Cowboy Camper

Thanks guys, but I'm no longer even looking for the desiccant packs. I believe I have the water problem now Solved! BTW: My PVC container is now ready to return to the field of the hidden! First Pic, the Test Plug end. A couple more pics of the final results... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ya know what? I like the results of this so much that I now have two more of these getting ready for Deployment soon. Hey, I had almost 2 feet of 4 inch PVC Pipe left over that needed to be used somehow. Add 2) 4 inch Caps and 2 more 4 inch test plugs and you'll soon be looking for a couple more caches that will start off by looking like this one. I consider myself the type of guy that Evolves as I go along. That said, I'm sure my Camo Paint jobs will only get better as I complete each container.

If it's a small hole, any Epoxy that advertises as Harden's Like Steel will work. JB Weld is just one example of such an epoxy. If the hole(s) is/are larger, I was gonna recommend the Bond or Fiberglass Auto Body repair kit. That I would use on the Outside of the ammo can. I think that would be a bit cheaper than the resin idea. If I were to use the Auto Body kit, I wouldn't worry too much about the smooth finish work after it hardens up. A little extra "texture" to the ammo can could make for an interesting cache container. The roughness of it would help to make it blend in with the bark, leaves and such wherever you hide it. I would, however, make darn sure you paint it up pretty well when it's done. You'll want to cover over the pinkish color of Bondo anyway, but I mean you also will need to make sure the paint finish is good and water resistant. Bondo alone I don't think is very immune to the weather. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of course that's just me and my thoughts based on the way I do things. The much easier fix would be the Lock-n-Lock inside the ammo can.

Very cool story. I read that shortly after I started caching myself. I started/heard about geocaching from a pop up camper forum site. At first, I had no clue what they were talkin' about. Now, I'm a newbie regular to the game myself and have dragged my daughter into it as well.

Having a Plain White truck also seems to help at times. And holding the (GPSr) device in my hand that no one can obviously tell what it is... I guess that helps too. I guess, ... If you look like a Utilitarian Worker and act accordingly, you can find yourself being in all sorts of places where the average guy might have the police called on them. Using a camera and taking Pics also seems to alleviate questions from those who don't know. Having a Tri Pod might also make that regular Camera look like a piece of Surveying equipment to the average eye. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ I dunno. That might not work out too well if your red sports car is anywhere near GZ. I guess it all depends on where you are and what it might Appear that you are doing. A plain white truck though has proven to be an asset to me. JMHO.

One Vote for the Paint job is good enough for me! And, Yes, I have the proper Fusion Paint for plastics. Thanks for the reply. Incidentally, I've also made the container about 20% Larger by correcting the water problem. Cool!

I've been away from the forums for a while folks, but I have my answer to my container question. Post #8 was the first to suggest the Test Plug and after having found a cache built like that I agree that it will work well. It's been hidden since 2002 and when we found it it was as dry as can be inside. Pics: Here you can see the grit in the threads. Any grit means water can get in. (Or the cap needs tools to seal and Open the container) The original threaded cap. Threading this on properly can be tricky. TWICE I ran into the fact that if tightened too much , it can be nearly impossible to open it at another time. Temperature differences alone can contract or expand the fitting enough to jam it. I did this to myself 2 times already on my own, Knowing that I was the last person to have sealed it. At one point, I was convinced enough to replace this one with an Ammo Can. I couldn't get the dadgum thing open to swap out the contents, I had no tools in the car.... I ended up knocking the square plug with the ammo can itself to crack it loose! The ammo can is at the site now, but the PVC container is going to return. With the new Test Plug. After I rework the camouflage of course! Speaking of that, I have another Opinion question about the camouflage for this one. As you can tell, this was once covered with Bark and was intended to look like a Log. Pretty clever, but not entirely easy to fix right now seein' that I don't have a heated shop to work in for the construction glue I'd need to use to set properly. I'm leaning more toward just painting it up with camo colors and keeping it relatively simple to maintain from now on. But would that make it look Too cheap as a container? Let me know what you think. And thanks in advance.

I think the OP said they might be interested in getting to know them, not trying to hide anything. That's correct. I was hoping to get to know the folks who might locally be caching by me. I now have a good idea of how to get them to ID themselves IF they Choose to answer my note/email that they'll get. Good idea, and thanks to whoever it was that mentioned it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I haven't tried working with the Bookmark Lists yet. So far, the Watch List has been working fine for me with the caches that I'm still watching. As my Found count goes up, the watch list might need to be replaced with a book mark list, I dunno. Or, maybe I should just clean out the watch list I have running. Really, how interesting can an LPC be after I've found the darn thing? I guess I just never throw anything away, and I keep watching the caches I've found so far. Or the ones I intend to hunt for as soon as I can. Whichever the case may be. But... I can clean out the LPCs.

