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cakewalk





Joined: 03 Jan 2003
Posts: 512

PostPosted: 3/24/2005, 10:07 pm    Post subject: Sucked In Reply to topic Reply with quote

So, by some twist of internet fate, I found myself on the Geocaching website.

I was intriqued by the idea of hiding a treasure, somewhere on the planet and leave clues and coordinates for others to follow.

I made myself an account and typed in my zipcode to discover HUNDREDS of cache sites within a short distance from my house. Even a few within walking distance from my front door. Neato!

I didnt own a GPS device but was still fascinated by this whole thing. I saw that there where a few right in Thunderbird Park. Well, thats my playground. I printed out the pics of the cach sites and actually found 4. To me that was a major accomplishment - to find a cache using clues and pics only.

Well, today the inevitable happened. I took my new USAA plat card for a test drive, and left wal-mart with a new Garmin eTrexLegend.

The moral of the story - The internet is a dangerous place. It will force you to do things. It will force you into new techno-nerd hobbies.

My friend Josh from North Dakota was here last week. I took him to raid the few caches I already found. He went home and bought a GPS the within an hour of leaving the airport after landing.

The Internet claims 2 more victims
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Hikngrl
Canyoneering is my 'Happy Place'




Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 5578
Location: Peoria, AZ

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 5:38 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

How fun! I think if I owned a GPS I would have to try that.... Thank God I don't own one and have plans for far to much of my money to even consider getting one!
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BoyNhisDog
The dangerous place where the winds meet




Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1375
Location: Tucson

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 6:59 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Good for you Cakewalk. The GPS is definately some very cool alien hardware for this planet. After holding out for years I finally broke down and got one just so I could stay more in touch with exactly where I am out there. I just want to geocache the things I find and log the points in my notebook so I can return someday. There are so many features out there. A photo and waypoint in the notebook is a great way to log those sites. Some I want to go back in a different season and observe again.
The thing is uncanny. Buried treasure will take on a whole new excitement.
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Shihiyea





Joined: 20 Oct 2003
Posts: 1135

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 7:52 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

My hiking/backpacking partner last summer left a geocach on Sitsgrieve Mountain, this past summer. It's had no hits yet, but that doesn't surprise me. The log book on top has been wrote in about 3 times in the past couple of years. It's a great hike, but without trails and the 2 miles feel more like 10 (we were backpacking and carrying all of our water). Geocaching was a lot of fun, but time consuming if you wanted to keep moving. There were a couple we found easily on Brown's Peak and one by mistake near the Lava Tube. It is a great way to pass time and get out. Mary
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SUN_HIKER





Joined: 05 Dec 2003
Posts: 1057

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 7:56 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

You will love your GPS the more you use it. I never leave home (hiking) without it. The saying "are we home yet?" is quickly answered by your GPS.

Geocaching sounds very interesting but I haven't got into that yet, perhaps one day. I did, however, already came across two "treasures" by accident.

One negative on my GPS is that it's the older e-trex Vista and it gobbles up battery juices like no tomorrow. So I always carry a bunch of spares.
From what I understand the latest models handle battery life much better. Glen, what is your experience on that subject with your new model ?

GB
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PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 8:15 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

My problem is that I have had an e-trex summit for several years and frankly I have lots of trouble trying to use it. I do not understand the directions and am looking for some course I can take because I do not know to to do waypoints and routes etc. I even have the hookup to my computer but do not know how to work that. I do not understand why all directions seem to be written by Oriental people--nothing against them--but I try and try and try with no success. I just have too many toys!!!

Sounds like I am professing stupidity--maybe that is true. I can't even keep track of the distance traveled and am always a few miles off. Of course it took me 4 years to realize that "enter" on my computer also meant "return".

Doe anyone know of an elementary book that starts at square one about GPS units??? I am ready to throw mine away and it cost over $300. I am very frustrated over this. Sorry for this lament but maybe someone out there can help. I always envy those who use them on hikes and know how to do it. I really don't know why I even carry mine except to know where North is and a cheap compass could do that. I called Garmin but after the first sentence I am lost with their tech people. Rolling Eyes

As to batteries, use rechargable nimh. I seem to get 6 hours from them.
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paintninaz





Joined: 06 Jan 2003
Posts: 3515

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 8:26 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Roger, there does appear to be a "GPS for Dummies" book... http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764569333/ref=ase_bikecommuteco-20/103-2278841-7037459?v=glance&s=books

otherwise, I think Wide World of Maps has classes.... http://www.maps4u.com/gpsclass/
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BoyNhisDog
The dangerous place where the winds meet




Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1375
Location: Tucson

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 8:55 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

GB, I am still on the first set of batteries in mine, which I bought several weeks ago. I went with the Legend Color as it professes up to 30 hrs of battery life and I believe it. The Vista Color said 20 hrs so those extra features must take extra power. I have had it turned on a lot while learning it and trekking a couple of times and the batter display still says it has at least 75% energy remaining. Double checking car or airplane speed is fun and navigating by road is great in the car. They want way too much for the Cig adaptor though.

