ktroxell72

Here is another television report from a Wheeling, WV station on the incident. http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewsto...p;storyid=36157

"What changed pre and post 9-11 is the politics. The profession should have always been doing the right thing and making hard decisions based on little information." I was actually saying how law enforcement responds to suspicious packages has changed since 9/11 as well as the anthrax scares. I think charges are warranted because the person chose to ignore the rules of geocaching. Every ammo box I have found has www.geocaching.com and so do most of the other styles, except for micros. They chose not to remove the danger warnings on this item.

I am a little torn on this one. I am a geocacher and I work in law enforcement. I have long worried about the possible implications of leaving ammo boxes and other items hidden in parks etc... The post 9-11 era has changed emergency personnel's response to suspicious packages. Back in the day, we kicked boxes that looked suspicious to see what was in them. Today there are canines, robots and bomb squads. Sometimes overreaction is the best reaction. The fact that this item had "caution, poisonous and hazardous" written on it makes me question the hiders intelligence. In this case, charges may be necessary and by the sounds of this taped interview, they appear imminent. http://www.irontontribune.com/articles/200...ews/local06.txt

Here is a TV story of the report of the suspicous package. I agree with law enforcements response and possible charges against the cacher. I base this on the fact that the cache left behind had the words caution, poisonous and hazardous writting on it. http://www.wtov9.com/news/15625404/detail.html

As you may have observed on the front page of NoVAGO, the Fairfax County Parks Authority has developed a set of guidelines for geocaching. There is also a story in today's Washington Post (Metro Section Briefs). The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA), in cooperation with the Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization, has developed a set of guidelines for geocaching (an outdoor treasure-hunting game) and a list of 90 local parks where geocaching, letterboxing and related activities are permitted. Be sure to checkout the FCPA website for information on the guidelines. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/geocaching.htm Here is a brief overview: Geocaches shall only be located in developed park areas that have existing uses, trails and established access points. Geocaches shall not be placed more than 25 feet away from a maintained trail or developed area in a park. Geocaches shall be a minimum of 50’ from private property. The movement of already downed leaves, twigs and pieces of bark to conceal geocaches is allowed. The Park Authority prohibits the movement of rocks to make a cairn, removing bark from a tree to use as camouflage, and/or relocating a living plant. It is prohibited to excavate soils, cut vegetation, move or remove archaeological or natural objects (including living plants, animals, minerals, fungi, archaeological artifacts or features, etc.). Human-made objects of non-archaeological significance (e.g. a plastic water bottle) are considered trash and may be removed without prior notice to (or permission from) the Park Authority. Geocachers must strive to cause no damage to the ground or vegetation that may result from cache searchers accessing the location. If damage is noted, the geocacher must contact the Park Authority for further information. As with all activities on park land, the geocacher assumes some risk in undertaking their activity. The Park Authority is in no way responsible for any damage to or loss of caches or equipment that is caused by others.

I went caching on Monday in a regional park and had to follow a geo-trail and bushwhack to get to the caches. This morning I was surprised to find a tick embedded in the back of my thigh just above the knee. I didn't think there were too many ticks out and about this time of year. I guess the winter has been warm and not affected the tick life-span. Two questions: Should I be concerned about Lyme Disease? And, how do you protect yourself from picking-up these hitchhiking insects?

Harry Dolphin, they are actually two different topics. Possible damage from bushwhacking is not the same thing as leave no trace behind. As I explained before, the reason I have no finds is that whereissit is my alter ego. When I first signed up for geocacching.com I used my real name as my username. So I came up with a different name for the forum to protect my identity, just as you have done. Unless your last name is Dolphin. And Briansnat, I have no agenda other then to discuss the issues. And I was not on the grassy knoll either, leave the conspiracy theories to the Warren Commission.

