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Stockton & Modesto California Geocaching...Part 2


Ron Streeter

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quote:
Originally posted by LuvOzzy:

Hello

 

Heard something interesting about the Modesto-area caching get-together..heard it would be "invitation only." Is that true?? I know there are some folks who tend to hang out, chat, cache together, etc., and I was told that the get-together would be limited to specific people only.

 

Just curious if what I was told is correct info or not!

 

Thanks

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif


 

I mentioned doing one one in April last month but I never intended it being invitation only. I was going to post coordinates and have it as a geoevent.

 

That reminds me. I was thinking of having it at the Knights Ferry River park since it's such a lovely place to hike and would provide room for some caching games. I discussed it with Kevin and he thought it might not be the best place and worried about the rangers frowning on placing caches for games in the area.

 

The caches for the games were just going to be a larger washer with a code word written on it, which would be removed at the end of the day. I didn't even think I would mention it to the rangers since the impact would be minimal and removed.

 

Kevin thought we should hold it at the Tuolumne River Park by the airport. It again is large enough. My wife doesn't like the park due to the fact that we suspect it's a spot for cruzing. Lots of males in the parking log who later go disapear into the bushes. Just a suspision but the place has a vibe about it.

 

Anyway, I can't afford to throw much of a bash in April due to the whole taxes thing. I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go. But I can help organize.

 

george

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quote:
Originally posted by LuvOzzy:

Hello

 

Heard something interesting about the Modesto-area caching get-together..heard it would be "invitation only." Is that true?? I know there are some folks who tend to hang out, chat, cache together, etc., and I was told that the get-together would be limited to specific people only.

 

Just curious if what I was told is correct info or not!

 

Thanks

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif


 

I mentioned doing one one in April last month but I never intended it being invitation only. I was going to post coordinates and have it as a geoevent.

 

That reminds me. I was thinking of having it at the Knights Ferry River park since it's such a lovely place to hike and would provide room for some caching games. I discussed it with Kevin and he thought it might not be the best place and worried about the rangers frowning on placing caches for games in the area.

 

The caches for the games were just going to be a larger washer with a code word written on it, which would be removed at the end of the day. I didn't even think I would mention it to the rangers since the impact would be minimal and removed.

 

Kevin thought we should hold it at the Tuolumne River Park by the airport. It again is large enough. My wife doesn't like the park due to the fact that we suspect it's a spot for cruzing. Lots of males in the parking log who later go disapear into the bushes. Just a suspision but the place has a vibe about it.

 

Anyway, I can't afford to throw much of a bash in April due to the whole taxes thing. I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go. But I can help organize.

 

george

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Hi George

 

First off, thanks for the info on the caching event. I would be glad to help out if you need anything.

 

Also, I think that Mary's suspicions about what goes on at that park are probably correct. The last time we were there, we noticed the same thing. We were there about 9 a.m., and there were at least 6 cars in the parking lot, each with one man inside. We went and cached, and when we came back, most of the same cars were there but had moved to different spots. We also saw one man get out of his car and walk down into the park, and he was most definitely not dressed for a leisurely stroll down the path; he looked like he was ready for work in an office! When I placed a cache there, I had no idea it was a "bad" place. Maybe the cachers can run off the pervs!!

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif

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Hi George

 

First off, thanks for the info on the caching event. I would be glad to help out if you need anything.

 

Also, I think that Mary's suspicions about what goes on at that park are probably correct. The last time we were there, we noticed the same thing. We were there about 9 a.m., and there were at least 6 cars in the parking lot, each with one man inside. We went and cached, and when we came back, most of the same cars were there but had moved to different spots. We also saw one man get out of his car and walk down into the park, and he was most definitely not dressed for a leisurely stroll down the path; he looked like he was ready for work in an office! When I placed a cache there, I had no idea it was a "bad" place. Maybe the cachers can run off the pervs!!

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif

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Making the geoevent "invitation only" doesn't ring true...if someone wants to do that, they should just contact the few people they want and then agree (in private) where to get together!

 

Those events can require a fair amount of planning...hiding a dozen caches is quite a feat and then getting some kind of "spaced" hunt for them is another thing...otherwise all hunters are going after the same caches at once.

 

George.....

 

You addressed an issue about the Tuolumne River Park that I wanted to ask you about when you got back. I TOO HAD NOTICED A LOT OF SINGLE MALES circulating in the park the two times I was there.

 

Last week I parked about 2 p.m....had a late lunch in the car and noticed a truck five spaces down from me with a fellow who kept looking in my direction every time I looked over.

 

In the 10 minutes or so I was lunching, about 5 cars circled through the lot....all driven by single males...all of whom gave me the once over as they drove by.

