boda

We have met a number of cachers. Most people are friendly and will share the hunt. Some are not and we just move on and come back later. No problem. On of our earlier encounters was unusual. We were on a dirt road with small side roads going off into the desert. As we were entering one of these smaller roads, we spotted a car pulling away from the cache area. We had a moment to talk to them and got the stare of confusion when we mentioned geocaching. Must be muggles. However, we saw that they went down every trail and stopped at every cache. They never signed the log, nor did they log on line. I just refer to them as the mystery cachers.

You're welcome. Good luck with that cache in the Spring. Gotta go mow my lawn now.

When press the “Geocaches” button I get a screen with two options. 1) Find a Geocache 2) Show Found When I press “Find a Geocache” I get list of all stored geocaches. If I select one it shows me a map with the geocache name on top and a “Go” button. Selecting the name gives me a description of the geocache but there is NO option for showing hints. I see the full description and the finder logs but the hint doesn’t display. Maybe the Oregon doesn’t have that feature. I’m using Version 2.80 which was automatically downloaded when I registered the unit. (Gave me no choice!) go BACK to the main screen and select the geocache button again after selecting GO on a cache. You will have a menu option for the hint. StarBrand is correct, and as I said in my post - you need to press "Go" to start navigating to the cache, then you can view the hints. In your example, you would press "Find a Geocache" and then select the cache you are looking for when the list of caches comes up. The next screen shows the cache marked on a map. There is a big green box in the bottom right corner with "Go" in it. Press that. You will see a map. (Personally, I would like to have the cache description show up, but that's another subject.) Press the X to get out of there and back to the main menu. Push Geocache - and there you are. There are other ways to find the "Go" button. Good luck and feel free to send me an email if you need more help.

After pressing "Go" to navigate to a cache, you can press "Geocache" on the main menu. The next screen has several choices. One is "Show Description." The next choice is "Show Hint." The unencrypted hint will come up on the screen. Is that what you were referring too?

I haven't heard of any deaths related strictly to geocaching, but I got a bit of a scare once. I had placed several caches along a fire road. The caches are along a 4.5 mile route, all up, with a 2000 foot altitude gain. It is much easier going back down. There is an area where I take a shortcut along a ridgeline. It cuts about a half mile off the up portion of the hike. There are a couple of spots where the path you are walking on narrows down to a few feet and the dropoff on each side is impressive. A few weeks after I placed those caches, a hiker fell to his death on one of the shortcuts. Although I felt bad for the man's family, I was a little relieved that he had not been seeking my caches.

My wife's brother and nephew came out from Maine to visit. Her nephew said he would like to geocache a little while they were here. "Gee-Oh what?????" He gave us the web address for GC.com and, after looking, I thought that it was kind of dumb. When they got here, we went to 3 caches on one day, and three more the next. I was amazed. He took us to locations in the area we never knew existed; and to spots with which we were familiar, but now saw in a whole new way. We still look at geocaching as a learning experience.

You made a similar post in an earlier thread when I was looking for a new camera. Thanks to you, I looked at this one and eventually bought one. The AA batteries, image stabilization and the viewfinder were essential in my selection process.

For the Oregon: On main menu, touch the icon for "Geocaches" Touch "Find a geocache" Select the geocache you are hunting. You may have to scroll down or use the Spell feature. When the map comes up, you will see "GO" in a green box in the lower right corner. Press there. You will see a map with a purple line. You can use that, or better yet, back out to the main menu and touch "Compass." Follow the arrow. One of the small windows at the top should be set for Distance to Destination. You should also follow the above directions as to when to calibrate your compass. On the Oregon you go to Setup and then scroll down to Heading. Once there, the bottom selection is for compass calibration. Follow directions. Have fun.

Over 200' away. As we approached, we could not believe that it was an ammo can just sitting on the side of the trail. The trail was about 10' wide with a steep hill going up on the right, and a steep hill going down on the left. NO place to hide a small size cache, let alone an ammo can. Coordinates were right on the money. While we were at the cache, 4 kids rode by on bikes, and it was obvious the trail was used often. The cache had been there a few months when we got it, and it finally turned up missing a few months later. I'm still scratching my head over that one.

