Geocaching Safety

[rasntrumpet]

I went out to find a couple of caches late Saturday afternoon. Both were in a park close to home and I thought I could grab and go.

 

At the first one I quickly reread the instructions, left the parking lot, and headed into the woods. GPSr said .11 mile, about 600 feet. The further I went down the hill into the woods, the more uneasy I became. There was no trail. Even in winter there was a lot of vegetation and lots of downed trees. The sun was going down. I had quickly become invisible to the kids and parents playing 100 feet away. As I moved to within 110 feet of the cache I saw that there was a stream in a deep ravine that I would have to cross.

 

Enough for this one. I’ll get it another day.

 

I went to the second one in the park. It was in a heavily wooded “crater” in the center of the park. I left the parking lot, could find no trail, and started making my way into the woods. At about 300 feet from the cache I looked around. Solid woods. No trail. My flashlight was the only light. The terrain was moderately steep headed down into the crater.

 

At that moment I realized that I had forgotten (or worse yet ignored) everything I had learned in Scouting and had taught my Scouts about safety in the woods.

 

I am very enthusiastic about this new hobby. It gets me back outside and into the woods. Plus I am an electronics geek. I love any e-tool.

 

BUT…. I am 55 years old. I didn’t give exact details about where I was going. I was by myself. It was getting dark or was dark. I did take a cell phone to call for help IF I didn’t black out. Yada yada yada.

 

The point: I’ve got lots of experience in the woods. Yet, for even this simple geocaching trek, it could have turned disastrous.

 

Think! Even in a city park you need to do the following:

 

1. Tell someone exactly where you are going. I don’t care it it is the most heavily traveled area of downtown, there’s no guarantee that the journey will go as planned.

2. Take someone with you. Even an uninterested person can call for help and just might enjoy the walk.

3. Take appropriate supplies. (I have no idea what that means exactly, and it will vary by the type of terrain, but there should be a minimum list.)

4. (Respond and add to this list.)

 

So what am I going to do?

1. Fill a fanny pack or day pack with supplies to be used for my geocaching outings.

2. Print 2 copies of the caches I am chasing that day and give them to someone that cares about your safety. The homebound copy can be printed 2 pages or 4 pages per printed pages. (Check out the settings for your printer. HP offers this.)

3. Unless I am planning a night time trek, I’m going to leave more than 45 minute before sundown.

4. Convince my wife she needs some exercise and I would love her company. I better reverse the order.

 

I’ll be interest in your comments.

 

Christmas is coming. I am sure that lots of people that have never ventured into the woods will be receiving a GPSr from Santa. We have an educational opportunity in our GeoCaching community.

 

PS: When was the last time you read the disclaimer attached to each GeoCache page?

Edited December 13, 2004 by rasntrumpet

[+Kelly_Jernigan]

Again, i'am new to this site, and new to the gps world. But i grew up in the woods, and feel very relaxed about being by my self at dark in the middle of the thickest woods. But when i'am in a area i don't know, I feel 110% better when i take someone with me. I never leave with out my cell phone, and usally have water, and firstaid kit with me. I would suggest everyone at least have one person with them when they go out. It's more safe, but you can at least share the experience with someone else. ( You got to have someone take your pic with the cache!!!!)

[+briansnat]

1. Tell someone exactly where you are going. I don’t care it it is the most heavily traveled area of downtown, there’s no guarantee that the journey will go as planned.

2. Take someone with you. Even an uninterested person can call for help and just might enjoy the walk.

3. Take appropriate supplies. (I have no idea what that means exactly, and it will vary by the type of terrain, but there should be a minimum list.)

 

These apply anytime you venture outdoors. Like backpacking, hiking, rock climbing, snowmobiling and any other outdoor pursuit, geocaching has risks. The key is to minimize them. First, tell your family and/or friends exactly where you are going and when you plan to return.

 

Though the common wisdom is to never hike alone (and by extension that means geocaching), its probably one of the most frequently broken rules. I do it all the time. Heck, some of us LIKE to hike alone.

 

As far as supplies, if you are venturing into the backcountry...even if it isn't all that far, you should be prepared to spend the night. In the summer that might only mean a sweater , raincoat and flashlight. In the winter it will mean plenty of extra, warm clothing (NO COTTON), a waterproof shell, a mylar emergency blanket and possibly even a sleeping bag, a small tent or bivy shelter.

 

Carrying a whistle isn't a bad idea either and compass, maps, waterproof matches (or lighter) and knife go without saying.

