elmuyloco5

My husband and I purchased ours at Sam's as well, last year. They are not a "Sam's Club brand" but Yukon Charlies. This year they carry a different brand. Our children have ones by L.L. Bean (these are made just like an adult's shoes and are moderately priced...great buy for a kid) Ours have been fabulous and saw a lot of miles of snow last year in the mountains. We purchased according to weight, and they still look like new. If you'd like to try out the sport without spending alot on shoes to begin with, you might want to try them out. Last year they also sold them on Amazon for a good price. I don't know if you have this option or not, but our town holds a local "ski swap" every year where you can pick up equipment for a great price. Granted, I live in a ski resort town, so maybe that type of thing isn't offered in many places, but worth checking into at any rate.

The problem is that this sort of container isn't typically the type that would be placed in an appropriate area and hidden in an appropriate way, as we can see from the OP. ...I wonder who gets to decide what's an 'appropriate' area or what an 'appropriate' way to hide is. My thinking is that you are not using the guidelines to make this distinction since most of the caches in question would easily meet the guidelines. I never mentioned anything to do with the guidelines. If you read my first post, then KBI's and then my response to him, you'll see that I've referred to "appropriate" as choosing a location that follows the idea that the hider is being a good steward of the land. The guidelines are there to protect Groundspeak and to help the new cacher learn to place a cache. The unspoken duty of a cacher goes beyond those guidelines, however, if we would like to remain caching long in the future. We must take care of our land. I've stated all along this is my opinion of these types of caches and my opinion of the placement being appropriate. I was referring to an "appropriate" area (from my first post) as being one that the cache is placed in such a way that it would not degrade it's setting in any manner. I gave a few examples as to where I felt something like this might be possible. And in my posts, I've explained why I think that not placing the cache in an "appropriate" manner (again, my opinion) would be detrimental to it's surroundings. The OP asked for everyone's opinions, so that's what I gave.

The problem is that this sort of container isn't typically the type that would be placed in an appropriate area and hidden in an appropriate way, as we can see from the OP. I'm not saying all "trash caches" are hidden poorly, but I have come across one in my caching and it was not "hidden" at all. I would venture to guess, by the sheer nature of these containers, that most of them are not. They are the type of "in plain view" hides, because the hider revels in the fact that they can place this out on the ground, in plain view, and it appears to be ordinary trash. The thrill of this sort of hide is that people can walk by this container every day, kick it even as they walk past, and still they think it's a piece of trash. While these types of hides (something hidden but in plain sight) are commendably clever, in regards to this type of container, the hide ( or lack thereof), only does a disservice to our environment. You won't be likely to find a smashed can container hidden under a log or rock. You won't be likely to find it tucked away anywhere because it's not "natural" to find trash tucked away out of sight. How often do you go out in the woods and everything looks pristine and beautiful, to only then find that you move a pile of rocks and discover a piece of trash. Not likely, I'm sure, as this doesn't follow typical human nature. And since it isn't human nature to "hide" our trash, it wouldn't be a very well camoed hide to put the smashed can container in such a spot. This is why you won't be likely to find one. I'm sure it happens, but rare at best. This is wherein the problem lies. Because, when the hider places a container, such as the above mentioned, they have created "visual" litter. Yes, it's technically not litter to us fellow cachers (and yes it could still be trash to muggles as well as any other container....this is not an issue to fight), but "visually" it is. If you walked past the smashed can and didn't know that a cache was located there, it would look to you like litter (where as, if you walked past a place you didn't know a cache was located and saw an ammo can, you as the cacher, would probably assume it was a cache....not litter). This "visual" litter does enough to degrade the small space it inhabits, but the larger problem is that it invites other "litter-ers" to join in the dumping. No trashed up space got the way it did in one dumping instance. These are spaces that started little by little, and the trash that then existed enticed others, too lazy to handle their refuse properly, to dump their's in the space as well. And this goes on until someone decides to clean it up. Now, I'm not saying geocaches disguised as trash have started all, or even most, of the trash heaps in our society. The point I'm trying to make is that placing that cache out in the open (as most will be) either adds to an already existing problem in the area, or entices a new one to start. I'm not against these containers, personally, as long as they are thoughtfully placed in a way that will not have a negative impact on it's surroundings. It's possible to be done, I just doubt that it usually is.

That's really good to hear. I think we'll see a few more bugs before it's all said and done, but they appear to be working to fix everything. We're willing to give them a little time. I've heard about alot of issues with every new unit out there (Delorme, Bushnell, and Garmins when they put their last version out). I'm sure we will see issues on this site with any new units to still come out as well. It's just sort of something that you have to expect. What will really be telling is how long these future firmware upgrades will take and how helpful they are along the way.

