Gas that bad?

I have to really wonder if the cost of gas is effecting geocaching worse then I thought. While I have been vocal in forums about gas prices costing the average geocacher more and more, I never thought it was that bad.
That is, until recently.
Why?
I've noticed fewer logs being posted in my email during the day and even on weekends.
Sure there are those cachers that find 10 caches per day, but those too have shrunk.

I recently placed 2 new caches out, they have been found by 3 cachers and that is it.
Are they tough? Yes, but findable for sure. I'm not evening seeing too many DNF's either, or just notes being posted. I'm beginning to think it is the cost of gas.
Why else?
It just seems across the board, that fewer people are getting out there. This weekend was beautiful and perfect for caching, yet in the 30 mile radius logging email I have, we only had 23 finds over 3 days! That is IT. And those had been posted by 8 cachers and that was it.

I'm guessing that I a correct in my assumption.
That and I see that "main drag" caches are the ones getting the Found logs.

Get out there people!!!!!!!

Just grab 1?

Ya, sometimes I question the point in it.
Yesterday evening we just went for a drive. Little did I know that it would lead to a find. I use google earth to recon a lot of caches around these parts, since most are out in the open areas and few in the deep woods. I try and remember as many aerial pictures in my head that I can. Yesterday this came in handy.
While pulling into a small town just south of us, I recalled that a cache was here and that it was in a tree along the fence. A few short minutes later and we had it in hand. No COORDS, nothing more then just a little brain power to recall that.
What will that brain power get you? Well, today while browsing, it obviously failed my as we drove past 2 other caches that we could have had and we missed 4 others within a half mile.... Pays to take the cache book huh...
I loaded more POI into the old TomTom and we won't be driving past these anymore!

EVIL, SO EVIL.......

When one mentions PURE EVIL, you don't think of a cache do you?
Perhaps if you go looking for this.....
GC1EE25 aka "Off Road Driver"
This is my most EVIL cache to day. It rates a 10 of 10 on the scale.
No one and I do repeat NO ONE has seen this cache other then myself. Not Mrs. Wapahani or Wapahani Kid #1 or #2. I repeat NO ONE.
Why is this important? Well, when it comes to evil, showing your hand can often times lead you to giving up your style. This is NOT the case here....no worry.

I actually placed this cache several days ago, I let the territory settle before posting it to the reviewer and its now up for you all to venture after.
There is a nice $5FTF in it, plus the rights to brag.
But I'm willing to bet, it will be SOME TIME BEFORE THIS IS FOUND. Why? ITS EVIL.
The only hints you get, its lower then your eyes and above your toes. I'm 6'4" so use that as your measuring tool when looking.
I wish I had the ability to watch this search, but I don't. I'm sure it will be amusing.

Why this is harder then Backseat? Because, Backseat can be found using the clues. While this can too, the clues for this leave you guessing a bit. Backseat is pretty simple in the clues.

I've talked for a while amongst other cachers about this so called "Off Road Driver" cache and well its finally here. I've claimed evil of a level that has never been seen before.....so lets see...is it?

Prove to me that it isn't evil!!!!!!
CACHE ON!

Observations of a cache

This is more a little hint then anything. This is to aid in the hunt for a certain cache that everyone is looking for.

Sometimes the power of observation is your greatest skill.
Out in the open can be the best hider of a cache.
A double take will often help you see this.
The clue can be a red herring, but is it?
Ants love to climb me, just ask Stinky....Gloves, they are nice, don't think twice.
I might need a shove.
I'm tall for my age.

Figure out the math problem, once you have, use it to identify the location. From said location use the same math problem to pinpoint the location of the cache. Ubear agreed, the math is not "new math" and it located me well. Remember, POWER OF OBSERVATION and a little reading skill.

Caching? You haven't been out.....have you?

remarked a good friend and fellow cacher. "Nope, been to damn busy with life!" I replied. Besides the fact that I have spent too much time making new cache containers as well.
Personally I do enjoy the hunt for a good cache, but I do like making cache containers more. "Why?" Cause its fun. Not only a tad evil, but its my nature. I like to make things, not really use them. A builder if you will.
My search for the most evil container is still moving forward. I have a good one in my brain, but still have to figure out how to execute that.

A "MONKEY CACHE?" NO, but I do want to make one. I've been thinking over other ideas.
My latest involves a padlock and a well hidden container. It would be a multi or a puzzle, still unsure.

As for the last few I've placed. No, no new hints on them. Just use your brain when out and you will find them.

Backseat no longer lonely!!!

Well, I knew it had to happen at some point. Ubear, Stinky & Doobies made the Co-FTF on it. They spent a noble amount of time searching for it, far more then I knew. Even in passing them a few times, I had no idea that they had spent that time looking!

