Sweet emulation

Some mapping programs allow you to copy map data from a CD to your hard drive. This is useful because then you don’t need to find misplaced data CDs or swap between CDs to view different maps. Unfortunately, many commercial mapping programs don’t give you this option.
Skirt this problem with a special type of software:
a CD emulator. This program allows you to copy the contents of a CD onto your hard drive to create a virtual CD. This tricks a mapping (or other) program into thinking that you inserted its CD when the data actually already resides on your hard drive. Sweet. Do a Google search for CD emulator to find information about various products. They tend to be reasonably priced — under $40.

Memory for Digital Mapping

If you look at the system requirements of commercial mapping software, you’ll see some ridiculously low memory requirements considering what’s standard in today’s computers. (When was the last time you saw a computer advertised with 16, 32, or 64K of RAM? That’s actually some of the stated minimum memory requirements for a number of popular mapping programs.) Every contemporary computer should have enough memory to work with most mapping programs.
However, memory is one of those things that you can’t have enough of. Although a computer with 128K of RAM is probably going to meet most of your mapping needs, more memory will improve performance. If you’re running Microsoft Windows XP, you should consider running at least 256K of RAM. Don’t fret over the different types of memory. Double Data Rate (DDR) memory chips are indeed faster than conventional, synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) memory. But if you’re the average computer user doing typical mapping projects, you’re probably not going to notice the difference.

Processors for Digital Mapping

Most commercial mapping programs have pretty humble processor requirements. To use these programs, your computer should have a modern Pentium or similar chip with a minimum speed of 300 MHz. That’s a pretty meager amount of computing power considering that current computers offer at least six times greater processor speed, if not more. If you’re using commercial mapping software, just about any contemporary computer is going to fit the bill when it comes to processor requirements. You’ll want a faster processor and more computing horsepower if you’re doing a lot of 3-D mapping or processing large amounts of map data — particularly creating maps from data that you download from the Internet. This can be a processor-intensive task: The faster the chip, the quicker the map or terrain image will be rendered and displayed. (Any Pentium III or above PC with a processor speed of over 1.2 GHz should suffice for the average map user.)

Processing Power

When it comes to software, whether it’s an operating system or program, the processor and amount of memory your PC has can make a difference in performance. Some people think that just like money, you can never have enough processor speed or memory; when it comes to mapping software, though, that’s not entirely true.
You don’t absolutely need to have the latest cutting edge and fastest technology for computer mapping. You can easily get by using older computers and peripherals. I have an old 3000 MHz Pentium IV with 512 Mb of RAM running Windows 2000 that works fine for mapping. Granted, it’s a bit slower performing some tasks than faster, newer computers, but it still gets the job done. With this in mind, take a look at practical processing and memory requirements for mapping software.

Digital Mapping Software Choices

Understandably, your hardware needs are driven by your software needs.
Here are the three main types of mapping programs you’re most likely to use:

• Commercial mapping programs: Commercial mapping programs come bundled with maps and offer a number of powerful features but are relatively easy to use. Most commercial map programs don’t have extensive hardware requirements. In fact, many of the programs on the market work fine with older computers.
• Web-hosted map services: Web-hosted map services are accessed with your Web browser. These map Web sites are easy to use but don’t offer as many features as commercial or standalone mapping programs. Viewing Web site maps isn’t a very resource-intensive activity. The speed of your Internet connection is a bigger issue than the speed of your computer’s processor.
• Standalone mapping programs: Standalone map programs are similar to commercial map software but don’t come bundled with maps; you need to provide the map data yourself. If you’re using a standalone program to make maps from data that you download from the Internet —especially if you’ll be creating 3-D images — you want as much processor speed, memory, and storage as your budget allows. It also doesn’t hurt to have a high-speed Internet connection to speed up downloads. Additionally, you need to factor in your processing power as well as what types of storage devices, display devices, printers, and communications equipment you’ll need and use.

