Lighteye

Yep, MobiPocket is free, and will run on even the most inexpensive Palm based devices. I have been using it for nearly a year, and it does the trick admirably. If you are only using the PDA for paperless caching, which BTW is a great idea, just about anything will do. Check your local CompUSA,Bestbuy, or Staples for the special of the day. You should be able to walk out for under a $100 with a new PDA with expandable memory. I use a Palm Tungsten T5 myself, but is is used for a lot more than just caching. I keep MS Office docs on it, one of them being addresses and phone numbers of free wifi hotspots in whatever city I happen to be in. That has saved us a few times. You need to know what all you are going to be using it for before narrowing it down a bit, as there hundreds if not thousands of different PDAs available nowadays.

Maturity, as in growth. It's not a bad word. BlueDeuce, you nailed it. THAT was my original point here. Sorry Harry missed it. There is more to life than lamp post micros. We have found some really really neat micros, but the majority fall into the "please not another embarrassing public shrub dive or lamppost or newspaper box hide". I am quite sure that there are thousands of better uses for 35MM film canisters instead of holding moldy logs under a lamp skirt. Ditto for magnetic key holders. Did around 8-9 miles hiking today on a neat trail, saw deer from 60' away, cypress trees,oaks, and pine forest...beautiful. It was a fun journey with lots to see and a few challenging hides along the way. Now that I'm back home, I guess I need to bust this out before anyone else gets misled by the title: We have learned as a couple that there is so much more available than micro spew. But if that kind gets your motor turning, have fun, we'll pass. Give me a challenging,interesting, clever micro, and I will write quite a bit in my log, if it was worth it. Stick a 35MM under a lamppost skirt and I'll be gone to look for more challenging and fun ones. We have just grown to loathe the lame ones. Now to download my track and waypoint log from today's hike, log them all, then it's Miller Time

Yep...same pack frame I bought on base in '85, and even though I have run through 3 different packs on it, I have it adjusted perfectly so that it fits me like a pair of well broken in jeans. Thousands of miles, through hell then back, and I can't seem to get another pack that rides on me so well. ALICE will always be my girl at this rate, and the Mrs. doesn't mind. On a serious note in line with the original post, I am not alone, apparently. Thanks for reading folks and replying. If we keep up the noise, eventually it will be all about the journey and destination, and forget the numbers. El Diablo, you nailed it...if reading cool logs turn the hider on, make interesting caches. The more fun I had on one, the more detailed and fun the log. If it is another lamppost hide, be prepared for the generic copy and paste type log that is generally written on an urban cache. I am NOT knocking all urban micros, I was just stating that they caused a serious flameout in the caching engine. Lord knows I have hunted down a few hundred of them, and will grab a few occasionally in the future. Carry on with the hunt, folks!

I recently had some thoughts about this sport/hobby/addiction that we all participate in, and wanted to see if others feel this as well. When I first started caching almost a year ago, it was such a rush. The feeling of finding something hidden from most folks... an adult Easter egg hunt...the lure of hidden treasure... It was magical. I remember my first find like it happened just seconds ago...the awe that I felt upon finding this piece of well camoed tupperware in the middle of the woods. It was like...how do I put this delicately.... conjugal relations for the first time. I then started going after the urban caches, as they were so plentiful, and I could hunt them on the way in to work, at lunch, or grab a couple after dinner without having to set up my pack, print out maps, etc. It was so easy. The lovely Mrs. started hunting with me, and we were hooked. The last few months, however, I began to get a feeling that urban micro spew was indeed getting out of control, and I admit to helping feed that particular beast. I was no longer happy hunting for lame caches in front of the public, and was saddened to see my enthusiasm for my hobby fade away. It used to make me so happy to go out with my wife on an urban run and grab 20-30 smilies in a few hours. It no longer satisfied me, and the Mrs. and I no longer had a fun pasttime to share. The realization of this made me bitter and unhappy. After 3 surgeries this year laid me up from going on hikes and finding woodland caches, I realized that I would rather wait and heal up until I could get out underneath the trees and walk the forests and swamps and find things along the way. I started going out with a friend that I had made through GCing, and he had the sense to not fall into being a numbers ho. His cache find count was half of mine, but he was the smarter man. We have had many many great hours of hiking and talking and exploring places together that we would never have known existed without GC.com. I then proceeded to kill some of my lamer urban micros in hopes of bringing this hard earned wisdom to the masses, but it is failing. New, equally lame ones spring up in their place. "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink"... So true. I realize that for some, it IS an addiction...I felt it running just under the surface of my skin as well, but something in me snapped, and I walked away from it. Some folks have grown so snobbish because they have so many more finds, and think they are superior to you as a human being. Blinded by cache find numbers, and not able to see what is has done to them. The last dozen times I have been out, I went just for the hike, as I had already found the caches. It proved to me that I can still have a great time without having to log a find. Even when I was able to hike and grab a few new caches, the numbers meant so little to me that I logged them days later if I bothered to log them at all. This is in contrast to before, when I used to log them IMMEDIATELY upon walking in the door from a day of hunting. It's more about the journey now, and friends made, and experiences shared. Now...to plan tomorrow's 11 mile hikeand get my ALICE pack ready...

