ipodguy

Forget that!

Act like you're taking pictures. I've done that lots of times.

GET THE ETREX!

Why is anybody surprised that people will run out to FTF a cache even if it isn't intended for them? FTF hunts aren't really part of the game right? It's not acknowledged by GS as part of the game, right? Geocaching is not supposed to be competitive, right? Then why does GS acknowledge FTF by selling geocoins in their store? They're encouraging it without really saying so.

I'm glad you squashed the egg. Birds are loud and annoying.

I got a Garmin etrex vista C from ebay for $90 when I started. I've since upgraded, but I did my first 100 or so caches with it and it's pretty good. Now I keep it for when I have a guest caching with me.

He's crazy. If a log is soaking wet and you can't sign it, that's not your fault.

How long is a piece of string?

Yes, they are.

This was also my first hide. The posted coords lead you to the locked cache, on the bottom of the ammo can are coords. Three stops to get the three numbers of the combo and then return to the cache to open the lock. The only thing - the combo locks wear out after 6 months or so. WD-40 helps for a little while, but ultimately the lock needs replacement and the combo needs to be updated. I also have another one with a lock on it and the key is a travel bug. 30 cal ammo cans are the best because they have the larger hole on the hasp. You can put a U-bolt through it to hang the lock on.

If a 4 letter log wasn't appropriate, GS would place a letter requirement on found logs, wouldn't they? Relax.

No it isn't

No.

Coon and Friends = sweet name

I just unzip the PQ and drop it in my Oregon's GPX folder. I didn't know there was any other way.

Thanks for the Google Earth and FizzyCalc tips! Now I have to decide which one I like more. Thanks for the help!

Hmmm... It looks like I can do it with FizzyCalc. If there's a GE way, let me know. Thanks!

Hello! There's a challenge cache in New Jersey that I was thinking of working on. The requirements are to begin at a certain park's sign and find caches where the first letter of the title spells out a certain message. The twist is that each consecutive letter must be further from the sign than the previous letter. I want to try to plan out a trip with Google Earth. Is there a way I can use Google Earth to determine the distance between the sign I begin at and a cache? There's so many things that the program can do I'm a bit lost here. Thanks!

I rarely take swag, but when I do I tend to over-trade. If I don't have 1 item that is "equal" in value, then I leave several behind.

I've had to do it a couple of times with a burnt twig. I think signing in blood is gross. That's like leaving a hair sample or something. What am I going to do, DNA test it? On my caches, if you forget your pen or the one in the cache doesn't work then as long as you can sign it somehow legibly (burnt match, leaves, etc) then it's cool with me.

If there is already a NA log on the cache and the reviewer has given the CO a 30 day grace period which has expired, there is no shame in posting a reviewer note or NA for the cache to alert the reviewer that the time has expired. You don't have to be a reviewer to police your local caches. It's not like you have a personal vendetta against the unresponsive CO's or anything. You're just helping the reviewer out and cleaning up your area. Other local cachers might even appreciate it. Something similar is happening in my area where 1 cacher placed a whole lot but is currently inactive. As they encounter problems, they slowly begin to thin out and open up areas for other hiders.

I hid a cache based on the movie Evil Dead 2 and the log book is the "Necronomicon" from the movie. Supposed to be bound with human skin, but I used masking tape, acryllic paint and Mod-Podge instead. It's got a stretched human face on the cover. The pages were tea-stained and I burned the edges to make it look thousands of years old. To complete the theme, I included a red sharpie so the logs appear to be inked in blood. Never took a picture, but next time I get out there I plan to. Lots of positive feedback on the custom logbook.

