kunarion

I've begun sending my new Travelers with much less packaging. My newest coin was placed with nothing but the coin (the others each had a plastic sleeve w/info). The idea is that the new coin will remain free, no baggie, no printout, just the trackable Geocoin by itself. If a Travel Bug is disintegrating, it may need to be bagged. And if that cheesy ball-chain is broken, the tag will become separated from the hitchhiker real soon. If it's all gathered into a bag, it will degrade again as it goes from cache to cache -- the parts will get separated anyway. TB owners should place their TB with a thick, waterproof card, if they want the info to travel with it. It should all be secured together, made as rugged as possible. And if there's an issue in the wild, contact the Bug Owner, to see if they'd like to fix it. One of my Travel Bugs broke free immediately after I placed it (mysteriously), and it's just the tag alone now -- I've specified that on the TB's page.

That wipes out my theory for the solution. From the cache description, I was guessing I'd have to visit the other caches first, then possibly scour almanacs for numeric data that fits the story. You could mention on the page that cachers can solve the puzzle first, then visit the 2 other caches for the last important bits of data. I would have put it on hold until I had first been to the other two, based on my premise. I can't decide where (or what) the puzzle is. Baseball players often have no set coordinate designations, so I'm left with parsing the rest of the cache page for the solution. As an ordinary cacher who often can't figure out really well-done unique 4-star cache puzzles (and even less-than-Mensa puzzles), I can say I'll never begin to figure it out (and I tried a couple of ideas). Looks to me that the difficulty rating is fine.

It's OK to take or trade any "swag" item in a cache, and even keep it, if it is not a trackable item. So you may place it wherever you wish, or collect it.

Is it a metal coin? a Geocoin will have text something like "trackable at geocaching.com" or "track at Groundspeak.com". It will also have an engraved tracking number. Some coins have this number around the outside edge of the coin. The phrase "log chip and signature item" could mean it's a "signature item", and not a trackable. I'm just guessing, but it's possible that it's a "signature item" token that somebody places when they visit a cache for the purpose of moving a Travel Bug. One web site says that the Geocacher "travelingviking" is known as "The Travel Bug Mover". I would usually try to verify things, and provide some links for you, but Geocaching.com is running incredibly slow today, and it's like torture to use. Is it like this? It is safe to move it into any Geocache, although if it is a trackable, it should be logged on those caches.

I'm impressed that you'd start out Geocaching by picking a challenge . It is likely a simple substitution cypher as mentioned, but there may be some curveballs, so try some more ideas, when you think of them. Most Cache Owners will offer a hint or the answer if you ask them (it's best to first contact them). Here are some tips: Look at the star rating for a cache. If both Difficulty and Terrain are less than 2, try that first. Pick a Traditional Cache (green icon), Small or larger size (save Micros for later). Check the description to see if it's something that seems likely to find. Look for an encrypted additional hint, there may be useful info there (for more of a challenge, bring it along encrypted and use it only if necessary). Read a couple of recent logs, so you know others are finding it. You may even look at the terrain view on the map, to see where the cache icon is in relation to walls, fences, and other landmarks. Use Off-Road, Pedestrian Mode, and beware of map modes that stick to street routing (you need it to be able to direct you off mapped roads). When it says you're closer than 30 feet from the cache, it's time to look less at the GPSr, and look around for hiding spots. It should place you at the same spot you saw on the terrain view map (which is a good reason to check those maps in advance of the hunt, even if you don't print them). When I started Geocaching, if the cache description was very specific, that's one I'd try I'd basically know exactly where I was going to look when I arrived. You might try a similar system at first.

You could make them "Unknown" caches (puzzles). People would read signs along the way, or the cache descriptions could have interesting info about the sights in the area. They'd do a little simple math to find the coords. To avoid scorched earth, have a hint so they know what to do when they arrive at a cache location (look among the four trees). It can be camouflaged to match the spot, but ideal if hidden where most people wouldn't think to look, where cachers will notice how it stands out. And simple to put back, hidden again.

I often don't take anything out of a cache. But if I do, it ends up in another. I've set up a couple of "regular-size" caches recently, so now any leftovers may go into them. If you find a container rather low on Swag, you could ask the kids to place a couple of those extra items into it.

If you regularly finish a tin of Altoids, swap the cache container out with a fresh tin. You could completely coat it with a rust protective paint, so it takes a little longer to rust. It's not at all waterproof, but the container might be somewhat good protection for a ziplock bag.

You should pick a good spot, and send the coords (or a link to that cache page) to the local reviewer. It seems fine to me, but don't be upset if they say “no”. If there's already a Chirp cache nearby, that one may be a secret, too. I have a Chirp hidden in a park, just to test it (weather resistance, reception range, battery life, ease of battery change vs. ease of someone swiping the Chirp, things like that). Many people won't bother hunting such a cache, and some of the ones who do, won't get the data transmission, for various reasons. But it still may be fun to try.

