6NoisyHikers

Do you think that they are slow because we are all trying to test them out at the same time?

It might just be me, but I noticed that there is no distance scale (or whatever it's called) on the Mapquest map. Otherwise, I like the cleaner look and I'll bet the load time will speed up in the next little while.

We just had an incident in Oregon yesterday. I was definitely - though accidentally - in the wrong, and I'm sure this guy probably deals with questionable people lurking around in this part of his property all the time (the area I stumbled into had a lot of garbage in it). Here's our log: Herbert Hoover Disk Park I was holding my five-month-old granddaughter when he threw the rock. I was so startled I didn't even see the guy, I just scuttled out of there. When I looked back I could see a "private property" sign nailed up high on a tree but there was no fence or markers of any sort and I had been too busy staring at the screen. The actual cache was about 15 feet away - you know how readings are under tree cover. I grabbed it and signed the log. I wish that instead of a smiley, that log could have a

Let's not forget that difficulty and terrain are based on a COs perception of their cache and the location in which it resides. Sure, there are general guidelines, but D & T are about as consistent as cache size. We're not really keeping track, but I agree that the D/T should be locked based on the settings at the time you found the cache. If stats are being offered as a means for people to keep track of their caching experience, then those numbers should stay true. I'm not sure how that can be done - some sort of software magic - but it would get my vote. In the meantime, perhaps you could print out the grid and put a happy face sticker with the date and GC# in each square as you find them. It's only a goal for you, right?

A "middle-aged" man and his dog hiking through a provincial park won't look suspicious, but a man and his dog lurking around a suburban playground might. It all depends on your location. However, there are several ways around this: props and costume pieces such as a clipboard, safety vest, camera, hard hat, etc will help you fit in for suburban hides. As for your kids being too old to be seen with you - you may be underestimating them My teens are 16 and 18 years old. They come along (sometimes begrudgingly) and they always have a good time. I recommend a bribe to hit the local TIm Hortons or Dairy Queen afterward. Welcome and enjoy!

We read that we should have 20 finds so that's what we did. Then we placed our two caches in quick succession. They are simple lock n locks but the first is a nice serene walking trail, kid friendly, and the second is in a neat little hidey-hole that seekers seem to enjoy. Both caches are located within a five minute walk of our house so we keep them in good shape. We have plans for a third - have an amazing location picked out - and are in the process of building a very cool cache container.

I don't know what number we are at any more #: WEAR APPROPRIATE FOOTWEAR - happy, well-protected feet makes for a good caching experience!

There used to be a cache in my area called "Bending the Rules" where the cache owner led the seeker through a no-cache-zone parkland to pick up clues on trail signs. Once you did the whole walk you would have all the numbers that took you to a nearby public park for the cache. If you forest has such signs, you may be able to do something similar.

This was encountered in a humorous way with a local cache: So we now have a more efficient alternative than silica packets? Actually, those grow-thingys get very slimy so please don't put those in caches to help keep them dry!

12. NO MUST-STAY-DRY SWAG - unless you are prepared to package items in their own ziplock baggies, it is best not to use stickers, temp tattoos, stuffed animals, ink stampers, etc as tradeable swag. Ask yourself if it will dry off and clean up okay if the container is full of water.

I learned that one the hard way with a Peanut Coin that I dropped while on a roadtrip. I emailed the guy who picked it up, hoping he might give me the TB# so I could log it properly, but I got no reply. I left a note on the TB page saying where I had dropped it just so the owner would know it had been there.

10. OPEN AND CLOSE THE CACHE CAREFULLY - make sure the ziplock is sealed, the lid is on right, the lock tabs locked without any of the contents sticking out. Try not to let rain or dirt into the cache.

So to clarify: 9. READ PAST LOGS - to discover more clues about how to find a cache.

Oh! And: 8. STOP AND LOOK AROUND - When your GPS says you are within 10 metres (30 feet), stop looking at the screen and start searching. The point where your GPS says "zero" is rarely where you'll find the cache. Read the description, the hint if you are really stuck, and explore the area.

