Caches, Waymarks, & Challenges (Oh My!)

Since logging my 100th find a few weeks ago I've found about a dozen more caches and yesterday I was able fit in a few more.

On my last post I said that I had found my largest cache container yet and possibly ever.  Well I was wrong.  Two weeks ago I had some time to kill before the appointment at the garage for my cars scheduled maintenance so I decided to grab a nearby cache that was on my to do list.  It wound up being a shed in someone's backyard (yes a shed!).  There is even a wooden trunk dedicated to travel bugs and signature items.  After a few minutes of letting me discover the bountiful cache one of the people who lived there came out and we talked for a bit before i had to leave.  I even got a container I plan to use for a new hide.  Saweeet!

Well a few days ago Geocaching.com sent out an email to members saying that they are discontinuing Challenges.  Challenges had been their answer to replacing virtual caches where instead of going somewhere to sign a logbook you are 'challenged' to go somewhere and DO something.  I had accepted a few challenges since signing up for geocaching.com but had never actually done one.

When I had to go to a nearby town for work yesterday I decided to leave a little bit early and do some caches over my lunch hour beforehand.  The cool part was that one the caches I had picked was also the site of a waymark AND challenge.  w00t w00t!  Now I can kill THREE birds with one stone.  Well, technically log three different finds with one smartphone and one location.  But who is splitting hairs? (you'll get that joke later on).

The cache is near the site of a mill 125 years ago.  The miller decided it was a shame to waste the energy of the water flowing out of the mills turbine.  So downstream he built a tower where water twisted the turbine under the tower, a series of gears and shafts spun a large sheave [shEEv] near the peaked roof. Like a giant laundry line with a cable looped around two wheels, water power was transferred from the small tower to the main mill.  What makes this site even MORE unique is that it's one of the only surviving examples of auxiliary water power still standing.  Now that's a cool waymark!

I think the creator of the challenge thought it was pronounced [shAve] instead of [shEEv] because the challenge read:

Stand in front of the Tower and take a picture of you cutting someone's hair with either clippers or scissors and then upload the picture.  No need to actually fully shave, but would be a bonus for sure!

Well I didn't have someone else or scissors with me.  So, not to split hairs (get it now?) I just took a picture of myself pretending to cut my hair with my fingers.

The cache itself was about 40 ft downstream.  I had a bit of a tumble on the way there due to frozen moss on the path (note to self... frozen moss is S-L-I-P-P-E-R-Y).  But it was well worth it for a find at this kind of location.  I dropped one of my signature items, signed the log, took some pictures of the tower for the logs and went on my way.

The rest of the day was a couple simple caches (an LPC) and a DNF on the final of a multi (the way to find the coords for the final was well done).  All in all it was a good day of caching.  I'll leave you with a few more pictures of the tower and a short (I mean SHORT) video of the water running under the bridge.

100th Find

Just over a week ago, for the first time in a long time, I spent the day Geocaching.  The wife was off scrapbooking with a friend and the little one was spending the day with my mom.  I had a HUGE list of caches I wanted to tackle but precious time to find them.  the day wound up being far from what I had planned but much more.


Biggest Container Yet (Ever?)



I had made a Pocket Query a few days beforehand.  So I loaded it into my iPhone and off I went.  However, I forgot to check on the recent logs of the caches.  Or else I would have known that many of the caches of the one series I was interested in were in somewhat disrepair.  Oh well, there are plenty of caches on my 'To Do' list.

So after dropping the little one off with Grammy I whipped out the iPhone, loaded up the GC.com app, and did a search for nearby caches.  Up came 'Sticking Around For The Beer'.  Yup, sounds like a good cache to start the day off.  It was a nice and easy walk into a suburban park and (aside from the familiar feeling of pine needles on my skin) was a nice start to the day.



Very Clever Hide



Next up were some caches in the Caching Migraine series.  You see (up-to-this-point) I logged my one and only FTF (First-To-Find) on #2 in the series.  So I've wanted to try some more and show that it wasn't just a fluke.  This is when I found out that many of the caches in the series are in need of some maintenance.  I'm not about to spend a rare day of caching hunting for hides that may not even be there.  The 2 caches I did find in the series were worthy of their name.  It was nice to check a couple of them off my list.



