Jeep_Dog

I agree with GOF & Bacall and a couple of others here - that most often the most humorous ones are those that make no sense or the irony does not play out until you get to the cache site. At least 1/2 of the caches I've placed have been some sort of pun that does not make sense until you get to the cache. Some that I've found hilarious are: Stop Here and Get Gas, and no it is not a gasoline station... I smell bacon. , which I had expected to be a restaurant, perhaps a Waffle House, but turned out to be something quite unique... Hair E. Butts - well, that one speaks for itself...

About the only thing you can do is do what you think is "right" and hope that others trading what my wife terms as "geogunk" will follow suit. 5 years ago the density of "cool" and "not cool McJunk" items was about the same as it seems now, so I don't think we are regressing or anything along those lines. All of the items except for the coupons/drink tokens are in my swag bag. Additionally, my signature item "Worry Dolls" (quite a popular item when I first started dropping them) and arroweads that I bag as a second sig item. Had a bunch of Sadam regime Iraqi currency that I was leaving, but my stash on that is depleting, but do have other currency in my bag that I've collected through the years. Also have some LED/caribiner combinations that folks seem to enjoy, but running out of them. There's folks out there still trading "cool" items. Just keep finding caches, and you might come across some.

GC11MQ0 is the most difficult terrain find for me. It was breathtaking, in many ways. This is the approximate walking route to reach the cache which we took (nevermind the drive to get there!): This is a sample of the terrain: And finally, the last 500 feet of the expedition (that "thing" at the peak is me - I got a bit ahead of my caching buddy for the day): (edit - fixed one of the picture links)

edit - disregard

Legalities of who owns what and whom aside, if a "community believes" that trespassing is not acceptable, then perhaps it puts geocaching in a bad light to cross those beliefs? It would seem to me the story is the same regardless, since as a community ourselves, we could be "dead right" legally, but loose our credibility socially.

Perhaps an event at a very nearby park for the locals to pat each other on the back, then a Mega Event there for the celebration of us non-locals for the cleverness exhibited by the locals, followed the next day, provided we wait until the Spring, with a CITO Event to clean up all the trash?

knowschad brought up some great points - such as what kind of equipment are you using? I've noticed my iPhone accuracy is horrible, and I would not want to have used it in my early days. Also, many times 15 feet isn't enough. A lot of times accuracy is around 20-25', now couple that with the cache owner's accuracy being off, and you could have 40-50' radius for a good search. Keep at it. You will develop an eye for the "unusual" in a place that usually turns out to be a cache...

Look, brother, that's getting old. Quite frankly, since you so well put words into my mouth, I'm surprised that you haven't figured out that I don't see ethics or morality as a requisite to geocaching. There's folks here who are merely commenting on how they play, which I believe they are entitled here in the forums, and I for one have yet to pass judgement on anyone else's style. I merely conduct myself in caching - specifically in finding others' caches (to include taking the time to write logs online) as I would want done to mine. It seems some of the other folks who've been around the GC community for a while probalby feel the same way. Note the term "want." No horses here, but if the shoe fits for Cinderella, I suppose I really could care if she wears it or not.

The closest thing to "official" is a link found on the cache online submission form, which suggests trying Clayjar's Geocache Rating System. Within that system, the generally acceptable terrain rating for 1-5 is listed as follows: * Handicapped accessible. (Terrain is likely to be paved, is relatively flat, and less than a 1/2 mile hike is required.) ** Suitable for small children. (Terrain is generally along marked trails, there are no steep elevation changes or heavy overgrowth. Less than a 2 mile hike required.) *** Not suitable for small children. (The average adult or older child should be OK depending on physical condition. Terrain is likely off-trail. May have one or more of the following: some overgrowth, some steep elevation changes, or more than a 2 mile hike.) **** Experienced outdoor enthusiasts only. (Terrain is probably off-trail. Will have one or more of the following: very heavy overgrowth, very steep elevation (requiring use of hands), or more than a 10 mile hike. May require an overnight stay.) ***** Requires specialized equipment and knowledge or experience, (boat, 4WD, rock climbing, SCUBA, etc) or is otherwise extremely difficult. Hope this helps!

