RPW

It is a good web address and well known but the problem has always been, who is it for? With IndiGo representing the south part of the state and various other organizations representing parts of northern Indiana, the indianageocaching banner of ""For All Indiana Cachers" seems at little bit, well, out-of-date. Aside from the Fort Wayne group, I really don't see any of the northern groups being active enough to take over the site and keep it going in any reasonable manner. Assuming that the Fort Wayne cachers don't step forward then I suggest a couple of options: 1) Redirect the indianageocaching site to Indigo's site. 2) Gut the site and just have a simple list pointing to the various Indiana geocaching organizations. I'll do the latter (and pay for the site) if no one else steps forward. I'd rather keep the site within the community than to lose it to the web site squatters.

[from Parker313 ] I'm very new to this sport and it would never occur to me to log a cache find just for being in the spot where the cache SHOULD be. ... For shame! How do you expect to get to 5254 finds with that attitude?

I agree with Renegade Knight -- if you want to make a statement of some sorts then please do it in a location that does not block a larger cache. If you aren't making a statement then I do not see any reason not to put a larger cache at the end of a pleasurable hike and view. There may be some good reasons for hiding a micro in the woods but in general I think that it is just rude to do so.

Hah! That is a clever way to get around the "no new virtuals" rule. I might have to try it some time.

Interesting. If it isn't clear to everyone, what CCCacher is doing is logging other people's caches on a cache page owned by CCCacher. Those other caches are ones that CCCacher can not log normally either because the caches have been disabled or his "found" note on the original cache was deleted by the owner. He wants to claim the find and this is the only way that he feels he can do so. If people want to see a reason why smileys count then visit the "Midwest" forum and check out the number of "congratulations" threads. Sometimes bragging rights are good to have.

Let us know how well that works. Sometimes SBAs seem to just be ignored.

Because I couldn't open the container. Hey, it is a good excuse ... right? I found myself in some sort of bizzaro world where left was right and vice-versa. Where the mountains of the great Northwest had been moved to my home state of Indiana. Where the arch-nemesis of "log allowed because the owner OKed it even when not found" gives permission to log a find even though the log book was not signed. In retrospect I should have pushed down on the latch instead of pulling up on it. That probably would have opened up the container! ----------------------------------------- More seriously, the photo is a reverse image of Criminal's newest cache -- French Peak. He put the photo on the cache page because the trek up to the peak is hard enough. As he says, the cache "doesn't need to be hidden!" In looking at his description of the cache even if I was in Washington State I don't think I would attempt this cache. I can see the national headlines now: MAN HELICOPTERED FROM CLIFF EDGE! GNAWS OFF OWN LEG TO SURVIVE! DRINKS THE BLOOD OF BATS FOR WATER! SENATE CONSIDERS BAN ON GEOCACHING! JEREMY IRISH DESPONDANT ... CONSIDERS SUICIDE!

If I take a picture of a cache but can not sign the log book does it count as a find? See the enclosed.

Well naturally what is considered "special equipment" is up to the cache hider. The geocaching site's rating system uses the following as examples for a 5-star terrain: "... Requires specialized equipment and knowledge or experience, (boat, 4WD, rock climbing, SCUBA, etc) ..." I would expect most cachers to carry flashlights, first-aid kits, GPSes, compasses, emergency whistle, walking stick, etc.. Those small items are not "speciallized" at least not to our sport. Carrying around a boat ... or having SCUBA gear handy ... well, all of that is specialized. Perhaps the best way to think of this is if the required item is large and not-portable then it falls into the "specialized" category. And I'll agree with Criminal and probably everyone else that it is too bad that there is not a check box or some other indication that specialized equipment is needed without having to use the 5-star category. But until geocaching.com changes their listing standards then we are stuck with 5-star for a catch-all category.

Going by the rating system that is available when you publish new caches. .... Terrain 1 star is "handicapped accessible". In my opinion even if the cache is in very easy terrain if you can't push a wheelchair to the cache then it should not be 1-star; make it a 1.5 star instead. Terrain 5 star is "special equipment needed" and/or "extremely difficult." It doesn't matter how easy the cache would normally be without the special equipment, if the cache requires the equipment then it is automatically 5-star. I once found a 5-star terrain cache in the middle of an island. The walk from my car to the non-island shore was easy. The walk from the island's shore to the cache was easy. The normal rating of the cache should have been 1.5 stars but since it "required" a boat it automatically became a 5-star cache. Unfortunately really difficult and really easy caches get lumped together in the 5-star category. Thus I tend to give the really difficult ones a 4.5 star rating. This keeps them from being confused with easy but equipment required caches. Of course one can argue about when special equipment is truly needed. In the above example the water was narrow enough, shallow enough and calm enough that I could get to the island by wading/dog-paddling. It wasn't much of a challenge at all; I didn't even get my hair wet. But then for non-swimmers they would need a boat. I find terrain ratings vary a lot -- one person will rate a cache much differently than another person. There are also regional differences. What is highly rated in the flat lands of Indiana (where I live) would not get many stars in state with more mountains.

