TreeSqueezers

I certainly hope it's not being "touchy" to feel sentimental about wanting to keep logsheets and logbooks. And, just because life gets in the way sometimes, doesn't take away from the fact that a person wants to be able to keep their logsheets and logbooks. After reading through some of the local log books (that weren't for micros/nanos) I can totally see why people would want to keep them. There's some great comments and some fun stories in some of them. I'll sit and read a log book sometimes for entertainment. So that being said when I've come across full log books I either try to squish my name in or if all else fails I had a small piece of temporary logging paper. The thread started as a comment about full logs in Nano/Micro caches. That was what I was addressing. I've never seen any writings in those, generally there's not enough room. They are usually just a place to collect signatures. The caches with actual log "books" are a different situation, there is almost always a way to squeeze more log material in there. The "touchy" COs I am referring to are those that place caches and don't maintain them, yet get all weird when a cacher replaces them. As I've been told in another thread, a few times a year is not enough visits to constitute maintenance. I've seen logs dating back years, with scribbles all over existing signatures. Like I said, if the log is maintained, the full layers will be replaced with new ones every couple of months and the CO can hang on to them. Even the few shreds of paper in one of those magnetic pill sized containers can hold several months worth of signatures.

You can always take a photo of or scan the existing log and email it to the CO before replacement. If they're that touchy about keeping it they can ask to have it mailed. But I would suspect that if they are, and they've been maintaining it, it would never become full in the first place. If they don't care about replacing it themselves they probably won't care if you haven't written in it either. In the case of an impossible to write log, a photo at the location with your cellphone open and displaying the date/time should be sufficient anyway.

To your points about maintenance. - Scouts are no less likely to maintain their caches than most of the drop and run cache placers around here. A majority of the traditional caches are full of junk. Not bad swag, junk. I've even scooped mud out of one or two. I won't get into details about wet logs with entries from 2007 or earlier in them but they're out there, lots of them. I even found a cache a month ago that had bad coordinates from a year ago, the only way to find it was with the log entries. The places I would allow the scouts to put a cache would be places they visit more frequently than once a year. Number one, on the grounds of their meeting place. That's at least a once a week visit. Then there is a state forest near to us that we are constantly working on/in. In my state, it's an hour from end to end so we aren't talking about a multi-hour (or even one) hour ride to get there. And, on top of the community service, we run two camping trips a year there. That, combined with 2-3 yearly offerings for the badge, allowing further maintenance opportunities will make any caches they place more maintained than most.

My plan is to have the first bunch of scouts hid a cache on the grounds of their chartering org (with permission of course; it's not a school so no rules issue either) so it can be maintained at least once a month. Scouts tend to repeat activities in cycles so I don't think maintenance would be as big an issue as some may think. They camp the same places a couple of times a year, hike the same trails, there is a state forest in our area that has at least one Eagle project either being implemented or in the planning stages at all times. So long as ownership is part of the curriculum they should be able to make the decision on whether cache placement is right for them. My real goal though is not to just teach to the badge. Of course I understand that if they meet the requirements they would earn the badge. What I would like to have happen is they leave with an understanding of the activity beyond the requirements.

Interesting. There's a cache at my local scout shop too (lock-n-lock in the landscaping). Of course these are adults placing these. I have only so far seen one cache in my area that was placed by a scout to meet requirements for the merit badge. My whole point being that if a Scout placed an LPC in the Wal-Mart parking lot as part of the requirements for a merit badge, that would just be wrong. In my opinion, of course. The Cache at our scout shop is a large popcorn tin (imagine that) placed in the vestibule so no water issues there. It's filled with retired patches.

I guess I'm fortunate, or not, depending on perspective. In CT we have very little country that can't be accessed within an hour from a parking lot. At most, I would only need to add a GPS mount.

I've been using a smartphone of one flavor to Geocache for another for a few years now. I keep the trusty old etrex legend around for backup just in case. Either way, I have a premium membership because it keeps the site running and it's the right thing to do.

The Scouting program is now offering a merit badge for Geocaching and I plan on becoming the troop's merit badge councilor for the badge. My plan is to create a "packet" that includes all of the requirements plus as much more useful information as I can teach the boys. The requirements are listed here: Geocaching Merit Badge Requirements What I'm wondering is beyond the requirements, does anyone have any suggestions of what they think I should include? - Dean

I have an item I usually leave whether I take something or not. It's not a sig item, but it is useful in most caches nonetheless. May I should sigitize (new word?) them. Most times I don't take anything, or if I take something it is with the intention of moving it along to another cache the same day. I took a travel bug once and became ill and couldn't move it along for almost 6 months so now I only move things if I can drop them the same day because you never know. If I find a FTF prize, I would probably take it and leave my regular item in there.

