husqui

quote:Originally posted by yorelken: quote:Originally posted by TT120:39 for me and 11 for my dog. That makes the dog one of the oldest - in dog years, what? 77 or so? Actually, some animal experts have been calculating dog age this way: 1st year = 14 yrs, 2nd year = addn'l 10 yrs, every year after that = addn'l 4 yrs. Ergo, Jessi and myself (I'm Alex --- using the home computer while husqui is at work and my nose is starting to hurt from poking these keys!) are approximately 60 and 56 in human years. Husqui, on the other hand, is about 6.5 in dog years but he acts too much like an 8-month old puppy most of the time.....

If you are adventurous and want to escape the heat, then you gotta try this one... The Swimmer's Cache I haven't had a chance to dive down myself but others have and it sure sounds like a lot of fun. As far as Hollywood is concerned, I don't frequent that area but I've been to this one and I highly recommend it: The Hollywood Reservoir It's a beautiful, serene spot somewhere in the hills of Hollywood. Plus you get a good view of the Hollywood sign.

Drinking ice cold beer!!!

Drinking ice cold beer!!!

quote:Originally posted by MyBoys&Me: I'm putting together a commercial-quality display promoting GEOCASHING to the public that'll be in my yard. It might help if you stopped spelling GEOCACHING incorrectly (you've done this a few times). This might be sending subliminal messages to admin that it is really more "commercial" (did you say "cash"?) in nature....

quote:Originally posted by MyBoys&Me: I'm putting together a commercial-quality display promoting GEOCASHING to the public that'll be in my yard. It might help if you stopped spelling GEOCACHING incorrectly (you've done this a few times). This might be sending subliminal messages to admin that it is really more "commercial" (did you say "cash"?) in nature....

"Yo, Lewis! Have you seen Sakakawea? I've been looking for that little hottie for the past hour." "Well, ummm, yeah. She was so fixated on Husqui's mukluks and kept muttering something about big his feet are. She said she was going to show him how to ‘flatten grass’ in the Meadow of the Mink. Haven’t seen her or Husqui since. Not sure what she’s been smoking but she sure as heck wasn’t making sense to me!” And so it came to pass that William Clark came up with the notion that the way to a woman’s heart was to have cool shoes. He then started designing his own footwear --- from moccassins to prairie shoes, from sandals to formal “sitting-around-smoking-the-peace-pipe” wear. Unfortunately, he never did hook up with the sexy Sakakawea (she liked his shoes but was never quite impressed with his size 6.5). But his shoes soon became known for their excellent quality and comfort. And the rest, as they say, is history ……

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ocgeocachers/

I called O'Neill park today and asked for ranger Calli. She's wasn't in but apparently only works weekends and on Monday and Tuesday nights. I left my number and will follow-up with her regardless. A couple of interesting side notes though... the ranger I spoke with didn't even realize that the article was out (though she did speak with the author a week or so ago). She did not even seem to know much about geocaching or what the issue was about. I asked her a couple of times if should speak to somebody else about this and she said that I probably should talk to Calli since she was the one interviewed (I did not get the impression that Calli is a high-ranking ranger but rather that she spent a lot of time out in the trenches, so to speak). She did not even know that there were caches confiscated in O'Neill Park. She did say that it was nice of us to call to try and clear the air. Bottomline: My impression is that there are no hard and fast rules. It seems that it is left up to the discretion of the individual park ranger. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, though I think we have better chances for open dialogue this way. Maybe this isn't a big deal after all. Maybe, as Criminal stated, we should just let the whole thing blow over. I, for one, still like the idea of not being bound by too many rules and policing ourselves within the boundaries of common sense and moderation.

I called O'Neill park today and asked for ranger Calli. She's wasn't in but apparently only works weekends and on Monday and Tuesday nights. I left my number and will follow-up with her regardless. A couple of interesting side notes though... the ranger I spoke with didn't even realize that the article was out (though she did speak with the author a week or so ago). She did not even seem to know much about geocaching or what the issue was about. I asked her a couple of times if should speak to somebody else about this and she said that I probably should talk to Calli since she was the one interviewed (I did not get the impression that Calli is a high-ranking ranger but rather that she spent a lot of time out in the trenches, so to speak). She did not even know that there were caches confiscated in O'Neill Park. She did say that it was nice of us to call to try and clear the air. Bottomline: My impression is that there are no hard and fast rules. It seems that it is left up to the discretion of the individual park ranger. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, though I think we have better chances for open dialogue this way. Maybe this isn't a big deal after all. Maybe, as Criminal stated, we should just let the whole thing blow over. I, for one, still like the idea of not being bound by too many rules and policing ourselves within the boundaries of common sense and moderation.

