Shel

Laraley - are national monuments definitely NPS? I'm pretty sure that our local national monument, Craters of the Moon, is a BLM spot, so at least there's a chance of setting a cache there. (actually, I'm puzzling over how to do one at our BLM national landmark ... there's two rest stops at it already, so I'm hopeful that if they can put in plumbing, I can get permission to place a cache ) But even BLM is concerned about making sure that sensitive areas are protected, so I agree that it's definitely better to check if it's got any type of designation

Laraley - are national monuments definitely NPS? I'm pretty sure that our local national monument, Craters of the Moon, is a BLM spot, so at least there's a chance of setting a cache there. (actually, I'm puzzling over how to do one at our BLM national landmark ... there's two rest stops at it already, so I'm hopeful that if they can put in plumbing, I can get permission to place a cache ) But even BLM is concerned about making sure that sensitive areas are protected, so I agree that it's definitely better to check if it's got any type of designation

I'm trying to figure out a way to hide a cache on the Oregon Trail. So far I've managed to decide that I want to do it as a traditional cache, rather than a virtual cache, or a multistage across the state. This past weekend I actually located (with a lot of help from a local Oregon Trail buff) some trail ruts and the remnants of an old stagecoach stop on BLM land, so I don't have to worry so much about permission issues. But the cache would easily be about 20 miles from the main road, over dirt trails that zig and zag -- no following the little pointy arrow on this one. So I'm thinking about doing an it as an offset -- listing the coordinates on the cache page for the end of the gravel road, where it veers off into the dirt, and there leaving the coordinates for the actual cache, which will be at the end of first segment of the dirt road (that's an offset, right?) It's not one most folks would want to hike to, more of a 4-wheeling kind of cache, because of the distance. But the terrain itself isn't hard because you're driving really close to the site. Can I assume that folks will be driving? (I know, never assume... )Ideas/input on how to set the terrain difficulty? Cool cache prizes (at least i think so -- I bought some Indian head pennies and buffalo nickels, and I'm gonna do a cache card, too, so people will have at least one picture in case they forgot their camera) any help always appreciated

I'm trying to figure out a way to hide a cache on the Oregon Trail. So far I've managed to decide that I want to do it as a traditional cache, rather than a virtual cache, or a multistage across the state. This past weekend I actually located (with a lot of help from a local Oregon Trail buff) some trail ruts and the remnants of an old stagecoach stop on BLM land, so I don't have to worry so much about permission issues. But the cache would easily be about 20 miles from the main road, over dirt trails that zig and zag -- no following the little pointy arrow on this one. So I'm thinking about doing an it as an offset -- listing the coordinates on the cache page for the end of the gravel road, where it veers off into the dirt, and there leaving the coordinates for the actual cache, which will be at the end of first segment of the dirt road (that's an offset, right?) It's not one most folks would want to hike to, more of a 4-wheeling kind of cache, because of the distance. But the terrain itself isn't hard because you're driving really close to the site. Can I assume that folks will be driving? (I know, never assume... )Ideas/input on how to set the terrain difficulty? Cool cache prizes (at least i think so -- I bought some Indian head pennies and buffalo nickels, and I'm gonna do a cache card, too, so people will have at least one picture in case they forgot their camera) any help always appreciated

Maybe the real question is "why would someone watch a cache?" and knowing who it is might tell you why ... Reasons people watch caches include: They're one of the hiders. Only the owner first listed gets emailed when the cache receives a log. So if I want to know when the cache I hid with wavydave has been visited, I have to "watch" the cache. Then I get the emails, too To see when/if what you left as a trade item is picked up. If it's the next item out of the cache, many cachers will stock up on that item and use them more often because people are enjoying them. But if they sit in the cache for the next 12 visits, then they might not want to trade those anymore ... To see if others had as difficult a time as you did when you hunted a cache ... some cachers might want to watch to see others experiences without having to check every day, only when it was visited To see if a particular trade item is still there before you get to a cache. I like foreign coins, so I might try a harder cache if it's got coins in it. But if the coins are traded before I get the chance to hunt it, I might save my efforts and do a few easier ones on the trip instead Doesn't exactly answer your question, but maybe it helps with why you asked it

