ThatPoshGirl

I just did this today. From your "My Account" page click on "Pocket Queries" and then on that page "Create new query" (those may not be the exact words, but you get the gist. If you want all caches near you, page down to "Postal Code." Click the radial button to select that option and put in your postal code. Then submit it. That's pretty much all you have to do. You can get more selective in your query as you see fit, but just for caches near you that is all you need.

That sucks that this is happening and that some people don't appreciate the time and money you put into those items (I know it isn't really about the money at all). That being said, the accusitory tone in this post seems a little unneccessary to me. If someone were planning on stealing the travel bugs I doubt they would log the grab in the first place. So there really is no reason to doubt the people who have logged them into new caches.

Wow. That is very cool, and very helpful. Thanks.

I'm really interested in doing some EarthCaches. I'm in Nevada and don't have the resources to travel very far, so I want to start with things close to me. I went to the cache list at EarthCache.org and found it to be a little unruly. I couldn't figure out a convenient way to search it. Since the waypoint information links to geocaching.com I thought maybe I could search for EarthCaches there, but so far haven't figured out how. What I ended up doing was downloading the EarthCache spreadsheet and then using Google maps to plot the coords of each cache. That allowed me to see which were closest to me, but it was pretty tedious. Is there a better way to do it?

Is there some sort of maintenence log that you can check before going to a cache? To see if it has been verified to still exist lately?

Yep, I'm in Nevada. I got a GPSr for Christmas (well, I got half a GPSr for Christmas, then I had to come up with the other half ). I've found any caches yet because I'm too much of a wimp to go out in the snow. But I have search on the main page and there are a couple dozen within 10 miles of me. Maybe if the sky clears a little today I will try to find the closest one. I'm not planning on placing any caches. At least not in the near future. But I want to make sure I don't end up in the wrong place on the wrong side of a shotgun when I am out lookng for caches.

Santa, a.k.a. Mom, subsidized the purchase of a DeLorme PN-20 for me. And it's lovely. I ordered it from Amazon ($149.99) on Sunday and it arrived on Tuesday (gotta love Amazon Prime).

I have downloaded public land data onto my DeLorme and I was wondering if anyone can help me with some definitions. Here are a few descriptions descriptions: Purple: Bureau of Land Management Land -- Public Managed Lands Pink: Bureau of Reclamation Land -- Publicly Managed Lands Nothing: Bureau of Land Management Private Land -- Bureau of Land Management Then some of the areas are checkered. I figure Purple and Pink are okay to hike on. But what about the checkered lands? Here is an example of what I mean.

I went to get a new backpack. I'd like to get something stylist and comfortable. I've seen a couple of women's packs that I like the looks of, but I think I may be too tall for women's gear. Is 5'9" too tall? I think the average height of women is a bit shorter than that, so I am wondering women's backpacks are designed for short people?

I have a certificate number for $100 worth of downloads from the Delorme Map Library. I'll sell it down $75 o.b.o. I'll email the number to the buyer after receiving payment through paypal.

Certainly there are plenty of scenarios where things will not be so straight forward. I was just trying to give the basic concept. I figure people can work it out from there.

1. Get a protractor. It should have a hole where the 90 degree line crosses the straight line along the flat edge. If it doesn't you will need to add one. 2. Glue or tape a straw or some other type of tube along the straight edge. 3. Tie a piece of string to the protactor through the hole. If the string is the right thickness you can just pass the string through the hole and then tie a knot in the string to secure it. Tie a weight of some type, i.e. a fishing lure, to the other end of the string. 4. Measure the soles of your boots/shoes. For instance the sole on my hiking boot is exactly 11". 5. Stand at the base of the object you are estimating. Walk away from it and count your paces. How far you walk will depend on how tall the object is, just use your judgement. Multiply the number of paces by how many inches your soles are. So, if I walked 20 paces I would multiply 20x11 and know I am roughly 220 inches from the object. Write it down, d=220 (or whatever). 6. Now hold your protractor (makeshift clinometer) with the flat side up. Look through the straw or tube and sight the top of the object. Without moving your clintometer look at the markings and see where the string crosses (or have a friend do it for you if that is easier). Whatever number that is, subtract 90 from it. You now have an angle of elevation from your eyeline to the top of the object. Write it down, A=30 (orwhatever). 5. Do the math. Our good friend Sohcahtoa tells us that height from your eyeline to the top will be d*tan(A), in the above example 220*tan(30). (You did bring a scientific calculator with you, right?) 7. Almost done. Since this is the height from your eyeline up, you have to add in the height from the ground to your eyeline. Just add you own heigh minus 2 or 3 inches. Done! So, again: d*tan(A)+(h-3) Of course, this is only as accurate as the ground is level. If the terrain is relatively flat you will get a fairly accurate estimate. If the terrain is sloping your estimate could be off quite a bit. You can estimate the angle of the slope of the ground (still using your clinometer), but then it gets a little more complicated. And I really need to be able to draw a picture to explain that one. If you forgot your scientific calculator you could always estimate the function with a taylor polynomial

Well, you talked me into it. Amazon has the Delorme PN-20 for $149.99. Everywhere I have looked it is over $200 unless it is refurbished. Even some of the refurbished units are more than the Amazon one, so I figured it was a good deal and impulse bought it.

I'm curious about the same. Right now I am looking at Garmin eTrex Venture HC ($129.99) and Garmin eTrex Vista ($156.95).