quote:Originally posted by The Geo Chasers:Are you ready? Calling "Rico and the Fiddler" and "Husqui" Geo Chaser, I will attempt to contact the O'Neill Park rangers today (assuming nobody else has done so already). I do not profess to speak for all geocachers in our area but I want to at least make contact with them right away. I will let you know the results of my initial conversation (will email you my contact info sometime this morning) and then maybe a couple of us can have an initial meeting with them. From there, maybe we can get together cachers in our area, designate volunteers/representatives, and work closely with these different land managers to see what "rules and regulations" they may have, express our opinions, and hopefully come up with guidelines that will work out in the interests of both parties. Mind you, I don't think we will be dealing with just one organization; in fact, I prefer that we deal with individual parks, etc. on a one-on-one basis rather than try to get a county-wide policy enforced (I can only imagine the bureaucracy that could come out of such a move). Eventually, what I'd like to see is something like a simple website that shows specific do's and don'ts for placing caches in different public lands around our area, maps (so we know at least where such sensitive public lands might be) general guidelines, and contact information for these different public land management teams. Communication is the first step. I've always believed in that though at times I do avoid it. Now if only I can get my dogs to listen to me....

quote:Originally posted by The Geo Chasers:Are you ready? Calling "Rico and the Fiddler" and "Husqui" Geo Chaser, I will attempt to contact the O'Neill Park rangers today (assuming nobody else has done so already). I do not profess to speak for all geocachers in our area but I want to at least make contact with them right away. I will let you know the results of my initial conversation (will email you my contact info sometime this morning) and then maybe a couple of us can have an initial meeting with them. From there, maybe we can get together cachers in our area, designate volunteers/representatives, and work closely with these different land managers to see what "rules and regulations" they may have, express our opinions, and hopefully come up with guidelines that will work out in the interests of both parties. Mind you, I don't think we will be dealing with just one organization; in fact, I prefer that we deal with individual parks, etc. on a one-on-one basis rather than try to get a county-wide policy enforced (I can only imagine the bureaucracy that could come out of such a move). Eventually, what I'd like to see is something like a simple website that shows specific do's and don'ts for placing caches in different public lands around our area, maps (so we know at least where such sensitive public lands might be) general guidelines, and contact information for these different public land management teams. Communication is the first step. I've always believed in that though at times I do avoid it. Now if only I can get my dogs to listen to me....

quote:Originally posted by Lil Devil:After reading several recent threads regarding caches being removed from various areas by land managers, I get the feeling that some (many?) of us are not following the posted rules and guidelines for placing a cache. On these very forums, many have tried arguing that this sport doesn't cause harm. I call bullcrap! ....If there was flattened grass leading straight to the cache, then we have caused harm. Lil Devil Sooooo ..... "Don't step on the grass!" I guess I missed reading about this rule...... I don't mean to get your goat and I apologize if I do. But as STRONGLY as you feel about how some people are seemingly not following the rules, I feel just as strongly about how some of us are going overboard with concerns about the fragility of the environment. What about the miles upon miles of trails along the Pacific Coast Trail? I guess John Muir did a lot of harm 'cuz I'm sure a lot of those trails were virgin grass back then! But then, I do realize that there is the need to regulate, otherwise the Pacific Coast Trail will turn into the Pacific Coast Desert. Please ignore me. I am just ranting and do not mean to offend. I do tread lightly but tread I will. It just seems that we go to extremes on both sides of the spectrum at times. Maybe I should have lived back in the days of Lewis and Clark....

