Runaround

For several years I volunteered with a program that took inner city kids into the woods. They even did a couple of camp-outs. It's amazing how a street wise 15 year old kid who brags about his time in juvie lock-up can be converted to a wimpering mass by some ghost stories around the campfire and the normal night sounds outside the tent. He swore bears or monsters were coming to eat us. Many of the kids admitted to being scared and uncomfortable as the sounds of the natural world were very alien to them. As part of the program, the volunteers spend a night staying at the kids house with their family. Where I stayed the kids watched the Nightmare on Elm Street like it was a sitcom before going to bed. They immediately fell asleep. I spent half the night awake listening for the sounds of a drive-by shooting or a break-in. I admit to being scared and uncomfortable. To the kids, it was home. We each have our comfort levels. If you don't like the area, go find another cache.

Amen to that. I found a cache where there were 6 consecutive logs complaining about the condition of the cache. I don't read past logs before heading out so I had no idea the cache was as mess. I added my FI log then added a NM. That finally prompted the owner to do something about it. They even sent me a nasty e-mail saying I ruined the "GSAK filter" until 4 other people found the cache?!?!?! At least the cache got fixed. There is a large enough percentage of cache owners that don't react to negative comments in FI logs or to personal e-mails that make the NM/SBA a good tool. I've grown weary by the lack of responsiveness and have no problem logging a NM/SBA where necessary. That's the point of the log. If I happen to irritate a few responsible cache owners like RK along the way, I consider that an acceptable risk. Please accept my apologies in advance.

Usually Elite passengers get a little extra consideration but this woman was having none of that.

It's in the fine, fine, fine print in the back. Usually in the same section where they tell you about all the great movies people are seeing on other flights but not yours. I'm Gold Elite on Continental and I've used my GPS several times. I only once had a problem with a super-cranky flight attendant who insisted my 60Csx was a radio because of the antenna. Instead of arguing with a woman who looked to be a little unstable, I put it away.

So you want a simple opinion. Here you go. It's a really bad idea and it sets a bad precedent. Kudos to the approver.

What about caches that are placed on islands in the middle of lakes and rivers? If I don't have a boat, should I be made to rent or buy one so I can hunt the cache? That's not fair. That's another cache that I can't claim. But you know what? It's only one cache and there are so many more out there for me to grab! Completely different point. Your cache is on dry land and all I need are my feet and a flashlight. I'm already equipped. The appointment raises a host of problems. What if you choose to deny me an appointment just because we disagree in this thread? What if the only time I'm free for night caches is on Tuesdays at 2:30 AM and you don't want to be out that late because of work/school the next day? What if I'm there at the appointed time and you fail to show? Repeatedly? What if Nudecacher wants to hunt the cache in the buff and you don't feel like looking at his pale backside illuminated by your headlamp?

They hit my ignore list very quickly.

I've also seen quite a few cachers log years later because they were part of a team and now they have a solo account. They were there and signed the log. They should get the credit.

I don't like the idea of an appointment. What if our schedules are incompatible? Then you're saying I can't hunt the cache. What if I manage to make an appointment and on the chosen date you come down with the flu and you can't leave your bed? Once again, I'm denied access. It all sounds like an unnecessary hassle. If you're concerned about the quality of the cache, visit it frequently. Make sure everything is in place and in good condition. You said the cache is on your property and that you live on the property. It seems reasonable that you could visit the cache every couple of days or once a week.

If the Additional Logging Requirements thread is any indication, this one is just getting warmed up.

Forget the caches, check out the shoes. Those have to be some of the ugliest shoes known to man.

I upgraded from the yellow eTrex to a 60CSX and can see a huge improvement. As others have said, I can get a lock inside with the CSX. I was out caching with two others who were using a Legend and a V. They were losing the signal while I had no problems.

I like my Tilley but I have 2 issues. First, in a heavy downpour you'll get wet through the vent holes. I have a Columbia Omnitech hat for the heavy rain days. Secondly, if the temps are going to be over 90 and you're planning for heavy activity, the Tilley can be a bit warm. That's when I pull out the Army/Navy store boonie. It's a lot thinner and lighter. And for $10 I don't care if it becomes a sweat stained mess.