The BoB series...here's my take on it. Firstly, I do 99% of my caching in Florida, of which I am a native soul...one of the few. I happened to be in Chicago to attend my oldest daughter's graduation at Great Lakes Naval Academy, and truth be told, I was one proud man, being a military combat veteran myself. Having never been to Chicago, and having spare time to kill after she had to report back to her barracks in the evening, the Mrs. and I did some caching, and quite a few of the BoB series was included. This series took us into some architectually nice neighborhoods that we would have never been exposed to without GC'ing. All kinds of landscaping ideas were gathered as well. I realize that most of them were indeed cheesy finds, and should be rated just a 1/2 star for difficulty, but the series led us to interesting places, and as far as I am concerned, they were enjoyable. I got to log finds, and the Mrs. got to ogle nice houses, instead of us sitting around in a horrible hotel room. What can I say?Works for me!!!

{Rant/} And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is political correctness gone way wrong. It's a sad day that politicall illness er ah correctness means that one need to be told not to commemorate something because it might hurt someone's feelings, resulting in drivel that we would be bound to post up to have our once proud country maligned just to keep the score even. El Diablo, you are welcome, and also, this is not a personal attack, but a sad observation of our sorry state of mind. Who gives a flip if someone is offended? GC.com may be accessible worldwide, but is it the property of the U(seless)N(ations)? Actually, this is one more of a hundred million ways that citizens of this country bow their once proud heads in order to appease. Never forget that fateful September day, and those who willingly and unwillingly sacrificed their lives to wake up the rest of the country that we were really at war. Retired Army here, and my flag waves proudly in front of my house regardless of who it offends. Let that cache alone, and close your eyes if you think it's an agenda. {/Rant}

I have been on a couple of dozen hikes with a pal, and one of the things we like to do is create another hide or two or three along the trail if the area warrants it. I personally won't log these as found, but always log a note to my co-conspirator on the cache page letting them know it is in good shape, or that I performed maintenance...basically a status check. I couldn't, with a clear conscience, log any of them as "finds". I have even gone so far as to beseech my other half not to log them as finds, even if she DOES find it by herself. She understands and agrees with the philosophy. I guess to each his own. Just my $.02.

Yep, I have indeed done this. I KNEW there had to be a shorter way back from one of my grueling hikes, but from the ground it wasn't apparent. Pulled up Quakemap, and lo and behold! There was an overgrown trail that cut 2 miles off of the return trip! I actually have a multi lined up thanks to the map. I think I'll call it "The Short Way Home".

I'm all for it, and have been doing this for my own caches all along

ROFL! I second that motion completely.

I use numbers counts as a barometer for cache presence. If someone with 5 logged finds says "it's not there" when hunting one of my 3 star difficuly ones, it has a lot less weight, and causes me less concern than someone, say, with 2000 finds saying the same thing. In the latter case, I would be a lot more concerned about a maintenance visit. Other than using finds as a VERY rough barometer of skill/experience, the numbers mean utter 5417 to me.

Very astute statement there. Hope you don't mind if I borrow that one!

