PI Joe

I recently returned to geocaching after several years of other doing other things. By brother showed me www.mygeocachingprofile.com and so I tried it out. While looking at the various statistics in my profile I noticed caches that it showed in several different states that I know I've never cached in. Turned out to be old movable caches that had passed thru my area, Central Texas, and then had moved on and finally to be archived in the various other states that I had noticed. I don't think movable caches are allowed any more but there is at least one still active in the Austin area after about 10 years of bouncing around the area with over 2,500 finds logged into it.

3. How accurate do you think you're going to get with a consumer GPSr, anyway. I figure if I can give the next person looking for a marker to within 15-20 feet when the database coordinates were off by over 200 then I've done someone a service. TxHiPowr

I have done the bulk of my geocaching and benchmarking with two Garmin eTrex (Yellow) GPSr's. Before that I had a Magellan GPS2000, but I'd rather not think about those adventures (single channel receiver!). I use one for caching and keep it full of unlocated caches and benchmarks and the other I use when mapping hiking trails and other points of interest to me. TxHiPowr

There is a fair chance that the camera disappears before it is full and retreived. TxHiPowr

Mountaineers call this "summit fever". It sort of relates to the idea that Mallory and/or Irving might have made it to the top of Mt Everest before falling to thier deaths back in 1928. My point is that reaching the goal and dying on the return trip kind of defeats the purpose. Besides, you need to get back to your computer to log online! Lou AKA TxHiPowr

I probably shouldn't toot my own horn but I don't think anyone who has completed my ACS#1: Austin Challenge (GCG4Y1) would offer any other Austin cache as tougher. Lou AKA TxHiPowr

http://www.texasgeocaching.com/ TxHiPowr

I have just placed but not yet listed a long multi-cache with a puzzling finish that ends up at a five-gallon pail from Home Depot. It contains an Olympus OM-2 SLR camera, 55mm lens, and flash unit among other things. I bought this outfit 20 years ago but it has spent the last ten years in the back of one closet or another. I could probably get $100 for the whole deal on eBay but I think I'll have more fun watching people scramble for it this way. Lou AKA TxHiPowr

I have been shamed into action. Today I checked on the long ago placed final stage of my multi-cache and it was in excellent shape. I added a log entry (the other entry was from 11/19/2002 when I placed it) and sealed it back up. Now I just have to place ONE MORE STAGE before I can get this thing listed! TxHiPowr quote:Originally posted by txhipowr:Does this get me in the club? Last fall, just before Thanksgiving, I think, I placed a 5-gallon pail complete with trinkets, FTF prize, and logbook in the woods as the final stage of a multi-stage cache I have been thinking about for a while. It's still out there (I hope!) and I still haven't gotten a round to placing all the rest of the stages yet. I still have one to go and another one that I might move a little before finally posting the cache! Lou AKA TxHiPowr

Does this get me in the club? Last fall, just before Thanksgiving, I think, I placed a 5-gallon pail complete with trinkets, FTF prize, and logbook in the woods as the final stage of a multi-stage cache I have been thinking about for a while. It's still out there (I hope!) and I still haven't gotten a round to placing all the rest of the stages yet. I still have one to go and another one that I might move a little before finally posting the cache! Lou AKA TxHiPowr

US Army Signal Corps, 26 Yankee (Satellite Communications Controller) from 1976 to 1980. Lou Catozzi AKA TxHiPowr

I caught the last half of it. It seems that the border on the stretch they were working on followed a height-of-land. I would guess that that is one of the hardest things to determine accurately. TxHiPowr

There are several surveyors involved. Check over on the Benchmarking sub-forum. TxHiPowr

quote:Originally posted by White Squirrel:If a BM is atop a 100 ft water tank and you find the tank, but cannot climb to the top, do you claim a find? Similarly if the actual benchmark is behind a closed fence, but you can see it, is that a find? Excuse if I seem like a newbie, I am! Usually, the tower IS the benchmark. There isn't a station disk at the top. There are exceptions to this rule, of course. I know of some high precision benchmarks on the roof of a research lab near where I work. Permission for access is not going to happen! TxHiPowr

Soon after geocaching caught on in Austin, TX a long distance multi-cache appeared called the Austin Challenge. It had 4 or 5 legs located in various parkland areas all over town. Total drive distance was about 50 miles and total hike distance was about 2 or 3 miles. That was replaced by Another Austin Challenge which had 7 stages, maybe 35 to 40 miles driving, and maybe 3 to 4 miles hiking. I really enjoyed these caches and I am now working on one to be called The Next Austin Challenge that is modeled after the first two but with higher terrain and difficulty ratings. TxHiPowr

They used to think I was strange when I lined my hat with aluminum foil to keep the government from easedropping on my thoughts! TxHiPowr

The geocaching benchmark search results page lists all the BM's within 10 miles of a given target. What does your results page look like? Has someone tried to visit all of the BM's listed yet? There are several geocachers in my area that look for BM's. My goal is for every BM to be visited by a geocacher and logged - found, not found, whatever. I've finished all the BM's in that 10 mile radius so now I'm working on all the BM's in my county. TxHiPowr

quote:Originally posted by ScottJ:There ought to be a locationless cache for all the strangely named towns in America. French Lick sure qualifies, along with such towns as Intercourse, PA, and Hell, Kentucky. Chevy Chase, Maryland comes to mind, too. The next time someone asks you "Where's Waldo", you can point to a small town near Gainesville, Florida (known as a famous speed trap). And the next time you feel the need for a place that's worth two in the bush, try Bird-In-Hand, PA (just up the road from Zooks Corner and Smoketown). -- Scott Johnson (ScottJ) My favorite is Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. TxHiPowr

I've been to all 5 caches "BeOnTheLookOut" has found in Austin and I do not recall any of the log books having numbered entries - unless you count the big #1 most people seem to like to put there for FTF. TxHipowr

...don't know what I'd do without it! Lou Catozzi AKA TxHiPowr

I use a basic, no-frills Garmin eTrex Yellow GPSr. It does not have the memory to allow you to download or display maps on the GPSr screen but batteries last much longer in it so there is your tradeoff. A metal detector will come in handy if you get interested in benchmark hunting. Many of these benchmarks are 4" round brass disks mounted in various places around the country. Quite a few in my area seem to be lost in weeds and tall grass along side old train tracks. Lou Catozzi AKA TxHiPowr

My father loves to tell of the time he was driving from Boston to Vermont along the interstate and it was snowing and blowing so badly he was just creeping along, following the fog line. He was going so slowly that he didn't notice that he had taken an exit and driven for over a mile on a secondary road until he came to a driveway and a bunch of mailboxs.

The Presidio is an old Army base. It is NOT pristine wilderness. Here is an exerp (sp?) from the news article... The 850,000-square-foot project will eventually house 2,500 workers. It will occupy the former site of the Letterman Army Hospital, which was demolished. Officials with Presidio Trust, which manages most of the 700 buildings on the 490-acre park...

It looks familiar!

Brian, you just about nailed it for me except I'm 44 with 3 kids. Lou AKA TxHiPowr quote:Originally posted by BrianSnat:According to US Census Bureau statistics, the average Geocacher is a married, Caucasian male, 37 years old with 1.5 children and employed in the Information Systems field. Actually I just made those statistics up becuase they sounded good, but I bet I'm not too far off. "Life is a daring adventure, or it is nothing" - Helen Keller