Maybe the real question is "why would someone watch a cache?" and knowing who it is might tell you why ... Reasons people watch caches include: They're one of the hiders. Only the owner first listed gets emailed when the cache receives a log. So if I want to know when the cache I hid with wavydave has been visited, I have to "watch" the cache. Then I get the emails, too To see when/if what you left as a trade item is picked up. If it's the next item out of the cache, many cachers will stock up on that item and use them more often because people are enjoying them. But if they sit in the cache for the next 12 visits, then they might not want to trade those anymore ... To see if others had as difficult a time as you did when you hunted a cache ... some cachers might want to watch to see others experiences without having to check every day, only when it was visited To see if a particular trade item is still there before you get to a cache. I like foreign coins, so I might try a harder cache if it's got coins in it. But if the coins are traded before I get the chance to hunt it, I might save my efforts and do a few easier ones on the trip instead Doesn't exactly answer your question, but maybe it helps with why you asked it

I usually go with geocaching buddy wavydave (it's his GPS), but if he's going out of town he'll take it along and cache on the trip, or sometimes I'll borrow it and do one of the virtual/locationless caches, which I like better than he does (so far). And, the plan is that when we take our family vacation this summer, the GPS is road tripping with us! (but, alas, not geo-dog Whitney) We each log the cache with our own inpressions and make our own trades, but we carpool and hike, canoe or whatever, to the cache together.

They're all too small! I can't find any of them!

So would somebody who knows please explain what qualifies as being in the public domain? I did ask a question, you know. Maybe some of us who read these posts DO want to try to do better. It would help if a little information was passed around along with all the opinions

Okay, how does this fit into this discussion? Geocaching music thread http://opentopic.Groundspeak.com/0/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=1750973553&f=3000917383&m=8760902583 Is it okay if you burn a CD with a collection of songs to make your own mix? Is that what dj's do? And what about Markwell's much-sought-after "classical geocaching" CD? is it public domain because the music is from another century? or is the fact that it's performed by people who are alive today make it a copyright issue? I understand the legal issues, and I've heard the "offsite backup" theory, and I know that most folks who are letter-of-the-law about one issue usually have other weaknesses perhaps not so apparent. But a lot of people in this community enjoy these compilations -- it seems harsh to say that the caching community is comprised of criminals, when most certainly don't act criminal in most other ways we see them behave. But perhaps that's just rationalizing, too ... I don't have the answers on this one, but it sounded like some folks here might ... just stirring the pot

The links to your caches were great, Markwell -- I'm not much of a puzzle solver, so seeing how what's at the site could be used to generate coords for the next spot was very helpful. I am leaning toward doing a traditional cache rather than a virtual (I found some reasonably priced indian head pennies and buffalo nickels on ebay to leave as cache prizes). I am also leaning toward doing a series of caches rather than one multicache. I think SE Idaho cachers (all five of us) would be a bit intimidated by spending all day in the car, and that's what it would take to hit all these spots. And with several caches, I can put out each one as I get it ready

The links to your caches were great, Markwell -- I'm not much of a puzzle solver, so seeing how what's at the site could be used to generate coords for the next spot was very helpful. I am leaning toward doing a traditional cache rather than a virtual (I found some reasonably priced indian head pennies and buffalo nickels on ebay to leave as cache prizes). I am also leaning toward doing a series of caches rather than one multicache. I think SE Idaho cachers (all five of us) would be a bit intimidated by spending all day in the car, and that's what it would take to hit all these spots. And with several caches, I can put out each one as I get it ready

1bigwookie is a BRAND new cacher, and it's been distressing to learn that at least in one instance, the caches he's happened to visit have truly NOT been there. As the owner of one of the caches, I was glad to receive his log on my cache site because it alerted me that there was a problem with my cache. Whether he chose a "not found" or an "other" I don't care, I'm just glad for the info. and both of these entries, as well as the "found it" entry, will generate a email message to the cache owner. 1bigwookie, it's good that you hunted Saito's "Tiny - ID" when you did, because it, too, is gone now... I'm not sure whether we want to learn it's our city parks and rec on cleanup duty or not, but Saito's checking on it. Also check the local site for the event cache (aka barbecue for cachers) coming up on May 11. We'd love to see you there. bigwookie, which other caches have you tried that have gone AWOL?

