Anyone Willing to take a Survey?

[+masterfind]

1.How did you first hear about geocaching?

One of my supervisors saw my GPS in my cruiser and asked me if I knew about geocaching.

 

2. Tell me about your first cache?

It’s funny because I only remember it was somewhere in St Petersburg, Fl. I do remember the thrill of the find and the feeling to just keep looking for them; I was hooked. Many of my true first finds went without making any logs at the web site.

 

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

No bad experiences yet, but I do have a couple of scary ones. One day I went geocaching very ill prepared with almost no water. That day turned out to be a scorcher and I became extremely dehydrated to the point that I almost passed out before making it back to my car. That day finished with a trip to the hospital for a few hours, and my spouse doesn’t allow me to live that one down yet. Another day at the very same natural preserve that I almost passed out, some sort of large wild animal began to track me down. To this day I do not know what the heck it was.

 

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

It takes me to places that I would never find on my own.

 

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

I prefer the hunt.

 

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

I love caching in the woods. I love the challenge of bushwacking in the woods and the thrill of seeking a small item hidden in the middle of nowhere with the assistance of a GPS device. You see, when I was a teenager I used to go into the mountains for days at the time with no other objective than to become one with nature. Then I joined the Army and I trained in many jungles around the world. I used to say that living in the jungle was as good as staying at a 5-star hotel since I was so comfortable in the woods. Now I’ll take the 5-star hotel, but the woods do bring back a lot of good memories from my early years.

 

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

No worst cache for me; I love all of them. I do hate the little bit magneto hides though!

 

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

I have only attended one thus far. I wish I could make it to more of them.

 

9. Tell me your best caching story?

I recently went to a small natural preserve to do some caching. At first, it appeared as if would be a walk in the park. That of course changed quickly. The deeper I went into the woods the thicker the vegetation became as well as muddy. I stumbled around in those wet, stinky, and muddy woods for about two hours attempting to locate this one cache. In two occasions I found myself waist deep in mud at this swamp like area. The given hint was that the cache was at the end “on a natural bridge.” Guess what, in a swamp area there are a multitude of natural bridges. Needless to say I was having a heck of a time finding this one since the GPS reception was not too good under the tree canopy, and I sat down on a large fallen tree for a break. As luck would have it, that fallen tree was the natural bridge that I was seeking, and true to the hint the treasure was there. What is so good about this you might ask? Well, during this search I remembered a bunch of good people that I had the great honor to serve with many years ago during hard times in the military. Perseverance is the key to success no matter how bad things might get on your way. That is something that they thought me and it became an integral part of me. The motto that we lived by during those times was “Hard Times Don’t Last, But Hard Men Do.”

[+NorStar]

I spend a good part of my work interviewing people, now it's time for me to be on the other side of the 'table.'

 

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

 

I was looking for things to do with my new 'toy,' a Garmin Vista, and found the Geocaching.com web site. I decided to give it a try and was hooked on my first find. I got the Vista more or less to know where I was during hikes in the woods, often in the mountains or large woods.

 

2. Tell me about your first cache?

 

It was just about four years ago that I started. On Nov. 7th, I attempted my first cache, by a pier in Quincy. I was looking, but found that the signal jumped enough that I couldn't zero in on it, then a car of teenagers parked on the pier, and I decided to give it up that day (actually evening).

 

On Nov. 11th, I had three lined up so that I figured that I would find at least one of them. The first one that day was in a town owned forest, which I visited often when I was little. Apparently, I had used the GPSr too often beforehand, because the batteries gave out while in the forest. I also learned a lesson about how the signal can cause the location to bounce around. There are large hemlock and pine trees in these woods, which, together with the heavy clouds and sprinkles made hunting an added challenge. Thus, after various attempts to get a location and hunt there, I gave up. (I later found it - after four attempts - I was close the first time). The second one, I knew was going to be a challenge, since it was at a ball field. I looked but I didn't find this one, either (I later found this - on my third attempt - and I still smile at how creatively it was 'hidden.'). The fourth cache involved more than hunting a cache. It involved walking through an old mill village finding and filling in numbers to the real coordinates, then finding the cache. This should have been the the toughest one to find of all. I had fun walking around and, as I filled in the numbers, I learned a lot about that village. The find wasn't too hard after all that. I did have my encounter with a 'muggle' at that site who was walking by with his dog. I gave him a quick explanation of what I was doing, and he at least smiled appreciably and walked off. This cache, to this day is still active and I count it as my favorite.

 

 

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

 

No, not really. The only bad experiences are the ones where I come up to a place where a cache should have been and wasn't there.

 

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

 

Two reasons (about equally important). 1) It takes me to places I wouldn't have been to before and often teaches me a lot about a location (either the description on the web page or maybe a sign at that location), and 2) The hunt for something.

 

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

 

Hunt. I have yet to hide. I'm sure that I would enjoy hiding and maintaining something, but I would have to slow down in other activities, first. In fact, I'm trying to find time just to geocache again.

 

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

 

My favorite is my first found geocache, Historic Saxonville (Framingham). Not only is it my first found geocache, it was a well developed geocache that involved some time by the hider, it made me interact with the area (looking for clues at a location), it involved history of a location, and it also involved a nice walk in the woods.

 

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

 

I'd have to say one that was hidden among old iron furnace ruins. It isn't active anymore. It was in line-of-sight and there wasn't a need to move anything, but the temptation was there.

