Black Walnut Trail NOTE: The group was unable to gather information about the creation of the trail because the person in charge would not respond despite repeated contacts by the group and the instructor. He apologized after the presentations were completed for not being available to help. Black Walnut Trail is located in Roan County, WV. Launched on September 4, 2010 the trail has been open 1247 days and boasts cachers from OH, MD, NJ, VA, WV, NC, DE and KY. The trail includes multi-caches, mystery caches, traditionals, a letterbox cache, and an earthcache. Themed caches such as Indiana Jones or Monte Python attract visitors also.

Johnny and Susan Evans How did you first learn about the geotrail? We knew the organizer and he told us about it. There was a kick off event for the trail and those cache types are listed first on the new caches listing so it was easy to find out about, but we knew the organizer so we knew it was in the planning stages very early on. Why did you decide to try this goeotrail? It was a fun way to spend a day. There was a free coin offer! We knew the organizer and wanted to be supportive. The kickoff event is a great way to catch up with other cachers and meet new people and if we made the long trip to the event, then it would be dumb not to do the trail too. How far did you travel to get to the geotrail? (If your cacher doesnt know politely ask them to identify their hometown and then calculate the distance. Approximately 100 miles to and from our home. Did you join up with other cachers to complete the trail? If so, how many others? Just my caching wife. We had a late start to the trail as we did all the coordinate downloads for the other cachers with our laptop so by time we started the trail everyone else was already gone. Did you spend the night in the area of the geotrail? If so why? Do you recall how much you spent for lodging? We returned home after finishing the trail. Did they offer you a discount because you were a geocacher? NA Do you recall how much money you spent while completing the geotrail? What sort of things did you purchase? Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Gasoline and a couple bottles of wine at the winery that was one of the cache sites. Approximately how much time did you spend caching the geotrail? About 3 hours doing the actual trail caches. And a couple hours at the kick off event before starting the trail.

Any idea how much driving you had to do? About 25 miles on the trail. Plus the 200 miles getting there and returning home.

Did you complete the entire geotrail? Yes, we did it all in one day. It was designed to be completed in a day. All the caches (10) had to be logged to earn the free coin on this trail. If so did you receive any incentive from the geotrail owner? Yes, a free geocoin. Was the incentive worth the amount of work involved? Yes, for us,it was a short trail and a nice coin. Was there anything about the geotrail that you specifically liked or disliked? If so what? Most of the caches were placed at interesting spots in the county (well, it was VERY rural, so there weren't many interesting spots, but they found local eateries and businesses willing to participate). All were easily accessible. Most of the cache containers were easily found (red bird houses). All the property owners knew about the caches and were expecting us on kick off day. All were very friendly and welcoming.

Bobby Wintz What is your hometown? Southpoint, Ohio

How did you first learn about the geotrail? Other cachers and through the kickoff event cache.

Why did you decide to try this geotrail? Sounded fun and I received a trackable geocoin for completing it.

How far did you travel to get to the geotrail? 100 miles

Did you join up with other cachers to complete the trail? No, but i did see a few others out on trail. If so, how many others?

Did you spend the night in the area of the geotrail? If so, why? I didnt stay the night since it wasnt too far from where I live.

Do you recall how much money you spent while completing the geotrail? What sort of things did you purchase? Probably around $50 between gas and food

Approximately how much time did you spend caching the geotrail? I think just around 3 or 4 hours. Im not sure. Any idea how much driving you had to do?

I don't recall but it was all in Roane county WV

Did you complete the entire geotrail (or whatever portion was required)? If so, did you receive an incentive from the geotrail owner? Yes I did and received a trackable geocoin.

Was the incentive worth the amount of work involved? Sure, it was a lot of fun. Was there anything about the geotrail that you particularly liked or disliked? If so, what? I liked the fact that the coordinates were all correct and permission was granted for all the hides.

General Questions In your opinion, what makes a good geotrail? In responding, please be sure to discuss caches/cache types, number of caches, and locations plus anything else you consider relevant. My key points to a good geotrail are 1. Permission for all hides. 2. Takes a day or less to complete. 3. The difficulty if the hides are relatively simple. 4. Accurate coordinates

What sort of prizes/incentives do you enjoy getting for caching activities? Geocoins and tshirts

Would you describe one or two of your favorite incentives (other than what you got for completing this geotrail)? Attending a geotrail kickoff event and able to meet other cachers.

