mtnsteve

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the album. The tent weights less than 30 lb, even with the stove and it sleeps 8. Its made by Kifaru , which is run by Partick Smith, of Mountainsmith fame. They now make much lighter tents, check em out. The sleds we used are made by Kifaru as well. I don't work for the company (he uses some of my pictures on his site), I just like his stuff. It was a tad over 2 miles to camp, the worst part was getting around all the downed trees on the trail. Took us about 4 hours to go the distance. We do the New Years thing every year, up to 32 people have shown up for it. It's open to all....I'll give the coordinates to it later if anyone is interested. Its a party!

Lets try that again.... Photo And I just did this, sorry it's not very sharp, but the wife wants to go out for dinner and I dont have much time Small pouch If those dont work, I'll fix'em after dinner

I have mine in a chest pouch, attached to the shoulder straps of my backpack, by mini biners. They clip into the D-rings on my straps and it sits in the center of my chest. The top of my Platinum sticks out about an inch. I use mine to map backcountry, x-c ski routes and it works well for me. I have a smaller pouch that fits on one shoulder strap of my day pack for day trips, that works the same way. You can see the big backpack version here Sorry no pict's of the small one on the shoulder strap. I believe the small pouch is made by Jansport.

Don't know about the zoom thing....but I found a forum where you folks that are a lot more savvy then me, can help with the GPS integration. http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/worldwind/forums...p?showtopic=271

I just got this from the NASA site... "There is work to convert GPX files into data worldwind to read. This way it will show trails marked in your GPS devices on WW. This should be coming soon. GPS support is probably in the middle of a very long TO-DO list."

Yea, this does take a lot of juice to run I like it because it gives you access to virtually all USGS maps for the USA and you don't need to know the lat and long before you go to a location...just point and zoom. Once they get the Landsat7 site up the zoom feature will work like it should again. I do wish they would make it GPS compatible, I would love to be able to download my waypoints and tracks into it.

This is an accumulation of posts I made at another site, I thought I would share. Warning, the servers are being updated for Landsat 7 so don't expect to get any images there. You can find links to folks that have saved files to share. The program doesn't have any way to input waypoints or anything like that, but it is an amazing piece of work. Submit your ideas how to make it better and perhaps they will add features for GPS use. From Slashdot.... "Nasa has a comprehensive world viewing tool that allows you to zoom from planetary resolution down to where you can pick out individual streets. Really cool, but it needs a good internet connection and a decent graphics card. There's all sorts of interesting features, such as the ability to tilt your view for a flight-sim like experience and a data display feature that shows current natural disasters, political boundaries, weather patterns, and landmarks on the Earth's surface, all while providing a dynamic satellite's eye view of the planet." Man this is cool, it's like having a map program for almost anywhere you can imagine. Full USGS maps for almost anywhere in the USA... along with toys that look like they came from CSI, or NASA...lol You can set it to look for events all over the world, storms, volcano's, fires...you name it, in real time...then zoom in close enough to see individual streets. The LandSat 7 site is down, it seems too many people are trying to access it. This thing is amazing!!!!!!!!!!! Word of caution, it needs lots of horsepower and if you don't have a cable/DSL line or something equivalent, don't even try. Here is the NASA link to the website (not the download). WARNING, it's a rather large download, 250 MB. I'm downloading it now and will give a review after I get to play with it awhile. Recommended Specifications “* Windows 2000, XP Home, or XP Professional * Intel Pentium 3 1 ghz or AMD Athlon or higher * 256 MB of RAM * 3D Graphics Card o nVidia GeForce 2 Ultra o ATI Radeon 7500 o Intel Extreme Graphics 2 * DSL / Cable connection or faster * 2 GB of disk space” http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/worldwind/index.html More info and discussion can be found here http://www.ocukmods.co.uk/showthread.php?s...readid=17293642 This thing ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! Here are some screenshots of it... http://community.webshots.com/album/197926839yOGQVa

I may be mistaken, but I believe that much of the map data that is in Mapsend comes from Tiger maps. They get it for free, thats why they use it. I'm not sure if all their topo data comes from them too, but the street level maps look suspiciously alike. Check it out in your area.. Tiger Maps

Thanks for the reply I read the "whats new" info, but because it had the same v# I didn't connect the dots...duh. It now works fine. Now if I could only keep the info on file with out having the GPS connected..... or am I missing something again Once again, thanks Doug!!