 

I never leave with out my cell phone

 

While not a bad idea, its a mistake to rely on one. You may be out of range, or your battery may die, or it may take a dunk in a stream. Heck, I live in NJ and I'm out of range half the time I'm in the woods.

Edited December 13, 2004 by briansnat

[rasntrumpet]

briansnat,

 

I think what shocked me was the fact I was only 5 minutes from home and this certainly was not a "Backpacking" trip. So I felt no need to do what I knew was normally necessary.

 

4. Take a whistle. (Your voice yelling "Help" will give out hours before you stop blowing on a whistle. BTW ... I had one.)

Edited December 14, 2004 by rasntrumpet

[yogibear]

In today's San Antonio paper:

 

Death ends high-tech scavenger hunt

Web Posted: 12/13/2004 12:00 AM CST

 

Mariano Castillo

San Antonio Express-News

 

Police searching for a man participating in an Internet scavenger hunt found his body Sunday after he apparently fell in Eisenhower Park on the far Northwest Side.

 

James Chamberlain, 64, failed to return home Saturday from the scavenger hunt, known online as a "geocache."

 

His wife reported him missing just before 9 p.m. Saturday and gave police coordinates on a global positioning system that Chamberlain was using as part of the contest.

 

Those coordinates led police to the park, where they found his car.

 

A police canine unit and helicopter searched brushy area around the park throughout Saturday night, aided by the Heidi Search Center and San Antonio Park Police.

 

Sunday morning, searchers found Chamberlain's body, dressed in blue jeans and a T-shirt, off one of the park's nature trails, park police Sgt. David Rodriguez said.

 

Chamberlain's family gathered at his home Sunday afternoon. They declined to comment, except to say his death appeared to be an accident.

 

Police apparently did not suspect foul play.

 

An autopsy was scheduled for today.

 

A "geocache" is a high-tech treasure hunt in which participants use a handheld GPS unit to find items hidden by other players.

 

Courses are downloaded from the Web, where thousands of starting coordinates for caches can be found.

 

In the most common variation of the game, participants replace an item they find with another of equal value.

 

The Web site geocaching.com showed several courses go through Eisenhower Park. Several of those were no longer active because park police had asked scavenger hunters, called "geocachers," not to go off the trails, according to user comments on the site.

 

Two courses that met the park police's criteria were available to download, including one near where Chamberlain was found.

 

If this was the geocache Chamberlain was on, he was searching for a film canister with a Web address that would reveal coordinates for a bigger cache at Huntsville State Park.

 

"From what I understand, he found it," Rodriguez said of the canister.

[+briansnat]

briansnat,

 

I think what shocked me was the fact I was only 5 minutes from home and this certainly was  not a "Backpacking" trip.  So I felt no need to do what I knew were necessary. 

 

4.  Take a whistle.  (Your voice yelling "Help" will give out hours before you stop blowing on a whistle.  BTW ... I had one.)

A few years ago a guy died in NJ while out for an afternoon of cross-country skiing. If you know anything about northern NJ, its nearly impossible to be more than a 30-40 minute walk from a road (provided you walk in the right direction). As a hike leader for an outdoors club, the guy was an experieced outdoorsperson and he did nearly everything right, down to bringing along an emergency blanket.

 

What he didn't bargin for was taking a late afternoon dunk in a stream. He was found dead the next morning, wrapped in his emergency blanket. What he didn't bring was extra dry clothing.

Edited December 13, 2004 by briansnat

[+bigredmed]

In today's San Antonio paper:

 

Death ends high-tech scavenger hunt

Web Posted: 12/13/2004 12:00 AM CST

 

Mariano Castillo

San Antonio Express-News

 

Police searching for a man participating in an Internet scavenger hunt found his body Sunday after he apparently fell in Eisenhower Park on the far Northwest Side.

 

James Chamberlain, 64, failed to return home Saturday from the scavenger hunt, known online as a "geocache."

 

His wife reported him missing just before 9 p.m. Saturday and gave police coordinates on a global positioning system that Chamberlain was using as part of the contest.

 

This could happen to any of us. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Edited December 13, 2004 by bigredmed

[+PC Painter]

If there is ANY chance that the cache will take you off trail, or into heavy wood...then ALWAYS create a waypoint at where the trail head or your vehicle are. If you get lost, you can plug in the waypoint and follow it like you did, going in for the cache.

[+Doc-Dean]

The importance of these safety issues can not be stressed enough!

 

There is ample information on this forum or on Today's Cacher for everyone to review or use to teach others. There is no excuse for being unprepared!

