Camping and Fire Building
Geocaching / GeoScouting
- Boy Scouts of America®
- Camping and Hiking in Black Bear Country
Important safety tips from The American Bear Association. Black bears have been seen in the greater Yawgoog area.
- Permits are required by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for geocaches in Connecticut state lands, such as the Pachaug State Forest.
- GPS.gov
"Official U.S. Government information about the Global Positioning System (GPS) and related topics"
- Geocaching.com
Commercial site that offers an introduction to geocaching and a database of caches people have hidden.
- A discussion on maintenance of Scouting-related geocaches.
- Bad Ideas, Bomb Scares, etc.
Cautionary tales of geocaches placed without landowner permission or careful thought about location.
- Narragansett Trail
Selected geocaches on the Narragansett Trail, which starts at Lantern Hill in North Stonington, Connecticut, and ends at Ashville Pond in the village of Canonchet in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. The trail overlaps parts of Yawgoog's Blue, Yellow and Red trails.
- Tippecansett Trail
Selected geocaches on the Tippecansett Trail, which runs from Stepstone Falls in West Greenwich to Yawgoog on the Rhode Island/Connecticut border.
- Breakheart Trail
Caches on or near the Breakheart Trail in the Arcadia Wildlife Management Area in Rhode Island.
- Blue Hills Skyline Trail
Caches on or very near the blue-blazed Skyline Trail in the Blue Hills Reservation in Massachusetts.
- Cross Fells Trail
Caches on or very near the blue-blazed Cross Fells Trail in the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Massachusetts.
- Middlesex Fells Skyline Trail
Caches on or very near the white-blazed Skyline Trail in the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Massachusetts.
- 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)
- Sources of GPS tracks:
- 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.
- 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.
- Atlas Quest
Another letterboxing site.
- 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.
- 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.
- Satellite Predictor
An online tool from NavCom Technology Inc. for advanced GPS users that displays satellite visibility for a given date and location.
- 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.
- Geotagging software
Software that adds geographic coordinates to image files, which can then be mapped by image sharing sites like Flickr and Panoramio.
- GeoSetter
A freeware tool for Windows (XP or higher) created by Friedemann Schmidt and using ExifTool by Phil Harvey.
- GPSPhotoLinker
A freeware Macintosh application by Early Innovations LLC.
Note: Before downloading any software from the Internet, please make sure your computer's antivirus software is up-to-date.
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