BaylorGrad

But... If you're creating an event CACHE to honor your husband's memory, then wouldn't Geocaching at least be discussed? I don't think you'd be lying.

Interesting that this thread popped up today. I'd like to describe 2 caches I found today, and see if they pass the buried / not buried test: 1) The first cache was a 50-cal ammo can on private property in a small-town suburb-like neighborhood. The top of the ammo can was even with the ground, and large pieces of bark covered the top of it. The hole had clearly been created for the ammo can, because the hole was perfectly rectangular and had reinforced sides. 2) The second cache was a brick with a small pills bottle shoved in a hole in the bottom of the brick. The brick was placed (medicine bottle upside down) in a small pipe in the ground. The brick stuck out of the pipe above ground about 2 inches, but the cache itself was at the bottom of the brick, and therefore underground. I suspect that the pipe was already in place.

In our hypothetical scenario, it wasn't the ice walking that would keep the T5, it would be the pick axe that I mentioned and then having to chop through the ice with it. The island scenario much better reflects what I was trying to say... And is much more confusing!

I have asked a similar question to the folks here before, and I'm going to give the answer that I received from almost everyone: Change it. If people are out there working on a challange that means something to them, they'll find another cache to meet that goal. As the cache owner, your job is to ensure that the accuracy of your cache rating is maintained. --- But with that said, let me shake things up a bit: You hide a cache that sits 6 inches below the surface of the water in the middle of a lake (Terrain=5, of course). During the winter, the lake freezes solid for about 4 months straight. a pick axe will get you to the cache in just a few minutes. What terrain rating do you give the cache? Given the risks of walking on a frozen lake, do you keep the terrain a 5?

Many of us Geocachers in the state of Texas and particularly in the Houston area are familiar with the Geocaching-rich George Bush Park in West Houston, Texas. Unfortunately, yesterday there was a fire that burned 1,500 acres of the park. According to Wikipedia, the park itself is only 7,800 acres. This means that--at the least--a good hundred caches are probably lost (although we should check out those ammo cans--you never know!). I also just wanted to alert the caching community to this wildfire (which is has since been extinguished) because I know the popularity of GBP as a caching destination. Although only 1/5th of the park burned, I imagine that a much greater area was impacted. As you can see, the "E" in the TEXAS Series has been temporarily disabled, and I imagine many other caches will follow. Unfortunately, I fear that many areas will be un-cacheable for many years. Also, it might be in your best interest to avoid the park as a caching destination until everything has been cleaned up a bit... For what it's worth. Here are a few articles on the fire: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/110913-fire-near-george-bush-park-in-west-houston http://www.click2houston.com/news/29173094/detail.html http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2011/09/fire-breaks-out-near-george-bush-park/

It's funny how often this comes up... I remember making a post like this myself about 9 months ago. Just like this thread, I had dozens of individuals prove to me otherwise. Yes, it seems unlikely--and for many of us--it sounds a little bit less than sane. But for those who love their power trails, it is most certainly possible.

I agree with this statement. There's heightened security in those areas due to recent threats related to 9/11/11 so you wouldn't find me urban caching in DC or NYC this weekend. Anywhere else, go about business as usual.

For me, it's the adventure, and the never-ending search for something new.

I love caching on my bike. I don't use it for big numbers--I use it to get to caches that are too remote for me to drive to. Why would I drive 8 miles from home for a cache when I NEVER, EVER go that direction otherwise? Well, exercise gives me a good excuse. Bike caching is by far my favorite way to cache.

I have 25 favorites... 428 finds... So I guess that means I have only 17-18 to give. But I give them out sparingly too, in my opinion. I favorite the ones that have left me with memories... Liek a cache that took me 5 hours and four visits to find.

Typically, I would shortly describe it as "A game where I use a GPS to find hidden containers." That's the most basic, and the most easy to understand.

This thread is an embarrassment to the Geocaching community. Most of you should be ashamed of yourselves--not because of your opinions, but because of the way you express them. I am in complete agreement with the OP in every way. Keep the videos there. If you have permission from the CO (which you have clearly stated numerous times that you do) and people like your videos, keep them there. I would ignore the request to remove them.

Here in Indiana, my caches have never taken longer than 24 hours to be published. I think the quickest was just under 1 hour. Of course, it'll differ from state to state and country to country, based on how busy the reviewer is with *real life* and how many caches he/she has to work his/her way through before publishing yours.

