Chief301
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Posts posted by Chief301
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There are several Geocaching apps for a number of different platforms, so to assist you we'll need to know what device and what app you are using.
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BUT - my son takes Parkour in the city
Wait a minute....you can TAKE parkour now? Like kids take karate and such?
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A cache with hand-made items would be awesome, but you cannot require others to trade only certain items, or even trade anything at all. That is known as an Additional Logging Requirement and it's not allowed. In order to claim a find, all one needs to do is find your cache and sign the log, period. You can make handmade items the theme of the cache and request that others trade only handmade items, but you cannot require it and you cannot delete their logs if they don't.
Also, don't expect all cachers to trade evenly. You might be disappointed to find your cache, lovingly stocked with handmade items, soon contains broken Happy Meal toys, pennies, marbles, rocks, used ticket stubs, etc. because these are the kind of contents that caches often degrade to after time.
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You can also go to the cache page and log it from there.
^^^This^^^
You could probably do that a lot quicker than fiddling about trying to upload it from your GPS.
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How exactly do you mean that "the phone didn't work with the app"? Some details describing exactly what you did to search for the cache (including make/model of phone and WHICH app you are using....there are several) would help us to maybe offer some suggestions.
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As others have said is there a lamp post around the area you are looking. *Possible spoiler Alert*
The advice not to take anything apart is good but if it is the typical hide there then you would have to lift up the bottom of the skirt to find it. And that can feel like taking something apart especially if it is noisy to do so like some are.
Yeah, those lamp post skirts make a godawful screeching sound when you lift them. But they lift with ease. Other than that, no, you shouldn't have to disassemble anything, and in the case of electrical breaker boxes, transformers, etc (which are a pretty common hiding spot), it could even be dangerous.
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Power trails. Dozens or even hundreds of identical generic hides placed every. 528 feet along a bike path or roadway. You can rack up some big numbers doing a power trail.
There are also techniques (some questionable) that allow for even higher numbers on power trails. One is having a stamp or stickers made up with your caching name ..just slap a stamp on the logsheet and move on, none of that tedious archaic signing with a pen.
Another is moving the containers...since a power trail usually consists of identical cheap containers (usually film canisters), the cacher starts off the trail by replacing the first container with a container of his own containing a blank log sheet, and takes the first container with him. If someone else does the driving, he can sign that log while traveling to the next cache, exchange that container for the one at the second stop, sign that one while traveling to the third stop, and repeat for the length of the trail. It's technically against the guidelines to take or move someone else's cache, but power trails are a different animal and the CO's who place them pretty much know that some of these techniques are going to be used.
Real power caching is often done by a team, so that someone does the driving and two or more others take turns actually jumping out of the vehicle and grabbing the cache, so everyone else can take a break and avoid getting fatigued. They use a team name to sign the log and each team member logs the find online individually later (another generally accepted practice, even on non-power trail caches)
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I don't worry about food and water....most of my caching is in civilization, driving from cache to cache, so when the urge strikes I just whip in to a handy convenience store or Mickey D's, which are also good for bathroom breaks.
Every cacher has different preferences for their kit, tailored to their individual caching style based on their experience. Some common items that most everyone could use:
Gloves
Flashlight
Pointy tweezers (for extracting tiny little nano logs)
Pens, of course
Spare batteries for GPS, if you use one, or backup juice pack or charging cable for smartphone, if that's your thing.
Beyond that, once you've been caching awhile you'll develop a feel for what other gear would be useful, based on the type of caching you do and the types of caches that are prevalent in your area.
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It looks like those caches are just individual caches that the owner grouped into a related series (all the cache names are "Damper One", "Damper Two", etc). Some of them are multi caches and some are Traditionals, but each one is an individual stand-alone cache. Do them in any order you like...they are only related to each other by a common owner and being part of the "Damper" series, whatever that is.
Just a little FYI, my partner and I stopped at a park to try and locate our first cache tonight after dinner, it didn't go too well! Perhaps should have started with something easier than a 2.5 in the pitch black!Yeah, that's a good idea. Go back in daylight and try again. Also, pay attention to the cache rating...stick to easy difficulty ratings (1-1.5) for now and also pay attention to the size....look for Smalls and Regulars, they should be easier to find than Micros, at least until you gain a little experience and know what you're looking for.
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I have a cache, which is listed as a puzzle, that highlights the history of a nearby town.
GC4VH1B, "Napoleonville History"
To get the final coordinates, you have to visit 4 different historic markers which are located near the courthouse and collect information from those markers (dates, etc) and plug some of those numbers in to a simple puzzle on the cache page. In the cache description I also provide a little history of the location, like the old courthouse, jail, and Episcopal church which all date back to the 19th century.
The final location is located a short distance away, in a place that's a little more private and easier to search unnoticed. There would just be literally no place to hide a cache at the starting point.
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Nanos are often magnetic, so zone in on anything metallic at GZ (Ground Zero, or the general area where your device brings you). For nanos you'll often have to use your hands as well as your eyes. Feel around on top of, under, behind, and inside any metallic things you find there. If anything moves check it out.
Nanos can be frustratingly difficult to find, even for experienced cachers, because there are just SO many places to hide them.
The log "sheet" for a nano is really just a tiny little roll of paper, just a few millimeters wide and maybe 6 or 8 inches long. They are sometimes a pain in the butt to remove from the container and get them back in. Consider carrying a pair of pointy tweezers when you go out caching. Some folks prefer a safety pin with the tip bent a little to "hook" the log and extract it from the container.
