GeoAnxieties

[+ThePetersTrio]

A couple of different threads and a conversation tonight has me thinking about anxities and how they may relate to geocaching.

 

I have to admit to being a bit of a germaphobe. This all began with a microbiology course in nursing school. (Don't ever take this course if you are even a little bit concerned about germs - trust me!) But geocaching has really helped me get over my anxiety around dirt and germs. No valium required!

 

Although...being completely honest here, I still hate rummaging around in ivy for caches near the ground. I always find myself thinking about dogs and what they like to do in parks in areas where caches are hidden. EWWWW...

 

I never cache without my hand sanitizing wipes. So maybe it isn't a 100 percent cure. But it is a good 75 percent cure. But I'm still deathly afraid of poison oak. And some of the stories I read around here about ticks. Uh oh...maybe that is only 50 percent cured.

 

So do you have any geo-anxieties? How do you manage them? Or do you?

 

[edit] spelling

Edited July 7, 2011 by ThePetersTrio

[+Sol seaker]

I hate sticking my hand into holes in trees that I can't see into.

 

I stuck my hand into one really quickly and pulled it out FAST and a HUGE spider came right out after it.

 

Since then I've used sticks.

 

I've had HUGE spiders come out after the sticks.

 

I hate that part of caching.

[+Hypnopaedia]

I hate sticking my hand into holes in trees that I can't see into.

 

I stuck my hand into one really quickly and pulled it out FAST and a HUGE spider came right out after it.

 

Since then I've used sticks.

 

I've had HUGE spiders come out after the sticks.

 

I hate that part of caching.

 

Needles Needles Needles. I'm not happy if I run into dog poop or spiders. But I only actually worry about needles. And I've found enough of them in my time.

[+redsox_mark]

Cattle. If caching in the countryside I'm anxious about having to go through a field with cattle (which is common here in the UK).

[+Mr Kaswa]

The nagging thought that maybe I did not hide the container as well as I could have

[+Stompy&Stampy]

Cows - We've had some dodgy experiences with fields of young bulls.

Sticking hands into holes - who knows whats in there!

Wasps - Stompy squeals and runs a mile!

Looking for a cache right outside someone's house - Could you be any more conspicuous?!

Dog poop - dam stuff's everywhere!

 

And yet, we still spend every spare second we have out caching..... Madness? Quite probably!

[+d+n.s]

I had a scorpion waiting for me ina cache with no lid I found once... every since that day, I'm always thinking about about to get stung or bit. Anxiety might be a strong word, but if I had one it would be that... probably a good thing really.

[+GunnerMac]

I hate sticking my hand into holes in trees that I can't see into.

 

I stuck my hand into one really quickly and pulled it out FAST and a HUGE spider came right out after it.

 

Since then I've used sticks.

 

I've had HUGE spiders come out after the sticks.

 

I hate that part of caching.

 

I couldn't agree with you more. I carry flash lights and a stick, both go into any potential geocaching hidey hole before my hand does. This started for me after traveling abroad and finding snakes and scorpions in every nook and cranny.

[+GeoGeeBee]

I hate sticking my hand into holes in trees that I can't see into.

 

This.

 

I absolutely, positively, will not put my bare hand into anyplace that I can't see into.

 

Maybe Wimseyguy will post that picture of what happened when he did that. Snakebites on fingers can leave permanent damage!

[+DragonsWest]

I can deal with ivy.

I can deal with poop.

I can deal with scorpions.

I can deal with back widow spiders.

I can deal with rattlesnakes.

I can deal with driving a passenger car down a road where my body may not be found to 10 years.

 

I get highly anxious urban caching in someone's yard.

[+briansnat]

I'm claustrophobic and have had to enter a few caves and mines to find a cache. I did a multi cave cache over the weekend that really tested me. I thought my heart was going to pop out of my chest.

 

I'm also not too keen on heights. I have a multi cache where the 2nd stage is on an abandoned RR bridge that is high above a gorge and every time I go out there to check on it my legs feel like Jello. And of course of the 3 stages it's the 2nd that gets all of the DNFs forcing me out on the bridge to check on it all too often. There are also some caches I just couldn't do because they put me too close to a ledge or otherwise high up.

