jRandyA

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this idea.. so far I've come up with this as a good solution to this cache: Four caches listed as mystery caches located at posted coords. "Locked caches," with combination locks. Four other separate caches that contain logs.. also contain combinations that go to one of the other caches. Also, the idea about four caches with four keys as TBs was pretty cool, and is being considered. The other is the original idea of hiding keys, but this will probably not work. I'm still being stubborn and trying to figure out a way for it work, though. Thanks everyone! If you have any more suggestions, please reply.

Yeaaah.. that's a cool idea. But would the cachers be able to log their visit and get a smiley on each of the key caches too?

Yeah.. that could work. I think I'm just being stubborn by wanting to use keys. I guess I could leave instructions to leave the keys in the final cache and I'll put them back. The problem with that is that I would have to be quick so the next seeker doesn't have to wait forever.. cause I've noticed that when a new cache goes up around here there are several people who flock to it to find it first.. usually within the same day of the publishing, haha. I wouldn't want them to wait on me for the keys. I think that's why I wanted the four key and four caches idea. Say someone wants to get all four.. well they park near the keys.. cause they'll all be in one central place. They find a key.. walk to one the containers, wrong one, walk to the next one, wrong one, walk to the next one, wrong one, walk to the next one, bingo! Then to find the next cache, they have to walk back to where the keys are, so why not go ahead and replace that key that they already have? Repeat for the other three caches.. as far as the last one goes, well they have to walk back to where their car is, so why not replace the key while you're there? Same goes if they find all the keys and head towards the caches.. gotta go back to the car at some point. EDIT: Typed up something that didn't make sense, ha.

That's a cool idea. Though the main point I guess I wanted to make with this cache is that the seekers will have to figure out which key goes with which cache. That could work, but I would still want to only have one copy of the key in play, so more than one copy of the map wouldn't do much good.. so I'd have to either get multiple keys or go with TAR's idea for a combination lock. Good point.. thanks! Hah, I was expecting you to reply to this one, since I've seen your replies to a lot of other posts on these forums! I like the idea of a combination lock, but that kinda defeats the purpose of having multiple keys that seekers will have to guess which one goes to which cache. I could different combinations.. that could be interesting. The only thing about that is that it's a number that you enter in, and not a physical item that you had to find that grants you access only if you actually have it in your possession.. I'll have to ponder this for a while. If possible, I'd like to keep the idea that there are four caches each with a separate lock that can only be opened by one of the four individual keys.. that way the fun isn't in just finding the key/combination and going to where the cache is supposed to be as the cache page or instructions say, but instead the fun is finding the key/combination and then figuring out which cache that one key/combination opens. Looking at this idea now, it appears to me that these caches are going to take a while to find, unless the seeker is lucky. Thanks for the ideas/insights, guys! Keep 'em coming!

Ok.. so I have a new idea for a cache, and thankfully giving away the idea of the cache will not ruin the fun, just in case any cachers from Alabama are reading this right now.. anyways, tell me what you think of it. In all, there will be four different caches.. all of them will have to be of the mystery/puzzle type, since you will have to do something to open the caches. The coords on the listing page of each individual cache will be the exact spot that each cache is located at, only there will be a lock on each cache. Listed on each of the cache pages are coords to a small container that will hold instructions (an actual map) that will relocate the cacher to where all of the keys are (which are only about a hundred feet away from the map) hidden separately. They will have to search in that area for one of the four keys.. once they find one of the keys, they will have to go to each cache and see which of the four the key opens. One person can only be holding one key at one time, though. After they find the cache, open it, sign the log, do some trading, they return the key to it's original spot and start looking for another key. This was my original idea. I see several problems with this idea right off, though: One of which is that it will not be accessable to everyone at all times. Once one person finds one of the keys, that cache will no longer be available to anyone except the keyholder. For this reason, I was thinking of moving each of the caches close to the keys, so that the time it took to find out which cache the key opened would be shortened.. maybe even within walking distance. Another problem that I will probably face is the fact someone will probably try to find all four keys, then set off for all four caches. This stops anyone else from doing this set, and kinda refers back to problem number one. I'm going to make all of the keys really hard to find, so I think that I may just allow the cachers to try to find all the keys at the same time.. I don't know.. I've been playing aroud with this idea. If I do allow one person to get all the keys if he can, it will allow FTF to be like the rush of a real treasure hunt.. whoever finds 'em first gets 'em first. I can just imagine a bunch of the FTF people from around here meeting up at the key locations, all looking for four little keys.. and when one finds one, I can see the others just steaming over it and searching even harder for the other three while that one goes off and gets the FTF prize. Then of course.. one of the keys could go missing. I guess I could make copies, hah. The only other problem is that the cache will be kinda costly. Each of the caches will cost me about $20, then I have to put FTF prizes in all four.. and then maintain all four.. but I'm willing to do this cause this cache idea sounds fun. What do you guys think? And if anyone wants to steal my idea, you can.. and you don't even have to give me any credit! Well.. as long as you're not from my area.. if you are, wait till I have mine out, then copy it!