Adding to the OP's line of inquiry. Has anyone tried any of those wearable repellers?

I have 1 - Purely because I stumbled on it within minutes of being placed. (it's in the vestibule of a scout store, wasn't there when I arrived, was there on my way out).

I like to rifle through sig items if there are any. I get a kick out of seeing familiar ones.

I don't write much in logs. Mostly it's because after 35 years, my handwriting still looks like a 1st grader's. That aside; many of the caches I've been finding lately are "nano" caches and don't have space and many are are LPCs and Micros that I don't want NCEs (non-caching entities) to see me fiddling with. When I find one that's interesting to me I am more likely to write in the online log so more people may be interested in visiting it.

I came on one that had a broken container but I didn't have repair equipment. I'm putting together a kit now.

After more than 1000, there are still caches that stump me. And I hope it remains that way I don't have nearly that many, but if stop getting stumped. I'd probably stop playing.

I'm not a newbie, but on a cache we recently hid, we accidentally entered the coords wrong and the FTFers were looking 1/2 mile away from where the cache was. Several years ago one of the most raved about caches in our area was placed by someone with only 1 find. It's still one of the most talked about caches and on most people's "to do" list. On the other hand, I've seen caches placed by folks with lots of finds, and they aren't very good. I'm not opposed to some kind of a test, perhaps 10 random questions from the guidelines. Until the cacher passes the test, the option to hide a cache won't be available. I know all cachers are supposed to familiarize themselves with the guidelines, but not everyone does. I've talked with cachers about hides that violate the guidelines, and have heard things like, "Oh, I didn't know caches weren't allowed on school property." Edited a typo. I agree, with modifications. I believe a longer tutorial is in order before hiding the first cache. Then a semi random 5 question test thereafter in order to submit a cache. Why for every cache? Because the activity is ever evolving and so are the rules. Plus, a refresher every once in a while certainly can't hurt.

My swag is smileys, smiley pencil sharpeners. The work out well for cache pencil maintenance.

...and here I was thinking that as with everything else, it would have to be Chuck Norris.

I usually only log caches, even tall ones, if I can write in the log. However there is one close to my house that I believe is completely inappropriately placed. It is about 8 feet up, in a tree, directly above a grave marker. I can imagine people climbing on the stone to reach it. I logged this one and sent the owner a message about the placement.

My family makes Maple Syrup. One of the ways to tell a tree is large enough to tap is for an adult to wrap their arms around it. When we have groups of kids visit, we have them wrap their arms around the trees because it's fun to watch Now my son is old enough to start logging them himself and I wish I had come up with a different name and used this one as a group name.

I had the same issue today. Placed in a cemetery, no way to reach it without climbing on a stone and I wasn't about to do that.

Thanks for the compliments, folks. I really appreciate it. As far as the cryptex pic, I did move it to spell a word, but it is not the word you need to open it. The modifications I did were using a slightly larger PVC pipe for the moving rings, PVC caps for the ends and an epoxy made for plastics to hold the stationary rings instead of screws. What did you use for the markings?

I have a funny little story about that. I was in fifth grade in 1976. In 1976 Fifth graders hid LOTS of time capsules (bicentennial year and all). A couple of years after graduating from high school I was back in town with one of my friends and we drove by his old elementary school where he had buried one with his class too. The area he buried it was now a parking lot. We went to the Town Hall/Board of Education/anyone who would listen and actually found someone who was involved with paving the old schoolground over (not to hard, my Dad worked for Public Works for 40 years. If it got built in town and he didn't do it, he knew who did) It was never dug up. We figure it's going to be there for a while.

why would it be any higher in the tree? there is a witness point for surveying nailed to a tree in my yard. i've lived here 20 years and it's at the same height it's always been. trees don't grow up from the bottom like grass does. I maybe wrong but I took it to mean "how tall the trees were then versus how tall they are now." Otherwise you are correct, a cache hidden in one will stay at the same hight regardles of how much the tree grows, but if it's against the tree then it maybe inside the tree now. It may even be "lower" because the ground rises as debris builds up.

You are so right about that. Prior to his retirement, my Dad was the superintendent fot the cemeteries in my home town. One of those tombs was in disrepair (it was a family tomb that was supposed to be used to hold members over the winter until the ground thawed enough to bury them). When He opened it to start the construction. He found more thana dozen coffins and bones (all well over 100 years old). It turns out, someone got lazy and sealed it up without interring the bodies. He sealed it up right away and scheduled the state archaeologist to come out. He still says that Archaeologist's visit was one of the most interesting days of his career. Here's a link to a brief story, just scroll down a little Places of Interest in East Hartford