GRANPA ALEX

YOU never really know where the LINE is and you must trust the hider . . . I have about ten caches hidden off of a dirt road near my home where the survey ribbons (property line) is obvious and some 40-80 feet back into the woods. My caches are all on the right (public) side of the property line even though the property owner has placed 'no trespass' signs at the roadside (not his property line or property). Cachers do not know this situation but do see the survey flags, once on the hunt. I do have permission to hide ON the property of that owner but have not done so, he knows of the caches and the game . . . I just do not want to confuse seekers having them cross an obvious property line (flagged) behind signs.

I simply am NOT literate in these matters . . . but I place my PQ in GSAK, export a text file for MS-Streets & Trips where I then install the caches on that map with the external receiver (antenna) to my laptop giving me turn-by-turn navigating, visually, for the greatest efficiency in covering an area. I hope this makes sense and helps simplify . . . if I can do it, it must be simple.

I have seen five-gallon plastic buckets buried with the edge at the surface and having an ammo can or regular placed inside . . . covered with many things such as some boards, a harrow disk, an old car part etc. Since it is not a buried cache but a 'lined' hole with the edge above ground containing a cache container . . . it satifies me as being wonderfully acceptable as a hide.

It has been my considerable experience that such people will, very soon, lose interest in the game and quietly fail to be a problem in the future . . . you find such people in all places people gather as they are wont for undeserved attention and unearned recognition - upon failing, they go away or simply shut up and sit quietly in a corner. Being loud on the forums, slamming the ideas or hides of others, logging finds that they have not visited, claiming FTF illegitimently, even claiming hides they did not place - all this and such provides no real joy and will provide no rewarding recognition once they are publically exposed . . . no reason to stay, anymore. Meanwhile, put their caches on your ignore list, log finds on caches of honest hiders and retain your own joy!

I cache on Saturday . . . the weather does not change that plan, if it is Saturday, I am there. It was 13 degrees two weeks ago & windy with snow on the ground (that's really COLD in humid NC), a week later it was 16 degrees, we cached for the two 12 hours trips. Last weekend, we went to VA for a 20-hour trip but it was so nice out . . . see, it balances out well! Ain't it grand????

DO NOT BE MAD . . . go geocaching! Thought I have never had my comments here closed . . . simularly, I have had reviewers refuse to allow my caches, archive my caches, sidedline my caches and send me notes that directed my making changes to have a cache approved . . . I can choose to follow their direction or not (I usually do). Herre it is just a thought/comment and in the field, it is just a cache - my ego, rights, freedom and family are not involved . . . just a thought or a cache! Besides, reviewers here on the site and in the field they have a thankless volunteer job and I appreciate what they do for the benefit of the greater number of players. My own personal opinion is that the game is played in the field where the caches are hidden with the exception being online to d/l those you will seek and log those where you were successful. Anything else is peripheral and can be injurious to the joy of yourself and others. Being at this site, airing complaints and griping are counter-productive and injurious to the game, the site and the joy of others for the slight righteous (or self-righteous) gain of a few. Finally, my own personal opinion is that the longer the argument and the more verbage that is employed is an indication that the speaker is coming from the contrary (wrong) position and is simply trying to sell his idea. A fair and honest idea is simply presented and not confused with a lot of rhetoric.

Perfectly acceptable (& desireable) to pick up, move and install the TB in another cache . . . the idea is that it must travel and have it's progress logged as it goes. It matters not that it is your hide or someone else's, only that it moves!

This is JUST ME, and the folks with whom I cache . . . we post a DNF on caches that others seem to have found but, on which, we had no success . . . as a gift to the owner that a problem may exist. On most of our/my DNF's, following cachers also DNF the same ones. However, when I/we do a pocket query, the first ones that we eliminate from a PQ are the ones having multiple DNF logs . . . the thinking is that if locals who know the hider and his hide techniques, have his & other local PAF numbers and have a lot of time to hunt (being locals) can not find it . . . I/we will not waste my time trying to find it. THAT being said, we are very careful to DNF only after we have exhausted all ideas of hides that our collective minds can determine . . . it may just be a great hide that we can not find.

What I have had a great succes in using are the tubes of LIQUID NAILER one finds in the building supply stores, works on most all surfaces I have need it to secure and is economical (mess, though). Mechanical fastening is best, of course, but sometimes, you need more or you need to seal the fastening point. I have used it to secure camo material on hard plastic, soft (tupperware) plastic, metal, wood and have found that it seals, as well. I have used it to seal drywall fasteners (molly bolts) in the base of pill bottles, film cans and much larger ammo can sizes - it holds fast and is secure.

In our area, the rule of thumb is that film cannisters and smaller are the 'micro' size . . . 'smalls' begin at a size just larger than a film can. So, if it is or fits into a film can, it is a micro, more than that is a small. Works for us! This, also, makes most pill bottles be considered smalls as they are larger than a film can. Personally, the 'cost of a container' does not relate to the quality of the hide, the expertise of the camo, the location of the hide or the value of the cache in any terms one might consider . . . a good hide is a good hide, no matter the container cost or if it needs a log that is bagged.

