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Gonzo-YT

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Everything posted by Gonzo-YT

  1. From what I've observed, basically a willingness to take abuse in the forums. Regards, Anthony
  2. More than likely the others were pulled to the top while first aiders were preparing the injured person for transport. Regards, Anthony
  3. For future reference, this is exactly what you should not do. Modern search and rescue techniques rely on using information and physical clues, including tracks, to quickly narrow the search area and make searches more effective. Although well-meaning, lots of people tramping around is not an effective search and could very well destroy important clues that a trained searcher would be able to spot. If you are on the scene and want to help, find the person coordinating the search and ask them what you can do. I sure hope that someone finds her, and that she is OK. Regards, Anthony
  4. Consider the other possibility: Maybe it is BETTER to have non-local approvers. Using digital maps, photos, common sense and asking questions of the hider, they seem to be able to figure out if the cache meets the guidelines or not. On the occasion that they miss something, it seems like local cachers are pretty good about letting them know about it and they can correct it. On the other hand, they aren't -- or shouldn't -- be involved in any local politics, rivalries, disputes, factions, or indeed involved on any personal level, and this is a *good* thing, I think. They've basically got a set of rules that they apply and if they meet those rules, the cache gets approved. Using the Pig Farm example, I think it worked out the way it should have. There really was no reason, under the guidelines, NOT to approve the cache. When people did find it offensive, they contacted the hider who withdrew it. This was an issue beyond the scope of the geocaching.com guidelines and website and was settled in an appropriate way, within the local caching community. Everyone seems happy in the end, no? Just my thoughts though... I could care less who approves my caches. I am more concerned with who is hiding and finding caches in my area. Regards, Anthony
  5. I use true North on the GPS, and set the declination into my compass. I work in UTM and use maps, so that is the best way to go. As others have said, it might or might not matter to you, depending on what you are doing. It can really make a difference though, especially up at my latitude where the declination is 24.5 degrees! Regards, Anthony
  6. Thanks for this, I found it very useful. I tried it out, and was able to create a pretty decent 3D map, using a saved track log, for my Golden Horn cache. Regards, Anthony
  7. Ahh, meanwhile Whitehorse is one of the warmest places in Canada right now. Gotta love arctic climate change.
  8. Drop it into a closeby cache, and if it is still hanging around when you leave retreive it again and take it with you.
  9. I like to practice what I call "gonzo-style" caching -- hence the moniker -- which means finding my own route to the cache that makes it more challenging or more interesting. My route up Mt. McInytre is probably the best example, but I've also done things like do a 25km hike to a cache that is drivable. Regards, Anthony
  10. I just did this one yesterday -- check out my log for engagement cache. I've actually been waiting for winter to find it so I can get across the lake. For added challenge, it was a couple of days before the longest night -- sunset at 3:45 p.m.! Up here, if you don't cache in the snow you lose half the year, and more like 8-9 months on caches that are located in higher / more remote areas. Besides that, there are so many great ways to get to caches in the winter -- walking, skiing, snow machine, snowshoes... Regards, Anthony
  11. I would think they would be similar in terms of the datasets, but I have never used Topo USA so I couldn't comment for sure. They're a standard Garmin product, so you should be able to get them from places that sell Garmin stuff. They are primarily for wilderness navigation, it's just kind of a nice bonus that they contained detailed street information. If you're specifically interested in city navigation, I imagine that you'd rather have one of the other products. For example, the one thing I forgot to mention in my last post is that the Topo Canada doesn't contain addresses or POIs. So, for example, you can't tell it to navigate you to "123 main street" or "city hall." However, you can either navigate to a waypoint, or you can just scroll over to the approximate spot and click "Go To", and then the GPS will plot a road-based route for you with the turn-by-turn instructions. Regards, Anthony
  12. I'll add that my Vista C does an excellent job of autorouting using Topo Canada maps. They seem to have a very complete set of street data. Regards, Anthony
  13. Interesting that this came up now, as a couple of days ago I turned my dog, Starbuck, into a travel bug. I only had to back-date him into ten caches, but it still took a heck of a long time. Any more and I wouldn't have bothered. I only logged him into caches that he had visited, as I have done caches without him as well. Good to know about being able to delete the notes -- I will go back and do that. Regards, Anthony
  14. My take on WAAS, which I have expounded at great length in these forums: 1. Sub-meter accuracy is uneccessary for geocaching, or for any type of wilderness navigation. You need to get within 10m and then do a ground search, and almost any receiver will get you that. So, the rest of this post is basically just academic. 2. Geometry is everything. The position of the satellites in the sky is the most important determining factor in accuracy. Period. 3. I have used a GPS 72 that was getting WAAS signals and a Vista C that wasn't, one in each hand, and there was no significant difference. Even if there was, it wouldn't make a difference (see #1). Regards, Anthony
