elmuyloco5

My container would be a no-name brand box similar to an otterbox and is about 5x4x3inches. I have some stainless steel chain, but I was thinking it would make the hide too obvious. Is there a better way to make it "hidden"?

I have a waterproof container that I would like to make an underwater cache with. It has a short strap attached to the box, but I will need something longer. Most of the water areas around us are quick moving small rivers. I was thinking of using fishing line as it's clear, but wondered if it would hold up over time in the given conditions. What do some you use?

Try caching at an event (and no, I'm not talking about temps). The two FTFs we've gotten have both been from the groups of permanent caches put out at events. That way, you have a bunch put out new at the same time.....head for one that's off the beaten path and away from the others. FTF hounds tend to go for the ones all grouped together so they can FTF on more.

I'm ISFJ. Suprised to see that I'm introverted as I would not consider myself that way at all, but I also don't thrive on tons of friends, so maybe it's true. After reading about the types, I think I really fit an INFJ more. Most of the "N" qualities fit me. Actually, looking back at the results I got a 50% on both the "s" and the "n", wonder why they chose the "s" for me then? Weird.

Do you have it near fast moving water, or a lake type situation? We mostly have rivers in our area and was wondering how it would hold up.

See, now that would be cool to find. And, don't get me wrong, you don't have to work on the railroad to leave something like that, I was just giving an example. For instance, we have a local caching couple that collects old barbed wire. They leave small sections of it attached to a card that tells whose it is. It's a hobby for them so they share it with the caching community. I consider it one of the nicer pieces of sig swag I've found. Left by itself though people might think, "what's this piece of rusty barbed wire doing in here?". It's all in the presentation of the object, one is trash and one is a nice snippet of someone's personality.

If you have eczema, psoriasis, or dermatitis issues, wool can increase the level of irritation. If you know that you are allergic to lanolin (the alcohol in wool), you will also be allergic to wool fiber (alot of lotions have lanolin and can make you break out too). Studies have also shown that wool can increase problems in those that have respiratory allergies to cat and dog hair, dust mites, and asthma. Wool is a great product as natural fibers are, but if you're prone to allergies it can make you miserable. Before spending a fortune on wool undergear, I would test the waters first if you want to go that route. Wool can also be harder to clean depending on the product you buy. I'm allergic and can handle socks. I've even knitted with a wool blend (mixing with other fibers lessens the amount of oils in the product, which lowers the allergy issues), but I can't wear wool on the rest of my body. Trust me, the trail is not the place you want to figure out that you have an allergy.

I bought a small watertight box at Walmart recently. It was in the sporting area and is tinted blue. It's about 6x8x4. They also sold a larger one. Mine was $5. It's made for kayakers and such to take stuff along with them. They come connected to a strap that it can hang from.

The kind of person who would leave trash in a cache are the same types whose caches are placed in trash heaps (or have degraded to such a point, they might as well be). The only way to defeat these people is to stop spending our time at their caches and to clean up other's caches that they trash. The nail could have been a junky cheap swag item, or it could be someone's unmarked swag item. The trouble with unmarked sig items is sometimes they are seen as junk. All it takes is a little ziploc baggie (you can get about 100 for a buck at the craft shop) and a sticker or a tag that you print out to make the item meaningful. The nail might be from a carpenter, construction worker, or someone who owns a bar called the "Rusty Nail". I'm not saying it is, but you can see how something you thought was trash could actually be a nice personal piece of swag if presented properly. I keep saying this on the forums hoping that I will convert people to this method of thinking....but who knows. The empty bubbles container was probably full when they put it in. Those things leak like crazy and make a mess.

Sure, but the request is about ease of use. I agree with the OP, would be a nice little extra.

Also remember to never leave anything in them that has a scent. It can attract animals to tear the cache up. Why not try buying or making an itemg that says something personal about you? From your forum name, I'm guessing you're a teacher. You could, for example, find little apples and put your name on them. You should be able to find apple type things in all sizes as well to accommodate the different cache containers. Or, maybe something with pencils, chalkboards, etc. Personal items (signature items) are quite popular and a lovely personal touch. Placing it in a small baggie with a tag or sticker that says who it's from is a good way to ppresent the item nicely and helps keep it clean and safe from moisture.

make sure you aren't allergic to wool before you buy, or believe me you will be sorry. I was in the Navy and spent boot camp in Chicago in the winter. I broke out from head to toe and itched for 13 weeks not to mention the general stink that consumed our compartment day and night. We all had stick ups on each of our bunks and you could still smell the divisions as they entered the galley for a meal. Wool CAN really stink when you're doing alot in them. Recently read in our Backpacking mag a suggestion to buy cycling jerseys as undergear. They are made of material like under armor, but have pockets and such to help hold things.

Nothing against 3s, 4s, or 5s. People just usually tell newbs to search for 1/1 caches. I was just saying that they might want to try going up to 2.5 at first as I think there's very little difference in those other than the higher numbers aren't wheelchair accessible. The terrain should still be easy for them and anything that it is seen as "hard" wouldn't be that low. Personally, I say, the harder, the better! But, if they're having a hard time finding caches, maybe that's not the best motto for them yet.

