Mushroom finder

Those are cool because you can fit them into a micro. They're even cooler because if the micro leaks you ain't getting anything out of it.

Oriental trading is a good source for cheap swag especially if you are looking for themed or seasonal stuff. You can also get log books on the cheap there. I saw mini spiral notebooks in the halloween catalog - $5 for 4 dozen! They also carry a liquid candy that comes in soda bottle preforms. They're cheaper than getting empty preforms from other sources, just dump out the candy and wash them out for instant cache containers. The best part is since the candy is seasonally themed, it goes on sale after each holiday. You could buy a dozen of them right now with a halloween theme for $13 or you could get a dozen left over from valentines for $5! Now that's a deal, where else you gonna get preforms for 41 cents apiece? Here's a link to the leftover valentines preforms. Candy filled preforms

When I first started I wanted to do boat in hides because I love boating and there weren't any in my area. My caching philosophy has been to place caches that I myself would enjoy looking for. The first cache I placed GC1CWBY is a multi along the harbor where I moor my sailboat. Stage 1 is at the boat ramp and gives coords, info and a map to the cache. The easiest approach is by boat and it was my hope that many people would get there by boat. It is also accessible by land but requires a significant hike either with a tough bushwack, or a pretty easy trail whose trailhead is in an area that requires admission. So, several options to choose from. It has only been found 25 times in three years but people seem to have enjoyed it. I think only one group has used a boat to get there though. Never had any maintenance issues with the cache itself (some of the original swag is still there in fact) but stage 1 has gone missing a couple of times. The thing I learned from this cache is that a lot of people skip over multi caches and when people do cache runs to hit all of the caches on this side of the park they often skip mine because of the time involved. My second boat cache is a 5/5 GC1D7G0 it's all about rock climbing, rappelling and caving, but boating is part of it. It is possible to reach by land but due to access issues, boating is required to reach it without trespassing. Never had a maintenance issue with this one and it gets fantastic logs. The thing I learned from this cache is that there are indeed people besides myself who want to do caches that are a serious challenge and require a lot of planning. A cache like this won't get found often but when it does will be very rewarding for both the hider and the seeker. My third boat cache is pretty easy actually. GC2YM68 This one is on an island in an urban lake. It is just a few hundred yards from a kayak launching pad and is in a sheltered part of the lake. I figured that this one would get found more often because of the ease of access, how quickly it can be done, and being right in the middle of suburbia. It's only been out for a couple of months but has only been found by two groups. Time will tell if it becomes more popular or not but I suspect it will get a few finds over the winter when it can be reached over the ice. I think the main thing I've learned from boating caches is that no matter how easy or how difficult they are, they only appeal to a certain type of cacher. They aren't something that the average cacher is going to just stop on their way home from work to do. Those who go after them are going to have to do a little bit or maybe even a lot of advanced planning and put in more effort than the average cache. If I'm going to expect that from finders then I owe it to them to reward them well for their effort. Ideally, the journey, destination and the cache should all tie together to make a good overall experience. Try to choose an awesome location for the final, but if there is nothing spectacular about the final location, make up for it with an awesome cache. Obviously the location will dictate what you can successfully hide, but if the location will support it, a creative container with cool swag is a big plus when asking seekers to put in extra effort.

Aside from geocaches, what is the most interesting thing you've seen an ammo can used for or turned into? Here are a few that I came across on the web. Computer tower ipod speaker system Mail box Wood stove

I think they are. But that's just my opinion.

One of mine sat for almost a year before the FTF. Doesn't get found often but when it does it gets great logs.

Although you can't say with 100% certainty that it was the FTF, I think you could safely say it with 90% certainty. I really wonder how many of those on here defending the FTF would have had the exact opposite stance had the FTF been a 3 month iphone cacher with 40 finds. Afterall, a seasoned, known cacher couldn't possibly have bad ethics when no one is looking, but newbies....