[+Ms.Scrabbler]

guard rails - all the bird poop, spider homes, wasps nests, etc. that are under and out of sight. I always have latex gloves in my cache bag, guard rails call for them and sometimes a stick as well.

 

I have a bit of anxiety over a cache I placed a month ago. we've had a lot of rain so I wanted to check for dryness.

 

Started to move the bark placed over the container and a small Copperhead came slithering out. Way, way too close for comfort! I added snakes to the attributes. Never worried about snakes before...but now...

[+Planet]

Falling. Especially from heights. It's not the drop, it's the sudden stop.

I had a cache that I archived after one log after another reported another issue. (Feed Me Seymour, I'm Stahvin!)

Poison Ivy, wasn't too bad, then someone said the ranger mentioned that it was where the copperheads like to sun themselves. Then we found the wolf spiders, and because all of this had to be found on a 5 terrain (from standing in a boat) cache, I kissed it goodbye.

 

And guardrail caches. I'm always afraid they make my butt look fat. Or me look stupid.

Lamp post/parking lot caches, always afraid that the easy terrain cache I'm heading to might be one of those and I wasted my very expensive gas only to find out I wasn't going to be searching for the cache after all.

 

And I'm anxious when night caching, because I don't see so well at night, I would never do that alone.

[+GeoReapers]

I can deal with ivy.

I can deal with poop.

I can deal with scorpions.

I can deal with back widow spiders.

I can deal with rattlesnakes.

I can deal with driving a passenger car down a road where my body may not be found to 10 years.

 

I get highly anxious urban caching in someone's yard.

+1

There are very few areas that I will not go and very few injuries that I am not willing to risk, but caching on someone's front yard always feels a little too invasive for me.

[+larryc43230]

I couldn't agree with you more. I carry flash lights and a stick, both go into any potential geocaching hidey hole before my hand does. This started for me after traveling abroad and finding snakes and scorpions in every nook and cranny.

My girlfriend has watched me as I poked a stick into a hidey hole in a tree, many times. Her general impression was that I was very likely to make the critter mad just before poking my arm in.

 

--Larry

[+R.O.B]

I don't have too much anxiety about bugs, spiders, poison ivy etc. Even the wildlife doesn't really cause much anxiety either. The coyotes, bobcats, snakes and whatnot that I've encountered were more cool than anything else.

 

It may sound silly but my main anxiety comes from worrying about my car. Even though it has never happened to me, for some reason I am always worrying that somebody is messing with my car at the trailhead. So now, whenever possible, I will have my wife or daughter drop me off at the trailhead and come back to get me. That way I can hike and explore without that worry over my head.

[+Viajero Perdido]

I grew up at a time when we kids could disappear for the entire day, have all sorts of adventures, and as long as we were home in time for dinner, it was all okay. All sorts of things happened to me, scrapes, burns, bites, you name it. None of it killed me, and maybe (by today's standards) it made me tough. Maybe it made me comfortable with exploring, poking, and prodding. Probably. As an adult, I wander the world with confidence.

 

But dogs, I had a few run-ins with those as a kid. Maybe that's why nowadays I always cache with a sharp-pointed hiking pole. With confidence.

[+L0ne.R]

So do you have any geo-anxieties? How do you manage them? Or do you?

 

I used to be afraid to go walking in forests. Now I find them calming and refreshing (but I still don't like being caught in the middle of the woods at sundown even with a flashlight).

I used to be nervous about driving outside of the town I live in and especially nervous about taking major highways and really nervous about driving in Toronto. Now I don't break a sweat when I get on the on-ramp and I drive to Toronto regularly for a caching adventure.

[+RhinoInAToga]

We haven't hidden very many caches, & maybe that's why the nagging worry is so intense. Maybe it will die down in the future...but I always worry about the kids.

I worry about where we hid it, are there rusty objects a kid could fall on? Are there snakes that could bite them? Is there a hiding place for a dangerous person the kid would never have run into otherwise?

