wdfod

Unfortunately BrokenW is getting the most grief over this and really they tried to create a good EC. They had been out to the site within the last month and simply forgot to mark the waypoint of the sign so they used existing coordinates of another cache. However, it brought to light what some other people have been doing with ECs. To me, placing caches from your computer is about as fun and exciting as Travel Bug porn. And yet, people do it just to inflate their numbers. M.

A bit more research this morning shows that the Earthcache at Old Faithful is owned by a team from Boise. They used someone else's coordinates and a question that I found the answer to via my friend google in about 10 seconds. However, they do require a picture so this earthcache can be logged by anyone who can produce a picture of someone at Old Faithful. Gee, I think I can dig one of those up. Let me consult my friend google again. Is this what gc.com intended to have happen? Do they realize they are likely to be innudated with earthcaches placed right on top of traditionals by people who don't want to leave their computers to go visit the site? Do they realize the listing requirements are so simple that earthcaches now have no educational experience or credibility? I think Old Faithful is certainly worthy of an earthcache. But shouldn't we require that the hider of that cache actually visit the site and learn something and that we in turn learn something as well? Sorry guys, I think the reintroduction of the earthcache wasn't well thought out. M.

Well it certainly is a worthy location. No one will ever doubt that. Honestly you probably could have looked on Google Earth and gotten pretty close to the sign, rather than using the coords of the existing cache. (If that violates gc.com policy, forget I said it!) As to what to do now...just slow down. Talk to the original hider. Then make a decision on what you want to do. Ignore any/all nasty emails. If people have an opinion worth listening to, they'll state it in open forum. M.

There are three new earthcaches in SW Idaho. All have identical coordiantes to an existing cache. BW had said they intended to go back out and mark the waypoint where the sign is actually located. Now it seems they archived the cache instead. M.

At no point did I say I thought it should be archived. My purpose in coming to these forums was to see if they knew this was going on with Earthcaches. Granted you may have visited the site recently, but others in our area have not. They're listing Earthcaches using other peoples coordinates and internet information. Does that seem okay to you? M.

Here in Idaho we are seeing an interesting trend with Earthcaches. A newer cacher places an Earthcache using the existing coordinates from a traditional cache that has been in place for a few years. The information on the cache page is nearly identical in some instances, or just adds a bit of information that anyone could find on the internet. In one case the Earthcache hider didn't even log the original cache which makes me wonder if they've been there at all. The Earth caches all reference the orignial hide, but in no case did they email the original hider and ask if they minded placing the earth cache using their coordinates and/or information. I was sort of excited about seeing Earthcaches come back, but what the heck is the point of me going to one location to log two caches? There is apparently no 1/10 mile rule in place for these earth caches. What does everyone think about this? Okay? Stinky? Sorry if it's been covered, I searched for a thread, but didn't find one. M.

I take my kids caching with me and a soccer ball. In grassy areas we can just let the kids kick the ball around while we survey the area and narrow down the location of the cache. One or two of us will go for the cache while the other two provide soccer playing cover. Kids are also handy for things hidden under park benches. If I'm laying on the ground looking under a bench, it would look really odd. If my 7 year old is doing it, it just looks like a kid laying under a bench for fun. (Ok, they probably think I'm a weenie parent for letting my kid play under the bench, but I know I have a purpose.) If we are in a wooded area, the kids gather sticks/leaves/rocks. We look like we are just on a nature walk gathering items. If someone approaches us, my oldest knows to come over saying, "Look at this cool rock mom! I'll go find more!" So they assume that I'm just letting the kids explore. M.

You can check at your local library for books on codes and ciphers. Learning about them will help you recognize them when you see them. However, the best puzzles I've seen are not in any book. They come out of the hiders mind. They can be based on things totally unrelated to codes and ciphers. Sometimes I'll be out and about town and see something that clicks and I know how the code was created. Sometimes I figure them out in the few minutes right before I drift off to sleep. (Keep paper and pen by the bed, you'll never remember it in the morning. ) And sometimes they continue to haunt my dreams, mocking me for months, until there is sweet release. For that reason, learn everything you can about your hider. You want to be able to think just like him/her. I'm not saying you should stalk them, just get to know them and what they are interested in. Maggie

Anyone easily grossed out should stop skip this post entirely. When Mr. Wdfod shot his bear earlier this year we did the skull ourselves, following the instructions of the taxidermist who is making our rug. We boiled it in Arm and Hammer Sal Soda until all the teeth fell out and the meat came off easily. Getting the brains out is the hardest part. On a large skull you can make a little wing shaped thing to put on a drill to scramble the brains and reduce them to small enough chunks that they will come out. Do it outdoors and spray a high pressure hose in the skull cavity. Since your skulls have been out in the elements, you're going to want to be very careful with that part. We soaked ours in 40 volume hair bleach from the local beauty supply store. It is lovely. It is not bright white, more a realistic ecru. Rinse very well. We did NOT coat it in varnish since that will yellow more over the years than the skull itself will. Oh, and it doesn't smell great so use the outdoor stove. You'll probably want to use a really old pot. We bought an old enamelware one at St. Vinnies for the bear skull. I've seen beetled skulls, they are nice as well. Maggie edit: Oops, forgot to tell you to let it dry for a couple days, then superglue the teeth back in. Unfortuantlely to find them you have to sort through all the meat gunk that came off the skull. It is sort of like a puzzle to figure out where they all go. But big bear teeth only had one correct hole and one correct direction that would work.

