polskikrol

Planning on doing a Sunrise Step Off this Saturday from the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center @ 7AM. (Sunrise is at around 6:48AM so we give a little extra time for anyone to get to the Visitor Center.) Anyone is welcome to join! The following caches are planned for an early morning / afternoon hike: GCH8P1 - Seven Hills Summit Cache GCAEBE - Ramapo Torne GCTR9N - Pete's Pick GC1WNJW - 1. Pigs on the wing 1 GC1WNJX - 2. Dogs GC1WNJY - 3. Pigs (Three Different Ones) GC1WNK0 - 4. Sheep GC1WNK1 - 5. Pigs on the wing 2 A shorter hike can be performed by only going for the first three listed caches. I will be posting the trails that will be hiked later on this evening. Will also post another set of caches for an afternoon loop hike for those crazy enough to join me on that as well

Just need to use standard operating procedures when encountering a Mountain Lion

I use the hybrids myself mostly Sanyo Eneloops or Kodak's The one brand I have had the worst luck with is the Enegerizers. Never had good luck with rechargeables until getting the following setup from Amazon: Sanyo Eneloop 8 Pack AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries La Crosse Technology BC-9009 AlphaPower Battery Charger Never been happier...

Does anyone know if the park rangers care if you are hiking in Harriman State Park after night fall? Thinking of possibly going after work one day on a loop hike and may return back an hour or two after dark. Would anyone be interested in accompanying? Planning on hitting up some of the new caches in the South East part of the park and a few older ones South West.

Would appear that recently our geocaching has been put aside to going on some crazy trips: - 48.7 mile Kayaking Trip from Narrowsburg NY to (Namanock) Shaytown, NJ (June 6th/7th) Tracklog showing both days on the river in different colors. - 17 mile Hiking Trip via Northern Presidential Traverse in NH from Pinkham Notch to Mount Washington (July 10th/11th) Tracklog where Blue is what we hiked and Green is the Shuttle due to bad weather. PolskiKrol @ The Summit of Mt Washington ThirstyMick @ The Summit of Mt Washington Bad Weather - Think it was something like 80+ lightning strikes a minute. Believe Weathernowcast would be able to make sense of this map. - 34.7 miles Kayaking / Hiking at Assateague National Seashore in Maryland (July 24th-26th) Tracklog from the 3 day weekend kayaking to the Green Run & Pine Tree backcountry sites. Other trips coming up include the following: - Return to the Presidentials to complete the Southern Traverse - 3 day Rock Climbing in the Adirondacks - 4 day trip to Acadia National Park - Isle au Haut via kayak

Towards the end of the month I may plan an Event Cache hike in lower Harriman State Park... just got the Harriman Trails book which is very informative and thus the hike could be made interesting to pass some spots of interest. Of course if we happen to stumble over a cache or two..... Currently thinking about Sunday, August 2nd... any interest?

If I still working in the Whippany area I would take you up on the offer... unfortunately, traffic from Jersey City would prevent me arriving prior to 5:45 :<

Wish I was in the area.... I would have loved to join

Only if there is snow on the ground! Would suggest Worthington as it is quite lovely in the snow

Congratulations! Hope there are enough caches in the area to make 20,000 not too difficult

Agreed! Speedy recovery and let me know if I need to deliver you some tasty refreshments from Cricket Hill !

Looks like no one has posted anything here for a while. Well, this weekend had the opportunity to spend 3 days backpacking in Harriman State Park. Battled through the rainy weather and got blistered feet due to sogginess (went through 3 pairs of dry socks and the shoes were waterproof). However, it was well worth it and I would do it again (even in the rain). TrackLog Summary Points: 4736 Length: 53.9 Area: 19.1 sq mi Elapsed Time: 2 days 6:41:48 Avg. Speed: 1.0 mph Shelters: Big Hill Shelter (Night 1), Bald Rocks (Night 2) Wildlife:: Deer (almost stepped on two fawn), Eastern Box Turtle, Frogs (lots of them, apparently they like it when the trails are rivers), Red-Spotted Newts, Snails, and lots of birds. Note(s): Since I joined 3 separate tracklogs the elapsed time is not accurate. Also, there was one instance where the GPS died for about 0.25 miles and another instance where I forgot to turn it back on for about 0.50 miles after taking a break. TrackLog Screenshot Geocaches Found a total of 2 Geocaches prior to starting the trek when I was staging the Gallon Water Jug stashes and then found 19 additional Geocaches throughout the weekend. If it had not rained I would suspect a lot more could have been found as I got back to the starting point at 3PM on Sunday having had enough of the rain and blistered feet. Lessons Learned 1. Packed too much food... this can reduced in the future to save on pack weight. 2. Dropping off water jugs strategically worked quite well at trail intersections with roads. However, I would like to migrate to treating my own water. 3. Buying rain weather gear (ie, pants and jacket) was an excellent idea. Probably kept me from getting pneumonia. 4. Need better foot gear for rain... what I had did not work! Columbia water proof shoes, 3 pairs of socks, 2 plastic bags (dont ask). 5. Need a lighter sleeping bag which packs well. Initial research shows this would shave off 3+ pounds. Probably also need one to withstand colder weather... it was a little chilly in the Smokies around New Years. 6. Titanium spork served well for meals. Good purchase at a cheap price. 7. Probably not a good idea to use a Camelbak as a main carry bag and use bungee cords to keep everything in place. Will have to find a good light backpacking pack for longer and lengthier hauls. 8. Left over Chinese 'tupperware' is not good for storing food. It will come apart and you will get couscous and oatmeal all over the place. Lock N' Locks are probably too heavy... need to find a light and durable solution.