 

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

 

Yes I have - I think three of them. They are great. I haven't been to one lately. Again, time is the main factor. I do intend to go again.

 

9. Tell me your best caching story?

 

Compared to others that I read in the previous entries, mine is not as exciting, but here goes.

 

I decided to go on a trip to New Hampshire to drive around, and, stop and walk in the woods somewhere. We decided to go to the Fox Forest Reservation, which is a large chunk of land where research is done. This was on Leap Day (Feb. 29, 2004). Down in the Boston area, there had been very little snow all year, and the ground was bare. I thought to myself, how much snow could be there, maybe a few inches? The cache I decided to look for was well into the forest - I'd say at least a mile from the road. Of course, when a friend a me drove up, I hit the first snow on the ground somewhere at the I-495 junction (about five miles from the New Hampshire border). By the time I reached Hillsborough, I saw that the snow was at least a foot deep. We walked in and found that the snow was pretty soft and easy to walk in; however, it was very tiring. We trudged in further and further, and soon I got the 'how much further do we have to go/shouldn't we be turning back, now.' My reply, 'Just a little further.' We reached the location and naturally the GPSr pointed to a location off the trail. Now wasn't the time to doubt the GPSr (though I was trying to calculate the chances of success at this point). I stepped off the trail and found that I was walking into a mini ravine and the snow was even deeper - thigh deep or about two feet. I figured my chances were really low - there was a high chance of it being deeply buried by snow. But, I found a likely spot and put my arm in, and found metal! So, I pulled it out, walked back to the path to look, take the Travel Bug there and log, then walked again to put it back. It was a ton of work - I have missed geocaches that would have been far easier to find, but it was so satisfying. Not only did I find the geocache, but I walked in an absolutely gorgeous area, made more beautiful by the snow.

 

I should not have been able to find that cache, but I did.

 

There, that's all. Hey, if you don't mind sharing the written essay, could you post a link to it at the end of this thread so we can see what you found about us?

[+simpjkee]

1. I was at dinner for my 25th birthday and my dad brought up that he had was in a park with a client of his. I asked why he was in the park in the first place and he told me that his client was from out of town and was geocaching. I asked about it and he told me.

 

2. 4 days after hearing about geocaching, I borrowed my dad's gps and went to search for the closest cache to my house. I convinced myself that nothing would be there, but after about 10 minutes, I made the find and thought it was one of the coolest things ever.

 

3. No.

 

4. I dont know what the #1 reason is. I can think of two reasons that are high up there though. 1 is the relationships with people I have met through caching and the other is the fact that this hobby is 24 hours and I can choose to endulge in it or not whenever I choose.

 

5. hunt

 

6. My favorite cache place is different from my favorite cache. My favorite cache place would be Barton Creek in Austin, TX. There are tons of caches there and it was an awesome place to hang out at. I look forward to being able to visit that area again.

 

7. My worst cache was a cache that had certain rules on the cache page and the only way to find the cache was to break the rules on the cache page. I ended up visiting this cache quite a few times and on the 6th or 7th time I decided to break the rules, because I was sick of the cache, and having broken the rules, I made the find easily. I didn't like this cache because I should have found it the first time, and it is a cool area, but since the rules were wrong, I ended up wasting a lot of time there which only ruined my opinion of the area.

 

8. yes, 2

 

9. Take your pick of one of the four links in my sig. All four are equally great caching stories for me. If I had to pick one, I would pick Barton Creek in Austin, TX

[leswon]

I'm also taking English Comp this semester, good luck!

 

1. Read an article in the local paper, and decided to try it because I had picked up a used GPS for $5 at a garage sale

 

2. I went to the local park with the GPS and followed the trail of crushed weeds, at the end was a cache.

 

3. Nope

 

4. It's fun.

 

5. Hunt

 

6. My favorite cache place is in Clare, MI because it's near a little dam with a little bridge going over it.

 

7. Probably the one in the middle of the swampy thornpatch where mosquitos were using me for a dinner buffet.

 

8. Yes, one, it was really fun we canoed down the Huron River and picked up trash along the banks. My canoe found a huge hunk of old hemp rope. My dad found a swivel chair.

 

9. I was at the library trying to find a movie and I walked over to my sister who at the computers and she said, "see those two guys, they are geocachers too." I watched them pick up a book with a large geocaching sticker on it. I thought, "oh cool a geocaching book that isn't Geocaching for Dummies or an Idiots Guide to Geocaching" so after they left I went and grabbed the book. Then my sister said, "we are in a hurry, you can look at that later come help me find a movie" so I took the book over to the movie section where I opened it up and realized it was a cache. A very cool multicache where the last stage was a book in the library.

[+cave-rat]

 

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

2. Tell me about your first cache?

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

9. Tell me your best caching story?

 

1. A friend of mine was a geocacher and took me out to my first cache and was hooked ever since

2. The first cache was a multi type in front of an very old ball field right by my old house and the final stage took us up a hill next to the field and it was hiding behind a fallen log. Great spot because you got a pretty view to watch a game.

3. I been pulled over a few times after a few land owners called the police on us. One time there was a break in nearby and the cops pulled us over. I got lost in a forest once after my gps batteries died... took me a few hours to get out.

4. I cache to explore what my hometown got to offer. Even though I been living here for 23 years and I still discovered hidden places. I uses geocaching as a good excuse to exercise. I love histories and there are good amount of caches that is about histories.