I once went after a cache after dark on a roadside that gets a bit of traffic. Flashlight and all, there I am looking for this quick find a half mile from home. AFTER the fact, I noticed that the cache page said something about "Stealth Required." Now, I've been working on this game for almost two years before ever noticing the Stealth requirement. So I think I'm on the fence with this one. Part of me agrees with the folks who say that cache hiders should choose a better place to hide the cache. They should consider that newbies like myself have perhaps not known about this stealth requirement cause most of the caches found so far have been out in the woods someplace. OK, My fault... I wasn't thinking. But I looked for that cache by the road with NO idea in my mind about muggles at the time. Man did I ever get nervous about that one once I realized what Stealth Required meant and I considered that I may well have forever compromised that cache. (All OK with that cache though. Thankfully, I didn't jeopardize the cache.) On the other hand though, if it's made Well Known what that stealth required thing means, then I also agree that it can add to the fun (or skill level needed) to go out and find such caches. When you fully understand the mission and realize that stealth is needed on this one, than I see it as an extra measure of adventure. One could think about geocaching as somewhat of a Cloak and Dagger type of mission and this can certainly add a whole new level to the basic game for both the hider and the hunter. ~~~~~~~~~ Considering my experience, I'm now leaning more toward the fact that Experience pays off as you get into the game more and understand more about what all is involved. In my case, I made the mistake by not catching the Stealth Required notice on the cache page. I've since learned from that mistake and will keep on learning more and more as I progress. I'll keep on understanding more about Geocaching as I keep on gaining more experience. Live and Learn. That's a good way to sum it up. Now I know better to check all of the details involved in my future missions/cache hunts, and also I'll be better prepared for the next one.

Thank You. I see that now. Prime Suspect, Good answer and I understand now. Thanks for the reply. Touchstone, No way to see Who is watching that cache? That stinks. But!... Thanks for letting me know. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks ALL for the replies! Thanks to you folks, I have a better understanding of how things work here.

Check the cache page. The CO usually notes WHY the cache is Temporarily Disabled. If need be, click the link toward the bottom of the listing to read ALL of the logs for that listing. As I said, there's a Disabled Cache near me that seems to be perfectly findable. I don't recall why the CO disabled it, but the recent logs tell me free and clear that it's still there and fairly easy to find. I plan on going after it really soon!

Email Address should work well. Or: I did this. Not wanting to give my direct Email Addy, I gave my cache's GC # on that line. Under that line, I referenced the Geocaching Website Above on the sticker. My "Contact Name" on that sticker is Cowboy Camper. (My ID at the site and here) At this point I'm hoping that folks who stumble upon my cache will be somewhat Computer Literate to figure it out and be able to contact me. I'm not comfortable with putting my valid Email Addy on the label and I'm Definitely not comfortable with my real name and a live phone #. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I guess I'm thinking that I'll check in on the cache as often as needed. ~ as I should, I'm the Owner ~ If a stray folk (of Authority) figures out how to contact me to remove it for whatever reason, good enough. I'll remove it and Archive my cache as need be by order of said authority. But if I find it missing without any personal contact.... Hmm. I guess I judge from there as to whether I replace the cache or not. Was it Muggled? Or does it look like it may have been removed by any Police action? I'll employ an educated thought process to determine my next step as the CO. It depends on what happened. If it's been Muggled too many times I'll probably Archive it myself and remove the cache so that others won't go after a Gone Hunt. Just my thoughts one this one....

Until you posed this question, I didn't realize that the Disabled Caches were gray and not white. So, FWIW, thanks for pointing that out tonight. You Can't filter those out though. Really, no need to. There's one Disabled Cache in my area that SEVERAL folks have been logging finds for. The CO disabled it for the winter thinking that it may not be an easy find I guess, but sure enough a good many folks have been successfully finding it. Might even go after it myself pretty soon. As for the Archived caches... (Truly Archived) they just don't appear on the Google Maps anymore. I was once told that the caches I have found would still appear on the maps after they've been Archived if I found them. In my experience, this has proven to be false. I've checked on a few that I had found. And I've seen that once they're Archived they are OFF the maps. No Filter necessary, they're just not there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That said, go out and look for the gray Disabled Caches. Who knows, could be a good find, huh? As I said, I'm lookin' forward to finding one myself.

