square_peg

Isn't this the sad truth. I'll never understand people who 'collect' other cacher's trackables.

Indeed. And good on her for passing the love along.

Sure they do. Millions of users use Linux. Eventually some GPS manufacturer will port for Linux. Then Linux users will buy predominantly that manufacturer's product. If Magellan ported for Linux I'd dump my Garmin in a heartbeat. Porting for Linux would protect Garmin's market share.

I used to have a Venture HC and found it to be a very accurate and reliable unit, just as accurate as my Astro 220. But I never let the GPSr tell me which way to go. I prefer to navigate myself by the numbers. If you know how many feet are in a thousandth of a minute of longitude at your latitude then it's pretty easy. Where I'm at in the NW it's about 4 feet for 1/1000 minute but that varies with latitude. Feet/minute of latitude never changes - it's about 6 feet/thousandth of a minute. http://www.hypernews.org/HyperNews/get/trails/SAR/291/1.html

I have a Garmin Astro 220. I just took it online and Garmin has an update for it, v3.0. Is this beneficial? Any known bugs in the update?

Bug collectors should be exterminated! But seriously, it's just so pathetic to keep someone's travel bug. How sad does your life have to be before you can find pleasure in collecting bugs. My favorite bug has been held for the past 1-1/2 years by a cacher in Oregon. He used to at least acknowledge my (always polite) emails. Now he just ignores me and keeps my bug. But that's how it goes. If he needs it that badly then I hope possessing it helps him cope.

There's a cache by this tree on Vashon Island. It's a rather unusual tree. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-op36ea687k/SSi5...eed+Bicycle.jpg

Great pics, Mike. There are so many places that look like that in Washington that I'm not sure where that is. ???

Do you really need a kayak or would some other inflatable suit you better? Sevylor's heaviest duty raft are pretty nice and would carry gear better than a kayak. I use one like this. With a very heavy PVC bottom and a ripstop nylon top it's pretty tough. I ditched the bench seats and added a plywood floor over the factory slat floor. Then I built a seat onto my plywood floor. It's quite durable. I take it down local (Washington state) rivers. I take dogs onboard with no worries of their claws damaging the boat. With the rigid floor I can stand up even in shallow waters and have no worry of abrading the underside of the raft. And I'm a 270 pound man!

Lightweight boots are great for summer hiking but during the cold wet NW winter I like my Schnees. Through mud and snow and shallow creeks you won't even think about your feet or your footwear. Now in my 3rd winter they're practically indistinguishable from new. Of course they're oiled and seam-sealed annually.

Those look nice. I've been wearing my Schnee's insulated pac boots for geocaching. I like the fact that I can wade thru steams up to about 9" deep without concern. But the stock soles are slippery on slimy rocks. When I wear them down I'll probably have them resoled with Vibram soles. Geocaching boots is probably worth a thread of it's own.

Thanks for stepping in on our behalf.

This one is pretty tough. I take the dog on it with no worries about dog claws puncturing it. http://www.amazon.com/Sevylor-Fish-Ranger-...t/dp/B000K8UWXM Here's Gabby & I.

I thought of that but enough pig fat to cover me 1" thick weighs more than a small Bayliner.

It sure is. Thanks. And BTW, I noticed that your bookmark list doesn't include the Blake Island caches. I've been thinking about them again. One of these days.......

I saw a couple critters while caching Saddle Rock 2 weeks ago. Garter snake. Alligator lizard.

I gotta get up there one of these days.

Sorry to break it to you but we won't be around any more by then. I have a calendar right here on my desk which proves that the end of the world comes on precisely December 31st 2009. There are no days beyond that on the calendar. And why would the calendar stop on that date unless it was the end of the world?

I'd suggest sticking with Garmin. Any of the high-sensitivity receiver models will do. I've found that my old Venture HC gives as accurate of placement as my much spendier Astro 220. If you can afford it, get one with micro SD chip. Then you can load topo maps and Northwest Trails Project maps on to it. Such a unit is truly the cat's behind.

Topos are da bomb! And with Northwest Trails loaded over 24K topos you feel like you own the landscape.

Great photo. I've been thinking lately about dragging out the raft. Thanks for the inspiration.

I saw some at TAP Plastics this summer. Lot's of cool stuff there, too.

Clever idea.

I was down there last weekend but sadly hadn't checked for caches before I left. I actually tried the Verizon wireless connection while parked at Tail of Two Forests but had no signal. So close and yet so far.

Navigating the maps has been terribly buggy for me. It's a moderate nuisance and hopefully it will be resolved soon. I appreciate the site and all that the folks at Groundspeak do to keep it up. It's just frustrating at times.