This topic contains 44 replies, has 10 voices, and was last updated by 
AuntieNae 16 years, 3 months ago.
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Not quite yet, but we should have a map, plus gps coordinates for the approximate area of each of the locations soon.I just got the Ice Age Trail atlas and the companion guide in the mail today. They’re really nice!!!
Hello all you EarthCachers.
My name is Dolly and I am a volunteer with the Ice Age Park & Trail Foundation (IAP&TF). As most of you know, I contacted Renee several months ago because I notices that she had established several EarthCache sites along the Ice Age Trail (IAT). I believe that establishing more EarthCache sites along the IAT would be a worthwhile project.
The staff with the IAP&TF, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the National Parks Service (NPS) all support the project. The Geological Society of America (GSA) also support the project and agreed to cooperate with establishing a ColdCache category for EarthCache sites along the IAT. I did a presentation at the IAP&TF annual meeting this past weekend and have several other individuals who are interested in working on the project also.
I am very close to having a spreadsheet ready with potential sites along the IAT – I have to combine two different spreadsheets and rearrange a few things. I will let you know when it is ready. I’m sure there are lots of other potential sites that are not on my list too.
I was hoping I would be able to post a lot of information (potential site spreadsheet and development status, volunteer sign up sheets, ColdCache guidelines, etc) on the IAT website for ease of communication. Not sure how that will work yet, but I’m open to other suggestions.Is there anything in the Hartman Creek State park that is on the list of potential Earthcache Locations?
Has anything more been done with the map and spreadsheet for this project? I finally(!) received permission from Dane County to place an Earthcache in Prairie Moraine Park, just south of Verona. (Delay caused by permission permit falling through the cracks – not a problem with having a cache there).
I checked the Ice Age Trail website for a map, spreadsheet, or other info but didn’t find anything. Is this project still a go? Should I wait to be sure I put the Earthcache where the IAP&TF would like it, or just go ahead and place the cache?
Go ahead and place the cache .. Dolly has been really busy lately .. but this project is still a go!
AuntieNaeI have a few I’m in the development stage now. I have coords, photos and placement authorization in place.
Devil’s Staircase – I’m working with Lostby7 – placement auth pending
Loew Lake Esker
Otten Preserve
Bear Lake Sedge Meadow
Lower Narrows
Skunk and Foster Lake
Hartman Creek Erratic
Mecan Spring
John Muir County Park – placement auth pendingDolly McNulty and I are also working on
Mondeaux Tunnel Channel
Mondeaux Esker
Hemlock Esker
Hemlock Erratic
Photos, coords, and placement authorization in place.@The Troops wrote:
Dolly McNulty and I are also working on
Mondeaux Tunnel Channel
Mondeaux Esker
Hemlock Esker
Hemlock Erratic
Photos, coords, and placement authorization in place.I have a write-up done for a Tunnel Channel which I never used…I’d be willing to help on that listing as well….if you and Dolly want to send me what you have I can put it together: it wouldn’t take me much time at all to create the listing.
I’m sure Dolly will be agreeable on that. I plan on going back to the flowage this fall, which is not too far away. I have some unfinished dirt time on the IAT to cover in that area. One thing I need to do is come up with a series of educational tasks for the Earthcacher regarding the tunnel channel. Do you have any suggestions?
@The Troops wrote:
I’m sure Dolly will be agreeable on that. I plan on going back to the flowage this fall, which is not too far away. I have some unfinished dirt time on the IAT to cover in that area. One thing I need to do is come up with a series of educational tasks for the Earthcacher regarding the tunnel channel. Do you have any suggestions?
Will PM you. I have the write up done save for coords and a task.
I have a question regarding the science text on the Earthcache. If a developer has multiple Earthcaches that are similar formations such as an esker, how does one write up the text? They’re all formed the same, just the location is different. I hate to think I’d just copy and paste, but that would make it easier. I am doing the Loew Lake Esker, Mondeaux Esker and the Hemlock Esker. (and maybe any other esker I hike across) What’s the best way to address this? Thanks.
@The Troops wrote:
I have a question regarding the science text on the Earthcache. If a developer has multiple Earthcaches that are similar formations such as an esker, how does one write up the text? They’re all formed the same, just the location is different. I hate to think I’d just copy and paste, but that would make it easier. I am doing the Loew Lake Esker, Mondeaux Esker and the Hemlock Esker. (and maybe any other esker I hike across) What’s the best way to address this? Thanks.
Yes the formation is the same but the uniqueness of the area should be fully explained. I have written up three (now 4; 5 if you include one which was copied from my writeup by another cacher…with permission) Lime kiln listings and they are all different in some fashion…some include additional information about the process and some include more or less about the specific areas geology. The latest one I have in que (for three weeks now…still waiting) has been almost totally rewritten and is fresh with new information. I’d hate to see copy and paste ECs.
It’s bad enough when I see a listing which is nothing but a copy of Wikipedia. My feeling is that a listing which is simply copied and pasted provides a disservice to the EC author as I think (s)he should really understand the area they are writing about. We are not geologists and I understand that, but I think that we could at least put in the time to look at multiple sources and craft a page based on what we have learned from those sources. The best advice I can give for folks making an EC is that they first learn about the area themselves (and really understand it) then write up the listing and try to make it easy for others to understand as well.
That said, the originality of the listing IMO decreases in importance in direct relation to the distance from one EC to another of the same topic. In other words put enough distance between two similar listings and I really don’t see a big issue.
Thanks for the good advive. I’d hate to be a developer of cookie cutter Earthcaches.
Information on the Cold Cache EarthCaches ..
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