In a recent post I posed the question as to whether bushwhacking for caches damages the environment. The April 2008 edition of Backpacker Magazine takes the question a step further; Does Geocaching Violate Leave No Trace? An online poll conducted by the magazine found 42% who believed geocaching does violate leave no trace and 58% who said it does not. (I could not find the orignal link to the poll). The magazine poll asked if these hidden containers are harmless, or do they flout low-impact ethics? One of the statements by those against leaving the caches behind said "even if every geocacher removed a ton of trash from the wilderness areas, it doesn't erase the fact that they deliberately left a box filled with toys behind." Do you think geocaching violates leave no trace?

I was just thinking about this the other day. I found this article regarding a bomb scare in Auckland, New Zealand. According to the article, security cameras caught a geocacher" strapping a package to a rail near Aotea Center; they then called in the bomb squad." There are pictures of his cache in the article here--> http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/13/geocach...ind-soul-mates/

The circulation numbers for newspapers have been on a steady decline in recent years. One newspaper, The Arizona Daily Star (log-in required), is working to spark readership with an ongoing Geocontest. The event has the paper releasing coordinates each week in its Metro section. Readers are invited to be the first to find the destination. According to the article, once they've reached the destination, contestants should take photos — one of themselves and one of the view — then e-mail those photos to geocontest@azstarnet.com. The prize: having your photos printed in this section. When the contest is over, we'll pick the best photo and give that photographer a goody bag. The first desitination was to an overlook in Sabino Canyon just outside of Tucson, AZ. The winner said he used "a very old and basic Garmin Etrex to find the location."

OK all, I received a lot of grief for posting links to my blog. As punishment I was sent to a well hidden micro and banished from returning to the forum for several days. Let me first off aplogize, I was only trying to start a conversation and get some views on my new blog. I am not a sock puppet. Many of you asked why I had no records of caches in my profile. As I explained to the moderator, when I first set up my username on geocaching.com I used my full name. I didn't realize at the time that it would record each find with that name. I couldn't figure out a way to change it. Since I didn't want my real name attached to the blog I came up with a new username. I have my reasons for not wanting my real name out there and I hope you will respect that. I see most of you use nicknames or team names as your usernames. As for me, I think I have a lot of good geocaching topics to discuss and I will share them with this board without any links attached!! Actually I wanted to ask everyone about this... I am a long way from retirement but the city of Asheville, NC has always intrigued me as a possible final destination. And now I have another reason to want to move there. They have obviously embraced the growing hobby of geocaching. Asheville's website has a list of the top caches in the city and the county. The city has even developed a multi-cache called the Romance Cache. Couples embark on a geocaching adventure in which you must visit five romantic locations in the area to find clues to the secret location of your romantic prize. Is there any town, city or county sponsored caches in the Washington, DC/Mid-Atlantic area?

To Magellan315 and ZSandmann: I will have to admit, I am doing a little of both. This is a very important issue that needed to be discussed. I am glad to see the topic received so much attention. I thought it would be a good way for people to view some other thoughts on geocaching. Thanks. <<URL removed by moderator due to commercial content>>

Have you ever been searching www.geocaching.com and found some perfect caches for your next adventure? And then as you begin to write the coordinates to your GPS unit you realize they are micros!!! Ahhhhhhhhh! Some of the best searches are for micros, but they can also be the most frustrating to find. I have received quite a chuckle from some of the micros I have found. There is one in a nearby park that is an old Airborne bottle. It was painted green and camoflaged. The reason I knew it was an Airborne bottle; I could still smell the orange flavor...or was it pink grapefruit? I have also found micros hidden in fence posts. In one case, a person cut a portion of a wooden fence post, hollowed it out, and then put in a micro. The fence post was put back in place and looked perfectly fitted. There is a micro where I live that is fit in another type of fence post. What other great micro's and micro locations have you discovered? Share your thoughts here.... <<URL removed by moderator due to commercial content>>

What do you think of caches hidden well off of the trail? Do you think bushwhacking damages the area you are searching? Post your thoughts and check out this discussion.... <<URL removed by moderator due to commercial content>>