krisandmel

I've recently added a Vista Cx to my arsenal, and so far, I love it! One thing I noticed though, I have added data from the Garmin Topo cd's as well as CityNav7 data for the same region. When in the map page, I only see the streets/waypoints data, the topo lines are not shown. However, if I hit the lower button on the left side of the unit, select Setup Map, and Hide the CityNav data, then the Topo data shows up. But when I select Show All, the topo lines disappear. Is this normal? It'd be nice to see the CityNav data as well as the topo stuff. Any suggestions? Thanks, -Kris

Cool, I did not know that! I've thought about leaving one where my brother lives, hundreds of miles away, but didn't think I could. So if he signed up and agreed to maintain it I could do that, good to know! Thanks, -Kris

We're down in Northfield. Happy Caching! -K

I'm not certain (because I'm such a noob) but I thought the reviewers tend not to approve caches that are far from your registered home location. Might want to contact the local reviewer before you place it to make sure it'll be listed. (Oh, and I'm over in the Twin Cities, so I don't think I can maintain the cache for you, but I'll be happy to drive over and find it! ) -Kris

The staff, or walking stick, has got to be the most useful tool. It's a poker, a lifter, a snagger (has a bend at the end), etc. Almost always have a pocketknife with me. Sometimes carry a Gerber tool as well (when I remember). Oh, and the G19 is pretty specialized I suppose. As a nurse, I almost always have a pair of vinyl gloves on me, if I'm more than a half hour from the car (by foot) I tend to bring a little first aid kit too. And always extra AA's, so the primary tool continues to function! -K

To me it looks like Signal is doing Jeremy's finger-thumb-chin thing. -K

Most of the caches we (my wife and I) have found have been under heavy foliage. If we can't find it right away, or the GPS is being twitchy, I'll walk back until I can find a clearing or until my GPSr is indicating a low accuracy error. Then I just take a bearing and head in with the magnetic compass. A couple times I've just about stepped on the cache doing this. If it's really tough to find, I'll do the same thing, but take a couple different readings. One on 'this side' of the cache, and another on 'the other side'. Then we'll each follow the bearing in from those points and if we don't find the cache at the point we interesect we put away the GPSr's and start trying to think like the cache owner. Once we're within a dozen yards of the coords the GPSr doesn't seem to help that much. When you're that close it's better to look around at the area (where the cache really is) instead of the little GPSr display (at the little icon of the cache). Oh, an this is all assuming the coords are correct and the cache is not offset. One we just found last week was about 100 feet off of the coords. We finally found it when we stopped paying attention to what the GPSr 'said' and just scoured the area for likely cache hides. In that instance, instead of walking a circle around the cache coords and spiraling in; we went to where the GPSr said the cache 'should' be and then put it away and started spiraling outwards. Found it about 20 minutes later. -K

Yay, another kite fanatic! I've only ever flown the dual-lines, but would love to try a Rev or one of those radical quads sometime. -Kris

Do you mean Travel Bugs? I thought those were supposed to stay in circulation? If I misunderstood, sorry. -K

I don't think it's okay to modify any environment that you do not own or are explicitly permitted to modify. IMO, that would include chemical spraying, cutting, mowing & clearing an area, blazing trails & constructing a hide by cutting branches or moving major timber. (That gets pretty grey though, about the branches and such. It's okay to move a bit of deadfall to make a cache-nest, but cutting down a hollow tree or other 'major' landscaping is probably too much.) Besides, a pint of RoundUp would only minimally impede the growth and success of something as resilient as the poison plants. Sure, it would kill off the plants right there, but after a few rains, the surrounding healthy PI would move right in. So even if it's okay, it probably wouldn't have any long-term benefit. But that's just my opinion, -K

Thanks for the info everybody! I'll have to try that nail polish remedy. Yeah, sometimes I've skipped wearing repellent, for the same reason, I don't want to smell up the car. But in retrospect, I guess I'd take a little chemical odor for a couple hours over this several day irritation. I guess it's not lions & tigers & bears, rather ticks & chiggers & ivy, oh my! -K

PI? I don't think so, the most affected area is under my socks on my ankles, and then the fleshy crease of the front of the armpit. Neither area was exposed during the caching, and neither area was exposed later to the outside of the clothing I wore that day. And on the times I've had confirmed PI irritation, it began within the hour, if not a few minutes. BTW, I love your handle! -K

You bring up a great point. Things like McToys and those trinkets in plastic bubbles you get out of the 25 cent machine at the grocery store can be some of the best swag for kids. I'm sure a lot of parents take their children caching, so that stuff is necessary too. Oh, and I like cool pretty stones and shiny stuff too! Those sealed AA batteries are a great idea; now I have another task for my FoodSaver! -K

