TheAuthorityFigures
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Posts posted by TheAuthorityFigures
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There are a lot of TBs around these parts. Stuff going missing it part of a game unfortuantely. Caches get muggled too. The tbs that I watch that seems to be the logest lived are ones in memory of someone or something
It may be a reality of the game, but it certainly isn't a sanctioned part of the game. If it were a recognized part of the game like infractions in football, then there would be penalties for those infractions. "Holding TB too long on TheAuthorityFigures! 5 smiley penalty!" "Retrieving TB from cache without loging, mesillywoohoo, 10 Smiley penalty!" "Giving in to Childs demand to keep TB, FamilyTryingThisGameOutForTheFirstTime, automiatic game ejection!"
Of course it's not a sanctioned part of the game. But this is real life and people suck and you've got to accept reality and stop being bitter about it. Your TB disappears. Release a new one. They aren't super expensive. Or make a replacement for the lost one. It's not hard.
The fact is a lot of people start geocaching but don't keep with it. They get bored or burnt out and just never do it again. Or they die. My friend's tb ended up with a lady who got hit by a car and killed. She knows because the lady's brother found the tb and contacted her. It's unfortunate but that happens. Then if you have a cache somewhere where it floods and your tb was in there? It's lost.
They might turn up years from now they might not just like any buried treasure which is what this game is about. Finding things hidden.
looks like someone read my post the wrong way. This (
) was suppose to clue you in on the nature of the post. It was in jest. -
When I've taught or helped teach geocaching to newbies, I generally start with about half an hour of "classroom" presentation, explaining the basics of GPS/coordinates, cache sizes/difficulty/terrain, trading, trackables, etc., with a lot of hands-on examples (passing around examples of different containers, trackables, devices, etc.).
After that half hour of "classroom" presentation, I go one of two ways. If the entire class is going to be about an hour, then we spend the rest of the time spotting temporary caches that I've hidden outside, near wherever the "classroom" presentation was held. I like to have more temporary caches hidden than I have students, so everyone has the opportunity to spot a hidden container. I usually do this type of cache at church, with the "classroom" presentation in an actual classroom, and with the temporary caches hidden in the landscaping somewhere nearby. All the temporary caches are in the same area, so I can take the kids to that area and have them raise their hands when they spot caches that haven't been spotted yet.
If the entire class is going to be a few hours, then we split the students into small groups with an experienced geocacher in each group, and a preloaded loaner device in each group. Then each group sets off down a trail that is saturated with caches, but where each cache is different from the others. We can be back to the trailhead after 2-3 hours, and everyone has had the opportunity to spot several varied caches. These classes start at a trailhead that is somewhat remote from residential areas. Ideally, the first cache is a "hidden in plain sight" cache at the trailhead.
I specifically do not take new geocachers to the urban/suburban caches in the local neighborhoods. Even if I trust all the kids in my class, I don't necessarily trust their friends and classmates who hear about hidden "treasure boxes" in the neighborhood.
Tremendous. Bravo!
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There are a lot of TBs around these parts. Stuff going missing it part of a game unfortuantely. Caches get muggled too. The tbs that I watch that seems to be the logest lived are ones in memory of someone or something
It may be a reality of the game, but it certainly isn't a sanctioned part of the game. If it were a recognized part of the game like infractions in football, then there would be penalties for those infractions. "Holding TB too long on TheAuthorityFigures! 5 smiley penalty!" "Retrieving TB from cache without loging, mesillywoohoo, 10 Smiley penalty!" "Giving in to Childs demand to keep TB, FamilyTryingThisGameOutForTheFirstTime, automiatic game ejection!"
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I have not found a TB OR trackable in over a year; very strange and not the way it used to be! Where have they all gone? Anyone else experiencing this? Very frustrating bc i have lost money on something i thought was going to travel and stay in circulation! I have one that hasn't been logged for two years; someone help me out?
