solohiker

quote:Originally posted by Renegade Knight:I have to agree the Arkansas state parks regs are too restricive. To comply you have to hide the cache to get the infomation you need to get the permit. All for 4 months. The Arkansas State Park regs allow you to get a new permit when the old one expires. (They are free) As the rules are written, the old cache has to be removed. Moved and removed are basically the same thing. Move the cache and change the coordinates on the web site. Fill out a new permit. The intent is to force cache owners to vist their caches at least every four months. Wouldn't that be nice!! If you have cached for any length of time I am sure you have come across caches that are grossly ignored. If you develop a relationship with the park supervisor he may allow you to keep the cache in its original location. A lot of authority is given to the local park superintendent. Local control is a good thing in my opinion. On a side note, I make it a point to meet and communicate with all my elected representatives. Many of them know me by my first name. They are people too. Even if I didn't vote for them they have the opportunity to hear my opinion. Actually if I didn't vote for them they usually have multiple opportunities to hear my opinion. If you don't talk to your politicians it is your fault not theirs.

There will be an article on geocaching in the January 14th or 15th edition of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. I don't know what it will say. We will see.

quote:Originally posted by Criminal:Well, that's what you get for asking... Big Mistake, no doubt. Now we have the State of Arkansas publicly supporting geocaching.

quote:Originally posted by MGGPS:What would make a clear container safer than a "non-clear" container and by clear do they mean see thru or translucent. Many of the TupperWare (and RubberMaid) containers I've come across you can't tell whats inside of them. They want the Park Rangers and everyone else to see what is in the cache before/without opening it. My sense of adventure pooh pooh's this cowardly requirement, but I am not going to get sued when someone opens a cache with a copperhead snake in it either. I will ask about the tupperware container at the meeting. Good suggestion. There is also a container requirement for latching. I guess we need to test the sealing power of rubbermaid vs tupperware. [This message was edited by solohiker on January 09, 2003 at 03:32 PM.]

I received a reply to my letter. They seem to want to maintain the 4 month limit, but they will allow you to move the cache in four months and get another permit. Permits are FREE! They want clear containers for safety reasons. They don't have any sample containers or recomendations. As cachers we need to pick up the ball come up with some inexpensive practical options. I am bringing a big pretzel jar to the meeting. Anyone hungry? The placement of the caches will have to be approved by the park supervisors. Since the Parks Department supports geocaching maybe they can help promote it too. Geocaching info in the Park Office might attract more cachers.

The first rule of geocaching states that the contents of a cache will decline in value at an inverse rate of the number of visits.

You are certainly not ignorant. The Map Datum and Map Format are confusing and setting the GPS is not very intuitive. Rule of thumb is to set your GPS for the map datum and format of the map you are using. I enter waypoints from this site in WGS84 datum hddd mm.mmm format, but when I seek caches I change the format and datum in my GPS. The GPS automatically does the conversion. Using the wrong map datum will result in positional errors. Be careful.

quote:Originally posted by BrianSnat: The Arkansas State Parks regulations are incredibly restrictive. So much so, that they seem to have turned a lot of people off to the idea of placing caches their parks. I couldn't help notice that many of the negative comments on the ASP thread were yours. I think we can expect to see more restrictions on geocaching rather than less. The more land managers who have a policy allowing geocaching the better in my opinion, restrictions or not.

I have placed three caches and all were approved within a few hours without comment from management.

The Arkansas State Parks thread is about the parks department adopting a new policy to allow geocaching. That seems pretty positive to me!

Seems to me the two names are different. LittleAlien vs Little Alien

quote:Originally posted by LongDogs:Well, this will certainly prevent me from considering placing any caches on Arkansas State Park property. The 4-month limit is pretty severe, since most caches around here get one or two visits a month. Clearly they don't understand geocaching, or more likely, just don't care. I am giving the Parks Director the benefit of the doubt. I don't think they fully understand geocaching. I am not sure I understand it all the time. I think they are making steps in the right direction and it is incumbent upon the geocaching community to help them understand the positive aspects of geocaching. All of my communication with the Parks Department has been positive. They are adopting a policy to support geocaching! We need to support them and help them make the best policy for geocachers, the parks department and the citizens of Arkansas.

