User:Robyn

I'm Robyn. I hash on foot, by bicycle and by transit, usually bringing my Hashscot T-Rex with me. I try to avoid going by car, because burning fuel for pointless expeditions is dumb, but exercising for pointless expeditions is the win. I am deeply addicted to geohashing, however, so what began as sometimes stopping off at a geohash in a car while on my way elsewhere, has escalated to sometimes answering the call of distant geohashes too juicy for me to resist, but too far for me to bike before midnight.

When I'm at home in Vancouver, I'll usually try for the nearest hash in Vancouver, in Surrey or across the border to Bellingham. I get over to Victoria from time to time, too. I have good maps locally. I also travel all over North America for work, so you'll see me at strange graticules elsewhere. I might just surprise you some day.

I am also known on the internets as Qov. I'm recognizable as another Internet personality as well, but I can trust you not to blab, right?

Now and Near Future

• Clean up from last two three expeditions.
• Prepare for Geohashing Day.

Eventually

• Eager to get a globalhash
• Minesweep home graticule
• Meet at least one geohasher with a name starting with each letter of the alphabet. I lack B,C,F,I,L,N,O,P,Q,U,V&Z.
• Have the best Geohashing Day in the world.
• Boat across the Squamish River and reach a geohash in the Tantalus Range.
• Examine early Date pages and create expedition pages for the people who reported their expeditions only on the Main Page.

Geohashing Equipment

• Успех (pronounced Oosp-yekh a.k.a. "Speckles") my 1991 Kuwahara TO2 Supertour 18-speed bicycle
• An inflatable kayak
• T-Rex my dinosaur hashscot
• Yellow Garmin etrex Venture HC GPS
• Canon Power Shot SD10 digital camera
• Gorilla mini camera tripod
• Brunton orienteering compass

Wanted Equipment

• New bicycle tights
• Waterproof camera

Statistics

Graticules

• Hashes Attempted: 89 in 34 different graticules
• Hashes Achieved: 58 in 28 different graticules (+2 more without proof)
• Centurion-eligible Saturday Meetups: 10 in 6 different graticules
• Geohashers met: 23 in 5 different graticules
• Continents geohashed: 1

Things that have thwarted me

• Private property : 11
• Being chicken: 1
• Body of water: 1
• Transportation failure: 2
• Mis-setting the GPS: 1
• Time constraints: 4
• Terrain/weather too nasty to continue safely: 7
• Inability to use a camera: 1
• No one attended an alternate:2

Never turn down a chance to geohash.

All Geohashes Attempted

Most recent are listed first. Single horizontal lines every ten missions, and double lines every fifty, to facilitate counting. Bold numbers are the success count and bold words indicate an award or consolation prize taken for that attempt. When I get to 100 I'll move them to their own page.

I've decided to count a geohash "successful" if I:

(a) get to within the accuracy figure of the coordinates as shown by my GPS,

(b) have the GPS show a distance remaining of zero,

(c) get to where it is obvious I could reach the geohash, but refrain from trampling crops,

(d) for airhashes, take a readable photo within 10 seconds of each latitude and longitude, or

The one time I thought I would have to invoke option (c), the geohash came to me.

• 2009-05-16 49 -121 (Chilliwack, BC): Virgin freshwater kayak hash in Harrison Lake. success #58.
• 2009-05-12 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Public transit kayak geohash from Lions Bay in Howe Sound. Success #57.
• 2009-05-10 50 -120 (Kamloops, BC): Driving on scary road then uphill through bush with Rhonda's parents. Success #56.
• 2009-05-09 50 -119 (Vernon, BC): Uphill through bush after missing perfect road. Success #55.
• 2009-05-08 49 -119 (Kelowna, BC): Aborted camping geohash in conditions too dark to hike.
• 2009-05-08 49 -120 (Princeton, BC): Uphill from Stemwinder Park with Juventas. Success #54.
• 2009-05-03 48 -122 (Bellingham, WA): Bicycle consecutive hash in the road next to a raspberry field. Success #53.
• 2009-05-02 48 -122 (Bellingham, WA): Bicycle border camping hash at Silver Lake Park. Success #52.
• 2009-04-28 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): Met yangman and Sue in a driveway 23 m from the geohash, and Sue abducted us.

