wavector

Are you reading the stuff you write? On the face of it it is ridiculous, is this not obvious to you? When someone steals your geocache and you feel bad about that you are not responding incorrectly by feeling bad and the way you feel is a direct result of the actions of another geocacher. Your soundbite is wrong. This thread is a case in point, the issue between these two neighbours is real. One has made public comments about the caches hidden by another. Telling them to have fun isn't helpful, the soundbite doesn't offer any advice beyond "those who complain shouldn't". Every geocacher should be aware that their actions can impact other seekers, accepting and realizing this is important. It is a good thing the OP made his post before hearing your soundbite or Eric might have never realized that his steady stream of microcaches in every local park was not appreciated by everyone. The OP now knows that Eric wasn't trying to have a negative impact and understands the circumstances behind all the micros. By assessing the needs and statements of a neighbour they have both benefited. They are now both aware of the impact they can have on other geocachers by actions that are not carefully thought out, the OP even said he never meant to cause controversy. I can see that they have common ground and if the OP really wanted to celebrate his childhood memories by placing a cache in a specific park I think they could work it out and that could happen because they discussed issues and made their grievances known, not because they subscribed to your soundbite where every problem they encountered could be overcome with a little personal adjustment to the grin they kept plastered on their faces.

It only seems reasonable. Everyone approaches geocaching differently but in the main people geocache to have fun. They are simply out for a nice walk and don't care at all about find counts or any of the other things that might seem important to you. These casual seekers are the reasonable standard, they see geocaching as a bit of fun and they are cognizant of the fact that finding a geocache means absolutely nothing. When they find your cache and have no pen they have not done anything wrong. When you delete the online log they were kind enough to leave on your cache and tell them, albeit gently, that you are deleting their log because "you believe logbooks need to be signed" they are not going to see you as reasonable. You accomplish nothing but do drive away those who don't care about the numbers but are only out having fun. It is far easier to acknowledge that it is their record and if no other geocacher is adversely impacted then there is no problem. This approach leads to a lot more log deletions, every log that negatively impacts others gets deleted but in every case the explanation is clear and understandable and is based upon the effects of their actions on others, not on some personal standard to which you ascribe. The log deletions in this case make better geocachers out of those who are very casual because it helps them understand the nature of their impact on the fun that others take in this activity.

I don't like sound bites, when they are wrong they are simply inane statements that mean nothing. This is one of those sound bites that means absolutley nothing, it is a platitude that has no meaning. Not having fun can be the direct result of actions taken by other geocachers, this is true for every geocache you seek and every geocache you place. Spoilers in the cache logs are one simple way that your fun can be ruined. Having a park closed to geocaching because of the actions of another geocacher is another example. Go ahead and plaster that grin on your face but don't expect that it is going to remove the spoiler or soothe a land manager. There are many good examples and it shouldn't even be necessary to point them out, a moments thought provides plenty. Attitude plays a part in our geocaching adventures, the OP in this thread has an attitude issue, intended or not he has had a definite impact on the fun being had by another geocacher. Eric didn't do anything wrong but I am not about to plaster a sh-t eating grin on my face and blame him for not having fun while someone identifies him in a public forum and asks if he is "normal" in his approach to geocaching. Eric isn't to blame for the OP's attitude but I don't expect the OP to go out and find caches that he does not enjoy, I don't expect the OP to start enjoying micros hidden in parks, that is unrealistic. The OP has found less than 20 caches, Eric has found around about the same. Suggesting that Eric should just adjust his attitude simply disregards the fact that his hides are being disparaged publicy. Telling the OP that his complaint is an attiude issue ignores the obvious fact that all the parks near his home location contain a micro hidden by Eric, that isn't an attiude, it is reality. There is a cache that is called "Eric must have missed this park" or something similar, this should give you an idea of the saturation near the OP"s home coordinates. The OP needs to get over it, if a cache meets the listing requirements then it is listed. Eric needs to understand that there are unhappy people and that the steady stream of micros he is placing may not always be appreciated by everyone. Both of them need to review the basics - make sure that your activity does not negatively impact the fun that others take in this activity. This advice ignores the platitude you provided in that it assumes we can all impact others easily, sometimes without even being aware of that impact, witness this thread. What neither of them needs to do is imagine that the platitude you provided has any basis in reality, it doesn't and even a cursory reflection reveals that it is devoid of meaning.