 

I don't care how anyone lives their lives, but when it impacts me in a way that DOES make me feel uncomfortable, then I take action. I think my action would be to not go back to the park ! I certainly would feel more comfortable in a group picnic, but imagine wandering off for a cache hunt and finding something unexpected in the woods! Thanks but no thanks.

 

When I left the lot after finding the newest cache there, I saw two men talking by a car two spots from mine. As I drove out I rolled down the window and asked them if this park had a reputation. They commented it did. When I suggested there seemed to be a lot of single males cruising around they said "yes, but a lot of couples too." They didn't say what gender the couples were.

 

I vote that park out for any picnic.

 

Ron

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

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How about one of the area reservoirs for the event? Don Pedro, Tulloch and Turlock all have nice picnic/BBQ areas, and there are lots and lots of places around for hiding caches.

 

I agree with Ron on not having the event at Tuolumne Park. Glad to hear you made it out of there safely, Ron!

 

jaimee icon_smile.gif

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How about one of the area reservoirs for the event? Don Pedro, Tulloch and Turlock all have nice picnic/BBQ areas, and there are lots and lots of places around for hiding caches.

 

I agree with Ron on not having the event at Tuolumne Park. Glad to hear you made it out of there safely, Ron!

 

jaimee icon_smile.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by LuvOzzy:

How about one of the area reservoirs for the event? Don Pedro, Tulloch and Turlock all have nice picnic/BBQ areas, and there are lots and lots of places around for hiding caches.

 

I agree with Ron on not having the event at Tuolumne Park. Glad to hear you made it out of there safely, Ron!

 

jaimee icon_smile.gif


 

The only one of those lakes I've been to in a while is Turlock and I don't remember much in the way of trials around. It's mostly rolling grassy hills. That's why I didn't really consider it as a geoevent area. Tulloch and Don Pedro I don't know much about so someone would have to fill me in.

 

I might as well take this opportunity to call for a show of hands. Who would like to help me throw a geoevent. (again.. thinking april). We need to pick a place, date, and come up with some activities. I don't think food would be a problem since we could just make it a pot-luck and everyone could just bring something and share.

 

I already have a few cache games we can play. I've already decided on at least doing a 3 card poker run.

 

george

 

george

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quote:
Originally posted by LuvOzzy:

How about one of the area reservoirs for the event? Don Pedro, Tulloch and Turlock all have nice picnic/BBQ areas, and there are lots and lots of places around for hiding caches.

 

I agree with Ron on not having the event at Tuolumne Park. Glad to hear you made it out of there safely, Ron!

 

jaimee icon_smile.gif


 

The only one of those lakes I've been to in a while is Turlock and I don't remember much in the way of trials around. It's mostly rolling grassy hills. That's why I didn't really consider it as a geoevent area. Tulloch and Don Pedro I don't know much about so someone would have to fill me in.

 

I might as well take this opportunity to call for a show of hands. Who would like to help me throw a geoevent. (again.. thinking april). We need to pick a place, date, and come up with some activities. I don't think food would be a problem since we could just make it a pot-luck and everyone could just bring something and share.

 

I already have a few cache games we can play. I've already decided on at least doing a 3 card poker run.

 

george

 

george

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I'll let the Modesto area folks decide where it's going to be...you know the area better than I do...and I'll be happy to help George with setting up some of his games.

 

Count me out on the Poker though...I'm not a card player...I don't know a flush from a full-house.

 

I think it's a great idea to just let everyone bring their own lunch. That way you can make your own, bring KFC, pizza or do whatever you want.

 

Looking forward to meeting those folks I have only been corresponding with !

 

Ron

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

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Tulloch is nice, especially the actual drive into it. Goodwin Canyon is where Tomaski has a cache hidden I think and maybe Retreevers also. Not sure about the day use area there. Don Pedro probably doesn't have an abudance of hiding spots, but I have never really looked at it from that perspective before.

 

There's always Dry Creek. Already lots of caches there, but it is a nice, safe park.

 

The only other nice places I know of are up in the foothills. Ceres has nice parks but none that would be good for this kind of function.

 

Let me know if you need help doing anything specific, George. Pat and I are both willing to help. We will be out of town from April 22 to April 28, but any other time is fine.

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif

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Tulloch is nice, especially the actual drive into it. Goodwin Canyon is where Tomaski has a cache hidden I think and maybe Retreevers also. Not sure about the day use area there. Don Pedro probably doesn't have an abudance of hiding spots, but I have never really looked at it from that perspective before.

 

There's always Dry Creek. Already lots of caches there, but it is a nice, safe park.

 

The only other nice places I know of are up in the foothills. Ceres has nice parks but none that would be good for this kind of function.

