David&Anna

I'm new to geocaching but I think it would be a great idea. I have questions that would best be directed to local people (WVDNR policies re caching in parks, forests, WMAs, etc... which land companies allow/disallow....).

Thank you.

I just began geocaching and plan to hunt with my daughter frequently. I have a question about the 1-5 scales. We did two hunts the first day and even though they were similarly rated there was no similarity in the difficulty. One required only a short hike (less 1/4 mile from nearest possible parking) but was approximately 300 feet "off-trail" down a very steep and slippery wooded hill which proved to be quite an adventure with a small child in tow (and which also made signal reception intermittent); the cache itself was also extremely well concealed and required a long and thorough search once we managed to reach the destination area. The other required a longer but still short hike (approximately 0.6 miles one way) on perfectly flat terrain and the cache was only about 40 feet off trail and very easy to find. My question is: Are there any "objective" criteria for these ratings and if so where are they found? After we returned I read some of the comments posted about these caches and noticed that several people had remarked about the difficulty of the one cache but short of reading all the feedback is there an easier way to assess the effort required and whether a particular cache is suitable for children?

I'm new to geocaching too but I have had a Leatherman for years and always take it when fishing/biking/hiking/backpacking/camping, etc. I also always carry a standard Swiss Army knife (and when fishing a mini Swiss Army knife with just a tiny blade and scissors is a must for cutting line and when biking a high quality bike tool is an absolute must). I also take a sheath knife if I'm doing anything where there is any chance of needing it. As you can tell I'd rather be safe than sorry and the extra weight in neglible. Have used the Leatherman mostly for working on equipment (everything from reels to stoves to bikes). It is also perfect for freeing snagged flies/lures from branches It can be used as a makeshift vise in a pinch; the saw is very handy especially if you need a certain length of stick for a stake or just to cook something over the fire. It works better as a screw driver because it allows for a lot more leverage than a SA knife. It's also handy for lifting hot pots or pans from a campfire. I rarely use it as a knife but for everything else it is great.