Sol seaker

See if you can still return the GPS. REI has great return policies. Otherwise, find some large ones in a park first, make sure they have swag, then try your daughter again, with just her. She will mimic her mom if her moms there and uninterested. Go to a nice park. Even I hate city caching and I've found over 2000.

I know what you mean! I've never understood people that try to come in first in track and field events. I hear the reference to 'beating the competition', but surely that really just means the very minority group in an area that like to come in first. As it happens, in my area I'd say just about any cacher would try for FTF if they had the chance, so it might make more sense to ask why there are so many lazy people in your area that only a very minority group are willing to try. So is anyone who doesn't try out for track and field, or any sports competition "lazy"? How about "uninterested"? I know a lot of people who really don't care about FTF. In fact I'd be willing to bet the number of people who don't care about being FTF far surpasses the number who care. Then there are those who are out making a living, raising a family or busy with creating their own business, taking care of ill parents, etc. etc. that cannot consider such a game as important enough to drop their responsibilities and run out the door on a whim. That is not lazy.

Don't forget CITO and event caches. There are so many interesting challenges. History challenges, where you've got to find caches at places of historical interest; location challenges, like our WA State 23 island cache challenge (my personal favorite) where you've got to find caches on each of 23 islands; or the firelookout challenge where you've got to find a certain number of fire lookouts. Or lighthouse challenges. A lot of the challenges make for boring discussion, but there are a whole lot of really interesting ones out there that are more fun to talk about.

I found a place far beyond there... This is Far beyond there

This is so funny, because almost the exact same thing happened to me last week. I had to do a double take and check where you live!! Here, it was a rural road, but there were about 20 new caches put out, and my friend and I managed to get four of them FTF in that row (we got two more in the area, but that's another story). And, the only reason we got those, was the guy started at the other end. :laughing: Very strange it is so similar. Anyway, although we called him many choice names at the time, we were actually glad he got the ones at the end because we simply couldn't walk any farther and would certainly have been tempted to do so if he hadn't found them. We were very grateful he had started at the other end so we were able to get some of them. He was on a bike and we were on foot. There is no road access at the far end of this trail. Was it fair? Sure. Why not? We should have gotten up an hour earlier. The caches had been there for four days at that point. We had no idea anyone would try for them the same day we did. The ones that bother me even more are the guys who race to the caches locally and don't give anyone else a chance at it. But I totally agree with the assessment that a FTF given, is not fair either. What's the point? A race would no longer be a race. The FTF's in this area are a great chance to meet other cachers. I've been really glad when I've had the chance to show up at one to meet the locals. I was sore about the unfairness at all, before I realized it's just another way to be social really. It doesn't have to be about the race for some of us. Just like it's not what we find in the cache, it's the hunt. It's not getting the FTF, it's the race and the people you mean along the way.

Yes, definitely tell them. It's really part of the game to practice some stealth to keep the caches safe. It's part of the game to know about this.

I see ignoring the situation and not acknowledging the cache thief as two different points of view. You don't want to ignore the situation but at the same time you don't want to directly acknowledge the cache thief. Putting on cache page "There is a cache thief in the area" is only going to feed their ego, if that is their motivation. I'd word it something like "This cache is frequently going missing". Although if cachers check the logs they will see this. Whatever their motivation it is best to just keep going on like everything is normal. Which it is because caches go missing all the time. Because of this there is a process for reporting missing caches and replacing them. I can see that. In point of fact, without the motivation, or at least some pep at all from them acknowledging the thefts, I can't be sure that it's just one person. Still, it's clear that it's not just missing but taken, and targeted. I think that needs to be explained otherwise searchers just have to guess the why. The first place my guessing would go is somewhere along the line of 'the co should find a better hiding spot, he sure is lazy' etc. I can see the benefit of not directly acknowledging the person doing the poor behavior, treat them like a young child, but not to discuss the behavior and pretend it doesn't exist would be like being a bad parent. I'll think on this a bit too, see if I come to a different perspective. I can understand this opinion. Just for some insight into another opinion: We used to have a thread on these forums to point out people posting bad things on these forums. After a while it starting becoming evident that the more we pointed the behavior out the worse it got. You may not realize, but the main English speaking forums here are just moderated in the day. Things got so bad, with really horrific things being posted that they had to have 24 hour moderation. This was not simple swearing, but things like photos that I will never forget and no one should ever have to see. Real photos that were nightmare material. So we discussed this at length and pointed it out in this thread. The behavior became constant. At some point the thread owner brought up the fact we could be encouraging it. I didn't think so. Then someone linked to some forums on a competing site where people talked at length about doing bad behavior for the attention. We all agreed to close the thread discussing the bad posting. That was the end of that behavior. There were no more of those posts. For me, it was a big lesson learned at the time. I did not believe we could be encouraging it by just talking about it, but it turns out we were.