I capitulate. Sort of - since I know the explanation may not be quite as esoteric as some may believe. It seems lately folks have really taken notice of this "jeepdog" business and have queried what it may mean. This culminated recently with Andrewasking in ZnG mail. So, here is the response to that query, for the information of all who frequent here... Jeep Dog: Sort of weird, this. In the early '90s, my phreaker handle / Internet persona was >>>>Huey Dog!!<<<< . This grew out of the fact that I am, among other things, a helicopter pilot, and was damned proud I was flying around in antique Huey helicopters. Also, at the same time, probably due to my preference of great retrievers (I also was a bird hunter back then, which is an activity which I have ceased), friends called me "dog." Mind you - this was before "dog" was a popular discriptor within Hip Hop culture... In 2004, when I began geocaching I took the handle of jeep dog since I stilled liked the dog part, and replaced "Huey" with "Jeep" for a number of reasons. First, I am fond of the the '30s Popeye cartoon "dog" named Eugene the Jeep. Incidentally, the "go anywhere across any dimension" magical powers of Eugene may have lead to the popular - slang - name for hardy Willys vehicles (now a brand name). The reason I am fond of Eugene is that he was ahead of his time, and surprisingly transcendental. huh? Yeah, you read that right, transcendental. He's flat-out cool. Read on... In a comic strip entitled "Wha's a Jeep?" published in a strip on August 9, 1936, Popeye asks Professor Brainstine of a description of a Jeep. He received the following response: "A Jeep is an animal living in a three dimensional world-in this case our world- but really belonging to a fourth dimensional world. Here's what happened. A number of Jeep life cells were somehow forced through the dimensional barrier into our world. They combined at a favorable time with free life cells of the African Hooey Hound. The electrical vibrations of the Hooey Hound cell and the foreign cell were the same. They were kindred cells. In fact, all things are to some extent are relative, whether they be of this or some other world, now you see. The extremely favorable conditions of germination in Africa caused a fusion of these life cells. So the uniting of kindred cells caused a transmutation. The result, a mysterious strange animal." Well, crap. Perhaps this "jeepdog" business borders the esoteric after all! A strange enigma of an animal indeed. There's slightly more to the tale (tail?). Second, "jeep" is a state of mind. There's a certain Zen about Jeeps. For example, about a year ago, my family was out for a drive (my mom and dad were along for the ride, nicknames moonstarand Stinky), and we headed up LaBrocita Canyon (New Mexico) to find beautiful trees and explore. Have you ever gotten on a road and just followed it until either you could not follow it any farther or perhaps stayed on that road until it played out? That is what we were doing this fine day. As we headed up LaBrocita canyon, Stinky announced that the road would get rough, and we probably wouldn't make it, but eventually the very rough roads would connect into other roads back to Tularosa. That was inspiration enough for me to carry on. Past bend, through puddle, straddling small rocks, and maneuvering carefully, we were Jeepin'! There was a small problem, however. I was driving a minivan. This was pointed out, when moonstar wisely proclaimed "Jeep is not a vehicle. Jeep is a state of mind." Can we hear an AMEN? Well - AMEN! Ponder that perhaps adventuring is not something that you do, but perhaps something that you are. Perhaps you have to remember the joy of life. Perhaps you have to remember that there is more than having a deliberate destination planned. Perhaps - sometimes, you have to stop, look around, and realize you just drove through 5 eco-zones, and pause to smell the Douglas Firs. Combine this with and the fact that I steadfastly refuse to drive anything but a Jeep (well, when I don't have to worry about 5 additional passengers, um, and when I'm not typically pedaling a bike to work) - since in my mind, "jeep" is a state of mind that happpens to correlate to a vehicle, of all things. By the way, I now exercise the right change my mind about "jeepdog" not being esoteric. Now, my friends, you know "the rest of the story." Perhaps "jeepdog" makes perfect sense. I am a bit saddened that the "mystery" and "aura" behind the moniker are displaced with this writing. Oh well.