 

Let me know if you need help doing anything specific, George. Pat and I are both willing to help. We will be out of town from April 22 to April 28, but any other time is fine.

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by georgeandmary:

I don't quite understand what's you want for this cache. It sounds like you're going for the travel bug idea. How would you claim this cache?


 

Just log it like a regular cache.

 

quote:
Are you constantly going to update the coordinates as the toy moves through the US and the world. george

 

Yep, As people e-mail me telling me where they have left Wallace I will update the Coordinates to match the parent host cache.

 

Let me know if I'm still not being clear.

dave

 

P.S. I'm taking your camera bug to Az this weekend, you didn't write in the log if you had taken a photo of the "Steep Station" cache or not, so I took one

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Well, at least the GeoEvent of April, 2002 in the Modesto area !

 

Here's an idea I would like to work on if it is of any interest to the folks who will attend.

 

I would like to pick a space completely open to the sky, place a pastic box there...or a pole or whatever...and have each of us take readings on our gps receivers.

 

Then naturally, we go away and come back later, each person stopping at his/her "zero" point (or 5 feet or whatever). Then we all look at each other (and the pole) and get an idea of how accurate or inaccurate these darn things are !

 

No clues need to be posted for this one.

 

What do you think? Wouldn't take long and a 2nd trip back to the spot an hour or two later should give a new set of SATs in the sky to read from. I just think it would be interesting. I see us looking at each other from 20 to 50 feet apart, and MAYBE the cache will be in the middle of our circle.

 

Ron

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

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quote:
Originally posted by Dirt Hawker:

 

Yep, As people e-mail me telling me where they have left Wallace I will update the Coordinates to match the parent host cache.

 

Let me know if I'm still not being clear.

dave

 

P.S. I'm taking your camera bug to Az this weekend, you didn't write in the log if you had taken a photo of the "Steep Station" cache or not, so I took one


 

You can go back and edit your log, (I think) but I'm more intrested in knowing when the camera is empty.

 

I just noticed, you didn't log the bug on the bug page. Write what ever you want on the bug log page. You can include how many pictures you took.

 

george

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quote:
You can go back and edit your log, (I think) but I'm more intrested in knowing when the camera is empty.

 

My log was/is fine, I was referring to yours. If you record that you have taken a picture with a camera in the caches physical log book (that little note book in each cache), the next person to retrieve the camera knows they don't need to take a photo at the cache. Your camera will last longer if you only get 1 photo at each cache location...

 

quote:
I just noticed, you didn't log the bug on the bug page. Write what ever you want on the bug log page. You can include how many pictures you took.

 

As I responded to your e-mail I wasn't able to log the TB until tonight, hopefully nobody went looking for it between 5:30pm and 10:30pm.

 

Also I thought you might be sending me an e-mail to ask how I was going to handle the "Wallace" cache while he is in transit; So, I change the coordinates to somewhere in the Pacific until Wallace is placed in a new cache. At which time I update the cache page with the new coordinates.

 

Thanks

dav

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quote:
Originally posted by Ron Streeter:

Then naturally, we go away and come back later, each person stopping at his/her "zero" point (or 5 feet or whatever).


 

My 12XL's "zero" point is a 11.1' circle (assuming 11 sat coverage.) what receivers are you guys using that you can get a zero point? Also if I'm mistaken about the resolution of the 12XL please let me.

 

Thanks

dave

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Hi Dirt Hawker....

 

My original gps (Magellan 315 in Feb, 2001)had a disturbing habit of taking me 20 or more feet beyond a cache and then I had to double back. This was because when my walking speed fell below 2 mph, it started "averaging" the SAT signals.

 

Geocachers moaned and groaned about this for a long time. I bought the yellow Etrex to get around this.

 

Now my Magellan 315 (the original) has had a software upgrade and it lets me walk as slowly as I want and it doesn't average until I stop walking. This makes it much better than it used to be, but the yellow Etrex still has it beat I think.

 

The Etrex will often let me walk right down to 3.00 feet from the coordinates, and sometimes right down to zero.

 

Then of course you look around, but CONSIDER THIS...the person who placed the cache had a different gps device AND the positon of the SATS in the sky at the two different times affects things too. This is why I would like to conduct the test I described above.

 

So, Magellan 315....better than it used to be, and good for placing because sitting on top of a PLACED cache, it is averaging all the SAT signals and THEORETICALLY, would give some good coords for people to come after. I sometimes use both my gps's to get the coords for a cache I am placing.

 

Hope this rambling note answers some of what you were asking about.

 

FILTERING....

