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Camping and Fire Building


  
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GeoScouting® (Geocaching)

  • Get in the Game! with Geocaching, information from the Boy Scouts of America®.

  • Major Manufacturers of GPS Receivers
    The software (firmware) in the receiver can be updated!
  • GPS Waypoints for Yawgoog
    Waypoints for Yawgoog's trails. Includes Long and Ell Ponds, as well as the Green Fall Pond area. (The Story of the Yawgoog Trails)

  • EasyGPS
    Free Windows software that lets users create, edit, and transfer waypoints and routes between their computers and many GPS receivers. Provides full support for the GPS eXchange (GPX) format. (TopoGrafix)

  • More software packages that can be used to create maps and/or manage GPS data; version numbers are those that support the GPX format.
    DeLorme Topo USAVersion 6.0 and later
    Des Newman's OziExplorerVersion 3.95.4j and later
    Des Newman's OziExplorerCEVersion 2.03a and later
    Doug Cox's USAPhotoMaps (free)Version 2.07.3 and later
    Garmin MapSourceVersion 6.5 and later
    Google Earth (free)Version 4.0.2694 and later
    James Associates MacGPS ProVersion 5.0.0 and later
    Magellan MapSend Lite (free)Version 2.0 and later
    MyTopo Terrain NavigatorVersion 7.0.3a and later
    MyTopo Terrain Navigator ProVersion 8.51 and later
    National Geographic TOPO!Version 4.2.2 and later
    National Geographic TOPO! ExplorerAll versions
    Northport Systems FugawiVersion 4.0.12 and later
    RouteBuddyVersion 1.1.1 and later
    TopoFusionAll versions
    TopoGrafix ExpertGPSAll versions

  • GPSBabel
    Free software by Robert Lipe and other contributors that converts various GPS data files into other formats. Supports the GPS eXchange (GPX) format.

  • Geographic Information System (GIS) Data
    States offer free GIS data, in "shapefiles," that can be added to maps with some of the packages mentioned above. Data include park boundaries, areas of critical environmental concern, recreational resources, etc.
  • DNR Garmin
    This free Windows utility, provided by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, can convert shapefiles to GPX files. It cannot process very large files, but MapWindow GIS, mentioned below, can be used to edit shapefiles into smaller files. A Garmin GPS receiver is NOT needed for file conversion.

  • MapWindow GIS
    A free GIS package for Windows. At this writing, it does not support GPX files.

    Note: Before downloading any software from the Internet, please make sure your computer's antivirus software is up-to-date.

  • Geocaching: The Patch Trader Geocache
    Located on the Narragansett Trail in the Pachaug State Forest, Voluntown, Connecticut. Geocaching is the use of GPS to find a hidden "treasure," called a "geocache," placed at a set of coordinates. Descriptive clues also help in locating the cache.

  • Geocaching.com
    Commercial site that offers an introduction to geocaching and a database of caches people have hidden. The Patch Trader Geocache is listed in Geocaching.com.
    • Bookmarks: Bad Ideas
      Cautionary tales of geocaches placed without landowner permission or careful thought about location.
    • Bookmarks: Long-Disabled Connecticut Caches
      Geocaches that have been disabled for many months, preventing others from placing caches at those locations. This situation appears to be unique to Connecticut; it does not seem to occur in Massachusetts or Rhode Island.

    • Navicache
      Non-commercial site that lists geocaches around the world.

    • Buxley's Geocaching Waypoint
      Non-commercial site that lists geocaches from the sites mentioned above and others. Maintained by Ed Hall, keeper of the online U.S. National Debt Clock.

    • Letterboxing North America
      An activity similar to geocaching is "letterboxing" (also called "questing"). This is where a container is hidden and clues for finding it are posted; GPS may or may not be involved. The container includes a logbook, a rubber stamp, and, perhaps, other goodies. The finder carries his/her own personal rubber stamp and an ink pad. The finder stamps the letterbox logbook with his/her stamp; the finder also stamps his/her personal logbook with the stamp from the letterbox. The Pachaug State Forest and the Long and Ell Ponds area also appear to be popular places for letterboxes.

    • Note: Geocaches and letterboxes should only be placed in Yawgoog property by official campers and only for the benefit of official campers. Campers who place geocaches and/or letterboxes must remove them prior to leaving camp. The general public is not allowed to place or locate geocaches or letterboxes in Yawgoog.

    • EarthCache
      An Earthcache is a special place that people can visit to learn about a unique geoscience feature or aspect of our Earth. Earthcaches include a set of educational notes and the details about where to find the location.

    • GeoScouting.com
      Resources for geocaching in Scouting, including the Cache to Eagle program. Maintained by Mary E. Stevens.

    • Geocaching to Promote Scouting
      A supplemental training module from the Boy Scouts of America®.

    • GPSgames.org
      Information about competitive games that use GPS.

    • Global Positioning System Drawing Project
      GPS as an art form!

    • Degree Confluence Project
      The project's goal is to collect images taken at every latitude and longitude integer degree intersection around the world (i.e., 42°N 70°W, 42°N 71°W, etc.).

    • GPS Activities
      Compiled by the Virginia Cooperative Extension.

    • Trimble® Planning Software
      Free software for advanced GPS users that displays satellite availability and estimated error for a given location and time. Trimble®, a manufacturer of professional GPS equipment, provides a satellite almanac/ephemeris file; the US Coast Guard Navigation Center also offers almanac files.

      Note: Before downloading any software from the Internet, please make sure your computer's antivirus software is up-to-date.

  
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Orienteering

  • Orienteering Merit Badge Requirements
    Boy Scouts of America®

  • Topographic Map Symbols (also as PDF, 2.2 megabytes)
    Introduction to topographic maps and symbols. (US Geological Survey)

  • Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
    A searchable database of named geographic features found on topographic maps. (US Geological Survey)

  • Maps of Yawgoog Area
    (The Story of the Yawgoog Trails)

  • Topographic Map: Voluntown Quadrangle (2.4 megabytes)
    The entire 1:24,000-scale quadrangle, which includes the Yawgoog area, can be downloaded. Image editing software can be used to crop and print the map. The map is a zipped TIF file. (Rhode Island Geographic Information System - RIGIS)

  • TerraServer
    Free topographic maps and aerial photographs of any location in the USA, in various scales and sizes.

  • Magnetic Declination Estimator
    A calculator for magnetic declination around the world, covering the years 1900-2005. Provided by the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). To use the calculator, the latitude, longitude and altitude of the location must be entered. A ZIP code locator in the calculator can find the approximate latitude and longitude. Coordinates can also be found for a given street address at MyGeoPosition.com. Please note that declination values on topographic maps may be decades old. As of 2002, magnetic north is 15 degrees west of true north in the Yawgoog area.

  • International Orienteering Federation (IOF)
    International organization that promotes and sets rules for orienteering competitions. Offers information on control description symbols.

  • US Orienteering Federation (USOF)
    A non-profit organization that promotes the sport of orienteering.

  • New England Orienteering Club (NEOC)
    Promotes the sport of orienteering, develops suitable maps and hosts competitions.

  • New England Scout-O
    Information on orienteering events for Scouts.

  • ScoutOrienteering.com
    A site devoted to orienteering in Scouting; maintained by Jeff Scott.

  • US Scouting Service Project: Orienteering
    A list of online resources.

  

 
 
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Pioneering


  
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Wilderness Survival


  
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Woods Tools

  

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