Luna B
Silver Cacher
Posts: 204
|
Post by Luna B on Apr 1, 2008 6:54:47 GMT -9
Hi all, I just heard today about a group meeting next week, April 7 to talk about Geocaching. They are in desperate need for some savvy folks to explain and expound about Geocaching.the particulars are at: adventurers.meetup.com/109/calendar/7612167/meeting date and time and location: Monday, April 7 - 6 p.m. Organic Oasis 2610 Spenard Road Anchorage - 277-7882 enjoy!
|
|
|
Post by ladybugkids on Apr 1, 2008 7:34:05 GMT -9
It would be great if one or more active local geocachers could attend the meeting to discuss land ownership issues and placement of caches on public lands. A couple of their members have posted notes that a jumping off points for some spirited conversations:
"Yes Of COURSE geocaching violates Leave No Trace. You are most certainly leaving a trace. This is why I would not want to put a geocache in a wilderness area. The real question is, which is more harm: scarring the ground with a legal firepit in which some yahoo then tries to burn beer bottles and stew cans, or carefully and thoughtfully leaving a jar in a hidden location, with permission, and then asking the whole world to watch out for it? Good question, really..."
"Did any of you catch the results of a reader poll given in the April issue of Backpacker mag? The poll question was: "Does geocaching violate Leave No Trace?" Results were 42% said Yes."
I'd go, but work has me in Valdez on Monday and Tuesday of next week.
|
|
|
Post by oleruns on Apr 1, 2008 16:13:49 GMT -9
That poll brings up a great point (at least to me) and something I think we all have to watch out for. Backpacker Magazine I am sure is a “Green” publication and I feel that we geocachers also feel we are “Green”. All I mean by “Green” is a love for the environment, the outdoors and desire to protect it is not an insult. If a group feels that we are littering by 42% or violating leave no trace by our container placement, my inclination is to be defensive and protective for our sport/hobby. I am glad to see someone willing to teach people about Geocaching as this education will go a long way towards fostering good relations with another outdoor user group. We can all look at the mountains and see the trails to the summits, so even normal backpacking… leaves a big trace.
My fear is that one user group will turn on another user group and try to deny geocachers access to parks, both city and state. I am sure the tipping point is far from 42% and more like 80% before someone would take an active role in limiting our access.
Sorry for the rant –
|
|
mtboy
Silver Cacher
Posts: 139
|
Post by mtboy on Apr 2, 2008 9:04:49 GMT -9
I have a fair number of caches in the mountains. I do agree that it is not up to the strict standard of "leave no trace". However, I generally have an issue with the folks that are constantly marching around beating the leave no trace drum. In general, many of the people I have come in contact with that fit this category use it as a "holier than thou" type of thing making them feel important and special. I hunt, I fish, I climb, I canoe, i spend every minute i can in the outdoors. I will fiercly defend the wilderness areas we have. Those who try to make wilderness exclusive and severely limit activities under the guise of "leave no trace" will essentially will have a pyric victory...as they will win one battle (less perceived impact), but lose the war (less political support and connection to the land).
I have packed more junk out of the mountains and fixed old damaged areas then I have ever left there. Secondly, if it draws people into the mountains that wouldn't normally go, it builds an emotional bond with the wilderness areas. This makes passing laws and protecting areas much easier.
I am a supporter of responsible land use. Geocaching is a controlled way to share some beautiful areas of wilderness with others. I believe the CITO concept is one that will keep geocaching going for years to come!
If we all do our part and ensure that we are bringing out trash and responsibly caching it will give us even greater reason to push forward with this sport.
By the way...akmcghee finally found "trans-ninilchik scenic byway" this week after a year of silence...It did survive the caribou hills fires. I believe that was his first FTF...and a good one at that!
|
|
|
Post by NorthWes on Apr 2, 2008 15:57:55 GMT -9
Hey - good post there, mtboy! You're right on the money! Brace yourself for a lengthy post...
I've signed up with the group & will be there on Monday night (at their organizer's specific invitation - who got my name from LunaBlue... and that's another story for another time!) They're very very pro-geocaching as a whole, and look like a group that's tailor-made for bringing more players into the game locally.
