kiwimonster
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Posts posted by kiwimonster
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When I was in Japan, I used a "real" GPS for geocaching, but I also had my iphone for cached map purposes. One issue I had is that the iphone never figured out that we had moved a long ways and never got a lock until I used it to connect to a wireless network to give it a clue where it was. Just stand outside the Apple store in Tokyo for free wireless, it's right by the Ginza subway stop. This was several years ago, maybe the software has gotten better. Most of our hotels in Japan did not have wireless then.
The power/usb adapter that comes with the iphone works in every country I've tried it in, and I've tried many - it handles something like 100-220V 50-60hz. Get out a magnifying glass, it says so right on it. Japan power is 100V at 50/60hz depending on where you are. The plug style in Japan is the same as the US so no adapter is needed.
The phone would probably work as a phone just fine, 3G is available, but I left mine in airplane mode with wireless on. Save your pocket queries at home or if your hotel has wireless, and the geocaching app should work fine. ATT would likely be happy to sell you an international phone/text/data plan and maybe your company would even pay you for it...
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Kiwimonster just now nabbed this one.#19B - Posted Oct 19 - N45 35.213 W122 45.594I wasn't expecting a couch potato, but I confirm that 19B is in good hands.
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Oregone made it to the Champoeg event this year, although he hasn't logged it, and there is nothing in the gallery that caught him. He is in the gallery of the local forums; a little blurry, as usual.
Fatherhood seems to have mellowed him somewhat. Yes, he has reproduced - god help us all.
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One of our favorite cache hides was in a tree that eventually was removed. It wasn't a micro cache, and it wasn't a small tree. The remaining stump is about 10 feet in diameter, but if you look at the pictures on the cache page, you'll see that is a little misleading...
We were fortunate that a cache hunter happened by while the tree was in the process of being removed; they found and rescued the cache for us.
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I can make a few comments, being the one who set up the pdxgeocaching geocaching.com identity. It is, as people surmise, a "sock puppet" account whose only purpose is to own the Original Stash Plaque cache. It is set up as a group because that is the way Team360, the previous owner of the cache, wanted it. I'd done this before with another "sock puppet" account whose small group's purpose is to create challenging caches, so it was pretty easy to do.
The first comment I would have is that a committee shouldn't own a cache. One person should be the one to make the final desicions, and should be recognized as such by the others. That person should feel a sense of ownership of that cache, and feel responsible for it. It's not just cache maintenance, it's replying to email, dealing with travel bugs, etc. They don't have to do all of the work, but if something needs to be done, and no one else can do it, then they need to.
You can share the password as much as you trust people. My experience is that the "owner" is the only one who remembers what the password is.
You definately want a mailing list for the geocaching email. All cache notes and email through geocaching.com go to everyone. I also usually use geocaching.com email to do replies, as it will also send a copy of the reply to the list. I try not to publish the email address of the mailing list too much, but make people go through geocaching.com to send email. I mentioned the email address for pdxgeocaching on an open forum and got much spam to it until I set up a filter to remove all email that didn't come from geocaching.com. The other account I communicate through geocaching.com mainly to add a sense of mystery. My mailing lists are done through my own computer at home and they modify the subject lines to indicate what identity they are for. I can't say it is reliable enough to offer to you as a service. My dog has a habit of sitting on the power strip and turning things off...
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My understanding is that Technu is only really effective when applied shortly after exposure. After a rash appears, it may be too late. Disclaimer: I say this as someone who is not very sensitive to poison oak (yet), and who has never knowingly had an outbreak. I still carry the stuff in my backpack and use it as soon as I can when I feel I may be exposed.
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Hmmmm I knew there was a reason I stopped looking at these forums
Can't be this. If yumitori was going to be camping next to me, I'd want to know about it!
He's probably just worried that we're going to drink all of his scotch. And he would be right!
