BigAl437

As a Geocacher I like to decode the hint in the field. I have them downloaded on my Garmin with the hint so that if I am out and about I can stop at any cache and try and complete it. I try to do them without the hint and then if it is needed I decode it. It makes it more fun as part of the adventure. If I am taking the family out we might decode the hints before leaving the house. My son takes great pleasure in decoding the hints and I want him to enjoy his time out with me. To him this is all part of the game. Now as far as the useless hints go I fully agree. If no hint is needed why put it in at all. Just leave it blank like you should. It's not funny to my wife if we are out and have been looking for a cache and we cannot find it and then I decode the hint just to see this response "no hint needed" she really gets ticked off. It's probably a good thing the CO is not around at that time. Remember, (as stated by someone else)Geocachers know all the best places to hide a body.

I concur with everything said above. This is a wonderful site to learn all about Geocaching and everything in between. The PQ are really worth the money. I love being able to download all of the caches into my Garmin and then get out and about. Try loading 100 caches by hand and you'll soon pay the $30, as long as you have it.

Lots of good comments here. I think before someone hides a cache they should have found a couple of them just to see how it's done. I think I had about 12 caches under my belt before I hid my first one. My son just hid his first one today and he only has 18 finds. But then again he has been with me on most of my finds and some of my hides. I have been mentoring him for some time now. He just got his own account in Feb of this year. He did a great job with his hide, and he looks forward to hiding even more. I think a lot of it has to do with the training they have had. But this is just my opinion.

I agree with the statement that "if they want it they will take it". It doesn't matter how well you have it secured they will manage to take it. I'd say just find a really good spot and make sure it is hidden really well. Lots of camo. That should be a great help.

I have not had this happen to me, but I have had people write nasty comments in my log book. I know this because when I did my cache-up (sort of like a check-up)I found the rude comments. I tore them out of the log book and then re-wrote all of the names of the cachers who had found it on that day on another page and made notes of it. I guess some people can't keep their bad language to themselves, but must share it with others. BAD, BAD, BAD is all I have to say. Shame on them.

I too will join the April SWAG replacement effort. I always carry extra SWAG with me and usually leave something off in caches that are not too impressive. I bought some really nice glass sculptures that are square and have a design lasered inside. They were at a dollar store that was going out of business. I had lots of them, but am down to one left. It will go in a special cache somewhere. I also started making my own SIG item that I will be dropping off soon. I think kids and adults alike will enjoy them. As soon as the ones I have made are dry I will post a picture of them. That's if I can post a picture. Last time I tried it did not work. Okay kids, here comes some really neat stuff you'll enjoy finding. Let's go cachers. Fill up those caches with quality SWAG.

Mine is of my wife and me while in Canada at Niagara Falls for our 25th wedding anniversary. It was a special time for us so this is how I remember it.

I need to be doing something like this because I always forget which cache I left the TB/GC in when I dropped it off. I guess it would also help me remember in which order I did them. Thanks for the great idea.

If she was not with you when you hid it then she should be able to find it right away. In my opinion she should also be able to get a FTF. If she has no clue where it is then why shouldn't she get a FTF. Let her go for it. This is about going places you've never been before, and finding caches you've never found. Go enjoy it with her.

I found an opossum checking out a cache while I was in Texas and then going to the next cache I found a coral snake. I'd post some pictures, but I can't figure out how to do it.

Have your son sign up for his own account. He will love that. I just had my 13 year old sign up for his own account and that was BIG stuff for him. He now signs his own name and he keeps telling me he will catch me and pass me in cache finds. I just tell him "cache me if you can". As far as swag, tyr the local dollar store, Walmart, and the like. Garage sales are another good place to pick up nice stuff, but be sure it is really nice. Welcome to the addicting sport of Geocaching. Hope you both enjoy it and get plenty of exercise out of it. Have fun and cache safe.

What I find most are the nickles, pathtags and cards. A family I know also has whistles with their caching name on them. I am making what I call antler buttons. They are made from deer antlers and will be sliced like a nickle. They will have my caching name on them and a chain so they could be used as keychains or whatever.

Okay, I can understand everyone's concern here, but isn't placing a cache on school grounds sort of like placing one in a park? I mean there are going to be lots of kids at the park just like the school. The cache page should explicitly state when caching is allowed and when it is not. I received permission to place two caches on our local college campus where I graduated from back in 1999. A few of the staff knows they're there and I have printed off some of the logs to give to them to allow them to see what people are saying about the campus. They love it. Also, there are several posts in the log book in the cache from students who are not Geocachers, but they have seen people find it and they wanted to sign the log book too. Who knows, maybe they'll get an account and start caching too.

