Pacific NW

To my knowledge, no, you cannot interface between the GPS and the iPhone like that. Garmin's iPhone "apps" are pretty limited. For example, you can send/receive a waypoint to your phone via Bluetooth, but that's about it. Your best method would be to use the Pocket Query feature of the GC website, and put them on your eTrex Touch 35.

Another +1 vote for the GPSMAP 64s. Speedy processor, holds lots of caches, great unit, and an additional boost from GLONASS reception for those of us in the northern latitudes.

Sounds like the planned GPS outage / jamming that was announced earlier this week has been cancelled: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2016/june/08/navy-cancels-planned-gps-outage-in-southern-california

I've seen some reports anecdotally that applying a good quality screen protector (Zagg, etc.) to an already-scratched screen can minimize the appearance of the damage. No firsthand experience with this, but for around $10 it might be worth a try.

I'd also like to see the number of caches in an individual PQ increased beyond the 1,000 limit that stands today. Anyone who spends time on the road caching knows that loading up a GPS unit with areas they are traveling through can be a tedious process, involving many separate PQs and creating all sorts of PQ routes. While I appreciate the PQ route function, it would also be great to see alternative, simpler ways to create a PQ for downloading. For example, why not allow folks to download an entire county's worth of PQ data in one file? It would be much easier to pick a few counties that your journey travels through, rather than the trial-and-error of creating PQs from overlapping virtual geographic 'circles', trying to cobble together PQ routes, etc. And for those people fortunate enough to cram their entire area into one PQ file and 628 caches, I'm jealous.

Another vote for the 64s here. Although I can't say that I would buy a GPS strictly for accuracy now -- smartphones have really closed that cap. If anything, it's more for the convenience factor, and ability to save your phone's battery life.

Thanks for sharing that info! Wow -- can't say that I saw this coming. It does seem to make sense, though. DeLorme seems to have gotten out of the GPS game, and Garmin's software and mapping leaves something to be desired (a lot, really). Hopefully this frees up money at Garmin for more R&D, and to focus on improving GPS hardware and firmware, leaving the DeLorme folks to focus on producing quality map products. What will be interesting to see is if DeLorme's excellent mapping is offered by way of Micro SD cards in the future, compatible with existing Garmin GPS units. One would think so, as they are vector maps, IIRC. Guess that old phrase, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em", applies here.

In theory, unlimited caches... https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId=%7B0b02f820-03db-11e0-e050-000000000000%7D Cut-and-paste from above link: "GPSMAP 64 (series) 2,000 GPX files 5,000 waypoints No limit on geocaches (outside of max number of GPX files supported and memory available) 200 routes, 250 points per route 200 saved tracks 2,000 archive tracks* 10,000 points per track 500 custom map tiles 250 BirdsEye Imagery files Approximately 3,000 mapping segments"

+1 on the advice to backup the entire GPS drive to your computer, especially before tinkering with any files or running a firmware update (which is a good idea to get the latest using Garmin's free WebUpdater software). The files in the "GGZ" folder on the GPS drive are the pre-loaded geocaches. The "GGZ" file type is Garmin's proprietary caching file format. You can delete these specific files if you want to remove the pre-loaded caches, although I would keep the empty GGZ folder intact just to be safe.

You might keep an eye out for sales -- over the holidays the GPSMAP 64s was going for $179 (USD). Definitely a great value, and with a faster processor than the eTrex line. If Garmin brings out a new GPSMAP unit this year, there should be some pretty good sales again. Seems like they issue an updated model about every 2 years. The above advice to think about getting a GPS with a magnetic compass if caching in dense or wooded areas is right-on. Sure beats stumbling through poison oak/ivy and blackberry bushes trying to get a reading. Of course, you could just carry a $15 good-quality magnetic compass with you, but what fun is that? The best thing to do is to find an outdoors store that carries GPS units and try a few in person. You'll pretty quickly figure out if you like the ergonomics & menus of one style (click stick, buttons, touch screen) over another.

Lots of great info in this thread. I've had a couple finds with the GPSMAP 64s where the unit literally put me right on top of the cache. Pretty amazing when you think about it; these are consumer-grade electronics that cost a few hundred bucks and rolled off an assembly line. Heck, I can't find stuff within 9 ft. (3 m) accuracy in my own house.

Nice! Hey, I didn't know Santa was a geocacher.

More than welcome -- glad you were able to get one and save a little green!

Tried an eTrex 20x the other day. Compared to the GPSMAP 64 or Oregon series, the screen refresh / redraw rate is much slower. For some, that's an issue. Probably not the best choice for driving, doing a lot of map scrolling, or loading the unit with a ton of custom maps. For others, such as hikers looking for longer battery life, the slower processor is an advantage.

