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PyroDave

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Posts posted by PyroDave

  1. Years ago I cached tofind places in my backyard that I never knew about, Those days are gone. Now the only times I do are to:

    - take my kids out because the enjoy finding treasure in the woods.

    - to use geocacheing as a way to get kids I teach to get intresed in the out doors. Mostly I plac tep caches for the days with the plan of well were gona cache but on the way I'm goning to teach them about the trees, wild edibals, natural history ect..

     

    I just use it as a tool to get kids intrested in nature again.

     

    As for me I don't cache anymore but as a "old timer" I loved how it started out but hate how it is now. Numbers are worthless its about what you saw on the way. Now if you asked "new timers" what they saw it would be mostly a lamp post, a gard rail, some parking lots. When I started it was I saw a amzeing water fall, a bear or a great sunset.

     

    Dave

  2. As a kid, my dad always counted a deers points by the number on the side with the most. a four-pointer would have four points on at least one side of the rack. Was wondering about how it is for the other people around the country since I see some people say "ten pointer" and such.. & i've never seen a deer with 10 points to a side.

     

    Just so this post isn't completely useless...

    Feed an animal!

     

    Theres 2 ways to count the points on a buck the Eastern and the western system. The eastern system you count all the points on the rack so if you get one with 6 on one side and 4 on the other its a 10 point. the western system the same buck would be a 6 pointer cause you count the side with the most point( tines). or you could just use the Boon and Crocket scale and use the trophy scoreing method.

     

    as for seing animals while cacheing I've seen a balck bear crossing the road going into the gully that I was just caching in so i was glad I was leaveing when I did.

     

    Dave

  3. if they were on highways then they could be markings for a emergincy runway. The highways were actualy funded useing deffence funds. The idea was that if were ever invaded then streaches of highways could be used as makeshift airports for the millitary.

     

    As for airial photos most of those markings are made out of white plastic and staked down in the servay area and removed after the fly over. I have seen a couple of these while takeing a GIS class.

     

    Your best way of finding out what they realy are is to just call the local highway department and ask what they are.

     

    Dave

  4. I started as a geocacher and then became a environmetalist haveing said that lately I have seen alot of probs caused by geocaches.

     

    {snip}

     

    -GC's actions when a cache is requested to be removed. The school I go to for natrual resource managment has wood lots as we use for outdoors class rooms. In one of the wood lots a 5gall bucket was barried and another was there also. The conservation teachers who are geo freindly to a point didnt like this. They knew I had exsperince in geocacheing and asked me to contact gc to have them arcived. I spent a week trying to get gc to A)archive the caches :rolleyes: make sure that exspress prmission is granted on further placements. (both placements were inmplyed prmission) GC failed to do eather telling me to have so and so contact such and such. HOwerver they wouldnt email the cache owner and ask if he realy aske for pre mission.

     

    So as a future land manger I to would be hesitant on alowing people to place caches on my land with out set guidelines that I could enforce. Much like the ones that NY did with there parks.

     

    PyroDave

    To translate the phrase "have so and so contact such and such," I would bet that it means "Geocaching.com has forwarded your message to the Volunteer Cache Reviewer for your area. He will contact the cache owner to discuss your concerns." For every question handled that way, there are several others handled by immediate archival -- as when the inquiry comes from a land manager or law enforcement official. As in, not a student.

     

    the matter was passed on and the only thing I realy asked was to to have GC ask if premission was actualygranted opposed to implyed and they wouldnt even contact the owner. I am a student and also president of the conservation club and fingerlakes evironmental action club I was asked by the conservation department to handle this matter or them as they are seriously overworked. It still gos back to gc was otified that a cache could be illegal and yet they still would not even email the owner and ask if premission was sougt and granted. So no GC didn't do there job and on top of it I emailed the owner and after a week of going back and forth with him he decided to contact his buddys who then emailed me and made insulting comments to me mostly about my spelling so that realy dosent seam like a community that is willing to work with landmangers. I can point out 100's of posts on the gc board where people think that the land manger is the devil cause they wouldnt let a cache be placed where they wanted it. The lets hav a proteste event theme is a great exsample. Anyone that deals with the gov't esp the ones dealingwith the environment know that budgets get cut every year and one of the first to go is the park service and such.

     

    As for not seeing any impacts to the area there has not been a single cache thats located in a wild land setting that I have found that hasnt shown some sign of impact. Granted alot show little inpact but at the same time when I have visted a cache that has been there for some time and gets repeated visits I have seen MAJOR impacts

    Among the 2,100 or so caches I've searched for are more than 60 in your area. Comparing our common finds, I am just not remembering the signs of impact to which you are referring. The more remote caches I found on my most recent trip hadn't been visited by anyone for months. I guess I am just not seeing the same thing, even though I have training in trail management. We'll have to agree to disagree, I guess.

    as for my find count on gc im lucky if half the caches I've found are loged on gc cause well I hate to write and just dont see the need to log online. I used to cache for the cool places I would see and you even stated your hitting the remote caches that havent been visited in mounts Im talking about ones that are visited often or hidden in areas that have sensitive wildlife around. I have been cacheing with all the memebrs of the NYGO board and during the time where cacheing was baned in many places in NY they even commented that they wouldnt like the DEC or NYS park service to see the impact caused by thi cacehe. Yes I have training in identifying protected plants and animals in this area. For instance all but 4 furns are protected or endangered in ny so damageing one of the furns is causeing dmg. I also have training in trail matnence and trail building. The people that ut trails in a area do it for a reason and they also dont put trails in a area for a reason. For someone that dosent know what plants are endangered its hard to know what there harming.

     

    I know people that are just as active or mor active then you that on web will swear up and down that cacheing is awsome it has all these benifits and dose no harm to the environment. Then when I'm out cacheing with them have come to caches and looked around and said lets fallow this geotrail and then saw a 60 ft area trampled and said this isnt good. So I find it very hard to belive that with 2k+ finds you have never saw a geo trail or any signs of damage to the surounding area.

     

    As a person wanting to manage land for use for all I think gc should rethink some of there policys about cache placment and how premission is realy granted. It also should not have to be the land owners responcibility to police GC it should be GC's responciblity to police there game.

     

    This forum has shown me many times that gcers view the land as theres to do what they want with screw the rest. See topics on hunting, cemitarys inplyed premission vs stated premission cachers braging about being in parks after hours ect... I could also find links to logs that show people braging about bushwacking even when it says right on the page no bushwacking required. Yes alot of the cachers are active cyto memebers and do some realy good things in the area but there are about as many that dont do any of those things. So as a land manger I would want some control over whats going on in my area and sence I was the one payed to manage the property

    i would do so as I was trained even if it ment cachers would have to jump through some hoops. Every outdor activity has to do it so should GC. I don't meen GC's rules I mean the land mangers rules. Hikers are exspected to stay on trails, hunters hunt during certen times a year in defined areas fishermen are only alowed to keep certen species of size and limit in a area campers can only camp in designated spots or in area that meet specific cryteria. Everyone has rules to fallow and out of those last groups listed I find the GC group has the most problum with the rules.

     

    PyroDave

  5. As for the deer from my time in the woods they will take a already made trail before makeing there own. As for geocachers I know many that will blaze there own trail cause its shorter.

     

    As for not seeing any impacts to the area there has not been a single cache thats located in a wild land setting that I have found that hasnt shown some sign of impact. Granted alot show little inpact but at the same time when I have visted a cache that has been there for some time and gets repeated visits I have seen MAJOR impacts

     

    yes conservation is defined as wise use and it all cachers would wisely use the area then I would have not even posted on this but lets face it some cachers dont.

     

    The trash I talk about seeing is not the beer cans and such but lets see riped ziplocks right next to a cache and other such items with no signs of any person ever wanting to be there.

     

    Yes the DEC did lift the ban but i was refuring to the park service in ny that has made much stricter placeing guidelines. I personaly know people that helped get both those policys in place.

