H2OBob

I've been to some of the most scenic places in western PA, thanks to geocaching. Stop by my 'favorite' bookmark list HERE.

It won't matter to most, as the declination (difference between Magnetic & Geographic north) is negligable. Here, it is about 9°, so I set the GPSr on magnetic. Of course, I use a hand compass when close to the cache area, and I don't need a 9° error. If you don't know the declination in your area, go HERE.

I use GSAK to transfer the waypoints, and Watcher to print out a list of the waypoints, with the information that I will need. For multis and puzzle caches, I print the cache page. This system seems to work well for me.

59, and getting younger every time I find a cache. Only DNFs age me

Got mine at Wal-Mart, in the Archery hunting section. It's the cloth tape. They also sell camo duct tape.

The only problem with all three of your questions would be winter temperatures. Batteries freeze, releasing acids. Dessicant works great in the summer, but when temperatures fluctuate, it gives off the moisture that it absorbed. Camo is a great idea, but most adhesives either turn gooey or crack in extremes of temperature. Cloth camo tape works the best, and it's not 'shiny'.

I use Clayjar's Watcher. You can set up the columns that you need, giving you the information for the caches. Load the same GPX file into GSAK to download to your GPSr, and you're ready to go!

I'm not sure what you mean, but It may be the 'format' that you don't understand. Most map services use the decimal degrees format. It looks like this: DD.DDDD°. Most GPSrs use the Degree/decimal minutes format, which looks like this: DD°MM.MMM'. If you need to convert from decimal degrees to Degree/decimal minutes, just multiply the decimal portion times 60. Example: N68.5167° .5167 x 60 = 31.002' Answer: N68° 31.002' Hope this helps you. Happy caching!

Good, heavy duty gaiters will help. You can make a set from old jeans and elastic.

I look at sig cards as a separate ‘side trade’. After the regular trade is finished, if there is a card that I want, I trade one of mine for it. The guidelines are the same as the regular swag trade. Trade to enrich the cache. At least that’s how I look at it. I agree with those that think that non-laminated cards are trash. They turn to mush with the least moisture, and even a little condensation will be absorbed by them, forming a wet mass of goop in the bottom of the container. This goop holds the moisture, turning buttons or any other metal swag to rust. Whenever I can, I’ll clean this wet goop out of a cache. My cards are printed in color, on cardstock, and laminated. I used MS Word to print them, but MS Works and others will do. I just think that Word is easier. You can get the prepunched cardstock at any office supply store. I found the best buy on laminate at WW. Called XYRON, a 12 inch by 24 foot roll was only a few bucks. Happy Caching!

another stage deals with heights Snip I'd be concerned about this stage. Is it safe? A cache shouldn't put a searcher in risk of injury. An exception would be a 5 star terrain that would require climbing gear.

I got mine at WallyWorld. They are Lewis Hunting Accessories Extreme Reflection Markers. Square thumbtacks with a honeycomb pattern on them. I think they were about $3.00 for 50. Should be enough for two or three caches. There are other brands. Do a Google search.

I used Microsoft Publisher, and Avery perforated cardstock. I searched on Google Images for a good picture, then used Corel Photo-Paint to make it fit my needs, and came up with... <----- This. Printed it on one side, and a catch phrase on the other. Oh, don't forget to laminate them. It keeps them from turning to trash in the cache. Good Luck!!

Thanks for the help. So do they mess up the geocash? Sometimes they do. You can usually tell by observation, what type of people you are dealing with. Some may be interrested in what you are doing, and you may be able to to turn them into cachers. Kinda magic, huh? Others, you might want to wait until they leave the area, or even leave the area yourself, and try for that cache another day. If unsure, it's always best to be discrete. You owe it to the cache placer to protect the cache. Sometimes, however, no matter how much you hide your activity, a muggle will stumble onto a cache, and then it must be moved or archived. Once it's muggled, there's a good chance the muggle will come back.

