[Harassed Because I Published a Premium Members Only Cache]

its been said before that you cant please all of em everytime

Joke 'em if they can't take a..... well, you know. I think we hide caches for everyone else's enjoyment but we also get enjoyment from the logs. What we don't get enjoyment from is hearing about caches not closed or rehidden correctly, TB's missing, geocoins stolen, etc. If making them MOC's slows that trend then do 'em all.

 

GC would do good to charge people an extra $25 so they can SEE the inventory

[Harassed Because I Published a Premium Members Only Cache]

Keep flushing and they'll go away

 

I never had a MOC and just finished up converting a few dozen to MOC's as they have been raided and damaged. It was either MOC or change everything to micros

[...explained to them what we were doing... ACK!]

A week ago, roommate and I were out (her first time -- loved it).Twice on rural residential, cars pulled up and asked us what we were doing. First time we said we were geochacing, we got a blank stare. Roommate started to explain it was a treasure hunt with GPSr and they seemed to be satisfied. Second one was an older lady and we explained to her, she said "Oh, my son does that"... Neither seemed to be interested in the caches and neither were shown any. Don't think I'd have shown either of them the cache unless I saw real interest.

Ummmmm, even if there WAS interest I sure as heck wouldn't of shown them the hide because you used that catchy but dangerous term.... TREASURE HUNTING. We have explained it that way before and the first thing people ask it "What kind of treasure? Money?" which is also what leads to people who seem to like finding their treasure in unique toys (TB's) and plenty of treasure booty (geocoins at $10-$15 a pop).

[...explained to them what we were doing... ACK!]

Always a tricky aspect of caching, but when you are caching on the road, long way from home, nosy people can present a considerable obstacle. I was trapped in a Wal Mart parking lot with a Lamp Post Cache (LPC) in hand and people in a pickup about 30 feet away watching me with intense interest. I was tired and wanted to continue driving home from Yosemite, but needed to get that cache back. So I did the best thing I could, pull out some food from my backpack and start eating. After 20 minutes they lost interest (now I understand why some of the utter rubbish on TV is renewed, season after season) and I was able to replace the cache (I had done a little maintenance on it with some duct tape, which is how I was trapped with it.)

Been down that road a few too many times which is why my GF doesn't like to do city finds at all! Crawling all around over and under something thinking you're alone, then make the find and get the AH-HA moment and hold it up victoriously just to see some people standing not too far away looking at you like you're nuts. Or blasting thru the brush near a park and as you fly up on GZ you realize that the pile of debris in front of you is a homeless person under a cardboard blanket and you just woke him up....

[SOS... Save Our Swag.... ?]

I feel your pain iMPG!!

Thanks.... there's a lot. Had at least two dozen geocoins disappear recently, too.

 

Funny thing is... the response I got here was surprising!! I expected everyone to share my displeasure with it. Not so.

Don't find that funny.... my response would be "How far from the cache did you bury the bodies? Don't want to turn cachers off by the smell"...

[SOS... Save Our Swag.... ?]

TOTALLY TICKED!!!!!!!! Just had a local cacher report a traditional cache of mine that has eight (8) trackable items in the inventory has NOTHING in it. ACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This grinds my cookies!!!!!

[Recycled Caches]

Whatever you do, I would suggest you check with your reviewer first. As I mentioned above, I know that mine does (or did) have a problem with that.

The reviewer will have the final word anyway you slice it... but if the original is archived then it's gone Off the radar. Non-existent as far as the GC world is concerned. The new cache is a new cache, and hopefully looked at as such.

 

I have had hides in certain locations, then heavily upgraded the camo and hide technique but basically in the same spot. Archived the old one and re-listed the new one so the people that found the old hide could enjoy the new camo... never had any flack from our reviewer

[Puzzle solving.]

Thanks for the replies fellers. I guess I just need more cache time.

Locally we have puzzles that require holding the mouse over certain parts of an image, solving a crossword puzzle and figuring out a code nested in the puzzle results, morse code, pixel image size, alcohol content of beers, hidden text, barcode images, base64 conversions, song lyrics, tones on a phone, golf course info, connect the dots, invention patent info, periodic table elements, etc.... I don't see how you'd ever find any "application" to help solve a puzzle

[...explained to them what we were doing... ACK!]

So it shouldn't be assumed every stranger introduced to the game this way is going to have a negative impact!!!

Not at all assuming that they WILL have negative impact but assuming wrong when at someone else's hide CAN have negative impact on THEIR cache. Since you don't KNOW they WON'T have a negative impact then I would say to err on the side of caution and not put someone else's hard work and property at risk and DON'T expose their hide to strangers. If it's your hide by all means, lay it out to everyone and their brother... but if it's not your's then explain geocaching using information and show them your GPSr but don't expose the hide. Just MHO

 

But when you are caught in the act of caching it's lie or come clean. Sometimes I've been trapped for up to 20 minutes, waiting for people to clear out so I can replace a cache, which I have in my hand, unseen.

