Casting Crowns

I will cache in any weather....lightning aside (being a Master Electrician I don't play). Even then, I'll wait until it passes over. I'm an admitted FTF hound...[:I] It SEEMS to me that my geep (Garmin Etrex Legend) has BETTER signal when it's cloudy as well as accuracy than on a clear day! I thought it was odd but, 9 times out of 10 it's held true.

I started out solo caching but now prefer to take at LEAST one other person. Helps break up the monotony of driving (which I totally despise) but also gives me someone to talk to. I've introduced a lot of people to caching (mostly teens that don't drive) and they're always begging me to take them caching. I try to take them to keep them interested. I still cache solo......and it can be great if I'm on a difficult terrain rating. I'm hard-headed and want the find and don't wanna hear people complain about the heat/hills/ticks/thorns/snakes.

I think I have 5. I never bothered to check for sure. Why do people make a big deal out of FTF? Probably because they are denying someone else of the FTF. It's human nature to want to be the first at something. The guy with the first of a given model year of car. The first guy on the block with the newest CPU in his computer. The guy with the bigger boat mentality. The only other reason to be that much into FTFs is because some people place a "prize" in their cache for the FTF. I'm sure those who have hundreds of FTFs have picked up some free cash, unactivated trackables, Starbucks coffee coupons, etc. For me, the FTF is a personal triumph since I am usually late for everything, being first is overcoming my shortcoming. Small victory but its a personal one. It's not so much a big deal......I like it for several reasons. First, to answer the OP's question, I guess I have 30+ FTF's. I don't keep count of them. I obsess over stuff and don't need another obsession! I like going for FTF's because you find the cache the way it was inteded to be found. NO geo-trails that lead you to the cache....no "scorched earth" areas from previous cachers.......FTF's prizes can be nice but I also hope to get sig items!!! I also get to meet other CACHERS!!! It's fun to meet other people who dhare the same obsession as myself.

I cache with someone almost always.....Sometimes, with a group of 5 or more. Makes it much more fun. Try nighttime only caches.....they're fun with a group (or if you're brave enough, go alone). Are you an FTF hound? Can also get the heart to pumping if you have a lot of serious FTF hounds in the area. I do that and I have a good time meeting other/new cachers.

Yes, congratulations on your achievement! I'm also looking forward to joining the "1000 Finds" club. It's the mark of a serious cacher, in my opinion. Down here in Dallas/Fort Worth, I've noticed many caches dedicated to cachers who have hit the 1000th find mark. Kinda neat to be recognized by your caching community. I, too, have made some good friends caching. We go on all-nighters and such. Really makes caching that much more fun!

That gives me an idea......Hmmmmm......maybe create a difficult multi-cache hidden specifically for a cacher. Leave a nice prize with a note explaining their recognition as a "pillar" in the caching community. And, yes, 9key would qualify. He's very active here in North Texas and that's how I've come to "know" him through the forums. I like the idea of emailing the chosen cacher......

So which is it and how did it work? What were the qualifiers for obtaining the coords? Was it a memorable cache in the sense that it offered you some mind-blowing experience? Good God, man, are you human!?!?!

*Warning* Long-winded post ahead. Those that don't want to read the whole post can scroll to the bottom for the short version marked with an asterisk (*). I was out caching the other day with a friend of mine that I've met through caching. This hide had stumped several experienced cacher and we had already invested over an hour looking ourselves. To pass the time, we'd break now and again and just talk about caching. We were joking about how some new cachers to the sport seemed almost "star-struck" when they were able to meet us at another FTF. They called us "Legends"....which I thought was amusing since I only have 750 finds and my friends have almost 1,500 finds. With this in mind, we got to talking about attending a bunch of events next year. One of the events we'd like to attend is the Texas Challenge. One of the cachers that attends that event is the 3Defaus (sp?) which, I believe, live several hours away from us here in Ft. Worth. They had met my friend and said something to the affect, "Yes, I've heard of you. Believe me, you're well known." Now this cracked me up for many reasons but one reason was so that I could mess with my friend (BTW they go by texaslibra). I seized the opprtunity and started feeding her a bunch of mumbo jumbo about how there are "Elite" cachers in the community that "watch" other cachers and determine who is worthy of finding secret/unpublished caches with the "REAL SWAG TREASURES". You are invited by how much of a contribution you make to the game of geocaching (i.e. number of hides, friendliness to others, willingness to offer help, swag that you leave....etc.). The look on her face was like that of Indiana Jones being told that you knew where the Holy Grail is hidden. I had to stop there and bust out laughing. Thing is, it got me to thinking.... * Has anyone hidden or heard of a hidden unpublished cache that only those "in the know" are aware of? I think it could be a cool idea. What do you think?

I think it's a great idea. Anything that has some effort put into it is usually a good swag/sig item.

Enjoyed the read....I, too, have gotten my son and daughter to cache with me as well as some of my boy scouts and my kid's friends. We cache almost daily (we're FTF hounds) and enjoy the good clean fun that this game offers. You mentioned a few times that you and your Dad are a bit out of shape.....I have a scouter (was a boy scout but now is an adult leader) who was in BAD physical shape. HE started caching with me and got bit by the caching bug. Next thing you know he's out caching by himself and dropped three pant sizes just from adding that little bit of activity. So, geocaching can also help you and your Pops get into better shape. Good luck and thanks for sharing!

