This trip wasn’t a vacation as I was travelling for work. But when jetlag wakes you at 3am there is plenty of time to geocache before the work day begins. I take a lot of ribbing about my “work trips to Hawaii” so feel free to groan along about the sacrifices of geocaching in the wee hours of the morning, in paradise. Here are some reflections about the places, and differences, that make geocaching in Hawaii unique.

The first thing I noticed about geocaching in Hawaii is that the Hawaiian Cache Owners have a different scale for “Difficulty” and “Terrain” ratings. Perhaps we have the aloha spirit of the islands to thank, but the local CO’s are very lenient in assigning difficulty ratings. I found many 3.5 and 4’s on this trip in a matter of minutes not hours. It is possible that these ratings account for the need to have patience and use extreme stealth because of the excessive tourist-muggle population. What’s more, even the most difficult hides provide substantial hints that help ensure a successful find. Mahalo to these cache owners for helping me add some difficult finds to my statistics.  

When it comes to Terrain Ratings, the Hawaiian’s have an entirely different perception of terrain. Rating systems are relative and in Chicago a terrain rating under 3.0 is generally flatland. Not so in Hawaii. I set out to hike the Kapalama Ridge trail that appeared to be an easy power trail of 15 caches with hides every .1 of a mile. My research indicated that these caches had difficulty ratings between 1.5 and 2.0. I arrived at the trailhead excited to log some quick finds before the sun went down. I was in for a rude awakening and lesson. 

I was pleased to see that the trail was well maintained and marked. Some thoughtful hikers had even tied climbing ropes along the path to help guide the hikers or perhaps they were placed to keep hikers from falling off the trail ledge? Hmmm…  I pushed on because the trail did provide magnificent views of Waikiki but after making my third find, for the hat trick, I decided that I should not be hiking this trail alone and headed back.

The next morning, I set out in search of some safer finds. I rented a Biki (bicycle sharing) and pedaled my way from cache to cache. I had been eyeing a set of four virtual caches that were located near the historic Iolani Palace and iconic State Capital. Although each of these virtual caches was highly educational, my favorite virtual was Trifecta of Influential Figures of Hawai’i (GC7B68E).

Here are some pictures from that virtual series: