8th Annual WGA Geo-Picnic Returns To Lapham Peak

Come join us for a fun day of caching and camaraderie at scenic Lapham Peak State Park in Waukesha County!

IMPORTANT: To sign up for the event, you must go to the WGA 2008 Picnic Registration Page and fill out the on-line form. (NOTE: Do not leave a "will attend" note on the event cache page.)

Please register no later than September 7th.

Click here for the WGA 2008 Picnic Registration page

Located in the scenic Kettle Moraine, Lapham Peak State Park features over 1000 acres of glaciated topography with rolling hills, deep woods, and open meadows. You can hike the 21 miles of trails, including a section of the Ice Age Trail. You can climb the 45 foot observation tower to take in the panoramic view from the highest point in Waukesha County.

We have the Trecker Lodge shelter reserved for the day. This is a large enclosed shelter, but it is not large enough to accommodate all expected attendees. Picnic tables outside the shelter are also limited, so please bring your own chairs, picnic blankets, etc. This is a family event, and all participants are requested to act accordingly. (See the park's rules about pets.) The event will be held rain or shine. Camping is not available at the park, but camping is available at several places in the nearby Kettle Moraine State Forest (Southern Unit) for those who wish to stay for the weekend.

Tentative schedule:

Geocaching Activities

Permanent Geocaches: There are already 12 excellent permanent caches at Lapham Peak. A few of these are puzzles or have special requirements so you might want to check them out in advance. A large number of geocaches also exist in the local area; there are nearly 60 within 5 miles of the park.

Puzzle Caches: For the first time ever at a WGA event, some of the temporary geocaches are puzzle caches... so bring along your thinking cap! We will also have some temporary caches that will require teamwork and interacting with other geocachers to find.

Kid's Cache: There will be an easy, kid friendly temporary cache hidden near the shelter with items for children under 12.

Other Organized Activities

Pin The Flag On The Waypoint Game: Due to a miscommunication, this game was not available at this year's Geo-Campout, but we will play it at the picnic. We will give everyone a waypoint (set of coordinates) and a survey flag and ask them to go where their GPS tells them that the waypoint is located and plant the flag in the ground. You will be surprised at how variable GPS readings can be even out in the open!

Group Photo: We will take a group photo promptly at 5 PM near the shelter. All are encouraged to stay for the photo so that we can show what an awesome group of people we had attend our event!

Membership Meeting: There will be a brief WGA membership meeting after the photo is taken. An agenda will be posted prior to the event, but the meeting will definitely include quick introductions of all attendees.

Raffle: Every individual who attends will get a single raffle ticket for a prize drawing to be held after the membership meeting. The WGA has purchased some Groundspeak swag that we will be giving away.

What To Bring To The Picnic

• Your own meat to grill
• Table setting for you and your family (or guests)
• Lawn chairs in case we run out of table space
• Beverages for your group
• A food item to pass. Because everyone will be bringing food, please don't bring a large amount (enough to serve your group is sufficient) as we want to minimize leftovers. To ensure variety, please bring an item based on your last name, as shown below:
• • Last name A-H: chips, pretzels, and/or snacks
  • Last name I-P: dessert or cookies
  • Last name Q-Z: salad, fruit, and/or vegetables

For cache hunting, bring your GPS receiver. If you don't have one, you can team up with someone who does and find out what geocaching is all about. We will have laptops to download temporary and nearby permanent cache information into your GPS receiver. We will have several common download cable styles available (including cables for ALL Garmin units), but if you have a "unique" receiver please bring your cable along.

If you have an FRS radio, bring it along so you can communicate with other geocachers and the WGA "base" (shelter) while out in the field. (Taunting and cheering are acceptable and encouraged!) FRS channel 7 will be used. We plan to have the FRS repeater system going as well.

The WGA asks that this event be logged only once. The practice of multiple logging of temp caches is no longer condoned by the WGA or considered to be a good practice by much of the geocaching community.