<strong>Hints/Spoiler Info</strong><br>
Enter any hints or spoiler information below. This information will be
encrypted on the site until a geocacher clicks on a link to unencrypt it, or
decodes it on the trail. Text within brackets [like this] will not be
encrypted. <strong>Please keep your hints short, so decoding it on the trail is
easier</strong>. If you don't have a hint, leave it blank.<br><br> Why put a hint? Most cachers either find it, or call the last person who did or the owner anyways. It is very funny to get a DNF and read the last logs saying :
<br>'After talking to the owner we found it. <br>Called the owner and they told us where to look. <br>Thanks for the information on where it was. <br>Found this after a phone a friend<br>etc etc.'<br><br> Dont get me wrong, we like to find them as much as anyone, but it is funny to see who gets told where it is most often. :)
<br><br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 1/23/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Roping The Wind</b> <<a href="mailto:arizcowboy@hotmail.com">arizcowboy@hotmail.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Well, lately I am getting back to the way geocaching used to be and<br>searching for caches in rural areas. by hiking, off roading, horseback<br>riding, hot air balloon, helicopter, whatever... just getting out into the<br>
great outdoors to find full size containers in a scenic wilderness setting.<br>With that, I have noticed something that has sometimes annoyed me in the<br>past and has caused me to have a change of heart! :) Have you ever hiked
<br>several miles out into the desert or forest or down into a canyon only to<br>come out without a find? After 30 minutes of searching you consulted the<br>cache page for the decrypted hint, only to find there is no hint!? I did
<br>just that today. Actually, there was a decrypted hint, but it didnt elude<br>any to where the actual cache was hidden, just the general location of the<br>cache (which I already knew, the coordinates took me there!). It turns out
<br>this cache is indeed missing, after an email with the cache owner.<br><br>I also got an email from a cacher today asking me where another cache that I<br>had recently found was hidden, as I was the last finder of that cache. He
<br>had hiked up to the top of one of the inner city mountain peaks yesterday,<br>only to not find the cache.<br><br>I feel that if you are going to send someone on a hike into the desert or a<br>long climb to the top of a mountain (or even a 15 mile off road vehicle
<br>turture test into a canyon)... that there should be a hint included that<br>gives some definition to where the cache is actually hidden. The game of<br>geocaching has always been about the location. Location, location, location.
<br>A cache needs to be decently hidden so muggles cant find it. But a cache in<br>the wilderness doesnt have to be hidden so hard that a cacher cant find it.<br>Afterall, you did bring them to that location to enjoy the location, didnt
<br>you? This is especially true if you are going to hide a micro in a<br>wilderness type setting. Or maybe in a canyon with steep walls around it<br>that might cause the GPS to not get a good signal or in a dense forest. If
<br>after 30 minutes of searching and you cant find it... you look at the<br>hint... you can then be more confident that you are looking in the correct<br>spot or if maybe the cache is perhaps gone. I spent over 1 hour searching
<br>for a cache today that I ended up not finding (it is indeed gone missing).<br>Even though there was a suspect item that I beleived was holding the cache.<br>There were lots of rocks and hiding spots in the area... so I did continue
<br>to search. Afterall, I hiked 2 miles in to find the cache, I have to give it<br>a good effort to try and find it.<br><br>Anyways, I am not picking on the one cache I didnt find today... just using<br>it as an example. It just made me think about my caches and geocaching
<br>etiquette in general. My first cache RTW-1 requires a rather tough climb to<br>the top of a mountain. I would sure feel bad if someone made a hike/climb<br>all the way up there only to not be able to find the cache. I also firmly
<br>beleive in the 'no log, no find' rule (unless it is a virtual of course!).<br>So, with that... I have had a change of heart! :) I have gone back and<br>edited both of my caches to provide a decrypted hint on each of them! Prior,
<br>RTW-1 just had a smart a** hint that simply said "hint?!". Now, there is a<br>hint to give some direction to where the cache is hidden. I also mention in<br>the log, as I always have, what kind of container the seeker is looking for
<br>(an ammo box). There are alot of rocks up there and alot of hiding spots. I<br>dont beleive the hint has to straight up tell the seeker where the cache is,<br>but it should provide some honest clue that will help someone narrow down
<br>the potential hiding spots. This way, they at least can be confident they<br>are looking in the correct spot and that they didnt maybe input the wrong<br>coords into their GPS.<br><br>Scott<br>Team Ropingthewind<br><br>
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