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2003 Northeast Gung-Ho geocacher nominees


The Artful Dodger

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Every now and then I come across very amusing log entries of geocachers who went the 'extra mile' to get that dadgum #$@*! geocache...!! icon_biggrin.gif

 

Have a look at Mike Riccobono's log entry on my Curse of the Suburban Jungle Its definitely worth a good laugh!! icon_biggrin.gif

 

Hey! I did warn that it was 'cursed' icon_wink.gif

 

Anyone else in this snowy part of the world that has some amusing stories or anecdotes of 'climbing the highest mountain, swimming the deepest seas' to get that elusive cache?

 

Oh, and don't tell Mike where I live ... icon_eek.gif

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I'm not sure that gung ho is quite the phrase I would pick to describe this entry. You are in New Zealand, I believe, and might not be aware of the weather we are being treated to. If our young enthusiast keeps it up, he might have to accept his award posthumously. It's a good thing he doesn't have a car, he might die trying for one of my caches, then I'd have to pull the cache. I went looking for one of my own caches, Elysian Fields, on snowshoes today and couldn't find it under the 10 inches of new snow and ice. Someone really ought to take the poor lad in hand and gently try and lead him away from fording icy rivers and sloshing through partially frozen swamps. I do SAR in NJ and would hate to have to carry out my first Geocacher "Subject Found Deceased".

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quote:
Originally posted by jonboy:

I'm not sure that gung ho is quite the phrase I would pick to describe this entry.


I tink we have the 1st applicant for the 2003 Darwin Award While Geocaching. Course he has to actually die first, but at this rate.......

 

Now, for a real GUNG-HO geocacher, how about Mr Magoo? 125 finds in 9 weeks of cashing is pretty gung-ho!

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

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quote:
Originally posted by The Artful Dodger:

 

Have a look at Mike Riccobono's log entry


 

I like this kid....He's not very bright but I like him!!

 

He lives pretty close to the area Floopy and I live in. Maybe Floopy can adopt him? I already have one kid whose brain isn't quite solid yet I don't need another.

 

====================================

As always, the above statements are just MHO.

====================================

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My nomination goes to etoast66, who waded through ice cold water that was, at times waist deep, to find my A Walk In The Park cache. Mr Magoo also gets a vote, both for finding AWITP (though the conditions were better than etoast66 encountered) and for his meteoric rise to the 100 find level.

 

Etoast also made one of the first attempts (albeit unsuccessful) on Melvin's Multiple Madness, but he loses a few points for bailing out on my BOLP III cache this weekend. Sissy! I take that nomination back.

 

Jonboy also has to be considered. In a little over six months he is approaching 200 finds and has gained a reputation as one of the top cache hiders in the area.

 

Oh, and maybe I should discourage Mike R from doing my swamp caches as well.

 

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" - Abraham Lincoln

 

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on January 05, 2003 at 06:12 PM.]

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quote:

He also made one of the first attempts (albeit unsuccessful)on Melvin's Multiple Madness.


 

This unsuccessful cache attempt should have an * by it. I'm pretty sure he would have completed it if the first stage was there. We figured out how to move around in the Melvin's pretty well after the first hour or so.

 

If he bailed on BOLP III, does that qualify it as the most difficult cache in NJ right now? Its not like he bailed on Melvin's...

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Those same boots that kept my feet dry at Melvin's failed me at BOLP3. No cache, and I mean no cache, is worth losing my toes.

 

I was beginning to think you didn't care, Brian. After all, you acknowledged Mxyz's stellar fielding without any mention of my wicked volleyball serve or my 300 game.

 

Oh yeah, that's right, you threw the 300.

 

Thanks for the vote. YOUR check is in the mail - no, I take that back icon_wink.gif

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Ya know, Mxyz, that avatar really looks like you.

 

Even though I bailed on BOLP III today, I would suspect A Walk in the Park to be that much harder. The water level at the two locations is probably always the same. I had 700 feet to cross and probably would have continued had I not already been wet from a failed approach further south on Beverwyck. My boots were filled with the icy water and I knew the best thing to do would get back to the truck (about a mile away) and a change of shoes.

 

I suspect anyone attempting AWITP today would have had to cross more than a 1/4 mile of deeper water.

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When Brian tossed the gauntlet down a few weeks ago, I just couldn't resist and did BOLP3 and AWITP on the same day. Read my logs though. The ground (and most of the water) was quite solidly frozen icon_biggrin.gif. I think it was in the 20's the day I went. I didn't really intend for it to be that way, but it really did make the journey easier. The swamp boots I wear are probably only 18 inches high and they werent really put to the test. The course I followed for BOLP3 looked like it would have been dry to just muddy most of the time (except during flood conditions) and the few water crossings werent to numerous or deep. I pretty much stuck to trails for BOTP3. AWITP though, was a different story, no trails after a little bit. Even with the cold, I still had to cross running water at times. There were definately many more water crossings, but most of them were frozen (though they creaked threatheningly as I traversed them icon_biggrin.gif).

