Ron Streeter

. . Bill... Too much math for me! Ron

. . Hey Jim... Just continuing the conversation and not implying that any person in particular is being addressed here.....in your personal case (having found about 100 caches) what determines WHEN you would be ready? This might have some implication for others who have not yet placed a cache. I would think that having found 100, you would have some ideas about what works and what doesn't work. I have been providing some guidance to a Stockton area cacher who has around 100 and who has recently placed some. Part of my advice to him was to employ what he liked about his finds and leave out what he didn't like about his finds when placing his first cache. Another consideration in this discussion might be the area in which one lives. If I read your post correctly (and looking at your profile) you found 100 or so within four miles of where you live. Here in the central valley I don't think we could do that, might be a broader circle. However, in my time caching, I have found caches AS THEY APPEAR (until recently) so I might be wrong about the density here...it is certainly less dense than the "bay area". A newcomer has a TON of caches to look for. When I placed my first cache *Blue Top* it was cache number 644 (I think) in the world. It was not uncommon to drive 60 miles to find ONE cache...compare that to finding 100 in a 4 mile radius. On the other hand, the assessment (I have heard in the past), that "...there are plenty of caches available without me placing any" doesn't wash with me...I believe everyone should contribute to the activity. A comparison once made was that if a person was invited to a Christmas smorgasbord every year for years (or more than one party) and NEVER brought a dish to share, that the person certainly would be viewed in a certain way by all those others who contributed. Just thoughts...no reason for anyone to go ballistic here. Ron

Marky... Certainly my comment that *anyone* should be able to maintain a 1 to 10 ratio (1 hide for every 10 finds) would meet with exceptions. My *intent* was that people who were moderately active cachers...had 100 to 200 finds....wouldn't be out of line to have 10 to 20 *hides* as well. **************** In regard to maintenance. I've found that whether one of my caches is 50 miles from me or 10,000 miles away from me, if I can't get to it, there is almost always a cacher who is willing to either supply a new container or a new log....that being the case, *maintenance* (IMHO) doesn't appear to be a major consideration. We are, after all, talking about small containers (hopefully well hidden) which are sitting occupying no more than a square foot of space and usually much less...impacting the world very little if at all. This speaks to arguments some years ago voiced by Dave Ulmer (geocaching grandfather) who at one point assailed the forums with "You are littering!" diatribes. In some ways he's right of course, but given the *hidden* aspect of this litter, again, it's almost a moot point. Ron

. . Bill.... Not to sound too much like the Grinch, but I have seen cachers with over 100 (even over 200) cache finds who have placed one...or none. Not necessarily around here, but it does happen. When I first started caching I was promoting people to place some so I could find some and to a certain extent, it worked, but people will do what they're going to do (or not do). It's unwise to expect a 1 to 4 ratio (hide one for every four you find), but I think anyone could maintain a 1 to 10 ratio without too much problem. Ron

. . I see there ARE a few new cachers in the area. They've been gathering a fair number of finds, now if they will just place a few too! Ron

. Don't forget HIKING! I was at New Hogan Reservoir for the 2nd time this week. Found the two new ones by Wildlifeguy (earlier in the week) and today made a jaunt with friend and doggie along the Rim trail (didn't see a single sign calling it that) aiming at End Of Rim cache. We went out of East Acorn campground parking lot and got to within .70 miles (crow flying type) and decided not to go on. I'll make it back there with the doggie only and make the whole hike. So many inlets there...we cut across a dried inlet and saved about 1.5 miles, but I could tell the remaining .70 or so was going to be a long haul cross country, so turned around. It was a beautiful sunny day there...that was a good hike. Next time I'll grab the cache. Ron

. Just experimenting

. . Walruz has entirely too much time on his hands! Ron

. . Well, you could always call a plumber to flush out the extra ink. Ron

. . Congrats TeamGUI! I think my 100th cache placement was your first find if I remember correctly. I'll try to plan my 200th cache placement to be your 200th cache find! That will take some coordination, but with about 13 or so placements left for me to reach 200 and about 90+ for you to get your 200th find, it should work out. ************** Was going caching with Green Achers today but the drizzle that started at 7 am is now full rain at 10, and "life" also got in the way, so a double-whammy on caching today. We'll make it yet Bill. Ron