Being on-and-off active over the last ten years or so, I'll echo other posters here and say that caching has definitely shifted from quality to quantity. There have always been micros hidden at the base of lamp posts in big-box store parking lots, nanos tucked away amongst the tree branches, and pill bottles thrown into the middle of blackberry bushes. But with many new and active cachers, these kinds of hides have increased exponentially. In a roundabout way, geocaching has become a victim of its own success and popularity. None of us will agree on the answer to the problem, but something needs to be done to steer the hobby back in the other direction. <puts on flame suit>

Nice! One more to add to the quad collection there. Yeah, I was surprised to see it that low as well, definitely an amazing price. Makes me wonder if a 66-series is on the horizon...

FYI - Cabela's has the GPSMAP 64s today for $179, in addition to quite a few other models being on sale.

If you haven't already, you might try a reset of the GPS. (Just be sure to back up any data first.) https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId=%7B94841fa0-ca0c-11e0-cf56-000000000000%7D

Could be corrupt GPX files. Or GPX files with too many caches loaded. Might try removing all of the GPX files you loaded, re-start the GPS, then re-load a file or two and see if it loads up. Another issue, but more to do with Mac computers, is that deleting items off the GPS or SD card simply moved them to the trash bin. Until actually emptying the trash, the files were still taking up space on the GPS or SD card. I don't think Windows has that problem, but it's worth a try, too.

You probably already have discovered this, but the 8MB of internal memory is the big limitation of the eTrex 10. The closer you get towards using up the minuscule 8MB of memory, the less space you will have for waypoints, track logs, geocaching GPX files, POI files, etc. Staying at or below 6-7 MB is a safe bet. Just something to be aware of. Another option is loading caches as POI files -- you won't get the paperless detailed logs and hints (caveat: you can use GSAK for cramming some of that into the Notes field), but you will at least have a dot for placement of the cache on the map screen. One way to find out how much space the maps you want load will take up: Connect an SD card to your computer, open Garmin's free MapInstall utility, and select the tiles you are interested in. The utility will show how many MB it will take at the bottom of the screen. Personally, I find it ridiculous that Garmin used to include up to 24MB of internal memory for the older black & white screen GPS models, but capped the eTrex 10 at 8MB. An SD card slot would have been an easy remedy. Not everyone needs lots of bells and whistles.

Another vote for the 64S if it comes down to a mix of reliability, battery life, and operation in poor weather conditions (buttons). Caveat: If you are going to be entering a lot of waypoints or data by hand, or searching for a lot of addresses using Open Street Maps, etc., the touch screen models do those tasks very well. The Oregon 600 series has been out for a while now, but still has firmware and stability issues. I'd check out the Wiki before making a purchase: https://garminoregon6xx.wikispaces.com

Used to have a 60Cx, then a 62S, and after that a 64S. Each one has been an upgrade over the previous version, and the added benefit of GLONASS reception is great, especially if you are in the northern latitudes or under heavy cover. Another unit to consider is the new eTrex Touch series, which has the display resolution of the 64 series, but in a touch screen model. (Though it still some teething problems with firmware, but that's typical for Garmin.) The advantage of the 64 series, eTrex Touch series, Oregon series, Montana series, et al. is that they have faster processors than the regular eTrex models (10 / 20 & 20x / 30 & 30x). This means faster route calculations and much quicker map scrolling. Another perk of the GPSMAP 64 series is that nearly unlimited numbers of caches can be loaded, which is nice if you travel a lot. And battery life of the button models will be longer than the touch screen models, especially using rechargeable NiMH batteries such as Eneloops.

Just in case folks were wondering, there are some pretty good deals out there right now: Both Cabelas & REI have the eTrex 30x Topo Bundle for $199. Cabelas has the Oregon 600 for $219, as well as the GPSMAP 64st for $279, and the base model (yellow) GPSMAP 64 for $199. No connection to any of these retailers, just wanted to share the info. Please feel free to post up any other deals you find.

If you're going to be inputting a lot of data manually, I'd suggest a touchscreen model from Garmin. Preferably one with a three-axis compass, too. There is the eTrex Touch 25 / 35 series (all with a magnetic compass), the Oregon 600 series, the Montana and Monterra (both larger touchscreen models). Also, there are still some older Dakota 20 and Oregon 450 & 550 models floating around out there, although they are in limited supply. Beware that newer Garmins can have firmware issues, so definitely do a little Googling before buying, and make sure the store has a good return policy. But even with a dedicated GPS receiver, the compass may still be jumpy as you get close to the cache location. A much cheaper alternative would be buying a quality $15-20 compass. Honestly, the iPhone 6 is hard to beat nowadays, especially with the interface, nice screen, etc. Where it becomes a problem is in regards to durability and battery life in the outdoors -- although there are rugged cases and portable battery chargers now.

It's an iPhone app.