The adults should know enough to be relatively safe, but the kids, depending on age, just don't know how to handle certain things. I *should* trust their parents' judgment & stop worrying. But I don't. I feel like it would (ultimately) be us bringing them to that place, putting them in that situation. Oh, bother.

Like I said, hopefully that will die down with time.

[+Sithlock Holmes]

I can deal with ivy.

I can deal with poop.

I can deal with scorpions.

I can deal with back widow spiders.

I can deal with rattlesnakes.

I can deal with driving a passenger car down a road where my body may not be found to 10 years.

 

I get highly anxious urban caching in someone's yard.

+1

There are very few areas that I will not go and very few injuries that I am not willing to risk, but caching on someone's front yard always feels a little too invasive for me.

 

I've never felt more anxious caching as I did with someone's yard cache.

We left because the uncomfortable was too much to handle.

[mresoteric]

So do you have any geo-anxieties? How do you manage them? Or do you?

 

 

Underwater roots. I'll let you know when I get back out in the swamp.

[+JL_HSTRE]

I don't like sticking my hand anywhere I can't see. Snakes, spiders, wasps. I do often carry some work gloves to use for such situations.

 

I don't like moldy logs for gross/healty reasons, but I've learned to deal with them.

 

I keep some hand sanitizer in my geo-mobile and a sanitizer wipes in my geo-backpack.

[+awopcxet]

i'm anxious to caches who are placed in a area where it are always atleast 1 person who can look at me

[+FolsomNatural]

Oh, you've hit the nail on the head, and described my fears exactly.

 

I've gotten poison oak TWICE in 4 weeks and I am VERY allergic to it, so no fun

rummaging in bushes for me.

I STILL enjoy the sport though.

 

Some cures:

 

Always carry wet wipes.

Carry a walking stick that can be used to probe dark places.

Carry a flashlight at all times.

 

I always read the cache attributes and skip those that report poison oak and ticks.

I have gravitated towards the more urban caches, such as magnetics and nanos.

 

Keep the faith!

[+Warturtle]

Even though I cache alone in (somewhat) remote areas, I still do a fair amount of bouldering, or even rock climbing without ropes and never think twice about it. I always dread the thought of losing my ATV keys out of my pocket though. They come out all the time when I pull other things out (coords, GPS, phone, etc), but thus far I've noticed it every time. One of these days I am going to lose them and it will be a multi-day search party to find them.

[sabrefan7]

Arachnophobia Nothing like seeing a Brown Recluse to give you a permanent case of the spider willy's With the job I have germs don't bother me. Although I hate touching door handles during the cold and flu season

[+Catydid]

I've gotten poison oak four times in the 8 months we have been caching--not fun for about 9 days or so a pop.

I had a tick on my head just a week ago--a latched on one!

I have put my fingers in places I just find hard to believe. (Can't remember to get the dang gloves!)

We found a baby rattler not too long ago near a dnf we spent much time at. Seems their venom may be worse . . . .

 

I do worry about black widows, but I have found lots in our yard and infrequently in the house. I hate webby cache sites. Guard rails are just not fun anymore for lots of reasons.

I worry about loose dogs wandering near cache sites--doesn't happen often luckily.

Yeah, I got a degree in Microbiology and was phobic for a while. The wipes do the trick now. It's more scary flushing in public restrooms . . . .

Got grossed out at a cache full of earwigs this weekend--I HATE earwigs.

Foxtails are driving us nuts lately. They come back to haunt your shoes for weeks!

I do sometimes worry about losing the car keys or the car.

Most of the time, the fun erases the worries and I don't fret at all.

[+dfx]

Spiderwebs. Now it's not that I'm scared of them, I just hate the feeling of touching/walking through them. Especially when I get them in my face. arrgghhh!

(I don't mind spiders at all though.)

 

Dogs. Also not to the point of being scared of them, but I don't like it at all when an unleashed dog comes charging at me. Or just stands there and barks at me with no owner in sight.

 

Oh and since last weekend, swans.

Edited July 7, 2011 by dfx

[+Ambrosia]

I always think that I would never put my hands in a place that I can't see into, and then I always end up doing it. It upsets me the whole time, but I still do it. Fortunately nothing bad has happened to me so far.

