Enjoyed the article about Dave Ulmer. The article states that there was a plaque at the site of the original stash/cache, but did not give the general location or the coordinates. How would one go about finding these? It would be a very interesting virtual!

New cachers, new handles, more caches (lots more caches), travel bugs AND new attitudes. Caching became an extreme sport for many of the newcomers. Eventually I noted that some of the "original stand-by cachers" were no longer participating and in some cases my enthusiasm had been tempered by this "new brand" of cacher. From Karen Schettler, aka Baysaver45
"...all the green boxes..."

The first time I logged on to Today's Cacher, I read the editorial by Dan Caram, titled, Where have All the Green Boxes Gone?".

I have been geocaching for almost 3 years and I seem to take the same view as "jmarac" when it comes to the number of caches found. Even before I purchased my first e-Trex I was hooked, just from reading all the cache entries; I even left my GPS on top of the car one Sunday and wouldn't go home until I'd stopped off and bought a new one. I have only 139 cache finds to my credit, but I too have memories of beautiful overlooks, fields, streams and parts of my state (Maryland), that without geocaching I would never have found myself exploring.

When I first started my "treasure hunts" there were very few caches in the area; I'd even sit at the computer and wish someone would hide a new cache so I could get out there again. I even hid a few myself just to get out in the fresh air. Eventually those of us in my geographic area got to know each others log-on names and enjoyed finding those "special" caches placed by an unseen friend; we even bumped into each other every now and then out in the woods or field. Then something changed.

New cachers, new handles, more caches (lots more caches), travel bugs AND new attitudes. Caching became an extreme sport for many of the newcomers; 6,7,8,9, caches logged in a day; first 100 caches logged, then 200, then 1000, then 4000. I envision some of these cachers screeching to a halt, clammering out of the car and attacking the cache area, logging a find and back to the car, on to the next. Then there are the entries in cache logs letting the owners know their coordinates "were wrong". I let those comments pass at first, figuring, "sure I could have been off, there were clouds, tree canopy, etc"; I could be 60-70' off; but isn't that half the fun? Eventually, in many instances, only the seeking cachers coordinates appeared to be the correct ones and it was implied, "if you can't get the coordinates right don't bother caching". I guess having to spend 20-45 minutes looking for a cache was way too long and could keep your daily numbers down.

Eventually I noted that some of the "original stand-by cachers" were no longer participating and in some cases my enthusiasm had been tempered by this "new brand" of cacher.

As for the micro-mini caches I can generally say I've enjoyed the ones I've found but then I look for a cache relative to it's geographic location not to put another notch on my GPS.

Like jmarac, I too, love geocaching, it sure has increased my stamina and balance, a problem I have due to a chronic condition. I'll continue to only seek the caches that interest me and that meet my physical abilities; I'll stop and look at a fawn sleeping in the under-brush even if I don't find the cache and not blame the owner for wrong coordinates. Who cares if my coordinates don't match yours, maybe your GPS was having a bad day. Maybe I'll make it to 200 caches one day and also have seen a lot of places I never would have without geocaching.

Thanks for listening.

Here in Tennessee Geocaching has gotten out of hand every week the same people are throwing out film canisters with no respect to the rules of this sport. From rbvstar
Numbers Game

Enjoyed your editoral to many numbers...Here in Tennessee Geocaching has gotten out of hand every week the same people are throwing out film canisters with no respect to the rules of this sport. I personally dont hunt for micros unless they are on the way and will stop by just to say yeah i found it and log it. However last weekend probably done me in for urban hunting I was on the way home and stopped off at a golden gallon to look for one that had just been placed, i did a brief stealth look and couldnt find..but because I sit in the parking lot for 10 minutes or so the clerk got nervous and called the police which pulled me over down the road just after I left like I had robbed the place. I can understand the clerks stance and I can understand the cop walking up to my car with his hand on his weapon becuase he had no idea what I was up to either. I just hope this dont get to out of hand and give it a bad name. Thanks again for your editorial and thanks for taking time to read my "venting" email