MikeB3542

And people complain that Crocs are ugly...

OK, not $35, but how about $70? $80? http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___99803 http://www.rei.com/product/792851 A good backpack is cheaper than a chiropractor or back doctor.

If you usually camp in places blessed with trees, the hammock/bivvy is an intriguing alternative. Ideally it can be deployed on the ground as a regular bivvy sack in a pinch. Bivvy's and camping hammocks are fairly small enclosures -- some find that cozy, the claustrophobic may think otherwise. Definitely try before you buy. Tarps are another more traditional alternative, especially suited for locales where bugs and other crawling things aren't a big issue. Of course, you could add bug netting, but at that point, you're back to just getting a tent.

Well, let's start out with the sort of conditions that you will need to deal with. BTW, I like REI, a lot. They are an awesome resource. Tents: Assuming you are looking for a 3-season tent. REI Quarter Dome 3T seems like a good choice: ample room for 2 and weighs less than 5 pounds. Lots of nice ventilation when things are hot. Personally, I have an old Eureka Timberline 2 -- it has served me well. Pack: My bias is towards external frame packs. When I am backpacking, it almost always in the warm months, so I like the ventilation. A Kelty Tioga or JanSport Carson would be my preference. That said, there has been a sea change in the backpacking world in favor of internal frame packs. My recommendation is to get as good an estimate of weight and volume required, go to a place like REI, and try every pack they have in the joint. Don't buy until you are totally satisfied that you will be happy and smiling after 8 hours of hauling "the stone." Sleeping bags: Entirely depends on how cold you anticipate it to get. Sleeping bags all have a temperature rating that is based on the "average" camper. Choose accordingly -- go no heavier than you need. Sleeping bag will do you no good if you don't have a closed-cell foam pad -- it softens the blow of lying on the bare ground and gives you needed insulation. You didn't mention boots -- no matter how well-geared, well- armed or well-fed you are, you are totally screwed if your feet are a mess. My recommendation is similar to that regarding the backpack. Try every boot on until you are satisfied that your feet won't be sloshing in a bootful of blood and pus.

Also check the bulletin board if you have an REI near you -- local outdoor groups post stuff all the time, and the staff usualy is involved with outdoor activities and groups.

REALLY frustrating to use. Great concept. Wish it worked better.

Start with your back yard -- lots of trails in the county parks! Lake County, Illinois http://www.lcfpd.org/preserves/index.cfm?f...p;object_id=135 Cook County, Illinois http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content_id=45 In Illinois, the state parks are a bit of a drive away, but not really that far west of the Chicago metro area -- maybe an 1-1/2 hour drive. There is Shabonna Lake (west of DeKalb) and Starved Rock/Matthiessen/Buffalo Rock/Illini State Parks near Ottawa. Lots of excellent trails (just at Starved Rock two weeks ago. The canyons and waterfalls -- yes, I'm talking about Illinois -- were awesome). BTW, no geocaches in the parks. Illinois State Parks http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/Landmgt/Programs/hiking/ Of course, lots of hiking opportunities just across the border in Kettle Moraine State Forest -- South near Whitewater, Bong State Rec near Union Grove. Wisconsin State Parks http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/LAND/parks/ If you need a challenge, there is always the 20+ mile hike around Geneva Lake. Do it all in one day or do a "credit card" trip and spend a night at the Abbey or in a Lake Geneva B&B. Lake Geneva Trail Description with Photos http://www.caliberdt.com/~bill/lakegenevamay2007/index.htm Lots of Ice Age National Scenic Trail segments are within an hour drive. There are award programs for some sections (like the "Walk the Wauk" program in Waukesha County). The IANST is approx 1000 miles long, with many caches along the route, so unlikely you would run out of trail soon. Ice Age Trail Association http://www.iceagetrail.org/ Bob Crawford has written the books "Walking Trails in Southern Wisconsin" and "Walking Trails of Eastern and Central Wisconsin" published by the University of Wisconsin Press.

If geocaching is religion, it sure has the finest of churches!

Assuming that the powers that be in Saudi are cool with this. 1) A trail of reflectors, fire tacks, or paint blazes seem to be the typical approach. It doesn't have to be a linear trail: you could have spots (marked with multiple tacks or different colored tacks) where the seeker has to stop and shine his or her light around in order to pick up the trail again. 2) Yes -- the starting point is the first station and the final is offset. I suppose it could be treated as a Unknown ("?") type if there is some sort of wicked twist. 3) Entirely up to you. Consider curfews and the like. Night lasts only so long. 4) Multiple tacks or different colored tacks.

Though I don't have all the details, I'll suggest an hypothesis : climbing the mountain is not illegal, crossing the freeway is? Some roads are forbidden to pedestrians, so you are not legally allowed to walk across them. You are allowed to ask cachers to do dangerous things, but not to do illegal things. How many time did an older sib say something like "Go play in the street!" Maybe the problem with crossing a freeway is that not only are you endangering yourself, you are endangering every poor soul who has to swerve around your carcass, not to mention emergency workers who will retrieve your carcass and tow your vehicle to your next of kin.

Somehow, a ripstop nylon bag lacks the je ne sais quoi of a pillow case. All for something that feels nice.

By the way, I was able to look up one of the multi's that you DNF'd -- you aren't the only one having trouble with WP1. (Logging a DNF is really helpful to everybody -- don't be afraid to log a "frownie".)