LEt's hope they don't have that experience, bittsen. I WANTED to meet other cachers on the trail but, as bittsen said, it usually doesn't happen that often once a cache has posted for a day of two. I've hidden caches and noticed that after the first week of being published, they MIGHT get a find/DNF log once a month......the harder one's are even less than that. Your BEST chance is going for an FTF (First To Find) when it first publishes. I'm an FTF hound and will arrive at GZ in less than 30 minutes of posting. You gotta be quick! And, if you're the FTF you can usually hang around for 30 minutes and someone will show up. Another way to "meet people at a cache" is to go to an EVENT CACHE in your area. It's where a group of people will come together for an event such as a birthday party for an area cacher or a celebration of some sort. I go to one once a month where I live with an average of 30 people at each one. I've been able to meet a lot of cachers who are just as passionate about caching as I am. It just helps you feel a LITTLE more sane.....LOL! Good luck!

True....multi-caches must be creative for me to want to persue them. One idea is to cleverly place the additional coords in a unique medium like stenciled on a washer at a handrail. Also, I'd like to have a "more bang for my buck" moment when I reach the final cache location.....is it an ammo can stuffed with swag or is it going to end in a micro? That's just me.....but, as noted, multi's aren't the most popular hides.

There is a thread around here somewhere that shows people's homemade sig items.....I use the bottle cap one.....I can mass produce them for a relatively low cost. The shrinky dinks are good BUT you have to cut them out pretty sizeable or they're too small. You also MUST use the laser printer type (more expensive but the quality is FAR and above the ones where you use pencils). I can fit 12 of my sig items on one sheet of paper and there's only like 6 sheets of paper per packet. You also need to put a clear finish on them when you're done. Good luck!

I gave up on trying to improve swag contents in a cache. I use a different method now. I bought over $200 in swag/sig items and such to add to caches. Oakcoin pins go in my caches as FTF prizes OR I email the cache owner and tell him I dropped as a reward for THEM. I have ammo can patches I like to give for cool ammo can hides. For REALLY tough hides (other than nanos and micros) I'll give an "Easy Cache" pin as a sarcastic thank you for the good time hide. I have bottle cap sig items (got idea from sig item thread) as well as some laser printer shrinky dink sig items. They go in every cache that I can fit them into. That's my new addiction is sig items and....... .........Pathtags. They're just as cool as geocoins but you get to KEEP them. Geocoins are awesome but you have to pass them along or they get muggled. That sucks. I'll leave a pathtag for a pathtag and email the person that left it to let them know they can go back to retrieve mine. I hope that gives you some ideas because, as Snoogans said, trying to improve swag contents will be a losing battle.

I think it's really up to the cache owner to decide how far apart you want the stages to be. As long as you can maintain them then what's the harm? I know people who'll drive 50 miles just for one cache...My philosophy is if you're going to make it a challenge/difficult, then make it worth their while. I.E. each stage should have a container of decent size to promote travel bugs/geocoins/swag to be traded instead of just a "tag" with new coords put on it.

If you're able to invest some money into a FTF prize, that's great. I like handmade items myself. You're not obligated to leave something "valuable". I cherished a ping pong paddle that a cacher had put the "Dharma Initiative" symbol on as an FTF prize in his ammo cans series dedicated to the TV show "Lost". Another was a laminated door hanger that said, "Do Not Disturb.....We're watching "Lost" with a picture of the show and another pic of a hand with the words "Not Penny's Boat" which is relevant to the show. Nothing spectacular but unique and appreciated.

It was not a flame-retardant suit which is what you're gonna need when the next 20 posters start yelling how you need to search the forums before posting. I have the most enjoyment when I find something handmade such as a sig item or something that relates to a themed cache. I just finished a run of ammo cans that where all themed on the TV show, "Lost". This guy went all out in decorating the cans but also made some replicas off high profile items on the show. I was able to get FTF on all of them so I have added them all to my collection of swag. I also get excited when I find a pathtag in a cache container.

I did something stupid.....out in VERY thick woods with undergrowth during a rain storm. We found the cache and I would erase each one from my geep so that I wouldn't go back to a recently found cache. Big mistake. I didn't mark the trail before I went into the woods and we were literally lost for about 30 minutes. We just had to walk towards the next cache and hope we crossed another trail. We did find a trail but I was totally embarrassed and the cacher hasn't gone out with me since.

I started out riding my bike while grabbing caches. Thing is, biking became more of an event than caching was. I like both activities but I'm not a "two a day" cacher. I like to grab no less than 10 at a time or it's not worth it to me. One thing I noticed also was the fact that I had to keep my bike unattended at times to cache in the woods. I didn't like that either. There were times when I thought "What have I done?" and had to run back to get my bike before it was stolen.

I know what you mean.....I just destroyed a pair of socks the other day as well as the laces on my shoes when searching for a cache. I guess it's that time of year for these little boogers. I get so frustrated I usually just throw my socks away.

I like ROOT.....I hate to give up.

I've only found one on an island....it's also called Gilligan's Island out at Lake Bridgeport, Texas. The lake was down (from drought) so you could walk out to it. I don't remember why my geep was of no use to us but I used my geo-senses and made the spot. I just bought two kayaks today so I hope to be able to plant caches or find more on the water now.

I'm sure someone from the area can verify from the logs. I don't know how many prtnr1 found when he came to town or when mondou came to town but I saw their names in darn near every cache I visited. That was the only way I even heard of mondou since I found out he lived in Colorado and I'm in Fort Worth, Texas. I asked myself, "Who in the heck is this guy?" He said he likes to find 1000 caches every summer. Reminds me.....I wonder what he's up to now after another year of caching. Anyhow, I'd like to believe these guys are speaking the truth so, "innocent until proven guilty, Mr. Missourian!" []

That is history. I hope it doesn't get knocked out before crossing the finish line. Seems like the New York mod is trying to K.O. this one.

I just started doing this myself. First, I try to contact the owner....if I get no reply, I turn it in to be archived. I've been looking at the same caches for just about a year now with no response from the owners....even from other cachers who ask for a check in the logs. I just hate to see new cachers with 7 finds looking for these "caches" and not knowing what's really going on.