+lel_h Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Hi all, I discovered this exciting and educational hobby a few weeks ago, and it has quickly become a whole-family activity. That's not easy to accomplish given our different interests. Over the last couple days I've been reading these forums in search of better understanding of Geocaching etiquette. The long threads about the Intro App and the Deadly Sins of Geocaching have given me a lot to think about, and hopefully I can avoid some of the missteps mentioned. My kids are eager to create their own geocache, and they're especially interested in creating a multi-cache after solving a particularly fun one just a few days ago. We've come up with what I think is a pretty good idea that would teach people some little-known trivia about a nearby park. Realizing that there are certain standards and specifications that must be met for this to be an acceptable or worthy geocache, I won't rush into this just yet. Anyways, I'll probably be mostly a lurker for now, but have always enjoyed the sense of community on discussion forums such as this. This place seems to be relatively troll-free, unlike the website that I help moderate. lel Quote Link to comment
+baack40 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Welcome to this addictive hobby. Its great for kids for so many reasons. History lessons, looking for things out of place, learning to respect parks, cemeteries, public property, etc etc. Basic rule: Have fun. Trade fairly, Be stealthy when looking. Replace as found or better. Log your finds and let owner know if there are any issues, Don't post spoilers that tell other cachers how its hid or where its hid. Be sure to let the cache owner know about your experiences and how much you and the family enjoyed the day. Good luck and happy caching. Quote Link to comment
+SirDonB Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Welcome to the sport/hobby. You will eventually come across them, but to add to the fun, there are trackable items like Travel Bugs and Geocoins to add a different flavor to your cacheing experiance. I myself have about half my family interested in geocaching. I am trying to see if I can get the rest, but the women of the family tend to overload themselves in their free time. I want to use geocaching as a way to get them to slow down and enjoy life a little bit more. Like you, I am a mod on another forum and that one like this one is troll free. Well here I have only seen the term thrown around once in a heated thread. I agree with your aproach to hiding caches, it is good that you plan to wait a while before hiding one. Give yourself time to see what you like to find, then hide caches like the ones you like. If you live in an area where there are lots of caches, I might not wait to hide one in that particular park. Also, beign a free member, there are premium member only caches that could already be in that park that you can not see till you pay PM fee. Quote Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Over the last couple days I've been reading these forums in search of better understanding of Geocaching etiquette. And it shows. Good logs on finds and someone who actually pays attention to a trackable's mission. - Well done ! Have fun and cache safe. Quote Link to comment
+wmpastor Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Welcome to this addictive hobby. Its great for kids for so many reasons. History lessons, looking for things out of place, learning to respect parks, cemeteries, public property, etc etc. Basic rule: Have fun. Trade fairly, Be stealthy when looking. Replace as found or better. Log your finds and let owner know if there are any issues, Don't post spoilers that tell other cachers how its hid or where its hid. Be sure to let the cache owner know about your experiences and how much you and the family enjoyed the day. Good luck and happy caching. Be stealthy when looking, but don't look stealthy. Quote Link to comment
+lel_h Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 I agree with your aproach to hiding caches, it is good that you plan to wait a while before hiding one. Give yourself time to see what you like to find, then hide caches like the ones you like. If you live in an area where there are lots of caches, I might not wait to hide one in that particular park. Also, beign a free member, there are premium member only caches that could already be in that park that you can not see till you pay PM fee. I feel like I'm surrounded by caches in this area (the south bay and peninsula of the SF Bay area). There is already one cache that I'm aware of in the park, but I've calculated a potential hiding spot that is at least 528 feet from that one. I've seen the icons for the premium caches, and I guess there could be some puzzle caches that place the final physical cache within the park. I guess I'll set it up and see what happens when I submit it for the review. I'll probably upgrade to premium eventually. I just ordered some travel bugs, because the kids want to place them in the cache and see how far they travel. Over the last couple days I've been reading these forums in search of better understanding of Geocaching etiquette. And it shows. Good logs on finds and someone who actually pays attention to a trackable's mission. - Well done ! Have fun and cache safe. Thanks, but I'm embarrassed to have to admit that when I picked up that TB, I didn't go back far enough in its travel history. It has already been to the location to which I'm traveling soon. It was probably better off in the bug hotel near the airport where I found it. I'm trying to decide whether to take it on our trip in a few weeks or whether to drop it off close to another airport, so that another intrepid geocacher can take it to a new destination. Quote Link to comment
