February 2013 Geocacher Profile

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Kevin Cackler (kcackler) aka The Cacklers should be the next cacher to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name?
The Cacklers (kcackler on ArkGeo)

How did you choose your handle?
We are Anna, Kevin, Isaac, and Bear Cackler. Otherwise known as "The Cacklers". Creative, I know :)

How long have you been geocaching?
We found our first cache in April, 2010.

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?
Our first cache was GC1P658, and it was honestly pure luck that we found it. Mr. Cackler had already attempted it twice before Mrs. Cackler came to the rescue and figured out the meaning of the name of the cache. At the time, we only had our iPhone 3 to cache with, so we were lucky that we managed to find it at all! The phone kept pointing us to a tree, but Mrs. Cackler eventually figured out what the "endangered species" was.

Who usually goes with you when you go caching?
These days, when we're lucky enough to go caching, it's all 4 of us together. We also frequently go with The Mcneelys and have also ventured out once or twice with captaincooder.

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?
I think the shortage of puzzle caches in our find history can answer that question. We really never put much time into puzzle caches (No time for that!) unless the cache has great logs / favorite points.

What town/ares have you most enjoyed caching in?
We love caching in Russellville just due to the sheer number and quality of caches here.

Do you do paperless caching?
For the most part, yes. If we're making a road trip, we will load up the GPS with caches along the route but we'll also print out some of the more promising looking geocaches so that we can easily read about them and decide which ones to hit.

What kind of geocaching rig do you use?
We have an eXplorist GC, which works very very well for being such a cheap unit. Most of the time, though, we use our phones (Samsung Galaxy SII)

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?
Because it gets you out of the house and can take you to places you would never see otherwise. We found Hudson Shelter Falls and The Knife Edge on one single road trip. Those two caches were the highlight of our several day long vacation. If it weren't for geocaching, we would have driven right by two very awesome spots. That is why we geocache.

Where are you originally from?
Mr. Cackler is originally from Grove, OK and then Mena, AR. Mrs. Cackler is from Mena, AR.

In what states have you geocached?
Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri so far. We don't get to travel much right now because of the little Cacklers.

What was your first event ever attended?
Our first ever event was GC2HCZN -- Autumn Eat & Greet - Russellville, hosted by Old River Runner.

How many caches have you found?
412 as of today.

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest?
We like anything that has had a lot of thought put into it. Neat contraptions, new ideas, etc...

What was the most famous cache that you have found?
We really haven't found any that are "famous" in the traditional sense. I guess the one that we've found that we've most often heard mentioned is GC26NPF - Crack the SAFE. That was a fantastic geocache.

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?
Rechargeable most of the time (Counting our phones and the seldom use of our eXplorist GC). Sometimes we forget to bring the rechargeables though and have to stop by a gas station and purchase disposables.

Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby?
Mr. Cackler enjoys finding the most. Mrs. Cackler enjoys hiding the most. Mr. Cackler loves the thrill of discovering new places and Mrs. Cackler enjoys the hunt of a good hiding spot and coming up with creative hides.

Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide?
Our goal is to simply make a cache the others will enjoy hiding. We try to make each one creative or unique in its own way.

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in?
I think our favorite (Now archived) would have to be GC2GGYN - Oakland Cemetery Cache. That one gave captaincooder some trouble, which was our sign that it was a hide well done. Our second favorite would have to be GC3GH2Q - X-TREME PUTT PUTT. And since I'm here, our (other) second favorite would have to be GC3FA53 - The Beaver March of War - We had a lot of fun hiding that cache and enjoy reading the logs for it.

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?
No opinion on this one. I think that as long as people are putting out new and unique hides, geocaching will remain fun for many people.

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?
Mr. Cackler read an article sometime in early 2009 about this crazy thing called geocaching. At the time, he laughed about such a stupid hobby and then promptly forgot about it. Sometime in April 2010, he read another article about geocaching, and for some reason, this time it stuck. He meekly told Mrs. Cackler about what he'd read, and she (surprisingly) thought it sounded like great fun. Later that day, we loaded up and went hunting (Though did not find anything for a week or so)

What's your favorite geocache?
It's hard to really define one as our favorite because we have so many of them.

GC26NPF - Crack the SAFE - We loved this one because of the unique tools that we had to use to solve each cache.
GC11GWB - The Knife Edge - We loved this one because we had driven past this spot dozens of times before discovering geocaching. When we finally stopped and made the hike to find the cache, it was such a thrill. We didn't even know the trail was there
GCN37D - Hudson Shelter Falls - We loved this one because in order to get to it, we had to drive down a few miles of bad road, then turn onto a logging road and drive a bit down it. Then we had to hike a short ways to actually reach the falls. The scenery was beautiful, and again, we'd never have known about it were it not for geocaching.
GC24E6C - The Starlight Series - I believe this was our first night cache, and it was amazingly well done. We have since done it several times.
GCT5Y9 - Ghosts of Spanish Conquistadors - This one was great because we had probably been up there 50 times before we started caching. To think that we were so often that close to the night cache was very cool.
GC33DPC - The Twilight Zone - I can't reveal too much about this one, but it stands out in my mind when I'm trying to come up with a cache to take a new cacher / muggle to.

I'm sure I'm missing some, but those are the ones sticking out in my mind right now.

If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?
If money was no object, we would travel the world 24/7/365, geocaching the whole time. If we had to choose one place, it would probably be Australia or New Zealand.

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?
We prefer to go with friends and family. The more people the better, especially on those spooky night caches.

How many First to Finds do you have?
Not really sure. Probably around 20ish.

Are you a First to Find person wh o is always set on go and if so, how many miles out do you have your settings on to get notifications?
Yes, absolutely. FTFs are my favorite type of victory. Unfortunately, life and work and other nonsense gets in the way sometimes, so I don't have as many as I'd like. Our notifications are currently set at 20 miles, but used to be set at 50.

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?
Mrs. Cackler is a fantastic baker and can make a chocolate cupcake that is beautiful enough to bring you to tears. Mr. Cackler doesn't have much spare time, but enjoys building things in the shop when he gets a chance.