medoug

Since no one posted the answer to my previous question on the Lock & Lock guarantee, I looked at the literature included with one at the store and answered my own question. Here's the answer for anyone else wanting to know: Lock & Locks are cache containers for LIFE. If one becomes damaged, you cut out the part number molded in the bottom of the container (it definately becomes unusable then), and mail it in an envelope to the company. (You could camo/paint/marker the container all you want. As long as you leave that little part number area alone, no one would ever know that it was hidden in the woods.) They will either send you a monetary refund or a coupon to purchase a new container in a store. Other than your effort, it'll only cost you a 39 cent stamp to be back in business. (Of course, loss or theft of your Lock & Lock container is not covered since you couldn't send them the plastic part number.) I think I might have found my new container of choice. medoug.

Sometimes, if the site has a historical significance, you can investigate it and include what you found in the cache description to make it more interesting. Not only is this likely to draw more cachers, but it also makes the site more meaningful. For example, if your cache takes cachers to a gravesite, but you do not explain what was significant about that person's life, then it would rank as a typical park-n-grab. If, however, you explain that the person buried there was a great war hero who sacreficed himself to save the lives of hundreds of his fellow soldiers and gave some details about the battle, it will have some significance and be more appreciated by your finders. Once a handful of cachers visit the site, their logs will be testimony as to whether it really is a WOW microcache. Good luck, medoug.

Here's a past thread with some good information about micro cache containers: Microcaches Here's a past thread giving ideas for logsheets and logbooks for micro caches: Micro Logs In my opinion, the container doesn't make for a WOW microcache, but instead the location does. However, it might be a BOO HOO microcache if the finders can't sign the log if it gets wet. medoug.

Look here: CNN geocaching/bridge newstory It's just not worth the $300 fine, 6 months in jail, and restitution to law enforcement agencies for officers' time spent responding to the "perceived" threat. medoug.

The packaging with Loc-n-locs says that it is guaranteed forever when it is not used for industrial use. I wonder if they honor their guarantee if it was used as a cache container. What if it is covered in camo tape and has GEOCACHING.COM written with marker on the lid? Has anyone had one of these wear out as a cache container and try to get a replacement under the guarantee? medoug.

It is surrounded by private properties. I really rather not ask someone if I can place a container in their frontyard flowerbed, or in a nearby farmer's field/ditch where cachers might damage his barb-wire fence getting to it. I'd also like the cacher to not have to get in their car and travel to a totally unrelated public area to find the final container. Plus, there are several hollow trees and other good hiding spots for the container in this scenic cemetary. medoug.

I'm sure there is some info on this topic, but the "Search" function is still broken. I normally avoid placing caches in cemetaries, but there is an unusual grave marker in a public cemetary that I want to share with fellow cachers. Out of respect for the deceased, I plan on making it an offset cache where the year of birth and death on the stone are used to determine the coordinates for the final cache container hidden elsewhere on the cemetary grounds. My brother once placed a cemetary cache that almost didn't get approved because he failed to contact the grounds keeper or cemetary board. Determining who the governing bodies are and arranging a meeting with them to ask permission for the cache placement in this rural cemetary may prove difficult. In my eyes, I would view a public cemetary as being similar to a public park which typically only require permissions when a specific policy regarding geocaching is in place. Does anyone know the official stance on this? Any personal opinions? Thanks, medoug.

I would agree with Thot on this. The first time my brother-in-law went geocaching, he couldn't figure out how to enter the coordinates so he just watched the screen coordinates like VegasCacheHounds. He ended up crossing the same section of creek 4 or 5 times trying to find the cache. Most people have better luck following the arrow. Hey, but go with whatever works for you! medoug.

Oops

Make sure that the unit isn't in battery saver mode. Normal mode updates every 1 second. Battery saver mode only updates every 5 seconds. Usually, you won't notice much difference, but when you get close (<100ft) to the cache, it works MUCH better with the normal 1 second updates. Since the Legend doesn't have a built in compass, it determines what direction you are walking by comparing your location at the current update with that at your previous update. That is why more often updates allows for more precise navigation. Also, since there is no electronic compass, don't stand in one place and turn in circles otherwise your pointer will show the wrong direction for the cache. Also, be aware that your antenna is located just above your LCD screen so you should hold the Legend slightly away from your body with the screen facing up to maintain the best satelite signals. Depending how far North you are, having WAAS enabled may not help you much since these satelites are located at the equator (fairly low on the Southern horizon). Used correctly, the Legend's arrow will take you to the cache. Hope these tips help. Goodluck! medoug.

