[Team Deejay]

There are a couple differences, in that those events had fewer temps and fewer attendees. This makes these events seem less excessive to the anklebiters on the GC.com boards than our events. For those interested in the numbers, 93 teams logged at least one “attended” on the cache page, so with 1765 logs and counting we are averaging 19 logs per team.

[Team Deejay]

Anne, your assumption is correct. You might want to start with geoaware to make sure your cache will still meet their guidelines before you approach the DNR.

Some other notes:

Even if you are placing your physical cache off of DNR property, you still have to submit the notification form to cover off the virtual stage.

If you place your physical cache in a separate DNR Property, you might need to submit a second form. Example: If you do a virtual stage at Baxter’s Hollow with a final in Devil’s Lake State Park, you need to notify Thomas Meyer for the SNA, the Nature Conservancy (property owner of the SNA), and the ranger at Devil’s Lake. On the other hand, if your virtual stage was in Parfrey’s Glen, which is part of Devil’s Lake, one form does the whole job.

Not every property will be approved for virtual stages. Think about Leave No Trace when you plan your virtual stages. I’ve already had the Milwaukee County Parks guy tell me that he doesn’t want any virtual stages in Franklin Savanna. Since they own the property, its their call. (Basically, they don’t want anyone going there. Its nothing against us.)

[Team Deejay]

@jenhen1 wrote:

On Sunday I noticed a dark purple circle, almost black about 1cm in diameter surrounded by a red circle about 1mm where I got bit. Is this normal? I’ve been bit numerous times, but have never seen a black circle like this. Wondering if I should be concerned at all. No other symptoms of Lyme but it’s only been about 48 hours.

Circular “bullseye” rashes are the first symptom of Lyme Disease. Please get yourself checked ASAP.

[Team Deejay]

It doesn’t look like those bait boxes are designed for large areas. The idea is that you place them in a perimeter around the area you want to protect (long term) from ticks. They recommend 30 feet distance apart.

If you wanted to cover a large area, let’s say you place them 100 feet apart. Lets say your large area is Bong State Recreation Area (not the biggest in the state, but on the large side.) where ticks outnumber humans 10000 to 1 (ok, I made that part up!). I happen to know the area of this land is 196,673,400 square feet. If we take the best case scenario (that the land is a square, which it is not), you get a square 14000 feet across. That would mean you would need 140 rows of 140 boxes or 19600 boxes. The best price I found on these was over $24 a piece so you are looking at just under a half million dollars for one medium size park. 😯 Oh, and you have to place them twice a year. 😯 😯 You can see why the government is not looking to use this method in the parks.

[Team Deejay]

Woohoo! Great job! What is it now, 500 finds with 400 FTFs? You planning on changing your name to Hugh?

[Team Deejay]

@hogrod wrote:

I was reading online about bait boxes they are using out east to reduce the tick population, do they have any program like this in Wisconsin?

Why do you think the DNR lets us geocache on their land? Geocacher = Bait

[Team Deejay]

Jay, you are absolutely correct that Permethrin is a carcinogen. And, surprisingly, I agree with you that using it close to the body is riskier than getting bites.

DEET, on the other hand, is not a carcinogen and is generally safe. Some people might have allergic reactions to it, but in general, it is the preferred choice for repellants.

Jim, We did tests on Picaridin. It had approximately 1/8 the repellant effect of DEET, so we chose not to produce products with this repellant. This level is approximately the same repellant effect as citronella, eucalyptus, and other herbal repellants.

[Team Deejay]

What format do you have the tracks in now?

[Team Deejay]

@Cheesehead Dave wrote:

Oh, that is hilarious! 😀

There is a product out there called Repel Permanone. This is an aerosol containing permethrin, which is an insecticide. They claim that you can spray iit on gear, clothing, etc. (NOT ON SKIN!) ahead of time and it will repel/kill ticks for some period of time. I have not tried it, but others swear by it. You should be aware that some people will sensitive to exposure to this, so I would recommend that you do a backyard campout with the kids to test it out. You don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere with a couple kids having alergic reactions. You should also be aware that permethrin will kill most insects who come in contact with it (thats why the ticks avoid it), so if you don’t want to kill ants, butterflies, crickets, etc. in the area of your tent, this might not be a solution for you.

[Team Deejay]

Welcome to the club! Don’t hesitate to post questions here if you need any help. Also, don’t hesitate to show up if you see people scheduling group hunts in your area. We all like meeting new friends.

[Team Deejay]

What the heck is Canoe Beer? Does this have anything to do with Mr. Canoehead?

[Team Deejay]

The presence of temps has no effect on our choice to attend. The presence of new permanent caches would greatly increase the chance I would attend. The presence of people that we like would guarantee attendance.

[Team Deejay]

@Decrepit wrote:

My coin came today, also. But “Old” and “Tonta” are still waiting for theirs. Hmmm… I sent all the sheets in on the same day.

Now you know who they like and who they don’t…… 😆

[Team Deejay]

@Team Honeybunnies wrote:

@Team Hemisphere Dancer wrote:

@Team Honeybunnies wrote:

Yum! For those not in the know, “Alpha” is the measure of bittering units in barley pop.

It refers to the amount of Alpha Acid in the hops. Bitterness comes from how much hops, % of AA is in the hops, and how long it was in the boil prior to being cooled and fermented.

Sorry it was an obsession of mine once.

Ooooohhh! Look at you Mr. Smarty-pants! 😉 You just earned yourself a watery mass-market lager! 😆

Ya think we can force him to drink a quart of Coors Light?

[Team Deejay]

Here are my thoughts. Most (something like 95% or more) people who use geocaching.com do not log temporary event caches as finds. When I look at my numbers, I want them to mean the same as everyone elses, for purposes of comparison. For this reason, I am CHOOSING to not log temporary caches anymore. (Not to mention that logging them is not a very interesting way to spend my time!) I still have some of these temporary finds in my numbers, but they are slowly going away. That said, if anyone else wants to log temps, that is their business, not mine. Currently, gc.com allows the practice, so if this is what you want to do, go for it!

As far as events being “a waste of caching time” if you don’t get to log lots of finds, I couldn’t disagree more. For me, the most important parts of an event are the people that I meet, the friends that I make, and the experiences we share. The number of finds I can log is pretty far down the list. In fact, one of my regrets about some of the events I have attended was that I didn’t spend more time socializing and less time “hunting”. But there will be more events available for me to rectify that mistake.

It is also my opinion that we should strive to place permanent caches for events wherever possible. The problem with most temporary caches that would prevent them from being published are:

• Proximity (too many caches too close together)
• Permanence (Listed caches “should” be around for at least 3 months, and many temporaries use unusual containers, radio transmitters, and other “gimmicks” that would prevent them from sticking around that long, and
• Maintenance (often the people placing the caches live too far from the site to maintain the caches, if they were left for the requisite 3 month period.)

I’m guessing that most people on the boards are objecting to these issues, rather than the “is there a log?” or “is it a challenge?” type of questions. But I also agree that arguing with them is pointless and does nothing to make the situation better for anyone.

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