2oldfarts (the rockhounders)

Our rule of thumb for claiming a find is if you are close enough to touch it, it's a find. In some cases we were restricted by a fence so we applied the touching rule to the fence. As long as you also get a picture it's a find.

The rock cairn is not cemented and we obviously did not dismantle the cairn to verify that rock beneath it had the cross chiseled in it. We have found other rock cairns that are in the 70 - 80 yrs old range that appear as though they were just built. They are ranch corner markers and built with sandstone. The monument was built with a variety of limestone which is considerably tougher than the sandstone. If you wish to see the quality of workmanship that went into this cairn, we posted a couple of pictures on the benchmark page. The pid number is GQ0323. The benchmarks for "Kanab" (pid GQ0324) are of the correct distance and angles from the cairn. It may have been rebuilt in 1933 (as suggested by the Geocaching datasheet), but there is no indication that a previous stone cairn had been dismantled. If it had been dismantled then there would have been some "stray" rocks scattered about and the area is void of any loose rocks. If you're in the Fredonia area it is worth the time and effort to find this marker...

Forgive me, please, but I have to say that the best way to stop a charging bear is to take away his credit cards!

We haven't been at this long enough to have developed a list of peeves. I guess our only one is people who take a TB from a cache and don't log it as found and then don't log it as placed.

test new

quote:Originally posted by survey tech:Thats correct. Also, a red "+" symbol shown at the intersection of the red lines indicates a section corner that was found at the time of the mapping. While some states do share initial points, most Public Land states have their own initial point, completely unrelated to any of the others. The first Public Land state was Ohio, not Louisiana. All of this, however, is completely unrelated to geodetic surveying, which is a different branch of the surveying profession and serves an entirely different purpose. So what is the geodetic purpose? It would enhance my finding these little gems, to know why they were placed. Thanks for the info.

Just can not control the enthusiasm! We found Kanab South Cairn monumented in 1871 by the USGS! See the pictures at GQ0323. Fantastic vistas & the coordinates were right on the money..required about a mile hike from where we parked. But it was worth every step to get to this beauty! Has anyone else found one this age or older.

Hope this is what you're looking for. GPS coordinates are map coordinates. Look at the map legend and find out what datum the map is based on and set your GPS to the same datum. If you need to change from Lat. & Long. to UTM then most GPS units will do that. If you have a Magellan Meridian unit then you can set the main page top section to Lat.& Long. of the desired datum and set the bottom section to any other coordinate system and datum of your choice.

I'm curious, did the non-geocacher become a cacher after happening on to your cache? How did you determine that a non-ceocacher was the thief? Some of our caches are only partially hidden (but you have to be paying attention to find them.) with the express purpose of allowing others to get an introduction to geocaching.com. These caches are not in high traffic areas and would be found by accident only by those who get out into the "wilds" and would therfore be of the type to enjoy Geocaaching. remember you are not paranoid if they really are out to get you!

We too live in a rural area and are limited in the number of nearby caches. Most of our caching is done on weekends. Most require a drive of an hour or more to reach. Even the caches we have placed require a minimum of 30 minutes driving. But once you get to one of our caches the scenery is fantastic. The idea for us is not to see how many caches we can find but to enjoy the experience to the max. We enjoy placeing caches as much as we do finding them. So many great places for a cache and so little time to hide them.... If you think all the good spots are taken it's time to quit the sport!!!

I think the "Twin Cities" Should go further in protecting their parks!! The should make the "Greenies" happy and turn all their parks into wilderness areas that require a permit to enter. They need to save those parks for their grandchildren!! The REAL question is would they really let their grandchildren use the parks or make them save the parks for THEIR grandchildren?

If you scroll down the "can't find server" page the problem should be highlighted in red letters. Then you can use visine and get the red out...

One of my favorite ironies when out and about was when we got hungry and went through a McDonald's drive-up. When we got to the window to pick-up our food we saw a sign that read "Braille menus available"! Who's doing the driving?

If the container is large enough..always leave more & "better" than you take. We have had one of our caches plundered--we had just placed it with some better than average items...8 good items were taken...one cigarette, half a bottle of water & a used cloth hat were left. We were informed by a fellow geocacher that it had been plundered & only a few rock sample left. we understand that there are inconsiderate humanoids out there...so we refurbished it for the next guy, but this has taught us to look out for the well-being of the caches we visit & always trade up or if not taking anything at least leave something that someone might like. Look at it this way--what would you get excited over finding in a cache?? Then buy that & make it your own personal item that you trade for that free-bee keyring... ================= So many Caches & Rocks & BM's... So little time...

