SunshineGang

I created a pocket query to show me all the Events in michigan... I do not have this file emailed to me but anytime I want to browse through all the events in michigan I simply click the preview button on the pocket query and browse through the events

While I concede that it is theoretically possible for a person to show up to the event without earning the 5-star difficulty rating.. BUT I am confident that it will not happen... For example if a person did show up in their own private boat the day of the event... I assume that attendee would need the knowledge and experience to navigate a large vessel 10 miles out into Lake Michigan through a busy shipping channel. Thus still earning the 5 star difficulty even if it is a different adventure than the rest of us chose. For the person that rides the ferry over on Saturday and just hangs out on the island for 24hrs. I think this persons adventure would still earn them a 5 star difficulty. Submitting themselves to the weather and sleeping under the stars with none of the most basic amenities that we take for granted every single day. I am confident that everyone that shows up on Sunday will have earned the right to log a 5/5 event. But I do thank you for the debate... I do enjoy a good debate... BTW - Assuming we survive North Manitou this year we have talked about doing a different island next year. Perhaps Isle Royal National Park.

To you first point... Yes, seems this is often the case in the forums and to your second point... 1975? Do you have any idea how much Di-ithium Crystal it takes to go back in time that far? I am trying to keep our event affordable.

J-Way I am curious, (in your opinion) is it possible to have a 5/5 event? If so I am curious what you might suggest an event host would need to do to justify a 5/5 rating on an event? (other than the obvious time travel which several other people have already affirmed would justify a 5/5 rating) I am thinking that with few exceptions you could argue that just about any location in the world is not difficult to get to if you have enough money. Heck you can even buy a trip to the International space station if you have the money.

You are not the first person to question our difficulty rating in the forums and I am confident that you will not be the last. We have rated the event as a 5 difficulty because In order to attend we expect attendees will need to: - Research and plan their trip (including the park rules, terrain, weather and other hazards etc.) - Research, Acquire and Pack all the necessary gear... This includes food, cookware, stove, shelter, water filtration, Shovel to dig a latrine etc. - Exercise - get in physical shape - Last year my group and I group traveled 32 miles in 3 days on the island. Most of which we were carrying our fully loaded packs (75+LBS) This years goal is to cut that waaayyy back on weight. - practice/learn outdoor skills. this includes setting up shelter and preparing meals with only the tools available on the trail. - Have the guts to hop off the boat and leave the world behind. Once attendees step off the ferry they are on their own. There is no turning back, no stores or restaurants to eat at; no hotel rooms to rent in case of a really nasty thunderstorm etc.. Based on the scores of hours I have spent researching, shopping, exercising, and refining my outdoor skills; I am confident that our rating is spot on.

did I forget to mention Time Travel? that is too funny sorry that is suppose to be 2009... No time travel required as long as you come on June 21, 2009

GC1NVJP Are you up for a 5/5 event? Perhaps you are wondering how a 1 hr event could possibly have a 5/5 rating? Well the event is located on a wilderness island 10 miles for the shores of Leeland, Michigan (MAP). There is a ferry but it only comes once a day with no layover. So this means in order to attend this event you will be required to have Special Gear (boat & camping gear) and the outdoor skills required to survive at least one night in the wilderness. The island boast of virtually no amenities. there is no food, electricity, hotels, or shelter of any kind available on the island. You must carry in everything you need. For those who do survive we will see you on Sunday morning near the dock. GOOD LUCK to those who dare!

We had one guy from Alabama show up at the event... Actually he is from michigan originally but he has been living in Alabama for the last year... That is a bit of a drive just to make an event... I do think it is a great event but probably not that great Thanks for your support!

For a very limited time we are offering the 2008 Age of Discovery Event Gecoins at %50 off These coins orginally sold for $10/Gold & $15/Silver. The Silvers are gone but the GOLD coins are availible for $5 plus shipping CLICK HERE! * all proceeds from this sale benefit the event. Any extra funds collected are donated to the Michigan Geocaching Organization.

I fully endorse the Garmin 60 series. I just bought a 60cx, I had the 60cs before that. The Garmin 60cx and 60csx do autorouting, which I use often. as someone pointed out the 60 series is water proof but does sink... While canoeing a few summers ago we flipped the canoe and the GPS was lost briefly.. but by some miracle we found it bouncing on the rocks on the bottom down stream... it was just fine once we got it back. We don't use our GPS in the water often, but next time we do it will have a empty water bottle attached to it so it cannot sink Not a huge fan of the electronic compasses in GPS units... they just seem to bounce around too much while you are walking to be useful

wow that is really cool I have internet access on my moto Q so I just tried downloading the Pocket querry to my phone directly and import the caches into my Cachemate and IT WORKS... that is kinda of cool I do not need to be connected to my computer to import GPX files.. I can get them wirelessly through my email... VERY COOL

I have used Cachemate on a Palm many years ago but just found out they have a version for my Moto Q phone. A year ago I was searching in vain for a App to load on my brand new phone..... I have loaded cachemate and it appears that it will work great... I wish I could used Trimbles geocache navigator but they do not support windows mobile phones at this time... I email them every few months to see if they are working on it... I just get a nice email back each time that says no

If it belongs to you, you can do what ever you want to it.....

