geekgrl1

Agreed! I live in Miami, so if I held out for a 5k hike and an ammo can, I wouldn't get much geocaching action. A lot of caches here are micros in urban locations because that's mostly all we can do here. We have parks, of course; but nothing remote except parts of the Everglades

There is a Facebook group called "Geocaching Puzzle Help" in which members give each advice for solving puzzles without giving away the answers. It is a good way to learn about different types of puzzles and resources for solving them. Cully Long's book is a good puzzle solving aid, especially the appendix with examples of different alphabets

Often inexperience shows in the cache description because the CO doesn't know what makes a "good" cache (although "good" is completely subjective). I wouldn't say that I would ignore a cache just because it was hidden by someone new, but I will ignore a cache that sounds uninteresting. Some cachers just want to find caches, no matter what they are. I'm embarrassed to say that my first hide was an LPC, and I thought it was clever and unique because I had only seen one of them before! A couple hundred finds later I realized just how common and boring they are, and they are never hidden in interesting places. At least I made it a puzzle cache

I found a challenge cache recently that required finders to have logged at least 50 finds in our local county parks. The found it log before me had only 6 finds TOTAL!

I also have both an iPhone and an Oregon 600, and use one or both depending on what I am doing and where. The main reason I bought the Oregon was the battery life, and the ability to change batteries while I am out. Plus, even though I have an Otterbox on my phone, I like keeping it in my bag where it is protected even more, since it cost twice what the GPSr did. I do prefer reading the cache descriptions and past logs on the iPhone app, and I always dictate my logs on the phone at the cache site, so it's nice to have even if I don't use it for navigation. I would never go out without my phone for safety reasons, so I could get along without the Oregon. But it's fun to have another gadget. Also, it is easier to project waypoints on the GPSr and it has the chirp receiver, although neither of these is required much. But the iPhone can do Wherigo cartridges, and the Oregon can't. So they really do complement each other

I use both my iPhone and my Oregon 600, depending on where I am going and for how long. I like the Oregon 600 because it has a touch screen, similar to a smartphone. I got it (new) on Amazon for less than $300. I didn't feel I needed the camera on the 650 since I always have my phone with me for safety reasons. And I didn't spring for the topo maps since South Florida is mostly sea level. In the past, I have used an eTrex and Oregon 400, but I really like the touchscreen on the Oregon 600. I'm guessing there are others with a touchscreen as well though.

This was on a puzzle cache that had an ongoing story - each finder was supposed to take two words from the cache and write the next part. It had been going on since 2005, but I guess when the rules changed about doing "something extra" pretty much everyone stopped contributing to the story. There were a lot of logs like this one, or ones that said they would post a story later and never did. Which was a shame - it was a lot of fun! Found it Cleaning up the puzzle folder this was in it although it doesn't require any work. It so happened that this was #2800 for me. Definitely wouldn't liked to find this in the winter as the PI is not very friendly this time of year. Not much of a writer so I'll just log the found it....thanks

I was recently reading over some old logs, and I saw this one that I was the first person to log on. The owner had only been caching for a few days when he placed this and a few other caches. The coordinates were way off and no one ever did find it. He temporarily disabled it and then quit caching a week later without ever updating it. http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1H7YZ_comm-tree?guid=58b235db-345f-4699-a0b3-516faa1da0b5

I occasionally do the lame lamp post type caches, but never as a destination. It's usually because I was out running errands and I checked to see if there was one in the parking lot, so I could kill 2 or 3 minutes while my husband made a phone call or something. I still write a real log saying something like "I was on my way home from work and stopped to pick up cat food - it's nice to have a few I can do in my work clothes"

Is there a way to "ignore" all caches hidden by a particular owner, or do I have to open them up one by one to ignore? There is local series I find really annoying, and want to keep them out of my searches

I enjoy reading logs on the few caches I own, and I am disappointed when I get TFTC or something similar, so I always make an effort to say something personal on my finds. I dictate my logs on the app while I am still at the cache site, so I can talk about the little details that make caching fun for me. More often than not, it is some kind of misadventure, so hopefully the CO gets a laugh out of it.

I received a great log yesterday on a cache I placed recently, and I was very pleased because I did put a lot of effort into making a creative cache container. http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5YFJD_trail-runner?guid=db020509-337b-4ba6-bc7d-9d3f34f5fb9b

Just be careful not to give away any spoilers

There is a very popular series of caches in my area made from birdhouses, and you have to solve a puzzle in the field to get the key or combination to the lock. I don't know if they are completely homemade, or if they bought the birdhouses and modified them. GC5Q04C is one of them - I'm sure if you contact the owners they will give you some assistance in creating your own birdhouse caches.

It sounds like everyone enjoys this cache!

Are they plastic or metal? If you are in an area that gets a lot rain, metal containers will get rusty and nasty in a short while

I agree! Too many of the large caches around here are just boxes of dirty junk sitting under a tree with maybe a few leaves tossed on top of it. No challenge to find and nothing remarkable about it. They're just the woodsy equivalent of a film canister under a lamp skirt

My first hide many years ago was a very unimaginative cache right in front of my house (I lived next to a park in an urban area) and the FTF left a gift (a coin) for me! He noted in his log that it was for me so no one else would take it. I still have it!

The only things I have in my bag that weren't already mentioned are pepper spray (as I cache alone) and a wet washcloth in a ziploc bag for wiping the sweat and salt from my face and hands (I live in south Florida)

Sounds like this would make a great drinking game - every time someone says "stinging nettles" you take a drink. My peeve on the logs is the single log entry detailing the entire day's finds cut and pasted into 50 different caches. It never fails, I am on #49 looking for a hint in the logs, and I have to scroll through pages of unrelated logs. Then I move on to the next cache...same thing again...and again. I dictate my logs on my phone, so I can say something personal about each one while it is still fresh in my mind, and without much typing. Even an easy find might get a note about something clumsy I did on the way there.

I love my Oregon 400t, and I haven't noticed any bugs. I love the paperless aspect - no more huge notebooks to carry around! It even decrypts the clue for me if I want to use it. The display is clear, and it is very easy to use. I upgraded from the E-trex. It was like switching from an abacus to a TI-89! The only downside is that it really eats up the batteries, so I invested in two pairs of rechargeable ones. I have never run out of juice midday since.

Found a hemostat yesterday

I have the Oregon 400t, and love it. Completely paperless, and it is very easy to operate. The touchscreen is great too.

For urban caching, it's a good idea to have a handful of quarters for the parking meters. I also carry a packet of moist towelettes to clean my hands.

Despite everything I've read in the forums, I find my Magellan Maestro car GPS to be more accurate than the Garmin e-trex I bought just for geocaching. Obviously, that might change in the woods; but for the urban car park type, it puts me right on top of the cache.