Dj Storm

I thought you posted this one:

There are two classes of puzzle caches: - where you have to find the puzzle, then solving it is trivial (steganography); - where you know the puzzle and rules, and the difficulty consist in solving it. In this case, finding the puzzle is the difficult part; There are clues spread through the description, telling you where to search for the puzzle. It's true that once you start on an incorrect path, it's difficult to find the correct one. My strong points are in applying logic/arithmetic to solve difficult puzzles; locating hidden puzzles are a weak point of mine - after spending 10-15 minutes I become bored, mostly because I feel I'm still at square one. However, I found the puzzle quickly, in about 2 minutes. Solving it took me a day (or should I say, 15 minutes looking at the wrong puzzle-in-the-puzzle, a day ignoring it, then 5 minutes solving the right puzzle). Thanks sir-cachealot, that is a good one, and also allows for quite some variations!

When the CO has a history of dropping the container, marking the coordinates, and posting the cache with no intention of doing maintenance, I will post a "normal" log on his first few caches, but after a while I start sounding harsh. When I mention in my log that the object the cache was hidden in is no longer there, or that I found only the lid of the container, and the CO doesn't even disable the cache (probably because he has other caches disabled for 6 months, and has no time/intention for maintenance), next time I DNF one of his caches in the same circumstances I'm more likely to submit a bitter log, and to follow up with a SBA after the NM log. Sometimes I might sound harsh even if my intentions are good. When a cache is on the top of a slippery hill, with a dense forest, 35%-45% inclination with no trails and no view, and my log says "True 4* terrain, there's no trail and the hill is slippery; took me one hour for the last 500 meters (with 400m elevation change); unfortunately there's no view from the top because of the forest" - that's the pure truth. Some people view any criticism an a personal attack against them, and instead of learning from their mistakes they belittle the finders. On the other hand, there are cachers who see their own shortcomings as the fault of the hider, and post nasty logs. If I come across such people I ignore them.

Psst... They are watching us!

Several years ago, I checked what devices are best in case of emergency. At that time I knew only about satellite phones. Later I learned about PLB's, and SPOT-type devices have been invented recently. Now I think that each device is best suited for a different kind of emergency. SPOTs are good for "Status: green" situations. You hike through the backcountry, and your family at home can see where you are. In case you are running late, they can check if you are on route and in motion. SPOTs have two additional buttons, non-critical emergency (status: yellow) and critical emergency (status: red), but the other devices are better suited for those jobs. Satellite phones are good for "Status: yellow" situations. When you have a non-critical emergency, you can contact anyone you think can help you, and get a cheap help (get some information, or get them to come and pick you up). SPOTs will rely a prerecorded message to your family, but no details about what's wrong. Satellite phones can be used for "status: green" situations (but calling home every few hours has a high cost), or for "status:red" situations, but less efficiently than with a PLB. PLB's are designed for "status: red" (critical emergency) situations. You can be located even if only a satellite is visible from your location (for example you fell in a canyon and broke your legs). SPOTs need 3-4 satellites to get a bearing (same as a GPSr), and satellite phones need to "see" the satellite long enough to make a call and convey the message. When you desperately need helicopter rescue, a PLB is the best device to have. PLB's have only one button (critical emergency), you cannot use them for the other two situations.

Unless the cache owner asks directly or indirectly, I won't fix someone else's cache by replacing a broken container. I will clean out the dirt, mold, water; I will add a dry replacement logsheet and ziplock; I'll drop several swag items if the cache is empty; if the cache fell from its hiding place, or the container and contents lay scattered on the ground, I'll do my best to put it together and hide it back. Replacing containers and doing full maintenance on caches of non-caring active cachers only encourages them to hide more caches without thinking about maintenance. I would prefer such cachers will stop hiding caches. That's why, when I decide to maintain a historic cache, I maintain it as if it was my own cache. If the community wants to maintain a cache, then someone from the community should designate himself "maintainer" and do the job of the missing cache owner. After the second maintenance note, the community will know who's the real maintainer.

