michigansnorkelers

Sometimes people forget to log it after searching through the cache contents. This can also happen if there are more than one, say husband and wife, and each ASSuMEd that the other had signed the log. There are even people who write a log in the cache but forget to log it online! Been there, done that. If the logbook was falling apart, their page could be missing. Or, there might not have been a functional pen/pencil in the cache. (Not an excuse, but another reason) There's lots of valid reasons the log might not be signed. Unless it's an FTF or a 5/5, what difference does it really make? You can look up their profile and see what caches they've logged lately. If they logged 100 over a ten state area, without a helicopter, then I'd be suspicious. But if they logged three, and one was yours, maybe it was a logging oversight or a simple mistake. And as far as asking them about a past log, I can barely remember anything about the caches I found yesterday, let alone some cache placed in the past. It's all a game, and why take the chance of get someone upset if they were having fun investing their time and trouble to find your geocache, but didn't log it?

1 Click on YOUR ACCOUNT DETAILS. 2 Find YOUR LOCATION about 1/2 way down the right side of the page and click on CHANGE. 3 DRAG the little man to your home location 4 Click on SAVE CHANGES DONE

MANY of us use the GPSMAP60 series! Once you get the unit, play with it a little while. Go with the basics first. 1) Turn on the unit and follow the directions to let it calibrate for the first time. Learn now to PAGE through the different screens and get familiar with them. 2) Once you are locked into some satellites and the display shows your +- location, go outside and MARK and ENTER (save) your location. Now, FIND it again. Walk around the yard and get familiar with how it works, and understand that the unit WON'T take you directly back to the point you MARKed. If you walk away, and return 10 times, you will come back to 10 different places! But, they will be clustered within about a 20 foot oval. 3) Learn how to FIND that location you MARKed, and edit the coordinates manually to the nearest geocache. note: learn how to toggle the compass on/off (by holding the PAGE button down). I suggest you keep it OFF when walking. Understand that when you're NOT in compass mode, the arrow (or line on the map page) only shows where the cache is RELATED TO THE STRAIGHT LINE YOU ARE WALKING. If you walk in circles, who knows where it is pointing? You'll get used to this in the backyard. If you turn the compass on, it is better to calibrate it first (simple; look up directions). I suggest you turn the compass on only when you are standing still, just to tell what general direction the cache is in, then turn it off when actually walking to the cache. Many think that the compass in the 60 series is a bit quirky, but I find it most valuable when used this way. You would think that in compass mode, the arrow would always point you toward the cache while you are walking, but for some reason, many of us have trouble navigating with the unit IN compass mode. But, see what works best for you. 4) I believe this will get you geocaching ASAP. Then, in a day or two you can play around with downloading tons of geocaches into your unit. Don't sit at your computer all day when you can be geocaching. Take it a little at a time. And come back again with new questions. Good luck. That is a great unit.

I hate to say it, but this is why a lot of people believe that someone should have 50 or 100 finds under their belt before they are allowed to place a geocache. A person who has only 1 or two finds (actually 1 find, the second was his own cache) like the OP, is often just too inexperienced to know what they are doing. This isn't a criticism of the person, just the reality that there's a lot more to learn than is at first apparent. It takes a while to fully understand what geocaching is all about, and what constitutes a good hide or a poor hide. In addition, it is often these caches that have problems such as bad coordinates, bad containers, or being placed without permission. Not always, but all too often. A cache is the property and responsibility of the owner ... forever.

I'll add some line and a hook, and turn it into a fishing lure to use while I'm kayak caching. And now, I'm leaving a broken rubber band.

Take me somewhere I've never been; show me something I've never seen. Don't waste my time with a lame final location, with a lame leaky dirty cache container. Give them something to talk about! Here is a neat 13 stage cache I just completed. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...fb-5bdba51620b7 It was all of the above.

Why would you have to? Winter caching can be a lot of fun. And if you time it right, you can follow fresh footprints to the cache! Seriously!

What are you using to find the caches? If it is an auto GPSr, then make sure it's not set on "follow road" when you leave the pavement.

I assume you're asking how to use your Geomate Jr? I have one, as well as a Garmin 60. Remember that you must be walking in a straight line for a while. Based ON THAT LINE, the arrow points to the cache. If you are walking along a curve, or in circles, or zig-zags, the arrow points who knows where! Also realize that the coordinates "drift" constantly. The position is APPROXIMATE. Here is an exercise. It is easy to do with any GPSr, but you can also do it with a Geomate Jr. I assume you bought the Geomate Jr Upgrade Kit. If so, it allows you to enter your own coordinates manually. Go out in your backyard, or a nearby field. Stand in one area and notice the latitude and longitude on your unit. Write them down. Also, mark the spot with a rock or something. Go home, and load this "cache" manually into the Geomate Jr via the Upgrade cable. Now, go back to the spot you marked and "find" it again. You KNOW where it is, so now you can get some experience of how the arrow on your unit points when walking a straight line, a curve, etc. You'll also get an idea of how long/far you need to walk straight before the arrow points correctly. This can be a real eye opener, and drive the point home that the arrow only points to the approximate position of the cache. Have Fun!

PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP! To have a reasonable chance at FTF, you really need to be a premium member and get an instant alert sent to your cellphone. Don't expect to have much luck if you're not a PM.

