Titansfan

Not worried about caching off base in Kuwait. I probably won't get much opportunity there. We are supposed to go to Camp Udari (or what ever it's called now) for more weapons training. In 2003, during re-deployment back to the US, we had an MWR trip to a Kuwait City mall (Shark Mall, if memory serves me correct) and was the only time, I ever went off base in civilian clothes and bused there. For security, we did have a weapon.

I will be deploying with my Tennessee Army National Guard unit in the coming months to Iraq and do have some questions and concerns. My last visit, well before my geocaching life began, to Iraq was in 2003 at the tail end of the invasion and beginning of the occupation. I was based at Cedar II (currently maybe called Tallil?) and we ran missions mostly to BIAP. I am familiar with MSR Tampa (actually experienced it before it was paved, we called it the washboard!). But we never ran any further north than Garma. Researching the geocaching site, I found the maps on the site to be of little use. I have relied on using Wikipedia to obtain coordinates for Taji and BIAP. Using the coordinates, there was 6 caches in and around Taji and well over 100 in around around BIAP. Are there maps that be of more benefit? Any suggestions of how to run an efficient PQ? Browsing the caches, the majority seem to be on US Military bases. Are there any issues about walking around BIAP or other bases with a GPS? I am a Staff SGT, while not at the bottom of the food chain, I am far from the top. When confronted with MP's or SGT Major's any suggestions? With security being paramont, I may think twice about going after a cache outside the bases. Should I leave those caches along and avoid a confrontation with Iraqi police/security? I may have more questions later.

Thanks for the feedback. I have sent off an application for my 13-yr. old daughter to get a passport. I did the the Google search and found a permission letter and saved it. I will be flying in to Detroit from Nashville, thus will have to leave my handgun at home. Michigan does honor the Tennessee Conceal & Carry permit but I know that Canada does not. I am a member of the National Rifle Association and read about guns laws in other countries. No gun, no mace, no felon. I guess on the way back to the US, I should have my military ID out too. Would think about bringing back duty free Canadian alcohol, but that could create a problem at the airport. Won't bring back any Cuban cigars either. Only problem I had was in 1989, while in the US Navy stationed in Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, my girlfriend and I flew from San Juan to St. Thomas Virgin Island. I was stopped on the return flight, questioned, searched and questioned. I guess I was suspicious since I was arriving with a Puerto Rican girl and myself being a 'gringo'. They searched my wallet and saw my military ID and the apolgies came and I was allowed to go about my business. With that, I look forward to the caching trip in Michigan and Canada. Thanks for all the replies.

In July, I will be attending a wedding in Michigan and make time for caching in Michigan and across the river in Canada. I do have a passport but my daughter wants to make the trip too. I have browsed some the US Gov't sites about border crossing and a passport is recommended. My daughter does not have a passport but does have a state ID and we have a birth certifcate as proof of US citizenship. What are some of the experiences of cachers crossing the border to cache or other business? Have border agents (Canadian or US) questioned cachers about GPSr's, laptops, PDA's and etc. ?

I have found the cache located at Ft. Knox just outside the Patton Museum. The museum is on the post, but visitors can access the museum without going through the MP's and contract security, thus cachers can get to the cache without any security problems. With that, I have waymarked the museum.

I carry a Kel-Tec P11 (9mm) in the storage bin of the driver's side of my truck. It does have a waistband clip and will carry the gun if walking in Memphis. If due to hot weather and unable to keep it concealed, I'll have a .22 auto in my pocket. I do have a permit.

I have been busted by muggles a time or two. I found it best to just let them know what I am doing. Once, while on business in Knoxville, TN, I went after a cache on a walking trail. A muggle was walking just ahead of me, I think he was concerned about what I was doing and sat down on the bench were the cache was located. I explained to him that I had GPS and was playing the geocaching game and something was hidden on the bench he was on. He helped me find the container. I showed him the contents and offered him to sign. He said he was familier with GPS in that he was a marathon runner and used the Garmin wrist GPS. He was facinated by the sport. I don't know if he begun caching. A second encounter took place this past weekend at a cache called Scary Loop, 5 miles west of Clarksburg, TN. I had already found it many months ago, but my wife really wanted to see this one and the 'haunted' church. We found the cache and just after replacing it, a truck pulled up. Since it was the same day as a cache event nearby, I figured it to be other cachers. But it was an older man with 3 women (relatives) visiting the cemetery and church. We explained what we were doing. He gave us a tour of the church and told the history of the area. He told us that about a year earlier he met other cachers looking for something and getting information from the two nearby benchmarks. Turns out he is the Sheriff of Carroll County. I showed him my GPS and gave him the printed cache page. Since he was the LEO of the county, I pulled out the cache and he was amazed of the number of entrees in the logbook and where people were from. I continued on with my public relations bid and told him of other caches in his home county. He seemed elated that people care enough about his home area to tell the story of it.

I would disable the cache for the time being. I have a cache in Bradford, TN. On 4/2/06, two tornadoes, one being a mile wide, tore through the small town. The cache was not blown away but while the town was in recovery stage and entrances to the town were blocked by the police to keep out looters and tourists, I disabled my cache and recommended that no one attempt to find the cache until I activate the cache.

Bug repellent is a must. Hiking stick for the non-urban caches. Kel-Tec 9mm semi-auto handgun with CCW permit. If I deploy to Iraq again, the list will be: Body Armor, Kevlar helmet and M-4 5.56mm carbine or M249 Squad Automatic Rifle.

I used EasyGPS from a short time, it was not want I wanted and went back to placing manually. Later, after going with a PDA; I began using GSAK. GSAK is great! I have recommended it to all new cachers.