 

Here is an ethical question -- Would it be against the spirit of geocaching to go after Melvins after a nice deep freeze??

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quote:

Here is an ethical question -- Would it be against the spirit of geocaching to go after Melvins after a nice deep freeze??


 

I don't think it would be unethical (nor do I want to change this to a Melvin's thread), I'm just not sure it would ever freeze. If you pick your path wisely it really isn't as bad as advertised, but if you try a straight line approach you will be up to your neck in muck. As stated in previous threads, go with a partner and have a sturdy walking stick. Go for it!

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quote:
Originally posted by mr.magoo:

Here is an ethical question -- Would it be against the spirit of geocaching to go after Melvins after a nice deep freeze??


Not likely to happen, but nice try! Those are tidal waters, with a 6ft tide change in that area. Because of that, it rarely freezes solid like fresh water does, even even when it DOES freeze, it could be extremely dangerous in places where a tidal creek froze over to the sides, and then the tide went out. It basically leaves an ice bridge across, with no support under it. VERY dangerous!

So when ya wanna go?

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

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You need more than a sturdy walking stick if you are talking about crossing frozen water. First off I am speaking as an ice fisherman. You need a length of rope with two wooden handles, one at each end, with spikes stuck in them, so if you fall through the ice you can use the spikes to claw at the ice to pull yourself out. Ice is slippery and so very hard to climb out of, IF you manage to come up in the same hole you fell in! If you are crossing swamps like you've been talking about, think about wearing a pair of neoprene waders and corkers or felt soled boots. You'll be much warmer and walking will be easier on the ice. As soon as you fall into cold water the wind will be knocked right out of you and it will be hard to get your breath and you will hurt, a LOT! Never go alone, and do have a walking stick to reach the person that falls in or the one who will pull you out. Also, when ice forms you need about 3-4 inches of it to hold the weight. If there is snow on top of ice it is no longer forming ice, since snow is an insulator, so if there is slush on the ice under the snow I would seriously think twice about walking on it. Maybe even cut a hole with an auger to see how thick it is. It may be freezing out but snow covered ice is warmer and not getting thicker. Also, if there is plenty of ice, I suggest ice skates, faster and smoother and easier than walking on ice.

I hope you take this seriously, if you fall in it won't take long before you can't move. Thank you for listening.

 

Cache you later,

Planet

 

"To err is human, to forgive....$5.00"

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quote:
Originally posted by BrianSnat:

Planet, we're talking about streams that are 6 feet wide and 3 feet deep. Us NJ cachers ain't THAT stupid! When we cross "big water" we bring a few helium balloons along.

 

_"Paternalism is the greatist despotism" - Emmanual Kant_


Well, actually, in the case of melvin's, probably more like 6ft deep, at high tide. But yeah, i think most of us (except little Mikey) know better.

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

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OK, of course we know of CCCooperAgency's prowness by their awesome numbers alone, but on Saturday, they logged all 3 of my BOLP caches (the 2nd cacher to do all 3 in a day), my Great Falls virtual in Paterson, two of my virtuals in Montville, my Rising Star cache in Bridgewater and several caches on my watch list. Whew!!

 

"Paternalism is the greatist despotism" - Emmanual Kant

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indeed, I was amazed at how many he bagged over the weekend ( I had many notification from caches I watch). Not all clustered up either. He was all over the place!

 

I have noted that there are a lot of first time cachers in the area as well showing up in the logs. Looks like some GPS's were gotten for Holiday Gifts. Hopefully this continues to bolster the hobby! icon_biggrin.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by BrianSnat:

OK, of course we know of CCCooperAgency's prowness by their awesome numbers alone, but on Saturday, they logged all 3 of my BOLP caches (the 2nd cacher to do all 3 in a day), my Great Falls virtual in Paterson, two of my virtuals in Montville, my Rising Star cache in Bridgewater and several caches on my watch list. Whew!!

 

_"Paternalism is the greatist despotism" - Emmanual Kant_


 

Yeah, and don't forget the legendary BruceS. Even though he isn't a local, he was out here recently on business. He managed to log about 50 caches in 3 days. After work. At night. In the rain. Maybe even more amazing, the man spent a week in TN, and managed to grab close to 200 caches there. No wonder they call him the "ATM", he's a cache machine!

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

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Ok you guys funs over. any of your addresses and your dead. i may be small but im wriley. ill beat any of you to a cache on my bike. well maybe not but it will be dadgum close. i could probably outlast, outperform, and outwit any of you old farts. and thats a threat. go ahead and chellange me unless your afraid of geting beat by a wittle wimpy kid.