Actually, on the other side of Illinois, there's a series called BoB which is pretty much made for doing in one intense day. It's got 99 "caches" in the series. They're all micros, and while they seem like just the kind of caches that people argue about, that's not for this thread. But yeah, knowing the northern 'burbs of Chicago well, I could see getting the 99 BoBs plus several others in one day reasonably easily. Yep, did the BoB thing while visiting the daughter at Great Lakes Naval. Scored 32 in 2 hours, then headed off for some coffee, bored to tears. Did meet some interesting folks, and being from Florida and visiting Chicago for the first time, the caches took us to some neat neighborhoods. I cached, the dear Mrs. gawked at neat neighborhoods from the passenger seat. Works for me. To the OP: Numbers Hos, IMO, are those who run down every shoddy cache, and look down their nose at you because of your oh so obvious inferiority. I have made some good decisions and bad ones in my handling of them, but that's just me. As you hang out more here, and cache in your local community, you will develop friendships, and that, along with the great hikes and talks with other folks makes all the cuts and bruises worthwhile. In this sport, "do as you will, but harm none" is definitely the rule. Cache on!

I just dumped my 5 year old paid off Explorer 4X4 for a smaller sportier car. Doubled the MPG, but that payment's gonna be painful! On the other hand, not spending an extra buck-fifty/month on repairs It works out about even between the the payment vs gas savings/repair bills. Oh, and for the OP 10.22 is my magic number as calculated by your link.

I remember the first one...it was like s.. the first time, almost surreal...made me happy 100...3 part multi...a beautiful creek hidden in the woods...gorgeous 500...found this one with the Mrs. on a hike after work in the rain..it belonged to my best geo-buddy...those three meant the most to me.

.12 miles

That is my philosophy on multis as well. I try to always lead them back in, and am currently planning one with a friend that will cut 2 odd miles off of a 14 mile trail now. THAT one should be appreciated

Now where have I seen this posted before?!

I concur 100%,Jimear1e. I suppose that's why we get along so well IRL! Yes, most multis here are for the hardcore hiking fools. My favorite cache of all time is Where The Green Fern Grows ,GCD459, and it was 17 odd miles in 2 attempts to get it. The reward though...wow. The bonus cache on that one was one of the neatest things that I have seen in a bit, and was quite possibly the most welcome sight the whole trip. I find that folks attempting these types of caches tend to read previous logs in detail, and if you don't well....what can I say? An average of one person a month completes this one, and the count would be significantly lower if not for "geo-herding". It is a hiker's cache for sure, and not for the micro mush park and grab crowd. Completing longer multis provides a sense of accomplishment to those that complete it, and it will probably become a local favorite if you take good care with the hides. It is especially critical, as noted earlier in the thread, that all stages are hidden well away from those (*&ing muggly eyeballs, so as to prevent disruption of the epic hunt that you have planned. All of that said, good luck!

oops...now you said it As for the OP... I have run into just as much knucleheadedness,hypocrisy,and garbage on the FGA forums...there are trolls there as well, and I have made my stand. I couldn't care less what just about anyone there thinks, so I call it straight whether it ruffles feathers or not. I firmly believe that the near anonymity of this interwebby thing makes some folks change like gremlins that are fed after midnight. They become little monsters with very sharp teeth, and you are quite likely to be snacked on. Just an observation.

Got it in the mail on Friday! Wow! Beautiful job there! I still wear my desert boonie when out caching, and I think this patch will be sewn on to the back of it. Thanks a million, and check your PMs!

That is usually my rule of thumb as well, until the final stage of a multi is a horrific shrub dive that is by a dumpster, and has had piles of grass clippings and dog $^1t actually dropped on top of ground zero. I advised via log of the area's condition, as I thought it was a serious health hazard. The log was was promptly deleted. I have since filtered out all of the mindless bush dives from that hider.

So true... this kicked off a bit of nastiness here with one of my hides. It is extremely tactless and rude to go on a rant in a log about coords putting you in the middle of nowhere, especially after the previous finders said the coords put them literally on top of it at 0'. I personally like to contact the hider before saying anything in public. We have a new cacher here locally, and his coords so far have been pretty awful, but he is a nice guy, so a phone call or email usually resolves this asap. Anything more than 40' off in the clear, and 70' in heavy cover is about the dividing line between me chalking it up to my GPS having a bad hair day, and the hider verifying coords at midnight with his eyes closed, then sending him a communication. Just my $.02

Yeah, but they have a hard time getting anywhere near the caches. YOUCH! Anyways...60 CSX and 76 CX here, and after starting with a Meridian Gold, then a VistaC, I could never go back.