Jump to content

Caching Dangers


Bamilbis

Recommended Posts

Okay, I get that geocaching covers the world and there is NO way to possibly point out every single danger on one thread. I get that.

 

But, I thought it might be useful to make a thread to list (with pictures) the basic dangers one might come across. I'm very new to geocaching and this is sorta my first real outdoorsy activity. As a result I don't know how to identify things like poison ivy, poison oak, dangerous snakes and the like. I figure there must be more like me. I was thinking a thread on the forums might be a good place to consolidate a sort of "Basic Handbook" for things to look out for.

 

I envision a photo of the danger (like a shot of poison ivy) and a rule of thumb to go with it...like cloves of three leave it be.

 

What do ya'll think? I look forward to seeing your posts.

 

GTB

 

PS If you post a picture of a plant please make sure the photo clearly identifies the plant in question. ie, don't show a long shot of a single poison ivy plant mixed in with tons of other vegetation and assume we know what your referring to.

Link to comment

Poison Ivy

 

Leaves of three:

poison-ivy.jpg

 

In the fall, the leaves turn red:

fall-red-leaves-poison-ivy-AWPL0922051-21.jpg

 

While the form shown in the pictures above are growing out of the ground, It can also sometimes be found as a "hairy" vine clinging to trees:

creeperootlets.jpg

 

There are other harmless plants that have compound leaves of three as well:

 

Trillium:

trillium_ovatum_mm.jpg

 

Jack-in-the-pulpit:

jack-pulpit-plant-805x1024.jpg

Link to comment
this is sorta my first real outdoorsy activity. As a result I don't know how to identify things like poison ivy, poison oak, dangerous snakes and the like. I figure there must be more like me. I was thinking a thread on the forums might be a good place to consolidate a sort of "Basic Handbook" for things to look out for.

I'm fortunate to live in Georgia which has only 4 kinds of pit viper which look similar (plus the coral snake which is rarer and very reclusive), so if I see a "fat" snake, it's venomous, and if I see a thin one, leave it alone anyway.

 

Poison ivy is easy to identify, and you'll soon not only recognize it, but you'll begin to notice it's all over the place. Animals brushing past poison ivy can spread the oils onto other objects. There's also poison oak and poison sumac. Be aware of your surroundings.

 

One of the most dangerous things I encounter in the woods are holes in the ground. You could sprain an ankle or worse if you step in one.

Edited by kunarion
Link to comment

I think a single thread is too small a venue for such media. As this hobby goes more mainstream, it will have folks participating who really have no clue what the outdoors can be like. Most of these clueless folks are perfectly capable of learning, given the opportunity, and can become avid hikers, kayakers, cachers, etc. Some can not.

 

I host an annual giving of thanx type event, which is always followed by a guided tour through one of my night caches. These night caches are not for the inexperienced outdoorsman, as there are many hazards, both seen and unseen, to include critters who find humans tasty. A couple years ago, we were joined by a lady who looked like she was more comfortable sitting on a couch eating Oreos than bushwhacking a couple miles through a nasty swamp. After my safety briefing, her kids were asking her if the hazards I cited were real, and she poo-poo'ed them, saying words to the effect of, "Of course it's safe. There wouldn't be a cache there if it was dangerous". (sigh...) I pulled her aside and tried my darnedest to convince her I was being truthful, but she was adamant that I was just trying to create an element of suspense to heighten the experience. Because of her refusal to see the truth, I was forced to babysit her the whole way through.

 

One of our forum regulars suggested that Groundspeak create a specific forum section geared toward advocating safety awareness. I was initially opposed to the idea, but his arguments were pretty sound, and he eventually reversed my thinking. (Yes, I'm stubborn) Considering there are about 90 forum sections, (one of which hasn't seen any activity since October of 2010), I would think that creating such a section would be a fairly simple matter, and would be unobtrusive to those who were uninterested.

 

Perhaps threads like this could be posted there?

Edited by Clan Riffster
Link to comment

One of our forum regulars suggested that Groundspeak create a specific forum section geared toward advocating safety awareness. I was initially opposed to the idea, but his arguments were pretty sound, and he eventually reversed my thinking. (Yes, I'm stubborn) Considering there are about 90 forum sections, (one of which hasn't seen any activity since October of 2010), I would think that creating such a section would be a fairly simple matter, and would be unobtrusive to those who were uninterested.

 

Perhaps threads like this could be posted there?

Unfortunately, there apparently will be no such forum section.