 

ok im just kidding guys

(only bc i dont want you guys crying all night about any of this).

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Hey Mikey!

Most of us old fart in here are in better shape then alot of kids (well, except for the old farts down in WV, but they don't count! LOL!)

If you don't want to go snow caching with Jonboy, you could always come down here and join us old farts playing in the marsh muck of

Melvin's. While you're in the area, you might want to visit the Muskrats in the area first, as sort of a warm up. Should be easy for ya, it was placed by one old fart, and found by only 3 other old farts in the last year.

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

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i decided in order to compete with you guys i needed an icon... i guess it represents me the youth of this group plus im such a cool dude

 

jon ill go but id hardly consider mt kisco or any mts in the region a challenge... if i can get a ride to one of those marsh caches id love to go - in my speedo! who needs waiders or boots the fun is popping the eight inch leaches on your legs. whenever i get to my house in the catskills ill place a real cache. no 15 minuite walks in the swamp.

you guys do know im only busting your chops right? i didnt mean to offend any of my elders...

 

[This message was edited by Mike Riccobono on January 22, 2003 at 06:49 PM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by Team Ekitt10:

Is the award only attainable if the cacher finds the cache?

I'd like to nominate BrianSnat for his adventure on Marty's http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=14045. So far that cache has claimed a Jeep (See BP's log) and a pair of good khakis.

Did you have to get stitches in that hand Brian?


Wow! Just read that, and it's hard to believe that was the same cache (and the same parking spot) that I did a year ago. Just goes to show why people should log their DNFs, they often make the best reading. icon_smile.gif Hope you're ok Brian!

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

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quote:
Originally posted by Team Ekitt10:

Is the award only attainable if the cacher finds the cache?

I'd like to nominate BrianSnat for his adventure on Marty's http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=14045. So far that cache has claimed a Jeep (See BP's log) and a pair of good khakis.

Did you have to get stitches in that hand Brian?


 

A most interesting log, indeed! Thanks for a, er, humorous start to the day, Brian. icon_wink.gif

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Glad I could brighten your day AD. Because the wound was more of a puncture, I didn't need stitches, but cleaning it out was tough. Now I have to clean up the blood all over the back of my car before the wife sees it. Looks like someone slaughtered a pig pack there icon_redface.gif

 

My GPS seemed to be way off on this one. Not sure why. ATMGPS, ground zero was about 160 feet from the nearest multi trunked tree...though I did scout around several of the trees even though my GPS said I was nowhere near the cache site. I wonder if I plugged in the wrong coordinates. I haven't checked yet. That would have been mistake # what, 9? 10?

 

"An appeaser is one who keeps feeding a crocodile-hoping it will eat him last" -Winston Churchill

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quote:
Originally posted by Team Ekitt10:

Is the award only attainable if the cacher finds the cache?

I'd like to nominate BrianSnat for his adventure on Marty's http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=14045.


 

Egads, Brian. Hope your hand isn't too badly cut up.

Hard to believe that when I went for the cache, all I had to do was follow a path of flattened reeds where someone else had apparently bushwhacked.

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My chief problem was that it was very muddy and the rain wasn't helping matters. If I had just went back the way I came in, and if I had worn my boots and brought a flashlight, I would have avoided all the problems I ran into.

 

"An appeaser is one who keeps feeding a crocodile-hoping it will eat him last" -Winston Churchill

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Thanks for a good chuckle this morning. Nice to have company in the 'knuckhead addicted cacher' support group!

 

Well written account and funny!

 

"If someone did you a favor - something big, something you couldn't do on your own, and instead of paying it back, you paid it forward to three people...and the next day they each paid it forward to three more...and the day after that, those 27 people each paid it forward to another three...and each day, everyone in turn paid it forward to three more people...in two weeks, that comes to 4,782,969 people." - Pay It Forward

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quote:
Originally posted by HartClimbs:

Thanks for a good chuckle this morning. Nice to have company in the 'knuckhead addicted cacher' support group!

 

Well written account and funny!


 

And thanks to Hartclimbs for another chuckle while reading HIS log today on The Bridge at Remagen. Nothing like pouring a little salt on the wound! icon_biggrin.gif

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

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quote:
Originally posted by BrianSnat:

Yeah, thanks for rubbing it in Hartclimbs!


 

Oh that was your blood?!?!?! I should have guessed, all the ticks were steering clear! icon_wink.gif

 

Gutsy move going through that area in work clothes (and shoes) - pretty muddy spot. It actually looked like there was some sort of dirt 'cap' placed there (I noticed some heavy black plastic covering buried in some spots) - anyone know if this area was filled in?

