Sivartius

Ok, so you old-timers probably have dozens of stories like this, but I had a really weird attempt to find this week. The cache is located on a back road on top of table mountain here. There used to be a booming gold town there, but now... nothing, but a few houses here and there, and this beautiful covered bridge. It's only about 2 and a half miles from my house, but most people in Butte County probably don't have an idea this place exists. I came last summer when the stream was completely dry, and couldn't find it. Aside from the few people who live on this gravel road, and a couple tiny ones that branch off of it, it probably sees less than 1 dozen cars a week, quite possibly less. I came back to see if I could find this one, now that I've had a little more experience. No such luck. This time my Mom and I were both there. We looked on the left close Bank and in the big rocks on that side, we looked on the bridge itself, we looked on the left far bank. I looked underneath on the far bank, and we looked on the right far bank. After about 20 min, a car pulled up with a newly married couple still wearing the wedding clothes to take pictures. Then the photographer showed up. While they were trying to take pictures, (oh, I forgot to mention they had to very young boys,) a UPS van showed up, and they had to get out of the road. Then, more family showed up. They went back to taking pictures. After they were done, we congratulated them, and they went to lunch. We went back to to searching, but not five minutes had gone by when another member of there party came by looking for them. When they had left, we went back to searching. Another 5 minutes and someone else came through, but they just drove through and kept going. We searched all the already mentioned places again. I searched under the bridge on the near bank. I did not find the cache, but I found a bong and lighter on the cement ledge. We searched on the right near side. We searched along the left near bank and in the rocks again. I don't have a clue. I was looking at the logs, it looks like the last person to find it was back in March. They also mentioned that this "regular" size cache was now a film canister size now. Between then and now there are only six logs, including mine. All are DNFs, except one "Needs Maintenance" from November. I guess I should have read through before hand. The cache owner now lives in New York, and his Mom apparently does the maintenance, or at least, she replaced the container sometime prior to last year when the previous container gave out. Anyway, it was frustrating, but also kind of funny, too. That's probably the busiest day that place has had all year. If that cache is deactivated, I'll place MY first cache there. It's too nice a spot not to have a cache.

643 I've never done a power trail, so I don't really have a clue.

Get someone with a microscope to write "Best Micro Hider" on a grain of rice.

I fully agree. There are some cachers, however, you would like to have the feeling that they are always doing their best in complying with the guidelines and acting as a role model for new cachers. Those are the target group for a version of the guidelines which is satisfiable which is not true at the moment. Cezanne Again we have a cultural disconnect. For most Americans, given the fact that logs in a foreign language are not even mentioned, the permissive approach that you mention above is simply assumed. This is, in my personal opinion, what caused all the: "Why is this even a problem/being brought up?" posts at the beginning of the thread. As for the idea of an explicit listing of what is "off-topic", this is not something that would be culturally acceptable for most of America. Our, perhaps excessive, sense of independance, ("Don't tread on me!" "No Taxation without Representation!" and "Millions for defense, but not $1 for Tribute!" being three very simple examples,) would make it very unpopular. Furthermore, it would attract rules-lawyers like honey does ants, trying to see just how far they can push it. ("But it doesn't say it can't say _________!") What might work is a more thorough guideline, like they have for what is and is not appropriate swag. The thing is, that Groundspeak has made a conscious decision to describe a basic attitude, and leave the specifics up to the individual cachers and reviewers wherever possible. While this small/limited government attitude is extremely laudable to the traditional Americans such as myself, it seems that it is confusing and frustrating to those who grew up with ideas of government and rule which were not formed from Thomas Paine's "Common Sense", the Federalist Papers, and the writings of Locke and Hobbes. Just for a little clarification, one of the unspoken assumptions that underlines all of Groundspeak's rules is this: As long as you are acting within your own interpretation of these rules, and are doing your best, that is ok, and if your interpretation violates our intent in some fundamental and irreconcilable way we will inform you. If we do not you may assume that what you are doing isn't far wrong. Edited for clarity.

