Team LaLonde

Holy wah! That's a lot of caching. My math shows about one cache every four minutes. Must have been the farfegnugen!

My favorite mode of transportation when caching. . .

Looks like older animals that were no longer of value to the farmer. When I was growing up we used to take ours to a remote location on the farm (over a hill or to a big hole) and shoot them. Sounds cruel, but farm animals are not pets and when they don't give back as much as you put into them - well, you get the idea. It's just the business of farming.

My wife and I took two full bags of trash out of the woods at a cache last weekend. There weren't any trash cans around so the bags went into the trunk and then I put them in the dumpster at work. Woundn't it be nice if there was a network of businesses who would let you dispose of the waste like that so you didn't have to carry it with you all the time? What does everyone else do?

We have thought about doing the same thing with pictures on a CD. We were going to put them into a slide show/web page that also includes links to local websites on tourism and special events. My only problem is that most of the caches in this area cannot accept a regular CD because they are jugs. Mini CDs might be our solution.

How's this for a close encounter? I was at Presque Isle in Marquette, MI.

I do the same thing. Works great!

I personally would rather have accurate coordinates and a well camouflaged container to make the find more difficult. If someone doesn't have the sheets with them and they don't know that they are supposed to look somewhere other than at the coordinates it can be frustrating. We had one recently that gave coordinates and then instructed us to turn around and go back X number of feet (really annoying).

Tonight while we were checking on one of our caches we ran into a guy and his dogs rummaging near the cache. After a while I asked him if he was geocaching. He looked very puzzled and asked what geocaching was. I told him it was treasure hunting. He said he never heard of it and was just clearing a new trail for mountain biking. The trail is cool with us as long as he doesn't cut down the tree my cache is hidden in.

I see the frustration here, but when does a 'hint' become 'the solution'? For instance, "it's right there under the picnic table on the left leg" isn't really a hint, it just tells you where it is.

High Sierra makes this pack. I use it for biking and caching. It carries water, sig items, trash bags, first aid, etc. On sale at Gander Mountain for $25.

My biggest concerns are ticks and falling from cliffs/ledges.

I have seen the logo on signature cards, etc. Can I add it to a photograph on the web?

This is our token, front and back. The quarter is for reference of course. The blanks are sold at crafts stores.

We like to see pins (not buttons), carabiners or 'souvenir' items which are relative to the area we are caching in. We leave items with a connection to our home town in addition to homemade wooden nickels with our name on them.

All I know is this guy and his family were THANKFUL we were in the area. My wife is an ex-EMT and we didn't think twice about helping. The risk of a law suit is far less than someone dying from complicated injuries in the wilderness.

Have you thought of hiding a "special" geocache just for them?

We used a Slik mini tripod - about 1' to 2.5' - for our trip to Nevada. It worked perfectly and was very convenient to carry even in the crowded city and casinos.

We're hardly heroes. . .just responsible hikers and geocachers. Any one of you would do the same. I took a couple of pictures of the helicopter and ambulance in the parking lot so I'll see if I can get them posted. The wife and son of the injured man took pictures throughout the rescue and will hopefully email them. Update: Photo 1

Yesterday we were in Red Rock Canyon hiking. We pulled into a parking area when a man with bloody hands stopped us and asked for help. His father had been rock climbing when he fell and broke his leg. Another man was already on a cell phone but didn't know where we were. With the help of our GPSr we were able to give exact coordinates for the rescue team. My wife is a former paramedic trainer so we stayed with the injured man until the helicopter could arrive for the rescue. It was a very exciting end to our vacation!

Hilarious!

Au contraire mon ami! The front page of the Mining Journal had an article that proclaimed the coming of a Starbucks to Marquette. This is one of those cases where progress isn't really progress. The local economy can't sustain several locally owned coffee shops and a Starbucks, too. Besides, now I'll have to CITO those dang cups. Que sera, sera. BTW, pasty coupons are a great idea!

We're also from Ishpeming. If you see us lost in the woods, say hello.

bump No, really. I'm serious. What if I gave away my car keys and title as a FTF?

Holy wah! Don't go givin' out da secrets of da U.P.! We like it dis way! Go Wildcats! Kidding aside, I moved here from Detroit about three years ago and wouldn't trade my life for anything. We have thousands of acres of wilderness all around us. Thanks everyone for all the advice. Tomorrow I will plant that cache.