When you cache a geotrail, do you prefer to encounter other cachers or do you prefer to do it when you are not likely to see other cachers? I enjoy running into other cachers. That is why I usually do the trail on the day it kicks off

Roger / Patty Beal What is your hometown? Athens, Ohio How did you first learn about the geotrail? We learned about the Black Walnut Geotrail through geocaching.com Why did you decide to try this geotrail? Our primary reason for participating in the trail was to support the organizer WVAngler. How far did you travel to get to the geotrail? 75 Miles (Distance from Athens to Spencer, WV) Did you join up with other cachers to complete the trail? If so, how many others? We joined up with one Athens area cacher. Did you spend the night in the area of the geotrail? If so, why? No Do you recall how much you spent for lodging? NA Did they offer a discount because you were a geocacher? NA Do you recall how much money you spent while completing the geotrail? What sort of things did you purchase? We spent approximately $35 on meals and gas. Approximately how much time did you spend caching the geotrail? Any idea how much driving you had to do? We drove approximately 30 miles and completed the trail in about 5 hours. Did you complete the entire geotrail (or whatever portion was required)? If so, did you receive an incentive from the geotrail owner? Yes, we completed the entire geotrail and received a nice trackable geocoin.

Was the incentive worth the amount of work involved? Absolutely! In addition to the coin, we enjoyed a fun day of caching in a scenic area. Was there anything about the geotrail that you particularly liked or disliked? If so, what? We appreciated the unique container housings created by WVAngler for the Black Walnut Trail.

General Questions In your opinion, what makes a good geotrail? In responding, please be sure to discuss caches/cache types, number of caches, and locations plus anything else you consider relevant. For a small, county wide trail like the Black Walnut, we feel 10-20 regular sized containers would be ideal. To make the trail appealing to families and beginning cachers, hides should not be difficult to find and the entire trail should be able to be completed in one day. What sort of prizes/incentives do you enjoy getting for caching activities? We always enjoy getting trackable coins. Would you describe one or two of your favorite incentives (other than what you got for completing this geotrail)? We love getting the occasional tee-shirt. When you cache a geotrail, do you prefer to encounter other cachers or do you prefer to do it when you are not likely to see other cachers? We’re neutral on this question…we have fun either way.

Geocaching Research

2,302,345 active geocaches and over 6 million geocachers worldwide. (GroundSpeak Inc., 2014) On May 2, 2000, at approximately midnight, eastern savings time, the great blue switch* controlling selective availability was pressed. Twenty-four satellites around the globe processed their new orders, and instantly the accuracy of GPS technology improved tenfold. Tens of thousands of GPS receivers around the world had an instant upgrade. On May 3, one such enthusiast, Dave Ulmer, a computer consultant, wanted to test the accuracy by hiding a navigational target in the woods. He called the idea the "Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and posted it in an internet GPS users' group. The idea was simple: Hide a container out in the woods and note the coordinates with a GPS unit. The finder would then have to locate the container with only the use of his or her GPS receiver. The rules for the finder were simple: "Take some stuff, leave some stuff." On May 3rd he placed his own container, a black bucket, in the woods near Beavercreek, Oregon, near Portland. Along with a logbook and pencil, he left various prize items including videos, books, software, and a slingshot. He shared the waypoint of his "stash" with the online community on sci.geo.satellite-nav: N 45° 17.460 W 122° 24.800 Within three days, two different readers read about his stash on the Internet, used their own GPS receivers to find the container, and shared their experiences online. Throughout the next week, others excited by the prospect of hiding and finding stashes began hiding their own containers and posting coordinates. Like many new and innovative ideas on the Internet, the concept spread quickly - but this one required leaving your computer to participate. Within the first month, Mike Teague, the first person to find Ulmer's stash, began gathering the online posts of coordinates around the world and documenting them on his personal home page. The "GPS Stash Hunt" mailing list was created to discuss the emerging activity. Names were even tossed about to replace the name "stash" due to the negative connotations of that name. One such name was "geocaching." The Origins of Geocaching Geocaching, first coined by Matt Stum on the "GPS Stash Hunt" mailing list on May 30, 2000, was the joining of two familiar words. The prefix geo, for Earth, was used to describe the global nature of the activity, but also for its use in familiar topics in gps such as geography. Caching, from the word cache, has two different meanings, which makes it very appropriate for the activity. A French word invented in 1797, the original definition referred to a hiding place someone would use to temporarily store items. The word cache stirs up visions of pioneers, gold