Hi everyone, I've seen a few, okay, several threads recently about the kinds of caches or swag that people dislike. (McToys, losing lotto tickets, lint, pennies, ad infinitum...) On the flipside, what kinds of stuff do you like to find? I really don't want to spend more than about $2-3 per item that I place in trade, but I don't want to really cheap out and leave stuff that people don't want. My goal is to leave things that people will take and use/appreciate, rather than just taking to drop in another cache. The local hardware store has a table near the checkout loaded with clearance stuff. For under $3 you can find sets of mini-bungees, small tape measures, keychain items, tiny screwdriver sets, small flashlights, etc. So far, I'm doing most of my swag-shopping there, instead of at the dollar store. I'm a bit of a photographer too, and I'm thinking of placing a cache that is loaded with 5x7's I've shot. To prevent damage to the prints, I'd probably seal each one in a FoodSaver bag. I suppose garage sales could be a good source too, as long as the items are still good. Anyway, I'd like to hear what stuff you like to find and/or stuff you like to leave. Thanks, -Kris

Thanks for the replies! (I guess I'm not the only one up at O'dark-Thirty!) Yes, a few of the bites are on my ankle, two near my armpit - thankfully none near my groin! So, is the timeline right? I guess I'd always expected, or assumed, that anything that bit me would start itching right away. Can you see chiggers at all, or are they the true 'no-see-ums'? A sideline: Has anyone ever seen those itty bitty red 'spiders'? I see them on wood decks/patios sometimes, and I've noticed them on my front stoop recently as well. They are very tiny, about the size of the dot in "i". Those aren't chiggers, are they? Sorry for all the questions, but will DEET keep chiggers away? Or should I just change my socks immediately when out of the woods? (To date, I've always just changed out of my jeans and overshirt when finished 'caching for the day. T-shirt, socks and undies stay on until the shower that evening.) Again, thank you for the replies! -Kris

I'm pretty paranoid about Poison I/O/S. Probably partly because I'm never sure if a particular plant is NOT one of the three. If I can't rule it out, I assume it's one of them. Consequently, I always wear long pants when out in the woods. If it's too hot to be in pants in the woods, I'll stay home. I usually wear a long-sleeved overshirt too (when in the woods). That way any plant can brush by my arms or legs and I don't worry. However, I am careful to not wipe my sweaty brow with my sleeve! When back home, those clothes go right in the laundry. I've tried learning to ID the Poison plants, but once I get out in the woods everything starts looking like 'em. A bit off topic, but I hate ticks more than I hate Ivy, so although I look goofy doing it, I always tuck my pant cuffs into my socks. I tuck in my shirt too, but that's not strange. That leaves my neck and sleeves as the only points of entry; the three ticks I've found this year were all on my chest and back and had not attached yet. (I do NOT want to have something with ticks like Gordy had with the leech in Stand By Me, UGH!) -Kris

Hi everyone, I'm pretty much a neocacher, but have spent a fair amount of time outdoors, so I'm not a complete novice. However, I'm wondering if I've picked up some chiggers while caching. I always thought they were more the bain of boaters and tubers, but I guess they can be in the woods too. But I'm not sure. As with most outdoors activities here in MN, I'm very familiar with mosquitoes. Instant swelling and itching, and usually subsides in an hour or two. But I have developed a few spots, or sores, a couple days after being in the woods. These one don't seem like a mosquito bite; they are small round raised firm bumps. They also tend to have a point or a scab on the top of the bump. Oh, and they itch like mad! A few of them have been bugging me for 3+ days, and none of these ones showed up until a few days after caching or hiking. I don't think it's spider bites from my in house either, don't know why I believe this, I just got a feeling it's something else. Hydrocortisone cream takes the edge off the itching, but only for a little bit. So, could these be chigger bites; any other ideas? (I don't even know what a chigger looks like, I'm just grasping at straws since a friend said "hey, those look like chigger bites".) Hmmm, ? Thanks, -Kris

That's for sure! I do it myself too sometimes, but I'm trying to break the habit. When I spot a cache, there's an urge to instantly uncover it and "see what you won". I always bring the digicam out in the woods, and I've gotten into the habit of taking a picture from where I stand when I first spot the cache. Then, when all is done, I rehide it and take another picture. If I did it right, the pictures look the same. Plus, I have a photo scrapbook now of all our finds! -K

I like Pi & I like pie! ...but... I don't like PI. -K

Trek, Do you mean like a finder-rating? So if I go looking for a cache and find it I can click on a spot in the log to give it my opinion of it's rating? That sounds like a good idea! -K

