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SamLowrey

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Posts posted by SamLowrey

  1. 14 hours ago, Gill & Tony said:

    I will miss the Off Topic forum.  Not the politics and the Covid/vaccine discussions, but the fun things like face It, Spot the Cat, photos for Shirley.  Things which make me smile, or even laugh out loud.  Sometime we need something like that.

     

    I am a member of a number of forums which have something equivalent to Off Topic, but they ban certain broad areas, mainly Politics and Medicine.  One fourm has completely closed its Current Affairs and Serious Discussion area.

     

    I was hoping that there may be some way thet Groundspeak could do something similar.

     

    The moderators would not be required to make the decision that a post is unacceptable, although that option would be available for blatant breaches.  Rather, it would be up to the community to decide what is not acceptable, via the report procedure.

     

    I do hope that Groundspeak will consider making space available for fun things which are not strictly geocaching.

     

    Yes, dissent must be silenced!

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  2. 1 hour ago, fizzymagic said:

    Was there some reason for the months to start on more or less random days?  Was moving to a new peak on the first too difficult to program or something?  As it is, the promotion is actually disincentivizing me from caching toward the end of each month.

     

    The post right above yours mentions how the point values change along the way.  I suppose it allows them to tweak things as it goes on.

  3. 7 minutes ago, kunarion said:

     

    Where I live (Georgia), certain State Parks, wildlife areas, and forested areas may have hunting, especially for deer.  Caches in these places tend to mention this, and that reflective vests are advised during hunting season.  But even in county parks that don't have hunting, I watch for hunters, just in case.  Some of my caches are in the wild areas of a park, and owners of adjacent property do tend to consider it all their hunting area.

     

    I don't think I've ever been in a state park in Texas where hunting was going on.  I had to look it up to see if it was allowed and it does seem to be in some cases.  I was in a National Forest (much different than a National Park) where it was going on but it seems I was usually there out of season.

  4. 2 hours ago, Hynz said:

    I have a hard time believing there exist hiders able to hide and maintain thousand(!) caches and all of the caches deserve nice and individual logs. But what do I know.... :rolleyes:

     

    He has put out that many.  I would say half or less that are still active.  He does maintain them but if they aren't working out he lets them go.  Many are cemetery caches.  Most have some description of a famous/historical person.  Maybe half regular/small and the rest bison tubes.  Over 2000 favorite points, for all his caches.  

  5. I was going after a cache in a "greenbelt" area (don't know if that parlance is common - it is 'round these parts) that abuts to a modern-day monstrosity of concrete known as a strip mall complete with one or more big box stores.  Around the back of said place, along the alleyway, there was, in addition to the requisite concrete lined ditches and culverts to handle all the water that is now diverted when it rains, the wall of "green" of untamed nature to face the silent, windowless wall of cinderblock and modernity.  And along that wall was a distinct trail. I was happy to find that because I knew that was the intended trailhead the cache owner expected me to use.  I even saw a lone butterfly flitting around near the trailhead which often moves me.  This is a little-used trail that is an offshoot of a much more frequented trail that I would probably avoid altogether if I had to enter it via the "popular" way.  Just WAY too many people vying for parking spaces and so artificial feeling it spoils the venture before I even set out.  I do encounter a little evidence of nefarious human activity like shopping carts and even one of those really heavy, flat carts you find in a big box hardware store.  That is near the beginning but as I go on the trail is rather pleasant and unpolluted.  It meets up with the main trail but I don't have to travel it far to get to GZ....

     

    I know when I used a GPSr unit ages ago I could actually backtrack along the same path.  I rarely used that feature, but it was there.  And I haven't often needed such a feature with the way I cache when using my phone and the app.  It would have come in handy this time, though.  As I was heading back I was presented with options I don't recall the reverse-answer to.  I have a general bearing.  I have literally no fear at all of being "lost" because I know I can dump out of the woods to the reverse-frontier of the strip mall eventually (plus there is a highway which I am within earshot of - these things I make a note of along with the position of the sun for backup.)   Anyway, to not make a story longer than it already is (and longer than I already set out) I choose the wrong path to get back to the trail but soon I see the back of the buildings and see where I can get back to my car with a little bushwhacking.

     

    I distinctly remember, as I'm walking in the shade provided by the buildings and along the alleyway to eventually lead back to my car (also tired, hot and a little hungry because I hadn't eaten all day) having a feeling "well, I'm "safe" now - back in civilization."  Only half-serious of course, it isn't like I was in some uncharted territory.  Just knew that I could get to my car, get a few good gulps of water and find some place to eat.  No sooner did that thought cross my mind did I hear someone calling me from behind.

