Beffums

In a post (sorry, couldn't re-find it) Jeremy mentioned that with the new incarnation of the site, TB miles will only be updated once a day, and only on days that logs/notes/... were posted to that TB. So, I've noticed with mine that someone will place the TB and it will read (on my owners page) as having moved with no miles (not 0 -- just blank) below that location. But, if I wait til the next morning, it will have miles, and they'll update into the overall mileage for the TB (I have 3 in a race, so I've been paying close attention). I don't need to click recalculate distance or anything like that - I just have to remember to check the TB's a full day after the log.

For some reason I thought that the "has TB" tickbox returned all caches with TB's and/or geocoins. Not sure why I thought that, but for some reason I thought the trackables got lumped into that one.

oh, and of course it dawns on me after my other post, but you can also try e-mailing some of the local cachers. When you look at the near by caches, do you see one hider who has hidden a lot of them? If so, go to one of their cache pages, and click on the "profile" option beside their name at the top. They'll likely know if there's a local caching group or listserve or forum or ... *note* I'm not recommending e-mailing every single cacher in your area, but to e-mail one or two and politely ask if they can give you any pointers (either by going out caching with you to find some of the caches and teach you the ropes or by giving you info to find some other area cachers) that should be fine. Also, along that line - keep an eye out for event caches nearby. Their icon is a little "word bubble" - like the words are written in on cartoons. A lot of cachers will go out in groups caching afterwards, and you can learn a lot that way. (plus, generally the cachers who host events are more than willing to take new cachers out for a test run of caching to learn the ropes). edit: still need those typing lessons...

I don't live in Chicago, so can't help with the tour guide option. But, I can give a numbers run suggestion that from what I've heard, is well worth the time (ok, at least the first 30 or 40 are worth it! then it's all about the smileys). If you'll have a rental car... and don't mind micros... do a numbers run on the BoB series. 99 bottles of beer - 99 smileys (well, a couple are currently disabled, but they might be up and running by June). I haven't found them yet, but all are supposed to be very close to the road... BoB 99 {BoB 99 is the first to hit - and has a bookmark list on it for the rest of them.}

Sugar Glider Sweatshop has a good idea. You also might want to try posting this in the regional forum for Massachusetts - the MA cachers will read it and be the ones most likely to be able to help take you out caching. Northeast Forums (includes Massachusetts) If you clic the link, it should take you to the Northeast forums where you can post for other Massachusetts cachers.

2 weeks is the goal (after that point, you get a little message on your "my account" screen reminding you that you need to do something with the TB), but please keep in mind that sometimes unexpected events happen. Imagine: You pick up a TB on a Sunday and, for the sake of the argument - let's say you work during the week and only cache on weekends, so you are planning to place it the following weekend. That weekend, bad storms move through the area or the like - weather prevents caching. Ok, no problem - you'll place it the next weekend - just squeezing in before the 2 week deadline. You go out, you try - all dnf's. Yes, ideally you would then just re-hit a cache you know of to drop it, but sometimes that doesn't happen. So, after the 2 weeks, as the owner, you can contact the cacher with your TB and *gently* ask if there's any reason they haven't placed it (beware - you do not want to piss them off; if you do, they might just hold onto the TB for a lot longer!). {I'll be honest - I tend to be slack on doing that with my TB's. I'm more likely to ask for help in the forums if a TB is stalled in a cache for too long. Right now, one person has one of my TB's, which they've had since Feb 20th. hmm, 2 months - I guess I should try to contact them about it. I'm more likely to e-mail people if I see reports that my TB is no longer in the cache it's still listed in.} Since it's been 45 days, it's perfectly reasonable to have written to ask about it. But, I'd give them a chance to place it before hassling them again over it. The last thing you want to do is to make them dislike you or the TB - while we think that we're all mature adults who would never hold a grudge...

Wow - I came home from work today to a surprise in the mailbox -- microcoins! They look great guys - thanks for arranging this.

