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mbrownjer

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Everything posted by mbrownjer

  1. And NOW... (drumroll)... there IS a cache at Philmont!! Thanks, mousewiz!
  2. I'm about 3 years older than the last time I answered this question on the forums
  3. Check out the REI Half Dome2 Plus, or something like that. I have one that I've used for several years. The great thing about that one is that it has two doors. That way if you are using your 2-man tent for two people, you aren't climbing all over each other to get out.
  4. Thorin had the right idea. Get something that is compatible with your filter system. If you don't have a filter system, think about getting one if you are doing hikes of any distance. MSR has great water bladders that work well. Another thing to consider is how easily they are cleaned. Get something with a wide opening into which you can fit a cleaning brush or rag, and which will allow the bag to dry completely. I've had to throw away a couple of the platypus bags that did not completely dry and and became moldy. (Even bleach solution didn't work well once the mold appeared. ) One good thing about the platypus containers, though, is that they are relatively stiff and will hold their shape in a pack that does not have a designated water compartment. For shorter hikes I usually carry a nalgene bottle. For longer ones and backpacking, I use both the nalgene and an extra MSR bladder. I just like drinking from the bottle insead of the sip tube, especially since they made the inserts that allow you to drink from the bottle without spilling it all over the front of your shirt ..
  5. You ever had one of THOSE vacations? In Santa Fe with only one day to spare. Decided to divide it between fly fishing and geocaching. What could be better? What could go wrong with that? Well.... Relatives insisted the boys come, too. That's ok, cause one of em is mine, and a fly-fishing geocacher! The nephew (9 yr-old) is neither. He couldn't be ready on time, so we didn't get off for fishing until 9:30, which put us at the river after 10. OK, late but still time. Pull up to the river -- nephew jumps out of the car and starts throwing rocks into the water. There go the fish. OK, there's lots of river. Thunderstorm blows in (hey, I thought NM was going through a 5-yr drought) but that's OK, too, cause I'm headed back to the car for the rain gear. Oops, left it back in the room. Fish anyway, but get skunked. That's OK, cause no one could catch fish in this weather... except the 4-yr old down stream who holds up a 13" trout and screams "look, Dad, I got one, too!" Hungry and on to better things -- geocaching. Heading to Villa do los Espiritus de Glorieta cache. Up by the ski slopes. Good for about a 6-mile hike (the boys swear they're up to it. If not, the brother-in-law will watch them. What can keep me from geocaching now? Scream from the back seat! Nephew is getting a migraine and threatening to throw up in my car! We head gingerly back to the rooms, so no geocaching today. But there is always the next morning before we head up the road to Colorado for son's scouting high adventure. Decided to head out early and visit Diablo Canyon Cache on the way up. Packed up except for a few items in relative's car. But wait. Where are the relatives? They went to church and won't be back for an hour and a half. By the time they get back, it's too late to cache and get to the scout's meeting point on time. Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to cache back here in the "armpit of the universe." Thanks for the suggestions anyway (I at least got in two down by Carlsbad). p.s. At least the high adventure was great!
  6. Thanks to Snoogans and Fireman78. I'm off and will post my finds in about 3 1/2 weeks!
  7. I am leaving on a trip tomorrow that will take me through Santa Fe, and just found out that I have an extra day there... so to heck with "shopping" (like many of my relatives suggest) ... I'm going geocaching! Since I only have one day for this, I need some suggestions on two or three caches to visit. I want to keep hikes limited to about a mile (and I'm from sea level, so keep that in mind!). I know there have been some forest closings, and I am unfamiliar with the area, so I have no idea where is closed and where is not. Can anyone help me find the perfect Santa Fe caches?
  8. I just got a 60CS, but I don't know how to get the EasyGPS to recognize my new unit (via USB). The only option it gives me is to my old GPS that used serial port. Any "easy" answers for this computer dummy?
  9. I've left several little first aid kits (the first aid kit refills they sell in BSA scout shops are handy), and it seems they are usually picked up by the next one or two cachers -- so I would say it's a great idea!
