2010 Caching Diary

The Gardners » Caching Progress » 2010 Caching Diary

A caching diary for 2010, my first year, so quite a short diary, but a diary nevertheless.

This post really just sets up the caching diaries from subsequent years, there’s no comparison of progress because there’s no history before 2010.

2010 yielded 273 total finds from a start point towards the end of May. It was my least busy year, but then the bug had yet to take hold.

Let’s start by posting some images and discussing a few potential targets.

Days Found

This section just shows days of the year on which I’ve found caches. My matrix for 2010 looks like this.

End of Year Summary – Meh! I’ve done a few.

Days Placed

This one is all about filling in dates in the year when caches were placed rather than when I found them. My 2010 matrix looks like this.

End of Year Summary – Done a surprisingly large number

Months Placed

The matrix of months since caching started. Now this one is a bit tricky to complete because it requires finding some quite old caches. There aren’t so many of them around and it takes careful choice. However, as I discovered recently, if you go for older caches you tend to find bigger boxes and more spectacular locations, on average. My status at the end of 2010 was like this.

How did I manage to do so many different months?

Difficulty/Terrain

Caches are rated 1-5 for difficulty and 1-5 for terrain, with half points awarded, so that makes a matrix of 9×9. This looks quite tricky to complete.

Here is the snapshot of my 2010 efforts.

End of Year Summary – 29 out of 81 seems OK for just 273 total finds.

UK and Ireland Counties

And finally the counties map.

I had absolutely no expectation of being able to finish this off as it requires traveling to the furthest extents of the UK to finish.

Here is my snapshot of this matrix at the end of 2010.

End of Year Summary – 10 counties completed. I didn’t get about very much.

New Countries

Bizarrely, my first ever cache was in Morocco, but apart from that I didn’t gain any countries other than the UK, as I didn’t go anywhere else.

Month-by-Month

So what did I actually do on the caching front in 2010 then?

May (1 find)

• 25^th May – our first ever find, in Marrakech (see A New Sport) – 1 find

June (21 finds)

• 11^th June – we went went out in Tattenhoe to find some supposedly simple caches but found nowt (see Tattenhoe Trial)
• 13^th June – we went around Furzton Lake and made our first ever UK finds (see Furzton Frenzy) – 5 finds
• 15^th June – we scooted off around Tattenhoe and Westcroft on the bikes (see Cache & Dash) – 5 finds
• 20^th June – we were up at my folks in Measham and they joined us in a quick scuttle around Donisthorpe (see Donisthorpe Donder) – 3 finds
• 21^st June – I finally found an irritating one nearby in Tattenhoe (see Linear Luck) – 1 find
• 26^th June – we grabbed a few caches up in Stony Stratford (see Stony Strut) – 7 finds

July (46 finds)

• 2^nd July – we grabbed a couple of quickies near home (see Easy Emerson) – 2 finds
• 3^rd July – we collected a couple at Willen Lake (see Willen Wander) – 2 finds
• 4^th July – we found a couple in Shenley Wood (see Shenley Shuffle) – 2 finds
• 5^th July – we returned to Shenley Wood for a couple more (see Shenley Shuffle Return) – 2 finds
• 6^th July – I met Kas in Broughton for a quickie or two (see Brisk Broughton) – 2 finds
• 9^th July – we popped out at lunchtime for one of the Mission Impossible series (see Mission Impossible) – 1 find
• 10^th July – we had free childcare and wento the pub on our bikes (see Pub Pootle) – 5 finds
• 12^th July – Kas picked up one in Bletchley (see Sweet Music) – 1 find
• 14^th July – we popped out at lunchtime again for another Mission Impossible (see Mission Impossible) – 1 find
• 15^th July – I biked over to Monkston in the evening (see Monkston Madness) – 6 finds
• 16^th July – we made a return trip to Stony Stratford (see Friday Night Cache) – 4 finds
• 17^th July – the girls and me grabbed a couple in Willen while Kas was running (see Dinosaur Roarrrrrrr) – 2 finds
• 18^th July – we grabbed a couple on Willen North Lake – 2 finds
• 19^th July – I went out at lunchtime to fetch one near work – 1 find
• 21^st July – Kas grabbed one up in Calverton while out running – 1 find
• 23^rd July – I grabbed one whilst out on a business trip then I did a few more at home in the evening (see Breakfast at Tibshelf) – 4 finds
• 25^th July – we took our bikes and had a hack down the iBletchWin Trail series – 5 finds
• 28^th July – we had a flash of inspiration (see iBletchWinspiration) – 3 finds

August (63 finds)

