The_Incredibles_

I'm a bit late to the party, but here goes. According to the OP: If only 1 geocache has been stolen, there's no problem and it's definitely not worth making a big deal out of it or giving them any attention. It just would encourage more stealing. I agree with the advice on this thread just to shrug it off. And, no, stealing 1 geocache does not necessarily make someone a sociopath. Teenagers do stuff. The only time I would do anything is if the person was showing other signs they needed helped/intervention or if the stealing was persistent. I had a local kid/teen here mess with 1 of my caches. First, they drew a picture of the male anatomy on the container. Then they stole the logbook. They actually emailed me about it. I pretty much told them not to worry, that stuff like this happens all the time and we expect caches to need maintenance/go missing etc. Never had any problems with them again.

I sure wish I'd taken some photos last time I did cache maintenance. There was the usual crap like rocks, sticks, leaves, dolls with missing heads, bubble mixture (why do people think this is a good idea?), anything metal (which are guaranteed to go rusty in our area), soggy business cards etc. In one of my caches, someone had put a bit of paper, wadded up and wrapped with duct tape. Intrigued, I took it home and opened it up, not expecting anything. There was a single red crayon inside, in perfect condition, I might add. I guess the paper was to protect the crayon. There was no value, obviously, but I did like the mystery element. Unfortunately, most people will just pass it by as it looks like garbage.

Agreed. 8 finds since January 2016. Not much has been lost, I think. For me, personally, geocaching has enhanced my life so much, I would be happy to pay much much much more. The apps and premium membership are a bargain, IMO. But only if you use them. And, yes, I think people who provide these services should be paid for their work. "It is all in principle."

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC44R93_trigonometry-triumph-hag-9 Found it Found it 07/06/2014 I really enjoyed this puzzle. It gave me a chance to review my math and boggle Grandpa Incredible's brain too. I had to re-read the very entertaining story many times to get the diagram right. With a bit of fiddling, but I soon had the coordinates. I was in the area for a puzzle round-up and this one was on my list. I thought for sure I was going to have a heart attack on the way to GZ. Lots of huffing and puffing and stopping to 'admire the view' and lots of sweat dripping down my face. That was quite the workout. On my way up, I remembered something that Arnold Schwarzenneger had said about how when it hurts, that's when you're improving. So I pushed myself a bit and soon was thankfully at GZ. I had a little giggle when I got there, as there was evidence that someone had met an untimely death. I snapped some photos of the skeleton and proceeded to look for the cache. The native blackberry vines are really starting to take over and I got tangled in them as I searched. Fortunately the pants I was wearing already had a rip in them from another caching misadventure. I found the cache pretty quick, noted how infrequently it is found and replaced. This is one for sure that will never get muggled. I then noticed that there was another puzzle cache nearby so I sat down on the ground and tried to figure it out. I don't know anything about poker so it was not easy. After Googling a bit, I gave up and started down the trail. This is when things got interesting. About 1/2-way down, I heard a loud crashing in the bushes to my left. I stopped to see what it was, expecting to see a deer pop out. I watched and soon saw a pair of ears. They were not pointy deer ears. They were ROUND ears. Pointy ears GOOD. Round ears BAD. Round ears REALLY REALLY bad! The head belonging to the ears made a horrible noise and I thought for sure I was a goner. I looked around me for things to defend myself. Naturally, all my emergency supplies were 180 meters downhill in the cachemobile. Fortunately there were lots of rocks on the trail so I piled them up and looked for some pokey sticks, all the while keeping an eye on the bushes. At first I thought it was a cougar, as the head was quite small, but judging by its behavior and the sound it made, I came to the conclusion that it had to be a small black bear. Now I know all about black bears and have encountered a number of them while hiking as a child. I KNOW that they are generally scared of humans and do not want to get involved with us, however I had it in my mind that maybe, just MAYBE this was the ONE black bear that wanted to EAT people or at least just maim them. I worked my way slowly back up the hill, making little piles of rocks and clutching my pokey sticks. I could hear whatever it was crashing around in the bushes. It seemed to be taking a path parallel to me which kind of freaked me out. I had heard some hikers on the trail earlier while finding the cache so I headed up to the viewpoint in the hopes of running into them. I called home to give my daughter my coordinates and explain the situation. I didn't feel an adrenalin surge, but it must have been there, because although I had previously found the terrain challenging, my performance was suddenly enhanced and I was able to make it uphill with the ease of an olympic athlete. I hung out at the viewpoint for a good 45 minutes hoping that would give the bear time to move on. I kept a watch downhill, with plans to climb the fence and over the barbed wire if necessary. Ouch! Finally I came to the conclusion that it was not coming after me so I slowly and quietly inched my way downhill. I had considered taking an alternative and longer route back, however not knowing which way the bear had gone, I decided to just go back the way I came. I KNOW you are supposed to make noise when around bears, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I tried to be as quiet as possible, the whole time listening carefully for noises which might give me an idea as to the bear's location. I was just about at the place I'd encountered the bear when my phone rang loudly, giving away my location. My daughter was calling to see if I was still alive. I told her I was OK and would call her back in 10 minutes. The rest of the journey down was uneventful, albeit slippery and I was REALLY glad to see the cache mobile. Note to self...bear spray is not very helpful unless you actually bring it with you. Thanks for the puzzle and the, shall we say, stimulating adventure?!?