While no one here wants to think that an experienced cacher would do something like that, your evidence sure seems to suggest that he is the most likely suspect. Remember folks, just because someone has been in the game for several years and has a 1400 finds doesn't necessarily mean that they have good geo ethics, even if they do leave a good log. I'd be willing to bet that this sort of thing happens more often than people realize. Afterall, the next finder has no idea what or how much swag was in there before them and most CO's probably don't check their cache after every find. Most anyone who has a swag cache that's been out for any decent length of time knows that the Trade even or trade up philosophy doesn't hold true most of the time. Unfortunately, unless someone physically monitors their cache after each and every find, no one has any way to know who took something but didn't leave anything, who traded but not evenly or up, who took more than their share and who didn't trade at all. Perhaps your FTF was so used to finding nothing but junk in caches that he got caught up in the excitement of finding decent swag and got carried away. Maybe he had a bunch of kids with him and it was easier to let them all grab something rather than listen to them whine over not getting a prize, or deal with them fighting over one item all the way home. Maybe he wasn't prepared to trade for good stuff (maybe post-it notes is a trade up from what he's used to finding) so he left what he had and is planning to return with equal trades. Recently there was a log on a cache in my area where a finder admitted that he got greedy and took more items than he could trade for but promised to drop off replacement items the next time he is in town. None of these reasons are meant to justify someone cleaning you out, but it might give you some ideas as to why someone did it. I think if it were me, I'd just let it go and move on. It stinks that it happened but it is what it is. Don't let it discourage you, continue to seek quality and show pride in your own hides. I am a firm believer that if you continue to set an example in quality caches, someone will eventually follow that example and someone will eventually follow their example, and so on.

So the bases aren't a cut up ammo can then?

Thanks for posting the photos! I LOVE this! Nice....where'd s/he put the logbook? In the ammo can. Can you spot it? Seriously? I can't spot it and I'm assuming it would be one of those miniature ammo cans. I think its to the right of the birch, partially covered by the spruce. At first I was looking for a mini ammo can too and was eyeballing that same spot. I think that's just a glob of hot glue. I believe there is a full size ammo can in those pics, you just have to think outside the box, or on top of the box as the case may be here.

Thanks. Cost wasn't too bad. Probably spent more time staring at parts and pieces figuring out what would work best than I did building. That LPC you posted is pretty cool too. I do see the ammo can, though I suspect many are overlooking the obvious. Clever!

Very nice! Is the top a type of fitting, or is that something custom made for the cache? The top is made from a toilet flange with knock out cap (left in place) and a polycarbonate margarita glass. I cut the stem off and attached it to the flange with polyurethane adhesive. Drilled a 1/2" hole where the stem used to be and glued in brass fitting to look like the valve. Added some nuts and bolts around the rim for looks.

I once read a post where someone said there was no container that could be made from PVC pipes and fittings that couldn't be mistaken for a bomb. That's been some time ago, but I remembered it and chuckled a bit when I finished building this...... . . *****SPOILER ALERT****** Kansas City area cachers should navigate away now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This is my vintage fire hydrant geocache. Hid this in a park called Firehouse Park behind a fire station and FTF got a gift card to Firehouse Subs. Now I ask, does this look like a bomb? Made almost entirely from PVC pipe and fittings. Used specialty paint for plastics. Top comes off to reveal cache. Built in coin vault so geocoins don't get lost in the main cache. The back of the coin vault is sealed from the main cache area. Side caps are welded in place and not removable.

