JATurtle

Welcome too the game. About hiding your own cache, read the hiding page and think about what you like about the caches you have found. In my experience, a good hide is not as easy as it looks. I have also noticed that in the last three year since I have been away, power trails have become very popular. I always thought that a good hide brings people somewhere out of the ordinary or off the beaten path. But then… that is me. Have fun.

You are not alone. I have started caching again after a three year break, and all the technology is different. I am a big Garmin fan, but I am having a hard time getting all the new gps programs to work on my mac (also new). If you become a premium member, you can run pocket queries that will let you upload hundreds of caches at one time. They also generate automatically at interval you can preselect. Otherwise, you could look for a third party program like swiss army knife that may do he same thing. Have fun.

I have been all of these people. Tractable items are a frustrating hobby. Most of my tractable items have disappeared. It just seems to be the way things are.

I just tell people I just looking. You would be surprised how many people don’t ask any more questions.

Go to: http://www.geocaching.com/ and log into the website. You can find instructions there on how to use the site and how to finds and log your finds. Basically, find the cache you want to lag and go to that page. In the upper left-hand corner you will see a line “log your visit.” Touch this and complete the online form. Good luck.

I never put bumper stickers on my cars. I will go for a FTF regardless of a first prize.

Hiking is a sport. Geocaching is an obsession.

I don't think we've got any local administrators.. ??? Check out the person approving and publishing you caches.

Does anyone have a chime? I got the 60Cx when my Legend C crapped out on me. These are definitely the most popular units around my area. The Delmores look great, but they are also a lot more expensive. PS: no GMP is truly waterproof.

There are numerous discussions about this issue here on this website. Check your virtual logs entries against the cache logs. Delete them if you find they are not legitimate. Let others, including your local administrator, know about the problem.

I am not sure I got into caching for the money, but yes, I have been fortunate to reap the benefits of some generous FTF prizes. Just not enough to retire on.

Garmin Map Source let me upload a track to the free version of Google earth. I was able to see the trail we walked in the sat photo and mapped out the trail I had wanted to take, but missed. The next time I intend to upload all of this back into my GPS and use it to find the path I had wanted the first time.

It seems to me that the problem with all of this is that the discussion is a negative spiral sucking you in and dragging the game down with it. What if you out a person and encourage another to delete a log which is in fact legitimate? I deleted a log once for a reported “near find.” The person later went back and supposedly found the cache and logged his find after I deleted his first log. Unfortunately, the cache went missing within 48 hours, so I was never able to confirm the find. Even though I thought I was following the rules, this event left me with an unpleasant feeling. I then bumped into this person at an event. This meeting also proved to be unpleasant. I may have been justified, but I created my own negative spiral. I also think that this event bothered me more than it bothered him. These types of threads are all over the GC forum, but to what positive end? If you believe it is necessary, delete a false find log. Why drag it out further? If you know you are justified, is there really any reason to discuss it, or out the person? When I had my suspected false log, I asked in this forum if I had done the right thing, and was told I had. This reassurance didn’t change that night at the event. I find it difficult, when browsing the GC forum, to find active threads with honest questions or discussions about making a cache better or some looking for suggestions on how to improve a cache or solve a problem. I believe that if more people deleted false logs, they would be less likely to happen. But I also think you are not going to change a person who doesn’t want to act on false finds. Happy caching.

It depends on who finds you looking, and where. When it’s the police, I tell them exactly what I am doing in some detail. When I carried pages, I would show them a cache page or my book. With local folks in an urban area, I will typically say I am “just looking” and look busy. I generally get the impression most people think I am working. In rural areas, it definitely depends on the muggle and the location. I was stopped by a farmer who said he owned the land conservatory where I was looking for a micro. He said he thought I might be a person who had stolen his tires from the nearby barn. With him, I spent some time talking and trying to explain what I was doing. He didn’t like it but seemed was a lot less interested in the truth of my activity. Especially since I could find what I was looking for. Lately, when I have found myself in a position to confess, I find it is better to tell people I am looking for a “game piece in a scavenger hunt.” People always seem to be satisfied with this explanation without any other discussions.

