ohmelli

GOOD JOB CTD!!!

RIIIIGHT??? I'm like, if you WANT me to be STEALTHY hide the stupid thing where I CAN be stealthy! Don't make me climb on top of the building and hang upside down and expect NOBODY to NOTICE! (well, it might not have BEEN there... but I had to check!)

Oh Friendly Cachers, I just have to say that THIS topic really brought about the responses! Thank you ALL soooo much! If I didn't answer yours directly, please know that I have read and ENJOYED every one of them!!! This is great!

If you don't like the cache, ignore it. However, if you really want to search for it, take a cheap compass, and move it around the area you are searching until it starts pointing an odd direction. There's your nano! Oh? Because of the MAGNET? ... that is very clever! SEE??? That would definitely be in Geocaching 101!

Being stealthy is, in general, a Very Bad Idea. If you are too shy to go up to whoever is there and tell them what you are doing, then don't do it. Generally, amateur attempts to behave in a stealthy manner have the opposite result: they attract attention. If you want to have an interaction with the authorities, the best way to do so is to try to be stealthy. My rule is if I can't see them they can't see me so just go directly to the cache not looking around at all. If however the owner says Be Stealthy and doesn't give a good hint then it is impossible so just try and find it any which way you can. Yesssssssssss... this particular owner has very cleverly hidden dozens of nanos around our area... but she does NOT like to give hints... and the ones she does give are very ... evasive!

J - I have seriously given that consideration! I keep telling myself that nanos are worthless... but something about them just attracts me like crazy! It absolutely drives me nuts to know that SOMETHING is hidden here and I can't find it! ... and then there's the fact that it's the 2nd part of a double... and having gotten the first part AND figured out the coordinates for the 2nd... I just GOTTA HAVE IT!!!

Oh StarBrand! I LOVE your style! That is SO me!!! I will do it! Stealth be DAMNED! Cache on!!!

Truthfully, I would rather advertise! "I AM GEOCACHING!" Oh. What's THAT? "It's a TREASURE hunt!" Oh! What kind of treasure? "Well, right now I'm looking for a teeeeeeeny teeeeeeeny tiiiiiiny little 'something' with a rolled up piece of paper inside for me to sign... that says I FOUND IT! I've been here!" And then they can look at me like I have six heads - and NO life - and perhaps dial 911. I got stopped by a cop while I was tromping through stickers in a median the other day! He said "Ma'am... are you OKAY?" I said "Yes sir Officer! I'm GEOCACHING!" He nodded, said okay and went on his way! No problem!

Being stealthy is, in general, a Very Bad Idea. If you are too shy to go up to whoever is there and tell them what you are doing, then don't do it. Generally, amateur attempts to behave in a stealthy manner have the opposite result: they attract attention. If you want to have an interaction with the authorities, the best way to do so is to try to be stealthy. Personally, I have NO problem with walking up and telling people what I'm doing. But when the hider specifically requests "stealth" in their cache description, I feel like I ought to at least make an ATTEMPT at it! NO? I mean I DO hate the idea of attracting muggles to the caches... but do muggles really CARE about nano hides with just a signature list inside???

Aiy aiy aiy aiy aiy! I do not think that I am meant to BE a "city-cacher"! How in the WORLD do you be STEALTHY in one of those "bus stop" hides??? The things are 99 percent metal... usually painted all white or all black... with a nano (black or white, of course!) hidden somewhere in or on it. I mean you can be casual enough to sit on the bench and finger every single slat on it ... top and bottom and inbetween... but when you don't find it there (of course) and your done "dusting" all the little shelfy portions (casually, of course)... and you decide that you need to check the underside of the structure... or stand on the benches to manhandle the upper, out of reach, sections of the structure... How does one pull this off in a stealthy manor? Seriously. I'm ASKING... how do YOU do it? I have yet to actually FIND one of these little buggers and I'm determined! The WOODS are sooooooo much easier! There's never anybody around!!! I definitely need a class... Geocaching 101... "The Stealthy Huntress".

This is not a bad idea. There is a "lunch-time cache" attribute that you could look for - those tend to be used on caches that are quick and have a low risk of embarrassing you in your after-lunch meeting. For that matter, there is a "Park-n-grab" attribute too - hopefully people in your area use that. Perhaps someone should request that they add an attribute for "doable while wearing pumps." (Possibly I could lie about what that meant and convince my wife to go cache with me "look hon - a cache with a picture of a pump - you gotta go!") A very active KY cacher ends his logs with his footwear rating for the cache from sandals to snowshoes. A local pal got a 'hiking shoes' on one of his hides and considered it a badge of honor. THAT is very cool! I might have to come up with something like that!

1. park next to lamp post 2. lift cover 3. replace 4. drive away LOL!!! That's what I'm talkin' about!!!

That's just sad...

My Granddaughter retrieved this one on her very first caching trip. http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?tracker=TB2C1FC It hasn't travelled nearly as far -- but it's been out there for 3.5 years - and it's a very unique TB! She just dropped it this afternoon - so it's on it's way again!

