- A Farmer? Bridget=20 -----Original Message----- From: geocaching-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:geocaching-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of tklnhl & kyd Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 9:12 PM To: geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [GeoStL] Re: From Boise Weekly: Geocaching - Who would name their child "Bingo"? Nancy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Glenn" <GLNash@xxxxxxxxxx> To: "St. Louis Area Geocachers" <geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 8:22 PM Subject: [GeoStL] From Boise Weekly: Geocaching > - > Am guessing that you have already seen this, but just in case... > > > You might find this interesting. > > > The sport of geocaching is experiencing growing pains as it adapts to a > post 9/11 world. > > By Bingo Barnes > > [image-1] While conducting a routine inspection on September 27, an Idaho > Department of Transportation inspector noticed something strange on the > Rainbow Bridge, located 13 miles south of Cascade on Highway 55. A green > bucket held in place with a system of ropes and wires was suspiciously > perched underneath one of the struts of the bridge. To be safe, the Boise > bomb squad was called in and the highway was closed, stopping traffic for > almost seven hours. > > Around 2:15 p.m., 33-year old Scot Tintsman from Meridian showed up at the > scene to tell police that the object was a "geocache." The bomb squad was > called off, the bucket removed and traffic resumed just before 4 p.m. with > travelers wondering, "What the heck is a geocache?" > > Geocaching is a popular sport--some call it a hobby--where players use > handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) units to locate containers=20 > stashed > in the wilderness and secret urban locations. With technology prices > dropping and companies making smaller hand-held GPS units, more and more > people are enjoying this modern technological version of a scavenger hunt. > But a sport this young still experiences growing pains and players still > struggle to learn the rules of the game. > > The sport of geocaching, and civilian use of GPS technology, has only been > possible since the year 2000 when the U.S. military descrambled their GPS) > satellites, allowing citizens to access the signals to pinpoint their > location on earth through triangulation. The technology was previously > reserved just for military use in tasks like pinpointing troops in the > field or tracking and guiding missiles. > > President Bill Clinton, in a statement on May 1, 2000, announced the > cancellation of the intentional degredation of the signals, based on a > recommendation from the secretary of defense and coordinated with the > departments of State, Transportation and Commerce and the director of > Central Intelligence. This change gave civilians access to a mapping tool > accurate within two to three meters. Previously, the signal would only be > accurate to a football field-sized area. > > Clinton said his intention was to improve worldwide transportation safety, > scientific research and commercial interests. It could also allow=20 > emergency > responders to have pinpoint accuracy to locations, as long as someone at > the location had the GPS coordinates. > > Just two days after President Clinton officially deregulated the signal, a > container was hidden outside of Portland, Oregon, with the coordinates > posted online on a satellite navigation newsgroup. According to the > logbook, the cache was visited twice within three days. Mike Teague, the > first finder of the cache posted the information to his personal Web site. > In July, Jeremy Irish approached Teague with a proposed name, geocaching, > and a redesigned Web site. By September, Irish was running the site by > himself, and he is now the developer and Web master of geocaching.com, the > mother of all geocaching Web sites. > > Geocaching Web sites have varying guidelines as to how they approve the > caches posted to their databases. While Geocaching.com is perhaps the best > known site, there are others like navicache.com, Buxley's Geocaching > Waypoint (www.brillig.com/geocaching), which focuses on mapping geocache > locations, and opencache.com, a community-run site that keeps an > open-source attitude toward geocaching, avoiding the individual-ownership > approach of the other sites by. But by far, the most visited one is > geocaching.com, and is still growing in popularity. > > While distinctly grass-roots and with an air of anti-commercialism, in the > last year, the sport has dipped into the capitalistic pond. The Jeep 4X4 > Geocaching Challenge involved the company hiding 5,000 miniature Jeep > travel bugs in caches across the lower 48 states. When a geocacher found > one of the little Jeeps, they had the opportunity to sign up for the > challenge and have the opportunity win not only Garmin GPS units (another > sponsor of the contest) but ultimately a new seven-passenger Jeep > Commander. > > At a recent Treasure Valley Cacheaholics Anonymous (TVCA) meeting at Ben's > Crow Inn (the event could only be found via GPS coordinates posted to > www.idahogeocachers.org), a small group of geocachers gathered to discuss > new caches, share information and listen to a guest speaker. Geocachers > signed the log book for the meeting using the nicknames from their=20 > profiles > on geocaching Web sites. Founded by BOOMHWR653, IDTIMBERWOLF, IDN8IVS and > ZEROEDIN in 2003, TVCA now has about 30 active members. Captain Mike, a > retired National Guard reservist, manned the logbook and has placed about > 41 caches around the area he maintains. One, called "A Walk on