     

    "Excuse me!  Sir!"  Oh, hell, what is this?  Before even turning around I surmised what it might be but I just didn't want to accept it.  I HAD seen what looked like tents up ahead *just* before cutting out to the alleyway area.  It had weighed in my decision to stop my progress in that direction and cut out but more it had to do with the knowledge I was already far west of the marked trailhead and I could see civilization through the brush.  This person, this woman, is nearly 100 yards behind me.  I think she and others must have had a delayed response to my unexpected brush with their encampment.  She continues "What do you want? Do you want something?"  Or something to that effect.  What have I gotten myself in to?  I only pause to turn around and give what I believe to be a universal gesture of "I don't want any part of whatever you are offering" and keep on walking.  But she continues to advance.  She is actually remarkably well-dressed.  In a fairly nice DRESS of all things.  But she doesn't seem to want to just take my obvious rebuff and continues with all sorts of questions why I would approach them and then leave.....why I would (in her perception) suddenly leave, etc... I begin to wonder if they (she makes reference to others but I see only her) were doing drugs or whatever and are paranoid I saw them and will report them or something.  I explain that I was hiking and got out at the wrong spot, which is totally true.  She still seems almost skeptical.  There is a part of me thinking "what difference does it make to you - I told you what happened."  She kinda switches her message to how I shouldn't feel I need to abandon the trail just because I saw them.  How "they" (park services?) had cleaned up the trail and improved it.  Then she is apologetic saying that "things happen in life" to explain why they are living like they are.  I try to say some kind words but despite her closing the distance to about 100 feet I think it is wise to keep my distance.

     

    She turns back to go back to her world and I go back to mine, I guess.  I have turned over the idea of getting a cooler full of stuff that might be useful to people living like that.  My natural inertia is to not, though.  Most probably won't even read much after seeing a wall of text (I set out making a much briefer account but I just got carried away.)   Maybe no one will respond which is ok.  Just kinda felt I need to get it off my chest.

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  6. 3 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

    I would think the best way to honor him would be to write really nice logs for his caches that you find.

    I have done so and even reached out to him through the message system to tell him how valued he is.  He answered back very kindly.  He still writes occasional sour notes on his caches to address others how he wishes people took more time to write logs.   

  7. Is there a good way to highlight the contributions of a cacher?   I know of one who has put out a lot of hides (~ 1000).  I've watched a few and he has expressed his frustration at the lazy logs left behind.  Naturally, the very people who do that aren't going to read the previous logs in the first place. 

  8. All good suggestions.  I had thought about multicache anyway.  So that may work.  Some nearby Wherigo caches have pushed me over the edge to finally try some of those and that, too, may be a solution.  I will have to do a few of them to figure out how it works.  Thanks everyone.  I think the consensus is right - this may not be worth it.

  9. 14 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

     

    We haven't read descriptions on low D/T traditionals in years.  Unhelpful blather, to the extent that it could be another "page" worth the reason. 

    Then you find there's no hint after all that carp...  Not placing low D/T caches, so it stirs some interest to read it works. 

    How many low D/T caches are more than a quick stroll (if that) from the car ?

             

    I'd scroll through all the blather to get to the space for parking, JIC.  Most we know do. 

    Here, with some drives into game lands (our largest landowner) adjoining private home's driveways, it'd be nice to pick the right one.  :)

     

    Yep, PI, thorns, and ticks...all the common sense things that folks see outdoors.   That's what attributes are for...

     

    Yes, this would have a higher T so maybe that would be enough to get someone to prepare.   

  10. Since many do not read the description of a cache, especially when using the app on the phone, I thought it might be good to have a popup feature available.  I know that when the app updates on my phone I get the popup for each cache type the first time I click on it describing what the type means.  It would behave like that but for each cache that has the feature turned on for that cache.  And would only open once. 

     

    I was thinking of putting out a cache where the trailhead has no obvious parking nearby.  One might be tempted to park at the closest area but that would mean walking along a busy road with no shoulder and not much area to walk beside the road.  However, there is some non-obvious parking elsewhere that would lead the cacher along a safer path.  Yes, I could add the parking but I think some would not look for it.  So even if the popup simply said "Check Parking" that would be helpful.  So that could be one way to do it.  Have only pre-set messages like that as opposed to some open text field.

     

    I guess the downside would be that people would overuse it.  People who think warning about poison ivy would warrant the popup and it would just get annoying.

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  11. Yes, what barefootjeff said.

     

    I have one that is a neat old VW bus abandoned in a wooded area.  I was elated that no one else had put a cache there.  The bus has character to it and is in an unexpected place.  It hasn't been discovered too many times but I get a lot of favorite points.  There is also a VW beetle abandoned in a greenspace that was made in to a virtual (so that tells you how old the placement is) that gets lots of favorite points.  

     

     

  12. Containers that fit the environment and are hidden in plain sight.  The most common of this form is something like a birdhouse that opens up.  There is one that I saw that were a couple of shoes that were tied together and thrown over a branch.  Wasn't too visible from the trail so wasn't too likely to be picked up by some well-meaning person to clean things up.  Most would look at it and just be a little repelled and wouldn't touch them.  But inside one of the shoes was the container.  

  13. 1 hour ago, niraD said:

    One of the things I appreciate about Groundspeak is the way they have resisted creating any incentive to hide a cache other than the desire to own and maintain a cache. If they were to offer points for placing caches, then caches would be placed by people interested only in the points, not in owning and maintaining the caches.

     

    1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

     

    ET Highway comes to mind, and there's lots of others already.  Bring a film can, swap for each down the road, no need for any "maintenance".

    We've seen how some came by those "points", and fibbers are many.   :D   I'd rather not see hiding get that way too...

     

    Figured that would be the reasoning.  But some will lie about finding caches, I thought.  But now that I think about it, I can see how  it would be more damaging for people to place low-effort hides than for those to lie about making a find.

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