GEO.JOE
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Posts posted by GEO.JOE
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River Valley Geocachers!!
Check out the website:
www.rivervalleygeocachers.org
Sorry but the rivervalleygeocachers.org address is no longer working
You can still find River Valley Geocachers at
www.RVGC.net
We have members from Southern IL, South East MO, Western KY and North West TN
GEO.JOE
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Well, I just looked at the event and I see it is a Challenge, so it is the type of event that brings out the competitive side of folks and now the most competitive person is coming. Now you have two choices confront him about the behavior or rig the challenge so that everyone beats him bad and humiliates him so much that he never comes to another challenge
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If this it your event and you do not want someone there then you can tell them not to come, or you can contact them and set rules of behavior and if they cross the line then you can ask them to leave. I have no problem doing this so it is easy for me (I get to be the one to tell step-mothers they are not welcome in the birthing room, or tell drunk relatives to straighten up or leave at weddings etc.) but I understand that it is difficult for others. If there is someone in the group that is able to do that ask them to contact him. There is always security in numbers so you could get several folks to notify him about the problems. Is there someone that is friends with him that is reasonable? If so contact the friend and have the friend talk to him. I find it best to not be around people that rub me the wrong way but if he is going to attend and no one tells him he is a problem then you will need to occupy his time, so play to his personality and plan a very challenging competitive activity that will occupy his time and anyone else that likes competition. It will give them something to do and they will likely enjoy the event and everyone that is free of them for that time will enjoy it as well.
Joe
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We had a good time "Scrabble Caching": Much like the poker run but with a Scrabble game. Hide 7 caches with different colored items in each cache (stickers, poker chips, paper squares, dots etc) The participants bring back their 7 colored item (or however many they found) and draw one Scrabble tile per cache found. the first person back gets to choose if they go first or last everyone else goes in the oder that they made it back to the scrabble table. The person with the highest scrabble score at the end of the game wins.
We have also had a GPS drawing game: Participants had 30 minutes to use their track feature to draw a picture by walking around in the field.
Another game that was a hit: I gave everyone a flag with their name on it. They were given a set of coordinates and boundaries where they could walk back and forth within, when they were ready they put down their GPS, went to the spot they thought the Coordinates were and placed their flag. After 6 runs there was a 3 way tie and we had to have a tie breaker. It was amazing how close some folks got to right spot (within 5 feet) even when they were not in site of the tie breaker spot. However, some people were way off and it was fun watching them comply with the group instead of placing where they guesstimated
We also had a Scavenger Hunt: I hid 27 caches ranging from easy to difficult, in each cache was the name of the item they needed to find also ranging from easy to find to difficult to find. Each participant was handed a page with coordinates and how many points the item was worth. Items ranged from 2 pt easy cache at base of oak tree needing to find an acorn to 50 pt micro looking for a skull to 100 pt. piece of bark with Live Squirrel written on the bottom side. The winners found the skull
I did learn that points matter so next time the acorn will be worth 20 points, 500 points for the skull and a Squirrel will be 1000 points. It makes everyone feel like they accomplished more even though the point ratios are the same.
GEO.JOE
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I think it is very cool when a cache continues for years and has lots of history. We found one Saturday that has been out for more than six years.
Looking through the logbooks from older caches, like this one, is really interesting.
I think it would be an fun goal to search for the longest-lived caches in the local area.
I like the history of some caches as well and I have adopted Geocache by Imperitus . when it was the 9th oldest active cache in KY and I hope to keep it active for as long as it can. My Bird Trail cache is the 4th oldest active cache in McCracken County but I don't feel it needs to continue as is any longer. However, there are two virtuals in Paducah that I would do anything to keep them active for as long as possible for the nostalgia of them but not all caches need to live forever.
GEO.JOE
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I believe caches should last as long as the owner wants them to. If owners are no longer enjoying the hide the way that it is then it is time for the cache to be changed. If the cache is not being found as often as you would like for it to or you would like to place a new cache for the local cachers to find, then it is time for you to do that. If you have a new creative idea for a cache and want it in the location of one of your caches then archive the cache and place the new one.
