Team Maccabee

Thanks for telling us, grossi. Brian/Allanon was a good guy and nice, sweet person. When I first started geocaching, he helped me by shepherding me on a couple of cache hunts and even letting me borrow a GPS for a couple of weeks. He will be remembered and missed. Jim aka Team Maccabee

It takes a bit of work, but I started a FTF travel bug (Seattle FTF Bell) a few years ago that's been fun for most. The FTFer creates a new geocache to put the FTF Bell into, and the process starts all over again. But I agree with those of you that said that the FTF itself was the motivation; a FTF prize is just a bonus. Put something you'd like to find in the cache. Team Maccabee

I'm going to Lopez Island next week and want to do a bit of caching (as my kids let me...). What are your favorites on Lopez Island and San Juan Island, which I'll be visiting. I won't be able to do a lot of caches, but I want to do the best ones. Thanks! Team Maccabee

I'm taking a trip to Portland in a couple of weeks, and would love to hear from area cachers about their favorite caches. I enjoy good puzzles, good cache hunts, unique caches, great views and/or really good hides (esp. plain sight hides). Can anyone help? Team Maccabee

Ok, I deleted the picture from the log, but it still shows up in this forum topic. And I cannot edit my post for some reason. I've done what I am able. Sorry for inadvertently hijacking the topic. By the way, I really like that Purple Camo Heart -- great job! Happy New Year, everyone, and Happy Caching!! Team Maccabee

Now that's uncalled-for, Hummer. Accidents happen, at a time and place not of your choosing, often times beyond your control completely. People have been seriously injured while attending to our geocaching hobby, just like in other areas of life. That said, this was in no way intended to be comparable to the real US Purple Heart Medal and not intended to be degrading to the honor of those of us who have served, whether or not they were injured, disabled, or wounded in the course of that service. Back in February, there were no objections in the forums. At the same time, I want to err on the side of not demeaning anyone, whether they serve or not, so I will pull the picture from the web site. Thank you for those of you who have weighed in on this issue in an intelligent manner. Try not to earn the dumb a** award yourself, Hummer. Being so judgmental about those hurt while geocaching will not honor those who were injured or died while in the service of their nation. Instead of criticizing, try geocaching.... Team Maccabee

I see your point there, having been in the military myself (although never deployed to a war zone). Better safe than sorry, but of course, this is not a formal "award" that is earned. I just made it up for one cacher. In the future, if I ever give it out again (hopefully not), I'll change the name a bit to differentiate it a bit further. Other geocachers will do what they do. A good discussion, though. Team Maccabee

I think bleeding and breaking are required.... Seriously, this was meant as a tongue-in-cheek virtual award, i.e. there was no physical manifestation of the "award" and it is not meant to be confused with or compared to the real, more serious, more meaningful Purple Heart medal. I figured that cache owners would present it to someone else virtually, i.e. via a cache log. I presented it as a cache owner to a cacher that was hurt while pursuing one of my caches. Team Maccabee

Back in February, I "awarded" a virtual geocaching purple heart to a cacher who injured herself while pursuing one of my caches. rvrhippy worked up a great purple heart and I wrote the text. I felt bad that she injured herself by slipping on ice at my first waypoint, and I wanted to recognize her tenacity. Here it is below -- feel free to use it, but please credit rvrhippy with creating it. Here's the link to the log in which I awarded it to the cacher: Awarding the Geocaching Purple Heart Team Maccabee

I would highly recommend Allanon, who cached with me and my kids on our first outing. And he's a bit closer to where you are, I believe. If you want to come down to Seattle sometime, I would be happy to cache with you. Normally, when I'm caching with someone new to geocaching, they (not me) are the ones that find the cache first, so your luck may increase. Take advantage of the summer events and casual geo-outings this summer, as well. And have fun, of course! Team Maccabee

Try out this series of Seattle Jigsaw puzzle caches by fishiam. The is Seattle Jigsaw #11 of 12 such puzzle caches. They have been very popular and relatively easy to create (I believe). Team Maccabee

While I generally agree that less is more, especially since I do paperless caching with a palm PDA (and thus no cool graphics or pictures at all, unless I print it out), sometimes there are just really special cache pages that fit well with the theme of the cache or series of caches: Real Hike VC Cache by Seth! Team Maccabee

Welcome to the game/sport/obsession, Twister15! Sig items can be almost anything. The geo-nickels that Team JSAM uses cost very little money to make. I know people that buy little figures or the devil ducks and put them in caches. I know someone who cuts out paper chickens and then laminates them. Anything will work, as long as people can assiciate it with you. Put something in a cache with a sticker on it that includes your caching name, and you've got a sig item! I would advise against a business card, though, with real names and information. First, you never know who will find the cache, accidentally or intentionally, or what their state of mind is. Second, it can seem to the finder to be commercial solicitation, which is very much frowned upon. Instead of a real business card, buy business card paper from a stationary store (or Office Depot/Staples/etc.) and use your home printer (color or B&W) to make your own geocaching cards. See above for various ideas, but including your name and avatar, and a "This cache found by Twister15!" or "Twister15 really liked this cache!" would work fine! You can even buy a pocket laminator at for under $20, and make it last longer. There are a lot of inexpensive options out there. Fiddle with some ideas and you too will soon have your sig item! Also, other cachers can always email you through the gc.com site in an internet-privacy-safe way. Hope this is helpful... Team Maccabee

