Trekkin' and birdin'

There was one about an hour from where we live, and I tried twice to open it. Shortly after my second attempt, which drove me INSANE, because I trapped the key but could never quite get it into the tube, someone really destroyed it. The owner had hopes of putting it back in play, but it was too far gone. I was not the source of the destruction....though I *dud* think about it. Thanks for starting this thread, maybe we'll make one of these and place it to drive the FTFer's nuts!

Adding our condolences on your loss.

Our feeling is that the person placed a cache for us to find, so no reason to be critical. Of course, we may not FEEL that way during the hunt, but our choice remains to share the experience, not the negativity. If there is some major issue beyond the usual disgruntlement with tricky or poorly placed caches, like a problem with container or something, we might email the cacher privately, but still would not complain. We save our whining for the face to face experience, LOL!

We got a certificate for $125. It was in a temporary event cache, which we don't log, but we were sure glad we hunted it! It was a great multi, it's too bad it couldn't have been made permanent. We've found a number of $5 gift cards for places like McD's or Starbucks, the occasional geocoin and that's been about it. Always fun to see what might be there, but more fun to enjoy visiting the places that the caches take us.

Thanks for that info, too. As for binoculars.....not a problem, diehard birder here. I think at least a couple of us going plan to book a whale/puffin watching cruise, so if anyone local has insight as to recommended tour operators, that would be great, too.

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of information I wanted.....caches I can find while doing what I came to do, which is to see and experience the area. Well, actually, I'm coming to present a storytelling workshop, but that's just a little part of the time there!

Although we haven't placed any vacation ECs ourselves, we've appreciated those placed by others. Having had to close one of ours down for a period of time following the devastating floods in the Driftless Region a couple years ago, I can see valid concerns when the cache owner isn't local and may not realize these things. I also struggle with the idea of putting an EarthCache close to a physical cache, although we did do that with one of ours. I see both sides of the argument.....one can already see the geology if you explore the area while finding the cache, but then again, if you don't understand what you're seeing, you may not get the full appreciation of the forces shaping that feature. I have friends who, when I describe some cool feature at a physical cache, automatically feel it should have an EarthCache. We haven't placed any new ones for about a year, though we've pondered and researched a few ideas, and those all involve areas where physical caches are not allowed. My thinking is that an EarthCache is a way for geocachers to explore unique areas and features not found while looking for the box in the woods. Though our EC placements are few, those we've placed seem to be well appreciated and I'd like to think that reflects on the time and care we've taken to create them. I'm reserving judgement on the new process and feel a bit of comfort in knowing that geoaware does read these forums and has seen the uproar. I realize there is a contingent of folks out there who feel like ECs are a glorified virt, and maybe this process, if nothing else, demonstrates that TPTB still see ECs as viable listings.

Like a tree OVER a river? LOL I have an eyewitness who'll testify! Plus, I did sign it. I only wish she'd had her camera ready on that one! Back to the topic.....we've deleted obvious armchair logs on a couple virtuals we adopted but other than that...we take folks at their word. I agree there are ways to prove you found it, like a photo of a solidly frozen-in ammo can, for example.

Hi, I'm from Wisconsin, but will be visiting St. Johns next summer as a participant in a storytelling conference held there. I'll probably have a little time to find some caches. I've already targeted an EarthCache at Signal Hill and a letterbox, cause I like those kinds. I'll be caching without my other half, but am still fairly adventurous on my own (and can probably persuade other storytellers to come along), so terrain challenges are always fun. If a cache will bring me to a spot where I can spot Puffins or migrating whales, all the better. So.....what are the ones that visitors should be sure not to miss? Thanks!

I'm enjoying these names and the creativity that went into them. A friend has one titled Subterranean Slug Fest, and it highlights fossil trails of prehistoric slug-like critters in Winona sandstone. Maybe not as hard as you'd think. There is an actual area of study, called "geomythology," which looks at the legends surrounding geological formations and phenomenona. I had a better link at one time passed along among my storytelling community, but this one shares the basic stuff. http://sp.lyellcollection.org/cgi/reprint/273/1/1.pdf Among storytellers, this concept surfaced not too long after the tragic tsunami in southeast Asia. Apparently the Moken, or sea people at "ground zero," all survived, because their oral tradition told of events that signal the arrival of such a catastrophic event, and they sought higher ground in time. Now you've got me thinking.....what's around my neck of the woods that has some geomythology associated with it AND is a cool geological feature?

I am so sorry to hear this, and my heart goes out to his family and most especially his wife.

Okay, back to the original silly and FUN question....Trekkin', not I, had a FTF love for some time. He still enjoys them, but has always contended that FTF or not, it's another cache find. He likes finding it as the owner intended. If something else is happening in our world....shock!...they'll sit. We'll get them eventually and have just as much fun doing so. We have not posted that stuff in public. Didn't even count them until one of KBs century challenges came up near my parents' home. So we started trying to count them. If I'm correct, we have.....this is kind of embarrassing to me, actually....429 true FTFs as defined by Bart. We have 5698 finds total, but I do like what someone else said....all are FTFs, since we'd never found any of them before. We don't feel so bad, however, as another Wisconsin cacher has about twice that number of FTFs. So....where is this Celebrity FTF Smackdown going to take place? LOL No, we do not and never have had phone notification. Trekkin' tried to figure that out just the other day and it didn't work.

