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Mr Walker

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Everything posted by Mr Walker

  1. You should not have changed the log on the basis of possibly offending someone. Your description was both technically correct, informative and accurate. If any, one including the cache owner, is offended through their ignorance, the only duty you owe them is to explain the technical origin of the term. If you felt like changing the term because it would not be widely understood by the caching community that is a different issue. Sorry, i am a bit sensitive about the use of words. As an English teacher i am sometimes told to dumb down the contents of my reports so that parents can read them. Given that I write in clear and simple terms, that my students can understand, I find it insulting to both me, and to the parents, not to use the words necessary to explain technical or other points I am trying to make. This sounded like a very similar situation.
  2. My wife and i spend quite a lot of time picking up litter from local beaches as we walk along them. What we can, we remove, what is too difficult we put above the high tide mark so it is at least out of the more fragile marine ecosystem. About 6 months ago I found a white plastic bottle with a small slit in it just below the hightide mark. I placed inside it (along with some sand to weigh it down) a small cache containing some badges and replaced it above the high tide mark, leaving it out in full view like the piece of trash it is. I check it most weeks. So far it has been found by a handful of cachers (all local) who all had some difficulty recognising it for what it was. I will eventually remove it. This beach is visited quite regularly, although not by large numbers of people, and perhaps fewer over our winter period. In a way i am disappointed that it has not been removed/cleaned up. It was deliberately created so there would be no great loss if it was taken by either the forces of nature or a civic minded citizen. While the population and pollution pressures in my part of the world are less than most, we still find a lot of trash washed up from local aquaculture industries, and from ships of many nations, judging by the languages used on a lot of items.
  3. What i like about the profile page is the fact you can put as little, or as much, a you like on it.Some people attach whole websites about their caching adventures, others choose to write nothing. As a person who loves all aspects of geocaching, but has limited access to caches (due to geographical distance), I spend a lot of time either on forums or following different cachers exploits "on line" either via their logs or through their cache pages. I often refer back to their profile pages to find out a little more about them and put a "face"to the people or teams i am reading about.This also helps develop a sense of community among cachers. When we lost our house, and all our possessions, in a major bushfire last year, i had cachers i had never met offering everything from condolences, to caravans and a house to use, until we could re-establish. Needless to say, i have now met most of these people in person, but there are still some i only know through the "cache pages"
  4. I must have been lucky. Once my Gpsr was set up correctly i have had only one cache that was located more than 10 feet from the given coordinates, and it wasn't much more. Out of 130 caches found, well over 100 were within 6 feet of the coordinates given, and many were virtually at my feet. This does not of course guarantee being able to find them. There is one on a statue in my states capital city. I have looked for it 4 times, and know where it is supposed to be, but cannot place my hands on it. Not everyone hides in the obvious places. I have placed about 30 caches in rural (outback) areas and while some might be in hollow trees, some are just in an average, nondescript place, to make it harder. On the other hand, i don't go to great lengths to camouflage my hides, but let the landscape do this for me.
  5. As a cacher who hides and maintains a reasonable number of caches, I really appreciate people who log a DNF. Especially in my more remote location, it really helps me keep track of how all the caches are going. A couple of DNF's will prompt me to go and check the cache, perhaps preventing other cachers from missing out also. In fact, depending on the experience of the cacher and the difficulty of the cache, I will often e-mail the person who logs a DNF and say, "thanks, the cache was missing, but is now replaced", or "thanks, the cache was there, would you like a hint for next time?" It helps if the DNF log gives a little detail about where, and how hard, the cacher looked. By the way, as a cacher limited geographically to cache numbers i spend as much time checking up on people as I do out caching. ( I also get a lot of pleasure from both the Australian and American forums) Perhaps because of the differences in our societies, it never occured to me that any one could get upset at me "monitoring" their activities. After all the whole site is designed to do this, and also allows you to give as little, or as much, information about yourself as you like) Your forums even have one facility which was removed from the Australian one ( for site design reasons) which i really appreciate. You can click on any member and find all the available information at your fingertips. This is really useful for a lot of reasons, not the least just checking the experience of a contributor when they are giving advice or making a comment on the forum.