 

As far as I know, there is no way you can filter these out. You'll have to live with it I think..at least for now. There is a virtual cache which I don't want to go for that is cluttering up one of my pages too, but until I go for it, it's just going to hang there.

 

Ron

 

P.S. Your Wallace traveler seems like it is going to be quite a "high maintenance" item !

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

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quote:
Originally posted by Dirt Hawker:

 

My log was/is fine, I was referring to yours. If you record that you have taken a picture with a camera in the caches physical log book (that little note book in each cache), the next person to retrieve the camera knows they don't need to take a photo at the cache. Your camera will last longer if you only get 1 photo at each cache location...

 

dav


 

I'm not really worried about how long the camera lasts, and I don't necessarily want the photos to be cache related. I'm just using the cache as a way to get the camera to travel around. It's a similar experiment to www.phototag.com. Can't wait to see where it pops up in Arizona.

 

george

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quote:
Originally posted by georgeandmary:

Watch for a special, one time only cache that's going to pop up soon for the Modesto area cachers. It's nothing huge but who ever finds it first.. take it. No log, no trade items. Just a gift for who ever get's there first.

 

george and mary.


 

That didn't take long.. congradulations to C&MMorris and familly who found it early this morning.

 

Happy Easter.

 

george and mary

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Just curious how many folks in this area are charter members. I read over the charter membership info on the Geocaching website, and I guess I am not seeing the real benefit of it. Maybe later it will be worth the $30 (they say that you are basically going to get very little in the beginning, and I appreciate the honesty), but I really don't want to spend $30 to get to look for a few "members only" caches every now and then. The info page mentions caches for "dedicated geocachers" only..does that mean if you don't pay for the membership you aren't dedicated?

 

I probably will get my head bit off for posting this, but oh well..just wanted to try to understand the benefit. I understand the part about helping support the website, etc., etc.

 

Have a happy Easter!

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif

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Just curious how many folks in this area are charter members. I read over the charter membership info on the Geocaching website, and I guess I am not seeing the real benefit of it. Maybe later it will be worth the $30 (they say that you are basically going to get very little in the beginning, and I appreciate the honesty), but I really don't want to spend $30 to get to look for a few "members only" caches every now and then. The info page mentions caches for "dedicated geocachers" only..does that mean if you don't pay for the membership you aren't dedicated?

 

I probably will get my head bit off for posting this, but oh well..just wanted to try to understand the benefit. I understand the part about helping support the website, etc., etc.

 

Have a happy Easter!

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by LuvOzzy:

Just curious how many folks in this area are charter members. I read over the charter membership info on the Geocaching website, and I guess I am not seeing the real benefit of it. Maybe later it will be worth the $30 (they say that you are basically going to get very little in the beginning, and I appreciate the honesty), but I really don't want to spend $30 to get to look for a few "members only" caches every now and then. The info page mentions caches for "dedicated geocachers" only..does that mean if you don't pay for the membership you aren't dedicated?

 

I probably will get my head bit off for posting this, but oh well..just wanted to try to understand the benefit. I understand the part about helping support the website, etc., etc.

 

Have a happy Easter!

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif


 

There are no real benifits. I became a member bascically because I've done web pages before and I've no how hard and how much it takes to get a website like this up and running. I'm so impressed by the features and the usefulness that I just wanted to suport the site. I originally suported the site by buying some products, (T-shirt, travel bugs) but then when the membership option popped up I went for it.

 

Have you ever seen the altervative to this site? www.navicache.com, this site is just so much better.

 

george

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quote:
Originally posted by LuvOzzy:

Just curious how many folks in this area are charter members. I read over the charter membership info on the Geocaching website, and I guess I am not seeing the real benefit of it. Maybe later it will be worth the $30 (they say that you are basically going to get very little in the beginning, and I appreciate the honesty), but I really don't want to spend $30 to get to look for a few "members only" caches every now and then. The info page mentions caches for "dedicated geocachers" only..does that mean if you don't pay for the membership you aren't dedicated?

 

I probably will get my head bit off for posting this, but oh well..just wanted to try to understand the benefit. I understand the part about helping support the website, etc., etc.

 

Have a happy Easter!

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif


 

There are no real benifits. I became a member bascically because I've done web pages before and I've no how hard and how much it takes to get a website like this up and running. I'm so impressed by the features and the usefulness that I just wanted to suport the site. I originally suported the site by buying some products, (T-shirt, travel bugs) but then when the membership option popped up I went for it.

 

Have you ever seen the altervative to this site? www.navicache.com, this site is just so much better.

 

george

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Well George, the Morris family MUST have been out early this morning. I was at the sidewalk at 8:20 and they had already been there. I appreciated the FOUND message they wrote in the dirt though. Saved me from looking for nothing !

