Moore9KSUcats

It is also very easy to "fat finger" when entering coordinates manually. I don't know if there would be a "rational" point of error for the 13 mile variation, but I know that with out first GPSr we had to enter all coordinates manually. Yes, we entered them wrong several times!

We've used 2 quart thermos type water jugs for at least 2 caches, and have had no problems. One is hanging from a tree (very well camoflauged), and the other is under/between two huge boulders. The one between the boulders (in a natural very small "cave") has been in the wild since 10/2002, with no water issues. I like those containers because they have worked well for us (we seal the flip top spout with rtv, I think?) and we have picked them up at garage sales for a buck or less.

Looks like a purple bison capsule to me.... Hmm... I wonder if other colors have similar capabilities?

In hunting for a parking spot, how many times has the GPSr tried to get you to go on a non-existing road? Yep, it has happened to us. I don't know how this happens, but it has happened a couple of times. Parking coordinates are handy, but since I DO read the cache page, I also like parking suggestions on the cache page.

We use a wally-world daypack with hydration bag, too. (Camo, out of the sporting goods area.) It came with a detachable fanny pack we sometimes use for shorter hikes. It has space for all of the trade goodies, snacks, extra water, small first aid kit, whatever we need for the hikes we do around here. It always stays packed with the trade goodies.

There are a LOT more caches in the area, that is a good thing. When we started, there were less than 200 within 100 miles of our house. Now, there are over 2000 within 50 miles! The bad thing is, probably 1/2 to 3/4 are micros! I still prefer the longer hike in the woods ... although I will log an occasional micro. Yes, micros have there place, and we do log them occasionally, but they don't hold the memories that the ones in parks and along trails have for us. Well, we have our game parameters.... and others have theirs.

My 15 yr old son was down by the river working on a biology project when he found some classmates climbing around some boulders (these boulders are railroad car sized... BIG boulders). There just happens to be a very well-hidden cache near those boulders. One of the other kids mentioned that he had heard there is a "treasure" buried nearby. Yes, there is a cache. Nick checks on it occasionally when no one is near. He didn't show them where it is, although as he stepped over the spot (it is hidden in a cleft between two rocks), he heard a muffled thunk. It is well-hidden by fallen leaves, and actually took us several trips to find. My point is, yes, word does quickly get out about "hidden treasures" and if a local kid were to find it, most likely it would disappear. One of mine disappeared recently in probably the same way. It may not have been hidden as well as we would have liked, and some kids exploring the small "cave" under the boulders found it. (There was also a beer can in the cave.) We are going to replace it with a smaller (and cheaper) container and see if it lasts. If not, well, the cache was fun while it lasted! These are not placed in a commercial playground, but in nature's playground.... lots of boulders! I don't know about anyone else, but my kids like to explore those huge boulders.

We snagged a Geko 201 off E-Bay a few weeks ago for less than $55, including shipping. For our 15 yr old, it is great since it is so lightweight he can take it on backpacking trips. He is thinking about taking it to Philmont this summer, for a tracklog of his hike. (Another plus... it runs on 2 AAA batteries, and a pair of batteries will last about 15 hours.) We haven't tried it on geocaches, yet, though. Downside.... no computer download, that I know of. Also, no lanyard hookup that I know of.

From following the link to the provider from McD's site, I'm not positive that this is free wifi. I couldn't quote something specific, or guide you to a point that mentions it, but I think that most McDonald's do charge a fee for wifi.

Several years ago, we bought a nice (at the time) digital camera. It was an Olympus, I think. Anyway, we were walking along exposed rocks near a riverbed, heading to a set of dinosaur tracks we had seen another time. On the way back to the car, hubby slipped and fell. The camera was in a nice padded case, and the GPSr was in that case, also. We didn't think much about the fall. The GPSr continued to work on that caching trip. A couple of weeks later, however, hubby tried to use the camera and it just wouldn't work. Something happened during the fall. Well, there went $400..... We bought another camera, similar to that one, but don't take it geocaching. The cameras we take geocaching are an inexpensive Minolta Dimage X. (10x optical zoom, and 3.2 megapixel, I think?) We've bought several of them (one for each kid, and hubby) off of E-Bay for around $75. We haven't seen them for a while, since they are older cameras. They take great all around shots, and it doesn't hurt near as much if it gets broken! It is easy to carry in a pocket. We've been using them for several years, now. It all depends on the terrain you might be on. Around here, we will be climbing over rocky areas and off trail a bunch, so we usually need something that isn't so fragile. (Or, if it does get damaged, it is cheap to replace.)

Albert was one of our favorite spots on the mall, also!

