bjohio

If possible, turn the screen brightness down. That makes a HUGE difference in battery life on my iPhone. +1 on the the car charger. Bought mine on Amazon for $5 +1 on the portable battery. New Trent makes a nice line of portable USB batteries. I never leave home without one.

+1 That's probably my average. Of course, that would change depending on the type of hide.

I would have to agree that this statement is spot on. I remember finding my first trackable and not knowing exactly what to to do with it (how to log it, the different log options, etc.). I don't want to derail the thread topic, but it does beg the question, "How log DO you wait until you mark a TB as missing and then send out a proxy?"

Ah, but that's the key... do you mind it they shortcut it, or do you feel that's truly a required part of the adventure? If it's not truly required but okay with you if they use ingenuity to solve the puzzle in other ways without driving to the corners of the county, then I wouldn't say that it is required. But if you state that it is required, then I would consider shortcutting it to be cheating. If you don't consider that cheating, I'd take out the word required. When I wrote the cache listing, I had no idea that it was possible find the cache without driving. Obviously, I knew people could come close, but I was quite surprised to see them find it without driving. Honestly, I was a bit miffed at first when jarcc found it without driving . But, I'm good friends with him and he said, "A signed log is a signed log." He's right. It's no different than accidentally finding a cache while your out, or working together as a team to find a cache. I'm not going to tell people how to play the game. I enjoy people finding my caches. How they do it is up to them. A signed log is a signed log.

I have a new multi that requires you to travel to the four corners of the county to gather clues to find the final (GC4DF8P). It's roughly a 120 mile drive to complete the cache. Most of the cachers have avoided the drive by using their smarts to figure out where the final would likely be. Leave it to the ingenuity of a geocacher to make short work of a difficult problem.

I have the same bike! It's a 2004 and it's PERFECT for caching. To make the bike a little more "user friendly" during long days of riding, I added some highway pegs (from Arrowhead Motorsports) and a cruise control lock (modified Vista Cruise). For my GPS, I have a Garmin Nuvi 50ml that mounted to my handle bars using a RAM mount. It's powered by a cigarette lighter adapter I bought for my battery tender tail hanging from the battery. I have a GIVI luggage box mounted behind the seat for food, water, and other supplies. If it starts to rain, I pull over and slip a ziplock baggie over the the Garmin and I'm good to go. Mine gets about 55 miles a gallon. True story: While caching one day, I pulled into a McD's for a cache, and a guy pulled up behind me in the parking lot with a pickup truck and trailer, eating a sandwich. He just came through the drive thru, saw the bike, pulled back in and wanted to by it from me on the spot! After talking with him a few minutes, I determined that he was dead serious. I had to tell him no, but I have to say that it really made my day. The only time that I've every had an issue motorcycle caching was when I parked in some gravel one time. I usually put a small piece of wood under the side stand shoe when parking, but I was expecting a quick P&P. As I walked away from the bike I heard CLUCK. I look over and the bikes on its side in the gravel. It broke the tip off of the clutch level but it was still rideable. The highway pegs I put on just a week earlier saved me from further damage. I can't say enough good things about the KLR. Easy to work on and fairly inexpensive to maintain. The new ones have a 6.1 gallon fuel tank!!! Now that's a geo-cycle! I've read that the military has a diesel version that gets 96 miles a gallon.

Yep, that seemed to solve the problem - thanks! It works like a champ. Now to find a good cache location.

I've been playing around with a few test intercaches of my own. I LOVE the simple layout but I am having trouble getting the navigation to work correctly on my iPhone 5. It's like the iPhone is not receiving the data to update the navigation display on the screen. It frequently shows an accuracy of 1-3 MILES! My iPhone works perfectly fine for finding caches with the Geocaching.com app. I did get data to update correctly once and the page worked correctly.

