Letting somebody know where you are geocaching?

[+Headhardhat]

This is in part out of complete curiosity and also for a blog post I would like to write. So here goes.

 

We as geocachers can be at great personal risk while geocaching. Meaning we are out in the woods, deserts, mountains, swamps, etc. many times alone and in secluded areas.

 

My question is, How do you communicate where you are geocaching in such areas to others. Is there a game plan for if you somehow get hurt? Phone is obvious but not always available..

 

Thanks,

 

HHH

[+bittsen]

This is in part out of complete curiosity and also for a blog post I would like to write. So here goes.

 

We as geocachers can be at great personal risk while geocaching. Meaning we are out in the woods, deserts, mountains, swamps, etc. many times alone and in secluded areas.

 

My question is, How do you communicate where you are geocaching in such areas to others. Is there a game plan for if you somehow get hurt? Phone is obvious but not always available..

 

Thanks,

 

HHH

 

Gawd always knows where I am.

 

[+the_bell_dingers]

I think there is a way the gov. can track the gps signals and find the bod... I mean...

[+JJTally]

We usually don't, but a good way a lot of people can find out where I am at is when I use Textmark. Each cache I log through texting gets posted to my Facebook page. Just follow the dots.

[+simpjkee]

If I'm in the city I just go cache without notifying anyone for it is relatively unnecessary.

 

If I'm going out in deserty areas bordering cities for half a day or something, then I usually just text my folks and other family to let them know what area I'll be in. In those areas, the desert is relatively flat so its pretty easy to see houses and stuff so getting lost isn't that concerning. Of course I'll always have my GPS. Plus cell phone strength is not an issue so if by chance I got hurt, as long as my phone survived the accident, I could call for help easily. After I'm done running around, I always text my parents again to let them know I'm returning home. If they don't get a "I'm done" text, then they know something might be up.

 

If I'm going for an all day long hike "in the wild" where I'm likely to be the only one on the trail and signs of civilization are next to nil and cell phone reception is shotty, then I'll talk to my folks beforehand for sure. I'll let them know exactly where I'm going. I'll typically print out cache pages for the caches I'm going to and I'll give them a copy of the map I'll be using for the hike. In the past, I'd lay out my itinerary like "I expect this cache to be the 1/4 point at 10am. This cache (or spot on the trail map) will be the halfway point between 12:45pm and 1:15pm, etc." Then during the hike, if cell phone signal is working, I can text my folks and say "12:54p at halfway point. Everything is good!" and they'll know exactly where I am and at what time.

 

Mostly, I hike with other people on the hardcore hikes and am alone only when running around the borders between the city and desert. Or I'll hike the popular mountains in Phoenix alone where people are all over the place. I've only done a hardcore hike alone a couple of times.

 

So far, I haven't had any problems to speak of so I think my parents are a little more at ease with me going out caching in the desert compared to when I first started and was pretty new to it all.

[Chumpo]

When my wife is with me we pretty much stick to non-hazardous caching, but if I'm off alone on a higher terrain cache, you're darn right I tell her where I am going and when I expect to be back. Even in an area where I know from previous experience that I'll have cell-phone coverage, who knows what could happen? I just might smash it during that painful descent (that I do my best to avoid).

[+Wogus!]

If I know I'm going to be hiking the deep back country, I put a sign on my fridge with my parking and destination coords and my date of departure. If I don't show up at my office some Monday morning, I figure by Thursday or Friday the work will have piled up sufficiently to warrant breaking down my door so I can either A) get rescued from whatever perilous situation I've managed to get myself into, or have whatever is left of my mortal remains collected. Hopefully the former but you never know.

[+bramasoleiowa]

I let someone know what general areas I'll be in, and I take my SPOT with me on tracking feature so if I don't return or report back by a certain time I can send an "OK" message or someone can check my tracking to make sure I haven't spent the last 2hrs at the bottom of a ravine/cliff 30ft from getting a smiley.

[+flask]

i do not tell people where i am going other than to narrow it down to a half dozen or so states.

 

then my friends run a pool on where i am.

[+TexasGringo]

There are always people in the Dallas Area parking lots when I get those Skirt Lifting Micros....so they can assist me when I get lost.

[knowschad]

i do not tell people where i am going other than to narrow it down to a half dozen or so states.

 

then my friends run a pool on where i am.

 

 

Funny, except I suspect it is 100% true!!

 

 

Divide the number of states by two and you're getting close for me. I carry my cellphone, but that's about it. Not sayin' that it isn't a great idea to notify someone... my mother would surely have approved... but I'm just disobedient, I guess. Besides, most of my caching is done in pretty safe situations (famous last words...? I hope not!)

[+flask]

i do not tell people where i am going other than to narrow it down to a half dozen or so states.

 

then my friends run a pool on where i am.

 

 

Funny, except I suspect it is 100% true!!

 

 

 

i'm bringing back presents for the winners!

 

i'll be out for a month. the trick is to guess closest to where i am for church on sunday. while typically i am in southern vermont/ new hampshire/ western mass/ central NY and the adirondacks, i have ranged as far as harrisburg PA, northern maine, virginia, and ontario.

 

if you've ever woken up in a parking lot in connecticut and suddenly decided that you MUST go find some caches in maine today, you understand.

 

i can't tell people where i'm going; i never know until i'm on the way. besides. it would queer the contest if i told anyone.

[knowschad]

if you've ever woken up in a parking lot in connecticut and suddenly decided that you MUST go find some caches in maine today, you understand.

 

i can't tell people where i'm going; i never know until i'm on the way. besides. it would queer the contest if i told anyone.

 

 

I believe you, but curious why your muse would limit you to that little corner of the world. Don't you ever wake up in a parking lot and suddenly decide that you MUST go find caches in Belgium?

