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Penguin_ar

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Posts posted by Penguin_ar

  1. I have four caches hidden and am fortunate that they all seem to attract TBs and geocoins. However, some of these travellers have been in my caches for a while (1-2 months), and people mention seeing them in their logs but have not picked them up. I was wondering if I should do so? I don't have much time to go geocaching right now though, and most of the local caches I find are micros with no space for travellers, so what I would probably do is move the TBs from one of my caches to my Travellers Hotel cache near the airport (don't worry, it has no strange rules about "leave one to take one"!) that has a quick TB turn-around time.

     

    I know it is ok to re-visit a cache to leave a TB, but what about moving someone else's TB from one of your own caches to another? If I do this, how long should I leave a traveler in the "old" cache before moving it to another cache?

  2. On the 50 states card, you could print out a little map- or list of states- from your own computer, with the states the bug has already been to highlighted. Then use one of those self-laminating lugage tags (available in office supply stores everywhere) and it'll be a nice laminated card.

  3. My little boy's TB (TB2HRV3) went missing in his second cache :lol: There have been several cachers mentioning that the TB is not in the cache it was dropped at, and a local cacher even went back to the cache and looked at the physical log for me, where there is apparently a mention of someone taking a TB which is most likely mine two months ago. I grabbed the TB back with the intention of marking it was missing/ putting it in Unknown Location, but I can't figure out how to do that. Help?

  4. I know when one uses a cute/ nice hitchhikers on one's TBs, they often go missing. Which led me to an idea for my next TB: a Swap Swag TB, where cachers would be actively encouraged to take the hitchhiker and add another, so the TB is constantly changing. I was thinking of buying a keychain or maybe a cheap bicycle lock (combination would be posted on the TB's webpage), add five or six small hitchhikers such as plastic toys, my own pathtag, cheap bracelet etc, and just letting it loose.

     

    I know my idea isn't new, so I am looking for examples, suggestions of how to encourage people to swap hitchhikers, cautionary tales etc.

  5. I know I have seen them on here before but cannot find them right now. I recently aquired some geocoins and am ready to send them out into the wild. What I am looking for is a printablre "passport" that explains what geocoins are, ie that they are trackables and should be logged and travel, not be kept, and that fits into the plastic coin pouch the geocoin came with. Ideally I am looking for something that has the explanation on one side, and that I can add a specific mission for the geocoin to the other side.

  6. When a newbie posts on the forum for help solving a puzzle cache, they get jumped on for asking. People will tell them that it is some violation of forum etiquette to ask for help. And anyone who post anything beyond the gentlest encouragement to kept trying gets criticize for given away too much. So why the dual standard? :D

     

    I don't think it is a dual standard. When you tell someone the solution to a puzzle, you do the work for them. Telling someone what a LPC is is the same as showing photos of ammo boxes, or bird houses that may have caches in them. Keep in mind not every country's lamppost have those skirts (I am from Ireland, and got confused by the name LPC too at first until my husband explained what a LP skirt is), and not every country has readily accessible ammo cans.

  7. I realise then guidelines say not to hide caches near airports, and I totally understand why. My question is, when is a cache far away enough from an airport to be considered safe (and I realise our local reviewer will have the final word on this, but I am asking for general opinions)?

     

    I am thinking about hiding a cache near our airport (small regional airport- XNA in NW Arkansas for those interested); there are several small woods along the approach roads, off airport property, which I think would be suitable for a large ammo can that is easy to find and might attract TBs and geocoins.

  8. I have TBs for both of my twins (TB2HRV3 and TB2HRVC ). To make them as small as possible (and thus being able to travel even to "small" caches), and not tempting people to remove the attachment, I simply got some of those self-laminating tags, put the mission on one side and a photo of the twin on the other.

  9. Did they say why it was not a good location for the cache, other than the poison oak? Did you see the poison oak when you hid the cache? Is there other logs with negative comments or do other logs say good things about the hide?

     

    If there is a lot of poisonous plants that you need to walk through/ touch, and the cache hiding spot isn't great/ very scenic, you could consider moving it. But you do not have to- poison oak and ivy happen a lot, and you can always warn of it by using the "poisonous plant" attribute and/ or mentioning it in your cache description. If you do decide to move it, I believe if you move it only a short distance (less than 500 feet or so), you can PM your reviewer with the new co-ords and they can change them. If you want to remove the cache completely for whatever reason, just archive the listing, go get your cache and place it somewhere new.

  10. if you don't change anything, I think it is perfectly acceptable to replace the tag with a readable one. If the old tag had something special on it (such as it was handwritten, had a photo on one side etc), then I'd keep the old tag on and simply add the new tag with the mission in readable script.