As said, the level of risk is in the eyes of the cache seeker . . . I often see log notes where a cacher said that a log on a cache was more than he wanted to risk, that's fine. It can be dangerous for one and not for another, depending upon the cacher's preparation when he leaves home. It may be more than most want to do but I carry a 16' folding ladder in my Nissan P/U for such hides so that I can log such finds, am willing to climb trees and have a long partitioned pole to pull down those high up magnetics . . . if you want, you will have the tools needed to diminish the risks and often satisfy a property owner that you are not damaging his property.

I bought a used handheld HP computer, a PPC. It holds the cache page data in it's entirety (5 logs) and has served well fro about five years . . . i have to replace the pick, though, as I lose it in the woods. It also holds my PAF listing, in a spreadsheet, for the areas I cache most often . . . can save a return on a mile round trip woods bushwhack - whew!

I have about 50 of them hidden as 'small caches' wrapped in glued-on camo cloth and wired to the targets, most are overhead but some are at the base of the target . . . all are on trails or woodsy hides that, as it turns out, can be challenging. They are durable, not water-proof and inexpensive . . . you need to bag your log inside the container. Learned it the hard way by having to replace all of my logs.

The cache is privately owned, personal property, it is not yours to make any determination as to it's disposal. It would be nice and considerate to make repairs that you feel might be needed and then go find some other caches. Put it on your watch list and track it for future applications. If the owner or a reviewer archives it, you can replace it then. The owner may be enjoying the find logs but not be able to participate in the seeking part of the game, illness might be a reason - but it is his cache to do with as he chooses.

And I thought my 212 was a good one in a day . . . you blew the numbers, congratulations. I would love to come to CA and see my kids and run your route . . .

I love the trails and the hiking, so THAT would not hinder me except to schedule the time. I have done nearly 12 miles for 5 caches and had to walk back - great stuff! Making it a puzzle/mystery makes it more solving puzzle game than geocaching . . . not for me. IMO, if it can not be solved/resolved on the trail or in the field - it simply ain't geocaching, it is puzzle-solving. But, this is another thread, I guess.

YOU have the right idea . . . the limit is the number you are willing to reasonably maintain. One of the reasons that container/caches are chosen can relate to the level of maintenance needed. Multis will often require a lot of care where micros require very little.

Really . . . they are not (usually) creative, always (almost) lame hides and offer no (often) challenge at all, except hiding from security persons cruising parking lots. I have logged finds on hundreds of them, maybe thousands . . . you are there, hundreds of miles from home on a cache run - you get all that the area has to offer, including LPC hides - even if you are as tired of them as I am, you log the finds and move on to the next hide(s). I have even hidden one (1) and it seems to be enjoyed by every finder, according to their online logs. So, they are fine for the game . . . hunt them or not, enjoy the game as YOU want to but do be surprized if the LPC is a challenge and enjoy, as they can be, sometimes.

SIDE BAR: What about placing tacks on the BACK side of each tree that you place a firetack that takes you into the hide . . . it helps the cacher find his way BACK to the trail head/car. I got lost in the woods once I had bagged the find (a 20 minute trip in) . . . scarey!

I jus gotta add that the "journey" would be no less valuable if one got smileys for each stage. Multis offer no more "adventure" than a string of singles that lead to the same destination but give you multiple smileys as you progress . . . in that case they ARE a ripoff. But, all that said and true . . . cache your way and leave others to their own. The only real problem I have with multis is that once having found many/most stages and you then find that one stage is missing/lost and you can not, then, enjoy the final and logging a find at all. They can be a maintenance nightmare, progressively worse as the number of stages increase.

My personal fave after several options have been tried and experienced with fellow cachers is the hand-held Garmin GPSmap 60-series. You just gotta have the mapping (turn-by-turn) and windshield mount to really enjoy it's functionality. I like the 60Cx best, as it does not have the electronic compass that was only a source of problems needing to be calibrated.

Agreed, it was not a find & should not be claimed as such . . . but it did cover the bases of notifying the owner of care being needed, some value there. I think what you describe should be called to the reviewer attention with a "Needs Archived". It will then get some action toward resolution or removal to protect future cachers from wasting their time or being confronted with an unhappy property manager.

Once in Atlanta area and once in a small town just north of Raleigh . . . I was innocent in both cases, of course ! The more you drive, the greater the likihood of getting a ticket, fair, unfair, right or wrong - part of the game, I guess.

I have seen a bench having coords written under it for a very nearby location of the container making it a simple multi . . . does not damage the bench. It can be done with fine point magic marker or simply a nail punch with series of dots to represent the numbers - you can darken the small impressions with a marker point, or not.

Don't want to sidetrack your intentions . . . BUT, better than really expensive camo 'tape' is to buy a yard or two of good camo material and a tube of liquid nailer. I cut the material to fit my containers and spread a thin layer of liquid nailer on them before I wrap them with the material . . . cheaper, better and it does not peel. The hides really do well and you can be really liberal in the use as it is inexpensive.