The Chaotic Order

I have a Clie also, and don't have any trouble hot-synching it with XP...

The Legend connects via serial port, but my PDA connects via USB. My computer recognizes the GPSr as being hooked up to it, but gives a message saying it's not receiving any data from the GPSr when I try to export waypoints from GSAK. TexasHuntress uses the same model GPSr and PDA as I do (Sony Clie PEG-T615C) and has no trouble getting waypoints to her GPSr unless she uses my computer. I've been told that the problem sounds like an issue with which com ports each side of the connection is trying to use, but I have no idea how to address the issue if that's the problem.

Good post, CraiginCT! Avoiding caching in an area where just your presence could mean you are in a rescue/relief team's way is the smart thing to do! (not to mention avoiding a situation where a cacher could very easily be mistaken for a looter!) The original question was a reasonable one, too. I live in S. AL. and had been planning an extensive caching trip through MS., starting in Biloxi and ending near Bay St. Louis after making a long loop through most of the rest of the state. Katrina obviously changed those plans. Since Katrina, I've been anxiously watching many of the cache pages in/around S. MS. out of concern for the cachers there...as they get situated and get around to it, they're coming online and posting notes on their cache pages, disabling the caches or whatever, but more importantly letting everyone else know that they are alive and well. I drive through S. MS. on my way to and from work, and the devastation there is absolutely staggering! Many cachers from that area own caches I've found/hunted before, and some of them have found/hunted mine...it's good to see them post something, anything, even disabling a cache, because I know that person is still there... I would also say that almost a year after Hurricane Ivan, I found 2 caches down in the Blackwater State Forest that had been disabled/archived...both were where they were supposed to be, dry, and in good condition, but hadn't been checked since Ivan because of the damage to the surrounding woods, which was horrific. Unfortunately, logging those 2 finds and notes to the cache owners have not resulted in the reactivation of those caches, and if I'd known they were archived when I found them (I only had waypoints entered in my GPSr, nothing else), I could have collected them to prevent their becoming geo-litter...

You might try using a food processor. *LOL*...I was going to suggest a blender!

We use a Garmin Etrex Legend, and I like it. I got it as part of a safety award from the company I work for, and it's the only GPS I have any experience with...although, since my Dad has taken an interest in geocaching, I'll probably hook him up with a 60cs, since it would be a little easier for him to read. I drive a 2001 Dodge Quad Cab...love the truck, hate the gas mileage! My wife's car is a '98 Toyota Camry...better mileage, less space and more terrain sensitive!

OMG! That's too funny!

I use the nick DEADorALIVE on every other forum I visit, but it was taken here. Registered a long time ago, and the user has not logged onto gc.com since that day.

I pack a lot of stuff in my backpack, then may or may not just bring a few things along or the whole pack...depending on terrain, distance, weather, etc. About the only thing different between my backpack and some of the larger pack lists posted above, is my walking stick is not the lightweight collapsible alluminum kind, but a seasoned oak stick about as thick as my wrist and 4-5 feet long that I've had for around 12 years. A lot of my caching is done in state parks, etc., no firearms allowed...the larger oak stick has a comforting heft but isn't too heavy, is still good for poking around in places I don't want to put my hands, and I could probably pry the rear end of my pick-up off the ground without breaking it!

I just got a T615C that I bought off Ebay today. It didn't come with any manuals, and my Adobe apparently has a problem with online .pdf files...does anyone have an owner's manual or a link to an owner's manual that's other than a .pdf that I can read? I'd like to go paperless, but I'm at a loss for how to work this thing!

I'll second THAT motion!!!

Spoken like a true LEO! I was a Law Enforcement Officer for 13 years, and a SpecWar Operator a few years before that, and can confirm JrsK9's statement that man is the most dangerous animal around!

Congratulations on your first find! Imagine what you can do once you have your GPSr! As previously stated, the Garmin Etrex is an excellent choice for starters, along with some other models in the Etrex line...the Vista and the Legend come to mind right offhand.

It's also possible that the area is accessible after working hours...

I guess it's got a lot to do with where and how you were raised, Plastered Dragon. I live in the deep south, and hunting here is more than a pastime, it's a way of life. I own/carry guns most of the time, whether hunting or not. One of the guns, as I stated earlier, is actually my wife's...my 13 and 8 year olds also own firearms. (of course, their guns are only handled/used under close supervision)

Also a former law enforcement officer...still have a lot of friends in LE. I'm hosting the May meeting of the Alabama Geocacher's Association in Andalusia Saturday...maybe I can get some of them to show up for that and get them interested! Oh, yeah...I got my GPSr as part of a safety award from the company I work for now, and found geocaching while looking online for something to do with my new toy!

My boys are 8 and 13, and we've only been caching a few months. My daughter will be 20 next week, and she's been caching with us once. All three show tremendous interest and enthusiasm for it, and I've let all three navigate to and from waypoints/caches before. Interestingly enough, the two boys picked up on what they were doing much quicker than my daughter did, especially the younger boy! Both boys play a lot of video games, and I think the familiarity with electronics gave them the edge.

My mistake...make that State/National PARKS, vice FORESTS, and thank you for pointing that out!

Log your return visit as a NOTE, rather than a FIND, and be sure to hit the TB's page and log it there, as well! Happy caching!

We do a lot of caching in State or National Forests...no firearms allowed there, so we carry walking sticks then. Pretty much any other time, I've got either a Glock model 22 with me, or a Colt Officer's Model Double-Eagle, which, incidentally, is my wife's pistol.

...yeah, but how old are your kids?

Not sure about the GPSMAP 60, but I'm about to buy a GPSMAP 60cs for my Dad. I'm not sure about all the differences between the two, I know the 'cs has more memory, an electronic compass, and a barometric altimeter in addition to a color display...these things were all considerations in choosing a GPS for him, since he travels a lot and will be using it for several things besides just geocaching. The color display and larger screen (compared to my etrex Legend) were a plus, too, since he doesn't see well enough to see detail on smaller screens...the cs also has a dedicated "geocaching mode"...I don't know if the 60 has that or not, I'm not even sure what a dedicated geocaching mode would do differently from anything else...

Where I live, in S. Central Alabama, there are 9 caches within 20 miles of my home coordinates, two of which are mine. I have plans to place 3 more in the next couple weeks, only one of which is within that 20 mile circle. I encourage more people in my area to become involved since there are so many great places to hide caches there! I'm also trying to get a couple cousins started in geocaching in the Orlando, Fl. area...in their case, I would encourage their participation more along the lines of being cache hunters, rather than hiders, since it's already so easy to "cache overdose" down there! I'm going there weekend after next to take them out on their first caching adventure, and I've been sorting through hundreds of caches and logs trying to find those I felt would offer them the most enjoyment and still be something of a challenge.

List the coordinates you have as the TB's goal...when it gets close, an email to whomever has possession of it may accomplish your goal! Or, a note in the TB's bio to contact you for directions when it gets close to coordinates XYZ.

I'm pretty new to caching, and have only hidden 2 so far...one got its' FTF the next day, and hasn't been logged since, and the other has been approved for two weeks as of tomorrow night, and hasn't been logged yet at all. We have a meeting of the Al. Geocachers Assoc. coming up next week about 100 ft. away from the unlogged one, so I'll check it beforehand and make sure it hasn't been muggled...but the real truth is that where I live in S. Alabama geocaching hasn't caught on in a big way...yet!

"I have hidden those in tupperware containers and marked them on her GPS so she will have to hunt for them" That's probably the coolest idea I've heard in while! My 8 year old will be turning 9 in a couple months, and I think you just decided for me how he'll get his presents!