 

I went prepared with an envelope that said HAPPY EASTER in 36 point letters. I was going to leave it (and the note inside) in case I found it first. That way the other folks who came along would find something to let them know it had been found. If not for the note in the dirt I would have looked longer, so I DID appreciate that.

 

I put in an 11 hour, 220 mile day and for that found 6 caches, didn't find 2 caches and saw lots of wildlife. Have to take a break and then will start posting !

 

LuvOzzy....

 

Like George, I joined the charter membership mostly to support the site. I had bought a few things over the last year and did some work for Jeremy for about 3 months (cache approvals) but thought it was time to kick in a bit more. I don't know how I feel about placing member-only cache hunts.....seems a bit exclusive, but maybe will do one.

 

Ron

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

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Thanks Ron and George for the replys on memberships. I think the "members only" caches would be cool if everyone around here were members. Considering the amount of folks currently caching in this area, the ratio of members to nonmembers is quite low. Seems it wouldn't be too much fun to place a cache just for 2 or 3 others to find.

 

Sounds like you had a busy day Ron. Were you out at our GiddyUp cache this morning? We saw someone back there in a teal Explorer or something similar.

 

I hope everyone has a nice holiday tomorrow. I am working for a bit and then may go out hunting in the afternoon. We had planned to retry Dragonfly again Friday but ran out of time!

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif

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Thanks Ron and George for the replys on memberships. I think the "members only" caches would be cool if everyone around here were members. Considering the amount of folks currently caching in this area, the ratio of members to nonmembers is quite low. Seems it wouldn't be too much fun to place a cache just for 2 or 3 others to find.

 

Sounds like you had a busy day Ron. Were you out at our GiddyUp cache this morning? We saw someone back there in a teal Explorer or something similar.

 

I hope everyone has a nice holiday tomorrow. I am working for a bit and then may go out hunting in the afternoon. We had planned to retry Dragonfly again Friday but ran out of time!

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif

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LuvOzzy....

 

Yep, that was me in the Teal Explorer ! It was so much easier this time. Last time I had an umbrella in one hand, gps in the other and rain pouring down. That day I looked for about 5 minutes and decided there was no way....I'm assuming your original water tower "clue" was an indicator that you lived in that direction. Must be fun to look out the window and see us stumbling around !

 

I see you have a new one just a few miles from where I was today....I'll wait until a few more end up down there and then go back in and look for the two I couldn't find today...slithering and Egrets No Regrets.

 

Ron

icon_smile.gificon_smile.gif

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

 

[This message was edited by Ron Streeter on March 30, 2002 at 10:53 PM.]

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LuvOzzy....

 

Yep, that was me in the Teal Explorer ! It was so much easier this time. Last time I had an umbrella in one hand, gps in the other and rain pouring down. That day I looked for about 5 minutes and decided there was no way....I'm assuming your original water tower "clue" was an indicator that you lived in that direction. Must be fun to look out the window and see us stumbling around !

 

I see you have a new one just a few miles from where I was today....I'll wait until a few more end up down there and then go back in and look for the two I couldn't find today...slithering and Egrets No Regrets.

 

Ron

icon_smile.gificon_smile.gif

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

 

[This message was edited by Ron Streeter on March 30, 2002 at 10:53 PM.]

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Hi Ron

 

Yes, the water tower clue was basically to let people know they had to be facing that particular direction in order to find the cache. I can imagine it was none to pleasant hunting out there in the rain. I am glad you found it this time around.

 

Pat had a hard time with Slithering also. I didn't hunt for that one because I had a sore muscle in my back that wouldn't allow me to climb back up that hill!

 

Well, off I go to work. I am hoping to get done early so we can go cache hunting this afternoon.

 

Have a good day!

 

jaimee icon_biggrin.gif

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Hi Ron

 

Yes, the water tower clue was basically to let people know they had to be facing that particular direction in order to find the cache. I can imagine it was none to pleasant hunting out there in the rain. I am glad you found it this time around.

 

Pat had a hard time with Slithering also. I didn't hunt for that one because I had a sore muscle in my back that wouldn't allow me to climb back up that hill!

 

Well, off I go to work. I am hoping to get done early so we can go cache hunting this afternoon.

 

Have a good day!

 

jaimee icon_biggrin.gif

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Seems to be a positive correlation between caching and sore backs! I hurt my back while down at Tuolumne park a few weeks ago. I have never really hurt my back before, and it was not very pleasant! It really sucked that I had to watch my husband on the next few caches and couldn't participate!

 

Hope your back feels better so you can make good use of your time off!

