Northwoods Tom

I'm always amazed at how an individual can often come back a few pounds heavier (with trash) then when they entered the woods. I'm not talking about a woodlot next to a subdivision, I'm talking about the National Forest! I'm also amazed at what strange items you will find in the middle of nowhere. In case you are wondering, how about a light bulb in the middle of the woods, far from anyones home...(But then this is a subject for another post.)

I'm glad to find out this is an issue with other people and not just me. I had noticed this several days ago and thought I had changed something in the settings without knowing, and then the issue was gone the next day. But then it reappears again today. Very annoying.

A reason for me to head west! That looks great. I only have 4 hides, and 3 of my most recent hides only have one find. My first hide has one favorite, but has only been found by 10 people. I'm hopeful for my three recent hides. Time will tell.

The caches I've placed, are close to the vicinity (50 to 300 feet depending on which cache you search for) of "old forgotten forest trails" and in the vicinity of new established ones which lead to these forgotten trails. Part of the experience is for the cacher to discover the maps and use the resources available on line (see the first in my series No Name Lake, GC2CRZ1 where I listed links). As far as bushwacking, I love and use the track back feature on my GPS!

I have 2 caches that are fairly good hikes in My "No Name Lake" series. The first, No Name Lake, GC2CRZ1 is 1.4 to 3.5 miles depending how you approach it. When I walk it, it can take up to an hour or more depending if you take time to enjoy the scenery. No Name Lake #3, GC2FPV3 can be much longer, there are many different routes you can choose from and many different ways you might choose as a mode of transportation. Walking takes almost 2 hours (But I know where I'm going...). I enjoy those off the "beaten path" caches and have scored quite a few in the area of my cottage in Northern Wisconsin. "If it involves getting lost in the wilderness, I probably like it".

Living in Wisconsin (on an Island no less), I cache regardless of weather including snow. When I travel to the mainland, I have loaded caches in my GPS that look like I would enjoy them. When I get to the area, if it looks like it's findable (snowdrifts can be a pain to trudge through), I'll give it a shot. I often check the logs also, to see if people have found it in the winter in the past. The rest of the winter as stated earlier, is a great time to attempt to solve those puzzle caches that can often be challenging. Come spring, you have (hopefully) a stash of puzzle caches you can go find. Local caches on my Island of residence, I save for around New Years as a special treat!

I'll agree that there are cachers out there that "don't replace as found" but they aren't all human... There's one cache I regularly monitor online that is constantly being moved by local bears. Maybe your messing with a raccoon's summer home.

I have been caching for a little over a a year now and I use the Map 60CSX. Have been very happy with the way it locks in to the signal and holds on to it. My wife has the eTrex and my GPS really outperforms hers. I spend a great deal of time in the northern forests of Wisconsin and have been very happy with its performance. I'm also able to download into the unit a variety of maps. If your one who likes to get off the beaten path, you may have found the right unit.

The unit you mentioned is about $100 dollars cheaper than the site I mentioned in the other post.

Not the easiest site to navigate. They don't list either of my units so I can't really compare.

Duplicate post

I really enjoy this type of cache. The first time you find one at least for me, just cracks you up. Search, search, search, and there it is the whole time. Have found at least four and each one has been great. One way out in a forest really had me laughing. Another time, one was used as a dummy cache with the real cache right next to it.

Ask 5 different people and you very well could get 5 different replies. We all have brands, features, models, etc. that we love. One feature I really like even though I only use it part of the time is a "track back" feature. Comes in handy when your wondering the woods. Lays a course that you can follow back to your starting point. I have some topo maps loaded in my GPS, but when I explore an area where I don't have them in the unit, I use a regular topographic map. Cost? Check online. GPSCity is just one of many great sites and when I bought mine and then my wife's, nobody else could touch their prices. And no, I do not get a kick back. Just a smart shopper. (Yet if other people know of other good sites, I'll be watching!)

Excellent point to include.

Check out this cache in Wisconsin-GCR9OP. Having dogs as pets my whole life this one was special. There was even a memorial sign at the park dedicated to this pet.

Not an expert, but I believe its the elevation of the ground at that spot. Construction site-elevation of various points at the site. Why not just place the GPS unit on the ground while entering the information? Airports, especially rural, are good areas to check elevation. Very often they even have it posted somewhere.

Who cares and why should we? There is no category for finding your own caches, they may be making sure every feature works on their cache site, it might be a family member (as stated) other than the cache placer, there could be lots of possible, lame or other reasons. As I tell my students, concentrate on your own work and quit worrying about everyone else. But we all know that's not good enough, so if it's still bugging you, e-mail the individual and ask them...

In your cache page that you created, make sure you click the box for the reviewer to look at it (review). You will receive an e-mail stating that the cache is under review. Good luck.