I've received the email in 1 to 2 minutes. Sometimes (rarely) a half hour. If it goes beyond that, I usually don't get the PQ at all. There are occasional problems with the site; so, at those times, they may be held up for a day or two. I was lucky that I haven't submitted any PQs during those times.

Red90 is correct. What I do is to download the PQ. I then open the PQ's .zip file and copy the two .gpx files in there to the Oregon. They go in the [drive]:/Garmin/GPX folder. ([drive] stands for whatever drive letter your computer uses for the Oregon.) Before doing that, I usually delete files from the Oregon with the same name. I also like to rename the files to something other than a number. The waypoints file will show up in the waypoints area of the Oregon. The caches show up in the Geocaching area. I don't use GSAK much anymore, but you can download a macro that works with Colorado/Oregon files and moves them to the Oregon. Best of luck

Four of us usually cache together and we are all in the low to mid 60's. We do the PnGs, but particularly enjoy the mountain and desert caches—some requiring 4 wheeling, some not. Cached last spring with a pick-up group organized by a friend. Of the eight or ten of us ,one was in the his 50's and another was in his 40's. Guess who the rest of us (62-69) waited for as we climbed the hills. I have some back problems due to arthritis and disc problems, so it slows me somewhat, particularly on the hills. I do enjoy a good boulder scramble/rock climb, however. I'm having trouble maintaining some of my caches now. It is a 4.5 mile hike, all up with a 2000 foot altitude gain, to reach that series. I like the coming down part. Several of the (few) finders have been in their 60s. Hope I'm doing as well as you in 10 years.

I agree, there are no regulations banning their use; it just seemed like they used that wording to stop people from complaining to them. "It ain't our fault, the goverment makes us do it." Their in-flight magazine did not imply federal regulations prevented the use of any electronics.

While I agree with most of your post; I, personally, will never, ever put my GPS in checked baggage. There are too many horror stories of "lost" items. Just my opinion. When flying Alaska Airlines last month, the flight attendant's prepared speech included a statement that use of many electronic items, including GPS receivers, were banned by "federal regulations." I thought that was interesting.

Why are you placing the cache there? I'm assuming from what you said that you want to bring cachers to that location, and it really sounds great. I would also assume that your actual hide will be just difficult enough to prevent muggles from finding it, but not be too challenging to the geocachers. If that is true, I would go with the broad hint or even a spoiler picture. I have seen several of these, and they did not diminish the experience in the least. You mentioned the alternative of not placing the cache. I would strongly disagree - place the cache in an area you want people to experience and that is a part of your world you want to share. If the area is as nice as you say, even the DNFs would offer the experience we are seeking. Best of luck.

Worked for me. That is the main reason I went for the Oregon rather than the 60csx. I was upgrading from a 60cs, so they were both improvements on a great GPS. I went to REI and looked at both the Colorado and the Oregon, and researched both products elsewhere. I treated myself to the Oregon and love using it. To answer the OP specifically, though; would I have upgraded from a 60csx? I don't know. You said you don't do much caching, so the paperless aspect is probably not as important to you as it is to me. And you currently have one of the best all-around GPSr available. Would I upgrade at current prices? Probably not without a heavy dose of "Walts Hunting" toy factor.

Coincidently, I just got a call from our caching partners saying they were boarding the airplane to come home from Seattle, and we will pick them up at the airport in a couple of hours. We accompanied them to Seattle for a bit of caching and a bit of sightseeing. They left on a cruise and cached while the ship was stopped. We spent another day in Seattle. I have seen many logs in caches I've visited stating, "Quick cache while the cruise ship is in port." or words to that effect.

StarBrand stated the differences between the two file types. What you are wanting to do is change a file with 2 - 3 pieces of information into one that has much more. Sorry, but I don't know of any way you can do that. If you are trying to get just a few caches downloaded at a time, you can use the "Send to GPS" function on the cache page. You download them one at a time, and they are each an individual GPX file on the GPS. You will need to download Garmin's free Communicator program if you don't already have it.

