6NoisyHikers

Any cynicism would have been directed at Groundspeak only. The OP had stared a previous discussion about UTM. The OP was advised to come here and make a feature request for this preference. I was just giving my opinion that this was extremely unlikely to happen. I did not say I was against it (I'm not). The only harm that could come of it is having a bug introduced to Lat/Long entry by bad code. Quick fix? Seriously? Now who is not being constructive by offering false hope. I have read the original thread that led to this feature request. Putting the OP's tone from that thread aside, I see no reason to carry the negativity elsewhere. And this thread is not a discussion about Lat/Long vs UTM. False hope infers that you have absolute knowledge that an addition like this could never happen. I say "maybe" for the very reason I stated above.

We use our favourite points to mark caches where we had a memorable experience. Sometimes this is just a cache we found all together, such as a milestone. So our favourite points rarely have any bearing on what other cachers might experience. We did a series of caches the other day that all had numerous favourite points already (20+) so we saved ours as we only have three to give away right now.

Do I detect some cynicism? This is not constructive at all. We've all seen "less critical" changes implemented (and griped about it). Maybe this will be one of those quick-fixes that will be helpful for some people and won't be any noticeable change for the rest.

When I am unsure about what I can post in a log or show as a picture, I always check existing logs first. If there are pics of people holding the cache, then it is probably okay to add your own. If other people are stating "Wow! That's great camo!" you could probably mention something to that effect to - which tells the rest of us that the container is not under your average unnatural pile of sticks but has probably got foliage glued to it or is a bison tube stuffed into a pinecone, etc... But overall: When in doubt, DON'T give hints.

Fixed the link for you. Now it works and folks can see the "Obama cache container". B. That is really strange. Who would make that? Who would buy it? I mean if you just consider the President of the U.S. a famous person, has anyone ever made a "famous Person" cache container? I wouldn't call that a cache container. It looks like one of those brass pill holders - no seal of any kind. No better than an altoids tin and the hinge would probably break even faster. However, if cache containers must conform to the no-agenda listing guidelines, then I would like to report agendas about rats, toilets, cookie jars, telephones...

Drat! Archived? I understand the rules, but is GS just irked because you made generic mention of not being able mention some generic health care professionals? Perhaps if you had just said "We love you Bob, Susan and Mary..." it might have cleared. They can't control what other people say in their logs. How many times have we logged a LPC and said "Good thing the WalMartians didn't see us"? FWIW, thanks Cuddlefish for trying to place a cache that celebrates a wonderful, valuable place. My son spent two months on 3G when he was five years old. Some of the docs need to learn a little bedside manner (Schrieber you old goat) but the nursing staff are amazing. Darn you "no such thing as precedent" rule!

Looks like we need to start carrying these in our caching packs too! Rubber Nuke Boots

I'm not sure if this is the most efficient way to use the software but this is what we do: 1. Set up a few pocket queries on the gc website. 2. Open Vantage Point 3. Click the Geocaching button in the top right hand corner. 4. Choose "Pocket Queries" --> this will open a window that allows you to log into your gc account. 5. Another window opens with a list of the pocket queries that are available for you to download. Choose the PQs you would like. 6. Vantage Point will download the information and the caches will show up on the map. 7. Using the USB cable, plug your explorist into your computer then turn the GPS on. 8. It will go through its powering up process and then go to a screen that says "Connect to PC" Choose this option. 9. Once the GPS is connected, the curved arrows in the top centre of the Vantage Point window will be clickable (blue instead of grey). You can choose either "Transfer from PC to GPS" or "Synchronize". Transfer from PC just puts the pocket query info into your GPS. Synch makes the GPS and Vantage Point match files. Using this option marks the caches in Vantage Point as "found" and you can also send any logs you type into your GPS to Vantage Point or straight to the gc website. *I never type logs on my Explorist - too much button navigating - so I rarely use the Synch function. Also, once the software has sent the info to your GPS, it will ask you if you want to include pictures as well. I don't bother because it eats up memory and you can't see pics very well anyway 10. Once you have sent the files to your GPS, simply yank out the cable from the explorist. It will restart and go through its powering up process again. It may take a while so go make a cup of coffee, pack your caching bag and come back in ten minutes. Hope this helps.

