CAVinoGal

Ahhh, but that's really not what I am doing, I'm just claiming the find when I fulfill the challenge. And we DO date the logsheet on regular caches when we sign it (if there's room) and claim it on the day we find it. Others may play it differently, and apparently in Finland it's common practice to adjust dates. All this is getting a bit off-topic though, and I'm done defending the way I play challenges.

We do this kind of cheating a lot in Finland. This kind of cheating is common with virtuals and earth caches too. It lets the finder to use practically any date to log the find. I have sometimes notified in my note to a challenge cache visit that I will check if the challenge is fulfilled later, just to delay the find to adjust it according to my own needs. Cheating?!? Some may use it as I highlighted in your response, to "fudge" the date of the find. As far as MY logging goes, I log the challenge as a Find when I realize I have completed it, not to give me a find on a specific date. And Earthcaches and Virtuals, I log on the day we were at the location, but there may be a delay as I send in the answers before I actually log it; I'll backdate it to the day we were there. I like my caching records to be as accurate as I can make them, and we typically will log a timestamp, and Find # for each smilie. So, I don't consider logging a challenge as a find, separate from my write note, as "cheating".

Find a few TB Hotels to get ideas - some are good, some are mediocre. A container big enough to hold several travel bugs is a good starting point, but the fun ones are themed and "built" to look like a miniature hotel, or with separate compartments for the travel bugs to await their next journey. Location is also pretty important. Somewhere that gets enough traffic so the travel bugs get dropped off and picked up with some frequency, but not enough to attract a lot of muggles who may be curious and then the bugs go missing.

When I sign a challenge that I do not yet qualify for, I log a WN. I do NOT go back and change that log later - I log a separate Find log on the date I actually qualify, or figure out that I qualify as I review caches that I have signed before fulfilling the challenge. I realize this may confuse matters if the cache is missing or in need of maintenance when I claim my find, and other cachers seeking it are disappointed when they can't find it or sign it, but I make clear in my find log that I signed the log some time ago and only now qualify to log it as a Find. So, Jeff, you would be the First to Find, by virtue of signing the logsheet AND fulfilling the challenge, BOTH required to claim a find on a challenge cache.

Chiming in a bit late, but isn't the bolded comment above what we already have in place? I sign the physical log, and then sit down and write the story later when I am home, reviewing the days finds, and sipping a glass of wine. You sign the logsheet, AND you log the find online (either by phone or computer) telling your story. BOTH are part of the geocaching experience. Adding some kind of code, electronic or otherwise, is no guarantee you will get that "very nice overview" of finds/visits - those who will write a nice log will continue to do so, and those that write a TFTC or less will contnue to do that. How is adding an extra step to the logging process going to ensure quality online logs? This is what you seem to imply, to me, and I don't think it's needed or necessary. Just my 2¢, whatever that is worth these days!!

I've only done one of these, and it looks like the CO has already disabled it. It was a fun when we did it - a new type of multi for us, and our group got the FTF too. Our logs tell the story... https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC82HQV_the-downtown-mob-cache My log (FTF) https://coord.info/GLXV77XB

Fast work, Jeff! But then again, you've probably had it written up and ready to go since 2.0 ... and it already has a find a favorite point!

I need to add one more to my list of goals for 2024 ... Use the Virtual 4.0 I was awarded and come up with something awesome! Yes, I was pleasantly surprised to get the "Congratulations!" email yesterday - now I need to something worhtwhile for folks to do!

If the mission is over and there is no new mission, just keep moving it along. You are correct that it is NOT acceptable to just keep it. The TB belongs to the owner, active or not. You can try to contact the owner, and see if there is a new mission, if they no longer care, or simply place it in another cache and move on. My TB missions are usually open ended - visit wineries - travel the world, I love photos of places the TB has been - etc.... I did pick up a travel bug recently that has a mission, and the owner said when it has reached its goal, it will be given a new mission. That TB was just released 6 months ago, so who knows when it will reach its goal and if the TB owner is still tracking it! Trackables, for me, or a fun and interesting side game; I've released several, some have disappeared, some have traveled far, and I keep releasing a few each year. I enjoy seeing photos of their travels when cachers do take the photos. When I pick up travel bugs, I try to take photos and get them closer to their goal if there is one listed. Many just want to travel, so I try to take them places they haven't been to before. My son has a well run TB hotel on his front porch ( https://coord.info/GC87RAN ) so we use it frequently to drop and pick up travel bugs.

