MathSeeker
03-01-2014, 04:18 PM
The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Glynn & Sharon Simmons aka Flyfishingcachers should be the next cachers to be in the spotlight.
What is your geocaching name?
Flyfishingcachers
How did you choose your handle?
When we first began geocaching, we only used a short version of our name. After we really got into caching & started reading others logs we decided we wanted a genuine nickname too. We chose Flyfishingcachers because we both love to fly fish. We have fished for many years, but after learning to fly fish, we have not had a spin cast rod in our hands.
How long have you been geocaching?
We found our first geocache on January 28, 2007. We only found a few caches in 2007, we didn’t cache at all in 2008, began again in January of 2009, and have been caching ever since then.
How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?
Our first geocache was Balboa HSV which has now been archived. We had a Magellan Sport trax gps that Glynn had used hunting. It evidently wasn’t very accurate, the gps had us at GZ in the middle of the road. We just started hunting and was lucky enough to be able to find the cache.
Who usually goes with you when you go caching?
We usually go caching together or with friends. Prefer to go with friends, makes it a lot more fun.
How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?
I will try to work on them from every angle that I can possibly think of before giving up. I don’t ever completely give up, I will go back to it and try again. However, some of them are very difficult for my nimble mind to figure out.
What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?
We have cached in so many beautiful areas, this would be very difficult to pin down. First off in our own state of Arkansas, the sights we have seen while caching are some of the best around. We love to be out in the woods hiking and have seen some beautiful waterfalls and scenery in the North Carolina & South Carolina area. While there are no actual geocaches in the Smokey Mountains, the virtuals take you to some beautiful places. Out west, the sights are breathtaking. Even out in the desert area, you have the mountains & plateaus in the distance. We have found that each state we cache in has it’s own beauty that can match no other. We are very fortunate to live in a beautiful country that has all these sights. Who could help but enjoy being outdoors and taking in all this beauty.
Do you do paperless caching?
Yes, once we actually found out how & got the proper equipment, we will never go back to the old way of printing out the cache page and just plugging in the coords.
What kind of geocaching rig do you use?
Right now we cache with a Garmin Oregon 450 and a Garmin Dakota 20.
Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?
You can see some beautiful areas of the country you might have never seen without going to some of the Earthcaches & even some of the traditional caches. Geocaching also gets you off the couch, out of the house, and getting some exercise. The people you meet geocaching are some of the best people you could ever hope to meet.
Where are you originally from?
We are both from Arkansas. Glynn was born in Warren. He spent his early years in Warren, El Dorado, and Pine Bluff. Sharon was born in Hot Springs and lived there until we got married and moved to Texas. We moved back to Arkansas in 1984, living in Pine Bluff, and then moved to Hot Springs Village in 1996.
In what states have you geocached?
Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Nevada, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Illinois, Mississippi, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, California, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Alabama. Hopefully, we can get a few more this year.
What was your first event ever attended?
The ArkGeo 2009 Annual Meeting. I will add that we met some wonderful people there who have been our friends ever since. Everyone was so kind and welcomed us into the group and was very helpful to explain everything to us. The geocachers we have met here in Arkansas since we have started geocaching are some of the best friends we have. It is just like having one great big family.
How many caches have you found?
We are at 3100 now. Have to log a few more to make our statistics show that though.
Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest?
We like finding them all. Those little pesky nanos can be very difficult to find at times though.
What was the most famous cache that you have found?
Gorilla Stash in Arkansas. We have found some virtuals at famous places but guess that doesn’t really count for a famous cache. lol
Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?
In the past, we have used rechargeable. Now we use disposable mainly for convenience.
Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby?
We like them equally. It is always fun to find the cache, especially one that is challenging. It is also fun to decide how to hide one whether to give finders a challenge or just a png. Then you have the enjoyment of waiting to see who is the FTF and what kind of log they will write. Then you have the joy of reading the logs anytime someone finds your cache.
Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide?
Just to make the cache an enjoyable experience for the one doing the hunting or maybe a challenging experience depending upon what we dream up for that spot. On the cache runs we do, sometimes we try to change them up so they won’t always be the same. But, when we are hiding specifically a number run, they are mostly the same.