     

    When it comes to my spelling well we all can't be good at everything and my disability makes it very hard for me to spell. However I bet you can' t do some things that I can do well so should I take your oppion as less then everyone elses?

     

    Like I said I started as a cacher and know many great cachers however as a future land manager I'm trying to show the other side of the coin. As much as some want to make it look not all cachers are the ones that do all the right things some do the wrong things and as a land manger you wory about what could go wrong. After my one attemt to help manage land that I use and was asked by the teacher that dose manage the land to fix problums caused by geocacheing and seeing how much red tape was involved with fixing it I will still be causious of letting cache placement on the land i manage.

     

    PyroDave

     

    PyroDave

  6. I started as a geocacher and then became a environmetalist haveing said that lately I have seen alot of probs caused by geocaches.

     

    - heavly visisted caches do show dmg to the environment. I have sen many areas where a cache has ben placed just stoped to death causeing harm to the plants and increaseing erossion in the area.

     

    - litter at cache sites yes I have seen litter at some caches that were directly related to the cache. IE no one besides a cacher would be at that area becuse its in such a remote location.

     

    -geo trails yes deer and other creatures make trails. However humans have the brain compasity to relize that there createing a trail and the impact it can cause. Deer don't

     

    -GC's actions when a cache is requested to be removed. The school I go to for natrual resource managment has wood lots as we use for outdoors class rooms. In one of the wood lots a 5gall bucket was barried and another was there also. The conservation teachers who are geo freindly to a point didnt like this. They knew I had exsperince in geocacheing and asked me to contact gc to have them arcived. I spent a week trying to get gc to A)archive the caches <_< make sure that exspress prmission is granted on further placements. (both placements were inmplyed prmission) GC failed to do eather telling me to have so and so contact such and such. HOwerver they wouldnt email the cache owner and ask if he realy aske for pre mission.

     

    So as a future land manger I to would be hesitant on alowing people to place caches on my land with out set guidelines that I could enforce. Much like the ones that NY did with there parks.

     

    PyroDave

  7. What gets me is when I'm driveing a 4 door car with its lights on going 55mph deer jump right into it
    I learned why that happens a while back. When but a deer sees your headlights, it turns to run the other way. But as soon as it turns, it spots its own shadow right next to it. That really spooks it, so it immediately will turn and run towards the less scary car headlights. So when you approach a deer on the side of the road at night, the chances are that its going to run in front of you!

    lol ya had it hapen 2x's both in areas where the houses are to close to hunt the park and the deer population is out of control.

     

    When it comes to hunting seasions depending on what you hunt you can almost hunt year around but deer seasion is the seasion that has the most hunters in the woods at a time. Right now in my area its duck season, turky season, bow huntting for deer, squirl and rabiitt season.

     

    One thing I would say is stick to the trails as much as possable most hunters avoid setting up on man made trails.

     

    PyroDave

  8. :)

    I'm waiting for the day deer finally smarten up and get their own guns!

     

    What gets me is when I'm driveing a 4 door car with its lights on going 55mph deer jump right into it but when im in full camo not moveing a muscle for hrs and useing a gun that shoots a projectile 1000+fps I can't get one. This year I'm slowing down my bullets and wearing lights :)

  9. After talking to my teacher today I realized my figures were way off the state estimates that hunters contribute 1mill a day in taxes and fees that go DIRECTLY back to the conservation department not distributed throught the state tax base. All this money can be spent on is concervation. So thats 365 million a year 366 on leap years. They are not including the other money we contribute such as gas lodgeing and food we spend while hunting.

    PyroDave

    Yeah, right. Someone can't even do basic math.

     

    Your teacher says hunters in New York generate 365 million dollars a year in fees and taxes that go directly back to the conservation department. Assume there are 1 million licensed hunters in NY. That means each hunter spends 365 dollars a year on fees and taxes. If they pay on average, $65 dollars for fees and licenses, that means every hunter pays $300 a year in special taxes that go directly to the DEC. Now assume the tax rate, beyond state sales tax is 10% on whatever hunters buy. That means that each hunter must spend $3,450 to be taxed that $300. So each hunter must spend $3,515.00, in fees, and special taxable items such as ammunition to generate that $365 million. That works out to a total expenditure by hunters of 3.65 billion dollars a year in the state of New York alone.

