Crafty Turtle
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Posts posted by Crafty Turtle
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Being aware of what is going on around you, is a skill too few people possess.
Caching hones those awareness skills.
The skills can then be applied to other situations - when driving with other cars on the road, when at the deli with other shoppers, when playing team sports against an opponent, etc.
Being aware of who is in your way, and whose way you are in, is a life-skill. Geocaching teaches it.
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Did any cachers here start out as muggles who saw a cacher "acting suspiciously", then go and investigate, thus discovering the wonderful world of geocaching?
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Mine can switch off the "snap to road" feature. It's actually a phone - Nokia 6110 Navigator. Now I have my Garmin, I use the Nokia to navigate me on the roads, then the Garmin to get me to the cache.
Prior to getting teh Garmin, the Nokia worked well at zeroing in on the cache. It was just annoying that I had to type in coords rather than download them.
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I don't like the deception/fear/covertness/nervousness I get when trying to avoid muggles, so I tend to avoid urban caches. If I really want to do them, I do them at night, under the cover of darkness, when there are far less people around.
Having said that, what do YOU do when you see someone doing something that looks "odd"? eg someone drives up to a half-built house you know to be abandoned several years before, but does not get out of their car?
Who are they? Drug dealer? People smuggler? Mafia? House owner? Lawyer? Real-estate agent? Prospective buyer? Neighbour? Lost driver?
Why are they not getting out of the car? Checking the map? Making a phone call? Texting? Eating a burger? Catching 40 winks?
I usually just get on with whatever it is I'm doing, and ignore them. There are many perfectly reasonable explanations for what might look suspicious.
Muggles care less about what you are doing than you think.
But I still prefer the bush caches.
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This cedar tree was munching on a golf ball... til a chain saw stopped the assault...
That's a lot of work to retrieve a golf ball.
I'd have taken the Mulligan.
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Freeloader? Um, excuse me? "One who does not contribute or pay appropriately; one who gets a free ride, etc. without paying a fair share"
Are you saying all basic members who have not place a cache themselves are bad people, because they do not (or not yet) contribute?
Almost every child under the age of 16 is a bad person because they take food, clothing, education and shelter and give nothing back?
Is every football, baseball, basketball fan who does not have a paid club membership a bad person because they enjoy the game on TV but do not pay?
Let me contribute this: I am so offended by this.
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I cache alone. I have been on a couple of finds with someone else, but they are a non-cacher, so I always feel like I'm apologising for taking so long on the diversion/search/etc.
I prefer bush caches, which are almost always devoid of humans anyway. (Most of the reason why I like these areas)
I often take the dog, (for safety aswell) and always try to look as though I belong there, and I'm unapproachable ...busy, nasty, mentally ill, homeless. ...with no disrespect to anyone who is mentally ill, nasty, busy, etc
A trick not mentioned here yet, is to look like you are working - I have varying uniform/jacket/vests that make me look like an inspector (bridge inspector, tree inspector, building inspector) or manual labourer of some sort. Oddly, a hi-vis vest can make you quite invisible.
Remember you are on public land, and anyone has the right to count 12 light poles from the corner, or look under rocks, etc. So as long as you look like you are doing work, people won't bother you. Not just gardeners inspect trees in an urban park: so do entomologists, zoologists, Dendroclimatologists, Dendrometrists, and any number of people.
An advantage in caching with a friend is that one of you can be a lookout. I do miss that.
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A cow hit my Mother-in-law's car. She stopped because the cow wouldn't move. After she stopped the cow moved sideways toward her. I hit her bumper and fell on her hood. It jumped up and walked off the road.
I'm surprised that you feel safe enough to post in the same thread as Chumpo the turtle squisher.
I know!
After I recounted my turtle murder story I noticed that the op is a turtle too. I'm so ashamed
Hmmm, yes the turtle story did disturb me (a bit more than my usual disturbed existence.) So did that squirrel. And the squirrel's family who are now living in rental trees, getting their acorns from welfare.
But most of the rest of the stories were really funny. Some had me in stitches. I feel better now.
Nah... the squirrel story was hilarious!
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I cache cos it gets me outdoors. I love the Australian bush. I love our native wildlife.
To be technical though, I didn't hit the kangaroo, the kangaroo hit me - he sort of glanced off the side of the SUV. THUMP! OMG, says I. I hit a roo! I stopped to asses the damage. He hippety hopped off though (phew!) At least he didn't go all bloody and flop dead in the road. I couldn't live with myself then. But I still feel guilty. I cache to enjoy the great outdoors, and I nearly killed it!
Please tell me your wildlife run-ins (or run-overs?) so I can stop feeling so guilty about a roo that is absolutely fine. ...I hope.
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Twigs are extremely handy for extracting logs from micros when your MacGyver Swiss army knife is in the car.
so are cactus spines if in az desert
So is the clip off the dog's lead.
The trick is then to get the dog back ON the lead. (How is it they can do a 45 minute hike, then they want to run some more?)