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• 2009-04-25 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Water taxi and cliff climbing on Gambier Island. Success #51.
• 2009-04-23 48 -122 (Bellingham, WA): Bicycle no trespassing thighbuster on Orcas Island, 1.39 km away.
• 2009-04-22 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): Bicycle hopscotch with Rhonda in Langley. Success #50.
• 2009-04-18 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Chicken farm bicycle Duke Point No Tresspassing 350 m away.
• 2009-04-18 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): Formal attire side of the highway. Success #49.
• 2009-04-17 48 -121 (North Cascades, WA): Third time lucky. Success #48 in wet but walkable woods.
• 2009-04-16 48 -122 (Bellingham, WA): Bicycle border geohash at Semiahmoo. Success #47.
• 2009-04-13 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): Success #46 by public transit in a group home garden.
• 2009-04-08 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Success #45 achieved after 5 1/2 hours in an inflatable kayak.
• 2009-04-06 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Surrendered 999 m away on a snowy mountain north of Squamish.

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• 2009-04-05 48 -122 (Bellingham, WA): Bicycle border hash in Lynden, WA. Success #44.
• 2009-03-29 49 -124 (Port Alberni, BC): Glorious day with kites and kayaks and birthday cake, without reaching the coordinates.
• 2009-03-28 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): Bramble scramble in Kanaka Creek Regional Park for #43.
• 2009-03-27 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): Easy parking lot geohash in the rain for #42.
• 2009-03-23 47 -122 (Seattle, WA): Birthday speedhash in Port Ludlum, WA. Success #41.
• 2009-03-23 48 -122 (Bellingham, WA): No trespassing 274 m from geohash in Custer, WA.
• 2009-03-21 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Unsuccessfully tried to establish an alternate at my birthday party.
• 2009-03-17 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): No Trespassing stopped me 330 m short, but I got to drive over a dam.
• 2009-03-13 48 -122 (Bellingham, WA): Border geohash for success #40.
• 2009-03-09 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Frozen snowman bicycle geohash in the CIBC parking lot for success #39.

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• 2009-03-05 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Twister picnic hash collision in a park: success #38.
• 2009-03-02 32 -96 (Dallas, Texas): Stopped 716 m short. Thwarted by a field of cows and the desperate need to not miss my plane.
• 2009-03-02 32 -95 (Tyler, TX): Stopped 1.44 km short. Thwarted by a fence and the need to catch an airplane.
• 2009-02-27 30 -93 (Lake Charles, LA): Walked for five hours but failed to find the correct road.
• 2009-02-24 30 -93 (Lake Charles, LA): Bushwhacked in, took trail out for success #37.
• 2009-02-20 30 -94 (Beaumont, TX): Failed on the ground, succeeded in the air. Success #36.
• 2009-02-14 32 -94 (Longview, TX): Airhash over Smithville. Success #35.
• 2009-02-09 32 -94 (Longview, TX): Easy drive-in geohash on a quiet road in the woods. Success #34.
• 2009-01-25 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): Failed to reach a spot in a dark, frozen swamp in Abbotsford.
• 2009-01-24 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Bus, ferry and walk to be the first geohasher at a meetup on a llama farm, and success #33.

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• 2009-01-22 47 -122 (Seattle, WA): Second half of a multihash for success #32 and 5 geosquishy points.
• 2009-01-22 48 -122 (Bellingham, WA): A déjà vu geohash for success #31.
• 2009-01-02 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): Snowman geohash by public transit for success #30.
• 2008-12-19 32 -94 (Longview, TX): Walked through an urban forest when I didn't have to. Success #29.
• 2008-12-02 47 -73 (Montréal, QC): Tried to take a non-existent bus in the snow.
• 2008-11-29 47 -122 (Seattle, WA): Took along three first-timers but private property stopped us.
• 2008-11-20 48 -121 (North Cascades, WA): Third unsuccessful try in this graticule. Private property.
• 2008-11-08 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Industrial park in Richmond, success #28.
• 2008-11-01 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): A fine time at an unadopted Saturday alternate at the Bloedel Conservatory.
• 2008-10-16 59 -122 (Snake River, BC): Airhash, success #27.