Here are 2 of the caches which we think the O'Neill Park rangers were referring to as having been confiscated: Easy Find The Dog Walk Cache Coincidentally, I was the first to log a find for both caches. Here's some observations: 1. When hunting both caches, I never even knew that I was in O'Neill Park. This is typical of trails/parks/wilderness areas in Southern California where they criss-cross over wide areas. Both of these were in the middle of suburbia, and access to it can be had from quite a few different places. I never even saw any signs saying I was in O'Neill Park --- as far as I was concerned, I was simply traversing on public land (which the park is but little did I know that they had such restrictions). 2. Also, as far as I know, per this link, this park is a regional park and not a wilderness park/area (not even sure how they differentiate one from the other specially out here in SoCal). O'Neill Park 3. When I first "found" The Dog Walk Cache, there was already a well-trodden trail leading up to it. The cache was hidden inside the hollow of a tree which, obviously, casual hikers/visitors have been checking out simply because the tree was there. It was off the main trail (maybe 20 to 40 feet), no bushwacking required other than walking through a meadow. No signs posted saying that it was illegal to get off the trail (and there shouldn't be). In fact, this cache was almost MIA (refer to the logs) since some non-geocachers found it, some 17 or 18 cache logs later. I did happen to visit the cache site again at around the same time and the "environment" did not seem any different from what it was when I first found the cache. 7 or 8 logs later, the rangers confiscate it because it was doing damage to the environment..... C'mon, really? 4. When I first "found" Easy Find, there was also a well-trodden trail off the main trail, through a meadow, where the cache was hidden in the hollow of a fallen tree. Never came back there again but I can't see how much so-called damage could have been done to that environment. Also, in both cases, there were NO FENCES anywhere within 1000 feet of these caches. So what makes them think that geocachers were responsible for such damage? And how different is hiding a cache from telling a friend, "Hey, go to this beautiful meadow and check out this hollowed-out tree. It's cool!" Is this not PUBLIC LAND that we are allowed to use and enjoy? I really think that the article was a bit one-sided. They should have interviewed local OC geocachers and gotten our side of the story. I guess, in retrospect, what we really need is more dialogue and communication between the 2 groups. Of course, what scares me is that too much dialogue may result in more restrictions by overly possessive land managers. I don't know, I just don't know. Enjoy the great outdoors, but only within a 4 foot wide trail traversing over thousands upon thousands of acres. Make use of public lands, but heaven forbid that 20 to 50 people visit the same spot over a 6 month period. America the beautiful, land of the free, where the deer and antelope (but not geocachers) roam. Enough ranting. Do something about it. Maybe I should, maybe I will. Now where can I get a hold of Ranger Calli?

Here are 2 of the caches which we think the O'Neill Park rangers were referring to as having been confiscated: Easy Find The Dog Walk Cache Coincidentally, I was the first to log a find for both caches. Here's some observations: 1. When hunting both caches, I never even knew that I was in O'Neill Park. This is typical of trails/parks/wilderness areas in Southern California where they criss-cross over wide areas. Both of these were in the middle of suburbia, and access to it can be had from quite a few different places. I never even saw any signs saying I was in O'Neill Park --- as far as I was concerned, I was simply traversing on public land (which the park is but little did I know that they had such restrictions). 2. Also, as far as I know, per this link, this park is a regional park and not a wilderness park/area (not even sure how they differentiate one from the other specially out here in SoCal). O'Neill Park 3. When I first "found" The Dog Walk Cache, there was already a well-trodden trail leading up to it. The cache was hidden inside the hollow of a tree which, obviously, casual hikers/visitors have been checking out simply because the tree was there. It was off the main trail (maybe 20 to 40 feet), no bushwacking required other than walking through a meadow. No signs posted saying that it was illegal to get off the trail (and there shouldn't be). In fact, this cache was almost MIA (refer to the logs) since some non-geocachers found it, some 17 or 18 cache logs later. I did happen to visit the cache site again at around the same time and the "environment" did not seem any different from what it was when I first found the cache. 7 or 8 logs later, the rangers confiscate it because it was doing damage to the environment..... C'mon, really? 4. When I first "found" Easy Find, there was also a well-trodden trail off the main trail, through a meadow, where the cache was hidden in the hollow of a fallen tree. Never came back there again but I can't see how much so-called damage could have been done to that environment. Also, in both cases, there were NO FENCES anywhere within 1000 feet of these caches. So what makes them think that geocachers were responsible for such damage? And how different is hiding a cache from telling a friend, "Hey, go to this beautiful meadow and check out this hollowed-out tree. It's cool!" Is this not PUBLIC LAND that we are allowed to use and enjoy? I really think that the article was a bit one-sided. They should have interviewed local OC geocachers and gotten our side of the story. I guess, in retrospect, what we really need is more dialogue and communication between the 2 groups. Of course, what scares me is that too much dialogue may result in more restrictions by overly possessive land managers. I don't know, I just don't know. Enjoy the great outdoors, but only within a 4 foot wide trail traversing over thousands upon thousands of acres. Make use of public lands, but heaven forbid that 20 to 50 people visit the same spot over a 6 month period. America the beautiful, land of the free, where the deer and antelope (but not geocachers) roam. Enough ranting. Do something about it. Maybe I should, maybe I will. Now where can I get a hold of Ranger Calli?