Also, I've been known to put CITO garbage bags on my feet to wade through a freezing cold stream.
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My first few caches (before I bought a GPS) I used purely the position on Google Maps / Google Earth. I found them to be reliable.
Now it depends - urban ones are spot on, but bush caches where there are no significant features to map, it's too hard to say if they are accurate or not.
I suspect for urban caches, some COs would use the photography coordinates rather than the ground coords - if they were close enough. This would mean the icon on the map is a true visual representation of the cache's location, even when you zoom in as far as you can. I like it when people do this - for new cachers with no GPS, and also for cachers who "do the research" and appreciate reliable maps/photos.
Again, it depends on location - if the cache is at the corner of an old railway shed, I want to see it as thus on the photo. If it is in the wilds, and I'm relying solely on my GPS blips, then I want an accurate ground coord.
Does anyone do this? Use the map coords instead of the recorded ground coords, in order to show the cache's relationship to the features.
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It's usually cos I'm travelling to a particular spot for work or other reasons...
I look at the town on the geocaching map, and read about the caches there. Any I think I'll have time for, I print out the page, or I load it into my Garmin.
When actually going out to get a cache, I grab my Garmin, and my backpack/knapsack that has all my swag/swaps, pencils, personalised stamp, compass, gloves, etc. And I just go.
Huge advantage in keeping all your stuff in one bag.
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I think it's brilliant. I love locked caches where you need to find the combination elsewhere.
I did a 3-digit-code lock on a cache, and the number was my house number. I just wanted to have my house on the geocaching map.
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Did you log a DNF?
what for?...he found it just couldn't reach it
This tired old argument again?
If the log is not signed, NO SMILIE.
Part of the CO's hide is the effort it takes to reach the cache and retrieve it. I've seen caches in plain view but in the most awkward spots. The adventure is the retrieval, not he "oh, look, there it is."
One such cache is on an island in a shallow (3 foot) lake. You can see the ammo case from shore, but with no boat or waders, you ain't getting it. The water is freezing so nobody would swim.
Attempted but no retrieval = DNF.
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Another case of things gone all PC and no sense.
"There she blows" is an old whaling term. A lookout could see a whale spouting from its blowhole before he could see the whale itself. This phrase has nothing to do with sex. If they were offended at whaling, than fair enough, but this seems to be an issue with sexual innuendo.
I think people are just reading way too much into things that just aren't there.
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You always carry a pencil, just in case you happen to be near one of the 100 caches you have memorised, but not yet retrieved.
You carry a mechanical pencil, cos it always works and it writes in the rain.
Rain is no excuse for not caching. In fact, there will be less muggles around, so it's probably a great time for caching.
After 10 caches, you ordered a personalised stamp with your caching name and avatar.
You carry this wherever you go, just in case.
People know you by your caching name, and wonder who "Wendy" is.
At a local event, you have a name tag with your caching name.
Your name tag is your personalised stamp, laminated and pin-mounted.
You carry zip lock bags in case a cache needs re-packing.
You carry a pencil / personalised stamp in a zip-lock bag.
You know plastic zip-lock bags are meant for keeping swag dry. Apparently some people use them for food. Apparently. As I understand it.
You know your dollar store employees by name.
Your dollar store employees know you by your caching name.
Your dollar store employees now know your real name cos they've read it on your credit card.
You have bought enough swag in a dollar store in one visit to actually warrant using a credit card.
When signing the credit card slip, you had to ask for a pen, cos you only carry a pencil, and they won't accept your personalised stamp as a signature.
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I discovered a brilliant spot for a cache, and have custom-built a cache box to fit. Before I managed to create a cache page, someone published a cache a mere 100 yards away.
So, can I do a puzzle cache, with initial coords at a reasonable distance away (250 yards in the other direction), and a math/geometry problem to get the real coordinates?
My published coords would be in a public space with parking available, and the real cache would be in a spot 100 yards from the recently published one.
Is this a valid use of puzzle caches? Is this the best way around my dilemma?
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My M.O. is thus:
If I did not find, and intend to return later to look again:
I will not log a DNF.
I might need further equipment (canoe, ladder, etc) which was not immediately obvious from the cache page. (some are very very subtle)
I might need to return under the cover of darkness, or when there are far fewer muggles around.
I might have limited time in which to search, necessitating a return visit to search more thoroughly. Similarly it may start to rain or snow, or there may be too much water flowing in the creek/drain, making safety an issue.
If I did not find, and have decided to give up, or I am at a location far from home and cannot return:
I log the DNF and I explain my circumstances - to alert subsequent cachers that although I did not find, they still might.
If I did not find, after exhaustive searching, but I am determined to find:
I will return several times at different times of day, search further, and will log a DNF for each failed attempt.
I have done this twice, asking the CO directly for further clues. Both these caches were eventually de-listed.