Yep. I did a cache once where there was a projection, but no geochecker. The description of the yard seemed to match the hint so I went for it. Poked around their front porch, lifting up and inspecting various items before I gave up and realized I'd made a mistake. Thank goodness they were NOT home. I was totally horrified when I found out. Another yard cache I did, I was actually in the right place. However, the owners had moved out without archiving their cache. Suffice to say, I found nothing. Again, thank goodness the new residents were not home.

I don't think it's rude, but I would feel a bit funny if someone messaged me about a favorite point. As a cache owner, I get enough. A few missing here and there are not going to bother me. I wouldn't be able to understand why someone would care so much, unless maybe there was some sort of competition going on. To me, the best reward is a good log.

What guidelines are you having trouble with?

If I only did a half-hearted search for a few minutes, I wouldn't bother logging a DNF. However, if I did a good search within 10 meters of GZ, I would log a DNF. Wouldn't matter if it was 5 minutes or 3 hours. DNFs are important because they give both the cache owner and other cachers information. If only 1 cacher logged a DNF, for example, I would not, as a cache owner go and check on the cache. As for how long, I search as long as it's fun.

My opinion is no action should have been taken, given that only 1 log reported mold. It's pretty common for people to get confused about which cache was which. I live in an area where a good portion of the caches are damp inside. But they do tend to dry out in the summer. I wait for at least 2-3 logs for confirmation before I run out and check on a cache. I think, in most cases, when reviewers are going to get involved in a cache, they should wait for similar confirmation. It's happened more than once that I've disabled a cache thinking it was missing and I go there and it's exactly where it should be. Waste of time for all involved.

:o The cache owner has been inactive for years. I'm very surprised to see them post something. They must really be fond of this particular cache. :o

Yes, very cool to hear about this. Great story, but it leaves me with the feeling that it might have been better off leaving everything Archived. Sounds like another cache owner that got disenchanted and left the game, and as we all know, the game depends on active cache owners who don't pick up their toys and go home. Just something to think about. I adopted 1 of the TEAM caches. I feel they have historical value as they were some of the first in our area. Maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal right now, but how about when these caches have been kept going for 20 years? I think it is a good idea to keep the best ones going. There are some mystery caches which take you on wild adventures and are very clever and unique. And some traditionals in really great spots. Having said this, I don't think they *all* should have been adopted. Many were just simple traditionals within city limits and were/are taking up prime real estate. In fact, when I first started caching, the TEAM caches were not my favorite caches to find as they would invariably be disgusting, as they were not being maintained. Plus, whenever I went to hide a cache, I had to work around them. They were everywhere. Back to the virtual in question. It's not the job of the reviewers to maintain the cache page. The cache should be adopted out or archived. Even if it's archived, nothing's stopping you from doing the cache.

