SF Bay Area geocachers

August 14, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Ron Streeter:
.

I checked Dan Miller's statistics page yesterday and it wouldn't *come up*.

Stat page web host is dead. All of our operations will cease completely on 8/15/2003.

InsideCorner is where Dan had his stats info stored.

If, for some reason, Dan doesn't get the data up and running somewhere else, maybe it's time for those computer geeks who have given us some other great programs to consider a *mining operation* on Jeremy's database to provide a new view of the statistics.

After all, how will we know which of the bay area cachers hits 2,000 first!?

Boy, things are falling apart. Is this due to Groundspeak trying to monopolize the data and features, or to the inability of Dan to keep up with things? I guess I squeezed in just under the wire - I hit spot number 100 in California last weekend, one of my few remaining goals in this sport. Or was it #10 or 50? No one can verify that can they?

I tell you, there are more and more reasons to quit this timesink of a hobby. Caches aren't getting approved; the ones that are seem to be just copies of the ones that were there before and went missing or got archived. Today one of my caches was involuntarily archived because I had changed it to virtual to avoid security problems. Why would anybody think that made any difference? It's gotten to be political.

Geocaching is proliferating like mad among the general public now, but that makes it less appealing to "old-timers" (like me - one year exactly) who enjoy doing something a little different. It reminds me of computer gaming. 8 or 10 years ago games were written by and for intelligent adults (geeky, maybe, but adults) because only such people had computers and could master operating system commands, etc. Games had interesting story lines, witty dialogue, and no graphics. They usually required skill or intelligence of some kind to master. Now they're just videos of violence (fights, crashes) or scantily clad women (or pubescent fantasies of what women should look like) and all the programming is in making the graphics look more shocking. Preteens with the IQ of a rock can master them because they require only hand-eye coordination.

It's time to go back to cryptanalysis. Even that is being dumbed down by all the automatic solvers being posted online. Sigh.

August 14, 2003

Rat,

please hang in! I have learned a lot from your puzzles and haven't even tackled the hard ones yet, mostly because I have no clue on how to solve them (yet). I have spent countless hours over your puzzles, knowing that I get a friendly answer and guidance if I am really stuck. Next I want to tackle some of kablooey's works. I would be sad to see you go, Rat. Hope this makes a little difference.

Is this whole thing about ranks and stuff really that important? When I find little cards in caches telling me exactly the rank of the cache in San Jose, Bay Area, NorCal, Western US, USA, Northern Hemisphere and worldwide, broken down by caches types, I must assume it is. (I am exaggerating only slightly) Fine, so be it. Let them have their fun.

My little rant would be when folks don't reply to inquiries by Email. Or at least not from "noobs". That leaves me always disappointed and eats on my enthusiasm for this game/hobby/sport. (Hello word police ;-)

Maybe some of the new folks will develop some new type of caches? This is hard, because you old-timers have come up already with quite an arsenal of ideas.

Ok, Mr. Rat, you take care!

Nostrada

_____________________________

... where is it?

August 15, 2003

OK ... For those of you who think you have done it all in this sport, it's time to expand your horizons . You're limiting yourself to the bay area - think further afield. How about this cute little 5/5 cache just waiting for a FTF? In fact most of the cache's in this locale are waiting for their FTF. Unfortunately, you may need to wait for the season to turn.

Chilly Willy at Onset - D

Well ... at least it would be a new challenge!

/Lefty

August 15, 2003

OK ... For those of you who think you have done it all in this sport, it's time to expand your horizons . You're limiting yourself to the bay area - think further afield. How about this cute little 5/5 cache just waiting for a FTF? In fact most of the cache's in this locale are waiting for their FTF. Unfortunately, you may need to wait for the season to turn.

Chilly Willy at Onset - D

Well ... at least it would be a new challenge!

/Lefty

So I guess this one is before the vacation cache thing came up?

Don

August 15, 2003

I've just posted the final library cache. It's at the new joint library and I'm hoping it'll be approved in time for the grand opening celebration tomorrow morning.

Update: It's approved! Right here!

-------------------------------------

Becky Davis

San Jose, CA

[This message was edited by beckerbuns on August 15, 2003 at 12:01 PM.]

2.6k · August 15, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by KennyHannahJacob:
You're limiting yourself to the bay area - think further afield. How about this cute little 5/5 cache just waiting for a FTF

/Lefty

I just went for a FTF on a 5/5. I wasn't FTF, and it's not really a 5/5.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=80842

My PQ showed it as unfound when I left for Mammoth in early Aug.

george

"No one goes to The Valley of the Dead. That's why it's called The Valley of the Dead."

