[kbraband]

Grouse Tales (Brian) made the 2001 magnets for the first campout. I think JeremyV made the 2004 buttons but I’m not certain. I have some of each.

[kbraband]

Yes I was WGA2 and reviewed for Wisconsin for about a year before changing my reviewer handle to IowaAdmin and being the primary reviewer for Iowa for the next 10 years. I retired as a reviewer in the fall of 2013 after publishing more than 26,000 geocaches. I wrote about it here: http://iowaadmin.blogspot.com/

[kbraband]

And if you do, it’s the stupidity that killed you, not the craft you were in.

I agree. If someone has a kayak that is not suitable for the conditions they are paddling in, it’s not the kayak that may kill them; it’s their… well, you called it stupidity. I’ll be kinder and call it lack of knowledge.
And I’m not just talking about class III whitewater either. I teach a lot of entry level kayaking lessons. What you don’t know CAN hurt you.

[kbraband]

It never ceases to amaze me that someone would spend as little as possible when their personal safety is involved. Please read this article before plunking down any of your hard-earned cash for an imitation kayak: http://www.examiner.com/article/ultra-cheap-kayaks-are-floating-coffins . If you’re interested in learning more, let me know. As an ACA Level 4 certified kayak instructor, I will gladly offer beginner or intermediate kayak lessons to WGA members free of charge, simply because I don’t want anyone — geocachers or otherwise — to die as the result of a kayak accident.

[kbraband]

Thanks for the link. It was cool to look back. When I joined in Feb. 2001, Geocaching.com had a whole different look and was not yet posting stats, at least on the home page. http://web.archive.org/web/200102031615/http://www.geocaching.com/

[kbraband]

@Northwoods Tom wrote:

I really enjoyed the post. So much of what was said is what I really enjoy about geocaching.

The only thing I think I enjoy a little more is looking back at the early logs of finders from long ago and reading what they said, and then wondering where they went.

Thanks!

I haven’t gone anywhere… except all the places that geocaching has taken me over the years. 😀 In addition to serving as one of the WGA founders and the first president of the WGA, and then later serving as VP and secretary, I have been a reviewer for Geocaching.com for more than nine years (as IowaAdmin). Check out my reviewer blog at http://iowaadmin.blogspot.com. I’m still out there finding geocaches and maintaining my caches (I.D. is kbraband), including Pike Powder Hike. When my wife and I cache together, we use the team name active2gether. Wish I could attend the picnic at Pike Lake this weekend but I have an annual commitment to serve as one of the lead safety kayakers for the swim portion of the Wisconsin Iron Man race in Madison.

Ken

[kbraband]

@WStemple wrote:

GC253 – Pookie’s Stash is one of the 2 caches that predate Pike Powder Hike. It did not event last a year. 🙁
GC266 – Geocache is another one of the three

Have not found the other one, as it looks as if Ken did not find/log it.

The other one was hidden south of Sheboygan and listed on geocaching.com but it was never found by anyone and was archived not long afterwards.

[kbraband]

@Vegas Gamblers wrote:

I want to go in my sleep like my Grandpa did, not like the 50 people screeming on the bus he was driving at the time.

LOL! 😀

[kbraband]

@JimandLinda wrote:

Pike Lake is the same State Park that the 1st WGA Picnic was held at 10 years ago.

Actually it will be 11 years ago. The first picnic was held Aug. 26, 2001. 😀

[kbraband]

Congratulations on the purchase! Maybe we can meetup sometime for a paddle. Find other active sea kayakers here: http://www.meetup.com/Wisconsin-kayakers/
And here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/233887563375209/

[kbraband]

Happy birthday to a fellow reviewer and fellow Aries.

[kbraband]

Of course I’ll be there. It’s in Iowa. 😀

[kbraband]

If there’s a horn section, I play trumpet in a swing band.

[kbraband]

Thanks to all those who ran, and especially to the newly elected board members who are stepping up to the plate to continue the work of this fine organization.

[kbraband]

Congratulations! It’s great to see that you’re still going strong after all these years.

[Author]

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