I would WORRY about that soda can going OUT in CITO! No?

Sorry M5 -- but I think it's already been decided here that different people have differing views of what a cache & dash IS... I'm not looking to start trouble for anyone... I was just seeking other's views. If I wanted to "report" it, I would. This is a "friendly" conversation.

All you can really do is look at: - size / difficulty / terrain rating (micro / D: 1-1.5 / T: 1-1.5 is often a code for caches that won't crease your dockers.) - look at an aireal photo of the area and if it's concrete, you are pretty safe from ticks or mud - notice that you are driving into the parking lot of a big box store All these things are hallmarks of park-n-grabs. It is not difficult to find these most places. By the way - there is really nothing wrong with the outdoors. It's nice out there! I understand though, that sometimes it is convenient to want to play, but not find yourself outfitted for it. ZACTLY! Today I was out in the woods and the beach and all over... but SOMEtimes I click "find nearby caches" and think "oh, this one will just be quick - it says 'cache & dash'... and then I'm dragged into a half mile hike for a micro hidden in a log that I gotta hop over a creek to get to"... and I come out thinking "that wasn't exactly a QUICK cache! And what would have been FUN if I had on jeans and sneaks is not soooooo much fun in pumps and slacks. Maybe we should have a "dress code" rating! I seriously have my doubts that there is an abundance of caches that are designated in the title or description as "cache and dash" and lead you into a half mile hike into the woods Nope... not an abundance! Most caches are appropriately labeled. But there definitely are some out there that make me scratch my head! (NOT from ticks, fleas, chiggars or mosquitos!)

All you can really do is look at: - size / difficulty / terrain rating (micro / D: 1-1.5 / T: 1-1.5 is often a code for caches that won't crease your dockers.) - look at an aireal photo of the area and if it's concrete, you are pretty safe from ticks or mud - notice that you are driving into the parking lot of a big box store All these things are hallmarks of park-n-grabs. It is not difficult to find these most places. By the way - there is really nothing wrong with the outdoors. It's nice out there! I understand though, that sometimes it is convenient to want to play, but not find yourself outfitted for it. ZACTLY! Today I was out in the woods and the beach and all over... but SOMEtimes I click "find nearby caches" and think "oh, this one will just be quick - it says 'cache & dash'... and then I'm dragged into a half mile hike for a micro hidden in a log that I gotta hop over a creek to get to"... and I come out thinking "that wasn't exactly a QUICK cache! And what would have been FUN if I had on jeans and sneaks is not soooooo much fun in pumps and slacks. Maybe we should have a "dress code" rating!

Ah! Now see! I'm so *NEW* I hadn't even heard of a "park-n-grab" yet! Haven't come across one labeled such in my area... although I have found a few that fit that separation from your definition of a cache & dash! Uh... soooooo much to learn! And these daily TESTS are killin' me!

LOL! I'm so surprised it took so long for that to come up!

I'm wondering what are the "rules" for calling something a "cache & dash"! To ME, it sounds like something I ought to be able to stop and grab on my way home from work and not break a heel (a high heel, I mean) or destroy a suit! To ME, it sounds like something I would not come away from wearing TICKS! To ME, it sounds like lamp post caches and parking sign nanos. It does NOT sound like trekking through the woods or even a graveyard really... ... it SOUNDS like something I should be able to hunt for on my way to (or from) church... for instance. But I could be WRONG! (obviously I am.)

That cracks me up!!! So funny... I'm looking forward to your next contribution (I'm not being sarcastic, but that is exactly my kind of humour!) Croesgadwr, North Wales. Oh I'm sO glad SOMEone gains pleasure from my foolishness!!!

Droo - I'm really hoping to NOT get caught by the "collecting" bug! I LOVE the idea of setting them free and watching them roam... but some of them are sooooooo pretty! Great Scott! - thanks! I will "look it up" - but I'm not paying $200 for a geocoin! LOL! Especially not for my granddaughter to play with! I don't know how ridiculously priced they get... but I'm just sayin'...

My 7 year old granddaughter found the COOLEST geocoin tonight! She was soooooooo excited! It was her first time ever geocaching with me, and on her 3rd cache she found this coin - that's NOT a coin at all! It's a REAL sword! 2 pieces! The sword slips in and out of the little sheath! It is AWESOME! Oh she was soooo disappointed when I told her she couldn't KEEP it - but that we would have to deposit it in another cache the next time we go out together! She has always been rather infatuated with pirates anyway - but this little dandy geocoin just tickled her silly! And honestly - I would have been SO excited to find it even on my own - but to watch her discover it was just AWESOME! I'm wondering if any of you know where I might FIND such a geocoin to buy? I'm thinking it's probably been long discontinued though... it's been traveling for 4 years already! She sure would like to HAVE one of them though!

I ran into one of those tonight that had unrolled inside and I could NOT get it out. I have long fingernails and I tried and TRIED to get it but it wasn't budging! I reported a Needs Maintenance on it because I noticed that some others had commented that they couldn't sign either. Hopefully the owner will find a way to get it out without destroying the siggies inside. Maybe with a tweezer?