"Leave only footprints" is a saying friends and family often use when discussing our beautiful state here. And where possible, we tend to bring home much more than we went out with, (garbage that is), from the forests that other people carelessly leave behind.
Case in point, just spoke with a good friend recently who scored a decent ammo can, and a fair amount of worthless nonsense as well. Admittedly this is no ordinary find, as it turns out he found something called a Geo Cashe, as it was labeled in numerous spots within the can. In brief its some kind of game people play where one hides a "treasure" and other people try to find it, re-hide it, and so on. But the point is, this ammo can was hidden in the forest... it's man made, and doesn't belong there!
Among a journal of sorts and 'knick knacks', as he phrased it, inside the can, there was apparently a tracking device inside that is now currently disabled, but he said he's thinking about hooking it back up and leaving it with USFS station so someone can perhaps explain to them why their can is now confiscated and will be returned to its original intended use as an ammunitions storage box. So for that, he's thanked you for the lovely gift.
Please, DO NOT leave junk in our wilderness areas. Enjoy, be safe and keep our state clean. Consider this a Badger PSA.
The forest service and many parks and open space areas do allow Geo Cashing and reconigize it as a valid outdoor use activity.
Geocaching is a challenging outdoor game for global positioning system (GPS) users. Participating in a cache hunt is an activity designed to take advantage of the features and capability of a GPS unit and enjoy the freedom of access to the public lands. Individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the Internet. GPS users use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a variety of rewards. The visitor is asked to leave or replace items that they find in the cache.
What Public Lands allow Geocaching activities ?
The National Park Service absolutely DOES NOT allow Geocaching on park lands. The Bureau of Land Management may allow it, you should check with the local office of the area you plan to visit. The Forest Service does allow geocaching activities on some of their lands; it is best to call ahead to the public lands you plan to visit to see what the local policy may be towards hiding caches. Many state parks and state public lands also have their own policies regarding geocaching. You should be sure to check with your local park authority before planning any geocaching activity.
Check it out
So go ahead and have your "friend" take the ammo can to the local USFS office. I'm sure the owner of the cache would like to have thier ammo can back. Apparently they didn't hide it well enough.
Tracking Device??? rofllol
Maybe a travel bug?
I'm more concerned with people building campfire rings all over the forest some not 10 feet from an existing fire ring. Or those off road riders who cut trail and road corners or think it's cool to tear up stream beds.
Not sure what all the disbelief is about but let's try this again:
As mentioned the find was made by my friend Jeff... if you MUST know a name. Good friend and Army veteran, I have no reason to doubt his word and not entirely sure why mine doesn't seem good Grady.... we've met recently and you know me by my proper name of Chris.
The details I know of are that he found an ammo can while hiking among trees and rocks. The contents revealed to him what it was about and he had to explain it to me. The "tracking device" as he put it, apparently has the word Garmin on it and is battery operated, but its small and I guess it, itself is not a GPS unit.
He and I have in common that we get a bit irritated when we see garbage left behind in the woods, hence the reason for this thread. I don't care if someone was playing a game or what, pack out what you pack in PERIOD.
BadgerKustoms wrote: Not sure what all the disbelief is about but let's try this again:
As mentioned the find was made by my friend Jeff... if you MUST know a name. Good friend and Army veteran, I have no reason to doubt his word and not entirely sure why mine doesn't seem good Grady.... we've met recently and you know me by my proper name of Chris.
The details I know of are that he found an ammo can while hiking among trees and rocks. The contents revealed to him what it was about and he had to explain it to me. The "tracking device" as he put it, apparently has the word Garmin on it and is battery operated, but its small and I guess it, itself is not a GPS unit.
He and I have in common that we get a bit irritated when we see garbage left behind in the woods, hence the reason for this thread. I don't care if someone was playing a game or what, pack out what you pack in PERIOD.
Badger
Sorry Just a little hyper around here lately, I apologize.
I do Geo cache and I have planted some cache's in forest service lands, again it is an approved activity in most FS lands. I have not seen nor heard of any sort of Garmin tracking device. I'd be curious to see it. I to hate to see trash in the forests and pick up other people's crap I see laying around. Geocachers as a group are what you would call pretty "environmentally sensitive" they even sponsor cache in pack out clean up days. It really is a pretty non invasive use of public lands. More often than not caches are placed in areas that have some interesting history or feature. There is an entire series centered around the old graveyards in the state. It is a great hobby especially for kids, grand kids and old people.
[url=http://www.geocaching.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]www.geocaching.com[/url]
Again I apologize, it was nice meeting you. Another 1/8 of a turn seems to have cleared up that remaining issue.
BadgerKustoms wrote: Not sure what all the disbelief is about but let's try this again:
As mentioned the find was made by my friend Jeff... if you MUST know a name. Good friend and Army veteran, I have no reason to doubt his word and not entirely sure why mine doesn't seem good Grady.... we've met recently and you know me by my proper name of Chris.
