A & J Tooling

You're gonna' die some day from something. I think those FTF'ers racing out to claim their prize or those people who don't look up from their phones and GPS'rs are in the most danger. Use common sense. And hope for some luck. -20 yesterday and I walked into the woods alone in 15 inches of snow to make a find. Smart? Nope. But it was fun...

I was just out yesterday retrieving a bunch of old caches that were archived but needing picked up. It was a lot of fun. No snow shoes and the snow was deep too. It adds a whole new dimension to the game.

Welcome to the game. I've over a 1000 finds without a GPS'r. Only using a compass and map. After awhile, you just know where to look for most of them. I luv watching the GPS'r user's running around in circles trying to get their unit to settle down and the cache is right in front of them. To be quite honest, I don't see the fun of having the unit show you where to look. But everyone plays the game their own way. You'll enjoy it more without the GPS'r, I'm sure.

My Reviewer was one of them.

I have to of yet published a cache due to the fact that I could not come up with a way to place a cache that met all the 'guidelines' and was still fun to find. I was 'stumped'. Then I went to an event and pretty much all the very experienced people told me that the 'rulez' were just suggestions and to use common sense. I have since placed about 30 that will be soon published for an event. They are all way out in the wilderness and should create quite the adventure for those brave or foolhardy enough to attempt them. Everyone plays the game their own way. Just don't create a hide that places someone else's life in too much danger and to respect private property. A Russian officer once stated that it was hard to follow American military doctrine because the American soldiers didn't even follow it...

There was a cache placed within 50 miles of here that was a plastic cat-tail and placed near some water. I was there quite a few times looking for that one. It was pushed into the ground to keep it upright. One of the best natural looking caches that was in plain sight that I have seen yet in my limited exposure to geocaches. There was also a bottle cap with a small plastic tube on the end pushed into the ground. It had a lot of DNF's and a lot of favorites on it. Some of the best ones that I have found were in holes in the ground but the property owners had given permission, most of the time (not all the time). One of the top ten in Michigan is buried in the ground and it is pretty big too.

I always replace the logs with empty ones if the log is damaged, wet or full and e-mail the CO and ask them if they want the old ones back. I have yet to of had one person ask for the logs. So, I dry them out and place them in a special box and label where I found them in case of a change of mind by the CO in the future. If that cache becomes archived, I place the log sheet into my burn barrel and it soon ends up in my garden as ash.

Glad to hear the problem is fixed. Downloading PQ's is easy, I've just signed up for premium, after a year of basic, but still can not download individual caches. I hope this update will fix this issue.

That is too funny but it is also true. I was recently in a large park in our area and I was setting up my 1st ever caches to be released soon. I was all over the place and soon noticed the same car circling the park. A single older male. He wasn't there to geocache, let me tell you. I explained what I was doing and that I was married and had two lovely kids. That didn't deter him in the least. I was kinda' flattered (joking) but politely declined. I've seen him since every day that I've been there. We've talked many times since that extremely awkward first meeting. He lives in that area. I don't. But hey, who am I to judge his behavior?

For those that know me, I stand out like a sore thumb and I usually look like I belong in that area doing something important. So usually, I'll leave the area so they can make the find. However, if I see someone totally clueless and needing help, I approach them and ask if they are geocaching. If the answer is yes, then I tell them my handle and real name and ask them if they need help. If they're new (usually) I tell them about the next planned event in our area and they are welcome to attend to get to know the people and the sport better. I'm a loner by nature and shy but I've really opened up to a lot of people that share the same interests as me.

I bought my son an eXplorist GC to get him interested in the sport and he and his younger sister figured it out quicker then I could. A great, inexpensive GPSr if not too much money is available to purchase one. It has been through some pretty rough terrain and survived two kids dropping it in everything from bear scat to mud to a hole in the ice and being submerged for 22 minutes. It is easy to learn (for those of us who cannot figure out phones)and is pretty easy to use.

I'm glad for your question too because I didn't realize that a second found on the same cache counted toward the total. I regularly check caches while out hiking to keep them maintained and stocked with swag and sometimes would post that I was there a second time. Now, I've changed all those to 'notes' to remove any unearned 'finds'.

Tank you for that gpsvisualizer. I never knew about that and you just made my life a lot easier.

