Sol seaker

I am actually enjoying the snow a lot. We have a lot of food in the house, but with more snow called for this week, and it freezing tonight, I went out and went shopping today. May have been a good call. The woman in the Safeway here said they're not expecting any trucks in for delivery for the rest of the week. They can't get here. So I may be able to get out to go to the store (or not) but there may not be much food there, or not the food I want. Anyway, it is beautiful. I am thoroughly enjoying it. It sounds like you are having a great time. Looks like you've found some great places, with hot tubs and jam sessions. I'd love to know where you're staying. Sounds really great. I'm glad you're having such a great time. Keep up the checking in. It's fun hearing about your trip!!

What campground were you staying at that's close to SF? I can think of some north, over the GG Bridge, but don't know of any around SF. Did you find any virtuals in SF? There are a lot there. Did you get the one at the ferry dock?

Ah well. Another time perhaps.

How long will you guys be down there? I have been looking for someone who wants to find all the virtuals in San Francisco, but I'm in Washington right now. I will be back down there before long. LEt me know when you'll be there and we'll see if we can meet up.

Yes on the latest map change I'm no longer seeing Freeway names. (numbers) I'm in a different state right now and don't know the freeways here. Makes it tough. At least the side streets are on this map.

Try zooming in, the street names will show up. No not on that map. I had zoomed in as far as I could and there were still no street names. I then moved around to see if I could find them somewhere while zoomed in. Nope.

The map options on the website did change in mid-September. See this Release Notes post for more details. Google maps used to be available via Leaflet (see HHL's screenshot in post #3), but no longer is available via that map option. The small map on each cache page used to use Google maps, but now those small maps are shown using Geocaching.com's proprietary map format. There is no way to change the map source for the maps on the cache page. thank you, thank you!! I meant the maps that come up when you search for caches and hit the map option. The release notes explain the change and explain how to change them to Google maps. I hope that option will remain now, because... NO the street names do NOT appear when you zoom in, no matter how much you zoom in. I was trying to find geocaches with having no idea what streets they were on. Ugh. Not good. It's funny, you don't realize how important something is to you until a wrench is thrown into the workings. Now I can find the maps again. Phew. The good side of this is that I also found bike maps on the pull-down menu. I wish it had a legend explaining the different trail colors. That would be helpful. I'm back on Google now though. Now I have street names again. Thanks

The maps are really important to me. I noticed a while ago that the maps had changed. Now they seem to have gotten even worse. I have been trying to look for new caches in new areas and the maps DON'T EVEN HAVE STREET NAMES ON THEM! How the heck does one use maps without street names on it? I've tried some of the other options available on the drop-down menu, and nothing comes close to the old maps. Can we go back to the old map options? I'm struggling with being able to geocache. I'm sure the intention of changing maps wasn't to make it so much trouble. I travel a lot and end up a lot of places where there is no cell signal for my phone. I need to load maps onto my GPS but need to be able to see what maps to load. I'm struggling at this point, in making these work. I'd love this game to just be fun and not a struggle. That's kind of the point of it for me. Thanks.

Hi Lam!! I saw you were part of the team that went and found the container. I wish I could have been there. Very cool!!! I think they should reinstate the cache, although I doubt they will. The thing is that GS Wants to encourage geocaching, as they should. People really like a destination. People would travel from all over the world to find this if it were reinstated. People would get EXCITED about going to find it. This would be a good thing to keep the game alive and fresh. People like geocaching destinations. Otherwise they stay at home and do LPC's. Having geocaching destinations encourages geocaching and renews excitement in the game. This is a good thing. There aren't many destinations this big and this popular. Why not let people have that?

I skimmed through most of this thread and found a lot of discussion but little on topic. This is not a discussion of the Pokemon game. The question was about geocaching. I think it's a legitimate question. Geocaching is a game we all love, but it's also a franchise of sorts. The website that puts all this together for us is a business. Most of us don't like to think of that end of it, but it's there and important. We need the business and website to thrive and continue for our game to continue. I personally believe every business needs to keep an updated current business model to continue to thrive and compete in today's world. We may not need a whole lot more players, but geocaching.com does need revenue from premium accounts to continue to provide us with this fantastic service. It's a valid question on how to take things from this other game to keep our game alive and fresh. How could this be improved to ensure it's survival in what has now become a competitive market of location based games? In addition to keeping this game thriving, it's good to see how we can enhance our enjoyment of this game. What fun could be added? So the question was whether there are things we can learn from that game that can enhance our game. I think it's a question worth exploring. * I think the idea of different levels is a good one. That would also get me to keep playing. *I like the idea of souvenirs for things, although that's being used already. I like the souvenirs. ****I like the idea of destination caches. This is a really big one for me. I was able to find one of the ape caches and then see how people still flock to what USED TO BE an ape cache. People WANT destinations in geocaching. I think that's probably how the challenge caches evolved. People WANT something to shoot for. Rather than just find random caches, they wanted goals to attain. So new things in geocaching might run with that. How could GS create higher interest? Destination caches are something people have been wanting for years but essentially don't get. Heck, they've been traveling to Brazil now to get the last Ape cache. If that doesn't show they want destination caches, I don't know what does. Besides these things the OP mentioned, I can't add more to this discussion since I've never played the Pokemon game. I do believe we've got to take lessons for life from everywhere though. Rather than blasting it for it's short-comings, maybe learn from it, take from it anything we want, and keep on cachin'.

