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Sanity Check


Guest makaio

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Guest makaio

I know most of us are fully aware of the risks involved when out hiking in the forest or climbing hills and mountains. With the tremendous surge of people coming into this sport, it's likely some may focus on the find and inadvertently disregard personal safety. I know I've found myself in predicaments I hadn't imagined I would and in some cases consider myself lucky to have gotten out of them (none while geocaching).

 

This weekend, my friend and co-worker, Robert Stockhouse fell to his death while hiking in the Jefferson National Forest in Oregon (he wasn't geocaching). Anyone who knows the area knows how dangerous these mountains are, especially in the damp atmosphere we have here. Robert was a *very* experienced hiker/climber and lived for being outdoors. Unfortunately, he made a bad decision to take the route he did and paid with his life.

 

There are lots of Category 5 caches hidden, some of which in places which require certain skills or daring to reach. While being able to find and log these caches may provide a sense of pride and accomplishment, none of them are worth risking personal injury. Please keep things in perspective when out cache hunting and don't take any unnecessary chances just to find a box with a logbook.

 

I suppose I'm being somewhat melancholy in the aftermath, as is probably natural. In times like this we tend to examine our own mortality and wonder why.

 

Please keep your safety paramount when enjoying this game.

 

Matt

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Guest tslack2000

quote:
Originally posted by makaio:

...none of them are worth risking personal injury...don't take any unnecessary chances just to find a box with a logbook.


 

Thank you for the reminder and my condolences to you for your loss. Thank goodness we haven't heard of any deaths due to Geocaching. That is something none of us want.

 

I was Geocaching yesterday with my wife and daughter. I was carrying my three month old daughter and when I ducked under some tree branches, one of them drug across my daughters face (right under her left eye) and on the top of her head. They dug in deep enough to make her bleed. I don't blame the cache hider in the least...I blame myself. I should've been more careful while carrying my daughter in my arms. I consider myself lucky that the branch didn't dig in a quarter of an inch higher. I could've blinded my daughter in one eye, and for what?

 

On another occasion, I found myself looking for a cache that was in a junker car in a field. When I started to look in the car I noticed a lot of hornets flying out of the door of the car. I have an allergic reaction to bee stings, so I had to give this search up so that I wouldn't risk being stung by a bee. (Which can be life threatening to those who are allergic.) In the name of safety, I'll go back to this cache in late fall or winter.

 

I know that you were talking about people risking their lives searching for class 5 caches and the two examples that I've just sited in no way compare to your friends experience. But, the truth be known, the majority of Geocachers are searching for much "easier" caches. No matter what the difficulty of the cache, we all need to keep safety in mind. I know I'll be more careful now, especially while geocaching with my daughter!! We all know our limits and it's up to us to keep this sport safe!

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Guest EraSeek

Hopefully I have posted strong enough warnings on my class fives, and I encourage others to make sure they do likewise. A tragedy is the last thing any of us want here. However, each of us who take on a challenge have only ourselves to blame for our own choices. If you are unsure, unable, or inexperienced don't go! If your ARE experienced you KNOW the risks are there! And it is you who have decided to take that risk! I Balance the risks against my ablities and take the risks not to challenge death but to LIVE life! I'm sure your friend felt the same way.

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Guest rediguana

Interesting topic. I started thinking about this more after a friend of mine nearly fell off a 20ft ledge going for a geocache in Sydney, Australia (GC52). Soon after that, I placed my first two caches, and included a list of risks associated with hunting for the cache - check GCB84,GCB8F.

 

In the cache pages, near the bottom of the description, I've included a list of risks, which include not only personal risks, but also risks to vehicles and routes that may be taken to the cache site.

 

I'm hoping that this will at least make people aware of some of the risks that they may face on the way to cache. Some of them may be self-evident, but just in case I try to highlight them, without giving too much away of course.

 

I think that this is a useful technique to ensure that people are at least made aware of hazards before they get to the cache.

 

Cheers Gav

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