You are not alone. It's epidemic. And what's strange is that even when I make it abundantly clear and easy for the finder to KNOW not only what they found, but instructions on EXACTLY how to log their find (metal travel buddy with clear instructions), they STILL mysteriously disappear at an alarming rate. This tells me a couple of things: A lot of cachers out there simply don't read the attached instructions (which by the way are attached by a stainless steel key ring and cemented with lock-tite) and just go on their merry way not knowing or caring what they found. Apparently to many, those shiny metal tags attached sure are pretty but have too many boring words printed on them..., OR, 2: There are cachers out their that know exactly what it is, but choose an attitude of "finders keepers" and too bad so sad, adios TB.
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If someone else found the throwdown, does that mean they made the same error?
I would absolutely delete the charlatan who threw down the fake cache. This poor behaviour has no place in the game.
I don't know about the others. I would investigate why cachers are making the same mistake and ending up in the same wrong spot.
Yep. This. I would contact the folks who found the throwdown and get their story, how did they arrive at the cords that they did. They may even have the cords still in their gps'r and you can go directly to the offending throwdown. I'd also let those finds stand except for the person who threw it down.
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Great ideas. Thank you all.
You're right, it was most likely taken by an animal. I replaced it and another cacher found the cache and on the way out found the original container about 20' away on the ground. That rubber spider had one heck on an adventure and some forest critter has a tale to tell as well. Muggled my Mother Nature.
Glad everything is back to normal with the cache. I once asked Mrs. AuthorityFigures if I could hide a cache similar to yours. I wanted to use a very realistic plastic tarantula spider to house the micro container. she said she would use me to beat the spider to death if she found one like I wanted to hide. I decided against it envisioning an arachnophobic cacher doing it in with a large rock.
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Ok I placed a cache close to my house. 334 ft to be exact so I can check it often. Well I went there today and checked on it and the person that logged the ftf did not sign log. Should I let it be or say something?
1. delete the cheaters' logs
2. write a note to the cachepage describing that you deleted the logs and why, add photos of the logbook so everyone can check
3. change the FTF banner
Agreed.
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What's a wet log? He said from southern Arizona..
I had to laugh at this. A few years ago I went on a short trip to Phoenix and found a few caches in the desert while I was there. I can't believe what you guys can get away with in that climate! A briefase? Real Tupperware? Cookie tins? Are you kidding me?
I've found caches in briefcases, Tupperware, and cookie tins here in eastern Ontario, and let me tell you, they were in sorry condition.
Tis true. Although the rattlesnakes and scorpions are very fond of briefcases, tupperwear and cookie tins. What we lack in moisture we more than make up in the sningy/bitey/creepy department.
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What's a wet log? He said from southern Arizona..
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This is one of the most fascinating and entertaining threads I've been reading on and off for a while now. I would love to see some of these "finders" come on to the forum and explain (rationalize) their "finds".
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Hi,
It have been almost a year when i found my last cache.
The past year was for my very hectic and busy... and was'nt in the oppertunity to cache at all.
Todat I started caching again and found out on Geocaching.com in my inventory that i have 1 TB, while i have really 2.
How can i log the TB which is missing in my inventory when i want to place it in a cache?
(I've yet contacted the TB owner).
Hope someone can help me with this... Thx
I hope I'm understanding you correctly, but are you saying that you are no longer in possession of TB1MRHT and TB6D20F when you say "missing in my inventory"? If you don't physically have either travel bug (lost?), then you must contact the owners and let them know. The owners can "grab" it from you, and send out a proxy. It's the right thing to do. If you still have both in your possession, then it's a simple matter of dropping them in an appropriate cache. I hope I understood you correctly.
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I've built a gadget cache that's basically a birdhouse with a false bottom involving the cacher to activate an electric stick that's mounted internally. Cacher will need to look through a mounted door peephole to see the electric light stick and figure out a way to activate it without touching it. When activated it gives off 3 different colored lights which will correspond to a code for the three digit combo lock on the false bottom which holds the cache. It's not an original idea from me. But it will be the only one of its kind in my neck of the woods. I've got the cache finished but finding an appropriate place for it is a bigger problem that building it.
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Contact the cache owner if the cacher is unable or unwilling to change the log. Maybe contact the cacher again. Explain the importance of keeping that number confidential, and thank them for moving your trackable.