Did anyone notice that my precious attended both the Spring Picnic and the pre-picnic event held by LeadDog on the hanging rock? My precious actually logged the latter event (his first and only find) and since the event required photographic proof of being on the rock we now have a picture of this elusive cacher. For those of you who are not familiar with my precious he is the hider of several fiendishly clever caches including the infamous Bletchley Park cache. I haven't managed to find any of the caches put out by my precious but he was, indirectly, responsible for one of my favorite caches, The ... well, the name of that cache is best left unsaid. Let's just say that it put a new spin on S Keillan's and my friendship. Anyway it is good to see this recluse coming out of where he has been hiding. Perhaps we will see him at the next picnic?

At the picnic I handed out a bunch of waterproof micro-cache log sheets. Feedback on how well these work "in the field" would be appreciated. So if you place out one of these sheets or find one in a cache then either post your comments here and/or send me private email. Thanks. - Rick

Express_girl: What I think Vinny & Sue were trying to say in a (imho) not very effective way is that some caches are simply not meant to be found unless the cache hunter is willing and able to expend extraspecial effort to find the cache. In other words, if a cache is at the bottom of a cliff that can only be accessed via repeling then the cache hunter must be willing and able to do the repelling. Ideally such caches would be labeled with a "5-star" terrain -- "needs special equipment." Another way to think of this is to suppose that you were handicapped and confined to a wheelchair. You could not then expect to be able to find every cache. Instead you would have to limit yourself to "1-star" terrain caches -- "handicapped accessible," Those of us who can not repel or are too claustrophobic to go into a cave or do not own a canoe, etc. are "handicapped" in a limited sense. We simply can not hunt those caches which require special equipment or skills. Even if we can "see" the cache we have not "found" it. We must sign the log in order to claim the find. Vinny & Sue: Be nice to the tadpoles please. They are ignorant and do not know better and thus we owe them a complete explanation. Let's direct our comments towards the 1000+ found cachers who should know better. :-) [Edited to take out the word "flame" (which wasn't very accurate) and replaced it with "comments"]

I'm going to a TICO event. :-( My wife and I are helping friends host a wedding reception. 3 kegs of beer. 100 guests. Which means (undoubtedly) lots of plastic cups and paper plates everywhere. Thus the "TI" part. It is also an all day event for us (we start by roasting a hog in the morning, do parking in the afternoon, and picking up after everyone leaves in the late evening) and thus the "CO" part. I.e., no caching for me! I haven't been caching for so long that my GPS is getting rusty. The battery juice is leaking out of the case. I've even managed to forget who my geocaching buddys are. Are they Pelly and Kaul? Or is it Kelly and Paul? :-) Anyway I am looking forward to the Indiana Spring Picnic the first week of May. I have received some "National Geographic Adventure Paper" which is the waterproof stuff which can still be printed on by an inkjet printer. My plan is to print up a bunch of microcache logs and bring them to the picnic for distribution.

Because it is pain to do so. I would have to put in a new application (with photes); the DNR may want the cache moved (which means extra work); they may deny the application (which means extra pleading) -- I got the sense that the Prophetstown managers were less than enthused about geocaching ... but then I may have been reading them incorrectly. However, more importantly, I wanted to give other people the chance to put caches in the park and I suspect that Prophetstown may limit the number of caches. Thus I decided not to overload the system with my own caches. Obviously not that major of a pain since the caches in the park should have gone through (or are going through) their second round of application approval by now. Once in early 2005 after the DNR rules were implemented and sometime in early 2006. Of course I am assuming that the caches in Spring Mill are properly placed and authorized. Since some of them are owned by respected and knowledgable members of the Indiana geocaching community then I have presumed that most, if not all, of them are authorized by the DNR.

I wrote: As further proof of this, I just got back from a 3-day family vacation to Spring Mill SP. There are several caches in it which are older than the 1 year limit of the "official" DNR rules. After the hoops I went through in putting caches in Prophetstown SP and then, recently, pulling them back out due to the year limit, I gave a sigh of jealousy.

Another oldie that I ran across this past weekend. Two simple words that made me wonder why bother? ... "not today". I guess the hider either always decodes his hints and/or has never had to decode a hint in the rain.

Mighty high speak from a person whose latest cache is entitled "Tossed out of window; bring your own pen". I don't know Kelly. Seems a little wierd to me. But then what else is new? BTW: My experience with Prophetstown state park last year was satisfactory. As per the rules I have now removed my caches after their year's existance. Joypa promises to "run the gamlet" this year and put out some caches in Prophetstown.

