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Black Mage

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    Geocaching In The News

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    Recently a student journalist for the University of Utah's newspaper, The Daily Utah Chronicle, appeared in the UTAG forums asking for the assistance of local cachers to write an article on Geocaching. A couple of cachers responded and the article has just been published.

     

    (I decided to quote the story here to save you all the trouble of having to register with the web site)

     

    Hide and seek sport 'caches' in on campus

    By Nephi Tyler

    The Daily Utah Chronicle

    Published: Wednesday, July 21, 2004

     

    An organized network of low-key individuals skilled at working undercover have utilized satellites and state-of-the-art technology to hide containers of mysterious materials throughout the U campus as part of a worldwide movement. 

     

    One of these network cells now operating in Utah calls itself the Utah Association of Geocachers and claims responsibility for more than 1,600 containers deposited in hush-hush areas across the campus and state.

     

    Contrary to how it may appear, UTAG is a club of outdoor enthusiasts who play a treasure-hunting game known as Geocache.

     

    Explaining what Geocache is can be just as challenging as playing the game itself. 

     

    In simple gas-station direction terms, Geocaching involves using a Global Positioning System to track down a hidden box, or cache, that could be anywhere on the planet. 

     

    Geocachers, as they call themselves, post the coordinates of their hidden cache on the club's Web site. Next, a Geocacher will plug those coordinates into his GPS.  Just where these caches can be found and what they contain are the thrill of it all.

     

    With a GPS and a set of coordinates, one can find cache sites around the U's upper and lower campuses. 

     

    Geocachers also post Web site clues on hard-to-find caches and use creative titles for their stashes such as one hidden in Research Park named "Cold Fusion Confusion."

     

    UTAG member Robert Schaefermeyer has hid several caches around the state, including one on the U campus. 

     

    On a breezy evening with just a few hours of daylight remaining, Schaefermeyer demonstrated the art of Geocaching. Holding a wallet-sized yellow GPS, Schaefermeyer stepped off TRAX at the end of the line Medical Center stop. 

     

    "Just follow the arrow," he said as he set off for his cache site. 

     

    Approaching Schaefermeyer's cache site, the treasure-hunting plan took an unexpected detour. A construction company had commandeered the area and set up barbed-wire fencing around the perimeter.   

     

    Schaefermeyer said Geocachers are careful as to where they place their caches, making sure not to hide them on private property or locations where a suspicious-looking container might be cause for alarm.

     

    One particular cache hidden next to Hill Air Force Base caused a bomb scare when someone found the red toolbox cache beneath a bridge.

     

    "Be considerate," Schaefermeyer said. "You don't want to put caches in places that are susceptible to attack such as a capitol building, national monument or military base."

     

    And as Schaefermeyer learned the hard way, future construction sites are also not recommended hiding places for caches.

     

    Moving on, the GPS led him on a quarter-mile walk to a second cache hidden behind some landscaping boulders at the Benchmark student housing.

     

    Zeroing in on GPS coordinates can draw the curiosity of others and potentially jeopardize the integrity of the hiding spot.  For this reason, Schaefermeyer says that urban Geocaching requires a little more discretion.

     

    "We got some people over here, so kind of play it out," Schaefermeyer cautioned as he nonchalantly searched for the cache.

     

    "You've got to be casual about it," he said with a smirk as he sat down on one of the boulders. After a few more inquisitive looks behind the boulder, "Bingo, first find," he said.

     

    Hidden nicely beneath a cairn of small rocks was a 35-mm film container with a tiny pencil, roll of paper and one Canadian penny inside.

     

    An official Geocache sticker on the container identified its purpose.

     

    "Quite often you'll find them under sticks and rocks," Schaefermeyer said as he put the container back in its original spot. "This is one you just sign, identify and date."

     

    The possibilities of how to set up a cache are limited only by one's imagination.

     

    "I've heard of underwater caches that you scuba dive to, some caches you have to rock-climb to...We even have a few out on Antelope Island," he said.

     

    Whether it's under water or on a cliffside, Geocaching can lead Geocachers to very interesting sites such as the one Schaefermeyer found on Mount Timpanogos. 

     

    "At the top there is a B-52 crash site marked as a Geocache location. It's cool to see an old plane crash," he said.

     

    Another cache site that proved to be a smash with Schaefermeyer was one he found down in Delta, hidden within a brick furnace once used by early pioneer settlers. "It was an old German WW II first-aid kit.  It had German writing all over it.  I won't tell you the way it was hidden, though."

     

    Schaefermeyer says that people who are attracted to Geocache have an affinity for the outdoors and electronic gadgets.