 

My prayers go out to James Chamberlain's family.

 

My personal request:

If you need information on safety or just have questions, please post them in the forums or email me personally. No one should have to die while geocaching! Ever!

[+The Puzzler]

Let us not forget that probably, by far, the most dangerous part of geocaching is any driving we do, not the hike/climb/paddle.

[+Doc-Dean]

Let us not forget that probably, by far, the most dangerous part of geocaching is any driving we do, not the hike/climb/paddle.

True, however most people use safety devices while driving, such as seatbelts, airbags, etc.

 

Driving is the most dangerous just due to the sheer volume of drivers and cars on the road.

[+The Puzzler]

True, however most people use safety devices while driving, such as seatbelts, airbags, etc.   

 

Driving is the most dangerous just due to the sheer volume of drivers and cars on the road.

Let's look at the numbers.

 

In the USA, one of the safest places in the world to drive, there are 18 deaths each year per 100,000 drivers. That includes all the latest safety devices that drivers may or may not choose to use. This does not include minor scrapes and bruises.

 

If there are ~300,000 geocachers worldwide and driving deaths per capita were everywhere similar to the USA (which they are not), then there should be about 54 geocachers that die each year while geocaching worldwide. Hmm.

 

Admittedly, I am not attempting to normalized these statistics to the time spent driving vs. the time spent geocaching by the average driver/geocacher.

 

But, given the above caveat, we could suggest that either there are a lot of geocaching related deaths that we don't hear about (probably true), and/or geocaching is fundamentally less leathal than driving automobiles (probably true).

 

So, I would suggest that although geocaching probably brings about many more scrapes and bruises per geocacher, there is no clear evidence that geocaching contributes to anywhere near the number of deaths per cacher that driving does per driver (now, take out the 16-25 yr old males and the stats may show a different trend ).

[rasntrumpet]

In the topic about the death of James Max Chamberlain many experienced Geocachers have made statements that are safety suggestions, I've extracted them and placed them here. Some are repeats. Repeating safety guidelines is not bad.

 

Bobthearch: It's important to keep in mind that many people die while outdoors.

 

WascoZooKeeper: Absolutely. I usually have to cache by myself, but I don't have a moment's hesitation about turning back if I have any question about being able to negotiate the terrain safely.

 

Clan X-Man: Considering some of the places we go for a cache, it's a wake up call just to know that something this serious can happen in a park. Just be really careful out there.

 

Spzzmoose: I don't know if this is what happened to him but its a reminder to us all to not keep our eyes glued to the gpsr and make sure we are aware of our surroundings at all times.

 

TotemLake: My wife knows each time when I go out where I'll be and when to expect a call from me. She also has a map of the intended hike with the trail marked along with the cache page for details of the hunt.

 

LthrWrk: hmmm Wonder if he was 'Chasing the Arrow' on his gpsr. and not watching the trail or his footing?

....Cache with a partner as often as ya can.

Edited December 14, 2004 by rasntrumpet

[+twilliams]

But, given the above caveat, we could suggest that[..] geocaching is fundamentally less leathal than driving automobiles (probably true).

 

I don't know, as a per hour or per mile statistic hiking/caching could be up there. And of course, so many people seem to do most of the caching from their cars!

 

-t-

[rasntrumpet]

I just found a "What to take" topic over on the Getting Started Board. Click here to see what others take into the woods...->>>>> Geocaching Gear, What do you take with you????

 

Not sure I'd ever take a scanner, but then again....why not?

 

Bob

[+twilliams]

A story of my stupidity I certainly learned from;

 

I was disturbed and angry at some recent news. Some friends took me out for a "few" drinks the previous night. I decided to wake up in the morning, go ridge hiking and blow off some steam (and pick up a cache - why not!). Woke up. My wife wanted to do something in the afternoon... Better rush...coffee, no breakfast, I pack some cliff bars.. Grabbed my pack- my large water bottle went missing - filled one of the kids, I'd done this climb and trail. Got to the trailhead - better hurry - sun was covered in some marine mist. Got a cellular phone call on the trail - worst news - bleh - better push some of this bad karma out of me (and get out of cellular range!). Sky cleared (incredibly clear - spotless) great views - wow. Feel a little weird. Keep going to a target cache.. Wow, last night really made me dyhydrated... Keep going - Up and Down, Up and Down, some cool narrow ridge sections - dadgum, no more water. Wow, my hearts beating fast, but my legs are fine... ... Wow that sun is really glaring... Down down (I'm gonna have to go back... yeah what the hell)... oh no...BAM

 

I don't know what it was - sun poisioning? Dehydration?