 

--Larry

Link to comment

Attributes on each cache should give a general idea of the dangers -IF- cache owners would fill out the attributes properly.

 

But other than what's already been mentioned....

 

Beware of TICKS

Here's a link of a ton of pictures - since there are so many different types/stages.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Ticks&hl=en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=oFAcT6q1NqjL0QGt1MWYCw&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CCkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1200&bih=739

 

If you use www.google.com and research the dangers about ticks.....

Link to comment

I'm glad that knowschad include the photos about poison ivy. It isn't uncommon for people to play Tarzan in the woods by swinging on large vines. Sometimes these vines end up being those from poison ivy and they end up with a bad case on their hands.

 

In addition to the photos of the trillium and jack-in-the-pulpit showing examples of "leaves of three" which are not poison ivy, othere poison ivy lookalikes can be raspberries and small boxelder trees. Look for thorns on the plant. If present, it is raspberries, not poison ivy. Also look at the leaves on the nearby trees. If they match those growing low to the ground, there is a very good chance that they are immature boxelder trees, not poison ivy. Otherwise, naturalists find it very difficult to discern immature boxelder from poison ivy.

 

Other "false positives" are often ticks. I've spoken with people who have visited their doctors to receive a full series of antibiotics after experiencing ticks from being in the woods. When I asked them to describe the ticks to me, it was quite obvious that they had encountered the common wood tick. Wood ticks do NOT transmit Lyme disease; only deer ticks do. Plus, even if they had been exposed to deer ticks, there was no evidence that they had actually been bitten or infected. In my opinion, it is just crazy to be treated for something that you "might" have been exposed to, especially when the treatment is antibiotics which can result in resistant variations of other serious diseases. If you do spend a lot of time in the woods, it is just as important to recognize the symptoms of Lyme disease as it is to identity the deer tick.

 

Another danger not mentioned yet is hunting areas. If spending time doing geocaching or other activities in the woods, it is wise to also determine when hunting is in season and if the public woods is open to such hunting. Sometimes a cach listing will list in the description or attributes if hunting is allowed, but I have also seen caches which fail to include this information. One of the things I keep in my geocaching bag is a tightly folded, thin blaze orange vest which doesn't take much room. If I'm geocaching in an area and hear nearby gunfire, you can bet I'll be putting it on.

 

I've found that most animals avoid people in the woods, but on a rare occassion such as a protective mother, rabid, or territorial animials there can be some unpleasant encounters. Although I don't have to worry about it where I live, it would be wise to avoid large carnivours such as bears, cougars, and wolves at all times. Do not touch or play with any baby animals as the mother of any species (no matter how docile) can become very agressive if they think that their young is being threatened. Also, any animial acting strangely and allowing you to approach closer than normal should also be avoided due to potential of rabies. Otherwise, about the only small animals that I avoid are skunks and badgers for obvious reasons.

 

medoug.

Edited by medoug
Link to comment

That's too bad. I think Groundspeak missed a good PR opportunity. If they had created such a forum, that might have negated any future "Groundspeak Hates Chilruns" threads. At the very least, a centralized location where those of us who know about outdoors hazards could share that knowledge with the next generation of cachers who might not be so woods savy, could save folks a lot of suffering.

 

But, in the end, this is their sandbox. :unsure:

Link to comment

Like you said, there are so many different areas of the world with different dangers.

 

I would suggest buying some books specific to your area, which you can carry with you when you go out. We've bought many outdoorsy books since we started caching. We have several on plants and trees in our area and also bird books. Not only will they tell you which plants can be dangerous, but you will learn alot too as you adventure outdoors. In our area, fortunately, the only animals we have to watch out for are cougars.

 

The biggest dangers I think are not plants or animals but running out of water, getting lost after dark, hiking alone, holes/hazards in the forest floor, like another poster mentioned.

 

Stinging nettles are common in our area. As far as I know, not really dangerous, but itchy.

 

6745592139_ff57448206.jpg

 

Meadow death camus. We don't go anywhere near these flowers. "Meadow death-camas is one of the most poisonous springtime plants. The bulbs, leaves and flowers contain alkaline poisons that may be even more deadly than strychnine. Horses, cattle and sheep have died from eating these plants, and even honey bees have been poisoned by the nectar and pollen."