By now I was getting close to that triple digit number and I could almost taste it.  But I needed a couple more so I went for cache known to be rather large.  Judging from the maps I thought it was just on the outskirts of a sports field.  However, it proved to be quite the trek through bush with many trails going this way & that.  When I finally arrived at GZ I was slightly disappointed that part of cache that made it interesting (other than it's size) had been disabled :(  On the way back to my car I realized that I had parked about 10 metres from another cache.  And despite being out in the open it had me scratching my head for a few minutes.



Caching Down Memory Lane



With 97 finds I started to head towards my goal cache.  On the way I grabbed a cache beside one of my favourite burger joints and met another cacher while I was there.  I then grabbed a cache from my high school stomping grounds.  Then I headed off to the goal cache.



I had been here once before and had left only slightly stumped because I had forgotten the tools I had known I'd needed.  This time I didn't leave anything to chance.  But the cache was right behind a persons backyard, with a low fence, and a muggle relaxing on a lawn chair DOH!  This is going to take some stealth.

Armed with a multitool I made my way to cache in a semi crouch style walk.  I carefully released the cache from its resting place.  All the while watching the muggle to ensure I don't draw any attention.  Once in hand I dash back to the car.  A clever cache indeed!  I signed log and carefully put it back.  Not before taking some photos for personal reference.

I wound up grabbing one final cache before going to have dinner with the family.  A great ending to a great day!

Gambling For Cache

So if you check my finds lately you'll notice I've been working on a poker themed series of caches in a small town near where I work.  Well today I've finished the caches in the series and plan to do the final in under a week.

I've enjoyed this series for a couple reasons:

1. Minimal Bushwacking - this means I was able to work on it on my lunch (which has been most of my caching to date). Plus I'm traipsing burrs or anything else back into the office.

2. Size Small - as a mostly urban cacher I've learnt to endure the tiny bison tubes and itsy-bitsy-nanos. But I like the odd Tupperware container now and again. This whole series are small sized containers with a regular size for the final.

3. Butterflies - while finishing the last cache I needed for the series I wound up walking through a field of butterflies. It was awesome! I didn't take any pictures because all I had was my iPhone.

It's these type of experiences that i think are going to keep me geocaching for a while yet because, let's face it, I wouldn't have had this experience otherwise.

Some 'Dam Good' caching

About 2 weeks ago I got my new Magellan ToughCase in the mail.  I had been having issues with my dinosaur of a GPSr (Garmin eTrex Legend) and wanted something that would do the job but not cost me a fortune.  With the ToughCase I can now take my iPod Touch (or iPhone 3G) out geocaching!  It's a bit finicky they way it needs to be charged.  But they have taken care of the issues with working at walking speeds.  Not mention it has a tough and waterproof case.

I took it out for a lunch time cache run and it was AWESOME!  It was reading 7-10 meter accuracy and zeroing at GZ.  I did 2 cachers that lunch hour and a handful more with it since.  I even placed my first hide using it to get the coordinates.

No Dam Good

Today I went back to take some pictures of the second cache I did that day.  Because in all the excitement I forgot my camera at home.  Now my iPhone was in the car but it was COLD out!  I was lucky I even grabbed that 2nd cache.  I was on my way back to work when I pulled over because I remembered looking at the Geocaching.com map and that there was a cache near by.  I pulled out my iPod Touch app and sure enough 150 m away!


Despite being a stones throw away from a major highway the location is rather picturesque.  It was a nice easy stroll to GZ.  Once there I just had to duck a few branches.  When I grabbed the container I was surprised to pull out an ammo can!  I was surprised because ammo cans aren't very common in Canada (a small military means minimal amounts of army surplus.. besides Tupperware is cheaper!) and because the description had mentioned a first aid kit container.

The description also advised cachers to take the extra few steps and check out the now defunct dam.  I'm glad I did.  There were concrete walls diverting the water where the dam had been dismantled.  A few parts still remain.  When I went back today to take the pictures I forgot to take last time I discovered that someone has been working hard at restoring the dam.  Or rather, something.  As you can teel from these pictures it appears that there is a beaver in the area who is busy building a dam on it's own.  So what used to be 'No Dam Good' is now 'New Dam Good'.

Evidence of Beavers:

Beaver Lumber

New Dam, Good!

50 + 1

50:

Today marks my 50th geocache find.  I know it's not a huge number considering the fact that I started 7 months ago.  But starting a new outdoor hobby at the same time as having a young baby and winter soon after that can slow one down.