This reminds me of a couple of somewhat interesting stories... When I was at college, I found a jar of jelly hidden in the wall above my dorm room door between a no longer used air transit and the boarded-over wall to the outside hallway. Who knows how long it might have been there before I discovered it. I left it there (I definitely was not goint to eat it!), but often wonder if it is still there some 19 years later. Also, in 1976 (bi-centenial celebration) our town buried a time capsule to be opened in 2000. I was in elementary school at the time and one of the items placed in the capsule was a booklet that myself and several other students made. Unfortunately, the man who buried the capsule passed away several years ago and no one else was quite sure where it was buried since no marker was ever placed. Despite several attempts by city officials to locate the container using shovels and metal detectors, it has not been found to this day. No one knows for sure if they were looking in the right place or if it had been stolen over the years. It might have helped if they had GPS in those days so the coordinates could have at least been recorded. medoug.

A friend of mine (not a geocacher himself) once told me that he thought that it would be funny to place a geocache (or at least the coordinates for a geocache) in the lion's pen at a zoo. Seriously though... I am planning a zoo cache in remote part of a nearby park that once had a zoo but it was removed around 1930. After investigating the area, I even found some artifacts providing evidence of the site's previous function. Few people, even the locals, know that a zoo once existed in the spot. I am still doing some investigation into the details of this ghostzoo, but plan to establish the cache this Spring. medoug.

First two geocaches ever placed. Both approved April 20. Both muggled April 20. Muggler was a newbie who thought "Take something" meant "Take somethings, as many as you like". Since the caches started with good stash (usuable items, not junk) and he liked what he saw, he took everything. Fortunately, after emailing them of their misunderstanding of the rules, they returned all but one item from each. medoug.

Not so quick..... The DNR information that was posted above is for the state of Indiana. I don't remember hearing what state "freedomwrangler" was from, but different states have different rules. I know for fact that you can place geocaches on DNR governed land in Illinois and Iowa if you get approval from the land manager and fill out the correct paperwork. Also, just because it is a historical site, does not necessarily mean that it is governed by the DNR. There are lots of historical sites maintained by county, city, and local historical groups. Many of these groups would gladly welcome the added interest brought to the area from people coming to search for geocaches. Because it is a historical site, however, you should obtain permission from the governing bodies to insure that there won't be a negative environmental, degragation, overuse, etc. impact from the additional traffic of cachers. In the days of virtual caches, this was much more simple since no permission was required because no actual container was hidden. medoug.

I have been trying to do a search by categories through the directory but do not get all of the subcategories that exists. I know this because the totals number of waymarks in the subcategories listed don't add up to the total number of waymarks shown for their parent category. I also get this message when trying to do this: "There are subcategories containing waymarks that are not being displayed due to your filter (popularity or location) settings." For example, when I go to Places/Businesses/Restaurants, I only get "Classic BBQ & Sandwich Joints" and "Sushi Restaurants" listed as subcategories. How do I get "McDonald's Restaurants" also displayed? The message says that this might be due to filter settings, yet as far as I know and all indications show that I have no filters turned on. Is this a bug in the website, am I doing something wrong, or is this a feature allowed only to Premium members? Thank you to anyone who can answer this for me. medoug.

From what I understand about Waymarking, it sounds like it will be a good replacement for locationless caches , but not so good for virtual caches . Usually virtual caches are a location that has something uniquely special about it which would probably get lost if it is listed as a simple waymark. For example, the first McDonalds restaurant (in original restored decor/condition) might be interesting whereas just any McDonalds would not be. Another more common example would be cemetaries. An ordinary cemetary would typically attract little interest, yet a historic cemetary, a hidden cementary, or a cemetary with a unique grave marker or important person buried there might be of interest to many people. I think it would be hard to sort out which cemetaries have something unique to them despite a ranking system. Also, sometimes the location itself isn't as unique as the story that goes along with the location. Many times places of significant interest do not have a marker revealing the story or some of the interesting details behind the story. It was mentioned that a "short" description could be included with the coordinates in Waymarking. Will the description be limited to a certain length which might not allow telling the complete story? I am quite disappointed in the elimination of virtual caches from the geocaching website. I, myself, have considered several locations which are special enough to merit placing a regular geocache, yet are situated such that it is not practical for even a micro container. Conditions such as excessive muggle traffic, meticulous landscape caretaking, lacking attachment points or hiding places, respect for the location, and, of course, regulations and permissions can make a location impossible to properly place a physical cache. Well, for now, that's my initial opinion. We'll see. Maybe it'll turn out to be the best thing since sliced bread.....but I'm not holding my breath. medoug.