Fixed that for you

Oh, and our experience is this: When we were placing our first two caches, we knew that they were in a municipal park. I went down to the parks and rec office and asked some guy named Greg if it was okay. He said there wasn't anything official in place but the city was aware of it and was taking the stance that they weren't going to worry about it until there was something to worry about. "Go for it," he said. So we have permission from some guy named Greg at city hall.

I'm not in your area but I would suggest that you contact your local geoaching organization or some of the more profilic hiders in your area. They will be able to help you narrow down areas that have implied permission (ie. parks that have geocaching policies in place)

Must say I was intrigued by this post and had a look. Seven caches for such a big area makes me think 3 or 4 will be a better number for my area. This is all great advise. It's about how many you can realistically maintain. If they are well thought out and not too far away then maintenance should be minimal, but someone needs to be designated to do it and handle cache "emergencies" right away. The rest of us amatures can get away with disabling a cache and getting around to it later. But if an organization is involved, the caches should really be "professional". Again, I think it would be a good idea to contact other groups like Pemberton and ask how they manage it, what the tips and tricks and tribulations are, so you don't have to learn the hard way

One of our local towns has made geocaching a tourism draw. Check out their website and maybe even give them a call and ask how they are faring. When we went through town and picked up a few of their caches, the containers were easy to find and very well maintained. Pemberton Valley

As a TB owner, it would be great if the bug were placed in a cache that seemed to get a reasonable amount of visitors and was in good shape. You could place it in a puzzle or multi final but those tend to get less visits. TBs can sit for months in those. TBs go missing for lots of reasons, it is a chance we take. Take the TB to a nice place, take a few pictures and send it on its way. So long as the cache itself isn't poorly maintained so the TB doesn't get wrecked, I say go ahead and place it. Thank you thank you thank you for asking though! It shows that you are a conscientious cacher. Trackables will always do well in your care

I still want to be really clear about the conditions. Is it strictly the act of caching (seeking and finding), or does it include everything to do with caching? Placing caches, attending events, sending out TBs... Could I build cache containers? Could I operate a geo-store? Could I teach others how to cache? Gotta know what my options are. I'm still going to take the 20M but I like to know the facts.

To help your caches last longer, place them at least one kilometre from the nearest parking spot. Preferably uphill.

We have to enter a waypoint on our Explorist GC but I always rename it to something that matches the name of the cache.

We had picked a spot for a cache in our local regional park and submitted a cache page with a "cache not in place, please check coordinates" note to the reviewer. We were turned down because someone else was putting together a multicache. Our reviewer wasn't able to tell us how far in any direction we would have needed to move our cache because she didn't want to give away the multi. So we waited four or five days and when the listing was finally published he had changed it from a multi to four new caches. Once we looked at the park map we decided there were plenty of caches there already and moved our custom built cabin cache to a completely different area. So glad we did a coordinate check first because it was quite the kit to haul up the mountain!

I don't think it is about experience at all - it is about commitment. Placing a cache means you are willing to take care of that cache for its lifespan (at least three months but hopefully more). The reason I believe you should wait before placing any more caches is so you can see if you are really interested in caching for a long period of time. A new cacher can place great, creative caches, but if they aren't there to maintain them then the caches can quickly become just as bad as a leaky keyholder in a lamp post.

If you went to a competitor's site, would you still be officially geocaching? For 20 million, I would give up caching. It would be very hard. All those trees with nooks in them, all those hollow logs, all those potential hiding places I would see as I travelled the world (seems that most of us have world-travel on our list of things to spend that money on). But with my handy-dandy GPS, I could still do this: The Degree Confluence Project

confusedddd???? Yeah, that first one is a little much. The second link is better. I've sent you a private email.

Oh, and because the language is a little vague: RETRIEVE - means you picked up a trackable from a cache. GRABBED - means you got a trackable from another person, or found it in a cache that it wasn't listed in. VISIT - means you took the trackable to that cache but you didn't leave it there (people use this to add mileage to the trackable before they drop it off somewhere else). DROP - means you have placed a trackable in a cache and left it there for the next person to find. DISCOVER - means you saw the trackable but you did not take it.

Also How To Log A Trackable

How To Log A Trackable

You know, this is almost tempting The travel from trail to trail would be the best part. I might do something like this with my family. It would make a heck of a reality show.