ChicagoCanineCrew

Hello! I was just wondering if anyone else has one of the Geocaching bandanas from the Groundspeak store, and puts it on their dog when they take them caching? I have one and I just think it'd be a neat way for people to recognize other cachers (well, ones with dogs...)

Hey, I don't know about anyone else, but personally I'd love to find (new/clean) Neopets from McDonalds in a cache! It would also be neat to find a McDonald's My Little Pony toy... I collect both of those.

Can you tell me more about this "Geobone"? It looks neat!

Hello! I just had an idea for a travel bug, but I wanted to see if other people think it's a good idea or not! I was thinking about creating a travel bug whose "mission" is to collect dog tags-- like tags you'd find on a dog (like old city licenses, expired rabies tags, etc) or the kind for people. It would be a chain with a few dog tags on it, and would ask people to add a tag if they have one. Good idea or not?

I'm curious if anyone has ever done a cache with a lock that was anchored in some way to prevent it from being carried off? (such as chained ore secured to something else or made too heavy to move.) If anyone knows of any like this I'd be interested to know how they fared!

If the cache is full of "junk" (not garbage) I will try to take the most junk-y thing and put something nicer in... I try to "trade up" rather than trading "even." I've recently bought a lot of dog accessories like collars, leashes, tennis balls with pawprints on them, brushes, etc and I plan to use those as swag... I also have a few small beanie-baby sized stuffed toys and some interesting toys/other items I got from American Science and Surplus.

I usually print out a map of the area with the coordinates marked so I can get to the general vicinity. I also usually print out the info from the cache page just in case. Once I'm in the area of the cache I use my GPSr's map feature to get closer to it. Once I'm within about 50-100 feet or so, I walk along, checking the distance from the cache on my GPSr periodically. When it says I'm getting close (20 feet or so depending on EPE) I put my GPSr away and start looking in the obvious places. If that fails I try to get a closer fix using the "distance" on my GPSr if the EPE isn't too high, and then put the GPS away again and look some more.

There have been many cases of this, here are just a few... The reason dogs are susceptable is indeed because they are "barefoot" (barepaw?) Dog Electrocuted On Charlestown Sidewalk "Another dog has been killed by stray voltage on a Boston sidewalk." More Dogs Electrocuted in New York City Utility Boxes are a Powerful Danger (Maryland) Could police have saved electrocuted woman’s life? (junction box cover, New York) Sidewalk Shocks Kill Walker, Dogs (Woman and two dogs killed, New York)

First, I just wanted to say welcome to geocaching! I seem to remember that caches in Illinois state parks are regulated and need to be documented and approved before being placed, but I don't know the details. You may want to ask at the forums at www.gonil.org (geocachers of northern Il.) or one of the other Illinois geocaching organizations. You can find a list here: http://www.todayscacher.com/states/Illinois.asp

I like nice keychains (something geared towards the area you're in is nice!), patches/badges, OFF wipes, small first aid kits (saw some for $1.99 at a drug store recently), 'nostalgic' toys in good condition, wallets, and unusual or foreign coins. Not sure if other adults will agree but personally I like to find beanie babies or plush Mcdonalds-type toys such as Neopets (well, I collect the latter...) You could always include things that a cacher might find useful while geocaching such as nice pens, waterproof pencils, small/waterproof notepads, CITO bags, flexible water bottles, etc... I've bought a lot of pet-related swag to place in caches which I hope will be well-recieved. Haven't had a chance to trade much yet. Such as- cute dog collars, bandanas, toys, travel bowls, booklets, etc...

Hello! I'm thinking of placing my first cache (probably in a forest preserve type area) but I was a little unsure about camo... I was thinking of either using leaves or painting/taping camo onto a container. I started thinking about how different things look in the summer and the winter, and I wondered how to camoflage a cache in a way that it won't stand out for half the year... If I put green leaves on it, it would look very out of place in the fall and winter, for example. Any tips? I have a bunch of fake autumn leaves that I was thinking of using but I wonder if they would show up too much in the summer.

I almost always have at least one dog with me when I'm caching. When you have a dog, you may as well be invisible to most people. The only time I've had someone come up and ask me a question while I'm out caching was questions about my dog (can I pet your dog, is she friendly, what kind of dog is that...) If I was in an area with muggles around I'd most likely put a baggie over my hand and pretend I was looking for something my dog left behind...I bet people would stay away. I figure if anyone every asked me what I was doing I'd say my dog lost her tennis ball, or that I was trying to clean up after the dog. Dogs make great excuses!

I don't think it would be such a bad idea as long as it was a combination lock (no way to lose the key.) I have a Master "weatherproof" lock on a gate which has been out there since at least last winter (Chicago winter) and I only open it about 1-2 times a month on average. I have never had a problem with it sticking... I think it cost about $5-8 at Home Depot. I've also had good luck with bike locks out in all weather although I'm not sure how you'd lock a cache with a bike lock.