In most cases, if you’ve purchased a computer in the past couple of years that runs Windows, it’s probably going to be more than adequate for computer mapping. (Always check a mapping software vendor’s Web site first, though, to ensure that your computer is compatible with the program you plan to use.)

Other caching pursuits

In addition to geocaching, a number of other GPS-related activities have sprung up on the Internet. A few that you might be interested in include

• Geodashing: This is a contest in which random points are selected and players need to get within 100 meters of the location. There are no caches, hints, or terrain difficulty ratings, and the points can be anywhere on Earth. In fact, some locations can be impossible to reach. A new contest takes place roughly every month. The goal of the game is for teams to collect all the points first or to get as many as they can before the contest ends. For more details, check out www.geodashing.org.
• The Degree Confluence Project: This is an interesting project in which people use their GPS receivers to visit places where latitude and longitude lines converge. They take a digital picture, which is then published on a Web site. The goal is to map all the major latitude/longitude intersections for the entire Earth. For more information, go to www. confluence.org.
• Benchmark hunting: Benchmarks are permanent markers installed by the government for survey purposes. Over one-half million benchmarks have been installed in the United States. The most familiar type is a small, brass disk embedded into rock or concrete. The National Geodetic Survey (www. ngs.noaa.gov) maintains a list of the benchmarks and their locations. The Geocaching. com site also provides benchmark locations and lets you log a benchmark when you find one.
• GPS Drawing: This is an interesting form of art based on using your GPS receiver to record where you’ve been. For some amazing examples, check out the gallery at www. gpsdrawing.com.

Internet Geocaching Resources

Because geocaching is very much a sport of the Internet community, the Internet contains some terrific sites about the sport. Here’s a sample:

• Geocaching.com (www.geocaching.com): This is the primary geocaching site on the ’Net. In addition to an extensive database of caches and FAQs about the sport, the site also has a large number of forums dedicated to different geocaching topics.
• Navicache.com (www.navicache.com): This is the second-largest Web site dedicated to geocaching, but it’s still currently quite a bit smaller than Geocaching.com in terms of caches listed. The site has many of the same features as Geocaching.com and is often viewed as an alternative to the more mainstream, larger site. There’s not much duplication in the cache listings between the two big sites, so be sure to check both their listings when searching for caches.
• Buxley’s Geocaching Waypoint (http://brillig.com/geocaching):This site has a comprehensive set of maps that provides a bird’s-eye view of caches in your area. Just click a dot on the map for cache information. If you want to socialize with other geocachers in your area, local and regional clubs and Web sites have sprung up. Many of these sites have their own lists of caches and practical information for the novice or experienced cacher. Do a Google search for geocaching and your city or state to search for Web sites with more information.

You can also find out more about geocaching in your area by checking out the regional discussion forums at Geocaching.com. The geocaching community is not immune to politics. Skirmishes and largescale battles can break out between individuals and rival Web sites. It’s best to duck your head, check your GPS receiver, and head to the cache waypoint.

Geocaching Etiquette

For the most part, there aren’t a whole lot of rules when it comes to geocaching. It mostly boils down to respecting other cachers and the land that you play on. Consider these etiquette points when you’re out geocaching:

• Always respect private property. Need I say more?
• Don’t leave food in a cache. Food can attract animals as well as get smelly and messy, and plastic cache containers have been chewed through to get at a tasty snack.
• Never put anything illegal, dangerous, or possibly offensive in a cache. Geocaching is a family sport, so be responsible.
• Always trade up or replace an item in the cache with something of equal value. Don’t be a Scrooge; what’s the fun in that?
• Be environmentally conscious when searching for and hiding caches. Tread lightly on the land. Check out the Leave No Trace site at www.lnt.org for more information.
• Geocaching is a pretty dog-friendly sport. Keep it that way by having Fido tethered in leash-only areas. And no matter how good your dog is, have a leash ready in case other people or animals are around.
• Cache In, Trash Out (CITO). If you see any litter on your way to or from a cache, get some additional exercise with a deep-knee bend, pick it up, and pack it out.
• Say thank you. After you visit a cache, send a quick e-mail, thank-you message to the geocacher that placed the cache or acknowledge him or her in your cache comments.

