twoodward15

Having that many hides is impressive, but I've got to ask how one can maintain them all. Of those hides, how many have been archived? Were they archived due to lack of maintenance? Are the majority of them micros on a power trail? I'm thinking that having 3000 hides even placed every tenth of a mile would be an incredible burden. Just think of the amount of emails you'd get when people find them! lol

You're right Keystone, I had some unconstructive comments in my post. I do believe that there were some constructive comments as well. I am trying to get across (without succes) that we shouldn't beat down the new guys. We're trying (I consider my self new as I started this 2 years before I actually had my first find, kids weren't ready yet) to become constructive, accomplished, and productive members of geocaching and this forum. I feel that time and time again, the new guys are being halted in the forums because someone with more posts gets upset that they aren't siding with them (in this specific case). I am trying to defend the little guy (and not being constructive about it, I realize that now), but it seems that nobody cares about them. When a debate that starts out with this topic opens, how can the newbie possibly defend himself? If we disconnect ourselves from the thread and look at both sides (newbie and veteran cachers) there are valid arguing points on both sides, yet the veterans are allowed to express theirs without any issues. When the new guy steps in, this happens. I felt offended by many of these posts, yet I do believe that we all have valid points that should be discussed. I guess what I'm asking for is a bit more support for the new guy. After all, we will be the verteran cacher soon! In any case, this isn't helping out with the topic, so I'd like to end it and start with the main topic. Thanks for taking the time to listen. I know it's not easy. Everyone in this hobby can have a good or bad hide, good or bad container, or good or bad coordinates. The advent of the cellphone GPS certainly isn't helping, especially with the new crowd. It's giving cachers the false pretense that they are doing good. I have a GPS. I also have an iphone. I have the geocache app on it. When I go to a cache (using my GPS) and I pull out my iPhone, you wouldn't believe how far off it is. We aren't talking a few feet. The closest I have ever been with my iPhone is .006N off and .001W. Ridiculous. Now we can look at the newbie cacher that downloaded this app from Groundspeak, paying their $10 for it and place blame on them, but part of the blame should be on the app. Why would you put a product out that is so inferior to the real deal? I guess you have to start somewhere, and seemed like a good starting point. Secondly, I have to wonder which GPS people are using? Maybe my GPS gets better recpetion then others. Maybe conditions were better on the day I went caching and I got better reception than the hider. I guess my point is that when you first started geocaching, most people didn't run out and buy the absolute best GPS available. They bought a cheap model to see if they would stick with it, then upgraded when they knew they were in it for the long haul. Could this be the reason for a lot of the poor newbie hides? It might be. If we take a look back at some of the original geocaches, and walk out to that cahe with a new GPS, I'd bet that the original coordinates are quite a bit off. I think as technology has gotten better, this has allowed for greater accuracy. If we couple that with the low end beginner GPS, this could be causing this situation. I state this because I upgraded my GPS. When I hold it with my old GPS and 2 other new GPS's, the only one that reads any different is my beginner GPS. In fact, if you lok at my first cache, you'll notice that I updated my coordinates because they were off a tad. In retrospect, maybe a lot of the early caches that everyone has placed haven't been the best. As technology gets better, so will our coordinates. As long as someone out there is using an older, low end, beginner GPS, this may be something that we, as a caching community, will have to deal with. In other words, it is what it is. Now, just as we can use the newbie cacher with an older low end GPS, we can use the same scenario for a veteran cacher, still using his original older low end GPS, and he isn't able to make the find because the hider got much better coordinates with his newer better technolgy unit. It seems to be one huge debateable circle with no statistical evidence to back either side, yet there are more than two sides. Ic an count at least 4 different sides to argue. I challenge all of us to go back to our very first caches and recheck your numbers. I wonder if we'll all find that they were quite a bit off. If you do this, respond back honestly so that we can see if there is a trend that the coordinates are getting better with time. To sum all of this up, is it the newbie cacher or is it technology? I'm certain both play a role in all of this, just as having a veteran cacher with an older low end beginner GPS would have the same issues. Thanks for steering me in the right direction Keystone, it's appreciated. Hope this helps a bit more than my last post.