I don't have a DL and I don't often carry ID unless I am planning to go somewhere with an age limit (I get carded a lot ) My dog has a tag in her pack with all my info on it, that's really the only form of ID I will usually have with me when geocaching. I've never been asked to present proof of identity except again if I'm going somewhere with an age limit. If I did carry ID geocaching it would most likely just be my state ID (or my expired one if I was worried about losing it) tucked into a zippered pocket. No wallet/purse=less bulk.

Slightly less "creepy" perhaps, you might consider having some of your DNA saved and placing that as a travelbug instead... There are a couple companies that make pendants and stuff with DNA in them...

Hello! Does anyone know of any free or inexpensive mapping software? The maps that came with my Meridian Gold are not very helpful at all, they list very few streets, at least in the Midwest... I can't afford the software that Magellan sells so I was wondering if there is any other software that is compatible with my GPSr. Thanks!

Ginger is my constant caching companion She is a Golden Retriever. She is working on getting a geocaching badge/title from Dog Scouts of America... Pooch, my Rat Terrier mix

Well, she is not normally allowed off-leash when we are geocaching as it is usually illegal and also it may disturb/scare other hikers (to see an off-leash dog) if we are on a trail... She is also very well-trained and knows "leave it" and "come" so that if for some reason she WAS off-leash (hasn't happened yet while caching) and she did start to take off I could easily call her back. Of course I also carry water in my own pack, it's easier to take out. The pair I had didn't have zippers, they had a drawstring on the bottom and then a tab halfway up the leg so you could roll up the bottom and secure it with the tab and the drawstring... I guess this kind is not usual? I hope I can find something like it, they were nice pants.

Thanks for the tips! I didn't even think of "convertible" pants, that's a good idea. I used to have a really good pair that had a drawstring and a snap to roll them up, but they wore out. I think I'm going to have to go invest in a new pair or two... You were right about the jeans. I wore them anyway and my dog went swimming one of the days in MI before I went hiking so I ended up with wet jeans for half the day and it was not fun Many of the items mentioned are things my dog carries in her backpack (which has a slim profile so it won't catch too much when bushwhacking) like water, flashlight, compass, first aid kit; and she always goes with my caching when it is a 'dogs allowed' area so that will work out well. I'm not sure what a trekking pole is but from the description it sounds different from a walking stick, so I guess I will go look it up now.

Please reconsider... Dog feces are NOT in the same category as wild animal droppings, unless you feed your dog a wholly raw diet. Dog waste does not biodegrade like wild animal waste does, because of the diet that domestic dogs eat. It can also pollute the water and cause illness in other dogs. It can be detrimental to plant life (it doesn't make good fertilizer at all!!) At the very least, please be a responsible dog owners by picking up your dog's waste. If you (dog owners in general) want to go a step further and help keep parks and forest preserves open to dogs in the future you may even consider carrying extra baggies (they do make biodegradable ones by the way) and picking up any other dog waste you find in trails or other well-travelled areas... In many locations it is illegal to not pick up after your dog, and this does not just apply to sidewalks.

Hello! Just wondering if any "seasoned" cachers can give me an idea on what is "proper" bushwhacking gear/clothes? Normally I just kind of wing it with jeans and a long-sleeved shirt but I'm curious if there is something better or any gear commonly used. I'm going to a camp up in Michigan where there are a bunch of caches hidden and I think it would be nice to be a little better prepared! Thanks.

Hello! I want to make a dog t-shirt for my geocaching dogs, but I can't think of a good phrase (or image and phrase) to put on it. Any ideas? I'm probably going to make this on cafepress and then buy them from myself there (unless I can find a nice cheap dog t-shirt to use my iron-on templates with...) All I could think of was "OFFICIAL GEOCACHING DOG" but that's not that interesting or funny or anything... If I can't find anything better I'll just use that in dark green with a stencil font ETA--- Like this:

If being in the newspaper qualifies, then I guess my dog and I are famous, too! We were in the Chicago Tribune once... http://www.chicagocanine.com/photos/TribunePicture.jpg (3-4 year old bad bad photo of me) Hmm I guess my dog is more famous than me though because she was also on Animal Planet (K9 to 5 tv show, she wasn't the focus but she WAS shown several times...)

Just had to add my newest, soon-to-be-caching-dog (not yet home) Sirius! This is where caching can actually come in handy for dog training! Sirius is part Border Collie and is a high energy adolescent. Hiking is a great way to burn off energy, so caching will hopefully become part of his regular exercise! I'm also planning to use caching as an excuse to practice obedience with him such as "come", "stay" (while I'm looking through the cache) and "leave it" with whatever critters we find. (No, it's not a muzzle. It's a Gentle Leader training collar, kinda like a horse halter)

Also forgot to add-- If you're concerned about briars/burrs/etc in the dog's fur it is not only shorthaired or smooth coated dogs that are resistant to them! Many breeds with wirey coats and straight medium-length coats are also resistant to burrs/brambles. Especially breeds bred for hunting or other tasks which require them to tromp through the woods... For instance, my Golden has medium-long fur (see photo at left) but I've never had a problem with burrs. Her coat just seems to resist them (along with water) and if she brushes up against a burr plant the burrs just fall right off her coat, or if they land on her back where they don't fall of immediately you just have to brush them right off with a hand.