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6NoisyHikers

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Everything posted by 6NoisyHikers

  1. We found a film canister cache laying out in the open on the side of a trail. the ground was sloped so we figured it rolled downhill in a rainstorm or some such thing. We signed the log (of course!), set the cache against the tree it was next to and covered it with a bit of moss. When we logged it online, we made sure to mention exactly how we found it and left it. At least then the CO can find it and move it back to where it was supposed to be!
  2. Oh Llama... la la la la la lovely llama... Oh Llama... la la la la la lovely llama... we la la la la la lo-ove you! Oh Llama... la la la la la lovely llama... Oh Llama... la la la la la lovely llama... And we know you love us too!
  3. Thanks for all the input everyone! From some of the comments, it sounds like local reviewers have their own unique ways of taking care of their territory and that we should look to develop a relationship with ours as we become more active in the cache community. I'm not overly concerned about dealing with my friend, he isn't an active cacher and has plenty of other hobbies I just think that the spot is a good place for a cache and shouldn't be wasted. And I see now that it would be difficult to set a world-wide time limit for disabled caches because we are all in different climate zones! I'm in the suburbs in a moderate climate where every cache is accessible all year round. Our density around cache-favourable sites is higher (being that there are less viable green spaces) which means that when a handful of disabled caches sit for too long (whatever that means!) it puts a dent in what is available to find - and to place - locally. Maybe what I should do is count 150 giant steps away from a disabled cache and place a "While You're Waiting" cache until the disabled becomes enabled!
  4. That's a good point about inaccessibility at certain times of the year - I hadn't thought of that. Hmm... Contacting a reviewer feels like tattling . As I know this particular CO, I can go poke him in the eye myself. Hopefully I can guilt him into turning over his cache site
  5. We have two caches that are within a few blocks of our home. We usually check on them once a month - more if we see that they have a trackable in them and we just want to have a look at it. Because we live close, it takes about half an hour to maintain both caches. When we do maintenance, we restock swag if larger items have been traded for smaller, remove any traded swag that is damaged or otherwise undesirable, clean out any dirt or forestry that has tumbled into the cache (as cachers sometimes set the open container on the ground while they sign the log), and make sure the log book still has lots of room for signatures in it. We also maintain the area around where the cache is hidden - a little CITO here and there keeps the trail and the experience nice for seekers. So if you are thinking about how many caches you should place, perhaps the first question you might ask is how much time you want to devote to a cache. (In our opinion:)Fewer caches that are maintained well are so much nicer than dozens of caches that are in a constant cycle of disrepair.
  6. Another cacher, who happens to be a real-life friend of mine, placed a cache in a neat, family-friendly spot. After a few months, the cache was muggled so he disabled it with a promise to get a new container in place "soon". This was almost a year ago! I've spoken to him in person, offered to co-own or adopt the cache, but he hasn't done anything about it yet and the cache remains disabled. How would everyone else feel about having a time limit on disabled caches? I think three months is plenty of time to see to a cache that needs maintenance or replacement. If the cache owner voluntarily disables a cache, they obviously know it needs work. If they won't or can't maintain it, it would be nice to "free up the space" so that another cache can be placed. In a nutshell, what I'm suggesting is a rule that says a disabled cache needs to be fixed up and re-enabled within three months or it automatically gets archived. What say ye all?
  7. We found a cache that had been peed in. We cleaned it up as best we could, put everything that was contaminated in a ziplock and put a fresh log sheet in a seperate ziplock just in case other cachers came by before the CO could get to it. We logged the find (we signed the log we left), then followed it with a NM stating exactly why. We don't want other cachers - especially those who cache with young kids as we sometimes do - coming across a contaminated cache. Cache owners and cache seekers need to work together to keep each other safe and keep the game fun for all.
  8. Noisy Hiker #3 found a large, neon green rubber skull at Value Village. She wants to cut the top open and store her makeup in it. I think it would be an awesome geocache (though I doubt it would stay pretty for long...) I also spend a lot of time looking at holes in tree trunks and other natural hiding spots and thinking "ooh! If I were a cache, I would want to live there!"
  9. That's the thing about animals - ALL animals... they have thoughts going on in their heads that we really know nothing about. Having grown up with and around dogs, and having been bit by a few, I will say that one bite does not a biter make. Still, you did the right thing getting medical treatment and you should report the incident - just in case the owner is in denial about the true nature of her dog. When I was a child we had a dog that was a wolf/husky cross. This dog used to let my sister drag it around by the neck with a string leash, lay on top of it and ride it, what have you. Then one day it bit my other sister, completely out of the blue with no provocation. It never bit another soul again in the seventeen years that it lived. It even let my mother pull porcupine quills out of its nose with pliers. Strangest thing.
