chefkimmo

I have seen cop cars drive by but not yet been stopped. About a week ago, I was behind a Home Depot one time and had a forklift driver come up as I was sitting in my car signing a log. I didn't see him until I got out to put it back. I quickly stuck it under the skirt on the lamp pole and then he yelled "are you ok?" I said yes and drove to the parking lot to log the entry. I parked where I could watch to see if he went to see what I was doing back there... I regret not walking up to him to explain what I was doing as that cache had been there for about 7 or 8 years. I checked and it was found since I was there but laying on the ground - thinking he probably looked under the skirt and it rolled out and he didn't realize what I was up to. Last Sunday I had decided I would go for a series that was off a trail where a lot of people go to ride bikes and walk. I got just insde the fenced area with my dogs on leashes and headed for one cache that was not part of the series but I decided, why not. Finally got done with that one and headed to capture my first one of the series. Following the map on my phone gps, I accidentally passed GZ turned around checked out where I thought it might hid and instead of looking down to watch where I walked head straight for a logical tree. Two steps later I stepped on a big clump of dirt and my ankle went one way and I went the other. I heard a snap as I went down and though Oh no! Probably should have been specific where I was going but had my phone. I had let the dogs off the leash so they could run as it was hard to get through thorns, bushes and lowe branches with them on the leash. I layed there long enough to let the pain subside and one of the dogs came over to say this is not a good resting place. Thankfully she stood there for me to use her to lean on a bit to see if I could stand and how much pressure I could put on it. I got to the log and signed it and headed back toward the trail, decided I was spent and I was able to walk out on my own. I no more than got back on the paved trail and started headed back toward the parking area and almost walked over a cottonmouth snake. Squealed like a girl (it is ok, because I am a girl LOL ) pulled the dogs away and kept walking. I didn't figure I could kill it with dogs in tow and my ankle still very sore so he is still out there... The ankle is still swollen and very tender - that could be normal for a bad sprain but I am going to the doctor tomorrow to find out what this rash is on my leg and will see if they think I need an X-ray tomorrow.

I think in areas that have suffered with issues that could have compromised caches, there might be a need to be a little more pro-active about checking up on caches. Flooding comes to mind. We had Hurricane Irene blow through here last year and a lot of cache owners haven't checked on their caches. I went to do a multi a few weeks ago where I was pretty certain the first stage was located on a pedestrian bridge that had been replaced following the storm. There are a lot around here like that. I've written notes asking them to please confirm, and nothing. I think in cases like this (and other areas where natural disasters might have compromised the caches) if the cache owners aren't interested in going out and checking on their caches, they should be archived. Perhaps in cases like this if there's no verifiable find within a year or note from the cache owner that they checked on it and everything is good something could be put in place. Patti I agree... even if the owner says I agree. Of course, as pointed out - someone needs to do a NA or NM to get something to happen.

Why are they there? Because they are hard to find, and don't get a lot of people looking for them? I've got a few like that. I do not understand why there is a problem with that. Nope. I don't babysit cachers either. Though I will usually respond to an e-mail. In the case of ONE the ones I was referencing above - the person did a series of very easy finds (or they are to me) they are either lamp poles or a few minutes of looking in some bushes. I saw someone I knew found it but when I went there it looks like recently some bushes, plants or some tree was cut down as I can see the base of what was there in the ground and see it on the map. I wrote the CO and said could it be possible that the bushes were cut down? I had been there 3 times but didn't post each time a DNF the third time I brought friends and we all came to the same conclusion so that is when I wrote him. I don't expect to be babysat and wouldn't ask for it. I have done pretty well caching on my own and with friends in making finds. Sure, I am not one with 10 million finds but I for only really caching seriously for about a month, I think I have done ok. I have seen the comments about not puttin the e-mail in a message **note taken** I will do that for now on but when I checked after reading this thread when I send a message it says "UNCHECK if you don't want them to have your e-mail" I didn't uncheck but I really didn't expect a reply by e-mail.... possibly a note in the log would be nice though and I don't think of that as babysitting.

