shenry11

Thank you for the advice. I did contact them with a nice, polite e-mail offering to help them log the coin. I did not get any response back. I will still be patient for awhile, but it is frustrating, because this was my first coin. I have two travel bugs that I will let loose soon, and I'll see what happens to them. Unfortuately, we received four inches of snow today, so no geocaching this weekend!

In early January, I placed my first coin. It was in the cache for about three weeks, then it was picked up. The cacher that picked it up, only had twelve finds when he noted in the cache log that he picked it up. I have been trying to follow it, because he made a note in the log, but has never "picked up" my coin. His log said that he would be placing the coin soon. It has been a few weeks, and a few caches for the finder, and my coin is still being listed as being in the original cache, and I don't know if the cacher that picked it up is still holding the coin, or if he has put it in another cache. What is the proper protocol? Do I just be patient and wait to see if it is "found" in another cache? Do I contact the people that found my coin? Thanks! Steve

Thank you for the responses. I should also clarify a little. I had looked for the cache before, so I know to within just a few feet where the cache is. I parked my car 1/3 mile from the cache, but it is open fields almost to the cache, so I could see the general cache area from my car. When the van started pulling in, authorized or not, I thought dang, they are going to look for the same cache, and I really want to find this particular one on my own, so I'll let them have it this time. I think that I was more frustrated that someone else was possibly going for the same cache that I was, but since they were much closer to it than I was, they "beat" me. In level of frustration, it was maybe a 2 on a 1-10. I was also running out of time, and didn't want to wait for them to finish. I have written an e-mail in the past about meeting other cachers, and I am not afraid or unwilling to do that, but this particular cache "got the best of me" the first time, and I want to find it all by myself. I walk 2-3 miles every day, and so the walk is not an issue. That is one of the great things that I like about geocaching, is that it gives me great opportunity to walk in the woods. My main purpose in writing my original post was not really to "flame", but more out of a curiosity to see how people feel about driving on roads marked "authorized personnel only", or in a similar vein, going on private property where the people that placed the cache might not have indicated that they have permission from the owner. Thanks!

Today, I was going to find a cache in a public park. I had looked for this one before, but could not find it. The cache is located a few feet from a "service road". The entrance to the service road is clearly marked that it is for authorized vehicles only. I found a good parking spot .32 miles from this cache. I was starting to walk to it, when a van pulls into the road, and very slowly starts making it's way to the cache. Perhaps they were not geocaching, perhaps they were bird watchers? Either way, I felt frustrated by that, and decided to head back to the car. So am I taking this too seriously? If a road says "authorized vechicles only", are we not as responsible cachers supposed to respect that? Besides, I saw at least one park ranger, and one city police car in the park. Why are they not where you want them to be, when you want them there!?! I am curious what others think. Thank! BTW, I was able to find three other caches this morning, so the morning was not a bust by any means!

I am a newbie, and I am VERY addicted to this sport! What I enjoy about this sport, is that I can spend as much, or as little time with it as I like. I live in a major metropolitan area. I can "run out" at lunch time for a quick park-n-grab, or I can schedule a few hours for a long hike in the woods. Cool! What frustrates me is that there are three caches that I have looked for more than once, and I just cannot "see" them. I know it is me, and how I am studying the area, but it is still frustrating. I spent almost an hour looking for one, and then I re-looked at the clues. I had been looking on the ground, and this one is at eye-level!!! Ouch! Another thing that frustrates me are caches that have me go on private property. Was permission REALLY granted? There is one cache close to me that I've put on ignore, just because I am so uncomfortable with where it is placed. Argh!