Multi's often will have a puzzle aspect to them -- you might not necessarily be looking for a cache container. Take a look at the cache page -- consider printing the page out and bringing along. Intermediate stages of multi's, when they are cache containers, are almost always micro's, so there is some enhanced difficulty right there.

Perhaps part of the frustration is that there can be a lot of pressure to hide. When I started, the suggestion was that you have 1 hide for every 10 finds. I think that guideline made sense when the number of caches was very low. In many places, the saturation is pretty high, and has been for a while. Adding more hides means a adding lot of low-quality hides. Also, your hides should be pretty close to home so that they can be properly maintained. Hiders with scores of far-flung caches often have lots of caches with severely deferred maintenance (kudos to those that CAN manage dozens and dozens). My point is that you should feel no pressure to make hides. Enjoy the hunt. If you do have hides in any area with high cache-density, consider periodically archiving so that others can make hides. Very few hides are so awesome that they couldn't be taken down after a year or so.

I think these folk are simply unaware of letterboxing. Using google maps to find geocaches seems like it would be frustrating: the sat resolution is still pretty bad in a lot of places.

Two words: attractive nuisance. Before doing a hide with gratuitous terrain difficulty, think it through. And let's be perfectly clear...there's your garden variety BS and then there is lawyer BS.

I didn't grow up in Wisconsin (I'm a FIB), but most of the folks around here are Packer backers. On day trips, I keep it real spare. Water, lunch, a pocket knife and raingear is about as complicated as I get. Map and compass come along if in unfamiliar territory. I am a long, long way from anything resembling wilderness, so a lot of gear is not helpful.

I love caching after dark...not always for hides intended as night hides! Truth be told, sometimes my daytime caching goes a little too long. Can't help you specifically with Firefly reflectors -- my guess is that they may be found at a well-stocked pet shop. If you are planning on setting up a night cache, consider using the sort of reflectors hunters use for marking trails (e.g. Firetacks). You should be able to find at a sporting goods store that caters to hunters. I've also seen trails painted on trees with reflective paint (in Boy Scouts we called these cats-eye trails) and reflective zip-ties looped around tree branches. Remember flashlight, extra batteries, and a compass when hunting for caches at night (mark your car location on your gps, too). Extremely easy to get disoriented in the dark. Good hunting!

Looks like an affordable "starter" unit. The maps are pretty rough -- not a lot of detail, so can't use for street navigation. Basically will tell you how far and which direction. That is 99% of what you need right now. Even if you upgrade, it will make a decent backup. Good luck!

OW! My head hurts! I have a hard enough time finding geocaches WITH a GPS receiver!

Also, when you look up the cache page, check recent posts. You might find that recent visitors have had similar problems. You might also find that the cache hasn't been visited in an extra special long time. If experienced cachers are having trouble or are avoiding, you will struggle mightily. (Though newbies occasionally make a find that was long thought to be lost-and-gone). Do see if there are any cache-in trash-out (CITO) events occurring in your area this weekend. Sometimes it helps to tag along with experienced cachers. Besides, you will be helping clean our public parks and spaces, and get to meet other cachers (so far, they have all been pretty darn friendly). Oh yeah, if you still can't find the cache after turning over every stone and log near ground zero...look UP! Happy hunting!

Boy, is my face red... How do you upload finds? You have the Oregon and haven't used the field notes yet?? Here's a typical day caching with the PN-40: Grab PN-40, yell at the boy to get in the Jeep and off we head. Pick a location to cache and bring up the closest for that area. Find cache, mark as found, put in any notes I need and then on to the next, repeat as desired. Get home after the fun, go into geocaches on the PN-40, hit upload field notes and load them to the GS site. Then, at my convenience, log the finds from the field notes...no forgetting which cache we found, no notes to lose, it keeps the finds in the order they were found and has all the notes I put in when marking it found. No need to look up each cache, they are right there for me to click on and log! Not sure how it is on the Garmins, but I would assume it's comparable!! I guess I have never had so many finds in one day that logging on line was ever a that big of a deal -- I think my best day was something like 12 or 13 finds. I guess I am just suggesting that the newbie starts with a very basic handheld unit (under $100). Heck, he could try using his cell phone or PDA in a pinch if they have GPS and are compatible with the GS software. If he turns into a hard-core user, awesome. There will always be something better, faster, brighter, etc. If he decides after a couple of cache hunts that it isn't for him, no biggie.

What you choose to get will be a whole lot easier if you can get out and get a few finds under your belt. There are a lot of CITO (cache-in trash-out) events this weekend. Those would be an awesome opportunity to meet some local cachers, to help clean up a local park, and to borrow a unit and to get a handle on what features are really important. While I really doubt it, you might decide that geocaching isn't what you want to do. "Try before you buy." I would NEVER rely on a GPS unit to keep me from getting lost while hiking in the backcountry. Not that you should leave a hand held behind, but it is no substitute for a map and a compass and the skills to use them effectively.

I have over 1500 finds with an old blue eTrex Legend. The more advanced models available now (which is just about everything available now) can do some cool stuff, but 99% of what you need to know is direction and distance. Even a base model yellow eTrex H can do a fine job of that. Personally, I do most of my finds "paperless" -- traditional hides and straitforward multi's I upload strait up with EasyGPS. The only time I carry paper is for a puzzle or a convoluted multi. My advice is to start with something basic. You can always upgrade. Save the money for gas.

Sorry, double post