I enjoy geocaching as much for the finding as I do for the hiding. So far I have not archived a cache just to place a new one but I do have plans to do so. The stump that my Bird Trail cache was hidden under is just about gone so there is a pile of sticks there now. I have had plans for about a year to make the hide a puzzle where the finder gets to the first stage and has a riddle to use to find the final location. I have a bit of building to do to get it ready and I have been waiting for the parks dept. to finish the greenway trail and hopefully clear the downed trees on the Bird trial before I set this up.
I do believe that if the cache is archived to place a new cache the new cache needs to to be a different enough experience to warrant the new cache listing. I do not believe a new cache should be hidden at the same coordinates, in the same way and just given a new name, I would not enjoy finding that. However, if you turn a traditional into a multi or a puzzle or move the final significantly enough that it is a different experience then that would be fine and I would even appreciate that in my local area. There are times that I do not want to drive 30 miles to find several caches and would like to see new cache in the area. I have thought lately about setting up several new caches to be released on the same day so there is several hours of caching for locals to do in my town. I have two caches that were archived due to construction and a homeless camp so it may be time to resurrect them, revamp my Bird trail cache and place a couple new ones.
I have had several occasions where a cache was muggled or stolen. When muggled I replace once then if it disappears again then I find a new hiding location and create a new cache or type of cache i.e. Traditional to Multi, multi to traditional, traditional to puzzle. I have also been dealing with a cache thief for years in southern IL So when a cache is stolen I move the cache to a new location and 50% of the time it is a new enough location that I make it a new cache. I am not sure how much space you have to play with, in cache dense areas this could be a problem but I move the cache 500 feet or so.
So far I have had 4 hides at Buffalo Rock, 2 at Sand Cave, 3 at Crow Knob, Two at the Arch, Camel of the God became Gods Garden (a new one is still to come), "Geocaching Rocks" became "This Place Rocks"
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If they are a new cacher offer advice and hope they learn. If they have been doing this for a while there may be no hope, they don't care about others experience and constant logs about wet caches do not bother them. Then you can ignore all of their caches in the future until you hear they are better.
Peer pressure, If everyone that found the cache logged that it was a crap box and their experience was not so great because they found a wet box, then the owner will ether get the hint and replace the box or archive their caches. Either way problem solved.
But it is up to the cache owner to do the right thing, there is no recourse to make them do anything.
GEO.JOE
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10 of us spent 3 hours for a DNF on It's All Greek to Me GC10N1F. We knew the cache was placed at winter pool and we were hunting in summer pool so there was at least 2.5 more feet of water so we hunted longer thinking it was just deeper???
I was still fun and a great story.
When not in a group I have only hunted an hour and a half. I definitely hunt longer than my wife. On fallen giant GCHF09 she had already put her hands on her hips, standing in one spot staring at me, so I knew that last hunt was going to be it if I had not found it
There have been other times that my head was down looking &thinking she was searching as well to discover that she is watching a lizard and had not been hunting or several minutes. She has about a 30 min window of serious hunting, unless I find a Black Widow (as I did last night) then she was in the truck and ready to go
GEO.JOE
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I have been dealing with this type of situation for four years now in the Shawnee National Forest. I keep replacing them. At one time I started placing two caches for every one of mine that was stolen. I was also helping to replace other caches that were stolen. Two years ago almost every cache in the Shawnee forest was stolen and some were stolen up to 3 times so that kept me busy. I did find some suitable imitation lock n lock container for 50 cent each some lock n locks for $1.30 and ammo cans for $3.00 each so I was not out thousands only hundreds (well not counting gas). Contents were cut to a minimum, mostly log book and a few trinkets. So I had less than $1.00 in replacement caches for others and less than $2 or $4 on my caches. All the caches of one cacher are now gone and likely gone for good, So far this year another cacher has had 4 stolen twice and a new cacher had all 10 of her new caches stolen. I have only had 4 stolen since November, so it feels like a good year
. Sometimes, I just place the cache back in the same spot. Most of the time I move it to a new spot, sometimes it is the same listing and sometimes it is a new listing. I have not replaced one with a new cache yet. I am going to look into making earth caches so that there is no box to steel and I can still share the areas with others. I have made them all Members only caches so I can monitor the audit log. However, being able to see who views your cache page does not protect it and just because you can narrow the suspects down to 3 profiles and it is confirmed that all three suspects are the same person, suspicion is not enough for action to be taken. Local law enforcement feel about the same way. So you don't let the thief win and keep placing new caches and hope the thief just gos away some day.I wish you the best.