I had to lower the rating of Backseat due to the area being well CITO'ed now.
From the feedback I received on this cache, its a tough one, which I knew it would be.
The 2 listed below are tough ones also, but a veteran cacher should find.

Backseat? Ya, its still there.....come and log away!
No new hints, no new info....unless it goes a while without a find on it.

They are hidden, wanna find em?

Well, finally got them both out, so here you go.

Prairie Creek Stump'n (GC1E6V1)
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=ed77b708-8e06-420e-a1b6-a5655dd7c0bf
This cache is a 4/2.5 but I will admit, these are both high ratings. Why high? Because the location of the cache lends itself to a little looking and a little guessing to find it. Its more of a fun semi EVIL cache. On my EVIL cache rating system, I will say its a 5 out of 10 on the scale. Its just go look and develop stealth if you can.

Prairie Creek Side View (GC1E7KD)
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=b7b310ca-a3a2-4c57-93e6-f3eeb489abc5
This cache is a 4.5/4 and I am willing to move this up the scale on both counts, but the terrain level is probably high. Why high? Just due to the location and depending on the weather. Its a careful stepping cache find.
This cache gets a 7 out of 10 on the EVIL scale. Its a nice cache that will leave you chuckling when you finally do find it. IF YOU CAN.

So, if your willing, take a stab at either of these caches. Depending on how long it goes and how many DNF's look for hints here!!!

Chuckling, you can't find me!!!!!!

The past 2 days have been funny at best. Yesterday while on the journey to plant our latest cache, we drove past backseat driver on the way. As we approached, I noticed a car parked, we stopped and asked if they were looking for it, sure enough, YES. I got to meet Doobie and Ubear & Stinky. They are out looking for it, turns out they had been there for a few hours looking. I figured sure enough that they would have found it, but NOPE. You guessed it...EVIL HIDE.
Today while out to plant the new hide, we came upon it again, and again a car parked. It was Doobie and one of his friends (didn't get his name).. Doobie is dead set on getting this cache. We discussed a few other hides and I gave him a few of the new hints on the page to help him. He looked at it not once, but twice. I figure if anyone will get it, it will be Doobie. So those rooting? ROOT DOOBIE..LOL

Good luck my friend.

Oh, the new caches are both planted awaiting approval. a 4.5 and a 5, rock on!

Latest hide?

As some know, I'm constantly working on new cache containers as you can call it.
A container by term is very broad, so take it for what you want, its more or less just a place to hold a log and possibly swag if you chose?

The latest in the line of what I call "EVIL HIDES" is almost ready for its hide.
Its location, I guess I can let it out of the bag. I have 2 spots, one is similar to BackSeat Driver, the other is close to water, but dry.

I suspect it will be more fun to find then BackSeat is, and hopefully won't take long to find. Keep your eyes open as it might get published at any time!
You wanna be a FTF? Well, the COORDS should be dead GZ on it!

I'm stumped......

Can you figure me out? Or is this just a hint?
Lets see how many of you are actually reading this and looking for my caches.

READY?

N 40° 10.076 W 085° 16.660
Between 40 and 55 feet from me!
69 is the Wood brothers favorite number!
I'm 1345 feet (give or take a bit) from a favorite spot of IMACacher2's hides.


Can you figure it out?

Your being watched.......

You know those 80's songs that said you are being watched, like "Private Eyes are watching you" or "who can it be now".....ya, those.
You ever been in the middle of NO WHERE and felt like someone was watching your every move?
There are several caches around here that lend that feeling rather quickly. One in a certain small cemetery that makes you feel like someone is just eyeing you up as you pull into the gravel.
Or how about the one that the neighbor just spies your every move and quickly closes the blinds when you give them a peek? Yup, that was a fun one also, another cemetery cache.
Funniest, doing a LPC and being in an abandoned parking lot, looking for the cache in the normal LPC locations and out of the corner of your eye seeing an employee of another business looking at you. Do you act like a homeless man? Do you look like your lost, looking for a contact, or just hold up your GPS and pray the know? Ya, I know. Just walk away and hold what dignity you have left. LOL, well...

So, do you freely admit your a cacher? Do you hide and act like your the local light pole inspector? Funny as it is, most won't admit they cache unless its a LEO asking.
Why? Dunno.
So next time your out and about, you feel those eyes piercing you, your probably being watched. That little old lady that lives next to the cache location doesn't know there is a cache there....or does she?
Perhaps she is a EVIL CACHE OWNER!!!!!!

Maintenance? I do!

