c@cache

I love xkcd! Before I started Geocaching, I read that comic and was extremely interested in the whole idea. I have never GeoHashed, but I thought about it. Actually, while doing some research on it I came upon Geocaching, remembered that I had heard something about it, looked into it, found out my mom was writing an educational software program for Geocaching, and the rest is history. So, GeoHashing led me to Geocaching. And "Hashing" means something very different in my area. When I read the forum title, my first thought was "Whaaat? Isn't that illegal? " Of course, then I remembered the fabulous xkcd comic...

No no no no no Coins are someone's personal property, just like TBs. They are meant to travel, not to be kept (unless the person who placed the coin in the cache attached a note of some kind saying it is a trade item or to be kept by the finder). Thank you very much for clearing that up. I'm not sure how I got that impression, but now I know!

I'm pretty new to geocaching as well, but I know that part of the fun for Travel Bugs is the distance travelled and the interesting places they go! Of course, always follow the goal of the TB by checking out its page. If it has one and you are unable to help it very far toward its goal, try to move it as close as you can (whether it be one mile or fifty). If it doesn't have a goal, then drop it off while you travel! Just be sure not to hold onto it too long. However, I'm not too sure about Geocoins, as I have not come across many. As far as I can tell, the same etiquette applies to Geocoins as it does to Travel Bugs. If it has a goal, help it along. If it doesn't, just move it along. There also appears to be the option of keeping the Geocoin if it has no goal, but I'm not sure how that works (and I wouldn't feel comfortable keeping one anyway...). I have never heard that TBs should only travel short distances. What thread did you read that on? And does anybody have any information on that (whether it's true, or applies only in certain situations, etc...)?

Hehe, nice! I have had just one run-in with the police, thank goodness. I was with some friends, and what better way to spend the night than grabbing a few park and grabs? However, just as we are approaching GZ we get stopped by the police. Granted, a group of teenagers definately looks suspicious wandering around at 11pm, so I completely understood his concern. After explaining geocaching to him and showing him my GPSr, I told him we'd be on our way, since he obviously didn't want us there. He didn't understand geocaching at all, and asked me whether I had any drugs on me, any alcohol on me, or any spray paint on me. After assuring him that I wasn't hiding anything illegal, we got out of there as fast as we could. Police officers always make me a little nervous (probably because I'm a teenager), and being questioned by one certainly shook me up a little. I have concluded that when I go geocaching (at least in my teens) I should probably bring my mom, or at least my dogs.

I agree with mrbort on this one. Put it an interesting spot with a nice view and few muggles, and I will happily search through it. I probably would spend the same amount of time checking out the view and exploring that I would searching for the log anyway, so it wouldn't be a big loss of time for me.

My mom and I would love to go, depending on which day it's on. Sounds like lots of fun, and I would be up for the hike

These are so cool! I love 'em.

Never thought of that. Nevermind on that particular idea, haha. Maybe dress as pirates? Or ninjas. Or fairy princesses.

I thought there was a rule, somewhere, about leaving any kind of ammo in a cache...I'll go search for it, but I make no promises. Otherwise, I personally see no problem with inert cartridges (as a kid I would collect them after Memorial Day parades), especially as an educational tool. I would suggest keeping the same tone you did for the coins, since it is neither condescending nor too adult. Most adults will not mind if the wording is a little bit "dumbed down" since they will realize that it is for kids. Short, sweet and to the point is how you wrote the first note, and that's how you should write the second. (Also, I had no idea that they weren't called pennies! Thanks for the fun fact!)

So we have the maggots picture of him/her stealing or messing with the cache....but how will we figure out who they are? Sure, we could put it up on the web, but there's no guarantee that they will see it, or be embarassed enough not to do it again. I propose setting up an extremely tempting cache, with extremely tempting FTF prizes in his general area. Then, you gather all the local FTF hounds and encourage them to take part in your evil plot so that they won't go to find it first. Buy animal costumes from a halloween store (lions, tigers, bears, oh my!) and hide in the woods. Your maggot will be tempted by the awesome FTF prize (which is, in this case, a $500 gift card for Chili's...) and chance to ruin an awesome cache, and when he approaches the cache...BAM! Out pops a mob of wild animals mad at the maggot! You chase him out of the woods, then grab the gift card and have a great time reminiscing about the whole event at 4am at Chili's. This after-cache-party could even be considered an event! So, if you think about it, you all earn a smiley for finding the cache, a smiley for the event, and a great feeling for scaring the poop out of the maggot. The only problem I can see with this fool-proof plan is that the maggot is a hunter, or that the FTF hounds dressed up in animal costumes will have an all-out brawl over who gets the cache first...

My nickname is Cat (although I hate cats...), and cache I think is pretty obvious.

Personally, I would not be offended by a swastika on this cache because I would know the theme of the cache, choose to participate, know what WWII was all about and that, yes, there were swastikas used in Nazi Germany. I think having the cache hidden inside another container is a wonderful idea, as the OP originally proposed. However, that being said, I would shy away from using a symbol that invokes such reaction amongst people (as shown in this thread!). Perhaps using a different symbol that invokes less of a reaction would be more appropriate, such as the eagle or the iron cross. Of course, you can always choose to not decorate the cache with any symbols, which may be your best bet. We know that symbols are not inherently themselves evil, but it is often hard to untangle the symbol from the ideology. (And although I would absolutely love the delve into that issue further, I want to get back to the OP's question.) Although the puzzle is very obviously a WWII cache, and the cacher (hopefully) knows the events of WWII, it may not be entirely wise to put a swastika on the cache, even though it fits with the theme. Try a different, less provocative symbol. And yes, I would like to see the local reviewer involved. (By the way, this sounds like a very cool cache idea! Very detailed and thought out, and I would love to do it, no matter what is decorated on the cache.)

So far, just the usual falling down hills and almost stepping on snakes. Although my dog once almost got her leg caught in a hidden hole, and that really got my heart racing. Just as quick as she had fallen she got herself up, but there is nothing worse than seeing your doggie fall to the ground.

17, checkin' in. I'm glad there's a larger group of us youngsters than I originally thought. And hey, kids under 12 don't count?

I have small buttons that say "Have coordinates, will travel for cache" on them Cute, and they fit almost everywhere.

My dogs are almost always with me, so I just pretend to be playing with them or cleaning up after them. In the rare cases that my dogs aren't with me, I usually take out my camera and pretend to be a fancy photographer. If I didn't bother to have a cover, I suspect I would get a lot of questions. Teenagers are generally viewed as being up to no good (and that's probably a fairly correct assumption), especially when poking around in trees and under rocks and mumbling to themselves about those darned muggles....

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