LukeH

I bring it along when I go fly sailplanes and then download the tracklog into my computer. I superpose it over an aerial map with ExpertGPS. It's fun to look at flights this way. Also good to keep my students honest when they fly their patterns. As for battery power: I got an interface cable that connects to all 4 pins on the GPS, and built a box to plug it into that feeds the GPS 3 volts from a 6 or 12 volt, 4000 mA-hr battery pack I have. I don't need it when I go fly, but it's sure handy when I go mtn. biking or hiking so that I don't have to replace the battery all the time.

Yeah me too. Once I did something real cool: You know those panels that come down and cover the windows? They have just enough clearance behind them that I was able to jam my Geko behind it out of sight against the window, and left it there the rest of the flight. Got a neato tracklog out of that. As for transporting it on the plane - I have done so about 7 or 8 times already and never had a problem. I just toss it in my carry on bag with my computer, phone, calculator, and other electronic garbage. They never care.

article about geocaching in feb'04 Scientific American, pp. 92-94. like I said I can't have been the first to post this, so if it's a redundant post, delete!

True, but no pair of combat boots is ever quite as comfortable as the ones broken in during basic training. Maybe it's the drill or the obsessive polishing, but those boots became the most comfortable pair I've ever owned. Definitely! why do you think I like them so much? I did buy another pair but it's nowhere near as good. The old ones need to be re-soled pretty soon, I have just about worn the treads out.

standard issue black leather combat boots. that is all

UTM/MGRS rules. That is all.

Cool. I like those because they seem to be pretty unique. In fact I don't even know what unit they're from, but I remembered seeing them in one of the dozens of 'motivational' airpower video clips we have around here, so I pulled out a frame from one of them. Now this is getting off topic - who would have ever thought that there would be a discussion comparing rogue cache emblems to USAF fighter tail art!!! Have a good one everybody

Interesting resemblance:

Out of the few caches that I have done, the 'middle of nowhere' type have been the most enjoyable and rewarding for me, because they make for a whole day or afternoon of adventure. Of course everyone has his own preference. Personally I am going to hit the rest of the remote caches in this area next, rather than the 100 feet from the road ones, even though it will result in a lower found stat. I'll get only 1 or 2 caches per excursion, but man will it be fun. To me, driving around getting all the easy caches seems to be just a way to get a quick fix to get your numbers up. I did it one night and it seemed kind of lame. Quality over quantity for me. The only 1 cache I have placed takes at least an hour hiking each way (typically more), and is all about the hike and the very unique view from the cache location. The cache itself is more of a novelty, and I didn't even hide it very well just for that reason. The real fun is in getting to it, and then coming back. When you get to a cache like this, you realize you are only halfway done, because now you have to get back safely! I would also think: yes, remote caches are hard to get to for maintenance, but I would imagine that they would need less maintenance to begin with. They should be much less likely to be plundered or muggled than your urban park cache. They might also contain better swag because only people who are serious about getting such a cache would go for one. Go for it - I love middle of nowhere caches, and think it's more in line with the theme of the game (I think an urban park cache can often be more appropriately made into a letterbox, given address and clues). But I am almost a newbie and that's just my opinion.

I can't wait to get #10!!!!

I always have a compass with me; the only times I have ventured up into the mountains without one was during the time between losing my old one and buying a new one. The compass is one of the best tools you can have. That's all I had when I did evasion training - no fancy GPS fun. One thing I find a compass is particularly useful for is counteracting the effects of human assumptions and dead reckoning. Just like always trusting your instruments in the airplane rather than your senses, the compass will always be right (unless you're standing in a metal box, in which case sorry, you're screwed). Example: There is a mountain about a half mile to the west of here, which is a very popular hike. To ascend it you must follow a valley north of it until you get to the pass and can start climbing to the peak. What most people don't notice, no doubt due to the depth of the valley and the amount of tree cover, is that while the path starts out going west, it gradually curves behind the mountain and goes southwest for a while, then ends up coming back to the east again. Most people assume that the trail is straight and goes only west, and thus are a bit disoriented when they get to the top and can get their bearings by looking for landmarks.

I heard that when Congress re-convenes in January 2004, one of the first votes on the agenda will be whether to have selective availability turned back on.

While waiting for the GPS to come, use the search to find a nearby easy cache, like an easy (1/1 rating) one in a park, and try to find it without GPS. My first ever cache was 4/4 without using GPS so it's definitely possible. As for your selection, I have never used that model (all I have used are Garmin 12 and Geko 201) but realistically, just about any GPS will work great for this game.