I know that other geocachers tend to pick a memorable cache to do for their milestones.  Mine?  It was just a step up from a park and grab near a carpool parking lot (GCPD8T).  I chose this cache because it was hidden by a cacher in Ontario with the 2nd most finds:

I figured what better way to mark s small numbers milestone than by finding a cache hidden by someone lits TONS of them.  Who knows, maybe some of the geocaching skills will transfer on to me.  I know I know! But a man can dream!

+1:

On my way to making my 50th find I placed my first hide.  I just filled out the submission form.  So check back and I'll update this post when it's approved.  It's nothing fancy.  Just a quick P&G (park & grab).  But I thought the location was interesting.

In the next few months I plan to place many more caches.  As a matter of fact, I'm currently planning a series of caches.  So stay tuned to my blog posts with the geocaching label.

***Update***

My first hide has now been published.  It's called 'Telemarketing' because there is a phone booth (a rarity these days) with all sorts of advertising stickers all over the doors.  Sadly it only has 1 find so far.  Around here once the FTF frenzy has cooled off people take their time to grab a new hide.  I think the D1/T1 rating puts people off too.  I might bump the difficulty up to a 1.5.

How To Convert A Muggle

Those who follow me know that I started caching by following the posts my buddy Dave made about caching with his family.

As I've been getting more and more into the game, sport and obsession known as Geocaching (shout out to HeadHardHat) I've been telling all my co-workers about it.

Bit by bit one of my coworkers has been asking more and more questions about it. He was thinking his boys would like it.

Last week we popped out on lunch to grab a cache. Despite coming up with a DNF he was hooked. In fact, he went back later that night with his son and DID find it. Despite being sick, after signing the log he turned to his dad and dripping with anticipation asked "Are there any more?"

Hooked.

In fact, even his wife was saying "Pick me up after work so we can grab the one just around the corner". I even had him signing up for a Premium Membership the same day he logged his 2nd find.

So far we've gone on a second lunch time cache run. But the scary part for me is that I think very soon he's going to surpass me in finds.

I can hardly wait until my daughter gets older and we will be caching all the time.

The Urban Cache

So far I've been doing mostly urban caches, which means mostly micros & nanos.  There are the usual suspects: light pole skirts and traffic sign magnetics.  I like the ones that are a little more inventive.

I also recently signed up for a premium membership.  The idea was to make planning caches along a roadtrip easier.  But I also get to sign up for email notifications of newly hid caches.  Mainly because I'm eager to get a FTF (First To Find) under my belt.


I was online this morning making a bookmark list for an upcoming day trip when I noticed this cache. "Hmm" I thought, "I don't remember seeing a cache in that parking lot before".

But it wasn't until I was on a completely fruitless cache run on my lunch break that I saw the email notification of a new cache. Woo hoo, I can get my first FTF. So I open the Geocaching.com app on my iPhone and load the cache. DOH! It's already been found.

But I had some banking to do after work so I swung by and figured I'd give it a shot. I got out of my car and saw a guy walking around patting everywhere and holding a GPSr in his hand. Wooohoo, my first bump in with a fellow geocacher in the wild.

We fumbled around for a few minutes before Big Zee made the find but was kind enough to offer me first to sign. We traded stories for a lil while before we each made our way home after an afterwork cache.

New Years

New Year's is a little extra special for me. I guess it's because it's my birthday. That's probably why I've never really bought into the hype of New Years Eve.

I'd rather focus on the fact that people all over the world celebrate my birthday (an international holiday). Ha ha.

I've also never really been into making resolutions either. Okay, I've never really kept any of my resolutions.

We call them resolutions... goals... whatever... but this year I have 2 of them:

1) Get & Stay Physical - Yeah, I know! Everyone says that. But with a new baby girl I want to healthy enough to enjoy life with her for many years to come. Plus, this year I have a motivation: Geocaching. The hard is going to be the same as it always is: finding time in the daily grind to do it.

2) Fellowship - Between visiting family at least once a month, having a new baby, & sometimes just not feeling well we've missed a lot of Sundays at church and Small Group on Tuesdays all together the past 6 months. This can't go on. We need to find a way to get connected again to our faith community.

