Bamboogirl

The magnets in drives are actually rather brittle. So if the attempt was made to cut one up - even with a bandsaw or such, it would likely break into a whole lot of little magnets. But then they wouldn't be much use for anything. It's pretty hard to do, but if smacked just right, they can break up. That's why they are bonded to a non-conductive backing plate (I got bored in an FA lab one time and tried it)

Yup. Too much fun. Have friends in SoCal that got me hooked. First find was a micro in a park by my house. I'm still way a noob by most standards but crawling around in rocks and such is soooo much fun. I was carefully walking in the direction indicated by the GPS that I walked right into the tree that hid the cache. Found it in the fork of the tree covered in leaves. Now every time I drive by places I either remember there is a cache hidden or think maybe if there isn't there should be. Truly an addicting sport!

I struggled over It Ain't Mail for a while as it had been muggled, had a bad log and been through some messy stuff - basically dying. Since it was by my house, I figured it was my turn to do something good so I took a new container, dressed it up and set it loose. The owner has not been around for a while, but has several caches in the area. I figure helping this one along was a lot better than letting it rot as it gets a fair amount of traffic when the weather is good. If the owner has gone out of the area, I'll see about doing a formal adoption.

Well.....after 45 minutes of Christmas Muzak, I ended up talking to a very nice guy who proceeded to do the entire unlock thing. Used the unlock code number on the certificate - I was clever enough not to throw it out (this time.......) In the exact same way I did. After much "hmmmming" he went in the back way (not sure how, but I think he had the magic key) He read the 25 (!) digit unlock code. I entered it and am now up and running. Very cool. He had no idea how/why the web site wasn't agreeing with the serial number on the map disc or accepting the internal one to my GPS as it showed already registered. go figure.

Need some help please with the software from hell. I picked up the Garmin City Navigator to load into my 60CSx. So far so good. The fun starts attempting to do the Unlock code thing and I'm hoping that someone knows how to work through this mess....... Loaded disc into computer. Did the install thing. Brought up the mapsource icon only to run into the "Locked Maps Detected" screen. No big deal.....went to Unlock Maps Wizard (read devil screen.....) Logged in. Had handy unlock certificate, jewel case the disc came in with the 10-digit serial number, full cup of coffee, couple oatmeal cookies. (so far so good...) Picked the map option. Carefully entered the unlock code. (still so far so good.....) Message came back: this code is associated with the version 8 City Navigator (Gee, thanks for that bit of information) But it asks for an 8 digit serial number. My serial number has 10 digits..... Entered 10 digit serial number. Error message pooped all over my serial number. Tried picking out 8 of the 10 numbers in various combinations thinking that may work. Nope. This stupid thing seems to only want 8 digits..... Went back, got glasses. Entered Unlock code, serial number, mother's maiden name, blood type, dogs name etc. More error messages. Tried going in the other way, using the internal number on the GPS. Nada. OK. Back to unlock wizard. Not feeling so Wizardly. Went through whole thing again. Went through whole thing again. (Repeat reading this until you get annoyed.) Called the tech support lines. Busy. busy. busy. Amazingly enough, I got through on the non-toll-free line. Have so far been on hold listening to Cheery Christmas Music for 20 30 minutes. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I found 4 caches on Monday quicker than I have gotten through to this place. Any ideas?

Having a dog along is great as long as he/she is well prepared and at least somewhat well-trained. He will need to respond well to a command to sit/stay while you are digging around in bushes and such or you will have a lot of fuzzy help. Plus that whole staying on the trail, leave deer, snakes, rabbits and such alone thing is most helpful or your dog may be harder to find than the cache. Before you go, be sure shots are current and he is recently treated for ticks (whatever works in your region, ask your vet) Be sure to check him when you get home for ticks and such. Also a good idea to get him used to some of those booties that are used for hiking/hunting dogs - quite handy if you are scrambling over a lot of rocks. If you get them on the dog at home and let him get used to them, it's good (not for entertainment purposes. Do not use on a linoleum floor or you will get a doggie rodeo) There was a thread a few weeks back about a cacher that had a bloodhound that was great at finding caches - not for the cache but for the human scents. Pretty cool idea! I doubt if my Border Collies would ever work for that. But if you want a live cow brought to you, they are pretty handy.

5-Man electrical Band - 1970 Man, I must be old since I can remember it being played all the stinking time! But for now, after a bunch of DNFs or crawling across some hideous lava field or spider-infested shrubbery, I think AC/DC Highway to Hell works just fine.

Another option to consider is a pontoon boat for fly fishing. I have had one for several years and they are stable, have tons of space for gear and are insanely maneuverable. Your 9-year-old would be able to paddle his or her own and that's a real plus at that age as they are thinking about the "I can do it myself" thing. Here is a link to the Outcast series. I've been in all kinds of weather, dragged it through rocks and dirt and all and it seems to be about bullet-proof. They also deflate and pretty much fit in the trunk of a decent sized car. There is also a two person model, but it seems kind of pricey. Outcast Pontoon Boats Shoot, at this age, as long as you can get them to still be seen in public with you, you are already ahead of the game!

