Snowtrail

quote:Originally posted by majicman: A question for the "old-timers" in here... As a "still a newbie" I wonder, did this happen last summer? http://www.geocaching.com/subscribe/ majicman In a word... "Yup." In fact, I remember about this time last year the same discussion being pondered...

I have been out of state. If there are people around, I skip the cache. I'd rather miss finding a cache rather than cause it to become missing.

Well let's see.. it's not locationless, it's not commercial... sounds great. I agree with McIrish, there might not be as many visitors as you might like, and more likely than not, there will be many with "couldn't find." Somebody will find it though if it is well thought out (and it sounds like it is).

...and ALWAYS mark your car.

They're out using their GPS to mow the grass. See this thread... What have you used your GPS for?

They're out using their GPS to mow the grass. See this thread... What have you used your GPS for?

I'm a gadget head. I have a $200 watch/barometer/thermometer/altimeter/digital compass that can even tell time. I lust over the latest DVD player or voodoo driver or first person shooter game that comes out. I'm a girl. My husband hates geocaching. He thinks I'm crazy. He makes fun of my gadgets, and to even think that I want to upgrade anytime soon...well... I go geocaching alone. I've been in heels. I've been in skirts. I've been in camo BDU's. I've gotten blisters, scrapes, poison ivy, rips in my hose and I still go. Why??? I keep asking myself that too. I go for the same reasons you go. The thrill of the hunt, the smell of an open cache, the sounds of victory.

I'm a gadget head. I have a $200 watch/barometer/thermometer/altimeter/digital compass that can even tell time. I lust over the latest DVD player or voodoo driver or first person shooter game that comes out. I'm a girl. My husband hates geocaching. He thinks I'm crazy. He makes fun of my gadgets, and to even think that I want to upgrade anytime soon...well... I go geocaching alone. I've been in heels. I've been in skirts. I've been in camo BDU's. I've gotten blisters, scrapes, poison ivy, rips in my hose and I still go. Why??? I keep asking myself that too. I go for the same reasons you go. The thrill of the hunt, the smell of an open cache, the sounds of victory.

One of the geocachers in my area leaves a kazoo (try to handmake one of those) since the handle is.. uh..well.. Kazoo. . . I don't think that all trademark items have to be handmade. It's all about personality.

One of the geocachers in my area leaves a kazoo (try to handmake one of those) since the handle is.. uh..well.. Kazoo. . . I don't think that all trademark items have to be handmade. It's all about personality.

The starting lat/long could be the center of the closest town. Wherever you start from, just stipulate that it's a general starting reference point, and not the actual first point. I'm not anywhere close, but it sounds like a neat cache.

You'll die laughing at this... I placed my Etrex, disposable camera, local cache printout and my water bottle on top on the passenger side of a car while loading my backpack and other items in the back. Got in the car and pulled off... Well, 2 miles down the road when we got up to about 35 mph, things started flying off the top of the car [insert sick stomach-dropping feeling here]. We had to walk back a quarter of a mile to pick up things that flew off, but not the Etrex. The rubber on the bottom was the only thing making the thing stick to the roof!

#1 reason I don't like geogamer --> you HAVE to register. I don't like to register first before knowing the content of a website. That's why I like geocaching.com. You don't have to register if you don't want to. I visited geocaching.com a few times before I joined and all the personal information I had to input was my zipcode. Sure, it's nice to have a listing of the caches I've found, sure it's nice to give input on the forums, but I didn't -have- to. In addition, I didn't -have- to become a charter member, I could have remained at the geocacher level. I chose to become a charter member because I want to support Jeremy's efforts in this website and in expanding geocaching in general. I don't geocache to make money. I believe any attempt to do so will fail.

If you're placing caches on vacation, make sure you have somebody who can check on things if something happens. Additional microcache container ideas include an altoids container, aspirin bottle, nalgene makes small waterproof bottles, small tupperware...

I heard a story on NPR about "weird websites" and then checked it out. By scanning the first page, I was hooked. I didn't own a GPS at the time, and ordered one the same day - just to geocache.

Yeah, I saw that too, something about co-ords. I click past it too quickly and when I returned it wasn't there. I keep frantically clicking pages to see if the ad will pop up again. I didn't see anything for it on the "want gear" page...

