Rose_Thorn

Here are some more things to think about when placing a cache: can you find out who to get permission from? It really is best to get permission, and a cache on land managed by the countryside rangers is often easy to get permission for, as you can look up the telephone number in the phone book under your local council. If you don't know who owns/manages a piece of land, they can often point you in the right direction. Please try to avoid locations used as dog toilets!!! Obvious, but again, caches are often to be found in such places. Also, avoid sites full of litter, broken bottles, beer cans and ...yugggghhhh! ... dare I say it......used condoms!!! Yep, every area has these hidden corners, where the youngsters congregate away from the watchful eyes of their parents and make a horrible mess of the place in the process. On a similar note, in the countryside, there are often places used as toilets by hikers caught short...AVOID! Okay, I go caching with disposable rubber gloves in my bag...perhaps I am a bit fastidious, but most cachers like fairly clean caches. Creepy crawlies are all right though; they are only to be expected! You'll know all the stuff about not demolishing drystone walls or blocking animal runs. It is harder to find a decent place than it first appears, I have found! However, time taken to find just the right spot is not wasted as your cache will be more popular than one just stuck anywhere at random. As regards muggling, look out for clues as to whether the area is used for the aforementioned unhygienic purposes. Look out for graffiti - a sign that someone may go poking around there, find your cache and possibly vandalise it. If possible, visit the location at different times of day/evening to observe if there are people around. As long as you don't get mugged or get arrested for being a peeping tom, it will pay off! Good luck!

Thanks...but...there's no code in the email I got, and it says I don't need a subscription ID because I paid with Visa...oh well, maybe it just hasn't gone through yet for some reason

Hi, sorry if this query has been answered elsewhere but...I paid by Visa on 4/4/06 for upgrade to premium membership, but it hasn't appeared yet when I log in on geocaching.com. The order confirmation said "Please note: New Premium memberships do not automatically upgrade your username on Geocaching.com. In most cases your membership will be upgraded within 1 business day of purchase. Unlike memberships through PayPal you do not need a Subscription ID for your membership." I don't understand this message (old age, y'know...) - does anyone else? I contacted Groundspeak but just got an automated reply from their email bot saying the query would be dealt with in due course. I was hoping to get details of premium member only caches before I go on holiday on Tuesday... Any advice would be much appreciated!

Congratulations to you and your canine companion!

Just wondering...a lot of folks only discovered caching in 2005, as did I, and it led me to thinking...how? I discovered it by pure chance (or maybe fate? Or the hand of the gods?) when I was looking for info about a local reservoir called Simon's Lodge - came up in my Google search, and I was fascinated...yes, there are little boxes hidden all over the world, and people pass them by everyday without knowing they are there...and little toys and keyrings get put in them and travel round the world - astounding. Yes, the idea captured my imagination and I was hooked! (Big kid at heart, you see!) So how did it happen for you? (Nosey, nosey )

Highlights: Like a lot of other folks - discovering caching Part 2 of LOTR - so pleased at being brave enough to wade through the water in the dark tunnel! Introducing my brother to caching over a great weekend. Lowlights: Getting frustrated and annoyed with myself for failing to find caches other people seemed to find easily! New Year's Caching Resolutions: Don't take it too seriously. CITO more. Carry spare batteries!

In the cave of Smaug the Dragon in "The Hobbit" - should be easy enough to spot a Tupperware box in amongst the dragon's hoard. You will obviously need to enlist the help of a small person with good burgling skills for this one though.

Thank you muchly. I have checked the list at geocacheUK and got the info I wanted

...a number of caches I used to have on my "to do" list. They seem to have disappeared without trace, and nosey old me would like to know when and why they were archived. Is there a list of archived caches somewhere? After all, it could be useful to know what befell a cache in a certain place so that someone could either set up a new one in the vicinity or vow never to place a cache in that location - whichever was appropriate. But mostly, I am just being nosey

Thanks to you all for your replies and the info on silica gel (always wondered what that stuff would taste like, now I know I can try it with impunity ) and to Shakerg for sending details of a supplier who sounds reet handy for a Bury lass!

These seem to make pretty good cache containers, though I have come across one or two where the contents were a bit damp; but usually they seem weatherproof. They hold a lot of stuff and are easy to hide. But where does one get them from?

Fancy that eh? Should I Castlehead Cache in that direction next time I'm up in the Lakes?

Thank you Dorsetgal and Geodog - the Dugong likes the hat and the stars too.

Thank you, Dorsetgal and Geodog, I will indeed try it for size and see how the dugong likes it...

Honestly and Truly, Madly, Deeply Vale, I can't see why anyone would really bother promoting their cache on the forums, but in my Stone View Willow, it doesn't Matterdale View a jot.

Oops! I didn't see the seasonal avatars thread - explains why I can't find caches half the time...

I notice lots of people are putting Santa hats on their avatars - is this a time honoured geocaching tradition, or are people showing off how nifty they are with the photo editing software? Should I follow suit and have my dugong don a Santa hat or should I leave her with a little dignity ? Please vote!