2.6k · August 15, 2003

Speaking of going to Mammoth....

I'm out in the middle of nowhere reading though back logs of a cache I just found, and who's name should I see? Bthomas.

george

"No one goes to The Valley of the Dead. That's why it's called The Valley of the Dead."

August 15, 2003

quote:
So I guess this one is before the vacation cache thing came up?

Don

Nah ... We'll get that Antarctica 5/5 on the way home. It'll toughen up the kids!

North& South - Maybe we'll make it a double with THIS one. The pictures look so attractive. LOL

/Lefty living vicariously

August 15, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by nostrada:
Rat,

please hang in! ...

Ok, Mr. Rat, you take care!

Nostrada

All right, I'm a little better now. My cache just got unarchived after I sent a whiney/blistering/articulate and thoughtful (depending on the reader's point of view) email to the authorities what be. It goes to show that you can get results sometimes if you have a good reason. Rules may not really be meant to be broken, but they can be bent on occasion.

My other rants still apply. I'll just take my Ritalin and go lie down now.

August 15, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by nostrada:
Rat,

please hang in! ...

Ok, Mr. Rat, you take care!

Nostrada

All right, I'm a little better now. My cache just got unarchived after I sent a whiney/blistering/articulate and thoughtful (depending on the reader's point of view) email to the authorities what be. It goes to show that you can get results sometimes if you have a good reason. Rules may not really be meant to be broken, but they can be bent on occasion.

My other rants still apply. I'll just take my Ritalin and go lie down now.

August 15, 2003

<snip> I'm out in the middle of nowhere reading though back logs of a cache I just found, and who's name should I see? Bthomas.

george

Well, yeah, I like to think that I'm sometimes out standing in a field.

There's a 4 or 5 that I did at 14,000 ft elevation... but one month before it was posted as a cache. Guess I might re-do it in a few weeks.

2.6k · August 17, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by bthomas:
There's a 4 or 5 that I did at 14,000 ft elevation... but one month before it was posted as a cache. Guess I might re-do it in a few weeks.

Where are you caching at 14k?

george

"No one goes to The Valley of the Dead. That's why it's called The Valley of the Dead."

August 17, 2003

..in the restroom of a 707 inbound to SFO?

_____________________________

... where is it?

2.6k · August 17, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by bthomas:

There's a 4 or 5 that I did at 14,000 ft elevation... but one month before it was posted as a cache. Guess I might re-do it in a few weeks.

I was up there as well. Only they didn't start putting any GPS satilites into orbit until after I'd returned.

Mt. Whitney can be most directly reached by a 10.7 mile (17.1 km) trail from Whitney Portal, 13 miles (21 km) west of the town of Lone Pine on the east side of the Sierra. Ice axes and crampons are needed in spring and early summer, but technical climbing equipment is not usually necessary between mid-July and early October. The elevation at the trailhead is 8360' (2550 meters). The elevation at the summit is 14,491' [so there's plenty of stash area's for Geocaching]. LOL.

Bill of Green Achers

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals." - Winston Churchill

2.6k · August 17, 2003

Sniff.

george

"No one goes to The Valley of the Dead. That's why it's called The Valley of the Dead."

August 17, 2003

Hmmhhhh ... My URL link above didn't work so well so I'm trying again. Here's the Greenland glacier cache with pictures.

El Conquistador's Treasure

I'm wondering why it only got 4.5 stars under terrain with warnings like "chance of injury is high.", "steep, nearly 45 degrees with about a 1400 foot elevation drop" and of course the always inviting "let a responsible person know when you should be back".

Still living vicariously. /Lefty

August 19, 2003

Re 14,000 feet, I was speaking of White Mtn Peak, east of Bishop. 2 days a year, they open the gate at 12,000 feet, so you can drive 2 miles closer (to the highest research station in the U.S.). Some unicyclists did it at the same time.

There's a few 5-stars at 14,000 in the Palisades, south of Bishop. I've prologued one of them by a few years, too. Climbed Mt Whitney as a teen, but we did it the back way... 200 miles from Yosemite.

August 19, 2003

In the Boy Scouts we climbed Whitney, also from the long way in (Edison Lake). Last summer we drove up to Whitney Portal just to have a look a the campgound. The road to Whitney Portal had me hanging on and looking to the west all the way up, YIKES!

