JMBIndy

I was searching for a micro in a neighborhood park. The GPS said it was amongst a grove of older trees near a pond. An elderly man, who was fishing, watched me carefully then asked if I was with the park's department and if I were going to cut down the trees. I assured him the trees were healthy and would be left alone.

Hopefully the voters will get rid of the person come election time. There are bigger issues that the legislature should be handling instead of worrying about Geocaching. Please let me know if any of those multi's are in the Charleston area. I would love to do one of them while home on vacation.

That's a shame even those aren't allowed. After all, people visit cemeteries every day. Why would a cacher visiting to get information off a gravestone be any different? Oh well, thankfully I live here in Indiana where I get to enjoy the history. I recently did two multi-caches ("Tour of Crown Hill and more", "Angels"), both located in a national cemetery named Crown Hill. It was a wonderful day of research and siteseeing. The scenery is absolutely wonderful. I've lived her for 10 years and never ventured to the location. Thanks to the multi-cache, I learned a lot about Indiana history that day. I expected Dillenger's grave to be a little more impressive, though....

Thanks to both of you for your replies. This definitely sheds light on the subject. I lived in SC (Charleston) for 20 years, so I understand how the history and sites must be protected. It merely sounds like there are not a lot of limitations, just that the requirements for permission are a little stricter than what we enjoy up here. I'm not saying we are not required to get permission, just that historically, the state isn't as old as SC so we have more room to play and definitely more options. I know you've said that hiding caches in the cemetery is a no-no, but has anyone put together a multi-cache where you visit the cemeteries for information off the gravestones, then put the information together to retrieve the cache placed off the property? That's another popular way to get people to visit the cemeteries here for the history, then lead them elsewhere for the prize. My sister is in Charleston and will be going to her first social event next month, so hopefully she'll meet up with some friendly folk that will give her some good advice. She hasn't hidden a cache yet and I hope to help her with that at Christmas. Oh yes, and as for the quality of hides, I know what you mean. The problem with allowing park-n-grabs is that they become common place. For those individuals who care about the numbers, they will go after them. For others, myself included, who like the journey to the hide, quality caches can be a challenge to find. I will even go for a micro in the woods, if the journey to it is scenic. Thanks again for your comments.

I live in Indiana while my sister lives in SC. She's new to it all and will soon go to her first social occasion to meet local cachers. From chatting with her, though, it sounds like there may be a lot more restrictions there than here. What kind of limitations has the state of SC placed on caching, if any? To get the idea of what I mean, it will be easier to tell you what we can do up here. Cemetery caching is very popular here. As long as it isn't posted as a private location, caches are placed within it, using common sense (ie not on or near tombstones or anyplace that would interfere with normal routines). A lot of our modern cemeteries are park-like in atmosphere, which makes them attractive to cachers and non-cachers alike. What's called the Pioneer Graveyards are very popular too, but there again, the same common sense is used when placing caches. City and neighborhood parks, depending on the county, may or may not require permission. Marion County, where I live, is aware of geocaching and does not require permission. State Parks and property belonging to the DNR require permission, but they are pretty good about allowing it. There again, common sense in placing the cache is used. Outside of GC.com's list of locations that are off-limits for good reasons, a cacher merely need seek permission of the land owner. So, now that you have an idea of what I mean, what kind of guidelines are followed there? Anything outside of the traditional GC.com guidelines? Any and all answers will be appreciated. Thanks.

Have you tried clicking on the "recalculate" button? That generally works for me.

Yes. Thank you!

"Unlisted cache"? Do you mean creating a cache page that is never published?

Pardon me if this is a subject that’s been previously covered. I’m at work and we have restrictions as to how much time we’re permitted on the internet . Big Brother IS watching. I would like to use a TB to track the mileage (estimated) while out caching. Has anyone had experience doing this and if so, how would you go about tracking it? Would it just be a case of "dropping" it into a cache and picking it back up again, meanwhile leaving the comment of maybe "TB - tracking mileage)? Any thoughts? Thanks.

I'm pleased to find this discussion thread since I'm new to Waymarking. I had wondered if any kind of restrictions would, could (should?) be applied to prevent people from saying "been there" when they haven't left the safety of their home. I have logged 1 waymark to date because it was also a Geocache I found in May. I've started using the "look for Waymark" feature when checking out caches and have found quite a few are in the area. My belief of Waymarking was that it was designed to replace the Virtuals on the GC site. Am I incorrect? I had hoped to be challenged by having to take pictures as proof or even better, to answer questions about the location. I like the picture idea, but it's a little difficult when caching alone. Anyways, it seems all of my thoughts on the subject had already been said in this thread. Thanks to all who posted some rather interesting information.

"Do you leave it?" Yes. If the person goes through the effort to write that long of a log, what right do I have to delete it? As I read through logs, I'll start reading them and if I decide it's boring, I skip to the next. Besides, what's boring to one person may be interesting to others.

