JL_HSTRE
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Everything posted by JL_HSTRE
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Instead of posting a photo of the container post a photo of the logbook or logsheet. I know some geocachers who do this as proof of find, although they normally also sign the log.
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Theft of geocaches has been a problem pretty much since the beginning.
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Leave it disabled for awhile to ensure the thief is bored. You're lucky if you had a geocache out since 2007 without having it get damaged or stolen, especially a custom container. Searching for 3 hours? Probably an exaggeration. If not, someone needs to learn when to give up. Nobody in their right mind should spend that long searching for one geocache container. (I don't mean long multis; I mean the actual search at GZ.)
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Caches with future publication date and time
JL_HSTRE replied to i.mas's topic in General geocaching topics
I don't think Groundspeak wants to encourage people to be picky about their cache publication times. If you submit 50 caches and want them to all publish the same morning your Reviewer will oblige if you provide reasonable lead time. Especially for a series or corresponding with an event. If you submit 50 caches and want them published one per day at 3 AM local time your Reviewer will try to politely tell you no. -
Country souvenir for adventure stage
JL_HSTRE replied to Gill & Tony's topic in General geocaching topics
I do. Because I dislike living in a world (much less participating in a hobby) with cheaters, and with people who don't care about cheating. Because like I said earlier they don't just stop at cheating at geocaching. Everything matters. Everything you do defines the kind of person you are. Because even if I thought it was okay to cheat "when it doesn't matter" I don't trust people to decide correctly when it doesn't matter. People will go through all sorts of mental gymnastics to make excuses for themselves and their selfish desires. Because this hobby has public logs and comparative statistics which means every log some fakes has an impact. Because I agree with Jeff's comment about it tainting the image of the hobby. How many geocachers can be cheaters before geocaching becomes predominantly a hobby of cheaters? Given who was logging the armchair ALs the lack of integrity is so rampant I stopped participating in my local geocaching community; practically every notable local geocacher was guilty. We can debate endlessly what constitutes cheating. I'd rather we constantly try to fine tune that line than say it doesn't exist and it doesn't matter. -
I'm going to continue to seek the geocaches I want to find and skip the ones that don't interest me. Same with Adventure Labs. I'm going to continue trying to write good logs. 2/3 of my Finds in 2023 were on vacation; I found less than 100 during winter season. A lot of that had to with schedule issues and a less than stellar Florida winter (i.e. not much cool weather and almost no cold weather). I'd like to do a bit more this year; hopefully the factors outside my control will align better. I picked up six Cache Across American hides this calendar year while on vacations. I want to get CAAs for any new states I visit on vacation this year, which will probably be at least 2. Continue to wind down by cache ownership. Not hide any new geocaches, create any Adventure Labs, or attend any Events except maybe attend a community Block Party event.
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What was your favorite cache find in 2023?
JL_HSTRE replied to TheLimeCat's topic in General geocaching topics
I logged Finds on 223 geocaches this year, giving Favorites to 46 of them, mostly Virtuals and Earthcaches. I'll limit my top favorites to places I would not have visited if a geocache hadn't brought me there, and excluding anything archived or likely to be archived since they wont be of much use to others now. Blue Heron Earthcache - https://coord.info/GC5A5XN Coal mining ghost town in Kentucky with NPS interpretation. Utterly fascinating place, especially since I'd never seen a tipple before. Trussville Civitan - https://coord.info/GC126 Alabama's oldest near a veterans memorial, a historic bridge, and some old ruins. Up The Root Hole - https://coord.info/GC2F43 2001 ammo can with original container and lot in a nice nature preserve. The hike there took me by a bench with a nice lake view. Henry Clay Iron Furnace - https://coord.info/GC596GQ A less visited part of Cooper's Rock State Forest in a nice creek valley with a historic furnace. -
Country souvenir for adventure stage
JL_HSTRE replied to Gill & Tony's topic in General geocaching topics
Ever heard an expression along the lines of "you used N more words than necessary"? You used 4 more words than you needed to. It literally does not matter how you finished that sentence. It doesn't matter if you're cheating at geocaching or low-stakes poker or your taxes or your spouse. Cheating is wrong. The pandemic laid it all bare. People wont obey the speed limit or parking regulations or restrictions about where they can take their dog. Why should they obey mask mandates? They cheat because they're selfish and entitled and they have no integrity. Integrity is doing the right thing even when nobody is watching. And usually nobody is watching you geocache. COs reconciling physical logs with online logs is extremely rare in practice. I would be shocked if it's even 1% of COs who actively maintain their caches, much less all the COs who don't maintain their caches or are completely inactive. -
Country souvenir for adventure stage
JL_HSTRE replied to Gill & Tony's topic in General geocaching topics
"I don't understand why people care about ethics." Nobody who cheats at geocaching cheats only at geocaching. -
Country souvenir for adventure stage
JL_HSTRE replied to Gill & Tony's topic in General geocaching topics
Adventure Labs counting toward geographic souvenirs sounds like something people would use to fraudulently get souvenirs they don't deserve. Even though the AL app is supposed to be able to detect GPS spoofing I'm doubtful of Groundspeak's ability to stay ahead of the spoofers. I expect it would also result in people putting ALs with the widest possible geofencing near borders to "legitimately" gain the souvenir without actually crossing the border. Visit the DMZ; get the North Korea souvenir you've always wanted! It's become painfully clear that any improvements to AL have to be weighed against anticipated abuses of the system. -
Block Parties to celebrate 25th anniversary in 2025
JL_HSTRE replied to Geocaching HQ's topic in Geocaching HQ communications
It will be interesting to see what this requirement looks like in practice. Hopefully Groundspeak will offer some suggestions. -
First hide stolen before it got published.