  10. We have the same model and it did take a little fiddling to get the unit to accept data. There is the Magellan driver software - which it sounds like you already have - but my understanding is that you also need other "geocache data sorting" software to manage your pocket queries. We went to the Magellan website and downloaded VantagePoint, which works okay for us. It lets you import your pocket queries, makes a lousy map of them and then syncs them into the Explorist. This system works well enough for us as we are casual cachers. I'm sure other more experienced cachers will have some better advice...
  11. The best cache is your first cache... Or your 5000th cache Or the cache you did with your best friend before they moved far away Or the cache where your partner proposed Or your baby's first cache Or the cache you finally found after 3 DNFs Or that ammo can at the top of the mountain on a crystal clear day Or that lamp post on the day when your teenager admitted he really does love you Mom
  12. Aren't all caches supposed to have the CO name and GC number printed on them somewhere? We have two and we made sure to write that info in Sharpie on the inside of the lid, just in case something happens to them and a finder needs to contact us.
  13. We have to admit to being frustrated by a liar's cache in our area - perhaps because we felt like idiots afterwards and didn't like it. At least there was no big investment for us because it was right in the neighbourhood and we hit a few other caches while we were at it. So: Bummed out and a little ashamed leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Of course, finding a cache that's been used as a toilet (which happened to us the other day) leaves a bad smell on the hands. This is the nature of geocaching, the bad with the good. If those people had travelled all that way for a "true cache", and the cache had been muggled or just too hard to find, would it have still been a waste? We hope they would have seen the value in their time spent together, that there would be pictures taken and stories shared and friendships nutured. Sometimes geocaching is teamwork, sometimes it's group therapy. Either way, it's a positive thing.
  14. Thanks for all the input everyone! I suppose because it is our cache, it is technically our stuff... at the very least we are responsible for maintaining the cache so that other seekers will always enjoy it. I guess when the time comes, we will sort through the sigs (thanks for the lingo info too!), keep the really creative ones and then pass along those that are still in good shape to a hollow ammo can somewhere - I can think of one that we just found yesterday. Thanks again!
  15. A preemptive question: We have two caches - one "sandwich-sized", one "snack-sized" - and we keep them stocked with swag, leaving enough room for TBs and coins as they pass through. What we notice as we geocache in our community is that many cachers leave behind personal calling cards in a cache; poker chips, golf tees, crayons and the like. We don't think these items are meant to be tradeable, we don't take them ourselves, but I worry for our smaller cache that it will fill up with personal items and not have room for stuff to trade or travel. In short (because the lead up was long!): Would it be okay to remove some of these personal items from our caches if they were getting short of space? How would you feel if they were your calling cards? I'm not saying we would throw them away (maybe the mouldy golf tee), but would you mind? And if it would bother you, does anyone have any ideas of a good alternative? Thanks!
  16. Who are 6NoisyHikers? A not-so-typical suburban family from BC, Canada Noisy Hiker #1 (Dad) teaches acting to school kids and plays music (when he can remember the words) Noisy Hiker #2 (Mom) works as a tech in live theatre and writes novels Noisy Hiker #3 (Daughter) is a recent graduate who is studying to become a Sign Language Interpreter and is currently percolating NoisyHiker 3.1 (due in Sept 2011) Noisy Hiker #4 (Son) might graduate this year but ultimately wants to be a Korean pop star (we're not Korean) Noisy Hiker #5 (Son) is an up-and-coming visual artist and computer animator who, at 6'1", is taller than everyone else in our family Noisy Hiker #6 (Son) has the distinction of being seven years old. It suits him. Taking up geocaching was Mom's idea. Everyone else has been more or less sucked in, willingly or no. Turns out, geocaching is good for relationships - who knew? So nice in these years when the teenagers are headed off on their own paths that there is something that brings us together, with each other and with our planet
  17. Maybe "official" geocaching will be regulated, but I bet there will be splinter cells, "underground" groups who organize cache events for themselves - the equivalent of sci-fi conventions but with less costuming
  18. I think that because geocaching requires people to get out of the house and expend energy it will never be over-popular. There seems to be a fad in that direction, marketing departments are becoming aware and probably know better than we do that when there is a chance to purchase an electronic toy, consumers will do so. They will use that electronic toy to do the park and grabs in their immediate neighbourhood (but not when it is raining, and not if they have to walk too far), then they will go back to playing Angry Birds. Okay, having re-read that paragraph, it is a little cynical, but basically I believe that there will always be a level of caching that is for those who truly appreciate the seek. In ten years I think the geocaching community will still be a small but dedicated one, with cachers of all generations passing on an appreciation for the environment and the thrill of discovery!
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