 

Jaimee icon_razz.gif

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Seems to be a positive correlation between caching and sore backs! I hurt my back while down at Tuolumne park a few weeks ago. I have never really hurt my back before, and it was not very pleasant! It really sucked that I had to watch my husband on the next few caches and couldn't participate!

 

Hope your back feels better so you can make good use of your time off!

 

Jaimee icon_razz.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by LuvOzzy:

Seems to be a positive correlation between caching and sore backs! I hurt my back while down at Tuolumne park a few weeks back. I have never really hurt my back before, and it was not very pleasant! It really sucked that I had to watch my husband on the next few caches and couldn't participate!

 

Hope your back feels better so you can make good use of your time off!

 

Jaimee icon_razz.gif


 

I've had problems with it for the past few years. I wasn't even doing much when it happend (as always). I just stepped up onto a rock and I felt it spasm. I was kind of worried for a second since I was in the area of Single Barbles no Live Bait and I had just hiked down the side of the hill. Since I instantly stopped my search I did not log it as a NOT FOUND but I was a pain getting out of there. I usually cary some Vicadin with me but couldn't find it in my back and just walked out really carefully. Had one kid with me, with Mary waiting further up the hill. If worse came to worse someone could have gone for help, but I made it out.

 

I had planned on hitting Skullduggery, Nothing but... Dinosaurs, and SACTO Dist 901, but I instead went home and hit the heating pad.

 

sucks.

 

george

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quote:
Originally posted by LuvOzzy:

Seems to be a positive correlation between caching and sore backs! I hurt my back while down at Tuolumne park a few weeks back. I have never really hurt my back before, and it was not very pleasant! It really sucked that I had to watch my husband on the next few caches and couldn't participate!

 

Hope your back feels better so you can make good use of your time off!

 

Jaimee icon_razz.gif


 

I've had problems with it for the past few years. I wasn't even doing much when it happend (as always). I just stepped up onto a rock and I felt it spasm. I was kind of worried for a second since I was in the area of Single Barbles no Live Bait and I had just hiked down the side of the hill. Since I instantly stopped my search I did not log it as a NOT FOUND but I was a pain getting out of there. I usually cary some Vicadin with me but couldn't find it in my back and just walked out really carefully. Had one kid with me, with Mary waiting further up the hill. If worse came to worse someone could have gone for help, but I made it out.

 

I had planned on hitting Skullduggery, Nothing but... Dinosaurs, and SACTO Dist 901, but I instead went home and hit the heating pad.

 

sucks.

 

george

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Hi,

 

We were gone to the NSTA meetings in San Diego and just got back. We had hoped to do a few caches there but there wasn't a lot of extra time plus I had the fun of battling a cold with sore throat. It was interesting to read through some of the topics recently. We haven't been down to Toulomne River Park for a while, we used to go there quite often to go birding but there were too many strange weird incidents happening such as were described in some of the post above. I am sorry to hear that it is continuing. Another place for possible problems is down near the Kuhn Park end of Thousand Oaks Park. (Near the Ivy cache) It is another area we go birding, but the homeless poplulation were quite aggressive about a year ago. Most of the time for birding you are there early in the morning and felt some what isolated so we are more careful now. For both of those area going with a group would be a good safety precaution. icon_eek.gif

 

Hope every one had a good Easter.

Sherrie

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Hi,

 

We were gone to the NSTA meetings in San Diego and just got back. We had hoped to do a few caches there but there wasn't a lot of extra time plus I had the fun of battling a cold with sore throat. It was interesting to read through some of the topics recently. We haven't been down to Toulomne River Park for a while, we used to go there quite often to go birding but there were too many strange weird incidents happening such as were described in some of the post above. I am sorry to hear that it is continuing. Another place for possible problems is down near the Kuhn Park end of Thousand Oaks Park. (Near the Ivy cache) It is another area we go birding, but the homeless poplulation were quite aggressive about a year ago. Most of the time for birding you are there early in the morning and felt some what isolated so we are more careful now. For both of those area going with a group would be a good safety precaution. icon_eek.gif

 

Hope every one had a good Easter.

Sherrie

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George....

 

Sorry to hear about your geocaching injury ! I know how painful that can be. I once "threw my back out" trying to move a trailer tongue..my back moved...it didn't. Excruciating !

 

Double whammy since it comes at a time when you hoped to knock down some serious caches. Maybe after a few days or so you'll feel like going for some.

 

If you want a slight clue on the Single, barbless, fish-hook cache, email me. It was quite off from the coords if I remember correctly.

 

Thanks for your email George on the two of yours I couldn't find. You labeled them both as Slithering, but one was the Egret..I'll sort them out. Hints seemed like they would help me find them. Probably get down that way when a new one or two pop up.

 

I spent Easter on an egg hunt in Sac !

