LadyH
LadyH
Interviewed January 2009
Our Featured Geocacher this month is LadyH also knows as Hostanut's caching partner in life as well as Geocaching. She tells some of her best caching stories and what the "H" in her caching name signifies.....
- How would you introduce yourself?
I am LadyH. the H stands for hummingbird NOT for hostanut who is my partner in life as well as in caching. We have three children (2 cache) and three grandchildren (all 3 cache). I'm also known as Genie 
How did you become involved with geocaching - and how long have you been doing it?
Our oldest daughter and son-in-law (navigator and dww9) took us on our first cache in 2001 and I’ve been hooked ever since. Caching gets me outdoors and allows me to discover places (historical, nature, etc) that I can share with family and friends.
I became LadyH because I’m independent. I like to stop and smell the roses when I’m caching. I wanted to be able to express my own feelings in my logs and not just be a part of hostanut’s log.
Are other members of your family involved in geocaching?. <><>
Absolutely. As mentioned above our oldest daughter and son-in-law (navigator and dww9) got us started. We also have taken our grandchildren caching (one at 2 weeks old) and created a caching monster out of our son, DEfire52. On vacation my parents join us in the searches although they do not cache on their own.
Do you always/usually cache as a team with Hostanut?
Currently I do not cache without hostanut, even though he goes without me at times. That will change after I get my own gpsr.
Do you have your own GPS unit?
Not yet…..but a Colorado has been ordered for me.
What in geocaching do you clearly do better than Hostanut? Where is he clearly better?
I’m more observant and much more patient. I read the cache descriptions and logs before heading to the cache while hostanut is more focused on getting to the cache area and GZ. Once at GZ it is a toss-up who finds the cache first. Hostanut is clearly better at the technical side of caching.
I reached 1500 on January 10, 2009 at the Lower Slower Delaware New Year Eve’s Event.
(GC1JYQF)
Have you cached much outside of Delaware? Tell us about some adventures in these states?
I love to travel. What used to be vacations with caching are now geocations with some tourist activities if I beg. Most trips are actually planned with pocket queries and Cache Along a Route. I have cached in every state from Maine to Florida.
On the way to Florida we got as far as Wade NC the first night. We planned on leaving Wade at 7 AM, traveling to South of the Border (an hour away), do a little shopping, then leave South of the Border by 10 AM.
What actually happened was that we didn’t wake up until 8 AM, and then we cached in the area and didn’t leave to head for South of the Border until 11 AM. Shopping and the three caches at South of the Border delayed our departure until 2 PM.
At GeoWoodstock 5 in Raleigh NC (May 2007) we cached as part of a group of 11 in a rented a 15-passenger van. Over 100 caches were found in 2 days (some cachers did over 100 in 1 day). Meeting some of the 1000+ attendees was one highlight There was a cacher walked around with a new toilet seat for people to sign, another had cachers sign her T-shirt, and one cacher had a 30-lb geocoin on a chain (1/2 inch diameter metal in the links).
Plastic tubs were used for the TB/geocoin swap because of the large number of TBs. We came home with 65 TBs. One of our fellow Delaware cachers even came home with a 75 pound TB (an 18-inch piece of railroad rail).
The most unique cache that we did at GeoWoodstock was RBC (GC12WJH). RBC stands for REALLY BIG CACHE, and it was! It was a truck box!
Our first geocation was to South Carolina. We cached along RT 17 on the way down. There were many nice caches, but one that really sticks out is Vereen Memorial Garden Cache (GC2C97). This was a multi that lead you along nice paths but stopped you at different sites (family grave, etc) including a stop at the intercoastal. Waterway.
We continued on to Summerville. From there we took day caching trips. We even mixed in some sight-seeing at Cypress Gardens, a winery, and even Charleston and Fort Sumter. Luckily there were caches at all these sites.
Which type of cache do you prefer seeking - traditional, multi, puzzle or virtual?
I like any type cache except puzzle caches. Caches that include nature walks are among my favorite.
Which find was the most challenging?
Maryland Heights was the most physically challenging with an exhausting 3 hour climb up the mountain and a technical 30 minute descent.