 

The worst experience was caching in the rainforest in Queensland. I kept hearing warnings in my head about funnel web spiders (one of the most dangerous spiders in the world), and the heap of moist dead tree trunk that I was rummaging through seemed like a perfect habitat for them. We did a lot of things our Australian family warned us against, like being in funnel web habitat (although they found one in their house just before we visited), and not swimming in the fresh water in the north, because of salties.

 

Well, fortunately I found the cache and not a funnel web, although I got a leech on me and I almost walked into a golden orb weaver web that was at least seven feet wide and the spider was right in my face and larger than my husband's (a 6'5" guy) hand. I think that caching in Australia will cure you of any bug and insect (not to mention snakes) issues. If you live through that, you can live through anything. Of course, people aren't dying off all the time over there, so it can't be all that bad. On our first visit over there in '95, people were in awe that people in the U.S. felt comfortable wandering around outside with all the bears, so it goes both ways.

 

We're fortunate that the only things that are poisonous in our area are black widows and rattlesnakes.

 

I've posted the orb weaver picture here before, but I've decided to post it again, just to add to the ambiance of the thread :

 

Golden Orb Weaver by Ambrosia_apples, on Flickr

 

Quite harmless, but I couldn't convince my body of that! I wanted my husband to put his hand up next to it to get a perspective on it's size, and he really did try! But his body just wouldn't allow him to get that close. These spiders eat birds, for goodness sake!

Edited July 7, 2011 by Ambrosia

[+jellis]

Having a cacher post an Archive Request on my caches instead of maintenance request because they can't find it

[+tzipora]

I've got a not-quite-irrational fear of coming across a dead homeless person while caching in a city park.

[sabrefan7]

On our first visit over there in '95, people were in awe that people in the U.S. felt comfortable wandering around outside with all the bears, so it goes both ways.

When you camp in the Adirondacks and Allegany State Park in New York. A lot of people go looking for Black Bears I would have less stress if I was 5 ft from a sow than that spider you had in that pic you posted

Edited July 8, 2011 by sabrefan7

[AZcachemeister]

My magor anxiety is that the previous finder will state that their five-year-old found it, but I will DNF.

[+BaylorGrad]

I won't put my hand into a place that I can't see. If I can't see it, I'm not touching there. Has this cost me a few DNFs? Probably. Has it also saved me multiple stings, bites, etc? Absolutely.

 

I also dislike caching in other cachers' yards, as others have mentioned.

 

And frankly, I'm not too squimish with bugs, UNTIL they buzz in my ear. Don't care if it's a bee, fly, mosquito, or whatever. If it buzzes in my ear, I take off running. And God help me if the sweat bees find me.

 

I think that's about it.

[+DontPanic67]

I can deal with ivy.

I can deal with poop.

I can deal with scorpions.

I can deal with back widow spiders.

I can deal with rattlesnakes.

I can deal with driving a passenger car down a road where my body may not be found to 10 years.

 

I get highly anxious urban caching in someone's yard.

+1

There are very few areas that I will not go and very few injuries that I am not willing to risk, but caching on someone's front yard always feels a little too invasive for me.

 

I've never felt more anxious caching as I did with someone's yard cache.

We left because the uncomfortable was too much to handle.

 

I've left several caches in front of houses too. It's just something

that freaks me and my family out having strangers wander around the

house so I try to extend the same respect to others. Another

type I've passed on is the cache in front of a restaurant window, having

all those muggles watching while I lift a lamp skirt or rummage through

a bush, no thanks!

[+Ambrosia]

On our first visit over there in '95, people were in awe that people in the U.S. felt comfortable wandering around outside with all the bears, so it goes both ways.

When you camp in the Adirondacks and Allegany State Park in New York. A lot of people go looking for Black Bears I would have less stress if I was 5 ft from a sow than that spider you had in that pic you posted

It's funny how relative it all can be.

[+The_Incredibles_]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned battery-anxiety...

