Rusty O Junk

What... the DEC officers chasing you aren't enough, you need the highway patrol too?

Not all state parks are as unfriendly to geocaching as the Palisades region. Like most of you posting here I've been met with open arms at most of the park offices I've been to. I'm listed on our local website as a contact person and the other day I found the email you see below in my inbox. I'm posting it here with permission of Mr. Herisko. I live about 40 miles north of Albany or 80 miles from Lake Taghkanic park. It's not in a direction I normally travel so maintenance of a cache there would be a problem for me. Hopefully someone living in that area will read this, contact Mr. Herishko and place a couple caches there.

Mark, you should have said hi. Then explain geocaching, Rusty O Junk, Project Ape and the insanity that goes with it all to whom ever owns the truck. We had Mrs Rusty's car. I hate the thing but it was a matter of economics. The real kicker is I knew you guys were planning that trip but didn't realize when. Had I known we would have made it a point to meet you guys in the parking lot. As it was I ended up chasing Squealy's party all over the place.

Thanks everyone for all the kind words. I don't know what happened, the last thing I can remember is the UPS guy dropping off a package from Tiger GPS. The rest is a blur of missed appointments, long grass and the divorce. Ok, Ok, there wasn't any divorce, Mrs Rusty enjoys caching too. Truth is she's the driving force behind all my finds, she makes me do it even when I want to stay home and clean the gutters or do the laundry for her. So ya see, it's all her fault. For those of you that don't know the "special stick" Lafrog refers to is a highly sought after custom made hiking stick made by none other than Lafrog. He makes some of the nicest hiking sticks you'll ever lay eyes on and if he likes a cache he will hide one of his sticks nearby as a signature item with instructions in the log how to find it. When I found he had left one at Hello Molly , about an hour and half from my house I set out on a quest for it but alas, I was to late. Although I missed the stick the young lady that did get it was nice enough to bring it on a hike and let me check it out. She kept a firm grip on it and wouldn't let me hold the hiking stick by myself. Very smart lady she turned out to be and someday I hope to have a Lafrog stick of my own.

Our National CITO day event will be held at Schodack Island State park this year and a second event will be held at Moreau Lake State Park in May to not conflict with the Schodack Island event or divide our group. The parks are both quite close to the capital district and both have asked for our help.

I couldn't find the article in naturescout's link either, probably a well hidden micro. You can see the article here in pdf.

Here's a scan of the original permit application the state issues.

My experience is the map is no big deal. All I've done is mark the approximate cache location on their little handout maps like this and they're happy. In the blank asking for "Website Referencing Cache" I just put www.geocaching.com and that's it. There's no need for the gc number or URL. The only cache identification they ask for is the cache name and coordinates. The application JMBella links to is a little different from the one the State Parks issues. The official one doesn't ask "Waypoint" nor does it ask "Your Geocaching Name". If your region will accept that one, good for you, but up here they want the application on the official 14 inch form they designed. I tried to photo copy one and it didn't fly, I had to rewrite the application on one they printed. Jonboy, if you are on good terms with your park manager you might be able to fill out the application with the general coordinates and get a sticker. At this point he will at least know you aren't in a sensitive or restricted area. Then go in and place the cache which now has the sticker already on it. The next day return to the park office and amend the coordinates. I wouldn't try to pull the wool over their eyes, let them know exactly what you are doing and why. The other solution would be to just place the cache, get the permit and place the sticker on your first maintenance visit or send it in with a trusted friend who goes looking for the cache.

Congratulations on 800 Niel But I know the truth, I know how you found so many, I know you cheated..... Not fair training Muggsy to sniff out ammo cans! If I get a dog could you tr..... Oh never mind...... Congratulations.

That is absolutely ludicrous! I'm sure there are those who comply and place caches there anyhow but I for one wouldn't even consider it for a split second. There are just to many other places to hide caches. This is supposed to be a hobby, not a full time job tracking your own cache. As much as it pains me to say this, if it came down Central Ohio MetroParks rules I'd be doing a lot more fishing.

