Findley State Park Bomb Scare

I was made aware of a geocache recently being mistaken for a bomb at Findley State Park.  I can't tell from the information which geocache was x-rayed and if the cache is still in place.  There's a chance the cache was never published.  Each year a number of caches are dropped at places requiring a permit and never published if the cache owner doesn't follow up for permission.  Caches in satte parks rarely cause bomb scares, but this one did.  Remember to always mark your geocache containers when you place them.  This ammo can is waiting for us to find a hiding spot in the ANF.

In April, a bomb scare was reported when a geocache was found in Leesville, Louisiana.  The container was reported to be taped up "like a pipe bomb."  Nearby residents were evacuated while the bomb squad destroyed the cache container.

This last report from October 2019 is more disturbing.  It appears from the news report someone in Allen County (Lima, Ohio) removed a geocache which had been in place for over a year and moved the cache to a nearby Bob Evans where it was placed under a bench.  The container had what appeared to be a fake fuse sticking out and contained a note inside.

Different Micro

We've seen plastic versions of this made from soda bottle preforms.  This is the first time we have seen a brass garden hose union used with two rubber hose caps.

The container has held up well for nearly five years.  The original log was dry and in great condition.

Wettest Container

We found this cache recently.

We may have seen wetter caches, but this one was filled with water.  I stopped Ali before she poured out the entire container.  The slime line shows how full the container was.

The old logs inside were a nasty pile of mush.  Amazingly a new log and baggie left by friends about a year ago were still dry.  It was a nice hide in an interesting location.  Unfortunately it was doomed as the owner put a hole in the top of the container to hang the cache.

195 Days

We spend a lot of geocaching time in Pennsylvania State Gamelands.  Many of our favorite finds have been during gamelands excursions.  With personal events and COVID travel restrictions, it had been 195 days since our last SGL caching adventure.  We took care of that with a long walk on a warm, late-spring day with the geodogs.

There were toadpoles,

lots of butterflies,

and of course, plenty of geocaches.

There was no need for a mask.  There was only one other person in the gamelands.  He passed by on his bike as we were in the woods signing a log.  It was glorious!  It was the perfect way to be outdoors and not need to worry about social distancing.

It's Time to Be Responsible

Southern states are showing the effects of opening up with COVID cases increasing. It seems to be time for the geocaching community accept that Megas are a very bad idea this year. The ASP Geobash crew understood the need for responsible action and cancelled the May event. The October Going Caching 2020 in Georgia has been cancelled. The same action was taken by the New Jersey 2020 Metro Gathering. It's disturbing to see at least two July Megas still standing as active events. I hope Geocaching leaders will show they are good citizens and do what is right. Hopefully with responsible behavior we can gather together next year in the fellowship of Megas. This year, especially this summer is not the time. I would be saddened to see a geocaching Mega event become a superspreader for COVID.

Happier Days at the 2019 ASP GeoBash

 

Posting Needs Archived Logs

Cache Maintenance Expectations

Geocaching HQ has suspended sending "Low Health Score" emails to cache owners of caches that may need maintenance, and has also asked the Community Volunteer Reviewers to "provide extra time for addressing maintenance issues on existing caches." See the Geocaching.com "Updates" page, "HQ's Response to COVID-19." The Ohio Reviewer team is following this guidance. We don't want a cache owner to feel obligated to make a maintenance visit to their cache if they feel uncomfortable doing so. Accordingly, the community should not worry if they see a cache that has been temporarily disabled for several months, or one that has accumulated several consecutive DNF logs. We are keeping track of these caches and we will address the issues. Cache owners who feel comfortable doing so are welcome to spend their downtime visiting caches that might need maintenance. Cache finders are cautioned to check the recent logs before seeking a geocache that might be missing or damaged. Thanks for your understanding!


My comments....

Some people post Needs Archived logs like there is a number count somewhere. It just serves as a distraction to reviewers. In Ohio we won't be doing any cache maintenance work for some time. Even with the all clear there are a number of cachers who are staying mostly indoors. We will be addressing caches that need maintenance soon, but not now. In the meantime Needs Archived logs are just a distraction. Please post your needs maintenance logs. When the time is right, they will be addressed.

Just a pet peeve as a cacher, if you log a find then post a Needs Archived, was it really there and did you really meet the guidelines? "You can log caches online as "Found" after you visited the coordinates and signed the logbook." Seems some of us will do anything for one more smiley. Maybe post a DNF...

You're Welcome

I was amused to see this cropped and posted as a general thank you from Signal to all geocachers.  As a reviewer of nearly thirteen years, I can say it is mostly rewarding, sometimes frightning when dealing with certain cachers, and a significant time investment to give back to the game we have played for nearly sixteen years.  To all the wonderful cachers for whom I review or have reviewed, thank you.

We're Publishing

It's been a while, but Ohio reviewers are now publishing caches.  We're still not publishing events as Ohio is limiting gatherings to 10 or fewer.  This morning I was greeted with the pent up demand of a number of hiders.  Stay Safe.  Go find a cache.