My generic recommendation: plan your day by consulting tourist guides. Then check geocaching.com, see if there are caches along your route, then plan to hunt those caches as well. Don't bother with micros/nanos, those are difficult to find, are usually placed in crowded areas, and some of those are deviously hidden. However you can check the cache page of micros, some of them may be placed in interesting location that are not mentioned in tourist guides. If you want to drop some travelers, look for regular caches, then choose one that has low difficulty, good hint/spoiler, good maintenance and low muggling history, and implies a minimum detour from your route. When I visited Burgos (Spain) this summer, there were only 3 caches in town. I hunted none, but one of them (a micro) was placed where El Cid's house was 1000 years ago. The marker/monument is not present in tourist guides.

I always thought that "If special equipment is required, then the cache should be rated 5 stars for terrain, but if special equipment might be needed, then the cache might be rated less than 5 stars". When a cache is placed on a vertical rock in the middle of a river, you can get it either by using rock climbing gear or by renting a helicopter - 5 star terrain because of special equipment needed. A cache hidden in a tree 8-10 feet above ground can be retrieved by using a ladder, or by improvising a stepping tool, or by climbing the tree, or by getting help from another cacher, etc - less than 5 stars for terrain. Regarding getting the key from the courthouse, that doesn't qualify as a special equipment in my opinion; it's just a matter of following simple instructions (go to courthouse, get key, unlock gate, find cache, lock gate, return key). I probably would not seek that cache, I try to avoid interactions with people while geocaching.

The number of stages is not important, the amount of fun during the hunt is. For example: cache GC13YQ8, 16 stages, 7km, about 3 hours to complete, in a medieval town with narrow streets, tall buildings and poor reception, with the final in a muggle-rich area, to be done during the night. One might enjoy the history and the buildings - I visited many of those myself, but I wouldn't enjoy the hunt for that cache. On the other hand, GC1FPN1, 28 stages, 560 km, about 28 days to complete, hiking across the Alpes. That is a cache I would enjoy hunting for, if work would allow a 5 week vacation.

In the spring I discovered some small spring-propelled toy cars, about $0.35/each. I bought a bunch, put them in ziplocs (about $0.01/bag), and left them in caches I found. I haven't found any bagged swag yet (only trackables in ziplocs). Sometimes the value of an object is higher than its price. Putting the swag in its own ziploc not only protects it, but also raises its value, and makes it stand out among the rest of the swag. The toy cars are very popular, usually the next finder grabs them. You don't have to spend a fortune on swag to leave; cheap swag can be great swag, if the presentation is good. An action figure, a McToy, an old coin or a handmade beads bracelet, will degrade if left on the bottom of the container, but put it in a bag and suddenly you have dramatically increased its value. To answer your question, why we don't find great swag in caches, is because many cachers don't plan ahead. They start thinking about swag to trade when they are about to leave the house (or worse, when they find the container), and then trade something they have in their pockets for something they like.

I searched for one cache hidden in a roundabout (coincidentally it was in Spain). It was 3 AM, and I stopped the search after 1-2 minutes because the fourth car drove through the roundabout, and I was unwilling to compromise the cache location. People have no reason to be in the inside circle of the roundabout, so anyone being there is suspicious. The location is also very visible. I don't worry about crossing the street to the island, but I don't like searching while attracting the attention of passers-by.

My worst day(s) consisted in a 3-day roundtrip seeking 2 caches; ended up DNF'ing both. Good hiking/camping/sightseeing experience, but bad weekend for geocaching.

Using your shadow works when the shadow is long. For short shadows (when the sun is almost above you), your height is almost irrelevant, the length of the shadow depends more on other parameters of your body. To correct this, you can use a straight stick with a known length, placed vertically in a specific point. Even if you use a level ground and is possible to precisely measure the lengths of the shadows, one will not be able to compute the latitude/longitude with a precision better than a degree. In order to determine the location down to thousandths of a minute, one has to know the lengths with precision down to microns. Your idea has potential, if you use it in reverse: post the waypoint and the shadows, ask cachers to find the time of day. The final's location will be computed from these times. Because the sun's position varies from day to day, cachers who will visit the cache on another day of the year than the day you took the pictures will have to do some complex calculations. If the day you choose is the winter solstice, you will have long shadows; if you choose the equinox, cachers will be able to visit both during spring and autumn (the shadows during the spring equinox are identical with those during the autumn one - with a twist: one of the equinoxes usually happens during winter time, the other during DST).

