rasntrumpet

The Tragedy is beyond any that a Blockbuster movie could portray. Please Geocachers, give any amouth that you can. Can you imagine $10 from all the people in the world. That would be huge. Give a little. Re: George W and the US response....we did respond....this is the holidays and the US govenment sent an "Assistant to the Assistant in charge of minor but potentially major disasters" to speak about our concern. He spoke from a tiny podium in what looked like a High School Gym to respond for the US's lack of response. Finally, this afternoon (Wednesday {4 days after the disaster started}), President Bush addressed the world. Since I have been laid off twice in my 31 year career (once under George the First and then again under George the Second) I have serious doubts that Dubba W cares about people. His response says that he more interested in finding the perputrators of the attack on..... his father than people. Sorry for the off topic response....but this adminstration does not demonstrate the historical compassion of the United States of America.

I agree ... what is a commercial account? Garmin has references to Geocaching on its website and obviously wants to sell "stuff" to the geocaching community. Therefore, Garmin is a commercial entity and should be or not be barred: - From discussing Geocaching - From having hot links to GC.COM - etc. My opinion: - If you bring something to the GPS/Geocacing community, you are OK. (The seller and the commuity both benefit equally - a symbiotic relationship.) - If you want to sell Geocaches on E-Bay, you're out. (It's a Cash for Cache deal, the only one that wins is the seller.)

You know....this thread tells more about Geocaching than anything else on this board. It's not about technology. It's not about finding stuff. It's about people. Thanks for the pictures. Bob

Mr Guinness will be calling shortly. 261 posts in less than 24 hours and you closed the topic. Now 76 ... 77 ... 78.... 79... posts to a topic about the topic. Are we looking at a new record? Mr Guinness. Oh, Mr. Guinness. LOL

I have a serious question- What exactly do y"all mean by "Family Values"?

No need to cross post to geographic fora unluss you do it to all geographic fora. The Northeast is not alone. The South and Southeast are also seeing a smiliar growth in meth labs. I expect every other part of the US is similar. How about the rest of the world? Your warning and concern is well place. Thanks for the info. Bob

What the hell are we paying for? They can't do this to us! We've got lots of money invested in Tupperware! With this post I just lost my TADPOLE status. Years from now, they will ask "How did you loose your TADPOLE?"

Hmmmm.... there are reports out that THEY are planning terrorist actions against American targets during the Christmas and New Year Holidays. I can just see the lines to return stuff after Christmas. Every other one is a new GPSr owner... " I turned it on and it can't find me."

LMAO Hey! Watch where you are pointing that thing!

I just found a "What to take" topic over on the Getting Started Board. Click here to see what others take into the woods...->>>>> Geocaching Gear, What do you take with you???? Not sure I'd ever take a scanner, but then again....why not? Bob

In the topic about the death of James Max Chamberlain many experienced Geocachers have made statements that are safety suggestions, I've extracted them and placed them here. Some are repeats. Repeating safety guidelines is not bad. Bobthearch: It's important to keep in mind that many people die while outdoors. WascoZooKeeper: Absolutely. I usually have to cache by myself, but I don't have a moment's hesitation about turning back if I have any question about being able to negotiate the terrain safely. Clan X-Man: Considering some of the places we go for a cache, it's a wake up call just to know that something this serious can happen in a park. Just be really careful out there. Spzzmoose: I don't know if this is what happened to him but its a reminder to us all to not keep our eyes glued to the gpsr and make sure we are aware of our surroundings at all times. TotemLake: My wife knows each time when I go out where I'll be and when to expect a call from me. She also has a map of the intended hike with the trail marked along with the cache page for details of the hunt. LthrWrk: hmmm Wonder if he was 'Chasing the Arrow' on his gpsr. and not watching the trail or his footing? ....Cache with a partner as often as ya can.

