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ON-THE-LOOSE

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Everything posted by ON-THE-LOOSE

  1. Please, please, please, give me at least a QUICK link to the old search back!!!!!! It was working fine. The new one is hard to use. Maybe I'm just dense, but I can't seem to find a way back to my profile page from the search page. Also, I often search for caches by name or GC code - and I can't find any way to use either one of those. I had to go the long way around of mapping my locations, and clicking on multiple caches until I found the ones I was looking for. Tedious. I did read the FAQs and I did read the forum conversations.
  2. I was given a gorgeous trackable geocoin as a birthday present from one of my Girl Scouts and her mother. They are new to geocaching (we earned the Geocaching Badge last year), and activated the coin before presenting it to me. Is there a way to transfer ownership of the coin? It won't be the world's worst thing if it has to stay in their name forever more. However, I'd prefer it to be in my name. We are a Mariner Girl Scout troop, so the sailboat motif was the perfect blend of two of my favorite passions. I do NOT want to do anything that might hurt their feeliings. It was a thoughtful and generous gift.
  3. We are hosting our first event for International Geocaching Day. What DOs and DON'Ts do we need to be aware of beyond those in the general event guidelines? We're in the desert, so we know the heat and lack of snowbirds will drastically limit our attendance. We are providing cold water and a simple healthy snack. We will also have 2 geocoins and 2 geopins for a drawing, along with one geo-kid braclet for girls and one for boys. What else do we need to remember to do or not do? Thanks in advance for any and all pointers.
  4. Thank you, everyone, for your help. It WAS going to be a nano hidden in the joint of an abandoned railroad track siding that was used to supply Patton's army base during WWII, and a canister just a couple of hundred yards away. Naturally, as I was in the process of contacting the owner of the land he was in the process of pulling up the tracks that had sat untouched and unused for 40 years! I'll still do the cache, but it no longer needs to be a multi. Darn! And here I thought I had an idea for a bit of a different cache!
  5. I agree that it would be nice to have a time factor rating. However, that can be addressed in the cache description and attributes - which I will do. My two second of two stages will be less than half a mile away, so it won't make all that much difference for mine. Seasoned cachers should be able to do the entire two-stage multi in less than an hour, though I won't choose that attribute. I don't think I agree with adding driving time ito the equation for the difficulty, though. It could, for instance, make a lot of cachers (especially the new ones) afraid to try a relatively easy cache because it has a deceptive three rating. Mentioning that some of the stages require driving time or long hikes are another matter, and I DO think that should be spelled out early in the cache description.
  6. I want to thank everyone for their help. Each of you has added to my knowledge, and your input will show in the final form my multi takes. It will only be a two stage multi, and stage two is just a couple of hundred yards away. I want to preserve a bit of the historical knowledge of my area that is fast slipping away. I now know I need to be very clear in my cache description, and all should be well. I'm more concerned about creating a quality cache than I am in racking up a large number of finds - though I'll admit to being excited each time someone finds the one cache I have hidden so far. Thanks, everyone!
  7. Thank you for the help. Both answers were exactly what I was looking for - and what I kind of thought. However, placing the multi correctly is so important that I didn't want to assume anthing. Each of you brought up something I hadn't thought about. Thanks for helping me make my first multi cache one people will enjoy (I hope).
  8. Though I'm still pretty much a newbie (hope to hit my 100th tomorrow), my partner and I have hidden a few caches. Without intending to head in that direction, we now find ourselves with what seems to us to be the perfect multi in the 1 1/2 - 2 star range. Are there rules about how far (or near) each stage needs to be from the last step? Can we do a two stage multi, or does it have to have at least three stages? For the future, is there a limit on how many stages are allowed? Thanks for any help. This really would be a perfect cache to show off some of our local history in a fun and fairly unique way.
  9. I'm still a newbie, closing in on my 100th find. I thought my firt TB had been resting in one spot (Southern Arizona) for the last six weeks. Today there is a post that it was picked up nearly 2,000 miles away (Washington state). Those miles, and it's current location, are not showing up at all on my TBs page. It could just be that whoever grabbed it in Arizona and dropped it off in Washington hasn't had time to update their logs. How long should I wait to see if this is the case? Is there a way I, as the owner, can post it being picked up from it's former location and dropped off at the cache it was recently grabbed from? I did not personally visit either cache, and definitely don't want it to look like I did. If I do that, will the current holders' log saying they grabbed it then be sufficient to show the nearly 2,000 miles it had to travel to get to the coords they picked it up from? Their log icon says it was not picked up from an actual cache, but their log and the coords they list DO belong to a (maze) cache. Help! I'm so confused.