Admittedly, my logs tend to be on the short side. I can't stand typing on my cell phone. But, I tried to make up for that on find 700 and 701. The day started with 692 finds. It was overcast on this Nation's 145th Memorial Day. The plan was to make GC3N45K "That dam cache #1" my 700th find. If my search proved fruitless, I would move on to GC3R19Z "That Dam Cache #2". After finishing a delicious lunch prepared by my wife, I set out to Fremont to reach #699. With the air heavy with moisture, I set out to avenge a DNF from a previous outing. As I arrived at GC4ABXW "Tindall Bridge 2", my mind was flooding with horrific memories of the sight of my motorcycle laying on it's side in the gravel after the side stand slipped in the stones the last time I was here. Perhaps this event led to my DNF. Today was a new day and I made short order of this previous misadventure. Six caches and one DNF later, I had finally arrived at the elusive #699. At this point, it was time for dinner. After a satisfying meal prepared by my wonderful wife, I set out to find "That Dam Cache (#1)". Studying several aerial and topographical maps revealed the most prudent approach to be from the East side of the cache. Even though an approach from the East was ill-advised due to muggle issues, I had to take my chances due to the foreboding weather conditions and my lack of suitable gear to fight the raging rapids that lied before me. I parked as close as I could to ground zero. Much to my relief, there was not a muggle insight. I made a final check of all the gear I would need on this journey. Two gel pens, iPhone 5 in a Ziplock bag, rain hat, overalls, gloves, and knee-high rubber boots completed the ensemble. A preliminary survey of the area several days prior uncovered a fairly safe and direct route to GZ. I placed the cell phone baggie in my mouth and carefully made my way across the moving currents. The stones were thick with deep green moss that made each step perilous and fraught with danger. It was starting to sprinkle. With my arms extended for balance, I reached the archipelago miraculously with nary a drop of water in my shoe. As I set foot upon the island, I could feel the crunch of sand and seashells below my feet. The area was lush with all types of vegetation. The copious amounts of poison ivy made the search even more treacherous. I moved South down the island as I started my search not exactly sure what kind of container to expect. I knew that it would have to survive savage weather conditions. I came upon numerous fallen trees, their bark was stripped clean from the millions of gallons of water that have flown down this ancient river. Moving to the highest fallen tree would give me the best view of the area. My strategy worked as I quickly spotted the prize. Before opening the cache, I made a mental note of the ingenious method the cache owner used to keep the cache in place during times of high water levels. I opened the cache and noticed the log sheet stuck to the side, inside the container. This couldn't be good… After dumping a half a teaspoon of water out of the container, I pulled the soaked log sheet out. At that point I had realized, much to my dismay, that I had left all of my spare log sheets and baggies back in my car. I made my best attempts to remove as much moisture from the log sheet by pressing it against my my overalls. Past experience has taught me that gel pens do write fairly well on a wet log sheet if you can get the ink flowing first. For each pen stroke, I drew a line on my overalls and then put a stroke on the log sheet while the ink was still fresh. After completing the log, I reassembled the cache, put away my blue gel pen and started to make my way to shore. The sprinkles turned into a steady rain as I retraced my steps back to my vehicle. Time to move on to GC3R19Z "That Dam Cache #2"… Thanks for making find #700 so memorable. Favorite awarded for a wonderful location. And log 701 The now steady rain was reminiscent of our Nation's fallen's heros on this somber Memorial Day. I had just completed GC3N45K "That dam cache #1" as my 700th milestone cache. Having learned my lessens from cache #1, I felt it prudent to prepare a spare log sheet and baggie before setting out for cache #2. With the weather conditions taking a turn for the worst, I wasted no time in making my way to GZ. As with the previous cache, I placed my baggie-encased cell phone in my mouth along with the spare log sheet. With my hands now free for balance and stability, I followed an established trail to the river. The trail gave rise to an open mud bed. With each step, my feet sank several inches deep into the thick gelatinous ooze. Moving slowly through the sludge, my feet finally met the rushing water. After assessing several potential routes, I began to step across the moss-covered stones. Even though the cascading water made my footing unsure, it did help wash away the sizable amounts of mud that had accumulated on my knee-high boots. As with the previous cache, the vegetation was thick and varied. Poison ivy, with it's venomous oils, seemed to be everywhere. Due to the steady rain and thick cloud cover, locating ground zero was laborious. My GPS was putting the cache about 30 feet West right in the middle of the rapids. I knew that placing a cache on the bedrock in the rapids was highly unlikely and attributed it to bouncing. Turning South, I immediately came into an immense mass of fallen trees, branches, and (sadly) trash. The assemblage of refuse was at least 6 feet high and over 40 feet wide. If the cache was under this jumble of debris, it was certainly destroyed. I fashioned a walking stick and climbed the mound. Poking through the rubble yielded little progress. Climbing to ground level, I began to search the surrounding area - nothing. Due to inaccurate GPS readings, I speculated that the cache was located further North on another smaller island that was located approximately 40 feet away. However, it became apparent that the coordinates would have to be way off for the cache to be here. Having found the cache owner's other cache coordinates to be very reliable, I abandoned the search in this area. Moving again back to the South, I began to think outside of the box. It was then, through the pouring rain, I saw the prize. As I approached the cache and extended my hand, I realized that, much to my dismay, that the cache was beyond my reach. I was concerned that a single misstep could incapacitate me and then I would be left for dead on this God forsaken region. What to do? A tool… Yes, I needed a tool. I quickly scavenged the island for an object that would allow me access to the booty. Due to the voluminous rubbish that lied about, finding something to make a tool out of was not an issue. After a few adjustments to the tool, I acclimated my body position to the surroundings to reach the cache. Then it happened, I fell. The rain-soaked environment against my slick rubber boots made me loose my footing and I fell hard against my shin. Furthermore, I proceeded to break the tool I had fashioned just moments ago. After collecting myself, I set about finding materials for another tool. With my second tool in hand, I went about getting my body into position to reach the cache. Success!!! Now, with my body in the most awkward of positions, I placed in my gloved left hand, the tool, container, lid and baggie. I grabbed my black gel pen and signed the perfectly dry log sheet. I didn't need my spare log and baggie after all. Carefully, I reassembled the container and placed it back in the state that I had first found it. Wasting no time, I made a bee-line for the shore as the rain was heavy and unrelenting. Discovering a shorter path to the shore, the journey to my vehicle was swift. Thanks for making find #701 so memorable. Favorite awarded for a neat location and very cleaver hide.

