Kabuthunk

Not so much find love, but I DID find a cache on my wedding day

I couldn't really provide links to any creative and/or unique logs, because all of mine fit that description. Well, depending on your definition of creative, but definitely unique. I like to write essentially a story about the caching experience for each log, and even often have a voice recorder with me for longer trips, so that I keep notes on things easily. I think my average word length is somewhere around 500 words or so (brought down by my first few years of geocaching, where my logs were shorter... my shortest being 67 words... a DNF). Right now, I regularly run out of room in the 4000 character limit, so I usually have to cut out parts of the story . Wonder if they'd consider upping it to 5000 characters...

Simple answer: # For people who are in it for number of finds.

Well, winter has FINALLY showed up somewhat, or at least enough to give the snowshoes a good test-toast. Just a 3km hike, and there wasn't like... ludicrously deep snowdrifts unfortunately, but enough to get the gist. And MAN, am I glad that I have both options available to me. First up... without the modified back-strap, so that the snowshoe swivels with each step. I'm pretty much 100% certain that it was designed with the following in mind, but I was never aware of it until today: when going through deeper (comparatively) snow, the fact that the back drags brings the tip of the snowshoe way the hell up, to get it out of the drift it sunk into very easily and quickly. In regards to that, at first when I got the snowshoes, I thought the 'toe-holes' near the top of the snowshoe would take away from it's surface-spreading ability... which irritated me a bit way back when I first bought them... however having seen it in action, said holes act to sluice the snow that was scooped onto the snowshoe right off of it again . And as I said, since the tip of the snowshoe comes up higher with the back still on the ground, I don't have to drag my ankles through the snowdrift at all, which makes it a LOT easier for walking. All in all, with the no-back-strap, I'm now EXTREMELY happy to have this option, and am relieved that back when I was looking for snowshoes originally, that I DIDN'T find a pair that had no swivel whatsoever. As well, I noticed that with these particular snowshoes (and I imagine most snowshoes of this style), I can walk pretty much identically to if I wasn't wearing snowshoes at all, so that's a helluva lot nicer than the old wooden teardrop-shaped snowshoes from childhood (whatever that style is called). Secondly, the spiked crampons on the bottom I figured would be pointless out in the flatlands here. However, I've found that it too has its uses, such as when walking over a frozen river, there's various patches of ice that are ridiculously slippery, but those spikes saved my a** pretty nicely . I don't know if it was the spikes or not, but in the few times I was on a steepish hill, I surprisingly didn't "ski" down the slope... which was my main worry at the time. As well, I found it surprisingly easy to go up the steep slopes as well (the aformentioned swivel probably helped a lot with that too). I've confirmed that turning sharply (as if in a pile of bushes or trees) or backing up (ditto) is not quite impossible, but ridiculously annoying and difficult without that additional strap. Having the strap on however took a LOT more out of me than without. So for the straightaways or open areas... no strap all the way! For todays trek, I ended up going without the strap far more than with . So yeah... that's my review thus far... which I'm sure has details which just about everyone except me was probably already familiar with . Don't mind me... I'm all excited and energetic now that I was finally able to use them for the first time this year (aside from walking in like... 2 inches of snow at my mom's place bit ago for the sake of using them ). All in all, good fun

Hmm... I'm intrigued by the idea of a rubber strap going across the back of the snowshoe from one side of the tubing to the other, and then just slipping the nylon strap under that. I may look into doing that, since that's probably a lot easier than any other method I was contemplating. However, now that you mention a 'pocket' for the straps, that reminded me that my snowshoe-carrying bag thing has a zippered pocket on the front, so I could just keep them in there. If that turns out to be too much of a hassle, I'll look into the rubber strap idea. But... unless it friggin' snows here sometime soon, I won't testing anything. GET YOUR A** OVER HERE ALREADY, OLD MAN WINTER!