What are all you people wasting your money for buying mounts and junk like that, haven't any of you ever heard of duck tape?

infiltration is a great site too, if you're interested in this unique hobby. It's mostly Canadian though it has a large US client base, as well as some Europeans. My favorite thing about it is the large number of interesting articles and tutorials that it has on the subject. Another interesting one is subciety although I don't think they will give you any information about where to explore. Check them out though, because there are some great pictures and stories.

Alternatively, you can pull out yer compass, set the heading, and begin walking.

- 1 pair good Boots - 1 set Clothing - 1 gps - 5 packs spare batteries - 1 cell phone - 2 maps - 1 compass - 1 combination knife and multi-purpose tool - 1 hat - 1 .45 automatic - 2 pairs nomex gloves - 2 boxes ammunition - 200 feet rope - 4 days concentrated emergency rations - 1 machete - 1 chainsaw, if the machete isn't sufficient - 3 gallons extra gas for the chainsaw - 3 handheld land mobile radios - 1 drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills. - 1 laser range finder - 2 towels - 6 packs m&ms or skittles, as trail mix - 1 miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible - 100 dollars in rubles - 1 compound bow - 1 quiver of 40 arrows - 100 dollars in gold - 1 water bottle, or camelback (or both) - 9 packs of chewing gum - 1 blood chit - 8 ounces ground coffee - carabiners: 20 aluminum, 10 steel - 1 propane lamp - 4 extra thorium mantles for lamp - 2 pounds extra propane - 1 pair snowshoes - 10 packs waterproof matches - 200 feet of 550# parachute cord - 1 signal mirror - 1 issue of prophylactics - 3 combination smoke grenade/signal flares, and pack of gyro jets - 3 flashbangs - 3 lipsticks - 1 bottle SPF 50 sunscreen - 1 emergency eye patch - 1 gas mask and 4 extra filters - 2 grease pencils - 1 stapler - 3 pairs of nylon stockings - 1 set of car keys - 1 sun dial in case my watch breaks - 1 waterproof notebook - 1 sewing kit and extra buttons - 1 knife sharpener - 1 set sunglasses - 1 whistle - 1 magnifying glass - 1 scientific calculator - 2 plastic bags - 1 slingshot - 50 ball bearings for slingshot ammo - 1 headlamp - 1 tent - 1 field cooking set - 1 shortwave radio - 1 portable TV - 20 cough drops - 1 parka - and 1 safety pin.

cool it works now man this has become a spam thread.

the only one I have ever placed, I submitted the info and then went right out the door to plant the cache. I had been there before so I had the coords. When I got back the cache was approved.

I haven't found all too many, but I have felt different ways about each one I found. The very first one I looked for was a 4/4 deep in the wooded mountains and I didn't have a GPS yet, so I had to do it the old school way with map and compass. Now on a 1:25000 map this will only give you about a 100 meter radius of accuracy, so I spent quite some time searching and right when I was about to give up I found it - it was a feeling like "HA! I'm THAT GOOD!" Of course, I ended up feeling a lot worse about myself when later on I had to stumble back down the mountain in the dark. But that's part of the fun. The other caches I have found, I pretty much walked straight into them with my GPS, so the feeling was mostly just "whoa!... cool." I don't think I will ever get too excited about them unless they are in some remote place and it takes the better part of a day to hike to them.

I can't get mine to work. In the 'edit your profile' page where it allows you to upload images, I have uploaded 1 pic for the profile page and 1 small pic to be my avatar. But in the little drop-down selection things, it only shows the first picture I uploaded, so I can't get my avatar to be a different pic than my profile pic.

When someone gets to 10,000 posts it should say "I have no life" "lurker" is another good one for someone with <5 posts

Winter solstice. Summer and winter have solstices (around 21-22 June/Dec) when the day is the longest or shortest, respectively. Equinox is in March/September, when the day and night are exactly equal. Yes I am nitpicking but that's me. I'd do the same if someone said the USAF flies F-14s.

I generally prefer to use a flamethrower, which flushes out any vermin from the hole. Ammo box caches are unaffected by this, but the tupperware ones don't seem to hold up too well when I do this. I don't know why.

I'm always alone. I hike and mountain-bike alone by principle, simply because most of my excursions either on foot or on bike last 5 hours or more, sometimes up to 8 or 10 hours, and I am going at a rapid pace the whole time. Love that cardio fitness, but not many of my friends are too keen on spending half the day out there doing that kind of stuff. As a result I know the woods and mountains behind my school better than the back of my hand, and better than just about anyone else except maybe some forest rangers. It has gotten to the point where I routinely venture several miles out without map, compass, or anything except some water. Now the safety aspect is a different issue. If you twist an ankle, or bail while riding your bike, or get hypothermia now that it's getting colder, or get attacked by a bear or mountain lion... being alone is no fun at all.