GEO.JOE
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Location is very important to me. I feel there should be a purpose to brining a person to a spot other than just the cache find. About 90% of my caches were placed specifically to share the location with other people. A couple started off as a theme so I had to find locations to place them.
Here is a list of my caches and the reasons I chose the locations:
Ghosts of Whitehaven (Historical and Architectural)
A Link to the Past (Historical significance of the Chain)
Chief Paduke (Historical)
Tunnel Hill (Historical man-made feature)
The Beast of LBL (Location talked about in a story about the legendary Beast)
For My Sweetheart (Natural features, i.e. boulders, bluffs, creek and water fall)
Arch (Great little arch sitting in the middle of the woods)
Buffalo Rock & Above The Buffalo (One of only 60 known Native American Rock art sites in IL and a spectacular valley to explore)
Bluff Trail (Natural rock features and Wildlife)
Crow Knob & Beyond Crow Knob (Natural Rock feature and Historical connection to Underground Railroad)
Honker Hill (Nice secluded views of the lake)
Geocaching "ROCKS" & This Place "ROCKS" (To get people off the beaten path and to see a more natural view of the Garden of the Gods area.)
Sand Cave (Largest Sand Stone Cave in North America)
Sandstone & Solitude (Rock formations)
God's Garden & Camel of the Gods (Share the path to the bottom of the bluffs and To get people off the beaten path to explore below the bluffs)
Fore For Free (Little known, free 9 hole par 3 golf course)
Bird Trail (Little known trail)
Ghost Dance (I wanted to Place a Native American Themed cache with information and swag about the significance of Animal Energies to Native Americans - So I found a spectacular location to place the cache and the location is one of my favorite spots now)
Thank You Betsy Ross (I got a lot of patriotic swag for cheap and wanted to place a Red, White and Blue themed cache and I wanted to highlight the old Betsy Ross park but it is too small to place a full size cache so the location I chose is near a flag to fit the theme. The cache gives people to learn a bit of history and learn to project a waypoint)
Geocache by Imperitus (Adopted for the historical significance of being the 9th oldest active cache in KY)
I have enjoyed several caches that were placed just for the challenge of hunting the cache as well. I am currently working on placing two new caches. One is based on a theme/twist/creative way of locating a cache, and hopefully it will work in a location with great views of KY Lake that change as you ascend a hill.
The second cache is a night cache, maze, that I am placing for an event, to keep the tradition of hunting a new night cache after the event. It will either be fun, frustrating or both. If the cache is a hit I will list it, if it flops it will go away.
GEO.JOE
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Like nails or screws.
What ever you do, do not use nails and screws unless you have expressed/written permission from the property owner or manager, Even then using nails or screws is a bad idea because others that do not know better will think it is OK to use nails and screws any where they want when hiding a cache.
Using glue is also probably not a good idea unless the property manger does not mind glue being left behind when the cache is gone.
When you are done with the spot it should look the same or better than when you found it. So my opinion is that the glue would be bad if you can not remove it when you are done.
GEO.JOE
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You will need to check with the land managers for Aldo Leopold Wilderness.
There is nothing about Wilderness areas that should restrict caches from being placed in Wilderness area but based on how the land managers or their head agency has interpreted of the Wilderness act, caches are allowed in some Wilderness areas and not allowed in others.
GEO.JOE
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I guess cards would be shuffled, placed in envelopes and split up between caches? How do you deal with xx number of geocachers? Do you limit the number that can play? Go back out and restock the caches? Start out with multiple decks of cards?
Hello JohnTee
Poker runs can be done many different ways. I would suggest that you set it up the way that it is easiest and most cost effective/time effective to you. I like the idea of the poker chips that will eliminate a lot time needed to place the cards in the envelopes and you can monitor the distribution of the cards.