Yesterday Mrs Rusty and I returned to Saratoga Spa State Park to apply for a permit for the one cache she has there. She filled out the permit and was told by the intern handling geocaching that he would go out and check the cache then process the permit. I had been told earlier that my older cache (over two years old) would need to be moved before it could be permitted. Yesterday the same intern told me it could now stay and the two years would start from the permit date. I applied for a permit for that cache too and was also told he would be going out to check the cache. If you've been following this thread you know I applied for my first geocaching permit with Saratoga Spa Park on 2/14/07. Yesterday I was handed the approved and signed permit. along with the permit I was handed the Geocache Checklist you see below. I don't know how you guys handle maintenance but I always place caches in ammo cans for reduced maintenance. Unless a cache receives two or three DNF logs in a row or someone indicates in there log the cache needs maintenance I only return once a year (springtime) to check on it. From my experiences with other State Parks and geocaching permits I don't think this is normal. I think I'm dealing with an over zealous intern. I'm sure he means no harm to our hobby and wants to keep geocaching as another activity to offer park goers but he's killing it for me. Mrs Rusty and I have the only caches in Saratoga Spa State Park and if she was willing I'd be tempted to throw the towel in and pick them all up. For the most part park officials have welcomed me and geocaching with open arms. They have been very helpful and very flexible making it a positive experience. Don't be influenced by Saratoga Spa Park, they are the exception and an example of what could happen. I urge everyone to contact your park managers, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. They want the geocaches, they want our picnic events, they want us to help draw patroons to the parks. They want to help us to comply.

You would have to bring that up wouldn't you. I thought we had a pact. Does that mean now I can tell everyone about a certain young lady falling asleep against a tree while looking for a cache? Congratulations you obsessed addict.

The best thing I've ever found in a cache is friendship. NFA-53 Rupert's Cash Cache GCJYD2 still has a brand new $100.00 bill waiting for the first finder.

Today I called the Saratoga Spa State Park office to feel out the new geocaching permit process. I was told I would need a new geocaching permit for each cache in the park, but this I knew and previous years I had a land use permit covering the caches. They would have mailed the permit to my home but since I only live a few minutes away I decided I’d go pick it up. When I arrived they handed me the permit and went over the whole thing with me, section by section. I filled out the permit and since the gentleman I was talking with had never seen a cache site and the one on the permit was only .25 mile away we went out and I showed him the cache. He was pleased with the cache location and the hide but he was not impressed with a CD that was inside. One form PYX 106 radio station and with songs titles like “doing your mother” and such. When I left there today the park manager still needed to sign the permit and assignee a number to it and the sticker. The gentleman that went out to the cache with me volunteered to return and affix the sticker as soon as it’s filled out. This is not going to be the norm. I don’t think they will be visiting the actual cache site but do want you to mark it on their park map plus put the coordinates on the application. The normal process is will be for us to go get the blank permit, fill it out, send it back to the park, they approve/deny it, send it back to you then you go place the cache with a NYS sticker on the container. Yup, that’s two trips to place a cache. I should have the signed permit in the mail within a couple days and will return to the cache to verify the sticker is on the ammo can. While going over the permit in the park office they whipped out a folder with cache pages already printed out for all the caches inside the park. They’re no dummies, they know what’s there. One of my caches was over two years old and I was told I could not get a permit for that one, it had to be moved now since it has already been there for two years. When I asked how far “must be moved” is he didn’t know and would find out for me. He did agree to waiting until after the snow is gone before moving it. When questioned about the 20 foot rule he seemed pretty firm on that issue. While special circumstances could arise depending on each location he didn’t like the idea of deviating from the 20 foot rule. After today and reading over the new geocaching permit for NYS parks it’s not likely I’ll ever place another cache in a state park. Fact is I’ll probably archive and pick them all up come spring time. I put a lot of work in some of my caches and I’ll be dadgum if I’ll do that for a two year cache. If it was just a box in the woods that would be one thing but we are talking about caches like X Marks the Cache and Box of Junk. Thank God Word Search Hell isn’t in a state park, there’s 26 parts to that one. Would I need 5 volunteers to help get all the permits? The three pictures below were scanned from the permit.

