Jump to content

BCSasquatch

+Premium Members
  • Posts

    141
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by BCSasquatch

  1. Okay, this one shouldn't be too bad .... In GPS terms, the acronym DOP means Dilution of Precision. There is another acronym that references the same condition. What is it, and what does the acronym stand for?
  2. That one is pretty easy seeing as how the Olympics are in our back yard out here :-) Swifter, Higher, Stronger
  3. I should qualify my statement by adding that most of the caches are okay, and the ones I have found that are water-logged or otherwise in disrepair have been a small percentage of the overall scheme of things. They just happen to reside in what I would consider prime locations. There are however many that I will not seek for the simple fact that many log posts indicate that the owners either take too long to get out and maintain, or they just don't seem to care. If I see a half dozen posts over a few month span where people indicate that the cache is in disrepair I will most likely bypass that one until the CO does something about it. I have no desire to sign a soggy log book or find some piece of junk in the woods just to pad my find count. Those are the ones that kinda sour the mash so to speak. When there are a few hundred cachers in one area looking for a possible hiding spot, I think the onus is on COs to be vigilant about the state of their caches or give up the spot so others can have a shot at it. My first cache will likely be a back country placement, but there are a few in town that I have my eye on and will hopefully inherit a spot once these derelict caches can be archived. Anyway, I am derailing here so back to the original topic.
  4. I think the idea has definite merit for some areas and not so much for others. For an area with only a few hundred caches I can see it being of value. A person could go through a couple hundred caches in a year no problemo, and then what? I would not want to see it here though as we already have too many caches to count, with way too many poorly hidden or otherwise poorly maintained. I am coming up on placing my first cache in the next few months and I'm looking at a pretty good drive to find an area that isn't already saturated. Hopefully the people who take part in your effort will take a little pride and thought into placement and maintenance. It's all well and good to shove a L&L into a hole in a tree and walk away, but I think a person should be dedicated to preserving whatever cache they place, and not everyone is going to have the right mind set. It's those people who affect the cachers who come later. For me, my first cache (or any cache) I place will be a source of pride and I want a quality hide that people will really get off on as opposed to just seeing my box 'O tupperware listed on the net. I say go for it, but I cannot participate here.
  5. Condolences and best wishes to those who knew and loved him.
  6. I carry a small back pack at all times when I'm caching - it's actually a Kona cycling pack that can hold a water bladder and has many small pockets and compartments. Works great as I have all my stuff in it's own place in the pack which makes it very quick to get the stuff I use all the time - flashlights, note pad, camera etc. Inside the bigger compartments I carry a 1L lock & lock with all the goodies like pencils, batteries, small tools, mirror, replacement log book, etc, and a smaller LL that has nothing but small, practical trade items. I also carry a well stocked first aid kit, spare socks, gonch, t-shirt etc. if I should ever decide to fall into a creek or something. I also carry 2 knives - a large hunting knife and a smaller pocket knife, and a small umbrella that attaches to the outside of the pack so I can shield log books in the rain if needed. Add to that some water proof outer wear, a rain guard for the back pack, a walking stick, and I'm ready to cache at any time. It all lives in my Jeep whenever I leave home so that if I decide to impulse search, I have what I need. Then there are the rubber boots ... get 'em and use 'em. We get a lot of rain in these parts so good, waterproof, comfortable boots are a must around here.
  7. Thanks a bunch. That makes very clear sense to me now ...I understand.
  8. Ah, okay, I get it. Thanks. So just so I actually do get it .... if I am holding a bug that I logged as retrieved from a cache, and it is in my inventory, some random cacher on the other side of the world can't simply grab it online and mess up the process? If I hand it to a friend (cacher) to drop for me and he logs it as grabbed from me, is there anything else I need to do to confirm that it is a legitimate grab?
  9. Searched and questions still confusing. What is the purpose of grabbing a TB from another cacher or cache? If I am in possession of a TB and another player "grabs" it, what happens next? I still have the physical bug. Under what circumstances would one normally grab a bug (or coin?). Not an issue for me currently, but I have tried finding explanations and am just not seeing the relevance of grabbing a TB. lol ... I don't get it. I normally log my TB pick-ups and drops within a few hours of the activity.
  10. Since Magellan seems to be a dirty word around here and I like to swear, let me rise up and represent ....yo. I use a Magellan Triton 400 and it works great for paperless caching. However .... Right out of the box it needs a Firmware update in order to get all of the menu options that are in the manual, and I also needed to purchase a high-detail western Canada topo map for it as I do a lot of back country travel and the base map is useless once you leave the pavement. In fact even on the pavement it seems useless. I use the topo map exclusively and it comes with all the POIs etc as well as the topo features. Once the firmware was updated though and the topo map installed, it works almost flawlessly and is very accurate. It has many different options for map datums (very handy) and has fields for almost all of the information contained in a GPX file from GC.com - the only thing I can see that is missing is the cache size which can be manually