eaglespirit0

It stands for a German Geocoin.

Congratulations! It's been a pleasure to attend your events as well as for you to attend my event. Hope MiniMogger still is chasing after those bears after the Shotgun Picnic.

Like every experience, Scouting is what you make of it, regardles sif you're a Tiger or an Eagle Scout. I have probably one of the worst quality troops, half of my Cub Scout leaders quit, and I wanted to drop out at times. However, I sought out Venturing, Summer Camp Staff, Order of the Arrow, and National/Regional Events. I now serve the council in many ways and am glad I have chosen the course in Scouting that I have. I am a Vigil Member in the Order of the Arrow and am going for my Eagle Scout Board of Review in two weeks.

Northeastern Pennsylvania; six miles outside the city of Scranton.

Interesting; one of the best caches in the area (Archbald Pothole -- GC7CE6) is hidden in a well-known gay-cruiser area. True, the cops cleaned it out about a year ago -- I guess that would explain the blank stares of about a dozen men sitting in their cars by themselves when I went two weekends ago just to relive my first cache experience. - JD

Thank-you all and thanks for all the people who hid all of the caches, especially the really good ones. Not to shabby to hit 300 in under a year for only a 17-year old. - JD

I have to respectfully disagree. I think Orienteering is a fundamental skill; Geocaching/Using a GPS is not. While it is a useful skill, you can get by easily without one. This also applies to a compass, which you can also easily get by without -- this is where the "nonsensical" ([rant]as I've heard so many adults who know everything about everything; they are the same ones who go camping with cell phones, radios, hand held inflatable vibrating massager bed rolls, and remote-controlled real-life weather gauges. Yet they tell us kids we don't know how to camp -- we need to learn the skills. Half of them can only work the GPS capacity on their Nextel instead of utilizing a compass to go north; yet they have all the outdoors skills. I need water and suitable clothing on my back, and I'm ready to go camping at the barest extremity. Packanack, this is in no way shape or form directed at you, I'm just going off on a tangent[/rant]) requirements of navigation with only the barest of essentials -- sticks, strings, a watch, and the stars. If geocaching grows in popularity as a sport, I would be ecstatic about seeing a merit badge. It must be kept in mind that geocaching isn't even half a decade old; it's still growing and defining itself -- a perfect example is the introduction of Waymarking. The newest merit badge to hit the shelves will be Composites, which deals with plastics and other un-natural materials. It was introduced to the process of becoming a merit badge a while back, but was rejected because the industry hadn't developed yet; I believe if you let the hobby of geocaching develop, you will soon see a badge. And one last argument; at the Boy Scout Jamboree this summer, Garmin sponsored geocaching courses at each of the subcamps. My friend and I went around and did most of them as we are both geocachers, and we enjoyed them. But speaking to program coordinators and other kids, they didn't really like the concept of the sport/heard that people didn't like the concept of the sport. Some of the reasons I heard was the GPS was too complicated, wasn't accurate, the caches were hard to find, the entire concept was stupid, and the number one most commonly-heard reason (Well, at least from one person at one of the SubCamp tents) . . . why use this when you can use a compass? There's pros and cons and I'm glad we can have this insightful discussion. Thanks and have a good night. - JD

Coming from someone who has taught Orienteering for three years while helping with GPS Demonstrations at a Boy Scout Camp, I need to respectively disagree with the sentiment of doing away with the Orienteering Merit Badge. The purpose of a merit badge is to either teach a skill (WoodCarving, Metalworking, Small Boat Sailing, etc.), introduce you to a potential occupation (Engineering, Aviation, Environmental Science, or introduce you to a hobby. It is this part in the key factor why Orienteering still remains a merit badge -- while it is extremely useful in navigation (and in my opinion, a quintessential factor of outdoor skills that every human being should known), it IS being overtaken by "silly gadgets". Will compasses every dissapear? No. Orienteering, if not as a method of navigation, still survives as a hobby and a sport. Orienteering races often involve technical skills, agility, endurance, and speed. In a mindset; you can figure it's the reverse of geocaching: it's not hard to find the point, but a challenge to get there, in geocaching, it's hard to find the point but easy to get there. Orienteering will continue to survive, and if not, thrive. - JD

Personally, I'm one who thinks you should learn from the past. I say you leave all logs as an accurate history of the cache; I love to go back and read all of the cache logs for caches I visited, be them bad, good, ugly, or the inbetween. It all depends on your perogative, though.

Don't be intimidated by the 150 figure. From experience in the area, a Northeastern PA Event would probably not get 150 people -- usually I've read/seen events that are more for 30-40 people. It doesn't have to be highly planned out, either. Don't give up if you really want to do it! (Keeping in mind this is somewhat selfish of myself)

Well, being from the Scranton area myself (Archbald) I would be more than enthusiastic about another caching event. Gcas and I held an event earlier this year in May that had a moderate attendance. Our event was very low-key ; it was somem basic games, food, and fellowship. We supplied the food; everybody either brought a 2 dollar donation or a side dish to off set the cost. I think people were a little bit apprehensive because we were 17 year olds running an events for adults; however, Gcas is vice-president of our senior class and I have ran cammpouts for more than 200 people with the Boy Scouts of America. We both did have sufficient leadership qualifications. I think there's your first biggie: leadership and organization. If you have those skills, get a place, submit it, inform the participants, and wait until the day of the event -- we will come. We're a friendly group of people. I'll keep an eye out for it and if I can make it I surely will. Keep on caching and glad to see you here in NEPA. - EagleSpirit

Oooops, and I meant first Puzzle Cache. Well, going to go hide two more -- good quality caches!

