medoug

Electrify the ammo can with a dog shock collar. If the can is moved outside of a defined zone, the carrier gets a shock and drops the ammo can. Lots of technical details, but hey, it could work.

"Arkansas style" means hidden under a pile of rocks. Maybe "California style" means hidden in a hybrid car.

CacheFreakTim, are you from Iowa? Iowa has the policy that the cache is to be removed from the park after 1 year, but I understand that that provision is seldom enforced. When my brother hid a cache in an Iowa state park, the most difficult thing was determining who the the land manager was for the park in question. He had to start with a call to Des Moines DNR, and it required several additional calls to determine who managed that particular park. Once the manager was contacted, it was simply a process to fill out the permit form. Of course, it did need to get approved to ensure that it was not placed in an environmentally or archiologically sensitive area, etc. They also stressed that it should not be placed in an area where it might be dangerous to access (climbing rock bluffs, etc.). The land manager mentioned that if the cache placement did not cause any problem, that it would not need to be removed in a year as the current policy states. One of the more restrictive state park policies is Illinois. Most of the process of placing a cache in their state parks are pretty "normal". In addition to completing the paperwork, in most cases you must meet with the park ranger when placing the cache. The frustrating aspect is the "maintenance" requirement for Illinois state parks. It is required that the cache owner must PHYSICALLY check the cache EVERY month (Jan-Dec) and then notify the DNR of its condition. Obviously, whoever set up the policy didn't understand that much of a cache's condition can be determined from the on-line logs. As a result, other than the few caches which were grandfathered in before the policy was establish, Illinois state parks have very few caches hidden. medoug.

My brother and I have hidden several caches. When doing so, we use the guidelines provided on geocaching.com for setting the terrain ranking. Still, it is quite often that we receive logs complaining about how difficult it was to get to the cache or how exhausting it was. Sometimes I just have to laugh when they continue to mention that they "found" the easy way back when the start of the trail was given (often as reference coordinates) or the cache description clearly explained the easy way to the cache. Obviously, these are people who choose not to follow directions, and they have paid the price. I'd understand if the terrain rating was way off in which case it is a suggestion to reconsider the cache rating. I've logged difficulty/terrain change recommendations myself when meritted. But, as I have mentioned, I believe they have been ranked objectively fair. Logs such as these usually produce a negative tone and seem unneccessary to include in their post for others to read. The exception is when they state something like "the cache and location made it worth the extra effort". For the others, what is their problem? Are they accustomed to caches which have been over-rated for terrain, are they out-of-shape and are pushing themselves too hard, or are they just a bunch of whiners? medoug.

My brother and I share ownership of a few caches similar to how ngrrfan and sabrefan7 are doing. In addition, my brother knows my password and I know his so we can share in the on-line duties of maintaining each other's caches if needed. As mentioned, however, we each have our own "cache hide count" which does not show sharing of cache ownership. medoug.

I've always liked hiking in wooded parks. Then, when I got my motorcycle in 2000, I would take it instead of my car to get to those parks to hike. Then, when I discovered geocaching in 2004, I added that to my hobby and now get to enjoy all 3 activities at the same time. I have an old Legend eTrex. The standard bicycle bracket for the eTrex is made for a smaller diameter handlebar. Also, several people have posted that they had issues with th Legend bike mount because it takes the place of the current rear battery cover which causes the batteries to make poor electrical connection over bumps. As a result, I purchased the eTrex carrying case which has a belt loop on it. I then made my own bracket for my motorcycle which is held on the handlebars with hose clamps, and simply hook the belt loop of the case onto the bracket. It's a very snug fit and works great! BTW... I ride a dual sport Suzuki DR350. I usually don't take it on the trails since that is prohibited in most public areas, but it is my primary caching vehicle to get me to the area. Fun to ride and gets me 60 mpg. medoug.

That "other park" is a cemetery. After a short internet search, I now see that. Also, the third "park" shown is actually a golf course. I don't think it's that common for a cemetary to be called a "park", but the "memorial" might have been a hint. I do know, however, of quite a few regular public parks with "memorial" in their names.

I'd call this over-saturation. Note the 2000 ft scale in the lower corner. I'd say the hiders worked pretty hard to space them the minimum 528 feet from one another. Also note the other nearby parks with no caches. All I can figure is that caches must not be allowed there. medoug.

Just to give everyone an idea of the scope of the issue.... We're talking about 40,000 towers positioned worldwide and each could cause a GPS interference area of 3 to 5 mile radius. That covers about 1% of the surface of earth, but this does not account for the vast bodies of water, both poles, and uninhabited areas. Since land only covers about 29% of the globe, and approximately 90% of our population occupies about 3% of the land, most of civilization lives on only about 1% of the land. This 1% of land is the same 1% of the surface of the earth which will have GPS affected since the towers will be placed in the most populated areas. Unfortunately, this is the same area where the majority of geocaches are located. If this goes through, you might as well kiss most urban geocaches goodbye. Only the most remote geocaches would be unaffected. medoug.

Poor GPSr reception when the trees are thick and fully leafed-out in thick forest during Summer. In the Fall after the leaves have fallen, or in the early Spring when there are only buds, the reception is very good. I've encountered forests so thick in mid-summer that I've had to find a clearing and get a direction/distance reading on my GPSr. Then pace off in that direction to get close to the cache. medoug.

BTW... Adults liked the cache too.

A neat idea for children that I came across when finding a multi-cache was to include an easy small 20-piece jigsaw puzzle in the first-stage container. After the picture side of the puzzle was solved, the puzzle could be turned over to read the coordinates to be entered into your GPS to find the second stage. medoug.

I'd prefer quality over quantity. As several have mentioned, maintenance becomes a big issue with a high number of hides. Spending some extra time and attention during the planning of a hide can sometimes really make a difference in the experience. A nice write-up always seems nicer than a note saying, "Another cache hidden. Come look for it." Also comes to mind the term "geohogs". Although I know of a few good places to hide more caches in my area, I decided that I had hidden enough myself and wanted to allow some remaining cool spots for new hiders. I've even given hide suggestions to fellow cachers hoping to ignite the desire to hide in them. Plus, it gives me more caches in the area to find.

I love the topic of this thread. These are my favorite kind of geocache. Here's a few caches and a few pictures of some of the cache locations that my brother and I have hidden: Der Bierkeller (The beer cellar) 1800’s beer cellar from Dubuque’s long beer brewing history. Ghost Town of Motor Mill 1867 six-story limestone grist mill and other historic buildings. Elkader's Lovers Leap Site of local folk lore involving Indians and the early days of lead mining. Also a root cellar and old insane asylum on grounds. Well, Well, Well: 3 Artesians Muli-cache that takes you to 3 historic sites each featuring an 1870’s artesian well which played a key role in the early development of the city. Abandoned Satellite Complex 2 Remnants of a 1970’s Telstar communication complex. Signage: Today: In the 1980’s: Inside a base: Forgotten 11th Street Elevator Remnants of an 1887 funicular street cable car system. Today: In 1887: In 1915:

History-Cacher, Please check page 1 of this thread topic. I have listed several historical Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin caches that you can add to your site. Thanks, medoug.

I've had to replace a few of my ammo cans due to NM logs claiming they were wet inside. One had a corner of a baggie closed in the lid, which allowed water to wick in. The other two had leaky bubble soap left as swag. Improper closure and crappy swag can ruin the best container. Had one get wet inside, but I know it was submerged periodically in very wet weather. Found one that was absolutely soaked. Oddly enough it wasn't in what appeared to be a particularly wet area and there was no bag or anything inside that might have compromised the seal. The seal looked fine. Never figured that one out. briansnat, Maybe what happened to one of my caches happened to the one you described. See below link: Log explaining wet cache contents medoug.

Obviously, some cache hiders play the game for the numbers (most hides) at the expense of cache hide quality. I think most geocacher searchers would rather find more good caches and fewer bad caches. It would be nice if those prolific lame-cache hiders were to change their hiding philosophy and strive for high favorite numbers instead of high hide numbers. medoug.

That is why I also requested the number of favorites to hides numbers. In your case, you have 57 favorites for 2 active caches (1 of which received 56 favorites). With a sample size of 2 active hides, I agree that it doesn't mean much. It's pretty obvious though that a lot of people liked that one particular cache. As others have mentioned, this ratio probably isn't very accurate for those with a low number of hides which could easily result in a ratio of 0 or a very high number, depending on how those few caches have been received. Also, I have to agree that the length of time caches have been hidden and the number of logs they have received also would affect this number. Some very new caches haven't had a lot of opportunity to receive favorites votes yet. Some more obscure hides, may not attract very many seekers. I agree that this is FAR from an accurate measure of a hider's cache quality, but in many cases it can show a trend. But, as briansnat pointed out, someone having only a handful of favorites for a huge number of caches that have been hidden for quite some time, is an indicator of how little their caches (in general) are liked. And, as Blue Duece has mentioned, most in the geocaching community has already determined that this cacher puts out lame caches after a few mediocre-at-best finds and avoid searching for their hides in the future. I suggest that the ratio I have requested should be used as a ROUGH measure to determine whether you're hiding what geocache finders really want. If your ratio is high, keep up the good work, but acknowlege that there is always room for improvement. If your ratio is low, maybe you should evaluate your cache hide quality and strive for improvement on your next hides. medoug.

bump. Would like more reports from cache hiders. How do you stack up? medoug.