I recently did the same (at least from the point of view of someone who doesn't know all the facts). - I went to search for a cache (I knew it was missing since 2007), and logged a DNF; - I used a spoiler picture from a previous log to confirm that the cache is missing; - I sent emails to the CO recommending that he fixes or archives his cache (owner inactive since early 2008); - a month later, having received no answer from the CO, I logged a NA; the cache was archived the next day. The cache had a "Needs maintenance" log since 2007, 6 months before the owner went missing. The cache was not disabled. It had only 3 DNF's (including mine), because cachers avoided it. In that case I considered that archiving is the right thing to do, and the reviewer agreed. I have some similar caches on my list, and I'll do the same (except using a spoiler picture - no pictures and no finds on said caches since 2004-2005).

For day trips (as in 4+ hours away from civilization, 20+ miles roundtrip, get back home before midnight) I carry: - flashlight - rain poncho - 1 extra piece of clothing (t-shirt or jacket) and extra pair of socks - 2 bottles of water (size depends on temperature and how far the refill points are) - 2 sandwiches, 5-6 apples or other fruits (I usually eat the apples and bring the sandwiches back) - something sweet that doesn't melt (chocolate + summer = mess) - GPSr - camera - extra batteries (the GPSr and camera uses the same type of batteries, so in an emergency I can power the GPSr with the batteries from the camera) - cell phones (even if 90% of the time there will be no coverage) - multitool or small knife (never had the need to use it, but you never know) - sometimes a topo map of the area - I used to carry a tripod, but now I think that's overkill - geocaching specifics (pens, cache descriptions, swag, bags and trackables); I don't carry containers unless I set out to place or replace one. - some money I don't carry a first aid kit, wet wipes, latex gloves, sunscreen, bug spray or fire making tools. If you need those, then you should carry them. Best tool: planning. If I cannot complete the planned hike for whatever reason, I can cut it short and use public transport to get back (alternate trails back to civilization, station coordinates, timetables). In your case (driving around and walking small distances away from the car), I would carry more gear (for example a complete change of clothes and shoes + towel) and leave all of it in the car (except the GPSr, camera and geocaching items). No need to carry everything around when you're within 30 minutes of your car. Mark your car's coordinates.

It's not geocaching, but one can use it to hold his collection of geocoins, pathtags and signature items. Of course, he should set it to open in his backyard, not in France...

If the winter months slow down cache placements, we might hit the million on May 3rd, 2010.

N - needle-in-a-haystack type hide

When I find mobile phones, I look in the phonebook for entries like "home" or "mom", call that number and arrange to return the unit to the person who answers. If the GPSr has contact information, use it to contact the owner. If it doesn't, look for a waypoint named "home"; google the coordinates, you may find the owner's blog, or facebook profile, or some other information. Even without google results, you will be able to ask a more specific question, like "Anybody from Springfield lost a GPSr on the top of Boundary Peak?" It will have better chances to catch the attention of some friends of the owner, who will pass your contact information to the owner.

I have revisited some caches, in order to drop a bug, retrieve a bug, or simply because I was nearby. I logged my revisits in the logbook, and on the site. While the site allows me to log them as notes, in the logbook all logs are equal. I write -Revisit- or -Maintenance visit- in the logbook in these cases, but not everyone does this. It's possible that the first logger considers himself co-hider, logged as a note online, and logged in the physical logbook too. If this is the case, he could (should) have written -co-hider- or -here with the owner- or some other key words marking that his log is not a found it log. I'm a FTF hounf, and I respect FTFs. If I will ever go with a hider and beta test his cache, I will note this on "page zero", the page containing the cache name, coordinates, date of placement, hider's name, and co-hider / beta tester's name in this case. Also, nothing says the hider should leave the first page blank. If you find a logbook containing: "Placed this cache along my favorite hiking trail. Dropped bug. Signed, The Hider", would you consider yourself FTF or STF?