Not arguing, and I don't know the specifics, but what if the signs are old signs of companies that are out of business, or not promoting any business (I'm thinking about the popular chain eateries with all of the non relevant signage in them)? Now, on the other hand, I still wouldn't do the cache. I don't like the thought of having to go into a business and walk around looking at stuff while every other customer watches me and is wondering why am walking around their area. It's just uncomfortable for both the cacher and the customer. To further that, If I was a customer, I don't know that I would go back to that business, especially if it was an eatery. It just feels bad all around.

In addition, maybe the thread shouldn't read "debateable" but would be better using the word "flexible" I don't see any need for the hiding guidlines to be debated, yet a bit of flexibility would be nice. Maybe stay as they are for standard membership, but if you are a premium member, you can have a special hide guidelines only for other premium members. I guess my example would be that in cetain areas (large enough to really support this) GS could allow a pocket knife cache. It wouldn't be available to anyone that doesn't have a premium membership, and it would have to be in a large enough area to keep the muggle count very low, but it might be something that could be done.

Sol seaker, your attitude towards new people is part of the problem! Lighten up a bit. The only thing that you are accomplishing is to get the new people angry because of the way you continually berate their abilities at geocaching. There are a lot of things that you aren't really looking at when you make your statements. If you would take some time to go back through your finds, I'd bet that you'll find a lot of the "old timers" caches have either been archived or flagged for maintenance as they tend to think that they need not do any maintenance on their caches. The other thing that I'll bet you'll notice is that these same guys that you think are the best are the ones that put a micro every 528 feet on a sign or a lamp post so they can inflate numbers. The cachers like you that are so in to your own numbers are the ones in here complaining about how my newbie cache had you looking for a whole 15 minutes (because it was actually hidden in a spot other than a lamp post, as there are no lamp posts in the woods) and you're angry because you couldn't move on to so and so's power cache route to inflate your numbers. Like I said before, a certain percentage of people will be murderes, thieves, and bad cache hiders. You might be one of them! My first hide is in the woods and it'll take about 20-30 minutes to get it. I guarantee that there's someone in my area that won't do it because it'll take too long and they won't get enough finds that day if they stop for mine! It's not the new guys that complain about length of time it takes to get a find, it's the guys that have been around for a while. I'll enjoy the woods and the scenery and 3-5 caches a day, you go for your LPC's and nano's ona sign to inflate your numbers, just quit complaining about the new people. We're all tired of hearing it! IBTL! lol

You can see who spent a favorites point on a cache by clicking the icon on the cache page. That's funny, I've tried that in the past, when they first came about and it never did anything. Now it does. I like it. Thanks for the tip, I never would have tried it again.

Small world. Years ago, way before I started caching, my wife and I had insurance through them. Oddly enough, since I'm not from the area, I just mailed a check. Last weekend, we had a small celebration for my Father In Laws 90th birthday. When we were driving him home (took him to the legion to drink, always use a DD) we passed by this building. My wife pointed it out. Interesting that things pop up like this. This same thing happened to me this week with a retired guy from work.

IMO you can only have 1 favorite. The same goes with "best" friends. Only one. If something were the "ultimate" there would never be anything better. You can only have 1 favorite food or 1 favorite cache. All of the others are "almost as good", but not quite. When I find the one cache that I think is better than any other I will ever find, I'll award a favorite point to it, until then, I'll look at the counter on my page. Besides, what good is seeing a "favorites" number if I can't see who used their point there? It means something more when I can put a name to a point. If I favorite my own cache, it's worthless to anyone else, but if someone comes allt he way here from hawaii and puts a favorite point on mine, then it means more.

So it is. Guess I was wrong. I am sorry for my post. Pup patrol, for the record, I never said they were blasting me! If you re-read it, it says that they made it look like I was blsting THEM, when in reality it states that I was agreeing with Groundspeak. I edited my post as It was harsh and wrong.

Edited out. Apparently I am wrong and will appologize for making a post. Sorry gentlemen.