Probably. I've done an inventory on my nerves, and none seem to exhibit signs of any strike. Interesting. That is quite assumptive. I am quite open with the fact that I view the number of finds indicated on my profile and stats as nothing more than unimpressive at best. The number is what it is - it has meaning to me, and apparently has meaning to you. I am not so sure the content of the meaning is the same... I agree. Please re-read what I wrote. You will "almost find" that I merely pointed out that my "balance" or "sanity" with geocaching is an inverse correlation with the number of posts and/or threads to which I contribute. Nothing more, nothing less. Now, back to the OP, an observation is that when I post a DNF, if I strongly suspect there's something wrong with the cache as opposed to my impressive inability to find a cache (which, quite honestly, I find more remarkable than my ability to find!! ), then I tend to clearly state that in the DNF log - well, actually, I state clearly regardless my observations. If I suspect something wrong with the cache, I'm more apt to send the owner a note as opposed to dropping a "needs maintenance" or "needs archived" on the cache listing as the first step...

Ah, so someone who honors the wishes of the CO has less, or tarnished, character? Makes me wonder, how is the view from that high horse? First, the view is not much better. However, the air is much more fresh. I appreciate the judgement levied upon me, howerver. Very kind of you to share your observation. Perhaps this will be more "proof" behind your assessment of me - the horse upon which I sit is so high, in fact, that I carefully manage that my forum posts do not outnumber my cache finds. I see this practice as keeping me balanced and happy with the geocaching activity. Pretty darn high high horse, eh? Yet, I care little to make any opinions about those whose posts outnumber their finds 10 to 1, for it is not about their "balance" for which I am concerned - it is about my "balance" that I comment. Second, note that I stated "perception of their character." That is quite different from me, or anybody for that matter, actually stating that character is "less" or "tarnished." Third, note that I further admitted that my interpretation is "lofty." I recognize it as such. Yet, I'm merely sharing my viewpoint, or interpretation, of the guidelines. I haven't asked anyone to abide by this interpretation, unless of course they do not sign the log on a cache which I own and claim it as a "find" online. I happen to care about how my character, specifically the attribute of integrity, is perceived. This is not to say my character is flawless. However anyone else manages the perception of who they are is their business, and I will reiterate once again - if they do not care, then why should I? It is what it is, and I'm happy to leave it at that. Finally, I do not understand how the "wishes of the CO" are pertinent to this discussion. If a CO "wishes" me to claim a find when I do not sign the log, then I do not log the "find" online. Their responsibility is to delete "bogus" logs, and they deem, for example, the DNF as "bogus," then they can delete away.... Similarly, if they wish me to write a "note" as opposed to a "DNF," yet I did not find the cache (owner on this cache asked me to change a DNF to a "note," but I track DNFs for my personal enjoyment, and this was indeed a DNF) they can delete if they find the DNF log "bogus." If they want "smilies" on their cache listing, there's plenty of folks willing to assist.

Uh, cool! So, like you figured out how to get a cloaking device to work? When will it be marketed? This is GREAT news......

Well said, Riffster. Within the "Logging of Physical Caches" guidelines that state "Geocaches can be logged online as Found once the physical log has been signed", that's my interpretation and how I log my found caches, and how I manage online log entries of the caches which I have placed. I prize my integrity, and do not feel it worth compromising (perceived or actual) over a "smilie." That's just me, and lofty as well, and do not feel worth my time to push onto others. The way in which a person logs can say a lot about their character, whether that "found it" be based upon a "I was in the general area, and here's a photo" or a 'thorough' log that states "TFTC" only, it is an glimpse of character. If someone doesn't care about the perception of their character, then I do not care about it either.

Snoogans, Snoogans, Snoogans. Brother, you've been around long enough to know the answer to the call of "anyone" coming to such an event, there'd be at least one interested party .... edit - uh, wow. There's no events on the Nude Friendly Cache bookmark list. Hmmm. You may have something going, Snoogans.

Two miles recollection, from Mystery or Puzzle Cache guidelines: "Unless a good reason otherwise can be provided, the posted coordinates should be no more than 1-2 miles (2-3 km) away from the true cache location. This allows the cache to show up on the proper vicinity searches and to keep the mileage of trackables that find their way into the cache reasonably correct." Less than 528 feet, from Cache Saturation guidelines: "The reviewers use a rule of thumb that caches placed within .10 miles (528 feet or 161 m) of another cache may not be published on the site. This is an arbitrary distance and is just a guideline, but the ultimate goal is to reduce the number of caches hidden in a particular area and to reduce confusion that might otherwise result when one cache is found while looking for another. On the same note, don't go cache crazy and hide a cache every 600 feet just because you can. " One or more of the reviewers once shared with the forums that a great point was made of "just because a place can have a cache doesn't mean it should have a cache."

