Phatfish16

Thanks Blackdog!!!

Roxytrend and I recently visited Puerto Rico during our vacation to the Caribbean. While doing a tour through the El Yunque rainforest, we were brought to the Yokahu Tower, which is a US Observation Point. Is there a way to log this benchmark as a find? I'm not a big benchmark hunter, but if I find one at random I'm sure to take a photo or log the coords if I have the GPS with me. The Wording on the benchmark are as follows: Department of Agriculture Forest Service CNF GPS Test Network CDR. (Not necessarily in that order...but I'll try posting the photo as well.) Here's a link to a website I have found that provides information about the tower and the rainforest: El Yunque Rainforest Yokahu Tower Thanks in advance for any help you have to offer!! Happy caching, err benchmark hunting.

Wow, this is ONE LONG thread. One that took me a while to actually develop an opinion on, because I was kind of on the fence about it. (Bass River State Forest has a LOT of caches. But there's more than enough room for more, that's for sure.) The reason I quoted the above comment is that I have to admit that I put out a few, boring and unimaginative hides. I blame it on my learning curve and low experience finding choice caches. Most of the great caches in my area must have required a LOT of work by the cache owners. This is something i'm working on copying and modifying to create my own hiding style. Like others have said in this thread, new cachers tend to simply toss hides out there quickly, without much thought or effort. I actually did just that this afternoon. (But I am working on a killer mystery/puzzle, the idea spawning directly from DirtyBird and BigNastyBrain's Cerebral Codex cache.) (Although many do just the opposite.) To get onto topic, I wouldn't have developed an internal NEED to hide better caches without having the opportunity to find some of the better, yet less often found caches. As somewhat of a newbie to caching, (Only a few years on and off and less than 250 finds), I personally need to find more of the quick, cache and dashes regularly, and then a few of the more involved and difficult caches here and there...in order to develop my "geosense." Since I am not as experienced as some of the cachers who have thousands of finds, 10s of 100s of FTFs, dozens of hides and have cached all over the country, I would like to keep the older, less often found caches available to me once I feel confident enough to approach them. I may try for a 5/5 tomorrow, but if it hasn't been found within the proposed guidelines, it may not be there for me to find it when I feel ready to approach it. Then, if that 5/5 cache isn't available for me to find because of this auto-archive scenario that we're discussing I will not have had the pleasant and cache-developing experience to build upon my own hiding style. Without that 5/5 available to me when i'm ready to tackle it's challenge, I will in turn be UNABLE to hide a worthy 5/5 one day. OR, my idea of a 5/5 would truly be something closer to a 3/3. It's like a snowball effect...if we create this system, it could potentially decrease the level and quality of great caches. This would probably not happen for experienced cachers...but for newbies, TRUE newbies...they may not have the opportunity to experience choice caches because ALL of the choice caches have been auto-archived. Another thing that I wanted to point out, just as a polite suggestion directly to the starter of this thread...if you feel that your area is swamped with caches, try checking out a new area. May cost more in gas and take more time to get there...but I personally view geocaching as a way to explore new areas that I've never been to before. I've seen the places where all of my finds have been placed...Even if those caches that are in those locations are archived and replaced with new hides, I've already seen those sights. I'm ready to see something new. I DO NOT support this idea. But that's just my 2 cents. But if you add up everyone's 2 cents, we may have enough to buy some SWAG for the next cache

I LOVE L&O...I definitely have to see that episode!!!

Now that would be a fantastic idea!!!

I'm planning a trip from NJ to VA this Sunday, where I'll be for 3 weeks. I've got a few caches to do along the way, hoping to get some in parts of NJ that I haven't hit yet for the DeLorme challenge, also I am planning on hitting up at least 1 in Maryland, and Delaware and a few in Virginia while I'm there and I'm even plotting some in DC, where I hope to spend a weekend. During the trip i have noticed Some at rest stops, but not nearly enough to avoid taking detours off the highway. Havign mroe at rest stops would make this easier and more enjoyable for me, but there's not way to require cachers to hide a cache.

