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Company? More like a meal if it's a day or two between finds. SHHH! That's what the toddler is for... Seriously, little kids do like it... sometimes. They certainly can out manoeuvre me when it comes to bending over. Doug

As it relates to this topic in general... I was impressed with the proactive stance taken by the British Columbia Geocaching Association. In light of the large areas covered by the Winter Olympic Venues, they are 'encouraging' CO's to disable and remove temporarily anything bigger than a micro. As well as working with the Security People to protect visitors and cachers... On the 'front' page. British Columbia Geocaching Association Doug

I tend to side with the let the people seek further afield crowd... I grew up it Toronto where parks policy was to 'please walk ON the grass' right up to 95 and probably still is that way. Not everywhere of course, some areas were environmentally sensitive and were protected as such. One way you could control sensitive areas while still having caches there that meet your guidelines would be to have the Parks people get 'someone' to place their own caches... seek out other experienced cachers to create them but ownership would be with the Parks department. In non sensitive areas place away. The density guidelines would keep others out in a friendly way... no problem with maintaining either, at least not many. As for cache events to introduce local cachers to the parks and parks staff... can you say CITO... get some volunteer time as well for a good cause. Time to cache as well. Doug

Probably, although I'll let the other chap answer... it is MOLLE compatable, which means you can modify it on the fly what ever way you want to except for the root components... add subtract, move. Doug

Back again.. Should point out that THIS carabiner is NOT a climbing quality one... This is a 3" swag type utility device... of unknown strength... it is a better example than most I've seen, which is why I use it. Don't expect much other than to attach things with it. Despite the GC.com markings... It was my first swag item I ever traded for... yep carabiner for carabiner... this one has a cacher name on the other side... hidden for their anonymity.. actually so they don't claim it back! This is a useful way to sling hiking poles when not in use, and you don't have a pack or room on your pack or simply want a brief hands free moment... How it attaches (really hard that is) You can use a larks head or clove hitch at the baskets one or two poles. This is the unslung parts photo... use any loop knots, figure 8, overhand etc. (these are bowlines with a yosemite backup). In necklace mode I put a loop at the midpoint to make it a bit safer when connected there. Like I said, simple. Doug

Hi there... At least you are open to learn... and ask questions. both important... I live out here on the edge of things in BC, BUT I was born and raised in Toronto, ON... that's a real wilderness experience for sure. I'll see if I can get a pic of my sling as it exists for you... but it was only an option. There are always ways to deal with situations... the old 'more ways to skin a cat' adage. My point is that you can do your research, find what appeals to you and... You will still find ways to adapt it (actually fine tune) it to you. I too like those various Mountainsmith packs... but I tend to either restore other peoples cast offs or design and build my own items. I did that for a living long ago, and may again someday soon, since my retirement has been interupted by the economic downturn... I used to do warranty stuff for a Canadian distributor/whatever who shall remain nameless for now... Got to see lots of items that failed for various reasons... and worked out repairs and design fixes for them. Just not active in that other than for myself anymore... But I do offer opinons on customizing... Like I said you can always add, move etc to something you get... but my advice is THINK about it first... start with temporary changes until you get what you like, then make it more permanent... lately I'm about making everything non-permanent... take a look at MOLLE systems.. Big on adaptability. Doug

I don't have a problem with your concept at all, but I think I agree the wording was a bit unclear... thanks for your supporting posts... As for your BOTW example... do you think that the 'digging around' mentioned in the description might be part of the reason??... just asking! Personally, I do whatever I can to 'help' caches in trouble. Like the idea of lists of caches to check up on, even with the expectation that they are NOT there... I've 'recovered' a few, fixed up a few, and generally had fun checking up on them just to update things... my niche I guess. It does cut into finding time though. But that is MY version of Geocaching... FWIW. Doug

There are also a bunch out there that take the view, it's the finders duty/right to rehide their way... I found it now it's my turn to hide it... In fact that is the way SOME games of hide and seek are played. Just not this one. The 'treasure' hunt image doesn't help either, witness the finders keepers image when it comes to trackable items, or even whole cache containers being taken and kept. I watch a couple of catches for owners who don't live locally, and those get re-invented on a regular basis. One gets taken on a regular basis... not since it was re-invented with the owners permission, touch wood! One was rehidden to a point where it took me hours just to catch a glimpse of it in its new hide. Another hour or so to figure out how to reach it.. not really hard to grab though... and that was a low rated cache. Not what the owner intended... but it's been doing it's thing fine since then. I'd say that IF you think the hide has been changed for any reason by you or others, the best route is to protect it from muggling, and let the owner know what/how/where, why you did it... and offer to restore their wishes if possible, or at least they know to check it out... but no way should it be significantly increased in difficulty over what they rated it... Doug