 

Anyway - hope your hand's healing OK....

 

"If someone did you a favor - something big, something you couldn't do on your own, and instead of paying it back, you paid it forward to three people...and the next day they each paid it forward to three more...and the day after that, those 27 people each paid it forward to another three...and each day, everyone in turn paid it forward to three more people...in two weeks, that comes to 4,782,969 people." - Pay It Forward

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Lakemaster 3/29/03 at the Crozet Cache Dash

 

After 1 hour of sleep, Lakemaster drove an hour to Crashmore's house, then they drove an hour to mine. I then took over the driving duties and drove 2 hours to Crozet, VA, arriving at 8 AM. After breakfast where Lakemaster ate enough to choke a horse, we cached Mint Springs Park for 8 hours, climbing down off the last mountain at 5 pm after finding all 19 caches. I got back to my place at 8 PM, which means the earliest Lakemaster got home by is 10 PM. That's a 19 hours cache day for him. If that ain't gung-ho, I don't know what is.

 

If you hide it, they will come.

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Heres my caching adventure story.

I was in a local park. I went down a bank and crossed a small stream. While crossing the stream I got a small pebble in my sneaker. When I got up the other bank I had a small hole rubbed in my foot. OUCH How unpleasant,

Do I win a prize??????

 

Alumni of Cache U !

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quote:
Originally posted by Harrald:

I would only be allowed to do drive by caches.


 

Great. I read Brians adventure's to myself and was laughing hysterically so my wife wanted to know what was so funny. I read it to my wife. She laughed then said "No more geocaching unless its a virtual!" Should've read ahead to harrolds comments I guess. icon_biggrin.gif

 

PS: What the #@_)$#@ is a phragamite? icon_confused.gif Would someone PLEASE tell me!

 

PSS: I've lost some clothes on geocache hunts that got muddy too so I totally sympathize. I lost my favorite Hard Rock Vegas shirt on my trip to AD's Suburban Jungle.

 

alt.gif

 

www.gpswnj.com

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Phragmites , are also known as the common reed. They are the tall, grasslike plants you find in marshes, and other wet areas. Extremely common in NJ. In many places they are considered to be an invasive species and are targeted by environmentalists for removal.

 

"You can only protect your liberties in this world, by protecting the other man's freedom. "You can only be free if I am" -Clarence Darrow

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quote:
Originally posted by BrianSnat:

Phragmites are also known as the common reed. They are the tall, grasslike plants you find in marshes, and other wet areas. Extremely common in NJ. In many places they are considered to be an invasive species and are targeted by environmentalists for removal.


 

They're also known to eat two-way radios icon_wink.gif

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The 2003 Gung-Ho Geocacher-of-the-Year Nominees are presenting themselves nicely so far:

 

January 2003:Mike RiccoBono at the Curse of the Suburban Jungle

 

February 2003:We still need a nominee here...

 

March 2003:BrianSnat's extraordinary comedy of errors at The Bridge at Remagen cache. icon_smile.gif

 

April 2003: Nominees for this month are still being accepted... I'd like to nominate Team GWHO's need to realize that losing a Garmin V GPS is NOT kosher from his log at the Passaic Hideaway cache.

 

Perhaps we should award a nice spiffy trophy at our annual GeoEvents .. icon_wink.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by The Artful Dodger:

_February 2003:_We still need a nominee here...


 

How about Harts Climbs log from february on that same cache? My heart attack aside, I don't know gung-ho this was for me, but IMHO HC find is the epitome of gung-ho. I'd have run from the cache area screaming like a little girl, long before I ever had the chance to lose a snow shoe.... but yet he pressed on.

 

alt.gif

 

www.gpswnj.com

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Yikes!

 

How can I forget about our friend, Hartclimbs and his 'near-death' experience with a savage, rabid German Sheperd dog that terrorized the neighborhood ... icon_biggrin.gif

 

The revised 2003 Gung-Ho List is as follows:

 

January 2003:Mike RiccoBono at the Curse of the Suburban Jungle

 

February 2003:Hartclimbs German Shepard encounter at the Passaic Hideaway cache.

 

March 2003:BrianSnat's extraordinary comedy of errors at The Bridge at Remagen cache. icon_smile.gif

 

April 2003: Nominees for this month are still being accepted... I'd like to nominate Team GWHO's need to realize that losing a Garmin V GPS is NOT kosher from his log at the Passaic Hideaway cache.

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With the outing in Cheesequake scheduled for May 17/18th, I'm sure there will be some shenanigans to report for May.

 

BTW - do we get any state quarters for this award, I'm looking for something to leave in BrianSnat's caches?

 

There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home. - Ken Olsen, President, Digital Equipment, 1977

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