That's just an old myth. As a teenager I did some pretty stupid stuff with a friend at the Anaheim Disney, just to see if this was true. Specifically, we ran along the train tracks, then climbed over the tunnel that the train runs through and watched workers mill about in one of the back-stage areas in Tomorrowland. What else is there to do when you've gone on all the rides? Well, okay, maybe not, but I sure was a stupid kid. That's one of those memories that make my skin crawl, and I'm thinking, "Why the heck did I do that?!" Just curious..... how long ago did you do that? Disneyland has been around for a long time, and I am sure that way back then, security wasn't near as tight as it is now. As far as age.... I visited it when I was 12..... and that was in 69. Hmm... when did Anaheim Disneyland open? On a different note... we also visited Knott's Berry Farm when you could actually ride donkeys on a guided ride in their "backcountry" and also pan for gold. Yes, that was in 1969 also. That was a fun park back then! Now it pretty much looks like any of the other big theme parks.

Skullking, Deafhunt is trying to find other deaf geocachers. He is telling you he is in Alaska (Anchorage) and has been there for 3 years. He has been geocaching for 2 weeks. He is extremely enthusiastic about geocaching, and wants to get more of the deaf community involved in geocaching. He has created a short video explaining geocaching in ASL. You may notice a difficulty with the english language. That is normal, since his first language is American Sign Language. The syntax and structure of ASL is completely different than our standard English. Also, I believe he is 20 years old. He has been welcomed into the geocaching community by a number of forum regulars. Welcome again, DeafHunt! Malia

URP (Unnatural Pile of Rocks) That is pretty typical everywhere. Around the cliffs here, we may use what is sometimes termed NRP (Natural Pile of Rocks). In this case, look for a small opening under one of the car to house sized boulders. It might be hidden there, in conjunction with an URP. If all else fails, start checking the smaller rocks. It may be the cache container itself!

2. Trust that your coordinates are fine. That's part of the thrill of the FTF hunt. Sometimes we go after caches that aren't there or still haven't had all the kinks worked out. FTF chasers are like beta testers. We placed a new cache a few weeks ago, and all looked fine. We averaged the coordinates and double-checked everything, walking out a bit and coming back in to the cache to make sure it was all set properly. We did enter the coordinates from the GPSr onto the computer, and again double-checked the numbers. Yes, the numbers on the GPSr matched what was in the computer. Much to our surprise, when it was published, the numbers led the FTF cachers about 150 ft away, in the middle of a field! We still don't know what happened. Sometimes numbers go a bit wacky... the FTF wrote a really cute log about his experience, and we went out that evening to correct it. Yes, when we tried to follow the arrow, it led us out in the field, also. We've been FTF where numbers were entered in the computer wrong... sometimes that is the fun of a FTF.

As far as a geocaching activity with cub scouts, here is what we did several years ago with my son's den. They were on a campout at a lake (two dens together), and we (hubby and I) created the activity. First, we purchased several small items... and made up a prize pack for each scout. We included a knit beanie (stocking cap), a whistle, and a small inexpensive pocket knife. I think the total for each pack was less than $2. The knife was 88c at walmart. When the scout found the pack, we told him that the knife was for use with their parent's permission only. (We probably spent $20 maximum on the prize packs.) Anyway, we set up 5 different waypoints and hid a goodie pack at each point. The hides were fairly simple, but still fun. We explained geocaching to the scouts, and had our son go in the first group and lead the way to the first waypoint. He showed the rest some on how to follow the arrow, and then found the cache. A different scout led the way for each waypoint, and got to have the fun of finding the cache. I think there were 10 scouts total, so we went back and hid a new cache at each spot and took a new group out. We explained at the beginning of the hunt a little about the satellites and how the GPSr works, and told them the basic rules of geocaching, that you left the cache there, but traded out something and signed the log. They all really enjoyed the hunt, and the hats came in handy.... they also got a polar bear badge at that campout... sometimes a treat in central Texas. I hope things go well with your pack.... some people have no conscience!

Here's an interesting scenario: I went to check on a cache last week, and searched where we had hid it, and in the immediate locale. I can't find it. This does happen sometimes, that a cacher hides it slightly different than it was originally hidden. We've temporarily archived it. We plan to replace it in a month or so, after the local kids have hopefully forgotten about the place. I did search all around the area (a small area under a huge boulder)... but I still wonder if someone hid it differently than when we hid it? Maybe it is still there? Maybe the previous geocacher thought it was too hard, and wanted to hide it a little easier? Hmm..... I wonder if that could happen to us, also, where we archive a cache because it is most likely stolen, and we can't find it, and someone else comes along and finds it months later? I sure would like to find out about it. I hope someone would tell us if that did happen. I have seen that happen here on the threads. hmm.... tried to edit the previous post I had made, since it wasn't really saying what I wanted.... I wanted to add that this has happened at least twice with us. One time, several years ago, we were working on an old pq on the GPSr, and saw a nearby cache (in Austin). We parked and hunted for the cache, and sure enough, it was there. We noted the cache listing, and found it had been archived! (I don't think it was temporarily disabled, but fully archived.) I don't remember how much before (maybe a month or two?) it had been archived by the owner, but he was apparently hoping that someone would adopt the cache. Until then, he had left it there. I don't know what finally happened with that cache, but we didn't want to adopt it. Although we live near Austin, we just don't go down there that often, and didn't want to be the one to maintain it. I do hope he finally went to pick up the cache. I also remember a situation where a geocacher in Texas claimed that the cache had been muggled, and archived it. It was found sometime later... at the same coordinates. He apparently took someone's word that it was missing.... either that or the previous cacher hid it enough different that he couldn't find it. This happens more often than we think it does.