Well, DUH. A toy canon, of course! Back to OP. The most inappropriate swag that I have found are cigarettes. You know the logs for these - "took NASCAR DVD, left cigartte. TFTC." I've found several caches with cigarettes left as swag. Now that I think about it, the only swag in the cache content guidelines as not being "common sense" are drugs (yup, found explosives, food, fireworks, ammo, lighters, knives, alcohol or other illicit material).

I don't think there's a magical number or percentage associated with "hound." Indeed, if you find yourself stomping your feet and whining about not being the first to log a cache, and the first person who logged the cache could care a less about FTFs (someone like me ) yet went out of their way to be a FTF for the entertainment value of watching you stomp and whine - You just might be a FTF "hound."

Ah, Wolfeel, disillusionment is in the attitude of the beholder, is it not? Some folks approach caching with a fun attitude, and find fun on the hunt. Others - not so much. Alabama Rambler made what I thought a wise remark. It is quite "fair" if the cache description clearly states the challenge and nature of the hide. For example, would you become disillusioned with No Porpoise for this Cache in Iraq if you were to attempt to hunt it, despite the warning? (that cache, if all the "found logs" that have "this was my fourth try at this" were considered "DNF" logs, would rate 4 DNFs to each find, and was deliberately placed to do exactly that!) Yet, is even one placed to deliberately frustrate and annoy, yet designed as such with no description indicators, still "unfair?" Everyone brings their own perspective to geocaching, so application of "fair" or hard-set "rules" is probably a solid foundation for disappointment or disillusion. Personally, I would agree that lack of a description and a 1/1 rating on such a cache is annoying. Have you considered setting a time limit for a find? If you don't find is XX time, move on with a happy heart and avoid the frustration? Until iPhone, I simply loaded up caches in the GPSr and didn't pay attention to descriptions - made the "hunt" much fun since I had little to no expectation or vision of the cache which I hunted - thereby not setting me up for "disappointment" of not finding what I "expected" and then making each find quite new and "it is what it is," hence fun. If I didn't find a cache, I'd go home and look it up, see what I missed, and head back. The only "annoyance" is a cache that is listed as a traditional, yet has "actual" coordinates buried in the description. Again, with a time limit, c'est la vie, and move on. Disillusion is probably in the eye of the finder, not the hider.

Hey, great observations on the time stamp, brother! Thanks for sharing. As far as ending angst? Heh. Good luck with that one.

I think the exposure to our activity is great. It seems quite irrelevant *why* they pick certain caches, nor the "ask permission" piece, given that they now link directly to the cache page, which is accesible to anyone on the internet. Since it links to the cache page now, the coordinates are not visible unless someone is logged on. I fail to see the angst factor. (oh, nevermind, I'm in the forums - by all means, angst on...)

Did they actually take the FTF prize? I once recieved a fairly emotional mail from a cache owner regarding the same topic - I did not thank them for the FTF prize. This was rather humorous, since I didn't take the prize, so figured there was no sense in thanking them for the prize. Oh, and I mentioned that I had exchanged nothing in the on-line log.

That one looks like it rocks, Brother. Nicely done. I'm definitely getting into that type of cache - but the problem is they are fairly far in between. I noticed the one you linked had a 5 star terrain, but didn't look like it took special equipment - certainly agree with the "specialized knowledge" and/or "skills" (or at the very least having a body in extradordinarily good shape, which is also "specialized"). In my log on the last of this type I've done, rated 4.5, I mentioned without special knowledge of the area, cachers attempting it could be "buzzard bait" and hence probably was reasoning for a 5 rating. Hey, it is his cache, so I'm happy either way.... Anyhoo, just happy to see a kindred spirit in what makes a cache "favorite."

GC11MQ0 for the sheer challenge that it presented. Definitely a sense of accomplishment after that day of caching...

Yeah, I second that motion. Then again, I'm not certain I would really notice for quite some time. Then, when I did notice, I'd probably be agitated for a couple of minutes about my milestones (I think I'd be agitated - I may not really notice that, either). If I did get stressed, then I would de-stress with my favorite activity - climb a mountain and find a geocache.