I would strongly object against automatic archivals solely based on DNF logs. I log every single attempt where I fail to find a cache as DNF - that could also be if I leave after 2 minutes. Some remote or long caches are hardly visited. All DNFs can come from a single group with a similar approach to DNF than mine. As a hider of caches, a DNF log does not necessarily mean for me that I even start to doubt that the cache is still at its place. It depends a lot on the situation. I have logged many DNFs over the last months where I was 99% sure that the cache was at its place. Cezanne I am glad you object because I do too. I don't mean a cache being archived just because there are DNF's. I get it that a reviewer only looks at it if there is a NA and will keep that in mind. I also get it that I could post a DNF and someone else comes along and finds it... happened to me recently so I went back and felt like "DUH, it was right under my nose!" I am trying to come up with my own system on how to post or say something if I can't find it. Could be my own blindness that day but then again it could be it just isn't there. I am sure an owner would never know to check a cache if no one posted they couldn't find it but at the same time I don't want to put a DNF if I was just not doing a good enough search. I agree it depends on the situation and am thinking my route for now will be a note unless I have tried a few times and know they are real good attempts. My long run question for why isn't something done is more about the one that is last found a year ago and several experienced hunters have looked and posted DNFs at many different times since the last find. Maybe a storm washed it away? I don't see a NA and I won't do it because I haven't looked for it but I don't want to go bush whacking for a cache that people who are better at this than me haven't found. Sure, maybe I would find it and I could say YAY but at the same time I have plenty others I could find so in the mean time that one I keep going back to and then say Nah, not looking for it right now. Who knows, maybe the owner moved. Maybe there life changed. Maybe (as someone pointed out below) they died. On the on I am thinking for now, I can ignore but think in the next several months if no one finds it I may try and then put a NA myself. I guess my question was more rhetorical and not to ask that they be archived but I thought it fit the topic (at least in my mind) of why doesn't the owner at least acknowledge and do a little something about it... as mentioned above there could be many reasons why.

Reviewers don't take action on something unless there's an NA posted, from my understanding. Which makes sense... if they had to go through all the cache listings in their area to monitor DNFs, it would be at least a full-time job, if not more. Just to be clear... I didn't intend to imply that the reviewer did it. I get the impression that you, as a CO, can either disable it until you have time to look to make sure it is still there or archive it if you just don't want to deal with it. I think a note saying you are looking into it would be good too though then you are not bothered with sending a ton of e-mails. I keep looking at one cache to see if the owner has replaced it or would write a note or maybe even say I got some notes but I know it is still there.

I am what I consider new to caching and yes I am looking at placing some caches. I am reading the comments on this thread and can see the points you all are making and as a newer person I wonder what is "right". Yes, I was thinking there should be something on what someone should do before they should place caches.... my team, well we are at over 100 finds and thrive on the different types of hides so we would love to put out hides that are not just at the lamp post type hides but also a little more difficult that if you might have to think outside the box to make a find. Funny you all mention magnets on guardrails - I have yet to find one of those! I haven't been in for 6 months quite yet and I haven't found 1,000 yet but I do believe I could place some good caches where (I am hoping) even some of the more experienced people may say.... hmmm, that was a good one. I will admit we are planning on the best form of flattery or some may call it plagerism but when we find something we think of as a good hide we want to put one out similar to it. It will not be near the one we found and will not be exact but it will be similar. My son is a special needs and due to an accident at a very young age his vision is very bad. He has a hard time with depth perception and the extremely well hidden camoflouged hides are near impossible for him but he so enjoys geocaching so I hope that some people will not stop putting out the ones at lamps and slightly easier ones for people like him and small kids and at the same time I hope that I find the time, ability and a partner to go out and find some of the hardest caches as well. Funny thing is I came to this thread by doing a search to double/triple check that I was going about finding the coordinates right for my first swap. I have spent time on here reading about others difficulties so we can put out some caches and hopefully make some fun for the caching community in a wide range of easy to some what hard. Thanks for everyone's comments on here

Now my goal is to get this list to come up in a map all by itself. When I click in the check box that I think should select all and then click on Map this Location which is above the search results, it always gives me everything in the area and not just these locations. Any help here?