You should not feel like a jerk. The CO should be out there taking care of their cache. That is all part of being a responsible CO. I check mine every so often and make sure there is enough swag in them and that they are dry and in good order. I just received an email that one of mine is now missing the log book. I will be going out either tomorrow or Sat. to replace it. All CO's should take pride in their caches and be responsible enough to maintain them. My thought too is what if something happened to the CO? Any way to check up on them? Something else I do is carry extra log books. I mean how hard is it to replace a log book? I also carry extra zip lock baggies to replace them when they are needed too. This stuff is not expensive and is something good cachers should do. If we can CITO while were are caching, we can carry a little extra to help those CO's. We just need to let them know if we did replace something so they are aware of it.

What exactly are you printing? Are you just printing the cache pages, or something else? When I print a cache page I get the cords and everything.

Make sure the correct comm or port number is chose. If not it will not see it.

When making out your PQ make sure you have everything checked correctly or it can mess up on you. If you're sure it is correct then I would make the same suggestion as stated above about checking on GC.com and seeing if it has been found more recently. If it states a recent find yet your GPS has a different date then something is really wrong. Are you using a program like GSAK (Geo Swiss Army Knife) to open them up and then transfer them to your GPS or are you doing something totally different? GSAK is a free download that I use. It is really good. Just food for thought.

When you first sign up if the name is taken already you will have to choose a different variation of it. My caching name is BigAl437. I wanted just BigAl, but that was already taken so I just added the numbers from my house address. It worked and now I am BigAl437.

I have been caching for about 2 years and I had my first run in with a Park Ranger last night. I was taking my son and daughter and one of her friends out to find one cache at the state park. It had gotten late enough that by the time we got everything ready to go a ranger pulled up. He asked what we were doing so I explained it to him. He was really interested. He asked if we were done, and knowing the park closes at dark, I said we were finishing up. He then started asking lots of questions about it and we talked for about 20 minutes. I explained everything from A to Z and then some to him and he wanted to know what site to check out. He did not even realize there were so many caches in the park. He thanked me and then left. I made sure we left to and we went to another area where I know we could do a night cache. My daughters friend really liked going out and may go out again in the daytime with us.

I have to ask this. Were you caching in a cemetery? I know mine acts up a lot when I am in a cemetery. Just a thought.

I am glad I found this post. I am planning on putting a cache on my property. On this piece we have 65 acres. I plan on putting it along the dirt road and there are no houses along it that are close to it. I'll have a pull off that will be an indication as to where to park. Then the cache won't be too far away. I will not say what kind of cache it will be since someone from my area my read this. I plan on it being really neat though. Thanks again.

For most things, I think you'll find that the topo you have will get the job done. Another thing that can be useful is to load your PQ onto an automotive GPS, if you own one. Many of us prefer the larger screen auto unit for gross navigation, and the handheld for finding the cache itself. Most automotive GPS units will allow you to load your PQ as a POI category. Wow!! I am glad I read this post. I did not know you could load PQ into a car GPS. I will have to give this a try. I have a Garmin Nuvi and I will try loading them as POI and then use it to try and find the cache. My unit can be taken out of the car and I can put it into walk mode. THis is going to be fun. Thanks so much.

The info you have been given is right on. I have two etrex h's that we use for a class of Senior High students in Educaching. They work pretty good. The only problem is you have a limited number of characters to use for a name, and you cannot load maps into it. Other than that they are really good units. My kids like to take them out when they go for walks or we go out for caches. If you're a premium member of GC.com you can upload up to 500 waypoints into it. That's a lot of geocaching. Have fun.

I usually hit the dollar stores and garage sales. If I do the garage sales I make sure the toys or whatever it is I'll be leaving is really clean. Our dollar store went out of business and they sold a lot of things for 2, 3, 4, for $1.00. I got some really nice glass sculptures and sometimes I leave those in nice caches. I also leave nice things for the adults, and even pet toys for those who bring their dogs along. Hey, they need to get some SWAG too. I try to carry enough that if I find an empty cache I'll usually leave a couple of things in it for the next person. I was given a container of magnets at work one day so now I am leaving them too.

You should have a button or something that you can push and hold and it should automatically make a waypoint. I have a Garmin Vista Hcx and I can just push my little joy stick and it brings me right up to a waypoint. Then I name it 'Car Park' and then hit okay. Then after I have found the cache I can then just look for my 'Car Park' just as I did the cache. I hope this helps you. I have never used a Magellan before so I don't know how they are set up. Keep asking and I'm sure someone who has one could help you.