Join the local groups. I am member of Geocachers of West Tennessee, River Valley Geocachers, Kentucky-Tennessee Area Geocachers and Middle Tennessee Geocachers and I do attend many of the events. At one KTAG event, at the conclusion of the formal meeting, I was invited to go on a cache run with fellow cachers. There were new caches in the area and I was placing them in the Garmin Legend. But since I did not have auto-routing and didn't have a map of the area, I was only going to hit those on the way back home (there were none on that route ) But I did find myself in a van with 6 other cachers. Having just reached 200 finds, I was the newbie in the van. The next cacher with the lowest finds had 1,200. The van had a laptop running on Microsoft Streets & Maps and I was able to obtain a signal had a GPS satallite repeater inside the van. In a matter of a couple of hours, I found another 16 caches that if I were on my own, I would have never done. It was a good experience. The circumstances repeated again last March. Myself and another cacher attended an event in Murfressboro. I was invited to go into the van, but we opted to cache on our own. I had since upgraded to auto-routing Garmin 60cs. But at our first stop, the van was there and we ended up in a caravan. I finished the day with about 15 more finds after the event to reach my 500 finds mark, doing 41 in the course of the day.

I have found one of the Cracker Barrel caches, one in Jackson, TN. It took two attempts. The first attempt was near lunch time and there were too many muggles around. I had an idea where it was and attempt to 'lock' onto the area by making an intersection from 90 degree angles. I gave up on my search. While inside awaiting to place my order. A shift or area manager made a bee-line to me. He was not very happy of what I was doing out side. The thought my GPSr was a camera and I was 'casing' the place. I explained the GPSr and showed him the cache page. The cache owner told me that he had the manager's permission to place the cache. He then knew it was a type of treasure hunt and went about his business and left me along. Came back a while later with my 10 and 3 year old daughters. I told them there was a keyholder hiding somewhere around a device. My girls went through it and found the keyholder. Another cache found. Since then, I have passed by several Cracker Barrels that have caches, I will not go after them without my kids. My kids act as good cover and few people will think twice about a couple of kids looking at things on a porch.

If the cache is still there, consider it lucky. I have one cache that was found my a group of 3 girls, they signed their names and placed the matchbox holder back where they found it. Some ammo cans have been filled with deer guts.

I find is a find. Stumbling across a cache, finding a cache without a GPSr, phone a friend, is not cheating. Log the find. I will state in my log that I called so and so for assistance. There is one thing I will not do, if aiding someone hiding a cache, I will be the FTF. I will wait until it's found a few times and then go a log it.

I've seen logs posted on boards in the lobby of stores. It would be an good idea to let the store manager know about it.

Muggles sometimes do watch us. I found a TB Hotel on I-40 just east of Nashville. It was a parking/rest are for big trucks. I tried to be unnoticed, upon leaving the cache area, a muggle was starring at me, he drove by and took a hard look at the set of ceder trees I had just left. I can only guess what he was thinking. I drove on to the next cache. Kids are the worst at muggling, they'll take off with the cache to just take it.

GPS or not, go sign the log and tell the story on the cache page how you found the cache and didn't use a GPSr.

I'll save my gun debate for other forums, I didn't reply to this trend to get into a pro or anti gun debate. If the situation doesn't feel right (armed or not, big dog on a leash or not, pepper spray, whatever), the game of geocache is NOT worth loss of life. Trust your instincts and leave the area.

Trust your gut feeling, if something looks wrong, some is wrong. I served in Iraq for 8 months in 2003. When I had that bad gut feeling, it didn't take me long to place my thumb on the safety and index finger on the trigger. I was determined that after my tour, I am going home to my family. On missions in Baghdad, the insurgent had the daily choice to go home, if not, he can go see Allah...it didn't matter to me. But geocache isn't a combat theater and going after a cache is not worth life or limb... it's only a game. A month or so ago, I attempted to find a cache at a small cemetery plot in Memphis, as I walked up, I found the plot was being used as a are for homeless people. I didn't want trouble, armed or not, it's not worth the risk, I turned around and left......it's only a game. I don't trust pepper spray or stun guns, I don't want to be that close. I carry a Kel-Tec 9mm semi-automatic handgun. It's light weight but with a 9 pound trigger pull, it's not the weapon of choice for a small woman. For women, I recommend a .38 Lady Smith revolver.

The orginal message on this tread, the cacher says she caches in Atlanta. Georgia is a Conceal & Carry state, which means that with a permit (see Georgia state gun laws) a citizen can carry a loaded handgun. Obtain the training and apply for the permit and be legal. I carry a weapon often, even while cachin', but even then, if I feel the area is trouble, armed or not, it's time to vacate. No geocache is worth risking my life.

Another idea is to have the cache pages on a clipboard. Walking around with a clipboard, muggles will think you are working and not bother you. When muggles ask about the GPSr and what I'm doing, I explain the GPSr and tell them about geocache.

Both my girls are registed cachers and enjoy the hunt and getting the opportunity to be outside.

For geooffcer, it's his/her business how he wants to manage his caches. For me, don't bother sending me a message to allow a find when one didn't find the cache. I would accept a log that when a non-registered cacher was with the registered cacher and then later became registered. At that time, I would want a message and would be OK with me.

Try to avoid cachin' at dawn and at dusk. Mid-day would be the best time to cache. Wear something bright. As for returning fire? Could be a good idea, however, that presents a problem. I have a permit to carry a concealed weapon and do carry a 9mm handgun. Question: Who has the better odds at 100 yards. A cacher with a 9mm handgun or a hunter with a scoped 30-06!

Desiccant packs have to recharged every once in a while. I am a gun owner and have many rounds of ammo. I use the Desiccant packs to keep the moisture down but I do so every 6 months. But as for caches, they will not work. We all suffer from damp logs whether our own caches or someone elses. I try to keep some extra logs with me and have on occasion replaced logs or even containers.