If you view the cache page of one of the members of the series, you can look on the right side to see if anyone has made a bookmark list of the series. Other than that, no. If there is something common about the name of the caches in the series, you can search on just that part of the name. For example, a new series was posted near here and each cache name has "SRPS" in the name so in searching just that string, I get all hits for the series. Gosh you said it so many less words than I did

Just guessing if you might mean to see the list all at once... I have done it under Other Search Options and then typed under the name to search for the part of the series name that is the same (although that may even pick up names with the same thing). You click on the drop down - Play and then click on Hide & Seek a Cache -- scroll to the bottom and on the left under the grey area where it says Other Search Options and in the by Cache Name type in the series name. It will pull up anything that contains the words you typed in so hopefully the series has at least a partial name that is not common. As an example if it there is a series Fairy Godmother Series: XXXXXX (with the part after the colon only being different) then I would type in "Fairy Godmother Series:" (and if there is a series by this name it is purely by dumb luck). You can always cut out things -- for instance let's say the owner forgot to put the colon in a couple when they made the series, those won't come up if you put that in and you won't know it. You may do it differently to make sure and you can check at the top of the page it shows how many total records were found on your search criteria. I figured this out by trying to find all of a series here in Houston and typed in AHHHCHOO --- fortunately those letters are uncommon that it produced the list I wanted but when I first tried it, first try I used 1 too many H's and it came up that it couldn't find anything. I hope this is what you were looking for and helps.

I don't typically put a DNF on a cache that I don't find on the first time, unless it is an obvious light pole with damage or something that is easy and and again obvious missing. In fact I usually go back a couple times to make sure I am not completely overlooking it. I went to one site 3 times then took friends to it as it seemed obvious to me then did a DNF. I did not expect the owner to reply but when I become a CO, I will pay attention to the DNF's and if there is a few on a fairly easy hide I would probably take the time to go check and then post a note that yep, it is still there or come prepared to either take it down or make a new hide. Another time I went to one cache -didn't post I couldn't find it. Went a second time with someone I knew recently found it and asked her to tell me if I was warm or not (we were night caching) and couldn't find it. Went about a week later and looked, still no find but later that evening someone found it --- felt kind of dumb and went back a 4th time and got the smiley. I was just going to e-mail the owner (who I had just met) when I saw the previous find. On the one mentioned above I did e-mail the CO, kind of thought I might get a curtesy response but didn't & haven't. I will watch that cache and see if anyone finds it before I ever go back. But here is my question, why are there still caches out there with several DNF's and not being found for more than a year and still posted? To be clear on some of these I have not contacted the owner in some but others have the same owner who I can see is an current person who finds caches so it makes me wonder why they don't just post a note so we know whether we are blind or it may have been muggled. You don't have to send e-mails to everyone - (at least I don't thinke) just post a note and let us know you give a care of the over 100 caches you have hidden in a series. I have enjoyed caching and I just think I will keep in mind some of what I am reading here when I go to set out my first finds. I will probably be one who will check things and post notes so everyone can see the cache is taken care of rather than just an e-mail to those who take the time to e-mail. I won't post hints in a note just that I checked and it is there... an e-mail will be required and a pointed question for a hint.

A friend and I have been caching for a few months (probably considered a newbie to many of you all) and we have been having a blast. We have recently been discussing put out some to add others fun and I am thankful to have read this thread. Honestly I was just checking some threads out of curiousity of the name but never thought it would be filled with so much information about what we literally spent a hours decided to put one here and one there and a stretch of road a series of fun ones. I have to follow up with a business owner in one location and will get some coordinates to send in an initial posting so I can check for complications. Several times I have check for nearby finds to make sure we weren't too close but didn't think about ones that might potentially be saved for future use. My next hunt in this forum is to find a thread on why caches are still out there with over a year of no one finding it. I don't think right now, I would want to put one there but the frustrating part to me is that I keep thinking this is one I need to get to realize after looking at the log it hasn't been found in a very long time.