I submitted comments about my concerns. I suggested they extend the permit to one year so the parks department would benefit from out of State cachers who may plan vacations to geocache. I also recommended that the cacher check his/her cache every four months and log the visits on the permit. I asked that a sample container be made available at the meeting. I hope they have something inexpensive and functional in mind. I think the restriction on caches that 'may' cause a spur trail is too subjective. I gave examples of caches that I had previously located in State Parks that did not result in spur trails. I recommended that they change to policy to state, "Caches that create spur trails must be removed." I recommend that folks with concerns submit them for review and show up at the public meeting.

I have Terraing Navigator 2000 or 2001. It is excellent software for creating maps with your GPS. It uses actual USGS maps and has a lot of extra features. This is not the best software for locating urban caches, but it is great for backcountry use.

I intend to call and ask about container specifications. The first thing that comes to my mind is a large plastic jar like some bulk package of pretzels or candy from Sams Club. Paragraph 2 Section A states: "Cache containers must be non-breakable, transparent and have some form of latch or other closing mechanism to prohibit content exposure to wildlife." There has evidently been some input from Park officials who support geocaching. One of the caches currently in a State Park is sponsored by the Parks department. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=16165 I will emailed them and asked for container suggestions. Oddly they are currently in violation of the current parks directive, but government is people too and evidently someone in State Government supports geocaching.

I let my gps do the conversion. I enter coordinates from this site with WGS84 datum and Hddd MM.mmm format I change the datum and format in my gps to match whatever datum and format my map was made with. Most USGS maps were made with NAD27 datum and UTM format. When I get to a cache my typical deviation from cache coordinates to gps readout is within a ten meter radius. I use an old Garmin 12.

A copy of the directive is available at the Administrative office of any Arkansas State Park or Museum. It is titled Geocaching - Arkansas State Parks and Museums, Park Directive 3220. Dated November 5, 2002.

Some of the highlights of Directive 3220: Caches require a permit. Exact location of the cache must be approved by the park supervisor and included on the permit. Any websites that list the cache must be included on the permit. The permit is valid four four months. Cache must be removed in four months and removed from any websites. The cache container must be clear. Nothing hazardous in caches, no food. Caches are subject to random inspection. Caches are not permitted in locations that will cause spur trails. No caches in park buildings or structures. There is some more official jargon, but that is about it.

I got a reply from the State Parks Director. There will be a public hearing on the new Parks directive 3220 on January 16, 2003 at 10:30 a.m. The location is: Arkansas Hospitality Association 603 Pulaski Street Little Rock, AR Prior to the meeting public comments will be accepted. Comments should be mailed to: Director of Arkansas State Parks One Capitol Mall Little Rock, AR 72201 Verbal comments can be made by calling 501/682-7743. A Legal Notice is currently posted in Newspapers.

I have a very simple and reliable technique for locating a cache. After I have the cache waypoint in my gps I switch map format to UTM and my map datum to NAD27. Now I have a location marked in linear meters instead of angular degrees. When I get near the cache I compare my current location with the location of the cache. By subtracting the Northing and Easting I can determine how many meters N/S and E/W I need to go. I orient myself to the North or South and walk off the calculated distance and then go East or West to get to the cache. Chasing the arrow is a waste of time.

The following link should help. http://mac.usgs.gov/mac/isb/pubs/factsheets/fs03501.html

When did the ranger pick up the cache? I had two caches in State Parks, but I removed them when I got the letter. I sent a reply yesterday so I should hear back in a couple weeks. A couple months ago I met the Governor and Senator Sharon Trusty during the Govenor's boat tour. Theh Gov was pretty busy, but I talked to Senator Trusty about geocaching and she was really into it. It I don't get a favorable response from the Parks director, I will forward all of my coorespondence to the Senator and ask for help.

I have not heard anything. I will send a letter to the Director today.

So where can I download a high resolution copy of this new logo?

It looks like Son of Rubber Toe to me.