 

6745653197_cabc530fd1.jpg

Edited by The_Incredibles_
Link to comment

I don't have any pictures of anything that I've taken myself, but I do have a suggestion for the original poster :)

 

Buy some guide books for your area (and I'm not being snotty with you, I really, really mean that in the most helpful way possible!). I have a few from Audubon :) I'm in the desert Southwest, so I have a nifty little guide that pertains to desert Southwest that has plants and animals in it. Not all are deadly, but it's sometimes nice to know what a certain lizard is when I'm staring at it :) I also bought a couple of small "wilderness medicine" and "wilderness survival" books. I think I could figure out most of that kind of thing on my own, but I feel better knowing that if I freak out and have a brain freeze then I have my books :)

 

This does seem a big topic to tackle for a thread. Is there like, a caching wiki page with info like this on it? Not to dog on it, but I see this being 40 pages long with repeats of "poison ivy" every 2 or 3 pages (and few will be as good as knowschad's). I'm not going to go through 40 pages of posts like mine that don't add anything :anitongue::anibad: I do think something like this is a really good idea though!

Link to comment

Like you said, there are so many different areas of the world with different dangers.

 

I would suggest buying some books specific to your area, which you can carry with you when you go out. We've bought many outdoorsy books since we started caching. We have several on plants and trees in our area and also bird books. Not only will they tell you which plants can be dangerous, but you will learn alot too as you adventure outdoors. In our area, fortunately, the only animals we have to watch out for are cougars.

 

The biggest dangers I think are not plants or animals but running out of water, getting lost after dark, hiking alone, holes/hazards in the forest floor, like another poster mentioned.

 

Stinging nettles are common in our area. As far as I know, not really dangerous, but itchy.

 

6745592139_ff57448206.jpg

 

Meadow death camus. We don't go anywhere near these flowers. "Meadow death-camas is one of the most poisonous springtime plants. The bulbs, leaves and flowers contain alkaline poisons that may be even more deadly than strychnine. Horses, cattle and sheep have died from eating these plants, and even honey bees have been poisoned by the nectar and pollen."

 

6745653197_cabc530fd1.jpg

 

The stinging nettles, as you say are merely irritating. They are also an excellent wild edible in the spring, used as a spring tonic and food treat by the pioneers.

 

The Death Camus is another that will be totally harmless unless you try to eat it, something that most geocachers are not likely to do.

Link to comment

I don't have any pictures of anything that I've taken myself, but I do have a suggestion for the original poster :)

 

Buy some guide books for your area (and I'm not being snotty with you, I really, really mean that in the most helpful way possible!). I have a few from Audubon :) I'm in the desert Southwest, so I have a nifty little guide that pertains to desert Southwest that has plants and animals in it. Not all are deadly, but it's sometimes nice to know what a certain lizard is when I'm staring at it :) I also bought a couple of small "wilderness medicine" and "wilderness survival" books. I think I could figure out most of that kind of thing on my own, but I feel better knowing that if I freak out and have a brain freeze then I have my books :)

 

This does seem a big topic to tackle for a thread. Is there like, a caching wiki page with info like this on it? Not to dog on it, but I see this being 40 pages long with repeats of "poison ivy" every 2 or 3 pages (and few will be as good as knowschad's). I'm not going to go through 40 pages of posts like mine that don't add anything :anitongue::anibad: I do think something like this is a really good idea though!

 

I have to agree with you. Even my poison ivy post came from other internet sites, and only took a minute for me to find. If I can find that information to post here, others can also find it, and a lot more. Not really sure how much good it does to repeast in a thread here. If you are new to being outdoors, or new to a geographic area, then you owe it to yourself to do the research. This little thread is hardly going to be sufficient training.

Link to comment

I don't have any pictures of anything that I've taken myself, but I do have a suggestion for the original poster :)

 

Buy some guide books for your area (and I'm not being snotty with you, I really, really mean that in the most helpful way possible!). I have a few from Audubon :) I'm in the desert Southwest, so I have a nifty little guide that pertains to desert Southwest that has plants and animals in it. Not all are deadly, but it's sometimes nice to know what a certain lizard is when I'm staring at it :) I also bought a couple of small "wilderness medicine" and "wilderness survival" books. I think I could figure out most of that kind of thing on my own, but I feel better knowing that if I freak out and have a brain freeze then I have my books :)

 

This does seem a big topic to tackle for a thread. Is there like, a caching wiki page with info like this on it? Not to dog on it, but I see this being 40 pages long with repeats of "poison ivy" every 2 or 3 pages (and few will be as good as knowschad's). I'm not going to go through 40 pages of posts like mine that don't add anything :anitongue::anibad: I do think something like this is a really good idea though!

