My Home Coordinates

Home - N 46 35.564 W 112 02.176

Welcome to my blog!

I am Pete, though you might recognize me online or by my logs as CerealBoxMonsters. For most of my adult life, I have called Helena, Montana home, and it is right here that I first fell in love with geocaching back in April 2007, although that wasn't when I first heard about the activity. In 2002 I had watched a short clip television clip on the Travel Channel or the Discovery Channel that featured geocaching and it intrigued me, but at the time I couldn't afford to buy a GPSr. The next year, I deployed to the Middle East with the Army and ended-up purchasing a small Garmin GPSr for patrols. When I returned, I had more or less forgotten about the activity and was busy raising a family. Then, in 2007, during a phone conversation with my mom, who lived in the UK, she told me about a news clip she had seen on television about geocaching and said she thought I'd enjoy it. The very next day a friend of mine was over to visit at my house and was excited to show me his new hobby, geocaching. We went right out to go find the nearest cache located by my house (GCK8QC Hidey Hole #3), and after finding it and signing the logsheet I was hooked. A few years later I ended up adopting that cache, and over the many years that have followed I have traveled around the world finding geocaches in nearly every place I have visited.

This blog was created to capture these adventures, as well as to recap popular geocaching initiatives and projects, reveal some of my tips and tricks, and provide my unfiltered and honest opinion about the state of geocaching. I hope you find what you're looking for.

Favorite Cache Types & Opinions

When it comes to my caching philosophy, I will hunt for almost any container that appears to be in good repair and has been recently found, but Traditional and Virtual Caches remain my absolute favorites. They are followed closely by Multi-Caches and Mystery/Puzzle Caches. I will always make an effort for an interesting EarthCache, if available. While I try to attend an Event or two each year to see what's new, I heavily prefer the quiet solitude of the trail or the individual satisfaction of finding a cache on my own over the chaos of large group hunts.

Traveling has shaped my perspective on what makes a quality hide. When I am on the road, I rely heavily on Favorite Points to filter my options. No matter where I go, I have little patience for devious hides in uninspired locations, like parking lot lamp post caches (LPCs) or guard rail caches (GRCs), and it is always a disappointment to encounter a neglected or abandoned container.

I also hold a firm, perhaps controversial, stance on Wherigo and Adventure Lab caches: to me they are distinct geo-location games, not true geocaches. Because they rely on their own platforms and require dedicated devices rather than a traditional GPSr, I don't believe they should count toward overall cache finds.

To me, a great geocache must do one of two things:

• Transport you to a remarkable, memorable location—offering a stunning view, a fascinating feature, or an unexpected history lesson.
• Showcase a genuinely creative, unique theme or container.

I would always prefer to find a single, exceptional cache at the end of a lengthy hike than a dozen forgettable urban micros. That said, I will gladly make an exception for any cache that uncovers a historically interesting spot, an unusual landmark, or a hidden gem I never would have discovered if not for geocaching.

Plain and Simple: My Tools & Tips

My preference for meaningful locations over high numbers heavily influences the gear I use for geocaching. Everyone caches their own way, ranging from super simple and old-school to highly modern and tech-savvy. I fall firmly into the former class, relying entirely on a Garmin Foretrex 101 for navigation and a small field notebook to write down pertinent details, especially logging requirement answers for Virtual Caches and EarthCaches.

My GPSr has no maps and no color screen; it features just a simple, black-and-white LCD and a steady arrow pointing the way. It is basic, functional, and rugged. While it hasn't always led me to a successful find, it has guided me to every single cache I have ever found.

When planning a geocaching trip, my top tip is to utilize the Geocaching Premium Lists feature and advanced map selections. They are essential tools for filtering out the noise and targeting the exact types of experiences you want to have when exploring a new city or country.

On Trackables & Community Service

Just as my gear has remained simple, my approach to trackables and swag has evolved. Over the years, I have found, retrieved, discovered, and moved along plenty of trackable Travel Bugs and Geocoins. I have even released a few of my own, though all of them have since gone missing. Earlier in my geocaching adventures, trackables were an exciting part of the game and readily found in caches. These days, however, they seem to be few and far between, and most of what remain "in the wild" are merely proxies. I will typically only pick up a Travel Bug if I am confident I can move it along toward its stated mission, and geocoins have largely vanished from the wild altogether—good luck finding one out there!

The once-integral tradition of trade items—trading up or trading even—feels like it belongs to an earlier era of the game, so I no longer bother to bring swag along on my travels. Instead, I carry blank logsheets and small plastic bags to replace those that need maintenance. I also leave my signature item in caches I really enjoy. To me, these actions feel like a service of much greater use to the geocaching community than trading plastic trinkets.

The Story Behind the Name

People often ask about the inspiration behind my geocaching username. Years ago, a small yellow plastic cereal box monster ended up among the random odds and ends in our family's kitchen junk drawer. One morning, on a whim, I moved it to the silverware drawer, surprising the family member who reached for a fork. The next day, I found the creature hiding inside my own coffee cup. I doubled down and hung it on the bathroom mirror.

From there, this little monster began migrating all around the house—hidden by one family member, discovered by another, and then secretly relocated somewhere new. It became a permanent game of hide-and-seek.

When the day finally came that we found our first geocache and I had to create an account, the username was almost too obvious. The game we had been playing for years at home was, at its core, exactly what geocaching is: hiding, seeking, and the pure joy of discovery. It represents living a life outside the box. The name just fit, and it has lived up to expectations for many years.

Other Interests

When I am not actively searching for a hidden container, my love for history, geography, and travel keeps me moving. I consume large amounts of audiobooks and podcasts, usually science fiction, fantasy, or historical non-fiction, while logging miles on hiking trails or at the local gym.

I will be posting to this blog when time and topic provides, so be sure to check in regularly to see what is new!!