CurmudgeonlyGal

I know Santa left quite a few of the folks in the NW forums with snowshoes this holiday season and there are quite a few folks who have them from seasons prior. I don't yet own my own and have been pondering the acquisition... it goes like this: Primaloft jacket... snowshoes... primaloft jacket... snowshoes. In short: Whatcha got for snowshoes? Would you buy those again or get something Bigger! Better! Uncut!? Has anyone here in the NW adjusted length based on the type of snow we have? michelle

Jeans are a bad idea in winter. Check out the other thread regarding womans hiking pants. Many of the same advice applies to mens pants. I find that for most winter hiking all I need are polypro long underwear beneath a pair of nylon hiking pants. This works for all but the coldest conditions (pretty much anything above 15 degrees). For colder weather I have a pair of thick, wool army pants and my wife wears polar fleece pants with a waterproof shell over them. Brian - Are jeans ever a GOOD idea? I <3 jeans. I wear them every day... and have many, many pairs! Heck, I'll pay $200 for a great pair of jeans. But wear any of them hiking?! Not a chance! (Not even the cheap ones!) michelle

Thanks. I'm scared to ask, but...what is Lifehacker? Someone recently mentioned in the 'software you bought in 07' comments that they purchased this particular piece of software... figured I'd ask. michelle

Do you read/post on Lifehacker? Congrats, btw. michelle

I'm considering going to the dollar store picking up some memo books / ziplock bags and doing some 'random acts cache maintenance' down Centralia/Chehalis way. I'm sure many of the cache owners have more important things to worry about than cache status. I would agree with that (and as an aside, I am totally joking about doing the above... although a little levity around here at the moment is always a good thing - 50mph winds and lots of rain on the slate for tonight/tomorrow...) Most people have temporarily disabled those caches that are still impossible to get to as we wait for things to back off enough to check them out. As mentioned above, water levels are still incredibly high in spots and as the rain keeps falling, it's getting tougher to even speculate when it might possible to do maintenance runs. michelle

We have a number of 'cache issues' here as well (west of Olympia)... Flooding and an absolutely amazing number of trees down. I'm having a hard time resisting writing DNF logs for a cache I pass by a couple of times a day that is still underwater - two weeks post-flooding. "Thought I'd consider getting the cache today, but as there isn't even a boat ramp for this 'lake' I'm not sure how I'll get there... yet." michelle

REI does a pretty good job with their Sahara Convertible Pants.. Plenty of pockets, zip-at-the-ankle (easy on-off over shoes), zip just above the knee... Despite some of the reviews by people who have them, they do NOT have a short rise ... unfortunately. They are at, or just below the belly button. If someone finds or knows of a truly short-rise womans hiking pant with a long inseam (greater than 31") in _small_ sizes... post about it here! I might be happy enough to have something like that I'd be willing to forgo the pockets. michelle

I thought you were more of a , ! kind of a guy, but really, is pretty darn funny. michelle

Jacks Restaurant is no longer. The climbing register has been moved. michelle

Who? ME?? The key is to not stay anywhere too long... you know, maybe a couple of days. michelle

That's a tough call, as you've read. In the thorny southern US states I wore shorts and quite frequently tore my skin to shreds (either via the thorn route, or via scratching the areas exposured to poison ivy!) - but I chose that route b/c it was far easier for me to maintain a tick-free state in shorts than in pants. Seriously though (well, that was serious, but this is moreso), the nylon hiking pants as most have suggested DO hold up pretty well and have the added lightweight, quick to dry benefits. I have REI pants with zip-off legs and Columbia hiking pants, also with zip off legs. They're functional, but not the height of fashion. For a little extra added security against anti-tear, you could also get her a pair of these. They're great and I KNOW some of the folks around here carry things that are more strange than that. michelle

It's only $250 bucks to get a hint there? I'm moving! (Or staying and hiding more caches here!) michelle

Thanks, TL! It was quite a week. Plenty of opportunity to test my cold weather apparel, rain gear, waterproof hiking boots, jetboil (x2) AND camera. michelle

