wildchld97

Not sure what the big deal is. Scrabble is a game that you aim to "win". Geocashing is not a game where anyone "wins"...nor does anyone "lose". I play it for personal fulfillment. If a number cruncher wants to falsely inflate their finds...who is that person really hurting? We're mostly adults...aren't we? Are we *really* going to waste time pointing our fingers and yelling "YOU CHEAT!?" or spend hours pouring over paper logs and matching them up with the online logs while zealously tapping the delete key? Boy, some people have WAY too much time on their hands. lol I've seen some people who claim to have thousands of finds. Mayhaps they do..and mayhaps they don't...but it's not my business to delve into their personal issues with competitiveness.

Wow..what a very enlightening discussion. lol. I haven't posted in a while, but found some extra time and decided to browse the forums again. While micros are not my favorite, I'll still go for them just to mark them off of my list if they're in my hometown. It's just a thing of mine. I don't like caches near my house to go "unfound" regardless. If they are in other towns, I pay close attention to where they are located and can easily figure out if they're worth my trouble. There are some notable micros that tickled my fancy because they were cleverly hidden (and by that..I do NOT mean in a guardrail) or because they DID lead me to someplace interesting, such as a restaurant I've never been to or if they were cleverly crafted...not a pill bottle, cigar tube, or match container. If it makes me *think* for more than 5 minutes...it's probably a good one. Now, a micro that is a mile trek into the woods finishing off with a 4 star climb...that makes my blood boil. I just finished one today and my muscles are screaming along with me. The description said "small". I'll go along with that if there is at least something the size of a peanut butter jar...but a match container? I wanted my PRIZE!...even if it was McCrap..I wanted something. Sheesh. lol. The other micros I hate are the ones hidden anywhere near garbage containers or so close to a business that you are seriously in danger of being questioned by security or appear to be a drug dealer by holding a pill bottle and a baggie while looking around suspiciously or worse... some kind of terrorist planting a new type of bomb. Sometimes I do wish that there was a way of a proposed micro getting pre-approved before placement at wally-world. If it's a magnetic key holder destined for a guardrail, send it to the reject pile. If it's a micro disguised as a bolt for a fence...cool. It would just be nice to require that people put some thought into their hides rather than claiming territory that someone COULD put a better cache on...but can't because of the .10 rule. Ok..back into hiding...lol. Carry on.

Ok..I admit, I just stepped off the short bus on this topic. No laughs or I'll find you and muggle your cache. LOL No, really, don't laugh. I'm serious. I just heard of this thing that's new to me and I just wanna know what's up. From what I've read so far..you need a PSP.? Why do I hear the echos of younger people laughing hysterically all over the world? Help?

Ok..looking for a GPS for my new son-in-law. He and my daughter were hitched just before he deployed. I introduced him to geocaching within the last year and ironically, he is the one who bought me MY first GPS...now I want to repay the favor. Anything is acceptable as long as it is functional in the Middle East. I'm pretty sure that any GPS should operate over there...as long as you give it a chance to find the right sattilites...correct me if I'm wrong. All offers considered. If you think this is a scam...I'll be more than happy to pay your price and the shipping fee and give you his base address so you can ship it personally to him. Thanks.

Thanks for your post. However, match containers are a well known container for micros. Come to Beaver Countty Pa and you'll see what I mean.

Personally, I won't CITO in parks that refuse to allow caches. It's just plain silly. They use the same old argument that caches are considered "litter". From what I have seen, some of these parks have a LOT more to worry about than a little container filled with Mctoys. As far as I'm concerned, let them clean up their own litter. There are a lot more parks that appreciate our efforts. For those that feel otherwise and think that we are little whiny crybabies... Case in point. Park allows boy scouts to camp on their land. Said boy scouts between the ages of 6 and 12 go off exploring and trample existing vegetation and native plant species because of youthful ignorance. That is acceptable and the park rangers look the other way...but placing an ammo can in a hollow log just off the trail is considered bad. I don't understand the logic. Either way, as long as geocaching is "unacceptable"...I am of the opinion that holding a geocaching sponsored CITO in that park is also unacceptable. Let the boy scouts pick the garbage up.

