TrekkerPooch

This is good info. Thanks!

I use an E-Trex Venture HC that's several years old. Downloading the .gpx files doesn't do me any good, because my GPS doesn't show up when I hook it up to my computer. I can't transfer the files from my computer to my GPS. Entering them in manually is fine for 1-2 caches at a time, but I'm not going to manually enter in the coords for a dozen or so caches if I want to do a full day of caching. I guess my caching activity is going to drop off significantly unless/until I can save up enough for a new GPS. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Has anyone been having problems with their GPS units today (27 Jan 08)? Mine was acting about six kinds of crazy this morning. It kept missing my location by up to 18 miles, even after I repeatedly entered in my coordinates manually. Couldn't get a fix on my elevation (huge margin of error), erratic fluctuations in the "distance to the cache" readings-made caching impossible. I even put in fresh batteries, right out of the package, and my GPS still gave me fits. It's never acted like this before. It was working great until mid-morning, and then BOOM! It's acting crazier than Amy Winehouse after a week-long bender. Anyway, I wanted to know if anyone else has experienced anything like this today.

I decided to do this after I saw the overwhelmingly positive reaction that my last batch of TBs got. I attached dog tags to a few of my old Transformers, the six Constructicons, and they turned out to be a big hit. So I'm making more of my toys into Travel Bugs. This time, I'm using the five Stunticons, and this time I'm adding a mission: a race to travel 10,000 miles. I will drop all five TBs into a TB Hotel in a nearby city. From there, who knows where they'll go. I'm already wondering where they'll go, and how long it will take for one of them to complete the mission. Three days and change until Friday, then the race begins.

It was Long Haul, one of my Constructicon TBs.

Hello everyone, I've decided to waste your time by making you read this utterly insignificant forum thread Two cachers found one of my TBs today. One person retrieved it from a cache, while the other person grabbed it. I got both email notifications, but I looked at the TBs profile and couldn't find the log for the person who took it from the cache. I viewed the "retrieved" log entry through the email notice, and it said "archived" in the corner. Huh? I'm probably overanalyzing this thing six ways from Sunday, but I'm wondering why this happened. Has anyone heard of this before?

One thing you could do is make a laminated index card with all the important info on it (tracking #, owner's name, mission, etc) and use this as your "coin." I've seen it done before, and it still counts as an official coin grab. I don't think anyone will mind much.

Something I read in another post got me thinking about this, and I was kind of curious to see what people have to say. Do you leave a signature item in caches you find, and if so, what is it? (Who knows, maybe I've came across a few of these.) I don't have any signature items myself, but there does seem to be a couple different themes to my swag: my childhood toys (especially Transformers), and Gonzaga University stuff (stickers, pins, etc). Other than that, it's usually random stuff. A lot of my swag is stuff I picked up from another cache-the gift that keeps on giving.

Awesome! I think that answers all my questions (for now). Thanks for the replies.

A few more "newbie" questions : 1) A custom icon-that's the thing that looks like something that's on the geocoin, or a smaller version of the geocoin itself, right? 2) If you buy geocoins in onesies and twosies, do you inherit any custom icon that goes with it?

Hello everybody, This is probably a "newbie" question, but it's kind of confusing to me. The Groundspeak policy regarding minting and buying personal geocoins requires a bulk purchase (250 coins minimum, I think), but I've noticed that on many cachers' profiles, it only shows that they own one or two of each type of geocoin. What happens to all the other coins? Do they get passed out to other cachers, who assume ownership? Have these cachers found a way to have coins created in much smaller quantities? Are they buying the coins one by one on Ebay? I'd like to have my own personal coin minted, but I don't want 250 of them. Is this possible?

Garmin's website has two HCx models: Legend and Vista. Is there much difference between the two?

This happened to me a few days ago, and I'm probably not the only one. I've only been caching for a few months now, using an older Magellan unit. Despite its age, it gets the job done pretty well. It is usually accurate within 3-9 ft, and maintains a decent signal even among a cluster of trees. It also did well in many areas of Spokane. However, when I tried using it in downtown Seattle, it was virtually useless. Seattle has been the biggest city where I've done any geocaching, and it has many more high-rises than Spokane. Trying to get and keep a signal was an absolute nightmare, and I got frustrated to the point where I wanted to smash my GPS against the nearest brick wall. Since I plan to do a lot of caching in big cities, can anyone recommend a GPS better suited for urban areas? Thanks!

I'd also launch into DeNiro's famous speech from Taxi Driver: "You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the **** else are you talking to? You talking to me? Well I'm the only one here. Who the **** do you think you're talking to? Oh yeah? OK."

I'm against logging DNFs. So far, whenever I've failed to find a cache it was because I didn't look hard enough (or in the right spot, or whatever), not because the cache had been muggled or missing somehow. The cache logs are a good indication of the cache's status: if someone logged a find the day before I go looking for it, chances are that it's still there. My attitude is that DNFs are a last resort. If I go looking for a cache and I don't find it the first time, I don't feel the need to log a DNF just yet. I know I'll probably go back for another try, so I feel like I'm still looking for it. Now if I go back 3 or 4 times and still don't find it, then I'll probably log a DNF.

Haven't had this problem yet, but I'd probably say "I'm lookin' for buried treasure. Arrrh, matey!" I'd get great results if I had a parrot and an eye patch. Not very original, but it works in a pinch.

My biggest cache haul happened about two weeks ago. I was in Spokane for the Bloomsday Race, and I decided to do some caching while I was in town. My goal was 25 in one day. At the end of the day, I found 17, had 5 DNFs, and ran out of daylight before I could reach the last three. I walked everywhere I went that day, and my feet sure knew it by the time I was done. Must have logged 30 miles that day. Whoo, was I dog-tired! But it was a good experience. I got to understand my GPS a lot better, and learned a lot about what to look for when trying to find a cache. (Spokane's a good place for that...lots of micros!) I had a lot of fun doing that, and will probably do it again next time I'm in Spokane (or any other big city).