Jeepergeo

Thanks, I've been doing that as well and have recovered a few for Moun10Bike. I assume you have been to the new forum location and seen the topic there to get others to do that as well, he will move them back when located. Edit: I see you did with two more! It's starting to move now. Doug 7rxc How do you move them back? Report to Admin with request, or is there a way for a member to move something back?

It seems like the best way to find a thread is to go outside to Google and search for it there. I searched for a topic I had started using the forum tools and was not able to find it, but found it via Google in about 15 seconds. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=220772

The search routine and filters don't seem to be working all that well, or maybe they work fine and some old thread have just vanished. It would seem that threads with a substantial number of views should be moved back automatically since the number of views suggests a level of community interest.

I might lose my job , but I made an executive decision to add the Hiking and Backpacking forum back to the Related Topics section and just finished doing so. As for the other changes, they were vetted out for several weeks among active cachers and moderators. Some decisions were made for reasons that may not be apparent to those unaware of a given topic's history, etc. We are aware that you cannot please everyone but strive to make changes that please the majority. Thank you for restoring that forum. It would just be nice to make the process a bit more democratic since we are the consumers of the product. Not sure what the subjective definition of an "active cacher" is - someone with 10K+ finds maybe? Not sure about that. At any rate, thanks again for bringing the forum back and I applaud the good intention. I don't think this is something the Admins really needed to take a vote on. It seems like many if not most users viewed the forum as an important part of the Geocaching Community, and most folks in the Community do geocaching and other things, and the forum became a place to talk about many related things. The reorganization does not seem to have been accomplished with much awareness and/or appreciation of why folks come and many pay to be members. Imagine Starbucks coming in to their stores one day and saying that the only thing customers could talk about are strong coffee and clove cigarettes. My membership just AutoRenewed, so I'm here for another 11 months, but that AutoRenew feature is being turned off because Geocaching dot com is on my watch list of items to cut out of the budget unless they can prove to me that they appreciate the geocaching community (and not just rabid geocachers).

Good point. Garbage bags are like duct tape...many uses in the field.

If your hiking will take you into any sort of wilderness or isolated area, The Ten Essentials should be on your list. The 10E list takes on many forms and can evolve based on location and season. A great starting point is the 10E list prepared by the Boy Scouts. See the link below for a link to another post covering the 10E's. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=266118&view=findpost&p=4608949

For most backpacking field navigation, a simple baseplate compass will provide the accuracy and reliability that you need. The Silva Explorer Pro (see image below) can be had for well under $30 and will probably last a lifetime with reasonable care. I use a Silva baseplate compass that I purchased in the early 1970's, and it still works fine after years of being carried in backpacks and a lot of use in the field. My Silva has been used to teach dozens of Boy Scouts how to navigate with a map and compass, so it has held up well. I wish its needle was alcohol or oil damped, but it's not, but I have never thought it was reason enough to replace the compass. I still have the Silva instruction sheet, which I think is much better than the current one they ship with new compasses.

I hear that if you join the service, they are free.

The Experimental Method, or for some, the Trial and Error Method, can yield amazing information. Why hang the bag? Why not squirt some water into a cup or pot and then wet up and rinse off by dumping the cup or pot over one's head? I'd rid myself of that entire contraption for the following reasons: 1. It would likely blow over in anything more than a breeze. 2. It might "goose" you if you had to bend over to pick up the soap or wash your toes. 3. Someone might mistake it for a Porta-John.

The free site pulls in people and gets them to try it out. That adds new folks every year, and is what has led to people joining and ultimately creating the multitude of caches that are out there. Sure, there will be folks that never pony up and join to further the common good. But who cares about them? The hobby gets by without them now and can continue to do so, probably for the better.

Speed of the water has nothing to do with its purity. Ever hear of fast moving water in a lake? No? Does that mean all lake water is bad to drink?

