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how do we get the word out in the NE?


Guest cache_ninja

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Guest cache_ninja

ok, i;m watching tons of caches being placed in MA every week, lots of new people caching, and I'm getting jealous. 1st off, is there anyone from DE/MD/DC/WV/NJ on here?

we need to get it going in these states! I don't think enough people in these states have heard about geocaching, or have and have looked on the url and found only 1 or 2 caches in these states and felt disappointed. Please anyone close by to any of these places, if you are just a 30min drive, why not find a nice park on your map/the web and stick a cache there? i really believe that once a single cache is placed somewhere, it really can poentially act as a catalyst for that area...

 

even though NY, VA and PA have quite a few, there are still vast areas of the states untouched.

 

it seems as though press can really help us out, and geocaching has been a subject that many reporters have found a particularly interesting subject to report on...

 

so i guess what i'm asking is, of the people here, does anyone have any suggestions in terms of media that might be worthwhile contacting? someone suggested this in another forum-it would be simple enough to get up a form letter and e-mail a bunch of places, i think it would work. obviously it would make more sense to contact places that already have stashes somewhat nearby.

It would be cool to get an article in a Baltimore paper for instance, but there are hardly any to be found there...So i think for now maybe we could work on press in PA/NY/VA? anyone know of regional or local papers? if the VA caches are near D.C. maybe the Washington Post?

 

any ideas? granted more people will be apt to go out after the snow is gone, but there are still plenty of people outdoors this time of year, they just don't know about geocaching yet..

 

some stuff i thought of for NYC: Village Voice, NY1 News, Metro Channel,

for the burbs? not sure, we have alot of Rockland/Westchester caches. what papers are there? Journal News? other ideas for NY/PA/VA? post them here..

 

we should give it a shot, it only take a few min to write an e-mail.

 

c/n

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-cache with 3-4 store coupons, neatly folded would be perfect. Tokens, metrocards and other small items would be great too. If you hid a micro-cache, be sure to let others know the size, so they don?t bring a big item that won?t fit.

 

Searching for a Cache

This email does not attempt to provide all the info you need to go out and search for a cache. For a good review of it all and before you head out, check out: http://www.geocaching.com/articles/finding.asp

 

Remember: The three steps to keeping the game fun!

Take Something,

Leave something,

Sign the log.

Keep these tips in mind when searching for a cache:

1. Bring a friend for safety and fun. Look up from your GPS when you are walking and watch where you are going. Keep an eye out for pot holes, trees, bears, telephone poles, etc.

2. Bring and drink plenty of water.

3. Let someone know where you?re going and when you?re coming back.

 

* Creating a Cache *

 

Look for a unique and creative site to hide your cache. DO NOT place a cache in an area that is inherently dangerous with the express purpose of endangering people?s health or safety.

 

Do not place food, drugs, ammunition, alcohol, chemicals, cigarettes, weapons, pornography or insensitive material in the cache. Lets be nice and play well with others shall we? This is a family game, with all ages possibly searching out your site, keep it simple and above board.

 

* Rating a Cache *

 

All caches are rated from D1 to D5. Rate both the access to the cache, and the actualy reaching the cache. D1 is the easiest with little need for walking far from a road. D5 is the hardest and requires climbing gear for land caches, and scuba equipment for water caches. For example it may be a D1 to walk down a street, but it may be a D5 to scale a cliff to touch the cache.

 

** Cost of the Game *

 

There are really only two costs to get started. The cost of a cache. I created my first one for about $12. You can spend as little or as much as you like, it?s up to you.

 

A GPS receiver. See below for sites that sell them. The cheapest one I have found is about $99. From there the price can go up into the thousands. For basic Geocaching play, almost any unit is fine. Fancy map functions are not needed, certainly not in NYC. A Hagstroms? might be a better investment. EMS sells a few models. And some electronic stores and even places like Staples sells them now. If you are interested in the game, try finding a friend who has a GPS and go out with them or borrow it. Also, since they are not toys most people use every day, you might think about splitting the cost with someone.

 

* GPS Equipment Sites *

I do not profit from these at all. (I wish I did) I have a Etrex Summit, but a regular Etrex is just $100 and works great, also the Magellan 310 is only about $100.

 

Here are a couple of sites worth your time. Search using any browser for GPS and you will get a bunch of hits. Ebay has hundreds of deals, even a late model GPS or one recently discontinued will easily perform well for this game.

 

Garmin http://www.garmin.com/

 

Adventure GPS http://www.gps4fun.com/

This site has the best prices I have found.

 

Vanns http://www.vanns.com/

This site has good prices and very good comparison features.

 

This game must be fun since the following waiver is so long!!!!

WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCLAIMER

!!! READ THIS ? IT IS IMPORTANT !!!

Disclaimer: You are under no obligation to hunt my (or anyone else?s) Geocaches. Use your best judgment with the environment and conditions and remember that, like all outdoor sports, there is an element of risk. When and if you find a cache, you are under no obligation to touch it, climb to it, dig for it, pick it up, or even open it. Open it at your own risk. If food or drink is present, do not consume it, throw it out.

In more detail.

