chartmaker

One of the best caches I have come across involving a geocache was located near Romulus, Michigan. The deceased was an active and well liked geocacher. A friend of his who was also a geocacher obtained the deceased wife's permission to add a geocache to the tombstone. On the side of the tombstone is a spot to inset a 35mm micro film cannister. There is no need to walk on the plot or to touch the tombstone to retrieve the cache and sign the log. In order to permit the establishment of this geocache another geocache previously located in the cemetery was archived by a third active geocacher. Upon discovering this geocache, which as I say is very well done for the aspects of respectfulness, I truly felt a special moment while signing and after signing the log. Lots of respect for the individual has been shown via this cache and for his well loved geocaching hobby by his wife and his fellow friendly geocachers. This shall always be a special find for me though I've done many other cemetery caches along the way. This find will always be a special geocaching memory.

Good Day: Feel free to contact me: Chartmaker. Live about 10 to 20 minutes east of London. Not sure what my schedule is like at that time yet but may be able to help you out a bit. Lots of local geocaches in London and the surrounding area to fit just about every taste of geocaching. Chartmaker

As others have stated, no Canadian Benchmarks loggable on geocaching.com and thus no way to gain icon and associated numbers on Canadian finds. U.S. benchmarks in Canada are also not listed. There is a section for Canadian benchmarks in Waymarking.com but again no numbers to be related to the geocaching.com member profile sections, etc. I've had a fair bit of experience with benchmark hunting in another associated field working with the Canadian Hydrographic Service in the past. Lots of benchmarks throughout the country, not just CHS but other federal, provincial and county agencies as well. Have fun, go hunting, find the benchmarks, but the only credit to be given by geocaching.com will be from the associated U.S. agencies.

Although traveling caches are no longer eligible for publication there must be more than a few of them out there in geocaching land. All you aware of any and what are their cache listing info? Might be interesting to follow a few in case these almost 'once in a life time' caches come close to our local areas.

Just got kind of curious as to which geocache may have the most users watching it? Made a comment about a cache today and had a couple of responses back as notes from the cache listing so thought maybe a few others might be interested in this as well and may want to add their comments. A few of the caches mentioned were: GCC859, which is a traveling cache recently disabled; as well as GC2179 another traveling cache. Also mentioned was Canada's first published cache GCBBA but it is well below the numbers of people watching the two traveling caches noted above.

I had my first GPS receiver for boating; then I got into a Marine Reporting Program (MAREP) here in Canada similar to Cooperative Charting with the United States Power Squadrons in the United States; which progressed to true hydrographical surveys. Always interesting to combine hobbies. Of course those above lead towards Benchmarking, etc; or just plain old back road exploring which can lead to caches being found and vice versa. Geocaching, a wonderful hobby or sport; and also great for those who spend time on the road.

Been geocaching in southwestern Ontario (Canada) for two years now. Currently at 15 FTF s with a handful of 2nd and 3rd to finds as well. If close to home, yes, I consider going after a FTF; however I have seen a FTF potential cache pop up within a few blocks of home on the inbox and just sat in the chair and then gone out two or three days later to find the cache. Even then I can be the second or third to find. Just to make things interesting there are times I obtain a FTF very shortly after the cache is published and I may not log the find electronically for 8 hours or more due to other circumstances or for at least a few hours. Some may think this cruel but it gives others the thrill of dashing off hoping for a FTF. I figure never is more discouraging than the person who has a cache published, a FTF is logged and no other cachers come along for days. On occasion I rush out and there is an informal "event cache" taking place among those hoping for the FTF - always fun to meet, greet and share stories.

Been geocaching for about two years now. I had heard of the game and discounted it at the time, too busy with work and other interests. Later my wife mentioned she had seen an article in "Reader's Digest" and mentioned it to me. I looked up and read the article and then did nothing more on the sport for about six months. One winter's day I went out and tried to find the cache nearest home. No luck but I did find the right hole in the side of the tree. I contacted the cache owner who stopped at the cache on the way home from work the next day and subsequently emailed me and told me to look again as the cache was in place. I went back and lo and behold found the container tucked away in the hole. That first find and a cache owner who cared got me hooked. I have yet to meet that geocacher but thanks to him I am quite active in this sport.

Interesting scenario; and it appears a few geocachers may have taken things a bit too far in their quest for a find. The knowledge gained by the police regarding geocaching can be seen as a good thing. Not exactly how I would have handled the log entry, possibly some editing for certain in order to more accurately reflect the situation. Sometimes we bring trouble (police) onto ourselves by being too stealthy. Nothing wrong with some night caching; but at the right location at the right times, especially when restrictions apply. Thanks for sharing the story.

My Etrex Legend, well aged by this time, developed the vertical blue lines on the screen within the past few months. It has happened on various occasions about six or seven times in various outdoor temperatures; and usually on start up. I have simply shut the unit off and restarted. Unit restarts with no further issues. Have never had the screen go blank. I still have faith in this unit and while not a part of this topic the coordinates are very accurate.