I don't really worry about it. It isn't that hard to construct something that will hold your poles and then attach that to your pack of choice... either permanently or temporarily. Most packs have attachment points already for accessory pockets and the like. Or you can have someone stitch something on. My normal practice is some sort of strap about 3 to 4 feet long (depending on your size of course). As long as it has a loop at one end to attach a small carabiner or other snap link and a loop at the other end that can make a lark's head to slip over the basket end. The whole thing clips to the wrist strap at the one end and the lark's head slips over the basket and holds the shaft between the basket and adjuster when collapsed. Whole thing gets slung overshoulder like a bow or rifle. Works for one or two poles, and you don't need to have your pack with you at all if you choose. Right now I'm using about 9 to 10 feet of 6mm climbing accessory cord, with two figure 8 loops to make one end, they clip the carabiner to each other and the wrist strap in use. The other end is for the baskets. When NOT in use for carrying, the carabiner joins the rope loop into a sling that can be worn overshoulder or around the neck INSIDE my outer clothing ( I don't relish hanging myself accidentally). I also keep various items attached to the clip, (whistle etc.) slung or not. This could be made from small web or other cordage. I do like the idea of multi useage components and the web/cord can be available for other things IF needed. Just a thought. Doug

Couple of things... fizzycalc was right about declination, especially if you live in an area of fairly high declination... or have an anomaly nearby. Another is that you have to carefully watch the map datum for the map you use. Still a lot of topos in NAD27... Geocaching uses WGS84 for it's coordinates. How much this changes things is dependent on where you are... up here the difference between older maps and GPS is about 200 metres NS and 10 EW so if you don't get things converted properly you can be off quite a bit. Third point re the dog... make sure you name it GPS, then you can honestly say you hunt with a GPS.. Personally, I have an older GPS and use an orienteering type mirror/baseplate compass for closing in on the target since the receiver is a bit weak under trees etc. Still find them though, and seldom have EPE of less than 10 metres, often worse. Have fun, welcome to our obsession. Doug

Over in the Elk River Valley, just about into Alberta, but still in BC. Doug

I only see that IF they were using the maps, they probably would have been making conscious choices about the route taken... not simpy following orders. That route has almost always ended badly. There is of course the very real possibility that they would have done the exact same thing anyway, but might have exercised discretion at an earlier point when the weather / road conditions degraded. Over in that puzzle thread the comment was made that people have a real problem with backing away from a course of action and starting over with fresh thoughts... That can be a hard lesson to learn in many forms. One thing that doesn't get mentioned here, but did in the news blurbs... the way the relative thought to use an identical GPS unit to attempt to duplicate the routing they might have received... I've already added that to my procedures book... It is basically a fundamental to attempt to look for someone along the route they might provide in a trip plan. The NEW twist is to get them to say what they are using to determine that.. we ask for communication and navigation equipment be mentioned, avalanche beacons and such, even down to make, model and frequencies as appropriate... but to use and identical unit could be paramount in this type of situation, given the varied map sources and ways of interpreting them by the GPSrs. I still feel that the really important item is a GOOD TRIP PLAN, left with a reliable 3rd party! That and the willingness to stick to it and to remember to cancel it when done or abandoned. Don't need any pointless searching out there... have enough to do without false alarms. Doug

Ice cover is notoriously fickle! Lakes tend to be a bit easier to predict / measure, but rivers are much less reliable. Having the required skill set to make a good guesstimate would probably require a 5 rating... Having skill set to self rescue, the same. I'm not saying you can't cross ice, but you should be aware of the nature of doing so... I see that that was mentioned early on (dangerous). Anyway good luck on hiding and finding it! But be aware and prepared. I have fond memories of one ski trip when I just started XC.. on that one at one point nearing the shore of a lake we were using as part of the route, I became aware that the ski poles were going through to open water, inches from the stuff my skiis were supporting me on... just a big mass of slush! And that was at -20C in the middle of a prolonged cold snap! Didn't know there was a spring there under the 'ice'. I had to warn the guy behind me to stop using his poles... lucky we were the last ones... he did manage to get to shore, but walked on the lake bottom the last few metres... Oh yes, the ice had measured over 20 inches not to far from there where we chatted with an ice fisherman... HE knew better than to go the way WE went... Learned a lot from that trip. We both had a long chat with the trip leader after. Now I only go where I feel comfortable. Doug

