Understandblue

Online advertising pays for the infrastructure and people needed to run "free" sites like this. As long as it's not pop ups or auto-roll video with sound, it's a pretty small price to pay for so many resources and all the technology behind them. This is one of the most ad-free sites I use - it's pretty unobtrusive here. I'm in the same line of work they are, and a lot of people think that premium memberships, etc. pay the bills, but they usually don't. It takes a lot of cash to run a successful site like this, and ads are a pretty good bargain for users, in my opinion.

Took the words right out of my mouth

My caching buddy and I stumbled out of the woods in McKinney Falls State park to be confronted with a giant man in what looked like a Greek warrior outfit of some sort. He said "I have a strange question for you - do you know where the wardrobe trailer is?" I said "Are you going to kill us?" He said he was not going to kill us, and that he was part of a group that runs a camp where they act out the entire Percy Jackson series in the park. That was fun, and strange. We found him a park ranger to help him find the wardrobe trailer. He didn't kill us

Jinx

It's called inattentional blindness http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/But-Did-You-See-the-Gorilla-The-Problem-With-Inattentional-Blindness-165589646.html

I'd check for a typo. It's unlikely that a phone would have you off by more than a tenth of a mile. They're normally 50 or so feet off if you're relying on the Groundspeak app. One easy way to see if you're in the ballpark is to paste the coords into Google Maps and zoom in - that will point out any obvious errors. Get an app called iGCT Pro - it takes much more accurate readings than the geocaching app and may help you with placement.

I think all things that people are passionate about can have that transformational effect on people. That's why when I was an HR director I never hired anyone who couldn't name off a few hobbies that consumed them - they never made good employees. People who think other people's hobbies are silly just haven't found their own passion yet. This is a story about a very prolific local geocacher that I think is a really cool example of what you mean. You never know what is going to reach a person - if it's an ammo can, so be it.

Welcome to geocaching!! Yes, you can overthink it. One of the first caches I found was a magnetic nano on a fire hydrant. I had NO CLUE what I was looking for and went back multiple times. Just keep going. When you get to about 10 finds you'll have a feel for what you're doing and be more confident. If the app shows you where it is, it's doubtful it's on the other side of the street. That's my experience with the Iphone app anyway. The price for both the app and the premium membership are so worth it.

I would go find a wide variety of hides after reading the rules. Read ALL the rules. Twice Different sorts of containers and hides will educate you a lot. Also read a lot of the logs, the hints, etc. of the caches that you find. Determine what YOU like in a hide, and then you'll know better what you want to do. Learn about puzzle caches because those will affect where you can place a cache. Be ready to maintain it, so think about the location carefully. If you cache with an Iphone, not a GPS, you'll need a good dedicated GPS app in addition to the Groundspeak app so that your coords are accurate. Read, read, read. I've only hidden two after 500 finds because I'm still learning what people like, think is fun, etc. and the best way to do that is to go find some.

Seriously. I'm jealous of all the streakers in cooler states this month!

Growling isn't typical behavior for felines that aren't actively in the process of fighting with or eating you - they're pretty stealthy if you look delicious. Canines are much more likely to growl as a warning. I think I'd be more worried about a wolf. The coyotes here will run right past you in the dark - I hear them yipping a lot in our parks, but I've never heard one growl. What a fun and scary mystery!

Holy cow on the bear print!!

I can't decide what is the most disturbing aspect of this - a noodle terrorist or the fact that there is such a thing as spicy kimchi flavored microwaveable noodles.

Thanks!

I'm having the same issue. Was wondering if it was Firefox, so I guess this is my answer.

This was so sad. The BC Greenbelt is very challenging - especially the section where you have to cling to that chain to get over the narrow, slippery limestone ledge that's about half a shoe wide. I've really been scared a few times retrieving cliff caches in there and am always thanking my lucky stars when we get out. Last week I ran full speed into a prickly pear when I was bushwhacking - it was in waist high grass and I just didn't see it. I spent the next 20 minutes pulling spines out of my thigh - some were so deep it almost made me ill. Then I was left with the teeny ones that are like fiberglass that I just had to live with for a while. I cache with a nurse and we are always getting stabbed and scratched with smilax and God knows what else. She keeps telling me to go get a tetanus shot - I probably need to do that soon.

You're brave caching at 2 AM! Although, in this heat, I might be tempted I've had fun doing this streak, and it's helping motivate me to complete my 365 streak too, which ends on the 22nd. Let's see, well on the 8th day of geocaching, my true love gave to me..... a stolen moped in the woods... Then today, I found my first chirp cache. I cache with an Iphone, so I used the Wahoo Fitness key and it worked perfectly! So fun to add a new cache type during the streak. Since it's 8 billion degrees here right now, I'm finding myself doing more urban caching, and working on a few puzzles for a few extra minutes in the AC. I think the new graphics are great - fun to see those pop up every day.

I wanted to let you know that when you're viewing the forums from the mobile site browser version, there's a link at the bottom that says "Get the free IP board app for Iphone now!" and if you click it, it tells you the app isn't available. You may want to let the IP board people know to remove that from the mobile version of the site. Thank you!

Thanks Justin!

Yes it's been getting progressively worse for several days - we first noticed Wednesday or Thursday from the app and downhill from there. Really feels like a snowballing DDOS.

Has a DDOS feel. The geocaching version of Moriarty doesn't want us to complete our streaks!

+1 I was floored at this: got it down without climbing the pole, but needs to be replaced. its in same cords but lower elevation Yikes. I've been lucky enough to see some super tricky aerial hides here and I would not dismantle them and claim a find. I would be mortified if I broke one. Luckily I'm too short to be in danger of doing that

I have a 4S and have zero problems with accuracy (except in heavily treed or building echo areas). But I live at sea level with lots of open spaces so maybe that helps. I cache with a friend with an Android phone and her accuracy seems to be about the same. When I have settling problems, I use the IGCT pro app and it seems to give me more accurate coordinates. But I've done that maybe 2/500 times.

Line of sight - Most fun day I've ever spent geocaching GCHPDT Dear Mom - Such a sweet surprise - totally caught me off guard - GC39N55 Kaiju Cache - Gamera This was the COOLEST camo GC4D6YR Archimedes was a principled man GCQP1K - best use of a puzzle ever!

I definitely recommend the local events. I learned SO much in just my first few events - the ins and outs of trackables, challenges, etc. - and have met many caching friends. It's also really fun to go caching in a group with differing skills - especially if there's a tree climber in the bunch I was very intimidated to put out a cache as well, so good for you for doing so many as a newbie. It's the only way to learn what to do/not to do. Just have fun and don't worry too much