Use it backpacking or camping so I can find the campsite in the dark, or to find a shortcut. Speaking of the dark, I've used it as an expensive flashlight (hey the backlight does have a good use) when the bulb burned out. Impressed train travellers by reporting what our top speed was, and then converting it to metric for international travellers that were sitting next to us. Same trip, marked all train stations. On the way back, I was able to report how long before we had to stop again... Used it as a cell phone when geocaching to hide the fact that I'm standing round waiting for satellites to pick up in a public place. I also mark my hotel and highway exit when out of town. Got lost in Marietta and didn't have to stop to ask for directions (hate doing that). We recently went to New York City, and I marked our subway stations that we used most often. Plus, after reading the logs above, I'll track the mowing this weekend. I have a push mower, so it will be interesting. . .

Use it backpacking or camping so I can find the campsite in the dark, or to find a shortcut. Speaking of the dark, I've used it as an expensive flashlight (hey the backlight does have a good use) when the bulb burned out. Impressed train travellers by reporting what our top speed was, and then converting it to metric for international travellers that were sitting next to us. Same trip, marked all train stations. On the way back, I was able to report how long before we had to stop again... Used it as a cell phone when geocaching to hide the fact that I'm standing round waiting for satellites to pick up in a public place. I also mark my hotel and highway exit when out of town. Got lost in Marietta and didn't have to stop to ask for directions (hate doing that). We recently went to New York City, and I marked our subway stations that we used most often. Plus, after reading the logs above, I'll track the mowing this weekend. I have a push mower, so it will be interesting. . .

Hey Mariner, is there a way I could also get some of those stickers, maybe even pass them out at the next meeting? Are they just computer labels with the website on them, or do they have the special AdventureTom touch? I have seen GPS in best buy, circuit city etc. where I would have loved to slap labels on the back...

Hey Mariner, is there a way I could also get some of those stickers, maybe even pass them out at the next meeting? Are they just computer labels with the website on them, or do they have the special AdventureTom touch? I have seen GPS in best buy, circuit city etc. where I would have loved to slap labels on the back...

Took Amtrak from Charlotte to New York last week. Of course, I brought my ETrex. Clocked the disel top speed at 81.3 MPH and the electric (switched in DC to electric engine) at 115 MPH. Batteries ran out halfway, but the trip took 15.5 hours. I marked each station we stopped at. I couldn't get out to triangulate, but I wasn't exactly going for accuracy. Lowest elevation was in DC (-5 ft){could be wrong, this is where the batteries died}, highest was in Burlington (856 ft). We made a total of 27 stops. [This message was edited by Snowtrail on May 28, 2002 at 12:21 PM.]

I like single drive-bys to be micros. I think they last longer, and there's more of a chance that it will still be there when I go looking for it. I like multi stage, but more than a micro. I want to be able to sit down and read logs, especially if I'm in the woods by myself with no chance of anyone coming up on me. I like going through what people have traded. I feel it's the same as reading the registers on the AT. There are a few virtual caches that I will visit next week when I go on vacation. I don't mind them since I understand about the urban caches. It gets me to places that I wouldn't normally go, particularly if I'm from out of town. It's like an insider's guide to the town. I haven't attempted any of the locationless caches. I think some are thought out well, and do make an attempt at making people work for the right to count it.

OK, what other uses have you used your GPS other than geocaching and the obvious navigational uses? I have used it as a decoy when geocaching. It's amazing when you're cursing about all of the people around and you start using your etrex as a cell phone that people don't look at you weird anymore. The other use was three days ago when my flashlight went out while camping. I was a quarter mile in the dark from the campground, knew my way to the campground, but needed light. I set the backlight to 'always on' and used it as a flashlight. (Found out later that the bulb went out in the flashlight). Note to self: bring extra batteries AND extra light bulbs...

I actually like having all types. One of these can be found on my church. Duh, never knew it was a benchmark. The church was built by King George III and given to the Presbyterians after the American Revolution. The steeple made it through Hurricane Hugo (barely) and had to be straightned. Even though I know where the church is (I'm a member) I plan on finding the teardrop marker... See: http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.asp?PID=FA2396

I'm going on a road trip to NY. If anybody in the Charlotte area has a bug they want moved, please met me know soon!