Kiamichi Muskrat

I'm exploring the possibility of wearing trail runners for hiking. ABSOLUTELY. Tired of having my heels rubbed to hamburger after slogging along with concrete blocks on my feet, I permanently abandoned hiking BOOTS and got some hiking SHOES: the $50 Columbia Boorad. Cool looking, fast-drying, hard-toed, very comfortable and good grip. I'm never looking back.

Pic?

Looks like an awesome cache. Wish I would've found it.

Atop Black Mesa, highest point in Oklahoma. So remote, you'll never see another human. Fossilized dino tracks nearby...I could go on and on...

I recently got a Katahdyn Hiker after (stupidly) running out of water on a 12-mile mountain hike. The next time I went out, I used it to refill four Nalgenes (two for my partner) in about five minutes. The water was crystal clear and delicious. Of course, if you ever anticipate having taste issues, I recommend taking a baggie of Gatorade powder with you. Mmmmm mmmm.

I found one major problem that I have when I wear a hydration pack: I don't drink nearly as much as from a Nalgene. Something about sucking water from a hose is just annoying. I find that I'm taking a few sips here and there, but when I'm using a Nalgene, I'm taking (needed) gulps. Just a personal preference issue.

I bought my wife a Sherpani women's pack. She loves it. The straps curve out around the breasts and the hip belts are fitted for a woman's hips. It is ultra comfortable and very feminine looking too, while being functional.

This thread rocks. A few months ago, myself and a seasoned friend (we've been on several long hikes together) decided to take another friend with us. He shows up in jeans carrying a box under one arm. Turns out he stopped at Wal-Mart on the way over and bought new (read: stiff, cheap, sorry, sucky) "hiking boots." He laces them up and is immediately uncomfortable, so he decides we should all go back to Wal-Mart and let him buy additional (cotton) socks and an INHALER. Yes. So we buy his "gear" and set off, but he is hungry so we stop at a convenience store and he buys two 20-oz Pepsis and two large chicken dinners (with those greasy potato logs and all). He devours one dinner and a pepsi in the 20 minutes it takes to get to the trailhead and is just wiping the grease off his fingers when we put on our packs and begin to hike up the tallest mountain in the Ouachita Trail to an old fire tower. Problem is, he has no pack. He has an inhaler, and Pepsi, but adamantly declares he NEVER drinks water and it'll be okay. So five minutes into the trip, he's hitting the wall and literally staggering all over the trail. We start to feel bad for him and offer water and gorp. NO, I'm FINE he proclaims. So halfway through the hike, he removes his boots and his ankles are literally torn to shreds. So my friend uses all available gauze and tape in his emergency pack to fix the newbie's ankles. The rest of the day is nothing but pissing and moaning. I love the guy and all, but WOW. Not to mention when we finally topped the mountain and were basking in nature's glory, he answered a cell phone call from his wife and talked to her about 20 minutes, loudly. I wanted to commit seppuku. Suffice to say, my seasoned friend and I don't take anyone with us. Ever. Anymore.

Myself and Falcon Eddy on our most recent caching/hiking trip: As you can see, we were prepared. Still, even though this is redneck kill-em-all Oklahoma, we saw not one hunter. Granted, we were walking UP a mountain, which tends to discourage most rednecks, who prefer walking 25 feet from the truck to hunt. It was a grand day. Don't let hunting season stop you, just go somewhere too remote for hunters.

Smilies eating popcorn.

Absolutely, positively the place. And the hike. I actually hike much more than I geocache now, because I've found most of the caches near me that involve good hiking. I usually hide a cache on every long hike, though. I wish someone near here would hide caches along those lines (boohoo).

I can certainly see their rationale: trashy tupperware left in the woods, offshoot trails developing in erosion areas, people picking up all kinds of logs and rocks and tossing them aside, inexperienced yuppies crashing around looking at their GPSrs while killing flora and fauna, etc. HOWEVER, they need to see the other side, too - the trash many cachers remove, and the environmental awareness this sport can eventually produce in people.

I have a cache on a small island in the middle of the lake. It is chained to a tree and locked, mainly to keep it from washing away when the water is high, but also to keep muggles at bay. So far, so good. I give the combination on the cache page.

Oh no, not another guardrail magnet! Oh no, not another wet vitamin bottle/film cannister!

It may be an experienced, longtime cacher who has decided that cache saturation is too much. Is there a common thread to the caches? Are any of them going missing that are epic caches or located in scenic spots? This guy may be hitting caches he thinks suck as a bit of a protest.

I can't resist: BIG BERTHA Scroll down into the logs and you'll see some great pictures of the HYUUUUGE mary jane stash right next to one of my caches. What a deal.

Well, this isn't a puzzle cache, but I recently did a cache with some video. I figured it would get more to people to come to the cache, instead of just putting pictures on the cache page. I just brought my GL2 in my pack, shot some footage, edited in iMovie and uploaded to YouTube.

1. Review watchlist and select the nearest unbelievably cool cache that requires a hike 2. Manually enter waypoint into GPS 3. Briefly look at a street map to find out how to get there 4. Fill up water jugs 5. Get backpack and hiking staff 6. Lace up boots 7. Drive 8. Walk 9. Have an aesthetic experience

Old, old caches are my favorites. In fact, some of the best caches I've found were placed by people who are no longer even active on the site, and haven't been in quite some time. I would be very, very disappointed to see them archived or flagged, even though they are fine, dry and out in the boonies waiting to be found.

I'm a geocacher who thinks about Deliverance often. As in, "Dear God may I not encounter hillbillies out here..."

Moon setting over Black Mesa, Oklahoma. Rainbow Falls, Hawaii.

And to think, all this time I thought your avatar was Bubba Ray Dudley.

This one was tricky. We were in a cave called the Devil's Icebox. I set up the camera on a tripod, turned off the flash, and used a remote control to snap the photo. We had to remain totally still. I've since used the remote everytime (you can see it in my hand). We also made sure to shine our lights on the ledge just under the camera, to provide just a bit of light on our faces without screwing up the picture.

Topo maps often reveal if a road is listed as a county road (and therefore, publicly funded and therefore, public). Even with a cattle guard, a public road is a public road. Have fun.