Sweet, thanks for the rundown of the testings. I've still got to come up with a way to put the strap so that it doesn't get caught under my boot or whatever when not strapped in. I may just outright unclip it from the snowshoe entirely, but then if I lose it or something, that'd just plain suck . I don't have an under-wire type thing that I can kinda tangle it around, so another possible option was having... I dunno, an extra tubing-loop somewhere towards the back with a clip on it, so that I can clip the strap to it and keep it out of way. Essentially keep the strap semi-tight, but against the snowshoe. But that'd take a lot of effort for something not really worth said effort, so I may just go with the 'unclip it entirely' option. Criminal: It was more my paranoia than my trust of the brand name that figured they might crack... however the primary reason I chose a different option was pretty much location. I live in Manitoba, arguably the flattest province in Canada. Having crampon spikes all the way around really wouldn't help me in the absolute slightest, so the benifit of those combined with the downside of noisy... given where I am, the minor irritation of the noisyness outweighed the non-benifit of more spikes . The Lightning series was unfortunately not at any of the stores I visited out here (again, quite possibly due to living in the flatlands).

I was thinking of those plastic disconnect clips, but I wasn't sure how well that'd hold up in -30 or colder weather. While walking, it'd have a lot of jerky type stress on it as well. Let me know how it goes, since that'd be faster to clip/unclip than my theories.

Exactly. For a quick-release type thing, I was thinking of the nylon/bungee/whatever strap having hook claps or small caribiners on either end. When not in use, I'd still have it hooked on, but just not around my ankle. Having a loose string hanging back, not even long enough to go over the back of the snowshoe shouldn't cause any problems. When I need it, I'd just unhook one side, swing it around my ankle, and re-hook it. Another option that came to mind was to have it fixed pretty much completely to the side rings, and have one clasp somewhere near the middle but off to the side of the strap (so it's not directly on your ankle). But I didn't know if dangling ropes on either side would get caught on stuff. Suppose it could be re-clasped, but not around the ankle like the first option though, but then the clasp would bounce louder on the snowshoe than the strap alone from the first option, which might get annoying. Unless you have a better idea offhand. For this part, I'll consider pretty much anything. Worst case scenario, I'll be running with option 1.

Alright, with the limited selection I'm capable of getting here, I ended up going with GV Winter Trail snowshoes. I had pondered the Atlas types, but having tested them at one point, I found I hated the 'springy' step that they're known for. The Denali's, I didn't trust in Winnipeg's winter weather. One solid piece of plastic? I couldn't trust it not to crack, and thus destroy the entire snowshoe if I accidentally kick a rock or branch or something just under the snow. However, after some deliberation, I decided that being forced to choose between fixed bindings and rotational bindings is nuisance. Fixed is good for in forests, anywhere requiring a lot of manoeverability, but rotating bindings are easier on the ankle (or so I've read), and the front has less chance of scooping into the snow. Thus, I arrived at this conclusion: I took some bike inner tube, and tied it ridiculously tight with a knot around the frame as shown. I then looped the loose ends through a steel ring (I've chainmailed with these, and also modified it a bit so it's like a split-ring for your keys. There's NO chance of it opening up. The snowshoe frame will snap in half first). I then took some smaller steel wire and twisted it between the knot and the ring, fixing it all in position, holding it tight (tight enough that there shouldn't be a problem with the rubber sliding... not that it would matter if it did, where it's positioned). Now, I just need a nylon strap with hook clasps at the ends, or a bungee cord type thing or something to go around my ankle. I've tested it in my apartment (after taping some thick cloth over the crampons underneath), and indeed becomes a nicely fixed snowshoe Pfft, default manufacturing. EVERYTHING can be modified for the better

I told the tale of probably my worst injuries in this log. Here's the 'injury' portion of it: I think I might still have a pic kicking around from that, but no clue where offhand. ------------------------ And come to think of it, there was one other time I got somewhat injured (I still have a dark spot there on my foot) at this cache. The main exerpt: Those are about the only two times I've really injured myself at all.

