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Cool Librarian

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Everything posted by Cool Librarian

  1. Execution is everything on these types of hides. I had one in my yard (in the front, could be accessed from the sidewalk if the cacher was nervous about entering, even though the cache page said it was fine to do so) and it was VERY well-received. It was a large tote full of books. I placed it in my yard after it went missing in its first location (and, ironically, it was stolen out of my yard two years later by the obnoxious teens that worked across the street). I met many cachers that came by to do it, and I don't think I got one complaint about it. And, back then, few people knew me as I was new to the game. I think it's a shame that people automatically write these off, but to each his own. Perhaps this area has a closer caching community than others.
  2. I like to think of myself as a responsible cache owner (most of the time!), so I place my caches a comfortable distance from my home so that I can maintain them. I do maintenance whenever it is needed, and I really appreciate it when someone takes the time to note that maintenence is needed in their found log. As for restocking and "routine" maintenance, I go twice a year - Spring to prepare the cache for the upcoming cache rush, and late fall, to make sure the container is up to the challenges of winter weather. A couple of my caches get more frequent visits, either because they are cloe by, or because they are in more muggle-intense areas. I have found that some of my caches are almost always full of junk when I restock, and others never seem to degrade - and I have found no explaination/pattern for this - weird. And while I know that many cachers are not interested in the swag, I am always thrilled when I find something I think is cool in a cache (perhaps because I am a female?), and I like to stock with things for kids and adults. One last thing: if you decide to leave the hobby, or archive a cache this is not DEFINITELY missing, it is important to remove your archived caches so that they do not become geotrash, and to open up the general location for a new cache by another cacher. Happy hunting!
  3. I agree as well. Things in my neck of the woods have been going down hill for a while - lately it seems like 1 or 2 out of 10 offer anything scenic/challenging/nice walk/well-stocked. I've got 6 on the list for tomorrow - we'll see what happens.
  4. Well, since no one else has answered, I'll give you my pick Garmin Etrex Yellow This is a basic, and probably the most popular (for geocaching anyway) GPS. I think it's great for a new cacher because it's fairly inexpensive (and it's now 20 bucks less than I paid for it on Amazon 3 years ago), easy to use and figure out, and pretty sturdy. It doesn't have maps or anything fancy, but I've found 1300 caches with mine without a hitch, and have found no reason to "upgrade." I use paper maps (printed from Mapquest or similar) to find cache area, and then use GPS to find cache from parking or thereabouts. Many people upgrade to GPSrs with maps and such if they decide to cache paperless only, but if you are on a budget, I think this is the way to go. The best part is, if you decide that geocaching isn't your thing, or that you'll only be doing it from time-to-time, then you haven't spent a lot of money on equipment. If you decide that the Magellan brand is more to your liking, then any of the lower priced Explorist GPS units are a good choice. Good luck, have fun!
  5. Oh, I missed your link. To be blunt, the vast majority of the locals thought it was "stupid." Thirteen people (including the event owner) attended (and I know of three who attended simply to garner another find). I am a firm believer that a cache owner can put whatever requirements (within the guidelines) they wish on their caches. And I have no problem dressing like a chimpanzee and swinging from a tree branch to log a cache. I have a cache in my radius that I will probably never find because it is in a small cave - and I am claustrophobic - and that's OK (and hey, maybe it will be the site of a future therapy session!). But I think that event caches are a different animal, and requirements like this sort of go against the "spirit" of an event. I know a lot of people complained to one another about this event, and even complained to the cache owner. But no one complained (that I am aware) in the local forum on gc, and no one that I talked to had tried to get the event shut down - people simply didn't attend. Whenever some poor newbie complains about a cache in this forum, there's usually the "If you don't like it, don't do it" battle-cry - and in this case, that's exactly what happened.