You can delete now the second retrieve log; don't worry, the coin will remain where it's now. Or at least backdate your second log to September 27, the date when you retrieved the geocoin.

Before thinking what to include in the presentation, you should know your students better: are they comfortable with technology, computers, gadgets with buttons? Assuming the answer is yes, then I'd concentrate on these topics: + latitude and longitude, brief explanation + how to use the GPSr: -- powering up, waiting to acquire satellites; -- determining current coordinates; -- navigating to specific coordinates; -- manually entering coordinates. + geocaching, with: -- mention of geocaching.com website, where most info can be found; -- brief history (when and how it started, how it evolved); -- geocaching "rules" for finders; -- etiquette, accent on "respect the environment"; -- cache types, sizes, terrain, difficulty, attributes, cache description, hint; -- swag and trackables; -- hiding caches, permission, saturation. I think that's enough for 50 minutes, no need to drown them in information. Prepare some containers to show them as examples (with logbook, swag and trackables) - ammo can, lock-n-lock, bison tube, plus a custom or camoed container. After the course hand them the preloaded GPSr's and guide them to find the caches. During the hunt, you can continue the course with safety tips, respect the law, respect the environment (again). At the cache site, techniques to locate the cache (what to look for). After the find, signing and trading etiquette. Repeat for next caches. People comfortable with computers are able to check the website, sign up, locate caches in their state/county, find the forums, find the information they need. If your students are not computer and technology savvy, then your task is more difficult. I'd suggest another introductory course for using computers, but that will take many hours. In this case, I'd probably present them the same topics described above, and feel sorry for those who won't be able to look up caches. My background: everything I know about geocaching I found out alone, from the web and from doing it in the field. Adding topics like how to set up an account, how to search for caches in an area, or reading info from the site would bore me to hell - just give me the link and let's move on. On the other side, my mother is a technophobe. It's useless to try to drag her in front of a computer, she won't touch it - the maximum she does is browse pictures in a folder. Showing her how to follow the arrow on the GPSr took a long time (keep it level, point it forward, keep moving, look at the distance, go around the building not through it, yes it's normal that the arrow shows left while we go forward, don't rotate the GPSr, keep it level, keep moving, etc). If you have such students, teach them about the activity they are able to do (going out and finding caches), and let their kids/coworkers help them with using the site and uploading coordinates into the GPSr.

Although the last log says you retrieved it, the "system" thinks the coin is still in the cache. Try retrieving it again, then delete one of the logs.

The owner of that cache seems to be missing, so it's unlikely that you will be able to adopt his cache. Since you decided to maintain a cache at that location, you have two options: - Do what's necessary to repair the cache: change the container, change the logbook, repair the camo, etc; you will become part of the community that maintains an old cache. You won't be able to modify the cache page. - Wait a month, then post a SBA (if you don't receive an answer from the owner). Once archived, submit your own cache. You will be able to fully maintain the cache page. The drawback is the history of the cache will be lost. You should consider if the history is more important than the ability to edit the cache page and cache attributes. In this situation, I would request archival. The cache is only 3 years old (not a historic one), and it's a micro. I would maintain a historic cache - 8+ years old, or the first in the county, or with a theme matching the historic place it's placed in, or the cache of a (geocaching) celebrity, etc.

I looked at your puzzle, then at the hint, then googled what I thought the hint represents, then chose the most significant result, googled the result to come up with a text, tried to apply the code over the text, and ended up with gibberish. Thought that there must be lots of versions of that text anyhow, and stopped trying to decrypt it. Then saw your reply, especially this: and That put me on the right track, and the hint confirmed that this is in fact the right track. Just wanted to point out that 72 lacks a space. I'm not a fan of this kind of puzzles, I prefer those where the hard part is solving the puzzle, not finding it. Had I lived in the vicinity of this puzzle, I would have ignored it after my first failure to find the suitable text.