  10. We always make it a point to pick up SOMETHING, even if we can't carry out every piece of trash we see, bag or no bag. Our Girl Scouts are all trained to remember that a Girl Scout leaves a place better than she found it, and that means never walking over a piece of trash without picking it up. So, the transition to CITO was a natural. Our girls can't believe there are patches and awards for doing what they see was their natural duty. I wouldn't pick up a single alcohol container, but have no problem placing them in the bag along with all the other trash. Just the amount of dirt on the can or bottle should make my intentions clear should a cop actually want to sift through the entire bag. For me, CITO is just one more feel-good thing about an already terrific hobby/sport.
  11. I'll admit it - I love swag! It's not really about what I take, so much as the fun of looking through it all, and adding something of my own. I've seen a lot of good points made on this thread. Most of them I agree with, but not all. The saddest thing to me is the possibility of discouraging new cachers who doing their best to learn our sport both correctly and honorably. With just 57 caches to my credit, I am very much a newbie. Still, it saddens me to hear people saying they thought they were doing really well, and now are afraid they are blowing it completely. If this sport is for only the well-to-do, then that should be made clear up front. ALL of the geocachers I know have limited funds. They do their best to add interesting, cute, clean, and intact swag. Yes, we're supposed to replace what we take with something of equal or greater value, but there are no price tags on swag items, and we have no idea when we begin a search what price range our swag needs to be to trade when we find the cache. I get the cell phone concept. Of couse, I would leave it there if I didn't have any expensive item in my cahching bag - and I definitely wouldn't. But I have yet to come across anything anywhere near that value, and hope I never will. I think part of the problem is the difference between what interests a 7 year old and what interests a 70 year old.his sport is for the very young, the not so young, the young at heart, and those who feel old but insist on going out and having fun anyway. Isn't there room for all of us? If you're adding a geo-coin or more mature interest item, then try to leave something other than a sea shell or a McDonald's toy. One of my favorite pieces of swag I've picked up is a rock that would have interest only to a rock hound, but then a favroite uncle was a rock hound and that rock reminds me of him. Often it's all in the eye of the beholder. I've found I can have as much fun placing three cute items in a nearly empty cache and taking nothing as I do when I'm able to trade for something really cool-to-me, such as a geo-coin or patch. It's the hunt and the find that are the real treasure. I have placed my first cache, and don't mind at all going back and replenishing the swag every so often. I think I spent about $20 filling it the first time, and was able to include a few really nice items along with the toys for the kids. For me, beefing it up a bit is just part of the fun of "owning" a cache.
  12. My adult son and I have been caching for about six months now, so we're still very much newbies. We've taken a few of our Girl Scouts caching a couple of times. Today we hit 21 "old" caches (plus one more because we just couldn't stand not to look for at least one for ourselves). We do see logs that say people have looked up this cache they found long ago. It doesn't feel right to log them as finds - because you can only truly find each cache once. However, does the cache owner want to know we liked their cache well enough to revisit it? I think I'd like to know that if it were mine. The caches don't need mantenance, so that is not the right choice. How do we log these visits? Or do we at all? Oviously, our Girl Scouts will all be signing the log when they find it, and we plan to open an account as a troop. Thanks for any help! Abw On The Loose - mom half of Team Barn Owls
  13. I've been caching for about six months, so I still consider myself very much a newbie. My adult son and I go out together. We've taken some of our Girl Scouts out a couple of times, and plan a full day trip with them to earn the new Geocaching Badge soon. Yes. The fun is mostly in the hunt, and in the interesting hides one finds. All of our girls say so. However, let me be the first adult to be brave enough to admit that I enjoy swag. It's not so much about collecting something of value that I really need. It's just fun to sort through and see what all is there. Some of the items are really creative. Yes, some of them are pure junk. We've even removed a couple of definitely adult items from a cache or two. Many cachers seem to enjoy collecting geo-coins and signature items. My son and I are considering making our own signature card or geo-coin. We, too carry swag to pep up the contents. I do collect swag for now, because I want to be able to show our girls a sample of what's out there. I think down the road I'll be one of theose signature item collectors. I don't think it's fair, however, to expect people on a routine basis to leave really cool $20 items in the cache just because they don't have anything that valuable to replace it with. That's asking for a lot of will power (not like we've ever been lucky enough to discover such an item). What may seem like junk to one person will seem pretty cool to the next. For example, we've loved it the two times we found patches as swag. Others would see no use for them at all. Didn't swag start out as trading something you had in your pocket for whatever the cache might hold? It's the playful illusion of treasure in this modern day treasure hunt game we've all become addicted to. I'm not about to let a few bad apples spoil the whole thing for me.