If the Question of "How to go about getting the proper permissions to hide a cache?" question could also be addressed in this here topic, that would be great! I'm Positive that that is one of the cache hiding guidelines that we have to adhere to. I have a TON of ideas of where I think would make a good place to hide a cache, but I have no idea of how to seek out the proper owner of the land to get the required permission to place my hide. After all, do the owners of the LPC's (Lamp Post Cache) really go about getting the permissions? I don't know, but I have my doubts. Also... I've come to learn that some cachers don't really care for them. Ya know, they're not really an Original Idea. Funny how so many folks go after them and log them in as finds though, huh? Even so, I may hide a couple myself. Anyhow, I just thought I'd toss that in as something to consider as well. If the "Permissions Question" is addressed in this topic that would be Great. If not, I do have a couple of cacher friends that I can ask via email about how they went about getting the permissions to hide they're caches. For the record, I own 1 cache. I restored it from Archive Status though, and didn't a dang thing regarding the proper permissions. However, for the future caches that I hide myself... I would like to be sure that I do it properly. Furthermore, I DO understand that I own this cache now and am fully prepared to take care of it. I am in support of Sol seaker's comment about the commitment involved in being the CO. (Cache Owner). I've gone to great lengths in my attempt to restore my cache as a Good Hunt for fellow geocachers. I even replaced the container in the hopes that future finders will find the cache nice and dry. Considering Sol seaker's comment about the Quality of Caches has me thinking of a new motto of my own. "Take Pride in your Hide". IMHO, this means you need to make it a good container and a good location. And don't neglect it after you hide it. A 4 year old water logged cache might not be such fun to find for some cachers, ya know? Just a few of my thoughts.....

Howdy folks, I hope I have this particular question in the proper forum. Anyhow, at the geocache Site there is a way to watch a cache and get emails sent to you for each log. I watch several of the caches near me to keep up to date on who finds them or what's going on with them. Did they get Disabled, Archived or Maintained? Am I the only one who can't seem to find this cache? Things like that is why I watch them. As a cache Owner now, I Automatically am already watching my cache. I tried to set my own cache to the watchlist and this is when I was informed that I already will get the emails for each log. OK, that's cool... but here's my question. Why can I see how many people are watching the caches (that others have hidden) that I am watching but I cannot see if anyone else is watching My cache? On many of the caches I'm watching there are only two folks listed. I presume those folks would be myself and the CO. That seems understandable to me. So, what am I missing here on My listing that I cannot even see if anyone else is watching my cache? I guess I also have another question that can go with this. Is there a way to see Who it is that is watching any particular cache? As the CO, I might be interested in meeting some Local Cachers nearby that might be watching my cache. A first step in my mind would be to send that person a PM/Email, but I can't even tell IF anyone at all is watching my cache. So... what am I missing here on my cache listing? Is it possible to see who's watching my listing? If so, what am I doing wrong here?

I could be wrong, but Tom Tom doesn't make a Hand held GPSr, do they? I thought they only made the Car Type GPSr's that work wonderfully for Road Directions. I have two Magellan GPSr's. The eXplorist 210 for caching and the Roadmate 1200 for the car. Two totally different units, each serving well for their intended purposes. I found that the eXplorist 210 was useless for the car travels so I bought the Roadmate 1200 some time later. I've never bothered to try the Roadmate for geocaching. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This post looks like it could come off as being a smartass, but I assure you that is not my intention. I'm just trying to clarify that indeed there are TWO different types of GPS units for their own different uses.

I have no idea on how to check the Datum on my unit, let alone a Nuvi 500. Sorry. (I have an eXplorist 210, BTW.) But, I think 9 feet for the norm is pretty darn good! Daughter and I just got 6 more today out of 7 hunted for. On a few of them though, the GPSr told me we had 50 feet to go!! The one we missed also had 2 other DNF logs for it and the CO just Disabled it today after our DNF log. That one may have been muggled by animals. (of all things, huh?) Anyhow, an average of 9 feet off is pretty darn good IMHO. Sorry I don't know how to check the Datum settings, but when you're that close I think experience can usually take over. JMHO of course.

It definitely feels great to get another find each time we head out. I/we (daughter) just got 3 more today. There's definitely something about this game. It's just addictive and Fun to do. I'm just happy that so many caches have been hidden right around our immediate area near home. Now I'm even getting into Hiding the caches myself. Congrats of your first finds, and I wish you many more! Happy Caching!!!

