Blueflashlight

In the first few weeks of caching, before I had any idea what I needed to pack in my caching bag--indeed, before I even had a caching bag-- I managed to replace a micro in the wrong hole and watched helplessly as it dropped out of sight. A quick note to the cache owner and a few days later we were back with a telescoping magnetic tool retriever. A must-have! Other things to pack in your caching bag are things you might need to make quick repairs to caches you find. I carry duct tape, baby wipes and paper towels, extra paper and zip-lock baggies.

I am at 50 finds and think I have everything ready to go hide my first cache this weekend. I even made all the phone calls and secured permission to place it. Just have to find the perfect spot in that location, come up with a clever name and hope the reviewer likes what he/she sees. I am just frustrated because the lock & lock container I got is about 1/8th of an inch too small for the notebook I purchased for a log book. So, I will be printing off some log sheets tonight.

Oohh... I love giving and getting presents! This one sounds really fun! Birthday Mission: Email sent - 2 October 2009 Birthday Mission: Name Received - Not yet Birthday Mission: Sent - Not yet Birthday Mission: Received - Not yet

Well, I tried to convert my coordinates to the format you used, but it still didn't look correct. So here is what Google Earth gave me for my spot: S 25 20'39.63 E 131 01'54.82 Great idea for a cointest! Thanks!

PM sent

It wasn't the police, but we had to explain caching to a postal employee. We were in a new area with just a short amount of extra time to cache. We had to pass on cache after cache because of muggles and/or construction. Finally we found a cache in the parking area of a park. A mail truck was parked about eight feet away from GZ... we waited and waited for him to leave, but finally gave up and went for it. He, of course, was alarmed by our "tinkering" with an electrical outlet (HELLOOOOO... There are no wires going to it!) so I had to explain the game to him. He seemed quite suspicious, but then I showed him the log and he wrote down the Geocaching.com web address. Who knows.... maybe he caches now, too!

I, too, have several TB's in my possession. I have not been able to do much caching in the last week or two, and the caches I have visited have been either micros or very seldom visited. I also have one TB that is too large for many regular caches. I have posted messages to the owners and posted photos of the largest one at various places that meet its goal.

Really like this coin! It even caught my husband's attention from across the room. Good job!

I was reading the previous post by The Blorenges and had one of those "Gee... that sounds familiar" moments. I opened my Cache bag... pulled out the TB's that have been patiently waiting the past week for me to move them on, and... would ya look at that? Right there, attached to a TB in my possession, is a tag from "XXXX on the River" Niles, MI. The numbers listed on this tag are different, though. 4900 happy TB's have traveled over 5 million miles. I guess I will contact the TB owner and see if they want me to remove the tags.

But if you have no longer have the tracking number for it, you can't "pick" it back up. Maybe you can contact the owner of the TB and let him/her know what happened. They may be able to help.

I'm glad to hear all the positive about the PN-40. I bought one from REI a few days ago, for $288 shipping included, but it is back-ordered and I probably won't see it until sometime in October. Sigh.... patience, Grasshopper.

I, too, would love to be a part of this MISSION. It will be my first. Thanks for the opportunity! Paganfrog, I am sorry they kept you waiting so long. I don't know why those in charge of scheduling can't do something to avoid all those horrid waits.

I have also seen--online, not in person--magnetic signs with a "pouch" on the back containing the log. Sneaky, I must say!

Thanks for the responses. I have already decided that I want to collect these addictive things. I'm so glad there is such a great, active and friendly forum to answer my questions. Thanks for making me feel welcome!

1) 8/30/2009 2) 3:47 pm 3) 8 lbs 3 oz 4) 20 1/4" long Good luck, and congratulations!

I found a Cape Hatteras Lighthouse benchmark geocoin today, but the spot where the tracking number should be is blank. Anyone know what is going on here? The coating on the coin is uninterrupted, so it hasn't been physically removed. I am relatively new to the hobby, so any help I can get would be great.

Please post what you found. We usually go to the Branson area several times a year but haven't been yet since we started geocaching. Thanks!

When are you going, or are you already back again? We almost went today but put it off until next week.

I searched ebay for cache containers and was amazed (amazed, I tell you!) at the variety of caches out there. I suggest you take a tour yourself before looking for micro caches. I would never have thought of using a hollowed out bolt, a magnetic sign, or a buffalo tube (didn't even know what one was before I checked ebay out) stuck in the end of a stick.

A cache I found over the weekend contained a wooden nickel blank with "I found it" on one side and the cacher's nickname handwritten and their logo stamped on the other. Seems like a very inexpensive alternative.

I started leaving bandaids (among other items) in the caches I find after the first trip. Big bandaids.

Ok, I am sure that if your unit has a reset button, you would have tried it...but just in case... My Garmin went black and wouldn't do anything, including light up when placed on the charger. I found the teeny tiny reset hole and it worked.

If there are still any available, I would LOVE to be the owner of a coin. My family has only been geocaching for about a week and are already hooked. I was lucky enough to find a geocoin yesterday and am planning to send it on its way again in the next few days.