We celebrated the state opening a little bit more by donning our masks and heading to the Lake Erie Island area.  We enjoyed spotting a young oriole while visiting a glacial groove earthcache.

It was a little wet near Marblehead.  We decided to pass by the hide on this pedestrian walkway,

It was a grand day to be out being socially distant together.

US and Canada Geocaching COVID Map as of 9 May 2020

Surprise Container

We were out for a walk in the park to find a cache and look for wildflowers.  It's great to find a creative container.  This fun one was well done.  Technically we weren't social distancing with the man on the container.  😉

Spring Caching With COVID-19

We are nearing the end of April and will have one of our fewest geocaching find months.  We've stayed away from most busy parks and have had fun with fewer finds.  Birding while geocaching this year has been very good.  We realize the game has changed for us.  I may never attend another event at a restaurant although time may eventually change that.  We are still having fun with caching and enjoying the views while the longer walks have helped me avoid the other Covid-19.

Since early studies show weight is the biggest factor in COVID-19 hospitalization for those under 60, I am happy to be able to get out for a walk in the park when done with a day at my home office and to find a cache while keeping my BMI in the normal range.  The birding has been quite good too.

18,000 Finds at The Ghost Orchid

For our first 17 caches at 1,000 find milestones we were in Pennsylvania with the dogs hunting a terrain 3 or higher cache.  We've always planned to make those milestones with the dogs as they are a big part of our outdoor lives.  We were in great shape to continue that tradition for 18,000 until I got deathly sick on vacation in October.  October became one of our lightest months ever for geocaching.  It also meant we were going to find a milestone in Florida without the dogs.  Choosing a cache wasn't a question.  We both knew it would be The Ghost Orchid in Fakahatchee Swamp.  It is now a thirteen year old cache.  It has been found 113 times in thirteen years.  Most of the visits have been group outings with prior visitors acting as tour guides.

Fakahatchee is an amazing place.  Our first visit was in 2017.  We found a few caches, but the wildlife viewing was the hook that captured us.

Old tramways from citrus days serve as trails.

Sometimes

Some citrus trees still hang on and bear fruit.

2017 had us hooked.  We returned to Fakahatchee in 2018.  Our first venture was to find Share the Music Cache.  It was also our first experience at getting wet in the swamp.

Despite some blood and spotting a cottonmouth on the way out we were hooked.  We came back the next day to tackle The Ghost Orchid.  We were cocky.  We can do this.

It was wet from the moment we left the tramway and knee-deep and raining.  We looked a long time without finding stage one.  The birds were laughing at us.

The vultures were waiting.

We retreated back to the tramway and set our sites for 2019.  This was supposed to be the easy stage.

We were ready in 2019.  We had a dry bag and a dry box.  We planned more.  We headed into the swamp and found a warm up cache at an old camp on the way to the parking area.

Even the really large gator with really sharp teeth could deter us.

Moving was tough and wet, but we spotted stage one!

Ali spotted this turtle.  It's odd to think we will most likely be the only people this turtle ever sees.

Fakahatchee was peaceful and awesome.

We spent over four hours in the swamp on this journey and did not reach the final.  The area closes at sunset.  Even if staying after dark were possible, I have no desire to meet a panther after dark.  We left with one dead gps as a sacrifice to Fakahatchee.  We would be waiting another year.

We were back for another visit in February. We were already aware of the growing risk of COVID-19.  Fakahatchee seemed like a good place to be on our own.  With a few birds.

There's no real getting used to being in the swamp.  Once you step off a tramway, you are there in the water.

Once you are in, you pretty much stay in.  If the water is below your knees, it is low.  The image below is easy walking with a long stretch of open low water, and few downed tree parts to crawl over.  The worst risk is finding tree trunks and limbs to trip over.

Cypress Knees

The deep portions of the water came up to my chin.  Ali had picked a shallower path in the crossing, but the water was still quite deep.  It was enough to feel the bouyancy of the water and a little float while crossing.

We fared better on our journey than this alligator did.  It was near the final, but wasn't the skull by the cache.

Spoiler Alert. 😉

Ali with Find #18,000!

It's not a journey for everyone.  It was a wonderful adventure for us.  We spent over four hours on this last journey to the final.  We spent almost ten hours making the journey together.  We could have joined the tour to the cache, but were happy to work through the stages as a team.  It was a special milestone.  I hope we are able to revisit Fakahatchee Swamp for other adventures as we look for more of the hides in this amazing place.

Making a No-Sew Cloth Mask

I don't sew. I've tried to make my own cloth mask, but it hasn't work out. This video was posted through a Twitter feed for the ASSP. It's a basic and effective way to provide coverage to your face while you are out hunting geocaches. Stay safe and protect those you may see on the trail by wearing a mask.

  Mine has a geocaching theme.  The bandana is a reviewer gift from Groundspeak.  The video says hairbands or rubber bands to make the ear loops.  I stitched together elastic pieces.  The elastic seems more comfortable than the rubber bands.  I'm all out of hair bands.  😉

Now go out and find some caches.