bigcall
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Posts posted by bigcall
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The milestones have been dropping like flies lately.
It seems like he was hitting #200 just a few weeks ago too.
BZ
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington
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Gear02,
If they won't let you return it outright you might want to consider the Topo disks as a trade. While they are a far cry from the greatest topographic software, they will work with the V (selectable underneath City Select) and do come in handy on the fly in a lot of cases in the NoVA area. For example you can figure out which side of a stream to approach on, get a sense of hills and where some park roads are (that City Select seems to be ignorant of in some cases).
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington
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Welcome gear02!
The above links are a great place to start. We (NoVA cachers) seem to have a group meeting about twice a year, but I'm sure there are a few out there looking for an excuse to get together on any given weekend. The MD group in the first link has monthly meetings (might involve more travel though), so it probably will be easier to meet up with lots of fellow cachers faster that way. Their annual picnic is coming up soon (Jul 27th) and is usually well attended by folks from all over the area.
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington
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Crash, we are both up way too late but thanks for the recognition. Just trying to keep pace with you guys
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington
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That sounds like a challenge to team MD!!!
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington
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quote:
IIRC, you're not allowed to go downstream (toward the cache) from there, only upstream. OTOH, I have a whole pile of inflatable rafts (leftover from my adventures to Bannerman's Island in New York... back when I did wild and crazy things like that...), and was thinking of trying to get it one day this summer from further down the river along the C&O Canal on the Maryland side. I seem to recall someone else go to the cache that way.
Bummer,
I also saw that some were able to just walk across, somehow I don't think it will be possible this year.
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington
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Not quite your goal, but 300 in a year ain't nothing to sneeze at either.Too much paintballin'???
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington
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Whoever puts it back in VA had better move it far, cause if I get it again it's going into the deepest, darkest, hole I can find in MD to assure victory.
Better yet since MD seems to be micro crazy, I'll just make my own - stand by for the ultimate puzzle cache?
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington
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Way to go!
I think Crashmore is being modest since he also has reached #400.
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington
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When is it going live?
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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You could also use Dan's page and filter it down to caches placed in the state like this. If you happen to be near one of the cities you can narrow it further or if you know someone who logged it you can filter it further. It may not be the most efficient means but it works. This is also a good way to find the oldest caches in any given area.
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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I think the big tradeoff is price for commute.
Like most places the farther out in the suburbs you go generally the bigger, newer and cheaper the housing. I would say that the DC traffic is worse than Boston's (I grew up in MA) since it goes in all directions, not just into the city.
That said it depends on your needs. If you don't require a lot of space then closer in options may be affordable (Not sure how the 2 markets compare, but I would guess Boston is still pricier even with the recent spikes around here). Certainly somewhere near the Metro would be preferable and the network is much more extensive on the MD side. A lot of folks opt for the relatively cheaper suburbs and just suck up the commute which is fine too. I live about 13 miles from DC and it takes me 45 minutes on average to go that far in the morning rush. Mass transit time is about the same in my case and still involves a good walk.
Sorry that this resonse isn't too definitive but it really is a wide open question that is based on personal taste.
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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Mogolloyd,
See this thread, I think there are a few of us trying to get out there. I happened to take White's ferry across the river the other day and noted that it was tantalizingly close. They rent boats there too for about $5 an hour which may be a good way to go.
I agree that right now may not be the best time to attempt it given the river conditions. I was thinking of contacting the last finders before setting out though, to get a feel for if the cache was capable of surviving the recent floods.
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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I set up a mock draft for geocachers at xpertleagues.com. This site is pretty neat in that you can trade during the draft (both picks and players) and that it tracks your progress during the season and best of all it's free!
The premise is a survivor league where your weekly point totals are compared to all the other teams - if you are the low point getter you are out of the running. You can get immunity by having the highest point total the previous week though. All of the players on your team accumulate points and the best count for your total so the drafting strategy might be a little different.
The draft is done online once 10 people sign up. I set it for an 8hr time limit with a freeze (time doesn't count against your clock) between midnight and 8 am. You can create predraft lists in advance so that you don't have to sit and watch the progress. I highly recommend using the predraft option since the system will pick for you (not very well I might add) after the 8 hr limit has been reached. It also has a message system built in to correspond on as well.
It's a lot of fun and takes no actions after the draft is completed since your roster is not changeable once the draft is done. The draft can take a long time though so please only sign up if your are serious about it.
Here's the link: to the page that has the leagues on it. League name is Geocachers and the password is GPS. If you have any further questions let me know.
I have done one draft on this site previously and thought it might be a fun diversion for my fellow geocaching fantasy football fanatics. Hope to see you there and good luck!
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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I guess the answer depends on what you would like to do. Without wheels your options for traditional caches are limited. However the Hilton is relatively close (~1mi) to the metro which can get you to downtown DC where a world of virtuals awaits.
If you prefer the traditional route I would certainly recommend two of the aforementioned caches (since they are mine) but they on the difficult side and Confession? is a puzzle cache that is not at the listed coordinates. There are 3 caches in nearby Lake Accotink that are not too far away that might be an option: O&A RR, I Spy, and DB Cooper. Hope this helps somewhat. If you have additonal questions let us know.
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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I already signed up for a league on ESPN, but would love to be in another one. The were a couple of geocaching leagues last year that were hosted on NFL.com. They were great and seemed to stay fairly competitve. Please keep me in mind if you are starting another one.
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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You really have to go looking for any sort of sizeable hike around here.
A recommended stroll if you have the time is along the Bull Run/Occoquan Trail that runs 17 miles along Bull Run. There are at least 4 caches along this route, the best starting point being in Fountainhead, and you can finish as little or as much as you like.
I second the Burke Lake Park recommendation since there are ~9-10 caches around it's ~4.5 mile perimeter.
Note: you can get in for free by parking at the boat landing which is about 1/4 mile east of the main entrance off of Rt 123.
Scott's Run has 4 caches and provides a scenic view of the Potomac to boot.
Of course there are numerous virtuals around the Mall which is a hike in and of itself. While they may not be everyone's cup of tea, you'll hit most of the major monuments and several other interesting spots along the way if you choose to do the DC virtual dash.
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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Sorry for not noticing Tim, but congrats as well!!! Looks like you are in NoVa permanently now? Good to have ya as a local.
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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Another milestone achieved - BZ!!! (You can ask me what this means later for those who don't know - more dadgum code?)
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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My favorite is the Viking Treasure Cave cache. As you probably know Skyline Drive is part of Shenandoah National Park, so traditional caches are not allowed. This cache however is on private land within the park. A nice hike involves taking the trail to Dark Hollow Falls and then back up to the area where the cache is located. The shorter trip uses a fire road from near the Fisher's Gap Overlook.
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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Suunto X6
I picked up a nice used one off of ebay. It's great and comes in handy. I pretty much wear it all the time now.
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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I thought this was rather fitting on one of the hits:
"The bigcall has this kind of error:
RuntimeError: Maximum recursion depth exceeded"
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
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Finders generally love puzzle caches since I think you'll find that those cachers who attempt them love puzzles. That said, many others won't even bother so your visitors will be much less.
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
-
We don't hear from him often (I suspect because he's caching instead of talking), but 500 is a significant milestone!!!
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!
- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"
Virginia - Maryland Hot Potato
in Trackables
Posted
Darn!!!
I might just have to create a hard one in MD anyway since I think square mileage wise, they have a huge advantage.
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington