Bamboogirl

Google Earth is an excellent way to tell if the caches you are looking at includes a decent hike. Download the link from your account page and enable it when you open up Google Earth. You should then be able to look at a given park or wilderness area and see what caches are where. Or if you have a cache in mind, enter it's coords in GE and then see where it takes you So this is actually doing it rather backward - we identify the park we want to hike, go to GE and then look to see where caches are in a given park. There are almost always caches in everything but National Parks (sigh) And there are plenty at the end of some hikes that will challenge the heartiest (craziest) of hikers.

Metal detectors "Those who want to use metal detectors in parks must get written permission first and are asked to notify the city if they find anything of potentially significant historical or monetary value. Treasure seekers are asked to dig no deeper than 2 feet and to cover any holes they create. Geocaching, an outdoor treasure-hunting game where people intentionally bury objects for others to find, is prohibited." Let me get this straight.....it's ok for a guy with a metal detector to dig a hole 2 feet deep when the thing goes "BEEP", but not ok to place a cache????

A sock puppet is one 'mouth' speaking while disguised as something/someone else. We hear Lambchop speaking, but knew it was Shari Lewis inside of Lambchop. (God, I'm old.....)

Backpacker magazine just had a good article on the effectivness of DEET and other compounds claiming to save us from 'squitos and other things that bite. Here's the link to the main page Backpacker Magazine Bottom line is that DEET at 100% is not more effective that DEET at 30% but that the duration between applications is longer - 6-hour intervals for the 100% and 2-3 for the 30%. We just returned (sadly) from a 6-day trip on the Middle Fork of the Salmon chasing cutthroat trout (no caches allowed out there) DEET was our friend, but at 100% the stuff is just nasty. Diluting with a reasonable ratio of distilled water would be the logical fix - IPA would possibly damage the effectiveness. If you look through the Backpacker site, there is also discussion on DEET strengths appropriate for kids. Given that the effectivness is the same, but only the application time is changed, using the lower concentration and remembering to reapply seems a much better way to go. One other thing - if you do get bit, Benadryl makes this spiffy small point contact stick that you apply at the bite site that really takes the itch out. It's little and well worth having around.

We're planning to drive through Washington and down to Stanley Idaho next weekend for a week's fishing on the Salmon river. Looking at the route today, I realized that the take out for the trip was 100 miles north - far enough for the trip back to take us through Montana on the return drive. I'd called my husband to tell him and he immediately asked if the Montana part would let us add another state to the cache collection and if I had already planned which ones we should go after. Now I just need to figure out if I can stop fishing long enough to find a couple along the river..... Bliss.

If someone is going to leave baseball cards or matchbooks/boxes (some of which are quite cool) in a cache, then putting them in a ziplock with an explanation of WHY it's a cool trade would separate it from the geotrash category..... "This matchbox came from the Tonga Room in SF in the 1940s..... "This is Honus Wagner's only card........ That would make things interesting. Bet a lot more folks would scramble up some rock pile to find one of those! I don't think I've EVER seen a baseball card in a cache that wasn't a soggy mess.

If the requirement for placing a new cache included "and it can't be in a form previously used..." the game would come to a huge crashing end. If the idea is to give the cache finder an enjoyable experience and something to chuckle over, then a lamp post in the middle of the woods would sure work. A lamp post in the middle of nowhere - especially if it were wired for solar and lit up - would be worth the trek just to see it.

Had some help when doing the Indian Montage series at Coyote Hills. Wish I could take credit for these, but hubby Waylon has all the photo talent in the family And when doing Maya Silver No Snakes yet but working on it.....

Sounds like a very very romantic thing to do! Extra BF points for you! If all goes well, you may decide to follow it up with something like Marry Me! which is up on the Wild & Scenic section of the Rogue River in Oregon. It's a bit out in the sticks and a good scramble up the rocks from the river, but well worth the stop if you are floating by. In the cache is a lovely note about the site being the location where the cashe owner proposed. We FTF'd it on a steelhead trip last fall.

Possibly something about 'treading lightly' to offset the picture of a bunch of crazies running loose in the woods in a 'slash and burn' finding frenzy? There's been several threads about minimizing impact on the environment.

Aside from the total coolness factor of the machete-thing which I would love to have: BENADRYL. A few in their usual sealed foil cards are very handy in case of bites or stings or into some allergen that surprises you way out in the sticks. Finding out the hard way that something may trigger a violent allergic reaction and not having any around is not a fun thing. (Voice of experience here, so I always have some in whatever pack I'm using)

Had watched geocaching when it first started up, but didn't dive into it till much later despite thinking it was a cool idea - so I had to have the GPS so I could cache.

We just returned from a week in Maui. Aside from a serious case of a lack of Palm trees back at the office, I found out exactly what makes me cringe cache-wise: VACATION CACHES! A cache that has the caveat: "I'm here on business 3 or 4 times a year and have a friend who can take care of it for me." Maui Valley of the Stones While the location was great, finding the bottom half of a Gladware container wrapped in leaky grabage bags is not the best way to get one's kids jazzed about caching. One other was also a heartbreaker - this is one of the premiere spots on Maui for snorkeling and a not-to-be missed spot even if fins are not your thing Sunglass The owner isn't active any more, but the cache gets a lot of action - and it's not an easy hike at all, so muggles aren't an issue. But the TBs need updating as do the coordinates. Anyone not reading the logs before they go will be frustrated searching. Aside from that, we found a handful of great spots and other caches that belong on the 'really great cache' listings. But with all the tourists on Maui cacheing, some may migrate just because of 'vacation brain' Waihee Valley Dam Fits that one. But still worth the hike!

