gw89020

In hot weather climates like where I live, the Camelbak "thermal control kit" (an insulated cover for the drinking tube) fixes that problem, and the first few sips are much more refreshing.

Nalgene is a name brand for a hard plastic (almost unbreakable) bottle available from many sporting good stores. They are commonly used to hold both water and other foods. However, there is a link between #7 plastics (what Nalgene bottles are made from) and cancer. Canada is considering a ban on all #7 bottles. That said, Nalgene is phasing out use of the chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) - the chemical known to cause caner - from it's bottles over the next several months. For this reason, many people have gone to the aluminum sports bottles (Sigg, Oggi, etc.) which seem to have become fashionable office/gym accessories. Personally, I prefer a Camelbak - they are insulated to keep your beverage of choice cold (or warm).

Wow, that must be heavy! I live in a fairly remote and isolated area (60 miles to the nearest hospital by road), so I always carry a pack when I am out and about in the desert, geocaching or not: First aid kit Sunscreen Hand sanitzer Multi-tool Flashlight Compass Spare batteries Kitchen garbage bags Toilet paper Baby wipes Duct tape Spotting scope Point-and-shoot camera Notebook and pencils Wide-brim hat Windproof lighter Bandanas Snakebite kit (Sawyer extractor) Whistle Parachute cord 100 oz. of water (also carry 2 gal. in vehicle) Power bars (2,000 calories total) In addition, I carry my GPSr, a knife, a firearm, sunglasses, leather gloves, etc. on my person.

I just dropped off two trackables at a cache I chose mainly for its proximity to a major Interstate, in the hopes of helping them move along. But when I went to log the drops, I noticed that three other trackables have gone missing from this cache in the last 6 months or so. My question is - could this indicate that this cache is a trap, and that someone may be snagging attractive geocoins and other objects from it? Or is it not unusual for a TB or geocoin to "disappear" for a few months until it surfaces again somewhere else? I'm wondering whether I should go back and retrieve the trackables I dropped, and place them somewhere that might be safer...

This might be an option - it looks professional and sleek. But it's definitely a small to micro size: Select Access™ Wall Mount Key Storage Security Lock

You can easily cut wooden nickel blanks from a length of dowel rod, using a table saw or miter saw. As far as marking them, you could: - For one-off designs, mark them by hand using sharpie pens or similar. - For small runs of nickels, you can use a rubber stamp, which you can have custom made for only $5 - $10. - For a special signature design that you'd want to produce in large volumes, you can have a custom brass branding head made from your artwork, and use it with a small electric branding iron (easiest) or a small propane torch (kind of tricky to get the temp just right). A branding head will run $100 or so, and an electric iron anywhere from $75 - $150. Or you could just order wooden nickels from a vendor who has this stuff all figured out and can do it faster, better, and cheaper (per nickel) than you can at home

Here's an idea on a cheap caching container - I wish I could say I thought of it. In the last 1 - 2 years, information about the potentially harmful effects of chemicals (namely Bisphenol A) leaching from polycarbonate (hard plastic) water bottles has lead many people to ditch them for alternatives. A friend of mine put up a note in his office offering to buy old Nalgene and other similar water bottles. He snagged 10 of them within a few days, most were just given to him. They're very much water tight and extremely durable.

Anywhere close to an RV dump station. I worked in a state park once and one day a week it was my turn to maintain and monitor the area. There's nothing quite like the smell of human waste that's been stored in a plastic tank at 95 degrees for 10 days.

I know the regs against advertisements, so I'll just say that there is a "Major" army surplus store in Gardena that sells .50 cal ammo cans in a 4-pack for $20 or .30 cal cans at 3 for $12. They are wheeler-dealers so they'd probably cut you a deal on a bulk purchase, but at $4 - 5 ea. in small quantities, buying and storing a pallet of cans might not be worth the trouble. FWIW...

That's awesome - a great idea. It brings back fond memories of this girl in my neighborhood, circa 1976, who wouldn't give me the time of day - but she made me a button once.

You could make one in whatever size you want by taking the GC logo to a sign shop and having it output on vinyl with or without a magnetic back. Or you could really go for it and have it painted on! http://www.geocaching.com/about/logousage.aspx