This one is easy - archive it! And try to find a suitable NEW cache with similar ratings.

Agreed. But we are talking about a cache that has substantially changed in hide style and terrain from the original, so it should be listed as a new cache. If the original is no longer viable as listed, it eneeds to be archived. Accurate D/T ratings are important and in my mind, more important than stat grids. If the hide location is the same, but the terrain (due to seasonal changes, etc) has changed then the Terrain should reflect that, and no need to archive and replace. But if the original location has changed, and the hide itself needs to be redone, AND there's a D/T change, that warrants a new cache, IMO. And I agree it wold be nice for the D/T WHEN FOUND should stay - if I found a T4 that later was changed to a T1 due to weather or whatever, it makes sense that I retain the T4, as that's what I accomplished. In a perfect world....

I just completed the survey without issues. An "oops!" that they quietly corrected?

Until reading this thread, I had never heard of Tafoni. Then, yesterday, I was researching Earthcaches in Cabo San Lucas in preparation for a visit there in February, and found this: https://coord.info/GC7HT6P - Lands End Tafoni - there's a lot of information on the cache page, and I'm not sure if it clarifies or confuses things!

The definition of geocaching: Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called geocaches or caches, at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world. (Wikipedia) The core of geocaching is using GPS coordinates to hide and find the caches...it may be "built in" to the phone, but it's still using the coordinate system to locate the caches. Many cachers use GPS hand held devices to find the caches, and the whole "game" is based ont he GPS coordinate system. Not to mention puzzles, multis, and other types where you have to figure out the coordinates before you can then go find the cache. It isn't geocaching if you are NOT posting the GPS coordinates!!

Interesting discussion - does the "value" of an old cache, (and GC62 IS an old cache!) outweigh the value of accurate D/T? Those that found GC62 at a 3.5 T rating should keep that rating; if it has changed that significantly, I'd archive and replace with a cache correctly rated. Yes, you lose that old cache status, but those that found it, keep their find and the D/T THEY FOUND! I know it's hard to let those old caches go, but they will be getting more and more rare as years go by - and I feel an accurate D/T (while allowing those that found a more difficult combo to keep it) outweighs the old cache value. That's just my 2 cents!

Editing a log in the app has never been an option, as far as I know - one reason why I prefer to do all my logs on the computer from drafts I make on the phone in the field. (Yes, I do cache with my phone, official app, but log all but trackable drops/retrieves and FTF's from the computer from drafts at the end of the day) I have not had any issues editing logs from the website; I use WIndows 11, and current version of Chrome.

Ummm, yes, it IS needed, that's one of the basic ideas of this game called geocaching. I'm relatively new to the hobby, started in 2017, and have pretty much learned and used the official app for most of my "career" in geocaching. I do have a Garmin Etrex 30x, to learn how to use a GPS, for those places where there is no cell signal, or to re-verify coordinates for a find. I also teach the Geocaching Merit Badge to scouts, and part of that is learning to use a GPS, so I learned how so I could teach others. I accepted the "rule" that you have to physically sign the logsheet/logbook when you find a cache when I began. Yes, you DO have to sift through some recent logs if you simply want to grab a find for every cache you seek. Otherwise you will find soggy logs, missing caches, and damaged containers. We do read previous logs (in most cases), and skip some of those that look sketchy; we also pre-solve puzzles when heading to a new area, and load the GPS with caches we hope to find. We prepare for our cache outings. And when we do spontaneous hunts, we aren't always successful since we DIDN'T read recent logs telling us the cache was missing or damaged!! Find the cache, SIGN THE LOG (learn to carry writing utensils!), and then claim the find and tell your story, either in the app or on the website. That's geocaching.