 

Ron

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

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quote:
Originally posted by Ron Streeter:

 

I become increasingly convinced that if we just take a set of readings (even in a clearing) that that is not good enough. I have done that, then walked a quarter mile away (to let some time go by and SAT positions change) and have walked back in. While my original setting showed accuracy to 4 feet, when I walked back in and stood at the cache I had just placed, it showed it was still 50 feet away.


 

I believe the accuracy of our consumer units are +/- 15 meters (around 50 feet), 95% of the time... for WAAS units, the specified accuracy is +/- 7 meters (about 23 feet), with an observed accuracy of +/- 3 meters (around 10 feet) 95% of the time.

 

quote:

I have started taking readings with two gps units. I know...not everyone has two. BUT, you can take a reading. Walk out, walk back in, take another reading. Even come back later in the day if you are in the same park....and check your coordinates.

 

When I see on a repeated basis (from a number of cachers) that coordinates are off by 40 feet, I start to give up ! I trust my gps to take me down to a few feet of the cache coordinates, but if the person who posted the coordinates did not do a very accurate job of taking them, it's all for naught...


 

The 40 feet fall within the accuracy specifications...

 

We carry a Garmin eTrex and a Magellan 315 or Meridian Gold when planting a cache.

 

A good rule of thumb for those with auto-averaging units is to let the GPS auto-average for 20 minutes on top of the cache. This normally places the reading in the 95% level.

 

While the Magellan is auto-averaging, we approach the cache with an eTrex from 8 directions (if possible), at a distance of 100 yards, average its readings, and post both sets of averaged coordinates.

 

The averages have never been the same value, but fall within the accuracy specifications.

 

Given a worst case scenario, where the cache hider has -50 foot accuracy, and the cache finder has +50 foot accuracy, it is possible to be off by 100 feet.

 

With this in mind, if we haven't found the cache within an hour, we start a spiral search pattern from a given center point, to a radius of 150 feet.

 

If this isn't successful, then we go home, log the miss, and read the log entries... but we don't read the clue.

 

If we miss a second time, we go home, log the miss and read the clue...

 

Some of the competitive cachers in the area look for caches with logged misses... and join the hunt!

 

After a while, we can normally tell if the cache hider used a Garmin or Magellan unit to take the readings.

 

quote:

Well, those are most of my feelings I guess. I hope we will get some input on this. George and I seem to be having a "tin cans on a string" conversation going here, and this forum is for all Modesto/Stockton/Lodi/Sacramento cachers who have opinions.


 

The string now stretches to Sacramento! icon_wink.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Ron Streeter:

 

I become increasingly convinced that if we just take a set of readings (even in a clearing) that that is not good enough. I have done that, then walked a quarter mile away (to let some time go by and SAT positions change) and have walked back in. While my original setting showed accuracy to 4 feet, when I walked back in and stood at the cache I had just placed, it showed it was still 50 feet away.


 

I believe the accuracy of our consumer units are +/- 15 meters (around 50 feet), 95% of the time... for WAAS units, the specified accuracy is +/- 7 meters (about 23 feet), with an observed accuracy of +/- 3 meters (around 10 feet) 95% of the time.

 

quote:

I have started taking readings with two gps units. I know...not everyone has two. BUT, you can take a reading. Walk out, walk back in, take another reading. Even come back later in the day if you are in the same park....and check your coordinates.

 

When I see on a repeated basis (from a number of cachers) that coordinates are off by 40 feet, I start to give up ! I trust my gps to take me down to a few feet of the cache coordinates, but if the person who posted the coordinates did not do a very accurate job of taking them, it's all for naught...


 

The 40 feet fall within the accuracy specifications...

 

We carry a Garmin eTrex and a Magellan 315 or Meridian Gold when planting a cache.

 

A good rule of thumb for those with auto-averaging units is to let the GPS auto-average for 20 minutes on top of the cache. This normally places the reading in the 95% level.

 

While the Magellan is auto-averaging, we approach the cache with an eTrex from 8 directions (if possible), at a distance of 100 yards, average its readings, and post both sets of averaged coordinates.

 

The averages have never been the same value, but fall within the accuracy specifications.

 

Given a worst case scenario, where the cache hider has -50 foot accuracy, and the cache finder has +50 foot accuracy, it is possible to be off by 100 feet.

 

With this in mind, if we haven't found the cache within an hour, we start a spiral search pattern from a given center point, to a radius of 150 feet.

 

If this isn't successful, then we go home, log the miss, and read the log entries... but we don't read the clue.

 

If we miss a second time, we go home, log the miss and read the clue...

 

Some of the competitive cachers in the area look for caches with logged misses... and join the hunt!