5. Both- I like to hunt and explore but if I find a good spot then I would hide something as well.

6. My favorites are virtuals because they are usually very cool to visit and about histories. I also like multis for the good walk and exploring it got to offer.

7. I have gone to caches where the walk to the cache got a great view of Lake Michigan but the cache itself take me away from the lake and into a swamp... ugh! I really hate lightpole caches- granted they are easy but BORING!

8. I attends a few events to meet people and that way I can place cachername to their face. I'm a naturally shy but events bring me out of my shell.

9. MY best I can tell is the time I went to Ecuador with a fellow cacher. We been planning on this trip for a year by then working very hard to plan the entire trip and how to get around. When we got into the country- the biggest goal was to visit the virtual cache on the equator line. It was not easy because it was a good 50 miles away and had to take a bus to the site. The reason why it was the best because we worked so hard together and along the way, we became good friends and learned a lot about each other.

[+gargamouse]

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

 

Through a family member.

 

2. Tell me about your first cache?

 

I was visiting my parents one 4th of July. My parent's property borders the national forest so we decided to take a hike and see for ourselves what this geocaching thing is all about. Once we arrived in the coordinate area we searched for a good 30 minutes when the ammo can was discovered by my mom.

 

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

 

I have had a slightly scary experience caching. While traveling home from vacationing in Maine my husband and I stopped in Gorham, New Hampshire to search for a cache. While my husband was searching I was taking some pictures of the scenery. After snapping a shot of the mountain range in front of me, I turned around and there were three adult bears on a very wide and adjacent path. I think the bears saw me the same time I saw them. When we both saw each other they turned around and ran away grunting. I started towards my husband to warn him and to find two rocks to bang together to make noise even though the bears were clearly just as afraid of me as I was of them. I have always thought I wanted to see bears out in the wild and I am thankful I did but not as thankful that me or my husband weren't harmed. The bears were a bit to close for comfort and surprisingly they startled me quite a bit.

 

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

 

My number one reason is discovering new places. I have been geocaching for one year and within that year I have discovered many places I was unaware existed. I absolutely love God's creation and I want to explore as much of it as I can!

 

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

 

I will have to say hunt for now because I have yet to hide one. I am planning on hiding one in the near future though. So far I have picked a spot, I just need to decide on what to place in the cache and how I will describe and name it.

 

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

 

My favorite cache place so far is the Jefferson National Forest in VA. This is where my first cache was found but that is not the reason why it is my favorite. The reason why it is my favorite is because I love the caches which involve a good long hike. Areas like these there are very little muggles to contend with. I dislike the ones where you just get out of your car and walk a few feet and there it is. Challenge and and adventure is important to me.

 

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

 

I will have to say that "Shore Path" (GCVM3K) was my worst cache. Only because I was disappointed that I couldn't find it. It is a micro and micro's are my least favorite because they usually are much more difficult to find and there are always plenty of muggles around.

 

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

 

No. I was planning on attending one yesterday but I decided it would be much more fun to go for a good long hike and find a few as opposed to only one. This particular event cache was in town (micros surrounded the cache location) in the middle of the day. I just felt that it would be a lot of time wasted.

 

9. Tell me your best caching story?

 

I don't know about my best cache story but the "Acadia National Park EarthCache Program" (GC11M7T) was the best story told to me.

[+GRANPA ALEX]

1. How did you first hear about geocaching? - My son in Sacramento introduced me at a McD's LPC

2. Tell me about your first cache? The McD's LPC in downtown Sacramento

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching? Only night caching in the woods while totally dependent upon the GPS to get back to the car . . . the battery died. I was out of town and alone.

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache? I like the game, the people and the places it takes me.

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide? Hunt

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why? Blue Ridge Mountains of VA . . . the beauty of the flora, the tameness of the wildlife (no fear, they followed you around), the fresh air and fine folks met there.

7. What was your worst cache? Why? Charleston SC cache near a theater where the cache was hidden exactly where the local restaurant owner had thrown out rotted meat along side a swampy place (maybe for gators). With the flies, it stunk to high heaven, was a lousy place to make a hide and a bad place to be taken.

8. Have you ever attended a cache event? Yes

9. Tell me your best caching story? I like numbers and like to track my progress toward personal goals. Had one 100-hour trip with 14 hours sleep from Burlington NC to Columbia SC to Greenville SC to Ashville NC and surrounds and back to Burlington where I was fortunate enough to log 386 finds on the trip - that was great for me. Many were mindless micros, many were creative hides & hand-carved containers, there were ammo cans, tupperware, lock-n-locks, some were hikes, a few were multis, many were challenging but all were good for me and I appreciate the hiders.

Edited November 11, 2007 by GRANPA ALEX

[+Chocolate Rabbits]

I am taking an English Compostion Class this semester and I need to write a research paper. Of course what do I want to write on GeoCaching. My husband and I started geocaching in March 2007. We currently have 137 finds and 8 hides (we are working on placing a new cache series out in the Columbia Gorge).

Would anyone be willing to answer a few questions on geocaching? Would love to hear about everyone's caching stories.