I've been working on a story on the visiting the Oregon Trail in southestern Idaho for work, and I really want to turn some of the places I've found into caches. I'd rather do a traditional cache, but having just had my first plundered/stolen/removed cache last week, I'm being a little gun-shy -- and maybe a traditional cache wouldn't be as good an idea in a historical area. Anyway, I'm still thinking on that. My question is, how do I get folks to navigate from one point to the other? I've never done a multi-stage (we don't have any here in eastern ID), so I have no examples to go by. The trail points I'm considering are miles apart, even a couple hours driving in some instances. Maybe I should do a series of related caches across the state instead? What do folks think about virtual vs traditional caches in this situation? I like to do place caches where finders can learn something as well, so my descriptions for each point would have a little bit of the history in the cache decription, or maybe it should be in the cache itself if I go traditional? (Are you guys sensing my confusion here yet?) Any tips, guidance, opinions, comments, suggestions -- everything is welcome! (and my apologies in advance to Markwell if we have 17 threads on this already -- i didn't even know where to begin looking ... although, at least I HAVE found the search button on the forums

I've been working on a story on the visiting the Oregon Trail in southestern Idaho for work, and I really want to turn some of the places I've found into caches. I'd rather do a traditional cache, but having just had my first plundered/stolen/removed cache last week, I'm being a little gun-shy -- and maybe a traditional cache wouldn't be as good an idea in a historical area. Anyway, I'm still thinking on that. My question is, how do I get folks to navigate from one point to the other? I've never done a multi-stage (we don't have any here in eastern ID), so I have no examples to go by. The trail points I'm considering are miles apart, even a couple hours driving in some instances. Maybe I should do a series of related caches across the state instead? What do folks think about virtual vs traditional caches in this situation? I like to do place caches where finders can learn something as well, so my descriptions for each point would have a little bit of the history in the cache decription, or maybe it should be in the cache itself if I go traditional? (Are you guys sensing my confusion here yet?) Any tips, guidance, opinions, comments, suggestions -- everything is welcome! (and my apologies in advance to Markwell if we have 17 threads on this already -- i didn't even know where to begin looking ... although, at least I HAVE found the search button on the forums

It's funny how foreign coins just fly out of caches, even the one from less exotic countries like Canada. We're tacking a few days onto our Glacier NP vacation this summer to drive into Canada ... and one reason is to pick up cool coins to collect and to leave as cache prizes. My geocaching buddy has already informed me he's sending money along with me for just that purpose....

Any idea when the short-sleeved version of the new designs will be available? Southeastern Idaho doesn't have much in the way of woods and our summers are dry, sunny and at least in the 90s. Then that way I could have one for caching, one for shoveling snow while daydreaming about caching

Any idea when the short-sleeved version of the new designs will be available? Southeastern Idaho doesn't have much in the way of woods and our summers are dry, sunny and at least in the 90s. Then that way I could have one for caching, one for shoveling snow while daydreaming about caching

Wow, that many people come to an event cache? We're having our first over here in Idaho on May 11 and we have only four families signed up so far ... but they each have lots of kids, so I guess that will make for a bigger crowd. I've made up a stained glass suncatcher and am planning on giving one to each 'household' that attends. There's a picture posted here. They were time consuming, but not very expensive, and I was taking a stained glass class anyway, so it gave me some practice. Oh, the point (besides showing off the suncatcher) ... maybe if you are doing a bigger item, you could plan on making up one per family instead of one per cacher. As another thought, I love the geocaching magnets (all two of them) I've collected so far... What about the geocaching music CD? They wouldn't be too expensive to burn, and you're the original cache music dude, if I remember correctly