 

GPS Batteries dying (and replacement batteries dead too) when in the middle of nowhere

Flashlight batteries dying during a night cache

DNFs (especially when someone with 3 finds just found it easily)

Stingling Nettles

Poisonous Spiders

Creepy people hiding in the bushes

Urban caches

Cougars

Falling off a cliff (and worse yet, surviving)

[+NYPaddleCacher]

On our first visit over there in '95, people were in awe that people in the U.S. felt comfortable wandering around outside with all the bears, so it goes both ways.

When you camp in the Adirondacks and Allegany State Park in New York. A lot of people go looking for Black Bears I would have less stress if I was 5 ft from a sow than that spider you had in that pic you posted

 

I haven't encountered a black bear yet while out geocaching but I did come across some large bear prints in between the stages of a multi cache that's about 20 miles from me and my in-laws saw a bear last year walk through their property (25 wooded acres about four miles from where I live) but I've never had any anxiety over seeing a bear.

 

I'm surprised that nobody has mention it so far, but: ticks.

[Clan Riffster]

This all began with a microbiology course in nursing school.

My sister is a nurse, and credits this course with why she became a vegetarian.

 

Germs have never really bothered me. I figure I'm building up some stellar antibodies. Neither have critters. I spend as much of my caching time as is practical in swamps bristling with all manner of critters, so being phobic would run afoul of my love for these places.

 

That being said, I do have two very specific phobias, which could, someday, have an effect on how I cache.

 

My first phobia is falling. Oddly enough, heights don't bother me. I am perfectly at home climbing trees, cell phone towers, rock walls and anything else I can ascend. Standing at a cliff edge, basking in Momma Nature's glory causes me not a whit of concern. But I would be extremely anxious if I were standing on the tailgate of my Toyota and you told me to jump off. Even knowing that it's only a couple feet off the ground, I would still have to talk myself into it. I know there was a time in my life when I didn't have this phobia. As a kid we used to ride our bicycles off the roof of our two story house, into the swimming pool. We would also jump off that roof, landing on a bean bag chair. No worries! Then, in the Army, I put in for Airborne training. I was in a jump simulator harness, at the top of a tower, when the Drill Sergeant told me to jump off. One look, and I said "It ain't happening". A hearty shove from the Sergeant proved it was, in fact "happening", and I screamed like a little girl all the way down.

 

My second phobia is crocodiles. Not alligators, mind you, just crocodiles. I deal with alligators all the time in my work. A while back, I had to assist a trapper in capturing two very grumpy 11' alligators. No worries. But if that had been a crocodile, he probably wouldn't have got me out of my car. I never knew I had this phobia, till I worked at Disney's Epcot Center. My primary job was running a steam cleaner/pressure washer combo, and an 80' high reach, which I used to wash the exteriors of the buildings. During inclement weather, the boss would bring us all inside, and try to find something to keep us busy. One stormy night my job was dusting in The Land Pavilion, which has a boat ride that takes you through various habitats. At one point, there is an animatronic crocodile. From the boat, with proper sound effects, it might look kinda real, (not sure, as I've never been on the ride), but when standing in the set, you can see its body terminates in a metal framework, replete with air hoses and electric wires, and with the sound track turned off, you can hear all the hissing, clunking and clanking that it makes as the jaws open and close. Knowing, without a shadow of doubt, that it was fake, I still couldn't turn my back on it for more than a few minutes.

 

These two phobias, being particularly bizarre, have helped me gain empathy for others with quirky fears.

[+hallycat]

I don't like ticks, or poisonous snakes, or poison ivy but I don't get anxious about them. If I could see Flicker at work I might get anxious about a humongous spider.

 

I get anxious occasionally when alone in the woods. Could be I see a homeless person(s) camp or get myself into a situation where I could potentially hurt myself and have no cell phone signal. I think to myself, this was not an especially bright move on my part coming out here alone. Then my heart beats rapidly till I get out of harms way.

 

Briansnat coulda fooled me with the caves, you were all cool and calm in there!

[+GroveBird]

I can deal with ivy.

I can deal with poop.

I can deal with scorpions.

I can deal with back widow spiders.

I can deal with rattlesnakes.