If you are enjoying geocaching--why worry how much you are spending--we usually go only to the "high clearance/4x4" caches away from town & you really need something dependable--something that will get you there & back in one piece. Of course we are also rockhounds & have always considered the cost of a 4x4 worth every penny/dollar spent! We just don't worry about the price of gas--if it comes down to that, we just will stay at home... ======================= So many Caches & Rocks & BM's... So little time...

When you get old you can't remember --- what were we discussing?

Well Jolly it all boils down to "Can YOU be a good parent" and do you have the "common courtesy" to place a cache where others will not have to break the law to find it? Will you hide a cache on private property without the owner's permission? If you have kids do you tell them NO when needed? Why make things so difficult?

If you have access to Magellan "MapSend Topo"then all you need to do is enter a waypoint at the starting coordinates then click on the compass and move the curser the direction needed and the program will tell you how far from the first point you have moved the curser. Look at the lower right hand corner of the map and it will give the coordinates of the curser. You can then set a second waypoint. It's easier to let the program do the math.

My "common sense" tells me putting a knife in one the caches we hide is not a bad thing to do. Maybe it is wrong to assume that the parent will tell the child NO you cannot have it. We place some of our caches where the view is spectacular, but by doing so we place a responsibilty on the parent to pay attention to their children and keep them from falling off a sheer drop. If we worry about everything being safe that is put into a cache then there is nothing left to put in it. It should be up to the parent or end user to see that the item is handled safely. If you do not think you can handle the item properly then do not take it (or let the kids take it!).

A simple test to find out how much error you are getting on a particular day just turn on the gps to the plot screen, zoom in the maximum amount possible and set the gps down where it is getting a good signal. Check the plot screen after about 15 - 20 minutes and see what the track looks like. The more lines on the plottter the more error for that day.

When we set a cache we do so base on where we have been in the past and found something of interest, be it petrified logs or scenery or something unusual. Since we are not handicapped we tend not to think in those particular terms --- BUT -- we try to place caches where most people can find them. for instance, the cache we placed yesterday (Bigfoot? GCG564) Can be reached by the elderly if they take their time and go from October to April. We took an 80yr old gentleman and his 72yr old wife to this spot several years ago. As with most of our caches once you get to the parking area most people should be able to find the cache. The main exceptions would be wheelchair bound and blind people. Although we had not considered those with arthritis. Perhaps and alternate solution would be to set-up a database of individuals who would be willing to assist handicapped people by driving them to cache locations, helping them deal with different terrains, etc. We would be glad to take others out caching. Just because a route is listed as 4 wheel drive only does not mean it has to be bone jarring. To get to the cache "Funny Bone" takes about 2 hours to got about 3.5 miles. Once there most people (except chair bound)could find the cache. Even though it takes about 2 hours to get there it doesn't mean you can't stop on the way and take a break. It can be done slow and easy so most could enjoy the ride. I guess what I'm trying to say is if someone contacts us and would like to go geocaching we would try to work out a time frame to take them. This might be a second system to help the "challenged". We're available.

If you check the benchmark listings for the Kaibab Nat'l Forest in Northern Az. you can find benchmarks that are nails with washers affixed to trees. Personally I would avoid nails to avoid being considered an eco-terrorist (it's one of their favorite ways to harass loggers.). A better way to attach something to a tree would be to use monofilament fishing line. Since we should check our caches once or twice a year minimum, you could check the mono at that time. Also it's cheap!

We were notified today that one of our caches was plundered. I checked the cache this afternoon and found someone had taken a magnifier,knife,checkbook cover,an electronic Yahtzee, 2 sacagaweas, a SBA, a where's george, a deck of cards, a piece of petrified wood, some Azurite crystals, and a fuzzy stuffed dog. What do you think was left in return? Would you believe a cigarette, half a bottle of water, and a crushable hat. They must not care for mineral samples too much since that was all that was left. What to do? I think I'll stop doing easy caches. Maybe if they have to put out some effort they'll stay away. We tried to do some caches for those people who are restricted in how far and how rough the terrain that can be handled but it looks like that type of cache won't work here. I'm open to suggestions!

Do like the unit, are you having fun with it? If so, then it was a good buy. If you do not like the unit....free would have been to much.

testing