However, this is symptomatic of a larger issue we're facing here in Anchorage & world-wide. Lots of folks hear about geocaching - some try it and don't catch the fever, some try it and are hooked. Others who know of it may develop concerns over the game's impact on the land which they share use of with geocachers. And, as oleruns & mtboy have mentioned - the fur flies as distinctly different user groups try to stake out a more 'exclusive' and purportedly 'more valid' claim to the land resource being shared by varied user groups.
The solution has several distinct elements - education, involvement, and good ethical practice. • We educate (through training events, or interactions such as the meeting this coming Monday night, or by meeting face to face with land managers) about what geocaching involves, and what the game gives back to local communities (in our town, the CITO aspect and call-ins/emails to the TrailWatch hotline are good examples of 'give-backs'). • We get involved - TrailWatch, CITO, WarrenPeace's excellent curriculum (which has put Anchorage 'on the map' as a geocaching destination with target marketing by the Anch Convention & Visitors Bureau!), ongoing discussions with land managers about 'how to play' on their supervised land tracts - all examples of involvement. • First and foremost we practice good ethics - permission for hides, staying within the boundaries of geocaching.com guidelines for hides, practicing 'Leave No Trace' cache hunting tactics (do NOT explode the forest to find the micro!), and always ensuring we're 'good neighbors' who never are found guilty of trespassing or vandalism.
The "Alaska Adventurers Meetup" on Monday night about geocaching is aimed at their members who want to learn techniques for better cache placements specifically, and a bit more about geocaching generally. It's a members event (easy to join their group - but don't come thinking its a geocaching event, or even aimed at the average geocacher!), and they have an excellent trainer/organizer who's invited me to be there to answer any specific questions from their attendees (in fact I'd suggest we don't 'mob' their meeting with geocachers - but if you're interested in joining a quality group of Alaskans who enjoy trying new outdoor adventures contact me via email about how to 'meetup' with them - it looks like a really fun crowd to hang out with - a mixed-gender mob of mtboy-like fun folks!)
As an aside, areas of involvement on my plate personally include: • Member of the Trail Watch Committee; • Volunteer geocaching trainer for MOA Parks Dept's Community Pgm; • Volunteer geocacher point of contact with the BLM Campbell Tract land management team (who is getting ready to draft a new land use plan, to include guidelines on geocaching on the Campbell Tract) - a role the BLM has asked me to take on since they're used to working with me on other projects. NOTE - they're going to ask us to do a BLM-targeted CITO Project this summer - and they'll be watching to see if we 'give back' manpower to measure up against the 80 or so cache placements 'we' collectively have scattered across the Campbell Tract / Far North Bicentennial Park! When the event gets posted I hope you'll step up to the task!
I've listed these areas of involvement to highlight part of what it takes to ensure geocaching gets a positive reception from Land Managers locally. When I'm asked to speak out about geocaching by a Parks person or other land manager, I don't hesitate to say 'yes'. There's lots of other places to get involved - I'm sure every one of us belongs to some outdoor 'user' group (Nordic Ski Assn of Anch., Arctic Orienteering, Anch. Skijoring, the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts come to mind immediately) which could benefit from us showing off how geocaching complements their existing land use beneficially.
Best of all is our ongoing commitment to ethical play - good cache placements, CITO, and 'Leave No Trace' cache hunting.
|
|
|
Post by li1gray on Apr 3, 2008 22:30:38 GMT -9
Well I would like to hear what is said at the meeting after the fact if possible sowe won't mob them. I am involved with Caching on the Air Force base as I teach the basic GPS class at the ORC (Outdoor Rec Center) We do cross country skiing and snowshoe classes as well and this year we combined the Snowshoe class with the GPS class. I usually place a 3 or 4 caches out along the trail, In the summer it is just the GPS and caching usually one class a month all summer. Any information that I can pass on would be nice as well. thanks NorthWes
|
|
|
Post by oleruns on Apr 4, 2008 8:54:42 GMT -9
Here is a link runnersworld-greenteam.com/ Runners World Green Team has nothing to do with Geocaching unless we wanted to find ways to become green.
|
|