PaulWhy

I've heard from the EBRPD that geocachers have cut fences before, but this just doesn't make sense to me. I never carry any fence cutters when geocaching, have you? If fact, I can't imagine any real geocacher thinking "I'm going geocaching, I'll grab my fence cutters, and I'm outta here!". We don't do that. We grab our GPS, a few trade trinkets and maybe a flashlight or mosquito repellant. OK, we also take our signature stamps, a camera, a pen, a trash out bag, a water bottle... Who has room in their pack for fence cutters? This is probably mis-information of the 'Urban Legend' type. Someone once thought that maybe a geocacher cut a fence and then it gets passed around as a true story. If someone was cutting fences, it was a vandal, not a geocacher. Maybe even a U of Idaho Vandal! Paul

I spoke to the Point Pinole Park Supervisor yesterday. He was very nice, very polite, and a bit apologetic. He said that he is an employee of the parks and must follow the direction of his superiors, and they told him to remove the caches. He said that he can not allow the caches to be replaced until his superiors allow him to do this. He said that his superiors do not allow geocaches because they are worried about possible liability created by the caches. He made a big point that the parks belong to the people of the east bay and are paid for with money provided by the people of the east bay. He and all park district employees are simply caretakers of the park and responsible for spending the money that runs the park. He said that the EBRPD has been very good at reducing their liability and have not been spending much of our money on lawsuits or damages due due negligence. Therfore, until it is shown that geocaching is more of a benefit than a liability, then they will not be allowed. He said the park district is a bit bureaucratic and that it is difficult for employees to get policy changes. He said it is far easier for citizens to get policy changes. He recommended we contact the board of directors and ask for a change. http://www.ebparks.org/district/board.htm This Park Supervisor really has the best interests of the park and the citizens of the east bay at heart, and I believe there are a lot of others like him in the park system. I think that if we show the board that the benefits of Geocaching to the east bay far exceeds the liability, then they will be allowed. JHorner and ALemley: You can add my name to the list. I can Help. PaulWhy

People who disturb structures, cut fences, or dig sensitve habitat are not geocaching. They are vandalizing. These things are not part of geocaching. Geocachers do not condone these behaviors.

Last week, rangers removed the 'Dynamite Beach' and 'Pinole Cat' Geocaches from Point Pinole Regional Park. Today, Tadcoolr and I went to the park to retrieve our caches. We spoke to some very polite employees. They said it is EBRPD policy to remove geocaches that they know about, but they are not searching for them. They returned our caches to us, and asked that we contact the Point Pinole Park Manager for more information. It was evident from our conversation that there are people in the park district who feel that caches should be allowed, and that Geocaching and Geocachers are actually very beneficial to the parks. We must talk to the policy makers and show them the benefits that geocaching brings to the parks. I will post another note after we have spoken to the Park Manager. Paul

Frys. I cant stand the place, but I buy stuff there all the time. I give it a 12 on a scale of 10 for price and selection, and a -2 on customer service. YUK. Years ago, their Palo Alto store had great customer service. Veni, Vidi, Geocachi

Frys. I cant stand the place, but I buy stuff there all the time. I give it a 12 on a scale of 10 for price and selection, and a -2 on customer service. YUK. Years ago, their Palo Alto store had great customer service. Veni, Vidi, Geocachi

Ive been to many caches in the East Bay and these are the most memorable: Stumped again Stumped These were placed by Chuguy, who (you will find) has way too much geocaching time on his hands. These two are very fun. Many thanks to Chuguy for placing these! There are about 12 other caches in the 2 parks where these are located, so if you like to hike you can multicache your day. Sniff/Safe deposit: Take a walk around the East Bays newest state park, and see some very unusual artwork along the way! If you want a challenging hike (long and steep!) Try King, Queen, or Fly like a beagle, or all three. These are on peaks surrounding Mount Diablo. If you have kids, try the Playground Madness series. You will alternate between caching and playing on playgrounds. Volcanic Labyrinths - Very interesting geology, and several mazes you can walk. Ive enjoyed every cache I have been to in the Bay Area. If you pick one based on the amount of time you have available and the distance you want to drive and hike, Im sure you will have a good time. We are lucky to have a lot of caches to choose from here. Thanks to all the cachers who placed them! PaulWhy Veni, Vidi, Geocachi [This message was edited by PaulWhy on July 30, 2002 at 10:57 AM.]

Ron: Thanks for alerting me to this discussion. Yes, I checked on Sandy Splash back in May, and I DID find it, however I had to dig down in the sand a few inches. This cache is in shifting sand dunes and was buried by natural forces. Any evidence of digging is, of course, covered up in a short amount of time. The baseball card was still there, and looks quite valuable to me. I am worried the cache might be gone, as someone tried to find it the next day and was not successful. I have been planning to check on it again, but havent had the opportunity. I cant believe it got buried that fast. Perhaps I left it too exposed and it was stolen. Also, I tried to make the spoiler a dead givaway, please decode it before you start digging up a 20ft radius circle. It should narrow it down to a 1-2 foot area. If anyone would like an update, watch the cache and I will post when I get the chance to check on it. Veni, Vidi, Geocachi

We have posted pictures from two of our caches on our site at http://member.aol.com/paulwhy1/geocache.html. The pictures from our Mumbo Jumbo Cache camera came out really well. We asked the cachers to make a funny face, and a few did! The pictures from the Girly Cache did not come out so well. There is a lot of tree cover there, and it was too dark for the camera. Enjoy! ----PaulWhy

I am a little concerned about Mountain Lions in the San Francisco East Bay hills where I do most of my caching. I've seen their tracks a couple of times, and jogger got killed by one several years ago in the Sierra foothills. I also see rattle snakes from time to time. I usually carry hiking sticks on long hikes and I consider them protection. I've never needed to ward off a mountain lion or snake, but I use them frequently to ward off the most common danger here - poison oak!

I am a little concerned about Mountain Lions in the San Francisco East Bay hills where I do most of my caching. I've seen their tracks a couple of times, and jogger got killed by one several years ago in the Sierra foothills. I also see rattle snakes from time to time. I usually carry hiking sticks on long hikes and I consider them protection. I've never needed to ward off a mountain lion or snake, but I use them frequently to ward off the most common danger here - poison oak!