 

After a while, we can normally tell if the cache hider used a Garmin or Magellan unit to take the readings.

 

quote:

Well, those are most of my feelings I guess. I hope we will get some input on this. George and I seem to be having a "tin cans on a string" conversation going here, and this forum is for all Modesto/Stockton/Lodi/Sacramento cachers who have opinions.


 

The string now stretches to Sacramento! icon_wink.gif

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Hi Georockers (George isn't it?)

 

Welcome to the Stockton/Modesto forum !

 

I guess I have been frustrated of late by some of the caches I have gone for....a combination of accuracy (I think), tall grasses and clues (?).

 

George (of George&Mary fame) started me thinking about the clues we give, and now I am going to look carefully at what I provide to people.

 

LuvOzzy has said several times how subjective the clues are, and she is right about that. Some of the clues aren't clues at all, but comments on some other aspect of the hunt. LuvOzzy is right that what the PLACER feels is a clue is not considered (or interpreted by) the finder.

 

As far as the accuracy goes, George (of Georockers) you are preaching to the choir! Even when I used the Mag 315 (before they patched the software)I had good results as I adapted to walking past the cache and then back...I found a ton of caches in Sac in the old days....I don't know if the hiders were doing a better job of taking readings if the clues were better or maybe I just spent more time looking.

 

When I bought the yellow Etrex I was amazed by how much better it was at getting me on target compared to the Mag 315.

 

Today I find I'm not much interested in spending more than 30 (maybe 45) minutes looking for a cache unless I drove an hour to find just the one. It just isn't worth it. So maybe my interest has waned a bit.

 

I was in Sac on Easter Sunday doing an Easter egg hunt and found all 11 I went for. Looking back at them I see they were all "1"s or 1.5s for the most part. They were fun hunts and the accuracy seemed pretty good...I think I was within 8 feet on all of them....this is why I think the 40 to 50 foot range I have been experiencing on some Modesto hunts is frustrating....I got spoiled !

 

Anyway, more than anyone wants to know about my hunts.....thanks George (of Georockers) for joining our discussion.

 

Ron

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

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Hello all

 

Anyone else have the day off and heading out caching? With the Easter holiday, I have no work right now and my boss just told me to take the day off..DANG! icon_biggrin.gif

 

I am now pondering the question of whether or not to venture out on my own. I have always gone caching with my hubby, but I have wanted to take a stab at it alone. Not sure if I want to venture too far off alone because I am pretty much a wimp when by myself!

 

I hope everyone had a great Easter. I worked and Pat did yardwork..not too exciting around here!

 

Jaimee icon_razz.gif

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Hello all

 

Anyone else have the day off and heading out caching? With the Easter holiday, I have no work right now and my boss just told me to take the day off..DANG! icon_biggrin.gif

 

I am now pondering the question of whether or not to venture out on my own. I have always gone caching with my hubby, but I have wanted to take a stab at it alone. Not sure if I want to venture too far off alone because I am pretty much a wimp when by myself!

 

I hope everyone had a great Easter. I worked and Pat did yardwork..not too exciting around here!

 

Jaimee icon_razz.gif

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Its been a good trip was able to hit 10 caches on the way from Los Banos to Yuma, Az. Had trouble finding a home for Georges camera bug, none of the caches I was hitting were big enough. The only cache that was, was 17mi on a 4x4 only road. Although I did startle two Big horn sheep at the cache sight, first time I've seen them in the wild. Got some good pics. So yesterday I revisited Mitry lake and left the camera there. That cache is about as easy as they get over here. They take their caching seiously, no city or paved road caches. Hopefully the 600+mi will get Georges camera off to a good start.

 

Thanks

dave

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LuvOzzy...

 

I do most of my caching alone, but then I am a guy and therefore can ward off all those nasty bad guys by flailing my walking stick at them !

 

I have done some cache hunting with others but early on for me (and maybe now) I had an issue with the other person finding it before I did !

 

Gee I'm a creep. When I did cache hunts with my "significant other" (we're not married) we decided that the first person who found it (if we were separated by some distance..20 feet say...) would put down a personal item....like sunglasses or keys and would then wander off. That way when the SECOND person found it, it would be a tipoff, but would STILL give the second person a chance to REALLY find it. Sounds infantile right? That's me !

 

Anyway, she has lost interest and now I do them on my own for the most part.

 

Don't know how you or Pat would feel about it, but if you want to team up for a morning, I'd be happy to give it a shot..I could use the companionship and the caching input for Modesto searching !

 

I don't go to work until 5 pm on Monday and Wednesday and I have Friday off completely. If you're interested, just email me at rjsmovie@aol.com. Hey bring Pat along too !

 

Ron

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

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