 

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

2. Tell me about your first cache?

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

9. Tell me your best caching story?

 

Thanks to anyone and everyone who will help me explore caching in depth with other players. 1fairygirl

1.i read an article in a walking magazine(trail)and thought it sounded a fun thing to do(and it is )

2.our first cache was near to where we live and a really nice surprise (a beautiful deer park)since then caching has taken us to some places we probably would never have found otherwise

3.probably only dodgy experience we have had was while trying to atempt a cache with only half the information and i took the coordiinates to be the cache site when in fact they were the parking area we searched the area looking for the cache and found a camoflagued bag(well a floral print bag) inside was the usual tupperware box but instead of a nice log book and things to swop i found the remains of someones packed lunch yyyeeeeeewwww

4.the main reason is to get us out in the fresh air abit of excercise with some senic locations

5.we prefere to hunt but we are looking to place our own cache soon

6.probably our first cache "the nearest and the dearest" we often go walking in the deer park

7.we havnt really had a bad cache is there such a thing??

8.not as yet but possibly in the near future

9. sorry im not the best at stories

[+Baron Von Cache]

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

Honestly, I don't remember.

 

2. Tell me about your first cache?

My first cache was the Orlando Airport TB Hotel. I picked this one because I knew the location very well (at the time, the cache was about a five minute walk from my house), but never knew there was something like this hidden!

 

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

Not really, but I was a bit spooked while searching for take it back. after reading some of the things other people posted.

 

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

Fun. Me and my father have a lot of fun caching - also, it's something thats very inexpensive, but still entertains us for hours a day. It can also be quite a challenge! It's also pretty neat finding places I've never seen before, yet are very close to my home. Why, just today, I found a city park and county library I never knew existed, only two miles from my house!

 

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

Hunt. I love searching for the caches and trading neat little trinkets out of them. Hiding is fun too, but sometimes it's just so hard to find somewhere to hide one!

 

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

Where Shopping is a Pleasure 2 is definitely up there as one of my favorites. The cache is literally right in the open (planted on a stop sign!) but very hard to find if you aren't looking for it.

 

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

I highly dislike mirco, or even more so "nano", caches. Most of them are only difficult because they are just too hard and little to see, not because it's hidden well. Another I disliked was one that was an ammo can just lying under a bush. Not hidden besides camo paint. What's the point of placing a cache if you aren't even going to try to hide it, other than camo paint and a little bit of brush?

 

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

Nope.

 

9. Tell me your best caching story?

Don't have one really, I'm still pretty much a geo-noob. Although, State's Zig Zag was fun - we're from Florida and on a trip up to my Grandparent's house in New Jersey, we checked it out. We got DNF'ed, but we came back almost a year later and looked in the one spot we didn't the year before and found it.

[+Coach Steve]

1. How did you hear . . .

I was surfing the net and came across GC.com

2. First cache?

I had the cache page and wandered around until the coords linked up. Lucky I found it at all. I was hooked!

3. Bad or scary experience?

I was doing a cache in front of the Excalibur Hotel in Vegas. My old GPS took me out in the landscaping, so being the dedicated cacher that I was, I stepped out there and started going through the bushes and stuff. I heard someone clear his throat and turned around to see two secruity guards--you know the kind--guys with no neck. The kind that dream about being security guards, or go to bars after work and talk about being security guards. Anyway, they asked them to come with them and they took me in a back room at the hotel. I had pictures in my head of broken legs, smashed fingers, etc. They weren't smiling, but accepted my explanation and let me keep my GPS, but kept the cache page. Pretty scary for awhile.

 

There are also several encounters with snakes, Black Widows, a Gila Monster, and an apparently rabid coyote. But those are other stories.

4. #1 reason for caching?

I am like a dog that needs to mark territory. If it is there, I want to find it!

5. Hunt or hide?

I enjoy the hunt more than the hide because I am a man who lacks imagination.

6. Favorite Cache?

"It was a Dynamite Place" (now archived). The cache was in the dynamite cache of an old mining operation, but what made it great was the remoteness (70 miles from the nearest highway) and the FTF prize. When I saw what it was, I left my house, drove to the cache at night and retrieved the prize--a brand new Orvis fly rod, worth at least $150!

7. The worst cache?

Any silly lamppost micro!

8. Any cache events?

Have been to several and hosted several.

9. Best cache story?

I don't know if it's the best, but it's the funniest. I was driving up a pretty deserted, but not very remote, dirt road. I came around a bend to see a guy standing outside his car stark naked looking at the ground. When he saw me, he hustled and put on his shorts and then picked up his camera from the ground. The only thing I could figure out is that he had the camera between his legs and was taking nude pictures of himself. As I drove by him and on to the cache, I started to laugh and couldn't concentrate on finding the cache because I was laughing so much. I still think it's funny.

[shootingstar7]

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

 

At first I was tracking money through wheresgeorge.com and somehow I stumbled into geocoins and from geocoins to geocaching(thanks to wikipedia)

 

2. Tell me about your first cache?

 

I found it using google earth, I didin't have a GPS for that time but a month after that I bought my etrex vista Hcx(cache name Millenium Park, PR)

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

 

Yes, the last cache I found me and my boyfriend felt around 5 feet from a clift and he got injured.

 

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

It's challenging

 

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

hunt, but I also enjoying hiding.

 

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

'Tetas', the one I felt off the cliff.(PR)

 

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

Monaga park, full of very agressive mosquitos.

 

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

No

 

9. Tell me your best caching story?

too many to tell.