Thanks to you as well! I definitely believe that the teacher should learn as much from the student. It may not be on the topic of discussion, but you can always learn somthing from it. Such as how a student perceives the lesson, then you can adapt. I often change my opinions WHEN I find something that warrants change. Old ways worked then and can still work today, as long as you remember that there can be better ways developed since. Sounds like you have a lensatic there... Like any compass you get the quality you pay for... I have a few. Most are el cheapos... one came out of the box with a disc that would not move... had to rebuild it. A good mil spec one works really well. I used to have a Brunton Field transit... that was great for mapping, but really overkill for nav. One thing I do like to do is figure way to make cheaper things better, with diving gear it was called customizing... lots of gear on the market came from home fudged-up ideas. Anyone else remember when a bouyancy compensator was two jugs on a cord under the stomach? I digress... As to factoids, I like useful/practical ones... I have to consider that one, I agree with you and TAR about examining the conditions... It sounds about right for most small craft, but it has been way to long since I was on the water, I still say that (slightly adjusted to this example) that you don't want to try that on a foggy night. As a sailors factoid, I'd say that the majority of old timers were 'on deck' so Height wouldn't be a great factor... on the other hand the crowsnest and rigging crew would have had a slightly different version I'm sure.. I have a couple, one similar about using observations of the shoreline. At different distances from shore, you can discern different features of buildings... windows, doors change details the closer you get... windows gain window panes for example when in the hundreds of metres. Houses get windows around a mile (don't quote that), people get faces when really close, disappear completely at longer distances... Very practical when you are in practice. My real favourite is the one that advises extreme caution when you can see the seagulls KNEES when not flying. I think everyone knows Murphy's law... but everyone should know O'tooles Theorem... Murphy is a @$%^&&! OPTIMIST !! Got to do some more reading.. Doug

Incorrect coordinates aside... Many people take a while to realize that many of the 'fancier' cache types use a set of DUMMY COORDINATES for the cache to start... They may or may not indicate a starting point, parking or other useful information for the hunt, but do not indicate the location of the cache. Puzzles, Offsets, Multis do this... I am in the throws of starting to process a crop of not so local ''mystery" caches for finding next Spring. Almost all I've selected are at different coordinates... OK. Some are just remnants of various ALR caches, and some the coordinates are good but are really sneaky/hard to find. That's exactly why I'm doing the research now. To have lists of possibles at hand then. Occasionaly I come across 'errors', and have no problems sending a note to the owner with my concerns, observations and suggestions, but seldom complaints. Some answer, some don't. IF nothing happens I can post a note on the logs with the same thing to alert others... but not spoilers. IF I can I will try the cache to try and validate it. But that can lead to 'help' overload... Too much time looking out for other peoples caches... I only do it now as a courtesy for those that answer my queries. Sometimes it's more fun than caching, but I'd rather cache and help out. Best error to date... transposed digits took one cache from Alberta to Pacific Ocean off of Baja. Never did get response on that note... or check to see if it got fixed. Obvious though, the cache was fine, the error was parking location. Certainly had lots of space available, if very WET. Doug

Considering that... just trying to decide whether you take them stem vertical flowerdown root up, stem horizontal flower root random directions, or the practical and commonly used stem vertical flower up root down. Once consensus is reached, will reconsider request... Doug

What he means is that it will be fixed, er working in 10 hours. Question should be WHICH ten hours?? Their choice? Why not do the usual thing... system in UTC and the user selects their OWN time zone... so their own displays are always correct... that could be in the cookies or registration data... Doug

Hilarious. At least they didn't admit to being on a caching trip... glad they weren't actually. Good reason for the skills required to be taught, and the important bit about filing trip plans with a reliable person... Doug

You're welcome! I was going to take those at some point for a nav course I'm rewriting... Like to get it onto Powerpoint eventually, since I get tired of overhead projectors (old style). As you are finding, there is more to compasses than first meets the eye. You will soon find that you can use the mirror type to sight easier, but don't worry about that right now. My first Silva was similar in design to yours, no cover, no mirror and not even a declination scale... some of that is confusing to beginners... but really is useful in many ways you probably wouldn't think of. And that is just the compass. Wait until you get it figured out before getting something fancier. I just got that Type 26 in 2007, and a Suunto MC-2 a short while after that... I got that little Silva for and used since (till 2007) my eighth birthday.. same time I joined Cub Scouts. Shows there really wasn't a pressing need until I couldn't see thru the scratches to read it any more, at least easily! fishgeek said a bit about the bush thinking required... the unmissable feature ( catching feature) is a good idea... something you can't miss... you can also use similar features that parallel you route... (handrails) to lighten up the navigating over long distances... ie. follow the railroad UNTIL... you reach some obvious point to make a change/recalculate... thats the stuff of orienteering and other forms of serious bush nav. Look for the tricks of the trade like aiming off, how to detour, and picking objects to help bypass obstacles. There is lots of that in many websites and books. Or find a knowledgable person (better yet several) and pick their brains... nobody knows every aspect of everything, so keep your brain engaged, also don't fall for the trap of practising errors... make sure you do it right.. that means trying things and getting the results checked.. caching can help with that... but try it in the open til you get it right. Speed comes with experience. Edscott makes a good point on that... but it's the field sense (experience) that really helps... those long distance sea navigators use the knowledge that in many cases the destination island creates early afternoon cumulus and cu nimbus clouds as they warm up... 1 island one cloud... so arrive near by and wait, follow the cloud the rest of the way... gee a handrail or catching feature. Just don't arrive on a cloudy day!. Got to run... something provoked me to start reworking a nav course. Doug, Happy New Year!