When contacting a newbie (presumably) be sure to be polite. Once I made a mistake and got several rather hateful "you're a dumba**" kind of emails. It sort of turned me off for a while. Eventually I realized I still liked the game and corrected my mistake. A simple, kind message that also educates can go a long way. Nobody wants to feel stupid.
Good luck!
Thank you for your advise, and not to worry, I would never send an email like that, it's not my style. I had a mother that taught me manners.
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I edited that log for you.
thank you very much Keystone, much appreciated!
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The latest finder of one of our TB's posted the private code in his found log. I messaged the finder and ask him to kindly edit his log so I don't have to deal with fake discovery logs in the future. He said he would, but that was days ago and the log remains unedited for all to see the private code. Can an admin edit it or does it have to be the person who created the log?
You (the owner) can delete the log. The location will not be deleted (in this case it's in the hands of the finder if logged properly), only the log's text will be gone. So you could copy the text first, and paste it into a Note log. Edit out the tracking number. "Repost due to secret Tracking Number in view..." (text of the log, name of cacher who retrieved it).
Another option is to email Geocaching.com. But the above plan may be faster, and suitable anytime (Company persons don't need to be available).
I guess I should clarify. It's posted on the cache log(im not the cache owner), not the tb log.
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The latest finder of one of our TB's posted the private code in his found log. I messaged the finder and ask him to kindly edit his log so I don't have to deal with fake discovery logs in the future. He said he would, but that was days ago and the log remains unedited for all to see the private code. Can an admin edit it or does it have to be the person who created the log?
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Hmm. Freakin Apple. I think I have a simple fix. Buy a small cheap Windows based laptop. Problem solved. Thanks for the replies folks.
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My ipad to my garmin 550t? Is there a work around to the Garmin plug in that's not compatible with the OS?
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Has anyone ever found something as large as a 5 gallon bucket being used? How would something like that be hidden?
Yup. GC5EHA1, in this case, it was sunk in the ground up to the lid which was flush with the ground. Technically it violates guidelines, but folks just love massive caches like this.
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Is this actually typical? I mean to find that many consecutive cache's in need of maintenance?
In some areas, yes it is typical. My son and I went about 5 out of 5 with DNF's last weekend and posted our NM's and NA's accordingly.
Pretty typical for urban micros in my area too. I keep plenty of extra write in the rain logs to replace the inevitable full or destroyed log. I have received quite a few thank you messages from CO's. I have to admit, the vast majority of the cachers in this neck of the woods are a very nice bunch of folks.
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I've found two dead bodies.
Does that count?
Um, you're going to just leave it at that? Were they human bodies? Storytime please.
+1
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I'd love to know what your major pet peeve is! I'm new, ya know
Wading through 10 to 50 pages of "took it to" logs when I want to see where a trackable has "actually" been and if it has been to its goal location or not.
Yep, me too. I just messaged the holder of one of my TB's. They've had it more than six months and "visit" several caches a week but still won't drop it. I don't care to see that someone is simply holding my TB and posting several logs a week just to move it .10 miles back and forth within the same 5 mile radius... Grrr!
I have a similar situation with one of mine also. I was looking at this cachers history, and she has had it for over 3 months now, and has been active and caching. She went all the way up to Montana, which I would have thought would be a great place to drop our bug. But, she is now back down in our neck of the woods, and still has our bug. Sigh. I messaged her gently asking if she is still in possession of it.