Jeepcachr and the Sunshinegang are pleased to announce the arrival of the 2008 Age of Discovery Geocoin This years coin is GC.COM trackable and ALL PROCEEDS will fund the Age Of Discovery Event. CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOURS TODAY

Yes those were some crazy days.... As I recall the price peaked with the fall pumpkin coin... Some of those sold on Ebay for over $300 Wonder what they are worth today

Got mine in the mail I am so very pleased! it turned out well FYI I expect most familar with this ship know what the bell(s) with the number 29 on them represent. But for those that might not they represent the 29 Crew members that were lost when the ship sank (There were no survivors) The Bell from the ship was recovered in 1995 and is on display at the shipwreck muesum. Each year it is rung 29 times on the anniversary of the ship sinking as a tribute the the 29 lost men.

I was not aware of the song. (The Fitzgerald sank before I was born) but I just found it on youtube Very cool song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_8s2zsNhSM

FYI the 2008 MIGO geocoin is in stock and now shipping http://www.migostore.org/index.php?main_pa...products_id=243

One thing that should not be overlooked is that the event is 9:30am on a Sunday morning. The ferry only comes to the island once a day. (WITH NO LAYOVER) So attendees will need to arrive Saturday (or earlier in the week) then camp out for 21.5 hours (min.) until the event begins on Sunday Morning. During that time they will need to setup their own shelter, Secure a drinkable water supply (purify if necessary). They will need to prepare meals using only the supplies they brought with them. It is also recommended that attendees bring several days of extra food with them in case weather keeps the ferry from being able to sail. If you wander far from the rangers station you may find your self digging your own latrine as there is only 1 pit toilet in this 15,000 acre wilderness. In other words you cannot just jump off the boat and walk up to this event. That is how we justify our answer to the last question on the clay jar system How easy is it to find the cache? BEST ANSWER: Finding this cache requires very specialized knowledge, skills, or equipment. This is a serious mental or physical challenge.

Trading is the best option but if you have to chose between leaving the cache empty or leaving the knife I am glad you chose to remove the knife. There are two very big negatives to having knives in caches. The first is the most obvious that some child could get hurt. But the other is that it can give Geocaching a black eye... Imagine your local parks department finding a cache on accident, perhaps they have never even heard of geocaching. They look inside the container and find knives. Their first impression may very well be that geocaches are a danger to the youth or their communities. They are likely to wonder how many other caches are out there and what dangerous items do they contain.

The Clayjar rating system (availible at http://www.clayjar.com/gcrs/) has 7 questions that determine the difficulty/terrain rating for your cache listing. The terrain rating is calculated based on the answers to the first 6 questions and The difficulty rating for your cache is completely dependent on the last question (see above) and we believed the BEST answer to this question is answer number 5. However if we have mis-interpreted the rating system I think we may consider some of the ideas posted to keep our level 5 difficulty. this one made me laugh

Assuming we survive this adventure we may try something similar next year. I suspect we will pick another location. A few other locations come to mind, Isle Royal National park, South Manitou Islands, Or perhaps Nordhouse dunes.

Just wondering how many people have seen a 5/5 event? We are hosting one this summer on a remote wilderness island in Northern Michigan this summer. I am not sure if people will come or if it will just be me and a few of my close caching friends. either way I am really looking forward to the adventure Survivor - North Manitou Island

The event has come and gone and we had a blast! and we crowned a new chili champion Congrats to Superfly our 2008 Chili cook off Champ just wanted to say thanks to everyone who purchased a coin. We hope you enjoy it... We also have about 10 left in case anyone is interested

Greetings from the other side of the border! as someone who has had to deal with these issues I understand how very frustrating it can be. As a co-host of the SW Michigan Chili Cookoff we had to remove the links to some nearby lodging and our geocoin sale. However by contacting GC we were able to come up with a solution that really does not inconvenience us that much. We simply put a link "click here for more event information" and we are able to put the hotel listing and our geocoin sale our own separate web page..... I suspect I know who complained but GC did not tell us, As I do not expect them too... All I can say is I am confident that the person was out to get us vs. actually being offended by the commercial content. I strongly suggest that if you have questions or problems with the the comercial policy DO NOT BEAT UP YOUR REVIEWERS... THEY DO NOT MAKE THE RULES..... Contact GC (politely) and do not get frustrated when you do not get the response you are expecting. Reference the link to the menu: I see no harm in posting link to a menu.... just like the hotel listings on our page, it was for the convenience of the event attendees... But I do think that the OP's response to the problem was out of line.