Everything is debatable, but getting TPTB to change is the hard part. When there's just a few people controlling the rules, it's tough to get change, especially when that group is in such a small area of the country. Change is tough, especially when all you can do is ask and debate for it. A lot of times the answer is going to be a "because I said so" answer. Do I have a problem with any of the rules here? For hiding caches, no I don't. As far as moderation in the forums goes? Yes. Will any of us ever be able to change that? Likely not. Nobody wants to hear that they are doing something that many others would like to change, but, let's look at it from Groundspeaks side. They put all fo the effort into this. they did the work for us, and for themselves so that they would have a hobby to enjoy. In a way I don't blame them, but as I become older (I'm 36), I find that change is great and I welcome it,even if it isbadfor me. It really helps people realize that they aren't indispensable,and makes them change their ways to better themselves and their areas.

"I would have loved to keep all of my caches active. But, I don't have the time to run all over town to check on my caches every time someone posts a nasty DNF message." If you can't maintain a cache then you shouldn't hide it..... I think I read something very similar to that in the "hiding a cache" guidlines.

It's a perk to those of us serving to be able to get a cache in an obscure location! An "I got one in Iraq, did you" kind of thing I guess. It's good to serve, and it's a huge morale booster to be able to do something on your time off. it also will tell you who is a cacher there, you'll have something in commonwith a soldier that you may not know. You can meet with them for water (no beer flowing there).

I wonder if I could hollow out a log and slip it in, then stand the log up like it's a tree in the woods. great idea briansnat! It'll take some work, but it's certainly doable. I could even just lay it on the ground.

The last thread gave me an idea. I have a 5 gallon corny keg (I gave a friend a keg of homebrew and he froze it, thus stretching the top of the keg and making it useless). The top opens up enough to get your hand and arm into the keg quite far. Is it legal to burry the bottom 80% of the keg,leaving the top sticking out,then the person only has to open up the keg to get their hand in to get the cache out? Nobody would ever have to dig for the cache, yet the container would be in the ground almost completely buried.

meh,whatever. Seems as though when you have an entire thread of people talking about two great hobbies that they enjoy, that it really isn't all that off topic.

STLhiker, did you figure out what kind of keg it is? I wonder if it's an old hoff stevens keg,rarely used anymore. That would work, but I'd think as stated earlier that someonewould steal it for scrap value. MotorcycleMama, perhaps you'll notice that the OP is also talking about homebrewing with us..... Are you a moderator? You made it a point to not add any info to this topic, only chastise us for talking off topic? Perhaps you shouldn't have posted either. The rest of us at least added some valuable information to the original post.

Haha!I'm a homebrewer as well, and also the president of our local homebrew club. We are the Gloucester County Homebrewers in NJ. 2 great hobbies. Go caching andcome home for a homebrew. We try to keep 4 on tap. I had a 10 gallon keg. They're great if you have room for them. I did not. I stick with 3's and 5's now. The 3 is great for mixed drinks.

And I'll chime in, that if it is a 10 gallon cornelius keg, it's worth good coin to a homebrewer! Sell it and you can buy stuff to make 5 or 10 caches.

"It's not a big deal--it's just that many users of these forums like to make everything a big deal. Do what you want with it. If it's a Geocache and I come across it, I'll applaud you. If I don't, no harm done either." Whatever dude, I was just trying to do the right thing. While I'm not a Baylor grad (you'd think Christians would teach morals) I do know right from wrong. Perhaps a little bit of time spent in the confession box might help?

I'm a brewer. That side of me is coming out now. Posession of that keg doesn't mean you own it. breweries pay a couple hundred bucks a piece for those kegs. Please take it to your local store and return it. Would you want someone to find your GPS and keep it as theirs because they "found it on the side of the road"?

Did you download the garmin communicator? After that, drag and drop thecaches intot he GPX folder that's in the garmin folder on your GPSr

Ok, I got it figured out. After you get the pocket query and unzip it, you have to put the GPX files in the GPX folder that is in the GARMIN folder on the gps. Sure would be nice if Garmin actually took the time to tell people that nice little tidbit.

I've searched the forums and tried almost everything. There must be some program that I don't have or I must be doing something wrong. I can't find any tutorial on what I ened to do to upload the query. Please help me.

IMO the Iphone sucks for caching. The GPS on the geocaching app is terrible at best. I can be standing on top of the cache and it shows me as being 50+ feet away. It is impossible to use as a GPSr for caching and I hope people don'tuse it to place caches.