While muggles may see geocaching as littering. I think even a muggle would see a large difference between placing a nice container, camoed nicely, and filled with a clean log and nice items, and a crunched up pop can or beer bottle with a piece of paper inside. Most caches placed out in the open are camoed in a way that the majority of muggles wouldn't even notice them. But a smashed can laying on the ground, everyone notices despite the intent. And every person thinks it's a piece of trash. The difference between cachers and muggles is that we'll pick it up to look for a log. While they are a creative container, they're not very practical in the sense that they do stand out and degrade their surroundings. I would, personally, be just as put off by an ammo can or bucket, etc. sitting right out in the open with no camo. And although there may be some of those out there, have not seen any in my limited caching history. When I first found out about caching, I was really impressed to see the numbers of members who CITO. I didn't realize that it was a part of geocaching, and it really spoke to me as a newbie. I'd like to think that the majority of members on here feel the same way. I hope I'm not wrong about that. While I'm not an environmental activist, I do see the value in keeping our planet clean the way nature was intended. And while I think there are many opportunities for some very creative containers, I don't think all of them have a good practical use. There might be the rare place that they could fit in without degrading the surroundings, but I don't think they should just be placed anywhere. A beer can sitting on a windowsill outside of a bar would be funny and wouldn't trash up the surroundings as it would fit in there. Or, if you had a garbage can used specifically for a cache container and filled it with "trash" (not nasty stuff of course) and put the smashed up can on top as a container, that would be funny. Neither would promote muggles to deposit more trash in the area either. (However, the trash can concept wouldn't work well everywhere and would have to be outside a store you owned or a house or such where you could place something like that)

Hmmm... so when I'm at the office I can't connect it since I can't get a signal? I connected and did get the hardware connect warning, but the VP software seemed to figure it out. On another issue... backlight. I figured out how to change the profile settings and is it me or does the setting for backlight level not seem to do a thing. The screen brightness doesn't change when fully lit or after its timed out (and then its far too dark.) Is there a way to change the level of the dimmed state? I would think that setting would be far more helpful. That's not what he's saying. You can connect your unit to your computer and download all you want. But without reception to satellites, you won't have an accurate reading, if any at all to tell you where you are located. You won't have accurate tracking, speed, distance, etc. The GPS unit has to have reception with the satellites to do that. Sometimes you can connect with satellites when you are close to windows, but sometimes not. None of those things are needed to download maps or info to the GPS.

I was the one who mentioned the update. The update occured through Magellan. There were some intial firmware issues and they had performed the update on the units. You might want to call them to see if yours is current. Think of it like going to Verizon or Sprint and taking your phone in for a software update. Yours could very well have the update, just trying to give you options to help.

I've successfully loaded MapSend Topo 3D USA to the Triton 1500. Have you had any issues with it, bugs, glitches, etc? It would be wonderful if there were more options like that available for the units. I truly hope they get these units working well with their firmware upgrades pretty quickly and can then focus on getting out the "trails and trips" firmware additions they had planned on. I sincerely hope they look to adding an upgrade that will allow organization of files in sub-folders like they had in the past. I'm really shocked this appears to be a missing feature.

He asked for a comparison between the National Geographic Topo and Garmin, not everything available. I'm sure there's other more comprehensive charts out there, that's just what I found on a quick search.

I've read on one forum (forget which one, there are a few out there with some activity on this subject right now) that someone has used the unit to geocache. The distance must be working on their unit in order to find the cache, so who knows. From what I understand, the only maps that currently work on the Triton are the following: maps and software and of course the National Geographic State Maps and the Backyard Explorers. National Geographic said on one forum that they intend to include the entire National Geographic line of software, but it will take awhile to completely develop.

Here's a comparison chart that might help you decide which would be best for your applications: Topo Map Software Comparisons

I don't know if this might be your problem, but are you sure that you let the GPS settle for a few moments to get a good fix? All units can read kinda screwy if they don't have a good signal with the satellites. Also, make sure you have the upgraded firmware installed on your unit. Just because you just got the unit, doesn't mean it will necessarily have the newest software installed on it. There were some various issues with the first version installed and the newest firmware was supposed to solve alot of them. Try those things first and then check it again. If it's a true problem, let Magellan know. I'm sure they are very interested in learning about any issues the software may have. They don't want a faulty product out either. I haven't dealt with their Customer Service much, but when I have, they have been very helpful. I haven't seen the issues that others have on here, I am fortunate to say.