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You want to head over to the Portland Geocaching site and check out the recommended caches there. They have them broken down both by area and by the type of cache (best puzzles, best scenery, best for families, etc.) something we have found to be very useful on our trips there.
The site up from my point of view. At least now it is....
The list of caches seems to be broken; I'll have to send DenaliNW a note about that. It also needed more contributions. Guess we just look ilke slackers today....
If I may be so bold to suggest our Poetry In Motion cache; it seems to get a lot of traffic from travelers. It's is right next to one of the biggest and best bookstores anywhere.
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Definately check out http://www.pdxgeocaching.com. Here's a direct link to the forums. The site is even owned by a Vancouver cacher, so you'll be quite welcome! Most Portland area cachers who hang out in forums do so there rather than here in the geocaching forums.
There will be an event cache on March 20th where cachers get together and talk and eat, and who knows what else. Here is the link to the cache page. It's west side Portland, so it might be a little far for you.
If you really want to start a group in Vancouver, I'd suggest getting to know people is the first step. Event caches are perfect for that sort of thing. Feel free to schedule one; you can use our event above as a model. Dont' worry to much about the theme, we make up any old excuse to get together.
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There's a lot of puzzle caches that end up in forest park.... Let's see if I can remember the regular ones.
FP1 is a bit of a bushwhack up a gooey hill just off Saltzman; wait until the road makes a U at the creek before leaving the road and going up. You'll know it when you see it.
I believe Ione the 1st is close by the wildwood trail just up from Saltzman.
Amazingly, I think that's it for the route you describe. There's a lot of caches in forest park, just not there. There are caches off of trails off of 53rd, and some off of Germantown. Beware the tricky dick caches; they are often nasty bushwhacks and bad coordinates - read logs and write down the coordinates other people give.
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As for camping details: check out the champoeg.com site for available campsites. All of the yurts and cabins have been not only reserved but paid for so they are not available.
Send a message to champoeg at kiwimonster.net with the following information:
1. which site you would like. we recommend selecting one or more back-ups as well.
2. which night(s) you would like to camp. Nearly everyone is staying Friday and Saturday nights; many folks are also staying Thursday or Sunday. At least one group is coming on Wednesday.
3. your calculation of the cost. It's $20 per night plus $10 for the reservation (so $30 for 1 night; $50 for 2 nights; $70 for 3 nights; $90 for 4 nights).
4. the geocaching and real names of everyone you expect to be camping with you, and your e-mail address
5. once we have all of the details, we'll confirm your site via e-mail and let you know how to get us the money.
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In retrospect I'm not sure I'd trust the kiwimonsters as wagonmasters in the future. We expressed interest in getting into a cabin or yurt if one came available, since we had a cabin two years ago but missed out last year. They responded that a yurt was indeed open and we could have it if we wanted. After sending them our money, come to find out the reason it was open was that we would be between Bazzle and Soup!!!
Boy, did they see the rubes from Montana coming a mile away...
We understand your concern. But then again, we're between fractal and sassquatch.
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I don't see Sweden on your list, but if you happen to find yourself there, our travel bug Portlandia has been stuck in Norway/Sweden for quite some time. We released it in Perth, Australia in July 2003 with the goal of coming home to Portland, Oregon; it made it to Nebraska, before heading to Sweden. It spent 9 months in a cache in Norway with no finds in that time before it recently started moving again.
Would love to have it move closer to home.
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We put one here. I doubt there will be a stampede to get it.
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Ka-Ho-Nee Falls is pretty variable. I've done it in February in the rain with the occasional snowbank, and it was challenging, and I've done it in July and got there so quick I decided to reduce the terrain rating by 1/2 star. Since it hasn't been done yet this year, I'm hoping the the path that was worn last year has been overgrown by now. That would add some challenge.
The falls are much more interesting when there is a lot of water going over them. That isn't July.
It is likely you can do both caches in one day. Either do Pipeline first, or bring an extra set of dry shoes/socks maybe pants. You don't really need hiking boots for Pipeline.