1. Geostash/ Geocache hunting, like any outdoor sport, carries the risk of unforeseen hazards.

2. I support a policy of not knowingly placing stashes in areas that will create undue risk to the cache hunter. However, as conditions and cache locations may vary, it is the responsibility of the searcher to become thoroughly familiar with the conditions in the area to be searched, to adequately prepare for those conditions, and to conduct oneself safely and responsibly with respect to those conditions and with respect to his or her personal abilities and limitations. Individual Geostash and GPS cache sponsors assume no liability for events, which may occur, related directly or indirectly to one's searching for a stash.

3. Children should not hunt for GPS stashes unsupervised.

4. This activity has inherent risk, participants should be ready for unforeseen events, should know their route, carry proper equipment and supplies, and have more than one source of information and/or directions.

5. By reading and/or utilizing the GPS clues posted on this web site, you acknowledge the above conditions, and accept responsibility for your own actions, and agree to hold non-liable the GPS cache sponsors (person who hid the cache), website authors, and further, agree to provide this disclaimer to any person with whom you share these GPS cache locations.

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Guest cache_ninja

cool, much thanks for posting that...i'll use it in the future. I sent off a bunch of e-mails yesterday, but they were way less formal/more relaxed, this has worked tice before for me, and resulted in some press that's currently on the url. this is what I basically said, although some of the phrasing and format was slightly different:

 

hey,

 

i read you ____ or watch your____ (i.e fill in whatever in an enthusiastic way) all the time.

 

I'm sure you get tons of suggestions for stories, but i figured I'd send you this idea anyway becuase it's really is pretty interesting and unique. there's a worldwide gps treasure hunt of sorts thats going on-it started a few months ago and is growing fast. people post the coordinates of the thing they hid to the web, and others go out and hunt them down... check it out: www.geocaching.com

there are probably alot of caches hidden near you...i'm e-mailing you becuase I think this is something your readers/viewers(i.e. whatever fits) would be really excited about..not to mention its a good story: these wacky people hiding little stuff all over the world, and the strangers who go looking for them etc.

thanks for your time

 

c/n

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just got off the phone with a reporter from the Journal News (westchester, NY) and she is interested in doing a story. She is going to call around some more and get back to me. I offered to talk to her and to even show her how the game works. She wants to talk to someone in Westchester so she is trying to get Lucien Van Elsen on the phone.

 

SHe seems very interested so I would guess we will get a story out of it all.

 

great.

 

chris

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Guest cache_ninja

cool! thanks for helping.

i wasn't sure if she'd call. Yeah Lucien has alot of stuff in the burbs -Westchester/Rockland and was willing to help out so she should have no trouble reaching him-i gave her his number.....In terms of NYC, I've had 2 people from the Voice contact me but never reply after i replied back..dammit.

c/n

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Guest malates2

Hey... I answered your NJ call for help. I hid one cache in the Princeton area, and I plan on hiding a few more in central and south jersey... Let's get this thing started in the area!!

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Guest cache_ninja

malates2, nice to have you along! i've been meaning to get down to the pine barrens sometime soon. hopefully on the way I'll stop by at your cache. we've been doing pretty well in terms of getting some press here in the NYC metro area and there are a bunch of us, hopefully after the articles come out more people will join in.

 

If we get a few more in NJ it'll be easier to convince local press to do a story or two, which will really draw alot of people...

thanks again

 

c/n

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Guest Nostromo

Hi, I live in Virginia, and I am totally new to Geocaching. I just placed what appears to be the first cache within 90 miles of my home, so I am pretty excited. I just registered my first placement, "Percival's Island cache," a few minutes ago. Are there any other people on this forum in the Lynchburg area (24504)?

Love this concept.

 

Why is VA considered NE? I placed this note originally in South East. (Thanks Ninja)

 

-Nostromo

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Hello to All...

 

I happen to land on this site after doing some work related research. I have been thinking for quite sometime on getting a GPS. Now I would be getting it sooner, so I could join the hunt. I live in the Bronx and there are lots of places for hidden caches, around the Bronx river Parkway area going up to White Plains City or Yonkers.

I think I could start something in the Bronx

I know lots of people and maybe I could get some of them to join sport. The first thing I would do is "with your permission" copy the e-mail you posted and have my brother sent it to everyone on his database, his a promoter and his knows well respected people.

 

I will join the hunt once I get a GPS, I need to buy a good one also that I could use for work and travel. I'm thinking March or April. I'm a PC tech and I will be busy until March or early April due to new Certification requiredment by Microsoft.

 

Will Keep In Touch Soon.......

 

Frenchie

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Hey, I remember this thread. :)

 

I read about caching in the Feb 01 issue of Games magazine. The nearest cache was like 100 miles away. My old Maggie 2000 could barely lock on to the sats. (Only 4 channels) It took me a couple shots to catch on to the concept of waypoints. Imagine watching the location screen waiting for the number to get close to the posted coordinates, all while wandering around aimlessly through stickers and mud. Duh :P

 

Sometime in fall of 2001 the Star Ledger ran an article on Geocaching. Anyone know where that one is? I think that pretty much did it.

 

I remember looking at the site some time after that and thinking, "wow, that StayFloopy guy found over 50 caches!" :)

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