To replace, once you've tightly rolled up the log like you found it, it works better to place the rolled up scroll inside the CAP of the container and screw the container onto the cap instead of vice versa.
Also, remember that since the log sheet is so tiny it won't hold a lot of signatures, so be courteous and use an abbreviated version of your caching handle....on nanos I sign C301 instead of Chief301.
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I think you may be confusing a Multi with a series or perhaps even a power trail. A Multi will only give you the location of the first stage. When you find the first stage, the coordinates of the second stage will be there...either in/on the container, if there is a container, or written on some other object like a tag or sign at those coordinates. So you find stage one and use the coordinates you find there to find the second stage, etc. Of course, you need to be able to enter those coordinates manually into your GPS or smartphone or whatever device you are using.
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I don't know. I've never seen three feet of snow
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I wouldn't put it in somebody else's cache. If you want to put it in your own cache that would be fine. If it's meant to scare people and then amuse them it sounds like it should be part of the hide, more than just ordinary swag. It's not cool to change other people's hides.
I wouldn't consider it changing someone else's cache. It's just a bit of swag. A rubber snake is just a toy.
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Rubber snake? Sure, why not? Probably make some little kid's day.
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OK, looks like you found the Submit button. Now just sit back and wait for your cache to be published. Just be aware that the approval MAY take up to 7 days. It usually doesn't take that long in reality, but it could take a day or two. Reviewers are volunteers and while they try to publish caches as quickly as possible, they do have lives and real jobs
In my experience it usually takes a day or two, but they sometimes get published in a matter of hours.
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I think the concern is that finders will share the code with lots of others who can then log the cache without ever having visited it. And the CO would not be able to dispute it because the "finder" did have the code...there would be no way to disprove it.
This already happens a lot with trackables.
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It's GeoCACHing, by the way...not Geocatching.
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Hello,
The other day I received an email [personal message through the geocaching website] from someone claiming to be messaging geocachers on behalf of Thorntons, with the following message:
Hi, I'm currently working on behalf of Thorntons to create a nationwide easter egg hunt. Would you be interested in placing a cache on behalf of Thorntons in return for a free [red] hamper?[/red]We are happy to send out the geocache kit to you along with the Thorntons voucher to be placed inside.
If this is something you would be interested in, if so please do get in touch
If I were to go through with this, I'd like to know if this is legit or not, or if anyone else has received this kind of mail,
Thanks
Free hamster?
Groundspeak should definitely get behind this promotion.
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I do wish more COs would post parking waypoints. Sometimes what appears to be the most convenient parking for a cache ends up being either in a lot I can't access (private, gated or monitored for ticketing/booting) or it doesn't have a good access point to the cache...so I end up having to drive further than I want to a less obvious location. Some folks do that intentionally to mess with you, but more often than not they just don't think about it from the perspective of someone who isn't familiar with the area and may not know the best way to get to GZ.
I only have one cache where the parking location isn't really obvious so I did provide parking coordinates for that one, but I honestly don't know how many people actually bother to look at additional waypoints or even know that there is such a thing.
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Well, basically you just show up at the specified coordinates at the listed time and meet other Geocachers. Might be hundreds or just a handful. The ones I have attended were pretty informal, just a meet and greet. Sometimes it's at a restaurant and everyone can grab a bite while they socialize. Sometimes activities are planned, and sometimes there are drawings for door prizes. It's all up to the host how formal or informal the event will be.
There are also almost always trackables to be discovered...some are part of someone's personal collection and some just happen to be in a particular cacher's hands on its way somewhere else.
It's really cool to meet some or your local cachers and get to know personally those folks whose names you've only seen on log sheets.
You can also a log a "Will Attend" prior to the event to let the owner know you plan to be there. Sort of like an RSVP. Then after the event itself you log "Attended"
There are some humongous Mega events but most events are these little local meet 'n' greets. There are also CITO (Cache In-Trash Out) events where cachers meet up to maybe clean up a local park or something like that.
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Yes, some caches present a problem for parking.
I recommend looking at an aerial map. Sometimes you can see (or guess) where the path is that leads to a park between houses. Then park close to where the path crosses the road instead of as close as possible to the cache "as the crow flies" and still be on the road.
^^^. Also this.
There have been many times when I walked a lot farther than I needed to or bushwhacked through the woods when the cache ended up being right next to a convenient trail, or I ended up driving to a location that was on the wrong side of a fence or creek. A little study of the aerial view can eliminate some of this.
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I can't believe those cache owners haven't deleted your logs. I don't know what you call "compass bearings", but what you are doing is giving away the location of the cache. Please stop doing that, it's very poor form and taking away the fun for those who come after you.
If you want to take those pictures just for your own collection and to show friends some of the tricky finds you've encountered, that's great....just don't post them on the cache page.
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Your best bet is to pay attention to the D/T ratings. Not so much the difficulty, because a cache could be very tricky and still right near parking. The Terrain rating gives you a good idea of how difficult it should be to actually get to the cache location (assuming the hider has listed it accurately) Stick to 1 or 2 Terrain ratings.
Here is an explanation of Groundspeak's D/T rating system...
http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=82
There are LOTS of easy terrain "park & grab" caches out there. Heck, I can remember a couple where I literally did not even have to get out of the car to retrieve them ?
Another Inro App question
in Official Geocaching® apps
Posted
There was another thread asking whether once you paid for the full app, could you download the app again to a different device (same platform)? The consensus was that you can in fact I install the app to more than one device, provided you are using the same Groundspeak account and on the same operating system. So if we are talking about two iPhones, you could download the full app to the other iPhone without having to pay for it again.