Gadjitfreek

I have been geocaching since 2004 and have quite a few finds under my belt. I tend to go out infrequently, but rack up big numbers in spurts. I went on a caching trip with my father two weeks ago, and got nearly as many DNFs as Fs. It was pretty frustrating, but sometimes you get those days. I report all of my DNFs because that might be info that future seekers and the owner of the cache might need to know.

I own a Garmin 2610 and 60Cs, a Globalsat BT-338 and a Delorme Earthmate USB. I was thinking of upgrading to the Garmin Nuvi 350 and the 60Csx, but can't justify the expense.

Got my Navman 510 yesterday. What a nice unit! It does not support GPX or LOC, but with a program called GPSBabel, you can convert these files into CSV format, which can be imported into the NavMan desktop app and uploaded to the NavMan. It has to be done one file at a time, no facility for bulk converting, but that's OK! Mark

I have one of these on backorder. They had 700 delivered on 12/27, and once the price dropped to $300, they got over 1000 orders. I hope to have mine by early next week. I am not using this for geocaching, I am going to use it for trips and to find my way to geocache sites!

Boy, does that motto ever sum it up! I just tormented my plastic a little further to buy one. Also found a bumper sticker that says "I'm not lost, I'm geocaching". Ordered two of those...one for my car and one for a colleague who also geocaches. Mark

I had a Garmin III, two Legends and a Vista...I kept one Legend as a backup for anyone who wants to go caching with me, but I have been using a 60CS for a few weeks and I adore it. My only complaint is that the nav arrow seems to point in random directions. I go with the distance numbers to get me to my caches. Any suggestions?

Yes, it will still be a traditional cache, but with the extra goody. Mark

I am thinking about planting a cache with a different twist. In the cache will be a small photo album and a log book. You would bring a small photo (size to be determined) of your pet, then in the log book write a little about your pet (name, etc). It would become an increasing journal of cacher's pets and those who visit would have something really neat to look at while visting. I would call this cache "Best Friends Cache". What does everyone think about this? I could make it a standard cache as well, but the main draw would be the pet photos. Mark

I just did my first hunt today (successful) and I am choosing caches in non-remote areas within 8 miles of my home to start with. I have a caching kit that I put together last night: 1) Binder with all cache pages printed out and printed out topo maps back-to-back with the each cache page, each page slipped into a page protector and grouped by proximity. I take the page relevant to the cache I am hunting with me. 2) A waistpack/shoulder pack with a nice, comfortable padded shoulder strap filled with: - Garmin Etrex Vista - compass - pens - weather radio - Kestrel 4000 weather gauge - pocket monocular - digital camera and spare battery - freezer bag loaded with cache trade items and Zip-loc snack bags - Two sets of spare batteries - Cell phone - Pocket Maglite 3) Belt pouch with PDA This will likely change as I get more experience doing this. Man, it's fun!!! I might lose the Kestrel and monocular to fit a small first aid kit and a small bug repellent container. I like the digital camera...I can take a pic of the cache and print it out in my printed log that I am keeping. Mark

After seeing the post about Best Buy matching the Office Max price, I called the nearest Best Buy that had the Vista in stock and asked if they would honor the price. They reluctantly said yes, but they wouldn't honor the 20% off. That's quite OK...I drove down to that Best Buy, got the Vista for $100 off the normal Best Buy price and now I am uploading Mapsource maps to it. My Etrex LEgend is in the shop having its joystick repaired, and when I get it back I am going to put it up for sale at Ebay. Tomorrow I will go after my first cache after work. I will keep this Vista for a year. If I find geocaching as addictive as I think it is going to be, I will sell it and spring for a higher-end unit. I was going to get the Etrex Legend C, mostly for the extra memory, but since the Vista already comes with 24MB, I can get away with the lower-priced device. Thanks for the info, Hulaville! Mark