Sorry. Accidental double posting.

Hi RKO, Nice project! Very ambitious. I knew that I liked hiding and finding historic caches, but I had no idea how much until I determined that 9 of my 20 active hides actual are of historical nature. I cache primarily in Northeast Iowa, Southwest Wisconsin, and Northwest Illinois. Here's a list of my 9 historic caches as well as several others that I have found. (I have added a short 1-line caption and put them into a format similar to what I saw on your website.) Illinois: Cedarville: A Nobel cache: Tribute to Jane Addams GCYTTG Multi-cache taking you to the birthplace, school site, and burial site of the first woman Nobel prize winner and humanitarian Jane Addams. East Dubuque: Gramercy GC9CB4 Nice park with some very impressive ancient Indian burial mounds. Freeport: Tree of a Kind (an Arbor cache) GCVN01 The first stage of this multi-cache takes you to the 1857 mansion and estate (now museum) of the Taylor family. This was one of the safehouses along the underground railroad. Pretzel City USA – Step #2 & 3 GC62A5 Virtual cache at the site of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debate. Galena: Abandoned Satellite Complex 2 GC2CFN9 Remnants of a 1970’s Telstar communication complex. Grant Me a Wish GC1ADDX This easy puzzle cache takes you to the historic home of Union General and President Ulysses S. Grant. Kellogg’s Grove: Blackhawk Battlefield Monument GC13J5E Site of a major battle of the Blackhawk War of 1832. Mt. Carroll: Jacobstown Cache Series GCJWVB Multi-cache taking you to several historic spots in the ghost town of Jacobstown. Iowa: Buena Vista: Buenie’s Grotto GC1RPAM Takes you to an impressive little grotto built from 1937 thru 1945. Dubuque: Forgotten 11th Street Elevator GCQMKA Remnants of an 1887 funicular street cable car system. Der Bierkeller (The beer cellar) GC1HFHG Preserved 1800’s beer cellar from Dubuque’s long beer brewing history. Iowa’s Oldest Building GCWBG1 This dogtrot cabin from 1833 is the oldest building in Iowa. Nearby is the historic 1856 Mathias Ham House mansion (now a museum). Elkader: Ghost Town of Motor Mill GCP59J 1867 six-story limestone grist mill and other historic buildings. Elkader’s Lovers Leap GCP5DB Site of local folk lore involving Indians and the early days of lead mining. Also a root cellar and old insane assylum on grounds. Garnavillo: Sherman Swift Tower GC1Y29E Replica of a 1915 bird observation tower built by famous ornithologist Althea Sherman. Graf: Orthoceras: Grew Feet Out of its Head GC1H79V This fun earthcache allows you to dig for fossils from over 400 million years ago. Marquette: Welcome to Marquette 1974 GCQQ7Y Visit a park dedicated to the bridge removed from the site in 1974. Wisconsin: Beloit: Skippy Bluff GCWE89 Located on the ground of the restored operational Beckman Mill. Broadhead: The Half-Way Tree GC9167 Marks half-way point between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River determined by Indian runners. Prairie du Chien: Meteorite or Meteor-wrong? – WSQ GCVPHE Takes you to an interesting piece of local history folk lore. Well, Well, Well: 3 Artesians GCVHGE Muli-cache that takes you to 3 historic sites each featuring an 1870’s artesian well which played a key role in the early development of the city. Shullsburg: Badger Park GCRPXR Located near a lead mining museum featuring a tour of a historic 1827 lead mine. South Wayne: Spafford Creek Massacre GCVRVF Site of a bloody Indian attack in 1832 during the Black Hawk War. medoug.

"Other (?)" is a cache type, not a cache size. It is often used for puzzle caches where the cache is not located at the posted coordinates.

It sounds like you're off to a great start. Keep up the good work!

Looks like a great cache! ...but, it looks gray to me in all of the photos, so it doesn't quite match. I like the intent of the name though. medoug. It is defiantly green. OD green, I have regular ammo boxes the same color. I stand corrected. Photos don't always render colors correctly.

Hey, I don't think anyone can deny that the rating system was created to identify great caches, so what's the harm in identifying great cache hiders too? My brother and I have put a lot of work and maintenance into the caches we hide. Besides the find logs, the favorites system is just another way to measure how well our caches fulfill what the caching public would like to find. It's really no different than getting a report card. Some people get A's and some get F's. That's the way life is. The same applies to caches and cache owners. medoug.