Black Mage

When ever I go caching I can hear this one song in my mind. Prayer from Final Fantasy 7 I also enjoy singing "Drunken Lullabies" by Flogging Molly, I'm not sure why though, I guess it's just catchy.

Here in Utah is a pretty great place for caching, within a 100 mile radius from my house (in northern davis county, along the Wasatch front) there are almost 1500 caches. There is also a lot of diversity. In an hour I can be either be caching deep in the cool mountain forests (if I go east) or I can be in the middle of the hot desert (if I go west).

CITO was actually the inspiration for a project that some class mates and I did a few weeks ago. There is/was a cache not too far from my house called "Steed Pond" (GCH1M6), located, conveniently, at Steed's Pond. This place is a popular hangout for kids and families in the summer, a lot of kids from Holt Elementary next door go there after school too. It is quite beautiful, a little patch of "wilderness" in the middle of the Wasatch Front suburbs. The only problem was that that the place was trashed up the wazoo. Styrofoam worm cups, beer bottles, soda bottles, old shoes, and even condoms littered the pond. Luckily I was in a "Small Group and Interpersonal Communication" class and each group had to do a sercive project. Immediately Steed's Pond came to mind. So a few weeks ago everyone in our group (all 3 of us at this point in the semester) spent 8 hours cleaning the pond to the best of our ability. In the end we filled over 20 full size garbage bags. Though there was no "Cache In" involved that day, it was definently a "Trash Out."

The way I see it, logging is part of the fun, a way to share thoughts on the location and stories, and, in my case, pics. My little brother, on the other hand, has an account, but he says that it is too much trouble. Combine that with the fact that he complains too much on the trail, so I rarely take him caching anymore.

I haven't played Final Fantsy much myself, either. I got the idea for my cards (and my cacher name) from my favorite character from 8-Bit Theater, one of my fave web comics.

I use sig cards that I print-off at home.

Well, here's one idea that I have been thinking of. You find a micro container that allows for a clip of some sort to be attached. Then you go get one of those retractable key thingys that janitors always use. Clip it to the container with a hook of some sort attached at the same point to the container and a length of string or thin rope to dangle down. Then get a length of that strap material often used on back packs and end clips (like those of a dog collar) for that strap. Secure the key ring to the strap with a bolt or something. Put the whole thing up in a tree and clip the strap around to trunk high up enough that the string that dangles down from the container is with in reach, but not so high that the chain of the retractable key ring can't reach down. When a person find the cache, they pull the srting attached to the container and pull it down and use the hook to secure it to a branch. The cache can then be opened, log signed, items traded (if the cache is big enough) and then the person can simply unhook the container from the branch and let the spring in the key ring pull it back up into the branches. I know it sounds a little "scattered," but it is something that I have thought of for some time and I'm sure it would work. When I get around to making one I'll post a pic.

Here's an example from the Utah Association of Geocachers (UTAG) forum. geocache bomb scare

I simply leave business-type cards that I design for myself. I've made a number of variations all of which have my name and different avatars.

Okay, I just submitted my info.

I got a new Garmin Legend for Christmas and was going to hit a few caches to breeak it in, but in the last 24 hours we've gotten about 18 inches of snow (yay! ), and they're predicting more snow through tuesday. So it'll probably be a few days before I can test my GPS, at least until it stops snowing long enough to allow me to get a possitive satellite lock.

My Dad got me and my brothers a new Garmin E-Trex Legend. Now we don't have to borrow our neighboor's GPS anymore. I also got a new Nikon N75 (SLR camera) and a couple of Sigma lenses.

Avatar test #2. With great power comes great opprotunity to abuse that power. -- Black Mage, 8-bit Theater

Avatar test. With great power comes great opprotunity to abuse that power. -- Black Mage, 8-bit Theater