Love the picture... I still say if you "come clean" then do it with discretion and use words and information and not "examples" unless they are your examples. I have actually left with container in hand and come back later to re-hide as to protect someone else's hide. It's called R-E-S-P-E-C-T...

[...explained to them what we were doing... ACK!]

I agree with DragonsWest. It is a situational thing. If the muggle(s) are/were adults and expressed a sincere interest in geocaching, once I had explained it to them, I would show them, or if I hadn't found it yet, invite them to join me in the hunt. On the other hand, if it were a suspicious neighbor or curious kids...

I agree from from a log reading owner you don't know "who" it was they showed it to. I have a waterproof match container hidden out on a fishing pier in a really tucked away spot and have had a handful of times people log a find and say that they showed someone nearby what they were doing... just as many times I have replaced the hide shortly thereafter because it mysteriously went missing... go figure.

[...explained to them what we were doing... ACK!]

Does any other owner get nervous when you read in a log something like this?

 

"Approached GZ and some people walking by asked what we were doing. So we explained geocaching to them and showed them what the hide looked like. Signed the log and went on our way."

 

I don't mind the "explained" part but the "showed them" part makes me almost automatically put that hide on my maintenance list to be replaced

[SOS... Save Our Swag.... ?]

I'm not sure what to say about this. I don't understand why some people have to be intentionally difficult. Unless it was a muggle who thought he was playing the game the right way, which I highly doubt.

When certain people get done spray painting street signs and garage doors, get done smashing mailboxes and pull all the wings off all the flies they can find, they need something else to satisfy their demented, twisted, sick need to try to pass their misery on to others and unfortunately some of them discover geocaching

 

Luckily, we haven't had the cache raider problem to an extreme in our area. Some coins disappear, but most of them stay where they're at, and nobody's trashing caches. Hopefully it stays that way...

Consider yourself lucky. Had a hanging puzzle cache where you had to retrieve a bison from inside a ball... ball ripped from the hanger, tossed 50-feet away, bison tube gone. Neat squirrel camo inside a log as a stage to a multi... totally gone. Fake ant hill cache, found 60-feet away from GZ where it looked like someone was walking off with it and changed their mind because the lid was broken. This is in the last couple days. Probably a dozen geocoins and a handful of TB's missing without logged visits recently, too. Making me seriously think about going micro-only except in the woods

[Recycled Caches]

I don't see the point in archiving a perfectly viable cache for the sole prpose of creating a new, identical listing. It seems like more work for the reviewers with little or no payoff.

I have a few I am contemplating do that with but with good reason. One is a cache that was at a little rural canoe launch which now is being totally rebuilt into a preserve with museum, rental cabins, facilities and concession stand. The original cache was themed for the original location. New cache will be themed for the new surroundings and would rather bring folks there again even if they found the original.

 

Another was a cache that was located near a donation center for a bird sanctuary which closed down and was a vacant building for ages but now has reopened as a massage parlor. The "theme" doesn't quite fit anymore

[SOS... Save Our Swag.... ?]

Some proxies are better than others. While I'm sure that you can purchase a coin for $5 (because I have) I'd opine that most of them run an average of $9 and many exceed $10. I'm not crazy about proxies, but I completely understand the "why" behind them. Also- Groundspeak doesn't prohibit them so I wouldn't expect them to be going anywhere soon.

I agree that a cardboard cutout of a coin is a tad lame. And locking boxes with coins inside IMHO would just lend itself to the whole container getting taken (unless it was chained to a tree which would just mean the tree gets destroyed, too). One thing I heard was that drilling a hole in the coin and putting a tag on it makes it less tempting to steal as it's kind of defaced to a raider. But these are things the owner of a trackable does, as an owner I cringe when I see a neat trackable or unique coin pop into one of my caches.

 

I hate having to turn caches into premium only as this cuts a ton of people out of the fun as many, many cachers are not premium members.

 

Would it be improper to post something like TRADE SWAG ONLY - BECAUSE OF RISK OF THEFT IT IS RECOMMENDED TO NOT PLACE GEOCOINS IN THIS CACHE....? I'd almost rather do that then make them all premium only and cut them off from the non-premium members.

[SOS... Save Our Swag.... ?]

We've had a rash around the area with cache raiders where trackable items, mainly geo-coins, disappear from a container without being logged out and without anyone signing the log book between placement and disappearance. We have taken quite a few of our trackable target caches and made them into Premium Member Only hides but not sure if that does much. Has anyone had experience with changing caches to Premium Only better secures the contents? We're a pretty heavy tourist area, especially when it's cold up north, and I get emails from people about to visit asking if there are secure caches where they can bring some trackables to drop off. I have a tough time giving them any suggestions.

 

Does anyone have any better ways to secure trackables in their hides or make the caches less vulnerable? I know I could make them a dozen miles out thru the woods but people wanting to just move trackables would prefer a rest area hide over a day long hike but would like their valuables to be secure when they are dropped off.

 

Would making them a simple multi help even if it was something really, really simple?

 

Suggestions???

[unwanted cache 'help']

Never did figure out how that nano magnet got there! Had a DNF on one of minelike that. Checked and the cache was still there. Might havee been from the original (but muggled) cache 70' away?

