Sonoran Privateers

When I look at the membership page it reads: "Renewing your membership? Your membership is currently in good standing. If you are renewing your membership, enter your new subscription number from PayPal and click "renew"" How do I get a new paypal subscrition number?

What's the warning meter?

The Camelbak BFM The best pack I have ever used, bar none...and I've used a bunch. Can carry 2 100oz hydration paks internally, and has room for practically everything else you can think of. It's comfortable, and really tough.

I was about to leap from the bridge I was standing upon out of shear frustration. The cache was a micro and GPS'd right to the middle of the bridge, on the pedestrian walk way. I had been there, searching..on the bridge, under the bridge...floating in the air above the bridge..I didn't know, for over an hour. Finally, exasperated I was just leaning on the rail, staring down at the dry wash beneath. I looked to my left and right and noticed that all the support beams for the hand rail had two bolds securing them to the concrete....all except one..it had three. I reached down, and pulled the magnetic, fake bolt off the beam. A very clever hide...or I bad brain day for me...I'll let the jury decide.

I haven't used the Nimh batteries in my GPS yet, but I sure will be soon! I bought some for my digital camera right before I went to the Bahamas. I was gone for 10 days, took over 150 pictures, 10 video clips, and spent oodles of time downloading pictures onto my laptop every night. I didn't charge the batteries once the entire trip. In fact, I came home and am still using it and havn't charged them. I bought the Energizer 2500 mAh ones. I would recommend them to anyone.

I take what seems to be everything I own when I go caching/hiking/riding/driving/grocery-getting/astronomizing/fishing/camping/working/movie watching/frisby throwing etc. If I were to go into outerspace, on a long journey, to another star, never to return to earth and ATM's, ever, I mean seriously, ever... I would still carry my DL, Mil ID, credit/debit cards, proof of ins., State Trust land permit, 20 receipts from Best Buy for things I bought 3 years ago, and the S-bahn ticket that I never bothered to take out of my wallet since I was in Germany 2 years ago. To ensure I don't lose these precious items, I choose the 'compulsive habits' method. My wallet is always in the right cargo pocket of my shorts if I'm out and about. Or, it's in my left-leg zipper pocket of my flight suit when I go to work or to fly. When I'm in bed, it's still in my shorts that I took off and threw on the floor. I tried putting it on a nightstand, but it was just easier to go get it from the last thing I was wearing. I am constantly patting my right pocket to ensure it's there, even if I haven't had it out since the last time I checked. I think my peranoia will save me from losing it.

We were walking up a sandy wash. We rounded a corner and my daughter moved around in front of me (she is supposed to stay behind me just for this sort of thing) . Right as she did, I noticed a VERY BIG timber rattler just sitting at the edge of the wash, about 2 feet from my daughter's path. I just jumped forward and pushed her passed it as fast as I could. Once we were clear of it, we watched it for a few minutes. That thing couldn't care less that we were there. It just sat there. It didn't rattle, look around, stick it's tongue out, cast a glance, snort, chortle, or anything. It was funny....afterwards.

My gallery is open to you. Hope the class goes well.

I use a compass. My GPS doesn't have one of them fancy digital compasses built in. So, like many, it doesn't give you a a heading unless you're moving. I find the compass handy, as I don't have to start walking in a direction to get the GPS woken up. I just get the bearing-to-cache from the GPS, look at my compass, pick a tree/rock/barn/nuclear reactor cooling tower in the distance and walk to it. I figure I spend less time looking at a device and more time enjoying the hike.

There are more cashes in my area every week. And, I'm always seeing logbook entries from people that have just started caching. I think it's growing.

Yes maybe every program can do it. But PCMap in the Version we have is for goverment use only. For training i gave our guys some Cachedata so they can get used to this program. And it works pretty well for Caches. If it's just for the gubmint, I'm confused as to how it is to be useful to the OP

Okay, this has probably run long enough. I got the advice I needed, and I thank all that chimed in. I'll take said advice, and forward the nasty little e-mail those that should have it. Thanks again

I agree about the other software doing it better than GE. I just reference GE because it is free, and that way I don't have to assume anyone has the same software I have.

