August statistics

[holograph]

The statistics for August are available at the statistics page.

 

I wasn't able to pull the Florida NGS data from the NGS site because of persistent errors when attempting to access that state. All other states' data was obtained with no problems.

 

The maps have also been updated. It looks like someone made a trip to northern Alaska and bagged the first recoveries from that region. Good work!

 

[mloser]

Darn you PFF! You retained your number 2 status in NGS recoveries. I meant to put in a couple of summer days all month and simply never got around to it. But I doubt I would have changed my status at all anyway. Chances are I won't ever catch you again. I am just out of things in my area, and have reduced myself to climbing mountains for no particular reason (well, I thought I had a reason at the time!)

[GH55]

Thanks for the updates!

 

I always look forward to them.

[+PFF]

mloser wrote:

 

Chances are I won't ever catch you again. I am just out of things in my area, and have reduced myself to climbing mountains for no particular reason (well, I thought I had a reason at the time!)

 

LOL! My August recoveries were three to five stations at a time, as I moved around the state doing Real Estate deals. I'm surprised it totalled so many, by the end of the month.

 

Perhaps it's time to plan a benchmark hunting vacation, like Seventhings and ArtMan occasionally do. [grin.] Meanwhile, have you looked at areas you covered in the past? I was looking for new marks to search for near Chapel Hill and noticed a half-dozen marks that I recovered a year and a half ago, but which never got into the NGS data base, for whatever reason. Ditto for a three-disk station in Raleigh. I'm planning to run past these again to do a current verification, and then I will submit them. (That assures me of at least ten finds for September--heh heh). Check to see if the same thing happened in your area.

 

As for that mountain you climbed, did you notice in the photo contest thread that one of our members hiked 8.4 miles, roundtrip, to recover a single disk? Without question, both he and you (along with PassingWind and a few others) deserve to be at the top of the list for the effort expended!

 

-Paul-

[+Ernmark]

Perhaps it's time to plan a benchmark hunting vacation, like Seventhings and ArtMan occasionally do. [grin.]

 

.. I think I mentioned that to him awhile back - the Eastern Shore towns are awash with tidal benchmarks! Also if you like self-abuse, there are tri-stations in the middle of mud flats only accessible by canoe or kayak ! Of course, a lot of the marks may have already been submitted to the NGS by GEOCAC (we've saved some of the hard ones in the flats!)

 

..also in shore towns, you can drop off the non-believing spouse at a shop named "Gull Things Considered" or similar while you hunt...

 

...from looking @ the maps - a vacation in North Dakota may be in order!

Edited September 7, 2006 by Ernmark

[mloser]

I HAVE been planning to take a few days off and hunt--not far from home, but not real close either. I just haven't done it yet. The summer hunting has been tough around here. The weeds are just crazy and I have seen poison ivy with leaves as large as my hand. I have also been "cleaning up" my local counties--trying to finish looking for the marks I haven't gotten to yet and that often means spending a lot more time on each mark--a mile hike up an abandoned rail line, a 900 foot vertical climb in 90 degree weather, a quick scurry down a railroad embankment, then a run up the tracks, quick pic and back up the hill (yeah, I did that, and had to hide from a train while I did it). These marks take anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours, so my bph (benchmark per hour) rate is low for that day. In Lebanon County (for those of you paying attention to the other thread about having a bad day, Lebanon is pronounced Leb' nun or, in Pennsylvania Dutch, Lep' nun, not Leb-uh-nun.) There I only have about 5 more marks to look for.

I hope to get out a bit more in the fall, but that remains to be seen.

[andylphoto]

All those pronunciations and you still didn't hit on the correct one! Of course, we ain't got no Lebanon up in da U.P. here, but if we did, the you'd say it "LEB uh non, eh?

 

Hopefully I'll have a few good days of benchmark hunting this fall. I've loaded up a couple of good runs up county roads not too far away from home. My wife enjoys getting out and taking pictures, so I've suggested a benchmark run during fall color season. I stop to hunt benchmarks and she can get out of the car and take photos at each location, then a picnic lunch and some sight-seeing at the end. Hopefully that one pans out and I'll get some good recoveries in September or October.

[+PFF]

A big Ten-Four on the poison ivy. I had to drop by an Urgent Care facility on Wednesday to get an injection and a prescription for an ointment. Whew! It's been a bumper crop, this year!

 

But I found the mark I was looking for!

 

-Paul-

[mloser]

Paul,

I keep a small bottle of Tecnu at home for just such an occasion. Tecnu is a cleaner that claims to remove poison ivy oils up to 6 hours after you have contacted the plant. While this goes against what I heard from doctors, including experts in the field (I was told that after 15 minutes without cleaning you were getting the rash no matter what you did), the results I get are phenomenal. I have reduced or eliminated what would have been some nasty rashes by using Tecnu.

This year I have been smarter, or luckier, than previous years, and have only gotten one small case of poison ivy.

[+PFF]

RE: Tecnu

 

Wow! Great suggestion! I'm sure others will benefit from this, as well.

 

Is this an over-the-counter product at a pharmacy?

 

-Paul-

[mloser]

It is available OTC. You can find it with the other poison ivy remedies. For more information on the company's products go to Tec Labs. They offer an "extreme" version of Tecnu as well as other PI related products. I go through about one $5.00 bottle a season, which seems like a small price to pay for the results.

 

A couple other products by other vendors promise different things--one you put on BEFORE you go into the PI and it prevents the oil from getting on your skin. Since I am too stupid to even take water before climbing a mountain I know I would never successfully use this product when I needed it, so I have never tried. Another claims to clear up the rash AFTER you get it. I actually tried that one a couple of years ago and didn't see any signficant results for my $20.00 investment.

 

Edited for content and to fit your screen.

TV14

Edited September 8, 2006 by mloser

[+YeOleImposter]

Since I am too stupid to even take water before climbing a mountain ...

 

Glad I am not the only one , although my last hike 3 1/2 hours up, 2+ hours down, I did make sure that we each carried 3 liters of water in our pack. Wish I had brought an extra pair of legs!

[+Ernmark]

..so I just got done uploading pix from a Benchmarking Vacation® in Southern NJ & I have a shot I took for mloser:

 

 

...almost has a sinister beauty !

 

It looks like it really grew nice this year @ the Jersey Shore...and of course, I ended up standing in it at least twice (but somehow managed not to get any)! (it was the MOSQUITOES that did me in!)

[+Klemmer]

BIG 10 - 4 on the Tecnu! GREAT stuff. Out west here we have Poison Oak, but it is really the same stuff - it just grows into giant bushes & climbing vines instead of ivy. I keep the giant size (12 oz or so) bottle of Tecnu in the SHOWER, and smaller bottles in my pack & jeep. It is actually unavoidable sometimes out here, so I just grin & bear it, wipe down hands & butt before geting in the jeep, and shower tecnu at home. It WORKS! Also, don't forget to wipe down any equipment (poles, shoes, etc.) you had with you, with Tecnu of course, or you will give it back to youself the next week. The nasty oil is "hot" for weeks on gear.

[+PFF]

Also, don't forget to wipe down any equipment (poles, shoes, etc.) you had with you, with Tecnu of course, or you will give it back to youself the next week. The nasty oil is "hot" for weeks on gear.

 

Great suggestion! I had not thought of that!

 

-Paul-

[+Bad_CRC]

 

 

 

 

eek!

 

 

I have nightmares of that image.

 

course, I usually get poison ivy the worst in the spring after the sap starts flowing, but before there are those leaves to warn me away.