At the risk of a derail.. In the left lane? Because most states have a Slow Traffic Keep Right law. Even if those around you are speeding, it is illegal to block TRAFFIC in the left lane. You'd get a honk from me too, or worse They do have a Slow Traffic Keep Right guideline, which means that if you are going to go significantly below the speed limit, you need to go in the right lane, but the speed limit is the maximum allowable speed in any lane. If you honk at me for going 55 in a 55 zone because you want to go 75, expect at least some mild silent ill-wishing. (Along the lines of "I hope you can't find a parking spot at your destination and have to go around the block several times. Edit: part of a thought left out before.

I think the problem here is one of personal interpretation. You and I both read "Monitor the logs and delete those which are inappropriate." You interpret this to mean, "Read and understand every log and delete any that could be inappropriate." Therefore, if there is any inappropriate material it is the CO's fault for failing to delete it. I interpret it to mean, "Read the logs and make a 'good faith' effort to understand them. If you find anything that is obviously inappropriate, delete it." Therefore, if there is any inappropriate material it should be brought to the CO's attention so that appropriate action may be taken. Both interpretations are fully justified by the text, but given modern American culture, most Americans will automatically assume the second interpretation without considering any other. I am unaware of what role different "Mother Tongues" may play in these interpretations. Perhaps the guidelines could be ammended to clarify this point to show which interpretation they intended, and then we could go from there.

Because the CO is setting himself up as the ultimate arbiter of what is and what is not acceptable geocaching.

i can has cache tnx i can has cache kthnxbai

What I'm about to say is taken from my experience of people here, and not from geocaching, so take it for whatever it's worth. Here, you would not have much in the way of language problems from foreign speakers. Once while hiking I met a pair of college guys over here from France on a fishing trip. We have many Hmong people who came over after the CIA's secret war in Laos/Vietnam. We have a small number of Central and/or South American Immigrants. What I've noticed is that most all of the non-english speakers around here are anxious, sometimes almost morbidly anxious, to avoid giving offense, and are almost always more polite than the average. Where you would have language problems are: 1) the second generation americans, who speak primarily English, but use their parent's language as a sort of 'code' that is only understood by their own group. These people will not offer a translation, or if they do, it will be deliberately false/misleading. 2) Those who are currently taking a language class, usually in high school, and use that language to get away with saying things they couldn't otherwise. Agains, an author-provided translation will not be of value to you there. Where you will find most of your unintelligible inappropriate language will be slang or "l33tspeak", and there Urbandictionary will be your friend more than a user translation.

I just was at the Thompson Flat 1849 cemetary and the Pioneer cemetary (right next to each other here just outside of Oroville, CA). There isn't a cache there yet, although when I start placing caches I'd like to place one there if it's still free and if I can get permission. I didn't have my camera, I'll post pictures soon. In the Thompson Flat cemetary, there lots of foreigners, (reflecting the makeup of those who came during the gold rush. Just a few: Franz L. Albrecht of Altenberg Germany Died Dec. 2 1868 Aged 49 Father Geo. F. A. Duensing Dec. 8 1832 - Dec. 20 1920 Native of Germany Our Mother Elizabeth P. Duensing Summers Oct. 14 1858 - Mar. 6, 1928 Native of Sweden Maria, Wife of W. H. Brock Born May 24 1808 Died Sept. 9 1878 Louise L. Wife of E. M. Hupe Aged 71 Years ---------------------------- Edme M. Hupe Died Nov. 30 1906 Age 84 years Natives of France Joseph Frank Native of Portugal Born Mar. 16 1832 Died Nov. 26 1910 Next "Door" at the Pioneer Cemetary there are, among the named headstones, 94 with only one word "Unknown" and one which is marked simply "French Luey"

Not around here! Winter here is when it gets down below 90 degrees. Now, outlawing July and August would really help. No more 110+ degree weather!

(Bolding Mine) Were ALL the backsides of the sheets full? If so, then yes a note to the CO in your log was appropriate. If your signature was the only one, then NM was not called for. 3 sheets of log paper gives 6 sides for signatures. When all 6 are full then it is time for a new log. The logs appeared to be photocopies of the long thin logs sold here. One side had lines, numbers, places to sign. The backs had no printing on them. My log was the third one on the back of the last sheet. I checked the front of all the logs, but did not check the back of all.