+SirDonB Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 As to the trackables, as long as you move it on to another cache within a reasonable amount of time, it does not really matter if it goes back to an area where it has been to before. If you left it alone, it could sit for months or travel further from its goal. By picking it up and taking it with you, if you drop it off in the area that you are traveling to, another cacher could come by grab it and help it get closer to its goal. I would be willing to bet that some of the oldest trackables out there have seen the same cache more than once and have been to the same area more than once as well. Nothing to be emarassed about at all. Quote Link to comment
+lel_h Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 As to the trackables, as long as you move it on to another cache within a reasonable amount of time, it does not really matter if it goes back to an area where it has been to before. If you left it alone, it could sit for months or travel further from its goal. By picking it up and taking it with you, if you drop it off in the area that you are traveling to, another cacher could come by grab it and help it get closer to its goal. I would be willing to bet that some of the oldest trackables out there have seen the same cache more than once and have been to the same area more than once as well. Nothing to be emarassed about at all. How long is too long to hold a TB? I snagged one about a week ago, but won't be traveling for another 3-4 weeks. I'll find a good place for it soon if that's too long. But then again, it appears to have spent two years(!) in someone's possession before being released back into the Geocaching universe. Quote Link to comment
+Chief301 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 (edited) As to the trackables, as long as you move it on to another cache within a reasonable amount of time, it does not really matter if it goes back to an area where it has been to before. If you left it alone, it could sit for months or travel further from its goal. By picking it up and taking it with you, if you drop it off in the area that you are traveling to, another cacher could come by grab it and help it get closer to its goal. I would be willing to bet that some of the oldest trackables out there have seen the same cache more than once and have been to the same area more than once as well. Nothing to be emarassed about at all. How long is too long to hold a TB? I snagged one about a week ago, but won't be traveling for another 3-4 weeks. I'll find a good place for it soon if that's too long. But then again, it appears to have spent two years(!) in someone's possession before being released back into the Geocaching universe. As long as you have properly logged that it's In your possession, I'm sure the owner is just glad to know that it's still alive. I wouldn't see a problem with hanging on to it for awhile if it contributes to the bug's mission...like if the bug's mission is to travel west, and you will be going that way in a couple of weeks, it may be beneficial for you to hang on to it until your trip so you can help it along. Or if its mission is just to travel from cache to cache logging as many miles as it can, you may be able to help by keeping it awhile and logging "visits" at the caches you find. ETA: I checked out the trackable's page and I'm glad to see you are helping it along....it has been in the wild for over 10 years! That's pretty amazing longevity for a TB. That little 2-year old boy is 13 now! The trackable's goal is to visit every state that begins with an "N"....interesting. Even if you won't be traveling to such a state, you can help by at least moving it in that direction, if you will be going that way. Get it as far along as you can an try to find a well maintained, often visited cache, a TB hotel if you can, so it's more likely to get picked up and moved along and not get trapped in limbo again. 👍 Edited January 31, 2014 by Chief301 Quote Link to comment
+suchanana Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 your attitude lel h is a fresh breeze on these forums... welcome to our sometimes zany community aka geocachers... i also suggest you consider being a premium member before doing your multi cache with the kidzzzzz... you want their first cache hide to be a positive adventure success...that being said, go ahead - some inevitable newbie mistakes can be aided by your locals... just ask for help when it happens...heck, i still goof up and thankfully my caching buddies have my back... Quote Link to comment
+WarNinjas Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Welcome to the fun! I can tell from your post here your family will make a great addition to geocaching! I am a kind of local cacher and have found some of the same caches you have. Puzzles can add frustration to hiding as well as being a premium member. I hope your first cache turns out to work well. We are always here if you have any questions and we hope to find your hides! Quote Link to comment
+TheHarleyRebel Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Welcome to the game! If you are planing to hide a geocache make sure you have permission first, have fun Quote Link to comment
+lel_h Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 We met another Geocacher while we zeroed in on the same target. That was a lot of fun. I've read logs in which people happen to run into each other, and wondered whether it would happen to us. Not wondering anymore! Thanks, everyone, for the warm welcomes to this site and sport! Quote Link to comment
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