JL_HSTRE replied to kcreek88's topic in General geocaching topics
Don't hide a geocache near a playground, even if it's technically far enough for the Guidelines (Reviewer could also not realize there's a playground nearby). Not only does it increase the chances of curious kids finding the container and taking it, but parents will get scared of strangers without children "loitering" nearby leading to unpleasant encounters. -
Adventure lab based on traditional caches
JL_HSTRE replied to nemesis905's topic in Creating Adventures
To paraphrase a wise man nearly eaten by dinosaurs: some people are so concerned with whether they could instead of whether they should. That's it. That's exactly it. It's really that simple. Everything is a competition and the race to the bottom never ends. -
Much like a DNF doesn't necessarily mean the cache is missing, "couldn't find the answer" doesn't mean the answer is missing.
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GPS: Garmin. I think a waterproof model is a must. Hiking pole. Some folks like sticks, but I prefer telescopic. Cork grip is a must (not plastic). One pole is usually sufficient, especially for poking around. You only really need a pair for long distance backpacking, mountains, or to compensate for physical problems. Pocket-size spiral notepad. Great for tracking finds, maintenance issues, and other notes for writing a proper online log later. A pen can often be tucked in the spiral. Pants or shorts depending on climate and tick prevalence. Wicking and lots of pockets.
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Should there be a separate designation for "nano" caches?
JL_HSTRE replied to Ed_S's topic in General geocaching topics
That's like saying the speed limit should rise until people stop speeding. -
To me, this thread illustrates geocaching has some fundamental issues with the physical logging process. Too much variance in signing device and log material. Much digital ink spilled about log ink, which isn't checked 99% of the time.
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No "NM", when not finding a cache?
JL_HSTRE replied to baer2006's topic in General geocaching topics
I think it depends on the cache. If finding the log is part of the challenge - which is usually apparent from the cache page - then I agree. If a D1 ammo can is rusted shut the Found + OAR/NM. -
There are 40,000 active caches in Florida, which I have culled down to less than 3000 I actually want to seek at some point. I can update their status before loading onto my Garmin and my phone. I have other databases for the rest of the country for when I travel. Without GSAK to manage and update a curated database I would probably quit geocaching.
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There's also a similar exemption for drilling holes into trees. I think both exemptions are serious mistakes by Groundspeak. Besides any problems with dishonesty, it's going to result in people cluelessly digging/drilling holes in and hiding a cache somewhere without explicit permission, only to get denied at publication (or worse: slip through the review process). Then there's an argument with the Reviewer and meanwhile the damage has been done.
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The only apps that should be required are Groundspeak published or sanctioned apps like Wherigo or Adventure Labs, or something generic that requires no specific app and/or can be done by other means (ex: internet searches, calculators, or waypoint projections). I don't mind going to a specific free website for a jigsaw puzzle or to interact with AI or use a special geochecker or something like that. However, I think nothing requiring a fee or login/account or download should be allowed, whether belonging to the CO or a third party. (Excepting things covered by my preceding paragraph.)
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Some really old buried caches were grandfathered in because they predated the prohibition, but probably shouldn't have. Lots of geocachers are either unfamiliar with the Guidelines or see them as an inconvenience to be circumvented. A hide that skirts the rules (or worse) is creative and novel, and gets accolades from them. "Is this right?" is not a question that enters their mind.
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If you have more than a thousand solved unfound puzzles you need to spend more time caching and less time puzzle solving.