6NoisyHikers

I have a sling pack that I "borrowed" from my son. I like it because it is just the right size for all my everyday caching gear. And having it slung on one shoulder means that I can pull the bag around to my front and look into the pockets without having to take it off. However, there is definitely a shoulder stress issue. Luckily, I have the type of straps that allow me to switch from a left sling to a right with a little re-threading. I can also wear the pack "inside-out" and throw it over the other shoulder when one gets sore. For longer hikes though, I have a backpack with a built in seat. Very handy in our Wet Coast weather!

#15.2: TRACKABLES ARE NOT SWAG. You don't have to trade for them, but you also don't get to keep them. If you find an item with any sort of code number on it, its purpose is to move from cache to cache. Trackables may look like a lot of different things; dog tags with toys attached to them, fancy coins in a variety of sizes, metal tags in various shapes. They must be logged on the geocaching website (see: Find Trackables). If you aren't sure what to do with a trackable - PLEASE DON'T TAKE IT! Learn first, play later.

If you can have leashes for children (which I am *completely* in support of), how about these?

I think a family subscription is a good idea but I can see where it could get complicated for the GS Accounting department. There needs to be a way to connect the two or more memberships - perhaps through a common email. The annual premium membership is $30, add a "partner" membership for $25 and any further memberships (presumably kids, but this could be a team or a cub scout group, etc) for $20. When it comes time for renewal, there would need to be a page where you choose the members you want to renew. This is just in case someone in the family decides they don't want to cache anymore. In the meantime, there is a quick and easy way to keep track of your and your boyfriend's individual cache counts. Buy yourself a pair of geocoins or travel bugs and "visit" your trackable into every cache you do. This will record your own personal caching experiences as well as mileage (if you are looking for a little friendly competition in that area). You can even go back and "visit" caches you've already been to. Hope that helps! Edited to add that I just realized you were asking about non-PMs logging premium caches, not about sharing a Premium account. But I'll le my answer stand in case it is useful to others.

We just wanted to give public kudos to Soxter and Billini for their great Maple Ridge Cryptex Caper. We found this puzzle series today and had a wonderful time (okay, some of it was less-than-wonderful, but that was our fault! ) The cryptex is very cool - in its own velvet bag even! - and the whole adventure should be considered a pinnacle of the geocaching experience. THANK YOU FOR A FABULOUS DAY! ~6NoisyHikers

Technically, you could cache with no investment whatsoever. For example: The basic membership is free and you could access the website at a friend's house or at the library. Write down (using borrowed pen and paper) the key information to finding a easy nearby cache, the type that has a hint that says "It's under the rock next to the picnic table". Steal one of those little pencils from the library. Walk to the cache, sign log. Walk back to library, log online (give back pencil). Voila! Caching without cost!

What happens when the CO doesn't respond to notifications or emails at all?

We use an Explorist GC as our only caching device. Works great for us (not that we have anything else to compare it by) and was reasonably inexpensive at $150. It also comes with a month of premium membership so you can test drive pocket queries, etc. We've had it for a year and everything still works perfectly. It gets good signal in the woods, but it doesn't much like being amidst tall buildings. I load up all the local caches once every few weeks and carry it with me whenever we go anywhere so we are always ready to cache. I've got about 7000 caches in it right now. With my very limited (see: none at all) knowledge about GPS units, I would say that the Explorist GC is great for your standard suburban/regional park caching. Easy to use, even for kids, durable, and a decent price.

Actually, no. Aside from the guideline that states that precedent does not guarantee future placement (ie: just because a certain location was okayed before doesn't mean it will be now), there are plenty of caches placed without permission and you shouldn't follow the flock if you aren't absolutely sure. We went to place a cache in an area where there were six or seven others along a well-travelled trail. Turns out that the whole trail system is on private land. I'm not going to call out those other cache owners but I didn't want to add our name to the list if there was going to be any trouble. So we are moving it to within park boundaries instead, where we know geocaching is welcome. Check in with your local caching group - they should be able to tell you where caches have stated permission and where they don't.

OH YES PLEASE! This would be a wonderful thing to have! Although, it occurs to me that the results might be similar to a pocket query - except without the easy download. Perhaps that's why GS hasn't introduced this type of search.

Does the trackable number have ones or zeroes in it? Sometimes they could be the letter O or I. Try that first. If you can access the trackable page after that, then: 1. GRAB the TB so it shows that you have it in your online inventory. 2. DROP it (online) in the cache you got it from so that it shows that the TB spent some time there in its history and gets that mileage. *Use the Write a Note log to do this if you have already logged a "Found It!" 2. RETRIEVE it from the same cache because you now have that TB is your physical possession. *Write a Note again! 3. When you find an appropriate cache (and the sooner the better if this TB has been out of play for a while), DROP it in the new cache. Voila! All back on track. Be sure to write down the name and number of the trackable somewhere in case you need to fix a logging error! Of course, if you can't access the trackable page because the code is wrong, then I don't know what to do. Perhaps contact the owner of the TB that has the same name and see if they know anything about it. It's a long shot as there are several TBs out there with the same names, but it's worth it to find out. Hope that helps...