  14. We went caching on International Geocaching Day, and took one of our 12 year old Girl Scouts with us. We got a late start, because we didn't plan ahead, and spent hours trying to get onto geocaching.com to make our hunt list, then drove an hour to get out of our 112 degree heat. The first caches went well; even got to pet a horse that came trotting up to meet us. We hit what we hoped would be cache #50 for us nearly at dusk, parked at the "trail head" and walked up a hill to find that others had been smart enough to just drive up there. We met another group of geocachers coming back down the trail. Silly us, we backed up so we wouldn't see where the cache was, then spent ten minutes looking through trees and brush at the spot our GPS SAID was ground zero. Tried it again and got three different readings. It was now nearly dark, so we sent my poor husband rushing back the half mile to our truck to fetch the flashlights we hadn't thought we'd need. While he was gone, a truck backed onto the trail, stopped a few feet from us (completely blocking the trail), and just stayed there. Its now DARK. We have one flashlight between the three of us (remember, 12 year old Girl Scout in tow), and are feeling more than a little vulnerable. I was hoping we were on the local lovers lane and not a drug handoff spot. A man comes past the truck, visible only as a shadow behind a light. I call my husband's name several times. No answer. As I'm tring to figure out how a middle aged woman is going to protect our young girl it turns out to be him. The truck's brake lights keep going on an off again, so we vote for local lover's lane - as the sound of a shotgun blast breaks through the silence. Our girl jumps, and asks what that was. My quick thinking son lies through his teeth, abd say, "It was probably just a car backfiring." NOT. But it satified her. We decided a DNF wasn't all that bad, and walked back to our truck through a plowed field near the trail to avoid the mysterious vehicle. We were able to do some awesome star gazing a few miles later. Sweet girl. She wanted us to get #50, so we hit two caches in the middle of town at 10:00 pm - both of which were guarded by black widow spiders. She was more nervous when we showed her the red hourglass spot on the spiders than she had been on the trail. After all that, she can't wait to go again!
  15. My adult son and I are still very much newbies. So far, our worst idea was to try caching in the middle of the day in 115 degree heat. We had water, so it wasn't the worst idea ever. BUT we went for a cache from a couple that is fast becoming our favorite - extremely creative and fun hides, but NOT the easiest ones. We spent nearly an hour before our bodies started yeling obscenities at us. We'll go back in November, and I'm sure we'll find it was as obvious as the nose on our sweaty face.
  16. Gosh. This is really sad! I'm a newbie, who has yet to reach my 100th find. Here I've been telling everyone what great people geocachers are. My first TB (Jerry) has logged a whopping 299 miles so far in the six weeks he's been out there looking for lizards, and I'm quite thrilled with that. Nautuernut's Felix has logged has traveled 3,314 in roughly twice that time! I guess we've been really lucky. We'll have to take precautions with the next ones we send out.
  17. My son and I are very much newbies - just found #43. Strangely enough, micros seem to be the easiest for us. We have found it useful to push, tug, lift, etc. on any and all protrusions from boxes, walls, and poles. Feeling along such objects has also been helpful. My hand found one micro tucked into a hole when I felt the wire it was attached to. Ditto for one hanging by a length of fishline that my son found.
  18. Our thanks to everyone who is posting. These are all great ideas, and we're betting they'll help. We noted in another post that the skirting on may light poles lifts up. We'd never have even tried that! Dare we ask ... what is a bison tube?
  19. I have found one of the best tools for finding things like bison tubes or other small caches in trees or bushes is a good powerful led light. The cache will reflect light a little different then the rest of the tree and it makes them pop out.
  20. Thanks, the advice is appreciated. We've tried most of the ideas, so maybe we just have to get more experience under our belts. We took advantage of the cool desert weather (only 100 degrees today) to go caching. Found four out of four micros. It's just those blasted camos that are hiding so darn well.
  21. Okay, this newbie has decided to reach out for some advice. It's not that I mind logging DNFs, but it's kind of embarrasing when they are listed at 1.5! My adult son and I usually go out together, The ones we're not finding seem to mostly be described as well camod - I'm assuming that means well camouflaged. We've managed to find a couple 2.5s, so we're not totally blind. I keep telling myself I'm not thinking out of the box enough. Does anyone have any advice beyond the usual look up, under, inside, etc. already posted on these forums? Thanks in advance for the assist.
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