Well....opinions are like buttholes.... Sounds like someone is jealous. Kudos to the OP for a well thought out post regarding the frustrations most of us feel when hunting a cache that turns out to be lame.

Put a disclaimer on the TB page that the placer is NOT to put your TB into an event of any kind. They have no way of tracking who *really* drops them off or who *really* picks them up apparently. Of course, you run the risk of actually encouraging rebels to place them into an event just because they want to jerk you off. Still, you might run into someone who is a real geocacher and get lucky.

I'm not sure about "kidnapped" because that involves "intent". I can't accuse anyone of anything at this point, but I do know what it feels like to have one turn up missing unexplainably. As for the "potty mouth" comment that you got from one of the reviewers....I don't think that the term...especially the way that you presented it..was inappropriate. However, I'm not on a high horse either.

I carry every once in awhile, but have never had the need to draw let alone use my civilian weapon. But I would think that if I ever get in a self-defense situation I would let a lawyer do all the answering for me. You just never know how a prosecuter or a jury views your demeaner, nervous and you over reacted, self confident and you went looking for trouble. I don't carry a gun but I do carry Peper Spray and YES I had to use it after I was attacked by a homeless boy. I felt real bad about it afterwards and I tried to clean him up before the Cops came I was concerend because the Peper Spray was twice the legal strength however the police did'nt seem to mind. If I had a gun instead of the Peper Spray that boy would be dead and I would be living with that. No problems with that. I wouldn't have even looked twice at a supposedly "homeless boy" or taken the time to clean him up. (I've lived on the streets since I was 13 before I married my husband. I know these jerks..because I *was* one. I'm sure he had a "home"...but he was just looking for an easy target. Remember...it's better to be tried by twelve than carried by six.

I'm armed all the time. I have two of them and I won't hesitate to use them. If that doesn't work...I have a .38 that will at least give me some time to run.

Might be a stupid or a great idea...dunno. I was thinking that maybe you could find a certain number of "points of interest" (like virtual caches) Give the cachers the coordinates for these virtuals (and a time limit), require them to either photograph each of them or get info from them to prove they were there. When they get back to the starting point with the required proof, they get the coordinates for the big final cache. First one to the final gets the good stuff and a certificate.

Does ferret caching count? (They're really good at finding the shiny things...but sometimes one or more get left in the cache....sorry about that.)

I honestly don't know whether my ONE and ONLY TB was stolen, or whether the person who picked it up at the Midwest Geobash in July just forgot to log it...or lost it. I've waited patiently for over 8 weeks for this thing to get moving. Apparently over 110 TB's are still listed and not logged. Even though there was a note posted acknowledging this fact, the person doesn't seem overly concerned because that's only 7% "missing" out of approximately 1500. The poster rightly puts the blame on those who picked them up and didn't log them. I suggest that if anyone is going to organize a mega event like this, that more care should be taken with the logging of TB's at the event itself. Sign your TB's in and also require that they SIGN THEM OUT. That way if a person fails to log it, we have some way of getting the name of the actual person who picked it up so we can send them a gentle reminder to LOG IT and MOVE it! This really burns my britches.

One word of caution though about using any type of "poking" implement...DON'T do it if the suspected cache is surrounded by bee activity. I can tell you from experience that I did *indeed* poke the tree, got the micro for the 1st stage...and then was attacked relentlessly by really mad hornets. Got stung twice. Needless to say I threw the micro at the tree and miraculously got it in the proper place, but decided that covering it up for the next hider was too risky. I placed a log stating that the owner might want to don a bee suit and rehide it properly...or move it...cause' I aint doin' it.

I always love'em that try to interpret the purist position. Photos are a great. (Although I would suggest contacting the owner directly rather than posting it online) Mud, a burnt stick, blood, a paper punch hole are also good alternatives. Whatever it takes to leave your mark. Just describe it in the log and that should be just as good as leaving a graphite smudge. (Considering my handwriting skills, it's usually a smudge ) I have had this happen to one of my caches. Somehow the cache got a little wet, the log was damp and the pen was missing. (Guess someone thought it was a trade item. ) The cacher mentioned in his log that he grabbed a stick, marked an "X" with some mud. Sure enough, when I went to do maintenence on the cache...there was the "X". I have no problem with this. Even if someone wasn't crafty enough to find *something* to mark the log...I would occasionally even accept an *exact* description of where it is located, how it was hidden..etc. to verify that they found it. Not in all cases though. It would have to be exact enough in which I was assured that they didn't get the info off of another previous hider. That's just me though. I'm not a purist. I'm a game player.