I can deal with driving a passenger car down a road where my body may not be found to 10 years.

 

I get highly anxious urban caching in someone's yard.

 

Yep, this. Some Good gloves can take care of most everything else.

[sabrefan7]

On our first visit over there in '95, people were in awe that people in the U.S. felt comfortable wandering around outside with all the bears, so it goes both ways.

When you camp in the Adirondacks and Allegany State Park in New York. A lot of people go looking for Black Bears I would have less stress if I was 5 ft from a sow than that spider you had in that pic you posted

 

I haven't encountered a black bear yet while out geocaching but I did come across some large bear prints in between the stages of a multi cache that's about 20 miles from me and my in-laws saw a bear last year walk through their property (25 wooded acres about four miles from where I live) but I've never had any anxiety over seeing a bear.

 

I'm surprised that nobody has mention it so far, but: ticks.

Ticks are a biggie around here. Just have to be aware and dress appropriately

Wile camping at Eighth Lake (in the ADK) I took the extended family on a short hike to Bug Lake. I spotted bear scat and pointed it out to my brother in-law and the rest. They didnt believe me till I got a stick and poked it to show fish scales,,,,, That was 2005 and no one has gone hiking with me since

[4wheelin_fool]

Ive had frequent sightings of bears in the NC area. I used to be able to walk up to them without any fear when I saw them in the Smokey Mountain area. Then there was one incident when I was hiking alone in the area of the Fontana dam. It was during a drought, and I wanted to try to see where the old towns had been before they flooded the area in the 1940s. I was on the top of a ridgeline on a game trail when I heard heavy bushwhacking without any voices along with it. At first I thought it was another lone hiker, but I crouched down low anyway to try to get a view without being noticed. When I saw the bear, he was just going about his business without any problem, but then he stopped suddenly and looked directly at me. I was about 300 feet away on the top of a different ridgeline, but still in his line of sight. All the other times I had seen bear, there was never any eye contact, but this time there was. He started to move towards me, but there was a small valley between us. I jumped up, screamed, and slid on my rump down a very steep slope on the opposite side from him and ran out onto the open area of where the lake had been. You are not supposed to move at all, but there wasn't any way that I could not. I made a bunch of noises, started whacking a tree with a log and ran off. I definitely had surprised him, and I appeared to him to be only a few feet tall also. I ran about a mile back to my jeep, nearly had a heart attack, and the entire time thought that I heard him bushwhacking in the woods following me. Since then I have been overly paranoid at the slightest inclination of a possible bear. Walking in the woods, being slightly nearsighted and seeing a large dark cave or stump in the slightest shape of a bear sets me into a small panic. Before that there was a time when I accidentally walked up to one on a trail in Cades Cove. He was only 20 feet away, and I just froze and watched him. He knew I was there but didn't even look at me. A few hikers came up the trail, saw me but not the bear, and I didn't say anything to them until they got nearly as close because I thought it was funny. The look on their faces was priceless. But now, it's a little different..

[JourneyPilot]

My only fear when caching is of getting pricked by an addicts needle that may have been discarded, I am really careful about where I put my hands so I try searching with a stick before sticking my gloved hands into a place.

 

I saw someone mention about earwigs, one of the caches I found today was full of them, I shuddered a lot and made sure to empty the camo bag fully before taking out the actual cache hehe.

[+Ambrosia]

On our first visit over there in '95, people were in awe that people in the U.S. felt comfortable wandering around outside with all the bears, so it goes both ways.

When you camp in the Adirondacks and Allegany State Park in New York. A lot of people go looking for Black Bears I would have less stress if I was 5 ft from a sow than that spider you had in that pic you posted

 

I haven't encountered a black bear yet while out geocaching but I did come across some large bear prints in between the stages of a multi cache that's about 20 miles from me and my in-laws saw a bear last year walk through their property (25 wooded acres about four miles from where I live) but I've never had any anxiety over seeing a bear.

 

I'm surprised that nobody has mention it so far, but: ticks.

I've only seen bear while driving, when they cross the road. But not while caching. I have found bear scat while caching.

