TnT7686

When you go out caching what are the essentials? Do you have a back pack with all your tools ready to grab at all times? Do you just keep all of your items in your car?

Yeah I figured my GPS wouldn't work with it. That's fine. My husband has a nicer GPS than me and his would be compatable if we ever came across one of these buggers! So what are your thoughts on the device?

You know, now that I look at the cache you provided a link for I am not so hot on this chirp thing. Only for the fact that it can only be found if you have the right GPS. Doesn't seem very fair.

Did you feel like it could take anything away from Geocaching itself? Or do you think this is something that will over all improve our experience? I think it is neat as well. As you said a down fall could be people being excluded but I guess it just makes it easier to find for those with the chirp its not at though its the only way to find the cache. Good input thanks! Glad to know that someone has already had an experience. I live over in Germany for now so I don't think it will make it's way over here anytime soon!

Ok, so I was looking for a data cable for my Garmin etrex H (yeah I know it's not the best but I love it) when I came across a link for something called a Garmin chirp. From what I gathered from the video, you place it in your cache and when a Garmin device is near it starts chirping or maybe your GPS starts chirping...obviously I was a bit confused by the product. The device acts as a beacon of sorts. With all that confusion aside, what are your thoughts on this type of device? The product was made specifically for geocaching which is cool but I wonder if it takes the thrill of the hunt away. Here is the link to the video! I'm still undecided. Thoughts? Comments! https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=74811

LOL sorry! I am located in Stuttgart, Germany!

Hey there! I have been geocaching for less than a year. I currently living in Germany. Does anyone have a favorite cache in Germany?

I have been giving the ground speak produced FTF coin for all of my FTF cachers and for the other caches I have lined up that is what I still plan on giving as the prize but do you guys have any other ideas? I believe I pay 5.99 per coin so if you have a cheaper idea/option please let me know! What do you give your FTFers?

I had the same issue when I first started. It should be sent to the email you have connected to your GC account. However look into your profile to check your emailing preferences. There is no PM inbox on your GC account, all PM are received through your email account attached to your account and most emails are sent through the site its self. Does that make since?

I don't believe you are violating any rules by having the name of some company on the key ring. I see it all the time and I know tons of cachers that leave pens or pencils they found that have company names on them and we as cachers don't care, were just happy to have a writing utensil for the log! I am sure the key ring will looked upon the same. The key chain sounds pretty cool, I'm sure some kid will appreciate it or even an adult and they won’t care what the company is. With leaving a note, you may want to look into one day releasing a travel bug. That is what you are essentially doing by wanting to leave a not for them to contact you when they find the little key chain. Look into geocaching 101-Travel bug and you will see the similarities of what you are asking and what travel bugs are all about. Now if you want them to contact you because you are soliciting whatever company in on the little bat keychain, then you are crossing the line completely. However, I don't believe that is what you are looking to do right? Like I said look into travel bugs. If you leave a note with the keychain it may seem strange to a cacher but yeah they may respond. There are no rules against it I believe. Good luck with your new world of Geocaching and always feel free to drop in on the forums for help. FYI I am also pretty new to the GC, you’ll pick up on all of this pretty quick!

Today I came across a very special travel bug that was dedicated to a little five year old girl that passed in 2005. The travel bug is very touching and contains a little Mickey Mouse figurine, her picture, and a goal tag. What a wonderful memorial for this little girl. According to the tag she was never able to crawl or walk so her parents sent out this TB to do what she could not, travel around the world. Since I picked up the TB I have taken several pictures and even added a few things to the TB (with the owner’s permission). In one on the emails to the owners they thanked me for actually caring for the mission of the bug, not just the statistics or numbers I could gain from the TB. That got me to thinking, is this a big issue in the GC community? Are people not looking into the true meaning or mission of these TB all throughout the world? I am also keeping this bug for a while (also with the permission on the owners)in part to be able to bring it back to the states in July but to also give this special travel bug the attention it deserves. Have you ever found a memorial travel bug? Do you make sure you can help the bug in its mission before you grab it? Have you seen a decline in TB movement, logs, and overall appreciation? I am still new to the overall GC community so I could be ranting about something that is not an overall issue but I would love to hear other experiences or issues with TBs. Thanks!

I actually just picked up a travel bug I plan on keeping until Mid-July. I immedietly contacted the bug owner and asked for permission and assured them if they weren't ok with it I would drop the bug in a TB hotel tomorrow morning. I explained to them that I would not go back to America until mid-July and I would love to bring it there when we go. The bug is orginally from Austria and I am currently living in Germany (military). From the bugs history I see there has not been a whole lot of movement or pictures in the past two years and it has been stuck in Europe for ages. The owners emailed me back and were thrilled the bug would be going to the states and I emailed them back my thank yous and reassured them between now and mid-July we would take the bug all around with us so the activity would still be there. So we plan on taking the TB whenever we go caching and just dipping it when we discover a cache. The bug is very special because it is a memorial bug for a little five year old girl who passed in 2005. I believe if you have good intentions for the bug but you have to wait a while just contact the owner and I am sure they would really appreciate it. However, if you are just lazy or just a sometimes cacher don't bother picking up the TB. I have a handful of bugs out there and some are very active and some only show up a couple times here and there. I have contacted one holder of my bug because it was my first and he was the first grabber. Well a month and a half rolled by and no activity. He emailed me back and explained he was waiting on a trip to Spain. Great plan but let the owner know! Well...cache ya later!