Mine is mostly my sister_in_law (Green_eyed_lady) - she was definitely the most fanatical in the family. My brother-in-law (geosalamander) was actually the first in the family to start geocaching, so I guess that makes him my geo-grandfather?? Then my father-in-law (Jaspop) and mother-in-law (Jasmom) got into caching too. Hmm, but since my husband (JAPTKD) introduced me to all of them, does that make hubby my geo-parent? ugh - too confusing to keep all the geo-kinships straight! So far, I only know of two people that I helped get "into" geocaching, and both were just from them stumbling across some of my caches. One is the City arborist for our town (but, it helped the local cachers learn why one specific cache at a noted tree kept getting muggled!) and the other is a groundskeeper at a local university. Both were just out doing their jobs, found a cache, and have started logging many caches since then.

Yup - there's lots of us in Indiana. In fact, in my part of Indiana, I think there are either as many or more female geocachers as males. I'm lucky in that JAPTKD is as into caching as I am, so it's a toss up as to who will mention finding a new cache first.

My husband and I have separate accounts, mostly because there are a few (I know, a very few) finds that he has and I don't, or that I have and he doesn't. It also lets us sort the hides - if it was my idea to put a cache there, then my name is first on the listing, if it was his idea, his is. If you both want credit for the cache, then you both have to log it - even if one just writes "found with ___". If her find count doesn't matter to her, then no, she doesn't need to log them all - she'll know how many she has found, just by checking your found count.

PA, OH, IN, IL, MO, KY, TN, VA, NC plans to do caching in SC and IA (and hopefully WV and MD) this year.

Thanks for a GREAT second trailmix! So, when's the next one?? (and, next time, could we put in a request for somewhere in the flatlands? I mean, c'mon, this is Indiana...) Ok, time to go soak in another long hot bath - some day these muscles will stop hurting.

When we bought our premium membership, it took a few days from when we paid for it until we actually received the code. So, if you just paid for their membership today, you'll have to wait a bit to be able to help them upgrade. Soon they'll receive an e-mail with the code. (I received the code instantly with my paypal receipt, but it wasn't active for about 3 or 4 days - when I got an e-mail from Groundspeak welcoming me as a premium member).

We generally delete them, as you will run out of space in the memory (we have a Garmin Legend, but I think the storage abilities are pretty close). From personal experience, though, a few tips: (yup, we've been this stupid before...) 1) if you found a few stages of a multi, but not all, and there's any chance of you trying it again, don't delete the waypoints until you've written down the Stage 2, 3, ... coords somwhere! 2) if you own any multis, and you haven't entered the other stages waypoints into the system as additional hidden waypoints, again, don't delete the GPSr until you've recorded those stages somewhere. *both of these will simply save you a lot of time in the long run. Yes, it's possible to get the other stages over again, but why? finally, 3) if you are going to place a cache, remember to re-enter all the coords for all the caches near where you are aiming for - don't just download the ones you haven't found yet...

I guess you'll have to count me and Beffums out for a trip to the vault. Realisticly I won't be able to leave work until 4:00 at the earliest. It takes me at least a half hour to get home and would be about 2 hours for us to get to Jeffersonville. That'd put us at 7:30 EST at the absolute earliest and we'll likely not get there until more like 9. Have fun at the cache and we'll see you on Saturday morning. change of plans! JAPTKD now has to work tonight from 8 pm until 4-6 am, but then he's off until Sunday. So, I'm done teaching at 2 (CST), which means we should easily be there by 6 (EST). We'll meet you at the McDonalds, unless plans have changed?

If we get to town before you head there, we'd be game. When were you thinking of leaving the Scottsburg area? (don't feel like you need to wait for us, just trying to figure out if there's any chance of us getting there in time)

thanks!!

Yay! For a bit there, it looked like JAPTKD was going to have to work. But, he got the all clear today (of course, that was with a "unless things change before Friday" caveat... sigh), so as of now, it looks like we're good to go. Does anyone know of hotels in the area and/or the zipcode around there? we might try to drive over Saturday morning, but with the time zone shift and the 9:30 til 10:am start time... we might be lazy and drive over on Friday, if there's anywhere nearby to stay at.

I think you missed the point. To oreder in bulk and get a discount you have to be a VIP member. Anybody can order these, though. As for timing.....another story. well, as a non-member, it doesn't seem possible to even find the coin on their site. they have a coin gallery - that it's not in. and a members only store - which you can search as a non-member. I think there will be many very unhappy geocachers if this is the only place where you can order them. any info on why they aren't carrying it at Groundspeak? I have a feeling that many cachers will be unhappy if this is the only option for purchase.

