JerseyJoey
JerseyJoey
Interviewed November 2006
If you attended the recent Delaware Geocachers Fall Event, you'll recognize these two geocachers. The DebJoey team was given one of our ammo box awards but, in addition, it was noted that they have made the most rapid gain in the number of finds of any Delaware Geocacher.
Joe and Debra Burt live in New Castle, Delaware with the youngest of their 5 children, Susan. Debra is from Texas and Joe is from South Jersey. They enjoy caching with their son Sharpie24 and his family. Their grandson, Cowboysfan. also enjoys geocaching with them.
With this interview, here's your chance to learn a bit more about these prolific geocachers.
How did you become involved with geocaching - and how long have you been doing it?
We like to exercise and after doing a lot of hiking in the fall of 2005, we bought a GPS. The GPS was initially purchased to make sure we could always find our way back to the car. We discovered the Geocaching site on the internet in 2006 and quickly developed a new obsession.
How many caches have you found so far?
700+ (Editor's Note: As of November 1, the total was 737 - all found in these 4 states: Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia!)
At the recent Fall Event you were recognized for making an amazing number of finds recently. Please tell us more about how you came to do this.
Simple, we are hooked. Joe gets 3 to 4 days off a week so we take the time to explore.
Which type of cache do you prefer seeking - traditional, multi, puzzle, or virtual?
We both like traditional ones that involve a nice hike or a clever hide.
Which find was the most challenging?
Getting Around To It (GCNFGT) was most physically challenging, and House of the Rising Sun (GCT5HY) was most mentally challenging.
This had to be one of the toughest climbs and it was all because we took the wrong way in! We wound up doing the cache twice in the same day. I was just impressed I made it where we went!
Which was the easiest?
Any light post cache.
Which was your favorite?
Moos Cache (GCTCRX) was in an out of the way place near Coatesville PA and included all the things we like in geocaching. We went with our son and his family and after finally finding parking it was a beautiful 1⁄2 mile hike with a creek on one side and tall hills on the other. It led to a Covered Bridge and then an uphill climb to the cache site. Also really liked Waterside (GCW07J) for its unique hide.
What's the most unusual thing you've found in a cache?
Cache air freshener and a “Grow a vacation “ kit. Just add water
Have you had any memorable experiences while seeking a cache?
Islands in the Stream (GCG12P) was memorable because we had to ford a creek and got totally soaked.
We searched for quite a while before we found it. Then we had to wade back across. We not only squished all the way back to the car but were covered with sand. What we won’t do to get a cache.
What advice would you give to a beginning geocacher?
Don’t start with micros or ones by anybody with the nickname “sticker boy“. Find some 1/1 or 2/2 difficulty traditional caches, and read the write-up and the logs to determine how easy the find will be. Then follow your GPS and look for trails to the cache and not just bushwhack because the GPS points that way. We found out the hard way.
How many caches have you placed?
4
(Editor's Note: They are - Bottled Buttons (GCYG6V) a 2/3 traditional; Pirates of the Delaware (GCYDEM) a 2/1.5 puzzle, I Love Lattes by (GCWHMJ) a 2.5/1 traditional, and Battery Park Rocks! (GCW3MM) a 1/1 traditional
Have any of them proven to be more "popular" than what you expected?
All of them
Have any of them proven to be more difficult to find than you expected?
Yes, I Love Lattes
Have any of them been muggled? If, so how did you handle this?
When at first you have been muggled - Try, Try again. Battery Park Rocks was rehiden in a slightly different, hopefully more muggle-proof location. I Love Lattes was replaced.
What's your best caching story?
We did a cache in PA recently that was a 1/1 in difficulty. We arrived at the parking and were less than 200’ away. The GPS kept leading us to the middle of the parking lot. Turns out we were looking at the parking coords. Reset with correct coords at .15 miles away.
Joe led us up the wrong path where we had to bushwhack up a steep, rocky incline and thru thick underbrush like Indiana Jones .
Once up the hill Joe led us down the other side which was not only steep but so slippery I slid halfway down the hill. Bruised and muddy we then realized we could have taken a leisurely stroll in on the nice flat road where we landed.
The cache turned out to be about 3 feet off the road. Leave it to us to turn a 1/1 into a 4 terrain difficulty.
What advice would you give to someone designing a cache placement?
Place a cache in an area you are familiar with and want to share with others.
Beside geocaching, what other things do you like to do?
What!, people actually do other things?
Which Delaware cache site would you'd like to see featured on the web page and why?
Estrella SBUX REDUX(GCJRWP). Very clever hide, at one of our favorite coffee joints.
Thanks, DebJoey, for sharing these answers with us.