Honesty is the best policy. Now, if I were younger and single, I'd maybe mess with the LEO and most likely wind up in jail or somethin' (this is because I was not the smartest youngster out there). But now that I've gotten older, married and have kids, I've learned to mellow out and help the LEO's. They are just doing their jobs and are actually looking out for the good guys. In fact, I'm sometimes kind of surprised when a LEO doesn't show up and question me due to my behavior. A true story: I normally go and scout out a location or geocache before bringing my kids there. Too make sure it is safe and that the neighborhood isn't too rough. Well, the one I was at had a murder happen within a block of it recently, so I was there making sure the area was good for young kids. Next thing I knew, there were 3 cars blocking me in (one in front, one in back and one to the side. The other side was blocked by a light pole). A plain clothes policeman approached and demanded to know my business being there. There were 6 people facing me from all sides. I SLOWLY explained what I was doing and SLOWLY showed them my maps and geo-junk (I didn't use a GPS at that time). They were in the area due to a 'person of interest' (me) was seen in the area. An area that had recently had a violent crime happen. So, they and the neighbors took quick notice of me. I was told to leave the area. I complied even though I could of been an idiot and demanded my rights as a US Citizen that I had every right to be there, blah, blah, blah. I used common sense. I then went home (after finding another cache for the day) and posted the log on that cache page. Within an hour or two, the CO or one of their team had e-mailed me, deleted my log and basically chewed me out for saying that their cache was in a bad area. I might have worded the note strongly but it was 100% true. Oh well, at that point I gave up on attempting to let people know my bad experiences at a cache site. I now try to only tell the good or funny things that happened. Since that incident, I went to Geo-University or whatever it is called and downloaded their little cache thingy you hang on the mirror to let people know what you are doing and all the little hand-outs that you can get there. I've even created a little notebook that I've placed all my geo-junk in to show any LEO's who stop me, just what it is that I am doing. One kind Gentleman even wanted to take my notebook to show his co-workers. A little knowledge and a little bit of decency go a long way when dealing with strangers and people in authority positions. I've had 6 officers of the law help me find caches in the last 3 years. Most likely 6 new cachers added to the ranks.

Really? I've found a few that clearly violated guidelines, and I reported them. I've found others that were questionable, and sometimes I've followed up on those. But 99%? You must have a lot of COs flouting the guidelines in your area. Why yes. Yes we do. Since some were placed on my property and they were never asked to be placed there and they were approved even though I e-mailed the CO and asked them to remove them, then I'd say that we here in this area have a problem. Plus, I know of a team in our area that has placed quite a few in obvious areas that are off limits. In fact, when you go look for theirs, that is the best place to start (in the off limit areas). What about all those electrical enclosures and sprinkler heads? Have approval? I doubt it. Grave sites? Near/on school property? The list goes on.

The only downside to winter caching, other then getting shot by a color blind hunter, is trying to find a cache at the base of a tree under leaves and a foot of frozen snow. Other then that, have fun and if you see someone in a hardhat and yellow jacket with tree climbing gear and tree trimming gear, that's me and to say 'hi'.

A mushroom stake is allowable since I've come across many caches staked in the ground and found by many reviewers.

You only get credit if you sign a log sheet, so if I were you, I'd replace any full logs or it was wasted effort.

The only thing in life more important then a cache-a-day is family (and you can always drag them, kicking and screaming, along). The harder it is raining or snowing, the more the fun the adventure. IF I make it to a nice older age, I want to tell my grandkids about my many adventures in life. Not that I was intimidated by a little bit of water or cold.

I'm in the process of shopping for snow shoes. Winter is the best due to the lack of muggles. On the other hand, hunting seasons and trees with ice on them add to the dangers while out in the wilderness. Oh well. If someone has me in their sights, they were doing it on purpose...

Complete and utter bull crap. This 'reporter' needed a story and focused on one very negative 'possibility'. What happens if that reporter is an 'offender'? He/she has access to a lot more kids. Start that rumor and let us see how well they can deal with damage control.

I'm sorta' new too but the issue of taking pictures of the cache container, I don't agree with. Most times it'll be a clear plastic container but if you put a lot of time and energy into creating a clever hide and then someone takes a picture and posts it, then all that time was wasted. I've found containers that if the picture was posted, then it would of been found a lot quicker but not as much fun. Take pictures of the area or nice things that you see from the area or the items you find or the log.

Don't buy until you try. Some people don't even use a gps and find 'em all the time.

And just remember. Those power trails are great for those of us keeping a one-a-day cache streak going. Why find them all in a day? Find one a day for 365 days is so much better....

If you follow the guidelines then 99% of all caches would have to be removed. Use common sense.