If it is a new TB then try the word "explore", that should work. If it is an older TB then you have to write the "contact@geocaching.com" address and explain that you have lost the activation code. Good Luck

Use the "grab" log to retrieve it and then it wil be in your hand and you can drop it off whereever you want.

22 it is. At the widest intersection there are 22 lanes of Highway 401 that allow you to go thru which increases to 26 when you take into account the restricted lanes. The 401 is 26 lanes at the widest as is the Katy Freeway in Houston, Texas but the Katy Freeway (part of Interstate 10) is divided into General Use, Frontage and HOV lanes. So now you know, the worlds busiest, widest highway is in Canada.

Ethical dilemmas are not fun, so yes that is my suggestion. In my opinion they would be having fun even if they logged a DNF. I have never faced an ethical dilemma when geocaching. Finding a geocache doesn't mean anything, it is just fun. Not finding a geocache means as much as finding a geocache, nothing, they are exactly equal. The standard to which I hold others is very simple, do not detract from the fun that others take in this activity when you log my caches. Even though I do judge logs when they are left on my caches I am not judging the integrity or ethics of the finder, I am judging the effect of that log on other geocachers, nothing else.

This is a listing service and the geocaches listed here have to meet the listing requirements, that is the extent of fair. As far as normal - What is normal? is an ongoing theme in geocaching. I believe that if the profile didn't highlight numbers then geocachers would be less likely to hide large numbers of repetitive hides, especially ones that need to be distinguished by numbering. If you accept that it isn't about the numbers then your complaint seems to be that the placed geocaches block your placements or the placements of other geocachers. Every geocache blocks the area around the cache to additional placements, even the caches you prefer do that. There is always a place to put "another" geocache.

Are you suggesting that those playing for fun are not ethical? Unfortunately there will be some people who read your explanantion of your "find" who will conclude that you lack "ethics", not because you did anytihng wrong but because their "ethics" differ from yours. They will suggest that you could have logged that cache with a DNF or a Note and carried on, no need to say anything to the owner. There will be a few who wonder why you didn't just reef on the line, if the cache came free fine, if the line broke, then log a DNF and let the owner fix it. The point I am making is that stating that your behaviour is ethical is simply your opinion of ethical behaviour, it doesn't make your behaviour ethical. I am not trying to be critical of you personally, I am pointing out that trying to tie the word ethics to your geocaching activity just doesn't fly. You are not alone in thinking your geocaching behaviours are ethical, other people who also feel that they have ethics do things differently than you, they are not unethical. There is one moderator on this site who suggests that "integrity" and geocaching are linked, his definition of "integrity" includes the belief geocachers should never log a cache more than once. I know it sounds like a really stupid definition of integrity (it is) but hey, it takes all kinds, his version of "integrity" in geocaching makes about as much sense as your belief that your behaviour is "ethical". Geocaching is supposed to be fun, if your fun negatively impacts others you should correct your actions so that your fun does not detract from the fun that others are having, assessing the impact of your actions on others in regards to their geocaching adventure is ethical. The owner decides what constitiutes a find and taking direction from the owner is never wrong, it is their cache and respecting their wishes is ethical behaviour. Signing a log book may be your idea of "ethical behaviour" but when I see a log that says, "Out jogging so I didn't have pencil, found your cache and enjoyed the walk, thanks" I don't suppose for one instant that this person lacks ethics, I don't suspect they are lying, I don't think they lack integrity, I don't imagine they have impacted anyone else negatively, they are just doing what geocachers should be doing, having fun.

More. Everyone is low so far. ImaMystic is getting close at 18 lanes but the 401 gets wider than that. We are not talking collectors here, we are talking thru lanes.

My first guess would be HWY 401 and it is 3 lanes wide in each thru direction. Highway 401 is the busiest highway in the world, it surpassed the New Jersey Turnpike in the 80's and the Santa Ana freeway in the 90's. On average, in some sections, the 401 handles as many as 500,000 vehicles per day. Think the maximum number of through lanes on the 401.

Yes, I see you have recorded your find. When you drop it off it is a good idea to mention it in your log. Use the CTRL button to highlight the geocoin in your inventory when you post your log and it will appear in the cache inventory. The owner of the item will get a copy of your log when "drop" the trackable item into the cache.