the Wild > Side" is series of eight caches spread over a four-mile area around > Tablerock. But the real excitement of the evening was the guest, Sergeant > Dave Hambleton. > > Hambleton, commander of the Boise police bomb squad unit, came in talk > about geocaching and how the geocaching community should have more open > lines of communication with local police so that incidents like the one at > Rainbow Bridge don't occur again. Hambleton told the group there had been > only one other incident involving a geocache in the last five years--out=20 > on > Pleasant Valley Road--and explained what they consider a suspicious or > possibly dangerous package: basically, just about anything. > > "When we get a call on something suspicious, we have to treat it like a > loaded gun," he said. Something as small as a film canister (a favorite > container for "microcaches") can be turned into a small grenade, so they > have to take every call seriously. > > He added that the location is important when determining the danger to > life > or property. "I just learned Sunday a friend of mine was geocaching and he > was thinking of putting a cache over near the Caldwell airport. He has > permission from some folks but I told him it was a really bad idea,=20 > because > someone is going to think it's suspicious and the Nampa bomb squad will=20 > get > called out on that," Hambleton explained. > > One geocacher at the meeting said, "It probably wouldn't be approved if it > were at the airport." > > Another replied from the back, "There are already three at the Caldwell > airport." Everyone laughed. > > Hambleton added, "It's all in the placement. If it's in a high pedestrian > area, obviously it is going to be more suspicious. An airport will be a > high-target area, infrastructure--power, gas, water--any of those things." > > Because geocaching is a free sport (except for the cost of a GPS unit),=20 > and > because there is no overseeing authority establishing the rules of the > game, geocachers tend to police themselves and set up their own rules and > ethical guidelines. To have a cache approved and listed on geocaching.com > so that others may find it, there are several guidelines that must be > followed. > > First, geocaching.com states there is no precedent for placing > caches--meaning, just because someone else has done it and it was once > accepted doesn't mean it will be in the future. Second, a person must have > permission to place a cache on private land. This guideline is a little > more vague on public land. Depending upon the governing authority, cachers > may need to have permission. Many governmental agencies like the Bureau of > Land Management, state land authorities or federally managed areas do not > have a stated policy and it may be OK, but geocaching.com will not list > caches on land maintained by the U.S. National Park Service or U.S. Fish > and Wildlife Service (typically wildlife refuges). Third, caches are also > not supposed to be buried, and they cannot deface public or private > property to be hidden. Caches should not be placed in close proximity to > active railroad tracks, military bases or public structures such as dams, > bridges, elementary and secondary schools or airports. > > Finally, caches are not supposed to be placed within one-tenth of a mile > (528 feet) of each other, except in rare exceptions. With more caches=20 > being > placed, more guidelines to the sport are likely to be created. > > Since August 14 of this year, 50 new geocache sites have been placed in=20 > the > Boise area, according to Buxley's Geocaching Waypoint. As of December 12, > geocaching.com identified 220,384 geocache sites around the world (16 are > in Antarctica) with 66 percent of them (135,075) in the United States. > Idaho contains 2,955 with over 692 in the Boise area alone. Geocaches tend > to be concentrated in and around population centers. However, even in > Tuscarora, Nevada which has a population of about two to three people per > square mile, there are over 30 geocaches within a 45 mile radius. > > With catchy names like "Token Ring," "Garrett's Treasures Redux," "Mira > Frosty" and "You Must Be This Tall to Cache This Ride," the numbers of > geocaches is increasing dramatically. However, leaving goodies hidden in a > special location is considered littering by some. Federal guidelines state > that burying or abandoning personal property in national parks and forests > is prohibited. Geocachers, however, say that caches are maintained by the > cache owner and therefore not abandoned. Regardless of the details, many > parks and forest rangers recognize geocaching as a legitimate recreational > activity and accept it. Some government officials, however, believe that > geocaching should not be allowed in certain areas, such as designated > wilderness. The Wilderness Act of 1964 established these areas as being > untouched by human presence or development. By those rules, however, > virtual caches or earthcaches are allowed there (see Glossary on page 16 > for definitions). > > The geocaching community is adamant about their leave-no-trace philosophy > and have set up a global cleanup program called Cache In, Trash Out, or > CITO. The first CITO event was held in April, 2003 and geocachers around > the world participated. Since then, the event has grown and in 2004, there > were 160 cleanup events in 41 states and 10 countries where geocachers > went > to a specified GPS location and picked up trash along the way. The overall > attitude of geocachers' leave-no-trace philosophy is that if you find=20 > trash > while hunting down a cache, pick it up. The overall effect may be a=20 > cleaner > environment in areas