Arse&Hemi

We have seen black bear, foxes, rattlesnakes, deer, elk, eagles, squirrels, but our favorite (and scariest) was this big cat that run about 40 feet in front of us then stopped and checked us out before continuing down the mountainside. Hemi snapped the photo; I had my hand on the 357!

We like to use TopoFusion to plan our hikes. You can mark your tracks then view them in 3D, Aerial, Satilite, Topo, 2m - 512m. Then download the tracks and waypoints to your GPS. It's a pretty easy program to use if you have any experience with other topo programs. There is a demo version that will let you use the program for free, It is fully functional except that 1/5th of the map tiles are obscured with the word DEMO and there is a limit of three files open at a time. The basic version is $40 and the pro version is $69. Here are some examples. Topo 2m 3D Aerial Combo Profile

The Dutch have been making fine "vegan" footwear for centuries!

Gas to get to the Ape Cache: $250 Hotel Accommodation: $300 Food and restaurants: $150 The journey and finding Mission 9: Tunnel of Light: Priceless

One knife we carry (if you can call it a knife) is a Woodsman's Pal. It works great in heavy brush and you can even use it like an axe when camping. The tip is not sharp so you can poke around rocky areas without dulling the blade. Most of the time we carry a Leatherman Wave and a Kershaw Ken Onion Chive.

Here are a couple of our long day hikes Island Getaway and Snow Mtn Challenge And one that's still waiting for the first to find Tourist Trap All are located in beautiful Northern California.

Done

We almost always cache together. The only time we cache separately, is if there is a new posted cache, and one of us doesn't want to get up at 4am to go get the First to Find .

We stand corrected. The new firmware has addressed the issue of not being able to mark your finds. But unfortunately it still does not address other problems with the Exporist series. Like showing the cache type and not its size. "Is it a micro, regular or large cache?" The hint has a very limited length. So often you only see part of the hint. You will still need a PDA or print your cache pages until these problems are taken care of. We give the 500/600 a 7 out of 10.

The magellan will also let you mark caches as found. You can bring up a list of nearest from your location to select from. The magellan 500 or 600 (we own both) DO NOT allow you to MARK a cache as found or otherwise. You have to delete your finds when connected to your computer, or download a new PQ. A real pain!

We became PM because we just knew we were hooked from the moment we found our very 1st cache! The extra benefits of what the PM offers were just that, extras! We take advantage of the extras every chance we have (going paperless and downloading PQ is the best). And most of all, it only costs 8 cents per day to support the Groundspeak website. That's just 2 recycle cans, or even just picking up the pennies you may see lying around in the parking lots. If you only cache a few times a year, we can understand why you would not become PM, but if you cache like us (nuts about it!), then it's worth all the benefits. Besides, you already own a GPS and a computer so why not spend the extra 8 cents! []