Edited November 13, 2007 by shootingstar7

[gonegeofishing]

I wanted to thank everyone who took this survey. 1fairygirls’ research paper is due in the next couple of days and I thought it would be a good idea if I responded to the survey. As in most marriages, one partners opinion may not be the same as the other. That is what has made this hobby such a great adventure for us.

 

How did you first hear about geocaching?

We were playing couch potato and saw a PBS show on geocaching. We thought it looked like fun. Both of us have a little techno geek in us. I will never pass up permission/encouragement to buy a new toy. After remembering that a coworker had said something about geocaching, I asked if that is what they were up to. It was. Bought a gps within a week. Been addicted ever since.

 

Tell me about your first cache? Our first cache was a virtual about a mile from our house. I remember not being so thrilled about taking a picture of a face on the side of some mountain. No way was the new toy leaving the house without me. I have since learned that virtuals have there own merits. I prefer the earthcaches more. Funny thing about this cache is that when I arrived at work the next day, my coworker said he knew we had been geocaching. Apparently his wife drove bye as we were taking a picture with gps in hand. Is that like being muggled or just being caught red handed by another geocacher?

 

Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

Two stick out in my mind. SCARY. Dropped the gps over the side of a cliff on a mountain goat trail trying to get a FTF on a cache that was never found because it was removed by park rangers doing trail maintenance before it was ever found. Thankfully the gps landed on a narrow edge about 6 feet down. I have an insane fear of heights so must if it is a blur. I know it involved both of us stretched out on our stomachs while other passing hikers are passing bye. Try to explain to geocaching under those circumstances. Managed to retrieve the gps and keep my britches dry so alls good in the end. BAD. While retrieving an ammo can on the hillside of a the trail buried in a pile of rocks, the pile came down in an avalanche with my finger being a buffer between the ammo can and a very large rock. Squashed it like a ripe grape. What’s a half dozen stitches? Did not have a first aid kit with me so 1fairygirl pulled out the knife and sacrificed part of her shirt for a compress. Just received the final bill from the doctors. Needless to say it equals ht amount of a new gps. Dang.There is a funny side to this. “dorkfish” did the cache right after us and and is his log sounded dissapointed that he did not see signs of the blood bath. Sorry to to dissapoint you “dorkfish”

 

What is the #1 reason you geocache?

Aside from seeing places that are in our own backyard that we have been blind to for many years it has provided us with a way to set goals on the difficulty of terrain we can physically handle. There is no way we could have handled even a three rating 6 months ago. No problem now. Our current goal is to make it to the top of Dog Mountain in the Columbia River Gorge for a couple of caches by the time the wildflowers are in bloom next spring.

Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

For me it is a 50/50. Either way it is all about the journey of the hunt. Whether that is finding a new place for a cache that is a worthy placed to take cachers to that they have never been or having been to a great place that someone has brought us to.

 

What was your favorite cache place? Multnomah Falls cache where I squished my finger. Why? Beautiful scenery. Gorgeous waterfalls. One heck of a hike, and despite the minor owwwwwwy we found the cache.

 

What was your worst cache? A micro under a bridge. Don’t get me wrong. I like well placed micros. Lame micros. Most any cache is a good one. Never having seen a LPC in our caching area, I don’t have much to compare with. A hunt is a hunt. Why? This one had us so freaked out with all the unsavory people hanging around the cache area that we literally ran to the one parked car in the area. Ours.

 

Have you ever attended a cache event? Columbia Gorge Potluck VI. Loved putting faces to names and meeting new cachers. BTW GoJaybee does a mean pulled pork. YUM.

 

Tell me your best caching story? I hope it is the next cache we do. Or the next one. Or the next one. And so on and so on and so on. The adventures keeps on comming.

 

Favorite geocoin. "7 Deadly Caching Sins" Been guilty of everyone of them at one time or another.

Edited December 6, 2007 by gonegeofishing

[+tabulator32]

This makes for cool reading but is the OP still taking her school course?

 

 

Oops! I see that she is. Forgive me.

 

Carry on!

 

Edited December 7, 2007 by tabulator32

[steve638]

1. How did you first hear about geocaching? Heard about it from my parents.

2. Tell me about your first cache? Went with my wife and mother and father in law it was a good find in a small town. We were hooked ever since, but in laws don't do it, father in goes with me when they visit though.

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching? No

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache? Treasure hunting

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide? hunt

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why? http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...db-f758478b2be1

Had a good time finding it, it was new and different.

7. What was your worst cache? Why? Tough question, don't have a worst or bad experience

8. Have you ever attened a cache event? no

9. Tell me your best caching story? http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...08-55c070fd4ae9

Found a cool led lite for reading books at night with.

[+1fairygirl]

Thank you to everyone who took my survey. I have finally finished my paper and my class. I got an A- on my Geocaching Paper so I guess it wasn't too bad. I am not sure how to make the paper available to those of you who wanted to read it. Anyone have an idea?

Thanks again, 1fairygirl

[+StarBrand]

Thank you to everyone who took my survey. I have finally finished my paper and my class. I got an A- on my Geocaching Paper so I guess it wasn't too bad. I am not sure how to make the paper available to those of you who wanted to read it. Anyone have an idea?

Thanks again, 1fairygirl

PDF file on some server??

[+joranda]

gladc to see you got your paper done.

[+1fairygirl]

gladc to see you got your paper done.

