leaf720

I have an eXplorist GC which has decided to stop working on me. When turning it on (either with batteries, or connected to computer) I get the screen that says "MAGELLAN", but there's no loading icon, just the "MAGELLAN". After 5 minutes, nothing else showed up. It won't shut off either, even after 20 seconds of holding the power button. I tried resetting it to no avail. Also, my computer doesn't detect a device when it's connected. I searched through topics about the eXplorist GC but didn't find the problem I have. Has anyone else had this issue with theirs?

124.88 km

Is it considered bad taste to log finds late for a streak?

I found half of a metal spoon in a cache once.

As a finder, I will on-purpose not record a DNF and leave a Note instead, if it looks like the cache owner placed the cache in order to get a lot of DNFs. Example, the rock pile cache under a heavy tree canopy with no hint and a 2 star difficulty. Or the cache that can't be found, where the CO taunts the finders to the point you start to wonder if the cache was actually placed. Logging a DNF plays right into the CO's hands. I don't cache to get frustrated with a hunt and I sure don't want to encourage more of that type of cache hide. As a CO doesn't matter to me if someone posts a Note instead of a DNF. Anything is fine with me, I want the finder to report any issues. If they prefer a Note instead of a DNF that's OK. I wouldn't want to discourage them, otherwise they may decide it's better to not post even a Note to avoid irking a CO. Thanks for the input. It doesn't bother me under those circumstances, it makes sense. I just dislike when someone writes a note instead of a DNF because they think their failing to find a cache is so unthinkable.

There are potentially less caches to find in the winter, and sometimes if you get a lot of snow it's just snowwhacking. Other than that (and the cold) I love the absence of bugs, less vegetation, etc

It irks me when some people are too proud to log a DNF, so they write a note about it instead. Food in the cache, or moldy crayons (just bad not-worth-the-hassle swag altogether) Also, I find it funny how some people find 2, maybe 3 caches and they're like "oh I love geocaching, I'm hooked!" then they never log into the site again

I have only found one trackable, a geocoin, and I brought it to a few caches before putting it into another cache. The cache I put it in is at a lighthouse which can only be accessed by navigating a long line of large rock piles, so it doesn't get too many visitors due to the high terrain rating, especially when the rocks are icy. After I put the geocoin in it, somebody logged a DNF a few days later, and then a month and a half later, someone found it, but they said the geocoin was not in it. The next person to find it couldn't find the coin either. I know some cachers may not log a coin properly when they take it, or just mistake it for swag and take it, but there were no reported finds between mine and the person who didn't find the coin. Has this or something like this happened to anyone else before? I feel almost responsible for the coin going missing. It's been from Alabama to Nunavut, to name a few places.

Sometime last year I found out about geocaching and saw there was one near my house, so I decided to look. However, we were in a car and it looked like someone else had it so I left. Then, a week or so later I looked for another one, and I can't even tell you how beginner I was (it was called something along the lines of "Under the Skirt"), I looked for that one, and couldn't find it. Probably since I didn't know lamp-post skirts were called skirts back then. However, since I couldn't find it I just forgot about it for a whole year, and rediscovered it recently. I am more successful now. It's pretty disappointing when you can't find a geocache, especially when you're a beginner because it puts you off. My first 3/4 recent searches were unsuccessful. Just try not to give up! And like they say, go for the simple ones. Skirt caches are good beginner caches, provided there's no one around. Happy caching!