Meeting notes: October 20, 2001
Greetings to all.
Well, who says we cannot attract a crowd in the area below I-20? On Saturday, we had 17 repeat meeting attendees plus 11 new people. Those who could not make it missed a good meeting.
The meeting started at 3:00 with a review of the agenda and a few announcements.
The compass giveaway, which was initiated by Lewis Moseley to promote activity on the EZ Board forum, will go to the lucky TJBowers. TJ is lucky for two reasons - he won the compass, AND he currently geocaches without one and hasn't gotten lost yet.
Allen Lacy demonstrated suggested labeling for cache containers and gave a talk on the types of things to place in a cache, things to avoid, locating a good spot for a cache, and numerous other ideas and tips. Allen also conducted a door prize drawing and gave away the cache container, several log books and decal sets, and a book of topographic maps of Georgia (which had been donated by Bent Twigs.)
mtn-man presented a primer on the effective use of topographic maps. This is an essential skill for those who want to go beyond the so-called "drive by" caches that are located close to roads and highways.
Bent Twigs and erik88l-r presented methodologies that can be used to locate caches in heavily wooded areas or other places where you might encounter poor satellite coverage. The technique involves using heading readings from a GPS while you are in an area where you have good coverage, and then using a compass to continue the hunt. This presentation had been made at a previous meeting, and continues to be a favorite topic. The fact that the presenters have bagged more than 350 caches between them lends a whole lot of credibility to their demonstration.
In addition, there were many informal conversations and discussions before and after the meeting. I hope everyone had a good time, and we look forward to seeing you again on November 10. Please note that our meeting time will be from 2:00 to 4:00 in November. We will be using the 2:00 to 4:00 schedule during the non-daylight savings time period to enable members to travel home before it becomes too dark.
-Brad
