MarshMonsters

I stopped entering coords by hand after I had one take me to a guard rail for a micro. I searched all over and couldn't find it, yet everyone else could. Went out caching with my cousin and stopped at the same spot. Turns out my cords were off by 400 ft. and I just happened to have the wrong cords take to me a guard rail. I had a few problems with downloaded cords but that turned out to be a firmware problem. Now when I do a multi I check the cords I enter twice.

I carry a sling backpack. I tried several types of bags until I found one that was the right fit. I have a few things that I always carry in my pack. Gardening gloves for reaching into unknown spots or icky caches.($1 section at Target) Cuts and scrapes first aid kit ($1 section at Target. Makes good swag too!) Several pens and pencils Various sizes of ziplock bags. (never know when you need to replace a damaged one) Hand sanitizer (for icky caches) A small multi tool A small keychain flashlight (good for looking into spots before reaching in)

A pile of scorched white hotel style towels laying on the ground near an old fashioned diner drive through. A few feet from the first pile there was a hole in the pavement with more in a melted milk crate. I don't know if there was a grease fire or what. Not sure if I even want to know... About 50 feet from that scene was the cache. At least the cache brought you to a cool place away from the towels.

Welcome to the addiction. You two sound like my cousin and I. Everything we do turns into a adventure. Geocaching included. We haven't cached in 99 degree heat yet (give us a month or two). In fact, we had the other spectrum snow and ice cache hunts. LOL Good luck!

My husband and I are from the Cleveland area and we are thinking about tent camping near Presque Isle. Has anyone ever stayed at Sara's Campground? We aren't sure if it is a good place or not. We wanted to find out more about it since it isn't a state park campground. Thanks!

I had the same worries before going to the WWFM 3. I ended up walking up and introducing myself. The easiest way to break the ice was "do you want one of my sig items?" or "here have a sig item." That was a good way to introduce ourselves and gave us a chance to say where we were from. You should also (if you haven't already) join local caching forums they always post meet and greets. I also write letters to cache owners who have caches that my team enjoys. Even the ones who have caches I can't find have been helpful. They write back with helpful information and encourage us to go to events. I think that being a newbie helps too. People are willing to help because they have been there themselves. Your lego sig items sound awesome. My husband and I are big kids too and love legos.

I don't know if this was a ghost...but it was still creepy. We went caching yesterday and one brought us to a very old cemetery that was in the middle of the woods. My brother's cell phone was not working so he borrowed my Mom's tracfone before he left. He decided to lay down and look at the sky for bit while the rest of us were on a bench looking at the swag, deciding what to trade, and waiting for a turn to sign the log. When it was his turn I called over to him so he could sign the log. As he made his way over the phone rang. It was locked so he had trouble answering but got it. As he was talking he had a disturbed look on his face and then a scared one. Turns out it was a 911 operator. She said she had a call come in on that phone. He told her that he didn't call and that he was sorry and she said it was okay it happens often. We were a little shaken and he had to try to unlock the phone again to look at the call log. When we found the last call it was for "08" my Mom doesn't use speed dial and did not save 911 or any emergency number anywhere in the phone. I have been running through the possible causes but I haven't found any that could match up. I thought maybe he bumped it just enough to unlock the phone but the keys on the phone are hard to push when you are intentionally unlocking. Maybe it was a ghost, maybe not but it was still a creepy experience.

There are also cachers who think they have a better hiding spot nearby and put the cache back in a new spot. There are also the ones who camo it "better" too. So I always take that into account when I am looking for a cache.

My first set of sig items were wooden nickels painted green with animal stickers on them. People seemed to like them. This time I left the wood finish and drew a monster face and some cattails. I love collecting sig items and I am starting to get quite the collection. I would definately take one of your sig items.

I've thought about it. (not to actually do it though) You're a sicko I carry hand sanitizer in my bag for this reason. I always have a space pen, a mechanical pencil, and a handfull of various writing instruments. If those didn't work then I would use charcoal, mud, or a crushed leaf, origami. There are so many other alternatives.

Our Target still has the gardening supplies. I did snag some Off and grippy garden gloves. The gloves will be handy for yucky caches. I never thought about using the roaster fork for poking around in hiding areas. Back in the seasonal toy area there are .99-$1.99 Summer toys. Those are nice too.

After looking at his trackables moved list, I don't think he is sitting on 10-15 travel bugs. I think he is asking about the unknown locations. The owners will mark the bugs unknown when they are lost, stolen, or muggled from a cache. If the bug appears again then the milage will start up again.

Cool coin. I met Goofy last year and got a picture with him. We ran across him at 1:30 a.m. at the Magic Kingdom during extra magic hours!

WOW! Those are awesome. I love collect signature items! When you put them in the cache be sure to put the pieces in a small ziplock baggie. That way if the cache gets damp you don't have to worry about the pieces turning into mush. You can find the tiny baggies at office supply stores and craft stores. I make wooden nickels. I am releasing a new handrawn design to give out at the upcoming flashmob.

I love cemetery caches. Especially the ones that are so old that they are rarely visited. I say go for it.

I have heard that the little jars of playdough will attract animals.

Cemeteries Rock piles/stick piles Hollow trees/trees with holes Guardrails (never knew all the possible hiding areas.) Lamposts (never knew you could lift up pieces) I also watch out for other geocachers in areas where a cache is located. Potential hiding spots. ( then think of the pros and cons) Historical markers and information signs. (I would usually skip over these) I started thinking like a hider. If I see something odd, out of place, or interestng, 9/10 times that is where the cache is located. If it isn't there it is very close and the owner intended for you to think the cache is located there. This sport has really opened my eyes!

My Cousin has purchased some really cool geo coins on ebay. The prices are awesome too.

*snap* *snap* *snap* Great poem! It really describes the hobby well!

Here, check these two caches out: GC11E8N and GC1AHN3. The second one is in Ohio. I found these in another forum that I frequent. In order to claim a find on these caches you have to have all 81 possible difficulty/terrain combinations. You also have to have one of each cache type. My Husband, Cousin, and I all set the above caches as a goal to achieve. We still have a long, long way to go, but it is a lot of fun.

Go ahead and buy those really cool geocoins! You can show them off at events and let people "discover" them. You can also dip them in each cache to get mileage on them. If you want to have one travel the world then do as the others suggest and buy a generic one. My cousin and I just started and she already has a nice collection. She is letting people discover her coins and she has favorite one that she dips into each cache for mileage.

I don't cache for the swag. I do like to help "upgrade" a cache in need. I occasionally trade for something cool. We found a muddy golfball left as swag. It had clumps of dirt all over it. I don't mind clean golfballs. People can use those. The cache that I found the ball in had gotten damp and the ball caused the inside of the cache to get muddy. Someone else left an acorn. This cache is in the middle of the woods surrounded by acorns come on... Luckly it was easy to clean.

From the start (only 26 caches found!) my cousin and I decided to do a scrapbook of our geocaching adventures. That way we could remember the fun adventures, injuries, and mishaps.

Some people leave lottery tickets. Just make sure you put them in caches that are visited often. I think most tickets are good 180 days from the release of game. I leave regular sized and mini playing cards, large bouncy balls, rings, puzzle erasers, hotwheels and other kid friendly items. I also have mini led flashlights, fun keychains, and other outdoorsy things for adults. Be sure to put each item in a sandwich or snack sized ziplock baggie. That way your items will not get damp and rust or fall apart. Have fun with what will be your new addiction!

I wouldn't mind. As long as the cache page states they you may need to drive then I am up for it.