I'd like to send another first aid kit out there. People keep taking it out of the cache.
Of course, if I labeled it for them not to do that, maybe they wouldn't Contact me before you go, and we'll see if I can get that to you. -
Pipeline is good, but IMHO, not the best cache in the gorge. Still worth doing.
Tomb Raider by Navdog is a great multi - this from someone who's not all that into multis.
Rock of Ages, is another great Navdog cache, one that will leave you aching (for more!).
I modestly suggest Ka-Ho-Nee Falls as a great outing. Don't let the warnings put you off, they applied when we placed it after a pretty wet season. I've heard it compared favorably to Headwall, which was archived before I could do it.
If you want to "kick it up a notch", you can continue on to Colorado Jones' Wahe Ka-Ho-Nee.Across the river there is Crack of the Gods, also by Colorado Jones which takes almost the whole day.
Closer to Portland, there is 2925 by Oregone, which is a sort of portland area rite of passage. Nearby, after it gets dark, you can attempt Nightwalker, an excellent night cache by Navdog.
These are some of the most challenging and fun caches in the gorge. There are likely others, but I haven't done them yet.
Note the word challenging - do your homework before attempting them.There are lots of less challenging but still good caches all through the gorge.
Also look at pdxgeocaching gorge caches. Not a lot of votes recorded, but it has some info.
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If you post to the visitors section of pdxgeocaching.com then you'll get lots of suggestions from the Portland area folks. You might also try Emerald Valley Cachers for Eugene and Willamette Valley cache suggestions.
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I'll be visiting San Diego next week (from Oregon), and would like recommendations on particular caches that I should try to make sure to look for. I'll be staying in Scripps Ranch but also visiting friends in Oceanside and Carlsbad and will have a rental car. Thanks for any suggestions you can share!
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My answer to all of your questions is "yes". There are probably Internet resources out there to help with puzzles with squares, but as far as I know, I'm the only one who has ever used triangles.
If you like that kind of puzzle, be sure to check out The Dreamweave Cube, about which I can only claim that I was first to find it.
There are many fine puzzle caches in Portland that can be solved from the comfort of your home, so if you are planning to come to Portland anyway, you may as well try for as many as you can. -
We'll be in Portland Wednesday evening. Since you know the area far better than we do, why not setup the event? Give us the time and place and we'll meet you there. Keep in mind, we have kids with us, so it needs to be a family-friendly establishment.
Roughly what part of Portland will you be in? Pick the correct side of town, and maybe we can set something up.
Choose poorly, and something can probably still be done. 
A pity that you will likely not have time to do any of the (IMHO) more interesting caches in the area.
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Most of the Portland discussion topics are now on pdxgeocaching.com. There's now a section in the forums for visitors if you'd like to post when and where you'll be and someone will probably be able to join you if you'd like. There's also some ideas about best caches....although somewhat dated. And "best" will of course depend on whether you're interested in puzzles (we have a lot), hikes (ditto), micros, or something else.
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Thanks for the recommendations. Will repost in the New England forum.
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I will be headed to Lebanon NH for a few days later this month. The trip is mostly to visit a newphew (and his parents), but any opportunity to geocache is always welcome. Are there any "don't miss" caches near there that someone would recommend? Thanks!
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I agree. Three corners sounds very interesting to me. I just wish it wasn't as far away from me as is possible for something in Oregon.
As for tricky dick, well, I think it is Hanlon's Razor, to some degree.
I've considered trying for Mt. Defiance, in the course of exploring that area. I don't know that I would go there for that purpose alone. I generally wait until someone else posts better coordinates.
If you want to "kick it up a notch", you can continue on to Colorado Jones' 
Note the word challenging - do your homework before attempting them.
Choose poorly, and something can probably still be done. 
Found a cache; want to return to contact
in Northwest
Posted
Looks like ours alright. We got the contact, and we'll get it taken care of. Thanks!