Watch where you put your hand..

[Guest PneumaticDeath]

Last Sunday my friend and I were geocaching in the foothills of Mt. Diablo (near San Francisco). We were hunting Sam's Stash.

 

The GPSR led us to the long rocky outcropping (very interesting formation actually), and while we were hunting Paul decided he needed to take a leak. While I continued hunting, he wanded down to the next rocky outcropping, and just as he was about to unzip, a rattlesnake bolts out of a holt near his foot and dives into another hole about 3 ft away, and begins to rattle away. He backed off to a safe distance, and called me over. I had never heard a rattlesnake before. We both stood at a respectful distance, and listened for a moment, and then went back to hunting for the cache.

 

However, it occured to me that the places where we were looking for the cache, were exactly to sort of holes that the snake had been hiding in. Made me a lot more careful. I tended to poke near the hole with my walking stick before sticking my hand in. Luckily.. the cache cold be seen if you put your head in just the right place, so I didn't have to feel around blind.

 

Remember folks.. the wilderness isn't made with out safety in mind.

 

-- Mitch

[Guest ManuelCasi]

I always carry my heavy duty gloves I use when camping. That gives you a little peace of mind as you put your hand where your eyes can not go.

[Guest cache_ninja]

yeah, in NYC you've gotta watch out for syringes.

 

for some reason occasinally they appear near my caches(ie they arent there when i plant it, but then others subsequently find them)..

 

i _do_ see syringes around the city, especially in hiding areas. but then i dont hide something near there. hmmm, i dunno.

 

syringes and condoms always seem to appear in secluded spots....

[Guest skeeter]

A friend and I were out last weekend looking for a fresh cache. We didn't find it but I did stumble onto a large copperhead. At that time I didn't realize the kind of snake it was. Good thing I didn't try a crocodile hunter move on it!

[Guest kbraband]

I've had to look down hollow logs several times. Now I always carry a flashlight in my pack for just that purpose -- even on daylight hunts -- before I stick my hand down there.