How about big ammo cans requiring 5+ miles of hiking

I was waiting all summer for this opportunity and then it falls on the weekend before ThirstyMick's bday :< Already have plans to kayak a section of the Delaware River across 2 days. Brian - Hope you schedule another one of these events during the summer months! PK

Another good Palisades State Park hike with State Line Lookout as the parking and starting point. Track Log Summary Points: 432 Length: 4.2 mi Area: 0.2 sq mi Elapsed Time: 2:24:54 Avg. Speed: 2 mph Track Log Vertical Profile

Anyone in NJ planning on attending the ASP GeoBash IV this weekend? If so, would you be interested in car pooling leaving Friday afternoon and coming back Sunday evening?

Actually planning that hike either Tuesday or Wednesday

Not a long hike but alas a nice Loop Hike along the Palisades Interstate Park. Started at Park Headquarters and hiked via Long Path (Aqua), Forest View Trail (Blue/White), Shore Trail (White), and Closter Dock Trail (Alpine Approach Trail) (Orange) while picking up 6 caches. GPS Tracklog Summary Points: 745 Length: 6.8 mi Area: 0.4 sq mi Elapsed Time: 2:26:16 Avg. Speed: 3 mph GPS Tracklog Elevation Profile Really nice hike and still had enough in me to go to the rock climbing gym afterwards

Have only seen Eastern Ribbon snakes so far this season.

Venango County we already completed after finding out about the Allegheny Geotrail during the Pittsburgh Geocoinfest last year. Planning on driving all night after work on Friday and tackling the remaining 9 counties probably in a clockwise manner.

Many thanks for the support today ThirstyMick, BrianSnat & SteelNDirt! I know the weather this morning looked dismal however we were quite lucky after hitting the water with the watercraft! Had a spectacular time today and will cherish the memories! Full details of the adventure can be read about in my post: PK's #2000. Kayaking TrackLog Statistics Points: 291 Length: 3.2 mi Area: 81489 sq ft Elapsed Time: 3:28:55 Avg. Speed: 0.9 mph Note: Does not count datapoints for Stage 1 replacement as the GPS was left in the car. Hiking TrackLog Statistics Points: 548 Length: 5.8 mi Area: 1.4 sq mi Elapsed Time: 2:35:36 Avg. Speed: 2 mph

Yup, currently on #1999 and planning on doing island hopper on Saturday rain or shine. What time would you be planning on getting there? If there is time in the late afternoon might even do a small loop north of the lake.

That would make sense then Wish reviewers were able to set an "out of office" or something on their accounts when one attempts at correspondence.

Would anyone know if there is a holdup with Earthcache approvals? I have been struggling for close to 1.5 moths to get a new one published and recently have not been able to receive a response for over 2 weeks! The following is an order of events: February 22nd - Initial Submission March 3rd - Initial Rejection March 4th - 9th - Email Dialogue Regarding Clarification March 10th - Completed 1st Revision March 10th - 2nd Rejection March 11th - March 19th - Email Dialogue Regarding Clarification March 20th - Completed 2nd Revision March 30th - Followup Email Regarding 2nd Revision April 5th - Still No Response Regarding 2nd Revision Initially emailed on March 20th but still have not received even a simple "received your email and will review it" for well over 2 weeks. Everything OK with the reviewers? I am anxiously waiting to iron out the kinks with my Earthcache and to get it approved. Please advise

Stonetown Circular Trail (Red Triangle) Tracklog Summary Points: 1388 Length: 12.6 mi Area: 2.7 sq mi Elapsed Time: 9:03:24 Avg. Speed: 1.4 mph Notes: About 1.5 miles of driving are factored into the above summary as this is how Stage 1 of 'Windbeam along Highland Trail' was attempted. Tracklog Vertical Profile New Caches Placed the following new caches while we hiked the Stonetown Circular Trail: GC1PAFH: Ricker Hill Stash GC1PAFK: Harrison Mountain Lake View