After the tragedy, restoration was relatively easy. I’m not a person who would normally ask, “What do you carry in your caching bag?” because I find the question incredibly banal and because, quite frankly, it’s none of my business. However, since I’m starting again from square zero (there I go, mixing metaphors again!), now is as good a time as any to examine the question. Since I haven’t written about it in the almost four years I’ve been writing this blog, I guess I can give it a go.
Most of this stuff was just received (source redacted; they don’t need free publicity). As much as I dislike this company’s employment practices, I must admit that they have access to pretty much anything you might need or want at almost a moment’s notice. I pulled out the laptop on Saturday evening, and the new stuff was at my door Monday morning. Not everything pictured came in that order. My Maglite was spared theft, as were my tweezers. The zip ties I had sitting around the house. The bag is the same as my previous one, though it looks like a few minor changes were made to it. I also picked up a new UV flashlight (which was much smaller than my old one), a magnet on a stick, and a couple of new portable batteries and cables for charging things. Oddly enough, I’m sad about my old batteries. One of them I’d had for years, and it was a real workhorse. These new ones have the same output and are a bit smaller, so there is no real loss in the greater scheme of things. Of course, I needed new spare baggies, but those weren’t ordered. I took a trip to a local head shop for those. I don’t dabble in such things, but they sell baggies in both small and bulk amounts. I had to dig in the cache repair box for a few pill bottles. One contains fresh logs; another contains spare cap-and-caps of multiple sizes; and the last contains other containers—some nanos, some bison tubes, and some shotgun shells (for those of you not from Texas, used shotgun shells, once washed out, are great to stick into small holes and tight spots). Luckily, my multitool was also spared, but it’s still in my car.
This also has me thinking about what I don’t want to carry with me any longer. I used to have a mirror on a stick, but I rarely used it. I carried USB rechargeable AA batteries that were a good idea but also got little use and seemed to drain really quickly. The big one, though, is my GPS. It was nothing special to begin with, a Garmin eTrex 10, but I never used it all that much. I know I need one for making hides or long hikes into the middle of nowhere, but I don’t exactly hide things daily or make long treks alone (or really even at all). My phone has (for the most part) done a pretty stellar job. So yes, I’ll replace the GPS, but I’m in no rush. Maybe I’ll wait until I’ve found a really good deal on one, or maybe I’ll win one at a caching raffle. Maybe I’ll journey over the Dread Mountains and brave the Swamps of Blood to find the Cave of Directionless Fires and claim the golden GPS contained therein! Or maybe not. Either way, I’m ready to take on the rough world of the unforgiving cache once more!
Geocaching While Black 