MNTA

100% disagree! Locking a cache violates the agreement that was made at the time of legally signing the challenge cache log. Which is you get to log a found it at a later date when you qualify. Some challenges are extremely difficult and can require significant expenditure of time, effort, money you name it. Now these are not as crazy as some of the older challenges. Not to mention many of us go out of our way to go and sign a challenge log. Challenge caches have always been a special case, some would argue it should be in a class separate from mystery/unknown caches. Locking challenges would help to support this as there could be a two step process. Step one - "Signed log", Step two "Qualify Found". Locking should only affect step one. As an example I signed a "10 years geocaching" challenge back in 2017. I will qualify for this on in 2023. Now I know I did not have to do anything special but wait. But on my 10th year anniversary you bet I'll be marking this as found. I'd be a bit miffed and disappointed if it was locked. I also have signed 50 and 40 state challenge caches, one day would hope to qualify currently at 19, oh and I drove an hour out of my way to get Minnesota. I've found 36/50 bigcal charter member caches, lots of effort to get a qualifier in my neck of the woods. I have around 80 challenges signed but not qualified many of those I could have spent finding other caches. Hopefully you get the point.

3-4 years to find Phone Call to a Hike (PBM#131) GC726DH This was a 3 stage multi probably got the first two stages done sometime between 2017-2018 they were at local phone booths. I had already hiked that area in the past as it was less than a half mile from GC16. Moved out of town for a couple of years. Then due to Covid moved back as I could work remotely anywhere. Was going to tackle it at the end of last summer but forest fires closed the whole region. Finally they reopened and I decided on that day this was going to be the goal, I wanted to see how the area held up in the fires, and as luck would have it came within a mile of the cache as well as GC16. A lot of downed trees on the trail, scorched earth and a lot of the surviving landowners are all clear cutting their land to avoid losses in the years to come.

The CO has solved his control problem incorrectly. You do not lock a challenge cache because you don't want people to sign a log. You disable the cache not lock it. We have a few caches in my are the CO does this every year no problem. Disable when people are not allowed. The thing with challenge caches is many times the person who found the cache does not automatically qualify. So they per the rules write a note. There is no "going against the wishes of the co" to later log the cache as found. This is how it works. Locking prevents this and an appeal to GS should resolve the problem. Now if the CO needs mentally 100% control and decides to lock the cache because they can't stand a cacher who violates his self imposed rules. Well maybe they should move the cache or better yet not worry about it. Maybe the cacher is a hunter and had access to the areas so signing the log was not a problem. The CO should not be in the business of others. How did this hurt the CO? Their responsibility ends with placement, responsibility for being safe is the responsibility of the finder, should we ban all climbing caches because they are unsafe? No, I choose to stand at the bottom and say no I am not going to climb that. Others say heck yeah I will climb that. I felt the same way when a few COs disabled caches for COVID. I actually did more caching last year rather than less. My choices were to go be outdoors by myself rather than stuck in a room by myself. If there had been no caching at all I still would have been outside, I found a cache this weekend that had not been found since 2017 and loved it. I don't need a CO to tell me to follow their rules. Back to the original poster, yeah it sucks if you can not log the find. If the appeal fails I suggest let it go a smiley is not worth the headaches. If the CO plays these annoying games simple ignore their caches and move on.

Wishes smishes ... Take it up with GS show send them your longing info and checker result. You qualify by the rules they have documented.

Congradulations! 300 was the turning point for me no looking back got another 500 the next year. Be careful I got addicted to challenge caches, then you really start doing crazy things like 1000 in a year last year, no plans on doing that again. I see you are from BC. Funny story I was camping up in northern Washington and decided I wanted to get my first cache in BC. So I went across the border to grab a cache. Was going to grab lunch but the weather was lousy so headed back after finding a quick two. In all was in Canada for less than thirty minutes. Well the US guys found that a little suspicious and spent an hour while they searched my car. So got a cool memory, a few smileys, oh and duty free Scotch.

I gave a few this past few weeks: 1) 3 ft long "Texas" size Bison tube. - Container 2) Had to pour a gallon of water into a tube to float the cache out - Again container 3) dna tube on a stop sign next to a statue I never noticed before - Location 4) ammo can on top of a mountain - Location and the experience 4x4ing to the top 5) multi at the local veterans memorial - Location

We all play the game in our own ways. Some are not driven by numbers or a little smiley filling up the map. It always makes me laugh reading about people complaining about cheating and such, this just a form of entertainment not a competition and these folks prove that. I'll keep logging though Got a new county this weekend!

Sounds like things were different back then.

I wish they would make it one app.

When you start a longer streak no one tells you how hard it truly is. You have to work it, save those easy one for when you have a 101 degree fever and need that easy LPC a mile from your home. Or have to venture out in an ice storm just to keep it alive. Both happened to me. Days you have more time drive as far away as you can and have a backup ready for that DNF. Oh and you can only find one specially if they are close by, got to save them for another day just in case. I'll add there is no cheating. The last thing you want is for your log to be deleted and all your hard work go poof.

Just ask them to delete it if it bothers you. Though from the looks of it that is the obvious spot.