Hart612’s Mispillion Micro was the hardest to find since it took 3 different trips before we found the cache.
Tell us about your favorite caches?
It is so hard to select a favorite cache because I have enjoyed so many.
What's the most unusual thing you've found in a cache?
A snake….not a real one nor a plastic one. It was a trick snake that jumped out at me when I opened the cache container. That sure got my heart rate going. When I calmed down,I really appreciated the surprise that this cache owner had provided. I won’t reveal the cache owner nor the cache so you can experience the excitement yourself.
Have you had any memorable experiences while seeking a cache?
The only bad experiences that I’ve had are getting poison ivy and chiggers.
What advice would you give to a beginning geocacher?
Do not get discouraged.
Don’t focus on numbers, enjoy yourself. Having fun is the important part.
Go to events and talk to other cachers (make sure you get their phone numbers). How do you decide when its time to bushwhack or to stay on the trail? Any stories on when you seem to have made the wrong choice?
At Iron Hill Park in Newark we followed the trails until we were about 150 feet from GZ. Because the signal bounces a lot in this park, we had to use a PAF who told us that the cache was only 20 feet off of a trail. Only then did we realize that we should have continued on the trail.
How many caches have you placed? How did you get started or come up with the ideas?
In the beginning I only placed caches with hostanut. I’d like to set the record straight I’m responsible for many of the challenging hides that hostanut and I placed. I’ve currently hidden 18 caches on my own.
I’m constantly looking for places to hide caches, whether I’m riding down the road, walking in the woods or geocaching. The “Do You Know Your Way to San Jose” series was envisioned as I drove from home in Seaford to work in Harbeson. ”What would cachers think about having to stop every 500 feet while traveling on RT 404?”
What advice would you give to someone designing a cache placement?
-Find at least 100 caches before considering a hide of your own.
-Make sure that you do caches by several prominent hiders in your area
-Cache outside your home area to get a flavor of different hide techniques
When hiding a cache think about the cachers who will be searching for it. Make the cache enjoyable for them by doing one or more of the following:
-taking them to an area with nice views
-taking them to a historical or interesting area
-using an unique cache container
-hiding the cache in a novel way
-providing an interesting cache write-up
What's your best caching story - the one you tell others to let them know the kind of fun and adventures one can have while geocaching?
I always relate the story about our oldest grandson Nick (15 months old at the time) going for the Sandy Point cache which is 8 tenths of a mile walk down the beach one way. Nick walked all but the last 200 feet on the way to the cache and 3/4 of the way back.
To make the walk more interesting for Nick, I decided to teach him how to throw stones into the water. I even was able to capture a photo with the stone just leaving his hand (see photo).
What are your current caching goals?
Just to cache in states that I’ve not been to before. Expand my caching family by meeting and becoming friends with more cachers.
Beside geocaching, what other things do you like to do?
-Wine tasting (and tasting again).
-Christmas…..I collect Pipka santas. This year I had 7 Christmas trees in the house.
-Traveling.
-Taking photos.
-Collecting hummingbird items…….I get real excited when I spot live hummingbirds flying around. We even have planted many flowers/plants that attract hummingbirds in our yard.
What other aspects of caching interest you?
I love geocoins. We belong to the Coin of the Month club. I will also purchase other geocoins related to Christmas, hummingbirds, events, challenges or that have some meaning to me (i.e. coffee because I love coffee,)
I also collect pins, including geocoin companion pins, pins from places I’ve visited, hummingbird pins, and unique pins I find in caches, etc.
Are there any other good caching stories you haven’t told us?
Mud Story:
Hostanut fell down on a muddy path while standing still looking at the gpsr I was jokingly accused of pushing him down. He was so muddy that we had to go to the store to purchase a new pair of pants for him.
There have been times since then that hostanut has slipped/fallen in mud and now our friends will even accuse me of pushing him down, whether I was there or not.
Tuckaho Story:
While caching in Tuckaho State Park, we had to make the decision whether to take the long trail to the next stage or cross an ice and snow covered tree that had fallen across the water. We chose the tree, luckily without any mishaps.
Thanks, LadyH, for sharing these answers with us.