You may be a cacher if Your upcoming vacation to Maui is divided into Caching Days based on geological terrain: Lahaina, Bamboo forest, snorkel caches and lava beds You have two lists of caches for each area. Each day we will pick a list and those are the caches to find. Son #2 shows up Sunday morning with a brand new shiny Garmin after calling Son #1 and telling him not to plan anything because they were teaming up to teach the "Old People" how to find caches. This of course after my husband suggested that Son #2 couldn't find his butt in the woods with a map a flashlight AND a GPS. So much for hanging around the pool sipping pina coladas.....

Because it gets us off our butts and out of the house. On to a trail we've not walked or a park we dind't know or a lake that looks like it needs a return trip with a fly rod. Because that GPS is just too much fun to use for a paperweight and I must follow the little arrow. Because that little arrow points to a tin box full of useless stuff under a rock and it will bug me till I find it. Because knowing that useless box of stuff is just another half-mile up a pile of rocks and brambles makes it a joy to climb the pile. Because when I get to the top of the pile and shake off the brambles, I may see something amazing. Or not. But I still was willing to make the climb to look. Clearly, we all are out of our minds. But it's too much fun, so why stop now?

Has anyone tried saving those little packs of dessicant that seem to be shipped in all sorts of different products? I keep a few in the hard case for my digital camera when I go snorkeling and they help with fogging up and just provide some 'insurance'. Granted they won't help if the log gets poured on, but with the usual dampness they may keep things drier. Just an idea - I have a few that I am going to mess with. Have not looked for a source of them online, but they must be out there somewhere.

Has anyone tried saving those little packs of dessicant that seem to be shipped in all sorts of different products? I keep a few in the hard case for my digital camera when I go snorkeling and they help with fogging up and just provide some 'insurance'. Granted they won't help if the log gets poured on, but with the usual dampness they may keep things drier. Just an idea - I have a few that I am going to mess with. Have not looked for a source of them online, but they must be out there somewhere.

I am often in a quandry about what to leave in a cache - and do think finding a cool polished stone is very fun! It shows some thought and desire to share an interest or bit of knowledge. We'll often leave Sacajawea dollars or foreign currency - thinking the idea is to leave something interesting to carry around that not everyone will have instant access to. We rarely take anything out unless it's a TB. The times that I don't find some garbage left in a cache - a cigarette or broken fishing reel (for goodness' sake!) or some half-chewed toy are rare. It does fry me that a cacher can spend the $$$ and time to set up a GPS, plan a hike, crawl all over the place to find something and then can't bother to bring something fun along to leave. It's just part of preparing to go caching! Ok, sorry, enough ranting. LOL

Caching indeed makes a person get off their butts and go. It's a great hobby and opens up whole new views of things. We're working through caches now on the Mission Peak range - steep but gorgeous. It's amazing how the promise of a log to sign and a box of doodads to look through makes it easier to crawl up another mile of hillside! There's about 35 in this area Mission Peak Regional Preserve and by the time we find them all, I should be down another size in jeans....or need a new knee. The good people that keep caches like these and all the other cool places derserve our thanks!

After a year of this, it's way beyond fun and responsible for getting us to a lot of new places. First cache - a micro by my house in the "Joe Spaz" series in Fremont. I think I walked into the tree that held the micro while fiddling with the GPS. Second one was Tired of the Fremont Drive-by Micro's? That pretty much says it all. Hiking up, scrambling around and crawling up a slope to a cache - now that's FUN!

Tape the end of an Ipod headphone to your GPS and plug it in your ears. Dance around like an idiot, a little air guitar, some moonwalking, really bad singing, etc. People will give you a wide berth.

Let's see..... two GPS..... One Magellen (that's too slow, not all that accurate and I can barely see the screen on) $350 something. One Garmin $450 something and worth every penny. Mapping software - $100 Premium subscription - $30 Random swag - who knows? Messing with cammo stuff - $15. Bandaids, ace bandages, dry boots, asprin, advil, etc- $300 Sunblock, snorkel gear - $200 Jeep, used - $4500 Parachute gear, small plane - $80k Private Island to have new places to hide caches - $4M or so, depends on final deal Plane tix - lots of frequent flier miles See new places, meet lots of interesting folks, look at a whole lot of rocks and shrubs. All in all, seems like a pretty good deal!

Things Parents frequently tell their children: "Look at you. How did you get so filthy dirty?" "Put that down. You don't know where it's been." "Get out of that tree. Do you want to break your arm?" "Where were you?" "Why do you keep staring at your feet mumbling? Look at me when I talk to you." "Get out from under that bush." "Take your hand out of there. There could be snakes/spiders/things that bits in there." "What are you doing with all that junk?" "You could at least leave a note so I'll know where to look for your body." "Oh no. You are NOT going to climb up that cliff/down a mine shaft just because your friends are." "Get out of the house. It's too nice to sit in front of the TV/computer/video game all day." Geocaching give us all an excuse to torment our parents. We are simply reliving our childhoods with better toys.

Jeeeez. What's next - a Pico cache? A cache at atomic level? That one better be at the coordinates marked or the hints should include bringing a portable microscope.

This cache Snorkel Cache went live when I was in Maui over Halloween. We were going after it as it looked well prepared and a great spot to snorkel. Sadly the water was blown out and there was a hefty swell so we passed. Was hoping to get back to it this spring but it looks like it has been muggled - or torn up in the last storm that came through (Both are common problems in Hawaii, especially for those by the shores) Hopefully it will get repaired, but the initial setup is not cheap.