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• 2008-10-12 55 -119 (Beaverlodge, AB): Airhash, success #26.
• 2008-10-12 56 -120 (Fort St. John, BC): Airhash, success #25.
• 2008-10-12 57 -121 (Gutah, BC): Airhash not counted because of a bad proof of location photo.
• 2008-10-07 55 -120 (Dawson Creek, BC): Airhash in snow and rain for success #24.
• 2008-10-07 54 -119 (Nose Creek, AB): Airhash over patchy clearing in the foothills. Success #23.
• 2008-09-27 48 -122 (Bellingham, WA): I guess I'll finally claim land with success #22.
• 2008-09-25 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Public transit in the rain for success #21.
• 2008-09-21 49 -124 (Port Alberni, BC: Part two of a multihash, a speedhash, and success #20.
• 2008-09-21 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Rubber raft sunrise and water geohash for success #19.
• 2008-09-19 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): Success #18 was a midnight and pirate geohash.

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• 2008-09-13 48 -121 (North Cascades, WA): Second try in this graticule. Access road too nasty to ride on my (road) bike.
• 2008-09-11 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): I walked to #17, which was my first success in my home graticule.
• 2008-08-31 53 -113 (Edmonton, AB): A restricted area at an airport. I will count it as a failed attempt even though I failed a day early.
• 2008-08-30 53 -113 (Edmonton, AB): A Saturday meetup where I met no one, but they missed a fine spot. Success #16.
• 2008-08-30 54 -114 (Barrhead, AB): Success #15 was a drive-in geohash at a housing development in a virgin graticule.
• 2008-08-29 55 -114 (Slave Lake, AB): I was asked to fly to a point one minute and thirty seconds past today's geohash. I did as I was told for success #14.
• 2008-08-28 55 -115 (Utikuma Lake, AB): Success #13 is the first ever in the graticule. Beavers did not thwart me.
• 2008-08-26 55 -114 (Slave Lake, AB): Planned for a water geohash, but it was cold and windy and I had to work -- at the geohash! Success #12
• 2008-08-24 55 -114 (Slave Lake, AB): I don't remember the raptor attack, but I have significant claw marks on my legs. Success #11.
• 2008-08-21 55 -114 (Slave Lake, AB): First ever hash here, for success #10 and coldest documented.

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• 2008-08-17 55 -115 (Utikuma Lake, AB): Mother Nature makes me her bitch in deep tangled forest.
• 2008-08-16 55 -114 (Slave Lake, AB): Stopped by deep swamp filled with metaphorical alligators a mere 0.2 nm from the geohash.
• 2008-08-15 55 -114 (Slave Lake, AB): Uphill dirt road took me too close to bedtime.
• 2008-08-14 55 -115 (Utikuma Lake, AB): Ran out of time cycling around the lake.
• 2008-07-28 48 -123 (Victoria, BC): Border geohash at Point Roberts. Success #9.
• 2008-07-21 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Second attempt at a hash in my home graticule. Blinded by Science entering coordinates.
• 2008-07-19 48 -121 (North Cascades, WA): Thwarted by No Trespassing sign.
• 2008-07-18 47 -122 (Seattle, WA): Ambassador achievement, on a boat dock. Success #8.
• 2008-07-14 39 -121 (Chico, CA): Suspense-filled adventure. No raptors. Success #7.
• 2008-07-13 42 -123 (Grants Pass, OR): My first speed hash. Virgin graticule. Success #6.

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• 2008-07-10 44 -123 (Eugene, OR): Unsuccessful because the motorcyclist refused the road.
• 2008-07-06 47 -121 (Snoqualmie, WA): A drag-along hash, where the draggee brought me, on a motorcycle. Success #5.
• 2008-07-05 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): My first repeat hash in the same graticule, and 4th successful geohash. Logged bicycle.
• 2008-06-25 41 -111 (Ogden, UT): Airhash success but no proof, so not counted.
• 2008-06-14 40 -112 (Tooele, UT): Unsuccessful, thwarted by a ditch in the way.
• 2008-06-14 32 -93 (Shreveport, LA): Another aerial hash, my 3rd successful one. Just missed getting the Master Pilot Award.
• 2008-06-11 31 -84 (Albany, GA): My 2nd successful geohash. First ever aerial hash reported by anyone.
• 2008-06-07 49 -123 (Vancouver, BC): Thwarted by the watershed. And wolves.
• 2008-06-04 49 -122 (Surrey, BC): just south of King George Skytrain station - My 1st successful.
• 2008-06-03 48 -122 (Bellingham, WA): east of Limestone Junction - unsuccessful, because I chickened out at the border.

