Some questions

[+InfernoNine]

I am going to be geocahing with my wife and son. i am giong to get a premium membership to geocaching.com. If we really get into this big time which i kinda know we are because it is amazing. I will probably be getting my wife some kind of gps device so i'm not constantly handing it over for her to see where we are in conjuntion to the cache. my son is only 3 now but mabe in a few years he will get one too. Anyway i was wondering how the premium caches work am i alowed to go with them or is it limited to myself being a premium member(does she and my son have to have a premium mebership to go on a premium cashe with me ). also if my wife would make a regular basic account would she be able to post her thought on the casche's we find on her own profile as found. also once she has a gps she may go alone or with friends wile i'm at work. as lone as when she is by herself she can do the non premium ones. i just want to do the right thing here! thanks in advance for the help!

[+The Blorenges]

If you, yourself, become a Premium Member then you will have the ability to see the co-ordinates for the "PM only" caches and will be able to log them. If your wife creates her own account separate from yours but chooses to have only the basic account then she will not see the PM co-ords and she will not be able to log a PM only cache from her account name.

 

So... what can you do?

 

I think most owners of PMO caches are reasonable people and if you and your wife went together to find a PMO cache you would log it yourself and then drop an email to the cache owner asking whether they would allow your wife to log it too. If they agree then this can be done in one of two ways:

The cache owner can "unlock" his PM cache at a pre-arranged time for, say, half an hour so that your wife can do her log during that time slot, OR

There is a "backdoor" method whereby a non-PM can log a PMO cache.

 

If your wife decides to get a PM account then you'll both have equal access to all cache listings and you'll both have to do your own separate logs for each cache and both of you will be able to give your personal opinions and recount your separate geocaching tales.

 

As for your son - Well, he's a bit young yet for his own account but there are plenty of children who do have their own accounts. (Somebody told me the other day that you have to be 16 to have a geocaching account but I had a quick look around and haven't been able to confirm whether that's true or not) I guess it's up to you two as to whether you want to do all his logs for him for the next 3 or 4 years!

 

MrsB

[+InfernoNine]

If my wife decides she does not want her own account can i still go find the pm cashe with my family? also if we go to a cash can we take 3 things and each put 1 thing in or is it better to just take turns and do 1 thing in each cashe. i'm trying to learn all i can so i do thing the correct way.

[+InfernoNine]

just purchased my premium membership yahoo.

[+BlueDeuce]

If my wife decides she does not want her own account can i still go find the pm cashe with my family? also if we go to a cash can we take 3 things and each put 1 thing in or is it better to just take turns and do 1 thing in each cashe. i'm trying to learn all i can so i do thing the correct way.

 

Taking your family is fine. Just trade even or trade up.

[+The Blorenges]

If my wife decides she does not want her own account can i still go find the pm cashe with my family?

 

Yes, certainly! Many caching families just use one caching account name for all their logs on all caches. Under your account name you can go and log a cache on your own, or take your wife and son, or your wife could go and do a cache on her own... they can all be logged under the one account name if you like.

 

There are two of us under our account name and mostly we do caches together, but sometimes either one of us will do a cache solo - They all get logged into our one account "The Blorenges".

 

...also if we go to a cash can we take 3 things and each put 1 thing in or is it better to just take turns and do 1 thing in each cashe. i'm trying to learn all i can so i do thing the correct way.

 

As long as you all try and trade fairly it doesn't matter whether you each swap one item out and each add one swap item, or whether you choose to take one item only and add one item in return. The important thing is to try and "Trade up, or even" to preserve the quality of the cache contents... and, by the way, you don't have to do any swapping if you don't want to.

 

(... and it's cache )

 

MrsB

[+InfernoNine]

Thank you for all the help my handhled should be ariving friday sometime (Oregon 400t) w/ a city nav nt dvd coming today to be put on it! then it off to the game! there is one somewhere near some military equipment (micro). we pased it so many times because my sons favorite park it right down the street. i would of never realised in my lifeting someting was hidden there. i'm so glad i got a garmin gps for my car with led me to their site for update and such to find out about this asome game of adventure and beautiful scenery and good times. i wish i had known about this 10 years ago!

[+PatrickInChicago]

i wish i had known about this 10 years ago!