There have been times.. even like when I was going out to cache earlier today.. when I'll start to go into the woods to look for a cache, and there will be a decently stamped-down, walked-on trail that other cachers in the past have made. Some of them lead right up to the cache! Although I've been at this for a year, I kinda stopped for a couple of months, so I'm still relatively new. I try to watch where I step and replace things or not move them at all.

So yeah.. I'm tired of all the paper and ink and stuff, and I need to look at some good PDAs for paperless geocaching. Wireless internet would be a huge plus, but really, I'm just looking to see if there are any good deals. Thanks!

Lol.. didn't really think about that. Actually, I just used these type of containers in a Puzzle Cache. The coordinates lead you to some type of sign or direction, and you have to walk in that direction and search for the cache! For stages 1 - 3, you are looking for those containers wrapped in camo tape. The final stage is the arrow in a parking lot which points towards a creek 20 feet away with the actual cache. I guess it must be hard, because no has found it after a week.. or maybe they're not interested?

Ya know.. thinking about logging a find when you actually didn't find anything really just blows my mind.. I love the feeling of of finding an evil cache that is hidden in plain sight, even when it may have taken me three to four trips to find it! Posting DNFs just make posting that final Found It! so much better!!

Maybe he was hitting on you.

I meant to post this earlier, but about two weeks ago I set out to a local area with my pal Arcaiden for a day of geocaching. We decided the first stop would be at a waterfall nearby called Longwood Falls. The waterfall is a result of a man-made dam, and is only about 20 ft tall, but it is still a really cool place, plus it has a cache on the hillside woods off of the trail. We found the cache easily enough, and was signing and taking pictures of different travel bugs and ourselves when we heard some voices. We looked down the trail to see some young kids running up the trail. We decided to do be all stealth-like and hide in some nearby brush. At times they came within ten feet of us and had no idea we were even there. The falls helped cover up the noise we couldn't help but make moving through the brush. We decided to head through the woods further up the trail, then emerge onto the trail, and walk back towards the car. That way we would pass them as if we had been we had just been walking on the trail itself. As we were doing so, they were returning from where they came! So we rushed back into some brush right as they ran where we were emerging. Eventually they ran off, and we got back on the trail and back to the car. We also concluded that they were the type of teenagers that would ruin the cache if they found it, cause they broke a lot of bottles while we were hidden. Oh well.. guess doing things like that must be cool at that age.. So tell me, has anyone else had a close encounter with a muggle or two, but hidden well enough that they had no idea you were there?

You know what one of the best micro's I use are? Wrap some camo-tape around both parts, include a rare earth magnet on the top, underneath the camo-tape, and you have yourself a waterproof, magnetic, micro container! The only problem is you have to fold up the log instead of rolling. Not a bad downside, though! Edit: I forgot to say that you need to separate the left capsule from the right, and shave off the remaining excess plastic. Not too hard and totally worth it!

The ones I use are at http://home.triad.rr.com/tonemeister/pics/...Log%20Sheet.pdf. Edit: This may seem obvious, but just in case: Print front and back, that way the lines are on the back too.

I haven't graduated high school.. but my part-time job is Student Intern at Westwood Baptist Church, and I love it. I plan to have a career based around ministry.

Well, I'm still new to geocaching, but here are the worst things I have found at one cache site: a noose tied around a tree, a knife stuck in a nearby tree, and porn stash on the ground inbetween two adjoining trees. It was my third cache and I didn't know what the container would look like. I ran over to the sack containing the porn and opened it up thinking it was the cache. Boy was I wrong. After that I got out of there pretty quickly. Came back later during the day with a few friends. I knew the area was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad..

One of the funnest things I do while geocaching is going to find different caches with a group of my friends, Team Skyline. It's so much more fun with a small group than to go by myself. We have our on team, (Skyline), and we have a handle for it. I have to log my finds on my name, and then go back and log the finds for my team. This takes some time on the days that we find a lot. It would be so much better if there was a way for a premium member to create a team page for different geocachers to ask to join or be invited to join. Every time a member of the team logs a find, it shows up for the team also, and the team name is mentioned somewhere in the log, maybe in something like a signature. Using this feature, cachers could also see when the next "team caching day" is, and what caches they will set out to try to find. They could maybe write messages to each other team member and maybe have some competition with other teams from the same area. Wouldn't that be a great way for cachers to enjoy this sport even more? In some areas it's also safer. I hardly ever go out looking for caches by myself. So there's my idea. Negative or positive responses are great, and expanding on the idea is even greater. I've seen a lot of team handles on the logs, and I just think this would help out so much. Thanks!