  6. Since the CAM event was the only one listed (so far) in this thread, and people seem to like the CAM event, perhaps, like many aspects of geocaching, it's a regional thing. There was an event not long ago in this area that was similar to this - you had to find a certain number of the host's caches to get the coords to attend. With one twist - there were point values assigned, it was not simply the number of caches. AND, here's the kicker - if you had ALREADY (as in previously) found one or more of these caches (they were all listed at times prior to the event), you only got HALF the point value - meaning that you had to REFIND some caches if you had already done most of his caches (got that?). The event host said that this was to "level" the field, but I think it served to penalize the long-standing and/or high numbers cachers (and I am admittedly part of that group). BUT, I didn't object simply because it penalized ME, I just thought the whole thing was tacky. IMO, event caches are for socializing, meeting new cachers, and encouraging old and new cachers to attend. If CAM is popular, then hey, that's cool, far be it from me to object to their event if it works for them. But, it didn't work here - in an area that regularly draws 50-100 teams to the local events, I think only 11 (or something like that) logged this one (when I asked people if they were going, most said, "um, no.").
  7. We have a cache here very much like Ladies First -Man, I Feel Like a Woman! I have to say, this was one of the funniest caches I have done and have had the pleasure of reading through the logs. Look at the pics from the first few finds, and you will be able to tell that the cachers in my area are a funny, and good-natured bunch. My boyfriend spent half the day (prior to this find) caching with a dress on under his clothes - and I had no idea. He did it just to make me laugh (I think )... As for the topic at hand, you'll see that some people didn't dress-up, and that their logs were not deleted. IMHO, I think that refleects the good-nature of the cacher OWNER, who just wanted people to have a good time. But also in my opinion, I think she had the right to delete the logs, if she wanted to.
  8. The gas prices have affected my caching drastically. I make VERY LITTLE money (just above poverty level) in spite of my education, so unless I can hit 10-15 caches in one trip, I just can't do it at $3 a gallon. My find rate has plummeted...
  9. I use my boyfriend - I wait for him to log all the caches and just follow his trail! I tried to go paperless, but I just don't care for being paperless ALL the time. Most of the time my memory is enough, but on days that I do large runs (15+) w/o the boyfriend (I wasn't kidding, I usually wait for him to log first), I either just keep the pile of cache pages, or if I have gone paperless for that run, I use cachemate or the notepad in my palm.
  10. I'm sure that you'll get many replies from people "in the know" about GPS units, (and I'm not one of them), but I'll throw my 2 cents in with a question worth answering (in my humble opinion): Do you think you will LOVE geocaching? And, if you get tired of it after the summer (and MANY people do drop out once the "novelty" has worn off), will you have a use for your new toy? Because I have a history of starting hobbies and then abandoning them after buying all the gear to play, I was a bit more sensible about geocaching - mostly because I work for peanuts. I did my first few caches without a GPS (just maps, the hints, and local knowledge) and LOVED it. But, I still bought a Garmin Etrex "Yellow" (the low-end unit) for under $100, because I am poor. No maps, no expandable memory, no color screen, no joystick... But you know what? Nearly 3 years and 1200 finds later, I am STILL using a Yellow (my second one, in fact - I "dropped" the first one and broke it). Oh, yeah, that's another point - it's cheap enough to replace without feeling REALLY bummed. I'm certainly not telling you what to buy, and I am definitely not saying that a Yellow is the "best" GPS - just keep in mind that most any brand name GPS will get you to the cache area - the bells and whistles might be nice (I don't know, never needed any), but they're not "necessary."
  11. Removing them one by one is a huge pain in the butt - I would be thrilled if it could be changed to a checkbox system....
  12. Missing the point... The original post was simply a recommendation that we not hasten the demise of the old stone walls. This has nothing to do with developers, or "progress" or anything else - just a "Hey, as GEOCACHERS, lets not go out of our way to move the stones around." Perhaps we need to remember that not everyone who plays this sport has been doing it for very long, or maybe is still kinda young and not thinking of conservation issues, or is overzealous - whatever. It was reminder, and as usual people feel the need to get all crazy with the sarcasm.... One of my first hides was in a stone wall - I was a noob, and I thought it was a great hide. In a matter of a few months, the wall, (in a nature preserve and certainly old) had been torn apart by overzealous (and most likely noob) cachers. And when I say "torn apart" I mean that that section of the wall was now collapsing. I moved the cache and did my best to repair the damage - and I felt bad that I had placed the cache in the wall in the first place. Sometimes being "responsible" means making things "idiotproof" - as unfortunate as that may be. So, no, not all the walls are "special," and certainly not all of them will be there forever - for whatever reason - but we don't need to be part of the destruction, IMHO.