MtM

*****************************************

This Space Intentionally Left Blank

August 19, 2003

quote:
[photo of 5 unidentified people]

Sniff.

george

I know some but not all the people in the photo. Could you list their names?

-Fy

1.8k · August 20, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by TeamJiffy:
[photo of 5 unidentified people]

Sniff.

george

I can answer that question.

From left to right:

Pepper/Team SuperGenius, Donna/Weinerdog, Hydie/Ddog-N-Ma/Groundspeak

Cindy/CachinCin

and Little Lila/Team SuperGenius.

Anyway ole way hi to all the SF Bay Area Cache and beyond.

Looking forward to seeing M&J at the Spokane Cache Machine.

Anybody else care to join them for a trip up to see ole Pepper and bag ALOT of caches.

Pepper

Horizontals where it's at!

[This message was edited by SuperGenius on August 20, 2003 at 10:12 AM.]

5.7k · August 22, 2003

Anybody going caching in Nevada anytime soon?

The Humvee racing travel bug needs to go back to Nevada before it can reach it's goal in Ripon. It's sitting in our Travel Bug Trader II cache, ready to go!

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

August 22, 2003

Labor Day weekend, I'm going to Mammoth. I can touch Nevada from there. Reno would be quicker, though.

August 24, 2003

Team KHJ is just back from our pre first-day-of-school vacation to Bass Lake and we would like to share an experience that sums up why our family loves Geocaching.

On the third day of our trip I took the extended family (we were at a reunion) to a beautiful stream where we had our own private sand beach next to a waterfall fed pool. The pool was safe for kids to swim in and less than a quarter mile off the beaten path, at a spot that even Grandma could walk to. Of course, the family wanted to know how I could have found a spot that only the locals should know. That my answer was Geocaching should be no surprise to those who read this board. I had found the pool while tracking down "Beyond Angel Falls" the day before.

What other way can those with a love for the outdoors find the best local spots within days of arriving at a new locale? On the way home my daughter opined that the GPSr had to be "One of her best Christmas presents ever."

Anyway ... Thanks to all of you cache placers who make such moments possible.

/Lefty

August 25, 2003

Fun, food, games, caching, kids’ activities, company, talking about geocaching!!!

Another “Bay Area and Beyond” picnic is coming, this time in San Mateo's Central Park! Set aside Saturday, October 4th right now. Be sure to RSVP.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=86961&log=y&decrypt=

[This message was edited by TeamJiffy on August 25, 2003 at 09:56 AM.]

5.7k · August 27, 2003

I don't know why, but I found this thread stuck way back on page 16 for some reason. Let's see if I can bump this back to the front page.

Edit: Whew, that's better. I thought maybe we were banished to the last page for some reason.

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

August 27, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Marky:
I don't know why, but I found this thread stuck way back on page 16 for some reason. Let's see if I can bump this back to the front page.

Edit: Whew, that's better. I thought maybe we were banished to the last page for some reason.

Hey, there it is. Montythemule emailed me about it yesterday and I couldn't find it either.

-------------------------------------

Becky Davis

Geocaching blog

San Jose, CA

4.2k · August 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by KennyHannahJacob:
Team KHJ is just back from our pre first-day-of-school vacation to Bass Lake and we would like to share an experience that sums up why our family loves Geocaching.

On the third day of our trip I took the extended family (we were at a reunion) to a beautiful stream where we had our own private sand beach next to a waterfall fed pool. The pool was safe for kids to swim in and less than a quarter mile off the beaten path, at a spot that even Grandma could walk to. Of course, the family wanted to know how I could have found a spot that only the locals should know. That my answer was Geocaching should be no surprise to those who read this board. I had found the pool while tracking down "Beyond Angel Falls" the day before.

What other way can those with a love for the outdoors find the best local spots within days of arriving at a new locale? On the way home my daughter opined that the GPSr had to be "One of her best Christmas presents ever."

Anyway ... Thanks to all of you cache placers who make such moments possible.

/Lefty

Great to know! We go up to Bass Lake every year just after school starts and usually have the lake to oursevles for the most part. We stay in the cabins at Miller's Landing and have been looking forward to caching there this year since we weren't into this last year.

We had heard about Angel Falls last year from a local but never made it there. Now there's even mroe reason to go!