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Hmm, lets see. Probably the most encountered wildlife in my neck of the woods is either rattlesnakes or Africanized bees (not counting the furry cute jack and cottontail rabbits). Especially starting now when its starting to get really hot. I've encountered both caching. But my job is one that has me outdoors in remote Arizona desert, so I've seen just about everything the Sonoran desert has to offer as far as toothy, stingy, spiny, pokey, scratchy, bitey. I've had close encounters with all manner of snakes, Gila Monsters, javelina, angry swarms of bees, flying ants, bats, coyotes, mountain lions, black widow spiders, scorpions and tarantulas... but by FAR the most feared creature in our neck of the woods isn't an animal at all, but a plant. The infamous Jumping Cholla. My heart rate shoots up when I see it. There are areas down here that are a literal ocean of it. You do not touch it. You do not approach it. You do not dare make eye contact with it. You live down here long enough and you will have an encounter with it. I swear it was developed in a secret military compound, some sort of cold war black military project to weaponize a plant. It escaped its developers and captors and now roams the desert extracting its revenge on unsuspecting cachers. Horrible, evil stuff Cholla is. :::::shiver::::
Has any cache owners purposely hidden a geocache in a patch of Jumping Cholla? Or actually on one of the plants itself? From the description I read about the Jumping Cholla one would have to be a sadistic, cruel and evil (insert vulgar expletive here) to do so but would do so because they think it funny or just simply because they can. The thing is I actually know people who would do such a thing. No these people are not my friends, I just know who they are. They would actually throw a piece of Jumping Cholla at another person as a means of playing a prank or joke on them. Yeah, I know of some pretty messed up people.
Not to my knowledge. I've been to a few caches that were uncomfortably close to cholla, but it was just incidental to being a open desert cache. If someone purposefully hid a cache in a cholla cactus, more than likely if someone were able to retrieve it without massive blood loss, it would surely be re-located by an angry cacher pretty quickly. And rightfully so.
Seems to me that if someone did try to place a cache in one, they would find out rather quickly that a better hiding place could be found
yes, they would. and very quickly. When I first moved down here many years ago, I was "warned" about the stuff. At the time, I was like "yeah, ok, whatever. It's cactus. BFD." Then one day on a mountain bike ride, I just happened to barely brush up against one with my leg as I went by. It brought me down hard. my entire leg from hip to ankle was a mass of cholla. I had to retrieve my leatherman and for the next 2 hours and tear the cholla buds from my bleeding flesh with pliers. It was one of if not the most painful experiences of my life. My leg for the next 2 weeks was a deep shade of purple, black and green.
What people don't know about it is that each needle is covered with microscopic fish hook like barbs. Each little bud of cholla has like 2 thousand needles. So cholla needles aren't just slipped out of the skin like regular cactus needles. They literally have to be ripped from the flesh, and they take some with it. Its not pretty. Now you know why this plant actually scares me. Believe it or not, I've actually seen folks down here landscape their yards with the stuff! Insane!
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When cachers mistreat other peoples caches and make it necessary for the CO to do this:
I had to come out east today to fix my 3 different ________ series' that someone leapfrogged and scrambled all the containers and clues for... again. It took us about 3.5 hours to fix it all up, not including travel time to and from the ________ area which is south and east of here.Not my caches, but ones that are on my to-do list. Hey, power cachers, not every series is a Power Trail, and not every cache in the area is even part of the series.
Here's my log on another result of the misuse of Power Trail tactics:
Imagine my surprise when I saw my sig on the log in this cache dated 1-19-14! All the caches I had found that day were from 5.7 to 8.2 miles from here, on a line from "A" to "B". Makes me wonder how this container and log migrated from there to here.This is what I hate about Power Trails, not the PTs themselves, but the spillover attitude toward all caches, at least all series caches. That's why my series cache pages say:
Throwdowns and Power Trail tactics are not welcome and if discovered will not be tolerated.
+100000000000
Love it.
Yep. +1
Where have all the TBs Gone
in Trackables
Posted
What is supposed to clue me in that it was a jest? Is it an emote? They aren't working on my tablet for some reason. They show as a box with an X
I'm glad you were jesting. I've heard people truly get upset and suggest points and such if people did something 'wrong'
yes, sorry, it was a laughing Signal. I agree that getting upset is, in the end, a waste of energy, but with that being said... I understand why many do get upset. It's natural. It's their property. Some put them out to commemorate a special occasion or person, and there is an emotional attachment. When that person perceives their property being treated badly, I can't really blame them. This is why I treat all of them that I come across as exactly what they are... someone else's personal private property.
Reminds me of that saying, Common courtesy...isn't. at least not anymore.