glynnfam

http://www.fire.ca.gov/cdf/incidents/ Sorry, I'm not good w/ embedding links and don't have the 5min it would probably take to figure it out! BUT - this link has helped me in the past when there are fires near my mountain property. It's about the best way I know to track/monitor a fire w/o actually being there bugging the professionals. It's got maps, and sometimes even photos.

Just an FYI, I don't think doggies are allowed on the Natural Bridges Trail. If someone gets there anytime soon, they may want to confirm it, but I'd hate to show up w/ my dawg and have to cancel the hike.

Isn't .ca for Canadian domains?

While I -DO- like the idea of "dog friendly" icons (as well as others), I will always consider it MY responsibility to check whether or not dogs are allowed in the area. A cache hider with no pets might not even be aware of whether or not an area is open to dogs.

Several months back in these forums there was a discussion about a geocacher who placed a cache on public land behind his back fence. Whenever a cacher was searching for a cache, all the neighborhood dogs would begin barking, and that was his cue to take a picture. I think he was even posting pictures on his cache page of cachers in the act. Most on the thread thought it was a neat idea!

It will help the reporter see the true "personality" of this sport/hobby/addiction. You could request it be shot in such a way that the location would not be determined by the viewer (no telling ridgelines, etc.) IMHO, that would ADD the mysterious element that the story needs.

Mine are now 3 & 5, and we've been caching over a year. Sometimes it's a LOT of work for Mom (me), but it beats staying home! We've got lots of caches placed in community type parks, places of interest or small regional parks where the hike isn't too far - they can pretty much handle those. Also, for longer hikes, I use a Trek Transport - its a bike trailer that converts to a "jogger" or hiking buggy as I call it. Have taken it over some pretty wild terrain on some LONG hikes. The kids walk or ride at their pace, and meanwhile the buggy holds the caching backpack, water bottles, fishing poles, etc. Good luck!

Mine are now 3 & 5, and we've been caching over a year. Sometimes it's a LOT of work for Mom (me), but it beats staying home! We've got lots of caches placed in community type parks, places of interest or small regional parks where the hike isn't too far - they can pretty much handle those. Also, for longer hikes, I use a Trek Transport - its a bike trailer that converts to a "jogger" or hiking buggy as I call it. Have taken it over some pretty wild terrain on some LONG hikes. The kids walk or ride at their pace, and meanwhile the buggy holds the caching backpack, water bottles, fishing poles, etc. Good luck!

Yes, it's been done before, but no reason why you can't do it too! I found a card in a cache that said something like "congratulations, here are the coordinates to a "bonus" cache that isn't listed on the website" and then something about moving the card to another cache. As the "bonus cache" was over 200 miles from me, in a location I rarely get to, I left the card there for other, more intrepid, cachers.

I'm with Rubber toe.... it probably depends on when the cache was placed. I never thought about it until I went out to find a new cache this last spring. As I scrambled up the damp hillside, I realized that I did NOT want to be going for this cache in a Northern California summer when it would be SURROUNDED by PO and stickers. The cache HIDER might not have even realized that at the time. And yes, we DO seem to do more of the 1/1 "in a local park" type of caches this time of year. Now I know why!

quote:Originally posted by shybabe924:If you have a Walmart nearby, you can buy a pack of 10 pencils, called Pencil Points. I'm with shybabe - in my usual strolls thru the dollar stores for cache booty, I always keep a lookout for an inexpensive package of mechanical pencils. I think I got 10 for a dollar once.

quote:Originally posted by shybabe924:If you have a Walmart nearby, you can buy a pack of 10 pencils, called Pencil Points. I'm with shybabe - in my usual strolls thru the dollar stores for cache booty, I always keep a lookout for an inexpensive package of mechanical pencils. I think I got 10 for a dollar once.

I just released my first bug a few days ago and spent a lot of time putting together something w/ similar information but not nearly so nice looking! I think it's important to the bug's "survival" to include as much information as possible and not trust people to understand what a bug is or to go to the website. Obviously, geocachers are much more astute than your average John Q, but one needs to be prepared for "the common denominator" getting a bug. Thanks!

