RPW

My 4 caches so far have been around $30 each. I am not much for first-to-find swag and thus tend to keep all of the items about the same cost. I figure that most of the swag is for kids -- assuming that the cache is kid-accessible which has been true to now -- and not for the grownups (we can buy our own stuff) and thus I tend to be heavy on the kid-oriented prizes. BTW: Your cache sounds good. Don't worry about those who said otherwise.

I have an event which I am helping run that starts in 6 hours. About 45 people have signed up. We are just going to meet at a pizza place, do some ice-breaking games, and generally chat. No caching involved since it is cold and snowy outside and we are all weenies. Afterwards we will just head home. However I have been to other events -- when it is supposedly warmer outside -- where there has been a full day of caching.

The problem is being able to determine, ahead of time, if the cache you are going to is a "lame" lamppost urban or a (to my eye, at least) "nicer" cache. Virtuals are easy to avoid -- they are labeled as such. Lampposts are not unless a person wishes to rule out all micro caches. Yes, I know, read the logs. Map the coordinates. But often, and this is true in a city that you just happen to be passing through, you may have the coordinates in your GPS but do not have cache page handy. And so one seeks even if the cache turns out to be less than interesting. I agree that there is definate need for easy urbans which often means micros. But a parking lot? Geez, of what interest is that except to raise a person's stats? At least lead me to a statue or a monument or at least something of note.

It is not quite in my neck of the woods but close enough that feel concerned enough to ask. How did this get approved without a log book requirement? It is a newish cache. Or has this been covered somewhere else?

Failure! I tried to make a hybrid lexan & ammo box this weekend without success. The lexan just did not stand up well to the waves in metal. Some of the wavy curses were caused by my sawing holes in the metal ammo box -- although I tried to hammer these flat -- and some were caused by the stress of closing and opening the box. The lexan eventually cracked on me. Sometimes when a person embarks on a project they either screw up badly the first time around or figure ways to make the project easier and, in either case, are anxious to make a second attempt. Not this time. I think that the hybrid box is beyond my skill level. I might try the "floating panel" idea but this is going to take a bit of work and so I will have to set aside another weekend in the distant future. Fortunately the cost was not too bad -- $4.40 for the ammo box and $5.50 for the plastic. I hope that 'umc' has better success. As for me those Otterboxes are looking better.

Aye, I am tired of the question especially since I did not get my height (6' 5") until I was 20. Uncoordinated, short and blind as a bat does not make for a good high school basketball upbringing. Good come-back!

Not to be a killjoy however ... Because there is information into those numbers. As far as I can tell -- and you more expert people can correct me -- the GC numbers are not completely randomly assigned but rather are in chronological order. In other words a cache with a number starting with "GCH" was placed more recently than a cache starting with "GCD". When I am out on a general cache hunt -- i.e., hopping from cache to cache without knowing exactly where I am going next -- then knowing the age of the cache is of some interest. Not a killer bit of knowledge but it can make a difference as to which cache I will go to next. On the other hand, if vanity numbers are issued I would just love to have GCRPW0 through GCRPW9. So count me in as someone who would use the feature but thinks that the idea is bad. Makes me two-faced, I know!

Palm or PocketPC? I would say the best unit is "cheap" no matter what the platform. After all when you are out geocaching and your PDA slips out of your hands into the muddy water below your feet which would you prefer to cry out: "$@%$* There goes my new $500 PDA" or "Fooey! There goes my $60 PDA, guess I will have to pick up another used one." These things aren't waterproof nor extremely rugged unlike our GPSes. Perhaps the new Garmin combination PDA/GPS unit is rugged but I have not see one in action.

My PQs have come in fine. It is possible that this latest round of virus/worms (e.g., MyDoom) is causing your PQs to be intercepted and thrown away by your internet service provider. I know that my ISP said that they were going to stop a lot of attachments but, so far, this does not seem to have effect my PQs ... perhaps later if the the virus/worm gets worse. [Edit] I misunderstood the question. Never mind!

Re: Otterboxes. They are nice. I have a small one for the occassional times I go white water rafting. Rugged and waterproof. However I agree with umc -- a tad expensive to leave out in the woods. Guess I'm just a cheap SOB. The prices on ebay are not too bad. A limited selection though. BTW: Great ideas coming out of this topic. The floating panel is interesting although, obviously, more complex than simple glue. The 3M glue could be useful. And those are just some of the neat ideas!