That may be the easiest thing to do, but there is a problem with it. By ignoring problems with a cache or caches that are placed where they aren't supposed to be, you are knowingly allowing the next cacher to walk blindly into a situation that may land him in trouble with the land owner or the law. Caches that are placed without permission or where they are not allowed also jeopardize the permission of other caches on the property that were placed with permission. There is currently a newer cache in my area that I recently played cache cop on and may have to again. The cache is loaded with problems and it's only a matter of time before someone gets in trouble doing this one. It's located in a large county park where geocaching is welcome by permit only. The main reason I have an issue with it is because I own three caches that are in the same park and I want to make sure geocaching stays welcome in the park. I went to a lot of trouble to get permission for my caches and waited a month for my permit, as did many other cachers who have caches in the park. The one thing that the park office asked was not to place caches in or near the campgrounds or beach areas. The cache in question GC31F5Q is a nighttime fire tack cache. Problem 1 The cache page states that the posted coords take you to the parking lot of a small playground. However, the coords actually take you half a mile away from the playground to a different road altogether. This road is gated at night, oh and guess where it goes, the swimming beach. Cachers who are not familiar with the park aren't going to know that the coords are wrong and will arrive to find a locked gate. Many will park at the gate and walk down the road expecting to find a playground which of course is not there, and they will dead end at the beach. This automatically opens them up to the possibility of having a run in with the Park Ranger for entering a closed area at night. Problem 2 If one does find the playground mentioned, it happens to be a city park and has an 11:00 PM curfew. Parking there at night as the CO tells you to, opens cachers up to being ticketed by the Sheriff. Problem 3 The cache page directs you to follow a fire tack trail along side the road until you get to the campground (another restricted area). Then you are supposed to go to a specific campsite and follow a path 1/2 mile through a field until you get to a second fire tack trail. Not only is geocaching not allowed in the campground, but there is a big sign at the entrance that says "Campers Only". I debated weather or not to say anything for a couple of days. At first I was going to just post a note but figured it would go ignored or get deleted so I decided that a NM would at least require the CO to take some corrective action. I posted a NM addressing all of the issues and offered some suggestions as well. Not 30 minutes after I posted the NM, the first group to attempt the cache posted their DNF story. They had initially gone to the beach road and of course didn't find the playground. Once they found the right road and got back on track, they mentioned having an uneasy feeling about going past the "Campers Only" sign. They had some other issues with the cache and eventually gave up. The CO promptly deleted their log and responded to the NM promising to fix the coords but failed to address any of the other issues. The cache has been in place for a few weeks now and has a handful of finds. One group attempted but stopped when they got to the "Campers Only" sign. They then booked a campsite the following night and paid $23 for camping just so they wouldn't get into any trouble going after it. The CO still hasn't done anything about fixing the posted coords nor has he addressed any of the other concerns. Just this evening another group went searching for it and ended up on the wrong road. They did have a run in with the Park Ranger but he let them go. Later after they made the find they were stopped by the campground manager who told them they were not allowed to be there. I fully expect their log to disappear by morning. I think a NA is now in order. The bottom line is no one wants to be a cache cop or a tattle tell, but it's up to all of us to safeguard the image of geocaching and taking action on caches that compromise that image is everyone's responsibility. A cache such as this one with such blatant disregard for the park rules, especially since it brings cachers to the two areas that the park specifically doesn't want caching to take place, puts close to 60 other caches at risk of being banned.

I think if someone were to launch a new caching site they would be more successful building a site that compliments GC.com rather than competing with it. A site that is similar in nature and user friendliness but offers something uniquely different is what you want. You don't want to try to steal GC's customer base, you want to share it. If you want to be a competitor, there are some other sites out there trying, but I doubt they will ever really get there. I've looked at the others just to see what else is out there but I find that they are either too clunky to use (antiquated maps, rough user interface, etc) or are too angsty towards other caching sites. I mean, who wants to jump through a bunch of hoops and get strangers to vouch for you just so you can even see if the site has anything to offer you? For the longest time now I've had an idea for a completely different type of cache that I don't believe I've ever heard anyone else mention. It's something that I think would be wildly popular but I've been reluctant to mention it to anyone, even Groundspeak, for fear that someone would take the idea and run with it. The chances of me developing it are slim to none since I can barely figure out my facebook page, but it would be a great addition to geocaching imo.

I use the map almost exclusively when searching for caches. Yesterday I started having weird issues with the map and I'm not sure if it's something on my end or a bug in the system. The map seems to come up OK centered on my home coords and displays all the caches around me. However, when I try to drag the map around with my mouse, instead of the map moving around, the map stays centered and it just zooms in, much like if I used the scroll wheel. I'm running the latest version of Firefox on XP and I do get automatic browser updates so I'm not sure if this is a result of an update on my end or if it's a bug with the maps. Anyone else having this issue?