When the day of reckoning comes, those who are last to find will be first, and those who are first to find will be last. Humble yourself before Groundspeak, and they will exalt you. And that no cache is hidden from his sight, but all are exposed to those whom have an account. Blessed are those who remain steadfast, for they shall receive a smiley. Muggles are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of Geocaching because of their ignorance that is in them.

I bought the generic version of this a few months ago and LOVE it. UTG Multi-functional Tactical Messenger Bag - Dark Earth

I just purchased a UTG Messenger Bag and I absolutely love it. It's basically a cheaper version of the Jumbo Versipack by Maxpedition. I have it stocked with: water bottle New Trent iCarrier external battery GPS and accessories iPhone baggies (sandwich size and small) paper travel bugs pens, pencils, writing stylus for iPhone (for use with gloves in cold weather) gloves orienteering compass USB port car charger LED flashlight (a FTF prize from jarcc, THANKS! ) SWAG Gerber muli-tool on my belt It sounds like a lot of stuff but on a long day of caching, I use almost everything at least once. I should probably add a small roll of duck tape to my supplies.

CITO???

In the Ohio county where I live, almost every cemetery has a cahce in it (or will have one soon ). Interestingly, I made a one-day stop in Missouri to do some caching and didn't see a single cemetery cache in the area that I was in. I even emailed a Missouri cache owner about it and he said that he had never heard of a cemetery cache. Maybe it is a regional thing. Pros: -Almost a completely muggle-free zone -Lots of great hidey spots along the perimeter of the property -Many are located in remote areas which can be an interesting attraction for cachers Cons: -Permission... (was a lively topic at our last cacher's meeting in my town) -Writing (and hoping people read) the web listing description, attributes, and restrictions. It should be noted that almost every single cemetery cache in my area is located along the property perimeter and NEVER on a grave. Most do not even require you to cross graves to get to them.

If I'm in an area where muggles are watching me and if it looks like they are open to a conversation with a stranger, I also take the time to explain what geocaching is. The last time I did this, I even showed them the hide, how to sign it, how to log it on a phone app, and even game them some signature SWAG with my geo-name and the geocaching.com web site address. Now I have to admit that I probably wouldn't do this to everyone, but we were all on a nature trail which also happen to be a geocaching power trail. I didn't want them to think that I was following them or doing anything weird or suspicious. Actually, they got a really big kick out of it. The way I figure it - if you are caching and spotted by muggles, there is probably a lower chance of the cache being muggled if you take the time to explain what you are doing than to continue with your "suspicious" activity or make up some phony story about what you are doing.

I also cache by myself. My family members have no interest in the hobby. When they do come with me, it's like I am dragging them along. One nice thing about going by myself is that it gives me time to unwind. I forget all of life's issues and problems while I'm out caching.

First, I have to say that I LOVE the app. THANKS! It is was better than the primitive method I was using before. You are awfully nice to offer it for free. Speaking on behalf of fellow benchmark newbies, I have a few quick question. When I "Log bench mark", where is this data going? NGS? Geocaching.com? "Logged Bench marks" bookmarks tab? As kayakbird stated, I'm most interested logging at Geocaching.com and I certainly don't want to mess up the NGS database. Also, I noticed that the iPhone app and the Geocaching.com map are not totally synced (missing benchmarks from each other's maps). What is causing this? Again, thanks for the app.

Another quick way to find your duplicates (and tons of other cool stuff) is visit http://project-gc.com/Profile/FindBadLogs. Log on to your Groundspeak account through this web site and you can access all kinds of useful data.

Nice job with your interview - very well done.

488 Good Luck!

I'd like to simultaneously complete The Great 88 Counties of Ohio and the Ohio Delorme Challenge this summer on my motorcycle. Over the winter, I'm planning my routes to see how long it will take me.

I just set up my notifications a few days ago and that was the very first thing that I noticed. +1 for this feature.