  11. I log a DNF if I get reasonably close and couldn't find it. That includes not being able to look because there were too many muggles around or because GZ is under water, as this may affect future cachers looking, and of course looking for the cache and not finding it, but does not include if I set out to find the cache but then need to turn around just as I get there/ after a minute or two because my toddler twins act up or similar.

  12. You should hear from your reviewer within 72 hours, either by your cache going live or them asking you a question/ emailing you with an issue. I am told one's first hide gets more scrutiny and can take longer to approve, but that was not the case for me; I hid a simple, regular size 1.5/ 2 cache and it got aproved within a few hours of me placing it.

  13. If you do a lot of walking/ hiking, you might find a good hiding spot that way. I know of several geocachers who always have a small cache and supplies with them, and if they see a good spot, hide a cache right there and then. This is how I hid my first cache; it's in a lovely overgrown area behind a busy shopping mall with lots of wild flowers, where I walk my dog, but is always quiet.

     

    My second cache, I got the inspiration from the local newspaper, who did an article about the last piece of prairie land in our area, home to almost 200 native spiecies of plants. I looked on geocaching.com and saw there was no cache there, so I placed one.

     

    My third one is a book cache (swag is books only), so I needed a place where I could hie a big cache. I kept an eye out for such a place as we were out and about, and found one on the way to the twin's playschool; it's some bushes in the middle of some fields, just by the highway. Not the most scenic spot, but nopt bad, and enough bushes to hide my 10 gallon rubbermaid container.

  14. I know you need to have your home location set on geocaching to get your cache reviewed, and it got me thinking: what are some of the caches that are live that are very far from the CO's home? How did they get approved? I heard that we have a couple of airline pilot cachers that have placed caches thousands of miles away from their home, but near an airport they regularly fly into, is that true?

     

    Another reason I am asking is because I have a cache idea on another continent... my mother lives in Switzerland, and I lived a long time in Ireland and have many friends there; in both cases, there are very few caches in the area where they live. I now live in Arkansas, USA. I was wondering what the chance would be of having a cache approved in Switzerland and/ or Ireland. I would physically place the cache next time I visit, and would be the CO/ contact, but if maintenance was needed, I would have my mother go out and do so. She knows about geocaching and has found a few caches with me last time she visited, but does not have a GPS and does not want to join. I realise I could just contact the reviewers of the relevant region but for now, this is just a vague idea, I won't be visiting Europe for a while, so wanted the general feeling/ experiences of such hides.

  15. I expect different answers to this question depending on location of the caches and number of hides of the cacher, I am just curious...

     

    If there are no Needs Maintenance logs on your hide, how often do you visit, if at all? For example, do you visit if there are a certain number of DNFs? Do you visit if the smallest problem is mentioned in a log (such as "co-ordinates are of" or "log a little wet" or whatever)? if your cache container is a rubbermaid tupperware container or other not-completely-watertight cache, do you try and visit after each rain storm? I have three hides, al within a couple of miles of my home. My current plan is to visit the two "normal" caches once a quarter to make sure everything is ok, or when there is an obvious problem mentioned in the log. The book cache I will visit more often, probably every month or after 3-4 Found logs, to check on the books and register any that have not been registered on bookcrossing.

  16. I picked up Devil Duckie near where I live here in NW Arkansas, and decided to bring him to Florida. Unfortunately, I didn't find any caches big enough to hold him (was there for a wedding, so only got a few caches). Instead, he got to see the ocean and then came back to Arkansas with me:

     

    devilduckie.jpg

  17. I picked up a more religious TB a little while ago and going by the logs and how far it has travelled, no-one sems to have any problems with it:

    1 Chronicles 16:11. I think the worst that could happen with your idea is that it may stay a bit longer in a cache, if some anti-angel people visited and didn't want to take it with.

  18. Thanks for all your feedback! I placed my bookcrossing geocache yesterday evening, and it got made live early this morning (the Arkansas reviewer is totally on the ball!), and has been FTF'd already!

     

    I ended p buying a waterproof rubbermaid container, as I decided the ammo can didn't have enough space- I had some large books I wanted to out in it, and leave more space for more books. There is a photo of the geocache prior to placement on the cache's page, with my twins playing on it; for those interested, it is here:

    Rogers Bookcrossing Geocache

  19. For a quick 3-4 cache tour, I always have some small swag in my handbag (coloured dice, crystals, baseball cards, Irish coins, pathtags). That is also useful for when I can grab a cache in the fly while waiting somewhere, and had not intended to go caching.

     

    For longer hikes/ walks, I add to that a couple of paperback books and maybe a cuddly toy or cheap piece of jewellery, but I tend to keep my swag small as most caches aren't very large. I bring either the diaper bag (when my twins are with me), and thus have plenty of space between the diaper bag and the stroller trays, or I bring a small backpack which will also contain a bottle of water and some snacks.

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