Something else you might want to look into is silk long underwear. I know it doesn't sound like it would be warm, but it is and it's lightweight and thin if that sort of thing matters to you. Here's a link to an article about picking the proper gear for snowy cold weather: link

Maybe we could call them "the others" and then we could ask them why polar bears are running around in the jungle.

Thermal pieces has vastly improved over the last few years, and have gotten a lot less expensive as well. The "under armor" type items (you can find many off brands out there) are totally worth it. Because they wick away sweat, you will stay warmer than the traditional cotton thermals. Cotton is the worst cloth you can use out in a cold and wet environment. If you are concerned about cost, try Walmart or some of the other box stores, they have lots of options at decent prices. We bought our kids some this year and they have been much warmer than last year at this time. It's important to us as we snowshoe. You can also get some inexpensive wool socks in the sporting area of Walmart (if you're not allergic) and they are the best at keep the tootsies warm. If you're going to spend a good amount of time out in a snowy or very frigid area, proper gear will make all the difference in the world!

Sometimes micros are the only containers you could use. On one of ours, the spot is an overlook point with nothing but rock all around, and no loose rock at that. The only way we could hide one is to make it a micro. But the place gives nearly 360 degree views off of a mesa and has a waterfall view as well. We have a couple of others that had to be small to be camoed as they are. If you think about it, you can't fit an ammo can inside a tree branch (dead of course) unless it was huge. You couldn't hide an ammo can inside of a pinecone or many of the other clever ideas for containers either. Maybe a spot could handle a regular container, but a micro that's interestingly camoed could be more fun. I realize that most micros are not placed for the above reasons, but labeling all micros as boring is far from the truth.

Don't give up! When we first started a couple of years ago in Hawaii, we couldn't find the "one" we went to look for either. We gave up and decided that something must be wrong with the GPSr that we had gotten as a present. We didn't cache again until we had moved back to the mainland. Turns out, the cache has been archived and lots of people had trouble finding it and hated it. I could kick myself for not trying more before we threw in the towel as it would have been something fun we could do in Hawaii (our kids were scared to death of the ocean and the big waves......makes life miserable when living on an island). Try at least 10 more. Go to ones that are as hard as a 2.5 on both ratings, but try to find ones that are in different areas (not all in parking lots, or all in the woods) and try in varying sizes (but avoid nanos for now). I'm sure you'll find one. Once you do that, your confidence will improve. Good luck!

What? I had heard that version 2 cost $199.99 and involved a console and a couple of joysticks. You are supposed to move around on the google maps and eat up all the smileys and have extra points awarded for the difficult ones. After a while the muggles come out of the woodwork and start chasing after you. If you get to the smiley first, then you can chase after them.. And it also means that I've been camped out in front of Best Buy (and chased by the store manager) for absolutely no reason. Sounds like PacMan is starting to geocache! edited:DOH!

While we're on the discussion of lame caches, I would like to campaign for the cessation of using the term LUM to describe them as it spells out my last name, along with a good chunk of the population in China and Hawaii. Ours is actually a shortened German name, but we lived in Hawaii, which happens to have a Lum Temple. I imagine it's the only term on here that might have this effect on someone.....unless maybe someone is named Muggle or TNLNSL , in which case I am terribly sorry for referring to you in biazrre ways

We have an LED mini sized mag. It seems brighter, but the light is more directed to one spot and therefore lights a smaller area, better. I guess there could be trade-offs with it. But, they're supposed to last longer and have a "blueish white" quality of light. They look the difference in color btwn a fluorescent and an incandescent light bulb. I would suggest (unless you are looking for a good heavy object to hit someone with) to get a quality LED headlamp instead of a mag. They are much easier to night cache with as your hands are free. Plus many of the quality ones allow for adjustments on how many to light up as well as the color (red's nice if you do any amateur astronomy as well).

Maybe I'm wrong and there's another way to use these things, but it seems to me that you would have to find somewhere with proper sized and spaced trees to use it. That would make them too specialized for my taste. If I'm going to spend my money, I like it to be on an item that I can use in the majority of places I travel/move. They also look like a pain to set up, hard to get in and out of, and don't allow for a snuggling partner. But, there's clearly a market for them, so someone must really like them.

I agree too. I would love to see the ability to enter a member's name and ignore the whole lot of caches owned by them, and in doing so, have all of them disappear from my map. I think it would also be really cool to be able to click on something to be able to toggle btwn sizes and types of caches when looking at the maps. I know you can do a PQ and then look at the maps, but it would be nice to have the toggling function so you could see which set you'd like to do for that day. The map improvements have been good, but still have some room for improvement. Since geocaching really revolves around maps (finding locations and all), IMHO maps should be one of the most elaborate parts of the website.

I take offense in that!

I wonder if a sawmill has ever received a log with a cache hidden in it? That could be pretty interesting. As far as parks allowing trees to be harvested, I think that IS done in some cases so i would not be too sure that your caveat does not apply in parks. We have State and National Park land here that both allow cutting for firewood in designated areas (and there's lots of them). Not to mention all of the signs that they have nailed to trees within both types of land. There are parking signs, warning signs, info signs, trail markers, etc. All nailed, all by NPS and the National and State Forest Systems.