What is your favorite type of cache hide?
We mostly like to place the more challenging hides, the multi caches, and the puzzles. We like to hide several varieties of caches to make it more interesting.
Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in?
Deserted & How Did I Get Here were our favorites until we had to archive one and replace the container on the other one after the original was destroyed. Right now our favorites are our multi caches at the cemeteries and some of our puzzle caches.
What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?
It would be great for all of us if we would all hide more caches. But not everyone likes to hide caches, as well as not everyone is a break all records finder. Hopefully, more & more cachers will be hiding more & more caches so there will continue to be plenty of caches to keep our game going.
How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?
There was an article in the HSV paper about geocaching and there being geocaches placed in the state parks. This caught our interest as we had been talking about that we wanted to visit all the state parks in Arkansas. We decided we would look it up and see what it was all about. Looked to see what was in our area and saw the cache at the Balboa gate. Decided we would go and see if we could find the cache and see what this was all about. We were interested enough to find a few more through the first year. Life got in the way the next year, but sure am glad we started back in 2009.
What's your favorite geocache?
We don’t really have a favorite. We really enjoyed all the places we went and the caches we found while doing the State Park Challenge. We have found some great Earthcaches that took us to beautiful waterfalls & other great places. It would be very difficult to pick a favorite out of all the caches we have found.
If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?
Everywhere. We still have lots of places to go & find caches. Would be great to get to travel the world!!
Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?
We prefer to cache in a group. It is a lot more exciting & a lot more fun than caching by ourselves.
How many First to Finds do you have?
Somewhere around 30. We were really excited at first and tried to get there first. However, living farther away from town makes it hard to get to the cache first. We haven’t found one in a while.
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?
Tried to be at first, but that didn’t last long. We live too far from town to get there before the locals.
Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?
We have numerous hobbies. So many sometimes we have a hard time deciding what to do. Together we enjoy flyfishing, shooting our guns, hiking, photography, kayaking & canoeing. Glynn ties flies for fishing, & reloads ammo. I knit & crochet. Along with all these of course, is all the time we spend on making geocaches and solving puzzles.
What is your geocaching name?
Flyfishingcachers
How did you choose your handle?
When we first began geocaching, we only used a short version of our name. After we really got into caching & started reading others logs we decided we wanted a genuine nickname too. We chose Flyfishingcachers because we both love to fly fish. We have fished for many years, but after learning to fly fish, we have not had a spin cast rod in our hands.
How long have you been geocaching?
We found our first geocache on January 28, 2007. We only found a few caches in 2007, we didn’t cache at all in 2008, began again in January of 2009, and have been caching ever since then.
How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?
Our first geocache was Balboa HSV which has now been archived. We had a Magellan Sport trax gps that Glynn had used hunting. It evidently wasn’t very accurate, the gps had us at GZ in the middle of the road. We just started hunting and was lucky enough to be able to find the cache.
Who usually goes with you when you go caching?
We usually go caching together or with friends. Prefer to go with friends, makes it a lot more fun.
How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?
I will try to work on them from every angle that I can possibly think of before giving up. I don’t ever completely give up, I will go back to it and try again. However, some of them are very difficult for my nimble mind to figure out.
What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?
We have cached in so many beautiful areas, this would be very difficult to pin down. First off in our own state of Arkansas, the sights we have seen while caching are some of the best around. We love to be out in the woods hiking and have seen some beautiful waterfalls and scenery in the North Carolina & South Carolina area. While there are no actual geocaches in the Smokey Mountains, the virtuals take you to some beautiful places. Out west, the sights are breathtaking. Even out in the desert area, you have the mountains & plateaus in the distance. We have found that each state we cache in has it’s own beauty that can match no other. We are very fortunate to live in a beautiful country that has all these sights. Who could help but enjoy being outdoors and taking in all this beauty.
Do you do paperless caching?
Yes, once we actually found out how & got the proper equipment, we will never go back to the old way of printing out the cache page and just plugging in the coords.
What kind of geocaching rig do you use?
Right now we cache with a Garmin Oregon 450 and a Garmin Dakota 20.
Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?
You can see some beautiful areas of the country you might have never seen without going to some of the Earthcaches & even some of the traditional caches. Geocaching also gets you off the couch, out of the house, and getting some exercise. The people you meet geocaching are some of the best people you could ever hope to meet.
Where are you originally from?
We are both from Arkansas. Glynn was born in Warren. He spent his early years in Warren, El Dorado, and Pine Bluff. Sharon was born in Hot Springs and lived there until we got married and moved to Texas. We moved back to Arkansas in 1984, living in Pine Bluff, and then moved to Hot Springs Village in 1996.
In what states have you geocached?
Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Nevada, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Illinois, Mississippi, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, California, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Alabama. Hopefully, we can get a few more this year.
What was your first event ever attended?
The ArkGeo 2009 Annual Meeting. I will add that we met some wonderful people there who have been our friends ever since. Everyone was so kind and welcomed us into the group and was very helpful to explain everything to us. The geocachers we have met here in Arkansas since we have started geocaching are some of the best friends we have. It is just like having one great big family.
How many caches have you found?
We are at 3100 now. Have to log a few more to make our statistics show that though.
Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest?
We like finding them all. Those little pesky nanos can be very difficult to find at times though.
What was the most famous cache that you have found?
Gorilla Stash in Arkansas. We have found some virtuals at famous places but guess that doesn’t really count for a famous cache. lol
Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?
In the past, we have used rechargeable. Now we use disposable mainly for convenience.
Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby?
We like them equally. It is always fun to find the cache, especially one that is challenging. It is also fun to decide how to hide one whether to give finders a challenge or just a png. Then you have the enjoyment of waiting to see who is the FTF and what kind of log they will write. Then you have the joy of reading the logs anytime someone finds your cache.
Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide?
Just to make the cache an enjoyable experience for the one doing the hunting or maybe a challenging experience depending upon what we dream up for that spot. On the cache runs we do, sometimes we try to change them up so they won’t always be the same. But, when we are hiding specifically a number run, they are mostly the same.
What is your favorite type of cache hide?
We mostly like to place the more challenging hides, the multi caches, and the puzzles. We like to hide several varieties of caches to make it more interesting.
Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in?
Deserted & How Did I Get Here were our favorites until we had to archive one and replace the container on the other one after the original was destroyed. Right now our favorites are our multi caches at the cemeteries and some of our puzzle caches.
What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?
It would be great for all of us if we would all hide more caches. But not everyone likes to hide caches, as well as not everyone is a break all records finder. Hopefully, more & more cachers will be hiding more & more caches so there will continue to be plenty of caches to keep our game going.
How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?
There was an article in the HSV paper about geocaching and there being geocaches placed in the state parks. This caught our interest as we had been talking about that we wanted to visit all the state parks in Arkansas. We decided we would look it up and see what it was all about. Looked to see what was in our area and saw the cache at the Balboa gate. Decided we would go and see if we could find the cache and see what this was all about. We were interested enough to find a few more through the first year. Life got in the way the next year, but sure am glad we started back in 2009.
What's your favorite geocache?
We don’t really have a favorite. We really enjoyed all the places we went and the caches we found while doing the State Park Challenge. We have found some great Earthcaches that took us to beautiful waterfalls & other great places. It would be very difficult to pick a favorite out of all the caches we have found.
If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?
Everywhere. We still have lots of places to go & find caches. Would be great to get to travel the world!!
Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?
We prefer to cache in a group. It is a lot more exciting & a lot more fun than caching by ourselves.
How many First to Finds do you have?
Somewhere around 30. We were really excited at first and tried to get there first. However, living farther away from town makes it hard to get to the cache first. We haven’t found one in a while.
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?
Tried to be at first, but that didn’t last long. We live too far from town to get there before the locals.
Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?
We have numerous hobbies. So many sometimes we have a hard time deciding what to do. Together we enjoy flyfishing, shooting our guns, hiking, photography, kayaking & canoeing. Glynn ties flies for fishing, & reloads ammo. I knit & crochet. Along with all these of course, is all the time we spend on making geocaches and solving puzzles.