Teeger

The tag could be camouflaged, say, on one side, so,it would not be as obvious a way to give away the position?

What about the kinds of items that are in this forum's store, like 15th anniversary patches, etc?

Sounds like the next step is to log a find because you saw the coordinates online and could see it plainly on your map.

Sounds very reasonable to me. The only part that I would like to address is your first paragraph... there is a whole world of options that lie between writing an acronym and an essay. LOL Ironically, I kind of assumed that would be obvious.

I have seen some threads about the WORST things to find in caches, but, so far, none about what people LIKE to see when they open them. I JUST became interested in this hobby, and have never actually hid, or, opened a cache, and, am trying to get an idea of things to take with me, to put into a cache I might find. I see all sorts of coins and trinkets on geocaching sites, but, are those things really desired? What makes an item cool or a good idea? What do YOU like to see?

It sounds, essentially, about the same as any other communication. Some people use texting type abbreviations amongst their associates, and, everyone is fine except the one who sees acronyms as inappropriate....and some write long well written essays that their associates are appreciative of, except for the one who sees it as too burdensome to read and would prefer a simple acronym. I'm sort of seeing the log as also being a sort of thank you note...so its akin to giving a wedding gift for example, and getting a thank you card that says "Thanks for the Gift", or "I received it" or "Thank you for the wonderful chaffing dish and stuffed iguana set, it was brilliantly creative and fits my decor so perfectly, that I am amazed at your thoughtfulness and insight into my tastes" Some might not care if they get a card at all, and a mere confirmation that they at least received the gift is adequate. Some might want a bit more affirmation of the gift's appreciation. Everyone is different. I imagine that placers of caches might want some feedback so that they can use that to design new caches/remediate existing ones...so what someone liked, or didn't, about a cache, could be useful feedback for example. To me then, it seems I should make the log affirm my appreciation of their efforts, give feed back as to what's good/bad if applicable, and details about what my dog did on the way there or what I had for lunch might be optional...depending upon perceived entertainment value. Does that sound reasonable?

It sounds like we'll start with the phones and see how it goes.

Log in the container to sign. This shows/proves you were there. Tell about your exploits in the online log. Here's some info - Geocaching 101. OK, so its two different things...and, can be different? As in just sign in the cache, but the long verbiage is online? Well, back when the Dead Sea was just sick, we'd leave wordy logs on real ledgers in containers too. Today, lucky to find more than a paper strip to sign. So yeah, your wordy log (today) would usually be online. Thanks for the email! I checked it out, and, might even understand now.

Log in the container to sign. This shows/proves you were there. Tell about your exploits in the online log. Here's some info - Geocaching 101. OK, so its two different things...and, can be different? As in just sign in the cache, but the long verbiage is online?

Having never done any of this yet...I'm confused. Is the log in the box/cache thing....or, online? I thought it was in the box? But its an email? Forgive the Newb question please, but, this thread is new info. (And I am old, just got used to fire, the wheel, and now GPS...its a slow process....) - Thanks!

Not all parks require permits. I know Washington State parks do. Here in our regional parks I tried to get the park to have permits to place a cache but they said it was just too much paperwork to deal with it. But some of the park rangers are Geocache members just so they can see where the caches are. As for labeling sometimes it is difficult to label. Could a tag, etc, be hung from the outside of a cache that was too small to actually write on directly?

I'm glad I saw this thread...as I'd never heard of letter boxes, etc, and probably WOULD HAVE thought I found a cache, etc. I've never geocached either, as I just became interested the other day. Is it possible that a random hiker, etc...might find a box of either type, and just have no clue that it means anything?

Very helpful replies, and, I thank you for the warm welcome! I downloaded the app from here for the Galaxy, and there are caches around here for us to try to find, at least as a starting point, etc. I still have some catching up to do as far as what I do when I find stuff, or don't, but there seems, so far, to be a logic to it. This sounds like a great community, and I am really happy I found you guys!

My wife actually mentioned she might be interested in this, and other than the GPS in the cars, we don't really know what we're doing. I've read the 101 articles, which helped lay a foundation... ..but I'm wondering after reading as many threads here as I could, if we need a real hiking style GPS, should take the ones out of the cars, or, just use our phones? She has an older iphone (4?), I have a Galaxy S5...and the ones in the cars are Garmins. I understand that the GPS will just get us to the AREA, not the cache...and, I assume the one who HID the cash and left coordinates did not have a survey quality lock on the position to start with either, etc...so, the hider's coordinates are what their GPS said they were at in the first place... ...so if they were off by 10 meters, and I'm off by 10 meters....a 20 meter radius might be involved? Is that what we're talking about? What's a good option for getting as close as possible, given, I'm guessing, that the hard part, for us, will be finding our way to the general location from where ever we start from? - Thanks!