I know this isn't necessarily the purpose of this thread, but the 2 most memorable items that I've found inside any of the caches that I've found are an unopened lock, that I plan on using for a multi-staged mystery cache of some sort...and a paddle made by paddlinfool. I found it in his SHS series in the Bedminster/Bridgewater area. It's a miniature paddle about 3 inches in length that I believe he carved himself. I actually keep that in my bureau as a reminder of that long and difficult hunt. Someone else might have thought of that as simply trash, but to me...it means more. (By the way, I didn't take his signature item...it was the prize for finders of the entire series.) I really don't trade for anything because there's rarely anything worthwhile inside caches. A few times a year I get to cache with my nephew, age 12, and even he rarely trades for anything. (Forgot to mention: we BOTH enjoy trading for trackable items. But we don't keep them, we move them along.) That being said...it's the hunt that counts the most. It's what you get out of the experience, NOT what you get out of the cache.

Checkout Cerebral Codex and Choregraphed Chaos. Both are in NJ, if you're willing to take a trip. Several trips, most likely. Cerebral can be solved as a distance cacher. The COs are awesome and have created some amazing puzzles! They won't actually allow a Found It log as a distance cacher, but you can claim a find as a Note and log a TB that they setup just for distance cachers. Cerebral Codex Choreographed Chaos I haven't tried Choreo yet, but I'm nearly done with Cerebral as a distance cacher. Then I plan on giving the real adventure a shot.

I just wanted to say this is a great idea!!!

That second officer that I just mentioned in my previous post had also mentioned that there was vandalism in the area. I wonder if the police know about geocaching and play ignorant as a ploy to actually see if geocachers are legitimately cachers and not pranksters.

I just got questioned on 2 separate occassions the weekend before last. First time I was hunting a traditional cache at a rest stop on the GSP in NJ down near exit 38. The second time I was getting ready to hide a micro in a small town park up in north Jersey. Both times I just explained geocaching to the officers and they were ok with it. But the 2nd time, The officer took my information: name, address, cell phone. I felt wierd giving it to him, especially since I wasn't doing anything wrong...but how could I refuse? This second officer actually seemed interested in our game. I gave him the website, my name on here and my personal email address as well. So I'm a little torn between: Am I in trouble somehow?!? Is he really interested in geocaching? At first I totally thought he was interested. But towards the end of our 20+ minute discussion, he seemed like he was just feigning interest to check me out for warrants or something. Who knows. Maybe I'll eventually get a call asking to take him hunting for a 5/5...you never know.

Here's a few links, hope the links work: Jeep TB Hoarders in Travel Bugs Section Commercial Hitchhikers - Marking as Missing What to Do This seem odd or is it just me

i totally agree with you, there are allot of Jeep hounds out there that keep them for themselves. I know someone that just registered on geocaching.com just to get the Jeeps, he collects Jeeps so he could get all the Jeeps sent to him. We talked to him about this issue of keeping them for collecting purposes and he doesn't care. HE IS A JEEP hound. He's not even a geocacher. Now that makes me angry. But what do i do. I am not sure what the real purpose of the Jeep TB are. You may be able to keep these Jeeps if you send off for one i don't know how it works. I just know that when i get one i send it on it's way. we"re lost There's an entire thread about this, with suggestions and details about the Jeep TB's mission. I'll see if I can link to it. Just wanted to reply quick.

I don't know how to conduct that search, but if you find them...please log and move on. Don't pocket them as a prize and keep them for your own personal use. I'm not saying that you would do that or plan on doing that or have done that...but I've seen some cachers who do just that. Just my 2 cents and I'm not intending on being rude.

I've also had a similar circumstance. A newbie logged a find on a cache that was DEFINITELY missing. I didn't know that they logged it as missing in their write-up bc I saw their smiley and went after the cache in a dash without reading. Searched the area for a while and gave up. I didn't log a DNF on that cache, but a maintenance log. I did that because when I returned to log my DNF, I finally read the previous cachers log and noticed that they said they DIDN't Find the cache, but knew they were in the correct spot. They logged a smiley...Go figure. But if they logged the DNF, I wouldn't have wasted my time searching for a missing cache.

