The Mad Cacher’s GeoCaching Blog

Do you log your DNF’s? Why you should!

It's human nature to want to hide any type of deficiencies in your life. And it's no different with hobbies. Especially hobbies that are as addicting as Geocaching! But, is a Did Not Find (DNF) really a deficiency? NO, it's not!

Show me a Geocacher with a perfect track record... one who has found every single cache he or she has hunted for and I'll show you a Geocacher who doesn't log their DNF's because it's simply not possible (unless you do VERY little geocaching.)

Caches get muggled. Caches get moved. Caches get destroyed. And I could go on and on with very realistic possibilities. Possibilities that are a reality for many caches every single day.

So why not just log your DNF's? Anyone who thinks you're any less of a cacher just because you have some DNF's obviously doesn't understand our hobby, so who cares about what they think of it. And anyone who really understands the hobby isn't going to think twice about DNF's.

When people don't log DNF's it causes a problem. A problem that I've encountered several times with several of my own caches. Caches go missing and since so many people are afraid to log the DNF, it takes months for the cache owner to realize the cache is gone. This is especially problematic with 3+ star caches.

So please, log your DNF's and help make this awesome hobby even more awesome

Happy Caching!

Winter Geocaching Tips and Motivation

It's winter time in the U.S. and many other Countries on this side of the World. That means less geocaching for some, but for others it just means that they have slightly more of a challenge now.

My goal for this post is to provide some tips for cache owners and hunters during the Winter months . But I also want to provide some motivation and remind you that Geocaching is not only fun; it's mentally and physically healthy! So don't let the cold weather keep you indoors. Get out there and have some fun finding caches, while improving your health at the same time.

Winter Geocaching Tips and Reminders

1. Safety - Obviously the first reminder is the most boring, but most important too. Be SAFE! People have been tragically killed in accidents while caching and during the Winter months there are more hazards than ever! Never go geocaching alone! It doesn't matter who you are or how fit you are. Anyone can slip, bust their head open, lose consciousness and freeze to death. I know that sounds bad, even morbid, but it's a reality, so please keep it in mind.

2. Cache Maintenance - Probably the biggest issue with cache containers in the winter months, especially in areas with heavy snow, is wet logs. The most important thing is to use sturdy containers that are air-tight. But it's also a good idea to keep moisture packs in your caches. Above all keep up your responsibility of checking on and maintaining your cache(s) more frequently during the winter. If you don't maintain any caches, you can always help out your fellow cachers by bringing alog some small zip lock bags for those caches you find that need protection from the elements.

3. Watch your tracks - If you're caching in the snow or mud think about your tracks. Lots of tracks are like a big arrow and muggles like following big arrows

4. Use Pencils - In freezing weather, pens will not work in many cases. Be sure to carry a few pencils along with you.

5. Don't damage frozen containers - If you go geocaching in freezing weather you are almost guaranteed to come across multiple caches that are frozen shut. Don't ruin the cache by hitting it against hard object in an attempt to open it. You couuld break the seal and ruin the fun for everyone. Take along some cheap, throw away hand warmers. Often times holding one or two hand warmers against the lid will melt away the ice enough to open it. Also your car heater will do wonders.

That's all I have for now. Don't let the cold keep you inside all winter. Geocaching is fun year round. It's up to you whether or not you go out and collect on those fun times or not

Happy Caching!

img credit: Ronan_C

How to add Links and Images to Geocache Listings

One thing I'm sure many Geocachers wonder is how some people add images, links and flashy design elements to their Geocache listings.

The answer is HTML (HyperText Markup Language) which is basically the code that your Internet browser, like Internet Explorer, reads in order to display a web page. When you create a new Geocache listing and submit it, the server turns it all into html behind the scenes. Since the broswer can't read your mind, if you don't use html in your listing it just displays your listing as plain text.

So, now that the explination is out of the way, I'll show you how to create links and display images in geocache listings.

Creating a link in a geocache listing

1. When composing your listing, you'll see "The descriptions below are in HTML" option under "Details". You must tick that box in order for this to work (Very Important!) Please see below:

2. Copy and paste the following line of code into your listing:

<a href="http://www.url.com/">Link Text</a>

3. Replace the URL within the code with the URL that you want the link to point to.

4. Replace the Link Text with whatever you want your link text to be.

So here are two examples for you. If you wanted the words "this is an example" to be linked to http://www.examplesite.com/this-is-an-example-page.php the code would look like this:

<a href="http://www.examplesite.com/this-is-an-example-page.php">this is an example</a>

That would display like this: this is an example

Or if you wanted the URL to display the actual URL the code would look like this:

<a href="http://www.examplesite.com/this-is-an-example-page.php">http://www.examplesite.com/this-is-an-example-page.php</a>

That would display like this: http://www.examplesite.com/this-is-an-example-page.php

That's all there is to it. Now you can use that code to create links within sentences or anywhere else you want.