I do agree with you - the more caching experience the better. I picked 25 as a number partly because I know my friend. It seemed like a number she could be convinced to achieve. She tends to be impulsive, (I told her not to buy a GPS until she had come along with me a few times, but she went out and spent $200 on an explorist anyway) and I think she would be more likely to ignore a suggestion of 50-100 finds. Fortunately, it looks as though I will have some "control" over her caching experiences so I promise to make sure she gets the full gamut of hide size/terrain/difficulty/cleverness

So I took a friend out for her first day of geocaching yesterday - I see she hasn't logged her finds yet so I expect I'll be getting a call about how to do that soon - and these were some of the tips and tricks I shared with her (in no particular order): 1. MARK YOUR CAR - get the co-ordinates of your car or the trailhead where you started so you can find your way back home. 2. ALWAYS CARRY EXTRA BATTERIES - for your flashlight and your GPS. 3. CLEAN UP A CACHE - don't be afraid to take out swag that is damaged or inappropriate (wet stickers, tattoos, burst batteries or any unmentionables). Dry out a container if it needs it. 4. MINIMUM 25 FINDS - before you even think about hiding your own cache. When you do hide one, make sure the location means something to you and that you will be able to take care of the container. 5. WRITE A GOOD LOG - be friendly, share your experience and also let the cache owner know the status of the container: in good shape or needs some TLC. It's a wet winter in suburban BC so we haven't discussed ticks or tree-climbing safety yet. If she's still hooked in the spring we'll continue the conversation. Meanwhile, what else can we tell curious newcomers?

That sounds like a neat idea. When you join as a member and type in your home co-ordinates, you could receive an email that says: "Welcome! Thanks for putting in your home coordinates - your neighbourhood mentor is "So-And-So". This is his/her profile page and email address. Feel free to contact your mentor directly with any questions about the sport." I'd be happy to do that job - although I can't say I have enough experience yet to qualify.

same here and I learned the hard way about them. I was in a hurry to get back in My rig and I fell in face first into stinging nettles! I quickly put something on to numb the pain and keep on caching that day. In a hour, the pain was gone. Now, when I see it, I am more careful. When I was a kid we lived on a farm where the back 40 was filled with stinging nettle. Instead of avoiding it, my sister and I ran through it over and over again until we became immune to it. To this day, if I come in contact with it, I have little or no reaction. Wise choice?

This is my point of geocaching: That's me holding the sign and the rest of my family around me. In the big picture I don't care where it is, what it looks like, or what you put in it. I don't even care if we FIND it. Our adventures and memories are what makes it all worthwhile. * even parking lot caches... imagine six people trying to be stealthy as they crowd around a lamp post. We look like Canada's Worst Ninjas.

That's because you pay your membership fees to Groundspeak, and CAAR is a feature provided by Groundspeak. PMO caches are not a feature provided by Groundspeak, and those who do provide it don't get any money from your membership fees. I can perfectly understand the controversy behind giving somebody access to something only when they pay somebody else for something else. I'm fairly simple-minded. All I know is that I go to Geocaching.com, where I can get a free basic membership and hunt caches one by one, or I can get a premium membership and have access to a list of perks. I don't think about who provides what - it's all under the same umbrella for me. Perhaps it would be helpful if PMO caches were completely invisible to basic members. That might solve the "hey, there is a cache just down the road .. WHAT? what do you mean I can't have the coordinates! "

As a Premium Member with no PMO caches, the simple answer to this seems to me to be that each PMO cache owner values their cache for different reasons and ours is not to judge why. As most of us have experienced, some people in our lives can't comprehend WHY ON EARTH we would spend our time searching for tupperware in the woods. True value is personal. I, too, find it odd that this is always a discussion about PMO caches and never a discussion about pocket queries or caches along a route - the top two reasons I pay for a premium membership.

FTF is the first cacher to sign the physical log (although often cachers that collide at GZ will share the FTF). I prefer to be 10th to find. I like seeing the names of the "famous" cachers in my area, reading their logs online and hoping that some of their geo-wisdom will rub off on me.

Both my teenaged boys do parkour (scary to watch somtimes but much happier to have them outside than sitting on their butts in front of a screen). Perhaps there should be a few T5 caches that require bringing along an agile teenager

I didn't know you could do that! Oy...

My suggestion is that you could earn access to PMO caches by spending more quality time with your niece.