aisledog

I have always wanted to find a rolex watch. I keep a macdonalds toy in my rucksack just in case. Aisledog

postscript: I found the TB tracking number in the back pocket of an old pair of trousers. It was called 'Little Al' number ****** Number withheld to thwart the guilty). The TB has moved around a bit since then but I was able to fill the gap. Thanks for the helpful comments. Aisledog

Thanks for the advice but I don't know the tracking reference ('cos I lost the paper I wrote it on) and I don't know the owner. I've tried doing a search on travel bugs with the keyword 'alamo' and it doesn't appear. With the best will in the world, I think I'm going to have to pass this one by... I've tried my best and learnt the lesson that you have to take a note of the tracking number and keep it. Aisledog P.S. Yes I do Know that John Wayne wasn't killed at the battle of the alamo... it was at Iwo Jima wasn't it?

Mine in Wolverhampton got half inched. I suspect a deranged fisherman but can't prove anything!

On my way home from the Shropshire Cashe Bash, an excellent weekend by the way, I called in at a cache, laid by Jim Stabler at Church Stretton, and picked up a TB in rememberance of 'The Alamo' where John Wayne and a whole load of other yanks got creamed by some Mexicans. I haven't logged my visit yet because I've been waiting for someone to own up to having placed the TB there. After a while I placed the TB in Mark and Lynn's cache 'Hanging around the rugby field (Shropshire)', after carefully noting the TB reference number. I haven't logged that find yet either because I've gone and lost the paper I wrote the number on. Can anyone suggest how I might correct the situation, log my two finds and reassure a by-now worried TB owner? Aisledog

The world is devided into dog lovers and the others. There's no point in trying to explain the pleasures of having a dog to the other lot because they can't comprehend it. As for the doggy doos thrown in the hedge. I quite agree...and while we're at it we should ban cars 'cos drivers cause accidents.

Hi Lynn, Martin and Jim, 'hope its not too late to throw another hat into the ring. My brother and I are hoping to get across. So.. this will be two blokes, one tent, one car, and one dog. I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends, including a number who attended the Tent Event (Devon) last month. Cheers, Aisledog (David)

The first thing I ever registered for on the internet was IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) which is still one of my favourite sites. I used the name aisledog 'cos I was a keen cinema goer and seemed continually to be walking the aisle. I also used to live in...well near.. the Isle of Dogs in London (when it was still a yuppie-free zone). I've kept the title for all sorts of things...I'm sure if I asked anyone else for suggestions they wouldn't be nearly so benign!

For me, geocaching in its purest form is something of an absurd passtime. A trip out into the woods to find a tupperware or ammo box with the aid of a GPSr (which has little other use) so as to retreive a plastic toy you wouldn't normally give houseroom, doesn't capture the imagination. I imagine that for every one of us who takes up the passtime, there would be a dozen who would say "so what?". What does it for me is the dog. She loves long country walks and the geocaching adds that bit of extra interest. For our forebears, hunting would have been the objective. For us, geocaching is the nearest we get to this. Before geocaching, I used to go for long country walks every weekend and this is pretty much what I still do. However, what the sport has added in particular is: - - my catchment area is much wider; - I walk further (on average); - I am generally more observant, especially of flora and fauna; - I am motivated to visit a particular location... it is no longer random; and - I do more preplanning My advice?....get a dog! Aisledog

Well done M & L

I thought I'd recount my experience of this morning which was the closest I've ever come to being caught red-handed, although I wasn't actually geocaching at the time. I'd been to my GP for a flu jab and the doc had told me to take a seat for five minutes in case of a reaction. Well I wasn't stopping there was I? The place was full to the gills with folk waiting for their jabs, or worse still, SICK people. So I went off to the park over the road for a 5 minute short walk. I suddenly remembered Ray Mears' book on outdoor survival and, in particular, the chapter on making rope out of nettles. As luck would have it there was a stand of nettles by the path of what was otherwise a well manicured and presentable urban park (funny that!). I decided to take just half a dozen stems to work on at home. The problem was harvesting them without getting stung. As luck would have it someone had dropped a magnum wrapper on the path (they're helpful like that in Wolverhampton), so I used this to strip the stems of leaves and stingy bits. This was when I looked up to find a young mum pushing a pram along the path with a toddler in tow. The mum was trying not to look but had that look on her face which said "dont look him in the eye and we might get out of this". The toddler had not yet learnt such subtleties and was staring at me like I was part of the cast of tellytubbies. What could I do? Clearly the shoelace trick wasn't appropriate this time. and a long explanation about Ray Mears might, I thought, only make things worse. still, no harm done... at least she wouldn't be returning to find someone's hidden cache. I picked up my nettles and walked back to the car in silence. Incidentally, I worked on the nettles this afternoon in front of the golf on TV. It makes excellent, exceptionally strong cordage. This may be a little off-topic but you started it! Aisledog

phew...that was quick. Congrats from me. Aisledog

I bought my sportrak pro because I was fed up with getting lost during counrty walks. I discovered geocaching even before my equipment arived and now my walks inevitably involve a hunt. Otherwise I use the kit to find my car in the car park. Aisledog

If you want the numbers you have to forget scenery, especially viewed from the likes of a ferry, and get yourself a chauffeur. This should be a doctor (with an 'on call' sign) or, even better an off duty ambulance driver with wagon). I speak not from experience you understand but hypothetically. I once asked my wife if she would drive me around. She had the biggest laugh she'd had for years. Aisledog

My TomTom lady once tried to send me the wrong way up a motorway down ramp...and she didn't even have the good grace to apologise! Aisledog

If you want someone with a tone of voice which clearly indicates that you've gone wrong BEFORE she gives the directions...I'm sure my wife could help! Aisledog

I enjoyed both the mapman and the bushcraft programmes. In the latter, we saw the bizarre situation of a chubby English schoolboy apologetically teaching Amazonian natives how to light a fire without the use of their colibris. Aisledog

Excellent! and Ray Mears is on straight after.

After half an hour of searching: "yes. Strangely enough there is a difference between 21 feet and .21 miles!" Aisledog

I'd just been thinking how quiet you'd been... you dark horse you! Well done, Aisledog

It seems then that, for the majority, a 'find' requires that you found the cache and signed the log. If either the cache or the logbook within it are missing, no 'find' can be claimed. This is only semantics unless you happen to be playing the numbers game and expect another notch on your gun as a reward for your expedition. Clearly, however, this approach is not universal and there are quoted instances where finds have been posted when the cache is actually missing (albeit with the owners' consent). I may be wrong, but I also think that there are instances where visitors do not sign the cache log but do write up the web log when they get home. A case in point was a cache I did recently. The log page had been filled up with, as far as I could see, the last entry being July 2004, whereas I know that web logs have been recorded for visits after that time. When you visit the store for icecream and the shelf is bare, you're doing the owner a favour by telling him to go sort his shelf out. He might tell you to call back next time you're in the area but the truth is you dont have your icecream! I know...s**t happens. Aisledog

Twice now I have posted DNFs or 'suggest archiving' on caches which were later confirmed to have gone missing. It seems to me that, having got there, walked, searched and notified the owners that their caches are missing. a 'find' would be a fair reward.... not that I'm a numbers man you understand What's the official ruling? Sorry if I've overlooked a previous relevant thread. Aisledog

I remember a cowboy film where the dawn shadows point to a hidden entrance in the cliff face. Can anyone recall the name of the film?

Well done...I'm really struggling to catch up! David

I'm aware of two others, one of which is live the other archived. Aisledog