Does your PDA need to be wifi? That's kinda what it's looking like to me. Bummer for those of us without one, if it does.

I agree allot of problems are user error, you must not have read the posts I have about the units locking up and having VERY buggy firmware. check out the bugs section on the forum here: http://www.tritonforum.com/ I'll check it out. I wouldn't be suprised to see alot of bugs. It's a new item and that's just how the ball bounces with things like this. I won't even tell you the trouble we had with our Wii this last year. But, I understand it's the nature of a new electronic unit. Eventhough we don't have our Wii anymore, I still think it will be a fabulous product when the bugs are settled out of it. I don't have my Magellan yet, and who knows, I may ship it on back after I've tried it a bit. I just hate to see the Magellan bashing I've seen a bit on this site. I think all the major companies put out good products, not perfect, but good. And all have their shortcomings. I'd just like to see less of the quick reviews and see a few more from people who have really taken the time to sit down and work with it all a bit. It's the only way any of us are really going to have a good feel as to the usefulness of the Triton (this is not to say that everyone who has commented on the Triton hasn't given it a fair shot). Oh, I wasn't trying to say that you didn't like Garmin. I just meant it as a general comment towards all the units. I've never used a Garmin myself, but I've heard good things about them. We have a Meridian Platinum Magellan and have been very pleased. It's not the perfect GPS, but we can't complain.

Actually, I would venture to say that most problems that arise for any brand of GPSr are actually due to user error and not the product itself. I have seen TONS of Gamin related issues on this section of the forum, but that doesn't mean they are band GPSrs. Just like alot of the issues brought up about the Triton so far have been due to the individual using the unit and not the unit itself. It takes time to learn something new, and when there's new software involved as there is with the Triton, it takes even longer. I have seen alot of "problems" with the new Delorme PN-20 as well as the Bushnell Onix, and we will likely see quite a few with the Garmin Colorado when people get them in hand. People are too quick to rush and judge these units as they are so used to the ones they have been using. A little more time, and some fiddling around with the GPSrs, and we will start to see which issues are real and which are due to user ignorance.

I would really appreciate seeing some subsections in the hardware forum. There are so many new units coming out by the various brands (and in many instances, new software as well) it would be a giant help to keep topics sorted better. If you could at least add subsections for Magellan, Garmin, Delorme, etc. It's quite time consuming to look through all the posts at the current time to find which thread you are interested in reading. And the search functions don't help too much as it will look for any thread where one of the above brands was mentioned which could actually make the list you have to browse through even longer. Most of the threads talking about the new units also mention the other brands too. New units are going to mean new problems, and probably quite a few. It will help us all to find solutions to our issues if we can have this section a little more organized. Thanks

I'm supposed to get mine in hand by the 4th, so I'll post the answer to this if I find it out before you're able to. I think it would be a shame if they don't. We were really looking for one that would, and I have a hard time believing that Magellan would take a step backwards with this. But, when you call, you have to deal with the knowledge of who answers.....and let's face it Magellan representatives, or any other company for that matter, won't necessarily have ever had one of these units in their hands, much less used it for any of the applications people are calling about. Most just have an online manual to look up answers. Started to mess around with VP today. We'll see how that goes. Do you happen to know who wrote the software? I know it's licensed through magellan, but I'd love to talk to a tech who has a better clue than the Magellan reps do.

How does this logic stop the hider from placing a hole (with permission of course) on their's or someone else's land and then placing and listing a cache. What is the time frame you consider "already in place"? "Already in place" as in someone else placed it there for you, or "already in place" as in before you listed the cache? And if it's the first, then it's ok to have my friend go dig a hole (with permission of course) and place this box and then I can list my cache as the box was "already in place" and not done by me?

Yes the USB cable is included, the units that were missing them (1500s) were a mistake by the fullfillment center. From what I have read from the Magellan site FAQs, the firmware updates have been fixed for the 500 and the 2000. The 200,300, and 400 are to come out soon. But, they might already be (someone else might have that answer for you as websites aren't always current with info). The updates for those two units are supposed to be taking care of the issue. I ordered the 500 and am waiting for it currently because of the holiday delivery schedule. You might want to ask your questions at Tritonforum.com which should have more up to date info on the unit's upgrades.

Has anyone tried to input subfolders using vantage point or the unit itself? I talked to magellan (but info is only as good as the person you're talking to.....and that's the way with any organization) and the lady told me that you could not create subfolders. All geocaches would be placed into one big folder. I asked if it was planned as a firmware upgrade and she said "maybe in the future"....which to me says she didn't know. I'm really shocked if this true as the Explorists are supposed to be able to do this (correct me if I'm wrong...I have a MeriPlatinum). Why would Magellan take away something that handy that was already used on previous units? Just doesn't make sense to me. I also noticed in the FAQs on the magellan site that the "trails" and "trip" functions won't work now. They are supposed to be scheduled for future free upgrades. Does anyone have this functioning yet with the latest upgrade? If not, I'm a little miffed as the unit is advertised as being able to do this, not being able to do this in the future.

