[zuma]

Hey all,

As Kent said, this year’s Chippewa Valley event will run from 4/14/07 thru 6/3/2007. Robin will be planning a kickoff event on 4-14-07 that will be a CITO event. Those wishing to help her with the CITO event, should get in touch with her. That same day, Kent will be coordinating training programs for new cachers in the area, who want to get involved. Those who may wish to help with that portion of the program, should get in contact with him.

Searching for the event caches also begins April 14th. Booklets will be similiar to last year, with the need to get a punch at each cache location. Caches will be hid throughout Chippewa, Eau Claire and Dunn Counties. As Kent said, many will be listed on gc.com, but not all. Those that are listed, will be published 4-14-07.

Those of you hiding caches for the event, should have received an email from Kent tonight. If you didnt get the email from Kent about what the requirements are, and you are intending to hide a cache for the event, email Kent soon.

We are also planning a big event to conclude the event. Caches will be available to hunt until midnight June 2, 2007. We are hoping to have a fairly large 3 day event, with camping Friday and Saturday nights, which will allow campers to look for the caches on Saturday. On Sunday, June 3 we are planning a “geocaching festival” which we hope will include the awarding of the geocoins, the many great prizes, as well as geocaching related games, displays and a general geocaching related fun. I hope to make the event big enough to make it a mega-event in future years, but that remains to be seen. Those willing to help with the “Geocaching Festival” June 1 – 3, can contact me, as it will take a lot of volunteers to make this part of the event a success.

If you have questions, feel free to post them here. We are looking forward to a really exciting geocaching event here in the Chippewa Valley, and hope as many geocachers from the Chippewa Valley as possible can volunteer to make it a success, and as many people from across the state find the time to attend. It should be a great time.

zuma

[zuma]

Well, I aleady voted, and I would guess most folks have. At any rate, whoever wins, we will have some very good folks on the BOD. The biggest problem I had voting, was narrowing it down to just 6 votes, because there are so many qualified folks running. I hope the well qualified people who should win, but wont because there are only 6 spots open, will continue to be active in WGA and help with some of the committees that I hope WGA sets up. If I am one of the ones who do not win, I know that I will remain active.

I have had the good fortune of caching with 5 of the 11 other people running, and have met 2 of the others on the trail, so know they are good people. Good luck to all of my fellow candidates.

zuma

[zuma]

Hi Mathman,

Yep, a lot has changed in the Central WI area in the last 2 years. All for the better, with lots of great caches, as you say.

zuma

[zuma]

Wow, those are some nice looking coins…..Way to go…

zuma

[zuma]

The cache page mentioned above by Team Honeybunnies is pretty funny. In over 3000 finds, I have left only one really negative log, which may be one log too many, but I could not resisit being honest about that one. Anyway, the person who placed it is well known in MN for placing caches in rusty tin cans, flimsy plastic margarine containers and even in cottage cheese containers.

I truly believe that when placing caches, just as when finding caches, it should not be about the numbers. Each cache placed should be placed somewhere worth taking people, either for scenic, historical, whimsical reasons, or even just for the challenge. But just to sling a bunch of caches out there for a lot of numbers is kind of silly, and in the long run a threat to our sport because it may diminish the interest of new people coming into the sport. I know that if the first cache I tried was in a garbage dump, with coordinates 80 feet off, I would probably not be a geocacher.

It would be nice if gc.com had a formalized cache rating system, where finders could rate the cache on a scale of 1 to 5, just as difficulty and terrain are already rated.

zuma

[zuma]

Yeah, it was just me, though GC.com has been so slow at times, I blamed the long delays on their server. Turns out that I was not connected to my high speed internet connection, but instead I was connecting thru my neighbors wireless. LOL. If I had known I could get on for free, I might have not gotten Clearwire.

I recently got Clearwire, which is available here in Eau Claire. Not sure where else it is available. But the speed is comparable to the cable high speed internet that I had before, and it is cheaper and more flexible. So far, I am a big fan of Clearwire.

zuma

[zuma]

I believe that the WGA can be the most effective in achieving our mutual goals if we have as many people join as possible. A small organization of 50 active people really will not be able to accomplish as much as if we had many more active members. Therefore, we need to promote the WGA to active geocachers in the state who are not yet members.

When dealing with folks at the DNR about rules for placing caches in state lands or with folks at the DOT about placing caches in freeway rest stops, NUMBERS COUNT! If we are representing a small fringe group, it is going to be really tough to get the type of cooperation from government agencies that we need.

