RThreeSonz

Our Racer#1 is now north of 108k miles since August 2013 and is now back in Europe. https://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=3544333

Great advice above. But, you also have the best stealth tools available - a 4 and 7 year old. My now 8 and 12 year olds are also great finders. Kids understand hide-and-seek and barely look suspicious at all.

A bit of overkill most days but we have camelback backpack with: - swag, snacks, large multitool, small multitool, gloves, emergency ponchos, flashlights, rechargeable batteries, kid's personal geocoins and several FRS radios to keep the 12 year old 'in range'. The bag also has a velcroed cloth trackable on it as well as a local geocaching club patch. Oh, and when going on a 1/2 day or longer run, the camelback water pouch filled with enough ice water for the day's adventure. Normally the bag just sits in my trunk. Have fun, -RThreeSonz

7RRFS - welcome back to the adventure. You are definitely a candidate for the longest time between caches list.

My boys each have an individual geocoin that we use to track their cache visits. They are not yet old enough to cache on their own. If they are part of the find team their geocoin visits the cache. If not, no coin visit. That way I can only log once, but still they can have a record how many caches they've helped find.

I don't think that makes me a member of the cache police. That makes me observant, and concerned. Observant & concerned sounds just about right. Premature NAs, per Keystone's analysis, doesn't. Anyway, I hope my post wasn't too harsh. That certainly wasn't intended. I think we're all for playing the game in a way that makes it fun to find & hide caches.

As an aside to the OP - there is a temptation early in one's caching career to turn into a member of the cache police. Avoid this temptation & keep on caching! You'll see that caching has a very laissez faire/'live and let live' ethos. I'm not sure its captured in any guideline, but it is the way most happy cachers pursue the hobby. Can you log a legit NM or NA along the way? You bet. But, a friendly DNF comment, 'added a baggie', 'dried out the log book' goes a lot farther for good caching karma & goodwill than some might think. Do it or don't do it, you decide. But most of all, have fun!

+1

Rarely do you have to bushwack more than 10-20 or so yards if the cache is listed as 'right off the trail'. Often much less. As other have said, the trick is to find which trail the CO meant. When near GZ, look for the visible geotrail (sometimes a red herring) My rule of thumb with my jrcachers (older one loves to bushwack) is that they should stay on the trail until the arrow points perpendicular to the trail and reads some reasonable number OR the number has started to climb when walking in both directions. Also make sure a nearby 180 degree bend in the trail won't get you closer on the other side. Finally, when bushwacking beware of the creepy crawlies and poison ivy. Have fun,

SGW: I had the same feeling when we joined just over a year ago. It's like some of the people who post need to find a fun hobby that gets them out in nature or something. Some advice: - stick to this forum for a while. Lurk on the others as you see fit - join a local geocacher group if there is one in your area. Go to events and meet geocachers. Pretty nice group once you meet them face to face. And, funny how post-event caching together breaks a lot of ice. - repetitive questions on the other forums do have their own annoyance factor. Especially when not following the official posting calendar (psst, there isn't an official posting calendar) - realize that certain geocachers are not high on the social skills scale others are just having a bad day Welcome aboard -

Link to Glossary You might want to spend some time with the other 'Geocaching 101' info and in the new cacher friendly 'Getting Started' forum as you get oriented in this wacky hobby. No need to trade, but an occasional visit to a dollar store can't hurt. We grab the grab bags at occasional yard sales to stock up on trade items. A couple of hints - Yes, it's often really under the silly lamp post skirt. - When at Ground Zero (GZ) put down the GPSr and look for the hiding spot. - When in doubt, bring a kid. They're good at hide & seek! Welcome aboard, -R3Sonz

I'm partly with AzCachemeister on this. Some believe power trails themselves are a lesser form of caching, so don't get on too high a horse. But, GeoCaching generally has a 'live and let live' ethos. Log it if you found & signed and walk away. You can turn into a geocop for caches that aren't yours but that would be a different and less enjoyable activity (IMHO) 400 plus finds since your 1st find in April? Good job. Now consider adding in some several caches along a long trail days and don't worry much about others poor logging practices. my .02

Some advice we posted last fall when we were brand new. 150 finds later I'm not changing a word. 1) Hard to believe, but here's one we never imagined until an experienced cacher told us after 2 attempts - 'Lift the nearby lamp post skirt'. So, lift the lamp post skirt, turn over the rock, look in the tree stump, tree notch, tug on the fence finial, see if the bark is loose on the fallen tree etc. 2) Try for some kid friendly caches with a big container who's hint is 'stump'. Funny how this got our confidence way up. 3) Try for some easy lamp post caches being mindful of #1. 4) Bring, borrow some kids. My 2 elementary age boys are in the right age for 'hide and seek'. (Kindergartener got two of our finds yesterday!) So, sometimes its best to think like a kid. 5) GPSr merely brings you to the scene, it does NOT solve the crime. You do! 6) For a harder find, we put something at 'initial GZ' and walk toward it from several other directions from 10-15 ft away leaving something at those points. These intersecting lines usually give a better sense of the 'true GZ'. Then do #7 7) Walk back 10-15 feet from the presumed GZ and scrutinze where would be a good hiding place. It may be 10 or more feet away! 8) Events with instructed caching for noobs are wonderful. Even better when the kids score a geocoin for attending! 9) If you have a smartphone too, download the appropriate geocaching.com app and consider using both the phone and the GPSr. We found our 1st cache with the smartphone. (usually not in my possession) Besides my Garmin, we also happen to have a Geomate 'for the kids'. (usually vice versa it seems) It or the smartphone often confirms GZ for us. Sometimes due to differing indications of GZ it reminds us to be more 'open minded' about where the cache might actually be. 10) Our most recent tidbit - Don't believe every log you read or picture you see. 'The cache is visible from the road' doesn't necessarily mean that it is actually 'visible from the road'. GZ was, but the cache sure wasn't. 11) Sometimes hints are 'hints', sometimes they are 'clever hints'. 12) Buy 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching' and read it. We did and it helped! 13) Micros & nanos are often defying gravity due to magnets. 14) It won't help with the find, but may make the DNF more bearable - Learn what poison ivy & its friends look like. 'Be very wary of vines that are hairy'

