Rflester

Rflester

Interviewed July 2008

This month's featured cacher is rflester is also known as Robert "Bob" Lester. Bob lives in the rural area outside of New London, Pa. but caches mostly with the local Delaware cachers. He grew up in a house that, at one time, belonged to the Rev. Francis Alison. Rev. Alison started teaching free classes in the area in the mid 1700s. He moved his school several times before settling in Newark, DE. This school was to become the University of Delaware.

How did you become involved with geocaching - and how long have you been doing it?
I found my first geocache in Palmdale, California in October of 2005 (a light pole micro by the way).I had taken a week's vacation and was visiting friends in the Palmdale area. We were attending the Air Show at Edwards AFB that weekend; there was a display of GPS equipment in one of the hangars and there was a stack of brochures about geocaching on the table.The rest, as they say, is history.

How many caches have you found so far?
My count currently stands at 1518 (as of 6/29). . I have found caches in several across the country but have states concentrated mostly in the immediate area - Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. I hope to add considerably to that in two weeks; I'm going to California on a business trip the week of 7/13 and will be in the Santa Barbara and Palmdale areas while I'm out there. Lots of caches to look for in my free time!

Which type of cache do you prefer seeking - traditional, multi, puzzle or virtual?
Traditionals are fun but I really like doing the virtual caches. I spent a whole day in Gettysburg, Pa., Christmas week of 2005, doing the virtuals there and had a blast! It annoys me no end that they won't reinstate the virtual caches.

Which find was the most challenging?
I have to say that the most physically challenging cache I've done so far has to be Getting Around To It. Finding the cache itself was the easy part - actually getting TO it was the challenge. Anyone who has done this one knows what I'm talking about.

High & Low (GCQN65) a true 5/5 cache in Pennsylvania was also very difficult, which is why I selected it for my 1,000 cache.It had snowed recently so there was still snow and ice on the trails and hillsides in the area.Our group (Mike Ott, Programmer64, Evanspack and myself) walked all the way out to Stage 1 but ended up concluding that it was too risky to try retrieving that stage because of the recent weather and its location. Mike, Rob and myself had been in the Wind Cave before where the final stage was located so we decide to try brute forcing the find. After squirming over and under large rocks and down small openings in the cave, I almost got stuck in a very narrow passageway. With the help of the rest of the team, I was able to get this cache.

Do you have a your favorite or favorites from among the caches you have found?
One of the more unique caches I've done that sticks out is "One Of These Things" GCNMV3 (with the radioactive popsicle sticks). My current favorite, though, is the Cam2008-Cascade Falls (GC1A44D) cache from CAM 2008. Beautiful area and well worth the trip.

What's your current caching goals?
I'm really not into setting goals as far as caching goes, but I would like to hit 2000 by the end of the year. I usually go out when the mood strikes me.

Have you had any memorable experiences while seeking a cache?
Does caching in the middle of a thunderstorm count?

You live a little ways into Pa but work in Delaware, so do you consider yourself a Delaware or Pa cacher and why?
I would have to say that I consider myself a Delaware cacher. I know a number of Pa. cachers from the immediate area but the SEPAG group tends to meet at spots quite a distance from home. The local Delaware group was the first I had contact with at Carpenter State Park (just 2 weeks after I started), and only a short drive down Rt. 896 from the house.

You recently did the Delaquest and the Maryland CAM. You must have some stories about them?
DelaQuest was interesting as far as trying to find qualifying caches that I hadn't done yet, which was easier in southern Delaware where I've not cached as much. Of the two, I have to say that I enjoyed CAM 2008 more as a whole since it took me to parts of Maryland that I've never been to before. I don't have any one story that stands out; the whole trip was a blast!

You seem to have gotten quite a few of the more recent EarthCaches.What is your comments on them?
I really like doing the Earthcaches (I never would have known that there was an old iron ore mine sitting in the middle of a Newark neighborhood otherwise!).You get a nice hike out of it and actually learn something too. I'll be taking a work related trip to California sometime in the next few weeks (probably after the 4th of July holiday) and have my eye on several Earthcaches in the area where I'll be..

How do you decide when its time to bushwhack or to stay on the trail?
I try to stay on a trail as long as possible, hopefully until I'm within 100-150 feet or closer, then bushwhack in to the cache. That, or wait until the GPS arrow points hard right or left and then go in.

Any stories on when you seem to have made the wrong choice?
Yeah, getting out of bed in the morning is almost always the wrong choice.

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?
The two caches I like to tell folks about are "Getting Around To It" and "High & Low".The almost universal reaction I get is "You've got to be joking!".

Beside geocaching, what other things do you like to do?
Geocaching has gotten me interested in solving Sudoku puzzles since I've had to solve a number of those to get coordinates for caches. I also collect comic books and Japanese anime. I go to the movies quite often also, preferring sci-fi and fantasy (shameless plug: if you haven't seen Iron Man yet, Do It Now!!).I've also been working on my family tree for a number of years now; I haven't done a lot of research lately mainly because of the change in my work shift. I work dayshift now, which makes it difficult to get to the places I need to go during the week when they're open.

Tell us an interesting geocaching story.
I almost got stuck in White Clay Creek Park in the dark one time, going after the Mystery Structure #2 cache. I got a late start to begin with, and it was early January, so it was still getting dark early in the afternoon. I lost the trail several times on the way in but finally found my way in to it. By the time I got there it was very close to sunset - I signed the logbook and started back, having no time to explore the area like I wanted to. I continued on around the trail loop and managed to miss the turn I should've taken. I ended up bushwhacking down the hill to the rail trail along the creek and got back to the car just as the sun was setting!

Thanks, Bob, for sharing these answers with us.