True, but most people realize that their cache will come up in everyone's PQs. I think what the OP was curious about is who is interested in all activity on a cache. My experience, while limited, is that if is it a cache lots of people are watching, they are frequently viewing the cache page. On my subscriber only cache, I have people who have viewed the page almost 30 times. I know they are the ones most interested in finding it. M.

There is a way to get around it, if you so desire... When you set up a subscriber only cache, you can view a log of every member who has visited the page. It tells the date/time of their last visit and how many times they have visited the page. Handy info sometimes. Margo

Is it polyalphabetic with a keyword? Or do you just know it has keyword? M.

I'm sure you are correct. There is an Idaho cacher who hit a cow while out caching. It is some great reading. See here. He was fine, the car was not. I also recall a story last December about some kids who went on their first geocache down in the Snake River canyon. They had to be rescued. I think they all lived, though one was pretty seriously injured. The cache they appeared to be attempting has clear instructions of how to safely access it, but they choose their own route, ran out of daylight and one fell attempting to climb back out. Margo

We meet other cachers pretty frequently and give them both our geocaching name (Wdfod) with a correct pronunciation (say each letter, don't make it into a word) and where it came from (short story: we don't know what it means). We also tell them our real names (Joe and Margo). Meeting other cachers is one of the best parts of the game in my opinion. I'm fortunate enough to live in an area where we have monthly events. We have also invited cachers to our home and been invited to others. The first cacher I ever met was Renegade Knight. I was at my fourth cache or so. I was glad to have someone to search with as there was a dead cow, a dead dog, lots of garbage, stinging nettle, and wasps. If I hadn't met him, I may very well have given up on the sport since that cache was not my idea of fun. He advised me to log my DNF and while he managed to find it the next day, I learned early on to pick and choose my caches to suit my tastes. Recently we ran into a cacher that we had met briefly at an event, but hadn't really talked to. We were just on our way to dinner and invited her along. We went to dinner, then went back to our house for margaritas and a discussion of SkinGuy's puzzle caches. I daresay I've made a new friend. Margo

Yep. We have found Pez, Starburst that were hard as rocks, and a stick of gum. We always remove them and deposit them in the trash. One notable item we found in the middle of bear country was a half used tube of lip balm for treating coldsores. Ewww. Imagine if the bears found it. I think a bear with a herpetic infection would be quite angry, not to mention that they would probably spread the infection to their own nether regions thereby increasing their anger exponentially. (Okay so that part probably wouldn't happen...but ewww.) Margo

Amen. My glass is half full. Sounds like yours is too. Sometimes it is half full...sometimes it is empty. Then I order another round and it is full again. M.

Amen! If I was at that sort of event cache I would have looked over at another Garmin user and said, "Hey! This isn't what I came for...wanna go grab a beer?" People can get all worked up about a mistake, or they can take it in stride and continue on with life. Guess which group is comprised of happier people? Margo

Let me preface all comments by saying I am a cacher without angst. I have had signed a fresh logsheet only to get home and see that someone who found it after me but logged it online before me claimed FTF. Oh well...water off a ducks back. I don't hold that against them. I honestly can't remember the name of the cacher that did it. No grudges here. If you know you were the FTF and the other two cachers know you were the FTF, what else matters? What the note poster thinks really doesn't matter. Perhaps you could write him an email and ask what he meant. It could lead to a greater understanding of each other and possibly even a caching friendship. Or, it could lead to a big fight. Depends on the amount of angst present. I would still go look for the note posters caches. Just my two cents. Margo

I don't have a wife...but I am one. Every Mother's Day when Joe asks what I want to do, I say geocaching. But, not everyone is fortunate enough to be married to me. Anytime a woman uses the word "obsessed" what she usually means is that you aren't spending enough time with her. My advice (if you seek it...if not, stop reading) is to put down the GPS and spend time doing what she likes. If you hope to convert her, introduce her to the sport slowly. Find out what she likes to do and take on those types of caches. Whether is it hiking, park hides, or puzzle caches, she is bound to like some aspect of the sport. Make it easy, light and fun. Don't try and do 20 caches in a day with a newbie wife. It may also help to go to an event cache and get to know other cachers so you can cache with others. Find another couple you like and make it a social occassion. Hang in there! M.

The virtual find of travel bugs at event caches is quite common out here. At every event we have a collection of 15-20 bugs and whoever touches them writes down the number. They log it out of and back into the event cache. I call it travel bug fondling. And the people who fondle them...well, I suppose there are worse perversions. Having only recently been exposed to it, I pretty quickly decided it wasn't my cup o' tea. Margo