I suppose some hints might be in order. I had to figure out the answers to Questions 1 & 2 so I know it can be done. For the other questions, please don't lose sight of the fact that this is the Mystery of Hartshead Pike. Question 1 No Hint - Most have figured this out I think. Question 2 Here is a hint - Groundspeak database logic. Question 3 No Hint - Seems straightforward. Question 4 Here is a hint - See Question 3 - which geocoin? Question 5 Here is one hint - See Stage One , he knows something. Question 6 No Hint - Not yet anyways. Question 19 Here is a hint - See Question 3 - which travel bug? Question 20 No hint - It follows from 19. I want to stress that none of the answers are ambiguous. When you find one you will know. You can check and see who has the travel bug pictured in the contest to see if anyone has been successful in answering correctly. Be ready to grab that Travel Bug yourself. This mystery is solvable by trying to figure out what happened at Hartshead Pike and never steps far from that start with the exception of Questions 1 & 2, which were too much fun not to add. If you were in on Stage Two you probably got a head start on some of these questions at the beginning when trying to figure out the state of affairs at Hartshead Pike, you probabaly had spent some time looking at the log in Question 3? Question 4 follows very closely from 3. Question 5 however is a complete departure, go back to Stage One and the real mystery that started it all.

I owe, I owe, so off to work I went. Now I am back... Ok this one is easy, it is a two part question. This is the world's busiest highway and it is the world's widest thru lane highway. Which highway is it? How many thru-lanes wide is the highway?

Thats the one! Barbeau Peak (2,616 m (8,580 ft)) Known as the Everest of the North - mush smaller, but much harder to get to! As of 2006 only seven successful summits have been attained. NEXT!!!! It is a good thing I got it right because I only knew the name of one island! So now I have to think of a question. I will come up with one very soon.

That is very true pbbj. Google Maps or Google Earth are not suitable for hiding geocaches, they simply do not have the required accuracy, only a GPS actually works. The OP lives in an a area where there are some geocaches but there are plenty of spots near his first geocache that are suitable but without a GPS the OP wil just have to wait. To Crab Soul If you choose to hide a geocache over on Thornhill and Blvd do yourself a favour and don't put it in a drainage grate or anything like that, simply place it away from an area where people would normally walk and cover it with some leaves. The concrete feature that you mentioned looks like it receives regular foot traffic so I would try across the road in the bushes, not too far in though, just behind a tree or aomething. The key thing is that if you put it where people do not normally go it should not be seen and will not be muggled!

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? I'm starting to have flashbacks about a gang of middle school kids a few towns over tossing film canisters into the bushes of every fast food joint in town, and hiding tupperware containers in front of people's houses in residential neighborhoods. They did however, have GPS's. Or I suspect only one they passed around. 18 Hello Crab Soul The hiding spot you chose was very visible, I am prretty sure I can see it from up here in Canada. Was this the knot you hid the cache in? You have a pretty good spot to hide some type of small cache with a little bit of camo cover tape very close to where you live. Go two blocks east on College and then turn right on to Thornhill, the intersection of Thornhill and Blvd is a nice woody spot free from observers. I can even see where someone dumped some mattresses, perhaps you can pick those up and throw them in the trash while your there?

That is the truth right there. If I found a travel bug on Saturday I wouldn't wait longer than Monday or Tuesday before grabbing it and dipping it to correct the mileage, I would definitely "grab" it before I went geocaching again. That travel bug belongs to a geocacher who wants to know where it is and you have it in your hands, that should be reflected in the logs. You are not depriving anyone of anything when you "grab" the bug and dip it to ensure correct mileage. Anyone can write a note to the bug page if they want to recount some adventure. If they haven't logged a cache they can go ahead and log it just the same and even mention they dropped the travel bug there, there is nothing to prevent them from doing this. Their trackable find count is gathered when the bug is picked up so no objection exists on those grounds. As long as you mention you found the bug in the cache and dip it in there everything is fine, the bug owner is happy, the logs reflect reality and the person who had the bug can go ahead and log the cache whenever they want, your waiting serves no purpose. There are many reasons why logs might be delayed but travel bugs should not be delayed by logs. You are doing the right thing in accounting to the owner of the travel bug, the geocacher who has the bug is not deprived of anything, I can imagine that this log type would never cause etiquette issues if it had been called "I Have It" instead of "Grabbed it".

If you think you have some of the answers right it won't hurt to take a guess. You can still enter again if your guess is incorrect and you might be able to confirm some of your correct answers. None of the questions can really be considered easy but careful checking of facts will lead you to the right answers. If a question seems impossible to answer it isn't, there is way. If every case when you have the right answer you will know, it will follow logically from some other link. I may provide hints depending upon guesses, if a question seems to be stumping everyone I will likely add a hint for that question. There is bound to be nice prize for this stage. Good Luck.