Personally, I log everything. First, it helps the cache owner know what's going on in the hunt for his/her cache. Second, it notify's the next cacher regarding details of previous hunts. Third, it lets me track my own hunts and may give me ideas down the road. For example, if I log a DNF today...3 months from now I don't necessarily want to make the same mistakes that I did the first time around. Especially if I don't necessarily remember all of the initial details of the hunt. I try to make my logs as detailed as possible. For my own sake, and hopefully for the CO's enjoyment. It also shows the CO that I appreciate their efforts in hiding the cache for me and other cachers to find.

True, Arizona is one of those larger states, but you could always zoom out and then drag. It'll probably be too cumbersome and tedious, though. Especially since when zoomed out to a certain point, not all of the cache icons are displayed on the page. Is there a way to search by route or street? I'm not a premium member yet and don't know if they have that option...but I think that might be a nice, helpful feature. I'd like to key in "Garden State Parkway" or "Route 9" and get hits along the highway or road. Even if it showed caches within 1-5 miles of the road. Would be especially helpful to those people who venture out on road trips to states that they're not familiar with. I imagine that I've driven by hundreds of caches during roadtrips, where if I only knew that the caches were only a pitstop away I could find them.

I absolutely Disagree with removing these types of caches from Geocaching!!! I LOVE puzzles. Wish I could solve more. Wish there were more in my area. There are different types of caches, if you have a problem with Unknown Caches or Multicaches, stick with finding Traditional Caches. Use filters during your search. But I personally don't want to see them removed from our hobby. I do, however, wish that Unknown caches could be split up and divided into separate and different cache types. Maybe have a cache type titled, "Puzzle Cache" and other types as deemed necessary.

Or how about logging a "half find" if you've only solved the puzzle but not visited the site and logged the find? Of course this would require verification from the log owner by e-mail or PM. Those who solve the puzzle and sign the log get "two half logs" thus totaling a whole. Past finders wouldn't suffer and those from New Jersey who solve a puzzle in Guam get a half log for their efforts. Would that work? Great suggestion! That's actually something I just did a few days ago...I went through some of the puzzles that I still had on paper in my caching folder. (It's an actual, real-life folder not a computer folder for files.) I logged a note for the ones that I had written the date that I solved the puzzle on.

Thanks, got it with all your help. I never used the drop down window within the advanced search options. Must have overlooked it every singel time. Go figure. I'm suprised at how few virtuals, earthcaches and letterboxes there are in my state.

I'm a financial management analyst/student//boyfriend/son/writer/geocacher/snowboarder/baseball plaer...In that order. The first one pays me. The second one will hoepfully pay me more. The 3rd one costs me. The 4th one charges me guilt. The 5th one is a dream. the 6th one is a hobby. The 7th one is a lifelong commitment. The 8th and last one is a lifelong, dedicated game I've played.

I have to admit that I placed my first 5 caches out of the internal feeling that I wasn't personally contributing to geocaching. I only had about 100 finds or so when I hid my first. But now that I'm nearly at 200 finds, I've only hid 6. 5 of which were a series of caches. Those 5 started as just 1 hide so that i didn't feel so guilty. Then I thought, "Hey, I jog along this path everyday, might as well share my path with others." I then added 4 more to that first and turned it into a series. I feel that I should hide more, even have about 8 or more cache containers ready and able to be hid out there...but I haven't found a spot suitable or worthwhile. This is just my 2 cents, but I'm sure others may feel that need to hide a cache simply as a guilt trip...internally probably. But there's absolutely no reason that someone needs to hide a cache. If people get interested in the hide, the sociological aspect of the game might intrigue them enough to hide their own. I know that before my first hide I thought, "I could do this." Then I hide one. Now that I've got a few out there, which may not be choice hides, I feel comfortable enough to wait on great locations.

Got it, thanks

Just hit "View Map" on a cache page and it'll bring up google maps. From there you can click and drag around the map itself, following roads and highways as you go. Little icons, varied by cache type, are displayed on the map itself. The map should cross state lines as well. You can zoom in and out as far as you like, too. Does that even help answer the question? I hope so, if not, sorry...just trying to help.

Thanks for the info. I didn't see anywhere, where I could run an advanced search by state...only zip code. I just posted in another thread that I'm planning on buying a PDA around Thanksgiving. (Hoping a Black Friday sale will have one for a decent price.) Upgrading to Premium Membership on Jan 1st.