30,292

Nice way of describing the mathematics in a way I could understand it. This made me think about how I got started. My parents had been caching for about 9 year off and on. They had just moved from the east coast to the west where I live and were visiting my family for a weekend and we went on a hike nearby and did a cache. Kids enjoyed the easy hunt and the walk was fun. About 7 months later we were visiting for Christmas and we went out after the new year and found 3 and I signed up for my account at that time. I did not cache again till the following year again with them but then I was hooked finding 152 for that year. So my first year I found 1, second year found 3, third year 152, ninth year for 1,021. So my experience is start slow and then something clicked and I got hooked, I would not have done it without doing it with my parents over the coarse of a few years. I have a fiend of mine who enjoys going out with me for years but has never been interested in getting his own account despite caching in 12 states with me and maybe 50 finds together on some awesome road trips.

Hood River County the next county east of Multnomah has a few power trails though the forest roads that initially was designed to have all D/T combinations just be prepared for some rough roads and possibly climbing 30-40 feet up a tree for the high terrain ones. It's a beautiful drive in the summer now under a few feet of snow, I found a few of the ones I had wanted but aborted about half way around the mountain when the road really deteriorated beyond what I wanted to tackle. Hope you try to do something similar always good to see different cache combinations.

Industry standard is for silicon parts to last 10 years of constant usage. Though other failures are possible sooner my iPhone needs repair after just 1.5 years keeps on rebooting itself. Though that is probably caused by dropping and other damage I slipped on some mud the other day and hit the ground pretty hard. If it was newer I'd complain but 4 years there is not much they will do.

This is awesome way to go! Glad you figured out something that works for you and gets you out and enjoying this game. Like you I have found most of my immediate area the nearest easy traditional for me is 6.6 miles though the road distance is further. I think the problem you highlight is precisely why GS is encouraging folks to archive some of their older caches to make room for new ones in an area. The thing about your endeavor is that it does not give the gratification factor on the web site (yet) of an incremental new find which some folks (me included) like to see. Personally would love to see more caches near my home possibly an expiration date for maintenance and renewal. For me 2020 I started the year out deciding I was going to find 1000 in a year challenge, So it became a numbers game (not fun) I had to find caches to increment that counter. In early January decided I'd try a power trail solo and get 100 finds in a day. Ugh man it was not fun but I did it. Then said ok 900 more to go I can do this. All these challenges simply make a fun task work. I have to go out today. So glad it is done and now I can go have fun. Yesterday went out into the mountains for a newly placed caches along the logging roads and unfortunately could not find it. Though four hours later and a car covered in dirt and mud I had a great time, I did stop closer to home and make a find wanted that silly souvenir lol.

Works for me. Though I have not updated the latest release I am waiting for my Christmas present of an external drive to offload all my pictures and make room. Wish I could provide some better advice. I know that I still can not add filters on the search page as it corrupts the the coordinates and remove West portion. Only work around I have is to search through the map. Good luck.

Hopefully it is a nice vacation spot.

broken for me as well

What a bunch of bunk! Ignore the nay sayers if the cache is on public land place a cache nearby or a virtual what ever. Go for it. No rules or laws against it. If the state of Utah changes its mind and prohibits visiting the site now you have a problem. I remember awhile ago seeing a cache 100ft or so into Mexico access is from the US and you have to cross through a barbwire fence to get to it. Now that I say is a problem. This not. If they remove it, now you have a story and it will still be a destination for some.

Save the current coordinates as a waypoint for a nearby cache.

You are missing the point I feel. Placing new caches gives the opportunity for new and old finders to go out and make a find. If caches never go away and new ones aren't placed then you fall into a trap of this game dying out unless you want to travel further and further from your home to enjoy this game. Now the entire community might not value a LPC or GRC but some folks like any caches they can find. Also from the OP it sounds like the trail was not maintained well at all. A new cache has a possibility of being maintained and not falling into disrepair. If the CO decides to not maintain their cache it will eventually be archived.

Your argument here could easily apply to multi caches. I've found several with over 500 miles of travel in different directions, you do not do all those stages in one day. I remember hearing about some multis in Australia that cross the continent. Would love a smiley for each completed stage. But the rules says one. AL in my opinion should be treated the same all or nothing motivate you to complete them. The multis did for me. My 5 AL were all in the same room and unlocked the location of a mystery cache within the same room. So I actually got 6 should have just been 1. But that is my opinion and don't care if GS changes the rules again or not. They probably won't. I also won't say I'll never do another AL but at this time I'll stick with traditionals and the random mystery and multi.

The former CO gave up all rights and ownership of the trail. That is the risk they take. You are the owner do as you like and what you think is right for you and your community. Had the caches been originally archived the world would have continued spinning around sun, and if you archive them life will go on as well. Though you did imply you'd take care of them the decision is yours. For the other folks here so if someone adopts a cache are they indebted to supporting that cache forever?

I'm opposed to adopting unless the community as a whole specifically values the cache. Most don't fall into this category but some do. Once a cache runs its course best to archive and start a new. Gives all the local cachers another chance at finding a nearby cache and hopefully some new enjoyment in returning to the area.