We generally prefer to hide caches that require hikes in the woods as well. That said, we've had one stolen, and one turned up far from ground zero but was rescued by a fellow cacher who recognized it. In these cases, we suspect that school field trips to get the kids out in the woods are the culprit. I guess as a big advocate of "last child in the woods" programs, it's worth the occasional loss to us. One that was stolen hurt just a little, because it was a silver ammo can placed to celebrate someone's 1000th find. Chances are it was not rehidden very well and attracted someone's notice.

Mine finally came about an hour ago. So ready for whenever the next decent weather day comes....

Still nothing here. I redid my PQ as a new one yet again.....waiting. Oh well.

The ones I'm waiting for were new. Actually, it's really only one, but I ran it a couple times again, then created a "new" one once or twice. I guess I'll just go for a bike ride, rather than waste the first nice day in weeks waiting on technology!

Already tried that. Thanks!

Bringing this back on topic..... We are hoping to make a trip to Kentucky next spring....that rock formation suggests we may need to consider bringing our paddling gear! We'd hoped to go this past spring but plans didn't come together for us. Looks like a case of good things come to those who wait. We have found a mess of EarthCaches and learned a lot from the visits and the cache listings. We have placed six EarthCaches and those who visit seem to enjoy the discovery of the spots we've picked. In particular, many folks have visited Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa, and gained new appreciation for the fact that geology played a huge part in the shaping of the regional cultures. We enjoyed the EarthCache at Pipestone in Minnesota for the same reason. Hopefully our choice of locations and focus for the learning tasks have helped shed a little different light on geology as it influences anthropology and the local cultures. I also hope that folks who visit these caches get different ideas for their own placements. Most of our EarthCaches don't get tons of visits, because we also tend to put them in places where you have to hike or work to get to ground zero. So hopefully, we've helped with folks' cardiovascular programs!

Also having zero luck getting a PQ sent. Preview shows, but that's as far as it gets. So much for my day off work, guess I can get some housework done instead!

Interesting that you bring this up.....we're three away from achieving this, and the other half of our team wants to place a similar cache once we get it. I told him it would never get approved, as it's hard enough to get it once. Guess I was wrong. He'll be happy to hear that! As an aside, is the difficulty 5 terrain 4 a tough one to find everywhere else? It's sure a lean combo to find here in the midwest. The one we did get was outside Chicago, really fun, and now archived. We have found others, but we just have to take the little road trips to get them.

Maybe THAT'S why the other half of my team loves them? He thinks he can win a car? Others have offered sage advice here, both the TB question and the FTF question.

I was doing something similar for awhile. There was a project called "Found Art," but it looks like that link is now broken. I don't know if anyone liked the things I dropped, but I had fun with it. I enjoy finding things like this and it's about the only time I trade stuff in caches. Here's a link to the blog I was keeping when I was doing this. http://subversiveactsofartisticjoy.blogspot.com/ It beats dirty golf balls as trade items IMHO.

For the record....not all of us in Wisconsin love our temporary caches. We have never logged a single one, but yes, there are those that do. Also....the Wisconsin Geocaching Association has taken the stand on our events that temporary caches are not to be logged. How a cache like the one referenced was published is outside my knowledge, but I do know that it was placed as a means for some who like their temps to continue to log 'em from WGA events. We don't wear badges. The organization has stated its intent, and would rather focus efforts on putting on events, working with land managers and helping to educate groups on the FUN we're all having in this game. Back to the original topic, we adopted three virtuals from someone who was one of the pioneers of geocaching in Wisconsin when she decided to drop back from the game for awhile. One in particular seems to get a lot of armchair logs, and at first we sort of scratched our heads. I don't get it. We toyed with changing around the requirements for logging as someone else mentioned, but because these caches are like "legacy" caches in the state, we've left the listings as they stand to honor the original placer's intent. Ultimately, each person has to decide what they can live with and then play the game in that way.

We do them all, but the kind you mention are the ones we seek out. We get the rest along the way. There's a great 10 part multi not far from us in the Kickapoo Reserve of southwestern Wisconsin. The few who have done it say it's one of their favorites, and it's still one of ours. We get a kick out of the smileys, but the real reason we do this is because of the discovery and adventure. We created our own challenge cache that requires finders to find 10 favorite caches that have been big adventures for us. So far, one person has "cached" in. (We take those who complete it and a guest out to dinner). We thought it would encourage more people to try these, but it's been slow going.

I just did a letterbox hybrid that was set up exactly as the OP said. It's in northern Illinois and the posted coordinates brought me to the first stage. From there, I had two more stages that required me to follow verbal orienteering instructions. Very well done. We have a lot of LB hybrid finds, and the best ones IMHO are those set up in this manner. GC12F1C Custom stamps are not that tough, either. Get some of the inexpensive stamp carving kits at a place like Hobby Lobby. A bold graphic design can be modified to carve for your image. You can also do a reverse design, where you draw the design onto the carving material and then just incise those lines. The stamped image will be mostly ink, with the design showing in white. I love LB hybrids and applaud your efforts.