Ambrosia

When you read one cut and paste log, it's not the end of the world. But if you own a bunch of caches that the cut and pasters went to in a row, it gets a bit old when you open the sixth identical log for each of your caches. You also start to not trust the logs. They could even tack on something like, "this cache needs maintenance" or some such, and especially if they're not specific, you really wonder if they even got the correct cache. When you're spamming a bunch of caches all day with the same logs, do you remember which cache you're actually logging at the moment?

OT: Of course, searching the logs for "mosq" is only helpful if the writer has the slightest idea how to spell "mosquito." I've seen some really strange attempts, wish I could remember them. Could do it the Aussie way and call them mozzies, like my husband does.

I've mentioned this before, but I had a cache disabled for almost four years. It was in a spot where there was a lot of construction for that whole time. It was part of our most used bridge in town, re-doing a clover. Imagine having to deal with that construction as a town for that many years, yeesh (although, to be fair, the road was finished earlier than the cache spot). They just added a roundabout to that same area that is giving the town fits now. Never ends. Anyway, I wasn't as communicative as I could be, looking back on it. I didn't have any issues with reviewers, but I'd get a note on it every so often from locals who wanted to know when it would be back up. It was a multi and I didn't want to be to upfront about the final spot, so people weren't aware of where it was to know that the construction was obviously still ongoing. Although at that point, it should have been obvious since it was the only place in town with that much construction. If I did it over again I would have made updates on the page more often. I felt like it was becoming too cluttered and forum-like as it was, however.

It seems that TB's and coins fair better in Europe. Out of many TB's that we own, only one is still active, and it's been in Europe for a long time.

I can't remember the last time I found a TB or coin in a cache.

In the case that the OP posed, it seemed to be someone couch logging DNF's. But it got me wondering about my DNF's. I looked and saw that I've DNF'd seven Virtuals, and six EC's. I have a tendency to think about caching in black and white: either you find a cache, or you don't. So if I'm near a cache and can't get to it for whatever reason, I log a DNF. It's late at night right now, and I decided to write out my DNF's - please indulge me. No one has to read the rest of this post. Virtuals: 1. Last stop for a weary traveler Oh, my goodness, this one made me angry. I didn't have much info for what I was looking for, and our coordinates just took us to a tree in the middle of the park (I know now that we were maybe 100' - 200' from the cache site). I thought that maybe someone was playing fast and loose with their cache coords, due to some cache log comments. We tried it again five years later, and I wonder if the coordinates were updated, because we went right to the correct place and had no problem finding it. 2. Garden Art Walk We were visiting AZ and tried to do this virtual, but didn't realize how detailed it was: it was a four part multi. I think I did two stages, but we were in a bit of a hurry and I wasn't feeling well, so didn't complete it. 3. Escape From Alcatraz I was really disappointed about this one. I was excited to visit Alcatraz, and knew that it wouldn't happen again, so I wanted to get both caches there. But this one was another multi Virtual, which I didn't realize until we got there. I hadn't brought my gps to the island because I was trying to be lightweight. This was five years ago, and I couldn't figure out how to find different coordinates with my phone. And, cell reception was non-existent in places. I spent way too much time stressing about this, trying to get reception, trying to find an app to get coordinates with, etc. I knew that I went to some of the stages and could answer some questions because of the what they said in the description, but couldn't do all of them. 4. Santa Barbara Court House I've been to this one twice, specifically to find this Virtual. It's located inside the courthouse, and both times that we visited it was just after hours. Argh. 5. California Hoax Another multi Virt. I think this is my downfall on trips. I had the info for the cache on GSAK, but I was having issues with my computer. I tried using a cell phone, but the reception was bad. Again. I tried going by the questions, and was able to get some of the answers along a loop walk, but not all of them. 6. The Highest Leaping Waterfall in the World Yet another mulit Virt! This one was in a National Park with no cell service (it had escaped my PQ somehow!) and I only got maybe two out of three questions. 7. Lake Cd'A Super-Viewpoint We drove a fair ways to get to this Virtual, and found that the road to it had a private property sign. We drove all around the area and could not find another entrance. I stated this in my DNF, someone else disagreed with me and said there was a way in, lots of other people DNF'd it, and it was archived due to lack of CO involvement about the issue. Needless to say, I no longer even attempt Virtual multis while on trips anymore. It just makes me mad, and that's not what I want on vacation. I'm with my husband who can get cranky sometimes about caching, so I can't mess too much with fussy caching. Earth Caches: 1. What's Behind Multnomah Falls Ha, another multi! Curses! It was winter and we didn't realize how much we would have to walk to get the stages, and were worried about ice. We came back three years later and finished the multi then. 2. Moses Coulee Flood Bar Earthcache I was driving by this as it was getting dark, and tried to make it before it was too dark. I could see somewhat, but not enough to feel comfortable logging it and answering all the questions. I was able to log it later during the day. It's definitely one that needs to be done in the light, to appreciate the vastness of the area. 3. Skull of Tafoni We came to this EC just as we were about to exit the park. I realized then that one of the requirements was to find other formations like the EC in other parts of the park and email the coords. As we were leaving the park, that was impossible to do. Yes, I got a bit cranky. We were able to finish the EC this spring. Made me feel better. 4. El Capitan Moraine – The Lake Yosemite Dam The weirdest EC situation I've been in. We got to the coordinates, and it was clear we were in the correct place. But the question didn't make sense. There just wasn't anything there that was described in the question. I thought that maybe I was going crazy. No one else said they had issues in the logs. It was a bit of a bizarre feeling and situation - what were we missing??? We will never know! 5. Lime Kiln Point Quarry and Kilns Ha, I tried doing this EC from a boat, because the lime kiln was right next to the water. Really cool history and geology. I couldn't answer one question, however, because it was info from a sign on land. 6. Karpata I'm not sure if I'll log this. I could write a note, but notes disappear, when DNF's do not. And I want the info to be there for me. This one was a SCUBA cache that my husband did. I went to the spot, but did not dive. I went on a dive earlier in the trip and tuckered myself out. Ah, I wanted to do a SCUBA cache finally! But I didn't realize that I would use up all my energy on my first dive.

