ladyleo191

One of those small mirrors with an extendable handle for peering into holes and under crevices. Auto parts stores have them on sale frequently, sometimes, for as little as 99 cents. They also make good swag.

I geocache more for the simple outdoor experience than for any mental exercise. I admire people who have that innate ability to look at numbers, words, or a combination of both with a smattering of symbols thrown in...and come up with a set of GPS coordinates. I just can't and that lessens my fun on puzzle caches. I don't mind a nice, easy field puzzle, or one that can be solved in a few minutes at the computer, but I would much rather be walking in the woods, being barked at by a squirrel, or watching a flock of turkeys on the next ridge than to be sitting in my den trying to figure out how 3 triangles, the square root of 81 and a herd of buffalo can be translated to coordinates. That being said, we have a wonderful CO in this area who creates a variety of puzzles and she creates them to be solved. She even encourages cachers to contact her for a nudge if needed. She is friendly and a cacher doesn't need an advanced degree in Theoretical Physics to find her caches. She wants people to enjoy her caches, and I am in the process now of solving puzzles to get one of her geoart designs. The puzzles are understandable and easy enough that I don't get frustrated working on them.

7.5-8 for hubby. He doesn' tmind walking around with me and he will hep me locate the cache at GZ if I have problems finding it. He has been to a couple of events, but he goes mainly to spend time with me and watch me enjoy myself.

How many times in these forums do we see FTF hounds fuss because they ended up STF, merely because the FTF didn't log, or write a Note or otherwise instantly let the world know a cache had been found? I'd say there are lots of folks constantly pressing F5 on caches.

I actually became a SCUBA diver to get a couple of underwater caches near me. One was in a sunken helicopter in a local quarry. I keep one of those mirrors in my pack and if I find them on sale at an auto parts house for a reasonable amount, I buy a handful to leave as swag. Most of the time I don't climb; at my age, it takes a lot longer to heal than it used to

Since I don't do Pocket Queries or lists, my only perk is helping to maintain a site that gives me at least $30 worth of fun every year. I still enter the caches I want to search for one at a time and take some notes on paper while I sit in front of my PC before I leave the house. From moonshine stills to underwater salvaged helicopters, I'll keep paying for the fun.

I want to find them! I look at one or two of yours every time you mention one of them in the forum, but I am still trying to save enough money for airfare.

My irks are simple. 1)Incorrect size listed on cache page 2)Throwdowns 3)Not logging DNF, NM, or NA

Well, yes, sometimes it does affect me. If someone tosses a throwdown on a difficult cache and I don't know it, and subsequently I find the throwdown and not the original cache, then my log gets deleted along with the cheater's log. That's not fair to me and may very well have kept me from an interesting and potentially better, experience.

Why is it always the ones who are so ignorant they can't even correctly spell what they are protesting?

Personally, if I search (not just walk or drive by due to muggles or other problems, if I don't find a cache (litter doesn't count) and I don't sign a log, then it's a DNF. I had the problem yesterday as a matter of fact.

I always use a mirror first! It's a case of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Those cheap little mirrors are in all the automotive stores around here and I have placed several in caches as SWAG.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has tech questions.

Perhaps the CO or a friend of his/hers is handicapped and the CO is hiding caches according to their ability or that of their friend.

I guess I'll be in the minority here, but I don't think every place needs a geocache. I have been around geocachers who are out for only the smiley, and have heard things like "I couldn't see the plaque, so we had to wait until some people got out of the way to answer the questions." Those people may have been looking at the last place a loved one drew breath, and the reverence of the moment didn't need games being played. I have been to one memorial cache and that one was hidden by a family member. It gave me a feeling of cheapening the site and lessening the reason I was supposed to be there. Remember, in most of those places, one is treading upon sacred ground.

Besides the batteries, tweezers and other things, I also carry one of those small collapsible mirrors like you find in bins at the dollar stores... good for seeing under or around rocks etc. before you reach. I make sure I have a CPR pocket mask, a walking stick if I'm going to be walking on uneven terrain and, if I'm alone...a cell phone for emergencies.

C-spine disc replacements (plural), torn rotator cuff and DDD in L-S spine. The only concessions I've made are now, I use a walking stick if I'm not doing urban caching, and I make sure I have a cell phone with me. In addition, I don't do a lot of bad weather hunts like I used to, simply because it makes me more uncomfortable and achy afterwards. Enjoy, but don't push yourself if you think it might endanger your back.

1) finding a reason to exercise 2) going places I've never been 3) discovering reasons to learn to SCUBA 4) seeing things I've never seen 5) meeting nice folks

I came in to ask the same question, so I think I'll just wait to see what advice you get...glad it's not just me.

One of the tips that I learned early on (and still have lots of trouble remembering in the field) is that not all caches are on the ground. Look up!

I don't have little ones, but my caches are designed for those who do. Since I can't imagine a child being entertained for very long by nano after nano with only a log sheet, I try to find property that has open areas for kids/dogs/cats to play without being stealthy. I put larger caches and really try to start the swag off with good toys. I don't put much in a cache to attract adults, because an adult probably is just after the smiley anyway. Most folks I know don't trade, but I do like the idea of a little one sitting by the creek and plundering through my cache, hopefully in weather that's warm enough they can take off their shoes and go wading for a little while while they're there. Edited because I can't spell "because".

Gosh, there are so many cachers around here, I'd be willing to bet I know the IDs of probably one percent of them. Conversely, approximately that same one percent know my ID. It follows that neither of us would notice the presence or absence of a particular ID on a log. I'm sure there are folks who ignore my caches. I also ignore some folks' caches. It's nothing personal at all. We just enjoy different styles of hides. Edited so I wouldn't yell at myself for poor typing skills.

Redsquirrel, I am going to disagree with most here and say that you indeed should be concerned about cachers ruining your maze. I have been to several caches that have broken, bent tree limbs or pulled up vegetation and the vast majority have geo-paths where hunters have not stayed on designated paths to a cache. The biggest problem is that even though you may put on the cache page to only hunt at designated times or to stay on paths, since many people do not read the page before going (they simply download the coordinates) they never see your instructions. You may wish to advertize the cache on any media outlets you use, so those who know caching can bring a GPSr with them and that way, the rules are available for them as well as your general maze users.

Another thing you can do is do a Google search for Geocache containers. That will give you some idea of the different types and sizes that may be in your area. I've found everything from a magnetic bolt on a sign to an ammo can in a hollow tree stump. Pay close attention to sizes on the cache page and in the description. If you are in an urban area, did you know that those metal skirts on lamposts aren't bolted down? They can be lifted up. Search the site for groups that are local to you and get in touch with the members. Try attending events, knowing cachers will help you know their cache style and that will help you understand their hiding methods. Above all, stop looking when it gets to be work. If it isn't fun, then go to another cache for the time being. Good luck!

I have two quick pieces of advice. First, not everything is what it appears to be and second, not all caches are on the ground.