 

We also have cougar where we live. Yet again, haven't actually seen them, but when we moved into our house and the kids were little, we went for a walk in the hills above our house and found extremely fresh cougar tracks. Nice to know we were hiking next to a cougar with nice little people snacks walking with us.

[+Ambrosia]

This all began with a microbiology course in nursing school.

My sister is a nurse, and credits this course with why she became a vegetarian.

 

My mom started to go into nursing, and took microbiology. My whole life when germ things come up she says, "you've never taken microbiology!". Because of mental issues, probably OCD mainly, I have a pretty severe germ problem. I blame it all on my mom. My kids drive me crazy because they absolutely don't care about germs. Even by normal people's standards, they are not being safe. And they just laugh at me. It probably doesn't help that they were raised by a phobic person, because it's made them go the opposite direction, I suppose. I've just tried to tell myself my whole life that there are children in Africa or somewhere who have grown up eating things off the ground, and they've lived through it.

 

My second phobia is crocodiles. Not alligators, mind you, just crocodiles.

 

We cached a fair bit while visiting Queensland a few years ago. We kept getting warned about salties, and kept going into places where they frequented (lots of warning signs). My 1200th find was on a beach in Cape Tribulation, one of the most gorgeous spots I have ever seen. There is a little creek that feeds into the ocean there, that you have to cross to get to the cache, and most logs commented on being careful because cachers were finding salties there. But did we see any? Of course not. Made my mom happy, but not us.

[Clan Riffster]

My 1200th find was on a beach in Cape Tribulation, one of the most gorgeous spots I have ever seen. There is a little creek that feeds into the ocean there, that you have to cross to get to the cache, and most logs commented on being careful because cachers were finding salties there.

Nope! Uh Uh. Ain't happening.

That's why Gaia created expendable teenagers.

Me: "Hey Munchkin, run over yonder and fetch me that ammo can".

Munchkin: "But Dad, there's crocs in there!"

Me: "No worries. Crocs hate teenagers. I saw that on the Internet. It must be true! Besides, I have enough insurance on you that I can get my Jeep fixed if you do get eaten. Step up and be a team player!"

[+Ambrosia]

My 1200th find was on a beach in Cape Tribulation, one of the most gorgeous spots I have ever seen. There is a little creek that feeds into the ocean there, that you have to cross to get to the cache, and most logs commented on being careful because cachers were finding salties there.

Nope! Uh Uh. Ain't happening.

That's why Gaia created expendable teenagers.

Me: "Hey Munchkin, run over yonder and fetch me that ammo can".

Munchkin: "But Dad, there's crocs in there!"

Me: "No worries. Crocs hate teenagers. I saw that on the Internet. It must be true! Besides, I have enough insurance on you that I can get my Jeep fixed if you do get eaten. Step up and be a team player!"

Well, we did have a 14 year old and an 11 year old along. In fact, I think my son ran ahead across the beach and found the cache spot long before we got there. But don't tell my mom that.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

On our first visit over there in '95, people were in awe that people in the U.S. felt comfortable wandering around outside with all the bears, so it goes both ways.

When you camp in the Adirondacks and Allegany State Park in New York. A lot of people go looking for Black Bears I would have less stress if I was 5 ft from a sow than that spider you had in that pic you posted

 

I haven't encountered a black bear yet while out geocaching but I did come across some large bear prints in between the stages of a multi cache that's about 20 miles from me and my in-laws saw a bear last year walk through their property (25 wooded acres about four miles from where I live) but I've never had any anxiety over seeing a bear.

 

I'm surprised that nobody has mention it so far, but: ticks.

Ticks are a biggie around here. Just have to be aware and dress appropriately

Wile camping at Eighth Lake (in the ADK) I took the extended family on a short hike to Bug Lake. I spotted bear scat and pointed it out to my brother in-law and the rest. They didnt believe me till I got a stick and poked it to show fish scales,,,,, That was 2005 and no one has gone hiking with me since

 

I came across some bear scat last fall. It was about 200 feet from where my son (and lots of other children) takes gymnastic classes.

[+AlohaBra and MaksMom]

I ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES! if I don't it bothers me...