2nd Annual Western Mass Geocachers
Picnic
Hosted by members of the
Western Massachusetts Geocachers Web-Site
users
If you have any Questions
about the coin please feel free to contact
The BigHeads directly.
Or go to the WMG listing
for more info
Volunteers
Needed to help with the cooking and set up of the event on Sat. and
Sunday.
I am also
asking for volunteers to help place the GeoKid Caches on Monday the
25th of August. We will meet at the Picnic location at 6:00 pm and
figure out where we want to place them. These are simple placements
for the kids to look for, so no D&T ratings of 5. I would like
to keep them under 3 if possible.
Our
Sponsors are of great importance to us and they have gone above and
beyond all of our
expectations.
We ask that
when you decide that you want to buy future Geocaching supplies, or
products that are Geocaching
related
you check
our sponsors
first.
Our
Sponsors
Come one, come all to the 2nd
Annual Western Mass Geocachers Picnic. Friday,
Saturday, Sunday August 29th, 30th,
31st
This years picnic will be held
again at the Pittsfield State Forest in Pittsfield Mass. This
years Picnic will be bigger and better then last years event with
more prizes, games, and
caches.
Last years event was a great
learning experience and we learned what did and didn't work well
for everyone.
The Kid
Caches were a big hit with everyone, and everyone who participated
in them had a great time.
There
is a $5.00 Park Fee Per Car, that MUST be paid to get into the
State Forest.
You do not need to come to
all 3 days of the event. Most cachers will only come on Saturday.
But to realy enjoy yourselves I would recommend coming on both
Saturday and Sunday.
It is highly recommended that if you
plan on camping out for the event that you
make your reservations
NOW. If you wait until you
get there, there may be the possibility that you will not have a
camp site to camp on. I recommend that you chose one of the sites
that surround Berry Pond, Sites 1-13 while they
last.
I recommend these
sites so we don't have to worry about making a little noise and
disturbing non geocachers in the area.
UPDATE
As of
Today August 17th there are no more sites available to camp out on.
I am working on getting the last one that is a walk up only and
will need to be at the state forest by 7am to try and grab it at
8am for someone. We can also double up on some of the sights as
well if we need to. Just ask and I will see what I can
do.
If we have all of them, the park rangers will most likely give us
leeway on the noise restrictions.
This area has No
running water, No Electricity, and No Flushing toilets (it
has an outhouse). There are No showers in the State
Forest.
There is a long hill that you will need to drive up to get to this
area and an even steeper grade on the way down for those who are
binging a
popup.
There are plenty of other sites in the
state forest down off the Mt. if you want to be near the running
water and flush toilets.
Some
details about P.S.F. :
Streams, waterfalls and flowering shrubs abound in Pittsfield State
Forest. 65 acres of wild azalea fields are a profusion of pink
blossoms in June. The forest has two camping areas, two picnic
areas and a swimming beach. Fishermen frequent scenic Berry Pond,
one of the highest natural water bodies in the state at 2,150 feet
in elevation. The vista from the top of Berry Mountain, accessible
by auto road from April to December, is a striking panorama and a
great place to watch the sun set.
30 miles of trails encourage
visitors to escape into the quiet of the state forest which follows
the crest of the Taconic Mountain Range separating Massachusetts
and New York. Access is available at several locations to
the Taconic Crest
Trail a 35 mile
long hiking trail. The paved three-quarter mile Tranquility Trail
is popular with wheelchair-users and other visitors who favor its
smooth surface. A wheelchair-accessible picnic area and restroom
are located nearby.
Nearby
Balance Rock State Park
is located in the northeast
corner of Pittsfield State Forest. Here a huge 165-ton limestone
boulder is balanced precariously upon bedrock, a natural
curiosity.
Pittsfield State Forest
Link
You may bring your ATV but you can
not use it anywheres but on marked trails. They must remain
on your trailer when in the campground itself.
If there are any Questions
about the event or Ideas go the the W.M.G. Forums and post it
there.
W.M.G. Forum
For what, and when things are going to happen. Click on the
links below to read the details
Event
Schedule
FRIDAY
5:00)
Dinner and Campfire Begin.
Earthcache listing and night cache listing handed out
at campsite #6 at Berry
Pond
6:00) Dinner and Campfire
continue
7:00
)
Campfire, Smores and charred march
mellows.
8:00
) Campfire and
chit-chat
9:00
) Campfire, chit-chat and
whatever
10:00
) Quiet time
SATURDAY
7:00) Begin
Setup for event, Coffee and
Donuts available, unless someone wants to cook breakfast (hint
hint)
8:00)
GeoKid Caches posted (read the rules), First to Find
Caches handed out (READ THE RULES FOR
THESE)
9:00)
Caches posted for all to go and
find.
10:00
)
Caching or
mingling
11:00) Prep
for lunch
11:30) Lunch
Begins
12:00)
Lunch
1:00
) Coloring Contest begins for the kids
(With Prize) and TOP SECRET,
2:00
) Caching and
chit-chat
3:00
) Caching and
Chit-Chat
3:30
) Group Photo At 3:45 pm, prizes given
away
5:00
) Event Officially Over for the day, Stragglers can
help clean up and then go up the Mt with us for the night caches
and Dinner. Re hide Geokid Caches
(Volunteers
needed)
6:00
)
Dinner
7:00
) Night Cache
posted
8:00
)
Campfire
9:00
)
Campfire
10:00
) Quiet
Time
SUNDAY (More
Relaxed)
7:00)
Setup
8:00)
Sunday caches listed along with Saturday caches, New
locations for GeoKid caches to be
found
9:00
)
Geocaching
10:00
)
Geocaching
11:00
) Set up for
lunch
12:00
)
Lunch
1:00
)
???
2:00
)
????
3:00
)
???
4:00
) Group
Photo
5:00
) 2nd Annual Western Mass. Geocachers Picnic
Event Officialy
Over
Listing on the
Western Mass Geocachers homepage
LINK
Kid
Caches
(Rules)
Coloring pages (paper)
for the kids
There are plans for new caches to be placed within a 10 mile radius
of the event.
The FTF caches were a
big hit and will be back this year as well.
(Rules)
Potluck lunch picnic on Saturday.
(Saturday
/
Sunday)
Campfire Friday and
Saturday night with leftovers for dinner Saturday night (if
any)
2 Night
caches
Camping
Horseback riding (not this
year)
Group
Photo
Caches
downloaded to your GPS
(bring you
GPS USB cord if you have
one)
TB and Geocoin
Bin
A
Log Book
2 Earth Caches are in
the works (only one was able to be set in stone)
Please post what you are bringing to the picnic and on what day so
I can update the food list more
accurately.