A trio of Indiana events this weekend and then nothing really big until Earth Day in late April. In early May is the Spring Picnic and then nothing until June. Of course there are Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Michigan events as well. Hope to see everyone at one of the events -- the Spring Picnic if not before. March 18th ------------- (North East) NEI-GEO March 2006 Meet-n-EAT (GCRP02) (Center East) Replinishing Muncie (GCRW2C) (South Central) INDIGO TRAILMIX II - SHAW LAKE (GCTHGF) March 21st ------------- (South Central) INKY March Madness (GCTCPC) April 22nd ------------- (Central) Earth Day Special (GCTMDJ) (North Central) Earth Day at Bonneyville (GCTMTY) (North East) NEI-GEO Pokagon Camper's Trash Out (GCRMJE) (South West) Patoka Meet and Greet for EACO (GCTJJ1) May 5th & 6th -------------- (Center) CINCO Campfire Meet & Greet (GCTBP0) (Center) 2006 Spring Picnic (GCT4KD) (South East) Eat/Play/Seek (GCT42K) June 10th -------------- (North East) NEI-GEO June 2006 Meet-n-EAT (GCTT8P)

Thank you for the kind words. I do like both of those. Small enough for a micro yet interesting enough to collect. Sig items that I've picked up include Kelly's "Bags of gold", Bicycling Santa's bicycle, homemade pots from the DoverDuo, IndyDiver's "diving man", 3bean's "bean pin", a tag from "Boilerbluto and candy317"; I don't recall seeing the latter two groups lately and the GCing.com server is down again so I can't check to see if they are still active. Donsi has put out foam pool balls, the Oldtimers shells, and Cache Commando wooden nickles. I don't really collect sig items and thus there are probably many others in the central Indiana area that I am missing. My all time favorite sig item is one from LumberJack Tom in southern Indiana. It is a nicely made 3" by 1.5" wooden plaque which reads on one side "another geocaching moment from LumberJack Tom" with a picture of an axe. On the other side it reads, "Q: L/J Tom, where do you get the strength to climb those long steep hills?" "A: Nietesche works for me: 'What does not destroy me ... will make me wish it had tomorrow.'"

That assumes that after all of these "flame" wars (mild as they are) that we still have any friends. :-) Honestly $20 for the paper isn't that bad. I haven't checked shipping yet though. But when I put out a fully loaded ammo can as a cache, well that costs close to $15 or more and I have no assurance that it won't be muggled the next day. Pulling this topic slightly back on course, what would geocaching.com think if I ran a pocket query that had "needs maintainence" caches on it and put some (not all) of the information from the PQ on the CINCO web site? My thinking is that if we can all see the caches that need help then we might actually get out there to help them. P.S. Yes Kelly, I know, I know. You cache is ok (so why not do a "maintainence done" log on it) while mine shouldn't be disabled.

I became curious on how many 'needs maintenance' but still active caches there are. I am presuming that 'needs maintenance ' but inactive means that the owner is on the ball to monitor it via the computer but hasn't physically gotten to the cache yet. While if the cache is still active but in need of repair means that we have a problem hider. So ... running some pocket queries reveals: 32 in Indiana 23 in Illinois 58 in MI, OH, KY combined (I got lazy) All in all, very low numbers considering the total number of caches in place. Indiana's total is higher than the other states but not overly so. There are several ways to look at this data. 1) Overall we are actually doing a good job in handling caches in bad condition. and/or 2) Few people use the 'needs maintenance' button to report caches in need of repair.

Hum. If they have an Illinois rep then they might have reps in northern Indiana. Gary & Mary, why don't you try it out and see? Send mail to: indigogeo@aol.com I probably should offer to be the rep in the Lafayette area ... except one of the seven caches listed as needing maintainence is mine so that is not a very good recommendation.. :-( Yes, I'll get to it At least I disabled it for the time being. Now that is a good idea for something to hand out at a meet'n'greet. We've had people hand out cache containers and other stuff to get newbies started. Why not some pre-printed micro water-resistant micro paper? I'll have to see if I can get my act together to do that.

Hah! I just found a cache before either Kelly or Paul! True it wasn't in Indiana but it did take skill and a GPS. So I get to do our victory dance! Unfortunately I was not the FtF ... more like the 1331th to find. It is a very active cache. The English version of the GPS simulator will lead you to a cache. Make sure you take some pictures on the way.

I was thinking of making an snappy comeback but instead decided on a serious reply. Unlike Kelly who drives into work and drives to lunch, I live close enough to my workplace (Purdue) that I walk or bicycle in every day. Thus I rarely go out caching during the workday. As for the evening hours and weekends, well, I do have four other hobbies which are at least equally important to me and thus my evenings are often too full for geocaching. I even have one cache which has been on the disabled list (only temporary, mind you!) for about a month -- I have been that swamped. When I do go out caching it is usually with Paul and/or Kelly and since both of them have found all of the caches in the nearby area we go far away. Thus the FtF potential of nearby caches gets even smaller.