I also found a cache that was clearly in the right place, but had been archived after a few DNF's. I don't know if the owner actually went to the place to verify it was gone, but there have been 2 finds (many months after) after the archiving. It is there, I logged it properly, and I told the owner. He is now trying to get it un-archived. Just because it is archived, doesn't mean that the owner actually went out there and picked up the remains. I found it intact, and should be able to log it as such.

Welcome to geocaching. We are in Georgetown, TX, just up the road from Austin, and SE of Copperas Cove. I watched the video, but unfortunately can't remember much at all from the Manual Communications class I took in college (1982?). Also, we learned primarily SEE II, rather than ASL. We also have a friend with a daughter (3rd grade) who has been profoundly deaf since birth. I also have a nephew that is hearing impaired, but both speaks and signs. Schooling has not been easy for him, though. I hope you have a good deaf community in Alaska. If you ever get back down to Texas, I know that College Station has a fairly active community. My daughter went to some of their deaf socials. (No, she is not deaf, just interested in becoming an interpreter.)

Deafhunt, You mentioned living in Texas for 2 years. Do you mind if I ask where?

That is the standard in some places. If you see the letters, "URP", you know to look for an 'Unnatural Rock Pile." Around here, hiding a cache under a URP is pretty standard. We just hid one in a large space between the roots of a tree and put a rock on top. It hides it very well, and most people wouldn't give it a second glance! On the other hand, sometimes you can use a "NRP" or Natural Rock Pile. We did that on a cache, and the letters have confused some newer geocachers. It is hidden in a natural opening under a LARGE (think ginormous) boulder near some cliffs. There is a small cave-like area under the boulder, hidden by another boulder, and tucked up under the two boulders in a corner, and hidden by a few rocks. That one has been a challenge to find.

This last summer a cache appeared, so I dashed out to try to be FTF. At the cache site, I found another cacher had already arrived. She hadn't found it yet, so we combined efforts. After about 45 minutes, we gave up. (BTW... both of us are experienced cachers with several years under our belts, and have hidden and found many caches.) We looked all over, at what we thought were logical hides. One thing that confounded the problem is that there is a large cliff (about 40 ft high?) on one side, and some tree cover, so the satellite coverage wasn't the best. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...=y&decrypt= I went back to that cache a couple of times, with no luck. My son and I even got stung by wasps for our effort! We went back with a new GPSr a bit later (SIRF chip), and as hubby walked up the trail, he mentioned "It zeroes out right here". We probably spent another 45 minutes looking for the darn thing! Just about now, we are muttering under our breath about the hider, (she has hidden some real devious caches in our area) and thinking about heading home once again. I happened to look at just the right angle and spotted it down in a small hollow between some large boulders! Whew!!!! I hadn't noticed that little hollow before. Now that hollow is hidden entirely by leaves.... I'm glad I'm not searching for it now. Anyway, some are real tough, and require several trips to find. Was the one you were searching accurately rated? I don't know.... sometimes we turn a 1 star difficulty hide into a 3 star search! We just go on, and enjoy the outing we had. Sometimes we have found that we have touched the cache (or its covering) in our search. There are just those kind of days! Malia

What is that, a traffic counter? I think Boston is getting really freaked out lately!

I have no idea how it happened, but Saturday we placed a new cache, and as usual, hubby averaged the coordinates right on top of the container for several minutes. The cache was approved late last nite, and this morning, two different geocachers rushed out to be FTF. Somehow, the coordinates led them to a field about 140' away. We weren't even over there, and he didn't "fat finger" them into the computer when he entered them. Strange! Well, geocacher #1 called hubby, and asked..... and was directed to the correct area. It isn't like there is great tree cover there... there are two lone trees in a field about 60' from the nearest tree. Anyway, we went back, and sure enough... the posted coordinates (and the coordinates in the GPSr) led to the field..... We took new coordinates, and checked them out by walking around and seeing if they pointed to the correct area, and they did. Strange things do happen, and placing a good cache can take time and planning and rechecking! Read the log... he wrote it up really well. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...38-36b8ca694408

I think they just paint them black, or rust colored, to blend in with their surroundings. Take out the batteries to make room for the paper scroll. We've only found one... but we've only searched for one.