JL_HSTRE

[sheepishly raises his hand] Yeah, that's me. I have a couple of bookmarks on this topic. I've tried to maintain a list of 1000-find listings, but that has been really hard lately - the number of 1000-find caches seems to have exploded lately. I last updated it at the end of 1Q 2010; seeing as the 2Q is now behind us I'll try to take another look. I thank you, sir, for all your time and effort spent doing this. Took a look at the list and indeed that is quite the case: 10 of the top 11 (one of which is now archived) are in the Czech Republic - the Original Stash Plaque being the lone exception. Anyone know why this is? Is it sort of a weird cultural fluke, like the way Starcraft is a national sport in South Korea?

If you feel a cache is inaccurately rated in terms of Difficulty and/or Terrain when you log a find on that cache you should politely point out what you think the rating should be and why. The cache owner may be inexperienced and/or unsure about their rating and welcome the feedback. At the very least it may be a good heads up for other cachers reading the logs.

There is a cache at UCF in Orlando, FL called "Just Another Ammo Can?" (ashnikes should try this one if he hasn't already). The description and logs make it clear you are in for some kind of surprise when you open it. It was amusing if a bit annoying. My biggest concern which such caches - especially those rigged to make a loud noise when opened - is that they will draw the attention of muggles.

From the guidelines: Yes, in soft sand you could place the cache and retrieve the cache with your hands thus not requring a shovel but this seems like an attempt to circumvent the rules. The cache is still buried. You can cover a cache container with natural camoflague such as pine needles, moss, palm fronds, or logs especially if you place a container in a pre-existing depression in the ground. But covering it with dirt, sand, or similiar is disallowed. Fake sprinkler heads are the closest thing I've seen to acceptably pushing the boundries of this rule, probably due to their small size.

Some areas have alot of caches but there may be room to squeeze one in. Parks particularly come to mind for this. Due to cache saturation requirements, it can sometimes be a pain to find that remaining spot. I know from experience of fruitlessly checking locations in a park where I wanted to place a cache and finding them all 400-500 feet from 1-2 other caches - too close to place a cache but not close enough to be obviously a bad spot until you get there and fire up the GPS. It would be really nice if there was a Geocaching Google Map overlay which showed not only the locations of existing active caches, but also a shaded circle around each cache with the radius equal to the minimum distance (528 feet / 0.1 miles, if memory serves me). This would allow geocachers to quickly and easily determine if they should spend time trying to place a cache in a certain area. Anyone else like this idea? Is it possible to implement?

A couple of my friends in Orlando just found one of ashnikes' caches and really enjoyed it. Good job. I think this proves my point: stop spending so much time on the forums, stop worrying so much about trying to fix something pretty much nobody else thinks is broken, and spend more time finding and hiding caches!

I hope you will be a responsible cacher and remove all geocaches you have placed now that you are leaving the hobby (remove the containers and archive the listings). P.S. POST LESS, CACHE MORE!

Bring more than one pen next time. I would go ahead and log the cache as a Find. Some purists will adamantly argue no signed log = no find, but not everyone is that stringent. If you honestly made the find, log it and remember the extra pen next time.

GeoBeagle -> Menu -> Search Online -> use geocaching.com works fine for me - I just tried it. GPS Status is a great app. However, I thought a GPS app of some kind is required to use the 'search nearby' feature on GeoBeagle and the app notifies you if you don't have one? At least I recall this happening to me. You may find it worth using GeoHunter instead of GeoBeagle - very similar but slightly better.

Actually, it is: 1 star needs to be not only handicap accessible but also within a 1/2 mile. 2 stars needs to be within 2 miles 3 stars needs to be less than 10 miles If it is over 10 miles from the nearest trailhead, that is a minimum 4 stars. If an ATV or similiar (i.e. special equipment) is recommended but not required, I would be tempted to make it 4.5 stars. If the cache is easy once you get there then the Difficulty Rating can be low.

My personal philosophy on DNFs: If I make what I think is a reasonable search for the cache in the area of GZ and do not find it, it is a DNF. If I am unable to reach GZ because of some unexpected factor (ex: rainfall having created standing water), I will leave a Note. If I am unable to search the GZ area or have my search cut short because of muggle activity or a similar factor, I will leave a Note. If I take a brief look at GZ and decide not to search because it seems like it will take longer than I wish to spend today, or if only make a brief search, or if my GPS spazzes out then I will make no log at all.