I just reinstalled USAPhotoMap 2.24 after not using it for a year or two and it doesn't seem to recognize my GPS...I have tried ALL the settings, on the program and my GPS, Baud, NEMA, Comm port...you name it.....it says it can't find it. I am using the latest release. All my other map programs can "see" the unit, just not this one. Any ideas?

Chacos I hike and backpack in mine... Arch support, a toe strap (on the Z2's) that holds you in and even Vibram soles. They can also be rebuilt if the need arises. Many consider them the ulitmate outdoor sandal...check'em out Chacos

"I once had my GPSr tell me I was in a totally different galaxy....so I bought a Garmin, and have been within 14 ft ever since! " Being within 14 feet of the correct Galaxy still isn't much to crow about

I'm another MeriPlat owner thats very happy with his choice. I use mine for Geocaching and plotting x-c routes in the mountains. It holds a lock extremely well and shows me exactly where I went, either on skis or bushwhacking through the manzanita. I only recently realized how handy it can be when driving the Forest Service roads and 4X4 roads in the mountains. I got mine through Harmony...great deal at the time.

I've been very happy with my Platinum. My friends also seem happy with their Garmins. Although on one of my last hunts, my partner posted this to one of our finds... "Found this with MtnSteve - good thing too, as my GPS was WAY off......" TrackerGma" She's using a Garmin

Winter is a great time to cache. With a little care in placing them, little or no snow removal is necessary. I have 3 or 4 caches that I placed specifically for winter use. They get most of their hits during the off (no snow) season, but there have been a few hardy souls that have gone for the winter attempt. I do change the rating (up to 5 ) when snow covers the ground though. Their location requires some serious x-c travel, up to 10 miles round trip, depending on how well you know the area. Hoodo, through the rocks....a virtual http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=18862 SkyHook....a micro http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=80303 Come and Get It....a traditional http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=46068

I updated my Platinum with out any problems, although I also had to do the complete compass calibration. Took it out to a couple known caches near the house and all seems well, the compass needle might be "bouncing" around a little more then before while I'm moving, but when I stop, it points exactly to the cache (on Go To). So far so good..... ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

I love my Platinum...does everything I want and then some. I wouldn't hesitate to get another. I have friends with Gamins and they have had no problems with their GPS's...the only guy I knew that had a Lowrance sold his and got a Garmin....to each his own. ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Same thing with my Plat... I too have learned to stop 50'/100' from the cache, put the GPS down and start looking, a couple min's later I will go back to the GPS and usually follow the arrow and distance right to the cache. I am amazed at how accurate it usually is....I'm not speed caching, so the slight time lag doesn't bother me. ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Apparently each area is different. The first request came from Hemlock, who approves and rejects sites for Geocaching.com...I contacted the Rangers at the Weaverville Ranger District and was told it was considered "litter" and it didn't belong there. There is a little more info in this thread ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Steve and Margaret ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Moun10Bike... Thanks for the info, I just posted the find . I will add a picture later. MOCKBA...Your 4 "rules" make sense..I am going to try and continue a dialog with the local Rangers and see if they may try and meet us half way...I wont hold my breath though. ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

I retrieved the cache at Grizzly Lake ....unfortunately for me, she archived the cache before I could post it It was a great cache, too bad they won't allow micro caches in the wilderness...we hauled out so much litter and so many lost items that calling the tiny film can, completely hidden in a crack litter is really an injustice. Perhaps we may be able to open some dialog with some of the more realistic and understanding Rangers about allowing only micro caches in some areas...I know that we improved the area because we went there (hauling out the trash) and that tiny, hidden cache never intruded on anyone wilderness experience. ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Well, almost, kinda sorta ...I'm meeting a couple buds at the trail head, I was going to just hike in for a quick overnighter and then head back home for another trip, but I figure I'll spend an extra day or so going up to the lake now... Been meaning to look for this one since it was placed. "Time spent in the mountains is not deducted from the rest of your life". ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

It's going to take over 3 days to get this cache (if I can find it) and I will have to carry it out (ok, 1 oz) ....perhaps Tracey or Hemlock will buy me lunch ......I'm betting on Tracey. ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

OK, as it stands now, caches are considered litter in the Trinity Alps Wilderness area. I am still talking to the rangers, but I doubt if this is going to change. What is interesting is they have never heard of Geocaching, so there is no official policy on this. I am suppose to hear from a supervisor for further discussion. ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.