 

You have no idea. Husband will try to get paper on his works server in PDF format. Bunch of geocachers work with him. Thanks Starbrand for the PDF idea. Happy cachin. 1fairygirl.

[+january14]

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

 

One of the motorcycle forums I visit got a new member and he mentioned that he enjoyed riding and liked to go geocaching.

 

2. Tell me about your first cache?

 

Train Cache in Leeds, Al. My partner Searching4Fun and I stopped by and looked for it. Once we found it, we were hooked. Still are.

 

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

 

Bad or Scary? Not really, or at least not looking back on it. I've picked up ticks on some caches. We've seen a few deer. I guess the closest we've came is an urban cache, nameless, in Birmingham that is next to a park frequented by the homeless. That wasn't scary though, but the drug paraphenalia laying around was.

 

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

 

Damned if I know... If I ever come up with a reason I'll be sure to write. Seriously, it's a hobby, and you do hobbies sometimes without really knowing why you are doing them.

 

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

 

Depends on the mood I'm in... I don't like hunting alone, so when I have my Lady with me, we hunt. I don't like hiding in a group, so when I'm alone I hide or plan a hide or think about a hide. Two different aspects of the game, hunting and hiding. Related, but not related.

 

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

 

Actually, my favorite was when we took an Alaskan Cruise and on returning to Seattle we spent the day caching and having fun. Enjoyed every cache I found in Seattle. Great place to cache. They seem to hide things in a manner that I can appreciate there. Nothing horribly unusual or hard to find, but challenging all the same. We had a blast caching there but only found 10 before having to scoot to the airport.

 

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

 

I'm guessing you are talking about worst Hunt. Very hard to discern since I haven't established a caching mood yet. Some days I like Micros under the lamp skirts and some days I can't be bothered with anything but a challenging hide. I guess those that I can't find, either because I just don't see it or never even got the site are the ones that bother me the most.

 

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

 

Yes, I have attended several events now. Enjoy meeting people who's caches I have found. Gives me a face I can put with the cache whenever I run into a really hard one... I have a person I can curse under my breath instead of just a name.

 

9. Tell me your best caching story?

 

Hillside Hop. I will let my logs tell the story for you. This is a series of 10 caches in Pelham Alabama that requires a pretty good hike to get to them all. The proper way of running this is to start at Number 3 (III) and then go to 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1, 2... they are all numbered in Roman Numerals.

 

The owner has changed jobs and he put together a Cache run for some locals in October and we were unable to attend. The reason he did this was to give everyone a final run at this series before he goes about Archiving it. So, 1 month later, Searching4Fun and I went to do the Hillside Hop. Meanwhile, we had found III about a week earlier, so we were able to skip it (Walked right by it a second time, though). My Logs for each are below.

 

Hillside Hop IV

Hillside Hop V

Hillside Hop - VI

Hillside Hop - VII

Hillside Hop - VIII

Hillside Hop - IX

Hillside Hop - X

Hillside Hop - The Original

Hillside Hop - II

 

On this particular day, we only did the 9 caches, having previously did the III cache. Always take PLENTY of water with you when you go caching in a wilderness setting, even if it is less than a half mile from you Car.

[+january14]

And, I see now, I wasted my time... Oh Well..

[+1fairygirl]

No worry January14. Your post made for some great reading for myself and other cachers to enjoy. Thank you.

 

Thanks again for all who helped me with this project. Below is a link to the my geocaching paper.

 

http://w3.gorge.net/delude/Geocaching/1fai...rlgeosurvey.pdf

[+tabulator32]

No worry January14. Your post made for some great reading for myself and other cachers to enjoy. Thank you.

 

Thanks again for all who helped me with this project. Below is a link to the my geocaching paper.

 

http://w3.gorge.net/delude/Geocaching/1fai...rlgeosurvey.pdf

 

Ok. I like the paper and congrats on the A-, but...40 pounds?! That is AWESOME!! Congratulations on THAT!

 

You must really be enjoying geocaching as well!

 

[+Shriekback]

Not sure if it's too late for this, but I'm bored so here goes!

 

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

I first heard about geocaching when I was trying to describeThe Alchemist Dar to my cousin and he mentioned Geocaching in passing. I was curious, looked up the site that night, and bought a GPS the following week! Been hooked since!

 

2. Tell me about your first cache?

I borrowed a GPS temporarily from a friend to try my hand at it. I checked the website that night and found out that there was one directly on our dog walking path! So the dog and I went for a walk and got it.

 

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

One. We were caching on a county road near Peoria and a man and his son drove up and told us we were on a private lane. Now normally we would have just explained geocaching and been fine but it so happened that this man and his boy were dressed in camo and carrying shotguns... they were going phesant hunting off season on a county road. We briefly talked with them to assure them we "didn't know we were on private property" and left as quickly as we could. There's no convincing someone with a shotgun that they were doing something illegal!

 

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

Honestly, I get the best endorphin boost when I find a cache! Awesome! Free endorphin!

 

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

I prefer the hunt. I'm a bit lazy when it comes to maintainence... *blush*

 

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

So far Eden Valley Refuge west of Clinton IA. No, there was nothing terribly special about it, but it was one of the prettiest areas that I have cached and one of the most challenging in terms of terrain.

 

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

I would have to say the one where three cops cars pulled up to me and asked me what I was doing. Apparantly I was caching on someone's land and the person that placed the cache had not obtained permission! Thankfully they did not ask "with guns drawn" and were quite satisfied with my geocaching explaination.

