hprover47

I haven't actually logged a single find yet, still waiting for my GPS to arrive, but live a few miles from that cache. It is high on my list of caches to find first. I think the fact that you didn't "try harder" makes it so much more appealing. I'm actually going to bring my brother-in-law along for that hunt because I think he would really enjoy the way you set things up. As far as the log goes, I would have left it. It says far more about the hunter than it does about you.

I'm new to the whole caching thing, but have been hiking in SGLs for years. I've never had a problem with a hunter. I'd like to think that its because I follow some self imposed guidelines. During open deer season I don't set foot in the woods. For the vast majority of the year I have access to the forest unmolested by hunters, and I think it is only fair to give them a few weeks to do their thing without having to worry about me. I think that most hunters are mature and responsible about their hunting, but there is a small minority that falls into the "drunken redneck" category. That minority seems to appear during regular deer season and I don't want to be anywhere near them. I also follow the attire guidelines for whatever hunting season is currently under way. If the hunters are wearing orange, I wear orange. If they are wearing camo, I wear camo. I don't make undue noise in the woods because I am partially there to see the same wildlife that they are there to kill. Finally, I don't see why hunters should get so upset by geocaching. 90% of the time I'm in the woods I don't see a soul. Most of the hunters I do see can't be bothered to venture more that half a mile from their car. Hide your caches deep in the forest and respect the busy hunting seasons and we should all get along fine. The few hunters I have encountered in the woods are more concerned with where and when I have seen wildlife than with what I'm doing there to begin with.

A few years ago I working as an animal control officer in Central PA. I got a report of a mountain lion sighting in a housing development that was surrounded by some dense forest. I went up there with a local police officer who was an avid hunter and we found some tracks left by deer that had definatly had a scare. We also found some large paw type tracks. Neither one of us had any experience with tracking cats before, so we were clueless as to whether there had been a mountain lion there, or just a big dog. We contacted a state game warden who officially told us that there were no mountain lions in PA. Unofficially he advised us to stay out of that forest for a few days. After that I decided to get educated on the difference between K9 and feline tracks. I think the picture in the OP is from a large dog. K9 tracks always show claw marks because dogs can't retract their claws. From what I've been told, cats only extend their claws in the ground to gain traction. When that occurs they also exert a large amount of force into the ground, ripping up chunks of dirt, and therefore leaving very poor tracks. Felines also tend to have a larger pad at the base of the paw than K9s do. You can tell the difference by drawing an X through the track. Draw a diagonal line from top left to bottom right that travels between the first and second toes on the track. Then draw a line from top right to bottom left between the third and fourth toes. If you can draw those lines so that they intersect and form and X, or very close to one, without hitting the base pad of the track you have yourself a K9. If you can't form and X you have a feline. The front two toes in a K9 track will always be even with each other, while a feline's front two toes will be offset with one slightly in front of the other. In light of that I am pretty sure that what I saw that day was from a dog. The second picture posted of the track in the soft mud looks to be a much better candidate for a feline track. I've come across some bobcat tracks in snow and they looked similar to that, but smaller.

Like I said, I wasn't very smart.

When I was in 3rd Grade I was playing frisbee at recess. I threw the frisbee to my friend Mike who failed to catch it. It hit him in the face and gave him a bloody nose. Mike cried. Keith, the class bully who didn't even like Mike and wasn't playing Frisbee, took offense and began to shove me and yell at me. Not being very smart, I then punched Keith in the face, giving him a bloody nose. Keith cried and began to pummel me relentlessly. I then cried. If only we had had "Frisbee Rule 1.02."

Ok, thanks for the advice.

I've been shopping aroun for a GPS unit and have pretty much decided on the Magellan eXplorist 200. My local Bass Pro Shop has it for $149, but Wal-Mart has it for $117. Is there some reason that Wal-Mart is so much cheaper? I don't always trust the quality of items that Wal-Mart sells, but can't imagine that Magellan would supply them with a cheaper version of the same model. Has anyone had problems with GPS bought at Wal-Mart? Any advice would be great.