Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Complaints against officer keep coming
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Track HR Research
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 12:12 p.m. EDT, Apr 23, 2009
SAGAMORE HILLS TWP.: Dan Andrella is spreading the word about Earth caching in the Cuyahoga Valley.
The 40-year-old Akron man has devised a minitest at Brandywine Falls for people who are Earth caching, the newest outdoor activity to hit Northeast Ohio.
Participants use portable global positioning system (GPS) equipment to visit natural features like waterfalls, caves and historic sites. They must photograph themselves at the site and answer a handful of questions that are listed on a Web site to test their power of observation.
''It's enjoyable. It's easy to learn and it's something that everyone can do,'' said Andrella. ''You're out in the woods on a treasure hunt. You're on a walk with a purpose . . . and you pay more attention to the world around you.''
Earth caching — a high-tech nature hike — is an an offshoot of the GPS-driven geocaching, in which participants use GPS gear to locate tokens or a logbook that one can sign that had been buried or cached by another player.
The word geocache comes from geo for geography and cache for hiding place.
If you find the cache, you can take a small item, often called a treasure, and you might also leave a small item, often in a plastic or metal container.
Worldwide, a total of nearly 780,000 active caches including 12,000 in Ohio are reported at http://www.geocaching.com. It is a sport that took off about 2000.
The GPS equipment relies on a network of navigational satellites first developed in 1973 by the U.S. Department of Defense. Today the system relies on more than two dozen satellites in orbit above the Earth.
Each satellite emits a steady stream of data. When a hand-held GPS unit, available for $100 or less, gets these radio signals, it uses the data from three or more satellites to triangulate the user's location within a few yards, using latitude and longitude coordinates.
Earth caching is more environmentally friendly and attractive to park managers. Nothing is left in the parks.
It has expanded into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Summit County parks and Ohio's state parks and nature preserves.
Local sites include Deep Lock Quarry in Peninsula, Portage Lakes State Park in southern Summit County, Quail Hollow State Park near Hartville, Fort Island Park in Fairlawn, Princess Ledges in northern Medina County, Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park in northern Portage County, Deer Lick Cave in Cleveland Metroparks' Brecksville Reservation, Tinkers Creek in the Bedford Reservation and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail at sites in 13 counties between Lake Erie and the Ohio River.
The Colorado-based Geological Society of America site at http://www.earthcache.org. lists nearly 3,000 Earth caching sites in the United States, including 131 in Ohio. Participants can post comments and photos on the Web site. Participants can purchase pins after visiting at least three different sites.
Andrella, who has created more than 100 caches in Northeast Ohio, is a Cuyahoga Valley volunteer. He is helping ranger Arrye Rosser expand the Earth caching program in the 33,000-acre federal park.
At present, the park has approved such caches at Brandywine Falls, as well as Ice Box Cave, Riding Run Trail and Blue Hen Falls, all in Boston Township.
Another is in the works for the Old Carriage Trail in Sagamore Hills Township.
Rosser has worked with Andrella and other volunteers to devise the park's virtual caches.
The federal park does not allow geocaching and all Earth caches must remain on established park trails, she said.
Park officials are confident that Earth caching will not hurt park resources or cause problems and will get more people out in the park, she said.
Anyone interested in creating a new Cuyahoga Valley cache should contact Rosser at arrye_rosser@nps.gov or 440-546-5992.
The all-natural caches are acceptable to Metro Parks, Serving Summit County if no items are left behind or removed from the park and if park visitors remain on trails, said park spokesman Nate Eppink.
The district does not permit geocaching in the parks, he said.
Concessionaires at park lodges at Salt Fork, Maumee Bay and Punderson state parks offer geocaching. GPS devices are available to rent.
Geocaches — not all were started by the parks — can be found at Hocking Hills, Lake Hope, Caesar Creek, Findley and Beaver Creek state parks.
In addition, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Natural Areas and Preserves has its own caching on tap.
Caching hikes will be offered May 2 at Goll Woods State Nature Preserve in Fulton County, June 6 at Clifton Gorge in Greene County, July 18 at Conkle's Hollow in Hocking County, Sept. 26 at Sheldon Marsh in Huron County and Oct. 3 at Lawrence Woods in Hardin County. All will start at 10 a.m. The programs are co-sponsored by Gander Mountain's Ohio stores. Advance registration is suggested and will include entry in a drawing for GPS devices. For details, go to http://www.ohiodnr.com and click on Discovery Series.
Such Earth caches have been established at 10 preserves, said spokeswoman Heidi Hetzel-Evans.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
SAGAMORE HILLS TWP.: Dan Andrella is spreading the word about Earth caching in the Cuyahoga Valley.
The 40-year-old Akron man has devised a minitest at Brandywine Falls for people who are Earth caching, the newest outdoor activity to hit Northeast Ohio.
Participants use portable global positioning system (GPS) equipment to visit natural features like waterfalls, caves and historic sites. They must photograph themselves at the site and answer a handful of questions that are listed on a Web site to test their power of observation.
''It's enjoyable. It's easy to learn and it's something that everyone can do,'' said Andrella. ''You're out in the woods on a treasure hunt. You're on a walk with a purpose . . . and you pay more attention to the world around you.''