I am of course, talking in reference to this thread. I have been known to be - opinionated. Which is also a good one. After that, I am pretty much live and let live. I don’t look to delete logs for personal reasons.

There were worse than this when you joined. What did you think of them then? I'm going to have to say your fears are unfounded. These forums are not representative of the game in general, just representative of most of the opinionated people. This particular thread is slow and mild by comparison and will eventually slip into ether nothingness when these folks get bored. As you can tell, I’ve never spent a lot of time here. Partly for what you just pointed out. Partly because of the difficulty getting around the boards. And partly because I feel like an outsider. As you say, I’ve seen worse (in my opinion). Quite frankly, I just think it is discourteous, disrespectful and a bit hypocritical. But then, what do I know.

He use to be very active on Terracache.com but he Terracided. Some issues in the TC forums I believe... Go figure. Eeeek! This is NOT good news! Aside from small regional geocaching associations -- the vast majority of which do not list caches anyway -- this leaves him only Navicache, and perhaps GPSgames as a sandbox in which to throw more hissy fits and then commit various forms of geocide! The field is narrowing quite rapidly, and there ain't many options left! I wonder if one of the more kind-hearted forum members here would perhaps be interested in starting up an alternate worldwide geocache listing organization, replete with its own forum, to give Fled a bit more in the way of geocide options?? Pleeze?? He can’t do Navicache, it costs $25.

Save trees by driving metal rods through them. Cool. I would say they have an issue with the logging industry. I wonder how many people who do that sort of thing own homes...…or use paper products... or read the paper? By the way, I have no IQ, I'm dyslexic.

I am a PM because I thought if I was going to use the site as much as I do, I should contribute in a small way. But then I needed a mortgage for my house. I am still working and cannot retire. And I don’t live in a shack in the middle of the woods where land is $500/acre. Perhaps if Fledermaus rolled out his net worth, we would all be duly impressed. Then again… maybe we wouldn’t. If he feels so strongly about this stuff, why doesn’t Fledermaus change over to TerraCaching. After all, this site exists for people who don’t agree with the Groundspeak Guidelines. At terraCaching, he can make-up his own rules. Same is true for all others who delete PM logs just because they can. There are a lot of threads expressing concern about ill will and poor public images. Out of all the threads I have read, this one is it. Imagine being new, or a stranger to geocaching, and stumbling onto this as your introduction. Where are the Moderators with this one? Take a look at the site, what difference will it make eliminating PMs? Do you think that Groundspeak will go out of business? Or maybe the advertisers, Garmin, Google and others will no longer associate with them. Unless caching is regulated out of existence, we are all here to stay; PMs and non-PMs alike.

I think after reading all these posts I would forget about it. There are numerous threads about creative interpretations of the cache listing guidelines. There are hundreds of caches on commercial properties. Properties owned by large companies open to the general public. Why do the reviewers approve them? Does every skirt cache owner have a letter of approval from the owner of the light pole or the parking lot? How about micros attached to fence posts? I have done a couple of these? If the cache wasn’t nailed, would this then be OK? In my area, there are a lot of caches in stone walls all over the state. I heard it said once that cachers had destroyed a lot of stone walls looking for caches. I believe this is true, and I don’t like looking for them in walls. Personally, if I can’t see the hide, I wouldn’t just start digging. Maybe the Moderator is friends with the cache Owner. If you are unwilling to report your concern to the local Moderator, all this discussion is pointless (like talking about placing a nail in a tree). By the way, did you log the cache as a find?

I started with a Legend C. I had it about one ear when the black band on the side came unglued. This may have been caused by keeping it on my dash while driving. Anyway… the buttons are part of this rubber band. Needless to say, I began to have problems. I now use a GPSmap 60Cx and love it.