Thanks so much for the update JEster!!! Sounds like a fantastic trip!!! So glad you guys got to go out and do that. That sounds really amazing. Happy 40th Anniversary!!! Keep us up-to-date! Sol

I've just moved to California from WAshington State. I don't have people to cache with yet, so am looking. I happened to notice that REI had offered a geocaching kayaking outing this coming Sunday. It's to go geocaching on some islands around Redwood City. The class has been canceled at this point, but they say if 6 or 7 people want to go they can get it going again. The best caching I've ever done is the island caching I've done in Washington State. If anyone wants to join in on this let me know and we can get it going. If we can't make it happen for this Sunday then we can get them to do it another day. They say the guy who is in charge of it is very passionate about geocaching so would make it happen another day. Let me know. Thanks

I wonder about location based challenges. Personally, I am very much not fond of statistic based challenges. To me the best challenges are location based, which is what the game was originally intended for anyway. So for instance, the best challenge I've ever found by far is Lamoracke's Washington State Island Hopping Challenge, in which you find caches on something like 25 islands in Washington State. I'd love to do a challenge like that for California. I went to some of the most amazing places because of that challenge. To me that's the sign of a good challenge. Have I ever said, "I went to the most amazing places to find all those caches beginning with letters of the alphabet" or "went to the most amazing places in my head as I sat at my desk and went through statistics to see if I qualified for that cache" No. It just doesn't happen. Some people like them, I know, and that's fine. But what about those of us that like the location based ones too? Can those be covered here? I think those are the best. Are still going to be able to have them?

Um, at least 3 of the 8 caches had no log from him on them and all (including the one with the calling card) the caches he did are in the same area / park. Its very likely the same person discovered them. I remember being the first person to find like 10 caches in a row gone on the way to GCD. Was not a fun walk but I felt I needed to make sure they were all gone, one by one and then I posted a DNF/note on each one, I guess I was the culprit by that logic. Am not saying this person is not the person but there is not evidence here to say, yeah, he did it. I helped replace the Ape cache replacement one time when it was stolen, and at the same time we replaced a ammo can so big it would fit a small child in it. There was a group of 4 of us who carried these HUGE ammo cans up this long forest trail up a hill. We rigged a way to carry single-file up this trail and kept switching off and taking turns. It actually really was a lot of fun. At the time I clearly and loudly posted how much fun we had replacing those caches. They only win if they rile us up. It really was a good time. I'll help replace a cache if you need help. It was bonding and adventurous, and just a lot of fun.

There is some real wisdom in this. When I was showing up in the "Off topic" forums daily, we had a thread, I forget what it was called, but it was for trolls, people who were trolling the regular forums trying to rile people up. All of a sudden, someone showed up and started posting photos. Really bad photos. I won't describe him (and please don't) because that still feeds him, and we started reporting it in that thread. Things went on and it got worse and worse with these photos showing up all over and Groundspeak personnel manning the forums 24/7 to erase them as fast as they could. These were far from family friendly. SO one day a wise old dog said that perhaps this guy was feeding off of our thread that was talking about him and he wanted to close that thread, but wanted to ask us first. I was immediately against it, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense, so I voted it be closed. In the end it was unanimous and the thread was closed. The guy disappeared. A similar sort of thing is happening in our nation with crime. We've been getting shooters lately (a number of them) who have said, "tomorrow everyone will know my name" and then they commit a mass killing. They say small children do bad things for attention because ANY attention is better than none. So people desperate for attention go out and do bad things to get it. Destroying caches is along the same lines I think, especially because it's being posted on instagram. They are trying for fame and trying to rile people up. As long as they are getting attention and getting people to react they will keep on doing it. I agree with any legal action that can be taken, and other than that, outrage only feeds them and makes them do it more. If you compare it in terms of people committing mass murder for attention, then destroying caches gets seen in a new light where perhaps a few people can follow up on legal action, and the rest can quietly change their caches to Premium Member caches and change the coordinates just enough so the same ones can't be found. These are just caches and can be replaced. We don't have to let these guys get to us. It's a thought.