Good Grief! I hope this post was meant in jest. As to the OP ? The shotgun shell was VERY inappropriate and could be dangerous if played with irresponsibly, but otherwise quite harmless if handled responsibly. Knives, although restricted from caching are not "deadly weapons" just waiting to kill someone, they are very valuable tools which everyone should have in their pocket at all times. The CD probably violated copyright laws, but up until you took it, only the person who made it had any responsibility- now YOU are in possession of "stolen property" if indeed it is so adjudged. (My brother in law picked up a stolen credit card off the highway once and voluntarily GAVE it to a cop, who proceeded to arrest him. However STUPID the possession charge might be, it might NOT be a trivial matter, sad to say. Father-in-law spent several thousand on lawyer to get the bogus charge dismissed.) If you were invited to sign the copy of the constitution as a log book, and there was space to do so, it certainly qualifies as a log book. Coordinates can be off quite a bit sometimes; bummer about the "scorched Earth" search; happens occasionally; a searcher can quit at any time if he/she thinks their search is destructive- I am sure you are very responsible in that respect. This is all getting overblown, as things tend to get around here. IMHO You did the right thing removing the shotgun shell, should have traded for the knife and CD, and you should oughta forward the email to TPTB. And now you should destroy the CD without ever playing it or you will have a hard time justifying your upsettedness with it. At this point it is probably best to let the whole thing go. The point of the post was what to do about someone sending you an obscene e-mail full of profanity because they didn't like my post. The point was not about dealing with the cache itself. Oh, and I didn't take the CD...I just took the knife and the shotgun shell, which are prohibited items. Would you, ChurchCampDave, appreciate an obscenity laced e-mail as a result of a log note you left?

You could just avoid the math. First place both points into Google Earth as pleces. Then, use the measuring tool to measure the distance between them (if you don't already know it), and then find half way....put in a push pin. Zoom WAY in, and read the coordinates from the bottom of the map window that follow you're mouse arrow. I know, the math would be much cooler, but this gets it done for those of us that are to far out of math class to be useful.

TFTC Now THAT'S funny!

It was edited this morning. Yesterday, there was really not much of a cache discription at all. It just said there was an area like an 'arena' among the boulders, and that the cache was in the middle of it. But the coords took you someplace else. He got really mad at me for my log entry, and in his e-mail made the remark: "Just for you I have changed the information on the cache page so that the blind could probably find it." Now he's just over-compensating with a rediculous discription. It's quite childish, I think.

I just did my first one last night. My whole family really enjoyed it. We agreed it had been one of the most entertaining caches yet. We need more of these!

I didn't even notice the 'azextremist' thing! Jeepers, maybe I better close my GC.com account, start a new one, and move to another state! Oh, by the way, the cache page has been completely re-done since this morning. What used to be a couple of vague references to boulders is now a rakish swing the other way with exact measurements from rocks and trees. hahaha. I bet people will be able to find it now!

If you can't say anything nice...etc..etc. Well, anyway, like ShadowAce, our GPS took us nowhere near the cache. I didn't climb over any boulders, or stand in an arena. We did find the cache but, it was dumb luck. We just turned over EVERY rock in about a 90' area. Then came the next surprise, the contents. We removed the KNIFE...and the SHOTGUN SHELL....good grief. The cache listing says: A disk of mp3's (copyright piracy?) and other trinkets. The listing failed to meantion that among the other trinkets were lethal weapons for crying out loud. (I think those are banned items) We left a couple of pirate coins in a effort to spruce things up a bit, and made the hide location a little more finder friendly. Here's a better hint: Think about 40 feet north of the coordinates. We signed what we think was the log...a copy of the U.S. Constitution. That's pretty wierd. P.S. The location was pretty. P.S.S. The day after this log entry, the cache owner sent me an obcene and abusive e-mail. While I 100% agree with the issues you had regarding this cache, I think you could have been a bit more tactful. Yeah, I could have been. I think I was just frustrated, and I was echoeing the frustration others had in looking for it. But, at the same time...shotgun shells? That does defy common sense a little bit. Perhaps my comment wasn't completely rosy, but it was accurate. I went back in and edited the log entry to make it a little nicer.

Oh...hee hee hee...it does say that at the bottom. Well, what-d-ya-know. Read the fine print!

I found a cache yesterday that was in very poor condition. Of the 5 people that had tried to find it, only two found it because the coords were so far off. I only found it by pure luck. The cache also contained a shotgun shell, a knife, and a mixed CD...all original cache items. In my log entry, I made meantion of my concerns about the coordinates (just like the four people before me), and that I had removed the prohibited items. This morning a received a scathing e-mail full of profanity labasting me for my log input. The guy even went on to say how the gun shell (live) and the knife should be fine. What should I do? I've never had another cacher go off like that, and to use such language. I think it was totally inapproprate. Should I forward his e-mail to the local reviewer? Thanks

Ah ha...thanks

When I click on 'Search' in the forums, I get an error telling me that I don't have permissions to use this feature, and that I should log on....but I'm already logged on. What's up with this?

Ok, well, at least it's not just me