Is your difficulty rating appropriate? Reason I ask is because the response you got from the finder seems like he clearly intended for it to be a spoiler. Perhaps he/she thought it was too hard and wanted to save others a headache. It might be worth re evaluating your difficulty rating. Another thing you might try is writing something in the cache description asking finders not to post spoilers.

Photograph yourself at X location holding a sign with the current date. Problem solved.

Who cares? Challenges are a joke so joke logging seems perfectly acceptable. I made one to go to a dock and enjoy the view. Someone asked how will I verify some one actually went there and enjoyed the view. Hey, if they said they did why should I care? We was at that dock, wasn't much of a view, so we Logged a DNF...... :laughing: I was at the dock too. View sucked but I dropped a film canister for good measure.

+1 If you are really worried about it being spoiled you could just delete, but immediately send a polite email explaining why. Sometimes people don't think about their pic being a spoiler and probably meant no harm at all. Just make sure you email them or you risk ticking them off. I recently had that happen to me and it left a bad taste in my mouth. There is a cache in my area that is suspended from a rope in a tree. To get it down you have to trace the rope through the tree branches about 30 yards until it runs down another tree where it is tied off at the base. The cache has been in place for a few years so it has long since been found by most of the locals. The CO pretty much begs for finders to give up favorite points in the listing. After I found it I dutifully gave up a fav. point and wrote a really nice log (not merely a TNLN TFTC type either). One sentence of my sentence of my log read: "When Garmin told me to leave the trail there was too much PI on the most obvious path so I found a different spot to approach from and stumbled across the 'trigger' first." I didn't consider that to be a spoiler, especially since there is already a pic in someone else's log showing the cache hanging from the rope. Apparently the CO must have thought it was a spoiler though because he deleted my find a couple of weeks later without any explanation. If he had contacted me at all I would have happily revised my log, no harm, no foul. Not bothering to communicate with me felt like a slap in the face especially after giving him a fav. point. As a result I relogged my find with the dreaded blank log, retracted my fav. point and have chosen not to look for any more of his caches.

Me placing GC1D7GO Searching for a cool cave cache

Best: $1 bill Strangest: A dirty, used dental retainer in it's storage container. Most inappropriate: Drawings of certain parts of the anatomy in the log book, signed by "Peter Johnson". Yes, I tore the pages out. Unused condom (was left in one of my own caches). Worst: Wet logs, business cards and other soggy scraps of paper.

I like to leave things that I would enjoy finding myself. When I place a new cache I like to stock it with brand new items that are still in their packaging. You don't have to spend a lot of money to load up a cache with good stuff either. You'd be surprised at how many things you can get for less than $1 that aren't complete junk. I like to think about the area where my cache will be and who my target audience will be for that particular cache and then select items that are most appropriate for the area. For example, if you think your cache will be found mostly by adults, place items that an adult would like but is appropriate for all ages. If you think lots of kids will visit (with parents of course)place things kids would like but keep a few tings that adults might like too. I have a 5/5 cache that requires a significant boat ride, then rock climbing a 125' cliff and finally rappelling to a cave on the face of the cliff. I think finders would feel slapped in the face if they went to all that effort and found a box of broken McD. toys, mardi gras beads, a couple of rocks, a few scraps of soggy paper and a friendship bracelet sized for a toddler. On that cache I felt finders would appreciate things like camping and hiking gear so that's the type of stuff I left. By the same token, if I had a cache that I thought lots of children would end up at, I think they would feel jiped if there were no toys. So, if I were placing one along a popular hiking trail I might leave things like a trail map to one of my other favorite hiking spots, flashlights, sun screen and insect repellent wipes, compass, carabiner, etc. If I were placing in a small city park that has a playground, I would include mostly things that kids would like such as bouncy balls, jacks, old maid or Uno card games, toy cars, etc. If it's going in an area that will likely be found by all ages, I try to include at least one item for kids, teen and adults. Here are a few caches that I put together recently that might give you some ideas. edit to fix links

I did an underwater cache in one of these. Unfortunately it got stolen before it it even got published. Before I put it out I submerged it in a bucket of water for a week and it never leaked a drop. You can get them at Wal-mart in the camping section.

Sounds like Letterboxing is suffering from the micro plague too