Mucky Yucky Fun! (Geocache)

Today I decided to tackle a geocache that is within walking distance from my work.  I really need to get motivated with going out for walks/geocaches and I think this cache is going to do the trick.

From reading the logs previously I knew this cache was in rough shape.  A lot of people have mentioned that the container is cracked and that the log is soaked.  Since the Cache Owner (CO) hasn't been out to fix it in some time I had planned to throw together a replacement container at work.  But with some very pathetic options I decided it best to check the cache out first and then buy a suitable container.

So I grabbed a pencil, some sheets of lined paper, a grocery bag (didn't have any Ziplocs), my iPhone (with Geocaching.com app) and my my iPod.  Jamming out to some tunes I made my way to and down the path that led towards the cache.  But once I reached the end of the path it looked like I was going to have to cross creek 6 feet across and 2 or 3 deep.  I knew it was wet & muddy out but I wasn't prepared for THIS!

I took a minute to boot up the iPhone app and see where I was in relation to GZ and spotted thinner and more shallow end of the creek to cross.  It took some balancing on rocks and ducking under some branches but I made it across safe, sound, and DRY!

About 10-12 feet from the creek I met up with the original path and continued towards GZ.  When I got to GZ I knew I had to push past a couple trees to get to the search area.  Despite being an overcast day the view was still quite nice.  I had to wiggle around a ledge.  But once on the ledge the cache was easy to spot.

I pulled it the lock-n-lock out from the rocks it was half hidden under to find the other cachers had not been exaggerating.  It was busted up good: cracks in the lid, a hole in the bottom and (of course) a soaked log book.  I took out my paper and logged the find on them.  I was going to put the paper inside the grocery bag to keep it dry but there was a toy inside a plastic bag.  SWEEEET!

The walk back to work was much nicer because after crossing the creek I had noticed another path that seemed to lead back to the road without crossing ANY water.  Although I emerged with muddy boots and mucked up the back of my pants with mud spatter I'd have to say this has been my best caching experience yet.

Along with logging the cache I messaged the owner about helping out with container AND log maintenance.  My plan is to 'adopt' the cache.  This way I'll have a reason to get out for walks on my lunch hour more often.

(#14)

Maps

Up until a few months ago I only ever used Yahoo, MapQuest, & Google for my mapping needs.  In fact, I got rid of all my old paper maps years ago.  Why bother when you can just download the map you need & print it off?  And with smart phones now you have the maps with you.  That's one of the main reasons I never bought a GPS unit for my car.  I figure why bother whn I have a map function built into my iPhone?

But ever since buying my Garmin eTrex Legend GPS for going geocaching I've realized there are many more map options out there for different purposes.  The Geocaching.com website and iPhone app have different options for different types of maps.

Street Maps
Just what you think they'd be: maps of streets.  However, different websites provide different details and different levels of accuracy.  I find Yahoo & MapQuest to be more accurate with where an address is located on a street.  But I find Google has more recently created streets.  This time the Geocaching website & app chose to use Bing, Google and OpenStreetMap.org (OSM).  OSM is an open source mapping system.

Sateliette Maps
Sateliette maps are actual images of the area taken at different levels of magnification.  Depending on the website or service you use depends on how recent the images are and their level of magnification.  The Geocaching website and app use Bing, Google, & Google Hybrid (Google Street Maps overlaying the satelitte images).   Since I don't need extreme detail or recent images I use these free versions too.

Topographic Maps
When hiking, camping, or doing anything outdoors it's always helpful to know ahead of time a lay of the land.  You need to know when there are sudden or gradual changes in elevation or the type of terrain you'll be going through.  Topographic maps use lines to show you changes in elevation.  So the closer together the lines the steeper the terrain.  This time the website and app use OpenCycleMap.org (OCM).  OCM is also an open source mapping website.  However, this one is geared (hahaha!) towards cyclists because with topographic maps they can know how many hills are on their planned route, how big they are and how steep they are.  Of course, it also comes in handy for hikers and geocachers.

So far I've been talking about free mapping solutions.  However, there are many proprietary mapping solutions too.  A perfect example of this are maps for GPS units.  Most GPS units come preloaded with a set of basic maps.  Depending on the manufacturer, model, and purpose you can upgrade your maps for free or for a fee.