^ Like the situation above, one of my caches has gone missing and I've been unable to find it... But it seems that it's still out there somewhere near GZ! In other words, I've searched for my cache and have been unable to find it. So the questions becomes... Do I log a DNF?

What I find interesting is that the OP doesn't seem to have too much difficulty creating difficult caches--he has six caches (five active) none of which have a D or T rating below a "3," and there are a couple 5's in there as well. That leads me to conclude--unfortunately--that the goal here is not to hide a difficult cache for cachers to find, but to hide a cache so difficult that people won't find it. Just a guess.

What's interesting about this statement is that most people would be furious if they found a nano in a nice location--they want to go big or go home, especially in a nice spot. It's almost like these forums encourage that the smaller caches be reserved for less scenic locations. Now, my response to the OP: [short, passive-aggressive statement that demonstrates just how much I dislike your question and nanos--to about the same degree.] Just kidding. My first find was a nano. They'll always have a special place for me because of that.

" ... Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get." I usually wear a Nomex fireproof suit when I enter the forums. AKA Valley Of Flames. Try not to take it toooooooo seriously many of these folks really are stand up folks. Geo-Huggggzzzzzzzzzzzzzz I'll second that--hardly an exaggeration either.

Slow for me too, but not impossible. Each page change takes about 3-5 minutes to load. Oh well, cache another day

In 425 caches, I've only had muggles ask what I'm doing on 2 occasions. The first time, they were furious and told me to get off their property (that was a mistake on the part of the cache owner). The second time, the muggle stuck around to watch me make the grab. Luckily, it was a "regular" cache. I showed him the log book and he even looked up geocaching.com on his phone. To be honest with you, I think he was looking for a reason to call the cops on me, but I managed to prove what I was doing by finding the cache. Thus, I've found that honest answers tend to be the best ones. Here's the take-home point: You never know WHY the muggle is asking what you're doing until AFTER you've answered. Are you on private property and they're furious? Have they heard of geocaching and want to see what it's like? Are they worried you're looking for a drug stash? And so forth. Thus, honesty.

The OP is going to fit in very well here. I, too, initially discussed the statistical impossibility of finding so many caches in a day... But the impossible is indeed possible. It's been done too many times to say that every claim was a false one. Several of these forum members have been on these power-caching runs, and while this type of caching isn't for me--or for the OP--to each his own!

Thanks Markwell, but I've found that I'm quite likely to find help here, and that the help has been nothing but excellent. I have figured out the answer to my concern above, but I have one last issue apparently. I have the latest version of POI Loader on my computer as well as GSAK. All seems to be working well until I get to the very last POI Loader screen. When it asks me to select the folder where I have saved the files, I get a message that says: "There are no data files in that folder. Please specify a folder that contains at least one file with a .csv or .gpx extension." I know I'm only one step away from getting this to work--so close!

I've used GSAK on my computer before, in a very basic way. However, I just added GSAK and POIloader to my new laptop so that I can get caches onto my Garmin NUVI 255w. On my old computer, next to the "Exit" button was a tab that said "NUVI." When I clicked that button, the waypoints on GSAK went to my GPS via POIloader. That "NUVI" button is missing. Anyone know what I need to do to get that button back?] Thanks! BaylorGrad

Frankly, I don't think I've done a cache that I would consider extreme. The highest rated I've gotten was a 2/4 in the woods, and while it was usually in a very swampy area, the ground was dry (or covered in snow, I can't recall) when I made the grab. So I'm still looking forward to my 1st extreme cache. I'll let you know.

I can see why this is a complex situation. If you ONLY wanted cachers showing up to your door on Halloween night, then you'd have to make that final cache an event cache. And then for the others, you could make them traditionals, but they're technically a part of a puzzle--at least on one night. Otherwise, they're solid traditionals... Probably. How confusing. If I was doing it, I would probably make the four caches traditionals, which give hints to a one-time event cache. I would then remove the hints and any mention of the event cache from all of the cache pages after the main event is over, and then simply keep the four as traditions. But then again, it's not an event if cachers aren't gathering, which they wouldn't be. So perhaps that last one would be best as a puzzle. Whew.

I was going to recommend the possibility that you were reading it in reverse, but you beat me to the punch.