Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
Lets see….
Published 2493 caches
Archived 587 caches (many were never published)
Unarchived 37 caches by owner request
Started the Lonely Cache Game with lots of assistance from Jeremy and others
Attended many events, but no WGA events this year (injured during the campout, sickness in the family right before the picnic)
Maintained many caches with new bags, pens, etc. (I’m always amazed when I find a keyholder or film can with no plastic bag)
Attended one Geocaching for Beginners event and helped out some new folks
Met with park rangers many times (my normal operation is to stop in to each office whenever I visit, introduce myself, and make sure there are no “simmering problems” out there that need to be nipped in the bud. Fortunately, there was only one time when there actually was a problem.)
Reviewed around 100 earthcache placements to make sure they were not placed on NPS land, Fish and Wildlife Refuges, or State natural Areas without proper permission.
Placed one new cache only, but there are a couple others in the “almost ready” state.
I think I need a nap…
I signed up with the WGA before I actually started caching. I was trying to learn about the activity to see if it was something I was interested in. I believe I found it with a search engine.
@JimandLinda wrote:
Keep in mind that a few cachers (who shall remain nameless) will find GZ while hiding a cache, but post the coordinates on the proximity border, usually 25 feet away. But if they are on the east proximity, for example, the cache COULD be 40-50 feet from the container. And considering varients in GPS units, you could be 50-60 feet away! Supposedly that adds to the thrill of the hunt. I find it very irritating!
I only use the proximity rule if I want a land feature to provide cover, like a tree or wall. We like to hide caches to be FOUND, not just LOOKED FOR! 🙂Please note that the guidelines mandate “Accurate coordinates”. This is why you sometimes receive questions from the reviewers like:
“Your cache appears to be 10 feet off the shoreline. Is it an underwater cache?”
“Is there some reason why your cache is in the middle of a traffic intersection?”
“Why is your cache on the berm of a limited access highway?”
“Your description says your cache is right off the road, but the location looks like a 200 foot bushwack. Are you sure the coordinates are right?”Unfortunately, we can’t go out and check the coordinates of each cache. If you feel a cache has been placed with bad coordinates intentionally, please file a Needs Maintenance log on the cache page if you can’t get any results from the cache owner.
Looks like someone just picked up your coin yesterday. I bet if you write them, they will mail the coin to you.
Actually there were some complaints about armchair virtual logs on one particular cache, and the owner of that cache took it upon themselves to track the armchair loggers finds and file a complaint on all of them. There was only one in Wisconsin, and the owner quickly handled deleting the armchair logs. Other than that, there is no specific direction to increase enforcement on virtual cache logging. We only act on these if someone files a complaint. You can also rest assured that you would have plenty of warning before anyone archives your virtuals around here. I’m sure most of you have seen how long we wait before forcibly archiving a cache. That said, keep policing the logs!
I do this for every cache. I would think this would be considered normal process.
My question would be: What experience do you have dealing with governments agencies and land managers?
@-cheeto- wrote:
it is easily searchable
But correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t you “in the field” when you do these WhereIgo Cartridges?
You got it. The concept is a bit unfair, but it meets the guidelines. And calling the questions “History” is not quite correct. The questions would be more accurately characterized as Wisconsin state trivia. If you don’t have wireless internet on your phone to do the searches, there is a Culver’s very close to the cache area where you can use their free Wi-Fi.
Not sure why you don’t like GSAK, but I know you can use Easy GPS for the same duty. I believe you can use Mapsource to create a GPX file from a subset of the caches you load to it. In my opinion, Mapsource is much more awkward at dealing with large datasets, so I greatly prefer almost any of the third party solutions out there. I was going to check the functionality for you but I just noticed that I haven’t reloaded Mapsource since I reimaged my machine around 3 months ago! I didn’t even notice that it was missing, so I am not installing it until I need it to load some maps again.
Gary, you load it with GPX files, just like those you get with your pocket queries. (I do believe you need to unzip them first.) Plug the GPS into your PC and it should show up as a removable drive. Of course, if you want to correct the coordinates or do filters or whatever, you can just use GSAK, save your edited database as a GPX and load that. It is really that easy.
I’ll start out agreeing with Renee on this one. Educational programs such as hers get newbies off on the right foot and are a big reason for the steady influx of new cachers in the Milwaukee area. Getting some WGA support for these programs would be a good thing! One of the things we can do is try to coordinate these training programs with local libraries, schools, and park and recreation departments. We’ve done this sporadically with the DNR at state parks (who are always looking for programs during the summer to fill their calendars), but I suspect we would get a lot better results if we worked with local organizations in urban centers, rather than state parks which tend to be more remote.
A more “off the wall” idea might be setting up a “mentoring” program for new cachers. This is, of course, dependent on getting them to come to the website, but I suspect a program where a new cacher could ask for a mentor and members could choose to take on that role would be successful. Think about how hard it was to find that first fake rock, that first nano, that first suspension cache, and that first fence post hide. Having a more seasoned cacher along to help with those first few tricky ones might keep some of these people in the sport. Plus, we can always use a few more friends to cache with, right?
I like the idea of having one of these events visit our state, but I’m not so sure we have the volunteer base to pull it off. With regard to Geowoodstock (I just don’t think MWGB is a possibility), we would need to form a team of people to put together a proposal for a site, and a second team (or possibly the same people) to organize and run the event. With GW, you are talking about several thousand people, so organization is much more critical. You don’t want to be on a national stage and have a bad campground, insufficient food, or other significant problems. That said, it seems like a fun thing to try to achieve, as long as people are willing to step up and play a part.
One note on TB Prisons: Whenever we receive one of these to publish, we hold them up and explain to the owner that this is not well received by the community, point them to relevant forum threads, and suggest that maybe this isn’t a good idea. Most take the hint. For those that that don’t, well, this isn’t a guideline issue. Just be aware that these folks were warned before they listed these caches.
If this cache were here, it would be disabled until there was owner confirmation of the cache. The difficulty is not sufficient to merit this many DNFs. The cache has actually been found once, but the person didn’t take a photo so the owner deleted the log.
My rule is that I only move bugs or coins when:
1. I know I will be able to help them on their mission (Missions of “Just move around alot” don’t count)
2. they are geocoins in caches which are vulnerable to coin theft (anything where either the terrain or difficulty do not exceed 2 in a metro area.)
3. everything in caches which haven’t been found in 2 months or more. -
AuthorPosts