Unknown to me when I posted the "Geocaching Safety" topic James Max Chamberlain had died while pursuing our hobby. What happened to him may have been a health issue instead of ignoring outdoors safety. (Yet, Caching with a partner may have saved him.) I am taking what I view as safety hints from this topic and posting them over there. I expect that 90% of the people here have a history in the outdoors and don't need a lot of training. After Christmas, I expect that to no longer be true. Sale prices on new GPSrs are everywhere. EBAY has dozens of used ones, especially from members here that want to upgrade to the latest and greatest. The first place they will go is to the internet and Google "GPS". IF they are lucky they will find Groundspeak and the safety discussion. Our new friends needs our help. They don't know what they don't know. Come post your safety suggestions over in "Geocaching Safety" topic. (<---Click )

briansnat, I think what shocked me was the fact I was only 5 minutes from home and this certainly was not a "Backpacking" trip. So I felt no need to do what I knew was normally necessary. 4. Take a whistle. (Your voice yelling "Help" will give out hours before you stop blowing on a whistle. BTW ... I had one.)

(Double Posted.)

I went out to find a couple of caches late Saturday afternoon. Both were in a park close to home and I thought I could grab and go. At the first one I quickly reread the instructions, left the parking lot, and headed into the woods. GPSr said .11 mile, about 600 feet. The further I went down the hill into the woods, the more uneasy I became. There was no trail. Even in winter there was a lot of vegetation and lots of downed trees. The sun was going down. I had quickly become invisible to the kids and parents playing 100 feet away. As I moved to within 110 feet of the cache I saw that there was a stream in a deep ravine that I would have to cross. Enough for this one. I’ll get it another day. I went to the second one in the park. It was in a heavily wooded “crater” in the center of the park. I left the parking lot, could find no trail, and started making my way into the woods. At about 300 feet from the cache I looked around. Solid woods. No trail. My flashlight was the only light. The terrain was moderately steep headed down into the crater. At that moment I realized that I had forgotten (or worse yet ignored) everything I had learned in Scouting and had taught my Scouts about safety in the woods. I am very enthusiastic about this new hobby. It gets me back outside and into the woods. Plus I am an electronics geek. I love any e-tool. BUT…. I am 55 years old. I didn’t give exact details about where I was going. I was by myself. It was getting dark or was dark. I did take a cell phone to call for help IF I didn’t black out. Yada yada yada. The point: I’ve got lots of experience in the woods. Yet, for even this simple geocaching trek, it could have turned disastrous. Think! Even in a city park you need to do the following: 1. Tell someone exactly where you are going. I don’t care it it is the most heavily traveled area of downtown, there’s no guarantee that the journey will go as planned. 2. Take someone with you. Even an uninterested person can call for help and just might enjoy the walk. 3. Take appropriate supplies. (I have no idea what that means exactly, and it will vary by the type of terrain, but there should be a minimum list.) 4. (Respond and add to this list.) So what am I going to do? 1. Fill a fanny pack or day pack with supplies to be used for my geocaching outings. 2. Print 2 copies of the caches I am chasing that day and give them to someone that cares about your safety. The homebound copy can be printed 2 pages or 4 pages per printed pages. (Check out the settings for your printer. HP offers this.) 3. Unless I am planning a night time trek, I’m going to leave more than 45 minute before sundown. 4. Convince my wife she needs some exercise and I would love her company. I better reverse the order. I’ll be interest in your comments. Christmas is coming. I am sure that lots of people that have never ventured into the woods will be receiving a GPSr from Santa. We have an educational opportunity in our GeoCaching community. PS: When was the last time you read the disclaimer attached to each GeoCache page?

Yes But... While the coordinates are "in the neighborhood" they are not exact. According to EVERY mapping database program there are 96 unique addresses on our 374 foot long street., There are in fact only 3 addresses: 7101, 7111, and 7119. Since Christmas is coming I hope Santa and UPS are ....just a little more exact. Bob Santa: I'm .... In the middle house ... on the block ... but you knew that!