If I recall correctly the cache here was stuck against the post behind the sign on the same post as where the magnet was found... odd part is I was trying for the FTF when I found that. Because I got distracted by the magnet I lost out on the FTF.... never assume

[Advice for making mini survival kits (for swag)]

We design and build packaging machinery at work and after doing some bandaid machines there was a load of leftover rolls of bandages of various sizes and types. I snagged some and think it's great swag (especially for rural tough finds) to put a small roll of bainaids in the containers. Anyone ten miles out on a hot summer hike feeling a hot spot growing on their ankle would appreciate that... although we've found a clump of Spanish moss can help, too (except for the mites that tag along)

[1,000,000th Cache Publication]

One million is an arbitrary milestone derived from our Base 10 number system. There's no logical reason why # 1,000,000 is any more special than # 999,123 or # 1,000,505.

Does this mean that "1" is no more special then "2"...? I'll try that with the next person to get a STF, comforting them saying it's just an arbitrary number and no less special then a FTF....

[unwanted cache 'help']

Long story short -- what do you think?

I think you just got some free nano containers... scarf 'em up and go hide them as new hides. Or leave 'em be and just up your difficulty, either way I wouldn't look a gift nano in the mouth

 

Had a situation here where someone hid a nano downtown and we found a nano magnet on a sign post right at GZ. Left and logged a DNF and a message to the owner that looks like his nano fell apart. He knew nothing about it and turned out the cache was still there. Decoys can be fun, too.... especially if you're the owner

[Cache Containers]

Never saw that the odor of the former food product caused problems with bugs or critters with people who use old Altoid's tins for their cache containers... then again the bugs and critters probably couldn't get the crusty, corroded, rusted to crap lids off to find out the former log sheet now glob of slimy mush wasn't worth eating...

[How to PLAY with Cache RAIDERS? ;O)]

I really don't see the harm in it. The OP is not doing anything extraordinary, or obsessively going out of his way about it. Laminated coins are used all the time with the real item somewhere else. When paper money was first issued, many people initially did not like that even if the bank backed it up with silver.

Hmmmm... that's another twist to put in the picture. Make laminated coins and put them out but don't say in the listing that it's just a laminated copy. Legit cachers probably wouldn't be bothered by laminated copies, but raiders probably don't care to collect cardboard pogs

[How to PLAY with Cache RAIDERS? ;O)]

How are you certain its a cache raider? How long since the travelers started going missing?

Example, I just got new coins, activated a couple and dropped them off in a local TB motel that had a couple TB's and a couple other coins inside. Two days later I dropped by to drop off a TB I had picked up. Looked inside and no coins, and no entries in the log book since I was there two days earlier. None of them were ever logged but the TB's and swag were untouched.

 

Then several local caches that had coins dropped off were reported as having no coins in the next log from the next cachers that found them. No logged finds between when coins were dropped and when they were reported missing. The coins were never logged out. Same thing happened for many local caches during the same time frame and unfortunately is still happening.

 

Not much doubt in my mind what happened.

[How to PLAY with Cache RAIDERS? ;O)]

How does you putting out a cache and then listing trackables as in the cache but never putting them in there fix anything? You would be adding to the problem! Explain to me how I'm going to find your cache and feel any better about not finding those trackables.

If you're a legit cacher and you find a cache and the contents don't match the inventory... oh well, you log the smilie and move on.

 

If you're a raider and you searched online and found some neat looking geocoins in a nearby cache, loaded the coords and zipped out there, you have to soak your feet in a stream, get a tad ripped up bushwhacking, pop the lid and nothing inside... you probably think twice next time you zoom out to steal geocoins.

 

I can see the potential to reduce the fun a raider has in raiding. But maybe that's just me.

[How to PLAY with Cache RAIDERS? ;O)]

Says the guy that wants to create fake caches for the purpose of aggravating coin thieves. Nice.

Maybe read the OP... the thread is about creating bogus geocoins as bait for raiders. Nothing was ever said about creating fake caches. Just logging a coin into a cache where it's not.

 

Cacher wanders a few hundred feet down trail....

"Dum, de-dum, dum.... where might that cache be? Hmmm, at base of tree... OH, here it is! Ya-Hoo!!!"

Click, pop, open.... creeeeeak...

"WHAT?!?!?! Inventory said there's a geocoin in here.... WHAT THE HECK!!! What a friggin rip-off! The h3ll with geocaching. I QUIT!!!!"

 

Yeah, I'm sure it would really drive legit cachers over the edge

[How to PLAY with Cache RAIDERS? ;O)]

I do it all the time.

And how often are they totally disappointed because a trackable item listed in the inventory isn't in the cache? What I've seen lately you have a pretty good chance of the trackable NOT being there and if it's a long hike or something to get to it, that wouldn't be a lot of fun. And most of those times it's because someone snagged it before you, not it was stolen.

 

If I thought I had a pretty good chance of a cache being missing when I arrived I probably would of quit a long @ss time ago.... so would a lot of people.