 

 

Well, I'm in a unique position. I fly airplanes for a living so I can be in Sun Valley, ID in the Morning and Maine in the evening with a stop in Alabama for lunch. My job affords me a great opportunity to see many many caches, but I'm always worried about plants mostly and animals and crazies with guns and an invisible property line. I've been in the thick of flora and wondered to myself if any of these plants are going to make me unable to fly this afternoon.

 

So far I have been lucky. I have used the internet on my iPhone to research specific things listed on a cache page. That's how I figured out the 'clusters of three leave it be'. But I was hoping this thread might shed even more light for the wide geographic geocacher. It has already. KC provided a great 'how to' post and is exactly what I was looking for. He then went and parody'd me in OT but that's worth it.

 

Click my user name to see where I've been these past 6 months. Here is a map of a single week at work for me. Every blue dot is a potential cache adventure. That's why the thread...

 

photo.PNG

 

 

KC beat me to it. I agree it can be found online. But a little sage advice here can't hurt.

 

 

Edited to address previous post. (Knowschad's)

Edited by GeotaggedBloger
Link to comment

"On the trail to the cache" is a pretty weak description of the danger.

 

I was hoping for a picture and a description of how to identify said danger.

 

Easy way to identify almost all poisonous snakes in North America is to carefully lift them by the tail and carefully examine the scales on the underside aft of the anal opening. If the scales are in two rows relax. If they are in a single row covering the whole underside of the body gently return it to the ground and step back.

Link to comment

"On the trail to the cache" is a pretty weak description of the danger.

 

I was hoping for a picture and a description of how to identify said danger.

 

Easy way to identify almost all poisonous snakes in North America is to carefully lift them by the tail and carefully examine the scales on the underside aft of the anal opening. If the scales are in two rows relax. If they are in a single row covering the whole underside of the body gently return it to the ground and step back.

 

OK I laughed out loud at this one. That's better even then getting down at eye level and seeing if they have cat pupils or round pupils.

Link to comment

"On the trail to the cache" is a pretty weak description of the danger.

 

I was hoping for a picture and a description of how to identify said danger.

 

Easy way to identify almost all poisonous snakes in North America is to carefully lift them by the tail and carefully examine the scales on the underside aft of the anal opening. If the scales are in two rows relax. If they are in a single row covering the whole underside of the body gently return it to the ground and step back.

 

:laughing: :laughing:

Link to comment

One of the books I've got is 'Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada', published by Lone Pine. It's got a section in the back for "Poisonous Plants".

 

Presumably, there should be something like this for North America. Oh look, there is, actually there's a bunch:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Edible-Wild-Plants-American-Natural/dp/1402767153/ref=pd_sim_b_9

Edited by The_Incredibles_
Link to comment

I don't have any pictures of anything that I've taken myself, but I do have a suggestion for the original poster :)

 

Buy some guide books for your area (and I'm not being snotty with you, I really, really mean that in the most helpful way possible!). I have a few from Audubon :) I'm in the desert Southwest, so I have a nifty little guide that pertains to desert Southwest that has plants and animals in it. Not all are deadly, but it's sometimes nice to know what a certain lizard is when I'm staring at it :) I also bought a couple of small "wilderness medicine" and "wilderness survival" books. I think I could figure out most of that kind of thing on my own, but I feel better knowing that if I freak out and have a brain freeze then I have my books :)

 

<snip>

 

Well, I'm in a unique position. I fly airplanes for a living so I can be in Sun Valley, ID in the Morning and Maine in the evening with a stop in Alabama for lunch. My job affords me a great opportunity to see many many caches, but I'm always worried about plants mostly and animals and crazies with guns and an invisible property line. I've been in the thick of flora and wondered to myself if any of these plants are going to make me unable to fly this afternoon.

 

<snip>

That is a unique position! :o

 

I still think books are handy, but I am a nerd :)

 

I'll echo The Invisibles and suggest this book regarding plants and animals that would be worrisome :) It covers "North America North of Mexico"

 

I don't know what to say about property lines and gun-toting crazies :(

 

Sage advice is definitely a good thing :)

Link to comment

One of the books I've got is 'Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada', published by Lone Pine. It's got a section in the back for "Poisonous Plants".

 

ok ... that sounds like bad planning on the publisher's part ... what happens if the page that separates the sections is ripped out?

Link to comment

 

Stinging nettles are common in our area. As far as I know, not really dangerous, but itchy.

