Call me a Doubting Thomas

[+orange]

Okay, I may try this but frankly I don't get the appeal. Looking at some near me I have a good idea where they are. Near the railroad station, on top of the hill, along the railroad tracks.

 

So let me see:

 

I go hunt down this metal disk, or nail, or rock.

Which may or may not be there and no one is maintaining it.

If I find it I take a picture.

I load it up on website and write about my adventure.

 

Or I geocache:

 

I go hunt down this box.

I open it up. Gee, this feels like a surprise, what is in there?

May be I take something and leave something.

I log my visit and see who else has been here.

Now I visit a nice park (hopefully).

Then I write about my adventure on the website and see how it compares to others.

 

If I stumble on a benchmark I may log them but I'll stick to the fun of geocaching.

[+BrownMule & Jackrabbit]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Orange:

Okay, I may try this but frankly I don't get the appeal. Looking at some near me I have a good idea where they are. Near the railroad station, on top of the hill, along the railroad tracks.

 

---

 

If we all liked the same things, this would be a very boring world. I like it myself. I might not make a day of hunting markers but I will keep a record of them and hit them at appropriate times. I have also found some very interesting ones near me. Like the one on top of a 121' high cross and two in lighthouses. I can understand that this ain't your bag but I rather like it.

 

ENJOY THE OUTDOORS

[+rdw]

For me, a hunt is a hunt. These "little metal disks" can be alot harder to find than a geocache. I get a good feeling when I find one of these markers, like I'm taking care of something that nobody else has the time or inclination to do. There is also the thrill of finding a marker that has been reported missing. I found one sitting in the front lawn of Mattoon City Hall that was reported missing in 1984. I also had the opportunity to find a marker that had not been recovered since the very early 1900's. It was a railroad spike embedded in a concrete train bridge that the rails had been removed from many years before. Little bit of satisfaction for me.

 

Also, this is a great opportunity for handicapped geocachers, teams with young children, and for people who have exhausted the caches in their immediate area.

 

rdw

[+Markwell]

You could look at it as a training exercise. These things are supposedly pretty precise in their posted coordinates. If I can find a little metal disk that was placed there years ago, I should be able to find a box somebody placed months ago.

 

You could look at it as a verification of the accuracy of your GPSr, although Kerry would certainly disagree. When I found one of these thingies a while back, my GPS said it was 3 feet away while it was sitting on top of it. Not bad anectdotal evidence.

 

How many times have we all said, TN/LN/SL? How would this be any different, except that these things weren't put out specifically for the coolness of the location.

 

I also went out and found these during lean months. There was a period in the Chicago area where the only new caches were being placed way north of Chicago, too far for me to drive. Alternative would be to have a little fun and see if these still exist.

 

Markwell

My Geocaching Page

[teamwsmf]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Orange:

Okay, I may try this but frankly I don't get the appeal. Looking at some near me I have a good idea where they are. Near the railroad station, on top of the hill, along the railroad tracks.

---

 

If you look at stuff like Geodashing and even MinuteWar you will see a nice sized group of folks into hitting marks either for the sake of hitting marks or for reaching a goal of a game.

 

I myself dont much care for geodashing but loved minute war evolution 1. I still dig geocaching proper the best though.

 

I think the benchmarking will probably be used for things yet unthought of ...in fact I could well see a Minute War type game comming of it.

 

-tom

 

----------------------------

TeamWSMF@wsmf.org

[+Silly Dilly Duo]

I can't tell you how long I've searched for a list of benchmarks.

 

I fancy myself a pretty good Cyber Slueth, but couldn't find a list of benchmarks....now I'm really excited.

 

start a thread in the other form on minute war...I have no Idea of what you are talking about.

[+infosponge]

While some of these marks are easy to find, you may be suprised at what you find along the way. I hunted a mark less than a mile from my house and found a wonderful little park with a "hidden" boardwalk and a nice view of a huge lake in the area. I've driven by that park before but would have never stopped there because it looked small and seedy. Once I got to the benchmark I saw the real appeal of the place.

[+infosponge]

While some of these marks are easy to find, you may be suprised at what you find along the way. I hunted a mark less than a mile from my house and found a wonderful little park with a "hidden" boardwalk and a nice view of a huge lake in the area. I've driven by that park before but would have never stopped there because it looked small and seedy. Once I got to the benchmark I saw the real appeal of the place.

[+Bluespreacher]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Orange:

Okay, I may try this but frankly I don't get the appeal. Looking at some near me I have a good idea where they are. Near the railroad station, on top of the hill, along the railroad tracks.

 

So let me see:

 

I go hunt down this metal disk, or nail, or rock.

Which may or may not be there and no one is maintaining it.

If I find it I take a picture.

I load it up on website and write about my adventure.

 

Or I geocache:

 

I go hunt down this box.

I open it up. Gee, this feels like a surprise, what is in there?

May be I take something and leave something.

I log my visit and see who else has been here.

Now I visit a nice park (hopefully).

Then I write about my adventure on the website and see how it compares to others.

 

If I stumble on a benchmark I may log them but I'll stick to the fun of geocaching.

---

 

Oh, sure, it's silly. Just as silly as anything else, I guess.

 

Here's a thought: If this info gets to be archived in a permenant form it will make up a historical record. In 20, 50 years folks will be able to check a very specific point and see what was there at that time. Of course, datum aren't all that permenant, but it's still fun!

 

Bluespreacher