We generally assume about 40-50 feet, unless the cache page or previous logs note that there's a problem with the coords. Our logic -- a lot of the time, you only have 20-25 foot accuracy. Figure the same is true for the hider. so double the distance, just in case. If there's a lot of tree cover, and we only have 40 foot accuracy, we'll broaden out our searching radius.

a bump since we're finally managing to make it to St. Louis this weekend to find some caches. Any other suggestions on caches that we just shouldn't miss? thanks! (and thanks to GO John & Carol for starting the thread)

We're part of the Geo-911 group for Indiana, so we might be a bit on the over prepared side when we visit caches. When we're caching locally, we generally have about a dozen spare containers of all sizes. If the cache is simply a 35 mm film canister/hide-a-key and the container is shot, we'll just replace it and note it in our log (have yet to get a complaint about it, but I'm sure some owner would...). If it's larger, it tends to depend on the cacher. Of the locals, we know who would say "thanks for replacing the rubbermaid!!" and who wouldn't. If it's someone who wouldn't mind or would appreciate it, we'll replace. If we're unsure, we'll do everything we can to protect the contents (big ziplocks are marvelous), and then head home. Ditto for any unique containers (i.e., not a rubbermaid, 35 mm, hide a key, etc etc.) Then e-mail the other cacher to let them know what's up, and (depending on distance) offer spare containers/trips to replace if needed. We also carry spare log books and log sheets for micros, etc. If the log is full, and there's space, we'll add a new one. If less space, we'll add a few pages. I've also learned to carry a spare towel with me - saves effort on wet caches when you can towel things off. When we travel further, welllll, we generally aren't that prepared! This weekend we'll be heading to St. Louis (hubby picked up a geocoin that wants to follow Lewis and Clark). We'll still have the spare ziplocks, paper towels and spare logs, but that's about it. As for when there's too much stuff - first, that might be why the container broke. A lot of people don't think about the fact that if they are really having to cram a lid on, that then the pressure from inside might cause problems. One time we found a cache that was stuffed, and all of the paper items inside were wet and mushy. So since those were now trash, we simply removed them. If we find one that's stuffed but not trashy, we'll do our best to follow briansnat's advice - trade even or up, but also work to trade large items for smaller ones. As for the actual OP's question - I think it's up to the cacher. Some will happily fix up caches that they find, some will go home (without fixing) and make sure the owner knows about the problem, others will just head home, and write the log as if nothing was wrong. Personally, I hope that most will switch to one of the first two options, but some people feel that even something like "log is wet" is being too critical of the cache owner.

Good luck in getting at least part of the TB back to its home! You should be able to click on this link The Tick to access the TB page. Alternatively, go to the "track travel bugs" option, and try TBGMM2. If you would rather just contact the owners, Maple&oak has no spaces - you can try that under "find another player" on your my account page. (or try this link: Maple&Oak) However, the e-mail address may be no longer good -- they haven't logged into the website (under that account at least) for more than a year. It's worth a try though. edit: Blue Deuce beat me to it.

I have three TB's out that constantly get the notes of "what a cute kitty" or "picked up the cute kitty TB" (they are three little kittens who've lost their mittens). They've only been on the move since September, but so far so good. (then again, I used one of Snoogans other suggestions unintentionally. They were adorable, but had no where to put the chain through. So, big hole drilled right through the middle! oh well.) Elemental Sweet Bambina Xander three little kittens (ok, the pics were probably unnecessary, but I think they're cute too!)

Ok, so say you went out to check on one of your caches. You had yet to get any DNFs on it, you just were doing normal rounds on your hides. If you got there, opened the cache, checked there was adequate swag, dry contents, etc etc... but didn't need to do anything, would you log it as a note or as that new option - owner maintenance? I guess the question mostly is - unless there was a needs maintenace log on the cache, does it matter? Does it make a difference to reviewers (or anyone else), if there's a recent owner maintenance log vs a note saying that the owner swung by their cache and checked in on it? It's just something I wonder about when I'm trying to note maintenance runs on caches... edit: typos