Chief301

I haven't been injured while caching but this weekend I went caching while injured. Does that count?

Ooooh, I wanna tell him so bad!

+1 I get e-mails when a new cache is published. You can set a radius from your home location for notifications. I am notified of every new cache within 35 miles of home, which covers my usual caching area. I wouldn't go 35 miles specifically to get a FTF, but it covers the areas I'm likely to be going anyway (like, to work) just in case one comes up. I'm not really a FTF hound, though....I only have two...one I stumbled across by accident, it had been out 4-5 days already and hadn't been found yet. The other was close to home and I went out and got it after notification.

He just joined on Friday. Do TPTB usually step in and delete the account in cases like this? Or maybe he just misunderstands the game. "Ohhhhhh, I thought you just had to find them on the MAP...no wonder it was so easy!"

As the others have said, the size listed on the cache page will give you a clue whether trade items might be in the cache. Micros are too small for trade items, or "swag"...smalls and above may contain trade items. All physical caches will contain a logbook for you to sign. If you or your kids find an item in a cache that you would like to take, do so.... the only requirement is that you leave something of equal or greater value (this is kind of subjective, use your best judgement). Please DON'T take the whole container! Also, about the trade items...you may find items called Travel Bugs or Geocoins. A Travel Bug can be anything, but it will have a metal dogtag on it with a tracking number on it. Likewise Geocoins. They are NOT meant to be kept as trade items, they are "travelers" meant to be moved from cache to cache. You may take it, but log it online and move it to another cache. Most Travel Bugs have a mission or goal listed on it's page, so if you help it on it's mission move it along!

My daughter and I had just found a micro hanging by a string under a storm grate when a nice looking lady muggle walked by and said "Uh oh, what did you drop down there?". I just replied "Geocache". She sort of smiled, nodded and walked away without another word. I think she thought I was just making a nonsense word to get rid of her

I have the app for iPhone and I'd have to say it is more user friendly and intuitive than a handheld GPS. It has a map navigation screen and a compass screen and is easy to toggle back and forth between the two. Both screens show the distance to the cache updating as the distance changes. I don't know about the GPS accuracy on the HTC, but on the iPhone 4 it is very good. You can go out caching totally paperless, as well as caching on the spur of the moment when you haven't prepared any PQ's. Disadvantages, of course, are battery life and the lack of durability, waterproofness, etc of the phone. That's why I went ahead and got a Garmin too. I use both as appropriate.

Just curious. Was there actually something wrong with the cache, or did you post a NA because the owner quit the game? Well, I couldn't find the cache. I realize that it may in fact be there and I just couldn't find it (I did log a DNF before the "Needs Archived". But it has not been found since August of last year. The cache is this one.... GC1C8KF Since I can't say for sure that the cache isn't there, was it appropriate for me to log a "Needs Archived"? Should I attempt to contact the owner? It just seems unlikely to me that he is much concerned about the status of his cache since he hasn't cached in 3 years (and then only for a few weeks). It just seems to me that given the evidence (no finds for an extended period, cache owner no longer active) that this cache should be considered abandoned and probably be archived.

Sometimes "Needs Archived" is the appropriate choice. I reported one last week where the owner was only active for a couple of weeks, almost three years ago. During that time he hid two caches (one in his own yard) and found one, and that was the end of his caching career. I don't think he's going to go maintain his cache, it truly needs to be archived (or adopted). Hey, maybe a "Needs Adoption" option would work...

I believe that this is how a lot of smartphone users do their caching. It says nothing about the accuracy of the integrated GPS, but instead only relies on the accuracy of the maps. In most urban areas, the Google/Bing maps are quite accurate, but even then, YMMV greatly. I also use the iPhone sometimes but I don't understand that line of thinking...I only use the map while driving to the cache location, as soon as I'm out on foot I switch to compass. I'll sometimes switch back to map (is it on THIS side of the fence or THAT side, that kind of stuff) but the compass mode is easier to navigate to GZ with.

Just out of curiosity, did you accidentally mark a find as DNF (Did Not Find) and had to correct it, or did you not find it, then went back later on a different occassion and found it that time? Because many (most?) cachers consider it proper etiquette to leave the DNF as is and log a separate Found log if you went back and found it later. DNF logs are valuable to cache owners as an indication that their cache may be missing or needs maintenance, and to cachers as a hint of how difficult the cache might be (if some people are having trouble finding it) It's also a more accurate "history" of your caching. There are some pretty funny online logs about adventures people had NOT finding a cache

Your Geocaching name is the one you registered here with (hayley.stpierre). If you'd rather come up with a cooler nickname for caching now would be the time to do it, since you haven't actually begun geocaching yet (i.e., you have no finds yet). I don't think you have to register a new account. Here's some useful information on that topic: Name Changes You definitely want to be signing your logs out in the field with the same name you have registered here, just to avoid confusion and for confirmation in case there's any question that you in fact located a cache. Your name on the physical log in the field verifies your online log, if a question ever arises (there are some "armchair cachers" out there who log finds online and never visited the cache site...don't know what kind of kick they get out of that, but it happens)

This is just to let you know that there may be people about at this location (the "muggles" we spoke of earlier), and that you may need to be sneaky or stealthy to retrieve the cache, sign the log, and return it undetected. We try as much as possible to not let muggles observe where the cache is hidden...not because we're doing anything illicit but to protect the cache from vandalism or theft. If some folks nearby see you take a box out of that bush over there, open it, mess around with the contents, then put it back and leave, you can bet they will be curious about what that was all about. And they'll probably go over there and see what's in the box. Hopefully, the cache owner will have placed a "stash note" in the cache explaining what it is, what Geocaching is, and inviting any "accidental" finders to join in the game and please replace the cache where they found it. Best case scenario, the muggle will now be enlightened to Geocaching, maybe even think about giving it a try, and at least return the cache to its hiding spot. Worst case scenario, the muggle is a jerk who decides to steal the cache or vandalize it. Unfortunately, this happens quite a bit. So we try our best to be "stealthy" and not reveal the hiding place to any observers. This is part of the challenge on some caches, especially in urban areas with a lot of people.

