Team Dromomania

Don't forget Puzzle caches. One almost always need a printout to solve puzzle caches while on the run. I used my Palm tugsten E for almost two years - lugging it around in the woods and bouncing it around in the car. I never had a problem from that use. However, the off/on switch was a different story. It needed repaired 3 or 4 times before I gave up on the unit. Even with the switch broke you could turn on the unit by inserting a SD card. But it had to time out to turn off. Needless to say, the battery (which is user unfriendly) ran down quickly. I've purchased the Dell Axim and have never been happier. No more 2 hour conversions - just load the .GPX file and go. The maps are much better than what I could get for the Palm. And "insurance" can be purchased which would cover just about any damage you might do to the unit. Just to make things clear - I use the PDA for more than just geocaching. If that's your only gig, then go with the cheapest unit and just enjoy the sport without worrying about your equipment.

Gas was $3.35/gal today at the "cheap" gas station in town. My commute uses 22 gal of gas a week. My other activities (including caching) adds another 6-8 gal a week. If that was only a $1 increase then that adds up to over $1,500 / yr extra for just gas. It's not causing "strife" but it sure makes me notice the difference.

Keys? Who needs keys! Read the instructions a few lines above the "Snow Mtn. Challenge 2005 Conquerors" caption. GCQZCV

My first 600 caches were found using the little yellow etrex. I used GSAK to organize the caches and to upload them to the etrek. I also used GSAK to load my Microsoft Streets map pushpins of the cache locations. I've "upgraded" and I've loaned out little yellow to another cacher in need. It was a great little starter unit.

Sorry Palm, but you're now working out for me. The on/off switch keeps breaking and I've never found good map software for my Tungsten E. Sunlight drowned out the screen. On the other hand I used GSAK with Plucker and have been very happy with the results of that team of software. I'm ready to try out a Pocket PC unit and ordered the Axim X51v. What software should I be gathering together to make this unit work as a mean geocache machine? Thanks in advance for any hints or help.

A couple of weeks ago I came across my first rattlesnake encounter of this season here. It would have been a FTF. The snake really didn't scare me although it should have. I was just upset that I didn't get a photo.

That's the best news I've heard all day. That's a great idea. I'm going to load up on caulk the next time at Walmart doing a lampost skirt cache and then seal all the lamposts in every parking lot I go to. If every cacher would do one parking lot... I had the same idea. Just a few days ago I bolted down the lampost skirts at a new Wal-mart in South Central KY

AMEN!!!!!!! What I have been doing with my micro logs is folding them in half a couple of times THEN rolling them up. It's a lot faster to open and close the log doing it that way and it takes up no more room.

If you're talking about viewing overhead photos then most of the map programs can do that for you. If you're talking about caching using photo clues, then that's a whole different cow.

I recently went searching for a cache which appeared to be hidden in an Eucalpytus tree with the hint indicating it's hidden within the bark. When I arrived, the tree was there but most of the bark had been peeled off. The other trees in the area still had their bark. Sadly, everything points to the work of cachers.

My equipment hint: My camera, flashlight, GPS, walkie-talkies and everything else electroic that I might carry all take the same size batteries (AA). I only need to purchase one size of rechargable battery and if one item goes dead I can pull the battery from another item.

I got attacked here: Attacked!

I will have to disagree. I've been a electricial troubleshooter for over a quarter of a centry and can tell you that it is very uncommon for any kind of "leakage" to occur in properly installed undamaged lines. A grounding conductor could be broken, not connected or have a poor connection thus creating a hazardous, above-ground potential which creates a shock hazard. If this cacher had a damp hand reaching in and the other hand grabbed hold of a solid ground then the electric flow would have followed a short path through the heart. A standard circuit for a sign is 20 or 30 amps yet only .1 to .2 amps of current thorough the heart will start ventricular fibrillation (i.e. kill you)! So don't become a part of the electrical circuit. The owners need to have an electrician check out the system, else somebody could really get hurt - no climbing required.

Micros as a rule are ok. I've got a few hidden myself and I'm placing 3 new micros along with 3 full size caches this weekend. Geocaching is open to many different ideas and methods of doing things. I mainly place caches to take cachers somewhere to see something which I enjoyed. Most of my hides are easy finds but hopefully they are still out of sight to muggles. Right now there is a trend in this area for mico hides deep in the woods requiring long hikes. And once you arrive at the sites they are very well hidden. On one hand these hikes do take you to some nice places with great vistas. Also, there is usually no problem with muggles so you can search as much as you like without feeling watched. On the other hand I hate to hike a few hours and having to walk away from any cache - especially knowing my next trek may not bring results any different. In fact, I may lose all resolve to return again (unless a new nearby cache is placed).

I have a Tracfone. Cost is less than $100 per year and unused minutes roll over. It is expense if you use it more than a few minutes a week but it's perfect in our case for a low cost phone.

I found a fishing theme cache hidden up in a tree. At the time I wasn't suppose to climb, bend, etc. but I wanted that cache so I DID climb, bend, etc.. Nothing bad happened and I got to log my visit. Later the owner let me know that this cache was designed to grab with the eye on the end of a fishing rod. Duh! I had one with me all the while!

Ladybugs...lots and lots of ladybugs. We came upon these last weekend while heading towards some Snow Mountain caches in Lake County, California.

Not while geocaching but while as a caretaker for a church: I spotted a van a-rocking in the church parking lot one night. As I approached the van to ask the people to leave a guy's head popped up. Then another guy's head. Right away: "yes sir, we're sorry sir", etc.. A church parking lot wouldn't be my first choice for sexual activities.

What? No GFIC? I'm going to have to write you up. That's a nice way of placing an electrical outlet cache. I agree with the others about leaving a hint on the caches web page or marking the cache to let geocachers know it's ok to fool around with it. A few weeks ago a cacher left a DNF log on one of my caches and emailed me about how he tried his best to get the electrical outlet pulled apart but couldn't. I wasn't even aware that an electrical box was nearby. I later looked at the box and believe it to be abandoned which was lucky for the cacher.

I've grabbed some nearby caches while driving the company van but only on breaks, lunch or when off the clock. The company been really good to me so I'm not going to take advantage of them. On the other hand I guess when I grab a quarter from a cache that I'm getting paid.

I also take my hand held ham radio which usually has a better range than a cell phone. I take a lot of string for backup.

One of our local cachers did a great job CITO at a cache site. Even the cops were wondering what he was up to. <G> You can read about it here.

I'm in Lake County California - just a few hours from you. I just did another PQ and came up with a CITO event at this cache: Yosemite VIP/CITO Weekend Campout I'll be heading towards Arkansas that week so that event is out for me - but it does sound fun.

All those links are exactly what I've been looking for. I'm in California and I don't recall ever seeing a CITO event listed in my area. There are some areas that really could use a cleaning. Thanks for the info.

There are a couple of areas around here where I might be able to help with a CITO event but I have no idea where or how to begin one. Is there a FAQ somewhere to help point me in the correct direction? Picking up the small trash is easy and getting some cachers together shouldn't be hard. But how do I handle large items and who do I need to see at the government level (these are public lands). Thanks in advance for any advice.