     

    The main gadget a Geocacher uses is a GPS unit that normally ranges from $100 to $500 and can come equipped with a communication radio and handheld computer. Orbiting above the earth are 24 geosynchronous satellites that send out a signal received by a GPS unit. By method of triangulation, a GPS unit can register its location on any corner of the planet.

     

    According to Schaefermeyer, Geocaching caught on after President Clinton rescinded an act known as the Selective Availability law in 2000.

     

    Under SA, satellite signals received by a civilian GPS unit were programmed to register within 300 feet of the users location.  For security reasons, only GPS units of the military registered an accurate, on-the-spot location. 

     

    But with the overturn of SA, today's civilian GPS units can register a location within 30 feet, giving Geocachers a much more manageable degree of error to work with while hunting for a cache box.

     

    Schaefermeyer said the first Geocache site was started by a man in Oregon who posted the coordinates of a five-gallon bucket on the Internet.

     

    Since then, the sport of Geocaching has evolved into many different forms. Generally, an urban Geocache, or "micro-cache," is hidden within a small film canister. Cache sites found in the woods are often hidden in an ammunition containers, which Geocachers prefer for their durability and protection from the elements.

     

    Schaefermeyer's GPS indicated a third cache site located a half-mile northwest of his present location. Eventually the GPS led him to a lone pine tree by LNCO. 

     

    Schaefermeyer reckoned the cache was somewhere hidden beneath the tree, but opted out of the search. "I've got some good pants on. I might get sap on them," he said.   

     

    The pricker bush-like pine branches grew so close together that Schaefermeyer had to hold them up as another Geocacher burrowed beneath the low-hanging bows. Despite the best efforts of those involved and a pair of pine-sapped pants, the cache somehow eluded him.

     

    After 20 minutes of searching and numerous scratches, the sprinklers turned on, ending the evergreen escapade. "This one took some looking," Schaefermeyer said. "We'll just say we were chased off by the sprinklers."

     

    For all the effort required, Geocachers like to reward those who find their cache with a little prize, but you are expected to return the favor. The three cardinal rules of Geocaching are to take something, leave something and write in the logbook. 

     

    Geocachers can just sign the logbook they want, but if they remove the contents of a cache, they must leave behind something of equal value.

     

    "When you trade cache trinkets, you try to trade value for value, trinket for trinket. In my caches...sometimes you'll find Olympic pins, and I've seen some money.  Some people have put batteries in there or trash bags," Schaefermeyer said.

     

    The purpose for the trash bag is to put trash in as you hike out, or as Schaefermeyer calls it, the Geocache policy of "cache in, trash out."

     

    Keeping true to this policy, a few pieces of litter were trucked out of the site which included a soda can, old candy wrappers and a long-lost love note to "Lori."

     

    One benefit of the sport, besides finding odd pieces of refuse, is that Geocaching gives people a purpose as to why they are hiking around. Some people find it more enjoyable to hike if they have an objective to reach, such as a cave or a lake. "Geocache gives you that purpose," Schaefermeyer said.

     

    U alumnus Dave Canzonetti agrees. Canzonetti said Geocache got him back into hiking, and he also enjoys the hunting aspect of it. "It adds a little juice to the hike," he said.

     

    While traveling across the country, Conzonetti said he tries to pick a few Geocache locations to explore along the way.

     

    "If I'm going to Seattle or Cedar City and I want to spend a few days and see the sights, I'll plug the area caches into my GPS...Usually it's the locals who put (the caches) in their favorite spots. You see a spot that has meaning to the person who established it. You get a whole new perspective of the land and I get to see all these places I would not see otherwise,"  Canzonetti said.

     

    ntyler@chronicle.utah.edu

    Who Have You Met?

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    I've met two cachers of the trail, both on the same day and going to the same cache, no less (we were all trying to be FTF). The first was Olystats02, but I didn't know it was him at the time. Farther up the trail I met Scout Master (a local geocacher who is recognized by every cacher in the area due to his "...green fedora and neckerchief. Olive drab army surplus dungarees. A hearty laugh and a big smile thru a luxurious forest of red and gray.") Neither spends much time posting here, though they are regulars on the UTAG forums.

    Brand New - Need Recommendations

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    Hey Quid, welcome to the club.

     

    I use a Garmin Etrex Legend, it costs about $215 dollars (msrp) and has guided me faithfully to many a cache (if you consider 53 as many). The Legend can hold up to 8mb of maps and tracks and such, which is more than I've ever needed at any one time. I also think it's a good deal for the price.

    Garmin Etrex Legend

     

    Now, if price is not an issue, I'd recommend the Garmin GPSmap 60C or 60CS. This one even has specifically designed geocaching navigation functions. I hope to get one of these in the future. Eventhough it costs $480 for the 60C and $530 for the 60CS.

