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National Geographic Special on the DaVinci Code on tonite-
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/channel/davinci/Historically, anyone age 13 or older can register to participate in the forums. Under age 13 must submit parental permission in order to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Anyone can sign up to participate without ever becoming a WGA member. As you noted, WGA members are required to be residents of WI.
As a licensed state association, our numbers are a reflection of our strength. If our membership were made up of a portion of out-of-staters, the number of members would have little meaning when working to negotiate policy with governing agencies.
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Originally posted by GrouseTales:
I’m also not in favor of Geocaching.com changing the rules to allow temporary caches with their own cache pages. This would place a HUGE load on the volunteer approvers. Mass release dates requires the volunteer approver to review all the caches and then keep them in his/her queue until a specific date.
As it stands, there is no need for an approver to review a temporary cache. This will be avoided by making temp cache pages only available by linking from the main event page. It will be up to the event owner to input the exact time and date each temp cache “goes live”. Another option will be to instantly post the page, so that the event holders can bring individual pages on line while on location at the event. This will allow for flexibility in scheduling as the event progresses. With the new WAP interface and more wirespread wireless access now available, more and more people are logging finds as they go.
Many parks closed their entrance booths last year.
It makes me wonder how much of the DNR budget actually comes from licensing and permit fees? Although it’s easy to complain about having to pay any fee, I don’t know of anyone that has stopped hunting, fishing, or going to parks because of the fee…..
Would it not make more sense to raise the fees & keeping the places open, despite maybe loosing a few of the more frugal people?
Understanding this particular cache might not apply due to the situation with permission or other area caches but I would re-think the idea that “all the cachers” are going to find a cache at the event and therefore it is somehow not a good permanent cache.
Consider that only a very small percentage of WI cachers will attend any one event.
The majority of WI cachers have NEVER attended an event cache.
Over half of the cachers in WI are not participating WGA members.
Some caches will be visited more that others, but I don’t see that as a factor in deciding to place one or not. Check out some of the caches in the mountains, or down on one of the keys off Florida. They might only get a visitor or two a year, but I cannot see that it makes them a bad choice for placement.
Maybe you just don’t have any interest in a cache that has few visitors… everyone plays the game for their own reason, thats ok too.
I would choose the lesser visited cache over another any day.
My apologies for the off-topic post.
[This message has been edited by Cathunter (edited 12-07-2004).]
For me, a great cache has 8 to 10 of these attributes
A good cache has 5 to 71. An awesome location
2. A good hike
3. Middle of Nowhere
4. Teaches the history of an area
5. A Nature lesson
6. Muggle-Free location
7. Straight-forward hints
8. Interesting method of hide
9. Quality cache container
10. An awesome location!
I was looking at the size issue too… 150 campsites in .5 square mile? I guess if there are caches they should be very small.
I am no professional, but I have probably spent more time kayaking and reading about kayaking than I have geocaching this summer. My best day of paddling as of yet was a 19 mile solo on Lake Michigan. I’m already making plans for the Flambeau next summer. Then again, i’m not so sure I can wait that long- Florida is looking pretty good right now.
A kayak is a lot like a pair of pants. If you don’t get one that fits you well, you won’t get much use out of it. (“Fit” meaning both your body, and your purpose)
One’s stature is very important to consider when shopping for a yak. They come in all different weight capacities and cockpit sizes. What the boat looks like on the outside has very little to do with how one will feel on the inside. If there is too much free area around your body, the yak will be much harder to control. If the fit is too tight, you will not be comfortable and getting in and out may become unpleasant, possibly even dangerous. After sitting in a yak for several hours- it becomes very evident how it really fits you. If you are not comfortable, your paddling days will be few.
Also consider how you might use your yak or yaks- maybe just a couple hour leisure ride once in a while, but don’t deny the possibility that you might later decide you would like to make it part of your regular exercise routine or go on kayak camping trips, etc. Different boats serve different purposes.
Generally speaking, recreational yaks can be from 6 to 15 feet long, and are good for slow rivers or shorter paddles on flat water. Touring kayaks range from 14 to 19+ feet long and are more suited for longer distance paddles on larger rivers and open water. The longer touring yaks are sometimes referred to as sea kayaks because they are built with open-water touring in mind. Longer yaks tend to be less wide, making them faster, but less stable.
Most of the yaks you will find in the sporting goods stores are made of a type of plastic. There are also fiberglass, Kevlar, carbon-fiber, and of course the traditional wood. Some other important things to research before buying also include bulkheads, onboard storage, rudder or rudderless, PFD’s and other safety gear.
