Know Future

I'd like to propose a category for listing the location of abandoned underground mines. The purpose will be to note the surface locations of shafts, adits (tunnels), and other types of openings into underground mines. In time, this could become a useful database for land development planning. Many government entities maintain lists of abandoned mine lands, but all of them are incomplete, and most are pitiful at providing accurate locations. This category could help fill the many gaps in these databases. Through this category we can: * Provide accurate GPS locations * Post up to date photos * Report hazardous sites to local authorities * Hopefully make land planners aware of abandoned mines in their areas I've run across a couple of unmapped mine shafts while out geocaching. I'll bet others have, too. This would be the place to record such findings. If approved, I would develop a checklist of field information that should, to the extent possible, be recorded for each site. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated. Know Future Farmington, Missouri USA

This has probably come up before, but would it be possible for geocaching.com to host an email server? I think it would be great to have know_future@geocaching.com for an email address to use for geocaching-related correspondence. I'm sure it's technically possible. Is it feasible? Is anyone else interested in this? Comments?

Well, it's over now. IMHO it was a resounding success. Everyone I talked to had a great time. Also got a lot of good feedback on some things we can do to make it even better next year. The event staff is tired, but happy. Be sure to visit the event cache page to read the comments and view the neat photos that are posted there. As for myself, I had a great time, made lots of new friends and still got to log some caches. The weather was great. What more could you ask for? My thanks to everyone who worked their tails off to make this a blockbuster event.

I'm helping with the field work for this event. Yesterday was our third day of laying out courses and hiding caches throughout Hawn State Park, near Farmington, Missouri. A dozen dedicated geocachers hiking hill and dale with GPSs, maps, and radios - working our tails off and having a great time. The weather was great, for a change. Our previous outings have been in snow, ice and subfreezing temps. Still fun, though. Yesterday was the turning point, for me at least. Up to now, it seemed like we were never going to get it all done in time. But now, I'm confident that everything will be ready. There's lots more to be done, but it's mostly finishing up. No more big projects that we haven't even started yet. Even though I've been to Hawn State Park many times over the years (I live only 8 miles away), this project has taken me to parts of the park I've never seen. Hawn is a diamond in the rough. Ancient water-carved cliffs of granite and sandstone provide a spectacular backdrop for this event. Crystal clear spring-fed streams run through every valley. Great hiking trails throughout the park, range from very easy to quite challenging. Don't be put off if competition is not your thing. There will be twenty or more noncompetitive traditional caches located throughout the park, for those who want to enjoy the weekend, log some finds and visit with friends. So mark your calendar: March 19-21, 2004. Hope to see you there!

I never noticed them until now, but I have cracks at 5 of the 6 screw holes. D/C: 2103 S/N: CH061536 Purchased: Jun 2003

I'm not optimistic about your chance of finding this one. Here's why: Go to Missouri's Highest Cache Look at the last image in the gallery. You'll see that the point in question is marked with a granite slab about 3 ft square. Everything around it for the next 5 ft or more is concrete or crushed rock. I think it's gone.

It looks like this system would let me rank your site without visiting it. I didn't try it to see. If a similar system was part of geocaching.com, it could force you to log a find before the ranking option appears.

I don't frequent the forums very often, so I may be bringing up an old topic. If so, I apologize. Anyway, I live in a rural area where the density of caches is pretty low. After a year of geocaching I have to drive at least 50 miles to log a find. With that kind of investment in my time and gas money, it would be nice to know in advance which caches are really outstanding and worth the trip. I'm thinking of a rating system where when one logs a find they could click on a scale to show how much they liked their experience. Maybe a simple number system like 0 to 10. The average score could be posted next to D/T. With this system, when I plan my next outing I can concentrate on finding the best caches and skip the mundane ones. This might also lead to an overall improvement in the quality of new caches. Some people might actually strive to place caches that will get high user ratings. It might also lead to the early archival of the worst caches, as owners might be embarrassed at having stuck a film canister in a pipe along the interstate and calling it a cache. Is this an idea worth pursuing?

I've placed caches in several conservation areas this summer with no real problems. You're supposed to get the special use permit (good for three months). This takes a week or two; frustrating if you're in a hurry. You're also supposed to put a copy of the permit in the cache. My permits are all expired now, but folks are still finding the caches, so I guess MDC is not going out and picking them up when they expire. I get the feeling they are learning to share with us. Hopefully the hunters won't shoot any geocachers this fall (or vice-versa). That would probably make our lives hard again.

Here are my experiences so far: Knob Lick Mtn (MDC) - received special use permit to place geocache. Took a couple of emails a phone call and a couple of weeks. Permit good for three months. (St Francois Co) Pickle Springs NA (MDC) - denied permission to place geocache. Natural areas are out. (Ste Genevieve Co) Elephant Rocks SP (MDNR) - received written permission (by email) from member of park staff. Took about a week. (Iron Co) Buford Mtn CA (MDC) - received special use permit. Pretty much same procedure as Knob Lick as I had a different regional forester. (Iron/Washington Co) Conclusion: getting permission is slow, but not hard. MDC "natural areas" are out and their 3 month special use permit is ridiculous. Elephant Rocks SP people were easy about it.