 

Actually, the sport only started in 2000, and the vast majority of the "Old Timers" have been since 2003 or so. So you and I are not too late to the game. :-)

 

As far as accounts, kids, etc., we have two accounts. I have a PM account, and I have a regular one for my kids. That sort of includes my wife, but not really. She isn't so into the sport as we are. I had intended for her to take the kids when they are on day outings to parks and such, but even without that the extra account is great to separate their finds from my own. I tend to do a lot of caching on my lunch break (there are tens of thousands of caches in NE Illinois), but sometimes return with the kids to caches that are more to their level or that I think will be fun for them.

 

It isn't a problem for me to take my kids to find a PM cache, but I certainly wouldn't feel the need to create a PM account for them to be able to log those.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

If my wife decides she does not want her own account can i still go find the pm cashe with my family? also if we go to a cash can we take 3 things and each put 1 thing in or is it better to just take turns and do 1 thing in each cashe. i'm trying to learn all i can so i do thing the correct way.

 

There are a few reasons why a cache owner might make a cache premium members. Among them is that they want to restrict it to "serious geocachers". If you wife finds a PM cache with you, or even looks over your shoulder to write down the coordinates on a PM cache you're looking at on your computer, the cache owner is really probably not going to care. Presumably, a PM cache is also suppose to provide an incentive for a basic member to become a premium member but you've already got a premium membership in your family so I doubt that Groundspeak is going to care either.

 

When trading swag there are no guidelines on how many items you take/replace. If you want to empty the cache of every item and fill it with an equal number of items, as long as you leave the cache as good or better than you found it, that's all that really matters.

[+Chrysalides]

Groundspeak's position (as deduced from the response of a few moderators in the past) seems to be that basic members should be able to log the cache if they find it. Because in order to find it, they need the coordinates, and only a PM can see that.

 

What you need to do is:

 

1. As PM, go to the logging page of the cache

 

2. Note down the URL

 

3. Send the URL to your wife, and have her go directly to that page, instead of to the main page of the geocache.

 

Let me know if you need more details on how to do this.

[+InfernoNine]

I wouldnt do that we would only be going for a pm if i was going. i would not feel right if she went alone without a pm account. alone she would have to stick to basic ones in my book.

[+Chrysalides]

I wouldnt do that we would only be going for a pm if i was going. i would not feel right if she went alone without a pm account. alone she would have to stick to basic ones in my book.

Yes, I think that's reasonable too. The steps I gave above would let her log it if she wants to.

 

My daughter has her own basic account, and if we find a PM cache together, that's how she logs it. That has only happened once (we didn't even know it was a PM cache when we found it).

[+smstext]

i have some caches that are pm only, the only reason for this is either the location or its started life with a good asortment of things to trade within the cache and that in theory the only people finding it will be serious cachers who will trade equal or more and not just empty the cache out or be a muggle who wants to ruin it for all.

 

Other caches i have published are free for all, but have noticed its these caches that get cleared out of contents by dishonest cachers (usually new members not knowing the rules or those who just want to ruin it).

 

But for my family we share one account even through i do most of the caches, we do have a second account if my daughter ever wants to log them on her own, but she is usually more than happy just to log them on my account.

[+InfernoNine]

the fist cache we did i was still a basic member. we took a few small things and put some major ragor thigs back they were 3 action figures probably alt least 3 4 bucks a piece. so i dont think ill be a problem i fell good putting better in. (it's better to give than recieve). I can't wait to find one of thoes big finds. like the big walmat storage bins or the 55 gallon drums. that will be amazing. will have to bring someting cool and large for thoes. i really like the find in this sport it's vary cool hunting it down with the family then you hear "i found it". relief and excitement is felt as everyone rushes to see whats inside.

[ao318]

I have a PM account and my two daughters have basic accounts. We find PM caches and non PM caches when we go out. If we find a PM cache together, I use the backdoor procedure to log their finds on it. In there logs, we make sure they put in there something like, "Found this cache with my dad, ao318, today.......". This way the cache owner knows that it's a non PM kids log that found it with their PM dad. We have not had a problem doing it this way for 2 years.

 

I use a different method for logging PM caches. Just click on my profile and send me an email asking for the backdoor and I will reply to you with it.

 

Paul, ao318