Well the base map on my Garmin eTrex legend unit is basic.  I mean so basic it only shows MAJOR highways.  I looked up the cost of the highway maps for the Garmin maps North America and they are being sold for about $100.  That's more than I even paid for my GPS unit.  So I started looking up ways I could upgrade my maps for free.

In my searching I came across a page on the OSM wiki page about creating your own maps in Garmin format from OSM exports.  I was able to download the image tiles I wanted (thanks to OSM user computerteddy).  Then using the command line program CGSMapper SendMap Pro I was able to create a Garmin compatible IMG file.

But when I tried to use the SendMap tool to actually send it to my GPS unit it wouldn't work!  I think it's because the tool is looking for a USB connection instead of a Serial connection (which is what my unit uses).  So I'm going to dig out my USB-Serial converter to see if that works.  I also noticed that one of the pages mentioned that I need to change the connection mode my GPS is using.  But there is no USB or Serial mode!  Grrrr!!

Anyone know what I'm missing?  Or is this just an impossibility with my model of GPS unit?

Prospecting For Geocaches

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in Canada and since we had already done Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws on Saturday (leftovers on Sunday) we took Monday for just family time.

The offspring slept in a little bit, so we got to sleep in a little bit for the first time in a long time.  We had the whole with nothing to do so the night before we had planned to go geocaching at a local park.  We would get as many caches as we could in the park before the little one needed to a break and then we'd stop and have a picnic.

So I loaded up a dozen or so caches in my iPod Touch and GPSr and we headed off to Prospect Park.  It's a local park with an indoor gymnasium, 2 baseball diamonds, a splashpad, tennis courts, a leash park, and the site of the Acton Fall Fair all on a peninsula that juts out into a small lake.  the terrain to & from each cache was fairly tame and mostly a gravel path.  But there was still some adventure.  All in all we wound up being 3 for 3 for the day.

Prospect Park during the Acton Fall Fair

Incredible Acton - Prospect Park (GC32VB9) was the first find of the day.  Up until now all my finds have been micro/small urban caches.  This cache actually offered little bit of a challenge terrain-wise.  While searching at ground zero I had to be careful not fall off the sloping hill into the water.  The log container was a little chincy but the cache itself was well hid.  Once I read the hint I saw it right away.

Interesting Acton 1 (GC2T8D8) was the second find of the day.  As the name suggests this cache is part of a series of places in Acton (my hometown) the cache owners find interesting.  Again it was very easy to get to.  I just had to hop back on the trail and keep walking.  As I approached GZ I was fairly certain I knew where the cache was but as I got closer I started to doubt myself.  I check the hint on my iPod and my initial instincts were right.  As I filled out the log and carefully replaced the cache in it's hiding spot my wife checked on the youngin' who was passed out in the stroller.  SWEET!  I can keep pushing on for the 3rd cache in this park before breaking for lunch.

Interesting Acton 2 (GC2TCP1) was the third and final find of the day.  The crazy thing is that despite being the lowest terrain & difficulty level of all 3 caches it proved to require the most effort to find.  It was easy enough to get to the cache but we had about half a kilometer of backtracking to get to GZ.  Then, despite being in a relatively open field with on 2 or 3 trees that stood 3 metres high my GPSr started jumping all over the place.  Ugh!  So I give it a minute and try walking in a straight line hoping it will even out to no avail.  Stumped again I resorted to reading the hint.  It still meant checking 3 spots about 20 feet from each other.  On the way back to the 3rd spot my GPSr evened out again and declared THIS spot to be the winner.  But I had already searched here.  Or so I thought.  Because I stick my hand into the hiding spot again to find my fingers to come across a well hidden micro.

We then found a nice picnic table in the shade of a tree beside the splash pad and sat down to have lunch: PB & J sandwiches, chunks of honeydew melon & pineapple, with Dr Pepper to drink.  While the wife packed up the containers I logged the finds with my iPhone thanking the owners for a day of "'prospectin' for caches".  Before leaving we got some cute pictures of us with the little one in a Bumbo Chair and a few on the ground in the leaves.


A Bumbo Chair helps a baby sit up straight without falling over

I learnt a few things on this caching trip:
1. I think I have a better idea of how people hide caches.
2. I also learnt that I need to be patient and trust my gut.  I think my first (non-urban micro) cache find without using a hint will feel good.
3. I'm also excited about finding caches in more natural settings.
4. I forgot the level of awesomeness that is a PB & J sandwich.