Really sad. Can you post the nasty part of the email?

You didn't mention #4. Is that one of the things that helps keep you from getting bored with geocaching? Just kidding of course. Yep. It's the moldy logs that keep me coming back for more.

Yep. This.(well, I'm almost lvl 24 tho )

We're at level 20 now. Advantages of Pokemon GO over geocaching: 1) You can play in the same area over and over. 2) Easier. 3) No exercise required. 4) No moldy logs. Due to points #1 and #2 and #3 above, though, we've only been playing a few weeks and we're already bored. I can't see playing this game for years. There's just not enough variety or challenge to keep us going long-term.

Cache maintenance includes not only maintenance on an physical container, but also maintenance on the cache page, deleting bogus logs etc. It is not the job of the reviewer to do either. Since the CO is long gone and thus the cache is clearly is not being maintained, the cache should be archived IMO. I don't see it any different than if the container was cracked and the log moldy. Time to go bye bye.

Yeah see this is the type of comment that tends to get backlash, since many would disagree about what tools they find happiness in using. More helpful to people curious about which to use and less argumentative might be: "When I cache "off road" I'm much happier with a dedicated GPSr and using my cell phone as a back-up. I find the smart phone apps I use very useful for reading the cache pages and reviewing maps on the larger size screen but in my experience my smartphone (model) hasn't been as accurate or rugged. When I'm caching curbside though, I'm fine with just my cellphone." And then, if someone has a different experience, there is no implication that either you or they are "wrong" Well said. I'm always amazed that people 1/2-way across the world who have never met me know what will make me happier. That's some magical powers.

Sure, they can change the battery. They can also plug it into a battery pack.

There's a good idea for an event cache for you.

Yep. The few times we've ever had issues with ammo cans, was folks caching in pouring rain. "Man, really coming down in buckets ! Good thing we had our rain gear on. 8th of 20 today". - So there's nineteen others just as happy as me. I guess the reason I get ticked about this is we put a small umbrella in every one as swag, but it seems many don't have the smarts to use 'em. May be a good thing, as they'd probably just put it back in afterwards anyway... Happens all the time in my area. It's especially a problem when it's a new cache. Each person that goes out exposes the cache to a few drops of rain and before you know it, you get a 'log's damp' report.

Okay, Incredibles, how about an update after two years (eons when it comes to technology) that will further silence your critics?! I like your earlier point about user error. If phones tend to be used by newer cachers (less experienced), then they are probably not using averaging and other techniques that *any* device benefits from. I'm flattered you're still thinking of me. The fact is, I'm not caching much these days, so I haven't got any more impressive stats. However, when I do go caching, it's with a smartphone. I've been using the Note 2, but recently bought an iPhone 5S and it works just great. I've even got an Otter Box Defender for it, with a built-in screen protector. I don't miss my Garmin Oregon 550 at all.

Supposedly, it's been found. https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1259_kougarok

Good advice given so far. I think most of us suck at the beginning. The main thing is just to keep at it; having said that, when you start to get annoyed, move on to the next cache. Don't be afraid to email cache owners for help. It might also help to go with someone. If you can find an experience local cacher to go out with, that might make things more enjoyable while you are learning.

Maybe consider hiding a tag with clues under water, then have the actual cache a distance away. At the very least, if you do hide a cache underwater, don't bother putting swag or a paper logbook in it. Maybe just a divers slate, as the previous posters suggested. You can get them with a pencil attached. No matter how good the container is, water is going to get in when people open it.

I would say it depends on the smartphone and also how much moisture. I cache by smartphone and have found it works great, even on cloudy days and during light rain. This is my Samsung Galaxy Note 2. The only time I've hard trouble is if I go out and its absolutely pouring rain.