Path Pacer

This is a really weird thread.

I got a zipper pull signature item made from a real bear claw once. That was way cool. I messaged the guy who left it to thank him, and he said I was the only cacher out of the 20 he'd left who bothered.

I would call it a traditional with the field puzzle attribute. A mystery cache usually contains a puzzle you have to solve before you can go find the cache.

Thanks, guys! My Oregon suddenly stopped communicating with my pc. I was worried I'd have to send it back for another refurbished unit and lose all my data, but lo and behold, it was just a dirty USB port on the Oregon. And air can solved the problem.

I don't do the co-FTF thing either. Last summer a friend and I stopped to find a new cache together. She was the one who actually spotted it, and while she was happy to let me claim co-FTF, I thought that wasn't quite on the up and up so I didn't.

I usually find full logs in caches that don't have room to just leave it. I often take it, then tell the CO I'll send it to him if he likes (assuming it's not papier mache). I've only ever had one CO want the log back. I scanned it in and emailed him; he was happy with that.

When I read the title of this thread, this is the first thing that came to mind: http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/images/humphrey/humph3.gif

Yes. I find it difficult to read the cache description on my little gps screen when it's all junked up with formatting.

You don't have to be a beginner to wonder why.

Can't say I'm a fan of formatted logs. My GPS shows the first few logs as part of the cache file, but any log that isn't plain text just reads as gobbledygook, which wouldn't matter except I go to the logs in the field sometimes when I get stuck. Of course, just having [red] in there wouldn't be a big deal, but some people go to town with their formatting. I hate to have one of the few log files available to me "wasted" with something that's hard to read when I'm looking for help.

Could be. I guess we'll find out!

Yes, I thought that was a bit lame, too. You either get it on the 29th or you don't. Getting a souvenir for being simply close to something that only comes up once in four years is pandering.

I've never understood why anyone would want to log something they didn't find. What's the point?

Not only that, but my GPS downloads the first few logs as well as the cache data. Trying to read those jumbled-up logs on a tiny screen isn't helpful.

That happened to me once. The cacher was a newbie and was urged to try it by her two little kids. They went looking for a cache that was actually some distance away and stumbled across my unpublished cache instead. They took the FTF prize and a geocoin, which they never passed on. They meant well, but completely ruined a caching experience I'd spent some time and expense setting up. Apparently they never cached again and kept the geocoin. I felt bad for the owner. My FTF prize was another unactivated coin that was clearly wasted on them.

Yes, I always thought that was a bit strange.

Agreed. I never understood the anti-business rule anyway. What does it matter if you say you like a nearby restaurant? That's probably why you put the cache there in the first place. So what if you tell others in the cache description? Does it somehow lessen the geocaching experience? But back to the OP's point, yes, I can see how the somewhat arbitrary application of the rules can be discouraging. You find a cache you like, try to do something similar somewhere else, and suddenly it's no-go.

You might do better to contact specific cache owners directly. Those who are likely done with geocaching (and therefore willing to give up their caches) are probably not coming to this forum. Look for owners who haven't logged in for at least a year and email them. Maybe they'd be happy to hand the burden of cache ownership over to you and were only keeping their caches alive for others. Or they may have forgotten about their caches completely. You could also look for "needs maintenance" caches that haven't been touched in months. You probably ought to be prepared for a few "F off" responses, as well.

Some challenges can be quite convoluted and it's fun trying to figure out if you qualify for them, but others are more standard (getting all 50 states, filling your 366 or D/T grids, etc.). It would be nice if those had souvenirs.

Yes, I get that on my Oregon 450 sometimes. The display just freezes for a while. I've even gone so far as to "stop navigation" and start again.

Yes, I can see that point of view. I'm not sure I'd use the word "greedy," but he does seem a little inconsiderate. There's nothing you can do about it though, unless you want to go to the same extremes he does. I guess FTF is more important to him than to you. I went to considerable effort to be the first to finish a new local geotour this year. For some reason, I caught the bug on that one. But I have no intention of doing so next year when they revamp it. Let someone else have a turn.

Given my recent experience trying to get an earthcache published, I'd say there's a need. It takes 1-2 weeks just to get a reviewer to look at your proposed cache, and another 1-2 weeks to get him to look at it again. I'd also like the reviewer to be a geocacher himself. I'm getting the impression so far that my reviewer looks at an earthcache like it's in some sort of classroom. These guys do realize people are reading these caches on tiny gps screens on top of a mountain? I want mine to be an adventure, not a field lab, but it looks like I'm going to have to abandon it or make it boring enough to pass inspection. In other words, I want someone who understands backcountry caching to review my proposal, not a university professor.

I think it should be up to the owner if he/she wants to allow them, it's not up to you to decide that it's silly for their own coins. Yours, well it's yours to decide what you want done with. Others, not your choice. I didn't say it was. I merely stated what I want done with my trackable and what I think of the practice of dipping. Or am I required to think only as you do?

I put "please don't do the 'visit' thing with my TB" on the trackable's page. I think this dipping coins or visiting or whatever it's called is silly. Just put it in the next cache so it can get on with its mission.

I'd like one that's wireless internet capable so I can see and download real-time caches. I'd also like one that does fractional projections instead of having to bracket the bearing. I wouldn't mind it being able to do intersections as well. And I'd like more battery life with a brighter screen.