The details I know of are that he found an ammo can while hiking among trees and rocks. The contents revealed to him what it was about and he had to explain it to me. The "tracking device" as he put it, apparently has the word Garmin on it and is battery operated, but its small and I guess it, itself is not a GPS unit.
He and I have in common that we get a bit irritated when we see garbage left behind in the woods, hence the reason for this thread. I don't care if someone was playing a game or what, pack out what you pack in PERIOD.
Badger
You really are that ignorant?
Leave the geo caches alone, Badger. They are not trash, they are there on purpose and are not for you to dispose of. You are interfering with the non destructive multiple use of public lands, and you and your friend are guilty of theft. The ammo can and it's contents were not yours.
It should have stayed where it was.
"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Some of my best memories are geocaching with my kids. They were always excited to get a little token gift in the cache and leave something for the next person.
You want to clean up the forest? Go to some impromptu "shooting range" where live trees are cut in half by gunfire and shell casings and lead bullets are littering the forest floor. Clean that up.
Badger if you send me the CGnnnnn number on the cache, I'll get a message to the cache owner that the cache has been muggled (Geo Caching term not mine). I'd still like to see that Garmin device.
After viewing some of the other comments my initial reaction would have been to respond in a way indicative of my very nick name of Badger.... however, I took a breath, re-read all the posts including my own and will post up details, facts, and an update in an attempt at civility and peace in this, what I thought would be a simple PSA about keeping the woods clean, with little if any correspondence. (And no hard feelings Grady, I definitely understand and relate. Glad to hear that cured it, continue to monitor it as that line is likely pressurized during operation. If all else fails, give me a call and I'll bring a ton of wrenches to cure it. :thumbsup: )
In the re-read, it became apparent that perhaps I was a bit vague, here are some facts:
1. I haven't seen any of Jeff's find, we spoke by phone. This is because a drive to one another's home is on average of 2 hours. He called to catch up and to boast his "score" of the ammo can.
2. As far as the tracking device, given Jeff's specialization in the service, when he used that term, I dared not question the authenticity of it, but I do remember saying, "Sounds like some James Bond type shit bro." and laughed. He described it as a small battery operated thing with Garmin printed on it. I'm aware of Garmin GPS units, but he said this was a tracking device, I left it at that. Not really sure what it is exactly as a Google search reveals a bunch of neat gizmos, any of which could be what he was talking about. I'd have to get more details from him about specific model, etc.
3. Describing some of the other contents he told me it was something called a geo cashe and explained briefly what it was based off of a journal in the can. I'd never heard of this before, but didn't research it after.... merely shared his view of "why do people leave shit like this in the woods?"
4. The initial post was as mentioned a simple PSA, (public service announcement) to remind us all to keep our woodlands clean and enjoyable. It was not my intention to piss anyone off and was quite surprised when that turned out to be the case. As someone who regularly ends up packing out other people's crap from the forest, I might have acted similarly had I found the can.
5. This one is more aimed at Raees.... I would have thought you'd remember that there are a group of us who quite regularly clean up the active shooting ranges and even the impromtu ones, but I'll mention it again. A fair size group of us, (mostly consisting of active and former military and law enforcement, as well as any and all others interested), take an active part in not only cleaning the areas closest to us, but also make a habit of travelling around the state and doing the same. Its never fun picking up someone else's mess, but we make a day of it, have a picnic, sometimes get to shoot a bit, but more importantly help educate those in the area the importance of keeping it clean for all to enjoy. Because if its abused, the priviledge to partake can be taken away from EVERYONE.
So the update:
I called his home phone, he was at work but I did speak to his wife and was able to catch up with her too. Apparently she IS familiar with geo cashe games (a detail that could definitely have come in handy PRIOR to all of this.... but what's done is done) and showed him how he can contact someone per instructions inside the can. I didn't know there was contact info in there, as mentioned... I haven't physically seen the find. According to her, all of the contents are still there and she's encouraged him to return it.
I hope this clears it all up. As mentioned, had no intention of starting an online battle and was a bit amazed at the responses. We live in a beautiful state and its nice to see it remain that way so our children, grandchildren and so on, can enjoy it as well.
2. As far as the tracking device, given Jeff's specialization in the service, when he used that term, I dared not question the authenticity of it, but I do remember saying, "Sounds like some James Bond type sh** bro." and laughed. He described it as a small battery operated thing with Garmin printed on it. I'm aware of Garmin GPS units, but he said this was a tracking device, I left it at that. Not really sure what it is exactly as a Google search reveals a bunch of neat gizmos, any of which could be what he was talking about. I'd have to get more details from him about specific model, etc.
Within the Geocache world there are a number of "travel bugs" or other traveling devices that the finder is supposed to log on a website and more to another cache. They will usually have some sort of a number that is the key. Some of the "travel Bugs" have been traveling all over the world for years, and then there are those that get lost or scooped up and collected within a few hops. I'm guessing the Garmin device is a device along the same lines except that it may be able to track in real time.
