team_goobie

Joined cub scouts 3rd grade and then scouts. Got a few badges but then moved off base (Pop's third TDY in 'Nam). Checked out the troop in the civilian territory we moved to but never made more than a couple meetings before chucking it. Troops can be very different. The one on base (Travis AF Troop 91) was extremely active, we did a ton of camping (Lake Berryessa and other spots in the Solano hills) and summer camp was a blast. EVERYONE had a good compass, we all loved to compete and that led to lots of fun on the trail scrambling to be the one the Scoutmaster chose as trailblazer. Flashlight tag into the wee morning, lots of freezing our butts off when hitting the sack, vienna sausages (nasty) for trail snack, flies, dirt, skinny dipping, climbing rocks, tying knots fit for a Man o'War, man that was a fun troop. Yes, we made lanyards too. That's a given. We also learned to make a hiking staff (the right way), how to carry a pal with a bad ankle sprain, what bushes NOT to go into and why, and a thousand other things kids need to know to enjoy themselves outdoors. I loved that Troop. And I was the perennial 2nd Class scout. No biggie. However, the civvy Trop was (IMHO) overly concerned with rank and I was looked down on/ignored for my lack of it. In fact that's all they ever talked about. Didn't take too long to figure out they weren't for me. I still hiked and camped but on my own terms after that (which strongly resembled the Troop 91 way). Thanks for this thread. It gave me a chance to look back at that time and how enjoyable it all was - and how the heck did I survive it?

Some people like to use them for something completely different - careful now! GC17BVA Groover Duty Too

Ay caramba, there are still people on SL? Woof. I really tried to explore that community last year but almost immediately got turned off by how empty it is, unless you want to buy body mods or explore porn shops- what a strange place! Who goes there? I did to join the Science Friday mob, but missed most of the show just tryin' to sit my butt down on the lawn and get on the same channel with Ira Flatow. Not! There are some really creative communities there- the Flintstones island was EXTREMELY awesome (and empty) - but all in all its EXACTLY anti-geo. Caching there would be the ultimate armchair exercise (oxymoron supplied yes indeedy). MM

You can't take em out. They were there before you and, they'll be back after you're gone. Do what you will, but do no harm. They didn't ask to have a cache planted in their home! Mention the potential hazard in the description and if it's a cache you're hunting, definitely mention nests. There are caches I couldn't approach during early summer because of yellow jacket activity that died down after the brood departed. All part of the hunt. It's not a Clean Room out there!

Second that for iGeocacher. Though a bit high on the $$ for an iPod app, ($14.95), it does a great job at offline caching. If I had an iPhone, the solution would be pretty much all in one- however, I'm not willing to pay the deathstar tax for that. AND I love our Magellan SportTrak and you would have to pry it from my cold dead hands before I'd switch platforms for the hunt. Check it out. Developer's a good dude and although the documentation is pretty gawdawful, it's nothing a user forum couldn't help improve.

fwiw, ipod touch and iphone users - use the "For Online Maps" option on the cache page and select "Google Maps". Maps will open and you can then bookmark the cache right in Maps. Easy peasy. I stumbled on this completely by accident while planning a cache last week on my new touch. Now, if some enterprising soul would write an app to do batch processing of gpx files and push them to maps- golden! (and probably not too far away - there are already apps that do the same for city guides and such).

Caching the other day on my lunch hour, bicycled over to a member only cache located in a neighborhood traffic circle. The circle is xeriscaped very nicely in High Desert fashion - sage, wildflowers and various cacti. I THOUGHT I was being careful, but no.... turned around and ran my right shin straight into the pointy end of a spiny Aloe Vera looking type plant. Did I have first aid with me? NO! (This is an urban- still no excuse!) Did I leave a bloody trail all the way back to work? Yes!

The first cache we placed had five $5 casino chips it it. Funny thing is even tough we're in Reno the chips were from Atlantic City, South Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas - not a Reno casino among them. AFAIK four of them are still in the cache. (GC1BWAZ)