Tonsil

Thanks for the responses. For some reason, the second option (editing the attribute) wasn't available to me. When I went to the 'edit attributes' page, the maintenance attribute simply wasn't there for me to turn off. However, it was still showing on the page. I did manage to write an 'Owner Maintenance' log and remove it that way. I also figured out why I was confused. Like I said, I havent used the site in some time. After a cacher posted a 'Needs Maintenance' log, I disabled the cache. When I reenabled the cache, I wrote a 'enable listing' log, but not an 'Owner Maintenance' log. I don't remember having to do both before - Is the maintenance cylce a relatively new addition? Do owners still diasble/enable the cache during maintenance, or are most people hip to the attribute that pops up to know not to search for the cache?

Hey all, I don't hit the site much anymore, so I apologize if this has come up before (tried searching first). One of my caches had a 'needs maintenance' log posted some time ago. Since then, I fixed up the cache and posted an 'enable listing' log. However, I noticed that there is a 'needs maintenance' attribute on the cache listing that I cannot seem to get rid of. What's the trick? Thanks.

I'll be there!

I actually thought it was kinda cool that they let premium members get a taste as a way of saying thanks for support. As others have suggested, this site grew out of the locationless and virtual caches being posted on gc.c. So, whether or not it suits your particular liking, it was being developed just as part of the evolution/specialization of the hobby. The fact that it turned into a whole new site? Well, that's just the way it happened. As Waymarking grows in popularity, I imagine that they'll continue to separate from gc.c in functionality and membership. Personally, I hope they'll continue to allow a premium membership from one to cover both.

One of the problems, if you want to call it that, of the immediate Pittsburgh vicinity is that land tends to get reclaimed. That is, the closer to downtown you get, the less chance you'll find old abandoned buildings of any interest. You either find historic buildings that get renovated, or whatever was there is razed and something new is put in its place. If you're into that kind of thing, though, you might want to hike sections of the Rachel Carson Trail. For example, there's a cache called Loggerlager II that's on the RCT. It's on what used to be Indian hunting grounds, and later was part of the trolley line that ran from Pittsburgh to Butler. You can still signs of the old rail grade there. If that's up your alley, you can get a trail guide from the rachel carson trail website. Also check on Trigo, and check the PA reference shelf at any library. I've found a wealth of interesting sites there, but many of them are on private land and are unsuitable for cache placements.

Honest question here - Would it be possible to send the PQ emails out with a read confirmation request? I realize that not all clients would handle that, but it might help to prevent people from missing a PQ because they weren't paying attention. I don't know how long the new reply mechanism is going to be in place, so if it's truly short-term, then maybe this kind of extra effort (on the part of the gc folks) isn't worth it. Still, I know a number of geocachers that are lucky to be able to check their email, so expecting them to manually respond will probably leave them confused.

I spotted this snake in the streets of New York - or was it L.A.? I can't remember, but I do know that I thought he was dead at first. I escaped by taking a cab - earnestly!

Absolutely amazing! If you don't have your own product line endorsement by now there's something wrong. Congratulations on the milestone - I can't even comprehend the effort involved!

Hey, you can't forget the Yimes! The Prime Yime is a personal friend and one of only 2 people that have hit me with a slapshot in an office setting (true!). He can't normally get out to the truly remote locations, so he makes up for it by keeping his hides close to home but spending an inordinate amount of time on them. The artwork, puzzles, and prose truly raise the bar. The only reason I didn't mention his caches before is because I have only found one of them! I just don't get over there much anymore... he needs to hide some caches in Cumberland, MD!

Not far from Blackwater Falls is the Maryland High Point. It's on a mjor road, but I really recommend that hike. What a view! Also, while you're in Blackwater Falls, be sure to check out the Elakala Falls. The trail starts from the lodge parking lot, and they're quite beautiful and more accessible than the main falls. Another good cache (yes, it's a virt) that I liked was Goldilock's Worst Nightmare. I don't know if you're going to end up anywhere near that one, but I liked it.

First off, we lied to Team K-9. You don't really find out what Trigo stands for until you learn all 5 verses of the hymn (in Gaelic) and the secret handshake. If you like the longer hikes, the Clifftop caches are good for starters. There are a bunch in North Park, some are short and easy, some are longer, but it's a great way to kill a day or three because you can spend as much time as you have. LoggerLager II is a good one for what you're looking for (hopefully it isn't archived by now). I agree with the Quest Master caches - do as many of them as you can, because they're all good. Some are probably longer than the 2 hours you mentioned. Read the logs, it'll give you an idea of what's involved. Puppyman's caches in Moraine State Park are excellent. Two other cachers that hide some good moderate hikes - Nellsnake and Team Willow. They've both been on puzzle kicks lately, though, so read the pages before you try any of theirs. Otherwise, you'll park the car and realize you need a spool of wire, some putty, and a supercomputer. If you don't mind a relatively easy puzzle, you could hit my cache 'Into The Fold'. It will probably take around 2 hours and take you to a place that's out of the way, yet still in the middle of Allegheny County. Syzygy, another of mine, is more difficult, and I wouldn't suggest it to anybody that didn't know what they're getting into. Good luck in your wanderings in SWPA - I can honestly say that you can look forward to some of the best caching anywhere. I hope you like hills!