  13. Cell phone camera pics stink unless you shell out a lot of money (and then the camera/phone is fragile, and the pics still suck). BUT, I recommend having a cell phone with you while caching, especially if you cache alone more than .25 from the car. You can get a plan for 19.99 and a free phone at most dealers (and get a Nokia if you can as they are tougher - DO NOT get a motorola - very fragile, for the most part). Anyway, I use a Canon Digial Elph, which I love for caching. Quality is very nice, it's very small and light, but at about $200, it may not be "disposable" (at least for me, anyway). My boyfriend uses a Fuji Finepix that cost about $100 - takes nice pics, a little bulkier than mione, but still light and nice for the cache bag.
  14. Two years ago, Santa brought me a a geocaching boyfriend! Last year, said boyfriend brought me a didgtal camera to cache with. This year I am only aware of one geocaching-related present, a pair of convertable gloves to make signing logbooks easier in frigid weather - though there could be a geo-surprise under the tree for me tomorrow!
  15. That's funny, I just posted this in another thread: "A few weeks ago I found a cookie scoop in a cache, and it's like the best swag I have ever found - I used it to make all of my Christmas cookies!"
  16. I totally agree with what you said. Unless I suspect there is a Travel Bug in the cache I mostly don't even look at the trade items. I made sure to put a warning in the description for one of my caches: "If you are looking for a cache filled with all sorts of great trading items, this is NOT the cache for you. The original cache contents would be described by many people as "lame". However, if you believe the joy of caching comes from the hunt and not the swag, you should like this one." So far it doesn't seem to stop people from hunting for it, so I suspect you are correct. I'm sure most of us adults are in it for the hunt, not the swag. But remember a lot of people geocache with their families and the kids sure like the swag. Also a lot of newbies expect some sort of treasure at the end. Eventually they get to the "into it for the hunt" phase, but in the beginning the swag is an attractant for many. It's still an "attractant" for me! After 2 years of this, I certainly trade less now than when I started - but I sure do get really excited when I find a cache with GREAT swag - and by GREAT I mean SOMETHING I WANT. A few weeks ago I found a cookie scoop in a cache, and it's like the best swag I have ever found - I used it to make all of my Christmas cookies! Hey, adult or not, I'm a girl, and I like cool stuff.
  17. Though I doubt many people do it SOLELY for the numbers, I do find myself getting annoyed when people indicate (or just plain old state) that being a numbers hunter is "wrong," and that those who say "It's not about the numbers" are somehow superior. It's sanctimonious - not to mention "incorrect." There ARE people who do this for the numbers. For some people it IS a race. And there is nothing wrong with that. Yes, I do get concerned about the quality of caches taking a dive because of competition in the game. But, we have a number of pretty "competitive" cachers in my neck of the woods, but the lowest microspew concentration in the country - so it doesn't necessarily follow. At any rate, all of the cachers I know, numbers hounds included, cache because of their love of the outdoors, of adventures large and small. And if someone wants it to be "about the numbers" as well, then good for them.
  18. We have one of those shakeable ones - it's a great backup if your main light goes dead, but not strong enough for regular use IMO.