GPS City definitely has some good prices. They also sell reconditioned units. I have purchased two Gamins from them and one on eBay. These days, I have noticed reasonably good prices at some of the big box stores: Target, Sport Authority, Wall Mart and Best Buy all are selling handheld GPS units. I have heard tell of people picking up units at Radio Shack. Check them out on line. If you are looking for a basic unit, these places and others have competitive prices. I started with a Garmin Legend C. I loved it until it melted. I think I paid about $280 - $300 for it (not sure). You can now buy similar models at Target or Wall Mart for about $90. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any Units, by any manufacturers, for less than $85. Where I live the Garmin GPSmap 60 series is the gold standard. I now use a 60Cx. This is the unit I wanted originally, and I asked this same question in this forum. You can always buy more, but if you can, it doesn't hurt to stretch a little and get the one you really want. After all, once you have a GPSr, besides the gas, this game is basically free.

most new desktops still come with serial connections Not Dells, I had to pay extra for one and that was 2 years ago. Can't speak for any other mfr. ahh i see. im using too brand new HP's(at work) and the both have one. Our office uses Dell. The Techys order the configuration without a serial port. I had a mouse I didn’t want to give up, so they gave me a converter so I could plug it into a USB. I wouldn’t want to download any significant data through one. Not unless you want to go to the movies while you are waiting.

This thread has some good recommendations and your Moderator Keystone provided some information as to the cache disposition. Question: are you going to make an effort to reactivate this ache? Also, Keystone noted that you “self-archived” this cache, and, that he is not inclined to un-archive the cache for certain reasons. Question 2: why did you originally archive this cache? Question 3: are you attempting to un-archive this cache, or are you just enjoying the dialog (just curious, nothing wrong with either)? Summarizing what I see in the above: 1 - To un-archive this cache, you need to send Keystone a written statement of permission from the Town and/or the School District giving you permission to place the cache. This would be similar to that done by other nearby cache owner’s sharing the park. If you had questions as to what they provided, contact them and ask. 2 - As an aside to item 1 above, you might email Keystone and ask him the details of the complaint he is referencing. Don’t ask him who made it. Ask him what their issue was so that you may address it and solve the problem. Also, whatever the complaint is, arguing with the moderator is typically not productive. You have a greater ability to fix the problem than to change his opinion by arguing. 3 - An email from an administrative assistant does not typically constitute permission. I would think that minimally, you need something sent to you “on behalf of” a Superintendent, Parks Manager; whatever the ruling office is. The email or letter should at least indicate that the correspondence was sent to you with Town Official’s knowledge and consent. 4 - It’s your cache, and you are creating the experience. Where should people start, exactly? Perhaps in addition to a parking suggestion, you want to tell searcher’s where the recommended (or necessary) trail head is located. 5 - In situations like this cache, I would provide a suggested parking location and ask cacher’s not to park in the school or other sensitive locations. After all, stealth is part of the game. It is hard to go unnoticed when muggles are upset or complaining about the unauthorized cars parked in their lot. 6 - You can easily add additional waypoints to your page, and I would make the effort in this case. Also, the last time I did this, the current format asks you to prove the moderator with an explanation. This may also help you address an issue raised by complaint. 7 - As for Keystone, once you have made an honest effort to address his issues, ask him politely to acknowledge receipt of your information. He may be willing to send you a quick email, without committing to any particular action until he has the time to review all that you have provided. I hope that you are trying to re-open your cache. Please let us know, and good luck.

As said before, lots of good advice. When I started, my teenage kids got tired of driving around looking aimlessly for the park. Read the logs. When a cache is not where the coordinates say, frequently the finders will make remarks about the accuracy of the coordinates, or, they will provide alterative coordinates that are better. In urban areas, small caches can be relatively easy finds, but with small children try to select the regular size caches. Also, check out the cache attributes and see if they suggest a kid friendly cache. I did a small cache with five DNFs. Finally, someone reported that it was actually located 90 feet from the CZ coordinates. I went back, marked the CZ spot, and walked 90 feet down river. There it was, hanging in a tree. Regular caches are more likely to be on the ground (or close to it). Smaller caches can be anywhere. Unfortunately, small kids don't necessarily have the same reach or vision you. Micros and small caches can be in stone walls (a favorite in CT), fence posts, tree holes, hanging from branches, magnetic under benches, stuck to signs... you get the idea. Good luck and good caching.