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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Pieces wrote: </FONT>My personal use of caches has depended strongly on season, weather and the accuracy of my own advance estimates of water needs. Their advertised presence does bring piece-of-mind and has made hiking more pleasant when I have availed myself of their benefits. I try not to use more than necessary. They are a big help to lots of people, particularly those who walk lower mileage days than most of those on this list. In my opinion they are extremely helpful, particularly in some areas. They are desirable but not but not a necessity. Of course, many cross-country hikers would say the same about trails.</DIV>
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<DIV>RustyKnees replies: I remember Switchback telling me that Pieces and Can'tQuit are deeply in debt to him for a water cache he hid along Section E one year. All three pulled into a campsite with little water and none close by, since the established cache site was empty. Switchback quickly located his secret cache from the previous year and everyone had lots of water.</DIV>
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