I earned my Eagle rank in 1976. I spent some time as an adult leader, while my youngest son was in cubs. I could not get either of my two sons interested in scouting. I remember as a scout doing "map and compass". We would look at a topographical map, and have to find various places using our compass, and visual points of reference. I also remember having seen benchmarks as a scout. Who'd of ever thought that it would become a "real" sport!?! I think that a GPSr is much more fun than an old compass! I have a scouting geocoin that I placed about a month ago. Unfortunately, it is "stuck". I will move it on Monday, if nobody finds it over the weekend. Steve

I am the original poster to this message. I have an update of sorts. I went out at lunch time today to a fairly large urban park. There is a lake, multiple shelters, a community center, and at least five caches in this park. Today was a sunny day. This was 11:30 in the morning. I pulled off at the cache site. I had only seen 4-5 other cars in the park. I got out of my car, and started down a path into the woods. According to my GPSr, the cache was about 60 feet from the parking lot. A white car pulls up, and parks immediately in front of my car. The guy in the car lights a smoke, but does not get out of his car. I decided my best move was to leave. I started to go for another cache in the park. I realized that I'd have to drive back past where I just left. I saw that guy leaving, and I just kind of waited by another shelter house. I saw him driving around the lake, like he was leaving the park. So, I went back to the cache, and started looking for it. Another car drove up and parked by my car. It turned out to be a couple. They got out, and walked over to a picnic table with what appeared to be lunch. I was looking for the cache, and failed to notice that the white car came back. The guy got out this time, lit another smoke, and carried what appeared to be a newspaper over to the trash can. I tried real hard to get back to my car without appearing to be overly nervous. The other couple was within shouting distance. The guy in the white car acted like he was walking back to his car, but he was on the driver's side of my car. I walked around the other side of my car. He said something like "what's up?", but it just really spooked me out!! I was able to get back around to the driver's side of my car, jumped in, and locked the doors. He did not appear to follow me out of the park. It may have been innocent enough, but it really spooked me out that this guy came back after having left the first time. I think that I'll just let that cache stay in the woods for awhile, and look elsewhere for the near future. I have 2,000+ caches within 50 miles of my house, so this one will wait at least a few weeks!!

Thank you all for the kind words of encouragement! I will most likely introduce myself the next time. As an afterthought, when I saw the young man at this cache site, he was NOT in the exact area where the cache was. I hope that my driving by did not end up in a DNF for him! I have learned on these forums how important good log notes are. With less than 20 finds, obviously, I am still working on my form. I will write as much as I can with each log. To me, the hunting and the find are more important that the numbers, and I'm a bean counter!

I am still a newb. Today was a bright, sunny, warm day for Kansas, which brought out large numbers of people. While heading for a cache, I saw a car parked at the logical parking spot for my desired cache. Sure enough, a young man got out of his car, GPSr in hand. What is proper protocol? Should I stop, introduce myself, and together we get the cache? Instead, I kept on driving, and came back 15 minutes later. What should I have done? Thanks! Steve

I'm still very new at this, and am very excited (addicted) by this sport. I live in a major metropolitan area, so there are literally hundreds of caches close to my home. I know that I am lucky in that regard. I also have a desire to catch trackable items. Is it considered bad form to "revisit" a cache that you have already found, just to discover or find a new trackable item that had been placed there? Is there ever a time when it is concidered OK to revisit a cache? I am not interested in claiming the cache a second time, just any new items that have been placed in it. I have a stronger desire, however, to play by the spirit (and letter) of the rules. Thank you

Update: I am very pleased with how this all worked out. I reported a DNF with wording that I really spent a great deal of time looking for this cache over two visits. Then, the owner went and investigated. Then the owner disabled the cache from the web site. Then the owner replaced the cache and relisted it. I received a PM from the owner suggesting that I try again. Such a friendly group this is! Thank you for the great fun! B/T/W: I found FOUR caches today, plus I discovered my first geocoin!

Thank you for the replies. I will try to be patient. On the positive side, I have 232 caches within 10 miles of my house! I suppose that I can wait for one. On the other hand, I ordered a couple of geocoins. I just know that the post office is delaying delivery on purpose!

I am a newbie that just started with a new Christmas toy. I am hooked big time! We have had some decent weather here, so I have been out a few times. I looked twice for one particular cache. The owner confirmed today that the cache is missing. How does this work? Do I get to count it since I knew where it was supposed to be but it was not? Or, do I just need to be patient and wait until they replace it? Thanks! shenry11