     

    Perhaps my math is off, so feel free to show these numbers to your teacher. I would love to read the response.

     

    BTW, you must have purchased ammunition in New York. What percent is the DEC tax on a box of shells?

     

    11% additional already figured into a box of shells and guns. Knowing some of the hunters i do 3,515 is low for how much they spend a year inbetween multiple guns and ammo for those guns,scopes, bows arrows ect. I know one student that has multiple guns that are well over $1000 each I also know many people with over 20 guns each. I've spent close to 1000 this year so far and hunting seasion and I have only a small % of what I will spend this year I still need another shootgun rifle and a scope for it so when its said and done I will easly spend that much. Also the licences most people buy are eather the sportsmans licence at $45 i belive or supper sportsman at $65 so the $19 license is rarely bought and thus the feas from licenceing alone generate alot more money. Not to mention all the ammo I use for target practice and just for fun. So yes I'll run it by my teacher but he is getting his info right from the state and I doubt that when I run your numbers by him he'll disagree that your math is right but I think he'll say the same thing you underestemate the amount of money we spend in a year.

     

    As for the blaze issue in ny there is no law that you have to wear it. Most huntters during gun seasion for deer whear it out of common sence but during bow season most will go full cammo because they must get alot closer for there shot and there arrows dont travel as far. during turkey noone whears blaze cause the eye sight of a turky is so good that they would run away. Even when I'm not huntting if I'm in the woods I still where blaze out of common sence.

     

    PyroDave

     

    PyroDave

  10. By the way do you know most of the feas from hunting licences go back to the state to manage/protect the lands that you like to cache in and hunters like to hunt?

    ... snip ..

    PyroDave

    Since the cost of a big game hunting license for residents in New York is only $19.00, I would bet most of the fees from hunting licences go into managing the license bureaucracy and the hunters themselves. I would love to see any numbers that prove otherwise.

     

    http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/w...fe/worhunt.html

     

    Hunting is among the most popular forms of wildlife recreation in New York State. Nearly 700,000 New Yorkers and over 50,000 nonresidents hunt in the Empire State.

     

    700,000X19=$ 13,300,000 in redident revenue + non resident licence $110x50,000=5,500,000=

    18,800,000 in basic licence fees/year. There is also a additional tax on ammo that goes directly to the DEC or some other state agency that manages wildlife. throw in duck stamps that go directly back to the managment of water fowel and a addition donation of $4 you can make for conservation efforts thats a good chunk of change. I can get more precise numbers tomarow when I talk to my proffesor when I go to hunting class ( a 3 credit class that goes over and above the 10hr licencesing class) from what I rember him saying the first day 18mill is rather low.

     

    Those people that regulate hunters are DEC conservation offcers. When there not regulateing us for a small part of the year they are regulateing all the other issues ie illeagel dumping, poaching, destruction of wildlands ect..

     

    I won't even start to go into the benifits to the wildlife that hunters provide.

     

    PyroDave

     

    While I respect hunters and wouldn't want to interfere with their hunts ( and I stay out of the woods during hunting season to protect my own neck, just in case, you understand), I don't think it's right when people make it seem like hunters have a greater right because they pay a hunter's license, like somehow the woods are theirs.

     

    $18,000,000 may seem like a lot but NYS taxes are among the highest in the country and the $18M is paltry compared tto the over $100 billion NY spends every year. Certainly a lot more is spent than the hunter licenses to puirchase, maintain, and handle all the other services related to the woods. Also, doesn't a swimmer in NYS's Lake George have as much right to use the lake as a fisherman who pays a fishing license. Public land belongs to everyone. Also, the swimmer pays local, state and sales taxes for his motel room or cabin while he's vacationing at the lake, the food he eats in the area, the state gasoline taxes he pays for his drive to the area, etc. The same is true about people who visit woods. Tax money is fungible and those go to the state which then spends the money on the woods upkeep.

