fauxSteve

I hope this is the right forum for this. I was just looking over the Italian stash note .doc that is downloadable from the "Hide and Seek a Cache" page. It's missing the final parenthesis after "System" in the phrase "GPS (Global Positioning System, chiamato Geocaching." (first sentence of second paragraph) I know it's a very minor problem and I don't know if it really matters. I didn't see anything else, but I'm not a native speaker either.

I hear (U.S.) Thanksgiving is on a Thursday this year. November 24th to be exact. There are very often travel bugs in Forum's Revival. But make sure that they want to travel across the Atlantic before grabbing (a lot of them have just arrived in Europe). The cache is in the tourist center of the city. There are also a couple of micros nearby: COLOSSEUM (which seems to be missing at the moment). and CIRCUS MAXIMUS Depending on how you will be getting around, most of the other Rome caches that are big enough for travel bugs are difficult to get to if you don't have transportation or know Rome well. You can check the nearest caches to those listed above to see if any others match places you are planning to visit.

I suspected that it wasn't too original... But then again, those other guys aren't quite so tiresome.

Indeed, a couple of the ones I found in Europe demonstrated that same phenomenon. I wonder if an animal is responsible for that?

I was wondering when someone was going to dare ask the question, Team Maccabee. Now would you please look into this light for one moment. Thank you for your cooperation.

We don't need no stickin' FTF prizes! The best FTF prize for a Tiresome Usual Suspect is an unsigned logsheet. Just fill your ammo-box with some nice trade items for the rest of the crowd.

In Belgium I came across several places where hiders found perfectly rectangular holes in the ground that snugly held an ammo can. They then place a board over it and covered it with dirt, leaves and such. A stick to hit the ground with was handy in helping to find these. I've looked for similar holes here in Washington, but all of ours are much more organic in shaped and depth.

Unfortunately it's true. Tomorrow is the Homecoming football game vs. Oregon State, so hitting some caches on the UW campus might be tough. The good news is that the game is not until 3:30, so an early morning cache run could be possible. As far as getting to TT3, you might want to come from the south anyway, parking at N 47 38.485 W 122 18.655 That's right by MGTS Excess-or-rize, and another short .1 mile on to TT3.

Will do. It will be active again in an hour or so. While work is being done near the cache location it is really out in the open because part of the cache-cover has been removed. In fact, you might even find it before stopping at all the parts. This will be a good test! Sure, they can squeeze in Something Evil in no time!

Very often (even on weekends) there is parking just off of North 50th St. in Woodland Park, and it's definitely easier than trying to park closer to the lake. Here are some approximate coordinates for that parking lot driveway: N 47 39.919 W 122 20.678 That will put you very close to TT2 and another short walk to the start of TT5. It's really not worth parking twice for those two caches. You shouldn't have too much trouble parking near TT1. Even though it's very residential, there is a lot of parking on Wallingford Ave on the east side of the park if the streets closer to the cache are somehow packed. If someone asks, I could reactivate Wallingford SOOP for a quick multi while you're in the neighborhood. Have fun!

Don't help those clowns! Besides, one of them is hibernating from geocaching, and doesn't need to fuel his addiction! [insert emoticons as necessary] Thanks for letting us barge into your forums, West and Southwest! We'll get back to your regularly scheduled angst shortly... - Steve (a former SoCal cacher who grew up in the east San Gabriel Valley)

But I hear that they're good for numbers runs; you can find 60 of them in a minute! The biggest problem with most of those nano-caches (pet identification tubes and those little round ones that I've found a few times) is getting the log in and out. However, they work great as waypoints since less paper is generally needed. The "micro" category is still good, and if you think the finder needs to know that it's a really small micro then you can make a note of it on the cache page.

Wow, I hadn't run a pocket query in a few weeks and a new feature appears. I'm going to go run one for only caches that have Drinking Water Nearby! Then I'd say sure that attributes are a fine way to attack this problem.

You would think, wouldn't you? But I believe that the request for a new category is based on the fact that some people wouldn't mind doing some multi- or offset caches, as long as there's only one waypoint and it's not time consuming. I personally download all multis to my pocket queries, and then read the descriptions to see if it fits in my schedule. That's still the best solution--made easier with proper use of attributes and difficulty ratings. While we're making requests, however, I would like yet another category for multi-caches in which each waypoint is reachable from my driver's side car window and the whole thing can be completed in less than ten minutes. And then I'd like a category for puzzles that I can personally solve. If I can't solve it, than the cache is automatically sorted out of my searches so it doesn't frustrate me.

That's very different from the interpretation that is used in most European countries I am familiar with. There the majority of multi caches include virtual stages where no container is to be found. Actually, we are in agreement as to which type is more common. I think it's the terminology of "multi-cache" and "offset cache" that differs. My understanding of how Geocaching.Com describes the difference between multi-caches and offset ones is that an offset cache has virtual waypoints, and multi-caches have containers at each waypoint. Personally I enjoy both and don't really make much of a distinction. In fact, sometimes a cache has both kinds of waypoints. Ideally, a true "multi-cache" could be found if you only had the starting coordinates and followed the instructions at each waypoint, while an "offset cache" would require you to have the cache description so that you know what to count, how to add the numbers, and any other instructions. I realize that these are only guidelines, and I don't think we need absolutely everything spelled out for us. Sometimes the most exciting thing about a really complicated cache--especially a Mystery one--is not knowing how many waypoints there will be. Sometimes a Mystery needs to remain just that... I do expect the Difficulty to reflect this! The question of separating out "easier" single-stop caches is a complicated issue, but I don't think we need a whole new category. If attributes become searchable, it will be easier to limit a search by how long it is expected to take to find it. For now, however, the Difficulty should probably be used to help guide the potential searcher as to how elaborate or long a cache hunt will be. I have a couple offset caches with two virtual stops and then a final. I think the total walking distance is about 150 meters for both, and they are much easier than many traditionals. I'm sure the fact that they're listed as multis instead of traditionals scares some people away, but I think the added steps make the caches slightly more enjoyable than a park and grab. I doubt, however, that significantly more people would search for them if I removed one stop from either of them.