This is a great question and one I was about to ask myself, even though I own and have been using my eXplorist for about a year now. Is it just me, or is this the normal way Geocaching works? For the record, I have 30 Finds and I know for sure that I have missed four of them that I've hunted for. Here's the scoop: One I just didn't find. Period. My fault most likely. Two were muggled, (moved, taken away or destroyed by a muggler) Not my fault. I've since found one of those after the CO replaced the container in it's proper place. Even better, I found it without even having the GPSr in hand at the time. I read back on the log entries and saw that the CO placed the cache back where it was originally intended to be and I remembered the original hint for that cache. End result, another Find. The forth one I just got (on the 3rd time out to it!) is similar to one of the muggled caches I found before. The CO has moved the cache and Changed Coords for it since I had it loaded into my GPSr. I read back on the logs for that one too, and found the coord update. I reloaded the new coords to my unit, and I find it the next day back to the illusive cache. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Moral of the story, it takes Practice and Experience. I have 30 finds, but by no means do I consider myself very experienced yet. I'm no Pro Cacher, for sure! But... I've learned a few things along the way. First, check on the back logs for each cache. Information for it could well have been changed! Next, I've concluded that it IS pretty much just my fault when I can't find a cache. Prime Example is when I had the wrong coords loaded into the GPSr device. Finally, I think I've learned that it's not always me or my equipment's fault. It's the nature of the game. This is just how Geocaching works. Consider ALL of the variables involved with each and every cache that is out there. You have different folks hiding caches while other folks are looking for them. Each cacher has a different GPSr device. By nature, these all work a little differently from each other. Likewise, each Cacher has their own different level of experience both in the field and also with the understanding of their particular GPS unit. Combine all of the available variables, and it starts to become obvious that this is just how this game works. What??? Well, of the 30 Finds I've logged, my GPSr has been 30 feet off from GZ a Lot more often than not. So much so that I have started to ask myself your very same question. Is it just me or what? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My conclusion.... It's the nature of the game. It's not unusual for any given GPS devise to be off by 30 some feet of GZ when you consider that it's very likely that the Hider and the Finder are using different GPSr's. And that the Hider and the Finder are likely on different levels of experience in the game. Funny that someone should mention the Piano. That's something else I'm pretty good at IMHO. But in your eyes, am I good at it? Well I don't know. It's all up to the eye of the beholder.

Don't even know what a rick roll "trick" is, so no worries there. Video though.... Funny as all get out!! Thanks for sharing that!

ahhh! ahhhh! get it offa me! it burns! it burns! ROFLOL!!! My daughter is on a kick right now (a Phase?) and "It Burns!" is a favorite remark these days. Oh I had a heck of time listening to her "It Burns" comments when Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire" song came on the radio last weekend!! Here's the Original 1963 Video for reference. Enjoy!!

I have a decent Laminating Machine and was thinking about using my Cowboy Cacher (CBY CCHR) plate design on one side of a card. Similar to the CBY CMPR plate I'm using as the avatar at the moment. A good Cacher Plate can be found in my profile. I also like the idea of numbering them for each cache find. I'd maybe use that on the back of the card. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Side question I have about the Signature items. Are these meant to be kept by the cache owner, or are they meant to be used as trade items as well? I haven't taken any cause I figured they were meant for the CO to keep. Just thought I'd ask to be sure about that.

Park And Grab, then Bag = Log it. That sounds like a much better alternative then what the Urban Dictionary said about Pag.

Good question. I am also interested in any templates if they're available somewhere. Thanks in advance.

Jeff is right, the Magellan Roadmate is the problem. I have one of those and it works wonderfully. In the CAR. The Magellan eXplorist is a hand held unit I use for geocaching and they are two totally different machines altogether. I got the eXplorist for about 150 Bucks at Walmart last year. They may be cheaper now, I don't know. It's just a basic unit, but it shows the proper format for the coords for geocaching. As best I know, the format isn't changeable in the Roadmate. The car GPSr just wasn't built to use for geocaching. Here's a link to the Geocache.com review page for the eXplorist. Magellan eXplorist Review Page. Looks like they're still available for $138.99 on line.

I didn't look at the cache pages last night. But I did this morning. Clearly you are on a MUCH higher level than I am in this game. I enjoyed reading the logs on both cache pages. I see that the Large one still hasn't been found even with a $100 Cash FTF Prize! Man... You're brutal! But it's been nice talkin' to ya here in this topic. Thanks for all the input so far, and Happy Caching!