I see no sense in logging a DNF on a cache where I didn't even get to GZ, due to an uncrossable lake cos I have no boat, a school group camping in tents surrounding the water-pump I'm supposed to be searching, a slippery rock-face I need to descend that is awash with rain, or a road closed by fire authorities due to bushfire.
I figure if I didn't get near the cache, or have not searched to the best of my ability, then it isn't a DNF, it's a TBA (to be announced) meaning I am done finished yet, so it's too early to call.
Some caches I will "scope" before I go. eg a drive-by on my way home to see which park, forest or monument the cache is in. To me, this is not a DNF, this is a reconnoitre. I'm not looking for it, I'm seeing whether I need hiking boots, or if it's a suitable place for my dog, is it safe at night, do I need equipment, etc.
So that's about all the reasons why I do not always log a DNF.
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My first.
It was so exciting finding this new "geocaching" thing. When I found my first cache, it was a thrilling moment. The secrecy, the thrill of the chase, etc.
Once I found my first, I knew this was something I could do and enjoy.
Plus, it was in a tree-root-hollow in a park where I'd been walking my puppy for the past 6 months. How cool to discover there was a hidden item there, which was part of a global network of hidden items and thousands of people were placing and finding them! How cool to be a part of it!
For me the milestone was being "in".
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If ya wanna split hairs Khan was Super Human. Plus Khan was banished from Earth and patriated to an alien world so he was essentially alien.
Snoogans, Kahn wasn't an alien. What are you talking about? Kahn was a human, born on Earth.
KHAAAAAAAAAANNNN!!!!Aliens!Yeah, splitting hairs is fun.
Super Human or not, he was still an Earthling, having spent only 15 of his many years on Seti Alpha V.
Being exiled to a different planet doesn't make you an alien from that planet.
In 18th century England, being a convict exiled to Australia essentially made you an Australian. ...and their descendants are still here. (six generations and counting)
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The problem is that what you think is a good cache I may think sticks like a flat skunk on a blacktop road in August.
It isn't only for geocaches. Some of us find simple 5-star rating systems useless for movies, restaurants, books, household appliances, and so on as well.It seems to me the obvious question is why does this argument work only for geocaches?Reviews can be very useful. I pay attention to them when I'm shopping. I just don't pay attention to how many stars the review gives the item.
I hope you aren't a sci-fi fan. Sci-fi movies always get a mediocre review because the journalist the newspaper gets to review it has no idea about sci-fi.
There is no one system of qualitative analysis method that suits everybody.
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I don't think it is a problem... Xaa said it clearly, only people without a clue can't figure out basic safety.
On the other hand, lots of safety minded people miss small details, especially when occupied doing something else. You mention using reflective gear, and being safe. Ever been involved in a near miss with a car with its headlights off (common). No light, no reflection, simple. That's why bikes require active lighting. There are lots of blinky and steady light markers for night use by pedestrians... but you are correct if you only consider yourself SAFER. You could always play safer by mentioning that a road crossing is needed to find the cache... you don't have to say where it is, but you might describe it as 2 lane and normal traffic loading... if high... But I wouldn't worry about that unless one might walk out onto it without knowing it.
Doug
Okay, thanks.
I had a cache where I said "may have to cross the creek several times," "slippery rocks at times" and "beware of the blackberry bushes".
I guess I just figure I didn't want people to be disappointed when they rock up in sandals and shorts. Or in this case black ninja clothing where they can't be seen. ...cos that's what I wear when caching at night
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When I see a long list of "TFTC" log comments, I quickly surmise it's lackluster.
Amen.
By the same token, "Fantastic Cache, beautiful location" means nothing when you know that cacher always says the same thing in their logs. ...said by she who writes a novel in every log.
Look, you can over-analyse these attributes, cache-hider, logs, loggers, length of log, number of caches that logger has found, etc, etc, to work out your own "quality" of cache worthiness. If that's your thing, write yourself an algorithm, weighting the value you put on each variable. Good luck to you.
But for me, that takes away the adventure, and the reason why I cache. I don't have a lot of numbers/finds under my belt, but I do have a lot of fun experiences with my family and my dog. The *quality* is in the hike, in the climb, in the scramble, in the laughter, in the time spent together in the great outdoors exploring some place we've never been before. The *find* is a bonus.
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Yeah I though the same as Luckless. Caches placed up high by someone 6'2" when I'm only 5'2".
jk
You are a Geocaching God!
in General geocaching topics
Posted
A - freakin' - men!
How many caches have I been to where I wonder "Why am I here?"?
I like a nice walk in the forest, a view from a hilltop, a quaint stroll by a brook, a morsel of historical interest.
"This is where I used to live" is just not good enough.
I've lived in this town/area for 2 years. There's so much interesting stuff to get to know - old railways, creeks, windmills, heritage buildings, etc. Show me those, not the car parks. Car parks are hangouts for undesirables.
To this, I add my own commandment:
Thou shalt not place heavy ammo cans in a large thicket of prickly blackberry bushes. At the right time of year they may be juicy eaty, but at all times they are ouchy bleedy!