     

    I visited PA to hide caches on their State Game Lands. Did PA benefit? They sure did. I visited the state over a weekend, bought food there and motel rooms and paid taxes and contribuited to the economy of PA. I'm sure PA loves the fact that visitors are going to SGL's, whether they cache, bird watch, hike, run naked in the woods or hunt. :unsure:

    After talking to my teacher today I realized my figures were way off the state estimates that hunters contribute 1mill a day in taxes and fees that go DIRECTLY back to the conservation department not distributed throught the state tax base. All this money can be spent on is concervation. So thats 365 million a year 366 on leap years. They are not including the other money we contribute such as gas lodgeing and food we spend while hunting.

     

    I have never stated that others don't have rights to use the woods. However concidering the amount that hunters contribute directly towrds the protection and upkeep of wild lands in NY people should have some respect for us concidering that we have a very limited amount of time in a year to enjoy our sport. Most hunters I know (I know alot concidering I go to school for envirnomental conservation) don't mind shareing the woods with other people, as long as those people are respectfull of the hunters. Judgeing by some of the posts in this topic and many other posts like this I can't say the same about some cachers.

     

    As for pointing out what a few dumb hunters have done I have seen just as many dumb things done by cachers.

     

    As for labeling hunters as drunks in the woods with guns. Me and any other hunter I go to school with would never think of going hunting drunk. Will I have a beer back in hunting camp after I'm done hunting shure I will but will I ever handle a gun after drink NEVER. Here in NY there are laws about hunting while intoxicated just like DWI laws. Some of the penalties include loss of licence, fines, or jail time.

     

    So next time you see a hunter enjoying his sport try thanking him for contributeing a good amount of money into protecting the lands where you enjoy your hobbie.

     

    PyroDave

  11. By the way do you know most of the feas from hunting licences go back to the state to manage/protect the lands that you like to cache in and hunters like to hunt?

    ... snip ..

    PyroDave

    Since the cost of a big game hunting license for residents in New York is only $19.00, I would bet most of the fees from hunting licences go into managing the license bureaucracy and the hunters themselves. I would love to see any numbers that prove otherwise.

     

    http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/w...fe/worhunt.html

     

    Hunting is among the most popular forms of wildlife recreation in New York State. Nearly 700,000 New Yorkers and over 50,000 nonresidents hunt in the Empire State.

     

    700,000X19=$ 13,300,000 in redident revenue + non resident licence $110x50,000=5,500,000=

    18,800,000 in basic licence fees/year. There is also a additional tax on ammo that goes directly to the DEC or some other state agency that manages wildlife. throw in duck stamps that go directly back to the managment of water fowel and a addition donation of $4 you can make for conservation efforts thats a good chunk of change. I can get more precise numbers tomarow when I talk to my proffesor when I go to hunting class ( a 3 credit class that goes over and above the 10hr licencesing class) from what I rember him saying the first day 18mill is rather low.

     

    Those people that regulate hunters are DEC conservation offcers. When there not regulateing us for a small part of the year they are regulateing all the other issues ie illeagel dumping, poaching, destruction of wildlands ect..

     

    I won't even start to go into the benifits to the wildlife that hunters provide.

     

    PyroDave

  12. OK. This is such a dangerous topic that I believe we should have some information out there.

     

    Read my post #28 above.

    We have found booby trapped fields. A hidden shotgun trip wired, punji pits, dead falls, hidden explosives altho that is very rare but we've seen it. The usual is the punji pit and seen several wired shotguns.

    People don't realize just how dangerous these folks make the area. The punji pits are to injure a person. The shotguns and dead falls would definitely injure someone but they can also easily kill a person. The sad part if it is they don't discriminate. They may get you, or they may get your 5 yr old kid who is running ahead of you on the trail.

    The meth chemicals are poison. Think if your 5 yr old runs ahead and picks up the bag of discarded meth products thinking it might be the cache. With this stuff you don't get a second chance or a do-over.