 

 

Come to think of it, if I were spending the night in a parking lot in Connecticut, I'd probably wake up and decide that I MUST see if there's a cache at the nearest Perkins, but hey... I'm not you.

[+Unkle Fester]

There are always people in the Dallas Area parking lots when I get those Skirt Lifting Micros....so they can assist me when I get lost.

Huh, last time I fell out of a horses saddle, my foot got tangled in the stirrup causing me to get bounced around by the horse trotting on. Just before I lost conciousness thinking this was the end, Frank the Wal-Mart greeter came over and unplugged the horse.

 

I usually leave a route (generally) with the wife.

 

a couple weeks ago I woke up and decided I just had to drive 350 miles to grab a cache in Canada...

[knowschad]

There are always people in the Dallas Area parking lots when I get those Skirt Lifting Micros....so they can assist me when I get lost.

Huh, last time I fell out of a horses saddle, my foot got tangled in the stirrup causing me to get bounced around by the horse trotting on. Just before I lost conciousness thinking this was the end, Frank the Wal-Mart greeter came over and unplugged the horse.

 

(words can't express!)

[+the_bell_dingers]

LOL

[+bramasoleiowa]

a couple weeks ago I woke up and decided I just had to drive 350 miles to grab a cache in Canada...

 

When I get back to Oregon for my leave, this just might happen one morning. And it will be hard to explain to the loved ones that I came back from Iraq to go to Canada for a smiley.

..maybe I'm getting cacher's withdrawl or something.

[+popokiiti]

a couple weeks ago I woke up and decided I just had to drive 350 miles to grab a cache in Canada...

 

When I get back to Oregon for my leave, this just might happen one morning. And it will be hard to explain to the loved ones that I came back from Iraq to go to Canada for a smiley.

..maybe I'm getting cacher's withdrawl or something.

 

Well, let us know if you're up this way for a smiley...'k? Of course, you could always bring the loved ones along too!!

[+Knight2000]

When we go everyone important is with us. If something happens always fire shots in threes.

[+flask]

 

 

I believe you, but curious why your muse would limit you to that little corner of the world. Don't you ever wake up in a parking lot and suddenly decide that you MUST go find caches in Belgium?

 

 

i am limited to places to which i can drive. while theoretically i COULD drive to alaska, the randomness of my travel makes it unlikely.

 

and i just won't get on a plane, nor a ship.

[+The Blorenges]

On two occasions cachers have phoned me to let me know they were going to a difficult cache and have said something like, "If I don't phone you back by X o'clock, can you alert the rescue services for me, please?"

 

One was for a cache in a long disused railway tunnel which had some damaged manholes covers along the route where an ill-judged step could mean a drop of 4ft and a nasty injury.

 

The other was for cave cache which I'd done in the past - not a particularly deep cave, just a low crawl for a few yards - but it was a sensible precaution to let someone (me) know that they were in there.

 

In both cases I'm pleased to say that I received the necessary "all clear" phone call well befoore the deadline!

 

MrsB

[+Okiebryan]

Recently I went after a cache on an island out in the middle of a small lake. I estimated I would need to swim 800' each way to get the cache. I called another cacher before I went into the water, and gave him the coords, telling him if he didn't hear from me in 90 minutes, call some help.

 

I made it about 200' before the wind picked up and made forward progress ridiculously tiring and slow, so I turned back.

 

That cache is still unfound. I need to borrow a kayak.

[knowschad]

Recently I went after a cache on an island out in the middle of a small lake. I estimated I would need to swim 800' each way to get the cache. I called another cacher before I went into the water, and gave him the coords, telling him if he didn't hear from me in 90 minutes, call some help.

 

I made it about 200' before the wind picked up and made forward progress ridiculously tiring and slow, so I turned back.

 

That cache is still unfound. I need to borrow a kayak.

 

 

After 90 minutes I don't think he'd need to hurry. In a situation like that, you should really have a buddy right there to watch you!

[+Okiebryan]

Recently I went after a cache on an island out in the middle of a small lake. I estimated I would need to swim 800' each way to get the cache. I called another cacher before I went into the water, and gave him the coords, telling him if he didn't hear from me in 90 minutes, call some help.

 

I made it about 200' before the wind picked up and made forward progress ridiculously tiring and slow, so I turned back.

 

That cache is still unfound. I need to borrow a kayak.

 

 

After 90 minutes I don't think he'd need to hurry. In a situation like that, you should really have a buddy right there to watch you!

 

Well, I am 40... you may have a point. The fact that I was alone was why I turned back when I did. But in all honesty, I'm lifeguard trained, and can rest in a lake for more than an hour if I have a cramp or something. I know because I had to do it less than 5 years ago.

[+bittsen]

Well, I am 40... you may have a point. The fact that I was alone was why I turned back when I did. But in all honesty, I'm lifeguard trained, and can rest in a lake for more than an hour if I have a cramp or something. I know because I had to do it less than 5 years ago.

 

Having had lifeguard training you should know better than to do what you did.

[+Okiebryan]

 

Having had lifeguard training you should know better than to do what you did.

 

Yeah, those "should have known better"s are a b**ch, aren't they? All's well that ends well. I'm still trying to figure out a good way to claim FTF on that cache that doesn't involve me buying a boat.

 

Edited because I broke the quotey code thingey.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Okiebryan

[+flask]

Well, I am 40... you may have a point. The fact that I was alone was why I turned back when I did. But in all honesty, I'm lifeguard trained, and can rest in a lake for more than an hour if I have a cramp or something. I know because I had to do it less than 5 years ago.

 

Having had lifeguard training you should know better than to do what you did.

 

no, having lifeguard training means that he's better able to assess his risk and act accordingly.

 

many people, fully informed, still prefer to take the risk.

 

more power to them.