There are two types of people in this world: one type carries a practical knife while the other type usually tries to borrow a knife . A good knife is an amazing tool in the right hands. Here's a few tasks I've used a knife for over the years: Cut rope; remove splinter; gut fish; sharpen stick; carving for fun; open food packet; open can after tab broke; fix stove; fix boot; cut steak; cut vegetables; cut bandage from a tee shirt; remove battery from GPS; make a fuzz stick; use to prop open a book on a windy day; and more. I'm at a point in life where I can own about any knife that catches my attention. However, my favorites are as follows: Boy Scout Knife by Camillus: Blade, Bottle Opener / Flat Head Screwdriver, Punch, Can opener, and Phillips screwdriver. Camillus went out of business, and that's a shame. But if you find one of these knifes, I'd recommend picking one up. Folding Hunter 110 by Buck: Single blade lockback. My 35 year old Buck was stolen out of my vehcile last year, and I am really bummed about that . I truly hope the person that took my Buck dies a slow, painful death, only after watching his spouse die the same slow death, and extend that to his kids if he was able to spawn any with his ugly wife. Anyway, I've obtained a replacement Buck Folding Hunter 110 of the same vintage, but it's just not the same thing as having my old one. Deer Skinner: I recently made, from a blank of steel, a sheath knife that falls into the category of "Eastern Skinner" or "Deer Skinner." I used the stock removal method to shape the knife (using only hand files), hardened, tempered, and annealed it in my Barbeque, a tub of oil, and then the oven, and added a set of oak slab scales with brass rivets. The sheath was hand made from leather from Tandy Leather. Overall, it's "Americana," but sort of nice to carry knowing I made it. This is the second fix blade knife I've made, and it was much better than the first, so I'm looking forward to making the next one. I did buy a hand crank grinder to help with the next one, so maybe I can get it done in less than 40 hours! My goal has been to use basic tools only, and eventually work my way up to something like a KMG belt grinder, but that's a ways off as I really want to learn the ropes by doing it the old fashioned way.

With the Scouts, we made some CITO bag containers. We used dark green, light green, black, and brown cheap spray paint. We laid down a few splotches of the first color, hit the uncovered spots with the second color, then hit the color contact points with the remaining colors. The things came out pretty good. With the colors we used, we have a good woodland camo. Next, we're going to do an ephemeral stream look, and will use gray, black, and maybe some white for that scheme. Good camo on a large object is like art, but on something small, it was pretty easy.

This list of the "Ten Essentials" is what the Boy Scouts teach. The list is pretty practical for most outdoor situations. Maybe not a battle field, but if most people would carry this stuff when they enter the wilderness and know how it use it, we'd see a decrease in outdoor injuries and deaths. From the Boy Scout Handbook Pocketknife First aid kit Extra clothing Rain gear Water bottle Flashlight Trail food Matches and fire starters Sun protection Map and compass The Ten Essential list can and should be varied depending on the season and location of your adventure.

I use a Kelty Redwing 3100. It's a great pack and has room for everything one should carry when heading into the wilderness. I really like the organizer front pocket: it allows me to hold a pen, permits, wallet, cell phone, GPS, and that sort of junk in an organized manner. The side bottle holders are great for holding a 1 L Nalgene on each side. Low cost? That's a relative question. My Kelty Redwing 3100 is going on maybe 5 years old, so its initial cost amoratized over its life (I'm guessing maybe 8-10 years overall), makes it pretty cheap. If you are hard on packs, go with something from LL Bean. They'll replace it if you are ever not satisfied, and there are no questions asked. You pay a bunch initially, sure, but it pays off. My kids school book bag, about $100 the first time, has been replaced at least 3 times, all for free. The books are murder on packs, so they get really, really hard use. Last resort, Walmart. They sell day packs that will get you by for a few trips. Not a value in my mind, but they are cheap.

Well, I guess this would qualify as a hike. Walk the bike trail along Huntington State Beach. If you start off at Sunset Beach, you can detour across PCH and walk out into the Bolsa Chica salt marsh along the way. Then continue down the bike trail as far as you care to go. Stop for lunch (Recommended: Strips and Cheese at Dwights) at Huntington City Beach, then continue down to the outlet of the Santa Ana River. At that point, turn around and walk back, or get a ride back. Or better yet, have a fire on the beach and watch the sunset.

