back2eight

I am trying to plan a route and it is not working. there is some sort of server error that happens every time. Does anyone know what is going on?

"I plan on maybe hiding it a little ways into the woods. It is kinda waterproof, everything is gonna be in a plastic bag." No, I wouldn't like this one. The rule of thumb is that if the area can hold a larger container then put one there. You are putting it in the woods, so I'm sure you could find a spot to hide a box and that would be better. GPSr reception is bad in the woods, so trying to pinpoint something so small would be hard to do. I hate micros in the woods. There are too many places where it could be. I use micros in town, public places, parks, etc. In the woods, go with a box. Easier to find, more fun. However, that does sound like a good cache container, I just don't like the placement of it. I have a fake rock, a fake plant, a walnut, and a golf ball, for example. But not hid in the woods.

I have one that is a 2 stage multi. The first stage is at a cattle gap and you are looking for a pill bottle container. There are 5 containers hidden there, and only 1 of them has the coordinates to the cache box. It is hidden very well. The other 4 say THIS IS NOT IT. Once you find the right one it sends you only 100 feet away to the box. When you pick up the box there are 4 plastic snakes attached to it by fishing string and hiding under the leaf litter. When you pick up the box, these snakes "jump" out from under the leaf litter at you.

Can you find a place nearby that is available anytime, not just business hours?

My closest is right in front of my house. I enjoy watching people be stealthy trying to find it.

This is very important, because I hunt with my 3 small children. I go after ones that are rated 2 or less, preferably less. I read the cache descriptions to see if they would be kid friendly. I have gone after so many that have been raqted very low and then I get there and it is horrible. Should be rated a 3 or more. No one bothers to change the rating or even check on the cache when I write my DNF and tell them exactly why. One even said it was "easily accessible to children and elderly" and "a great place for a picnic". I go after it thinking great, my kids will love this one. I get there and it is the most horrible cache site I have ever seen. I wouldn't place a cache there for any reason, and definitely wouldn't tell people to take their kids to it! Very snaky, swampy, thich with trees and underbrush (really thick), and you have to wade in water that at times could be over your knees, or at the very least it will be swampy and marshy, to get to the cache container that is hidden on a little island area that is so swampy and overgrown and seems to be a nest of snakes. THIS is one that should be removed. It is going after caches like this one that has soured my kids to the geocaching experience. There is no way this is fun for them.

Wow, I can't beleive some of you go around removing perfelctly good swag just because it was something that you didn't care anything about. Some people obviously do or they wouldn't have placed it in there. I don't care to collect every plastic snake that I find in caches. I don't remove them and throw them away though, because the next person that comes along may want the snake. I also don't care to see business cards left in a cache. The only time I have ever taken anything out is when it has been messed up, full of water, moldy, etc. It is very wrong of you to be "cleaning out" someone's cache of items that you "just don't like" when there is nothing wrong with them. you don't have to take them. Take something else in the box. If it is not your cache, you have no business messing with it like that. Would you go around cleaning out Nascar themed items out of caches just because you don't happen to like Nascar? Would you throw away a perfectly good restaurant gift certificate because you ate at that restaurant before and didn't like the food? It is the same thing with religious items that might be in a cache. You don't have to like it. Just ignore it, sign the log, and move on.

There are 2 caches near me that are at a lake that charges a fee to get in. The fee is not mentioned in the cache listing so you get suprised by it when you try to hunt the caches. There are several caches on a creek that are canoe caches. I guess if you go with your own canoe its free, but if you have to rent canoes then its about 30.00. None of that is mentioned in the cache listing.

I think its a great idea, I have been wanting to put out a cache for trading books only because I read a lot and could keep it very well stocked. I haven't done it yet, although I have left my books as trade items in other caches.