     

    A shootgun bullet by it self would be harmless unless it is in a barrel to direct the force of the gun powder going off the prejectile itself will just fall out. The rest will caue harm

  13. I'd say "gimme the coordinates" hands down. It's a lot easier to geocache with set coordinates. If you're experienced, you know what to look for when you're within 50'.

     

    Letterboxing can be more difficult at times since they use nothing but clues. Sometimes the clues can be a bit ambiguous...and downright frustrating if you're a puzzle retard like I am...and I SUCK at compass readings.

     

    letter boxing hands down. The cluse are always there and you dont have to wory about the gps quiting on you at the worst time.

  14. Any ideas to help me keep from beeing SHOT while hunting for tupperware filled with wet stinky geojunk?

     

    Shoot first! :anicute:

     

    Kidding aside, my daughter and I wore orange caps on the last day of turkey season in PA while hiding caches in State Game Lands. I admit I was a little nervous.

     

    Thing I can't figure out is why hunters wear camoflage clothes and camo face paint. Does it really help? I mean years ago hunters wore normal clothes. Seems like they're just trying to make a statement with camo.

     

    and years ago people letter boxed but then came gps. No we where camo cause adavances in tecnology let showed us it helps. Bottom line is hunters and cachers are both out huntting. I've talked with cachers that were upset cause a hunter shot there cache up. How bout the hunter thats upset with the cacher that upset his hunting day. Good hunter scout the area and spend alot of time in the woods before hunting seasion to sit in that one spot for 8hrs or more. Just like a cache place on a good hide. Do eather groups have a right to that area but as a hunter and cacher I would hope to give respect to the other.

     

    By the way do you know most of the feas from hunting licences go back to the state to manage/protect the lands that you like to cache in and hunters like to hunt?? Here in NY the budgets are being cut and there the hunters are declineing that means less money going into managment of lands that you like to cache in. Also hunters help regulate the animal populations. In NY the deer population is out of control right now and if it wasnt for hunters it would be worse. Ive been to many places where the deer have destroyed all chances of the forest replentishing it self.

     

    As for the blaze ornge question yes if your in the woods during hunting seasion esp deer whear orange. Here its not a requirement but I'll do it anyways. Why?? cause it makes me less likely to to no be seen.

     

    if your in the woods during big game seasion be smart about what your doing and rember your not the only person trying to enjoy a activity they love. Hunters are actualy paying for the privlage to do what they want to do and helping all people that enjoy the outdoors at the same time.

     

    PyroDave

  15. Well if you want a kind respoce I'll give it a shot.

     

    If you think the cache will get people in trouble contact the owner and see what he says.

     

    If the owners responce still makes you think the cache is agenst the rules of GC then contact a reviewer

     

    If the reviewers responce dosent sit right with you then dont hunt this persons caches.

     

    Thats all you can do. This is a game (plz dont flame on that statment) play it how you feal safe.

     

    Dave

  16. I use ArcView to manage my caches and make custom maps for those seeking the Indiana Spirit Quest. There are all sorts of applications out there.

    yes there are ive seen it used for predicteing forsts fires to planing how a town should develope and many others but man more higher ups need to utilize the potental for it before gis realy catches on.

     

    Dave

  17. Isn't useing arc map to geocache like useing a bazoka to kill a fly??

    lol....

     

    Remember, we're using multi-billion dollar military navigation satellites orbiting hundreds of miles above earth to find tupperware hidden in the woods. We've already got the bazooka, man.....

    Man you got me with that one.

     

    Has anyone used Arch Pad to realy go to the exstreme?

     

    Dave

  18. my 9 yo daughter loves it especialy if we go with some geo freinds that have kids too. My 3yo on loves it too but more fore seeing the bugs and flowers and spending time with dad(not that im complaneing) Little hint for getting them hooked make the first ones real easy both to find and to get to. Alos make shure to have tons of juce boxes and snacks and you should be golden.

     

    Pyro

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