For example, I would really like to see more caches at highway waysides. I just returned from a trip to Ohio, and driving thru Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio I appreciated being able to break up the drive and finding a cache at nearly any wayside that made for a convenient stop. While we have some hides at Wisconsin waysides, the DOT has not been real eager to cooperate with geocaches placed on DOT property at freeway waysides. A small group approaching a DOT official certainly can explain that wayside hides are common in other states, can be placed so as not to harm public property, placed in areas that wont have pedestrians walk where trucks are likely to drive, and are actually a benefit by reducing driving fatique and by promoting Wisconsins tourism. Will they listen? Maybe, maybe not. Will they be more inclined to listen if the WGA represents 50 people or 5000 voters and taxpayers?

You would hope that reasonableness of the case made would be enough to win the day, but government officials are essentially politicians. And in politics, numbers count.

As far as your question about demographics go, I think we should represent all Wisconsin geocachers, of all ages and of all abilities.

zuma

[zuma]

Hey,

I definately think that is really awesome artwork on the coin. I know I am an up north Cheesehead, and not really in the border wars, but have cached in Illinois several times, including grabbing one earlier today on the way back from Ohio.

So can ya add an up north cheesehead????? If so, List me as zuma

Thanks,
zuma

[zuma]

Hey, way to go Snoopy. Now that ya have your first 100, you are well on your way. You could probably get another hundred just on Spike007 caches, who has become quite prolific.

Hope to see ya on the trails real soon.

zuma

[zuma]

Hi Birddogger,

Congrats on your 100th find. Hoping ya have many more to come, and that our paths cross on the trails some day.

zuma

[zuma]

Hi Lagrac,

I actually cache quite often in Minnesota, and I have to say that I enjoy it. King Boreas hides are generally findable, if ya widen your search area to about 50 or 60 feet diameter. Also, there are some great areas along the bluffs of Winona that I really like (thanks for having the event down there.)

And when ya head into the Twin Cities, look for hides by Posen, Paklid or Mustsley and Crew. They are almost always very creative fun hides. There are a lot of other really cool people hiding in MN, so it is easy enough to avoid the rusty tin cans and cheap plastic margarine containers that King Boreas puts out.

zuma

[zuma]

Hey Brett,

Thanks for the heads up on Tokens Tokens. Stopped and checked it out today, and enjoyed the scenery….Lots of deer trails. I went in the 2.5 direct route, instead of the more sensible trail. So I saw the marsh too.

zuma

[zuma]

Hey LJ,

That is quite an awesome trip….Wish I could have gone. Sounds from the log ya had a great time.

zuma

[zuma]

Interesting question… Anyway I read it, and it looks like it has been a well read forum by many, which can only be good for the long term success of the WGA. I attribute the interest to the number of well qualified candidates. It is going to be hard to pick just 5 people from those running.

zuma

[zuma]

This is an excellent question, and thanks for bringing it up. I served on the Wisconsin EMS Association Board of Directors for several years and am well aware of how much time a voluntary position like this can take.

As to prior committments, I work 3 12 hour shifts per week, and generally have 4 days off per week. I work every third weekend, so generally cannot attend 1/3 of the events, but would get a schedule adjustment or the big 2 WGA events (assuming that is possible at the time). I do occasionally pick up extra shifts, depending on whether I need extra cash to buy fuel for my gas guzzling Explorer to go geocaching or whether I would prefer to try to go grab some FTF chances.

My daughters still live with me, but they are 23 and 18, and are pretty much potty trained now, and they dont mind if I am gone days at a time. In fact, I think they like it when I am gone for awhile–I suspect they are already looking forward to my 8 day absence starting later this week. (I think I heard the word “party.”

I would say that time is the most finite of commodities. All of us have just 168 hours per week, no less and no more. So any of us who serve on the BOD will have to adjust how we use our time if we are going to be effective. In my case, most of my discretionary time, that is time not given over to the necessary things of life, is already spent wisely, by going geocaching. 😉

And even though it is not about the numbers, I do pay attention to the numbers, and have done the math. On average, I find 3 caches/hour. I know that is low, but I include travel time in my calculation. Anyway, any time that I spend working on WGA projects will have to come from the time that I am currently spending finding caches. Therefore I can calculate that if I find 300 less caches in the coming year, I will have 100 hours to spend on WGA projects.

Anyway, there is only so much time, and I am OK with finding a few less caches in the coming year and using that time that I would have used hunting caches working on WGA projects. (I know this calculation will make Team Honeybunnies salivate because they are just dieing to pass me.)

zuma

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