On the other hand, it is NOT a very good idea to program in your home coordinates and call them "HOME." Do you really want some guy who stole your GPS to have your home coordinates and start wondering what other kinds of cool toys you have there? Many GPS's have welcome screens that you can use to enter your contact information if the unit is stolen (name, phone number, email, even address). The cop could have gotten the information from that as well. If a cop can find the welcome screen with your info that you listed above, why wouldn't the criminal be able to?

I couldn't help but laugh at this post. I live at 7500' and moved here from Hawaii (and being in the Navy for a decade of living coastside). Couldn't get much more of a vast difference than that. We spent the first couple of weeks a little thirstier than normal and a bit more tired, but then again, we also had the time difference to deal with. I have three kids that were 5, 6, and 8 at the time (kids are supposed to be more highly affected by altitude changes). It really wasn't a big deal. When we hike, it's always over 8000' and usually over 9000'. It's harder at first, but not much. We just noticed that we were breathing heavy more quickly than we normally would. We've been through Leadville, CO (the highest city in the US at 10,430') without any issues, of course we'd been living here for over a year when we visited. Forgot to add that alot of Olympic athletes train here as we are supposedly supposed to have the highest swimming facility in the US. We also get alot of runners, cyclists, etc.

Haven't got mine in hand yet, I will write my opinion of it too when I do. You said that the compass didn't show under 0.x miles? Are you saying that when it gets under 528 ft (0.1 miles) that it doesn't show you the distance? Are you saying that you were wrong in the above post? I wasn't sure, so I wanted to ask.

He says that he forgot about the cache needing repair, but on a brief inspection of some of his posts over the past few months, he's mentioned that he has a few caches that need repair and that he doesn't plan to do it until Spring. Hmmmmm.....someone isn't being truthful here. Seems the guy you're defending for being so honest....isn't being quite as forthright as you assumed. In the forums it's easy to recall caching issues. I'm talking caching. That's a no brainier. Forums I tend to do a Break, Lunch, Evenings when I'm avoiding tiling showers, or paying bills. Forum time is not generally time I can break away and go caching. The thing that you really not "getting" is that I'm not headed out for a day of caching. I'm heading to home depot to fix my shower. Naturally I'm pondering things like how to space tile. Even if I tattooed the reminder on the back of my hand I'm not going to get to it before I can get to it. If you spent a little more research you would see that my last find was when? August. I took time on a trip I didn't know I was making until the week before to find 2 caches in Fairbanks. Call me crazy but in Fairbanks I"m really not in a position to do much to maintain my caches in Idaho. So that leaves the next closest caching trip. That turns out to be June. 2nd. Alas it was June 13th when I realized that there may be an issue with the cache in this thread, and posted on it. If you look for all the caching fun I've had since then, where I "forgot to maintain my cache while finding caches" it's not there. None. Zip. Nada. Not recorded is a day that I did break away and go replace a cache that hadn't hid the reviewer radar. Then more recently I made some time to check another cache and place one. Still not finds. Yesterday, on the schedule I told the reviewer I fixed this cache. Still no finds. Yes, I still have a couple of caches to maintain. Things have reached a point where I have a bit more time than I did before. Still, I'll get to them as time and life permit. Not before. If you read my post properly, you'd see I wasn't talking about when you last found one, or where. I saw everything you're talking about in your profile. I was commenting that you said directly on this thread that you had "forgotten" about the cache for 6 months which is what lead you to the recent archival. I said that in looking through your posts over the last few months, you have mentioned those caches that you've needed to do maintenance on several times. If you're at work when you remember them why can't you write it down? I have to write things down too to remember to do them. Most people do as we're a busy society. Just own up to the fact that you weren't being truthful with your statement. My beef isn't with the fact that you "forgot" to do maintenance, it's with your attitude since it's been archived. It's no big deal to be too busy to take care of a cache, just don't get all upset when the reviewer does her job.....accept it and move on.

Do you find the ground up meat jerky is better than the thinly sliced piece of meat jerky? I usually prefer the brands that are made from a slice than the ground up ones, but I know that homemade is alot different than store bought. I do like the idea of the fruit roll ups for the kids. I personally can't stand the store stuff, but I know my kids would appreciate them.