  6. Would that be the Wiley Coyote/Roadrunner cache, with the cache hidden under a pile of birdseed?
  7. Iv'e never done this myself, lots of the caching i do is out of cell phone range anyway, but i have e-mailed, rung or talked to both hiders and finders once i got home, to get hints on caches that are proving particularly elusive. From logs and other evidence in Australia, i would say it is common practice, although opinions would vary. Personally I would have at least one good search without phoning, unless it was a remote cache or one you were not likely to visit again. Often a second visit opens your eyes/mind to other possibilities, and the satisfaction of doing it yourself is immense. There is no guarantee the owner will help you, although the sort of hint you were asking for might be in order. Another time it might pay to ring is if the cache had not been found for a very long time or if the G.Z had been significantly disturbed in some way.
  8. I think it is important to distinguish between what you take with you and what you carry with you. Put everything you think you may need for a caching excursion in one box/bag and take it with you when caching. I leave mine permanently in my vehicle, but that's not safe/practical for everyone. When leaving the vehicle for a cache, take only the minimal essentials. For me that is my G.P.S.r, one set of spare batteries, trade goods likely to be needed and a biro/pencil. If you don't have to walk far you won't need anything else, and if it is a long walk the extras will be more of a hindrance than a help. If caching alone you might also like to take your phone, although in most of the areas i cache there is no coverage anyway. As long as I have plenty of water in my vehicle, I don't worry about carrying it. Even in the Australian outback a walk of several miles is not really any danger unless you get lost. That's why the spare batteries are important, and why it is a good idea to record the coordinates for your vehicle before you leave it.
  9. I guess its the same problem here in Australia. I tried e-mailing a fellow cacher using the caching system. The first time i had not realised you needed to type in a code, but even when I did that, I kept getting an error message. Had to email him through the "normal" system but of course i haven't got the e-mail addresses of a lot of cachers i keep in contact with, just use to hit the button on their profile page.
  10. At least 300 miles to collect 200 caches, about 60 (other than mine) within 50 miles. That's why its taken me a year to find about 130 caches, and I'm only in rural Australia, not the out back, where the distances would be in the thousand mile range.
  11. 97 around the Tumby Bay area. About a third of these are mine and there are 3 or 4 I have not yet found. A lot of water around the Tumby Bay area also, but otherwise a continent of difference.
  12. It's a smaller world down under, but yes i usually send an email to any new cacher in my area, especially when they have just found a cache of mine and its one of their early finds. I also e-mail old timers who do a caching run through my home area for the first time, just to get some feedback on my caches from those with a lot of experience. Most people respond well and seem to appreciate the cameraderie of caching.
  13. Lots of good (and diverse) opinions. Just like caches/cachers really. I am a lot less troubled by cache degradation because of my location, and the limited number of finders, but concur with many of the comments made. When I place a cache, I try to put in a range of good quality gear for different genders and age ranges. When hunting, it is a bit more difficult. If alone, I don't swap much, but try to exchange like for like. With my great nieces and nephews, I try to ensure we have with us a range of things which they value themselves, so there is awareness of value given and received. As one writer noted above, it is also a good idea to have some items in your own bag, that younger caches mght like if they hit a run of outs. I am just in the process of placing three caches near my local town very creatively called; "Boys only", "Girls only," and "Adults only". The first two are self explanatory, with an admittedly sexist, stereotypical selection of contents. The last will have an explanation on the cache page to explain that this cache does not have the normal swaps for kids, but neither are the contents A.O. rated.
  14. Just an update to this thread. Soon after writing it, i was "locked out" of the forums by the filtering system on my education dept's server which blocks children, and by default teachers, from a range of forums. Recently I have been given permission to over-ride the filtering system and made contact with this forum again. Checking this thread i noticed that every respondent from 18 months ago had visited the site yesterday. On the off chance that they or other interested parties might read this i decided to let people know how the spooky caches turned out. In the end i did three caches, all standard and all medium sized, within about a 10 mile radius. I put the story on each cache page, but kept it as brief as possible.(my on line skills aren't good enough to include links to another site, and i don't have a web page anyway). All caches were stocked with spooky items, including glow in the dark objects and spider webs with spiders, which proved very popular with children. While we are not overwhelmed with cachers in my area, these have proven quite poular, with a number of positive comments on the theme. Families seem to like them, and parents read the stories to kids to create an "atmosfear." One location had very wobbly coordinates which kept changing, but eventually we firmed them up enough. I haven't had a lot of people reply with their own stories, but one cacher has sent me a lot of interesting tales from England via the net. Soon i hope to do a haunted trail at our historic cemetery which will only be visible in the dark, and involve a walk through the site to find the cache at one of my ancestors graves. Luckilly, we live in a location where this is still safe and legal to do.