"Every night while the kids slept and with flashlight in hand, I placed the trinket boxes around the campground and marked them. With both GPS's this was easy - they couldn't wait until breakfast was over and the dishes done to get started. It became a race to see who could find their box first. " Great Idea! This kept it simple; the grandkids enjoyed themselves; and everyone left with pleasant memories! Glad you had a great time!

Please do it right! Nothing is more frustrating than trying to find a cache, only to learn that the coordinates are 70 feet off! If you cannot determine the coordinates with a reliable GPSr, and cannot find anyone to help you, then you shouldn't place the cache. If you're determined to place one anyway, try letterboxing instead. Letterboxes have been around for many years, before GPS were created. If you DO decide to place a cache, are you committed to maintain it for YEARS?

Same here. I used to be able to log onto Geocaching.com at work. Recently, it no longer supports older versions of IE. My computer times out trying to log on. Fortunately I can still log on at home. Perhaps that is your problem? Or, try using FIREFOX. Hope that helps.

FLORIDA: Dry Tortugas National Park. http://www.yankeefreedom.com/national-park-photos.htm#a It is 75 miles out to sea past Key West, readily accessible by ferry boats and seaplanes. Last year, we camped 4 days on the island and snorkeled every day! There is even a VIRTUAL here! http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...91-62c43f9e4876

Be aware that a BRAND NEW PQ gets processed very quickly. Run it again, and it will take a lot longer to show up in your mailbox.

OK. Did you notice the little MAP IT icon? BTW. You can run as many PQs as you want, but you can only generate coordinates for download 5 times per day. So, go ahead ... Tweak your PQ until it is just what you want. THEN and ONLY THEN, set the day you want it run (probably "today"). If it is under 500 caches, it will send a file to your email. If it is 501 - 1000 caches, it will send a file to your computer (I set mine to the desktop). Once I have the file, I load it into GSAK. From there, I can download it to my GPSr or my Palm Pilot. Another neat thing you can do is look at the GALLERY of your PQ and look for interesting images. Often, this will correspond to an interesting cache search. Hope that helps.

Pants on the ground Pants on the ground Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground With the gold in your mouth Hat turned sideways Pants hit the ground Call yourself a cool cat Lookin' like a fool Walkin' downtown with your pants on the ground Get it up, hey! Get your pants off the ground Lookin' like a fool Walkin' talkin' with your pants on the ground. Get it up, hey! Get your pants off the ground Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground

ME TOO! Until last month!!! I NEVER worried about Poison Ivy. Never had a problem with it. Then, about a month ago, my left hand began itching. Then there were several "mosquito bites" all lined up in a row. How strange. In a couple days, the number of "mosquito bites" increased as did the itching. I asked my brother-in-law, a Conservation Officer with lots of field experience, to look at it. POISON IVY he said. I was sure surprised. I did a lot of Google searches, and learned that some people get by for years before they finally have a reaction. Now, I really watch for Poison Ivy. It sure is everywhere in Michigan. But I'd never ask for a SBA, although I might mention exceptional amounts of it in my log.

ME TOO! The Geomate Jr. is GREAT for this type of geocaching. As long as you use the upgrade kit, you will have a very recent download of thousands and thousands of caches . They'll all be Traditional Caches; no member only caches; and no 5 star terrain ... but still far more than you could ever hunt in a lifetime. This is also perfect for me because my Garmin 60 can only store 1000 caches. But my PALM can store thousands. So, I CAN run multiple PQs of the area if I want to, and store them on my PALM. I know that most "regular" geocachers thumb their noses up at the Geomate Jr. But I have found it fits a niche quite well.

What I and many of us do is go out and buy a used PALM device. You can download the entire PQ to it, clues, everything. You'll need a program such as cachemate to do this easily.

Full instructions on how to use it are on their website. You have to set up a free account to access the upgrades. It is MUCH easier to do this using IE rather than Firefox, at this time. It took a little while to set it all up, but after that it is quite simple to load the upgraded databases. Last time I looked, earlier this summer, you could load East US, West US, or entire US, which include thousands and thousands of caches. You CAN manually add any cache you want. This is a recently added ability. You have to enter the coordinates into your computer, then transfer them to the Geomate Jr. via the update cable. This would actually make it possible to do multi caches. Of course, you would have to return to your computer to enter subsequent stages, but it IS possible. I have a Geomate Jr as well as a Garmin 60cs. My Garmin can only hold 1000 geocaches, so I rely on my Geomate Jr. a lot on vacation and trips away from home. It is a nice little unit, and quite accurate finding caches.

WOW! Where can I buy one of those geotag transmitters? And, this is just another example of why I'm so upset over people who believe everything they read in the newspapers!

Search for New/Newer Caches! Since nobody (I hope) initially stocks their new caches with junk, searching these out should increase your chance of finding nice, clean swag. It will also increase the distance you have to drive. You can scroll through the listings to find recently published caches. This search is much, much easier if you are a premium member. You can actually search for caches placed during the last few days, weeks, whatever. As a premium member, you can also have instant alerts sent to your email, or even your cellphone, whenever a new cache is published.

Attach a nano to a kite. Fly the kite into the top of the tallest tree around. (Archive it when someone logs "Needs Maintenance") Well, that is as accessible to me as some other ***** caches around here!

Welcome! Now we got another one! Too late to escape. You're addicted. There's no way out.