There has been one close to me that I have been watching, it had never been found yet and I wa determined to be FTF. I succeeded. It required a canoe or kayak to get to it, but I couldn't get clsoe enough in my canoe due to lots of trees down and no passage. (Thanks Katrina). So, I decided to try it from land. It was a definite bushwacking experience, climbing over, under, and around fallen trees to reach the creek. At the point I got to the creek the cache was still .23 m away UPSTREAM. I had to swim most of the way upstream to get to the sand bar where it is located. I couldn't simply walk along the edge of the creek because there really wasn't an edge. It is mainly lined with soap stone and it wears away. There is a steep drop into deep water along the edges of this creek, so walking in the shallow water woudn't do either. There were places where I could stand and walk, but I did have to swim a lot as well. Plus, thanks to hurricane katrina, there was a lot of trees and things under the water that I couldn't see, but I sure felt them when I bumped into them. I got to the cache, it was there but it had been opened and the contents scattered around so I was unable to sign. I signed the online log though. Then I went back downstream. You would think it would be easier than going upstream and in a way it was, but when you are trying to float downstream and the current is fast you get ripped on those logs and branches underwater. Not fun. Got cuts and bruises to show for it. Got back to the place where I had entered the creek because I had left my shoes and stuff there, then hiked back to my vehicle. I am proud to have accomplished this. It was by far my toughest physical challenge.

Okay, thanks for the replies. I guess I'm doing it right. I do not have an averaging feature on mine and I don't know how to do an average myself, but only one of my cahces had the coords off really bad. I fixed that one. My others have been found with no problem so they must be accurate. I have noticed also that in the morning it is off more than in the evening. Evening/nighttime I seem to get better readings. Tree cover really messes it up. It will jump all over the place. I guess I just need to make sure to post a note that the coords may be off ,especially when it is in a heavily covered area, which most of mine are since I live in a national forest.

Well, I have found caches and at times been right on with the coordinates. I have found some that have shown it being 80 feet away. But what I don't understand is why are my coordinates off on my own caches? You would think that when going back to my own cache that was marked with my own GPS that it would lead me right to it. But it doesn't. One was off by 50 feet. Another one I marked while standing directly above the cache but then I had 2 DNFs. When I went to check on it it was pointing about 50 feet over a river. So no wonder they didn't find it! Why is my GPS acting so crazy and is there a way I can fix it? I have Garmin etrex. Also, I have been going back in and updating the coordinates to my caches when I go back to one and the coordinates are off, but how do I know if this new set is right or if my GPS was just acting up when I went back to check on it? Kristi

I am a premium member but I'm still just getting weekly cache notifications. Why is that?

Are you sure? Digging is a no-no. Choose one that's already hollow or bring in one from home please! (I did the latter) Some of mine are the typical container at the base of the tree covered with leaves. But another is a fake rock, and another is a fake flower with a micro container hot glued to it on the bottom. I have one regular cache container suspended by a rope from a tree. The rest are just on the ground.

I think I have only taken one thing for myself out of a cache. I will pick up a TB if I see one. I take my kids along usually and they love finding the trade items. We have never found anything neat though. I leave mostly kid items too. I do have some GEO decals that I leave, and I have left batteries, fishing tackle, etc. but mostly kid items because kids don't usually enjoy the hunt. I have to drag mine with me and they get really disappointed when there is nothing in there for them. I would like to find more personalized items in caches, though. The one that I found was a magnet. I enjoyed finding that one.

I have one that is a small tube on the end of a fake flower. I am trying to find a place with real flowers that look just like this one to hide it. I also have a fake rock. I almost bought the one that looks like a Pepsi can but was afraid that it would get thrown away as real trash. I will have to find really ingenious places for these, however, because I don't like micros myself. I cache with my 3 kids and they love getting goodies out of the box, plus something larger is usually easier for me to find and I like that because the kids don't have the patience to wait hours for me to search everywhere for a micro container. I have gone after some and left wondering why the owners used a micro in that place when a large box could have been hid there instead, and it was disappointing. I guess they just didn't want to put money into a big box when you can buy a matchsafe for less than a dollar and stick a piece of paper in it.

I am new as well. I hunt with my 3 small children, but unfortunately there are a lot of micros in my area, so no prize, although some of these are at neat locations like swimming holes or parks so the kids do get an adventure out of the location. They really like to find one that has toys in it though. I have hidden 3 caches and I left new toys in them along with stuff for the adults as well like money, batteries, fishing string, etc.