Slowclimber, I agree, they did not make it as intuitive as they could. The reference manual is not so great either but once you do get it figured, it is like a magic thing. The Summit Hut down here has classes every now and then so maybe someone up your way does as well.

I have used one in the airplane for about 12 years now so they aren't new to me. It just took me forever to decide on the one I wanted to carry into the wilds.
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Shawn
I'll sell you map to Lost Dutchman mine!




Joined: 03 Jan 2003
Posts: 2592
Location: Ahwatukee, AZ

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 9:23 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Oh, I shouldn't have looked in here. Temptation is strong!


Be strong, resist, prevail!!
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SUN_HIKER





Joined: 05 Dec 2003
Posts: 1057

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 10:51 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

slowclimber wrote:
As to batteries, use rechargable nimh
That's what I use (otherwise I'd go broke).
Doing the Florida-Wrightson trek I went through 2 sets. Of course I'm always checking my accumulative altitude and ask GPS "are we home yet?".

BoyNhisDog wrote:
GB, I am still on the first set of batteries in mine, which I bought several weeks ago. I went with the Legend Color as it professes up to 30 hrs of battery life and I believe it
Thanks Glen, that's good news. This alone will makes it worth while to upgrade to the color model, not to mention it will be easier for me to see the display. As far as learning, it's an ongoing thing for me too. Every once in a while I learn something new Rolling Eyes about it. Then just when you think you got it - a new model comes out.
Crazy
I think they are a lot of valuable fun and once you own one you ask yourself later, how did you do without it Very Happy
GB
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PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 1:20 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Yes Glen. They have classes up here and I think I will take one. i will also get Tracy's suggested book. Actually I have run into many hikers who have them but tell me they do not know how to use the features. Now is the time for me to buckle down for my final!!!! Laughing
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cakewalk





Joined: 03 Jan 2003
Posts: 512

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 1:35 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

My unit promises battery life of about 18 hours on 2 aa batterys

And it does seem a little complicted, but luckily I can download waypoints from the Geocache website directly into the GPS, via a serial cable then choose one and let the unit lead me right to it. I also like it for the altitude readouts. Havent played with it in the car yet. The map seems a little sparse as far as details go.

I especially like the joystick type control on the face, makes navigating the menus and screens pretty easy.
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BoyNhisDog
The dangerous place where the winds meet




Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1375
Location: Tucson

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

The basemap that comes with them is very sparse. The Americas Topo by Garmin is really nice. It covers the entire country Alaska and Hawaii included at 1:100,000. That is a nice scale to upload. You can save certain selections of maps. I have about 60 saved and ready to upload for an upcoming trip and that number takes up about 13 mb IIRC. You can create routes and waypoints on your computer while viewing the same maps and upload them to the GPS as well. If you are going to be using many maps and need a lot uploaded at the same time, the more memory the better. The Legend Color has 24 mb of memory. Along with those maps come many place names and points of reference.

GB, you could get at least two trips like you just went on using one set of two AA's with the 30 hr battery life. They have really improved that on some models. And yes, the color screen was so easy for me to read the maps when I compared them in the store that I went for the color. It is USB interface as well.

Sounds like you are getting it down well Cakewalk.
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PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 4:10 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

For only $30 on a Saturday at Wide World of maps, this is what I will do. I will choose a Saturday in the summer when too hot to hike and really learn the GPS. Now I am really glad I asked the question and thank you Glen for saying that most instructions leave lots to be desired. Thx Gabrielle for saying that they are fun. I think so too and am excited that I can learn about ascent and descent degrees and mileage and altitudes. Back to class!!!
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Dirt Dog





Joined: 14 Mar 2005
Posts: 171
Location: AJ

PostPosted: 3/25/2005, 6:23 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

sredfield wrote:
Oh, I shouldn't have looked in here. Temptation is strong!


Be strong, resist, prevail!!


I know what you mean, but I think i'm caveing in when I hear

BoyNhisDog wrote:

You can save certain selections of maps. I have about 60 saved and ready to upload for an upcoming trip and that number takes up about 13 mb IIRC. You can create routes and waypoints on your computer while viewing the same maps and upload them to the GPS as well. If you are going to be using many maps and need a lot uploaded at the same time, the more memory the better. The Legend Color has 24 mb of memory. Along with those maps come many place names and points of reference.
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