ByronForestPreserve

The locations aren't bad, but I know the forest preserve better than just about anyone, and there are some more interesting places close by. I've placed two just outside of the 1/5 mile range of the two I was discussing with Boy Scouts, but since I had them choose their locations, they're also not as good as I would have selected. Archiving the two as well as the Boy Scout ones opens up a huge area, including some really neat hidden spots that would otherwise go unappreciated. That's a great suggestion, and I will do that, thank you. True...what I'd like, in the end, is for them to be placed so that someone could hike in a big circle and get all of the caches at the main site. The locations right now just don't line up well, and this one ends up getting ignored because it's in the opposite direction of the others. On the other hand, there's also more room around that one, and maybe putting another in a path toward it will help. Thanks, all--that really answered my questions. And to fill in a blank--I got a quick answer that the breakfast events are on indefinite hiatus, so archiving that one definitely makes sense.

Being the caching representative of a forest preserve, I've had a few caches on our property given to my care over the years. I have four that, for one reason or another, don't get many visits, and had a couple of questions about their longevity. Two are celebrating milestones for local cachers. I feel like I need to leave these be, but one has had only had 4 visits in the last two years. The other's traffic would be similar except that it's close enough to our education building that I take Girl and Boy Scouts to it a couple times a year. I was considering archiving these to make room for a GeoTrail series when we get our geocoin prizes made, but I also kind of don't want to archive them since they are special to a few people. Another is a Premium cache, and I was thinking about removing that aspect and opening it to all cachers. Would this aggravate people, do you think? It's hardly ever found and I think that might increase traffic. The last is a challenge cache, and I think the requirements can't be met anymore (I've emailed the person who could answer that for me; it's a "come to our Sunday Breakfast Events" challenge, and they haven't had one in almost a year, so). I guess their answer will solve that issue, but honestly that one is rarely found, too. TL;DR: not sure what the etiquette is in archiving or changing caches that were adopted to me.

Those are all great considerations, thank you. I hadn't known about the GeoTours that were partnered with Geocaching.com. That sounds like the way to go, and I see one in Illinois that isn't on the list in the forums, which is the only list I knew about. I would rather give them out for free...depends on what the boss says. I gave him a very rough estimate that he seemed to be okay with. I like the idea of having a different finish for sale...that would also make a better prize for events (and FTF prizes). And I think I'd prefer trackable ones, though that's my collectible preference. I know folks bring books and books of coins to local events that can be discovered, so I think locally, that's the case, too. Getting excited to scour our 2,000 acres now... Oh, and I just noticed a brand new spot in the forums for GeoTrails and GeoTours. Cool.

I am salivating. Our director suggested we encourage more geocachers to visit our property, so I explained geocoins. "That sounds great! Do it!" Whoo! So...I can read all of the "how-to" posts and get most of that figured out, I think, but I'm left wondering about a few things. I've seen tourism and visitor bureaus offer coins for sale if they find a certain number of caches at parks and whatnot (geotrails). Some of them seem to be for sale, and some are rewards. Do people mind that much having to buy them (for cheaper than regular coins), or would we get a much bigger response giving them out? (Maybe it depends on if we get a resale deal with the manufacturer?) Second, is there something that would make us an "official" geotrail? I see there's only one on the list for the state of Illinois, and they offer eight coins for finding caches in various parks. How challenging should they be? I will be reworking the caches on our various properties this spring and could set up new caches just about any way I'd like. Also...any idea what kind of response to expect? Do geotrails and/or rewards draw lots of people? Honestly I don't know if we'd get a dozen people to come out or three hundred. We're south of a decent sized city and about 2 hours west of Chicago. Any comments and answers are appreciated. Thanks, all!

Pretty, but I'd be afraid it would decay...not that paper doesn't! Nylon webbing and paracord will last for years. Speaking of film cansiters, though--I found a big bag of a few dozen in a storage area at work and nabbed 'em (a mix of both the black and clear). I'm torn, because general consensus seems to be that they aren't great containers, but people obviously love them. Can't decide if I should give them away at an event or not....

I'll chime in that it sounds like about a 2.5, but these things seem so regional (though really they shouldn't be). I traveled to another state recently and found a T5 cache that took me about 30 minutes to get to from the car. My 76 year old dad came with me. I suppose if you were to err, it's best to go higher. I know I'm sometimes disappointed if I try a high T cache and it turns out not to be a challenge, but that's better than thinking it will be a cake walk, or that I can jump out in my nice shoes and shorts and get it quickly...

Too bad that experience doesn't include the basic "rules" of the game, like cache permanence and saturation guidelines. The badge is fairly thorough...if that was part of a badge workshop, it was probably hidden for the duration of the workshop so that the boys could practice with the GPSr units (using waypoints for the temporary cache locations) and so that they could experience different kinds of hides. Maybe it was forgotten when the leader picked up, but putting out "practice" containers doesn't mean they're not learning the rules. In fact, doing so means a much greater variety of difficulties and containers than we would find in an area small enough to reasonably walk in the amount of time the kids are there. (Though I wouldn't hide one on top of another cache location--too confusing.) Mr. Yuck--Yes, the UK has a geocaching scout badge. Also yes, for the American one I hide about 20 containers for the span of a few hours for these kinds of workshops so that each Scout learns to navigate using a GPSr. Then we go find real caches.