  15. I have been noodling around the idea of setting up a Klondike Trail of '98 multi-cache, following the original gold rush route starting at Lake Bennet, BC and ending in Dawson City, Yukon. The distance by road is about 685 km (425 miles), the actual multi-cache would depend on placement and so forth. The original route followed the Yukon river by boat and/or dog team. Of course, the FTF prize would have to be some genuine Klondike gold nuggets. For true historical accuracy, it really should start in Skagway, Alaska, but I'm not sure I would want to do a trans-border cache. It would only make it 25 km longer, at any rate. Nothing on the drawing board yet, but who knows... Regards, Anthony
  16. To be honest, I don't even look at the cache star ratings. I couldn't tell you what any of the last caches I have done are rated. I look at topo maps, trail descriptions, weather conditions, the description on the cache page and the past logs of cachers. I believe that you should always be aware of what you're getting into, rather than going by the rating. Also, many times the rating depends on HOW you approach the cache. For example, when I did Scout Lake Road cache, a 1.5 terrain, I hiked in 25 km round trip making it obviously more of a 3ish terrain. This cache, Mt. Granger, was also interesting. It is rated four stars, but in the summer you can drive right to the top of the mountain and it's a pretty easy walk to the cache area. It's also a popular hike starting further down the road, and not terribly arduous. I would rate that trip around a 2.5. However, I decided to bash my way up the opposite side of the mountain, which definitely made it a four-star. Unforunately, the next person to attempt it -- who didn't know the local area -- tried to follow my route with children and obviously didn't get very far. Any local would have known the normal way to get to the top of the mountain. I thought my log was pretty clear: "Besides the murderous climb, the route involves some serious willow bushwhacking, a 10m cliff and waist-deep beaver swamp," so I have no idea what made them do it my way. Heck, a 5-star cache could be a 1-star park-n-grab if you happen to be using a helicopter. Bottom line: Do your research. Don't rely on the terrain rating. Regards, Anthony
  17. Any cache should be considered more difficult in the winter, it is just common sense. Heck, even driving to a cache is more difficult in winter. IMHO, anyone who goes out for a 4+ star cache at any time of year without doing some research on local conditions is lucky that they just had to turn back instead of getting stuck or hurt. Regards, Anthony
  18. If any of those bugs are still stuck in Ottawa and their owners would like them to visit the Yukon, give me an e-mail within the next 24 hours and I can grab them.
  19. With apologies to the great Armenian painter Rabo Karebekian (and to Kurt Vonnegut): How do you know a great cache? Visit a million caches, and then you can never be wrong. Regards, Anthony
  20. Caches up here tend to go a long time before being found or between finds. For example, I was 2TF on our oldest cache, Scout Lake Road, placed in May of 2001. It has since been found again -- twice in one year! (We're having a caching explosion...) Our second oldest cache, Icefield Discovery, was placed June 9, 2001 and has yet to be found by anyone who is caching, although it was found once accidentally. I myself placed five caches between August and October of this year. So far, two have been found once -- by the same person -- and three not at all. My bets are that Golden Horn will go the longest without a logged find. I figure 50% chance it doesn't get one next year. It's strange that so many people come to the Yukon for the wilderness experience, but no one finds the wilderness caches. Our few park 'n grab type caches get a lot of finds. Regards, Anthony
  21. Thanks for the suggestion. Topo maps aren't the problem. Any map or data isn't going to have the park trails mapped and identified -- or at least, wouldn't expect it to. I need a map or a shapefile that shows the established trails for the park. If it doesn't have what else I need (topography and a grid) then I can put it onto an existing map. Regards, Anthony
  22. After reading the excellent article from the Ontario Geocaching Assoc., I thought that when I visit SW Ontario next week I would go looking for Deer Bait, and likely 1-2 other caches in that park. I'd like to get my hands on a map that shows the Short hills trails. Preferably one that also has a UTM grid, but that is probably asking for too much. Worse comes to worse, if I can get a decent trail map I can always plot the trails onto the 1:50 topo sheet. Anyone got any suggestions or, preferably, links? I realize that I don't need a detailed map, necessarily. But, I like maps! Regards, Anthony
  23. I'm not sure if you are correct. I looked into consumer protection legislation, and there really isn't any legal reason they have to sell it to you. Not unless you can prove that they were falsely advertising a lower price just so they could sell you something else at a higher price. I know this because earlier this year I completed a transaction for a Palm Tungsten T for about $10 from a Canadian on-line retailer. Needless to say, they didn't send it. Regards, Anthony
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