salmoned

I would certainly hope the guides were drinking water. Otherwise, they may not have been in a condition to make critical judgements - as in this instance.

Swag is a gift from the hider to the finder, as is the hide itself. Any other attitude is fraught with grief. If something is left in exchange, that too is a gift. In other words, it's all good...

Thanks, MM!

If you're talking about my cache, I responded by editing my first reply rather than creating a new response. How can I now see the archived write-up? (I don't recall the waypoint)

Have you emailed the reviewer? Now that I seem to have lost access to the write-up, I shall.

Nope, no new caches have appeared nearby. I wonder how I can access my write-up now that it no longer appears on my account page?

I have a cache I've been working on for about 10 months now. I haven't submitted it for review, although I created a write-up. Now it's been archived, and I still have never submitted it for review. No harm done, since it hasn't been submitted for review, I only wonder, "Why?".

Yes, I have it from a reliable source that ShadowAce has received the $40 prize. Unfortunately, this cache may soon be disabled and/or archived due to technical difficulties. In any case, no secrets will be revealed as the cache (and concept) may undergo resurrection. High difficulty caches fill an important niche in this activity and are, by definition, 'NOT FOR EVERYBODY'.

Wow! I serve as a phone-a-friend for any geocacher that wants a clue. My contact info is widely published and it is a rare day that I don't get at least one call from a cacher that needs help. I also tour-guide folks when someone wants to come to town and have company hunting caches, wants to see the best our area has to offer or wants a local to take them on a numbers run. In both cases I will give them as much or as little help as they ask for... a discrete hint, blatant clue or dead-on instructions. Few want more than a hint, unless they have DNF'd it before or they are traveling and won't be back this way for a while. I know most of the cachers around here and none have objected. Two have asked me not to give up the finals on difficult multis, although they say it's okay to give hints on each stage. This is a win-win for everyone. Interesting how geocachers can reach such extremes of opinion; I don't think DNFs are any fun and believe that those who so desire should be able to reach out for help, you apparantly think having help is cheating! I hope my way of thinking prevails! Ed I believe the question of provinding additional hints should be decided by the cache owner. They may want to be the only provider of hints, or they may allow others to do so, but explicit permission should be obtained prior to providing hints by anyone else. In the case mentioned above, it seems the cache owners are the victims (if any). There is nothing wrong, bad or 'unfun' about a DNF. If an owner want every seeker to be a finder, they'll hide accordingly.

I placed a cache near a scenic location requiring a 1/4 mile swim and a steep hike that was found by two muggles in the week I put it out prior to listing it. They took the FTF prize and logged in, leaving the cache (it was chained in place to discourage incidental movement). Naturally, I removed it and am still working on a less obvious location and/or better camo.

Frankly, I find ju66l3r's comments bring new life to this thread and a position with which I agree. Memorial caches don't fit into the "fun, light and apolitcal" category in my book. Rather, they are dreary, heavy and politically charged. The "deaths of everyone before us" cache doesn't get accolades from the peanut gallery, does it? Thank you for agreeing that ALL sides of the issue are validly expressed.

I can't disagree with t1m2inkgeo more! S/He doesn't have a group of hunters, but rather a group of finders. Hunters are perfectly happy not finding. Example: My brother loves to fish. I, however, only love to catch. Therefore, I don't consider myself a fisherman. As for hints - it's a question of personal style. In other words, if you haven't got any I can't help you there...

For points of contention, taking it to the cache hider first, then TPTB in the geocaching community seems more reasonable, logical and prudent than going from the cache hider directly to "outsiders". Just my take on the matter. Sorry if the wheel being re-invented wasn't clear.

Clan Riffster apparently believes everyone should independently re-invent the wheel! If the cache hider has permission, isn't it easiest and best to contact that geocacher, rather than bring the matter to the attention (or re-attention) of outsiders? If an SBA "feels" like a slap in the face, I can only wonder what a real slap in the face feels like, a fatal wound [to the ego], perhaps?

Yes, I could easily bypass threads of this sort, and usually do, but then perhaps the damage being done would remain neglected. I'm not posting to say "I'm right", I'm posting to point out a different perspective. Even if that perspective is ignored, it's the least I can do to make it available.

Reminds me a car chase I once had. I suppose the guy thought I had cut him off or something, but he chased me all over a neighborhood, even driving on the sidewalks to finally cut me off. He got out of his car and started walking up to my car. So I pulled out and sent him flying over my hood, never looked back. The next day the police called me up to answer some questions. They determined over the phone that my actions were justified self-defense (no, I didn't kill him, but he was injured). Our area has property tax records online, so it's fairly easy to check if a cache is on private property before going out for the find.

Frankly, yes, your guess is correct. However, even were I to use a one of those containers you mention, I wouldn't be copying someone else, I would use it as an independent idea of my own. It doesn't matter that that idea may have also been thought of by others. In fact, I do have ammo cans (none deployed as yet), but they will each have their own individual 'look' once deployed. Addendum - My obviously constructive criticism is oriented toward the philosophy behind this thread, not the specific content. I don't believe there is much of an audience 'out there' wanting to be spoon-fed ideas for caches, cache containers, etc. Those seeking such advice are fully free and capable of asking for it, and they can be informed directly without unnecessarily impinging upon the collective consciousness.

Disregarding that it looks like a pipe bomb, that it leaks and that it's more expensive than a more voluminous ammo can - why would anyone want to copy your idea rather than thunk up their own? I certainly don't want anyone leading me by the hand to their caches, nor would I want to see a bunch of Carbon-Copy Cache Containers...

I suppose wandering360 is implying a preference for unintelligent or unintelligible answers, since smart answers are so disagreeable. How anyone might be 'run off' by the constructive observations previously made is beyond my ken. I hope, Gerboa, you or someone else does eventually find these caches so as to prove their viability. Then, if I ever visit your area, I may follow.

If I were getting a buck or two from every finder, I might consider hiding easier caches in greater quantities. Until then, I see no reason to "attract" seekers by overstuffing a trail or area. All it attracts are those most concerned about the numbers.

This whole story smacks of the "Shipping News": "Coastal village threatened by looming storm!"... "Threatening storm averted!"

Ahhh, if only he didn't log his hides as well, then perfect consistency would be attained.

I always carry a gallon of gasoline (unleaded). It really satisfies my pyromaniacal requirements when I find a micro deep in the woods...

Random musings - It never fails to astonish me that anyone would feel motivated to hide caches without having found any (unless, of course, there are no caches to find...not the case here). FINDING caches has been instrumental in helping me determine what I like and don't like, which then gets incorporated into my own hides. For instance, I don't like the needle-in-the-haystack type of hide, or the cache that gets moved about, so I work to exclude those features. Inexperienced cachers often err in cache descriptions/placements, so I rarely seek their offerings on a FTF basis. As a puzzler, I don't really see anything in these particular puzzles that would spark my interest in solving them (unless I were planning on visiting the area). I have solved a dozen or so puzzle caches not in my search area, just because the problems posed attracted me, but that doesn't hold in this case.

My area has a corps of avid puzzle-solvers, in which I include myself. I admit I once asked a finder for a hint in a moment of weakness, but thankfully I was rebuffed (I have never asked an owner - if a clue was necessary, it should/would have been included). Puzzlers rarely resort to sharing, IMLE.