Plus the trackable is at the bottom of your logging page and you just have to click 'visited' rather than logging into a second account. We recently got personal geocoins for JrCacher's #1 & #2 for a similar purpose. Since we do a decent amount of bike caching, JrCacher #1 even wants to make his bike a trackable with one of the 3" clear TBs.

Well - our long national nightmare is over :-)

What I find passing strange is that not that people care or don't care about MINGO's status and future. But, rather that people seem to care, that others care when they themselves don't. So, many don't care about the cache? Cool. But, some care enough about the fact that others care that they spend time & space on a message board to talk about it? Scratching my head. Especially for a hobby that seems to have a solid 'to each his own' ethos. But, it's only a message board, so, post whatever you want I guess. One noob's $0.02, FWIW.

Wow. Gofarr, what's your secret? I rarely look up someone's stats, but sheesh, with over 60 finds since Jan 1, you might be in the running for the 2012 'like duck to water' award.

Are you entering a brand new waypoint or using the 'enter next stage' feature on the Geocaching page?

Here's a pretty solid thread from October that gave some good advice to another frustrated new cacher. I'd especially emphasize that once at what your GPSr says is ground zero, put down your device and look around thinking like a hider not a finder. Good luck & take up the offer to meet with local cachers at an event.

I don't know what the FTF did, but, in case what you require could be viewed as additional logging requirements (ALRs), recall that ALRs are optional for physical geocaches under Groundspeak guidelines. http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=309 3.1. Logging of All Physical Geocaches . . . Physical geocaches can be logged online as "Found" once the physical log has been signed. . . . For physical caches all logging requirements beyond finding the geocache and signing the log are considered additional logging requirements (ALRs) and must be optional. Cache finders can choose whether or not to attempt or accomplish such tasks. . ."

We really enjoy our Oregon 450 and use it as our main GPSr. But, start exploring your map options now. You'll outgrow the basemap in about 10 minutes. OK, maybe less. The options range from 1) easy & not cheap: - pop in non-upgradeable preloaded routable maps on SD card from Garmin (if you lose the card, too bad) to 2) not as easy but more flexibility & not cheap: CDs or recently introduced update for life of the unit licenses (if you lose the card, buy a new card & reload it via Garmin map loading software) 2) to cheap but not entirely easy - downloading and installing free maps from internet-based map sites via mapping software to a SD card you buy separately. (Hmmm, why did I turn into a relatively new development and my GPSr has no idea it is here. We actually use a combination of 2 (routable streetmaps)& 3 (free topos). Remember, map update & refresh policy & pricing is an issue you should understand. Preferably, before you open any of Garmin's map products. If you are a PC user, to get the most out of your GPSr & leveraging Pocket Queries (when you upgrade to premium), consider downloading and learning the basics of the Geocaching Swiss Army Knife (GSAK) software. It sure beats loading caches one at a time to the GPSr. Finally, once you fire up the GPSr, practice & learn the nuances of its functionality when in geocaching mode, automotive mode, recreation mode, and fitness mode. And, buy a rechargeable battery pack & extra sets of batteries. Good luck and enjoy.

A quick visit to the forums can clear that right up.

It looks like the Reno geocaching community has a solid sense of humor about the whole thing. Here are some links. Original cache page http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GCXN6R Love the hint! The memorial event/flash mob. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=028d02bd-2a36-49af-9fb4-a5efc0ab5b02 A TB who's last trip was likely at ballistic speed. http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=73d1d699-313d-49f7-9ed8-db6c988bac77 The new memorial cache's page. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=4618227e-72bd-4e89-8d55-c9681e84ab4f Includes a link to the news story about the detonation. Gotta put this on my caching bucket list.

OK. I get that the typical street cop may not have been made aware. But, why not minimal training about geocaches for the bomb squad folks? Maybe someone with appropriate knowledge of that specialty should write a geocaching/letterboxing article for Bomb Squad Weekly or whatever the police demolition squad's professional trade magazine is. Also, these folks have to have a trade show & convention somewhere. A little outreach and a booth raffle for a GPSr or two from the vendor community couldn't hurt. Just a thought.

For some additional pointers, here is a similar thread from a couple of weeks back. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=283288