Yes, there is a place for CITO regardless of whether it is an organized event or just yourself out and about... a piece here, a piece there, it makes a difference. No, you do not have to pick up every piece of trash you come across.

I have found that geocaching in cemeteries, done with respect, has brought me an inner peace with my mortality. After having become involved with geocaching I often find myself in a cemetery, often alone, and finding myself more fully appreciating the life I have at this time. I know I and the rest of us will pass away some day. Geocaching cemeteries have brought me a closer peace with both life and death. There is a time and place for everything. Appreciate life. Think of the life those before us lived many years ago. Our struggles and hardships for the most part do not compare to those who lived ahead of us. There is a place for cemeteries and geocaching and both can be shared.

I have noticed over the past couple of years that trackables of all kinds (TBs and geocoins) seem to come and go. That is, for a while there are many in the area and then for a period of time there seem to be few. Occasionally I get some 'extra' bugs along the way in my hands so then I just spread them out among the local caches. Also, some trackables seem to stay in a concentrated area and don't get far. Then, we get into a period where all the tbs seem to emigrate to greater distances to be placed. Are there too many trackables making the rounds. No. There are now over 800.000 caches. It is up to all of us to keep them moving along. Sometimes they are really in the cache as listed; sometimes not; or a different trackable has been exchanged. It is a surprise on every outing as there are no guarantees. Keep the trackables coming and keep them moving along.

NAD 83 and WGS 84 are essentially the same datum. NAD 27 pertains to older charts and maps and in the western area of Canada has some signigicant differences compared to NAD 83 and WGS 84. As noted elsewhere, the different datums may become an issue if one is referring to a map/chart which uses a datum different than that which your GPS is set to; however, for general geocaching use either NAD 83 or WGS 84 should be good unless you are referring to a local area map/chart.

By the way, my 300th trackable logged was the Todie's Wild Ride (Army Man 4) geocoin owned by usyoopers which was found at Driver's Rest T.B. Motel outside Detroit Metro Airport. Incidentally, I drive a vehicle larger than most cars and in the past year have almost been sideswiped at least three times by people in cars. Look ahead, look to the side and look behind. Use the mirrors but most important when windows (or no windows in the case of motorcycles) do a shoulder check; i.e.: look over the shoulder before changing lanes - and keep space all around you whenever possible, even if it means slowing down or changing lanes and on occasion even speeding up - especially so you are not riding beside a tractor trailer with large blind spots.

Just wanted to say the word is getting out about biking safety thanks to this idea. In the last few weeks and I don't know why I have encountered about three of these geocoins (travelers) either in person, by scrolling through geocache descriptions of various geocaches I am planning to visit or otherwise, including one retrieved from Driver's Rest T.B. Motel near Detroit Metro airport. This campaign applies worldwide and is critical to raising awareness. I wish it much success. As a professional driver we can all heighten our driving skills. I know my skill level has improved as a professional driver from what it was at one time; and like most people I always considered myself to be a good driver. Now I am an even better driver. Chartmaker

I was at about 70 finds before I did my first hide. It felt right. I had an idea of what made a good hide. It does not have to be a fancy container. The location should be somewhere geocachers would like to go, to find and to explore. It could be a wilderness location or downtown metropolitan area since different people like different things. If you like moving travel bugs then some locations may be better than others, especially if significant distances are involved. All in all, think it through, if it makes sense to you then it likely is a good location. Mind you, some caches are better than others - not to mention the existence of different types of caches such as mystery, multis, etc. as opposed to the single location you are there traditional cache. Yes, there is something for everyone; and it depends on the finder as well as to what makes a good cache.

Several factors come into play with latitude/longitude coordinates. While the receiver (GPS Unit) is a factor it is only a part of the puzzle. The number of channels on the receiver or how the receiver processes the satellite signal comes into play. Also of importance is the number of satellites visible to the receiver. Tree cover, large (tall) buildings, steep valleys, etc. all can come into play. On occasion even the satellites themselves can cause poor readings. The satellites are part of a navigational system in place by the U.S. Department of Defense. Navigation is done using angles. If satellites are not in a good position then the 'cut' of the angle can result in positional or greater positional errors. Also, the accuracy of the signals may be altered by the DOD. Terms such as HDOP (horizontal dilution of position) can be determined on some receivers. The number will have a relevance to accuracy of the position. Other receivers may show an EPE (estimated positional error). These terms can be used as a guide. It is very important and has previously been suggested to wait about 5 to 10 to 15 minutes to allow the receiver to settle before taking the position in order to increase accuracy. As an aside, when doing survey work to determine the site of something like a radio tower one will often take a position on each of 4 sides of the tower from a known position, then calculate the location. Again, as an aside, I once had to stop a survey for a harbour for two hours because in the satellite map page all satellites were in a straight line, thus no angle suitable for cut to determine an accurate position, resulting in poor HDOP. To conclude, positions may be variable for a number of reasons and the position may change throughout a given day without even moving the receiver. Who is right or wrong? I shall leave that one to you to decide.