Just a couple of comments (opinions). First, I concur with Nicolo about the 60CSx if you don't want paperless. It's cheaper and in many circles considered the premier caching GPS. Secondly, screen brightness limitations are very much a personal decision. I wish the Oregon was brighter. It does not measure up to it's predecessors. That being said, when I bought my Oregon I told the clerk that my decision would be based on several factors. Screen brightness was a deal-breaker. They let me take it outside in the bright noontime So California sun. When I got outside the backlight was off. The screen was dark until I moved it a little and I could see everything perfectly and wondered what all the fuss was about. I then turned on the backlight—and promptly went in and bought it. I have the backlight set for 30 seconds. If it goes off, a light touch brings it back. Again, I do think the brightness issue is personal and I would not argue with anyone who disagrees with my choice. I recommend that, if possible, you try it yourself before buying.

Like with most Oregon users, my experience is limited. I bought my 400t in late August. We found five caches the next day as a test, and our caching partners were so impressed they also bought one. The four of us traveled to the Northwest US for a few days last week and did some caching there. We each loaded 1,900+ caches and quite a few waypoints, and off we went. The Oregons worked flawlessly. I often carried mine in a shirt pocket (I do have screen protection) and it was easy to get at and to use. I'm right handed, but do virtually all the screen work with my left thumb - sometimes a small problem due to large thumb. Accuracy was great - although not always perfect. I was in an old-growth forest for one cache. It was extremely dark due to thick tree cover but I easily found a cache there. I also had little problem viewing the screen. I found visibilty in bright sunlight (at the right angle) to be very good. We didn't use tracking - that will come later. For us, the paperless improvements were very helpful. It's a good thing too because I took my PDA for backup, didn't use it at all, and it promptly disappeared. I understand the Colorado is the same or nearly so as far as paperless caching is concerned. Hope this helped. I realize that there are different experiences and different viewpoints; but it was great working with the Oregon. To quote StarBrand:

Or it could be something similar to what happened to us. While traveling, we started to look for a cache when a pickup truck pulled up and a man got out and sat on a nearby boulder. After a few minutes I found the cache and left it for our caching partners to find. I went up the the man on the boulder and asked if he was a cacher. He then told me he was the cache owner. He was being transeferred to the East coast and was picking up caches he was archiving. It felt strange just handing over the cache instead of putting it back exactly as we found it. Ten minutes earlier we would have been in the same position as the OP.

REI is a retail store with a very liberal exchange policy. They just offer "Satisfaction Guaranteed" rather than buy it to try it out. You can buy over the website, but you are subject to shipping, etc. The other nice thing - at this time - about REI and other retailers, is that the price is the same for the Oregan. That will probably change. I always hesitated to buy at store prices when everything was so cheap online. At this time, the prices seem to be the same, so the 10% back and liberal return policy became much more important. edit for spelling

I bought an Oregon 400t Saturday and cached with it for a limited time on Sunday. We did mostly urban caching but some were under the trees. Our caching partner was using a MAP60CSx. First, I was impressed with the accuracy. The two GPSr were right on the money. I read of accuracy problems, and also some reviews that said recent updates solved most of them. After a limited test, I feel this is accurate. We were always very close on distance, and generally I had fewer flip-flops on the compass arrow. Let's face it, when I've gone out with other cachers where we are using the same model GPS, no one had the same reading as to the distance-from-the-cache. Again, it was a limited test, but I was very happy with the results. Another thing you read about is the screen brightness. If you intend to use the Oregon for biking, you might want to read up on some of the comments in the Wiki site mentioned above. It may not be suitable for that .(I don't bike, so I don't know.) As to geocaching, I had no problems with brightness. I bought the Oregon at REI. Before I bought it, I insisted they let me take it out in the So. California bright noon-day sun. When I got outside, I could not believe the "unacceptable" comments. It was NOT as bright as other units, but it was definitely readable and presented me with no visibilty problems. Then I tapped the screen and the backlight came on - and I went in and purchased the unit. I have a PDA that is known for being usable in sunlight. The Oregon was far superior. These comments are my opinion, and others may differ. I can understand why. Suffice it to say, I'm happy with it so far. I also agree with the favorable comments above concerning the geocaching attributes.

I prefer to wear the pants with the zip-off legs. This lets me make a choice between comfort and protection. It's easy to carry the legs and attach them when needed. That being said, however, we don't consider a caching day successful unless someone is bleeding. Fortunately, I don't have a problem with poisonous plants.

This is a log on a cache I was co-FTF on a year earlier. The building is NOT the presidential palace, and it is about 100 yards from the cache location. It is now archived.