I understand those points. One could make a case I suppose, that the sport of geocaching is partly about going to places you wouldn't normally go, seeing things people don't normally see (in the boring 9-5 of the daily grind). So if what you say about the density issue is true, than it could possibly prompt new cachers, heck, all cachers, to venture beyond their county lines into 'uncharted' territory. Any rules though that would discourage the spread of and participation in the sport would be a bad idea, I agree. I'm merely brainstorming about possible ways to maintain a high quality of caches, which in itself has many subjective meanings, I'm learning. Some love micros, some hate 'em. Some love multi's and puzzles; me, I'm such a noob I just like the traditional regulars and smalls right now. I do think though, that it would be nice to have something in place that would prevent some people with a fleeting infatuation with geocaching from just tossing a bucket of crap out in the woods and calling himself/herself a geocacher. Just like professional bicyclists look down on some shlub that buys a $3000 road bike and never wears the little whiskers off the tires. Owning the toys does not make one a member of any activity. If caches are poorly thought out, ill-maintained, contain junk, are easily muggled, and are uninteresting then 'real' geocachers won't want to look for them, and really don't amount to much more than littering in the woods. I think there's probably a common thread of frustration that some people place on micros, others on 'junk' swag, others unimaginative camo/placement/containment, others on 5/5 rated caches. People don't want the reward to outweigh the effort. Some people truly are into the hike, and only the hike, they don't care what's in/at the cache. They're called hikers. We're geocachers by self-granted title. That means to some extent we are all interested in the prize. A film can under a bench with a scrap to sign, or a box full of one penny plastic spider rings, or an unadorned tupperware out in the open or a 2 hour hike through PI to find an open soggy empty ammo can all take a bit of fun out of it in some way or another. We like this sport and it's disappointing to see those things. I don't think anyone here wants to rag on others about liking this or that instead of what they like. We're all just trying to find ways to better this activity for all of us, without bogging it down with as many rules as some 'organized' sport. Whew, if you read all that, thanks! Sorry I rambled, just got of the night shift at the gerbil wheel. G'night, -Kris

If you only need a PC for a few minutes, to check email, or log on to log a find - there are a few places I've found to snag some cybertime. Two of my three local Office Max's have PC's around for customers to use to view Office Max's website, but they're not blocked so you can go to any site you want. It may be a little sneaky, but at a Best Buy I asked to be allowed onto the internet on a particular PC so I could go to one of my favorite forums to check a thread. I told the employee I wanted to see how that site looked on that particular computer I was 'considering'. I had no intention of buying a computer that day, I just needed a few seconds to check a topic I was following closely. But to even out the karma, I have bought a computer at that Best Buy since then. Libraries have PC's available too. I was at a Barnes & Noble once and I needed to find a number on Dexonline and they were pretty empty so I asked one of the helper people if I could use the internet for two minutes. They watched over my shoulder, but they let me do it. Most stores these days have a computer/internet and if you ask nicely, many will let you log on for a couple minutes if you tell them why. (Might even have better luck at outdoorsy stores like biking, camping, hunting outfitters.) Smaller stores are usually better about this than Big Box stores where the employee might get freaked out that it's "not in the policy". -Kris

Forgive me if this has been mentioned, but couldn't geocaching.com set up a rule that you can't hide any caches until you've found X number? Or a ratio, like hide 1 max per 10 found or whatever number is agreed upon? I belong to a few different forums for my various hobbies, and a few of them will not allow a new member to start a New Topic until they've replied to 10 existing topics. That prevents some people from just popping in shopping for info without contributing to the forum as a whole. I've only hidden 1 cache thus far, and I want to keep it within reason. At least two reasons I can cite: I want to put thought into a clever hide in a good location. And, I want to be able to check on the cache regularly to ensure it's in good condition. If I had 30 hidden, I'd spend alot of time on maintenance. It's tempting to hide a cache along the way on a vacation too, but then I wouldn't be able to maintain it once I'm back home hundreds of miles away. At least at this point, I don't want more than 3-4 hidden that I have to keep tabs on. But that's just me, -Kris

I think that there could be one explanation in addition to idiots. Most people that find a cache have probably eaten sometime in the past few hours. Depending on the food, I can smell it on my hands several hours later even after several handwashings. (Mexican food, onions, gyros, garlic, etc.) Some of the smell can transfer onto the cache container, the logbook, the swag.... An animal may smell the odor and think there is food inside. Something like tupperware can easily be batted around until the lid pops. Animals like racoons can easily open many containers. Possibly the 'stinky cacher' did properly restash the cache, but left the scent of food. Lock & Lock containers certainly would prevent openings due to temp differentials poofing the top off a cache, but wouldn't slow an animal at all. I like ammo boxes myself; they are never a little open or a little closed. When you close it, you know it. Some tupperware's get so full of swag and papers in ziplocs it's hard to get the lid on without snagging some plastic in the groove - preventing a proper seal. Whether ammo boxes or Lock & Lock stuff, I think containers that latch are much preferrable to those that just have a press-fit closure. $0.02, -Kris

My "scooter" is my 1984 Honda Shadow VT700c. Just recently got it back to box-stock configuration with some pristine pipes I found on eBay. 60mpg! Yay! -Kris