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imajeep

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Posts posted by imajeep

  1. I am climbing Mt. Whitney August 1. Training includes Mt. San Antonio (Mt. Baldy, 10,000'), Mt. San Jacinto (10,800'), and San Gorgonio Mountain (11,500'), all in Southern California. Hiking an average of 40 mi/wk to get in shape, with about 5,000' elevation per week, excluding the big training hikes. I'll probably do the Grand Canyon back country once or twice this year. Did I mention that I really like living in California?

  2. I get very tired of crushed Ritz crackers with my summer sausage and cheddar cheese the third day out on a hike. I get even more tired of crushed Oreos for dessert. So, I've been looking around for some solution. Cardboard mailing tubes offer a possibility, but it's hard to find one the right size.

     

    This morning, when Ms. Imajeep mentioned having been at The Container Store,a light clicked. If anybody would have what I am looking for, it would be them! Sure enough, they had the perfect item. It's a Desidry StayFresh Food Container, manufactured by The RPI Group of Solon, Ohio. It's a round plastic tube, meant for bulk-storing crackers and cookies. The tube comes in two halves that slide together. They are just large enough to hold a full sleeve of Ritz crackers or Oreo cookies.

     

    As you eat creakers and cookies, the tubes collapse down to a smaller size, just large enough to hold what's left. Weight isn't bad; a couple of ounces. There is also a square-tube version sized for saltine crackers. I picked up a couple for a couple of upcoming Grand Canyon hikes--one for Ritz crackers, the other for Oreos.

  3. Aha! I found it! I'm preparing for my trip out to the Grand Canyon (actually two trips--one to do a rim-to-rim, then another to go down Thunder Canyon to Tapeats Creek two weeks later). Anyway, REI carries pack covers made specifically for airline travel. They cost about $30. I got an Osprey Airporter--it says it will hold packs up to 8200 cu. in. I believe it--my Kelty Red Cloud has 5600 Cu. in., and it didn't come close to filling up the pack cover. Zip-up, reasonably sturdy, and it stows in its own pouch to the size of a hardback book. Weight is 13. oz. REI makes a slightly smaller one for about the same price.

  4.  

    Some thing like this? Pillow Stuff Sack

     

     

    Uh, something exactly like that! You know, I was just at REI an hour ago, looking for a pillow sack. How the heck did I miss that? Thanks for spotting it--it looks like I'm off to REI again!

     

    Heckuva shame, isn't it? I mean, with the sale going on and everything...

  5. Does anyone make a ditty bag soft enough to use as a pillow? I'm looking for a bag I can stuff my fleece into. At night, I want to use it as a pillow. All of the ditty bags that I've got, and most of the ones that I have seen, are mesh, and that's not the most comfortable stuff in the world to lay your head on at night.

     

     

    Any suggestions? Thanks!

  6. Thanks. I suspect TSA may get rather grumpy when they get the pack, since they reserve the right to rifle through one's things whenever it strikes their fancy. The only luggage locks they don't cut are the ones that can be opened with their skeleton keys. Based on past experience, I wouldn't be surprised to see my pack gutted like a fish from stem to stern, with a sarcastic note from the TSA apologizing for any damage the pack may have suffered while they were cutting away the mummy-wrap.

     

    Apologies to any TSA people on this board, but I have had very negative experiences with TSA over the years.

  7. I'm going to be flying out to Arizona for a Grand Canyon rim-to-rim in June, and I'm going to use my backpack as my primary piece of luggage. It's too big to carry on, so I will have to check it. So, here's my question: What do I put around the backpack to protect it during the flight? I'm thinking about a duffel large enough to hold it, but I have seen backpacks in heavy plastic bags. Do the airlines provide these bags? Any general suggestions on how to protect my backpack for check-through? Thanks

  8. Grand Canyon Rim-To-Rim. I'm scheduled for Sept. 15.

    I did that a few years ago the last week of Sept. Inner canyon temps were 95+ each day we were there. A little warm, but otherwise a great hike.

     

    Hike was amazing--100° at Bright Angel, but humidity so low, it wasn't particularly noticeable. I am doing it again June 3. This time, I am going for a steak dinner at Phantom Ranch!

     

  9. Oops--forgot that I answered this one last year! Well, here are this year's goals:

     

    Goal #1: Grand Canyon rim-to-rim. I go in Jun 3 with my brother. His first, my second.

     

    Goal #2: Half Dome. This one depends on getting relocated to California, which depends on our house in Chicago getting sold. The Yosemite Association does an overnite hike that gets you on the rock pretty early in the morning, hours before the crowds (and afternoon thunderstorms) arive.

  10. Just happened to notice that they are giving away the Spot for free to members of the Experimental Aircraft Association attending the Oshkosh, WI AirVenture airshow this week. Well, the unit is free. To get the free unit requires (besides being a member of the EAA and attend the airshow) "on-site activation of a $99.99 annual unlimited basic service and $49.99 annual unlimited tracking service prior to use. "

     

    I suspect in the long run this is a better business model for the Spot. Just like with other subscription-based services that require a dedicated electronic device (cell phones, satellite radio, pay TV, etc), give away the device (which probably only costs a few dollars to manufacture in bulk) with the purchase of a minimum level of service.

     

    That's tempting--I'm thinking about driving up to Oshkosh for the show--It would be worth a $40 EAA membership (which also gets a $12 discount on show admission) to get the deal. I'm still hesitant on the Spot, though. I love its notification features, but it still seems to fall short of a 406 mHz PLB for emergencies.

  11. My favorites are plain-sight hides. Some of the ones I like the best:

     

     

    -- A 'this fence erected by' sign that flipped down to reveal the 'logbook'. The sign was from a fence company in Kingman, AZ. The fence was in Chicago. After looking for the cache for an hour, I stopped by the fence to think things over. I noticed the sign and wondered what an Arizona fence company was doing putting up fences in Chicago. It was a classic "Wait a minute!" moment.

     

     

    -- A fake electrical plate high up on a children's play structure. It was out of reach of the kiddies, but within easy reach of an adult. You'd never notice it, unless you were looking very carefully.

     

     

    -- A log on the backside of a 5" x 7" magnetic sheet on the back of a pay phone. Looked exactly like a patch job.

     

     

    What they all had in common was that, if you looked carefully, the cache piece was ever-so-slightly out of place.

  12. The Colo may simply be more accurate in its reporting. I've read in a number of places that the theoretical limit to the accuracy of any consumer GPS is about six meters, even with WAAS. My wife's Vista HCx regularly reports 10 ft accuracy, while my 60 CSx shows 18 ft, and we both end up being about the same distance from the cache.

  13. I had a very difficult time with my first half-dozen caches--I hadn't developed "geo-sense". I think my experience was pretty typical. I'd suggest hooking up with a local geocaching group to do your first few, then take out the grandkids. In fact, for your first few that you plan to do with the grandkids, find them first, before you take the grandkids out, then let them 'find' the caches.

     

     

    Hope that helps!

  14. FWIW, Ms. Imajeep got a Vista HCx in early May with firmware version 2.6 pre-installed. We haven't experienced any of the problems described in this thread. Accuracy is consistently about twenty feet, measured against USGS benchmarks. We do sometimes get a slightly greater inaccuracy against Topo US 2008, or US Nat Parks West, but we are satisfied the inaccuracy is with the maps, not the unit. Accuracy is about the same as my 60 CSx.

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