. . Can your gps get you to this? Now THAT'S my kind of cache! Have a good one. Ron

. Been doing this for awhile and 3 years ago the same topic came up many times. Here's a tip. BE THE FIRST TO FIND on a new cache. That way you'll likely find some better items. ************ Off topic a bit...but...my best first to find: a series of 4 caches along 3 miles (one way) of trail. First cache a $5 bill. Second and third caches...$20 bills. Fourth cache...$100 bill. This cache placer was well-off obviously and after finding 100 or so caches and placing about 6, he left for other interests. Over the years my other good finds included: $40 Red Lobster credit card $10 Starbucks credit card $5 Jamba Juice credit card $5 Raleys Grocery credit voucher Find about 1,000 caches and you'll find some good stuff! Ron

. Hey Crickets... Nope, you can hike two EBMUD trails (one on each side of the lake) but beyond that I think the Coast to Crest trail project is still incomplete. It was beautiful there today...bright sun, little wind and completely quiet. Left only footprints...and a cache prize! The actual location of my cache and Spider Legs is not along either of those trails, but along an old asphalt road which barely shows in most spots. Ron

. Hey Pat...welcome back! Let's go geocaching sometime. Cool weather is definitely a plus and at some area resevoirs, it's the ONLY time to go for a longer hike. Today I found.....Spider Legs and had a good time doing it. Ron

. Just go to the top of the thread and look at the links....track this topic. Kind of like geocaching...just keep looking once you're in the area to be investigated. Ron

. Hey SAC! The forums are BACK! Ron

. Geocaching? What's geocaching? Ron

. Eureka ! OK, I'll settle for 2nd to find on this one too! Good to have the forums back. Haven't looked for a cache for a couple of months, but have been walking the doggie out to a few of my own for maintenance. It's a start! Ron

. . A cacher's Profile Page has changed again and looks more like it's former self. Anyone who has a photo displayed there can now see the photo in larger (original) format instead of the smaller format (on the left) of recent history. The statistics tab now includes TOTALS. The biggest addition is the gallery page. At first I couldn't understand the value of this, but as I flipped through 6 pages it DID take me back in time to those caches I found and to which I attached pictures. Kind of fun. Ron I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

. . A cacher's Profile Page has changed again and looks more like it's former self. Anyone who has a photo displayed there can now see the photo in larger (original) format instead of the smaller format (on the left) of recent history. The statistics tab now includes TOTALS. The biggest addition is the gallery page. At first I couldn't understand the value of this, but as I flipped through 6 pages it DID take me back in time to those caches I found and to which I attached pictures. Kind of fun. Ron I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost. [This message was edited by Ron Streeter on November 06, 2003 at 08:47 PM.]

quote:Originally posted by Hemlock: Hemlock - Cleaning up the world, one cache box at a time. I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

quote:Originally posted by nostrada: How can you see who looks at your page? Just curious. _____________________________ ... where is it? When a cache hider makes a cache a MEMBERS ONLY cache, it establishes an AUDIT TRAIL of the members who actually VIEW the page. Only the cache hider will receive a message at the top left of the cache page which allows the hider to VIEW THE AUDIT TRAIL. This is a good way to see who is interested in your cache. NOTE: This is different than who is WATCHING a cache. Those folks who are watching will simply get email notifications of any logs posted on the page. Thus, they can WATCH without actually viewing the page. ADDITIONALLY, when a cache placer looks at the audit trail, he will see the total number of times a cacher has looked at the page. If someone looked once on April 1, then looked again on May 5, the total would be 2 and the last date would be May 5. It also shows how many times the cache hider has looked at the page. I recently looked at on of my audit trails and saw that I had looked at it a total of 35 times. A cacher had looked at it 34 times. Maybe that's because he thought it should be ARCHIVED instead of disabled ! Ron I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

Eureka ! Something of interest on TV....do a treasure hunt for *Tactical to Practical* on the History channel, then hope it's the episode that spends about 20 minutes on HumVee and H2 and 20 minutes on GPS in transporation, geo-dashing and search and rescue. Well done segments on both topics. The GPS segment has shots of *old yeller* and the Rhino. I fast-forwarded through the *night vision* segment. I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

... Ho, Hum. Yawn. I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.