  15. Just an update to this thread. Soon after writing it, i was "locked out" of the forums by the filtering system on my education dept's server which blocks children, and by default teachers, from a range of forums. Recently I have been given permission to over-ride the filtering system and made contact with this forum again. Checking this thread i noticed that every respondent from 18 months ago had visited the site yesterday. On the off chance that they or other interested parties might read this i decided to let people know how the spooky caches turned out. In the end i did three caches, all standard and all medium sized, within about a 10 mile radius. I put the story on each cache page, but kept it as brief as possible.(my on line skills aren't good enough to include links to another site, and i don't have a web page anyway). All caches were stocked with spooky items, including glow in the dark objects and spider webs with spiders, which proved very popular with children. While we are not overwhelmed with cachers in my area, these have proven quite poular, with a number of positive comments on the theme. Families seem to like them, and parents read the stories to kids to create an "atmosfear." One location had very wobbly coordinates which kept changing, but eventually we firmed them up enough. I haven't had a lot of people reply with their own stories, but one cacher has sent me a lot of interesting tales from England via the net. Soon i hope to do a haunted trail at our historic cemetery which will only be visible in the dark, and involve a walk through the site to find the cache at one of my ancestors graves. Luckilly, we live in a location where this is still safe and legal to do.
  16. The closest I once had was 30 yards from my front gate. Fellow cachers hid it there and called it "Under your nose." Unfortunately it only lasted a few months, before the scrubland it was in was bulldozed so that we now look out at a street of vacant lots. Now my nearest is 30 miles(under a jetty and only accessible at very low tide) followed by 40 miles, (out on an island and only accessible by boat) and 50 miles (in a national park with park fees and also on top of a steep climb) I will get to them all eventually. After that we are talking about 150 miles to a few more clustered around another town, but out in quite remote saltbush country. There are a few other local cachers who compete for any new caches and i get a kick out of scattering them around my local area.
  17. My home town. Rural, but certainly not out back Australia. Price around $6.75 Australian per gallon. Bought a diesel 4 wheel drive last year. The same week. diesel exceeded petrol prices for the first time in history, and now rapidly increasing the differential. Most caches now over 100 miles away. Give up caching? Never! Might have to give up taking the dog and wife out for a drive to the beach, however.
  18. I don't want to comment too much on the specifcs of this case particularly as a real out sider, but the general problem has come up in the Australian forum. One significant difference is a much greater recognition in that forum, that caching does have the potential to damage both urban and rural environments, especially where they are sensitive to damage. A growing number of cachers will not place/seek caches in urban parks because of the potential for damage, and I have noticed some caches in "wilderness" areas being withdrawn/moved if evidence occurs of damage. The trouble is in both the growing popularity of the sport and in the lack of mechanisms to regulate those who don't really care about the environment. My perception is that cachers here take more seriously the line in the blurb which says somethng like"let us know if there is a problem and we will remove the cache". Australian cachers also seem to be tougher self regulators and will let the owner know if there is a problem. Perhaps because the community is smaller, (although growing rapidly)it has a greater influence on its members. Reading the logs it just seemed some people were a little too defensive of cachers. Even in my limited experience, and with mostly rural caching, i have seen enough evidence to make me carefully consider the placement of my caches to allow for less than thoughtful seekers. At least we don't have to worry much about placing caches under bridges and the like. One set of mine was placed under bridges to commemorate the kid story " The billy goats gruff.'
