Packanack

No one there has any taste--------now there is a statement tempered by kindness. My point to opening the forum thread was the recent finding of several poorly maintained caches, which is usually indicative of a lost interest, and I was wondering if Bergen county had dropped out enmasse. There are a lot showing up as needing attention. Harry, it is time to get over the original horrid multi with the coords off by 50 to 170. Yes it was awful, yes the owner refused to correct and all that, but it was 7 years ago........and the replacement isn't a mult. Take a deep breath and let it go........

I did a PQ for Bergen County NJ and come up with 5 hides in the last 5 months, two of which have gone to temp disable and two of which were hidden by a cacher from Texas on assignment. I was just wondering has our game disappeared from Bergen, who is active there ?

They are spending a lot of money in the outdoor recreation magazine area. The thing that they forgot was that people met other people through Geocaching.com, became freinds, enjoy activities together and have a loyalty to the brand that brought them together. Yesterday I was out with 2 friends and the 3 of us had a great day, we didn't cache, but without Geocaching we would not have known each other. Kind of hard to break that bond.

You might also want to think about your avatar. Just saying.

NYC to Philadelphia. Bolt bus 2 hrs NYC to. Boston 12$ Bolt bus NYC to washingtondc. Amtrak from metro park

Cacher is a newbie. Newbie with attitude, but still a newbie, has not learned that civility and courtesy amongst caching bretheren is de rigueur. Not only will he learn that it is expected but it can be demanded. Makes for a nicer game. I have a dear friend who calls me a ^&*( jerk all the time, but he means it in the most genuine way.

Attend a local event and you will find no shortage of people who will help you.

Pockets, cases help to avoid losing stuff. I mark the find in the unit upon spotting, then gps goes to pocket. No laying it down. Return it to case and clip to sternum strap camera also get clipped to sternum strap. Both items are right in front of you at all times. Found a set of hiking sticks at a cache,returned them to owner by mail, never heard a word from him. Remembered thinking you must have known you hiked in with sticks.........

I always liked looking at the photos that Morton Fox took and put on flickr , I think it was.

Yes. It might also be appropriate to ask someone else to step in and run it if you can't be there, an understudy as it were. I did a group hike once, where I had something come up and asked them to go without me and they did quite readily.

Also look into Amtrak, 49 dollars each way from Metropark NJ to Union Station, they have specials if you book far enough in advance. Tolls and gas and parking for the drive will come pretty close to that. Look into Bolt Bus $12 bucks NYC to DC also. MegaBus too, but don't know if they will take your bikes. Metro allows bikes, look up the rules, last car and last door I believe, also hours. Following links provide parking, safety and crime, trails and tours and biking info. http://bikewashington.org/visitor.htm'>http://bikewashington.org/visitor.htm http://bikewashington.org/ Look up Capital Crescent Trail and Rock Creek Park for biking. National Zoo is in Rock Creek Park---Free. Also the C&O Canal Towpath in Georgetown for biking, bike to Great Falls on Potomac--well worth the trip. The National Park Service also has bike tours from the Mall, lead by Rangers--little known , and it is free. Driving in Washington DC is not a lot of fun, unless you are from NJ, then it is just sport. People in Washington have never heard of the concept of NOT BLOCKING THE BOX, so they create some monumental traffic problems and they can't seem to grasp why ? Sort of like congress. Parking hard to come by. Weekends in places like Georgetown and Chinatown--very crowded. Lots of places to eat in both. DuPont Circle same. Hotels out of town through Expedia may be worth exploring. Sub 100 per night. I have stayed at a BW in Tysons Corner which was real close to a metro stop. In town expensive. Youth Hostels if you are able to stand that scene are there. Three days exclusive of travel would allow you a great time. The Mall abounds in virtuals and monuments. We went there last weekend, to visit daughter, I had plans of doing virtuals on the Mall and never got to do a one, because shopping, lunch. I have made about 5 trips there since Christmas, and due to commitments did one cache, so sense my anticipation for my next trip--they promised I would be allowed to cache. google and use pocket query and get some map sets

It regularly floods and it's not a particularly appealing place when it isn't flooded. Muddy, litter strewn (from flotsam left behind by receding waters), mosquito infested, poison ivy filled and generally not the nicest place to wander about. In other words an ideal location for some Slukster caches. An ammo can with a rope tether often is the only way to keep them dry and in place in these types of locations. I lost three to weather in the last week. All small and plastic.

