DelMarNorth

There is an argument to be made for a higher percentage... If you geocache for 2 hours on a week night, and 10 hours per weekend, that's 20 hours a week. I am sure you work 40-60 hours a week, so 20 hours geocaching and 60 hours working = 75% work

I have had nothing but great service from Helen at Landsharkz as well. It's not often you see customer service that really encourages you to come back. I think most of the stores in this area follow the motto of the people at despair "We're not happy till you're not happy"

I see one problem with the lazy, drive up caches just placed because there is 161m of space... It means that a really clever hide from the hill above the parking lot, requiring a decent hike, leading to a fantastic view of the lake can't be placed because it is now 150m from the lamp post as the crow flies. I don't go out to get the numbers, I go out to have a good hike, and see a great view. I find that the south end Walmart parking lot is alot like the north end one...

First the Rockies... now Mars! My quest to find better burgers is getting very expensive! Then again, I'm glad Piggy chose Mars, as opposed to another planet with a much more humorous name... you know the one... because that would just wreck the slogan! TOMTEC I know what you mean TOMTEC, but no worries, Pluto isn't a planet anymore... (that's the one you were hinting at, right? )

I think the topo map of Florida looks just like the regular map of Florida. The first elevation change isn't till after you leave the state... Also, Kootenay Pirates have a couple of Geocoins, if you're looking for pirate related stuff.

I had a fantastic time in Kamloops. A special thanks to the BC Geocaching Association for the Geocaching 101 event cache. It was a perfect way to introduce my friend to Geocaching, and meet some locals at the same time. We did 5 Caches in the days we went out, plus the 3 from the Geocaching 101 day. We didn't do any of the in town "drive up" type caches, just a few up in the hills. I would recommend every one of the caches we did to anyone interested in seeing beautiful views, and doing some reasonable hiking. There are 2 caches in Kenna Cartwright Park that would be good together. We did Duffy's Pub and left Doug Daws Tribute for another visit. Two others that would make for a nice day are Mara Loop and Mara Relief. We did the Mara Relief cache one day, later in the afternoon, so we went back the following day for Mara Loop, and then hiked across country to Carolyn's Tranquille Pools. It was a good hike, with some steep hills. Another cache that was a good long hike, because of our lack of a 4X4 and our willingness to break off the trail and hike across country, was Dew Drop #1. There are several caches in the same area that would go well with this one if you were driving in when there was no snow (or if you can drive on snow/ice covered roads). We also placed a cache. We're just waiting for Mollie's Reach to be approved. Thanks for the suggestions. I hope our experience will help with your trip biggrin.gif

I had a fantastic time in Kamloops. A special thanks to the BC Geocaching Association for the Geocaching 101 event cache. It was a perfect way to introduce my friend to Geocaching, and meet some locals at the same time. We did 5 Caches in the days we went out, plus the 3 from the Geocaching 101 day. We didn't do any of the in town "drive up" type caches, just a few up in the hills. I would recommend every one of the caches we did to anyone interested in seeing beautiful views, and doing some reasonable hiking. There are 2 caches in Kenna Cartwright Park that would be good together. We did Duffy's Pub and left Doug Daws Tribute for another visit. Two others that would make for a nice day are Mara Loop and Mara Relief. We did the Mara Relief cache one day, later in the afternoon, so we went back the following day for Mara Loop, and then hiked across country to Carolyn's Tranquille Pools. It was a good hike, with some steep hills. Another cache that was a good long hike, because of our lack of a 4X4 and our willingness to break off the trail and hike across country, was Dew Drop #1. There are several caches in the same area that would go well with this one if you were driving in when there was no snow (or if you can drive on snow/ice covered roads). We also placed a cache. We're just waiting for Mollie's Reach to be approved. Thanks for the suggestions. I hope our experience will help with your trip

You asked about etiquette... Generally the rule is trade even, or up. So, if you're taking an item, replace it with something at least as nice. It sure sounds like that's what you planned on, and what you expected. Unfortunately, common courtesy isn't all that common... It falls to the cache owner to maintain the cache. Hopefully the people who visit your cache will have the same conscience you do. When I am out, I am there for the fun of finding the cache, but often I have taken kids with me, and it's a real shame when there is not a fun item for the kids to trade. Even the kids understand that they have to share a nice thing if they want to take a nice thing. Too bad some adults don't.

Thanks for the suggestions. Looking forward to some great hikes in the area.

I'll be doing a few caches in the Kamloops area in the beginning of February. I am hoping for some suggestions from local cachers there. I will be certain to post my favourites from the area here for you though.

I am going to be visiting Kamloops for the first time at the end of January. I'm visiting a friend who will be new to geocaching when I get her to her first cache. I was just wondering if I could get a few ideas for caches that would fit well together. I'd love to take a good hike, see some sights, and introduce caching. Hills are not an issue, and there will be a dog along for the hike. Ideally, I'd like to find a few (2 or more) caches on the same hike. Driving between caches becomes problematic if Mollie (the dog) gets muddy or wet. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks.

Hi guys! I was there for the first marathon, but didn't make it through the night. I'd love to come along for this one now. I'd need to find a ride though, my new car isn't cache friendly (cloth seats and all).

I've been away from geocaching for a while, but ready to start back in on the bike. Is anything planned coming up in June/July? I was thinking of hitting the Barrie/Orillia trail this Saturday (June 16). I'd hoped to ride up, and stop for caches on the way back, time permitting. Drop a line here, or email to delmarnorth at gmail dot com

Fantastic design Utsman! Maybe, to make it recognizable to those south of the border, it should be made out of black rubber, about 1" thick, and 3.5" in diameter?

United definitely does not have a long standing rule allowing GPSr units. I was told, in February and in March by different flight crews, that they were not allowed. Best practice here is to ask your flight attendant to ask the captain for you. If you are polite, they will return fairly quickly with an answer. Just don't be too dissapointed if the answer is no.

Northern Penguin, I have been waiting to see first hand, but have not had any time to get out shopping... Can you tell me what the situation is with the Explorist series, and the batteries? Is it an internal battery pack, or replaceable batteries? Or, is it a replaceable battery pack? The reason I ask is that I would hate to be out for a day and have the battery run out before I could get home to recharge. Even worse would be a few days of camping with the battery dead after one day.

I think he was upset about Dogbreath, not you OGA-Admin.

We did a cache in the San Diego area last year, and the hiders had found an existing hollow and covered it with 2 pieces of wood that formed the "X" to mark the spot. If you can find a hollow behind a bush, that is not already a home for a critter, this might work for you.

Well done Res!

Paid for premium membership, and for GSAK. Both are fantastic resources that help me, and my friends to enjoy ourselves, and get out and see the great things the outdoors has to offer. For the price, they are 2 of the best values I can remember.

Congrats!! The numbers are not the most important thing to me, but I still find it interesting to see those that have the higher totals. It just means to me that they have explored more, seen more and had alot of fun doing it.

Canadian Geocoins

I vote for "I use multi-billion dollar military satellites to track down Tupperware in the woods...And what do YOU do?"

As I posted in the other thread, it seems like the new Magellan Explorist series has an internal lithium ion battery. Would mean you couldn't swap batteries easily if you run low. It's not clear as to whether you can replace the batteries on the fly.

Any news on the OGA site, and when it might be back up and running?