Tracker Jim’s Geocaching Outpost

Geocachers lend a hand to Fallon Families First (Lahontan Valley News)

Geocaching, a relatively new form of outdoor adventure, is where participants use global positioning system (GPS) units to find “caches” containing hidden prizes or trinkets. Gov. Kenny Guinn proclaimed May 21 Nevada Geocache Day to showcase the event.

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While planning the rally, the possibility of turning a profit came up, he said. Organizers wanted to give something back to the local community.

Money collected from this event will go to families who are struggling with Leukemia, in the form of vouchers for life’s necessities, and toward arranging transportation and other expenses involved with seeking treatment away from home.

It sounds to me like a great idea to integrate geocaching into a community-assisting program.

However, the article makes at least one error:

There are more than 1,600 caches buried in Nevada, according to the Web site www.geocaching.com.

As geocachers know, burying geocaches is forbidden, beyond just putting leaves and sticks over them, or the like. Describing geocaches as “buried” gives the mistaken implication that people are digging in the ground to hide and seek caches.

This is not the case at all. Caches are intended to be placed on the surface of the ground, or in natural hiding places. Or camoflaged by covering them with man-made camo covering, or natural coverings from the area (like pine needles or leaves).

One of the most entertaining things you can do with a track file after returning from a geocaching trip is to superimpose that file over a map or satellite picture.

There are a number of ways to accomplish this, but the easiest way I’ve found so far is by using the GPS Visualizer website. It’s quick, has a number of options and produces output in a number of file formats.

There’s no software to download, but you have to have transferred your track file from your GPS into your desktop computer.

Once you’ve done that, go to the GPS Visualizer’s Draw A Map page. There’s a form for uploading your track file. Use the buttons on the left to brows to one or more files containing track data and/or waypoints of interest.
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Magellan ‘BE THERE’ GPS Adventure Drives Thousands Outdoors for Fun and Prizes in 35 Cities Across U.S. and Germany

Outdoor retail chain REI is partnering with the Magellan GPS business to promote this year’s geocaching contest and help contestants gear up for the game with free training sessions at select REI locations. REI geocaching clinics will teach attendees how to enter GPS coordinates into a GPS receiver and use it to guide them to hidden cache containers.

The first person to find the container each week retrieves a certificate which allows him or her to claim the first-place prize for that cache.

If you’re in tick country (Tracker Jim is located in southeastern MA, a tick haven) heed the advice to check yourself for ticks and tick nymphs when returning from geocaching and other outdoor activities that might expose you.

An article in the New Bedford Standard Times warns:

To feed, ticks sink their mouths into the skin and hold on for several days to take a blood meal. Removing them before they feed, generally within 24-36 hours, can avert disease.
That’s why checking clothing and skin for ticks is so important, said Dr. Bela Matyas, medical director of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health epidemiology program.
“You’re usually able to remove them before they have a chance to transmit the infection,” he said.

Prevention is definitely the best course of action, as Lyme disease is poorly understood, and further clouded by much disagreement among doctors.

More than 100 possible symptoms are mentioned in literature distributed by the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Massachusetts, earning Lyme disease a reputation as a mysterious imitator of other conditions.
Some physicians are reluctant to diagnose Lyme disease without a positive test, especially if the patient never developed the classic “bulls-eye” rash. But many confirmed cases never develop a rash.

While geocachers ought to be careful to check for ticks, they are not alone in being at risk. You can encounter deer ticks in your own yard, and other types of ticks can also spread disease.

In the case of your yard, work to keep your yard inhospitable to ticks and rodents by removing trash and trimming grass. Take care around wood piles.

In the woods, wear long pants and reduce the amount of exposed skin. Protect exposed skin with DEET-based insect spray. Wear a hat. And then, within hours of your trek, check your body for ticks and nymphs.

Whether you’re geocaching or not, if you’re a parent, check your children for ticks whenever they’ve been outside during tick season.

The page on Lyme Disease at Mount Auburn Hospital has more recommendations regarding protecting yourself from tick-borne illness.

You needn’t be scared away from the out-of-doors during tick season. The prudent cacher simply takes the necessary precautions.

THe Miami Herald recently reported on geocaching in GPS-based geocaching catching on world over (free reg. required)

‘’I think this shows kids the connection between technology and real life,'’ says Kimberly Coldicott, a Monroe County extension agent and 4-H coordinator who is trying to recruit children for a local club. Chapters in Washington State, Oregon, and Missouri are already teaching kids how to geocache.

Excellent point, Ms. Coldicott! Too often we tach kids about the tools of their world (mathematics, logic, technology, history, science) without giving it a context. Not only do kids enjoy learning more when they are engaged, but they retain more when they can apply with they have learned.

Geocaching does provide an opportunity for kids to see an application of pretty advanced technology, and that is only one of the many side benefits it offers.

Abacquer tells of his recent experience posting about guns in a popular geocaching forum.

I posted that I would not carry a firearm while geocaching and was asked why, so I stated my case. Then, as if by hidden signal the gun nuts crawled out of the woodwork and began launching vitriol at me. This of course, was not unexpected, and not really the point of this article. I kept hearing of the need to protect oneself from violent crime, from wild animals, etc.

It only takes about 3 posts before the fellow is called a liar in big red letters. His sin? After expressing deference and respect for differing opinions, he expressed his own opinion that it’s prudent to be honest with your companions about the lethal weapons you’re carrying.

Some cachers need to get a grip.

• Culture of Fear
• Do You Carry A Firearm Geocaching? (Groundspeak Thread)

Susan Flanagan, an author working on finishing her newest book “A Perfect Killick,” already has plans for her next to focus on the subject of geocaching.

She herself has been involved with the sport since as far back as three years ago, so it will be interesting to see how her impressions as a participant are reflected in the novel.

(Originally reported in the Peace Arch News)

I’m getting the feeling that geocaching is the new D&D. Perhaps geocachers are on the cusp of being called a terrorist organization and plopped right smack-dab into the axis of evil.

Bomb scare turns out to be part of Internet game

This is a story about how a guy in Indiana was retrieving a geocache, someone saw him replace it, and the police were called because, naturally when you see someone place a container somewhere in Indiana, you assume it is a bomb.

We’ve been told over and over again to “report any suspicious behavior” and I think it is making people a little paranoid. To be fair toward law enforcement, they were doing their job. Once they’re called into this situation, they don’t know what’s going on. If they’re not familiar with the sport, all they know they’re dealing with is some odd behavior.

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Futurist Thomas Frey will be keynoting a conference on GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in Denver Colorado in September.

bq. The Conference will be September 21-23, 2005 at INVESCO Field at Mile High - East Side. The program theme is “The Geospatial Revolution: A Whole New View.” Wednesday and Thursday will include technical sessions, a job fair, the exhibition, and workshops. Friday’s program includes technical tours and a geocaching event.

I guess things are heating up in South Carolina.

The Columbia Star publishes a story today continuing to report on the clash between geocachers in that state and House Member Catherine Ceips.

High–tech scavenger hunt Geocachers invade hallowed ground

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