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• See my blog for details on my early geohashing adventures, before I had properly figured out wiki-ing.

Geohashers Met

Alphabetical by username. Date is first meeting at a geohash.

• Adrian - on a bicycle with Twilightcity at the llama farm on 2009-01-24.
• Arbron - strolling down 22nd Avenue looking at his iPhone on 2009-03-09.
• DaleF - freezing his teeth with a blue geosquishy on 2008-09-25.
• Elbie - in a double kayak with thepiguy on 2009-03-29.
• Garyuuko astride a Buell motorcycle on 2008-11-08 in Richmond.
• HollyB - bouncing happily in the rain 2008-09-25 at Heather and 16th.
• Jaem - protecting his new mobile device with a towel on 2008-09-25.
• Juventas - after surviving an hour stuck in construction traffic on 2009-05-08.
• Kelsey - playing Twister outdoors in six degree weather 2009-03-05.
• MylSh - toasting the geohash in gingerale on 2009-03-05.
• Rhonda - paddling her brand new inflatable kayak to Anvil Island on 2009-04-08.
• Rhonda's mom - in a red Jeep on 2009-05-10.
• Rhonda's dad - who hasn't chosen a usernames yet, driving the red Jeep on 2009-05-10.
• srs0 - inflating a boat 2008-09-21 at a sunrise water geohash.
• SueB - looking good in her shorts 2009-04-28 in a Coquitlam driveway
• thepiguy - cursing like a pirate on 2008-09-19 at a midnight geohash.
• Thomcat - with his two kids on a Ballard side street on 2009-01-22.
• Twilightcity - stopping his bicycle in front of a llama farm on 2009-01-24.
• Wade - geohashing with me since 2008-07-06, often by motorbike
• Xore - walking along highway 99 to join our formal wine & cheese party on 2009-04-18
• yangman - Coasting down Sorrento Street on 2009-04-28 on his mountain bike.

Achievements

I have moved all but my most recently won or updated achievement ribbons to their own page.

Robyn achieved level 7 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Bellingham, Washington and 7 of the surrounding graticules.

Robyn achieved level 5 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Surrey, British Columbia and 5 of the surrounding graticules.

Robyn earned the XKCD-100 Achievement by voyaging 675 km to reach the (50, -119) geohash on 2009-05-09.

Robyn earned the Camping geohash achievement by camping in a very waterproof tent 937 m the (48, -122) geohash on 2009-05-02, from 15:40 p.m. to after breakfast.

Robyn earned the Police Geohash Achievement by being questioned by the Homeland Security Border Patrol while attempting the (48, -122) geohash on 2009-05-02.

Progress Towards Multihash Achievements

• Graticule Hopper - progress towards logging 100 different graticules.
• Mode of transport - working out an interesting way to display how I get to each geohash.
• My bicycle geohashes - cumulative total of cycling distance. No ribbon yet, but there might be someday.
• Notifications - graticules I'm watching for the right spot
• Regional Geohash for British Columbia - progress towards logging all the graticules in my province.
• BC Regional Districts that I am working on geohashing.
• xkcd Centurion - progress towards making 100 Saturday meetups.

Wiki Stuff

• Maintaining consistency and organization of the Achievements page, making sure that achievements are well formatted with categories, ribbons and appropriate links.
• I obsess about every page belonging to its proper categories, and every category belonging to a category, all the way up to the root.
• I removed the category Europe from a couple of hundred European graticules that were classed in Europe in addition to their country categories.
• I came to this wiki knowing nothing about wiki, so I sympathize with others and am working on the Help page.
• My C-key doesn't work all that well, so some of my categories are ategories.
• In progress: Geohash on Private Property.
• Started pages Transportation to the Geohash and Games We Play. Keeping an eye out for additions.
• Making expedition pages and User pages for Ninja geohashers.
• Conducted project tracking Vancouver geohashes for a month to quantify accessibility issues in Vanouver graticule.
• Maintaining Template:New on the wiki for Main Page announcements.
• Generally trying to do things that make the wiki better.
• Oh, and I boss everyone around, too.

57 / f / 49,-123