I have 5 caches in three different state parks and until they expired on 12-31-04 had Special Land Use permits for each one. When I tried to renew in December I was told to wait until the new geocaching permits were available and they wouldn't be renewing land use permits for us. Park managers for both Grafton Lake and Moreau Lake parks both said they would contact me when the permits are available. I have no problem testing the water at Grafton, I only have one cache there and it will be an easy one to move if need be. The ones at Moreau Lake and Saratoga Spa are a horse of a different color and can't be moved, they'll die in place. I'm only a few minutes from Vermont and Vermont geocaching is looking better and better every day.

Good idea but I can't demo it with Mapsource. Streets and Trips, Topo, Mapsend, DeLorme, Trip Maker and I've probably got a few more in there I've forgotten about. But Mapsource I'll leave to you.

Actually what you want can be done with Mapsource and GSAK, that's it. Once you have the gpx files as Mopar described load them all into GSAK, don't worry about it , she'll take them all. I don't know if there is a limit but I've had over 3000 caches loaded up at one time. Now go into Mapsource and make a series of waypoints along your route placing one every time your road makes a major change of direction. Save them waypoints in a file to your desktop. Back to GSAK and open the Filter dialog window and along the top click on "Arc/Ply". Two thirds of the way down the window click on "Load From File" and point it to the waypoint file you just created with Mapsource. Make sure the Arc/Ply radio button is checked and add 5 to Distance. Now if you click on GO you will have a list of all the caches along your route within 5 miles either side. Export to a new GPX file to sync with your pda and blow the waypoint into your gps then hit the road.

What.... caching in the winter..... on snow. Just can't imagine that. What's next, winterized Tupperware?

Hey Squealy, next time you are up to Nancy's come on over to NY, do a little caching then stop by Spruce mt. surplus and pick them up for $3.50 each including sales tax. That way you pay no shipping and grab a few caches ta boot. Tell him the New York Capital Region geocachers sent you. If you can wait I'm working on a deal for a whole pallet of 35 cal cans which I plan to have at our fall picnic on September 18,19. I posted the picnic cache a couple days ago and it's still waiting to be approved but you can catch a sneak preview here.

Can someone tell me the html tag to change the background of a cache page. I know how to change the background of the overall page. What I'm looking for is to change the background in the text area.

Thcri Not being a charter member you won't be able to get a gpx file. A LOC file only has the GC number, cache name, type of cache and coordinates. A GPX file has every bit of information on the cache page including the last 4 logs. Real handy if you have a PDA. Rosco, You forgot to add that they can upload directly to most brands of gps from GSAK eliminating the need for Easy gps, or other programs to load the gps. This thing is the magical-do-all for geocaching, does everything but milk the cows and you still need the wife for that. Just kidding, it's a joke, its a joke. No hate mail please.

Well, since it's out of warranty and I certainly wouldn't spend 120 bucks for another green I'd try to reset any connections. I've never had mine open but if there is any plug-in chips reset them too. Be very careful of static electricity. If all else fails you might try to reinstall the firmware. There is a way to force a hard reset but I don't know the code off hand.

I too have roadrunner and all my email from Groundspeak has ceased. Just changed my email address on file with Groundspeak and now the emails are starting again. Maybe we should all flood RR with complaints. How is it they block legitimate email we want and yet all the viagra, member enlargement, drug and smut emails still get through? Sure hope Groundspeak doesn't automatically start closing accounts because the email address on file bounces.

Hey Flask, my guess is you are missing the Visual Basic runtime package 6 or yours could have become corrupt. You can get it here thanks to Clayjar.

You're right the book that comes with the Meridian isn't much help. But if you look on the cd that came with it find the English folder. Find in there a pdf file called "Meridian Engl" and that's your manual.