Wow. It's nice to hear there are honest folk out there. Hopefully you will find the owner but do consider, the GPS may not be from a Geocacher. There are other folks out there who (GASP) use a GPS for other activities. Good luck!

All - Thanks for the replies and setting me straight. I was kind of hoping the organization was a minority and that others follow the standard GC rules. I merely become frustrated when I hear of individuals trying to push their will/beliefs on others and manage to win the battle. I know I'm a year behind on all the information and wanted to make sure that cachers still have the freedom to pursue the sport we all enjoy. Thanks again. I look forward to caching in the Charleston area and along I-26 this December. I've got the Google routes from Indy defined and uploaded so I may have fun along the way.

Thanks for the cache suggestion. I'll look them up before I head south.

I'm in Indiana, but used to live in Charleston and visit my folks every year. I plan on caching while down there this Christmas. I've checked out the newest website with the new codes of etiquette and so forth. Now really, are people actually following the new "rules?" Geocachers are not only expected to follow the guidelines at GC.com, but to use common sense in the placement of caches. Having lived in Charleston for 20 years, it makes perfect sense that certain cemeteries are off-limits. Personally, cemetery caches are my favorite since I get to read about the people from long ago. Placing a cache at a gravestone is just plain wrong, but placing them along tree-lines and such has been acceptable in the past. Unless they make it a crime to cache in certain areas, I don't see how people will be stopped. For example, if I walk into a cemetery with a GPS, what are they going to do, arrest me? Here in Indianapolis we have Crown Hill Cemetery, a wonderful, NATIONAL spot. We are not permitted to place caches within it, so what has been done is to do information gathering, using the GPS, within the cemetery, then take the information and put together the coordinates for the final cache OUTSIDE of the cemetery. This is a wonderful way of learning about the "residents" of the cemetery and play the game at the same time. (caches "Tour of Crown Hill Cemetery and More" and "Angels") We have a series here known as the Indiana Spirit Quest, which involves hundreds of hides within pioneer cemeteries. Thanks to the caches, many of the cemeteries are now back on the map, having been forgotten for many years, and are now being taking care of either by individuals or the nearby cities. It seems South Carolina could benefit from such a series of caches, bringing a bit of history back to life. I've never thought highly of the politics down there and think even less of it now. It seems to me the legislatures would be best to spend their time on important subjects, such as improving the educational system then going after a sport where 99.9% of the players are more than willing to follow the rules set forth by GC.com. Sorry for the rant, but it really irks me when government steps in where it shouldn't. Edited for spelling. Adding link to website: SC Geocaching Organization

Army-Navy supply at 21st & Arlington (Indianapolis). I bought the medium can for $7, I believe. A little pricey, but it was nice and clean.

I, too, have a copy of the DVD and sat in awe of the photography. Don't let her fool you. She tends to say it's not her skill with the camera, but the software she uses to make a great picture. I've seen her in action with the camera and I can tell you, it's her SKILL not the software!

What's the saying? "A fool and his money...."

The jerks obviously have nothing better to do with their time...

No, but I do believe that an unbalanced mind gets ideas from the innocent fun of others.

Even though the thread is a joke, it's just plain sick. It only takes one slightly unbalanced mind to decide to give this a try. The result? A dead innocent creature.

In my opinion, I believe the issue isn't the quantity but quality of micros. I'd be more apt to go after a micro that is cleverly hidden in a nice park, hiking trail or areas like that then to hit all the light poles in an area. As others have said over and over again... to some people, it's about the numbers. I suppose they don't mind the quick grabs... to others, it's about the hunt. Those individuals probably enjoy searching for the micro in quality areas, as mentioned above. I think the answer, as Bill & Tammy stated, would be updated criteria for publishing micros. With all that said, yes, I prefer the fun hunts for the micros, but I'm not above going after the others as well. Since I'm still new to the sport, I consider every cache, regardless of rating or location, to be a learning experience. As time goes on and I become more adept at the sport, I may be a little more picky, but for now... bring them on.

This proves that one person can make a difference. You could have easily shrugged it off and walked away, but you were so repulsed you sought action. I'm glad to hear an investigation is underway. Let's hope the hoodlums are found and brought to justice. Let them have the choice for punishment... either a minimum of 5 years in prison or have their eyes put out. One thing really disturbs me, though. As someone mentioned before, they had guns in a public park. The police aren't the least bit concerned about this?????

... you wake up wondering how you could fit caching into the schedule. ... you drive through a parking lot and wonder how many light pole caches are nearby. ... you drive past a cemetery and wonder if there's a cache in there. ... you look at every container with the thought of turning it into a cache.

Hm. Maybe someone should come up with a Capt Zoloft. The meds need equal time, after all. ;-)