 

6745592139_ff57448206.jpg

 

same here and I learned the hard way about them. :unsure:

 

I was in a hurry to get back in My rig and I fell in face first into stinging nettles! I quickly put something on to numb the pain and keep on caching that day. In a hour, the pain was gone. Now, when I see it, I am more careful. :unsure:

Link to comment

Around my parts the most evil thing (in my opinion) are Devil's Club's. They get to be huge, up to almost 15 feet sometimes. The real problem is in ravines they tend to be the most sturdy thing around and when I slip (Which is often) I will occasionally almost grab one.

 

devils%20club%20is%20evil.jpg

 

Devils_Club.jpg

Edited by Hypnopaedia
Link to comment
1327295331[/url]' post='4953799']

Around my parts the most evil thing (in my opinion) are Devil's Club's. They get to be huge, up to almost 15 feet sometimes. The real problem is in ravines they tend to be the most sturdy thing around and when I slip (Which is often) I will occasionally almost grab one.

 

devils%20club%20is%20evil.jpg

 

Devils_Club.jpg

 

Okay, what are "your parts"?

 

 

Link to comment

 

Stinging nettles are common in our area. As far as I know, not really dangerous, but itchy.

 

6745592139_ff57448206.jpg

 

same here and I learned the hard way about them. :unsure:

 

I was in a hurry to get back in My rig and I fell in face first into stinging nettles! I quickly put something on to numb the pain and keep on caching that day. In a hour, the pain was gone. Now, when I see it, I am more careful. :unsure:

 

When I was a kid we lived on a farm where the back 40 was filled with stinging nettle. Instead of avoiding it, my sister and I ran through it over and over again until we became immune to it. To this day, if I come in contact with it, I have little or no reaction. Wise choice? :blink:

Link to comment

Around my parts the most evil thing (in my opinion) are Devil's Club's. They get to be huge, up to almost 15 feet sometimes. The real problem is in ravines they tend to be the most sturdy thing around and when I slip (Which is often) I will occasionally almost grab one.

 

devils%20club%20is%20evil.jpg

 

Devils_Club.jpg

 

Okay, what are "your parts"?

 

 

 

When I was doing land surveying in the Puget Sound area, I saw a LOT of devil's club and stinging nettle. The devil's club has nasty thorns, but is a very woody plant, so it doesn't offer much in the way of support -- we got a lot of practice slicing it down with machetes.

 

The worst thing about thrashing through the woods near Seattle was the profusion of blackberry vines EVERYWHERE. We literally had to chop paths through the forest with machetes, just to get anywhere. Fortunately, most geocaches aren't placed on property corners, so blackberries shouldn't be as much of an issue.

 

On the east side of the state, we have poison ivy to worry about. I must have rolled in the stuff while looking for a cache by the Spokane river, because I got a raging case of rash from it. The stuff will spread amazingly well once you get it, so be very careful to not touch the rash and then any other part of your body before you wash your hands.:(

Link to comment

 

If you do spend a lot of time in the woods, it is just as important to recognize the symptoms of Lyme disease as it is to identity the deer tick.

 

medoug.

 

If you spend time in the woods, it is important to CHECK YOURSELF for ticks (and ALL types) and get them OFF you before they imbed themselves into your skin. Check your clothes immediately. Check your entire body when you get home and before getting into the shower.

 

You can't get diseases just by being exposed to them or having them ON you..... Personally, I'm not gonna let any tick (or insect) imbed themselves in my skin. Regardless of type.... the whole idea is to get them off you before they have a chance to imbed themselves.

 

My sister-n-law has Lyme disease..... so, I tend to be overly protective of these little discusting suckers!

Link to comment

"On the trail to the cache" is a pretty weak description of the danger.

 

I was hoping for a picture and a description of how to identify said danger.

 

Easy way to identify almost all poisonous snakes in North America is to carefully lift them by the tail and carefully examine the scales on the underside aft of the anal opening. If the scales are in two rows relax. If they are in a single row covering the whole underside of the body gently return it to the ground and step back.

 

Seriously? I'll have to try that! :lol:

Link to comment

Stinging nettles are common in our area. As far as I know, not really dangerous, but itchy.

 

6745592139_ff57448206.jpg

 

same here and I learned the hard way about them. :unsure:

 

I was in a hurry to get back in My rig and I fell in face first into stinging nettles! I quickly put something on to numb the pain and keep on caching that day. In a hour, the pain was gone. Now, when I see it, I am more careful. :unsure:

 

I guess you don't know about Jewelweed, then. It really helps. Crush the stem and rub the juice on. Very cooling, much like aloe vera. Don't believe that it will cure poison ivy, though.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...