+MrPeabody Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 There will always be an unfortunate person who will find a way to to die while engaging in some activity. In this case, I'm curious to know if anyone has knowledge of, or can point me to a post/article/news item about someone who has died while Geocaching. As an example, there had to be the first person to die in an automobile accident. In this case, it was Mary Ward, an Irish Artist and Author in 1869, as a passenger in a Steam Carriage who was thrown from the vehicle. Mary Ward 1827-1869 In fact, I've been to a couple of caches that could be rated high in a 'Danger' category (like one located on a cliff, another in a park that had recent and frequent bear sightings, even one that was located quite close to a highway, etc), and because there are so many caches out there, someone, somewhere is going to meet their end at it. Just wondering if it has already happened. [This message was edited by MrPeabody on October 02, 2003 at 05:04 PM.] Quote Link to comment
PyroDave Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 i just read a couple dayss ago on one of the boards about some one in CA that died while doing one of heat stroke Dave Quote Link to comment
+RainbowCache Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Dave, This would be the one that you read the other day! Cheers, Bob ~ Early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese... Isn't the best way to save face to keep the lower part shut?...Stephen Wright Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 A similar death occurred last year. "You can't make a man by standing a sheep on his hind legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that position, you can make a crowd of men" - Max Beerbohm Quote Link to comment
+Hawk-eye Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Geesh ... you guys are a big bundle of cheer! What next ... first person to slit their wrists because a cache stumped them? It's Friday ... the weekend is here .. almost ... how about some positive vibes ---------------------------------------------------------------- Co-founder of the "NC/VA GEO-HOG ASSOCIATION" ... when you absolutely have to find it first! Quote Link to comment
+chaosmanor Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 I'm not certain that the gentleman (John Andrew Doyle) who died on Boney Mountain in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area was actually geocaching. Not everyone on that hike signed the log (which would be odd), and the log is on NPS land, I believe, so it can't be a true geocache. However, Faveral believes otherwise, and could be correct. Faveral has a geocache on State Park land (GCF3B5) that we've not been up to, and the hike is said to be much tougher than the Backbone trail from Circle X Ranch. Considering that the Ventura Star has been quite supportive of geocaching, I'm surprised that no mention was made of it in the article, but maybe they felt it better not to. And the fact is that there are logs of various types on Boney that are not geocaching logs, because it is NPS land, so geocaches aren't allowed, by an NPS Visitor Register would be. The geocaches up there are all virtuals. Still and all, the whole thing is tragic, and should serve as a cautionary tale for all of us; prepare well, and then add a little more. We had our own "adventure" on Catalina Island just last month. It's amazing how fast a gallon of water can go by on a balmy mid-70s day with a nice breeze, when one is hiking ten miles and up 1600 feet in the back country of an island with almost no natural freshwater springs. We thought we were prepared, as we've done harder hikes in worse conditions. Boy, were we wrong! We only made half of the planned hike, and got back several hours later than we had planned. But the key is, we got back, with nothing worse than blisters. So many caches; so few pairs of decent shoes Quote Link to comment
HardCache Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Hawk-eye:Geesh ... you guys are a big bundle of cheer! What next ... first person to slit their wrists because a cache stumped them? It's Friday ... the weekend is here .. almost ... how about some positive vibes In all seriousness, people die doing all kinds of things. Mowing the lawn. Taking a bath. Getting drunk and swinging a running chainsaw around to show their friends how tough and dextrous they are and then cutting off their own heads. You can visit Rotten.com to see some of the ignominious ways people die...and lovely photos of them after they're found three weeks later. The point is, being safe in the woods is a matter of balancing confidence and caution. Too much or too little of either leads you into trouble. IMHO, you're probably in more danger driving to the parking lot than you are after you get out and start hiking to the cache. Quote Link to comment
+Faveral Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 quote:Originally posted by chaosmanor: However, Faveral believes otherwise, and could be correct. Faveral has a geocache on State Park land (GCF3B5) that we've not been up to, and the hike is said to be much tougher than the Backbone trail from Circle X Ranch. John Andrew Doyle signed the Goat Hill register, which isn't on "Boney Mountain" either. It's very near Boney Ridge though. Goat Hill is actually NOT on NPS land either. When we talked to an NPS ranger prior to placing our cache up there, he confirmed that the register was not placed by the NPS nor was that peak part of Boney Ridge or Mountain. It's on state land, which is why our cache is there. Anyway, it's a gorgeous hike, but quite grueling from the Rancho Satwiwa side! John's unfortunate death makes me appreciate life more and the next time we do that hike, he will be in my thoughts. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 A lot of peaks have a peak register. These have been around long before geocaching came along though the log serves much the same function. Quote Link to comment
+Touchstone Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Renegade Knight:A lot of peaks have a peak register. These have been around long before geocaching came along though the log serves much the same function. Peak registers have been around a long time. In Oregon/Washington, most of the dormant/extinct volcanoes in the Cascade Range had registers placed on the summits by The Mazama's (a climbing/outdoor club) I believe that most have been removed by now, but at the time I was "bagging peaks", they were impressive metal boxes with the Mazama logo emblazaned on the top surface. And not nearly as hard to find as a geocache Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. The rest go geocaching. Quote Link to comment
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