Ashore on an island
Monday 28 January: Geocaching WherIGo GC3XR45 Wher-I-Paddle – M. A paddle on Lake Burley Griffin organised by Roger.
Further Information
My first WherIGo geocache!
So most folk would know about geocaching – ‘treasure’ hunting using a GPSr. As well as the traditional type of geocache, there are many others, such as multis, puzzles, earth caches. For a multi, you are given a start location and need to collect clues to convert into the location of the next point to go to, and so on until the final GZ (ground zero).
I guess a WherIGo is a little like that. You need the Wherigo smart phone app and you download a cartridge for the cache. From the start point, you move in the direction indicated for the distance indicated, until you are within a ‘zone’ (proximity) of the next point. Here, the direction and distance to the next point is given. And so on. As well, there can be other virtual interactions included in the WherIGo cartridge.
We were out for Cankid’s GC3XR45 Wher-I-Paddle, A D/T (Difficulty/Terrain) 4/5 cache.
Hoping for success, as there is another cache GC7212X Canberra’s Second Toughest Challenge, which requires D + T points from 20 of your cache finds to = 100. I’m currently 4 short and a find of this WhereIGo would give me +2 points.
Summary
Distance: 15.1km | Time: 6.30am – 10.50pm (4hrs 20mins) | Grading: M – paddle; M(8)
Photographs
Photographs are available, where you can start a large sized slideshow.
Video
Waypoint and Track Files
Download the gpx file for this trip (if your browser does not automatically download the file, it will open the gpx file in a new window and you can then save it). To use in Google Earth, do File, Open… and select Gps or All files as the File Type.
Track Notes
This WherIGo starts beside the old padlo jetty. We met in Weston at 6am and were on the water by 6.30am. A little stuffing around as I familiarised myself with how the Wherigo app works. Then we were away on a crazy ‘buoy’ to virtual ‘buoy’ paddle around the lake. Viewed from above (as in the track map), you’d think we were aimlessly wandering.
An overcast day, but still plenty of people on and around the lake using every conceivable means of transport/exercise.
Either the app is a little flaky or this first time user is a little flaky (no doubt the latter) and we did an unnecessary double back to a point some distance away.
On the way we landed on the island near the Carillon to log GC1ZN05 Carillon Chimes. No joy, so logged a DNF. Contacted the cache owner on return – he was probably one hour later than us to replace the cache!!
Quite a long paddle for me. We eventually ended up in West Basin at the ‘Prize Zone’ and, with a little guidance from Fox in Jox due to recent DNs, we had the container in hand.
I called church friends who were paddling a mere 200m away, saying I was too whacked to join them. Roger and I turned east and headed back to our launch point.
Great result, Thanks Roger. Probably the longest time I’ve been in my boat; my back is sore.
Back home, I bought some video editing software and managed to delete the “GoPro, stop video” from two clips and join them together!
Track Map
The track map has been doctored so as to not reveal the final GZ.
Track
Party
2 paddlers – Roger E (Marmaduke Rothschild) (leader), me (JohnnyBoyACT).