
 
July 5th 2009 – Swinsty view… GC1CBY6 – Cache #46
The last of the caches round Swinsty and it’s back to the basic 35mm film cannister hidden in the roots of a tree under a rock… not particularly imaginative placing 

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