Chief301

I haven't run into any problems with rude cache owners...in fact, one of the locals around here was very helpful to me when I was just starting out, e-mailing me hints on a couple of early DNF's, that sort of thing. He understood I was new at this and didn't know what to look for yet. I hope to meet him in person on the trail one day or at an event. I also am a firm believer in logging DNF's. Some cachers seem to consider it a "failure" if they don't find a cache. I don't see it like that, it's part of the game. What fun would it be to play any competitive sport if there was no chance you could lose? It wouldn't be fun anymore, would it? I blame it a lot on the way kids have been brought up in the last few years, with the no-scorekeeping soccer games and everybody gets a smiley face sticker on the test just because they tried But that's just me... There are a couple of other threads about people who only log finds, even if they never got their hands on the cache. "I couldn't locate the container, but I knew I was in the right spot, so I'm logging it as a find". That's a whole other issue. In your case, the CO was clearly rude and should definitely not be deleting DNF's just to make his cache look good. In fact, a good CO should realize that legitimate DNF's are something of a compliment to his hiding ability (that's part of the game too, after all). It must be fun for a CO to log "Nope, checked on the cache and it's still there" after a few DNF's. That's a good hide! However, consider this (and I'm not defending the CO in this case, just something to think about)...One problem with new cachers is that they often think (and say so in their logs) that there's no way they could have missed it so the cache must be missing. They'll log it as needs maintenance when it's really a case of they couldn't find it. So I could see where some CO's get a little testy when a brand new cacher tells them their cache must be missing because I couldn't find it. (not saying that's the case here, the cache may in fact be missing, especially given the construction in the area that you mentioned) Doesn't excuse how the cache owner reacted, I'm just saying....

Well, if you got one or the other, it would be lame swag. If you got both, that could make it an awesome cache...

That makes sense. And the locations I have in mind, I'm pretty sure nobody would care, or indeed notice. I was just denied permission to place a cache on the property of an antebellum home. I thought it would be a great spot, picturesque, historic, plenty of nice big oak trees. Turns out the place is now a private home/bed and breakfast. They no longer allow "walk-in" tourists, everything by reservation only, so they politely declined to allow me to place a cache there, which I completely understood once they explained the new arrangements. Not that this is related to the original topic, because this is basically somebody's yard, not out in the fields somewhere. Pity, though, it would have been a great location

I'm having a bit of an issue with the definition of "permission" around here. See, where I live is very rural farmland. A few small communities but mostly thousands and thousands of acres of sugar cane fields. There are a couple of nice spots I have my eye on for a cache, but they're out in the cane fields. The fields are technically private property, I get that. Here's the kicker, though....around here, fields are generally treated as public access...maybe not by law or definition, but certainly by practice. Everybody rides their ATV's on the headlands, or hunts rabbits or quail during hunting season, and I know darn well these people don't obtain permission to be there. And most of the farmers lease their farmland, so as long as you're not damaging the crop they really don't care who's on it. That leaves the landowners, who are generally hard to locate because they're usually some incorporated entity and don't necessarily even live around here. There are no "Posted" or "No Trespassing" signs either. I mean, I could go down to the courthouse and search through the land records and spend a week tracking down the owner for permission to place a cache, or I could just pick up my shotgun and go hunting rabbits in the same spot without saying a thing and nobody would mind. So I guess I'm wondering if this issue has ever come up before?

You really shouldn't have any problems with upset property owners. Per the guidelines, permission should have been obtained from the property owner or manager before placing a cache there. So they should already know there's a cache there and expect people to come looking for it. If by chance you are confronted by a property owner who is upset by your presence, it's a sure bet that permission was not properly obtained. If that turns out to be the case, first I would apologize to the property owner and explain that the cache should not have been placed without their knowledge. After all, going on someone else's property without permission is trespassing. I would then contact the cache owner and advise him to disable the cache so no one else goes looking for it.

