vw_k

I usually first check that they know what GPS is. If they don't, I simply say it's like a cars satnav but you use co-ordinates like latitude/longditude and can be accurate to within about 10 feet. Then I just say it's a treasure hunting game where people hide boxes with logbooks in and publish the GPS co-ords so other people can find them, it's a high tech treasure hunt, some are easy to find boxes in the local park, some are in difficult to reach places or the co-ords are hidden within a puzzle or other challenge, the thrill is in the hunt The other, even quicker options are "it's treasure hunting for nerds" or "It's a game created by the US government to get computer geeks exposed to sunlight!"* * Not a proven fact.

VW Keychain was the name of a song I really liked at the time I discovered geocaching, so I decided to use the name and buy a bunch of Volkswagen keychains off ebay to leave in caches as swaps. I tend not to swap much so I still have a few original keychians in my bag. I drive a VW though so I guess the name is still appropriate, and I can sign nano logs "VW_" and hopefully local cachers will still know who it is.

Mine arrived just in time for my birthday! What a great coin and for a great cause. Thank you very much.

Round here there is plenty of woodland with alot of tree stumps and fallen trees lying around from the storms that hit Southern England in 1987, it's not fun when the tree cover is making your signal bounce around all over the place and the clue you have is "fallen tree" or "under a log". The only way I manage to find them is by walking backwards and forwards for up to an hour trying to get a decent signal, or checking every log, stump and fallen tree I see! The other caches I hate are those that are placed in areas of dense stinging nettles, why place a cache that is inaccessible for half the year due to tall stinging plants?

I started working for a company selling ski and snowboard clothing and the stores outdoor department sold GPS, when I was being trained on selling GPS my friend at work told me about geocaching. I looked up geocaching.com, found my nearest cache and went and found it using just the clue and my local knowledge, I told another friend who already had a GOS about cachuing and we started going caching together. 155 finds later I still don't have my own GPS!!

Great looking coin, I've filed in the form. Dave

Someone ordered a coin for me today I'm looking forward to it arriving.

I search depending on the circumstances, how long it's taken me to get to GZ and how badly I want the find. If it's supposed to be a cache and dash and is a micro that I'll be passing again in the near future I won't spend much time hunting. If however I'm in an area I won't be visiting again, it's taken a 2 hour walk to get to GZ and I know there's geocoins in the cache then I'll search for alot longer before I decide I'm not having fun anymore. I think the longest I've searched has been about an hour, It wouldv'e been my 100th cache.

Excellent news that they've arrived. I hope they're not all spoken for yet, I'm asking for one for Christmas!

Being a cache owner myself I know that we do this as a hobby and that not everyone (myself included) has alot of money and time to spend on replacement logbooks, especially as a weatherproof logbook can cost quite a lot more that a cheap one! That's why I always try to use the first available space, I often draw a line under the last log and use the bottom of the same page, it saves paper and cache maintenance after all.

I find that gaffa taping a small magnet to a 35mm film container does wonders for my wellbeing!

Great coin! If I order this coin from geocoinshop.de can I still get it engraved?

I like the locker idea. Are there any lockers at a station or public building perhaps that could be leased long term? Then you could put a combination lock on it and cachers have to work out the code for the lock. Have you thought about creating an earthcache in the area? I'm sure travellers to India would enjoy learning something about its geology.

I've been thinking of placing an off roading cache here in the UK, I was thinking of either a multi cache that takes you along "green lanes" from point to point (this means it can also be dome on foot/mountain bike/off road bike) or something a little sneakier that requires you to use a 4x4 to stand on to reach the cache!

I don't see how anyone can have an excuse for some of the terrible containers mentioned in this forum. Most camera shops and places that develop 35mm film will gladly give you 35mm containers for free as they end up with hundreds of them! Here in the UK you can get watertight plastic containers in superstores in various sizes ranging in price from just 50p up to about £2.00, and a small notebook in the same store won't cost much either. It doesnt take alot of money to build a good quality cache, and if you're too lazy to take a trip to your local store then maybe this sport isn't for you!