Sir, with all due respect, you do need to explain what are the off topic logs that you are discussing. If you do not have any likely situations in mind, but are only proposing this to correct a percieved "fairness imbalance", then this idea will gain little if any traction with the vast majority of cachers. Most cache owners seem to have the attitude that they only need to delete cache logs if they are sure beyond a reasonable doubt that the log is off topic/bogus/etc. If your philosophy is that any log must be deleted which you are not positive is not off topic and/or bogus, then I can understand why you would feel that a totally accurate translation is essential. But at the same time, you must recognize that most cache owners do not see things that way.

Thanks all. That explains it. niraD the first 2 were small spiral bound flip-top notebooks. Today I found one that had a lot of the long log sheets stapled together, but they were all full, so I had to sign on the back of the last sheet. I put an NM log on the listing. It felt kind of presumptuous as someone who only had 3 finds, but I figured this was enough of a clear-cut case.

I recently bought a magellan Triton 500 thru Craigslist, and am starting to learn how to use it, and also learning to geocache. In geocaching, I've discovered the desireability of better maps to replace/supplement the basemap that comes pre-loaded. Now while reading this site, I saw someone mention GPS File Depot as a good source of free GPS maps, but on the site it mentions opening the maps with Garmin MapSource. So my question is, do these maps work with Magellan GPSrs, and if not, is there a good site with free GPS maps that work with Magellan?

I found my third cache today, and inside was something that called itself a "geocoin copy". The front had a picture of the front of the geocoin. It's this geocoin. On the back it says: I am a geocoin copy Please log me at (and then there is a long blue smudge.) Below that it says: Than move to a new cache (and has the tracking number. Is this a/the normal way of dealing with a MIA geocoin? Reading through the logs it seems that it has been a copy for a while, but at least Oct 2008 it was "real". So what do you all think? :unsure:

Hi. I've just started geocaching, and I've noticed something I'm not sure if I understand. Before I went out the first time I had read a lot of stuff on the forum, including people talking about the logbook being a keepsake for the CO, and the frustration of getting only a TFTC. Now on the two caches I've gone to, online people have written things in the logs, but in the logs people have only put their name/screen name and the date. The first one I put a descriptive log (containing my name and the date, of course,) on paper, and then a longer one with pictures online. On the second one, I started to do the same thing, and then saw that all the logs for several pages back (as far back as I checked,) there were only names and dates, so I crossed out the line of the partial descriptive log I had written, and just left it with screen name and date, and then went online and left a longer descriptive log. Anyway. Would someone please explain the generally accepted procedure on written and online logs? Thank you.

I downloaded Vantage Point from the CD, went online and tried to download a cache, it said I had to download something else and gave a link, so I did. Then it still didn't work, so I tried again. This time when I brought up the installer, it asked I really did want to uninstall the program, so I said no.

So far, we see the military (and private sector GPS users) showing concern. While I'm sure the telecom sector is concerned, last I checked the military doesn't have a horse in that race. What? What's being suggested is not that they are taking money, but that they are using their money to influence the gov'ts decisions. Yeah, it's a strawman argument meant to divert attention. But did anyone actually expect them to say "Yes of COURSE we bought your president (what parts of him were not already sold seven times over,)" twirls mustache, "And there's nothing you can do about it, because we bought the Senate and the Supreme Court too. It was 'buy 2 get 1 free'." Of course you also have to remember where Obama is coming from. He represents a party and a section of a party that has an ingrained instinct level distrust and disregard for the military, and anything else that smells of tradition, discipline, personal responsibility, and individual sacrifice.

Hi. I'm just getting started on this, 2 finds so far, but at the one today I picked up a geocoin. I'm going to Connecticut next friday to visit my grandfather who isn't doing well, and I figured I'd drop this geocoin off at the same time. Geocaching isn't the reason for the visit, and I'll be spending most of the time with family, but I figured I could do at least a little while I'm here. The owner would get to rack up a lot of miles and see their coin in areas a long way away and I would get a chance to try out this whole "Trackables" thing. Anyway, I did a search on the site for geocaches near/in Hartford, but I don't really know what to choose. Picking caches in and around Oroville is easy, because I know most all of the places that interest me, but I've only been to Connecticut once for christmas. So I was wondering if there were any Connects (Connecticutians?) who could tell what would be a good beginner level cache in a nice area in Hartford that wouldn't take too long. I read the listings and saw a few flagged as beginner caches, (several of the colt revolvers, the Boy Scout Cache, the Carat Tree, the Big Necessity,) but I have no idea what any of these places are like. Could you tell me what cache YOU would do if you were a new cacher from out of state who was only going to be there for three days and might only get to go caching there once? Thanks a bunch for all your help.