My reading of the instructions is that both multi-caches and offset caches are variations of the same theme with a slight, but important, difference. A multi-cache has a container, tag, or other instruction sheet at each waypoint that directs the finder to the next stop, and an offset cache leads the cacher to a location where necessary information can be found. Originally I thought an offset cache meant only the types that say something like: Go to the posted coordinates, and find the cache 250 feet away at a bearing of 45 degrees. Now I look at them as encompassing that idea as well as more complicated journeys. I have seen offset caches by that definition far more frequently in Europe than in the U.S. They tend to rely on existing information at each waypoint (for example: a plaque with numbers or a street address), which is then manipulated with additional instructions on the cache sheet to find the next stop. I tend to think that a multi-cache could be completed from start to finish by simply finding each waypoint along the route, while an offset cache will probably just take you to a spot that without the cache description won't help you much. For example, if I go to the starting coordinates of a standard multi-cache I should probably find everything that I need to get to the next location. With an off-set cache I might just end up at a statue or standing in front of some building without any clue of what to do unless I read the instructions (i.e. count the number of windows here and add to that answer the number of lawn-jockeys in the front yard to get xxx). Regardless, both are listed as multi-caches and I doubt that the type of cachers who generally ignore one kind would go after the other more often. I don’t really think we need a special category for every kind of variation and that a conflation of multi-caches and offset ones under the same heading is fair. A quick look at difficulty and proper use of the attributes should help a cacher know if it is a quick find or something much more involved.

Actually, Dictionaries (at least most English ones) change to reflect popular usage of words, and the Oxford English Dictionary ("The definitive record of the English language") recently added the modern meaning of "muggle" to its pages. Once the geocaching definition is added you will really know that this activity is mainstream! The OED currently has four definitions for the word, the last one (probably) being the one appropriated by geocachers: (1) muggle, n. (rare)- A tail resembling that of a fish. (Usage examples from ca. 1300) (2) muggle, n.- Prob.: a young woman; (spec.) a sweetheart. (Both usage examples of this meaning are from 17th century English) (3) muggle, n. (slang, orig. U.S.). - In sing. and (usu.) pl.: marijuana. Also: a marijuana cigarette; a joint. muggle-head, a marijuana smoker. (Usage from the 20th century). (4) Muggle, n. - In the fiction of J. K. Rowling: a person who possesses no magical powers. Hence in allusive and extended uses: a person who lacks a particular skill or skills, or who is regarded as inferior in some way.

In these situations I just find one of the caches that is in the area I am and search for other nearby caches. For example, I just did a quick keyword search for Giessen in Hide and Seek a Cache and quickly found this one. And here are a bunch of nearby caches. If a keyword search of the city name doesn't work, you can always use your GPSr to get your coordinates and search using those, or: Another good resource (although I think it is all in German) is geocaching.de. They have a great interactive map (Interaktive Karte) that shows all of the caches in Germany on a clickable map.

They're in Arizona this weekend, so no problem after noon.

Congrats to FunnyNose for hitting four digits, markta and fishiam for reaching 500, and BHMP for rising to my challenge of celebrating a milestone event with us by going on a 35 cache-find day last weekend! "Well, I'm out!"

3 regular screws, please! Since I expressed interest in the idea in the original thread, I might as well follow up on it! Nice.

I'm looking forward to those screw geocoins coming out. Once someone gets one, could you please email me the tracking number so I can add the icon to my stats? Seriously, I don't think geocoins are really travelers anymore. Instead, they have come to make up part of the social fabric of geocaching. You can share them with cachers you meet on the trail or at events. Perhaps ocassionally someone will drop a coin in a very special cache or as a FTF prize, but the chance of anything other than a USA geocoin traveling far is probably hopeless. When the USA coins and the Moun10Bike coins were the only trackable coins (not too long ago), the USA coins travelled alright (but still went missing too often) and the Moun10Bike coins were pretty much only findable in special caches in the Pacific Northwest. I know the only time I went after one required me to solve a puzzle cache the night Moun10Bike dropped it in a cache, and then go for a pretty decent hike before sunrise in January! Even with that effort I wasn't the first person there!

I got confused into thinking it was a premium member feature since I never saw the web site forum when I wasn't logged in, but I guess it's only visible when you're logged in (regular or premium member). To keep this on topic, I would like to repeat my support for adding the German lands/states.

I'm sure that this feature requires much more back-end work than simply updating the forms. Adding states and provinces has been implemented in some countries (Belgium, for example) but not all (Germany, obviously). Discussions about this feature, such as this one, generally take place in the geocaching web site forum (I believe it's a premium member section). For the record, though: I, too, would like to see Germany's states included...

This looks like the same bridge closure that was all the rage a couple weeks ago (the article is dated 9/27/05): In the general forums In our lovely northwest forums