How to maintain the geo-cache?

After you hide your cache and it appears in the database, your work isn’t over yet. You now have the responsibility of maintaining the cache. This means visiting the cache every now and then to verify that it’s there and in a good state of repair. You may even need to restock it with some trinkets if the supply is running low. During your visits, check that the area around the cache isn’t being extremely impacted by people searching for the cache. If the site is being disturbed, consider either moving the cache to a new location or pulling the cache entirely. (If you decide to temporarily or permanently remove a cache, be sure to post a log entry to let other geocachers know when they look up information about the cache. Also, let the Geocaching.com administrators know so they can update their database.)
In addition to physically checking the cache, you should also check your cache online and read the comments posted from people who have visited the cache. These comments can alert you when it’s time to make a maintenance call to the cache. Patience, Grasshopper! Sometimes it can take a while for someone to first find your cache and post about it.

The Oregon Hell Hole

It all started in June when Croaker posted a message in a Geocaching.com Web forum, asking about something called The Oregon Hell Hole. He remembered seeing a public television show about it several years back. The Hell Hole was considered such a dangerous place that the U.S. Forest Service didn’t want anyone to know where it was located.
A geocacher named Moun10Bike mentioned that he had an old newspaper article that described a 200-foot-deep rift in the forest floor somewhere in the Willamette National Forest, above the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. The location had been deliberately kept out of tourist books and omitted from government maps since the 1930s,and there were ominous quotes from a Forest Service geologist about how easy it would be for someone to get killed because of the crumbling rock around the deep hole. Geocachers are by nature very curious people, and the thought of a spectacular geologic formation that was being covered up by the government got the forum all riled up. Soon there were posts from people examining aerial photographs (some conspiracy theorists offered that likely even aerial photos had been doctored), visiting university libraries in search of old maps, asking relatives employed by the Forest Service for information, and trying to find a copy of the TV show to see whether it might offer any clues to the location of the secretive Hell Hole. Thirteen days after Croaker’s original post, Navdog solved the mystery when he located a videotape of the TV show at the library.
By pausing the video at a key point where a map and aerial photograph were shown, like Sherlock Holmes, Navdog put these and other clues together and posted a series of maps where he believed the Hell Hole was located. A few hours later, Uplink confirmed Navdog’s hypothesis, posting a scanned map from 1937 that had the words Hell Hole printed exactly where Navdog thought the rift was.
There was much discussion about getting a group of geocachers together to visit the place — not to descend into the Hell Hole but just to see what it was like. Almost everyone agreed that placing a cache there wouldn’t be a good idea. (Most geocachers are sensitive to their sport being potentially overly regulated by federal land managers, and if the Forest Service had been trying to keep the Hell Hole secret for all these years, it would be like thumbing your nose at them by advertising a cache there.)
After several failed attempts by others, Grin’n’ Bearit and Lef-t made it to the Hell Hole on July 19. After about five hours of searching and bushwhacking, the geocachers found the Hell Hole and left a cache there.
The cache’s listing in the database generated a storm of controversy in the forum, with fears about safety and getting the Forest Service angry about their once secret place now revealed to the world. There was a heated debate, as each side weighed in with their opinions. In the end, Grin’n’Bearit returned to the Hell Hole. Instead of the tangle of underbrush he initially encountered, he found a new path from a different road. It was a three-minute walk from where he parked to the edge of the Hell Hole. He reported well-used trails, all leading to the hole. He moved the cache to a safer spot and changed the description in the database.
The story of the Oregon Hell Hole is a testament to the ingenuity, creativity, and community spirit of geocachers as well as the struggles involved in trying to do the right thing for their sport. Although perhaps not as dramatic, lesser versions of this story happen every day.