  19. I am assuming that unvisited means just, that not simply a number of DNF's. Caching in a rural area of Australia, I find that, once my caches have been visited by the handful of local cachers, they may go up to a year before other cachers find them. It is worse with the more remote ones, but even caches along the main highway wll not be visited for months. It has got worse since the rise in petrol prices, but I noted this trend on the Australian forum late last year. I don't have any problem with this, as my 30 or so caches are all relatively close, and I visit them regularly for maintenance etc. I sometimes find caches have gone missing, but there is no evidence of this in the logs. DNF's are different. In Australia after about 3 DNF's (depending on the expertise of the cachers) the protocol is for the owner to check the cache personally or by proxy. If this is not done, one of the reviewers will suggest making it unavailable until a check is done, or even do so them selves. This seems to work well, but I don't know how the system works in the U.S. I sympathise with Tsmola, but luckilly I get as much fun out of placing caches, as I do in finding them
  20. The Bandar are often a great help. These days no one questions the most outrageous behavior from children and you can practically pull a G.Z apart without raising an eyebrow. If that's not subtle enough for you , or your kids are too well behaved, just use the direct approach. I always reply when asked, "just trying to find some geo-spacial coordinates," and if pressed, "there's supposed to be a survey peg around here somewhere." Neither of these are out right lies, and usually satisfy muggle's curiousity. Now extracting the prize unobserved. That's another matter!
  21. As a reader of the Phantom comic since the 1950s, it struck me that his alter ego "Mr Walker" was a natural for Geocaching. "There are times when the Phantom leaves the jungle and walks the streets of the city like an ordinary man" I have had more experience with the outback "jungle" than the urban one in my caching, but the idea of stealth, hidden treasures and a "secret" identity seemed to fit. I find the often understated ethics of honesty and environmental awareness in Geocaching (the game wouldn't really work without them) also fit the Phantom. Secondly, I took up the obsession just after a triple bypass which gave me about 10 weeks off work. It allowed me to combine recuperation time on the computer with the increasingly lengthy walking required for rehab.
  22. There are a number of "Haunted" sites in my area and over the years I have collected and written down stories on them. I would like to do a series of caches on them. For some I might just include "Ghostly" trinkets as a theme, but in one I would like to collect "ghost stories" from cachers, either pre- written and put into the cache or written into the log book. In my limited experience I haven't seen this done in a cache, and would appreciate any ideas/ thoughts on whether it might work, any problems/pitfalls others might see, and particularly other's experience with similar types of caches,(not necessarily on the same theme). For example, I can either include the story of each place in the cache descriptor (although this may be too long for some,) place multiple copies in the cache for people who are interested to take, or write the original story in the log book (which would limit the audience.) What do people think? By the way, these are are genuine local experiences, and while of course people's beliefs on the supernatural differ, they are not "horror" stories, just a little spooky.
  23. Sorry! As I said, my first time. The reply didn't appear to be posted so I sent it again but there must just have been a time lag, and I wouldn't have a clue how to simply delete the second post, so hope this works!
  24. This is my first reply to a forum topic, and although its been there a while, the question intrigued me. Officially I was introduced through an e-mail from The geography Teachers of South Australia, who suggested (rightly) that this would be an excellent activity for students. I now have a number follwing it avidly. A bonus I did not expect was that the school bought the G.P.S., allows me the use of the department net and even credits me with training and development time for both on-line time and field work associated with the course. Unofficially, it's what I have been looking for since my father, about 45 years ago, set us treasure hunts that might have started with a verbal clue at the dinner table or a note from a pirate slipped into the letter box. I have had great pleasure introducing both geocaching and the old form of treasure hunting to my great nieces and nephews in recent times. Lastly, after over 50 years with no sign of health problems I was whipped 400 kilometres from home, for a triple bypass operation this year. Geocaching has allowed me to combine the pleasure of net based interaction with a lot of walking. Hence my handle "Mr Walker" which is also a tribute to one of my favourite comic characters.
  25. As a person living in a country area, there are few caches to find. I am doing my bit by hiding some, but one of the ancillary joys of geocaching is keeping track of other cachers who hide or find caches in my area, also TB'S etc. Some people/teams have quite extensive web sites dedicated to their activities but most people have very little about themselves or their geocaching activities on the page set aside for this. I wrote a fair bit about myself, and try to keep my activities updated. My query is, do others feel this is bad form, uncool or just not a good idea on the web? I can see where living in a rural, and very safe part of Australia, may colour my perceptions.
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