I am adding a new geocoin today but I can tell you that this one is already gone. This is the nice prize won by surteb for being the FTF in "what contest?". That is a 2008 Saskatchewan donated by bobbarley, thanks so much bobbarley and you will see it soon I am sure, as you know Mitch was there already and he is playing along as well. In addition to the 2008 Saskatchewan geocoin I have added the geocoin you see paired with it in the photo, a sold out 2007 Saskatchewan geocoin to make it a very special FTF prize. The "what contest?" is stil open if you want to give it a try, you might win a nice prize, but not this nice. The "what contest?" will close shortly. Congratulations surteb!

I have already given away a few prizes in this thread but I am willing to bet that I can scare up a few more pictures! As you know you must have a picture posted in this thread to be eligible to win the 2007 Earth Turtle, it may not be how you win the coin but it is a necessary prerequisite to winning. If you post a picture here you could win an Albertosaurus geocoin but other geocoin prizes may appear on this thread as well. I am going to pull one of the existing pictures over here, any name already posted here will eligible to win this geocoin prize. If your name is not posted here then you cannot win this geocoin prize but you would still be eligible to win the Albertosaurus geocoin or any other geocoin posted here after you post a picture of your geocaching bag and list the contents. This 2006 Utah geocoin is going to be given away to someone on this thread. I have to make a few more name slips and do the draw but I will do that soon. Thanks for the reminder opalsns!!

Ellesmere?

You should always charge money for hamsters. If you don't they might be taken to be fed to snakes. (gulp) Protect your fellow mammals, the squirrels and such* *The same thing would apply to both bunnies and guinea pigs as well. On a happier note... Congratulations snowball58, I am impressed, you are the first person to come up with a correct answer. Actually you are the only person who has actually found an answer at all. I will let the Hamstercaching contest run for a little while longer, there must be other geocachers who could figure this out, especially with the instructions.

I know this question probably seemed kind of different from the usual geo-pub questions so I thought I would detail the steps I used to find the information. This can be done with Google Earth or Google Maps but I enjoy following the tracks and that feature is a Google Maps feature so that is the route I wil demonstrate. This is a great way to see places close up! A Step by Step Guide to finding the dump truck (and many other intersting things as well!!) The first step is accessing Google Maps, you can do from the Google Search page or a cache page, I used a cache page. The link for Google mpas is just above the start of the logs with all the other map links. Once you have entered Google Maps just zoom out to see a Mercator Projection of the Earth and there is Japan. Zoom down into the Tokyo Metro area and Google Earth shows the highway tags in blue, the highways are laid out in a logical grid so it is fairly easy to find the intersection of the 420 and the 312. At this point I swtiched from Map to Satellite by choosing that option in the upper right area of the view. I zoomed right down to the area of interest. Now I am ready to go to street level view, so I grabbed the little yellow guy above the slider bar and dropped him into the intersection. (If he is not yellow then no street level view exists at that location.) Now I am actually down at street level and there is a bus coming right at me. You can zoom in to see the licence plate is 12-11. I can use the control in the upper left to turn myself around. And I can see the dump truck traveling along Highway 312, #3539. You can travel along any track by using the arrows you see on the screen. Just click an arrow to move in that direction. There is a 7-11 !!! Cool, and if you go a little SW of the 7-11 there is a cafe called Wave (no kidding). If you look out the side for picture windows as you travel you can see the vehicle that is collecting the photo track, it is a small car. People can ask to have images removed as well, if you run into a removed image you don't get a pic, just a label. You can see interesting stuff in these pictures. There is a person walking awy from the 7-11 who looks pretty strange to me, he appears to be stumbling on the curb. In other views it looks like he might be gardening. You could possibly spot geocaches with these views, or at least hiding spots. One last shot.

It is not uncommon to find CITO bags in caches. It doesn't cost much to print upa small label using the CITO logo, attach it to a film canister and add a plastic shopping to the canister. This is an easy starter sig item, it is a great thing to leave in a cache for others to find and it prompts people to CITO. Don't let anyone imply that film canisters are not useful geocaching items. I have a trash bag stored in a film can in my geocaching supply cupboard, it was created by The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, they make these things and hand them out to everyone. If you really feel that you don't want to advertise for Safeway you could go get some Superstore and Walmart bags as well. Great question and a great idea you had to encourage CITO efforts.