One thing few people consider is that the hardest thing about paddling is getting the craft from home, to the water, and back again. Yaks can weigh from 40 to 100 lbs, depending on what they are made of, their size, and their construction. Shopping for a suitable car-roof rack and proper mountings is no less important than the yaks themselves.
Hearing all this probably has probably raised more questions than answers. My best advise? Don’t buy anything yet. It is very convenient for you that you are in Madison. Rutabaga in Madison is the top paddling shop in the state. Last I knew, they will let you test paddle their yaks which is the only way to know which ones you will really like the best. Take some lessons too- improper paddling will not only get you no where fast, it can also wreck your shoulders. You will also learn the most important skills- self recovery and assisted recovery. Paddling does include swimming sometimes- (and that’s a good thing). If you are far from shore, swimming back with a kayak is not an option. As with any outdoor activity- preparing for the worst starts with knowing what to do in a given situation.
I can’t say much about doubles…. in my opinion- they are big, they are heavy, they tend to be a lot more expensive, they are pretty much impossible to paddle alone, and because they sit higher off the water, they are harder to get back into during a recovery. Also realize that paddling with a partner is an art in itself, a fine art if one really wants to do it that way. If it’s really what one wants, I would honestly compare and contrast the personal value of a double kayak over a canoe. I think you would be happier with a kayak for each of you, but that’s my opinion. They do make yaks for the young too!
Single kayaks also hold a much better resale value than doubles. Most people that become regular paddlers purchase a second or replacement kayak within 3-4 years. Not because there is anything wrong with their first kayak, but because they have learned more about what suits their paddling style. One great benefit of this is that there are many many used kayaks for sale, which is a great option for the first-time buyer.
Wow, I must stop babbling now! Oh, and by all means, do not miss Canoecopia!!!
http://www.paddling.net A great website!
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Originally posted by jthorson:
Is this accurate? Those locations are used to build indexes for bearing and distance.
OOPS, good catch Jeff… it’s actually spinner that is adding my home waypoint.
I prefer spinner’s smart truncated cache names over GSAK’s, so I use both GSAK and spinner.
Great stuff from Flushinggrouse! Thanks!!
Can’t help with the macro, but if you want to put your home coords or any other coords in the database just go to the “tools” ; “options” ; and then “locations” and enter the info there.
Then it will always be in the database and will export to whatever map programs you use.
Pretty funny… all this time I thought your name really was Lucy..
Congratulations on a massive milestone!!!
Thanks Bec for gathering all the info on available sites. The one thing I wonder is how many of these group sites are seperated from one another? If there is excessive distance between needed sites, it would make using them less feasable.
As for location, it may also be helpful to really determine what the overall goal of the campout is. Is the primary goal to have a larger and larger group each year? Are we interested in attracting those people who have not attended in the past due to the location? Are there volunteers within reasonable traveling distance who have the ability/desire to properly present the idea of a geocaching event to park management?
On another note, how about taking some time out of the weekend to promote CITO or pehaps some other type of volunteer work that the park may find desireable? Events such as this are vital in gaining the respect and involvement of the DNR and other land managers. A weekend of fun is great, but promoting caching and the WGA to those who do not have the same understanding of it that we do would be a valuable asset to us in the future.
For those who are not aware, the Michigan geocachers did not form a relationship with the DNR such as the WGA has. Michigan DNR recently set a $35 permit fee for each cache placement on state land. On top of that, a cache can only be in place for a period of 4 months. Park personnel are said to be actively hunting down and removing all existing caches which have not been registered. To me, this is the closest thing to banning us as they could get.
Let’s do what we can to keep the WI land managers on our side of the fence!
I have not been through Lake Wissota for many years, but I do remember it as being a great park. If also fulfils my camping/kayaking/fishing/boating requirement.
One more vote for Lake Wissota!
You will have to take me with you on the hunt since I have given up on all hopes of solving the cipher.
Congratulations!
My dad joined me for Grousetales Northwoods Breakfast event last fall. I think at the time he thought we were all a little nuts. (Although that might have been a symptom of hearing some of Lil Otter’s stories)
After taking them on a 200 mile caching spree this summer, my Mom & Dad just last week bought their first GPS.
I also just got an e-mail from an Aunt (retired) in Arizona asking about GPS units and caching.
It’s all too awesome how this sport can attract people of all ages and backgrounds. When I started caching, I assumed it was all college-aged kids. I have learned a lot since then!
Think about where we would be if not for the WGA members and this website. All I can say is THANK YOU!
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