Not that your idea is a bad one, but most of the waypoints of 5 Star are around the immediate area of Central Park, and for me there was a lot of research via google to bring it together. I would recommend working it with other caches in the city. Several of the NYC virtuals are very near 5 Star waypoints. It would be nice to see some new searches on this venerable cache. This cache is the antithesis of a numbers run.

5 Star New York is the best, but it is a difficult cache to bring together in a single week as it requires a great deal of research, by all means visit the 14 stages and make notes, take photographs, but I do not know of single person who has ever done it within a relatively short period of time. Some people have taken more than a year to unravel. It is one of my all time favorite chases and I think it took me 9 months and I collaborated with a New York Cacher. On the other side, that being the other side of the East River, there is the Brooklyn Promenade, which is one of the great views of the city.

There are 7 virtual caches in Manhattan, I would recommend all of them. There are caches all over Central Park, caches along the waterfront. Run a couple of PQs off of postal code 10026, which is the mid town Manhattan zone, use about an 8 mile radius (12KM) and that will put you both E and W of Manhattan. If you were inclined to do a Hike, the caches North of the George Washinton Bridge in Palisades Interstate Park will reward you with great views. I would suggest you rent a bicycle for Central Park Caching at the Boat House. You can also rent a bike at the South Street Seaport Museum and do the caches of lower Manhattan (postal code 10038) and the greenway by bicycle. New York is the attraction, my wife and I are going to see a play tomorrow, I hope to pick up a cache or two. Have fun on your trip. Come back and let us know when your trip is closer, perhaps a local might show you the sights.

You folks are kidding are you not ?

Bicycle Power Trails NY Metro Area. Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ Orange Heritage Trail, Monroe , NY Paulinskill Valley Trail, Warbasse Junction to Blairstown NJ North County Trail , Westchester County--Tarrytown, NY South County Trail, Westchester County--Tarrytown NY All of which we did on bicycles in 2010, all of which will get return visits on Bicycles in 2011. There is an off shoot of the Orange Heritage Trail in Monroe NY, with a cache series called ACM, Automatic Cache Machine that is particularly well done. The trail is flat, but rugged and we had a great experience there.

Reading the reports, indicated something along that line, I was being kind when I said freelancing .

I have 5 stacked in queue for the day they come back and if they meet guidelines for the new virtuals it is click, click and published. I go out and look around to see what would make a good one. I found a place where The Underground Railway was located in Paterson NJ, and it just so happens to be next to the Central Police Station where I do not think they would want a traditional cache, but it is of significant historical importance that I think it can be justified.

I watch a puzzle cache because I never solved it and wanted to see who all found it. 1 finder in 6 months I watched a DNF Cache for 6 months only recently was it verified as being gone, should I claim West Coast Rule. I watch 5 Star New York because it is just a great cache and the finders are something of a club. some people spend a year working it out. Sometimes I watch friends caches. Variety of reason.

New report of rescue. This by nypd helicopter rescuing west point cadets lost on training hike. Cadets were reported near death from hypothermia. Conflicting reports out on this one. One report has them freelancing. Either way rescuers put at risk. Be careful.

You might want to come with me tomorrow to washington dc, I will only make you unload the truck, should be easier.

Congrats to Harry Dolphin , #3000--Nice Harry, now about those infernal puzzle hides of yours Keep on keeping on.

I went to high mtn Wayne , from big rock on Chicopee drive, followed the woods roads where the snow machines had made a trail, very pleasant. Micro spikes and dog . Met 3 hikers. Off trail snow still knee deep, but because the snow machines had tamped it down, it was a nice walk for anyone who wants to get out.

Log book gets signature and date, and if temperature permits, I will sometimes draw a little doodle or picture. On line, if the container is unique I will say so, if the placement is fine I will say so, if the view is nice I will say so. Try and find something nice to say for the people who make the hides. It is a lot harder to hide than find and without hiders there are no finders, something that some finders fail to grasp. Ettiquette--try and be nice. And make sure you send a personal thanks to the people who plan and execute Event Caches--which sometimes are very involved. Sometimes an event turns out to be a spectacular day thanks to the sponso. I perceive (not saying I am right-for I am often not) a trend of folks with thousands of finds and hides countable on fingers and toes. That in some discussion with some friends discourages them from "feeding the beast" is how one put it.