lel_h

No, we didn't attach one, but after we released it we thought it might have been a good idea. One of the first TBs that we found did have a card attached to it with its stated mission, and I think that's what sensitized us to the notion that we should check the goals of these trackables before taking them. This thread has helped me understand that it's okay if the movement is random and the goals not achieved, so long as the bug keeps moving along. Thanks!

Thanks, everyone, for your frank responses. The TBs and other trackables that we've found have always had specific goals in mind, so we've tried to respect that. Perhaps we won't be as hesitant to grab TBs from now on, knowing that we won't be violating some sort of TB etiquette. We've got a few more TBs that we'll release into the wild sometime soon. We won't set any specific goals for them, and just hope that they will continue to move along without falling into the hands of a Muggle.

Okay, I'm new to geocaching and don't read these forums very often at all, so if I'm totally off base please let me know but be kind. My kids recently released their first TB into the wild. They wanted it to travel overseas to visit countries that start with the letter E and L before coming back home. We took it to an event organized by a geocacher who was about to go Europe. She took the TB and brought it to Greece. She didn't log when she dropped it off, but the finder logged it when he retrieved it. When saw that it was found in Greece, my kids were beyond thrilled. Unfortunately, the finder didn't log any other finds in Europe after grabbing the TB. His next log is in Colorado. And just today we learned that he took it to a pretty remote cache that has only 3 other visitors in the last 12 months. In the six months since we started geocaching, we've come across several trackable items and TBs along the way. However, every time we find one, we try to look up the TB's goal, and if we know that we're not good candidates to fulfill its mission, then we leave it behind for the next finder. It bothers me that this apparently didn't happen with our TB. Now, I like to think that I'm a reasonable person, and I don't completely fault the finder. He was overseas, and probably didn't have an internet data plan to look it up on the spot. It was just coincidence, I guess, that he found it in his last cache in Europe before returning home. And the bug's current location is probably pretty Muggle-proof, as I don't think anyone would accidentally stumble across it. But I really wish that when he got back to Colorado that he would have taken the time to read the TB's mission and put it in a bug hotel instead of taking it to its current location. He visited the TB's page twice to log his activity, so he must have seen the mission. End of rant. Again, if I'm totally wrong for feeling this way, please let me know.

For us, the kids are a critical component of our geocaching. If I were to crawl around in the bushes or climb up street signs to retrieve a camouflaged container, I would appear strange at best and criminal at worst. On the other hand, the kids can do all that without getting a second look. There have been at least 2 caches that I can think of that would have not been retrieved without my little cache monkeys!

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. We'll create their identities soon, before it becomes too cumbersome to keep track of their finds. I will encourage them to write more than "TFTC" though my 7-year-old will still need to grow into logging a bit. A couple friends of theirs also geocache, so it will be fun for them to compare notes. I've told them not to be concerned about the number of finds; it's the family time that matters most!

As I was out caching with my two kids (both under 10 years old), it dawned on me that they're not getting "credit" for the caches that we find together. They are both very into the sport; there have been times when they've practically dragged me out the door to look for GCs. On more than one occasion, it has been one of the kids who made the find - in fact, my son spied our very first find. In other cases, I've given them a puzzle cache that I had solved, and with a little guidance they've been able to come up with the coordinates on their own. I saw in other threads that it's okay for kids to have their own user accounts (I saw one person who said that they created an account for his/her two-year-old child). I'd like to do the same, because I can imagine that they might continue doing this once they've left the nest. My question is this: in the two months since we started geocaching, we've found a couple dozen together. If we create user names for them, is it okay to backdate the finds that we made together? I understand that backdating finds itself is okay (someone mentioned not recording logs online for over a year), but is it okay to backdate the found/not found logs to before the date that user name was created? And do we need to ask permission of the CO to do this backdating (I think the answer to the question is probably not, but we should probably include something like "found with lel_h" in the new log entry)? I've already given my kids rules for logging. They have to record DNFs as well as "found its". If they weren't with me, they don't get to log it. If it was a complicated kablooey puzzle cache that I solved and we pick it up together (hasn't happened yet; may not ever happen), they can't log it because they didn't solve it on their own. Sorry for the long post. Feel free to tell me to lay off the verbosity. My primary question is somewhere buried in the third paragraph. Thanks!

Thanks L0ne.R! That was really quick work. And yes, there is a puzzle cache final at the exact same location (which I still haven't found - still have a poorly developed geosense for these "evil" hides!). And thanks to everyone else who has chimed in with advice!