As for how many cards. I like to use five decks. All the same size but different prints on them ( Mickey Mouse, Sponge Bob, Puppies, Horses and Barns - this helps me separate them in the end and you can quickly see that everyone has one card from each deck). You shuffle each deck separately and as the participants return and hand in their chips they draw the top card off of each deck. I have never seen a tie but a tie could be settled by drawing high card.
You could just as easy shuffle as many decks together as you need (2 or 3) for the number of participants, separate the cards into 5 piles and have the participants draw one card from each deck.
I agree with the don't play for money, if you play for prizes more people will participate, if it is gambling it gets into debates that aren't worth spoiling fun over. However, last week I was able to convince a friend's mom (that never allowed card in her house) that cards aren't evil and the pennies were only used as markers (since you could loose 3 times before you were out) and she played a few rounds of Sorry Buddy with us.
And if you would let me know what kind of cards you're using
GEO.JOE
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In our local group, River Valley Geocachers, we used to have a King of the FTF. When you were FTF you were King until the next cache was placed. So the FTF online would start with King____ was FTF and they would post a note on the forum to taunt. So much like a King of the hill game it was fun to knock the king off his perch
I believe it all started when HereFishyFishy beat me to one of my caches to grab the very fist yellow Jeep that came through. After that we seemed to be passing each other to and from new caches.
I think I am going to try and revive that tradition. Now all we need is some more new caches.
GEO.JOE
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Pretty much the only things that I would be interested in are unique items that I can not get at Wal-Mart or the Dollar store. Please stay away from there completely. Think of unique items that others can not easily get. This might be something that you buy a lot of from Ebay, or see at at a flea market, samples from businesses etc.
For example in my swag bag I have:
Gold tone Elvis/Memphis souvenir tokens that were minted in the 70's
A hand carved fish
An old glass marble
A 1 3/4 x 3/4 inch sample brick from a factory in VA
Wooden Nickle for a free round of golf at Beggs Family Farm
Wooden Nickles for Blue Sky Winery
Hat Pen from Pennyrile State park
A colorful KY magnet
Some unique key chains (Alaska salmon head, 3 way clip form REI, $100 bill)
and some Leave no Trace Ethics Cards
GEO.JOE
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The hint that upset me the most was "A Hint will be given to you after you post a (NO FIND) on this page" I was still using paper and decrypting by hand, I was out of town at training and did not have access to a computer so I could not get the hint while there. I posted my DNF and sent a request for a hint before I went back for training and I never got a hint
The hint that stumped us and was completely useless without prior knowledge was "I have two favorite Randy Newman songs. One is "Birmingham". The other applies to this cache", Luckily I found the cache despite the clue. It was hanging in a tree and the clue alluded to :Short People"
I like hints to be hints, give me an idea of where to look next. I only look at the hint when we were unable to find the cache on our own so we need a nudge in the right direction.
As a cache hider I like my caches to be found so I like to give mulitple hints increasing with information:
Located on a sandstone glade above a bluff
Hints
Under rock outcrop
Between Gnarled trees.
west end of rock.
of a Pencil Eraser
[type] Magnetic
[location] On chain
[more] At post
There are a few of my caches that I meant for it to be a hunt so the hints are not specific:
Hidden in a depression left from long gone fallen tree, when hidden correctly with leaf litter the spot looks like the rest of the forest floor.
Hint
Don't let depression get down, or your pity will swallow you whole!
There are times that I want to use a hint that almost gives the location away if I don't want finders tearing the location up looking or most likely the location is the prize so I want them to spend time looking around at what all there is to see instead of looking for the cache.
There is a picture of the stone in the Gallery that will show you why I used the hint:
Stone with a Backbone
North side, Under Backbone
GEO.JOE
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First off I would like to say that I appreciate the spirit behind your intentions of trying to improve the sport for the rest of the geocaching community. I have been disappointed many times that cache owner did not take enough pride in a hide to use a quality waterproof container.