It's not that bad ... it's a mile roundtrip, there's only one rockslide, and the hike/climb along the abandoned dam is fun! And there's no bushwacking. I figured after hiding three extremely easy caches, I had to hide an adventure. I'm going to go place a 2.5 mile long cache near my house and perhaps another one on the other side of the highway from where I hid the Treasure of Archbald. Then back to easier ones. Not that easy, though. - JD

All viable options -- but I want to see what kinds of caches people are hiding in the Northeast at this time and focusing on one method to get a "caching fix" if you're (or your friend) is not willing to drive that far.

With almost all of the caches in a 15-mile radius having been found and the obnoxiously high price of gas, I have found my caching to come to a standstill. While I am endowed enough with a small car and enough money to fill it, I believe in energy conservation, and therefore, have prioritized that driving 50 miles to get a cache is not necessary. However, I still want to cache! So . . . in these next couple of weeks until the energy crisis is over, I plan on staying local, finding the last 5 or 6 caches, and hiding a lot of caches. Not just simple, cache and dash, but more complex ones. For example, Treasure of Archbald. It is the first cache to be hidden in the Lackawanna Valley/Scranton area and only the second in Lackawanna County. I have another cache I plan to place this week that is a 2-2.5 mile walk along open fields overlooking the town of Archbald, and another one which will be at least a 3 mile walk round-trip. I'm also considering hiding a high terrain-rated letterbox, as the closest one is 45 miles away in the city of Stroudsburg. So there's a simple solution to the problem of gas prices and caching: it gives you an opportunity to cache in a different way, it enables/inspires people to hide caches locally so they need not drive, and it saves energy! If you have any caches you've hidden locally in the Northeast during this energy crisis, how about sharing them! - JD

Each to their own way, each how they act in life, each with different amounts of respect. Seeing that is an adopted cache and it is one of the area's oldest caches, maintain it through the winter. Now that I'm a "seasoned vet" (I've been caching in all 4 seasons) I have to say winter was the best because of the scenery and the level of difficulty. I can't wait for the winter to go caching again! =) Happy Caching!

When I first started geocaching, I was a 16 year old who weighed 184 pounds -- :/ Now, 10 months later, I'm a 17 year old who weighs a much healthier 165 pounds. Not a model, but I do attribute it to the 3/3 and some badly miscalculated 1.5/1.5's.

I sit back and enjoy. If I don't want to get it, I don't go for it. I'll only grab a Wal-Mart if I'm there. However, I will drive 100 miles for a micro if it's in an interesting place that's going to teach me a lesson. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean we all don't like them. - JD

Congratulations to Whistler & Co. hitting the 100 mark yesterday at skipsp's The Fox Schoolhouse! What's even more impressive about this landmark is that they reached it in just 2 months and 16 days! You guys with the big numbers, watch out, they're right on your tails! Congratulations! - JD

Cary Mountain Cary Mountain in Archbald, Pennsylvania. By far the best cache hunt I've ever done. Beautiful views, can't even justify by the pictures.

My suggestion for an extreme cache is to go find some more caches -- 5/5's, notorious extreme caches (Tube Torcher, etc) or your own area's well-known extreme cache (for my area, it will be "Cary Mountain"). Only then you will know what is the true form of extreme. And my personal suggestion for making it as extreme as can be -- not letting other people know what to expect. Those have always been the most extreme for me -- being caught off guard. Good luck with your cache!

Salvelinus, my intention was not for a number of angry phone calls; that is not even close to being articulate. Instead, a formal meeting of a couple of people sitting down on both sides. No angry phone calls; riots; mobs -- as noted, they just make the entire thing much worse. Even if the verdict is a solid "no" to geocaching, at least we know what's going on. Hope my thoughts came across much clearer. Thanks! - JD

This is ridiculous -- some of the best caches I've done are on State Game Lands. What's even more ridiculous is that not one single person is being given a straight answer -- there's about twenty different official policies. It's not even clear if the "No Geocaching" rule is just a whim for a couple of low ranking vigilantes (who may or may not even work for the SGL; per "NightSeeker") or if it actually comes from the powers that be in Harrisburg. I say, as a geocacher, some prominent cachers and/or cachers with experience with such organizations should hold a meeting discussing geocaching. There's many wise and articulate ones who are more than capable; it's just time to let them step up. And until I get one single, definitive answer, I will continue to cache on SGL property. Happy Caching! - JD

Oooh geez. Perhaps I was more or less naive in thinking that no one would complain about the religious pamphlets It's my personal gripe -- that's all. I don't want to see them anymore. Do I trade them out? Sometimes I do, especially if they are wet, moldy, or the like (which is quite often) or if they are taking up room. So what? Stop trying to pick fights; this was a very good topic for a thread and hopefully the initial topic will continue on it's course -- I had no intentions of derailing it by expressing my opinion and am sorry if others continue squabbling over it. - JD

I called it "Sir Walter" a week or two ago and the name has stuck. Don't know why; don't wanna know why.