I'll definitely go back out and check the letterbox when I attempt to avenge my DNF. L0ne.R, I just sent you a PM. Thanks everyone!

That's the site that I checked earlier. I'm probably going to go back to search for the geocache at that location again, and I'll bring a new bag to protect the letterbox. I should keep a supply of Ziploc in my TOTT bag for situations like this.

Thanks for the information. It's in Santa Clara, CA. Don't want to identify the precise location because it would reveal the final coordinates for a puzzle cache. There were no hits on the Atlasquest website.

Solved a puzzle cache and conducted a search of GZ. I thought I had found it, but when I pulled it from its hiding place, it was labeled as a letterbox. The bag that contained the stamp and log was damaged, and the booklet inside was thoroughly soaked. Also found a "cache" of eggs nearby, but that's another story. I didn't inspect the letterbox very closely, for fear of causing more damage to the contents. Is there some way to get in contact with the letterbox owner to let them know that it needs some TLC? I looked on letterboxing.org but couldn't figure out how to identify the particular letterbox very easily. I guess I could go back and gently leaf through the wet log pages to look for information.

One last test. ETA: Okay, obviously I'm not understanding the instructions on how to make my avatar photo appear on the forums. The layout of the website has changed since the original instructions on this thread were created, but I've tried to mimic, as best as I can, the steps in the first post. On the Geocaching.com website I've deselected (removed) the avatar photo, saved changes, logged out, logged back in, reselected the photo, saved changes, logged out, and logged back in. I've logged out of Groundspeak's website in the process and logged back in. Haven't been able to get the picture to appear. On a related issue, my chose siggy isn't appearing either. Hopefully someone can help me out. Thanks!

We met another Geocacher while we zeroed in on the same target. That was a lot of fun. I've read logs in which people happen to run into each other, and wondered whether it would happen to us. Not wondering anymore! Thanks, everyone, for the warm welcomes to this site and sport!

Okay, I've uploaded photos, chosen them for avatar and profile pictures, saved the changes, removed them again, picked them again, signed out of the forums, and signed back in. Let's see if it works this time around. This is the process to get a picture to appear along with my user name, right? ETA: Still not working. Oh well - back to geocaching!

third attempt. ETA: Hmmmm. More work to do.

second attempt

first attempt.... ETA: back to the drawing board. No siggy and no image.

How long is too long to hold a TB? I snagged one about a week ago, but won't be traveling for another 3-4 weeks. I'll find a good place for it soon if that's too long. But then again, it appears to have spent two years(!) in someone's possession before being released back into the Geocaching universe.

I feel like I'm surrounded by caches in this area (the south bay and peninsula of the SF Bay area). There is already one cache that I'm aware of in the park, but I've calculated a potential hiding spot that is at least 528 feet from that one. I've seen the icons for the premium caches, and I guess there could be some puzzle caches that place the final physical cache within the park. I guess I'll set it up and see what happens when I submit it for the review. I'll probably upgrade to premium eventually. I just ordered some travel bugs, because the kids want to place them in the cache and see how far they travel. And it shows. Good logs on finds and someone who actually pays attention to a trackable's mission. - Well done ! Have fun and cache safe. Thanks, but I'm embarrassed to have to admit that when I picked up that TB, I didn't go back far enough in its travel history. It has already been to the location to which I'm traveling soon. It was probably better off in the bug hotel near the airport where I found it. I'm trying to decide whether to take it on our trip in a few weeks or whether to drop it off close to another airport, so that another intrepid geocacher can take it to a new destination.

Hi all, I discovered this exciting and educational hobby a few weeks ago, and it has quickly become a whole-family activity. That's not easy to accomplish given our different interests. Over the last couple days I've been reading these forums in search of better understanding of Geocaching etiquette. The long threads about the Intro App and the Deadly Sins of Geocaching have given me a lot to think about, and hopefully I can avoid some of the missteps mentioned. My kids are eager to create their own geocache, and they're especially interested in creating a multi-cache after solving a particularly fun one just a few days ago. We've come up with what I think is a pretty good idea that would teach people some little-known trivia about a nearby park. Realizing that there are certain standards and specifications that must be met for this to be an acceptable or worthy geocache, I won't rush into this just yet. Anyways, I'll probably be mostly a lurker for now, but have always enjoyed the sense of community on discussion forums such as this. This place seems to be relatively troll-free, unlike the website that I help moderate. lel