Hasn't anyone cached in the Hat Creek or Mount Lassen area? Team Maccabee

I'ld like to do this, but I need some willing teammates.... Team Maccabee

This cache is a fun one, completely on campus, and it's final contains enough room for a normal sized travelbug. Team Maccabee

I tend to go after caches that provide something unique (or somewhat unique) about them, esp. clever hides, interesting puzzles, historic locations, or thematic or story-based multi-caches. For hides, Seattle has some great ones. There are excellent camo jobs, magnetic-sign micros, plain sight hides, and the whole Totally Tubular series by Dayspring. Many of these are micros, but very, very creative micros. And the waypoints of the multis are sometimes fantastic! Many people bash micros, but the creative possibilities for micros are (almost) limitless. For thematic caches, I've enjoyed working out the concept and waypoints for my Contraband Cache. The creativity of geocachers knows no bounds, and cachers will keep on being creative as long as we give them kudos for it. Team Maccabee

This is my first year as a geocacher, although not the first year I've been to Hat Creek. My family has been going there off and on for the last 50 years for fishing. This year, though, I hope to add some caches to my catches... Team Maccabee

I'm going down on the annual family fishing trip to Hat Creek at the end of June, and want to do some caching, as well. We'll be staying near Old Station, in fact near this cache. For those of you that have done or placed some caches near there, what are the best ones? I especially love clever hides and great journeys/views. I'll have an hour or two at a time, though, so half-day hikes are out. Also, we'll be doing a lot of driving north from Old Station, along Hwy 89, for fishing. In addition, we'll be driving from Sacramento, along I-5 to Redding, taking Hwy 44 to Old Station. Any must-do caches along the way? Can someone help me with planning my caching? Team Maccabee

As a Seattle-area cacher, I'll tell you what I carry for protection: a rain-coat and hiking boots.

If you had been abducted how would you know? Omigosh! Now that you say that, I do remember that I have had a lot of "lost time" experiences and mysterious "blackouts" the past few months, and I keep having memories of lying on a cold stainless steel table, and a gray face with big eyes hovering over me with surgical tools.... Could it be? Eeek! I suggest you go to a different pub in the future...

Are the caches on multiple bookmarks? I had about 7 bookmarked lists, with some caches on several lists and used to receive several emails for caches on multiple lists; until I changed the bookmark settings and deleted most of my watchlist. Team Maccabee

Their caching karma will be negatively affected... what can be a worse punishment than that? Team Maccabee

Although I'm not generally a fan of restricted logging requirements, this would be fun if you could get the locals in on it (maybe by saying that logging this cache on the 1st will give you good caching luck, and logging it on another day -- watch out! For those that cannot see it, or don't want to click the link, here's the text from Wikipedia: "Rabbit rabbit" is a common superstition, held particularly among children. The most common modern version states that a person should say "rabbit, rabbit" upon waking on the first day of each new month, and on doing so will receive good luck for the remainder of that month. Origins and history The exact origin of the superstition is unknown, though it has appeared in print at least as early as 1920 in England, where it is most commonly said to have originated, though some reports place its origins even earlier, into the 1800s. Today it has spread to most of the English-speaking countries of the world, although like all folklore, determining its exact area of distribution is difficult. The superstition is related to the broader belief in the rabbit or hare being a "lucky" animal, as exhibited in the practice of carrying a rabbit's foot for luck. Variations As with most folklore, which is traditionally spread by word of mouth, there are numerous variant versions of the "rabbit, rabbit" superstition, in some cases specific to a certain time period or region. There are hundreds of variants, some of the most common of which include... The inverse: instead of believing that saying it will bring good luck, believing that not saying it will bring bad luck. Instead of saying "rabbit, rabbit", saying just "rabbit", or "rabbits". Some also extend it to three rabbits: "rabbit, rabbit, rabbit," which has some of the earliest written references. The earliest referenced usage may be to saying "rabbits" three times before going to sleep the last night of the month, and then "hares" three times first thing upon waking, though just two years later, it was three "rabbits" in the morning with no "hares" at all. Using the night of the new moon (traditionally the first day of the lunar month) instead of the first night of the month. Saying "black rabbits" the night before, and "white rabbits" on the morning in question. Believing that the effect is stronger on one's month of birth. Referring to the first day of each month as "Rabbit Day". Various ways to counteract forgetting to say it, most commonly saying it backwards ("tibbar, tibbar") before falling asleep. A different but related practice of saying "Happy White Rabbit's Day" to someone in order to bring good luck. Making "rabbit, rabbit" be the last words said on the last of the month and the first words said on the first of the month. One variation involves an element of competition: Saying "rabbit, rabbit" to another person on the first of the month entitles the speaker to the luck of the listener for the duration of the month. Traditions also extend to saying on the first of each month: 'A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month; white rabbit!' White rabbit is declared to be the 'no returns' policy on the 'pinch and the punch' the receiver felt. Origins of this saying is unknown.

Tool(s) Of The Trade They're telling you that you may need a tool of some type. Once I heard it referring to Top Of The Tree... Team Maccabee