entered into one of the description fields if really needed. My only gripe really is the preloaded POIs... I cannot seem to dump them. I really don't need to know where every dentist is. I use it for 2 purposes - back country travel and geocaching. Neither requires a dentist visit. I can hide them, but they always exist in the unit which sucks up storage space. I have the topo loaded onto a SD card which lives in the unit full time. It also allows for image and sound files which can be associated with any geocache or waypoint. For the price and the results though, I would not hesitate to get another. Sure it may be a pain to set it up initially, (and it really isn't that bad), but the fact that it is a few hundred dollars less than a primo unit and does the same things in the same way, I think it's a strong option. There is one feature I wish it did have though, and that is the ability to download GPX directly from GC.com. Right now I have to download the file, import into Vantage Point, and then send it to my GPSr. Again, the results are the same with 2 extra steps. Any way that's my .02
  11. I can get you in touch with a priest that can help with that. D'oh!
  12. I haven't made an ignore list yet but I plan to make one soon. The main purpose is to remove caches I have no interest in from my PQs. I have over 3500 caches in a 20km radius of my home and there are some I just don't want to do. Various reasons - too difficult for my current experience level Insane puzzle caches that require hours of deciphering or special skills / knowledge In an area I don't want to hunt in Or a magnetic nano stuck to a sign or something similar I can see many benefits to having an ignore list - especially when you are dealing with thousands of hides in a fairly small area. It is my right to cover my ears and go LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!!! and I plan on exorcising it
  13. There is one very close to where I work called Reciprocal Recipes Reborn. I haven't searched for this one yet, but I may knock it off one day. GC15DMC
  14. My closest thing to a cache hiding peeve would be ones placed in or near dog parks. I really hate stepping in doo-doo and having to smell it while I crawl around looking for the cache... just not worth it. I can understand doggie people liking these hides though, but I am a cat person and I would NEVER ask someone to search the litter box for plastic toys. That's just gross! As in all things, I do some research before I embark on a hunt, and if I don't like the area or the setting I simply don't search for it. End of story. Same goes for when I get to the area of a cache. If I am not comfortable I simply move on.
  15. On the flip side of the uh, er, coin - I have picked up 5 track-able items in just 29 caches. I generally log my finds for the day the minute I get home - TBs and GCs included. There seems to be a lot of them in my area right now. I generally move them along within a week. I will also put them on my watch list once I place them to make sure they get picked up and moved along after I have dealt with them.
  16. I haven't had enough finds to be jaded about which swag I like or don't like. Unless there is something I really like and want to trade for I don't really bother too much. I look at swag as mainly for the kids to keep them interested in the trudging around with Mom and Dad looking for treasure. My first few caches I traded toys for toys, but seems kinda pointless for me at 46 years old. I like to leave items behind that some kid might get a kick out of, or if I do trade, I prefer the more practical style caches intended for older cachers. I also like to leave useful items in barren caches. That being said, I removed an empty pop bottle from a cache this past weekend. One of those mini Coke bottles. I have to assume some kid left it there, having nothing else to trade, but I simply trashed it out. I would hate to think some lazy cacher couldn't be bothered packing out a pop bottle. But I guess broken items in the cache would be the closest thing to 'hated swag' that I can think of. I have removed a few broken, sharp plastic toys form a cache or 2.
  17. I think it comes down to choosing caches that fit your preferences. For example, there are a number of "downtown" caches that I won't even bother reading as I have no desire to experience what you are going through. Just choose the ones that don't put you where you don't want to be. I always look at the map first when I am considering a cache - to make sure it fits in with my preference which is wooded areas, parks, you know - more natural settings. I have yet to encounter any business related items or locations. Don't be discouraged by a few caches that you didn't enjoy, instead, seek out the ones you are likely to enjoy. Google Earth can help there immensely by showing what is actually at the location. Hope that helps.
  18. What would be considered a reasonable distance to maintain a cache? The reason I ask is that I am planning my first hide for a remote area approximately 50 - 60 miles from my home and accessible only with a 4x4 vehicle. The area is a popular off road and back country destination for wheelers, hikers, camping etc and I visit a dozen times a year for the past decade or so. It will be a themed, large cache for PMs only. The reason for PM only as I do not want a bunch of random people in mini vans breaking down all over the place or being a nuisance on the roads and trails. Completely inappropriate for the area. I also have a good friend who caches (and wheels) whom I will ask to help maintain when I cannot make the journey. I expect only a small handful of finds each season.
  19. There has only been one cache that I felt I could not sign the log book as it appeared to be completely water-logged (pun not intended). Instead I took a photo of my Mumfred caching avatar with the physical cache container and posted it with my found log. So far the CO seems to be okay with it. Oddly someone did sign the cache log the same day. The Log
  20. Groundhog is best served in a stew with hearty vegetables. Just be sure to remove the scent glands. Quite tasty actually.
×
×
  • Create New...