miners, and even pirates. Today the word is still even used in the news to describe hidden weapons locations. The second use of cache has more recently been used in technology. Memory cache is computer storage that is used to quickly retrieve frequently used information. Your web browser, for example, stores images on disk so you don't have to retrieve the same image every time you visit similar pages. The combination of Earth, hiding, and technology made geocaching an excellent term for the activity. However the "GPS Stash Hunt" was the original and most widely used term until Mike Teague passed the torch to Jeremy Irish in September 2000.

Global Geocaching

Cool places to geocache: http://www.pinterest.com/pikespice/cool-places-things-discovered-from-geocaching/

Earth’s Roof- Mount Everest You must remember that climbing the Mount Everest is not for beginners. Even the ones that are used to it still die in this mountain.Only try for this climbing with the right equipment, the right partner, the right weather and the right mind. To claim this Earthcache you must go near the published coordinates and send to me the answers for the following questions after visiting the published coordinates: 1. In the peak you may see something different, what? 2. What is written in the mark? 3. Which are the most important continental plates and who developed that theory? You may take a picture of you, be creative After you receive my mail validating your answers you may put it in your log.

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2BX63_earths-roof-mount-everestpeak?guid=7915c517-b033-4e7e-9660-1ac2be9dfa5f

Bagram – Afghanistan Geocaching in an active warzone is possibly worse than birdwatching in said active warzone. At least with birding, you aren't actively manipulating your environment (at least so long as you're

doing it right). GCing on the other hand involves concepts such as "hiding" and "stealth", which starts to become a pretty damn big deal when your local muggles are Military Police and Special Forces units. Also, Bagram is littered with LANDMINES, not exactly the kind of environment that's conducive to exploration, or the vagaries of inaccurate GPSrs. Why single out this one? Check the final log: the Military Police confiscated the geocache. I'd say it's better to end the game like that then accidentally lure your fellow cachers into, you know, an IED. Geocaching and military bases - not exactly two great tastes that go better together. Unless, that is, you are crazy AND badass. (Like Rambo. But a geocacher.) http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=869022ae-905e-4d51-a54173a809296002

The Leap – see video, no details but responses of people who have found it

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC16R4B_the-leap?guid=acc8c4e3-c9e8-4666-ab29934b16deb847

The secret Falls of Kimbuma Geocache Description: Kimbuma is a small village near this Falls. They are people of the Bateke tribe.

The Bateke live in Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville) and Congo (Kinshasa). The Bateke people in the DRC migrated down from Gabon. This village is trying to preserve their culture, while many of their young go to the city and become educated and westernized. It’s possible this culture and language won’t last much more than another generation or 2. They have a special site right next to this little Falls. It’s a little hut on a sacred spot that they have reserved for visitors to come and rest at. It’s not meant for an overnight spot, but rather as a spot to come up from the river, and rest, relax, and take a dip in the falls. If it’s a hot, muggy day, nothing feels better than to let the falls flow over your body. This cache is being rated a 5-star terrain because if you come from the city, or any other country, you must travel large distances, cross the Wamba River, and hike to this spot. I’ll call it a 4-star difficulty to find, but I’m also giving hints that should make it easy to find. There are several routes to get here, but once you are near, on the river, look for a small trail through the jungle and follow it up to the sacred spot. Once you get to ground zero, you will have to get wet again to find the cache. Please treat any local people that you meet with respect and a smile. I strongly suggest that if you don’t know one of the local languages, that you come with someone that does.

Bibliography GroundSpeak Inc. (2014, January). Geocaching. Retrieved from http://www.geocaching.com/