It's an Adelphia issue. I send a PQ to my Adelphia account and get nothing but if I switch to my gmail I have no problems.

Around here they issue citations for that. In one recent case a woman was posting political signs expressing her dislike of the current president. Two police officers approached her, reminded her of the law, and told her to remove the signs. She refused. The first cop started writing two citations, one for posting the signs and one for ignoring the officer. The other officer started to remove the sign. That's when the lady grabbed the cop to try and stop him. That got her 60 days.

What brand of batteries?

As far as I know, there is no guideline, either official or un-official. Using myself as an example, I currently have about 750 finds, and only one active hide (a virtual). Not a very good record if you are using a number-oriented standard. However, if you check my profile you'll see that I'm a volunteer for the Cleveland Metroparks, mainly in their geocaching program. There have been weekends that I've spent more time doing geocaching volunteer work with the CMP than I spent finding caches that I can get smilies for. (And loving every minute of it. ) You know Richard, great minds think alike. I'm also a Cleveland Metroparks Geocaching volunteer. I donate my hides to the metroparks for their "official" caches. Richard does the same. So do at least a half dozen other cachers. Based on the logs, we do a pretty decent job. We've also donated many hours to event caches that are not our own. We've made thousands of buttons over the years for the park. We've also provide the maintenance to park caches. And don't forget, we're the people who go out and check a location prior to a CMP permit being issued. The volunteers have provided many hundreds of man hours over the years to promote geocaching. The Cleveland Metroparks is excellent about working with other land managers to help them develop cacher friendly policies. The volunteers have participated in programs with them to get caching approved in several formerly closed areas. All of the volunteers have very similar hide numbers. We all have very few or zero active hides. That said, if someone feels compelled to evaluate us on a "caches hidden" ratio, then we must suck. I can live with that.

I love mine. Works great. No problems.

I'm glad virts are gone. For every "Wow" virt I can point out a half dozen that were pretty bad. The drinking fountain next to the parking lot was interesting. So was the rotting mailbox in front of the house that was torn down. And oh yeah, how can I forget the port-o-potty on the bike trail. Yep, WOW! There were plenty more examples. I recall seeing cache pages for the dead bird(ID the species), the golf ball(ID the brand), the tennis shoe(ID the brand), the old tire(ID the brand and size), and the beer can(ID the brewery). The Wow criteria was far to subjective. After all, someone thought all the above were good ideas.

The applause gets louder.

Try to get involved in helping your local community first. Do the parks in you area have caching policies? Have they banned caching? If yes, start talking to the local people. If they have a permit policy, volunteer to help. If no, organize a CITO in an area that needs help. The two people I know who were asked to become cache reviewers (both said no) are active on the local level. Around here, Cleveland Metroparks has a permit system for caches. I'm one of a little more than a half dozen volunteers who venture out to potential cache sites to check for appropriateness, safety, and environmental concerns based on the permit application. We also hide caches for the parks as well as work all their events. These activities make me feel like I'm giving back something to the local caching community. Give it a try, it's fun.

Something to consider on all NiMH batteries. There are only a few manufacturers of these batteries and chargers. Often you will see testimonials that brand x is great while brand y and z are junk. In many cases, they are all the same cell made by company z with a different label. The same applies for the chargers. The molded plastic and labeling may look different but if you take them apart you'll find identical circuitry.

I've carried mine into Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia without problems. The only time I was ever stopped was in Indonesia and that was by an airport security guy asking questions about functionality. Turns out he was a Magellan owner looking to upgrade. He also was wondering what I used it for most of the time. I told him to check out GC.com. Hopefully SE Asia has a new cacher.

Most of the time, especially when caching alone. When I'm caching with friends they like to know what's on the cache page so I'll be sure to have them loaded.

I'll admit to being a little confused. This looks like other library caches I've found. However, I'll wait for the other side to chime in. There's always two sides to these things.