DesertPopps

I leave swag without taking anything as long as it matches the content of the swag that's in the cache.

Travel Bugs are not trade items.

Agreeing with the others about the accuracy of smartphones for geocaching. This afternoon I opened a geocache program on my phone and watched the accuracy swing between +/- 62m to +/- 192m. Last time we were searching for a cache the gps showed a range of +/- 7ft. Notice the difference between meters and feet.

I'm planning a camping trip soon and checking on caches in the area. Knowing there are national forest closures due to past fires, I'm trying to rectify the closure map with area caches. I was surprised to see that caches in the closure area are still listed as available. I was even more surprised that people have visited these caches, in violation of the closures. Shouldn't these caches be temporarily disabled while the forest is closed?

I suppose it depends on the depth. Among plastic boxes Otter Box is a better brand than Lock N Lock. We have one to protect expensive electronics in water situations. I don't know to what depth an Otter Box can be safely submerged.

My choice of pack is usually dictated by our need for water. For urban caching, I have a small utilitarian bag. It has a shoulder strap, but is not stylish enough to call a purse. It has a few pockets to keep small items sorted, and has plenty of room for a small camera, GPSr, some swag and even a water bottle. For day hikes, I use either a small hydration backpack or a regular school backpack with a hydration pocket built in, depending on my need for other gear. Both were purchased before we bagan geocaching.

Thanks for the advice! I'd heard a reference to a TB hotel as a prison. I can see why with an even trade rule. I just wasn't sure what etiquette was practiced. I don't want to tick off someone locally that I might eventually meet at an event IRL. I realized after I posted this that I should have posted it in the TB forum. Thanks for posting the reference to the the rules. I saw the sticky but simply didn't read down far enough. It seemed rather chatty and scattered for an official thread. My search didn't return the post because it didn't mention "hotels". I've already encountered missing TBs or I might have picked one up for trading. According to logs, the TBs in this hotel have all been dropped off within the past month, so none are have been there as long as a year. The specific TBs in question were dropped off yesterday. I think the chances are decent they are there. I won't be disappointed if they're not there, other than having stopped to geocache in dreadful summer heat. Thanks all!

While perusing the map looking for our next cache target, I found a TB hotel. I can move 2 of the TBs toward their stated goals while on our vacation. I'm sure the TB owners would be happy. I would drop these TBs off at another hotel, so I could bring 2 back. However, I don't have any TBs to deposit in the local hotel at this moment. Would it be rude to take the TBs on their journey, leaving the local hotel with 2 fewer TBs for 2 weeks?