I try to leave nice logs when it is a good cache. Unfortunately, not every one is. Here's my favorite log for one of my caches: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=389eb6b8-e88d-4ea7-b4b2-aed594abb20d Bend your ear this way and I shall tell you the tale of the madness Six Little Spookies encountered south of Double Trouble, a fitting appelation. It was about 10:30 when Spooky 3 and I began our Dark Journey. Spooky 2 stayed behind with the rest of the crew at the parking area, and 3 and I set off in pursuit of the Necronomicon. The paths were clear and the night was cold. Spooky 3 thought the trek was all over when we reached the creek and that we’d have to turn back, but no, off came my socks and shoes and in I went! The water was clear and only ankle deep, so she reluctantly followed. After redonning our footwear we continued. We arrived at the start point, and the first container showed itself. We unrolled the parchment and copied the secret coordinates into our Magellan. On we went. The woods were silent except for the crackles we made moving through the underbrush. As we closed in on the coords for the second stage, the trail petered out and we were forced to bushwhack until we discovered the trail we should have taken in the first place. It led us on, but we missed the marker for the second stage. Was something messing with us as we went through the woods? How long had we been out here anyway? We doubled back, and dove off into the brush. Once again we found the cache in minutes, but this time retrieval was not so easy. Spooky 3 laughed as I played botanical proctologist for about 10 minutes. Stage 2 in hand, we carefully copied the next set of secret coords. And then... A shot rang out! Spooky 3 jumped, "What was that!" she said. I assured her it was just someone target shooting or something and it was a long way off. With a slightly jumpier 3 in trail, we set off in search of the 3rd stage. The woods were working against us. The trail was barely visible, and would fade out behind trees and shadows, and a thin haze had moved into the forest. To make matters more unnerving, the gunshots continued, one every 15-20 minutes. Getting closer... Our coords began swinging as we approached the 3rd stage GZ, and we couldn't get any closer than 40 feet. Something was definitely trying to keep us away from the Necronomicon. As we circled around, no orange showed itself, but eventually we spotted 2 pinpricks of bright light in the beams of our flashlights. Eyes! And there was another pair! This must be the trail! We charged after them. Yes! Although faint, there was a trail here! We were getting close. And then...nothing. After the second pair of eyes we could find no more. We continued down the trail for a good distance, but nothing revealed itself. Midnight was approaching. We had to get this done quickly. We went back to try again to find the third stage. Without its secret coords our journey would be for naught. We began circling again... ...And spotted something we hadn't seen before. The third stage was ours! Victory was in our grasp! We copied the secret coords and double checked them for accuracy. We didn't want to have to return again due to errors of our own making. Especially since the gunshots continued, like clockwork.....getting louder. We followed the same trail we had before, but shortly after passing the last set of eyes we turned off the trail and began wading through the underbrush. We continued on further and the eyes began appearing again. First we saw one pair, then a second. Soon we could see half a dozen shining back at us through the misty blackness. But were they all firetacks? A few of them looked kind of reddish and I could swear I saw one of them blink! The hair on the back of my neck began to prickle. We arrived at GZ and spotted something slumped between two trees. It was a man! A victim of some unspeakable ritual. Dead. A little way off was another, and another, and in the midst of them all a grisly totem. What madness been committed here?! Suddenly the gunshot thundered again! Much closer than before! It couldn’t have been less than a hundred yards away! Spooky 3 was ready to bolt, but no! We had to find the Book first! We circled through the brush searching, while all around us things rustled through the woods. We could feel a presence closing in, but still no cache! C’mon, it’s an ammo can for goodness sake! Where could it be! Then, I saw it. The tiniest sliver of a metal corner peeking out of concealment. We had it! The Necronomicon was ours! We rushed to the box and yanked open the latches, only to be thrown back in horror at the unearthly scream that emanated from the cache! No, not the cache, but the book itself! There it lay, bound in human skin, a face on the cover, its mouth open and shrieking! We could not take this with us! These screams of the damned would drive us mad! We would have cast it away and fled at that moment, but if we were not to take it the Book...must...be…signed! I tore open the Book and signed as the piercing wails throbbed in my ears. Our names recorded, I hastily grabbed out a TB (a bit of brain from one of the surrounding victims, no doubt) and left another one in its place (I’d call that Naughty, wouldn’t you?). I did not see the Pot O’Gold coin, but I confess my search may have been hasty. Perhaps it is there after all. Perhaps the demons took it for themselves. We sealed the cache and rehid it as we found it and only then were the Book’s ungodly screams silenced. It was 5 minutes to midnight. Who knows what sort of unimaginable horrors had been summoned when we disturbed the Book. There was no time to waste. We had to get as far away as we could as fast as we could! We ran off into the darkness, certain that at any moment we would hear footsteps of some monstrosity pursuing after us! Fear gave wings to our feet and the journey back to the van was a blur. I can scarcely recollect removing my shoes to recross the river. The Book’s gibbering haunted our brains all the way home.

You can do it manually by inserting html tags into your profile description. For example, if I wanted to use the small one: http://souvenirs.geocaching.com/SouvenirImages/MTAvNy8yMDEw/ff136826-897d-4a25-9475-731701c1da50.png I would insert this into my profile: <img src=http://souvenirs.geocaching.com/SouvenirImages/MTAvNy8yMDEw/ff136826-897d-4a25-9475-731701c1da50.png> You can do the same with the larger souvenir also: http://souvenirs.geocaching.com/SouvenirImages/MTAvNy8yMDEw/ce75f48f-28b4-4bef-b21a-55b433208fe3.png <img src=http://souvenirs.geocaching.com/SouvenirImages/MTAvNy8yMDEw/ce75f48f-28b4-4bef-b21a-55b433208fe3.png>

I saw that one right after they published it. Really, really cool. I'm an instructables addict.