emanuel

I'd like to join in if I may... but I don't have a team, or a BFL (I don't even know what a BFL is, but I gather it's some kind of light), or FRS radio. I feel so lame...

This looks pretty cool. I like in particular that you're allowed to use public transportation (busses etc. but not taxis etc.) but no other form of transportation besides your feet.

Count me in too (though I've already found that cache). Sorry to hear about your loss, Cacherunner & MBC, I hope you get back in the game soon.

Just thought of one more thing to add: I wish their cache descriptions gave me some idea of what to expect regarding where the various locations are. Just a set of coordinates doesn't tell me if it's the sort of place I'd want to go, which is definitely my primary criteria for going after a cache or not (or even one part of a cache, in this case).

I find these KFWB caches have had an odd psychological effect on me. I feel like if I'm caching, I should be going after those caches, but then I feel wierd about them, because I just don't know how to react to what I feel is an "unfair" trade, so I don't do anything at all (not to mention that my van's broken down which makes it very difficult to go to all the places required). As much as I would love to have an extra $1000 or $200, even if I found one of those caches I'm really not sure what I'd do with it. I think it comes down to my usual reaction to doing things for a reason, whether it be monetary reward, a challenge, or whatever: I very quickly lose interest, even if I found it interesting before. The only reason for doing something that works for me is that it happens to be what I'm enjoying at the time. I don't have any ideological qualms with these types of caches, in fact I think they're a great idea, but I really hope that they don't change the nature of the wonderful caching community on this island for the worse. So I'm just going to keep going after the kind of caches I enjoy: those out in the woods, by a river or lake, in the mountains, and hopefully soon (if I ever get a kayak or something) on the water. I'll keep hiding 'em when I see the right place, and I hope you guys will too. Sounds cheesy, but let's "keep it real"

This happened to me as well. This was a cache that I put together at the last minute, and I couldn't find a big enough container. The non-cacher who found it wanted to leave something behind but there wasn't enough room, so he replaced the container with a bigger one! This guy really should be a geocacher. He's almost there, what with carrying around spare tupperware and trade items This cache was on Hornby Island, a small, a friendly island with a population of several hundred between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Not that surprised that the finders were cool.

I expect that I'll be in that situation one of these days and thought about it before I placed my first cache. First I'll send word out to the local cachers asking if they would like to adopt my caches. If nobody adopts a cache, I'll try to find non-geocaching friends who don't mind taking a look once in a while. If neither of those work, I'll remove the cache.

I had this idea for a geocaching game: two people each place a cache. They use radios to transmit to each other the coordinates of their caches, and then, starting from the cache they placed, race to find the other's cache. This way, both have to cover the same terrain and the same distance, but they will be looking for different caches. It also means each person's skill at hiding a cache as well as finding it come into play.

I would never place a vacation cache in a place where there is an active geocaching community, because I'm sure the locals know much better places to put caches than I ever would, so why would I just add clutter? However, I think a case can be made for placing caches where there is little to no local geocaching scene. Having a few caches around can help jumpstart a scene, as well as giving other tourists things to look for. I'm fine with the idea of "finder-maintained" caches, though I myself wouldn't place one. I recently went to Mexico for a couple of weeks. I brought down a physical cache to place, since I have a friend living there who could check up on it for me. Unfortunately I didn't find a quality place to put it that was near enough to him to not be inconvenient, so I never placed it. I did end up finding a beautiful lookout in the mountains of Oaxaca, so I put a virtual cache there instead. I guess my main reason for caching is to find interesting places, so I'm usually not disappointed if I can't find the actual cache, as long as the location is nice. What bugs me is tourists who place a cache just for the sake of placing the cache, but don't take the time to find a really good location. There is quite a concentration of caches in Mexico around popular resorts. I think it actually makes quite a lot of sense to put finder-maintained caches in places like this that have a big temporary population of geocachers, but no local cachers.

I agree about the private property part. I don't agree that having a cache near a place where the homeless camp is a no-no at all. Maybe a notice on the cache page for those who are uncomfortable around the homeless or feel unsafe would be warranted. I can't see why a cache should be archived for this reason, I for one don't mind their company. Depends on what kind of homeless I guess. I'd feel less comfortable if they were heroine or crack addicts than if they're gypsies.

My approach is that if I'm going to say anything in my log that may be a hint, I encrypt it. If I were to post a photo that could help to find the cache, I would put "SPOILER" in the description. Either way, I try to make sure I don't give away any more than the cache owner has, unless the conditions have changed.

I think if you're reasonably fit (you can do a day-long hike) you're probably capable of doing a trip like this. Maybe not as fast as someone who does it all the time, but you could do it. I've done a few three day hikes with no special conditioning beforehand and it was no problem... of course I was tired at the end, but that's kind of tired that I like. Another example is cycling. I went for a week-long bicycle trip, covering 70-120km every day, and hadn't done very much cycling beforehand that summer (a few rides of a couple of hours, plus about 15 minutes daily to work). But I had no trouble at all doing long distances for a week. I just made sure I paced myself, so I didn't exhaust myself. I find that if I'm concerned with conditioning myself before doing something, I never get around to the conditioning and so never get around to doing anything. So I just go and do it, and my body conditions itself along the way. I'm planning a bike ride from Europe to India, and that's how I'm going to approach it as well.

The fungus at Rathetrevor is no big deal. Chances are you've been exposed to it before anyway. It's all over the place in B.C., they just happen to have found it on some trees at Rathetrevor. If you're healthy exposure will rarely lead to illness. I've been going to Rathtrevor just about every day this month to swim, and I often walk through the trails to get there. It looks to be fairly quiet. I think Rathtrevor would be a good place to meet if the logistical problems of Newcastle Isl. are too much, but I would prefer Newcastle. You can park (free) very near the passenger ferry dock, so if a bunch of us meet at the dock I'm sure we can carry over anything needed quickly. If anyone needs a tent, I can bring an extra 2-3 person one. For walk-ons coming from the Mainland, I'd be happy to pick people up from Duke Pt. or Departure Bay ferry terminals, by the way. I must say, though, that I like SkydiverBC's idea of going to a place with more stuff to do as well. Newcastle Isl. is a good place to hang out, but other than some short walks and a bit of canoeing/kayaking, there's not that much to do there.

Good thing bcrockcrawler mentioned this in one of his logs, or I wouldn't have known. I'm just me, probably just with a bivy sack to sleep in.

I must say I'm disturbed by the comments I'm reading here. Yes, SOME people who go to Burning Man engage in risky behaviour, but the vast majority don't. Sure, there's some drug use and sex, but people here are making it sound like a 20,000 member drugged-up orgy! People go there to express themselves in ways that ordinary society doesn't necessarily accept, but that doesn't mean it's wrong, in fact it's important. That expression comes in many different forms, and that's why it's difficult to describe. See the article linked below to read Bruce Sterling's account of going to Burning Man a few years ago - with his kids. Greetings from Burning Man! - by Bruce Sterling