GC'ing makes me find parks and interesting places I may not have ever seen or gone to find. Why crawling up a rock to brave poison oak and snakes for the thrill of finding an ammo box in the middle of nowhere with a random bit of flotsam in it is so much fun, I'm not sure. But it is. When we plan to get out and hunt, we look for interesting caches in new places. Fly Swap Lie Swap up near Whidbey Island is the perfect example. GCing is a great blend of techie toys and getting dirty for a good reason.

I'm fortunate in that my work takes me to Asia a couple times a year. There is no shortage of inexpensive doo-dads there that are not what one would find often over here. All that said, not everyone gets to go places like that, so I'll call myself lucky. If I don't have a trip planned, or am out of goodies, there's some other good options: Cost Plus is a great place for inexpensive swag that is different than the usual stuff. There are always toys, odd bits of jewelry or other such fun bits of stuff. If you have a local rock shop, they are good for handfuls of interesting mineral samples - sometimes sold by the pound, so you won't break the bank. Kids love spiffy rocks and if you label them with the variety, they learn something and so much the better. Sacajawea Dollars - not so much circulated, but banks still have rolls of them - and they are still only $1 I probably go overboard looking for swag to drop off - but its sort of like leaving a random present for someone and I like to leave fun stuff.

Well poop. Ok. Back to REI (a better REI with all the fun stuff) Thanks for clearing that up so easily.

Ok, please forgive the pathetic noob who just could not STAND to come home from REI without a GPS topo program. I bought the DeLorme 6.0. But after scanning through a mess of the posts, I fear that I have a very pretty paperweight that will not work with my Garmin 60CSx. So before I tear open the box and get stuck with it, can someone tell me if it really does or does not work with my GPS? We're headed up to Seattle this weekend and hoping to run/hike/slog through Whidbey Island. Would be nice to have the topo option up and running. thanks!

Love the telescoping mirror idea that has been mentioned on several replies! I must go get one before the weekends' hunting. Also looking for some sort of long BBQ type tong as we've found a few great hides under various rock piles or bridge abuttments that make dandy snake habitat. One find in Oregon had a 4' snake hanging around and he got our attention quickly, until we realized he was a Gopher snake. We have a lot of rattlesnakes in the hills near home and some of the caches have been wonderfully hidden in the exact spot a rattler would find very comfy. Guess a snake-bite kit may be in order as well, (and an insurance card). lol

We've gotten into geocaching just recently and so far have been lucky enough to log finds in 4 states, so have at least a wide sample size. It (insert appropriate word here) amazes, annoys, pisses me off, makes me shake my head, when I find things like broken fishing reels, dirty golf balls and a stinking broken balloon in a cache that someone has taken the time to place, put cammo on, log, track, invest in and take care of. I mean Jeeeeez already! How tough is it to carry some interesting stuff around to leave in caches? Ya gotta take the GPS, maybe a map, a water bottle, or whatever else to go looking for something. Seems to me that the least someone could do is respect the game and the time the cache placer invested and find some interesting and maybe silly or fun doo-dad to leave. Doesn't matter if you take something, but for goodness sake, leave something that will make the next finder smile a little. If you can't leave something nice, don't leave anything at all. (Jeez, now I sound like my mom.....) Sorry, I will now go back to lurking around reading other topics.

Every time you come back from anywhere, you are not greeted by cheery cries of "Mom and Dad's home" but rather "Did you find it?" or "Where this time?" or "You climbed up/down/through WHERE?" (This of course will never totally replace the "Can I have some money to go shopping?", but it's close.

There's a TB Going to an A's Game that needs to get back to Utah. I picked up the bug prior to the playoffs and it went to the last three A's games in Oakland (two of which ended very badly ) The bug needs to go home to its' owner in Utah - hopefully before Spring Taining starts. It's in a pretty active non-trade type TB hotel 5 Gallons O'Fun So, besides watching it in it's cache and fretting over it, how can I help it along? I'm not going to Salt Lake soon, and the local boards are not terribly active. Is it fair to UPS it home? That seems kind of like not (Unless I find a UPS GC'er) Stand outside the airport trying to hand a stranger a package to carry on? (really bad idea) Am new to this game, and TBs are beyond fun so when I travel, I try to help them along. But I've not been the last in the "I need to go here and then home" part before. Any ideas? And sorry, I don't have enough FF miles to offer up a ticket to Salt Lake. Thanks!

I try to leave something that is different or that may show some actual thought - don't much care for the usual range of geo-garbage that appears. It seems to me that if someone is willing to build, hide and care for a cache, leaving some interesting thing is a reasonable thing to do. Playing cards with different themes, odd coins, foreign money (sorry, no big piles of Euros...) flies for fishing, recipies? Any fun stuff that tells the finder that some thought went into the trade items. Sort of like little anonymous presents. (Jeez, that sounded sappy...) I don't usually take anything but travel bugs, but do like to leave fun stuff. Big piles of $$$ is ok to find though......

So is it OK to say you found a cache but forgot to sign the log but left a trade doo-dad? So far in all of my vast geocaching experience, I have found micros but left the pen on the dinng room table, been head down in a TB hotel only to find there was a HUGE spider staring at me and forgot to sign the log, and been in a downpour and didn't want to have to put a wet log back in the cache. So clearly I need to be a little better prepared heading out. (different thread) Somebody tell me there are not rules for all of this stuff??? What to put in a log???

Anywhere there are not spiders.