Adding images to Geocache listings

Adding images is very similar to adding links. A line of code, just like a link.

1. Copy and paste the following line of code into your listing where you want your image to display:

<img src="http://www.website.com/images/testpicture.jpg">

2. You will need a URL for the image, so the image will need to be upload to a website.
You can do that by uploading your image to a popular image sharing site like Flickr.com or something similar.
These sites give you a URL to your image.

3. Replace the image URL in the code with the image URL of your image.

That's it. Your image will then display on the Geocache listing!

Fixing the spacing issue when using HTMl in a listing

When you use HTML in your listing, you will notice that all of the text is all bunched up. To fix this you'll just need to use a few HTML tags. Put this at the beginning of each paragraph:

<p>

And put this at the end of every paragraph

</p>

That will create a white space between each paragraph. Additionally, you can use the following to start a new line:

<br />

That's it. With the tips in this article you should now be able to easily add links and images to your Geocaching listings.

The Advantages of Phone a Friend “PAF”

by: Larry Sullivan (localbiz)

How did you get involved in geocaching? Did a friend introduce you to it - taking you out and showing you the ropes? Or did you read about it online/offline and decided to try it? For me it was the later.

After reading about geocaching, I thought it sounded cool and decided to try it out. Well my first time going out was-memorable. I went to the geocaching.com website, found the closest cache online, put it in my GSPr and off I went. About an hour later, I returned with a DNF. Why? I was looking for an ammo box (because all caches were ammo boxes, or so I thought.) Back home, I decided to read the description and found out that it was a micro container.

Since that initial adventure, I have had more luck finding geocaches in my area but also have had a number of DNFs. Despite the early frustrations, I really liked geocaching and began to go out as much as I could. Soon I discovered that there was a local club of geocachers. Hooking up with this group has opened a whole new aspect of geocaching to me.

How do you get better at geocaching? Two ways: Experience, the more you do it, the better you get and who you know.

Going geocaching or discussing geocaching with experienced cachers is invaluable. One of the first things they provided me, when I joined the group, is the “PAF,” or phone a friend.

PAF is simply a list of phone numbers of local geocachers that are willing to lend a hand to any cacher out on the trial. At first I was a bit leery of calling up a stranger and asking for help geocaching, but now it is an indispensable asset.

Last month, I went looking for a cache that had not been found in months. I did not find it on my first visit. After reading all the logs and speaking with a cacher who found it, I discovered there were some issues with the coordinates. That cacher told me to go back out but call her when I got there. So I did just that. She pointed me in the correct direction and finally indicated where the cache should be.

After about 2 minutes of digging around, I found the cache- buried! I was stoked! Some work had been done in the area that buried the cache and the posted coordinates were off. I signed the log and put the cache back so others could find it (without digging.) I would never have been able to find that cache without her help. Since then there have been a number of caches that I called for help on- all resulted in smiley faces.

PAF, is something I recommend to all new cachers. Find a local geocaching group or connect with other geocachers in your area via geocaching.com. Having someone you can call to help out is great and makes geocaching alot more fun.

photo credit: didbygraham

Geocaching Tips for Beginners

1. Don't look for the container - As odd as that may sound it's a good piece of advice. I, like many new Geocachers, remember looking for the container. I was always looking for something sticking out from a hole or hanging from something.

During that time, as you can probably imagine, I didn't find many caches. It wasn't until I started looking for good hiding spots, as opposed to containers, that I started finding just about every cache I hunted for.

2. Look at a street map ahead of time if possible - I can't tell you how many times I put in the coordinates of a cache, wrote down a few details and jumped in the car to find it, only to realize the cache was 50 feet away, on the other side of a river or something similar lol

It's always a good idea to look at a map and check out the streets and rivers before heading out, or at least taking a street map along with you. Your GPS will point you in the right direction, but unless you have street maps loaded into, which most don't, it can't tell you the best possible route.

3. If you take Children along, be sure they understand the importance of discretion - Our son, Aaron, is only 2 y.o. so we don't have to worry about this with him yet, but I have taken my niece and nephews out to find a few caches and they had me stressed out the whole time!

Kids are hyper and many kids enjoy Geocaching, so it's not uncommon for them to get excited and run around everywhere, crawling over things etc. In some cases it's OK, but in many cases it's important to keep a low profile, so no "muggles" will come and discover the cache after you do! So if you take children along be sure that they understand that you don't want other people to know what we're doing, so they need to be calm and discreet.

img credit: Caveman 92223