I only have the iPhone 4 and it works great for caching....accurate enough, usually gets me within 10 feet or so. I've never had any of the earlier versions of the iPhone so I couldn't speak to their accuracy vs. the 4. I guess you could say I do "paperless" caching in that I don't bring anything with me in the field other than the phone...the iPhone is good for that, or for spur of the moment caching when you find yourself in a new area and hadn't prepared to go caching. But I seldom log finds in the field with it. I generally wait till I get home and log them from the computer. I try to write meaningful logs and I just don't have time to do it on the phone from the field while dashing from cache to cache. I will probably get a dedicated GPS unit pretty soon, though, mainly for the battery life and the improved accuracy, and for the fieldworthiness (if that's a word) But I'm sure I'll use it paired with the iPhone...use the iPhone to search for cache listings and drive to the site, then GPS for the final search on foot.

Though I couldn't find the iPhone GPS specs with a quick Google search, the way GPS technology works it would need a minimum of 3 satellites to triangulate the position so this would not even be possible. Which goes to show just how much I know about GPS But I do seem to recall that it gets its fix from a lesser number of satellites than a true GPSr.

I don't mind it so much. I have a grand total of one, so it's not much of a clutter

I also don't get the trouble you're having with the iPhone. I have an iPhone 4 and it works just fine, most times gets me within 10 feet or so. I also agree that the paid Geocaching app is well worth the money, it's great for caching on the fly. I probably will be buying a dedicated GPS in the near future, though, just for the improved sensitivity and the battery life. I think I read somewhere that a real GPSr uses 12 or so satellites at a time to determine position, while the iPhone only uses 1 or 2 at a time. So your odds of getting a good satellite fix, especially under tree cover or around tall buildings, decreases. Still, I haven't had a problem. Being 7.7 miles off seems like a glitch of some kind. I haven't had to deal with areas with no cell signal much...weak signal sometimes, but never none at all. So I'm not sure how well the GPS-only navigation works. I guess that if you have no cell signal and no data, then you can't do the "Find Nearby Geocaches" thing out in the field. But if you plan your trip and save a bunch of caches as Favorites and save the maps before you go out, you should be able to pull them out of the Saved folder and hunt them without data connection. At least I think that's how it works, like I said I almost always have at least some data.

I think they're talking about just using caching "shorthand" when writing logs (like "TFTC", for example). TNLN (Took nothing, left nothing), SL (signed log), that kind of stuff. That's OK as the sign off to a well written log, I think, but not just the acronyms alone. It's kind of lazy. I think most cache hiders appreciate that you put a little thought and effort into your find logs, since they went to all the trouble of hiding it and everything. Also, I like writing a more detailed account of my find so that weeks or months later I'll have a sort of journal of what the day was like, who I was with, other details that will remind me of that day.

I don't have a Premium membership (yet) but I got my first FTF last week. Somebody planted a whole bunch of new caches at the same time in a city about 30 miles from me. I did subscribe to the weekly e-mail newsletter, so I knew about them the week they were published, but I didn't make a trip specifically to look for them. Then I happened to be in the area about a week later and figured I'd go after some of the new ones, and lo and behold, a couple of them hadn't been found yet! So yes, it's definitely possible. I guess it depends on how active and gung-ho the other cachers in your area are! Go to your user settings and check that you want to receive the weekly E-newsletter. It comes in every Thursday and lists new caches for the week. That's how I found out about these. So it's not instant notification when a cache is published, but it's going to be the same week, and if you're lucky that might be good enough!

I haven't come across anything really bizarre yet. A couple of fake birdhouses. Probably the oddest container I've found was a flashlight. Just a regular cheap plastic D-cell flashlight. But it was hidden under a flagpole skirt, so it could have been any kind of container. We also found a tubular container where the cap was the cap of an acorn, stuck in the fork of a tree. I still like the fake electric plates, I had a couple of those that really threw me when I was first starting out. I'm a fan of the "hiding in plain sight" kind of hide.