Now here's a thought I had, we know that a "kind of" virtual can still be listed as an earthcache, and must provide education on geological matters. I personally like these caches and wish there were more near me. I don't know about elsewhere in the world but here in the UK there are organisations that own or care for large amounts of land and buildings with historical significance to preserve them for the enjoyment of the public and for future generations (I'm talking about organisations like English Heritage and The National Trust). There may well be similar organisations around the world. Just as Earthcaches have been produced in conjuntion with the Geological society of America, perhaps something like a "History cache" could be created, where people can visit local areas of historical interest and log the cache, answering questions approved by whichever organisation cares for the property. This would encourage visitors to these type of sites and would be useful in encouraging an interest in local history. The same "virtuals" and questions would make a good learning experience for visiting school groups, as when I was on school trips we would often have to find certain objects and answer questions as part of the project. This would prevent virtuals like "tell me the number on the nearest lamp post" and ensure they were all of better quality, it would also enable caches to be placed where a physical cache could not, for example on the terrace of a preserved historic house, in a garden designed by a famous designer etc. Perhaps an idea like this could be suggested to Groundspeak and historical organisations?

I was stopped by an off duty police officer once whilst looking for a cache that was legitimately put on the property of the church he attended by another church member (the officer was unaware of geocaching) I was careful to explain to him that it was a harmless "treasure hunt" where you signed a logbook in a box, and that there was an official website that he could look up for more information. If I'm telling the truth to muggles I usually say something like "it's a sort of internet 'treasure hunt' for GPS enthusiasts where you find a logbook in a box and sign it to say you've found it". I always say it's just a logbook in a box with no real treasure to prevent people from wanting to find it themselves and plunder it, just to protect the cache. As soon as you mention GPS and signing a logbook most people dismiss it as a "geek" activity and something they're not interested in and leave you alone. The quick and easy option is "I lost my tennis ball here in the dark last night and I'm looking for it"!

Isn't that what Eric Cantona got community service for?

I enjoy caching at night, I also work until late and usually it's getting dark by the time I go out caching, the darkness adds to the fun and the woods and countryside take on a different feeling after dark, plus it's a good excuse to buy a cool headtorch

I use a pair of Leki Aluminium collapsible trekking poles, they make your walking more effective as you are using your arms to propel yourself as well as your legs, provide balance over tricky ground and most importantly take alot of pressure off of your knees when walking downhill, did you know you knees are under 4 times as much pressure when walking downhill? Using two poles means you have more points of contact with the ground when you need stability, also if you use just one your hips have a tendency to "rotate" aound the side that's holding one pole, using two keeps your walking gait straighter. They're also useful for poking things you don't want to touch, holding brambles out the way when reaching for caches, and you can even get ones with camera screws on the top to use as camera stands.

Thank you for all the advice, what I'll do is research and see if the museum has any free entry days or reduced rates (they often hold different events at the museum) and plan to approach them with a presentation of my idea. I'll let you know how I get on.

Unfortunately i'd class it as a "for profit" area as it is a museum. My theory was that the cache could be historically themed and if someone was planning to visit the museum anyway they might like to do a cache that would cater for the same interests while they were there. Not using the cache in any way to attract people to the museum, but providing a cache for people who were already visiting the museum.

I found a cache the other day that on the cache page many people had commented on but the owner had asked cachers not to mention what it was in the logs, so as not to spoil the surprise. The clue told us to look under a large piece of bark, and whe we did I almost jumped! It was a rubber snake with the logbook rolled up in its mouth!

I've tried searching for guidelines on this but havent had any luck. Basically My friend and I had the idea of placing a cache in an area with lots of historical interest that is outside but part of a museum, we were planning on asking for permission to place the cache from the museum owners. The only problem is that the museum charges an entry fee, so the question is: Am I allowed to place a cache in an area where you have to pay an entry fee if I clearly state this in the cache details?

I usually check the they know what GPS is, then explain that it's a kind of treasure hunt using GPS to find hidden boxes and sign a logbook.