As someone with extreme 'cold' issues (different from "extreme-cold' issues), you can be sure I have a closets and drawers full of 'warm clothing'. For bottoms, I prefer REI's mid-weight MTS bottoms. They're both narrow enough, and long enough that they fit under everything (jeans, hiking pants, whatever) and go clear to my ankles. As someone who finds that most women's pants are too short, I have to appreciate that. As far as the tops go, I always, ALWAYS reach for my Under Armour tops - lightweight in the summer and 'cold gear' in the winter. I have others - smartwool, patagonia, no-brand patagonia-esque items, silk and REI mid-weight goodies. Why the over-priced, over-hyped (Is it? I must admit that as I don't watch t.v. or read much in the way of advertisements & I really have no idea) item over everything else? Well, despite Bogleman's warning, for me, one of the best features of UA is that it IS form-fitting. It's also long enough in the torso (it stays tucked in, always) and sleeves... yes, I have a very hard time finding things to wear that are long enough... in every way! MOST clothing is simply too loose/ too wide/not long enough which doesn't effectively keep my core warm enough. This, in turn causes a lot of problems when I need to be focused on keeping my extremities warm. It is far easier for me to keep my hands/feet/ears/nose warm if my core is stable. UA, for me, does that very thing, and is worth its weight in gold. If I top it with a vest... and whatever else is prudent ... I, too, have smartwool tops and they just don't do the right thing - I prefer them OVER a base-layer, not as the baselayer.... except for the socks. I do wear them every day... well, every day I wear socks. For the OP, though... start with whatever is cheapest (and not cotton) and work your way up from there. You might get lucky! michelle

In the past I collected little micro-things. My favorite odd-piece was the sawed off arm of a doll. michelle

I'm not, nor have I ever been big on the trading aspect of the ga... spor... er... hob... er, activity! I have hidden a couple that have been full of kid-directed goodies and just recently replaced a container for one of those types of caches that had been out for a few years - it's still full of items for the younger set. I tend to lean towards putting out swagless caches containing only the standard log book, a couple of pencils and a sharpener. Maybe some of those monkey head erasers because they crack me up. I guess if you want to find some stuff, if you need that pot o' gold at the end of your hike, or climb or... wherever you go, don't come after my caches. Well, except that one. It's got some stuff. If you have kids. Or you want a can of silly string. michelle

You could just wait and see who loses their privileges first... and then, as long as it isn't you... have a good laugh at the Mr's expense. michelle

Patudles - I've had my camera for a couple of months now and am really enjoying it. I've had another in this line (pre- 2004, an A80, maybe?) with the flip-to-close screen and it really is ideal to keep it from getting scratched as you mentioned. It's also nice if you want to move the camera around and not take photos from straight on - for instance - I have some great shots of the crowds at Bumbershoot where I held the camera over my head and can still use the screen to see exactly what's in the photo. I used it at the girls state swim meet a couple of weekends ago and have some great stop-action shots. Girls leaving the blocks - you can see their hands as they had just released for their race. Most of those were taken with a higher-than-normal ISO (to prevent flash fire and action stoppage in lower-than-ideal lighting conditions) from the stands. The zoom, combined with the size of the photos makes for some great detail. I've also done some fun night-shooting. We had a bonfire with people sitting at the edge in the late evening. I bumped up the ISO, made sure the flash was off, and ended up with some pretty unique photos. Yes, the noise is very visible, but... artistic license and all that. I'm still enamored with the 'face detect' feature and always have to laugh to see just how it decides what face, or how many faces it will realize in some situations. If you have any specific q's, ask away. You could send e as well, if you'd like. michelle

Somehow I missed this! And just had to say... cool.. While I'm sure it's not a recalled version of that camera (excuse me, if you speak to them, Canon says it's not 'recalled', just that there's been a 'service bulletin issued) as you just purchased it, make sure by checking here. Yes, it's a busy, ugly page, but scroll down to the very bottom and there will be two photos and some text that might be worth your while to read. michelle

Nah, come on you guys really can't see the attachment? michelle

BETTER is subjective. I wonder if it's not so much that someone else is "selfish" by putting out so many hides and keeping them available over the long term, but that the small minority would appreciate automatic archival of the old caches so that new caches can be placed so that the supporters could: - find more local caches and amass more finds (without having to expend too much energy or gas to get to areas that have unfound caches for them) or - place the new caches so they could amass more hides (without having to expend too much energy or gas to get to areas that have unexplored places for them to place something thoughtful/thought provoking in a new area) Nah? Bet me? (I'm sure someone already suggested those possibilities in the last couple of pages, but I'm not gonna wade through the arguments to find them.) So, what happens when the supporters of this idea run out of caches to find/places to hide... AGAIN? What if the 'mandatory archival time hasn't expired yet? Imagine the horror! (This question is rhetorical and doesn't require an answer.) Just say no. I won't remove my older caches, or my infrequently visited caches for your selfish benefit and I won't expect anyone else to do that for me either. michelle

Oh, wow. Look, you're still arguing. michelle

Poo! I clicked on it thinking there was another French Peak somewhere in the US (you know, out in your neck of the woods.) Bah! Brutal. michelle

Add one more to the pile. With a comment: Y'gotta be kidding me, right? michelle

They shouldn't. If someone really wants their numbers hidden, there are ways to do it. I'm just gonna go out on a limb and guess that those who want their numbers unavailable to the masses are just too lazy to follow-through... Oh, and because they like the other 'features' that are provided by having their numbers available in the way they are now. michelle