This thread has been dormant for more than a year! My husband and I are finally visiting Hawaii. It will be our 50th state. Pretty excited! We're going during our 22nd anniversary, mid December, for 2 weeks. We will be visiting The Big Island, and Oahu.

At the top of the cache page, where it says, "# Favorites", there is a drop down menu. Click "View Who Favorited". On that page, you can click, "View Log". It's a fair amount of clicks, but it takes you right to the logs of the people who favorited the cache, and hopefully they explain why they did so in their log. I don't know a lot about how programming works. When favorites was just about to come out, I was told about how it was being set up. The first thing that jumped out at me was that I would want to know why someone favorited a cache. So I asked if it was possible to have something (like is discussed in this thread) where a person could put in a short note as to why they favorited the cache. I was told that everything was already set up and it would take a lot of changing the programming to make that happen. But fortunately, the system was set up so that they could easily pop in the link that I mentioned at the beginning of my post that took you directly to the person's log who favorited the cache. I felt like that was a nice compromise.

What's really creepy is that Mr. Yuck found a pattern that is turning out to be actually happening. Every six years, in August, Groundspeak will come up with something virtual on their site. What's in store for August 2023???

There wasn't anything specific about where or how to hide a virtual. The info points you to the virtual cache guidelines. The blog did contain this comment: "The Virtual Cache type was originally created so people could place hides where physical caches were not permitted, or where muggles were so heavy that a physical cache was not practical." It looks to me like there isn't as much of this emphasis with the virtual rewards? During the WOW factor, they asked that the virt didn't just take you to a view or something like that, it needed to be something solid (like a sign? I don't know - I had one denied because it was "just" a view - there were geological signs nearby but I didn't want to fight it). It should be where a physical cache couldn't be. I can't remember other criteria. It doesn't seem like the virtual rewards have those kinds of constraints. So I'm probably being old fashioned, stuck in the past to want the virts to be where you can't have a physical cache. But, it makes sense to me. Why would I put a virt there if a physical would work? I don't understand the point?

Well, so far, there are four virts within 200 miles of me. All of them could be a physical cache. They look like nice virts, but it doesn't really seem to be the way a virtual should be, to me. I think that I know where I'm going to put my virt. It's at a place that is more sensitive, where I had a cache that I had to archive twelve years ago. I even thought about making it a virt at the time, but it was just before they were grandfathered and I didn't think it would go through. It's an interesting historical place that just can't support a physical cache. I just need to decide if having higher traffic from the novelty of a virt will work for that spot.

The archival of Bruce Lee's virt made me sad. I'm sure someone will put one back there? I'd be tempted, but I want to put a virt in my smaller town.

It's true, if you take the wordage literally, it sounds confusing. Of course, they will not be giving a Virtual Reward to every active "community volunteer" (active cacher), because they wanted to limit it to a smaller percentage.

I will word it in a clearer way: I am an active geocaching.com forum moderator, so I received a Virtual Reward.

Lol, I guess we're all community volunteers, technically.

I'm an active community volunteer, so I received one.

I would like to think of something novel in our area. We don't have any virtuals very close to us.

There was a phone app that you could get that told you exactly where you were in regards to the the path of totality. It also told you exactly when each phase of the eclipse would happen for you.

I submitted my last virtual in May of 2003. I was worried that it wouldn't be published, because of the WOW factor. I received an email that said something about how that reviewer didn't really post virtuals anymore, but that my submission was what a virtual cache should be like, so he published it. So that shows how much the WOW factor had cut down on virtual submissions, at least for that reviewer.

Flickr. You can also have a higher quality picture using them, if you'd like.

I like these sorts of things.

Hey, dicentra, I did just place one in Leavenworth a month ago. I know that it's been a complaint here for a while. We're getting a ton more new cachers this year (seems to be the highest amount of new cachers that I've ever seen), but nobody's been placing caches. I was even given a container by a semi-local cacher to place somewhere. I'm currently working on four new caches in Wenatchee right now. I'm also looking at placing at least one more in Leavenworth soon. I'd love to see you at one of our events in the future, it would be great to meet you!

No, no, no...you're doing it wrong. THE LEPRECHAUNS - TUESDAY, THE TWENTY-SEVENTH OF JUNE, TWO THOUSAND AND SEVENTEEN, AT TWO FORTY-TWO IN THE AFTERNOON LITTLE LEPRECHAUN - TUESDAY, THE TWENTY-SEVENTH OF JUNE, TWO THOUSAND AND SEVENTEEN, AT TWO FORTY-TWO IN THE AFTERNOON

As long as everyone is there and participates in the cache find, I don't see what the problem is with signing with a team name. It's a good idea to note it in your online cache log so the CO knows if they like to match up the logbook with the online log. It's just a way to be faster and take up less room in the logbook/sheet (especially if it's a micro). Not that this is anything official, but I was caching with a bunch of Groundspeak Lackeys a couple weeks ago, and they signed with a group name.