Looks like the person that grabbed your bug didn't log the cache find, yet logged picking up your bug from it. Then they mentioned an intention of bringing the TB to a Georgia state park. So if that find wasn't logged either, your Travel Bug may be inside a container waiting to be discovered. Good luck!

^ This. If you're not quite sure a particular TB is lost (or if it might have hidden real well among lots of stuff in the container), a note of "Didn't see [TB Name] in the container" is a helpful thing to do.

So the article insists the National Park can't allow the riff-raff which are "Geocachers" who would destroy the park, but if the park officially places its own containers, it's all perfect. Sounds like a plan.

My GPS (Garmin Oregon 550) has an OK built-in camera, but I lug a DSLR, too, unless I think it may get damaged or know I won't take any pictures on the trip.

So are they often kept and treasured by the people who use those bottles? Asking in all seriousness*, just verifying they're generally considered benign and safe to play with. I honestly don't know. Even a teeny little dab of antibiotic might be really bad for some people to unknowingly handle. But that cap goes over the rubber hypodermic seal of the vial, I'd suppose, so no fluid should contact the caps. *serious, but maybe more like "incredulous". Or something.

To be fair, I admit I've found worse. So do we still get to pretend they're from dollar store checkers sets? I was gonna attempt some denial, and see how that pans out.

Like from these? I would completely avoid handling someone else's unknown medication containers (or caps which sealed medication containers), but I'm strange like that.

That’s strange. Did he have an official police car or a badge? I’ve been approached by police, but it was a uniformed officer in a patrol car. They sometimes monitor problem areas, and it may be better to be approached by a cop than by whoever they’re watching for. I’ve since always brought some backup paperwork (cache descriptions), just in case.

I certainly empathize with you about caching with an unenthuisiastic sibling. I was on vacation on the Oregon coast, and went to an area of sand dunes, with interesting tidepools and a string of caches. My brother, who requested to come along for the ride (after I had specifically mentioned what I planned to do, no less), impatiently tapped his feet while standing at the car, in a place that has lots of things to keep oneself occupied even if someone's caching. I had to cut a series short because of it. It made for a hurried, uncomfortably weird day. Good thing I had the car keys. As long as you have a Micro container open, why not at least draw a little "CG" initials as suggested? Borrow a pen in advance. It's fun for you to just play with the stuff in the container, but consider that it's not fun for a cache owner who's placed and maintained that fun cache, to find a blank log.

I'd rather have that than a cut & paste wikipedia article to scroll through. When I load cache descriptions onto my GPS, the most useful thing to see is info related to cache finding.

It’s OK, and some Cache Owners would appreciate it, if they can’t maintain it anymore. But without the CO monitoring and checking on it, the hide can go from bad to worse. It’s often recommended to let an orphaned cache be archived if the CO is not active. You can’t even update the page, except for adding a log note for future cachers. Also, you can’t remove a “Needs Maintenance” attribute, if it gets one.

That's the one I got. It's an expensive little thing. Has a sticky rubber foot, and it's easier to move the mount than the suction cup was (to place it out of the sun when I park). It bends to conform to a dashboard, and although I have a velour dash cover, the mount stays in place well. It may depend on the dashboard, as to whether there's a suitable spot you can set it for useful viewing.

This one's made of a pretty flexible plastic (still might get brittle outdoors in extreme temp or just due to aging). I've heard of ammo cans being painted in reflective metallics. I wouldn't want to have to make lots of trips to go wash a mirror , but I thought it was an interesting enough thing to post a picture of.

Can you find the camo 5-gallon bucket cache in this picture? Here it is at a different angle. It's all done with mirrors . It's impractical to have a mirror leaning on a bush like this, but there may be some place the idea could work rather well.

It's got to be more than just detectability and ease of access. Maybe it takes a particular mindset to steal a cache container. So it's just a matter of whether or not said persons discover the location. I placed a container in the middle of a popular picnic area in a park. Left it there for 5 months before activating it, expecting it could never last even the first weekend. Masses of kids are all over that spot. I truly cannot figure out how it has remained unmuggled. I designed it to maybe be too "uninteresting" to mess with, but that's just a small part of the equation.

That example seems kinda dry, but it's a little better than just "TFTC". Leave a log about Swag if it's memorable (a trade for a particular item you love to collect), or if it's useful info to other cachers (as when taking or leaving some signature item). It's entirely optional, but a log about most any trade might be appreciated. You can be as wordy as you like -- practice some creative writing if you wish. Often I'll leave something I think is pretty cool, and when it's never mentioned, I almost assume it was NOT interesting to anybody.