eterman

As an answer to the Grumpy Moderator ... I rather enjoyed the back and forth exhibited in the aforegoing thread. While sometimes heated, sometimes misaimed, and sometimes misinformed it showed a level of intellegence and wit not always exhibited on other topics and the threads therein contained on this site. And, see (?), when you sit on the side and let the dust settle by itself everything seems to work out. AND, some of us can get some useful info out of the whole thing.

That's why I bought bells for my Leki. Bought them right after my wife and I encountered one not 50 feet from us on Mt. Ranier a few years back. Talk about getting back to the room and changin' the ole underwear! E.T.

Weathernow.... You've got a wonderful attitude, and an even better approach. It will go a long way towards getting more respect for geocachers. What would help even more would be if the NPS heads were there to see the cooperation and the effort that the cachers put out. Some NPS folks seem to have the "...out of my cold-dead hands..." attitude. Sad.

Sorry. I miss-typed .... it is infact the National Park Service (NPS). And you are correct. There is a "position" on paper, but I don't have it to publish.

Just to let you know; there is no outright banning of GCing on all ATC maintained lands. What the ATC wants to do is make sure that caches are not placed in environmentally sensitve areas. Don't ask me what that encompasses. There are other folks who can answer that question much better than I. There are some areas where GCing is not permitted. As I understand it, the National Forest Service does not permit caching on the land it owns. That includes the AT, and its surroundings. Remember, the AT sometimes runs through and on privately owned land, but mostly it is on NPS-owned land. What should be done is; if you are unsure of whether there is a restriction on the land you are intending to place a cache, and you know it may be NPS land ... call the ATPO contact: Chief Ranger Todd Remaley at 304-535-6171. The Mid-Atlantic ATC regional office can be reached at 717-258-5771. ATC volunteers are not responsible for removing caches, but are asked to report their location, and any possible impact on the surrounding area with field notes and photographs through their club to the appropriate land managing agency and the ATC regional offices. Cachers are responsible for determining land ownership and obtaining permission before placing caches on public or private land. It is common courtesy to ask permission in any event. There are areas that are unrestricted and are considered appropriate for GCing. That is what I have to offer.

I just found my first one on Sunday the 8th. New to this "sport/game/pass time/etc". Told my daughter out in SF and she said, "...Oh no, my father is a GEEK..." Hehehehee. P.S. I have a PN-40 ......

Hey, does #1 ... my first one ... get a halllooo? It's the first step of a journey. Got my Orange PN-40, my water bottle and a wave of the handkerchief from my grateful-to-be-rid-o'-me wife. E.T.