Tip o' the Mesa...

is the name I have assigned to this new geocache deployed yesterday at the remote northwestern point of Adobe Mesa.  The polystyrene container includes some silly trinkets, a log book, and a dollar bill for the first finder (click images to enlarge):

The container is now hidden in this pile of boulders while my GPS unit gets a good fix on the location so it can be published online, allowing others to take on the fun challenge of finding it:

To complete the process of creating the new geocache I went online yesterday evening and submitted its name, lat/long coordinates, a description of the terrain/difficulty, and an encrypted hint on how to find it once you get close.  I note late this morning that my submission has been reviewed and approved and this information is now publicly accessible, with the locator designation of GC3HB9P.  All you need to do now is go to the Geocaching.com website and register (free) to begin to search for 1,723,278 active geocaches worldwide.

RELATED:  Previous posts related to geocaching are found here and here.

Not so fast after all...

Faster-than-Light Neutrino Puzzle Claimed Solved by Special Relativity

GPS satellites...

get a serious upgrade.  This will result in a significant increase in accuracy, down to two feet, even with civilian grade receivers.

And it will help Apple and Google track you more closely.

"Death by GPS" is of growing concern...

as more people blindly follow their navigational gadgets into remote areas.  More here.  Pull quote:

"People are so reliant on their GPS that they fail to look out the windshield and make wise decisions based on what they're seeing."

GPS fail...

Credit: the WSJ.

Operator error, not GPS failure...

Don't Look Down: White Van and Driver Airlifted to Safety After Satnav Error Sends Him to Top of Mountain

Reminds me of this story.

UPDATE and BUMPED:  GPS Directs Driver to Death in Spain's Largest Reservoir.  Yikes.  It's like the machines are out to get us.

Next-gen GPS satellite...

successfully launched last night, after a delay of about one week. Read more here.

The benefit of the new technology: more accurate geocaching during solar storms! (Among other things.)

Ronald the Travel Bug...

will have some company while he awaits his next jump to another geocache. I retrieved him in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the company of BSquad last week, and have just returned from placing him in a site just a mile from the house. The doll was already in the cache, and I hope they get along while he temporarily visits.

If you have a geocaching account you can track his adventures with his Travel Bug code: LSEFV3.

Geocaching is especially fun...

with the B-Squad - that's what the Bu bro and his kids call themselves. Here are the junior members of the team a few days ago at the Tunes2 geocache, smiling and holding a Travel Bug that I have carried back with me and will deposit at a local site in the next day or so. Read more about geocaching and get off your butt and go do it!

UPDATE on 27 May 2010: I just placed the Travel Bug in a geocache in southern Utah.

Necessary chores were completed...

yesterday in preparation for the field season that commences in late March when I am on leave from the university. I spent much of the morning updating the unit software on my handheld GPS receiver as well as transferring map sets from DVDs to micro-SD cards. Here are some of the details:

1.) I use a Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx for my field work. Garmin makes it easy to keep your unit software updated to the latest version by using their on-line WebUpdater. In my personal opinion this is the best and most versatile GPS device available.

2.) Map sets are available at various scales that can be uploaded to micro-SD cards from DVD (or you can buy the pre-loaded cards) and then inserted into the GPSMAP 60CSx. I don't like the pre-loaded cards as they contain gobs of megabytes of map data for areas that are irrelevant to my projects, and consequently the GPS unit boots much more slowly because of the gargantuan map files. Hence I like to use the Garmin MapSource software to specifically select the maps from the DVD that correspond to my particular area of interest.

I have the following Garmin map sets:

a.) WorldMap v4 is used for my voyages with Zegrahm Expeditions.
b.) TOPO U.S. 100K includes coverage for the entire US at 1:100,000 scale.
c.) TOPO U.S. 24K includes all 1:24,000 topographic maps for various regions in the western US.
d.) US TOPO 24K National Parks, West v3 includes all of the National Parks in the western US (really not necessary if you have 'c' above).

I have ten micro-SD cards onto which I've loaded subsets of map files from the DVDs listed above. So when I'm engaged in a project, or travel, in a particular place I can pop the appropriate card into the GPS unit and, voila, all of the relevant cartographic information is available.

UPDATE: Previous related post and a couple of pics.

Don't blame the technology...

but know its limitations and exercise common sense: GPS Leads 3 Parties Astray in Oregon.

I liken this to using a table saw in a wood shop - it can cause great harm if you're inattentive or using it incorrectly. That's certainly not the tool's fault, but the person operating the equipment.

Previous related post.

Good to know...

how to do: Find North Without a Compass.

Don't necessarily always depend on your GPS.

Global Positioning System...

(GPS) could begin to fail in 2010 according to this article that references this GAO report.

I think these claims are a tad bit exaggerated but clearly the satellite-based network needs continuous maintenance and launching of replacement units. Civilian users are unlikely to see any degradation in navigation services as it only takes a fix on three satellites for determination of a two-dimensional location on Earth's surface, and most receivers can easily detect eight satellites at a time.

Having said that, I hope you haven't thrown your old compass away.

"Confluence hunting"...

is the name given to a recently contrived adventure goal: using GPS to find and visit points of intersection between latitude and longitude. Seems pretty silly to me to seek out entirely arbitrary places based simply on a cartographic coordinate system. What's next? Traveling to the points that coincide with corners of USGS 7.5' topographic maps?

However, a truly fun activity can be had by going geocaching. Just make sure the map datum and that entered in the GPS receiver agree.