Wow, that many people come to an event cache? We're having our first over here in Idaho on May 11 and we have only four families signed up so far ... but they each have lots of kids, so I guess that will make for a bigger crowd. I've made up a stained glass suncatcher and am planning on giving one to each 'household' that attends. There's a picture posted here. They were time consuming, but not very expensive, and I was taking a stained glass class anyway, so it gave me some practice. Oh, the point (besides showing off the suncatcher) ... maybe if you are doing a bigger item, you could plan on making up one per family instead of one per cacher. As another thought, I love the geocaching magnets (all two of them) I've collected so far... What about the geocaching music CD? They wouldn't be too expensive to burn, and you're the original cache music dude, if I remember correctly

Definitely, I read the physical logbook. In fact, at my last cache find in SE Idaho I sat right down to read in a spot I THOUGHT was clear of snow, and then realized I had about a mile hike back to the car in soaking wet, COLD jeans. But so many folks write more in the logbooks than they do online, when details are fresh in their minds. And there are always several entries that you won't find online at all. Yep, a definite must-read!

Thanks for thinking of us, geospotter! Wish I had something to send in return ... but since your address is posted here, perhaps you'll get your own surprise in the mail sometime (We've got a cache trinket in the works, come to think of it -- now I have the inspiration to finish up!) Hope it's okay that I'm sending two envelopes -- one on behalf of my geocaching buddy, who almost never reads the forums ... what a surprise it will be to get caching tattoos in the mail! p.s. There are two kids at my house -- plus me! Thanks again for thinking of us. I agree; the geocaching community really is pretty cool, isn't it

Thanks for thinking of us, geospotter! Wish I had something to send in return ... but since your address is posted here, perhaps you'll get your own surprise in the mail sometime (We've got a cache trinket in the works, come to think of it -- now I have the inspiration to finish up!) Hope it's okay that I'm sending two envelopes -- one on behalf of my geocaching buddy, who almost never reads the forums ... what a surprise it will be to get caching tattoos in the mail! p.s. There are two kids at my house -- plus me! Thanks again for thinking of us. I agree; the geocaching community really is pretty cool, isn't it

ClayJar's clay jars are VERY friendly. He sent me a link to one in geocaching chat a while back ... I'll email him and see if he can post it here for you there's also the stash stone (do a forum search and it comes right up -- Markwell taught me that!) and then there was one a while back where a guy used local leaves as stencils to spray paint the ammo can -- I think there were pix, but I can't find the thread, and I gotta go to work! p.s. traveled to Boise for a competition at Centennial High, and coaxed caching buddy wavydave to help me with the driving with the promise of hunting some caches ... so he goes off or a few hours, and who does he meet but rodness! Do I get to meet him? No! I'm at the school .. I was so jealous that he got to meet a fellow cacher on MY trip! They visited for a while -- wavydave's planning to do a hemp plant hanger and I've finished a small windchime so far ... 'k, 'nuff catching up

ClayJar's clay jars are VERY friendly. He sent me a link to one in geocaching chat a while back ... I'll email him and see if he can post it here for you there's also the stash stone (do a forum search and it comes right up -- Markwell taught me that!) and then there was one a while back where a guy used local leaves as stencils to spray paint the ammo can -- I think there were pix, but I can't find the thread, and I gotta go to work! p.s. traveled to Boise for a competition at Centennial High, and coaxed caching buddy wavydave to help me with the driving with the promise of hunting some caches ... so he goes off or a few hours, and who does he meet but rodness! Do I get to meet him? No! I'm at the school .. I was so jealous that he got to meet a fellow cacher on MY trip! They visited for a while -- wavydave's planning to do a hemp plant hanger and I've finished a small windchime so far ... 'k, 'nuff catching up