No, it can't be the setting alone since that just sets the battery power indicator level. These half-spent batteries are due to the low battery warning popping up on the screen and then followed by the Legend becoming completely inoperable (blank screen/automatically shuts off). medoug.

I was thinking that it would be really cool if geocachers could rate each geocache by several categories after they find them. The average scores for each category could then be posted for all caches. Then, a cacher, based on the category of their interest, could use the score to determine what caches to pursue. Some possible rating categories could be as follows: quality of stash, cleverness of the hide/container, location's scenery, location's interest/uniqueness, location's historical importance, location's other features, overal quality, etc. What do you think of this idea, and what rating categories you would like to see? medoug.

Once my batteries get weak enough that they no longer work in my eTrex Legend, I had been throwing them away. One day I tried one of the used batteries in a toy and found that although they no longer had their full charge, they worked just fine in the toy. When my clock had a dead battery, I replaced it with one of the partially-spent batteries from my Legend and it seems to work fine now. (I wonder how long it will keep running on this battery that I would have pitched in the past.) Could there be something wrong with my Legend that its battery power threshhold is higher than normal, or is this typical? If it is typical, I'll have lots of half-used AA's ready for use in other devices. medoug.

I'm getting a bit bored with "just-another-container-along-a-trail" caches. I'd like to be able to search for more interesting/scenic/high-quality caches. A cache placed just to get you to a location is fine, but it would be nice if there was some kind of system to help me choose the more interesting/spectacular ones to seek out. This would be especially helpful when geocaching while traveling or vacationing when you are unfamiliar with the area. I can't count the times I've seen requests on this forum saying, "I'm going to be in the Anytown, USA area and want to know of any good geocaches to visit in the area." I was thinking that it would be really cool if geocachers could rate each geocache by several categories after they find them. The average scores for each category could then be posted for all caches. Then, a cacher, based on the category of their interest, could use the score to determine what caches to pursue. Some possible rating categories could be as follows: cleverness of the hide, location's scenery, location's interest, location's uniqueness, location's historical importance, location's other features, overal quality, etc. I'm curious 1) what others think about this idea, 2) what categories you would like to see, and 3) whether this feature could/should be incorporated into the www.geocaching.com website. medoug.

What about nuts? Granted you have to husk, dry, and crack them before eating. Walnuts, hickorynuts, butternuts, and hazelnuts are common favorites.

Here is another discussion that strayed onto the subject of RAGBRAI: another RAGBRAI discussion

Here are a couple that accidently missed the list located at the ending town of Guttenberg if anyone would like to add them to their list: --GRRP5 Buechel Hill Trail by medoug (GCNHRR) N42° 47.075 W91° 06.316 Guttenberg, DIF2 TER3 (Trail starts near N42°46.905 W91°06.178) Regular sized cache with last two finds on 7/5/05. --Landing by Dingers (GCPD7E) N42° 46.753 W91° 05.686 Guttenberg, DIF2 TER2 Regular sized cache with last two finds on 7/10 & 7/16/05. medoug.

In northeast Iowa, my brother and I set up a series of 8 caches along a 60 mile stretch of the Great River Road called the “Great River Road Passage” (GRRP). The Great River Road consists of a scenic chain of highways following the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico to nearly Canada. If you think Iowa is flat, driving this section of winding highway will definitely change your mind. A cache has been placed approximately every 10 miles along the way at a particularly scenic or interesting location. This series is unique in that if a cacher chooses to complete the entire series, they can calculate the location of the eighth “bonus” cache (also hidden along the route) using information obtained from the first 7 containers found. Logging this final “bonus” cache marks the successful completion of the entire series. medoug.

O.K. Both you and another person arrives at a geocache location at about the same time. You conceal your GPSr waiting for the other person to leave, but they don't. Are they another geocacher doing the same or a loitering muggle? I think we need some sort of wave or sign (not a gang sign) to identify each other on the trail. It would have to be something subtle enough that it wouldn't look strange, yet obvious enough that another geocacher knows for sure. Any ideas? medoug. P.S. Is this a good idea or am I just too paranoid?