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FlyingDuc

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Everything posted by FlyingDuc

  1. I think a lot of it also reflects on the lack of creativity of the majority of caches hidden out there. Whenever someone tries to find something other than a pill bottle in a lamppost, it throws them off and when they realize the find may require some effort, it just rocks their world. I think the majority of cachers out there enjoy and look forward to the challenge, but I've discovered a lot of old timers have big problems with cache types they haven't run across because they think they've seen it all before. It doesn't fit into their mold of what a proper cache should be. They're the ones who ask for more hints and gripe the most when they have to spend more than 10 minutes looking for a cache.
  2. A bunch of old people fighting over an FTF...one of them gets greedy and takes the cache home and the rest pile on! It's a physical puzzle cache BTW.
  3. The FTF hounds tear up sites if they don't find the cache on the first trip. They get annoyed if they have to go back multiple times to find a cache. We don't have too many in our area...maybe 4-5.
  4. There are a couple of hounds in my area. I have mixed feelings about them. They've torn up a site looking for one of my caches and complain if they feel it's too difficult. He even said in a post that caches are meant to be found and that mine are too difficult (just read the difficulty rating, will you?). I actually took pride in a couple of his comments because 90% of the caches in my area are boring and not very creative. I've also had to delete a few of his logs because he can get downright grumpy sometimes (ha ha). On the plus side, because he tends to be so vocal, he provides me with valuable feedback about my cache. I am able to use this feedback to improve my caches (if the coords are off or if there are any dangers/annoyances in the area). So it's good to get early feedback to help improve the cache for others. Because he's a veteran, he has provided me great insight into how a typical cacher thinks. I can modify my hides to throw off a typical cacher and try to challenge them to think outside of the box. I came across a cache yesterday that had a few DNFs. It wasn't particularly difficult. It was hanging right there at eye level in a tree with no special camo. It was in a green container that just blended in well with the background. People got so caught up searching for it on the ground (it was near a grave site), that they never bothered to look up. And narcissa, while this thread may not make any sense to you, there's a lot of good info in here. Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean you have to throw your own insults out there.
  5. You could make a board with embedded magnets and write numbers all over the board. The combination numbers could be placed over the magnets. Have the cacher use a metal object to wave over the board so the object reveals the combination.
  6. That's not what happened with me. The Reviewer said that I was too close to the ? location. Maybe I need to clarify with them.
  7. Here's a new one for me. Placing a cache for review only to have the Reviewer tell me that it's too close to the end of a puzzle cache that I haven't solved yet. This happened to me twice in two days with the same cache. While I appreciate the fact that the puzzle caches are fun and more involved, they take up twice the real estate as a normal cache.
  8. I had a cache published today and went out to scope the FTF hounds. I parked on a side road and watched them come in. I ran into one that I spoke with previously on the phone. I watched them and gave them hints as they were searching for it. They appreciated it and I helped them get the FTF. We stayed and chatted for 30 minutes after that and they told me about their cache hides. So it appears I've made new friends. Now if it were me doing the searching, and they were there watching, I would have insisted on no hints. But that's just how I am. I enjoy the challenge as much as I enjoy the company.
  9. Once again dprovan...another great, insightful post. Thank you! I am now more open to the idea of gatherings and group hunts, if only to satisfy my curiosity. Perhaps I will meet some nice people along the way. I really don't care who finds my caches just as long as they place them as they found them and don't write defamatory logs. I've chatted with some very nice cachers and wouldn't mind meeting them in person.
  10. Thanks for the insight dprovan. Much appreciated! I haven't been on an FTF hunt, so I may give that a try if I get the opportunity. One more question...aren't FTF teams at a disadvantage because it takes them longer to muster? Or do they arrive individually and start the search and then others join in as they arrive? I'm sure each team works differently.
  11. I'm not knocking it...I'm just trying to understand it.
  12. I can understand why geocachers would want to hang out with other people that share an interest. But the actual activity of geocaching as a team has me a little confused and I was wondering if people could help shed some light on this topic. I recently released a few caches into the wild and had several teams of people descend on them to get FTFs. On a couple of them, the teams didn't find a cache on the first try and they deemed it impossible that their team of 4 members couldn't find it, so they got upset. After a couple of tries, another team got a different cache and then they all claimed credit for the FTF. On another cache, one of the people called a person who found it to ask for the location of the cache so they could go out and find it. From my perspective, this kind of seems like cheating, but I know that whole social aspect of it is encouraged. I understand that. But collaborating when finding a cache? Doesn't that take the fun and/or challenge out of finding a cache? For the easy caches, it's fun to go out with your family...as a father I can understand that. For the more challenging caches, I find it more rewarding to find it myself, and if I don't, then go back and try again until I do find it. Could someone please help me understand team caching? Thanks!
  13. Can someone list an example of a good decoy? To me, a well-placed decoy can act as a hint or actually save someone time by telling them not to look in a particular location. An example with one I did was when I hid a cache 20-25 feet high in a tree. I placed a decoy in the same tree right at eye level...the first place someone would look, right? Once they found the decoy, they knew to either look higher or look on the ground. Unfortunately, an old guy in my area didn't appreciate it and trashed the decoy. Perhaps he thought I was taunting him. Anyone that would have read the attributes would realize that a cache with a difficulty of 3 wouldn't be able to grab it that easily.
  14. If the person is responsible and committed to maintaining the cache, I don't see a need for minimum number of finds. I think it's good to get some new blood in. If you're going to set a requirement for being a CO, perhaps it should be a privilege for premium members only. That way they at least have a little skin in the game. On another, but related topic, I am in favor of cache ceilings. What I mean by that is that a single member should only be allowed to maintain (arbitrary number here) 30 caches. I've seen too many people in my area that own hundreds of caches each and are unable to maintain them. It's easier for them just to archive the caches than to perform maintenance on them. A lot of these neglected caches still appear on the list even after a year of DNFs listed.
  15. I love decoys. I found a cool turtle decoy on a cache I found today. I think they break up the monotony. I have decoys on 3 of my caches and aside from one person, they are all loved. I had to replace 2 decoys. The point is, though, whether you like them or don't...don't mess with them. It's not your cache.
  16. I'm personally grateful for all of the suburban geocaches available in my area. With two small children and a full-time job, this leaves me little time to trek across the great woodland areas where I live. I'm thankful that I am able to find a caches while running errands, otherwise, I'm not sure I would have much time to commit to this diversion. While I admit that LPCs and guardrail caches do get a little boring, it's better than nothing. On occasion, you run across creative urban/suburban caches...those get favorites from me every time. On the other hand, when I walk into a heavily wooded area to try to find a pill bottle among 1000 trees...I just can't justify spending 1-2 hours finding it. My kids and wife need me more than I need that cache.
  17. As a new CO, it's when people trash my decoys and don't replace caches to their original position. The decoys are placed just as carefully as the cache...of not more so.
  18. Hello everyone, I just wanted to say hi. I stumbled across geocaching when purchasing a gift for a reddit user during the Secret Santa exchange. Out of curiosity, I downloaded the free app and decided to try it. I missed my first cache, but found it a day later after learning more. Since then (about 2 weeks ago), I've found about 30 caches. A week ago, I was lucky enough to find a Garmin Oregon 600 on sale for about half off. I'm glad I did because its been proven to be way more accurate than my iPhone. Setup was quite a pain in the butt, but I eventually got through it. I've now been challenging myself to find caches without help from the GPS...just find the general area on a map, read the description, and go for it. Obviously, this doesn't work well in wooded areas. Anyway, just want to say I've been having a lot of fun and have been learning a lot. I'm going to try to hide my first caches this weekend.
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