Well I am certainly new to this, but I just bought some regular rubbermaid containers at wal-mart. I was also wondering if a peanut butter jar would be good or if it woud deteriorate over time. I was looking on ebay just today actually, and saw some really neat containers. I put a bid in on some of them. There are pinecones, acorns, rocks, logs, micro containers, fake plants, and even dog poo, among others. I would guess those would be for the 4-5 rating, because I can't imagine ever finding dog poo or the plant. One I saw was just a blade of grass sticking up from the ground, the cache part was a tube that you stick into the ground with the grass coming off of the top. Who would ever find that?!!

From what I can tell, you don't have anyone in Mississippi yet? I live right along that projected path and would love to be a part of this. I am new to this, but I am an outdoor person, and I am enjoying geocaching. So if there are no objections, put me down for Mississippi.

I hope so. . I found one that was only .6 miles from my house. I was able to walk to it and be back home iwthin 35 minutes. The coordinates were 100 feet off, but it wasn't well hidden and was just sitting there and I saw it. It was exciting finding my first cache, even though the insides were wet and the prizes were junk. I am hiding better stuff in mine, and I am going to double bag everything to hopefully prevent the moisture from ruining the contents. I will also check on them very frequently. I am probably going to place two others this afternoon. I have two really neat places that I enjoy going to, and both are easy to get to and would be good for someeone to go to as a family with small children. This is fun!

I'm not aware that permission is required in national forests. Some wilderness areas within national forests are off limits and some local management may have requirements for permission, but generally speaking, caches are OK in national forests. This one is not in the NF, it is on my own property, although the next ones I will be hiding will be on NF land. For this one, the tree cover is very thick and I really couldn't get the best reading, so I hung it from a tree where it is in plain site. I figured if I coud at least get cachers in the area they should see it. I am not worried about it getting muggled since it is practically behind my house, and if someone does find it there is clear explanation of what it is there for. Does this sound okay? Don't worry, it is not a boring find, I chose this location because of some particular plants growing there that are cool. I do need to find out about hiding in the NF though.

You did mean to be rude, that post couldn't have been taken any other way. But I guess I'm just egging it on when I keep responding, so I will let it drop now. I do have one more question. How long does it take them to approve a cache and get it published? It has now been three days since I submitted it. I have two more great places in mind that I want to hide some more, and I am going hunting again this Saturday. I bought some cool new prizes yesterday.

"Definately a little mean spirited but undeneath the hostility is a valid point. GPS experience and knowledge of a good location are only the start. It really is a good idea to seek out 20 or so other caches to get a feeling for the type of hiding places to use (and also to avoid). You need to take account of things like privacy. If your spot attracts visitors, will the cache be found accidentally and will cachers be able to find it without being seen or attracting attention. Will the cache be exposed when summer vegetation dies back, will it be washed away during heavy rain, is it blocking the burrow of a hibernating animal. Some hiding places are so common they have become cliches, do you want to use such a place and make it easy or delibreately avoid them and make it much harder. To do that you have to recognise the cliches, something which only comes with a few finds under your belt. There are also some cachers who will deliberately avoid "Found 1: Hidden 1" caches from bitter experience." Again, I don't need attitudes like that. You are insulting me by calling me stupid. Where do you live? I live in a National Forrest. I grew up in the country with my nearest neighbors being miles away, going to town pnce a month. ALL my free time is spent outside in the woods, and I ride horses all the time. So I probably know better hiding places than you do, and I'm sure that when people start finding my caches they will agree. I have only hidden one, but I went to town today and got enough stuff for several more because I know of some really good locations. I am not putting crap prizes in mine, either, like what was in the one that I found. Also, with a job, three kids, several other hobbies, it is not like I can spend all my time out hunting caches. I will get to them eventually. To those who were nice, thank you. With attitudes like the others, nobody will join this hobby and it will die out. They should be booted from the forum for talking like that. As stated above, my question was what were they using for my home coordinates because I didn't enter any and I was confused when it was saying there was a cache that was 16 miles away when I know for a fact that it is .6 miles away. I was just using my zip code and had never entered actual home coordinates. when I did, it was showing the distance correctly. I can't believe that someone jumped all over me for asking that question and told me not to hide a cache. Sheesh. Kristi

I went out and found my first one today. I am going to go log it in right now. It was actually within walking distance of my house!! I had no idea there were so many in the woods right around where I live. I think I found it by luck actually. The screwy GPS was still pointing another direction and saying it was still 100 feet away and I happened to glance over and saw it sitting there.