The snake Lep pictured kinda freaked me out because of the patterns on the back. My experience with snakes is limited to the ones I see in western PA, and that was new to me. However, it didn't not have the head shape of a poisonous type, so once Lep and Nellsnake (who I think is poisonous) assured me that it was okay, I climbed down off of Eithnie's back. As for the not-rock-hopping, we smartly took it uphill before we encountered too steep of a bank. The undergrowth wasn't as dense as some I've encountered other places, but add to that the climbing of rocks and tricky footing and it's tough going, period.

Hey, if it makes you feel better, I agree with you. As has been said, that link could be made directly with the same effect. And for all the people with alternate browser suggestions, that's really not addressing the request. Neither is bookmarking the forum itself. Ideally, you want to be able to change your settings on the gc.c site, click(once) to the forums, and see those changes be there. No, it's not the end of the world to have to see the 2nd page and click again, but there's nothing wrong with seeing something that could be better and suggesting a change. That's what this forum is for.

It wouldn't hurt to touch up the paint on the can (many have rust when you get 'em), and tether it in case of flooding, etc. I have a can that survived being in a creek bed during a major flood. Everything remained dry inside, but it could probably use a new coat of paint.

Don't forget about MechaGodzilla... I mean, that was weird Unfortunately (or not, depending), I will be too busy suffering from heat exhaustion on the Rachel Carson Trail to attend. Someone grill a hamster for me.

This brings us to an even more important question: what can we do about Lake Erie? Something must be done!

To use your negative behavior modification approach to make sweeping changes in cache placing you would have to do it at the local level. I have seen the results in various localities of people ridiculing and shaming other people's caches and it has not been pretty. It is a tricky business to separate constructive criticism from an initial emotional response. Perhaps a more effective approach would be to place quality caches nearby as an example. The game should be fun. Very well said. I wasn't being completely serious in my post, for the very reasons that you mention (even though I think the 2 webcam thing is silly). I, too, have seen local cachers berate a certain type of cache, and the people that placed them. I agreed with them on their opinion of the caches, but not in how they delivered the message. Like you said, the whole point is to have fun. As much as I was kidding about the 'public shaming' bit, I do think we should think twice before adding rules to cover every potential loophole in the game. Do we really want to evolve a vast legal document that every budding new cache hider must digest before placing a new cache? If the guidelines become too unwieldy, people won't read them.

I wasn't trying to suggest that we chould change policy to try and eliminate cache lameness. That's obviously only my opinion, and you can't start regulating caches on opinion. I don't think a refined set of guidelines is an answer. However, just because a cache is technically legal doesn't make it a good idea. I feel that having two caches from the same webcam is really dumb. I would be remiss if I did not publicly ridicule this foolishness. Perhaps if enough people agree with my opinion, we can shame the hider in question into archiving the cache, and we will have effectively self-regulated without adding more rules to the books.

I agree, having 2 webcam caches like that is utterly stupid. It doesn't even matter if theres an applicable rule or not - it's just lame. Worse yet, it looks like the second 'hider' ripped off the description as well. Weak.

It doesn't matter where, right? We could hook you up further north, in Maryland.

Good advice in the above posts, but I just wanted to add that a small amount of movement isn't enough to affect the GPSr reading. You probably don't want to set the unit on the ground, as it might obscure the satellite reception somewhat (trees, bushes, etc.). Definitely take multiple readings. If you can get a 2nd GPSr, it also helps.

Hopefully without starting some kind of debate on the subject, I might add that maybe micros just aren't your bag. Some love 'em, some hate 'em, but the fact is that a lot of urban micros require some degree of stealth or at least a lack of concern that you look like a loon while finding them. Since you're relatively new, you might want to try doing some caches that are more "traditional" (i.e. larger containers hidden in more remote locations) if the idea of snooping around light posts is not appealing to you. If you have kids of your own or can rent some, it will make you look less suspicious when searching for micros. People just assume you're trying to retrieve a lost toy or something. Lastly, I have found that if you can, it's best to do a micro run on a separate day from trad hunts, so that you're not covered in mud, wearing a backpack, and carrying a macheté in the center of town.

Yeah, I asked for this a while ago (and I'm sure I wasn't the first), but I suppose there are bigger fish to fry. Maybe they're putting it off until the TB pages themselves are redone?

True enough, but before you make people (more) paranoid, I think in this case the image is hosted locally, meaning by gc.c. If they want to log your IP, they don't have to resort to any trickery to do so. Which isn't to say that you couldn't try to conceal it, either. Now where did I leave my tinfoil hat?

When you start seeing user names being auctioned off on eBay, then it's time to worry.