Since I love the forest-type caches, I'm particularly familiar with crouching over so low, you're almost crawling. The only annoying part is that if I have my camelback on me, it can still get caught even if you're low enough to clear it

Yeah, I've read that a ratchet-based binding is easier to work with. As for the trails/packedness/etc, I'd preferably want to be making my own trails. If I'm going over the path a hundred other people have gone over, no point in having snowshoes to begin with . But like you said msrubble, since websites seemed to indicate my weight as pointing me towards 25" shoes, I figured I'd probably get the next one up, if not purely for better surface area. I don't see myself going on massive 8-hour walks (well, time will tell I suppose), so the bit of added weight of the extra few inches shouldn't be an issue. Then again, I tend to prefer a heavier shoe (I wear SAE-approved, steel toed/soled shoes specifically for that), so since my winter boots are actually lighter than my regular shoes, it'll even out .

For the past few years, I've been itching to buy a pair of snowshoes. The main reasons are a] I'm in Winnipeg (known for it's cold and snow) b] I grew up in the country and spent many a day in winter playing in snowshoes. Now, the snowshoes I grew up with are the old, original wood and animal-gut snowshoes that must have been about 50 years old. Also, they were made for an adult, so you can imagine the difficulties in walking Wanting to get back into snowshoing, I've saved up the money, and am looking for a good pair of the new, aluminum, synthetic ones primarily to be used on flat trails, not many hills, definitely no steep terrain. I DO live in the middle of the great plains I'm 140 lbs (would be maybe 160-170 tops fully loaded with stuff), 5'11" (if that matters), so from what I've read, I should be getting 8" by 25" snowshoes. Although, I'm debating whether I should get slightly longer ones for the sake of softer snow, since much of my hiking would be through foresty type areas, where the snow is typically quite soft. From what I've read in reviews and 'how to buy snowshoes' types of articles, the binding is a big thing too evidently. I've tested a few snowshoes out in stores in the past years, and found that the 'springy' type of ones annoyed me, and if I've read things correctly, are more meant for hilly stuff. Personally, I think I'd want snowshoes that are more 'locked' to my feet. Same goes with the rotation of the binding. Backing up in a forest, having it twist around would piss me the hell off. Finally, living in one of the coldest cities around, the temperature can easily drop below -40, so the more durable for cold, the better. So... yeah, all that aside, I'm looking for opinions as to what brand/type/etc snowshoes I should look into. Quick recap: 160ish pounds fully loaded Flat terrain mostly Foresty type of terrain for much of it Not fond of springy type of step. Brands that seem to be available in stores around here: Tubbs, MSR, Atlas, GV. Possibly others, but those are more for certain. Any advice you can give me? And before anyone mentions 'try renting some first', I'm relatively certain that's not an option around here.

*snaps fingers* Shoot, thought I might have had it. I found a way to convert your cache description into excel, with every word being in a seperate cell, thus making it ridiculously easy to find what word corrosponds to what number. However... it looks like that wasn't the key . Well, if others were to use the technique like mine, the actual process of decoding is stupidly easy... I'd just need to find the key. But... given I'm nowhere even remotely close to the area, methinks I've expended as much effort as I'm going to for a cache I will likely never be within a thousand kilometers of

I might be missing something, but when did Rubbermaid become "inferior"? Not all that many years back, it was considered the pinnacle of reuseable food containers. Or did they make a special "cheap" version purely for Walmart, like so many other companies have done, while still having their "good" line anywhere else?

Eh, I'd log it. Although, I'd be mildly worried that people might think I created an event for the same or next day, purely to log it to either fulfill a 'find a cache on every day of the year' type of thing, or just boost my find count. But yeah, I'd log it. A failed event that you attented is still an attended event.