That's hilarious & weird at the same time! I think muggles wouldn't even want to touch that one if they happened upon it. There is a cache in our area that is hidden inside of a pair of jeans just lying on the ground in a little wooded area off the side of a road. There is a baggie with the log inside one of the pockets. I was reluctant at first to stick my hand in there. That was probably the weirdest one we've come across & will never forget. Dang....now I have a strange feeling I know where one of my DNF's is...

I think if I had actually got the cache in my hands but couldn't open the container, that would be different (although I haven't run across that situation yet). I believe I would take a picture of the container in hand as proof that I had found it and log the find (and post a note to the CO that maintenance is needed). Caches intentionally placed in hard to access locations are meant to be difficult. That's the challenge the hider intended so to log it without actually getting at it would be "cheating", IMO. But a stuck container was NOT intended to be part of the challenge. Essentially, you've met the CO's challenge (locate and retrieve the cache container), so following the spirit of the rules rather than the letter, I'd call it a find (if that makes any sense).

Yes, I've run across this situation as well. I logged a DNF on my first visit, but in my log I mentioned that I saw it but couldn't reach it. I returned another day with help and a TOTT to get it down. I know there are some who would have logged that as a find, but the simple answer, per the guidelines, is that the log must be signed to count. There are some cachers who would disagree, but that's another discussion entirely.

The part with the sunglasses cracked me up. Cool video, guys!

Are you trying to place a box or other small/regular container, or just a micro? Because one we found the other day was some large magnetic letters placed on the transformer box. The logbook was behind them. Not hidden or camouflaged at all, the letters were in plain view, you just had to know what you were looking at. They were just random letters, the average passerby would think they are the I.D. for the box or something and not given it a second thought.

Just wondering, do you have some kind of code word or just "Found it" or "Huckle Buckle Beanstalk" or something to let the other know you've spotted it? I have this image of two cachers walking around in circles around GZ, both having already spotted it and each waiting for the other to say something

The answer may be right in front of you. On their site they are looking for volunteers for various commitees. One of them is the "Opens Spaces and Parks Advisory Commitee". Sounds like your forum to get involved and change some minds. In any case you may be able to find out why the ban. Are they acting on actual negative experiences (bomb scare, digging holes, property damage) or just a general "We heard a negative story about it in the news, we don't want it" kind of misinformation? Maybe you could be the one to educate them.

It isn't just a newbie thing. I've seen caches hidden in plain sight, very near typical hiding places. A lot of experienced cachers spend a lot of time searching the typical hiding places (where they KNOW the cache must be hidden) before they stop to consider other possibilities. Yep, been there. Before I found out about lamp post skirts I DNF'd a cache twice at the local Wally World. Then I heard about LPC's and said, "AHA! Now I know where it is!". Next time I was in the area I went back for it and guess what? It wasn't there! It was under a fencepost cap about 10 feet behind the light pole!

For the water skiing and for the travel, sir, and not for the killing, sir. I asked them to put it on my form, sir, "No killing"...

Oh, and thank you, Groundspeak Forums, for automatically editing my choice of language. I do not ordinarily use the word "dadgum". In fact, I believe that when I hide my first cache I will name it "My First Dadgum Cache" in honor of this moment.

Oh, just thought of another one...micro caches hidden on or around big machinery! Railroad cars (not in service of course, talking about static museum pieces). So dadgum many places to look! And in my work experience I'm actually fairly familiar with the layout and construction of railcars...you'd think that would give me a little advantage but it doesn't.... Also a couple of rural life type museums where they have a yard or shed full of old tractors, plows, harvesters, etc. "You are looking for a magnetic key box". Arrrrrrrgh!

Someone who doesn't want to much attention from the police. Nah, someone who doesn't want attention from the police would have just left it in the desert and not told anybody. Or maybe just taken the ammo....