J Grouchy

I have no idea what new map you folks are talking about. Screen cap?

I wondered who that was! Congrats.

Hey, I never said one way is objectively "wrong". Wrong for me...I would post a Note if I saw the cache because I physically found it but could not log it. But hey, we've done all this before in a myriad of threads...so no point in rehashing that. As it pertains to the CHS, it's really an issue that Groundspeak doesn't really have a good handle on (though I frankly believe they THINK they do). I personally feel that DNFs should play a MUCH smaller role in determining that score.

See. That's how I deal in hint-giving. I try to make people wonder if something I said, or some subject I touched on might be tangentially hint-ish. In a few of my caches, hints of some form are "baked into" the entire published page...the title, the description, the theme. It's not always just about the encrypted ROT13 line under the description field on the cache page.

What it comes down to is the same old argument we've had forever: what does it mean to "look for a cache"? For me, the bare minimum is being at the posted coordinates (or the solved coordinates on a multi or mystery). For others, all it takes is thinking about going to the posted coordinates, but getting distracted by a shiny object on the way to their car.

Sorry. In my book, hand-holding through the puzzle is not giving a proper hint. I actually gave a fair amount...about as much as I can without just coming out and saying exactly what people need to do. In fact, I may have already hinted at how to solve it right here today. Maybe. Maybe not. To be honest, if I look at a higher-rating puzzle and understand what to do right away, it's slightly disappointing for me. It's all very subjective.

Plus Codes for the win! ?

I mean that the methods for solving do not require any special ability or knowledge beyond what the average person ought to be able to handle. Some of my least favorite puzzles are those that require delving into things like flight navigation or having a better-than-average ability to identify plant or tree species...and not just being able to Google terms, but actually understanding certain subject matter to a fair degree. I don't think any of my puzzles require such commitment or understanding. Several may require looking up certain terms or subjects, but the puzzles themselves can be solved after doing quick searches for pertinent information. Basically, if I have to study for a physics final exam, I'm not going to be interested in attempting the puzzle...so I try to make my own for people with a similar mindset.

True...perhaps I didn't state it correctly. I always tell folks that I enjoy creating puzzles more than solving them. I'm actually not great at solving puzzles. My creations aren't always successful, of course. I've had a few that have either had errors I've had to correct after publication...or some that were solved in ways I did not foresee or through brute force. For the most part, though, I get good feedback and learn from my mistakes. Quite often an idea just pops into my head and I'll rush to put it together and publish. In maybe two or three cases, it's backfired on me. Now I tend to quickly put something together, then let it sit for a day or two and revisit it and work through to see if I missed something or if I have any errors or if perhaps there is some clearer way of presenting it.

Having designed several puzzles that are very much solvable, but went unsolved for long periods, I respectfully disagree. In fact, I still have three out there that are not yet solved, but are actually quite simple (actually, I don't have a checker on two of them because once they are solved there is absolutely no need for one). I'd say the vast majority of folks aren't willing to put in the effort. The only failure is on the part of the people who haven't even tried.

Keyword: 'change' If all I do is confirm it's presence in the location where I hid it, then I haven't DONE anything. An OM log implies action taken, so I don't feel it appropriate. As it is, the powers that be have sort of forced our hand with the whole Cache Health Score thing, so the only way we can head that garbage off is to post an OM log. Any other case, I post a Note, which is perfectly adequate for confirming to others that it's still in place.

I disagree with your interpretation of what "owner maintenance" means...but either way the situation doesn't present itself often enough for me to really spend too much time worrying about it.

Precisely. That's kind of what they've forced us to do, though. I don't agree with it, but that's just how it is.

Me too. I think I made that point. I do the Note thing when I haven't yet received a nag, but a couple DNFs pop up and I'm in a position to go check real quick. Otherwise, yeah, I usually post an OM log.

One of my first hides was very close to my home and I'd often drive by it or walk my dog by it and would check as I went by (I could see it from the car if I slowed down and cocked my head at the right angle). It made calls for maintenance easy to deal with, but I never felt the need to post OM logs just for 'check-ups'. OM logs are for actual maintenance...or to get rid of the website nags that they've instituted even when actual maintenance isn't necessary. There have been occasions when I've seen a few DNF logs on my caches and went by to check to head off any calls for maintenance...posting a NOTE when I confirmed the cache was still there, in fine shape. In those instances, I resisted posting OM logs because I didn't actually do anything to the cache and I didn't want to give the impression that any issues might have been resolved. If I'm checking to see if it's still there, that usually involves just a visual confirmation and not any sort of guarantee that the log is dry and the container is in perfect shape. An OM log almost seems like some sort of guarantee for the next finder...so I don't feel comfortable posting one if all I did was walk by and set my eyes on the cache to confirm it's still in place.

I'm somewhat of the mind that just checking on the presence of the cache does not warrant an OM log. There are occasion when an OM log is necessary following a run of DNFs, but that's just because of the weird rules surrounding the cache health scoring and nagging reminders on the profile page...not because of any real MAINTENANCE needed. Normally, though, OM logs ought to be reserved for instances where the CO actually does something to repair, replace or freshen up the cache. I'd suggest a "verified by owner" log or feature, but that just over-complicates things unnecessarily.