I use a travelbug as a personal tracker. The tag is attached to my geocaching bag, and the "spare" half was cut to be resized smaller (with the number still showing) and attached to my keys. Luckly, like you I started when I was at about 50 finds, and indeed went back and dipped my TB into each cache I had previously found, back-dated to the day I found it. I always posted it as a note with the comment being something like "Sorry cache owner and watchers, dipping a personal travelbug into the cache. I'll be deleting this note about 5 seconds after it's created, so don't mind me, just passing through". There was a few I came up with that were fairly comical, and I actually got a few emails from owners saying they found it funny... so hey, whatever works . Although, on the actual travelbug page, after I dip it into a found cache, when I "retrieve" it, I delete the retrieve log on the TB page, so that there's only the drops showing, and people discovering me. A little bit of trial-and-error seemed to indicate that the distance is attached to the "drop" log, and not the "retrieve" log. And since (I assume to keep people from using your TB data to find premium caches or harvesting locations to steal them or something) the coordinates of the drop and the pickup are slightly randomized to just be "close", it's rare that the coords for the drop and pickup are the exact same. That in itself didn't bother me, but on a whim, every now and then I'll pop my personal TB's data into google earth and watch the kinda "path" I took cache-to-cache. If you keep both the drop and retrieve logs, it'll basically be jumping to a cache, doing a tiny hop or turn to the 'retrieve' coordinates, then going to the next cache, doing a tiny turn, etc. But I'm getting off-topic. Yeah, I backlogged then, and none of the cache owners seemed to mind. After all, I AM the travelbug, and I HAVE been to the cache. I was just late in logging it, so to speak .

Oh hey, the site's not dead? WOOH! Of any cache-stat type site I've seen, INATN was my favourite, and I was saddened quite a bit when the top-10 disappeared (the most interesting part of the site, IMO), and had no posts or updates after that. But the fact that the site's still being maintained in some form... always a good thing . Reading the maintenance blog, looks like it might be a while before top-10 returns (if ever), but at least the site lives on.

Me either. Low-brow humour, but I wouldn't even blink twice from the "shock" of it. But remember, some people are ultrasensitive to like... everything. And naturally, those who complain the most get their way. Why do you think North America is the way it is?

Personally, I prefer the homemade variety, fitting into the cupholder.

Couldn't tell you a 'for certain', but I've heard of others with a similar type of problem. The problem in those cases was the metal bendy things for the battery were loose, and it wasn't getting a good connection for them. If your batteries fit in snugly, then that shouldn't be the problem. Otherwise offhand, I'd just call Garmin. Rumour has it their tech support is very good.

I've found a cache that actually ended up working in reverse for me. On this cache, there was an unpublished (perhaps simply not-accepted-and-the-owner-never-bothered-to-retrieve-it cache) in the area, and the FIVE cachers that "found" it before me had found this unpublished, mystery cache. When I came along, I didn't find the mystery cache, but found the ACTUAL one... and thus was quite perplexed that it had a blank logbook and FTF certificate (see my log). As well, ANOTHER 6 cachers found the 'mystery' cache (which I still have no clue where it was hidden) before someone else found the 'real' cache. At which point, one of the original mystery-finders went back and solved the entire thing. Only a few of the original 11 mystery-finders went back and re-found the actual cache (but logged it as a note, so as not to log two finds on the cache). All in all, it was the most unusual FTF I've ever gotten .

Awesome accomplishment guys. My hat (or bandanna anyway, since if I wear anything on my head, it's that ) goes off to you. My one-day record is all of 15... but in my defense, that was over about a 4-hour stretch, travelled almost entirely on bike . Albeit, on some 'power trails', a bike may be more benificial than a vehicle... but this was large, hilly area. In either case, that's some pretty sweet cache stats. Bet when you finally crashed from the adrenaline rush, you crashed hard . And to all the 'mathematical impossibility' critics. Easy way to solve this. Either go yourself (or find someone willing to work with you already in the area), and pick... say... 10 arbitrary caches, spread out over the entire 'course'. Check the logbook. Their name in 'em all? Pretty decent bet that they accomplished the feat. BAM, problem solved.

That's actually a really good idea. Although, you could always switch to Metric (like pretty much the rest of the world ), and then it's 161 meters. No guess-work needed.

Short answer: Nano in a forest. Nuff said.