that don't see as much foot traffic. > > Captain Mike said he recalls only one incident in Idaho when another > organization, the Idaho Grotto Society, a spelunking group that catalogs > and voluntarily oversees the protection of Idaho's caves, got upset about=20 > a > geocache inside a well-known cave. Once the groups talked it out, and TVCA > explained their leave-no-trace policy and concern for the environment, all > was well. > > [image-2] This attention to conservation, protecting the environment and > creating opportunities to share unique places has caused some geocachers=20 > to > become obsessed with the sport. One local geocacher, BENTHEREFOUNDIT, is > known among the TVCA group as having the most found caches of anyone in=20 > the > group and allegedly doesn't plan on giving up his title. Others do it only > part time. > > Dan Driscoll, a member of the TVCA, has been geocaching for just over a > year and maintains nine geocaches. "I wouldn't say it has taken over my > life," he said during a phone interview. "It's just a fun pastime, > something I do on the weekend. It's just a family-friendly hobby that is > interesting. It ends up taking you places you normally wouldn't have=20 > seen." > > > While government agencies may look the other way or accept geocaching as a > legitimate sport, it doesn't mean that Big Brother isn't paying attention. > Outreach efforts like Sergeant Dan Hambleton's visit to the TVCA meeting > and open lines of communication between police and the geocaching=20 > community > could prevent another incident like the September one at Rainbow Bridge.=20 > At > the meeting, TVCA members even offered to create a local database of known > geocache locations, so that owners of the caches could be contacted if a > suspicious package is reported close to a geocache site. But it is likely > as the sport grows, more and more regulations about where people can put > caches will be handed down by government agencies, despite self-policing=20 > by > the enthusiasts. > > [image-3] Still, with so many new geoenthusiasts, mistakes are bound to > happen. Scot Tintsman had been geocaching since April of this year and had > found many geocaches near high traffic areas and even one underneath a > six-lane bridge in California. So when he wanted to put up his first > geocache, he didn't think it was out of the ordinary to try to direct > people to a part of the Payette River they don't normally see. "I've=20 > driven > over that bridge a thousand times, but I really liked that portion of the > river and wanted people to see it," he said. > > However, his timing couldn't have been worse. The very next day,=20 > Tintsman's > cache was discovered by the Idaho Transportation Department. He was=20 > heading > back up to the bridge to finish putting it all together when he noticed=20 > the > roadblocks and police. Now, he realizes that should have been a little > more > thoughtful about where he placed it. > > Since then, Tintsman has placed two more caches, this time following the > guidelines. His advice to new geocachers is to "hook up with someone who's > done it before. Get on the forums and meet someone who knows what's going > on." That way, he said, it might make it easier to understand what the > sport is about. > > [image-4] While Tintsman violated geocaching guidelines by placing a=20 > cache > underneath the Rainbow Bridge, this week he will be charged with breaking > the law, too. Valley County Prosecutor Matt Williams is charging Tintsman > with violating Idaho statute 18-7031, placing debris on public or private > property, a misdemeanor punishable of up to six months in jail or a $300 > fine. Tintsman may also be held responsible for costs involved in shutting > down the highway and calling the bomb squad up from Boise. Boise Police > spokesperson Lynn Hightower said because the overtime for the Boise bomb > squad is paid for by Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), they would be the > ones asking for restitution. Julianne Marshall, special agent and > spokesperson for the ATF in Seattle, said that they usually leave it up to > the local prosecutor, so it is uncertain at this time whether Tintsman > will > be required to pay additional restitution. > > Except for the occasional accidental misidentification of geocaches, the > sport is generally safe. There has only been one death associated with > geocaching. Last winter, 64-year-old James Max Chamberlain was on a > geocache hunt with his new GPS unit near San Antonio, Texas when he fell > off a cliff and died. The moral: While watching your GPS unit can be > exciting, as you get closer and closer to the cache, it is important to > remember where you are stepping and to keep your eyes on the trail. > > > -- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis -- > -- File: file:///C|/DOCUME%7E1/GLENN/LOCALS%7E1/TEMP/nsmail-1.txt > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.0/275 - Release Date: 3/6/2006 > > > > > **************************************** > For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes, including unsubscribing from this > list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching > Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw=20 =20 **************************************** For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes, including unsubscribing from this list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching=20 Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw **************************************** For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes, including unsubscribing from this list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw