If you're planning to order one or more AJACS T-Shirts, you need to
place your order BEFORE FEBRUARY 19th 2010. (See the AJACS Web Page
above for more details.)
Please bookmark this page and come back often to review changes and
additions. If you would like to be on the event mailing list and
receive notice of changes or updates to this page or major changes
in event details, please e-mail me directly at ajacs@mchsi.com
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What: A Camp-Out Event for the purpose of
getting to know fellow cachers. We will serve dinner on Saturday.
(NOTE: WE WILL NOT BE SERVING BREAKFAST ON SUNDAY.)
There are over 100 existing caches within a 15 miles radius of the
event. We will be hiding several new caches in the area. There are
limitless hiking possibilites.
When: This event cache will begin on
Friday, March 5th and continue through Sunday, March 7th. If you
can't stay for the whole three days, that's fine. In fact, if you
can only attend for a few hours, that's fine too. Just drop by and
chat for awhile.
Who: Anyone and everone of all ages is
welcome to attend, whether you are a seasoned veteran cacher, a
newbie cacher or just someone who is interested in
geocaching.
Where: The location is in the desert
southeast of the town of Florence, nestled among the Middle
mountains. We chose this location to be equidistant from Phoenix
and Tucson. We welcome cachers from anywhere, so no matter where
you live, you're invited.
Why: Because we can! . We love to camp out
and know that many others do too and because last year's event was
such a huge success.
Planned Activities:
Friday:
- Official log and contest signup. The log
will be available all day, beginning at 8:15AM. There will also be
sign-up sheets for some of the various contests and events. Tickets
will be distributed (one per team) at sign-up for the drawings.
(You must be present to win.)
- Fireside chat. No camp-out would be
complete without a camp fire. We will have one centralized campfire
for all attendees to gather 'round in the evening. This will be a
chance to relax, get to know one another and swap stories about
geocaching or whatever.
- Quiet Time. Promptly at 10:00PM (until
5:00AM) all radios and TV's should have their volume reduced to a
respectable level and any generators will be turned off. This is to
allow those who wish to sleep to do so. Keep in mind that 'Quiet
Time' does not mean 'Bed Time.' Everyone is welcome to stay up as
long as they like and visit around the campfire as long as the
noise is kept to a respectable (and respectful) level.
Saturday:
- Official log and contest signup. The log
will be available all day for any new arrivals. There will also be
sign-up sheets for some of the various contests and events. Tickets
will be distributed (one per team) at sign-up for the drawings.
(You must be present to win.)
- Contestant Packets.
UPDATE 2/15/2010 : WE WILL
NOT distribute packets containing descriptions of the NEW
(unlisted) caches in the area Saturday morning. Instead we are
asking that you download and print out the descriptions yourself
from this PDF File. We will give you the coordinates to
all the new caches on Saturday but you will be responsible for
bringing your own copy of the descriptions.
NOTE: We will NOT be distributing lists
of pre-existing caches in the area. It is up to you to bring
that information.
- Cache Box Prize Drawing. A drawing will
be held to give away an undetermined (yet) number fully stocked
ammo cans for the winners to place as their own cache as they see
fit.
- Another ammo can will be available for
attendees to contribute 'quality' trade items. Each team that
contributes a trade item will be given a ticket for a drawing to
give the cache away. (No wet-naps, AOL CD's, rocks or other
geo-trash, please.) A limit of one item per team, please. The event
hosts will have the final word on what is an acceptable trade
item.
- Impromptu Cache Hunts. This is the day
to team up with old friends and new and go looking for some of the
many caches hidden in the area.
- DO NOT LEAVE YOUR KIDS AT CAMP and take
off to hunt for caches unless you have arranged to have a
designated responsible adult watch them. None of your hosts are
qualified child-care providers. In other words, we ain't no
babysitters!
- Poker Run. We will have a Poker Run in
which contestants select cards at random from various caches. The
team with the best poker hand wins a prize. Teams
can begin drawing their cards on Friday but the deadline for entry
is Saturday at 4:30PM.