Are you using the Groundspeak Geocaching app on the iPhone? If so you can "Save to Favorites" the caches you plan to hunt while you're in an area that has service. Then even if you have no service in the field you still have access to the info (since you're working off printouts I assume you have a separate handheld GPSr)

If you couldn't post in the forum why did you post in the forum asking why you can't post in the forum, because if the post doesn't show up then no one will see it to answer your question, and if it DOES show up then you no longer need the question answered... Kind of a chicken/egg thing, I guess...

Hmmm....not sure what the problem is. When you click on "Hide and Seek a Cache" it brings up a page where you can input what area you want to locate a cache in, either by address, ZIP code, etc. When you enter an address and hit "Go", it should bring up a list of the caches I'm order of distance from that location. Click on one and it will bring up the cache page with the coordinates and all the other information you need to go search for it. What are you getting when you enter an address and hit "Go"? Personally, the way I prefer to do it is to use the "Search with Google Maps" option. In that screen you still type in the address you want to search, but instead of a list you get a map of the area with all the caches shown as icons on the map. Click on one to open the cache page. Holler back if you still have questions!

It's the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department. I have known about them for a few years now because of the light bulb. .... http://www.centennialbulb.org/ Didn't know they had a virtual cache there. Cool!

OP probably doesn't have an iPhone or other smartphone because if they did they would be required to carry the data plan (at least AT&T does). Even if you got the phone somewhere else.

I guess to offer you some assistance, it's important to know what sort of problem you're having. Is the GPS not bringing you to the requested coordinates? If not you may need some technical advice regarding how to navigate with GPS. However, if the GPS is bringing you to the proper coordinates and you're just not finding the cache, that's a different issue. You need cache-hunting advice, not GPS advice Personally, I can't imagine how you managed to find the first one without putting the coordinates in the GPS. That must have been time consuming!

+1 Groundspeak (the people who operate the Geocaching.com site) have some great apps for several smartphone platforms, as stated above. Or a good general purpose GPS app like Motion X. I use the Groundspeak app on my iPhone 4 and it works great.

A "muggle" (not muggler) is anyone who does not know about Geocaching and therefore may interfere with your ability to search for a cache. The term is borrowed from the Harry Potter books where it refers to someone who does not posess magical powers. Muggles may be hanging around a cache location requiring you to use stealth to retrieve the cache undetected, or may find a cache by accident and take or vandalize it. When a cache goes missing and it is suspected that a non-cacher stole it, we say it has been "muggled". Although if you meet a non-cacher at a cache site and he robs you, he might be referred to as muggler

You can do it from the app if you want to. In the Navigate screen if you tap on the little Flag icon (next to the Compass button in the upper right corner) you can manually input a waypoint which will project from your current location. You can also use other apps like Motion X or Geocaching Toolkit.

Geocaches are never buried. If a shovel, trowel or other pointy object is used to dig or break ground, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not permitted. Hmmmm....thinking.......

It's OK, YOU don't have to understand the meaning of "N 42° 40.167 W 083° 23.965". The GPS understands it. You just punch in the numbers and the GPS basically tells you "It's thataway 300 feet" or whatever. Then you just follow the arrow and watch that "300 feet" decrease to "0 feet"(actually it probably won't read "0" because GPS units are only so accurate, but once you get to 10 feet or less you're there...put the GPS away and start looking) Once you've got an understanding of how the device works, and how to use it, and gain some confidence navigating with it, you will begin to develop some knowledge of how global coordinates and the GPS system work. The game is educational that way Then when you understand the basics of how to manually input coordinates into the unit, you'll also learn that there are methods of downloading cache coordinates directly from GC.com that save you all the tedious punching in the numbers by hand. But knowing how to input them manually is a useful skill. Oh, one other thing...learning how to work the GPS and navigate to the cache location is only half the learning curve in this game (well, probably less than half actually). Where the fun REALLY starts is when you've managed to get yourself to the cache site and now you have to actually FIND THE CACHE! That's a whole new skill in itself. At least once you learn to work the GPS, it works the same way all the time. But caches are all different...different sizes, different types of containers, different ways to hide them. It will take some experience out in the field to learn what to look for and how to find them. And just when you think you've seen just about every way a cache can be hidden, another one will come along that will blow your mind! Welcome to the obsession!

Oh, and incidentally, the reason someone asked what kind of phone you have is because some smartphones have GPS capabilities and can run navigation apps, some of them created specifically for Geocaching. I have an iPhone 4 and for the first few months that's all I used. The app for the iPhone works great (especially on the iPhone 4 because it does GPS better than the older models). But that may have given you a way to get started without having to buy a GPS, which is what they were getting at.