I still very new to the geocaching world and I am wondering how creative you are when creating your geocaches or if you find a lot of creative geocaches. I find mostly 35mm film canisters around here. How are the geocaches in your are?

Wow that is very strange to see! Well I'm sorry you lost your cache! Is there anywhere near by where you could place the same kind of cache and just update the cache?

platitudinal= my new favorite word! I shall work it into the research paper I should be doing right now!

Well that is just a shame someone is going so far out of their way to just ruin people's fun. I will never understand those people! I am sorry you have to deak with someone like that in your area. My cache was just muggled but no note was left behind! I googled Hornswaggled and here are their definitions. Hornswaggled Tricked. Having the wool pulled over your eyes. stricked deceived manipulated conned punked A state of confusion. Describes a pirate who just had his booty stolen. to be robbed by a close friend unexpectadly Here is the link http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hornswaggled&defid=3223473

Well I waited several days for my cache to be published and today around 4pm (I currently live in Germany) got the email that sais my cache was finally released to the public for all to see. Well....about an hour later the first to finders informed me that my cache had been destroyed and the FTF coin and log were both missing. The cache had been thrown in the trash. The cache did not look like trash so it was pretty obvious that someone stole the contents and then decided to just throw all of my hard work away! Isn't it just the worst feeling having your cache muggled! I had placed it in a very nice park that was located near a sign with historical facts of the area. I was so proud of my location choice! Well the FTF people were kind enough to gather my cache and take it home with them after contacting me for permission to do so. I have spoken in person with one of the finders before and he plans on dropping the cache off at my home this evening. I am thankful there are good cachers out there and my only hope it is was just a muggle that happened to come across the cache and not a geocacher who is going around destroying and stealing caches. So have any of your caches been muggled? What was your reaction? Did you replace the cache in the same spot, with the same type of container. I used a cache that looked like an electrical plate and it was actually very well hidden. I really don't know how someone could have just stumbled upon it. Who knows! I would love to hear all of your stories on this topic!

Sorry I was not specific before, we are not flying in. We are driving in for a concert. We currently live near Stuttgart, Germany. I found a few in the area of our hotel. We'll see how it turns out! Thanks for all the help!

Hey there! My husband and I will be visiting Frankfurt this weekend and we would like some geocache suggestions. WE usually just find the ones closest to where ever we are staying but if you know of any cool or unique caches we would love to hear about them! Thanks in advance!

My lovely husband and I started geocaching right here in Germany. We were introduced to this wonderful world in America but we never got around to starting until this year. Well we have had some interesting, frustrating, and funny experiences while we have been over here! One of my funniest experiences is when I was knee deep in a creek looking for a cache and a nice German man walked up on his horse. I couldn't tell if he was angry, amused, or concerned. I know basic German but not enough to explain geocaching to him. He stood there for an uncomfortable amount of time before he moved on. However, it was a hard find and when we was riding back I was still there. He just looked at me and laughed. Who knows what he thought I was up to but I am sure seeing a little America woman with mud on her face and soaking wet from the knee down was a funny sight to him. Oh and I did not find that cache that day...my husband found it the next day when I brought him with me! Our other issue is of course the language barrier when we are reading description and clues. We are big users of Google translate when we are out in the field thanks to our IPhone, which has been our saving grace. But the literal translation has made some confusing searches. So what are your funny, interesting, or frustrating experiences while geocaching n foreign counties? Oh and FYI I finally got trail cards in German so I can quickly explain what I am doing with a simple card.

Thanks everyone!

Thanks for your advise! I will be sure to make the note!

Thanks for the advise! I wasn't sure if archiving or taking the cache with you of you leave the area is looked down on in the geocache community!

Ok so we are a Navy family living in wonderful Germany! We started our geocaching life not too long ago here and have loved every minute of it! The Germans really know how to geocache! Well our geocaching days in Germany are now numbered! We just got orders to move back to the states. So after 3 wonderful years oh living here we must go. We will be moving in April 2013. Our bigger concern in we have quiet a few hides! Can we archive them and take them with us or should we find someone to adopt them? We put good money and time into or caches so we would like to bring them with us but we don't know the protocol. I know some people might ask us why we would even hide them if we knew we would eventually leave. We just wanted to the whole geocaching experience and didn't want our occupations that causes us to move every three years or so to hinder that. Is there a page that gives guidance on moving?