Welcome to geocaching! As far as equipment, a GPS is really a good idea to get accurate coordinates for your cache. If you don't have one you can find another geocacher at a local event (check the search page to find local events) who will be happy to help you get accurate coordinates. They can also show you how to do way point averaging with a GPS to get very accurate coordinates. As long as you're in a populated area, you should be able to find some cachers to help. As far as keeping an eye on it, when someone logs it you will get an email saying it was logged. Keep an eye on the logs and cachers often let you know if there are problems, such as a full log sheet. If people start not being able to find it then you'll need to check it to make sure it's still there. In general though, it's a good idea to at least check it every few months or every six months depending on how often it's found. If it's in a more remote area you can probably be okay with checking on it every spring. Usually spring is a good time because winter weather can often damage caches. In the spring we check to make sure the boxes aren't cracked and they're still dry. For the very best way to learn more about hiding good caches that just can't be learned another way, is to find a lot of caches. A lot of people think once you find 100 you've got a some idea of what makes a good hide. It's good to find some good hides and some not so good hides to be able to know the difference, and create a valued cache. An example of good hides are those that have good containers, waterproof log sheets and are hidden in places of interest. An example of something that people feel is a bad hide is one that goes against the caching guidelines. Some people feel caches hidden in rock walls aren't the best hides either, for instance. Look for some caches with favorite points to get some ideas for hiding. One more thought: One of my caches is one that brings smiles to a lot of peoples faces. I've received many cache logs that say that. After I placed that one I thought my other caches just weren't half as fun as reading logs of bringing smiles to the world. I hope to make more caches that make people smile soon.

I had a lot of fun with them! Some had educational pages, some had easter eggs, some of the puzzles were nutty and some were genuine. Between my son and myself, we recognized (and explained to each other) the references to SF films, television, books, characters, and so on. The pages were nicely done, and many had us laughing out loud. Most of the logs referenced April Fools, but many tried (until resorting to cut & paste) to create interesting logs. I logged a NM on a cache set on a desert planet,saying that I didn't know how the log book got soaked, OK, so mine was far from the most clever log - I liked the one guy who "lost half my crew, but got the cache." People dropped TBs and coins - on other planets. (They never be stolen!) I'm amazed that anyone here would think that cachers logging these were being scammed - did we really believe that there were caches hidden on the Moon? Mars? Fictitious planets? In black holes? Caches that could only be found with the help of a time machine? "So Groundspeak are tacitly condoning armchair logging"? "Fake logs"? "Violate all sorts of caching regulations"? Really, people? All the whining about a game no one forced you to play... It may have been the world's largest multi-national participation in an April Fools joke. But apparently some people have never grown a sense of humor. Tsk. You mean, were you just reminded that there are no prizes being handed out? Shucks. You may need to re-read the quote you have in your signature: "If you're not having fun playing this game, you're doing it wrong." - Clan Riffster I meant the entire game, not the April fools joke. When people really start getting into this it's not something they want shoved in their face. Like showing an avid baseball fan that the ball players are really running in circles for nothing except to fill their own pockets. Let them live with thinking it means something and it's a much more fun game. I think the caches were well done and creative. When I told a friend that I loved the idea but would have appreciated it more had it of ended on the 2nd. I told him a prank when taken too far goes from fun to annoying. As a reply he rickrolled me.

I didnt think about that. I just had a look and they are still there. Will look again later to see if they are gone. Deleting the log will not delete the souvenir. That takes a HQ lackey intervention. A better option might be to leave the logs as they stand, then when (I assume) GS go round and "tidy up" the logs they might (they certainly could) tidy up all the souvenir awards in the same run. Oh, it was quite funny. But can/will GS clean up the mess it made? Hope they have a plan to remove the souvenirs. But, from what I've seen of its programming, I have my doubts. They removed all the Germany souvenirs when they deleted the logs for the armchair cache "Four Corners".