Heh...so I'm a "social butterfly" if I go caching on my own for a day.

Not sure if this addresses your question, but when I tried publishing one cache, it was very close to a transformer box (but not on it). The reviewer wrote to me and asked me to move it to avoid having cachers assume that's where it was. Having found many caches actually ON transformer boxes, I was a bit surprised by this request...but I didn't really question it since I assumed there were probably new unpublished 'rules' in place that reviewers were being asked to follow.

Yeah...I kind of side with others on this. It gives the impression of being a suitable container and hide style. Permission is a moot point. Same with birdhouses bolted to trees or ammo cans buried in a hole and covered with leaves. Are TPTB comfortable giving the impression that these are acceptable just because they've been done that way by others? Not only acceptable, but now by publishing this in the blog, they give the impression that it's a great idea to open up utility boxes because HEY! electricity is fun!

Yeah, I tend to agree. Even if I did a 1000 cache powertrail in a day and at the end of the day felt like I'd never want to see another film canister...I'd probably still end up happy to grab an ammo can the next day. There is enough variation in landscape and hide style that I don't feel like true "burnout" is a thing. Getting bored with it? Yeah, I guess plenty of folks do. But if you are really into it, ebbs and flows are natural...just as they are with any activity or hobby.

Just as an aside, I want to share my new favorite sweet treat with you. I know many people do not like black licorice...and you wouldn't think the combination of caramel, licorice and chocolate would work...but it totally does. I'm just sad that we didn't buy more of this at duty free on our way out. A 400 g box at duty free was 699 ISK (roughly $6 give or take). A 150 g bag on Amazon is $20! Anyone going to Iceland soon...? *winkwink* *nudgenudge*

Yeah...I live in Atlanta, so my concern for icy road conditions was maybe deeper than it would be for anyone who resides above maybe the 38th parallel. Our vehicle had studded tires and we only drove through a small area on the Golden Circle that was icy. We did see a couple cars off the road, flipped over

I originally reserved a 4WD, but downgraded to 2WD after some feedback from people I know who'd been there. Unfortunately, when I did sign up I neglected to put the 8am timeslot and it defaulted to noon. Normally that isn't an issue when I rent cars, but I guess they are busy enough that when I got there at 8 they didn't have anything for me. I was looking at four hours waiting in KEF! Around 9:30 am, I went back up and asked if they had anything available and was told that I could get a 4WD for a little more. We were anxious to get moving, so I went ahead and got it. The thing was a beast...basically a big pickup with a hardshell cover over the bed. The window on the back of the shell was nearly impossible to see through, but we made it work. I was jealous of all the other folks with decent-sized cars, but whatever...my own fault for screwing up the reservation. We weren't going to let it mess up the trip. I never needed the 4WD...and I was stuck driving since it was a manual and my wife only drives automatic. I was actually surprised I was able to remember so quickly since it's been probably 15 years since I had driven a stick-shift. I only ended up stalling once the whole week.

Check. Most days were upper 30s, but Wednesday was in the 50s...the day we were out between Vik and Jokulsarlon. BIG CHECK. Very expensive. I was dropping roughly 40 bucks for half a tank on my fillups. On the last day before heading out to the airport, I hit the Costco station in Reykjavik and spent $75 to fill up (about 3/4 of a tank) This was one of our favorite stops too. We did the Zodiac boat tour, got up fairly close to the glacier (maybe within a couple hundred feet) and it was so still and beautiful there we wanted to stay longer. After that we walked down Diamond Beach for about two hours and regretted having to leave that afternoon. Þingvellir (Thingvellir) and Gullfoss were our favorite spots out on the Golden Circle. Geysir was honestly kind of disappointing...as much as anything can be disappointing in Iceland. It was still pretty, but it was very touristy and compared to Yellowstone, the geysir was kinda just 'meh'. I think the Golden Circle maybe doesn't deserve all the hype...? Parts of it, at least. We took the clockwise route and didn't end up having enough time to see all the recommended stops. We'd talked about heading up there, but there just wasn't enough time to do all we wanted to. I think we'd still like to, but it will have to wait... Gullfoss was impressive for sure, but very crowded. Seljalandsfoss was one of our favorite stops. The guide book actually kinda played it down a bit, but we loved it...especially the 'hidden' waterfall (Gljúfrabúi) you have to kind of go into a crevice to see. Svartifoss was a great hike and we wish we'd had more time to wander around Skaftafell. We could have made an entire day of our visit there, but alas, we only had about 2 hours as it was a stop along the way to the glacier lagoon. And there were just a TON of places along the way that were awe-inspiring. Just driving down the road you see towering cliffs, glaciers, black sandy wastelands, moss covered lava fields, massive mountainsides where the sheep manage to climb hundreds of feet. We'd love to go back!

I am also grateful for my Costco membership. There's actually a Costco in Reykjavik and it saved me quite a bit in fuel costs!