    Garmin GPSmap 60CS

    The Amazing Cache Race

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    I have my own idea of what I'd do if I was rich. I would create the Über Cache! I'd fill it with lots of great stuff, like a couple of new GPS units (really good ones too), maybe some topo software, DVDs, CDs, jewelry (gold, silver, etc), and lots of other great stuff. I'd probably make it a multi of some sort with like five stages, each miles apart. I'd place the final cache somewhere that would be a bit of a pain to get to. After all, if you're gonna get a new Garmin GPSmap 60CS, you're gonna have to suffer a bit. :unsure:

     

    So there you have it, my dream.

    Yellow Jtbs

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted · Edited by Black Mage

    I got my first YJTB a few weeks ago and I'll admit that I did hang on to it for two or three days, but it was just so I could find and enter a picture in to the contest and write an essay and get that entered as well. As soon as I was done I dropped it in a near by cache.

     

    This may account for why some bugs don't get dropped quickly. The essay is especially hard(ish). It would have been easier if they wanted a 3000 word essay rather than a 300 word essay. It's hard to cram all that you want to say into 300 words.

    I Hate Stereograms!

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    Yep, I see it. :( Cool idea, then again, I've never had problems with stereograms. You just gotta remember no to cross your eyes, because then the image goes in rather than comes out, so it makes it harder to read. You have to stare through the image.

    Appropriate Swag?

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    Technically I don't believe that knives are allowed, though personally I don't have a problem with 'em. So long as they aren't in a cache that a child could find. I've only found them on harder caches,anyway, along trails with a long hike and such.

    Utah Can't Miss Caches?

    in West and Southwest

    Posted

    Hi LooAndRoo, looks like you'll be caching through my backyard, so to speak. I've gone through caches that I've hit in the past and have found a few memorable ones not more than a couple of miles off I-15. All of these are between Ogden and Farmington.

     

    Operation: Cache Salvation

    This is probably one of my favorite caches, it is located in a beautiful and scenic hollow.

     

    Maggie and Molly's Toy Box

    This one isn't very scenic, but it is right along the freeway.

     

    Steed Pond Cache

    This one is located at a beautiful pond, right in the middle of suburban Clearfield.

     

    Bicentennial

    Here's an easy one.

     

    Riverdale Rivulet

    Here's a slightly more challenging one, but still fun to find.

     

    Lagoon Trail South

    Here's a cache just outside of the Lagoon amusement park.

     

    Hope you like 'em.

     

    Black Mage

    How Do You Close In On The Cache

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    I switch between the maps on my Etrex Legend and the Navigation screen as needed, but when I goe to with in about 50ish feet I switch to the Navigation screen and walk until I get to the point that the arrow moves drastically. If I don't see the cache at that point, I walk out a few feet and start walking in circles spiraling towards the center and the cache. Of course it's that kind of behavior that causes onlookers to get nervous around you. :ph34r:

    Does Geocaching Have A Theme Song?

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted · Edited by Black Mage

    This is my theme song for the Summer, and I think that it could work for geocaching as well.

     

    I'm Not Coming In

    by Stuart Hill

     

    Sun's up, I hit the floor

    Shoes tied, I'm out the door

    Is this a clean shirt?

    I think it was one yesterday

     

    Free day, I'm on the phone

    No plans, I got the cell on

    I call the boys up

    Spend a little time outside today

     

    Never liked for you to hear where I gotta be

    Never liked for you to be told what I gotta see

    I like no commitment strollin' up around me

     

    I'm not coming in anymore

    Everything I want and need is just outside this door

    I'm not coming in anymore

    I've got too many friends on the outside

    That don't include you

     

    Go ahead and think all you might

    All my friends and I ain't on the inside

    All kinds of facts and probabilites

     

    You say well I found a reason

    I say well remember all the seasons

    You scream with endless possiblities

     

    Spend a lot of time trying to convince me

    My friends have two strikes against me

    Well I swing for the fences

    So that must make strike three

    That's fine by me

     

    I'm not coming in anymore

    Everything I want and need is just outside this door

    I'm not coming in anymore

    I've got too many friends on the outside

    That don't include you

    Don't include you

     

    Nothing ever seems right

    Like it does when I want to stop

    Pain in the right speed, kick in the right bite

    I like things familiar

    And I don't belong here

    Don't belong here

     

    I'm not coming in anymore

    Everything I want and need is just outside this door

    I'm not coming in anymore

    I've got too many friends on the outside

    The playing's on the outside

    It don't include you

     

    Not coming in

    Not coming in

    Not getting back no more

    No more........

     

    You can download it here.

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