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt

Hold it, I'm confused here. Hopefully, it's not just me. He DNF'd it, which means he did not find it. If he did not find it, how did he know it was in a poor location? To quote Alice, "Things just get curiouser and curiouser." My guess is that since this person is new to the game, he just assumed that the cache was placed in an area that was inaccessable, unacceptable or missing. In actuality it was probably staring him right in the face. He just didn't know what the heck to look for. I just ignore those comments unless they're made by more knowledgable and experienced cachers.

I've only had one experience running into another geocacher. It was actually quite hilarious come to think of it. We were looking for a cache in a local park. We drove by the park and saw these two people lurking mysteriously next to a tree, then walking around and around the tree. I poked my husband and said..."only a geocacher would explore a pine tree with such interest." We waited until they walked away from the tree and simply smiled and asked if they had found it yet. Of course they had and were even nice enough to give us better coord's to save us a few minutes of searching. They were very nice folks. I wish we could meet more of them "by surprise." LOL

For the most part, I try and write a descriptive log about my adventure or something that is relevant to the cache site....IF the cache is something that is what I consider worthy and interesting even if I didn't get my smily face. If it's something that is unimaginative, or takes me somewhere that shows me absolutely nothing...I simply write TNLNTFTC. I seem to be doing that a lot lately, unfortunately.

Lets say I ran a coffee shop and there was a geocache nearby - could I add coupons for a free cup of coffee (no other purchase required) to the swag to try to generate more customers? I would only be giving something away with no obligation to buy but it would get them in the door. If this hypothetical free coffee coupon isn't breaking the rules, then the hotelier can probably think of ways to apply the same ideas to his business. If you run a business that wants my business as a geocacher, give me a great deal and great service and I'll probably come back and pay the regular price. Steve I have a cache with a business card that offers a free drink at a tavern in W.V. that I've never had a chance to use. Nobody has taken it yet. However, since the card was given to me by a friend of mine who owns the bar...am I breaking the rules by inadvertently advertising without benefit? It would be nice if I got a kickback from everyone who used the cards...but that's not ethical.

Almost every cache in Jamaica (9 total) are at places that you either have to pay an entrance fee (Doctor's Cave beach), have to either circumvent or pay off security (Sunspree, M&K Wedding Cache) or are expected to "politely" buy something...(Orange Hill Stash). A friend of mine went just recently and I agree with his sentiments...there are valid reasons why the cache was placed on Doctor's cave beach and the rest that I mentioned. The caches are SAFE. Doctor's cave only costs $5.00 USD but you are saved from being hassled by higglers....and those who would steal anything that isn't cemented down. The other one hidden/kept inside the resort is also a safety measure from thieves and uncertain weather. The virtual was placed by a newlywed couple but the resort has never given anyone trouble, nor expected them to be guests in order to get their smily. The one in Orange Hill is simply a jerk shack and theoretically, you *could* just ask Deon for the cache...but if you don't order some of the awesome jerk chicken...you're just screwing yourself. LOL In any case, there are bound to be a LOT of places that caches *should* be that might cost a few bucks to retrieve. As long as you don't have to book a week stay at a resort or are *required* to buy a meal, spend *X* amount of dollars for a product etc....I don't see a problem. Entrance fees...no problem mon. JMMHO.

Don't feed them until they can recognize the scent of plastic and/or metal?

Sounds to me like that person was a letterboxer recently turned geocacher. They might have mistakenly thought that you needed to give exact clues along with the coordinates. I'm with you though. Sometimes too much information diminishes the fun and challenge.

Ummm..ewwwwww! Thank goodness we don't have those around here....I hope. Loggerhead Shrike, songbird gone bad...