Geocaching

First off I'd like to says sorry for the barrage of posts a short while ago.  As I was writing Join The Hunt I came across a few draft posts that needed to still be published.

GEOCACHE UPDATE:

So I finally got my mitts on the eTrex Legend I was looking to buy.  For the first time in a long time I actually read the instruction manual for a piece of technology.  Normally I just let'er rip and figure it out as I go.  The only time I normally crack open a manual is to read up on a very specific function.  Don't get me wrong TRIED to do that.  But I'm not at all familiar with GPS technology and the interface on this basic unit isn't as intuitive I've become accustomed to with my iPod Touch and iPhone.

Aside from the interface, the fist thing I noticed was the lacking detail of the maps.  Small details like MAJOR HIGHWAYS!!!  I guess most of what you pay for when you buy a GPS unit for your car is the maps and waypoints included in it.  But before it was discontinued this unit sold for over $150.  So right now I'm trying to find a way to avoid spending $100+ on street & topographic maps from Garmin.

I've placed a link to my stats from Geocaching.com on the side of the blog so you can follow my progress.  I changed my username from Ry3guy to Tha Duh Feez since the ultimate goal of this new hobby is to be more physically active with the wife and daughter.

I've logged 3 finds so far with only my first hunt being a DNF.  The stats bar only says I've found 2 because one needs maintenance (a Ziploc bag for the log) badly!  I'll relog it when I add the Ziploc baggy.

My 1st find ever was with the family at the main intersection of Acton.  I totally cheated.  While I was waiting to get my eTrex I bought the Geocaching.com iPhone app.  It lets you lots of stuff.  Even some things only a premium membership can do on the website.  It lets you access the description of the cache, read the hint, use 3 map features (topographic, street, & satellite), log a find, view/take photos, and save it all for offline use.  Well I used the description & hint to find the exact location of the cache.

My 2nd cache I looked at the pictures.  Total spoiler!  It's my own fault though because the iPhone app warns you pictures can contain spoilers.  I still count it as a cool find though because of the type of cache container.

My 3rd cache was my first cache find using my eTrex unit.  I knew the general location of the cache because I had already looked it up on the iPhone but didn't read the hint or look at any photos.  So I turned on my eTrex and added a new waypoint and selected GoTo.  It took me a couple minutes to select the options I wanted on my screen (bearing & distance).  When I started walking around ground zero the bearing indicator started acting like a compass near a magnet.  I realized that's what it means it says 'accurate to 17ft'.  I eventually found the cache (thanks to learning from my first DNF).  My stupid pen wouldn't work so I took a pic of the log and uploaded it with my log as proof of the find.

I'm meeting up with my wife & daughter after work to go hang out with friends.  But I'm trying to think of ways I could sneak out and get in another cache!

Join The Hunt

So, I've been looking for something physical to do because I want to be able to be fit enough to play sports with my daughter when she's old enough.  I don't want to be that father always telling his kid to slow down (well... until she starts learning to drive).

But I've been coming up dry.  I was going to start going for walks before work but I never get there in time or I'm exhausted from not sleeping with my CPAP machine.  Then I thought we could start going for walks as a family at night before my daughter goes to bed.  Again, it just never seems to work out.  Either we are out late at some one else's house or the routine of life just gets in the way.

The other day I was reading my buddies blog.  You see my buddy Dave is into geocaching.  It basically involves using GPS technology to find hidden treasures (caches).  In fact, most of his blog posts have something related to it.  He even incorporates it into business trips & vacations.  But what I finally realized this time was that he often takes his wife, son, and dog with him.

It got me thinking (yeah... that's kinda dangerous), why don't I do that with my family?  My wife loves road trips and used to like going hiking all the time.  The best part is that it's goal oriented!  I won't just be going for a walk for the sake of going for a walk.  I'll be going for a walk to put another notch in my cache belt (not to be confused with a cash/money belt).

So after searching Best Buy, FutureShop, Canadian Tire, Sport Check, & Tiger Direct I found even the cheapest Garmin eTrex for $179 (+extra for maps).  Umm, NO!  Kijiji to the rescue!  I found a step up from the basic Garmin eTrex model almost new for $60.  It's been up for a couple weeks so I sent an email offering $50. (See below)

Let's hope I get it.  Too bad buying size 15 hockey skates wasn't this easy!