TeamK-9

There's a forum about halfway down the main geocaching forums page, it's called Geocaching in Education, or maybe it's GPS in Education, I don't really remember, but that's really a better place to post this then here...

While kayaking on a local small creek, a friend managed to find himself in the middle of an amusement park that the creek went through. Security wasn't happy, but they let him through as long as he agreed to take his kayak out and portage, they even provided him a golfcart and driver to take him to the far boundary of the park.. Anyway, back on topic, I love creekwalking. It's sort of a fun pastime that I like to take part in when I find the perfect creek. The problem however is finding one that works just right. Cause I mean the water can't be so deep that a person could canoe it, but it can't be so shallow that you'd stay dry in tennis shoes. Another problem I'd think you might run into would be getting back to your car afterwards. Unless you planned on just walking back up the creek, you'd need some way to get the person back to there parking place, and if there's a trail they can use, who's to say that they won't just walk the trail in? But all in all, it's an awesome idea and I wish I could use it around here, I just don't know where I could...

Mobile Geocache Site

Okay, I'd like to retract everything I've said previously, I was obviously wrong... But, something that's sort of my Geocaching motto is "Claim Ignorance/Ignorance is Bliss" even if for some odd reason the FCC tracked you down, you could claim ignorance and say that the proper radio use guidelines were not explained to you... LOL

Okay, so I go it slightly backwards, but it is true that channels 1-12 can be used by any old shmuck without a GMRS license. Channel 2 (The "Official Geocaching Channel" is FRS/GMRS, so it's legal...

Well, according to the booklet which came with my radios, 1-7 are combo channels, 8-14 are FRS only and 15-22 are GMRS only....... I think your booklet has the Combo and FRS only channels mixed up, probably just a misprint..

That's cool... Now I just need an excuse to buy one!

I usually carry a few sets of latex gloves in my cache bag for emergencies. I really don't know there is a way that a civillian could actually dispose of a hypodermic needle without exposing yourself to infection. So definately warn people of the needles, but really, I think it might be a good idea to just move or archive the cache...

I especially like finding hiking, camping, or hunting gear in caches. Just a while ago I got an awesome headlamp that probably wasn't incredibly much to buy, but it has LED and halogen lights in it, and it serves my purposes. One thing that I'm possibly considering putting in caches around Pennsylvania, especially those in State parks is cheap, possibly disposable blaze orange hunting vests, which are required by law during most hunting seasons in alot of state owned land, and if they're not required, they're certainly a good idea...

I currently belong to the websites of three Pennsylvania geocaching groups. I'm only really in the general membership area of one, but I watch the other two just for interesting info, and stuff that I occasionally cross-post to the main group I belong to...

Usually, I sort of combine my trade and sig items. I make business card magnets with my name and picture of either my dog, or my jeep. I put them in plastic bags and include something small like a mini CITO kit or a couple batteries, or maybe a coin or something, whatever I can find... Right now, we're looking at either carabiner keychains with our name and a pawprint engraved on it, or possibly custom printed rain ponchos with the GC logo... Probably leaning towards the carbainer though, cause we'd use a pawprint for it instead of the GC logo, and we wouldn't have to get authorizatin or whatever...

I'm definately missing the joke... Book? Movie?

First of all, I disaggree with your "1 in 5 threads" statistic. But I do have to agree that there are some awesome McToys, like those 101 Dalmation toys they put out when the movie came out, and the mini beanie babies...

Definately missing the joke here.... Maybe Keystone will read this, understand the joke, and PM me explaining... Umm, I'm guessing it's an important place of some kind, but all I found on google was a regular nature center...

Heh. I noticed you were from PA and at first thought I may know exactly the park you were talking about. But alas, you're on the wrong side of the state for me. But you should call the police if you spot anything illegal actually happeniing, but other than that, there's really nothing you can do. With the guys just sitting in there cars in the parking lot, they could technically be loitering but if brought to trial they could use ignorance as a defense since it's not posted and they'd probably get off...

When we bring our dog geocaching, it is occasionally unplausable to actually take her directly to the cache site. Often she needs to be left at the car, or the final approach to the cache is a bit difficult. So normally, I'll run out, find the cache, while another member of TeamK-9 holds onto the dog... We keep in radio communication and usually they find an easier way to where I got. Cause I'm an idiot and I bushwack too much... Actually, I'm fairly confident that the Geocaching channel 2 is just FRS... Maily because you can get 2 on all FRS only radios... I'm pretty confident that 1-8 are FRS only, and then 8-16 are combo and 17-21 are GMRS.... I'm not sure that's exactly the breakdown, but I'm fairly confident that 2 is not a combo channel...

A lot of people seem to use photographers vests and other similar vests for carrying their gear. I prefer my daypack, or if I don't have a lot to carry, I just stuff whatever I need in my pockets. I do know however that Groundspeak/Sunrise Identity is currently working on getting some kind of blaze orange vests made, possibly embroidered with the GC.com logo and possibly with pockets. There's not much information about them, but it was suggested, and Jeremy said that they're working on it, and it's on a list of about 15 new products that they'll be putting out in the future...

The $20 walmart digicams are crap. The pictures are usually pretty worthless. And it probably doesn't have a screen so basically, it's just a normal camera that you have to work a bit harder to get crappy pictures even on your computer...

I don't think they were ever for people to keep...

One cache I had visited use an army mortar tube. Basically a long tube that looks sort of like a drain pipe... Anyway, the cacher skinned a dead tree and put the bark on the tube, and then put the cache, (which looked incredibly like a tree limb) into a giant pile of dead wood...

Location - basically, wherever I want to go on that particular day, or wherever I have business... But other than that, I like to go down maybe 5 pages from my zip code every other day and look for new logs from either today or yesterday, I bring those up and read them, usually I don't read the cache page, cause I do the same thing when I'm really bored, expect I'll vigorously study the cache page...

I've been chased out of public land by a guy on a quad with a shotgun. This man obviously had no authority. When I asked him who he was with he replied "uhhh, umm, I'm with the state parks people" Anyone who enjoys the outdoors knows that PA's "state parks people" are the DCNR, and they don't patrol with quads and shotguns on land not controlled by the DCNR. Anyway, this guy obviously had no authority to make me leave, but I decided he had the gun, and I had nothing so I left, and called the police just to see if they'd check it out.... Just for the record, in the state of pennsylvania, and probably lots of other states, it is illegal to fire a gun across a roadway...

Northwest Pennsylvania Geocachers Association should be able to help you out up there. I've included a link to their Yahoo message board.... NWPA Geocachers

I have to say that any 1/1 cache can be made 100% enjoyable by doing it at night. I've even done caches I've done before at night and found it to be an interesting challenge...

I'd elect either myself, Stunod, the smurf, or sparky.... The reason: Just to see the mass chaos that ensues... But seriously, the best authority figures come from shady backrounds.... Alot of people say that some of the best cops they know were serious troublemakers when they were kids...