August 28, 2003

Ok, so where can I get some Grade A magnetic micro cache containers around here? I've checked Target and Walmart and Home Depot. Only Home Depot had them and they were the kind that is molded inside for the shape of a key, leaving little room inside.

The most popular ones I've seen are the ones with a clip and open lengthwise. If there are others which are more durable or otherwise superior, I'd love to hear your opinions.

Jeff

5.7k · August 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by boulter:
Ok, so where can I get some Grade A magnetic micro cache containers around here? I've checked Target and Walmart and Home Depot. Only Home Depot had them and they were the kind that is molded inside for the shape of a key, leaving little room inside.

The most popular ones I've seen are the ones with a clip and open lengthwise. If there are others which are more durable or otherwise superior, I'd love to hear your opinions.

Jeff

Ace hardware seems to have a good variety of them. I've also bought them from Walgreens.

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

August 28, 2003

Kealia --

You should enjoy Bass Lake particularly after school starts. For our trip the lake and surrounding areas were pretty crowded but that should all change after labor day. The evenings were already cooling off and the mid-Sierra's are always beautiful.

AND .... there are quite a few caches in the area. Less puzzle caches than in the Bay area but lot's of scenery. Most of the caches in Yosemite have been turned into "virtual" caches due to NPS regulations but south of the gate and in the small areas of private land within there are many regular caches. Within 5 miles of Bass lake there are about 8 caches so good luck.

/Lefty

5.7k · August 29, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by KennyHannahJacob:
Less puzzle caches than in the Bay area but lot's of scenery.

Only a Bay Area cacher would view this as a bad thing...

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

2.6k · August 29, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Marky:

quote:
Originally posted by KennyHannahJacob:
Less puzzle caches than in the Bay area but lot's of scenery.

Only a Bay Area cacher would view this as a bad thing...

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

I think a CVC cacher or two may concur as well.

Bill of Green Achers

''Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!''

--Benjamin Franklin

4.2k · August 29, 2003

Thanks for the heads-up.

BTW - Oregon Geocoins have recently been placed and found in the Santa Cruz area! I just went and got one last night and they are really neat. It's the first Geocoin that I've seen and I'm very impressed with them. The placer let me know that he's going to be coming to the San Jose area once a month or so until he moves out here soon and will be placing more shortly. Keep your eyes open for these very cool items!

August 31, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by boulter:
Ok, so where can I get some Grade A magnetic micro cache containers around here? I've checked Target and Walmart and Home Depot. Only Home Depot had them and they were the kind that is molded inside for the shape of a key, leaving little room inside.

The most popular ones I've seen are the ones with a clip and open lengthwise. If there are others which are more durable or otherwise superior, I'd love to hear your opinions.

Jeff

I picked up a few Grade B+ ones here

N37 21.165 // W121 59.837

aka OSH

USD$ 1.50.

Evil Grin!

_____________________________

... where is it?

September 1, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by nostrada:
I picked up a few Grade B+ ones here

N37 21.165 // W121 59.837

aka OSH

Thanks, I picked some up at OSH while waiting for people to leave in front of Time to Eat yesterday.

Jeff

September 2, 2003

Introducing the Silicon Valley Cache O' The Week!

Every week I'll accept nominations for a cache that deserves being called to the attention of geocachers who want to spend some quality time bending their brains and/or exerting their bodies to find a cache.

For purposes of this project, I'm arbitrarily defining the Silicon Valley as being within a 30 mile radius of the "Hewlett-Packard Garage," which is the building often referred to as the birthplace of Silicon Valley. It is located at N37.443006, W122.154613 -- in Palo Alto. You can learn more about the garage at: http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/timeline/index.html

So if you are aware of a cache -- new or old -- that fits in these parameters, email me at svgeocachers@sbcglobal.net. I will accept nominations through each Saturday, then will post an online poll for people to vote through the following Friday mid-day, and plan to announce the Cache of the Week Friday night so weekend warriors can think of visiting.

Nomination criteria and info

1. Cache is in Silicon Valley (within 30 miles of Hewlett-Packard Garage)

2. Email nomination waypoint and/or cache name to svgeocachers@sbcglobal.net by 8 a.m. (PST) on Saturday of each week.

3. Please say why this cache is deserving of notice as a cache of the week.

4. I will select the top 10 nominees (based on a rough formula of # of nominations, difficulty of the cache, description of the cache, etc. I will be as un-arbitrary as possible, but want to limit the nominees to 10 per week). A link to the voting poll will be posted here as soon thereafter as possible, results will be posted after 12 noon on the following Friday.