I like the name of "bookkeeping caches". That fits them well. I hate bookkeeping challenges. Well maybe "hate" is too strong. Maybe it's close. I like caching because it gets me outdoors and gets me to hike farther and see things I've never seen. I don't even like the part of caching where I have to sit at the computer to create pocket queries (although I love those compared to loading my GPS any other way). I want to get out and cache, I don't want to sit for hours counting how many cache titles I can find that start with the letter "L" or any other such silly (dumb) thing. I love challenges that get me outside. I still say probably the best cache I've ever done was the challenge where I had to find caches on something like 25 islands in Washington STate. I went to the most amazing places because of that cache. There were MANY places I went because of that challenge that I would have not otherwise gone to. Islands are now my favorite place to cache. I have so many great memories because of that challenge. THANK YOU LAMORACKE!!! I really enjoyed that. That was amazing.

Assuming you've covered all of the "placing it" questions, I will answer your question. As War Ninjas pointed out, Marine Grade Velcro can be really strong. Just be careful that the velcro doesn't hold so tightly that the adhesive will be ripped off when someone removes the cache. I've seen velcro that strong. In many areas where there are outdoors activities there are also stores that carry supplies to make your own outdoor gear. Besides a number of really great things in there, you can find different grades of velcro in many of these stores. Some of these stores mail order, but if you can find one near you you can walk in and test how strong it is. Many of those stores carry it on rolls rather than in packages so you can check it out. I didn't check where you are, but Seattle Fabrics mail orders great stuff to you. West Marine carries marine grade velcro I'm sure, although I don't know if it's in packages or not, so I don't know whether you can test it out in the store. There are actually many grades of velcro. You can also find a few of them in large fabric stores too. I even found a good selection in a walmart that had a fabric area. Have fun. Good luck.

This is kind of an interesting thing. On one hand, yes this is just a game. Perhaps some of us need to take it more lightly. On the other hand, these caches violate all sorts of caching regulations listed on this website. That's an interesting turn. It's also kind of weird because normally people work so hard for those souvenirs and the darkened in map saying that you've found a cache in that place. But now you can get that with a stroke of a keyboard. It does seem to make all the rest a bit less legitimate. How do we know what is fake and what is really earned? Does any of this really matter? Is it just pointing out that this is really all for nothing after all?

Please click on that link at the bottom of my opening post and send an email. They have a pre-written and pre-addressed email ready so all it takes is to sign your name. I added in a lot to my email. I also clicked the links to put it on facebook. I told my friends that even if they had never been there to please help so they could go there some day. Pass this on. thanks

And a huge extensive system of geocaches too (just for those needing a reason for it to be in these forums). That is some great caching in that area. While not always a fan of power trails, I do love them in the woods.

http://craigromano.com/blog/2016/01/31/the-oyster-dome-to-be-clear-cut/ Anyone who has been to this area knows the pristine beauty, beautiful forest and streams, overlooking the San Juan Islands, one of the most beautiful places. From the article: One of Puget Sound’s most popular hiking spots may soon succumb to clear cut logging. The Oyster Dome, the Pearl of the Chuckanut Mountains—the only place in the Cascades where the mountains meet the Salish Sea—is being considered for a large logging operation. A large segment of trails including a portion of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail may be seriously altered. This would be a shame for the hiking community and a slap in the face for the consortium of conservationists that worked hard a decade ago so this wouldn’t happen. - See more at: http://craigromano.com/blog/2016/01/31/the-oyster-dome-to-be-clear-cut/#sthash.W1A2eIYl.dpuf If you want to help preserve this land for generations to come, then go to this link. http://org.salsalabs.com/o/1201/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18965 thank you.

I'm not sure if this question got answered or not. Just in case it didn't: I wouldn't reach out to the cacher. What would you say? "Your caches are junk, would you clean them up"? No, of course not. That would not be very nice. Best to stick with the standard procedures of putting a "needs maintenance" on it if the container is in bad shape, and then put a "watch" on it. If it's in REALLY bad shape, and there is no response for a while (I usually give them at least a couple of months) then you can post a "needs archived." I wouldn't use that last one lightly though. You don't want to be stepping on cachers toes if there's really not much wrong with their cache. If the cache is in good shape, no matter how crappy the container, then let it be. It's not for us to judge others containers. Maybe someone is nuts about finding peanut butter jar caches. You just never know. Even if the cacher is deceased, if nothing is wrong with the cache, let people find it. I know of a couple of instances where the cacher was no longer around and their caches lived on for a while. There was one in particular where people maintained one of their caches as a tribute to that cacher. It wasn't a special cache, people just wanted a way to memorialize the cacher. I think that went on for 6 months or a year before it got archived. Community maintenance isn't usually the best idea, although in some circumstances it can work. As long as the maintenance is only replacing a full log, checking on cache that got a few DNF's or something like that. I'm NOT talking about container replacement. That's not a good idea.