  19. Funny, I was just thinking about posting a similar topic. I cached paper-only for almost two years, and then bought a palm on ebay this summer. I figured I'd love it, because I love gadgets and computers and etc. Thankfully I got a decent deal on the thing, because I almost NEVER use it. I find that I get a much better sense of what I am doing if I look at each cache page, print them out, semi-map my route, make sure the cache is currently active (I will never understand the people who don't read cache pages before a hunt). I found the PDA to be a pain to pull in and out of the pack, poke at with the stick - I don't know, everyone that I know who caches paperless LOVES it, and I just didn't take to it at all. I did, however, find it useful when we did a caching weekend on the Cape, as we cached up and back and used the PDA to find the closest ones along the meandering routes down and back - that way we weren't married to taking a specific route - so that was cool. Other than that, I don't use it much at all.
  20. I'm a cool librarian (who knew!), tattoos, pierced nose, wild hair, outrageous sense of humor. Love books (who knew!), photography, kayaking, hiking - in spite of all the exercising, I am still fat (who knew!). Oh yeah, I like food a lot, too. Started caching solo because it looked like fun, got hooked. Met my partner through caching, and now have more caching friends than I ever imagined - though I have not been able to convert any of my "regular" friends to the sport ("Are you CRAZY? You hiked 3 miles in two feet of snow for a PLASTIC BOX?") Based on the cachers I have met, we are smart, athletic, fat, thin, male, female, young, old, single, married, geeky, cool, outgoing, shy, friendly, grouchy, obsessive-compulsive, obsessive-compulsive, obsessive-compulsive... Go to the next meet in your area - you'll be glad you did!
  21. Unlike Snat, who says he would be unlikely to be mistaken for a deer, I am very likely to be mistaken for, um, something - furry brown hair, brown skin, and I like to "bound" around in the woods. I have encountered hunters while caching - if I am bushwhacking, I get back to the trail pronto to give them their space. And, let's not forget that you don't need to worry solely about legit hunters - just a few days ago I was on a hunt in a pretty dense wood (I did not see any signs permitting - or excluding - hunting, but the season has not yet opened here) and I heard gunfire VERY close by - too close, creeped me right out. On a return trip to the area for another cache, we came upon an area of shot up bottles, signs, appliances, car wrecks - shot gun shells galore. Obviously kids playing around - and I'd be more worried about teens with firearms shooting for thrills than hunters with a clue. Wear your orange!
  22. Yes, check city hall. Also try your local library - they may have an old directory. Also try the historical society of the town the cemetary is in. Around here we have many historic cemetaries and cemetary caches. I douybt that most of them have permission - but if it is a private family cemetary, trying for permission is really advisable. A virtual most likely wont get approval, so try for a micro in or near the cemetary. Good Luck!
  23. The vast majority of the time I use my Marmot fanny pack (with water bottle holders) for the swag, gps, phone, compass, and a few first aid/safety things. It's big enough for a space blanket and small flashlight as well. My only complaint is that I have no waist and feel like this just emphasizes this fact (sorry, I'm a girl). I was lucky enough to get a women's EMS hydration pack for $15 because the bladder leaked. Since I prefer bottles, this was a GREAT deal for me - plenty of room for basic gear and sized right for my short stature. I plan on using this more in colder weather, when the fanny pack was sometimes a pain to combine with a heavy coat, and couldn't carry my layers as I peeled them off.
  24. Yeah, that's pretty sad for the librarian, who was typing that while at work, rushing, and those darn "M" states get me everytime!! I certainly don't mean to villify everyone who owns an SUV - but it's pretty well-known that I am hippy-esque liberal. I just wish more people would use common sense. I have a very close friend who bought a gigantic Surburban - seats 7 - and he has one child. He could plead he needss it for his construction job, but he has a giant truck for that... so, I don't see the point, except that it's a "status" thing. Which, hey, hippy or not, I am also a girl who likes the ocassional status symbol - so couldn't you just buy a BMW to tote around your one child? As for the people trapped down there without an SUV, the majority of the people trapped down there are too POOR for any reliable vehicle, it would seem. In terms of caching, I have found that my vehicle is woefully inadequate (absolutely NO ground clearance), so if I ever get a real job, I am thinking about a Baja - which is indeed an SUV in the truest sense of the word. But I at least would be toting the kayaks and the bikes and the hiking gear (and cache containers!) and going where my current car cannot take me.
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