Caches can be of any kind -- real, micro, puzzle, easy, hard, etc. But tell me about the really cool ones!

Kristine

Kreebelle

September 2, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Kreebelle:
Introducing the Silicon Valley Cache O' The Week!

Kristine

Kristine, I like the idea, but am wondering if we should start a new thread for this one. Problem would be to get the people who are subscribed to this thread to contribute to the other one.

This would help to keep the general discussion to this thread and the voting/nominating to the other. Only a suggestion, I do not mind if we keep them together either.

My 3 cents (darn inflation)

Nostrada

_____________________________

... where is it?

September 2, 2003

Thank you for the suggestion. I actually did create a new thread and got an email from someone else suggesting I bring it here. So now it's both. Please email me privately (kloosley@sbcglobal.net) if you'd like to have a say in where to participate in the conversation. Ultimately, I will be using a Yahoo Groups service for subscriptions for announcement of balloting and results. I have a few nominations already ... would love to hear about some other cool caches!

Kristine

Originally posted by nostrada:

Kristine, I like the idea, but am wondering if we should start a new thread for this one. Problem would be to get the people who are subscribed to this thread to contribute to the other one.

Kreebelle

September 4, 2003

It looks like Kablooey hit 1000 yesterday, and Fizzymagic is just 1 away from the big 1000. Congratulations guys!

September 4, 2003

Wow! Congratulations kablooey and fizzy!

-Jif

quote:
Originally posted by Lamneth:
It looks like Kablooey hit 1000 yesterday, and Fizzymagic is just 1 away from the big 1000. Congratulations guys!

5.3k · September 4, 2003

Why thank you! I did a wonderful new cache for my 1000th: Lockjaw. It's at Del Valle, and highly recommended.

I also did Chuguy's first-ever microcache, Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog. As I am sure everyone here knows, Chuguy caches are incredible, and this one was no different.

It's experiences that those that keep me caching!

September 4, 2003

Congrats to Kablooey and Fizzymagic on their milestones. My milestone this past weekend was an 11 month old, for FTF. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=44489

September 4, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Lamneth:
It looks like Kablooey hit 1000 yesterday, and Fizzymagic is just 1 away from the big 1000. Congratulations guys!

Why, 2K !!

September 4, 2003

Congrats Kablooey and Fizzy. Keep on having fun finding those caches.

My wife says put a coordinate on it and I'll find it.

1.8k · September 5, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Lamneth:
It looks like Kablooey hit 1000 yesterday, and Fizzymagic is just 1 away from the big 1000. Congratulations guys!

Long, Long time ago...

I can still remember...

Congrats to Fizzymagic and Kablooey!

I right on yer tails (kinda).

Pepper

Horizontals where it's at!

5.7k · September 5, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by bthomas:
Congrats to Kablooey and Fizzymagic on their milestones. My milestone this past weekend was an 11 month old, for FTF. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=44489

That cache was rated a 1 star terrain? What the heck is up with that?

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

5.7k · September 5, 2003

Blu and Fizzy, congrats to the both of you! Keep on caching!

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

September 6, 2003

Voting is now open for the new "Silicon Valley Geocache of the Week." Five cool geocaches were nominated, choose which one you like best.

Voting is at:

http://svmoms.org/svgeocachers/vote/

The nominees are:

Mountain History By Kealia

Put Your Lips Together And Blow By Team.Geek

Tube By McGrude-n-Nif

Henry Schmidt By Stacy & Jerry

San Andreas Fault Cache By MontytheMule

There's a space on that page to nominate other caches (including your own ... go ahead, tell us why they're great!), or you can send nominations for next week to svgeocachers@sbcglobal.net

Thanks for your interest in this.

Kreebelle

September 7, 2003

I have just posted the cache cam pictures for Madonna's Gadgets. Please look and see if you recognize anyone. I know that Night Tracker and a few others are in there, but I don't know which ones they are!

-------------------------------------

Becky Davis

Geocaching blog

San Jose, CA

September 7, 2003

When I visited my Goose Meadow cache today, I got a good look at kablooey's smash coin. Neat idea. But it would be cool if if could be tracked like a geocoin (maybe it is an I just don't know it). Does anyone know if there is a California Geocoin? I brought a Texas Geocoin back from Texas, and it was neat to track it.

-jabberwocky

SF Bay Area geocachers

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