 

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

Yes. One in my hometown, Galesburg.

 

9. Tell me your best caching story?

My favorite caching story... wow, that's a tough one. Should I tell of the cache in Eden Valley that we were trying to do where there was a bull on the trail and the guy who was leading us was wearing red? Or how bout the furred lined cache in a guardrail that I got made fun of while finding because of the face I made?

There are far too many new, interesting caching experiances to choose a favorite.

[+Shriekback]

Serves me right for not reading the full topic...

 

Anyway, congratz!

[+Trucker Lee]

 

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

Accidently discovered caching when browsing the web. First response, "you've got to be kidding" later went to "sounds cool".

2. Tell me about your first cache?

First find was Tranquility by Dogmac. A camoed spice bottle hanging in a thick crepe myrtle. Found it only by the strange shape along a trunk.

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

Not yet. But I'm still trying for one. (he, he)

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

Began with the idea of getting out of the truck and getting excercise. Now, still that, but I like seeing the different hides and camos.

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

Definitely prefer hunting. Have 4 hides, and reading the logs is fun, but the thrill of discovery and seeing new places and techniques still gets me.

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

Would you believe I took a DNF there? I am also a history buff, and the veteran's park in Decatur Texas was has great information about the various conflicts down through our country's history stationed around the park. Never found the cache, but I'm not the only one.

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

An LPC. No challenge, no thrill.

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

I was late for one, does that count? I worked a charity booth at a truck show the week of the cache, and arrived after most had gone, but the committee was resting before final load-out. I visited, I assisted, I found a cache. Drives offered me the book to sign in.

9. Tell me your best caching story?

The ability to laugh at oneself is crucial. For that story, go here, and look for March 16, 2007.

Along with that, I occasionally try to be creative on a log. See here, on December 20, 2007.

 

Hope this helps, and good luck on that assignment.

Edited December 21, 2007 by Trucker Lee

[+vw_k]

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

I worked for a company that sold GPS, one of my colleagues mentioned Geocaching during a GPS sales training session and i thought it sounded interesting.

 

2. Tell me about your first cache?

My first cache was the nearest to my house, I went out to find it without a GPS using my local knowledge and the hint, I couldn't find it in the dark, so went back the next day in daylight, I was thrilled to find it and have been caching ever since.

 

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

My scariest experience was being stopped by an off duty police officer who thought I looked suspicious! I explained caching to him and he thought it sounded like an interesting, if unusual sport.

 

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

Simply because it is fun!

 

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

Both, I enjoy the mental and physical challenges that come with both.

 

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

Either on top of Snowdon, the highest mountain un England and Wales, because of the night time hike it took to get there and the sense of adventure. Or on an island in the River Thames near London that was only accessible at low tide, because I liked the fact that you could have such an adventure so close to urban areas, and nobody else was there.

 

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

Any cache that hasn't been well thought out, in uninteresting areas with no enjoyment in the hunt.

 

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

No, but I would very much like to when there is a local one and I am available.

 

9. Tell me your best caching story?

Looking back on it now, the police officer story was quite an interesting one, other than that I've just had alot of enjoyable adventures with friends.

[+tabulator32]

I think the OP got an A minus on the assignement but keep'em coming...she may want to make this her thesis or turn it into a book or something.

 

[+Clothahump]

I am taking an English Compostion Class this semester and I need to write a research paper. Of course what do I want to write on GeoCaching. My husband and I started geocaching in March 2007. We currently have 137 finds and 8 hides (we are working on placing a new cache series out in the Columbia Gorge).

Would anyone be willing to answer a few questions on geocaching? Would love to hear about everyone's caching stories.

 

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

Stumbled across a link on another page while looking for something totally unrelated.

2. Tell me about your first cache?

I mentioned the site to SWMBO. She looked at it, did some research, got me a Garmin Etrex Legend for Christmas. I promptly fired it up, got the home coords, plugged them in and saw there was a cache in a little park in the back of the subdivision. I snagged it and immediately got hooked.

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

Woke up a giant boarhog out in George Bush Park one day. Hard to tell which one of us was more afraid of the other, but it definitely got my heart beating!

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

It's fun and it takes me to places I would never have dreamed of going to otherwise.

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

I'm much more of a hunter.

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

Oh, where to begin?

Probably Wolf Creek Falls. Really beautiful hike to get to the cache.

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

Light pole cache, for obvious reasons.

8. Have you ever attended a cache event?

One.

9. Tell me your best caching story?

 

Hey, I get to go traipsing in the woods with my sweetie and see new things. Life is good!

[+Tatanka49]

One of my favorite past times (besides GC of course) is answering surveys.

 

1. How did you first hear about geocaching? GC was an experimental event on the 2004 Science Olymipiad competition. I teach Earth Science so the coach assumed that I could mentor the team. Sure no problem. (what the H??? is Geocaching) Needless to say, my team came in first place that year.

 

2. Tell me about your first cache? Before I could mentor I had to try it. I bought a GPS and on a cold January day set off to find my first cache in Gerrissten Beach Brooklyn NY. I didn't know about the 'Go To' feature so I was trying to find the spot by watching the changes in lat and long. I eventually found may way there. I had no idea what I was looking for. The hint said "You'll find the cache in my arms." Arms? A person?? Oh, a tree with multiple arms and the cache was in the center.