I know I am still fairly new to the game, but I already have an opinion about what makes a good cache location and what makes a bad one. For instance I don't like having to search amongst lots of litter and excrement! I like to be in a place that has "something about it", either nice views, interesting architecture, pretty scenery or a good hard scramble to get there - whatever, just not any old street corner. I read the logs of previous finders and if it sounds grotty, will give it a miss usually. In this respect, it would help if people wrote honestly about what they thought of a cache, whether negative or positive, rather than just the "found it easily, TNLNSL TFTC" type of log entry! I know people don't have time to write reams, especially if they are doing a lot of caches in one day, but a quick comment like "Really interesting spot" or "Unleasant location" would be helpful.

Haha, the peckish little beggars eh? Reminds me of when we camped at Coniston and found our tent wall, survival bag, rucksack and butty box had all been nibbled through. We were afraid of having our toes nibbled in the night, so we slept in the car!! I've done a lot of camping and it has only ever happened the once thank goodness.

I have always gone walking, running and cycling alone, even in the dark, ever since being in my teens, as it is usually the best way to watch wildlife and appreciate the scenery. Now I have a dog which I walk every day, and geocaching has been tacked on to the dog walks mostly, though on holiday my family members accompany more often than not. My trouble is that I can't keep my mouth shut, and will tell people off if I come across them doing illegal things, like riding motorbikes on public footpaths and shooting air rifles in parks. I nearly got run down by a Suzuki 4x4 once, when I challenged him and told him he was driving illegally, as it wasn't a byway or county road but just a footpath. When I went to clear the mud off his number plate to write down the index number, he drove forward and I had to jump out of the way sharpish with the dog! Yes, when I see red I can be foolhardy I have met some nice people on my walks and enjoy stopping for a chat when out in the countryside. I feel much less safe in urban settings though and in "dodgy" urban fringe places, where you can encounter druggies and the like; common sense dictates to stay away from known trouble spots, and yes, always take a phone, but don't flash that or your GPSr around or you may get mugged for them!

I think we are just having a little fun here! There's nowt wrong with a little banter as long as no-one takes it too seriously, surely? Personally I've always been a bit of a tomboy and will dive into holes and scramble around boulders with the best of 'em - I usually have to because my partner doesn't like creepy crawlies or getting his hands dirty

I am game for a new experience and am already well-known locally as a nutter, so please add me, and I will email you my name and address

Well my faith is fully restored after an excellent weekend caching "darn sarf" with my brother. We had a six mile walk on Saturday and logged 5 out of 5 caches as finds, and the strange thing was it took hardly anytime at all to spot any of them, even the last one, "ickle pond", which we found in the dark. Maybe my brother's philosphy of a Snickers every couple of hours, tea breaks at a cafe and stronger refreshment at the pub after dark keeps one's mind focussed! A bit more civilised than a bottle of squash and a soggy buttie which is my usual fare. We only managed one cache on Sunday, having been whizzing around Hampshire on his Suzuki Bandit for most of the day. This was a bit more tricky (lots of trees at Waggoners Wells) but even so it didn't take long to pin down despite the onset of darkness and the hiding from Muggles. Interesting train of thought re gender differences in cache-placing, Mrs Rangie... Are men's hiding places likely to be dirtier...scarier...denser? Are women's likely to be prettier...more devious...blemish-free? Just a thought...

Yes, I sympathise - I have had bad days caching recently too and was almost giving the game up! My latest muddy incident was when researching Deeply Vale before placing my cache and I was silly enough to go out in trainers after some heavy rain. On the way down the hill I slipped and went slithering down the path on my side, with my dog towing me down then jumping on me, thinking it was a new game. I also made the mistake of exploring some nearby field paths which turned out to be the cow-pattiest paths I have ever trodden, except for walking through a farmyard near Hollingworth Lake - but that's another story. However a recent day's caching in Surrey has restored my faith somewhat - one of those lovely golden autumn days in the woods, and every cache practically jumped out of the undergrowth and said "Here I am!" - magic!

Still being relatively new to geocaching I am still refining my kit list. I go everywhere with a rucksack, and it always contains: a spare pair of laces, a safety pin (me mum said always carry a safety pin in case your knicker elastic breaks...), piece of plastic foam wrapping material (useful for keeping the behind warm when sitting on cold ground), biros, pencils and notebook, phone, MP3 player, sweeties , water bottle, purse, RAC card in case I break down in a remote place, antiseptic cream, plasters, paracetamol tablets, doggy doo bag, dog treats, halti, carrier bags, water bottle, umbrella and waterproof coat - and that is just for when I go to Tesco. When I go geocaching I add: GPSr, OS map, bag of swaps, camera (if the batteries are charged), and from now on, rubber gloves. My grandma's old umbrella broke the other week - well it was about 30 years old. It was useful for poking around in long grass and heather, so I may well have to buy another one. Yep, the GSOH I am working on! I normally have an active one, but recent rainy DNFs have flattened it a bit. Initially I thought my dog may be useful in sniffing out caches but she is better at sniffing out half-eaten baguettes and fox poo . My children (15 and 17) are not small enough to send down holes, alas, but they do seem to have sharper eyes than their old ma and they can be put on sentry duty to look out for muggles, so they are quite useful.