The old "they'll streatch out with wear" line suggests an inexperienced sales person. Tight boots might eventually streatch a bit, but not after wearing a bunch of holes into the skin of your feet. The key to good fitting boots is to try them on with the socks you will wear, and to make sure the boot is snug enough to keep you feet from sloshing around but not so tight you can't wiggle your toes. Regarding Redwing, I bought a pair of the 825 workboots for work, and they are probably the most uncomfortable boots I have ever owned. http://www.redwingshoes.com/productdetails.aspx?prodid=1043 The 825's cost about 2x the cost of similar looking, big name, foreign made workboots. I had toured the Redwing factory the year before, and was sort of on a buy USA kick, so I bought the things in my local Redwing store. No blisters or anything, but there is just not much in the way of padding or arch support, so my feet hurt before the end of the day. Traction is not the best either. The plus for this sole style is that it does not pick up gravel, so I give that aspect a thumbs up. Overall, the 825's get a thumbs down from me. BTW, I have owned severall pairs of 1155 pull on Redwings. Those wore really well and were pretty comfortable. http://www.redwingshoes.com/productdetails.aspx?prodid=1094 For hiking/backpacking/hunting, I'm on my third pair of Vasque boots. I get maybe 5 years out of each pair. These boots are well padded, have good arch support, and great traction. They are waterproof as advertised. The model I wear has a combined leather/canvas upper, so the boots don't wear as long as an all leather upper, but the combined upper barely needs to be broken in, and that's a plus from my perspective. When my current pair wear out, I'll buy another.

A good and stout hiking pole or staff is really helpful when crossing rapid water. Other than that, perhaps a good book just in case you get tent bound for a bunch of hours. And maybe an empty quart sized Gatorade bottle, also in case you get tent bound for a long while.

Bears can smell food just about anywhere, so dehydrated or not, they are going to smell it, find it, and try to get it. For a 36 mile trip, a Bear Canister is probably the safest, surest way to go, but they are a pain. If there are rocks in the area, you might stuff or hang the food in a crevice, sort of the opposite to hanging in a tree. Again, you are at the mercy of nature hoping you can find the perfect branch or rock to stash your food. So again, a Bear Canister is a "for sure" solution. Plus, it is fun to watch the bears whack those things around. A few years ago I was on a horse trip into the Sierras. The cook just tossed a tarp over the food and then slept on it every night. She had a dog, so that would wake her up before the bears got to the tarp, and she shoo them out of camp. Not something I would attempt, but it worked for her.

Idlehour above Pasadena is pretty nice too. Often, you can have the entire camp to yourself on a weekend. The fire devastated the route in, but Ildehour came through OK.

Momyer Trailhead into the San Gorgonio Wilderness (near Forest Falls). Tons of people use Vivian Creek Trailhead a mile upstream, but few use Momyer. Alger Creek, a few miles up the trail, is beautiful. Do watch for bears. Carry a canister or be prepared to hang your food and smellables.

Filtering removes, it does not kill. Oxidation and UV kill, but do not remove. Thus, filtering followed by oxidation or UV is a great combination, but no doubt is heavier and a bit less convenient than a one step partial process. Remember, getting the "runs" in the backcountry is a bit inconvenient too.

Eagle Scout to Eagle Scout... In my Scouting days, we just dipped a Sierra Cup into the stream. But, those days are gone and caution is needed when you travel recreationally in the wilds. I currently use a MSR Sweetwater System which is based on a ceramic filter and chlorine-based oxidant. The ceramic filter gets the bacteria and cysts, and the oxidant gets at the virus. The system was purchased at REI and is still available. http://www.rei.com/product/671111 I really like the idea of the mixed oxidant systems, like MSR MIOX, and if going really light, that might be fine alone. That said, my preference is still to filter first. So if I run out of Sweetwater oxidant or it expires for my MSR filter, I will continue to use the ceramic filter, and follow up the filtered water with a shot of MIOX. BTW, interestingly, Philmont uses Micropur tablets, and in my opinion, Philmont has done a remarkable job of figuring out what works. While not my personal preference due to the required multi-hour contact time (which many users fail to follow), if its good enough for Philmont, it's probably good enough for most. Micropur http://www.rei.com/product/695229?preferre...D=rei_302262813 BTW, my perspective is based on nearly 30 years in the water quality business, so I do tend to prefer treatment methods that mimic what we use to treat municipal drinking water supplies, and that is usually filtration followed by oxidation (usually via chlorination).

Make that Valley of Fire and not Fire Valley.

I just returned from Fire Valley, Nevada. What a wonderful place. It is hard to believe that a place so beautiful could be located just 55 miles from Las Vegas. The sun was out and the temperature hovered in the mid 70's this fine late March of 2010. Even with such great weather, the humidity must have been under 20%, so I was happy to have 4 1L Nalgenes for the 5 combined miles hiked that day. There were a fair number of stop and see folks along the road, but once we walked out on a trail or into the desert just a half mile or so, we seemed to have the place to ourselves. I'd give this place a 5 star desert rating. http://parks.nv.gov/vf.htm