How to still enjoy geocaching even in a pandemic lockdown

Lockdowns seem to have kept coming thick and fast over the past few months in the UK. No sooner had we got out of one national lockdown, a few weeks later, we were thrown back into another. And there was no respite from the tough restrictions for some, with various countywide restrictions in place in the interim period. 

 

These ‘stay at home’ orders have certainly taken their toll on many people for many different reasons. They particularly have an impact on your physical and mental wellbeing, which is why it is so important to have hobbies and interests that get you away from the 24 hour Covid news cycle and your make shift ‘work from home’ office. 

But how do you pursue these hobbies, if they require travelling away from home or socialising with other people?  

As a geocacher it has been tough. Whilst we’ve been told we are still allowed to get outdoors for exercise during lockdowns, it has never been very clear how far you can travel for that exercise. 

The buzzword seems to be ‘local’, but in reality what does ‘local’ mean? Even the prime minster was frowned upon when he went on a 7 mile bike ride from his prestigious London home. So is a measly 7 miles too far? And if it is, what do you do, when a bit more travel is required to be able to go for a walk and grab some unfound geocaches on your map? 

I’m sure many geocachers have been contemplating the same questions. Like me, some have no doubt turned their hand to other leisurely pursuits, like DIY, baking, art and crafts, but if your passion is geocaching, none of these really come close to that. 

 

However, it is possible to still enjoy some of the delights of geocaching without breaking the lockdown rules. I’ve found that with a bit of careful planning over the last year, and a more creative, all round approach to how I pursue my favourite pastime, I can still experience some of its joys, even during a lockdown.    

 

Firstly, and possibly the best alternative to getting out and finding geocaches, is to set some new ones in the local area. It gets you out on a good walk or bike ride, using your GPs in a similar way, and makes use of your creative skills. 

I’ve noticed many geocachers have been doing this over the last year and as a result we all have hundreds more caches to go and find when restrictions are lifted – oh the joy last summer when I saw so many new caches popping up on the map. It’s also a nice way to give back to others who enjoy the same hobby…after all if we all only went out and found geocaches, there wouldn’t actually be any to find! 

 

I haven’t set as many as other people, but I did replace the tired trail up on Cavenham Heath and added a few more caches along the route, as well as putting together 5 labs caches and a bonus cache in Mildenhall. 

 

During the recent lockdown, I’ve been hard at work developing my next set of five lab caches, and hope to publish them in the not too distant future, hopefully with at least one new physical cache, maybe more if I get myself organised.  

 

Another opportunity to enjoy part of the geocaching experience, without breaking any rules, has been to spend the long, dark, winter evenings solving many of the mystery caches on my map. I used to spend an awful lot of times trying to solve geocache puzzles, but over the past couple of years I haven’t done as much, preferring to use my free time to find caches rather than spending hours in mental anguish over a tricky puzzle.  

 

Looking at a few again recently, I actually surprised myself by solving them rather quickly, even the trickier difficulty 4s and 5s. And I had forgotten, that almost euphoric feeling you get when you find those secret co-ordinates and the checker goes green.  

 

Returning to a bit of puzzle solving has been a great way to while away a few hours, and get a great sense of self achievement. Not to mention, giving the mind a good work out too. However, I hasten to add there’s still more to do…there are certainly a few that even with a fresh pair of eyes, 2-3 years on, still seem uncrackable! 

 

Aside from setting and solving caches, it is still possible to go out and find a few in a lockdown. This is where the careful planning comes in. 

Following the first lockdown in Spring 2020, I felt it was inevitable that we were going to see more peaks and troughs as the whole Covid business played out, so I wisely set aside any newly published local caches. It meant losing out on a few FTF opportunities, but I knew I might need them to keep me sane in any future lockdowns.  And boy was I right! 

 

I’ll be telling you about all those fun trips out in my next blog, including two of the best caches I have ever found. Until then stay local, stay safe.