• 1^st August – A few finds in Saint-Malo (see Swimming & St Malo) – 4 finds
• 4^th August – A wander round France’s second most popular tourist attraction (see Mont St Michel) – 7 finds
• 6^th August – A trip out to the lovely Pink Granite Coast of Brittany (see Pink Granite Coast) – 3 finds
• 7^th August – An afternoon wander around the seaside town of Dinard (see Dinard Donder) – 7 finds
• 9^th August – A drive back across France to see some embroidery and a famous beach (see Norman Conquests) – 3 finds
• 10^th August – An afternoon gawping at canal locks followed by an evening dash into Dinard (see Hédé and Dinard)- 2 finds
• 11^th August – A trip to the beach and a further attempt at parking in Dinard (see Cancale and Dinard)- 4 finds
• 12^th August – A final trip into the centre of Saint Malo (see St Malo & Dinan)- 2 finds
• 15^th August – A few close to home in Milton Keynes – 3 finds
• 18^th August – Our first ever caching event (see Bordering on the Ridiculous #32) – 1 find
• 19^th August – Two puzzles that had been bugging me (see Tattenhoe Tally-Ho !) – 2 finds
• 20^th August – A quick dash out from work (see Fat Food Friday) – 3 finds
• 21^st August – A single cache on a lunchtime dash – 1 find
• 22^nd August – A walk in the woods with some added family (see Linford Wood) – 5 finds
• 23^rd August – Shooting blind on a walk out from lunch with no GPS (see Wavendon Wander) – 2 finds
• 27^th August – A single local cache – 1 find
• 29^th August – A windy day in the North-East (see Windy Weekend) – 8 finds
• 30^th August – More windy Geordies (see Windy Weekend) – 3 finds
• 31^st August – And a couple more before driving down south again (see Windy Weekend) – 2 finds

September (32 finds)

• 2^nd September – A random nearby puzzle cache GC28BVJ – Magiovinium, Home of the Codebreakers – 1 find
• 3^rd September – We went up to the north of Milton Keynes for a few in the evening (see It’s Grim Up North) – 4 finds
• 5^th September – I grabbed a couple while Ami was doing some plastic rock climbing (see Off the Wall) – 2 finds
• 7^th September – I biked up to Wolverton to grab a few (see Wolverton) – 3 finds
• 9^th September – a quick find from the Mission Impossible series (see Mission Impossible) – 1 find
• 10^th September – We collected an awkward little Herbert we’d spent quite a while figuring out (GC284BV – Bletchley, Home of the Codebreakers) – 1 find
• 11^th September – A weekend at my folks house (see Donisthorpe Again – 9 finds
• 12^th September – A random couple on the way home from my folks’ house – 2 finds
• 14^th September – One quick find on the way home after having failed to find something else – 1 find
• 15^th September – A quick find at the services on the M6 Toll on my way up to Blackpool – 1 find
• 16^th September – A couple of troublesome ones near home, including another of the Mission Impossible series – 2 finds
• 24^th September – A couple of finds in the middle of Milton Keynes – 2 finds
• 25^th September – A trip out on the bike (see Back on the Bike) – 3 finds

October (73 finds)

• 2^nd October – I found a few whilst stalking Milton Keynes to plan a cache I eventually never set (see Casing the Joint) – 4 finds
• 3^rd October – A Sunday afternoon jaunt up the north end (see Over the Fields) – 4 finds
• 9^th October – A quick single find in Willen (GC15PWQ – UT TENSIO, SIC VIS) – 1 find
• 10^th October – A handful of finds whilst planning one of my Schooldays series (see 10km Route Planning) – 4 finds
• 14^th October – I had a cold so I took the afternoon off and went caching in the fresh air (see Going Wild in Woburn) – 18 finds
• 17^th October – A quick dash up to Brickhill Woods – 4 finds
• 20^th October – A BBH event cache and my 200th find, down in Edlesborough – 2 finds
• 22^nd October – A handful around Caldecotte Lake while Kas took the kids up to her mum’s – 5 finds
• 23^rd October – A bunch of finds near Tring whilst waiting for my folks to come and visit – 20 finds
• 25^th October – A couple of quickies near home – 2 finds
• 26^th October – Another trip to Blackpool and another cache at a service station (GC1HA8R – Motorway Mayhem M6 Keele Services Northbound) – 1 find
• 29^th October – A walk in the newly planted woods near my folks house – 6 finds
• 30^th October – A trip to Bradgate Park for a couple – 2 finds

November (16 finds)

• 7^th November – A trip round some nearby redways – 3 finds
• 13^th November – A trip round some other nearby redways – 4 finds
• 17^th November – A drinking session in Manchester for a corporate jolly (GC1Y1XY – Manchester Sights – St John’s Gardens) – 1 find
• 18^th November – Another random motorway service cache (GC2J0ND – M6 Keele Services Southbound) – 1 find
• 20^th November – A muddy walk over the fields with Ami on a Sunday afternoon (GC1HKXY – Magiovinium) – 1 find
• 21^st November – A quick dash up the north of Milton Keynes – 4 finds
• 27^th November – Another quick dash, this time to Wolverton (GC1RFJH – On the way to the mill – Incy -Wincy)- 1 find
• 28^th November – A random find in a Milton Keynes park (GC15KZT – Park Life (Ouzel Valley)) – 1 find

December (21 finds)

• 9^th December – A quick find whilst setting a load of my own (GC2DAVQ – Gorrick’s Spring, Calverton.) (see MK Schooldays) – 1 find
• 13^th December – A single find whilst repositioning one of the Schooldays caches (GC15TM0 – Gold, Silver or Bronze) – 1 find
• 15^th December – A BBH event about which I remember very little (GC2J4CW – Bucks/Beds/Herts Border-ing on the Festive (#36)) – 1 find
• 16^th December – A couple of Milton Keynes quickies – 2 finds
• 20^th December – Some caching in Sunderland in the snow (see Gee! Snow Caching) – 3 finds
• 28^th December – A birthday plod near my folks house – 12 finds
• 29^th December – A final cache for the year (GC1R7ZT – LIVE) – 1 find

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