quote:Originally posted by NuAdventure4me:I went out to find my first two caches today, didnt locate either one of them, im frustrated already, I will wait to see if they are still their and try again, I will try to hide my first one and see how it goes. Laura Laura, First off, welcome to our addiction! I'm a fellow SoCal geocacher out here in OC. There are lots of caches and even more wonderful geocachers living in or around the Inland Empire who you may want to get in touch with if you need help finding a particular cache (just to curb your frustration a bit). Don't worry, it's a lot of fun and you will be on a roll once you get a few finds under your belt. However, I wouldn't recommend hiding any caches yet; just sit back and hunt down a few. It's really best to get more experience finding caches before hiding one of your own. Have fun (I know you will) and maybe we'll see you on the trail one of these days!

quote:Originally posted by NuAdventure4me:I went out to find my first two caches today, didnt locate either one of them, im frustrated already, I will wait to see if they are still their and try again, I will try to hide my first one and see how it goes. Laura Laura, First off, welcome to our addiction! I'm a fellow SoCal geocacher out here in OC. There are lots of caches and even more wonderful geocachers living in or around the Inland Empire who you may want to get in touch with if you need help finding a particular cache (just to curb your frustration a bit). Don't worry, it's a lot of fun and you will be on a roll once you get a few finds under your belt. However, I wouldn't recommend hiding any caches yet; just sit back and hunt down a few. It's really best to get more experience finding caches before hiding one of your own. Have fun (I know you will) and maybe we'll see you on the trail one of these days!

quote:Originally posted by El Diablo:I love dogs and I can see the joy of taking them on a cache hunt. But if we try to percieve every possible thing...... For me, it's not a big deal and I make it my responsibility to find out. I also realize that the cache owner may not have this info either. It would be nice to know, that's all... By the way, I've never seen "no dogs allowed" when visiting your typical well-manicured neighborhood parks out here in Southern California. However, there are a few wilderness parks/areas (and sometimes just certain trails within a wilderness area -- go figure!) and beaches that do not allow my four-legged friends. We also have a few nature preserves out here; some of them do and some of them don't. On the other hand, I've never seen any signs posted about not being to take along my pet boa constrictor ! And people wonder why I always carry a backpack.....

quote:Originally posted by El Diablo:I love dogs and I can see the joy of taking them on a cache hunt. But if we try to percieve every possible thing...... For me, it's not a big deal and I make it my responsibility to find out. I also realize that the cache owner may not have this info either. It would be nice to know, that's all... By the way, I've never seen "no dogs allowed" when visiting your typical well-manicured neighborhood parks out here in Southern California. However, there are a few wilderness parks/areas (and sometimes just certain trails within a wilderness area -- go figure!) and beaches that do not allow my four-legged friends. We also have a few nature preserves out here; some of them do and some of them don't. On the other hand, I've never seen any signs posted about not being to take along my pet boa constrictor ! And people wonder why I always carry a backpack.....

Had wanted to get a GPS for quite some time so I wouldn't get lost in the woods anymore. Then over a year ago, I read an article on geocaching in Backpacker magazine. 6 or 8 months later, I finally coughed up the dough and bought my GPS right before a trip to Banff, where I bagged my first cache. I no longer get lost on the trail, but I still get lost trying find a place to park (hey --- my Venture doesn't have streetmaps, okay?). [This message was edited by husqui on July 28, 2002 at 08:10 PM.]

I try taking my dogs along with me (actually, it's more of the other way around) whenever I geocache and so a note indicating whether or not the trail/cache site is dog-friendly is always much appreciated. However, in the absence of such info, I do my best to do some research ahead of time (e.g., visiting the park's website, etc.) and/or email the cache owner to see if the canines can cache-a-long....

I love siberian huskies! Been "owned" by a couple of bratty ones for the past 10/11 years. We probably would have made a great team of adventurers had we lived back in the days of Jack London and the Gold Rush....

quote:Originally posted by hutchfx:Are there any other cachers going to Burning Man? Track down this travel bug and/or Rev. Dahlia.... http://www.geocaching.com/track/track_detail.asp?ID=10666

The longest single-cache hike I ever did took about 2 hours (5.5 miles roundtrip). The longest cache hike I ever did was over 8 miles bagging 5 caches spread out over Peter's Canyon here in Southern California. That took somewhere between 3 to 4 hours. I still have my sights set on doing a 16-mile roundtrip hike to log a cache that I was hoping to do when it was first hidden in March (till I was incapacitated for over a month due to a nasty bout with Poison Oak, but that's another story). I just gotta wait until fall or winter when it cools down again....

Here's a newly hidden underwater cache in my neck of the woods. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=29144 The cache owner (Kevin) has already warned that the container is not water tight so trade items must be able to stand up to immersion in salt water.