 

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching? We've all had our ups and downs. The one that comes to mind is last summer. I was caching in Nova Scotia. I drove out to the end of a long farm road and pulled into the clearing on the side of the road. Instead of marking the car location, I saw that I had a clear shot less than .1 miles away down a nice clear path. Little did I know that the path ended just beyound the trees. Found the cache but where the heck am I? It took almost an hour to find my way back out again going through thorns and apple orchards. I finally found the road and was about 200 feet from the car...but I was on the road. I have learned my lesson! The clearest paths are probably the worst way to gaina ccess to a cache. Mark the car!

 

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache? For the thrill of the hunt....and to get opff myy duff and do something once in a while.

 

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide? Both. I like to hide, but I hate micros. Urban caching is mostly micros. I alo don't like the maintaining part. My twenty or so urban cachcs (some micros) have to be serviced 3-4 times a year. My country few I don't visit for over a year and they are still going strong.

 

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why? Nova Scoptia -- the beauty of the area and the variety of cache types.

 

7. What was your worst cache? Why? Again many. One that comes to mind is one that is less than 2 miles from my house. In a phone booth. 5 visits, no cache. I have over 1,000 caches and kept getting DNF's. Newbies with 4 caches were finding it regularly. Finally found it last week. Whew!

 

8. Have you ever attended a cache event? Yes...20 at last count. I've run 4 or 5 personally--mostly meet and greets. I went to one in Michigan and one in Nova Scotia. Each over 600 miles from home.

 

9. Tell me your best caching story? I call myself the "Geocaching Evangelist" I personally own 19 GPSr's--mostly Etrex-100's. To build the sport we need to get the word out. I have run several geocaching workshops for scout leaders, school teachers and even an association of gold prospectors. I'm ready the moment some one says..."Can you maybe run a workshop?"

[+belle610]

I think the OP got an A minus on the assignement but keep'em coming...she may want to make this her thesis or turn it into a book or something.

 

I know I am too late, and I have read and enjoyed the paper but in the spirit of the quote above here are my responses

1. How did you first hear about geocaching?

I got a GPS when the price point went down to $200 a few years ago and while talking about my new toy at work a co-worker suggested I look into Geocaching.

 

2. Tell me about your first cache?

My first cache was quick, easy and close to home, but the joy of finding something that was hidden for more than two years within 1 mile of my house got me hooked on finding more.

 

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching?

Bad, no. Scary, a little. I have gotten into trouble more than once by moving forward and having trouble getting back the way I came.

 

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache?

I need the motivation to get out of the house and this hobby has routinely taken me to places very close to home that I never knew even existed.

 

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide?

I like to hunt, but in the spirit of giving back I have recently done my first hide and am now ready to do another. The nice part about a hide is you can create a cache that you would like to find yourself.

 

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why?

In general terms I like to be out in the woods. My favorite scenario, that has happened more than once, is when I am 15 feet or less off in the woods with the cache open when people walk by on the trail and never even notice I am there.

 

7. What was your worst cache? Why?

The worst is the one you never find.

 

8. Have you ever attened a cache event?

No, but I probably should.

 

9. Tell me your best caching story?

My daughter and I were actively seeking a cache on a hill up from a trail. Two other hikers came along and tried not be too obvious as they waited for us to move on. We suspected they were fellow cachers and asked them if they were on a hunt. They said yes and asked if they could join us in the active search phase, we said yes and within 10 minute my daughter mad the find. They complemented her and asked how long we had been caching, we proudly declared we had been active for almost a year and had over 25 finds. They smiled and offered to point us towards another cache on up the trail. As it turns out we were out of our league with these other two cachers who were out for there 1000+ find and have been caching for over 5 years. This is generally a non social activity but it was really neat to run into someone who has been doing this for a long time but still understands "it is just a game" and the goal is to "have fun".

[K3WHO]

1. How did you first hear about geocaching? I first heard about it about a year ago from a fellow amateur radio operator on a 2 meter repeater in the State College area. It got my interest right away.

2. Tell me about your first cache? I'm still really new but I found my first cache the day before yesterday. It was in an area I spent a lot of time around as a child which brought back a lot of fond memories. It was a relatively easy find but it was still very exciting being that it was my first find.

3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching? I had one yesterday that made me nervous but maybe not entirely scared. I had to climb up on some snow covered rocks around an obstacle and back down to get to the cache. Once I got up on them I decided I didn't want to risk going back down the other side and I had to think for a while how I was going to get back down the way I came. Needless to say I took my time. I'm going to try it again when the snow melts though.

4. What is the #1 reason you geocache? It's a good excuse to get out and enjoy the outdoors which I don't do enough anymore. The thrill of the find is fun too.

5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide? For now I prefer to hunt. I haven't hidden a cache yet but after I get some more experience in the hobby I plan on putting a few caches out there eventually.

6. What was your favorite cache place? Why? The first one I found yesterday afternoon near a local creek. It was just such a beautiful spot and the snow on the trees made it even more spectacular.

7. What was your worst cache? Why? I haven't been in the hobby long enough to have any truely bad experiences or bad caches.

8. Have you ever attened a cache event? No but I probably will eventually.

9. Tell me your best caching story? Oh the story about the snowy rocks I mentioned on question #3. It was one of those, "Oh poo, what did I get myself into?" situations...lol