Here are my geocaching goals for 2024: Host at least one CITO event Add a few states to my souvenirs (I currently have 14 of the 50 US states) Keep my % of traditional finds below 75% of total finds (keep finding a variety of cache types!) Use my Adventure Lab credit to be creative and really DO something different than the norm with it! Enjoy the hobby with my husband and geo-partner, doing those caches we both like to find!

Interesting - I have not used the Events tab - when I log in to Geocaching.com (website) I typically go to my Dashboard, and the events are all laid out on the right side of the screen - I just need to click a date and then the event to get all the details... I also have a notification set up for events within a certain radius of my home location - way easier (in my mind) than remembering to check the events tab.

A relatively slow geocaching year for me, with 358 finds so far in 2023, and 110 of those being Adventure labs (33 Ad Labs while traveling to the East Coast, 20 while traveling on the West Coast, the rest pretty local to me). The Adventure Labs were fun, and in most cases the bonus (if there was one) was pretty routine, so I didn't count those in my top favorites. I came up with three geocaches that really stand out for me, for various reasons. All were awarded favorite points by me. Two are from my East Coast trip (an Earthcache and a Traditional), one is pretty local, an old Virtual that I had never done. GC4140 - Don't Panic - A Virtual from 2002 that you have to see to believe; photos in logs give away some of it, but seeing it in person makes this one a definite favorite! GC3V9AA - Ausable Chasm (Earthcache) - An awesome place to visit; we hiked, we did the rafting trip, and the Earthcache was a bonus to add to our day as we played tourists in NY on a visit to family in the area. GCGD9N - Kane Mountain Fire Tower (Traditional, an ammo can) - A fun, steep, challenging hike with two non-geocaching friends that enjoy hiking and indulge my "habit" - the day happened to be my 43rd wedding anniversary, hubby was still back in CA and would join me later (we found the Ausable Chasm EC together), and I made the hike with my Maid of Honor and her husband on this day. My log tells the story.... https://www.geocaching.com/live/log/GL19Q3GTX Thanks @TheLimeCat for taking me back through 2023 and many, many geocaching memories!!

What's the point of the Wherigo if all it does is give out coordinates? I don't get it.

Reviewers, I believe, (I am not a reviewer, but based on experience and communications with reveiwers) can set the publication time and it happens automagically at the time you specify. They don't have to be sitting at their computer at say, 8:00 am the morning of February 1 to publish the cache at that time; their reveiwer toolbox allows them to set a publication date and time. Your job is to request it in a Reviewer note on the cache page you have created and submitted. (this also "reserves" your spot, BTW). if you don't request a specific publication date and time, it just gets published as it is approved. But there's nothing to stop you from creating all your cache pages and submitting to be sure all is OK, ahead of the time you want things to go live. All you need to do is include your request in a Reviewer note when you submit the cache. Communication with your reviewer, via a cache page and reveiwer notes, is the way to do what you want. We have requested publication of caches in conjunction with events, and they seem to be published like to the minute that we request, which leads me to believe there are tools, and it's not totally manually done.

Not sure about phones, but on laptop there are 'sort by' tabs on your trackables page. Yes, I see I can sort by last log, distance traveled, and Name; but I'm not seeing a way to find out how old those TB's are without opening each of the 316 TB pages for those I have moved or discovered at some point. A rainy day project, for sure!!

Interesting data - and although I , too, am retired, I don't seem to have THAT much time on my hands to go back through the 316 trackables I have handled in my geocaching "career" to extract the same information you did! I do watch those I pick up and drop off, at least for a few drops, just to satisfy my own curiosity, and I do go back and review that watchlist from time to time. Some move quickly, some sit for a long time. Once they are off my watchlist, though, I forget about them. I'm curious, now, as to the oldest TB I may have handled. Still, I'd have to open 316 TB pages, and go back to the beginning of each one's history. A rainy day project, for sure! It IS supposed to be rainy today, but we have a winery trip scheduled....

Geoname stamp - a recent thread was asking about where to get customized stamps... And our letterbox stamp (when we find a letterbox and if the logsheet/book is big enough) is one we had made with our initials intertwined. We don't do a lot of letterboxes though.