[Crow-T-Robot]

Hide the kind of cache you’d enjoy finding, but for any first time cache owner, I’d always recommend starting with something simple. That way, you can get a better feel of what it means (and takes) to be a cache owner. Some new cachers get really hyped about placing caches and publish a bunch right away (or do something really elaborate and thus harder to maintain) and then realize it’s more work than they expected or wanted. We are blessed in Wisconsin to have all four seasons but that also means our caches are exposed to those different elements constantly, so a CO has to be prepared to fix up a cache any time Mother Nature requires it.

Every cache owner is different. I am in my comfort zone having about 10-12 active hides. Other CO’s can handle and maintain hundreds of caches. You have to find your own sweet spot as far as that goes. The fact that you came here to ask questions says quite a lot about how you view cache ownership and it’s a very encouraging sign. Don’t agonize too much about making a “perfect” cache. Geocachers are a very accepting and passive group. We love finding caches and as long as you take care of your caches, we’ll appreciate the effort you gave in placing them.

[Crow-T-Robot]

Any thoughts on cutting down or eliminating the three month waiting period before a new cache can be nominated? It’s been awhile since I’ve nominated a cache but I do remember thinking that the rule that a cache has to have been published for three months before it is eligible was kind of a deterrent. I might find a cache and realize it’s only been out a few weeks or a month. I probably won’t forget the cache but remembering to go back and nominate it does slip my mind.

I don’t attend events so I’m not sure if this happens, but does the subject of COTM and getting member to nominate/vote come up? If not, this is something the WGA board members could actively start at sanctioned events. Using the camp-out and Cache Bash events would be good platforms to encourage members to think about COTM.

How about adding in a Cache of the Year tournament? All COTM winners from the past year would be eligible.

[Crow-T-Robot]

rawevil wrote:

Out just south of Wittenburg to grab the new caches on the Wiouwash trail out there and even though we doused ourselves with Cedarcide, we were attacked by ticks. Don’t think anything would have warded off the buggers today. 5 hours later and even after multiple tick checks they are still surfacing … Ugghhh! Turned around after 1.7 miles. Will grab those in Fall or Winter. Just a heads up for any attempting that area soon.

I wasn’t terribly far from Wittenburg on the MountainBay trail today and ended up with four ticks and I was wearing Cedarcide as well. I might’ve stepped on a nest of them, though, as I only had those four in one spot along the trail. The rest of the way, wading through thigh high grasses and brush, I didn’t get another.

[Crow-T-Robot]

Trekkin and Birdin wrote:

We are excited about getting our senior passes. We considered camping, but I think now we’re looking at after Labor Day, as close to October as possible. We might want to live a bit more sumptously. They have cabins, which are not fancy, but a step up from out little bitty tent. The cabins connected with the Snow Lodge look like a possibility, if any are available.

When I visited in ’09, I went right around the Labor Day weekend and if/when I visit again, I plan on going during the same time frame. The weather was pretty much fantastic every day (an odd shower now and then) and the crowds were much more reasonable. I wouldn’t mind going later but once you get to October, you start pushing up against the possibility of snow.

I stayed at the Lake Lodge cabins and those were pretty nice. Rustic (no television, internet, stove, fridge, etc) but mine had my own bathroom/shower. Though, the shower was quite an adventure since the hot water would run out very quickly…taking Navy showers was pretty much mandatory. By the end of my stay, I was an expert in taking showers in under a minute. In fact, the best shower I’ve ever had was the one I took at the Best Western in Thermopolis…that one lasted a loooong time. Definitely good memories.

[Crow-T-Robot]

I may have to start looking into some of these solutions. I hate being freaked out when I’m driving home from the woods and suddenly, there’s a tick crawling on my neck.

[Crow-T-Robot]

I have two from the Mississippi/Chippewa biome from a week ago that have not updated yet.

[Crow-T-Robot]

Walkingadventure wrote:

3. Bring more than one writing utensil. Sounds funny to say so but it is worth it. I’ve lost a pen only to make the long walk and have to sign the log with a stick or a thumbprint. A pair of tweezers is helpful for removing small log sheets. All the other tools can get added to your utility belt as you gain experience and insight.

4. When writing a log, share an experience- something you saw, felt, heard…everyone like a good story and the Cache Owners (CO) like reading nice logs about their caches. Do all you can to avoid TFTC, “Another smiley for me”, “simple find” and other logs that while maybe not meant to be offensive some across as haughty. Congrats on logging a 1D/1T…it wasn’t meant to be difficult so no need to boast you found it.

5. When you have the $$ and the inclination, go ahead and buy a handheld GPS- it will be worth the investment. You can ask our opinions on the best models but that is like asking which is better- Ford or Chevy.

I second all of this.

I’ve not done much caching in Madison, perhaps two dozen finds or so, so I’m not the best person to recommend something local to you. What caching I have done there, I’ve enjoyed and looking at the map, there is no shortage of possibilities.

1-A good beginners hunt would probably be the National Park series along the Glacial Drumlin Bike Trail. Lots of caches and hidden in a variety of ways. Start with http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC29G28_arkansass-hot-springs-national-park-atb and go east from there along the trail.

