SeekerOfTheWay

i have a fake golf ball in the jack of a palm at a golf course. Would you hunt that? i was being nice placing it there because the ground sand was full of fire ants!

Tree sap is the least of my caching issue concerns! Lol. i've hit stinging nettles, red ants and poison in trees. Not to mention palmettos bugs. Ewww. i don't mind micros in trees though. It's all good.

Meh. Just safely park your car and go grab the cache. The people passing by will only get a quick glimpse of you bc they'll be driving by. Most probably won't notice. Those that do probably won't care. Those that care won't do anything about it. Those that stop and questions you (unlikely) you can just tell them about geocaching. No big whoop. Or you can wear an orange vest, hardhat, carry a clip board and pretend to be checking the LP. But that's mostly unnecessary.

There's no way to "hack" the VZW 8330 to use GPS with 3rd party apps. Sorry.

Nano's are ok. i haven't seen too many creative ones so i'm not overly excited about them. What i dislike is the nano log. My screen name is too long for them! i prefer micros over nanos.

Ha, no, no PC or Mac. However, if a handheld held like 2000 caches, that might work. Then i wouldn't have to load often. Can all GPSr have GC Codes entered manually?

i've been "caught" caching by neighbors near a cache site, fisher people, park workers, etc. i've had to lurk by a playground in the bushes to get a cache! i've some strange looks and some questions but never any negative experiences. i just smile and say hello or explain what i'm doing. But i am a female, look like kid so i think that helps! If i saw some strange man lurking near a playground i'd think that's weird. i know a cacher that was asked if they were doing cocaine while they were rolling up a micro logbook! Wow! Now whenever i roll up a logbook i feel funny.

i've been "caught" caching by neighbors near a cache site, fisher people, park workers, etc. i've had to lurk by a playground in the bushes to get a cache! i've some strange looks and some questions but never any negative experiences. i just smile and say hello or explain what i'm doing. But i am a female, look like kid so i think that helps! If i saw some strange man lurking near a playground i'd think that's weird. i know a cacher that was asked if they were doing cocaine while they were rolling up a micro logbook! Wow! Now whenever i roll up a logbook i feel funny.

i agree with the poster that said it depends on the situation. i tend to look at the cache history and the COs last sign in. If they haven't logged in in over 4 months i post a Needs Archived because they aren't meeting the requirements of a responsible CO. If there's a string of DNF (including my own) i log a NM if the CO is an active player. i check back in a few weeks. If nothing has been done i log a NA whether CO is active or not.

This bums me out! i don't have a PC so i love having having caches on the go, wherever i am! Also having turn my turn to get me to the general location is a plus. i want a Garmin Colorado or similar bur i'm afraid it will be a waste because i'd have to get to the library to load caches into it.

VZW BlackBerry 8330 GPS is blocked (except for VZ Nav and BlackBerry Maps). You need to upgrade to 9630, Storm or newer to be able to use GPS with 3rd party apps.

i have an off leash, barking big dog phobia. i'd just not go for the cache. But that's my choice. i wouldn't mind cachers hiding there. That's their choice.

LOL! i wouldn't be surprised if the FTFers took pity on me. i couldn't find a D1, T1 the day before! Ha Also, the infamous FTFers are up north until winter. That helps a lot. Nevertheless, FTF! Woot!

i got my second FTF yesterday. Gotta say i liked getting it! Yes, i cache for the scenery and hikes and hunt. But i like a little friendly competition. In my town there's a few FTF hounds and it's fun to see who gets em first! i have a deadly FTF technique: a BlackBerry and no life. The FTFers around here are mostly retired i think. So when/if i get them they'll be well earned. i get stuck at work! Ha

Hello fellow Florida cachers! i'm looking forward to cooler weather for caching and to the snowbird cachers to come back! i'd love to meet and maybe cache with some! Today on the trail i saw a bobcat 10 feet from GC. This raised the D of 1.5 to 4 for me. i got nervous. Found the cache! i've found 2 fake palmetto bug caches and now i poke every palmetto bug i find near GZ. Ugh! Same with ant hills. Note to self, it's probably a real fire ant hill, don't poke it. Here's my tip for hiders: any size hidden in saw paletto=T4! i hid 7 new caches recently. i'm still learning all the tricks and trades and building up my geobag. Bug Spray Calamine Lotion Sunblock i recently added gloves to my bag after walking through a filed of those small spikey balls. Ouch. If anyone is close and wants to cache let me know by email.

i agree with the OP. i choose to tread lightly and not destroy the area i'm searching. i think and look a lot, then feel lightly for caches. i've seen areas look like a waste land and a poor palm tree nearly destroyed. i don't want that label as a cacher.

i encountered what i think was stinging nettles. i reached my hand and arm into a tree to feel for a cache when i felt painful stings all over my hand and arm! i screamed and yanked my arm out. i thought i was bitten by spiders or snakes. Immediately, the hand and arm turned bright red and began to swell. i started to freak out. i've had poison ivy many times and it never went down like this. i drove home (arm and hand stinging painfully and getting white raised bumps all over like blisters). i almost went to the ER but i stopped myself. Went home, washed arm with soap and water, put all clothes, backpack etc into washer. Jumped in the shower. After an hour the rash and blisters and swelling were gone. Seemed over with. NOT. The next day an itchy (like poison ivy) rash was all over my arm, legs and...hmmm...just everywhere! i just treated where i could with calamine lotion for the itching and cut my nails so i couldn't scratch. That rash healed in about a week. i still am not sure what i ran into. But i googled for about a week and stinging nettle seemed the most likely. Scary experience but ok outcome. Made me more wiser!

Ha, yeah. i should mention that my "hiking/survival kit" was made way before i started caching. i've always been into wilderness survival. i take all my gear if i'm going into the woods. If i'm stopping in a parking lot, urban caches or an easy walk i'll just bring my BlackBerry and a pen. And a hat. And that's all i need too. And this lamp.

How so? I've suggested different D/T and once it's changed it did not change my stats... I use feedback from the logs to adjust my difficulty ratings frequently. Sometimes I think a cache will be hard and it turns out to be easy and sometimes it is the opposite. I think it's more important to get it right. Yes! This is good advice. i've learned to use the feedback in my logs to adjust my D/T if needed. Of course i am new and so i rated my caches a bit higher. The finders have mostly been 500+ cachers so they find it easily. i kind of split the difference, keeping newer and more experienced cachers in mind.

Thanks for posting this. Interesting information. i have a fake electrical box as a cache in my yard. It's obviously fake and i would hope parents make wise decisions whether they allow their kids to find it. The blog makes me aware that i should be more careful when searching around real electrical stuff and LPs. Scary!

Cool thread! We need more like this!

Awesome! Thank you! Have to have it!

http://geolex.locusprime.net/ “Tool Of The Trade”. This generally indicates that some type of tool or instrument may be required to retrieve or gain access to a cache. The nature of the tool is usually not specified, but there may be hints within the cache page. It could be an actual tool, such as a screwdriver, or something as simple as a long stick to retrieve a cache from a high perch.

Tools Of The Trade. See below.

That beach container is about the size of my plastic spice jar! i would consider it small. To me micro is 35mm film can or smaller (bison tubes).