I do want to add a word of caution. Before you replace someone else's cache container please make sure you contact the cache owner to make sure the do not mind that you are completely changing their cache. Even though the intention is to improve the quality of the cache to future finders many owners will not appreciate it.
As for small containers, I have not seen anything the size of a Key holder with a magnet that is waterproof.
Plano makes a small waterproof box the same size as an Altoids tin Plano 1061
Otter Box makes some small boxes but they are $12 to $27 for altoid size boxes.
GEO.JOE
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I feel the same frustration when I change out the log on my nano. I ask on the cache page an on each maintenance log for folks to just use their initial to log the cache. I had to change the log out twice in a week after a family found it and used 1/2 of the log to put all of their names, but I am not going to delete their logs because of it. I get frustrated and wish they would read the cache page, be respectful to my request or use some common since that taking up 2 inches of a 3 inch long log is too much. However, I have resigned myself to the fact that I will have to change the log after about every 7 finds and when I am lucky 14 finds (thank you to those that do the right thing).
I feel that people are just overlooking the obvious when signing my cache and they are not being cruel or disrespectful. However I have seen where a person was logging in a way to just use up as much paper as they could.
They logged the cache like:
I
I found
I found this
I found this cache
I found this cache on
etc.
Until they had used up over a foot and a half of the log. Luckily the cache owner used a large roll of cash register tape and there was plenty of log for others to log on.
The person was rude and their response was snide but if you can just let it go and try to have fun. Don't let someone else take away your fun. I hope this is the last time you have a situation like this, unfortunately the next situation may be worse
Joe
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I have two scares right on top of each other on my left shin.
The first one happened while scouting a potential cache site. I stepped on a bowed stick with my right foot and it rolled just in time for the full momentum of my swinging left leg to come in contact with the jagged end of the stick. That in turn tripped me leading to more of my body weight being transfered to the point the shin was in contact with a jagged stick. It was an ugly scrapped area. It actually hurt worse when I cleaned the wound then when I received it. I was left with a half dollar size brown scar.
Almost one year later I thought I had broken my leg at Eatin in the Sade I have never felt a pain quite like that. I got light headed and almost sick at my stomach, which really worried me. The short of it is that after retrieving the caches I was stepping over a board and thought I was on something solid but it gave way. As I sunk into a knee deep washout at the edge of a parking lot my shin found the end of a broken piece of Concrete. Luckily it completely scrapped the old scar right off my leg
It has faded a bit in the past year but it is about the size of a silver dollar.
I do have a fresh scrape on my right calf from Friday which is about 4 inches long. I will have update this post after it heals
Joe
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(snip)
I would have had the house clean a couple days before the guests were expected so my wife wouldn't be stressing over it. (/snip)
Do you have a brother?
Nope, no brother but looking at how my sister turned out there is no telling what a brother would have been like. My sister runs at about the same speed as my wife. When we have plans with her, my wife always tells me that we do not have to be in a hurry because my sister will not be ready. And what drives me crazy is that she is always right. No matter how late we are my sister is later
My sister cleans at least twice a year
She pull the trash can to the front door and starts filling it up. There is nothing I hate worse then going over there and seeing all the stuff I have given my nephews in the trash??? I have to go through to bag stuff up for the Salvation Army. Some times I am amazed that we were raised in the same house
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I couldn't get past the part where my wife was home cleaning
I can't catch my breath!!!!
That was funny!
I would have had the house clean a couple days before the guests were expected so my wife wouldn't be stressing over it. She is the procrastinator and would worry about it up until the very last possible second and if anything comes up in the last second then it spins out of control. Thankfully opposites attract, I would have had the sheets clean and guest room clean by Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday would have been picking up miscellaneous items, sweeping and dusting. Bathroom cleaned and any other final cleaning Thursday so I could have gone caching on Friday when I got off work early and made it home in plenty of time to polish up for company.
My wife cleaning
that just kills me 
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I got the GEOCLUES boardgame for my birthday in October.
It's a lot of fun, and everyone who has played it really enjoyed it.
I made some suggestions to improve the game, and they are now included as downloadable variations on the website. These are the "muggled" and "two player" options.
We just played it with six players on Christmas and everyone had a ball. It only takes one game to get the hang of it.