I replaced the bison tube at the Talapus Lake traihead. I could see where this one could easily go missing, it's a really busy spot.

Sorry, please post day and time and hike difficulty. Thanks. Or did this happen already?

How about Friday?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you wanting to place the event so no caches will be published around it? There is no limit to caches being published around events that I know of, so it won't work. Try the flying pig's idea, put the cache pages on hold (which will hold the spot for a while) or talk to your reviewer.

Sorry if it's a dumb question, but what's a "poker run?" I have done geocaching "races". When it was over the organizer announced it really wasn't a race. Being clear on things at the beginning of an event is really important.

Maybe they are dirt roads. Trails? I hear Apple made a formal apology on their newest maps and are recommending to use the competitions maps.

I found one last week along a power trail that was a month old. The caches around it had all been found. My friend and I began searching. She started searching at GZ. I went across the street. She asked what I was doing over there. I said if the Coords were on it would have been found already. She shrugged her shoulders and looked at me like I was nuts. It was only a couple of minutes before I yelled "found it!" Even cachers who usually post good coords can make mistakes. I had one 100 feet off because my batteries were about dead. Live and learn. Now all that being said, some hides are just tough. If it's a micro you may try touching everything. That works for really tough hides in the city with good coords. There are a lot you just can't see. I've found a lot of tough ones that way.

My week is busier than I realized while I was out of town without my calendar. Call me if you've still got my number or email and we'll figure it out.

I may try to make this. Car pooling would be good.

That took me a second. Lol. Good one!

They're reviewers, not cache police. If they start making "suggestions" about how the listing is worded, where will it end? Soon they can just give you the wording to use and everyone will yell about too many rules on how you write the cache page. Just take a deep breath and go find some caches for a while to mellow out. But just don't read the hints.

I had a friend who was caching with her I-phone. She started placing caches with her phone. When a lot of people complained she asked that I go out with her and check them. One was over 100 feet off. She went out and got a GPS after that. There is another story about someone who was trying to place a cache. They changed the coords about 20 times before the reviewer told them to get a GPS or find someone with a GPS to help with the coords. They were using Google Earth. The cache finally was archived. No one was ever able to find it. Now, all that being said, the first is an old story, so perhaps phones are more accurate now. And you've got to use a device correctly AND it turns out, have fresh batteries. I moved a cache to a better location and took new coords. The batteries were about to go out in my good GPS. I waypoint averaged, and the coords turned out to be 100 feet off!!!!! Yowsa. This thing is normally really good!!! I went back with fresh batteries and got the EXACT same coords as someone else (who I had given directions to the cache to see if the problem was me or him). There's nothing better to hide a cache than a GPS, and you've got to use it correctly and have good batteries in it that are not near the end of their life.

So I'm searching for this one. My friend is reading the hint. I found it, I take out the log, It is wet and a little slimy. I'm signing it, trying not to pay attention to the slime, and then my friend calls out, "The name of this cache is MOOSE DROOL" :anitongue: :anitongue:

I found "GPS". Maybe it belongs to that guy in the other thread who says he lost his.GPS

I found some really good advice: Never give up!!

When you get another, I'd highly suggest some strict rules for yourself. I've read so many people talk about leaving their GPS's at caches that I've got strict rules for myself. I'm not allowed to set my GPS down at all. I bought a carabiner clip for it, and it gets clipped to my belt when I've found the cache. My other GPS has a lanyard and it goes around my neck. It does not get set down on the ground at all!!!! When I'm at home they go in my purse or in a certain drawer. That's it. Hard and fast rules. These suckers are expensive and SSSSSSOOOOOOOOOO important!!!!! I'd hate to be without them. That would really suck!!!

You might check with Garmin and see if that still qualifies for the refurbishing price, if you're happy with it. I had a 401T refurbished through them and it was great. I just sent it in and 99.00 and sent another one out the next day. You don't get the same one, but they work great. The prices vary depending on how old the unit is. The older the unit the cheaper it is to refurbish.

OH NO!! That makes the happy meal toys sound good!!! Well... on second thought... maybe not.