- New Caches. There will be a number new
caches that will be hidden especially for the event. Event
attendees will have a chance to hunt for these before they are
posted on geocaching.com. All attendees present when we distribute
the details of these new caches will have equal chances to log a
First Find on them. There is just one ground rule; there can only
be one First Finder for each cache. This means no "Co-FTF's!" The
first individual or respresentative of an established team to sign
the log book gets to claim it as a FTF.
- Most Caches Found. A prize will be
awarded for the team who finds the most eligible caches throughout
the weekend, from the time they sign in to the event until 4:30PM
on Saturday. Eligible caches include ONLY the
NEW caches hidden for the event. The captain of each
team must be present at all cache finds (no splitting up teams).
The log book must be signed at each cache. The caches must be
logged (after the event) on www.geocaching.com. Teams must be back at the camp site and have their paperwork
turned in to the event coordinator by 4:30PM on Saturday. Late
entries will not be accepted.
- Prize Drawings. Drawings for prizes will begin after dinner on
Saturday. You must be present to win and you must have your
ticket stub. (Available when you sign into the event.)
- Dinner. Dinner will
begin at 4:00PM and end at 5:30PM. We will be providing food
for the evening meal for all to partake in. We will be serving
hamburgers and hot dogs with beans on the side. We will provide the
food, condiments, plates, cups and plastic-ware. Attendees will be
responsible for providing their own drinks. Also, anyone wishing to
bring additional food to share is welcome to do so but please bring
it to the kitchen staff BEFORE 3:30 PM.
- Fireside Chat. As before, a chance to
relax around the camp fire and relive the days events and swap
stories and build friendships.
- Quiet Time. Promptly at 10:00PM (until
5:00AM). Same rules as before. (See Quiet Time for Friday,
above.)
Sunday:
- Breakfast. As a
cost-saving measure and in an effort to reduce the work load of the
AJACS core team we will not be serving breakfast this
year.
- Clean Up time. To be determined. As
people pack up and get ready to leave, we ask that everyone take
time to ensure that the entire area is free of trash and other
'unnatural' items.
Throughout the Weekend:
- Travel Bug Swap. Bring those TB's that
have been gathering dust on your desktop next to your computer and
trade them with other geocachers.
- Goodies! We should have a limited supply
of custom made items commemorating the event. Some will be given
away and some will be stashed in the new caches as FTF
prizes.
General Details:
- This is a primitive camp site.
- There is no running water.
- There is no electricity.
- There are no picnic areas or ramadas. We recommend you bring your
own chairs and folding tables if you have them.
- There are few shade trees and we will NOT have the large canopy
that we have used in past years. We recommend you bring a portable
canopy if you have one.
- There are no restroom facilities. We will have a primitive toilet
set up for community use.
- There are no waste dump facilities.
- This is desert terrain. There are some rolling hills nearby and
some proper mountains not far away.
- Cactus and thorny plants abound.
- Many creatures that sting and bite are found in the desert. Be
cautious and be prepared.
- The desert can get very hot during the day and very cold at
night. The extremes can be far greater than are normally
experienced in the city. Dress accordingly. CARRY PLENTY OF WATER
WHEN HIKING.
- Cell phone coverage in this area can be sporadic.
NOTICE:
Some people have asked if quads and dirt bikes are allowed in this
area. As far as we know, they are allowed but they are subject to
Arizona State Land Department rules, which now includes the
purchase of an annual OHV Decal.(See the OHV Decal FAQ for further details) We also have
a few rules we will impose for the group.
1) Off highway vehicle use is restricted to existing maintained
roads per ASLD.
2) Do not ride directly through the main camp.
3) Please keep quads, atv's and dirt bikes on the periphery of the
camp area.
4) Restrict your speed to an idle when within at least 1/4 mile of
the main camp area.
5) Ride respectfully and keep the dust to a
minimum.
ATTENTION: This event is being held on
Arizona State Trust Land. A Recreational Permit is required to go
on State Trust Lands. Recreational permits are available for an
individual or family. These permits are valid for one year from the
date of purchase. Permits can be obtained through the mail by
calling 602.364.ASLD (2753), or by visiting the Land Department
office in Phoenix, Tucson or Flagstaff, or by visiting the Arizona
Public Lands Information Center in Phoenix. You can also download
the application from the ASLD web site. State Land Permit Application
========================================= Return here often for
more details to come.