This topic seems to come up only slightly less often than "Bring Back Virtuals!" My opinion: If you need to figure out a combination lock, climb a tree, retrieve the cache from underwater, or find the log inside one of a hundred film canisters in ammo box then you need to do that task to claim a find. If the log is soaked, the PVC container wont open (and this is a flaw in the container not an intended part of the challenge), or you can't get the log out of the nano container it's still a find. Your not signing the log is do to a design flaw or maintenance issue of the cache itself that is beyond the intended challenge of the cache. And yes the "I forgot a pen" thing is lame, especially if you're not a newbie. Newbies will learn. At the end of the day, you have set out a goal for your fellow cachers. The signing of the log is merely a way of proving they have completed the goal. Unless you have reason to believe the cacher claiming the find did not complete the goal of finding the cache and solving the intended challenges associated with that goal, I don't think their log needs to be removed. Relax: it's not only just a game, it's a game where there isn't really even a winner.

GeoBeagle is good. GeoHunter is better (and also free). You have to sign up for Bcaching separately. Also, you can use the Search Online feature to find nearby caches to your current location. Or download PQ files to your computer then transfer them to your phone.

A Level 5 cache being too difficult or dangerous? Isn't that usually the point?

I feel the OP's issue is not that rest areas are high muggle areas. The problem is that most high muggle areas you can wait out the muggles or come back another time. Those two options are usually not feasible with rest areas unless you travel that route on a regular basis.

You retrieve a cache that is attached to a road sign, on a guardrail, in a pipe, or in a tree. When doing so, you notice a bee/wasp nest on the same object. Presumably you put a word of warning in your log. If you Other than a warning in your log about the bees in your log. When does the presence of a nest of stinging insects near a cache mean the cache should be removed? Does anyone else think there should be an Attribute for "stinging insects"? People who are highly allergic might want to stay away and those that aren't would have a warning to be extra cautious. We do have attributes for snakes, poison ivy, and thorns...

This problem is made worse by most CO's not seeming to understand that if their cache is logged Needs Maintenance after said maintenance is performed they themselves need to make a Maintenance Performed log. Some COs also seem to maintain some caches better than others. One local cache I found and wrote a second Note log in addition to my Find log noting that construction had started close to the cache and the CO would probably want to remove the cache as a result. They removed it within about 24 hours. Yet they have another cache that has received several NM logs because it is an ammo can with the entire bottom rusted out (!) but has yet to replace the cache container or remove it.

I know to "dip" a trackable like a TravelBug I can drop off the item when I log my find then go into the trackable and retrieve it again. But it would be really nice if there was a feature that let you dip the bug at once, in-and-out, without having to drop it then retrieve it. Especially if you are logging many caches and dipping a TB in many of them.

If cache saturation becomes a serious issue I think the solution is for the community to be more active about cache maintenance.

I have a Motorola Droid and was using GeoBeagle and now GeoHunter. I can see how to log my finds from the app, but to conserve battery life and caching time and sometimes be more verbose I'd rather log the finds at home. However, I would like to have the cache marked as found on my phone so they no longer show cache list in the app (which is from a GPX file I synched). I know I can just delete the cache from the list, but I'd like to have a marked list of what I found. Is this possible?

Geocaching hones your skills of spotting when something is out of place or otherwise wrong, as well as finding that which is hidden. Some cache hides definitely demonstrate creativity and outside-the-box thinking (i.e. non-LPCs ). Those are useful skills to develop and improve.

There are many multi/puzzle combo caches that are 4/4 or harder. I know of two different ones near where I live in Florida (Combat and Red Scorpion) that I look forward to trying in the winter (i.e. when it's semi-dry and not insanely hot & humid).

The convience of the iphone app is great. If you're going to cache sporadically and already have an iPhone, get the iPhone app for $10 and don't worry about Premium Membership or a regular GPS.

Sprinkler heads should really really really be placed with permission of the property/business owner because of the risk of damage to real sprinklers. A local cacher has at least 4 hides that are fake sprinklers. All of them use the same brand of sprinkler, which is a different brand (brand name is written on the top of the sprinkler) and style of sprinkler head than the other sprinklers in the area so they are clearly different from the real ones. If you do suspect a sprinkler cache, start to unscrew the cap VERY slowly. The moment any water starts to come out immediatelly screw it back in. I've suspected sprinklers 2-3 times that I was incorrect but by going very slowly I was able to not get soaked and not break anything.

I am shocked and appalled that you are the product of the US Army. You act like a poster child for someone who should be sent TO the army to get whipped into shape (and I don't mean physically) and get a better attitude. Army doesn't fix people like it used to... Your posts are the kind to be expected of a cocky 18-19 year old college kid with neglible real world experience and poor social skills. (And I say this as someone who has dealt with such people numerous times.)