Earth caching — a high-tech nature hike — is an an offshoot of the GPS-driven geocaching, in which participants use GPS gear to locate tokens or a logbook that one can sign that had been buried or cached by another player.
The word geocache comes from geo for geography and cache for hiding place.
If you find the cache, you can take a small item, often called a treasure, and you might also leave a small item, often in a plastic or metal container.
Worldwide, a total of nearly 780,000 active caches including 12,000 in Ohio are reported at http://www.geocaching.com. It is a sport that took off about 2000.
The GPS equipment relies on a network of navigational satellites first developed in 1973 by the U.S. Department of Defense. Today the system relies on more than two dozen satellites in orbit above the Earth.
Each satellite emits a steady stream of data. When a hand-held GPS unit, available for $100 or less, gets these radio signals, it uses the data from three or more satellites to triangulate the user's location within a few yards, using latitude and longitude coordinates.
Earth caching is more environmentally friendly and attractive to park managers. Nothing is left in the parks.
It has expanded into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Summit County parks and Ohio's state parks and nature preserves.
Local sites include Deep Lock Quarry in Peninsula, Portage Lakes State Park in southern Summit County, Quail Hollow State Park near Hartville, Fort Island Park in Fairlawn, Princess Ledges in northern Medina County, Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park in northern Portage County, Deer Lick Cave in Cleveland Metroparks' Brecksville Reservation, Tinkers Creek in the Bedford Reservation and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail at sites in 13 counties between Lake Erie and the Ohio River.
The Colorado-based Geological Society of America site at http://www.earthcache.org. lists nearly 3,000 Earth caching sites in the United States, including 131 in Ohio. Participants can post comments and photos on the Web site. Participants can purchase pins after visiting at least three different sites.
Andrella, who has created more than 100 caches in Northeast Ohio, is a Cuyahoga Valley volunteer. He is helping ranger Arrye Rosser expand the Earth caching program in the 33,000-acre federal park.
At present, the park has approved such caches at Brandywine Falls, as well as Ice Box Cave, Riding Run Trail and Blue Hen Falls, all in Boston Township.
Another is in the works for the Old Carriage Trail in Sagamore Hills Township.
Rosser has worked with Andrella and other volunteers to devise the park's virtual caches.
The federal park does not allow geocaching and all Earth caches must remain on established park trails, she said.
Park officials are confident that Earth caching will not hurt park resources or cause problems and will get more people out in the park, she said.
Anyone interested in creating a new Cuyahoga Valley cache should contact Rosser at arrye_rosser@nps.gov or 440-546-5992.
The all-natural caches are acceptable to Metro Parks, Serving Summit County if no items are left behind or removed from the park and if park visitors remain on trails, said park spokesman Nate Eppink.
The district does not permit geocaching in the parks, he said.
Concessionaires at park lodges at Salt Fork, Maumee Bay and Punderson state parks offer geocaching. GPS devices are available to rent.
Geocaches — not all were started by the parks — can be found at Hocking Hills, Lake Hope, Caesar Creek, Findley and Beaver Creek state parks.
In addition, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Natural Areas and Preserves has its own caching on tap.
Caching hikes will be offered May 2 at Goll Woods State Nature Preserve in Fulton County, June 6 at Clifton Gorge in Greene County, July 18 at Conkle's Hollow in Hocking County, Sept. 26 at Sheldon Marsh in Huron County and Oct. 3 at Lawrence Woods in Hardin County. All will start at 10 a.m. The programs are co-sponsored by Gander Mountain's Ohio stores. Advance registration is suggested and will include entry in a drawing for GPS devices. For details, go to http://www.ohiodnr.com and click on Discovery Series.
Such Earth caches have been established at 10 preserves, said spokeswoman Heidi Hetzel-Evans.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
akron, OH
Posted 12:48 PM, 04/23/2009
Very cool!
Akron, OH
Posted 01:14 PM, 04/23/2009
I don't do this, but have been hip to it for over a year now. Check out the geocaching.com site. The caches are everywhere in town!
:0)
akron, oh
Posted 02:16 PM, 04/23/2009
"The all-natural caches are acceptable to Metro Parks, Serving Summit County if no items are left behind or removed from the park and if park visitors remain on trails, said park spokesman Nate Eppink."
Soooooooo nice of the Metro Parks to allow us to use our parks. Do these Barney Fifes forget who pays their bills?
Kandi, SL
Posted 06:20 PM, 04/23/2009
When did they change the spelling? I've always seen it spelled "cacheing".
akron, oh
Posted 09:55 PM, 04/23/2009
@unbelievable
It doesn't matter who pays Barney Fife, he still has to enforce the law. Or in this case park rules. One of which is "Geocaching and letterboxing are not permitted, but virtual caches and "EarthCaches" are OK as long as visitors stay on designated trails. Items may not be left behind for other visitors to find. As the saying goes, "Take only photographs, leave only footprints."
My Heart Is In K-Town, .
Posted 11:03 PM, 04/23/2009
Fun times...we b geocaching this weekend.
Posted 07:40 AM, 04/24/2009
who thinks this is a sport? wandering around and answering questions. do you at least get to hunt some of the wildlife?
