January 2014 Geocacher Profile

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Clark and Deb Gray aka CFD29 should be the next cachers to be in the spotlight.

1. What is your geocaching name?
CFD29

2. How did you choose your handle?
I am on the Clarksville Fire Dept and my call sign is CFD29. when I first signed up on geocaching.com that is the first thing that came to mind, so that is what I put, Probably should have put more thought into it, but at least it is quick to sign logs!!

3. How Long have you been geocaching?
First signed up on the site on 7/22/2003 but didn't find our first cache until Sept of 2003.

4. How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?
We were on vacation in Navarre, Florida and at the time I had an old Garmin III GPSr, looked on the site while we were there and there was a cache less than 1/2 mile from where we were staying GCD005 Adventure Clubs Sugar White Sand Treasure. (archived now) I didn't have a clue how to put coords in the GPS so I just wandered around trying to get the coords to line up when Deb said, have you looked over here? She was right, and most of the time she is, guess I might still be wandering around trying to get the coords correct if she hadn't looked at the hint and put it all together. From then on, we were hooked. We went back to the same site this summer, ten years later.

5. Who usually goes with you when you go caching?
Usually it is just Deb and I. I make quick runs sometimes close by myself, but it is usually us, we have made trips with others, mostly RKLMBL on some long trips across country or to some events, great times.

6. How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?
Depending on the puzzle, I have worked for days before and on some, and on others after an hour so just couldn't get it and gave up. Depends on just how bad we want to find it.

7. What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?
At first it was right here close to home in Clarksville, usually waited for Nonnipoppy or Golfnutz to come up with a new crazy hide, but since we have enjoyed the Russellville/ Pope county area Fayetteville area, and since our oldest Daughter moved to Louisville, KY really like the hides there.

8. Do you do paperless caching?
Yes, we do now, when we first started, I don't know how many times we would have to wait and print out the cache pages before going out. If we found 8 to 10 caches in one day we thought we had hit the jackpot!!

9. What kind of geocaching rig do you use?
I have a Garmin GPS 62s and Deb uses a Garmin Oregon 550t I usually navigate to the cache area while she reads what the cache description is. As far as the vehicle, Jeep Rubicon Unlimited.

10. Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?
It gets you out to places you would not otherwise go to and see, and the people, because of geocaching we can say we have friends from just about all 4 corners of the State and a lot from out of State that we would have never had the chance to meet. We have met so many people and seen so many hidden places we would have never seen without geocaching.

11. Where are you originally from?
Deb and I were both born and raised right here in Clarksville, Arkansas. In fact growing up just lived within 1/4 mile of each other.

12. In what states have you geocached?
Well it would be easier just to say the two we have NOT cached in, Alaska and Hawaii, we have cached in all the lower 48 and Washington DC, and over in Canada

13. What was Your First Event ever Attended?
GCHF58- First Ever Ark River Valley Geo Meet and Great, hosted by Nonnipoppy and Golfnutz and others just north of Clarksville on Jan 24, 2004

14. How many caches have you found?
So far we are at 5028

15.Which type cache container do you prefer over the rest?
Really like ammo cans, but I guess some of the caches we have enjoyed finding the most don't have a container, the old Virtual. They have taken us to places we would have never known they existed.

16. What was the most famous cache that you have found?
Mingo comes to mind but finding the only APE cache in the US was pretty special.

17. Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?
We have both, try to use the rechargeable, but always carry disposable as a back up or if I forget to get several charged up.

18. Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby?
I would have to say finding, but really like to see new ideas and make new hides, which we have not done in a while.

19. Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide?
No, not really, just so others can have some fun..

20. What is your favorite type cache hide?
Traditional

21. Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in?
Cara's Easter Puzzle cache and Union Made

22. What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?
I don't know of a set ratio, of course without new hides no one can find them, I will admit we are lacking in the hide dept, hope to improve on that.

23. How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?
Saw it on one of the morning news shows one morning and went to the site, at that time, the nearest cache was Gorilla Stash , the oldest cache in Arkansas, and just never thought about it again until we went to Florida, which If I would have joined then,, would have been a charter member. Oh well..

24. What's you favorite geocache?
That is a hard one, but I guess the original Tool Time multi that Cachmates put out in Glenwood was a blast.

25. If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?
We would go to Alaska and Hawaii, and then go all over the western US on so many of the trails out there

26. Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?
In a group

27. How many first to finds to you have?
I think 55, really tried hard when we first started but haven't put much effort into it lately.

28. Are you a first to find person who is always set on go and if so, how many miles out do you have your settings on to get notifications?
Settings are on 50 miles, but we don't make a run for a FTF much anymore.

29. Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?
All the Shooting sports, skeet, target etc, for me, reading and photography for Deb.