Have you considered US Topo? A lot of cachers (me Included) use it. The level of detail is better, as streams, trails, contours and swamps are shown. These are of great help to a cacher. The only drawback is that it doesn't autoroute. If you need a route planned, you have to do it on the PC, then download it to the GPSr.

Topo lets you know if there is a stream, swamp, cliff, or other ostruction between you and the cache. Also, if there is a Jeep trail that goes nearer to the cache than the road. It can save lots of walking. No autorouting, but you can set waypoints along a route, then convert them into a route, and download it to the GPSr. Takes a litttle time, but it works.

If it were me, I'd replace the Legend C. I love mine, and I don't think I would be happy with anything else. I think I'm most impressed with the battery life. I've had no experience with CN, so I can't advise you there. I use US Topo. It has all the roads, plus terrain, trails and streams. No autorouting, but I can set up a route on the PC, and load it into the GPSr in a few minutes.

The first time I was stopped by police, all I had was my drivers license. I got patted down, then I had to explain what I was diong, 'lurking' in the bushes. It's not easy to explain geocaching to someone that never heard of it before. The second time, I had the "Let's Go Geocaching" brochure with me, and it was a much more relaxed conversation. I left him the brochure to pass around to his fellow officers, and he was quite interrested in the hobby. I'll bet he went right to the police station, and looked up GC.com! ALWAYS have your drivers license when caching.

Ah, yes, I know the feeling. You can help alleviate the stress by going to the Garmin website, and downloading the user's manual for the GPSr that you are getting. That way, when you get it, you'll already be familiar with the controls, and the time needed to learn how to run your new GPSr will be much shorter. Also, you can set up your pocket queries, gather the things you will be taking with you, print out the cache pages for the caches that you want to go after first, and download the software that you will need to transfer the caches to your new GPSr. Lots to do! Don't wait til the last minute to do it! Welcome to the club, and happy caching!

I would also like to add: cathedral Rock Indain God Rock The Brickyard Don't forget the one that I think is the best in the area, Escape from Hoge Island And, another Iron furnace cache, Victory Iron Furnace Cache

There are several in this area. Most are placed near rivers or lakes. They all start with a selection of fishing gear. One gave the FTFer a rod and reel! They are all very popular, as a lot of cachers started as outdoorsmen, and got into caching as another way to use thier GPSr Go ahead and put it out. I'll come!

My first hidden cache was in a cemetery. I designed a great container, got it all set, and called one of the cemetery board members, a neighbor of mine. I told him what I had planned, and that it would be away from the headstones, actually behind the caretaker's building. He said that it would be no problem, so I set the cache, and listed it the next day. Several people found it, and I was having fun, until two days later, the board member called me back to say that one of the other members (the caretaker, I think) didn't want the cache there, and would cause trouble if it wasn't taken out. I imediatly archived the cache, and removed it. Lessons learned: 1 ALWAYS get ALL permission first! I kinda 'jumped the gun'. 2 In a cemetery, be sure to get permission from the caretaker. He's the one that will worry about running into an ammo can with the lawnmower. Cemeteries are very sensitive places. I like to do caches there, but I don't think the general public would understand if they saw a car pull up, and a cacher jump out and start searching through the bushes, then race off in persuit of the next one. We can help, by eliminating cemetery caches from our 'power trail' lists, and conducting our searches in a reverant manner.

I use a Silva type 7 that I've had since the days before GPSrs, and I used a compass and topo map for hunting. I have a Brunton Classic that I got from the NRA that I have for a backup. edit: Wanna have fun sometime? Go to WallyWorld, and grab one of the compasses they have there. Now turn around in a circle, and see what happens...

I have Mapsource US Topo on my GPSr, and It shows the streets and jeep trails that are nearest the cache. There are some places where you just have to drive around a bit. A city near here, (Oil City) has many narrow, one-way streets, and unless you know the area, you drive quite a ways to some caches. There are two there that I haven't found, so I'll have to go back. Part of the fun for me...

1491, of which I've found 159 so far. Most are up around Erie. Some of the best are nearby.