Geocaching: A Few More Degrees

I was looking at the West 76 Longitude Challenge Cache (of which I claimed 14 of the 60 required degrees covered), and I discovered a couple of things.

First of all, there is an automated checker available to tell you which of the minutes you haven't yet found caches in. I used it, and it told me I had 45 minutes left to go. Hmm. It took a while to track down the discrepancy, but it turns out I was the one who was correct. I attended an event cache in Minute 51, but that type of cache doesn't count in the challenge.

Secondly, the cache links to challenge caches for West 77 Longitude and North 39 Latitude. Of course! Latitude! Why didn't I look for this a while ago?

So, how am I doing? Well (assuming the checker is correct), I have found Minutes 0, 1, 2, 3, 9, 18, 22, 24, and 41 in West 77, for a total of 9 out of 60.

For North 39, I have found Minutes 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 16, 19, 22 and 24, for a total of 14 -- the same as West 76. Nope, wait, Minute 12 is that same event cache.

I actually live about an eight minute walk south of the 39th parallel. (Seriously, how did I never notice this before?) So North 38 Latitude seems like an equally good one to check. As it turns out, that cache is near Sacramento. Which makes sense.

For North 38, I have 19, 22, 33, 34, 42, 47, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58 and 59, for a total of 12.

What the heck, I might at well keep track of these, too. Any other degrees are going to be sufficiently far from home that it's unlikely I will make any substantial progress. Let's take a look at the new challenges, then. I'll note my first find of each minute, and which state it occurs in, if not Maryland.

West 77

1. Minute 0: Back to School III "Sports Zone"
2. Minute 1: The Original
3. Minute 2: Last stop for a weary traveler (DC)
4. Minute 3: Patriotic Wheaton
5. Minute 9: Jason Turns 30!
6. Minute 18: Blair Witch Project - Coffin Rock
7. Minute 22: Jug Bridge
8. Minute 24: Michaels Mill Cache
9. Minute 41: Berries and Bikes (Virginia)

North 39

1. Minute 0: Yowies
2. Minute 2: Patriotic Wheaton
3. Minute 3: I.C.C. ya Later - Rt 1 Brick House
4. Minute 4: Shallow Marsh
5. Minute 5: TimberHollow
6. Minute 6: Beachwood Park Travel Bug Hotel
7. Minute 7: Blair Witch Project - Coffin Rock
8. Minute 8: Berries and Bikes (Virginia)
9. Minute 11: Manta's Mystery Cache
10. Minute 16: Time Will Not Dim...
11. Minute 19: Michaels Mill Cache
12. Minute 22: Mount Airy Remembers
13. Minute 24: Jug Bridge

North 38

1. Minute 19: A Stroll Around Solomon's Island
2. Minute 22: All's Well in Greenwell
3. Minute 33: Back to School III "Sports Zone"
4. Minute 34: Birds Don't Have Pockets
5. Minute 42: Hutchins Hideaway
6. Minute 47: "Awakening"
7. Minute 51: Grab A Seat (DC)
8. Minute 53: The Lone Sailor (DC)
9. Minute 54: Church Ruins Park (DC)
10. Minute 57: Gallant Fox and Omaha
11. Minute 58: Jason Turns 30!
12. Minute 59: Maryland Marathon