I don't care what they say, I'm blaming every single DNF from now on aging satellites On a side note, blaming something high above for your misfortunes is a long cherished tradition. I'd be hoping they don't arrange a demo to convince you how accurate they are... those GPS guided bombs they use come in small sizes too! Be careful who you blame... The implied alternate, EVEN MORE SO! Doug Happy New Year!

See what banging your head on large heavy ammo can will do! After 5 minutes of that (plus NYEve hangover)... we have... " It was the Multi that never ends, and it goes on and on my friends... Some people started Seeking it, not knowing what it was And they keep on Seeking it forever just because It was the Multi that never ends... and it goes on and on my friends... " Got to fight the impulse to go and place a 'circular reference' multi... Yeah that would work... easy to enter the ring, but you have to solve a tough puzzle to escape and find the cache... hmmmm Happy New Year everyone! Doug

I was trying to protect them and myself, figuring IF I didn't provide ALL the words they couldn't manage to actually start singin it! But it works! Of course now I'm doing it... only with a playlist that includes FAP, Clementine, and most every kids song I've ever heard... OH no! aRRRRRGGH! Happy New Year! Got to go find a 50 cal ammo box to bang my head on! Doug

Even more fun to talk with them... lots of Hams do. I used to run the sat station over at the Science Centre in Vernon... One week we actually had two Russian cosmonauts with us chatting to people up there. Right now I don't have sat station to set up, or money, but some of the new amateur satellites can be worked with hand held radios and a small antenna. Doug

Hi Again... I think you will find that ALL the stuff turns with that nice red ring... that's how that compass style works. You set the bearing you want and visually use the little scale to adjust for declination... it isn't adjustable on a fixed basis... I could be wrong, as I don't have that model, but I doubt it from the picture. I do have one of the type 26... also has a declination scale... I'm putting a few pics here to show what I was prattling about... It is much easier to do than explain... This is also lots cheaper than a dec adjustable and I think more practical in several situations... I prefer when you can do it on the bottom since it keeps it more sheltered from weather (rain etc.). but that means you have to be able to reach the turning part through the bottom plate... mine does, yours may not... topsid works fine though... just keep the area between the tape edge and the N arrow unobscured IF your local convergence angle requires being able to shift that way for grid work... that angle is never more than about 2.5 degrees +- area... but it is constant for each location... just different.. Like I said email thru my profile... don't want to run a course here.. There is also the matter of HOW to use it... better there! BTW the slip sticks are just creative hold downs for the contrast paper... ha. Sort of on topic.. yours! Remember to align the needle to the radial edge of the tape for declination correction (TN at the N mark) Use the point right on the edge. Don't worry about the normal alignment arrow much. Should also point out, that those tick marks on the bearing and declination scales are 2 degrees not 1. Living out west, yours should look like this one of mine which is set at 16 East. I have an older GPSr and often require compass work to get me right to ground zero, never yet missed if it was there in the first place, although sometimes it does take a few tries... I'll let you talk me through this dadgum RC I just dug out of storage... I get close and understand the requirements, but can't remember the patterns long enough... that is OT. Doug

Of course it matters just what your definition of paracord is... I see some awful stuff that is listed as paracord, but isn't... seems to have become a generic for 1/8 inch accessory stuff from camping shops. Of course REAL 550 would be Type III suspension line, and would be available through any parachute rigging shop or supplier... I don't know the market there... My source retired not long after I did... but you can usually order as much as you want from ParaGear and other suppliers. New chutes use a lot of different materials since I was rigging... there are lots of good cordage from other sources as well... depending on what you wish to do with it... There was a posting on another forum G topics I think about someone selling 'survival straps' made of Type III in colours plus other products... but those were very pricy for less than 24 feet of cord. edit: www.survivalstraps.com Doug