I have the overlook CD that came with my triton installed on my laptop. It didn't do any good.

I could just say that Global Warming is Bunk, and it would be true, but it would also be inflamatory, and you wouldn't believe it. Instead, I'll give you some information you may not have come across. 1. Most of the electricity produced in this nation is from coal, and while we do not have many coal power plants here in California, thanks to Grey Davis and his era of legislation, we cannot and do not produce enough electricity to meet local demand, and must each year import it across state lines. 2. The perceived temperature rise in the average temperature taken by monitering stations corresponds directly to the closing of many of those stations in Siberia brought about by the economic woes of the Soviet Union. 3. Warm periods, warmer than our current one, have happened before in our worlds history and have always led to times of growth and prosperity (for example the Mideival Warm Period. The reason Greenland is called that is not marketing. It's because when Lief Erikson saw the shores of Greenland the hills were covered with really nice looking vineyards. Perhaps someone here from Greenland can tell me how many unsheltered, uncovered vineyards cover the hills of Greenland today.) 4. Temperature variations in our planets history do not correlate to human emissions with any noticeable degree of success. What they do correlate to is the variable output of our sun. 5. Human emissions are so small compared to natural emissions that it is hubris to think that we play a leading role. When Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, it put out more greenhouse gasses in one day than all human emissions from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to date. Saying that we are changing the climate with our emissions is equivalent to saying we are going to make the sun hotter by shooting our nuclear missiles at it. Any affect we had would be swallowed without a trace by the suns normal sun spot cycle. 6. Greater amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere directly means strong, hardier, more productive plants. 7. Even if greenhouse gasses were a problem, the lowest emitters are the developed world with our advanced processes. The worst emitters are the third world nations that have: A) Cheaper, less efficient coal and wood burning power plants Make use of wood or dung fires for heating which produces much more pollutants and greenhouse gasses than do gas or electric heaters. C) Have large numbers of animals as cattle, for transportation, and for labor (ie oxen instead of tractors.) (Yes cow's burps and farts are a greater source of greenhouse gasses than human emissions. Deal with it.) 8. Our world is a self-regulating system. That means that if there was a problem, natural processes would solve it.

My new Triton 500 isn't being recognized by my laptop. The first two times is showed "Did Not Recognize" messages. Now it's not even willing to acknowledge when I plug it in. I've been entering caches by hand, but would really like to be able to download them.

Sometimes I wonder if humanity is the "Reality TV" of the universe.

I made my first find today. First I went out to Ashley's Cache. All the information said it should be a perfect start. 1.5 difficulty, 1.5 terrain, and rated as a beginner's cache, plus all the comments made it sound super easy. I climbed up and down, back and forth, over and around, and I COULD NOT FIND IT! I CITOd, went home and logged the DNF, but I wasn't going to let that end my day. I headed back out, to Play Ball 2, and after just the right amount of searching, I found it! I took a bottle cap made by RAYMONDH5499 and left a balloon animal kit. Then, as I was leaving, I worried that my trade might not have been equal, so I went back and added a harmonica and a cool adjustable measuring "shot glass" thing. (I also did it because it seemed that whoever had come before had left a bunch of those spider ring party favors and not much else.) I was tempted to take the "Good for one Geocache" token as well, but I remained strong . On the way up the canyon going home, I noticed that the gas gauge was on empty and decided I would have to put some gas in the next time I came down. But a mile up the road, I ran out of gas. But again, God was good. I had hardly walked a cache length when someone stopped and offered me a ride to the gas station. Then, on the way back, I only had to walk a mile before someone offered a ride. I am totally stoked and looking forward to going hunting tomorrow. So now it's your turn , if I didn't bore you too much. Tell me about your first cache that you found. What kind was it? What happened? Was anyone with you? Tell Please!