This issue is inside a couple of other topics at the moment however I thought that it would be useful to give it a topic of its own. What would be the best way to create a hybrid ammo/plastic can so that it combines all of the good characteristics of ammo cans -- waterproof, rugged, one latch closing, all weather -- with the good quality of plastic -- visibility. Note: I am concerned mainly with hybrid containers in "rugged" environments. That is, places which experience a lot of freeze/thaw weather, snow, rain, and heat extemes. Several questions come to mind: Which side(s) to cut out of the ammo box? How large (width, length) of a cut to make into the ammo box? Put the plastic on the outside or inside of the box? Or both? Which plastic to use? Lexan? Thickness of the plastic? How to fasten the plastic onto the ammo box? Glue? Rivets? Bolts? Tape? Should caulk or gasket sealant be used? And, of course, is this even going to work and remain rugged & watertight? I am expecially concerned about the different rates of contraction and expansion of metal and plastic since this might cause the plastic to peel away from the metal. "Rugged" means standing up to geocaching abuse -- people stuffing too much swag into a box, people not handling the geo-container with kid gloves, etc. Has anyone made a hybrid box? Any insights? I have spare time -- it is snowy outside! -- and the spare ammo boxes so I am ready for some experimentation. Thanks in advance.

Yes, a very nice change. A cleaner and more informative layout plus the ability to display on the screen. A round of applause for Jeremy!

I find enough overstuffed PB containers that it makes me wonder how watertight they end up being. It is not only the container itself that has to survive the freeze/thaw/snow hazards but also the contents. Of course if everyone closes the PB container tightly and properly (i.e., not stripping the threads) then the cache should be ok. It is those times when people do not or can not close the container that will cause problems. PB containers are also more prone to breakage than, say, an ammo can.

Megamog: If you do start another thread then please ask people to post where they are from. Beef jerky containers and paintball tubes may do quite well in Texas however I suspect that they would not do so well in the snowy northeast after being buried in snow for a couple of months. Ditto with M&M containers and anything that requires someone to screw down a lid or snap multiple parts together. Location, location, location!

My first Markwell. I am so proud. My page improvements -- Jeremy speaks in this thread. BTW: Great idea.

Neat idea. However may I suggest that the next time you take a picture of a TB please do what the pros do and shoot against a plain background -- a wall will do or white box since it looks like you are using a webcam -- instead of the clutter of your room. It makes it easier to distinquish the TB. I'm rooting for Keystone Approver myself. [Edit] Looking forward to the new pics. Hope KA comes via Indiana!

Markwell needs to check his spelling. However, to the main point, while I am a relative newcomer, it does seem to me that Geocaching has outgrown its beginnings. There are simply too many people GCing that to not worry about environmental impact -- and especially how that impact appears to land managers -- would be foolish. We can bemoan all we want but putting many people in one spot (physical or virtual) requires some controls. This occurs in all aspects of life for better or for worse.

I agree with several of the other posters. After a hundred or so finds the excitement is not in the goodie but rather in the find itself. A signature item is a "cherry" a McToy or something I can buy in a dollar store myself is not. I do try to leave something in the cache for the kids since they like the geo-loot a lot. More often than not I do a TNSL left kids toy. Travel bugs are, naturally, taken when appropriate however this is not a "trade" per se.

Make sure the card and ink a water proof -- unless you are living some where dry -- otherwise the card will just become yet another soggy mess in the cache. If you want to spend about $50 then get one of those small laminators that are sold in office depot stores; they may be cheaper than that these days. A laminator is also good for sealing up the "geocaching notice" in case you hide a cache of your own.

I am in San Diego at the moment attending a conference and, of course doing GCing on the side. The caches in the city are, natually, mainly micro containers. And -- unfortunately -- mainly Altoid containers which are uniformly damp inside. Fie on these! Plastic bags around and in the containers do not help. People really need to come up better micros.

My first cache -- the one that everyone babies -- was in an occassional flood plain. Foolishly I did not tie it to a tree but instead left it in a crotch of a tree; it was about 4 feet above the ground. Naturally last spring was one of the worst floods in the last 20+ years. Bye bye cache! Lesson learned.

I tend to agree with Briansnat: But I also wish to add that while there are certainly times when a micro is appropriate -- urban caches in particular -- I am getting tired of micros for the sake of being hard to find. Anyone can make a cache so small as to be difficult to find (altoid containers come to mind) but where is the cleverness in that? My mantra: the right size cache for the location. No micros in the woods please!

Just as important, not only your GPS may be off by 10 or more feet but also the GPS of the cache hider may be off by 10 or more feet. Add those numbers together and the coordinates can easily be 20 or more feet away from the actual location. Usually this is much worse in woody or hilly areas. So how does a person find a cache when searching in a circle with a diameter of 20 or more feet? With any foresight the cache hider choose an "ah ha!" spot to put the cache. Perhaps inside the only white birch tree that can be seen. Perhaps in a the only big log in sight. Perhaps in an unusual rock formation. However some people do not put a cache in the obvious location. Some people like the idea of making the cache as hard as possible -- small or just thrown on the ground or hidden inside something else. Some of these hard finds are clever. Some are just obnoxious and stupid ... IMHO. As a beginner I suggest that you concentrate on "difficulty" 1 and 2 caches. The "terrain" can be rough -- that is up to you -- but the difficulty of finding should be on the easy side. If you really get stuck and if the hint does not help -- all too often the case -- then writing to the cache owner can sometimes provide for additional help. Have fun caching!

Jeremy: Thank for the -- soon to be -- implementation of the "friends" feature. I will be glad to have it.

The main Indiana group is: www.indianageocaching.com