2-State parks are great places to go geocaching and sightseeing and just about any outdoorsy stuff you are looking to do. I have quite a few that I haven’t been to yet, but some of my favorites are Devil’s Lake, Mirror Lake, Roche-A-Cri, Peninsula and High Cliff but they’re ALL worth visiting.

3-A flashlight is good to have. Even if you’re out during the middle of the day, sometimes you need a little extra illumination to look into dark crevices. If you’re using your phone to cache, one of the best little investments you can make is to buy a portable charger. If you’re zipping around in your car, it may not be an issue, but if you’re out hiking for hours on end, using a geocaching app will eat up your battery.

4-Don’t forget to stop and take a look around once in awhile. Seriously. Some people seem to run from cache to cache and take little notice of anything else. They enjoy what they’re doing, so I’m not saying it’s wrong…but some of the best experiences I’ve had while caching have been the times I’ve not been caching and just sitting on a log somewhere, listening to the quiet of the woods. Treat caching as your “me time”.

[Crow-T-Robot]

After January 1st, 2016, I think anyone who hides a cache in a Dane County park should be required to also include some type of blurb on their cache page (similar to the blurb that the DNR requires when you hide a cache on their lands) that states that micro caches are not allowed in Dane County parks. A cache owner would be aware of this requirement but as a cache seeker, I probably wouldn’t be. I’m sure there will be micros that are listed as smalls as that happens frequently everywhere else and a notation on the cache page would help keep that somewhat in line. It’s not perfect as more and more cachers do not read descriptions but it would at least be there and visible, so if someone found a micro cache listed as a small, that information would be available. Any given cacher might not act on that information, but sooner or later someone will come along and take action based on knowing micros are prohibited in Dane County and start the process of having it fixed/archived.

Either way, great job on working with the county to come up with a workable solution!

[Crow-T-Robot]

For me, if there is something at the posted coordinates, I would lean towards calling that a Multicache. Even if the first stage is virtual. Obviously, there are exceptions to that and the argument that such a cache should be listed as a Mystery cache has merit but that’s my philosophy. That being said, if Groundspeak were to change the guidelines and state that all Multicaches had to have a physical element at the posted coordinates or else they had to be listed as Mystery caches, I’d be ok with it.

For a mystery/puzzle cache, I look at the posted coordinates as being just a spot on the map that don’t really relate to the cache itself. Usually, finding the coordinates for the next stage/final is done via something on the cache page itself so visiting the posted coordinates isn’t necessary.

[Crow-T-Robot]

Just speaking about state parks, I like seeing them plugged full of caches. I’m not about the numbers, but I’d much rather see a big cluster of caches in a beautiful location like a state park than just placed randomly around a city. Sure, many of the hides tend to be in the run-of-the-mill variety, but the important thing is that they’re hidden somewhere I like to visit. With lots of caches, that just means I have lots of geocaching opportunities every time I go to a park and hike around.

[Crow-T-Robot]

I do believe you just have to have the form submitted.

[Crow-T-Robot]

This weather right now is too cold for me. Well, not too cold to drive around and snag a few park and grabs but those aren’t the kind of caches that will motivate me to leave the house on sub-zero days, so I don’t bother generally.

Earlier this year, I think I might have gotten a touch of frostbite on my fingers/hands because now they get cold very quickly and take awhile to get warmed back up or get the feeling back into them if they go numb, so I am trying to be very careful until the weather warms up. Under 10° and I probably won’t go out caching.

[Crow-T-Robot]

This is something I want to dedicate myself towards more this summer. I have no illusions of finding them all this year but I would like to find at least one in every biome before the year is out.

So far:

WGA State Park Series Finds

Lake Superior North Woods: 0 of 7 WGA SPS caches found.

Southern Savanna: 0 of 13 WGA SPS caches found.

Mississippi and Chippewa Rivers: 0 of 9 WGA SPS caches found.

Central Sands Prairie: 3 of 7 WGA SPS caches found.

Lake Michigan: 3 of 11 WGA SPS caches found.

I’ve really enjoyed the series so far and going to State Parks is always worth the effort.

[Crow-T-Robot]

My geocaching account is linked with my primary email account, so as soon as that I get any kind of email in my inbox, I get a notification on my phone…so I’m reading emails pretty much as soon as I get them.  If I get an email from another geocacher that might have a question or concern, I do my best to answer that day. Anything else and I try to respond with “a few days”. Every once in awhile, something slips through the cracks but I do try to respond to every email I get from other geocachers.

That’s my own personal standard and I don’t hold anyone else to it, so if I don’t get a response from another cacher, I just move on in life and I know that sometimes spam filters catch my response emails. If I suspect that happened, I will try to follow up with an email using the gc.com portal if it’s something I consider important enough to warrant following up on.

[Crow-T-Robot]

I view it as doing the “challenge” part of the challenge cache is the accomplishment and adventure. Finding the cache is the reward you give to the cache owner for creating the challenge.

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