Team Perks

Must..........resist..........response...............

But aren't most 1/1's park & grabs anyway? No, seriously. (And what makes something a park & grab to begin with? This cache and this cache are both less than a 100-foot walk from parking, if you have the right vehicle; does that make them park & grabs?) Anyway, back to the original topic: I agree with Flask; I will divulge as much about my cache hides as I choose to tell. If I want you to know why I hid a cache, I'll tell you why in the cache page anyway, and I (as I suspect most cachers) don't need a question to prompt me to tell you. Sometimes it'll take a full page's worth of text. Sometimes I might not even say anything at all.

"I placed this cache because there wasn't already one here." "I placed this cache to increase the density of hides in the area." "I placed this cache because it's on my way home from work and I can check on it often." "I placed this cache because somebody gave me a pallet full of ammo cans and I need room in my garage to park my car."

Clarification: A majority of geocachers who post in these forums are not too fond of most micros. Be careful of extrapolating this to the general population. People who are perfectly happy finding micros probably aren't going to go through the trouble of starting repeated forum topics about how they are perfectly happy finding micros. That said, ask yourself how you would enjoy the hide. What's unique about the spot? Would you want to share it with a good friend? If the answer is yes, and unless your friends are insane like most of mine, odds are the aforementioned "majority of geocachers" will enjoy your cache, regardless of size.

I generally don't much care about FTF's, whether they be a cache I find or a cache I hide. So, no, I've never contacted anyone just because they found my cache first. Nor would I ever expect to hear from someone specifically just because I got to their cache before anyone else either.

A good cache will make me say one of the following: "Wow, what an incredible view!" "Wow, I had no idea this was here!" "Wow, I never knew this happened here!" "Wow, what a clever hide!" I can't really limit it any further than that, because I've found great hides of all sorts...different containers, different locations, long hikes and short drives, tricky hides and easy virtuals. Make me pleasantly surprised, and you've hidden a good cache.

I've not only met some of them... I've actually gone caching with them! Must say, I actually had fun doing it too. Don't tell anyone.

I think we would see a rash of forum threads such as: "Who has the record for the most DNF's?" (followed by much arguing about what constitutes a legitimate DNF) "I think people are falsely logging DNF's. This is an outrage!" (followed by much arguing about what constitutes a legitimate DNF) "Hey, a German team went to Florida and DNF'd 4764567843 caches in 24 hours!" "But they cheated!" "No they didn't!" "Yes they did!" (followed by much arguing about what constitutes a legitimate DNF) "My DNF log was deleted! The cache owner said I didn't look hard enough! Now my DNF count is off!" (followed by much arguing about what constitutes a legitimate DNF)

Sweet idea. I'm going out and buying a dozen of these. Lord knows I can barely muster enough dexterity to sign the log, let alone roll the stinkin' thing back up!

So now that I'm officially an old-timer... Do I get to speak with a greater air of authority and experience? Or is it going to be more like, "Awww crud, there goes grampa with his war stories again?"

Forget about numbers. They should hide their first cache once they have found enough to know they're sufficiently enthusiastic about their new-found hobby that they will stick around long enough to properly and effectively maintain their active cache hides.

Kealia -- seen similar signs too. But never at anywhere that wasn't at least NEAR a cemetery!

I've seen a few of these... The point of this sign is entirely valid; the delivery, just plain odd. HUH??? Finally...I always imagined Heaven would have a more dramatic sign than this.

Geez Tyler, is that all? I still have more than 17,000 unfound caches within 100 miles of me. As a general rule, I don't cache close to home. Doesn't interest me. I spend too much time near home anyway. I'd rather go see someplace I don't already know painfully well.

Heck...I HAVE had 200 in a day, and I STILL will never have this problem. There are plenty of other ways to sort out waypoints. I've never named a series Blah Blah Blah #1, #2, #3, etc., and certainly don't have any plans to do so...But one thing I would never worry about is "Gee, how will this show up in someone's GPS?"

Having an audit log will tell you nothing about my caching habits. My first view of a cache page on GC.com is usually when I'm logging it. Before then, it's in GSAK, or in Cachemate, or the iPhone GC app. And when I do view a cache, it doesn't mean I'm actually going to find it...Usually it just means I'm surfing the maps (as others have mentioned) because I'm bored or waiting for another program to finish doing something. I do find it interesting, though, to see who's looking at my old MOC's that I archived years ago...

Uninspired "cut and paste" caches deserve uninspired "cut and paste" logs. I do try to make sure that I write something unique on every cache I find, no matter how many I find during a given day/trip/whatever (and I can rack up the numbers when I feel like it). But if I can't remember anything about your hide by the time I get home, you probably aren't going to get a very personalized log. When I put a lot of thought and effort into a cache (and I like to think that I do), and I get a "One of many found today, TFTC!" log on it...You'd better believe I will remember who you are, and will be more than happy to return the favor should I come across any of your own hides. Now, with that said, I do think there is value in mass import-logging type stuff. I've used Jholly's method a few times and do like it (although I'm rarely organized enough to do it routinely). I can write up my logs in the field, when I can actually say something unique about an unmemorable cache, and plunk it all onto the website after I'm home and exhausted, and my memory begins to rapidly fade.

Back in the day, you COULD delete photos from other people's logs on your caches. I remember having done that once or twice. I hate the thought of having to say this ...but Kit Fox is right. Most cachers will certainly follow a polite request; it probably didn't occur to the finder that it might be a spoiler. I've done that a couple times without realizing it. Now, with that said...I'm willing to wager that the majority of cachers don't view the photo galleries before they go off finding caches. I know that if I did, I certainly wouldn't remember anything useful by the time I got to the cache. With PQs, PDAs, GPS devices that can store basic cache info, etc., it's not unusual that I don't even see the cache page until I'm logging my find.

Scarce? Good! I've got a couple hundred sitting unused in my garage, and the last thing I need is an opportunity to buy more of them...

What StarBrand said. But there are some decent caches along/near Hwy. 49 and Hwy. 120 west of the park.

I probably pick up at about three bucks' worth of random change from the sidewalk each month. By simply being aware of my surroundings and putting forth no extra effort, I score enough free money that I could pay for my subscription with that spare change if I so chose. It amazes me how many luxuries people think are true necessities. I drove by some public housing projects recently and marveled that although most of the occupants are probably on welfare, pretty much every unit had a shiny new DirecTV antenna poking out from the balconies. (But on the other hand, I suppose there aren't too many other places you can get unlimited entertainment for 50 bucks a month.) I can't afford everything I would like. My wife and I had to cancel our summer vacation in order to pay other bills. Oh well. We'll get out there in a few years, and rather than complaining that we can't afford the several thousand dollars to take that trip right now, we're using the time off to simply enjoy relaxing closer to home. That's what life is--a path of trade-offs, compromises, and "making do" with what you've got. Being angry at others for your predicament is baseless and unproductive.

No matter what you hide or how you hide it, eventually some knucklehead out there will decide it's a bomb and suddenly you're to blame for causing such a ruckus.

Aw, geez. I just finished reading a 200-page book about mortgages and came in here to get away from economic principles.

Creatively and in scenic locations, where they won't get wet and leak, of course.

I don't biting insects. But what about stinging insects? I don't like stinging insects either. To be honest, earwigs and silverfish kinda creep me out too. And gnats really bug me when I run into a swarm of them on a vigorous bike ride. Oh, and my wife hates spiders. Some of them bite, but they're arachnids, not insects. How would I know if a cache might have biting arachnids?