When it comes to keeping a cache up, I feel its the owners biggest obligation to do so.
So what if the cache owner lives 50 miles away? I ask this "why did they place a cache 50 miles away?" Its often made me wonder when I see that a owner lives that far away, what made them place a cache there? You know that in general, most people aren't going to be able to maintain a cache that far away. Unless you work of visit the area on a regular basis.
I won't use a real example, but one that I just crossed paths with has a owner that lives 60 miles away and I can tell the cache has never been maintained, even though the owner is still very active in caching. Several maintenance calls have gone unanswered and local cachers have taken it upon themselves to maintain the cache. This should be applauded, but it should be known also. I'm venting I know, but this isn't he first case in which I have come across like this.

I know several cachers that have caches that are out of their home towns, but are in or close to their work locations, in which maintenance isn't a real issue. A cache should be something that you can maintain when it needs it.


Moving on past this. What am I getting at? Maintain or pull your cache. There might be someone close by that would hide a cache in this location that can maintain it. And if your thinking it, no, its not close to me and I don't want the location. but just put yourself in that spot. Say it was a mile or so away and you found out someone living 80 miles away hid the cache there. Hmmm, you might question that too?

Backseat Driver still there, but unfound...

I'm sure ol "Backseat Driver" (GC1DGZA) is getting lonely. A few visitors have stopped in but no one has said hello yet! Come on guys, its there, I promise ya.

So what is the deal with Backseat Driver? As many a local cacher knows, a local cache called "Mean Streak" (GC12Z46) lived up to its name. It was/is a mean cache, even I haven't found it yet after a few trips to find it. It took over a year to find the thing, but finally someone did find it. After several trips looking for Mean Streak, I decided that I had to make a cache that would be tough and I do mean tough to find. I wanted something that would make everyone have to really look. So what is it? I'm not telling a thing. The only bit of info is that the cache log is in a match safe. Other then that, you are left to look for the cache!
The hints? I've gotten a few emails saying the hints didn't add up. To this I have replied, yes they do, if you stop and think about it.

Today a friend and fellow cacher stopped in to finally have a go at it. He found my other cache, but when he went in search of Backseat, he couldn't get it.
When he returned we talked about the hints. Once we started talking, he finally understood and said the hints did make sense after all.
Still with said hints, I told him he probably will still be hard pressed to find it.
Funny as it sounds, while doing maintenance on this cache the first time, I couldn't find it at first. So, after several minutes I finally located it.
Yup, you read that right. Its that well hidden into its environment.

So, go give "Backseat Driver" a try and stop in on the other caches along the way. There are plenty out here and more to come!

CACHE ON!

A cache that makes you go hmmmm....

Ya, I know we all have those. It seems of late however that we have come across a few of these. The type that you just stare at and wonder "what could be there, or there, but is it there?". Then you realize you are probably over thought the entire cache and suddenly you stumble upon it.

Example, a simple LPC could stump me. YES, it happened. Turned out I was over thinking it. Yes, it happens. But in the end, it too was gone, muggled for the time being. We shall return.
Another example was a cache that would have taken some several minutes, we just pulled up and I grabbed it. Nice hid, inside a guy wire protector. I like those type hides that make you think.

Another example of a "not today" cache was our arrival at the location and the GPS bouncing all over. The first settle brought me to a large dirt pile, but after I walked about a little, it settled on a large patch of poison ivy. This patch of poison ivy was also the location of the hint. So, ya, you guessed it, neither of us would go after it.

That cache that just aggrivates the piss right out of you? You know when you arrive, know the location and yet the cache is gone. Ya, those. The ones that owners never maintain. So you know what, if you don't want to do the hobby anymore, pull your containers, donate them, or archive them. Simple as that. I hate going after a cache that hasn't been looked after in some time. Its at the point now that I have a certain cache owner that I look at 50/50 on it even being there anymore.

I learned a while back not to trust the logs either. Some cachers are just flip flop through the weeds and say DNF=muggled. I've found a couple now that other cachers have just flung off saying they aren't there.
Oh well.

Saturday evening we added 6 more finds, a couple DNF's and even a couple nogo's due to muggles.

Long time, no cache

Ya, I know. We haven't had the time of late to get out and grab one.
This being the holiday weekend, I would have figured on getting a few. Thus far, nothing. I looked at the blog today and realized its basically a week since anything was put here and an update was needed.

So what is the latest? My latest cache container is setting in the garage waiting for the local reviewer to review my coords to see if I can place anything there. Its been over a week now, I will give it a few more days. I'm not going to drive there and place it, then hear "your cache is too close to another cache". Again, not my problem.

I have a few things to talk about other then the latest cache plant.
I found a couple features on google maps that allow me to measure distance and actual Lat./Long. to pinpoint locations. If you haven't seen these features, check them out! At Google of course.