We don't often drive to go caching - it's more like we cache wherever we have to drive to anyway, so I would estimate about $100 in caching gas in the last year. An assortment of swag: $200 Two caches out and a third on the way: $100 Eight travel bug tags: $45 Caching Backpack: $50 GPS: $200 Bribe Doughnuts for Kids who Come Caching: $500 So that is about $1200. Divide that by 234 caches equals... $5.13 per cache. Still cheaper than renting a movie

There seems to be an issue with the continuity of terminology on the website. Wouldn't it is easiest to bring the terminology into line? "Took it to" is very vague. I take my TBs to a cache and drop them off. I also take my TBs to visit a cache. I can see where this can be confusing. I'm not sure about the word "discover" either, but I can't think of an alternative right now. I can "discover" (Aha!) a TB in a cache and then "take" it with me.

Sometimes a cache is placed in the area of public green space adjacent to a school. Not illegal, but definitely awkward if there are kids around. However, if you think the cache might actually be on school property, you can send a private message to the reviewer and ask them to have a look at it. I happen to have a young child that I carry with me in my caching bag as camouflage for just such occassions, but if there is ever a time you feel uncomfortable in searching for a cache, LISTEN TO YOUR INTUITION. Walk away, go home and do a bit of research, contact the CO, etc and find out what is really going on there. And I would state in my DNF log that I left because I was concerned about the location. If it's not a problem then the CO should state that in the cache description.

Really? YAY! I consider that a step in the right direction (And if guilt doesn't work, after a while they can say "Unable to continue. Please take care of these NM notices before you place another cache".)

The best we can do for the trackables in our possession (and their owners) is to give them a wonderful experience while we can. Life is short, the life of a traveller is even shorter - live it to the fullest! Travellers on a coffee break!

We check on our caches about once a month - but they are just down the block, a five minute walk. Maintenance seems to be more determined by traffic: the busier the cache, the more time you are going to spend placing new logs, refreshing swag, fixing camo, etc... It has been discussed that people who have outstanding maintenance issues should not be allowed to place further caches, but it doesn't look like that is going to become policy anytime soon. So instead of fighting (we pick our battles ) we pay it forward. There is a chronic lack-of-maintenance cacher in our area. When we look for those caches, we assume they will need some work and bring along the necessary supplies to deal with it. It's not necessary, and in some cases - as others will argue - it enables lazy COs, but it makes us feel good to know that the next few finders will have a nice caching experience due to a little effort on our part. Doesn't mean we don't gnash our teeth over a soggy log now and then!

Our TBs have a variety of simple goals - no destinations, just picture requests. When I retrieve a TB, I like to take it to work at my theatre and take its picture with whatever performance is happening in the background. Here is Princess Sparkle watching Hansel and Gretel:

Just saw this over in the Travel Bug forum. This little guy was out and about for nine years! There is always hope! DUDE-lebug

About a month ago, I was going out of town so I did a trackables PQ to see if I could find any that would enjoy the road trip. I read the pages of all the trackables said to be located in the nearby area and so many of them were logged as missing I'd be willing to bet this is mostly due to a combination of fly-by-night app cachers and people who use caching as therapy for their frontal lobe injuries. My grand-daughter's TB was "grabbed" (as opposed to "retrieved") from the first cache I placed it in. It has been in this cacher's posession less than a month, but it is the error in logging that sends up a red flag for me. If a cacher doesn't understand how to log a trackable properly, what will become of it? And I always feel terrible when a trackable I've dropped in a cache then goes missing. I know it's not my fault, but I become attached to their journey (we always take pictures and write logs). Oh how I mourn for that poor Canada coin! However - back on topic - I'm not sure what I think about not being able to search for trackables. At this point, with the pitiful results I had from my last search, I don't see that it would make much of a difference. I'm not sold on the idea of travel bug thieves (now geocoins are another matter!) but if they are searching online, they are going to have as much luck as we do. I hear your frustration ohmelli, I truly do, but for several reasons I believe that the trackable adventures in geocaching are quickly going to become personal mileage tokens.

Sig tag html language N49W122

It's not always about the location - sometimes it is just about the experience. We've had a handful of "mediocre" finds that we favourited because they were special to us. Oh how I wish I could favourite this DNF: Elf-ish Has Left Building

The camera was broken as in it didn't work, or that it was cracked/in pieces/damaged/trashed? If it simply didn't take pictures anymore, I would send it back into the world as is. Finders can use their own cameras and upload to the trackable page. If the camera itself is falling apart and you don't think it will survive a journey, and you haven't heard back from the owner after a few weeks, maybe put a toy camera on it, post a note explaining the change and send it back out. It's not yours to recycle, even if the owner is MIA.

From my experience, Vantage Point will automatically transfer the pictures to the Explorist BUT quite honestly viewing the pictures on the screen is useless. They don't resize so you miss most of the image anyway (and if they did resize, how are you going to make out what you are looking at?) Once I have uploaded the gpx files, while the Explorist is still hooked up to my PC, I go into the image folder and delete the images - which leaves room for more cache info! I regularly have at least eight thousand caches on my unit. As for the compass, if you click on the map setting, then hit the menu button there is a compass/map toggle line. A digital compass will overlay the basemap.

The other issue is that in the case of more remote hides, no matter if every finder awards it a favourite, it could take decades before they reach 100 favourite points. I think featuring great hides on the website and in the newsletter is a good incentive though.