Comments
From the Cache:
Winter has never been a great time for Caching here in the Great White North. The snow makes it really difficult to find the caches and hides the clues. However there are always ways around things. A good hiking pole works wonders when you are poking thru the snow trying to find a cache. Of course following the geotrail to the cache works too. One thing to remember about winter caching is that you always have to be prepared for anything. Proper clothing is a must and it is always good to carry some extra supplies in your car for emergencies depending on where you go. Caching can be just as much fun in winter as it can in summer and the thrill of finding a cache that has been buried under 2 ft of snow is second to none.
Cheers
Graylling
Calgary
Area Cachers Forum - Our local forum where you can
find discussions on everything related to geocaching.
Coin
Tracking :
Did you find something
that looks like this.
Or maybe like this.
Then you have found a
Calgary Area Cachers geocoin. You can track this coin by emailing
the date you found it, cache you found it in or placed it in and
your geocaching name to
. The data will be entered on our geocoins page where you can see
the places the coin has been and the people who have had it.
Hi all, I have a bit here in the way of a public service announcement that may be something to watch for when you are out caching in the wild.
A giant toxic weed that can cause severe burns and even blindness is raising concern from Newfoundland to British Columbia's Vancouver Island.
The giant hogweed — a member of the carrot family — ca can grown up to six metres high with a white flower head a metre wide.
It's an exotic-looking plant — but dangerous.
When exposed to sunlight, the hogweed's sap turns poisonous.
"If you get any of the sap from this plant on your skin, it can cause severe blistering and very bad burns," Jeff Muzzi, manager of forestry services for Renfrew County, told CBC News.
"If you should happen to get the sap in your eyes, it can blind you either temporarily or permanently."
The burns can cause permanent scarring and any areas affected will be sensitive to sunlight for many years, Muzzi told CBC.
Hogweed was found in Renfrew County, west of Ottawa, last week, but it was already a worry elsewhere in Canada.
According to the Invasive Plants Council of B.C., hogweed has already spread across southern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
"In the last month, I've had more calls [on the giant hogweed] into our hotline than any other plant," Gail Wallin, the council's executive director, told The Province. " It's the one that's been most heavily reported this year."
Wallin said the plant — most commonly found in wet areas along roadsides, riverbanks, creeks and agricultural areas — produces a large number off seeds that are easily dispersed through wind and water.
"We're finding it in locations we didn't know we had it," she told The Province.
A native of Central Asia, the giant hogweed was introduced first to Britain and later to North America as an ornamental garden plant in the early 1900s. Since then, it has spread in the wild. One plant can produce up to 100,000 seeds in one growing season, experts say.
In addition to B.C. and Ontario, the plant has also been reported in Alberta, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
"It's not widespread yet," Wallin told The Province, "but when you want to control a plant, you want to control it in its early stages."
In Ontario's Renfrew County, crews were already at work Thursday trying to eradicate it.
The job that has to be done carefully because of the danger of contract.
The Invasive Plants Council of B.C. recommends hogweed clearing be done by an expert wearing waterproof gloves, a rubber raincoat and pants and eye protection.
- Are
you new to Geocaching? Interested in finding out more about our sport?
Here's a good place to start. In Geocaching, it is said, "You are
the search engine." Truer words were never spoken. It is a sport that
combines elements of hiking, orienteering, treasure hunting, modern
technology and a love of the outdoors and visiting new places. The
only requirements are a GPSr and the urge to explore. Check out our
links page for some sites that will help you get going.
Herein you will find various
resources, articles, tips, opinions, helpful aids, gps stuff, etc,
etc, related to the sport of Geocaching within the Calgary area. At
present the page is still under development (and always will be) so
changes are imminent and pieces will be added, rearranged, subtracted,
changed or just generally fooled with on a semi-regular basis. So
hit F5 and refresh the page each time you log on. Updates to the caches
and stats pages are done on a "when I have time" basis.
Reviewers
Corner - The Guidelines. As a reviewer I quite often run
into situations where I have to contact people about a problem with
their cache. In many of these cases, especially with people new
to the sport, it is just a matter of the fact that they have not
read the guidelines and were not aware that what they had done was
not allowed. As one finds more caches and places more caches they
gain experience and become more familiar with what is allowed and
what isn't allowed.
When
a cache is listed there is a checkbox at the bottom that asks if
you have read and understand the guidelines. Unfortunately a lot
of people just check the box without understanding what it means
by doing so. When I later come back to them with a problem they
will sometimes admit they haven't read them but more often will
offer a debate. The guidelines are there for a purpose. They are
meant to provide a minimum standard by which all caches are measured
in order to be published. Not everyone agrees with everything in
the guidelines but as reviewer it is my job to enforce them when
I publish a cache. The best way to avoid problems is to read them
and become familiar with them.
We are
often asked why they are guidelines and not hard and fast rules.
This is because caching is a worldwide sport. Each country has it's
own customs, laws, culture, etc. The guidelines give us the flexibility
to adapt to each particular situation while still maintaining some
level of conformity within the sport.
For further clarification or if you have any questions on any of
the guidelines, feel free to contact me
Happy Caching!!!.
- Geowoodstock VIII, are you going?
Peanutbutterbreadandjam and PrairieSwan have teamed up to make the trip easier and more fun for everyone. It's a convoy that will be heading down with a couple of stops along the way. For more details check out the great site they have created.
- It's getting a bit hard to keep up with all the new cachers in
town. The stats page is falling a bit behind and will be getting
revised in the next little while. If you don't see your name on
the page and you would like it there just let me know and I'll put
it in.
- Here's a couple of articles I found on geocaching. Check them
out. Gives one another perspective about our sport. Honolulu and the Texoma, OK .
- Has anyone got any pictures of the latest cache events or meetings
that they would care to share with me so I can put them in our photo
album. .If you haven't checked that out yet take a look thru and
see the artwork of some of our members.
-
After a bit of work and some manipulation, I have managed to redo
the photo pages and combine them into one photo album. You can search
thru it, view it by categories, randomly view the pics or just scroll
thru them. If you click on the thumbnail it will bring up a full
size picture in another window. Let me know what you think? And
as always I can use more pictures to put in there.
- We
made it!!! Geocaching is now officially a word in the dictionary.
Check out this link
for details.
I am also soliciting submissions
for your favorite cache, photos you have taken along the way, news
on caches, links to sites you find interesting...... Anything that
might be of interest to other cachers in the area. Feel free to fire
off your ideas to me and I'll see about posting them here..
Theres a new page on the site for travellers. If you
are going somewhere and want to check out some caches in the area,
take a look at the Geocaching Groups page and see if theres a caching
organization in the area. I'm sure they would all be more than glad
to give you a few tips about the area caches.
Quick Links
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site belongs to members of the Calgary Area Cachers.
Nothing here may be borrowed, reproduced, copied, or otherwise used without
the
express consent of the webmaster and original owner.
Website designed
and maintained by Graylling
The Groundspeak Geocaching
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Inc. Used with permission.
Contact Info:
For any submissions, suggestions, compliments, information,
etc, etc you can contact me at
Random
Caches:
Check out these caches
if you haven't already.
Calgary
Geocoins: These
are now being spread around the world in at least 3 different versions.
For those who find one I would appreciate a note letting me know
what cache you found it in , your geoname and the date. I will log
it on our coins pages for all to see and keep track of.
If you do find one and want to grab it please trade fairly.