  10. It's not as if someone dropped it out of their pocket, and doesn't know where to find it. They put it there on purpose. It belongs to someone. It doesn't belong to you. If you had no qualms about keeping it, you wouldn't have asked our opinion. That little voice inside you is telling you what to do. Put it back. Edit: Oh, yea. At least edit your original post so as not to mention where the cache is, and hope that those who read this topic are as honorable as you.
  11. The rangers at a Texas State Park where one of my caches is located love that the cache there, too, knowing that it brings new visitors to the park. They check on it regularly, and even generated some coupons to put in it for discounts on camping fees!
  12. Coachsteve, now you need to post a pic of the first fish you catch with it!
  13. This one may be worth traveling for! Now time to get picky... what weight is it? I need a good 6-wt.! And yes, there is fly fishing in Houston!
  14. Do you have Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or something similar in the area? You might be able to get some help there. Offer to teach them about Geocaching, and then enlist their help in a CITO or trail building effort.
  15. I'm a good ol' owl too. SR571 At least on line I don't have to hear you guys burst into song!
  16. Just watched the movie "Revelation" on the Sci Fi Channel last night -- The similarities between that movie and The DaVinci Code are amazing! Code encryptions, Knights Templars, clues in a chapel, the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdaline, and yes, puzzle coordinates to plot on your GPS software! Another interesting point -- it came out two years before the DaVinci Code!
  17. skeeter-n-lucy, I sent you an email It would be a good idea for the scouts to do the geocaching in patrols. Then each patrol can hide one, and the other patols can look for it.
  18. A few years ago I took a group of Webelos geocaching, and then my co-leader and I set out another cache. We included baggies with some scout stuff which had the first names of individual scouts on them so that they would be encouraged to do some geocaching on their own. In the cache description we asked that those items be reserved for the scouts. It was well-received by scouts and non-scouts alike. The scout bags are no longer there, but many of the logs relate the finder's scouting experiences, and many people trade scouting memorabelia. We also set out a traveler (pre travel bug days) called Cub Scout Garfield. Just this month he was spotted in PA. The boys can keep up with him on the cache page.
  19. I just did a geocaching presentation to our BSA district Roundtable. I put together a short handout for the talk. If you are interested, I can email it to you.
  20. I've been working on the puzzle, too. You might want to check out the puzzle and adjust your coordinates. As a hint, the coordinates will get you close to Washington D.C. Quite interesting. There are actually two puzzles. At the end of one there is a link to another web quest. I made it as far as I could, but then I needed to actually have a copy of the book for a later hint, but I had already given it away! A quick trip to the book store solved the problem, but turns out I could have found the info on the web.
  21. Making these things a traveling cache is kool! Wish I had done that with my traveler. Does anyone know how to go about updating one that is already out there? If I can figure it out, I will post a note in the cache where it is now, so that the next person to pick it up can help me out with setting it up.
  22. Just heard from someone who placed my traveler (as in pre-travel bug) in a cache! He's made his way from Houston to PA. He was put in his first cache in July '01! Was wondering how many of you are still keeping track of these old guys, and how long they have been travelling around?
  23. I will be in Chile in March. Have already looked, and there are NO GECACHES in the part of Chile I'm visiting! So someone, quick... hide one around Coyhaique!!
  24. The sticks that I have from the BSA shop are about five feet. However, it all depends on your height, and what is comfortable. Also if the user is still growing. Make the length long enough for as tall as you think the user will be in the next few years (your son won't want to outgrow something that dad made!) Then adjust the height of the grip so that it is comfortabe when walking a relatively flat trail, but be generous with the span of the grip. The stick should be taller than the grip so that it will still be useful going downhill. A wrist strap has saved my stick many times. The strap on one of mine is long enough that I can put my hand on the top of the stick to navigate down steep terain. When climbing up rocks the strap comes in handy. You can dangle the stick while using both hands to grip the rocks or whatever you are climbing.
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