Aw, don't get your panties in a bunch. There are people who pay to be taken on tours many of us would guide ourselves through. People pay guides to take them hiking, cleaners to clean their houses, teachers to teach their kids, gardeners to mow their lawns. If someone wants to PAY to be taken geocaching, more power to the person who gets the money. I don't think it's going to ruin the sport for the rest of us.

I'd like to second the ideas from sbell111 and Markwell - check maps and place a cache where there is more than one way to get to it, or where the "obvious" way might be the wrong way or harder way. It's lots more fun to find a cache like that than taking the only trail to an obvious cache location.

We've got lots of great cachers, but Ron Streeter comes to mind first and foremost. He's hidden upwards of 100 quality caches and has visited everyone else's.

I had a strange coincidence happen.... I live in the SF Bay area, and have many cousins in North Dakota - they all hunt, so I figured they'd have GPS units. I contacted a cousin that lives in an area that has several geocaches (Bismarck) and told him about geocaching and said that I wanted to deploy a travel bug from CA to get to him in ND. I found the perfect spot - a little known trail, practically in my own backyard. Only about a mile long, and a dead-end. I ordered my travel bug and began gathering items to create a new cache to place at the end of this trail and start my travel bug off. Guess what. Before I got my act together, another local geocacher placed a cache at the end of this trail and in it, she placed a Sacagawea coin travel bug that was to find its way to Bismarck ND twilight zone music>. Freaky.

For those of you who have done this one - is it BIKEABLE? I doubt the little Glynns would make the round trip hike, and it appears flat so I thought we'd try it on bikes, or burley & tagalong if necessary. Possible? Or are there fences and rr bridges that aren't bike friendly? Lovin' life in the East Bay!

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=8520 The above cache is archived (the sharks were all auctioned off), so you'll have to be logged in to see how we did it, but in a nutshell.... The organizers had a "Scavenger Hunt" to promote the sharks. Players had to identify by name which shark various clues & riddles represented. Perhaps the DC promoters will consider and plan such an event, because we then "piggybacked" a "multi-virtual" on the scavenger hunt. We took the original list of questions and worked with the promoter (they were happy for "free advertising" and thought geocaching was kewl, and I took them to visit Kablooey's Dot Com Meltdown cache) to identify the toughest riddles and the most out of the way sharks. Then I ran around downtown San Jose and got the coordinates for each of these sharkes and ammended the Scavenger Hunt Questionnare to include the coordinates for the hard-to-find sharks, thereby giving Geocachers an added advantage. If you check the log on the cache, you'll see that some cachers won some good prizes!

The little Glynns are 3 & 5 and have been caching nearly a year. 20 finds, some virtual and multi. Nothing harder than a 3/3 though. They usually bring a toy of their own to trade and often spot the cache first, being lower to the ground. For LONG hikes, I still bring along the Trek Transit hiker - good for tired kidlets and also toting a small cooler of juice boxes! The 5 yr old often carries the GPS or compass. All in all, a GREAT family activity. Enjoy!

I would be honored to help. What do I need to do? I live in a cache rich area - San Francisco Bay Area and could leave blocks in several oft-visited caches. eMail me at pamglynn@yahoo.com

I would be honored to help. What do I need to do? I live in a cache rich area - San Francisco Bay Area and could leave blocks in several oft-visited caches. eMail me at pamglynn@yahoo.com

Yes, definitely get the kids walking. But some of our caching adventures have turned out to be longer than anticipated, and I've also done many hikes that would be too much to ask a (then) 2 yr old to complete. So the hiking buggy has been a fantastic fall back - especially at the end of a very long day.

My cachers have just turned 3 & 5. For the last 5 years, I've been using a Trek Transit for all my hiking excursions greater than a mile. It is a bike trailer that converts to a runner (NOT a stroller) w/ a big 20" wheel in front. You wouldn't believe the terrain I've pushed/pulled this thing through! Granted, it's an expensive option, but over the years, it's paid for itself. Saved my back, and I can carry a small cooler, fishing poles, etc. in addition to my geocaching pack and my 2 tired wee ones!