 

It was NOT good. I turned back. The return trail was mostly sections directly exposed to the sun. I felt VERY sensitive to the glare, which was not only from the sun but reflected off the ocean. No breeze. I stopped probably about 6 times on the 4 miles back feeling like I was going to vomit, skin felt very hot, heartbeats way up there (again legs, lungs, arms are tired but fine...weird). Stop, spot a very small area to lie down on rock in shade. I seriously would have thought about calling 911. Waited long enough the sun angle changed, which helped with the glare, and I got out, got back home, sick for the rest of the day.

 

I've don't know how dangerous it really was, but it felt very very bad. I certainly could have lost my balance easily on the return hike if I was near anything technical.

 

I realize now how many rookie mistakes I made (even with a well equiped backpack, cel phone, gps, etc.). Dumb Dumb Dumb...

 

-t-

[+Doc-Dean]

Sounds like you were suffering from Heat Exhaustion

 

How to Prevent Heat-Related Illness

 

1. Identify climatic conditions in which heat-related illnesses are likely: temperatures of 90 degrees F or higher, and high relative humidity.

2. Get plenty of sleep and eat fruits and vegetables high in potassium to help your body adjust to the heat.

3. Keep cool: Stay out of the sun if you can; seek shade or air-conditioned buildings; wear sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses and baggy clothing that breathes well; schedule demanding activities for cooler parts of the day.

4. Limit physical exertion, especially if activity causes you to be soaked with sweat. If you're dripping with perspiration, this may be a sign that your sweat is not evaporating sufficiently to cool your skin.

5. If you can't avoid physical activities in the heat of day, allow your body to acclimatize by spending an hour or so doing physical activities in the heat over a period of 10 days. Increase the amount of time gradually to allow your body to adjust to the heat.

6. Stay hydrated. Drink a minimum of 3 quarts of fluid per day and increase this to 4 or 5 quarts if you will be exerting yourself. If you will be exercising vigorously or sweating a lot, water alone is not enough. You'll need a sports drink with electrolytes about 1 quart for every hour of exercise.

7. Avoid alcohol, amphetamines, antihistamines, anti-depressants or other drugs that affect your body's basic functions.

[+TEAM 360]

Was this guy trying to find the cache at night? I feel badly about it...and hope that it would never happen to someone trying to find one of my caches...

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Was this guy trying to find the cache at night? I feel badly about it...and hope that it would never happen to someone trying to find one of my caches...

The trick to finding your caches is to sit in your air-conditoned car until you see the cache, then roll down your window and retrieve

[Sportsterjeep]

I noticed a couple did not find logs on a local cache and contacted the cacher who was trying to find it, I knew they were in the wrong area from their posts because I know the cache area. Something I realized is that many cachers rely heavily on the computer and GPS alone as their navigation source. What happens when you're out and the batteries run dead, or worse you have an expensive accident and break that precious GPS.

This is'nt bad if you're in the middle of a town or suburbs. However once you run out of local caches that you can roll down the window and grab most of us will head to the wilds. Maps are extremely important, as is a compass and the knowledge to use them together. Don't know how, Find a local boy scout troop and go ask them. First hand experience is better than anything online or out of a book. In PA we have DCNR state forest maps that cover almost all of the wild areas you will cache in. These maps are topographic, show towns, roads, water, railroads, woods roads, driveable trails(if you see this in PA ya better be on foot or in a 4x4), snowmobile trails and many more. Best part is, just stop into any local DCNR office and you will get them for FREE!!!!! I have a complete set in each of my jeeps, along with a few extra sets at the house.

Something else I adhere to is survivalism. No matter what happens, natural, man made, or murphy's , I will survive. My jeeps are equiped for it and all I have to do is judge the terrain and grab what I need. The list is to long to mention but I will hit a few highlights. Water, knife or multitool, firestarter, MRE's, Powerbar, maps, compass, GPSr(duh), first aid supplies, Kid supplies for 4 y/o and 4 month old, camping gear, gun. I'm a cop, and besides that I'm more worried about 4 legged villains than 2 legged villains. I've seen people attacked by vicious dogs in my own town and there are worse things than that in the woods. Also works well for signalling if I get hurt and having trouble getting out on my own, 3 shots, 3 whistle blasts, if you hear this pay attention to it, someday you might be blowing the whistle.

Well I'm done rambling, feel free to contact me if you have any questions that you are to embarassed to ask. Remember, there are no dumb questions, especially when it comes to personal safety.