Part of the fun is that each player has a set of coins the same color as their gamepiece. To win, not only do you have to find the final cache location, but you have to possess a coin from each player. Some of these coins will be found in caches. But you can also get them by landing on another player and looting their collection of coins. That is where the fun and strategy comes in. Just when you think you are ready to head for the game winning cache, someone lands on your space and grabs one of your coins!
You do not have to be a geocacher to play this game. There are "geomuggler" options but the game is easy enough that nobody wanted to use this option when offered. Frustrating enough, geomugglers have a nasty habit of somehow winning this game!
We have not yet played with the "extreme geoclues" rules or the "podcacher" rules, but they look like fun.
That is quite and endorsement Thanks for the response.
Joe
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It is ironic that this topic is up tonight. We were just talking about the first to find card game and the Geoclues board game. I was wondering if anyone had played the card game or the board game and if you would recommend them?
Joe
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I cannot understand why someone would suggest you archive an existing cache, if you could find someone to adopt it. As long as it is still active and being enjoyed it is not geolitter.
Maybe I should be more specific. My reaction was to the following statement:
There are two which I'm currently unable to get to, since the road to get to them is washed out (mountain bikers visit them once in a while, though), so retrieving those two isn't an option.
My main point being is that the caches are the OP's responsibility and when he placed them he took on the responsibility for the cache containers. Saying that retrieving them is not an option, is very frustrating to me. They are not geolitter yet but if no one wants to adopt them they will be when the OP leaves. I am currently in the process of retrieving archived caches that have been abandoned in my area. I have assured local Land managers that geocachers are responsible folks and the caches will not become trash just left out in the woods. Therefore, I am a bit biased because I have taken over the responsibility of defunct cache owners?
As for my stance on the caches should be archived. I don't believe most caches should live forever. After 3 years the vast majority of the locals that are going to find the caches have found the caches. If his caches are archived then it opens up a 2/10 by 2/10 mile area for a new cache that the locals can hunt. If the locations are worthy of a cache someone will place a new cache, a different cache for everyone to find.
As for the caches of this topic:
The Banana Cache It appears to be gone but I do not see an owner maintenance note confirming it is still there. It has not been found in 2 years and the last person to check on it was in May 2006. The owner should check on it and confirm it's condition. If it is still there then he has the decision to make. He can remove it or find another cacher to adopt it.
Pacific Crest Cache at Mt. Pacifico Looks to be a great place to visit. Unfortunately it has not been visited for a year and 3 months and it has had two Travel Bugs trapped up there since September of 05. I would say if the owner can not check on this cache or Roundtop Cache Contact Mountain Lovers they have shown a lot of interest in updating the condition of the road and promoting others to come visit the caches. If Mountain Lovers do not want the caches then find someone else that owns caches in the area or cache often in the area. If no one is interested in adopting the caches then the owner should go retrieve them so that they do not become Geolitter.
. Sometimes, I just place the cache back in the same spot. Most of the time I move it to a new spot, sometimes it is the same listing and sometimes it is a new listing. I have not replaced one with a new cache yet. I am going to look into making earth caches so that there is no box to steel and I can still share the areas with others. I have made them all Members only caches so I can monitor the audit log. However, being able to see who views your cache page does not protect it and just because you can narrow the suspects down to 3 profiles and it is confirmed that all three suspects are the same person, suspicion is not enough for action to be taken. Local law enforcement feel about the same way. So you don't let the thief win and keep placing new caches and hope the thief just gos away some day.
that just kills me 
Keeping animal out of cache containers
in General geocaching topics
Posted
I think that would keep more than Baboons away
However, the scent of a predator may do the trick. If you can get the fir from a big cat or other prey animal that the baboons fear you can tether that nearby to see how that works. I have seen canvas bags of dog/cat hair and moth balls sold to keep squirrels away (can't say if it works but I have been told to dog hair in gardens to keep rabbits out since I was a kid). I think if the baboons found the moth balls offensive they would probably just throw them far enough away they could not smell them, but hopefully they will just avoid an area that smells like something that will eat them.
Joe