GeoFamily57

Thanks, but the closest store is 160 miles away!

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I do not share your definition of "easy to find" as "bad". "bad" to me is lousy container, bad coords, erroneous write up, significantly wrong terrain or difficulty rating. That makes a lot of sense. I am just starting out, so I am a little confused. I totally understand what you are saying, though.

If you go with the Magellan Just know that you can't download cache information directly from the description page. Only Garmins and DeLormes can do that.

Sometimes caches are easier to find in the winter because, depending on where you are, the leaves fall off the trees, so things are easier to find. Also, brush and small plants die off, so the cover is worse, and the caches stand out against the white background. There is a cache in my area that is hard to find in the spring and summer, but in the late fall and winter, the small, dense plants that are otherwise concealing it die, so it is a pretty easy find. But for micros, It can be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Sorry, meant Flash 50!

We tried out the geomate jr., and while it is easy to use, per se, it simply doesn't work. We now use a Garmin eTrex Summit HC, and it is durable, reliable, easy to use, and it comes with a CD that has maps (but I haven't figured that part out yet). Hope this helps!

It is an outdoorsy type store that sells stuff for hiking, camping, backpacking, climbing, running, kayaking, and many other things. They have several stores around the country but they also have a very nice website.

The Groundspeak store ships to the US only, but here is a list of their international retail partners. http://shop.Groundspeak.com/shipping.cfm

Is the REI Flash 55 a good pack? Also, do any of you know of good places to hike around Northeast Indiana?

I chose our name because we are a family of 5 (but I do most of the forum stuff) and 7 is my favorite number.

several sites have geocoins for anywhere from 5 to 15 bucks. You could also get them on ebay. You could get some nice custom ones on the internet, but if you just want some cheap you could get some blank wooden nickels and a custom stamp. Happy caching!

@Prime Suspect Your signature made me laugh.

We started out with a Geomate Jr. and after our first find we returned it. It is very unstable. You will get within 5 feet of where it tells you you need to go and then it will say you are 50 feet in the wrong direction. We currently use a eTrex Summit HC and are very pleased with it. It is durable and easy to use. Hope this helps. Happy caching!.

The same people that think submerging an oatmeal drum is a novel idea. I like your signature, by the way.

Have you ever found a cache that was so easy to find it isn't even funny? share your stories of bad hides. I'll start: I found a cache a few weeks ago that was a lock 'n' lock box at the base of a tree with a piece of plywood leaning up against it. seriously? it was super easy to find because it had just rained and the plywood didn't look like the tree at all and because the plywood didn't even cover the box.

I have only been caching for about 2 weeks, and my favorite cache that was the hardest to find was a cell phone sized plastic container stuck to the underside of where a guardrail met the ground magnetically. since the plastic case wasn't completely watertight, the log was in a plastic bag. If your cache is subject to the elements (and it almost always will be), make sure everything is watertight.

check out this shirt... http://www.cafepress.com/+black_bushwhacking_tshirt,41913661

"That's not to say that I'm entirely innocent of posting a spoiler now and then..." That makes me feel better, since I posted an ROT13 spoiler-ish log a few days ago... I'll try not to do it again.

Say, what is your original question? I was wondering if it is good or bad to put spoilers in logs. If it's bad, does ROT13 help? Also, is there any other unwritten/unspoken rules about online logs?

3/4.5

It is always a good idea to bring geocaching brochures so you don't have to spend a long time explaining to muggles or cops. they are sold here: http://shop.Groundspeak.com/productDetail....p;ProductID=315

I'm trying to come up with something that rhymes with that.... http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_rhymes_with_purple Nice try, Bittsen. I thought you preferred Wikipedia So, the horse walked with a hirple because it had a sore curple, huh? I can buy that. But, "whirlpool"? I guess if you are British...

Note, that if you want the coordinates of a spot on the map, you have to click somewhere away from a road. If you right click near a road, it will provide driving directions to a point on the road "close" to where you've selected, but it won't tell you what the coordinates are. If you click on a spot even a small distance away from a road it'll say something like: "We could not calculate directions between 42.422416,-76.488858 and Ithaca, NY." You'd then have to convert those coordinates to degrees, decimal minutes to use the Hide & Seek a Cache form. It's also worth noting that the resolution of the maps in different places varies significantly. Trying entering a hotel name that I stayed at a couple of months ago (Morogoro Hotel, Morogoro, Tanzania) into Google Maps. The available resolution changes right in the middle of the road where the hotel is located. To the west it would be usable for identifying some fairly small features (for example, a baobab tree that is just outside the lobby of the hotel) but to the east it's just a blur. Most of the city (with a population over 200,000) is to the east but you can't even identify large buildings at the resolution provided. I tried to find the coordinates of a micro on a guardrail because I stumbled upon it by chance and needed to find the name. I tried rightclick "directions from here", but it gave me the name of the road and not the coordinates.

Have you found a lot of caches in your area to be on 12 mile hikes and/or grueling climbs? no. Its true that caches are (almost always) meant to be found, but some are meant to be found with a lot more difficulty than others. In Indiana, where you hail from, there is a series by IndyMagicMan called the "Shelter" series. Shelter III looks like a fun one. thanks, I'll check that out. I live near the "River Greenway" trail along the St. Joe River and there is a pair of caches called "So Close" and "Yet So Far" in there that look like a nice hike by the water.