Placement of a cache in a National Forest is accepted in Northern Wisconsin. I thought I would need to get permission, but after talking to the areas local NF manager she put it this way: "We consider them as an item left by an individual, it's not a smart use of taxpayers dollars to go thru all the permitting process and just ask that you maintain them, respect the environment and we ignore them". There are quite a few up north and they are my favorites to search for. They bring you to some spectacular areas.

You'll have to decide if this qualifies as a "scary ghost story". It’s true, and it happened to me about a year ago while geocaching... While caching in Northern Wisconsin trying to locate a new cache about a half mile off the main road along a deserted forest road, I had an experience that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. On arriving at this cache, I tried an attempt to drive down the long ago abandoned forest road and after only a couple hundred feet, the road closed down to next to nothing. Realizing I would have to walk the rest of the way, I stopped my truck, locked the door and started the remaining walk into the site. The road became narrower and denser with vegetation as I got further and further from my vehicle. About 200 feet from the site, I had a strong feeling that I wasn’t alone in the woods. You know, that feeling you get when something might be watching you… Being an older guy, and having many years of experience in the woods, I shrugged it off and continued to a clearing close to the site feeling more relief with the ability to see off in the distance a bit further. Getting to ground zero and the cache site, I sat down on a log after finding the cache to enjoy what I thought might be a first to find (even though it wasn’t) and planned to look though all the items in the container and enjoy the moment of discovery. That’s when it happened! Off in the woods not more then 100 feet, came a screech like growl from two separate creatures as best as I can describe it. My eyes immediately shot towards the direction of the sounds in an attempt to identify the source. I was so struck by the sounds that I immediately hollered, “Hey who’s over there” in an attempt to let whatever it was know that I was here and hopefully identify the source. For about a half a minute as I was quickly placing everything back there was no response, then once again, the sound, but only closer. I got up and quickly walked back to the path and started my exit to the vehicle while using my walking stick to smack occasional tree branches in an attempt to let whatever it was, know that I was leaving and not to bother following me. On multiple occasions, I turned full circles to check my back trail to make sure there was nothing behind me. During the entire walk back, I once again had the feeling of being watched but more intense this time. On arrival to my vehicle, I quickly fumbled to unlock and jump inside. I started my backwards exit down the narrow trail and in the process knocked off my passenger side mirror yet continued till I was out to the road. It took me several minutes to muster up the courage to walk back down the road to retrieve my mirror. What it was and what I heard I have no idea; I’ve spent countless hours in the deep woods and have never heard angry sounds like this coming from anything. This was an experience that I will always think about the next time I travel into the forest alone. (Sure I embellished it a bit… But it’s mostly true. And I still haven’t gone back…)

I didn't even have the stamina to read all the posts.... Plus I drink to much coffee and need to stop now and then...

I find lots of possible explanations. Just a few I try to remember. 1. CO GPS might be of a lower quality (sensitivity) then yours or visa versa (I have a student that uses his auto GPS to find caches and succeeds with work). 2. GPS by either individual is out of calibration (I fell once while caching and it knocked my memory chip loose. It took awhile to figure out what I was doing wrong). 3. Metal structure and/or other items may make your GPS read less accurate (My GPS was jumping all over the place once when I was at the base of some kind of transmission tower). 4. CO took reading at site (maybe only one) instead of average of multiple readings. Experienced cachers appear to get better with practice on both sides (I'm still waiting on myself...).

Poorly thought out caches. To often it seems as though the owner placed one there just to place a cache. If we all put effort into the process of why it is here ( a little story, history, the "why"), I know I personally would search for more of those nondescript hides. Even if it is just to stretch your legs, let us know.

Being a physical education teacher, I have introduced my students to Geocaching in the P.E. class by creating temporary caches on the school grounds and at a local community forest, using film canisters and small containers. These are unpublished temporary caches which are left in place just for the class. After they learn the process and etiquette of the sport, they have the option to move on to "published" caches and create their own account. I believe this eliminates some of the "improper" activity that might occur (theft of a cache, hiding in the improper location on return, etc.). I have also personally found several caches hidden by Scout Groups. You might ask some of the other Troops in the area and get an idea of what is already placed by them out there.

I opened it with my Mac Power Book using Safari. Took awhile but it works (about 5 minutes from the site). Here's a bit of information that may help that I cut and pasted from a quick web search. Tagged Image File Format (abbreviated TIFF) is a file format for storing images, popular among Apple Macintosh owners, graphic artists, the publishing industry, and both amateur and professional photographers in general. As of 2009, it is under the control of Adobe Systems. Originally created by the company Aldus for use with what was then called "desktop publishing", the TIFF format is widely supported by image-manipulation applications, by publishing and page layout applications, by scanning, faxing, word processing, optical character recognition and other applications. Adobe Systems, which acquired Aldus, now holds the copyright to the TIFF specification. I always assume wrongly that a person is using a Mac, so here's some P.C. help. http://www.byui.edu/help/outlookhelp/mailing/tif.htm