I find old film reels at resale stores all the time--similar to 35mm in a similar container; I don't even know precisely what kind. I see them everywhere, though, and usually for about a quarter. The only other thing I could think of would be that flat nylon webbing/strap material, or, heck, thick white paracord.

I climbed up 460 steps to the top of an old ski hill in Michigan last week to find a couple of caches, and would not have wanted the extra weight of a large camera. I think the phone did just fine, and I like the panoramic option.

That's fantastic. Strange coincidence, indeed. Maybe they were dropped in the winter snow, which has now melted. (Is the snow gone in Colorado and Minnesota yet?)

I'd say this is one argument in favor of micros and nanos, but none of those caches are regulars or even smalls. Maybe one of the "unknowns" was a duct-taped cardboard box? I hate seeing stories like these.

I haven't had that problem, other than occasionally things being a bit slow. Here's the Groundspeak page on running pocket queries: http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=118 Did you try leaving the the day unchecked and running the PQ, then previewing it to make sure it's what you want? That will at least tell you if it worked, and if the problem is with a missed ticky box that messed something up or a different problem. (Sorry, I edited that after I read your post again and saw you'd run lots of PQs before. Clearly not new to doing those.)

Feel free to use that number on whatever item you'd like. I've heard of folks buying TB tags for the numbers to put on all kinds of things.

I just asked about containers a few days ago. General consensus was that Lock 'n' Locks are great and Pelican boxes are also great. I think the only difference would be how wet the place is--I used a Pelican box next to a spring because the ground is completely saturated at times and they are seriously waterproof.

Just depends on when people have time to go. Some will run out the door the moment they get notice of a new cache, but if it's been raining maybe they'e waiting for better weather? The only other thing I can think of is if there are poor coordinates, people have gone out to find it and couldn't, and didn't post a DNF. Just a possibility.

Ugh, the cable. Agreed. It works fine to transfer to the internal memory, it just won't access the SD card. In fact, that's a good way for OP to check the cable, as GeoTrekker26 mentions to check the storage mode and try it both ways.

I have a cache hidden under a fake boulder, and the cache page describes the glacial erratics in the area. My relevant link goes to the Illinois State Geological Survey page on glaciers.

I would Google geocaching containers and see what kinds of things people use. I've found caches behind fake electrical outlets, stuck to the bottom of metal newspaper boxes, zip-tied to the underside of benches...remember that most urban caches will be micro or nano, and often magnetic. I'm not a huge fan, myself, but I'll look for one or two if I'm in Chicago or somewhere.

I will explain what geocaching is, unless I'm getting a vibe that the person will turn around and steal the cache or mess it up somehow. Obviously I try to make sure muggles don't see the hiding spot regardless. In those cases, I am looking for a particular flower/mushroom/animal in order to take photos or for a science class. If they pester, I can start babbling about population densities and throw in a bunch of scientific jargon until their eyes glaze over and I can run away.

I have the same problem with my DeLorme, and after reading a bunch of their forums, decided it's the SD card. Apparently some GPS units don't "like" the cheaper cards, or only work with certain brands. Maybe check the Garmin forums for a similar discussion. Edit: yes, the SD cards that don't work in the GPS might work if you put it in a card reader or camera, etc.--it's just when it's in the GPS. Go figure.

You need to be logged in at the geocaching site in order to view coordinates of caches. My bet is you were logged out after a visit and just need to log in again.

That would be great. Thanks for the replies and help. Speaking from my experience, I'd have jumped in more enthusiastically earlier if the app had worked as a standalone unit. I'd downloaded a couple of cartridges to my Garmin, but never ended up going the 60+ miles to the closest ones. But I thought I'd give it another try and see if people were interested in one or more in our area. Thanks!

Yes, I did find it. I just thought it would appear in a search from the app itself. I guess it didn't matter in the end, though, as there aren't links from search results to the Wherigo site to download the cartridge. I'm not sure what the practical functionality of the search is, in fact, since it has to be repeated from the phone's browser anyway. As for searching the app by GC code, my screen looks like this: It would be nice to have that added to the website, though I think I would take links to the download from the app (or in-app downloads) before that addition. I have known about Wherigo for a couple of years, but there still aren't any around me. Maybe something will click and there will be a boom of users...

Making a coin or travel bug collectible means you can move it into your collection, and it won't be available for other cachers to grab or retrieve, only to discover.

Someone logged in one of my caches that the glowsticks inside didn't work (the bracelet ones). I am pretty sure they were in there all winter, and we had -20 and worse temps. I checked on that one today (and took the glow sticks. Tested one in the car and it was fine. Oh, well). None were ruptured, though. Maybe a kid used a little too much juice activating one and then put it back in?