365 True Things: 337/Frivolity

I have written before about my guilty pleasure of a pastime: geocaching. Most recently on Halloween (#216), then in September (#180), July (#104), June (#72), and April (#31 and right at the start of this blogging nonsense, on day 9). Oops, I see that one snuck in under the heading "Math" not too long ago as well.

In that first day-nine entry, I mentioned having the goal of filling in my calendar. At that point, I needed caches on seven calendar days of the upcoming year. Not a big deal, but still: I needed to be organized.

Today, 258 caches later, I met that goal.

Now, you may be thinking, so what? Does this matter the least bit?

No, of course it doesn't. Except insofar as I set a goal, and then worked to achieve it. Frivolous though it be. But in the grand scheme of things? Not even worth a mention.

Geocaching.com is very good about celebrating all this nonsense, with "souvenirs" and beautifully wrought coins and the like. One of this weekend's souvenirs ☝︎ required that we attend an "event"—some get-together organized by a local cacher, to which everyone is invited. (This is a very democratic sport.) I managed to attend three today, morning, noon, and evening. At the first one, which happened to be at the park at the end of our short street, I obtained a hint that allowed us to find a very small cache that has been vexing us for months. At the second, a "flash mob," I had a chance to chat with one of my favorite cachers, Mimring (whose wife now lets him indulge in his hobby but one day a month—though perhaps she gave him a dispensation for Leap Day). At the third, we were awarded with a gorgeous geocoin and pin for our achievement ➚, by a generous local cacher, rainbow_guyz.

I'm not sure why it makes me so happy to have a totally green caching calendar now:

Or why I'm putting rainbow_guyz's geocoin in a place of honor. I guess it's because caching mixes up so many of my joys: it's a game, a treasure hunt, so play (which I can use more of) is a big component; it gets me outside, discovering new and often surprisingly beautiful places; it sends me on quests, whether it's this calendar challenge or solving puzzles or pursuing elaborate trails of linked caches; it's given me some new acquaintances, a few of whom verge on friends; Milo doesn't mind if we have a purpose when we go on a walk (the longer the better).

This will probably be the last time in this blog that I mention geocaching: "frivolity." It's been fun this evening to review the last year's worth of this adventure, as encapsulated in these posts. Thank you for indulging me.