AJACS 4th Annual Campout Event Cache Official Web Site and
ENTRY FORM
If you would like to receive an
e-mail whenever there are changes or updates to this page or major
changes in event details, please e-mail me directly at
scottsparks1@mchsi.com.
What: A Camp-Out Event for the purpose of
getting to know fellow cachers. We will serve dinner on Saturday
and breakfast on Sunday. There are over 120 existing caches within
a 10 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 28th and continue through Sunday, March 30th. 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 Don's of Arizona Base Camp,
located at the base of the Superstition Mountains, just 1/2 mile
from the Peralta Trailhead. (We realize this is a little further to
drive for our friends from Tucson and other places to the south,
but this location will greatly reduce our time and expenses in
preparing and setting up the site. As a result, we will be able to
spend less time setting up and focus more time and effort on the
planned activities and visiting.) We welcome cachers from anywhere,
so no matter where you live, you're invited.
Consumption of
alcoholic beverages within the
confines of the Don's Camp property is
prohibited.
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 big success.
Planned Activities:
Friday:
- Early bird set up. For those who can get
here early. We'll have a FTF prize for the first team to arrive and
get their camp set up and sign the log. NOTE: Because we are
"renting" the facility this year, no one will be admitted to the
event site prior to Friday morning at 7:00AM. This means you cannot
camp there prior to Friday morning. However, much of the
surrounding land is National Forest or State Trust Land with many
places for unimproved/primitive camping nearby.
- Official log and contest signup. The log
will be available all day, beginning at 8:00AM. 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. NOTE: Campfires are only permitted in the
Main Ramada.
- 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. Packets containing
descriptions of the NEW (unlisted) caches in the area as well as
contest rules and a list of the many caches in the area will be
distributed Saturday morning.
- Cache Box Prize Drawing. A drawing will
be held to give away three 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!
- Greatest Distance Travelled. A prize
will be awarded for the team who travels the greatest distance to
attend the event. The distance will be determined "as the crow
flies" from point to point. To be eligible for this, you MUST
record your home coordinates and give them to one of the Event
Hosts. Alternatively, you can post your home coords in your "Will
Attend" log by checking "Add a waypoint to the log" when you log in
to tell us how many in your party will be attending. "Home
Coordinates" will be the coordinates of the location you came from
(that day) to attend the event. If you live in Rhode Island but
spend the winter in Quartzsite, your home coordinates will be your
residence in Quartzsite. The sign-up sheet for this will be
available beginning on Friday. The deadline for
entry in this contest is Saturday at noon.
- 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 (at least 10)
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 Cache Rating Points. A prize will
be awarded for the team who has the highest total of cache rating
points for the eligible caches they have found throughout the
weekend, from the time they sign in to the event until 4:30PM on
Saturday. Eligible caches include any cache within 10 miles of the
event coordinates. For example, a cache with a 2.5 Terrain and a
1.5 Difficulty rating would be worth 4 points. 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. Caches previously
found (prior to Friday, March 28th, 2008) by a team, or any member
of a team, do not count. 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.
- 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 any cache within 10 miles of
the event coordinates. 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. Caches previously found (prior to Friday,
March 28th, 2008) by a team, or member of a team, do not count.
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, hot dogs and grilled chicken. We will provide the food,
condiments, plates, cups and plastic-ware. Attendees will be
responsible for providing their own drinks. IMPORTANT: If you plan to eat with us, please fill out the
on-line Entry Form so we can get an idea of how much food we will
need.
- 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. Breakfast
will begin at 8:00AM and end at 9:30AM. We'll be serving
pancakes, sausage and bacon for breakfast for any who wish to
partake. Other menu items may be included (check this page often
for updates.) As before, we'll provide the main course and
condiments, plates, cups and platic-ware. Attendees will need to
provide their own drinks.
- 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:
- AJACS Team Skills Challenge. This new
event will be a multi-stage cache hunt to test your
cache-puzzle-solving skills and cooperation with your team members.
Participating teams must have a minimum of two members, with at
least one adult. You will be racing against the clock as well as
other competing teams.
- 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 some covered ramadas and picnic areas. You may
also bring your own chairs and folding tables if you wish.
- There are permanent (but primitive) restrooms.
- There is an outdoor amphitheatre.
- 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 National Forest Service rules. We
also have a few rules we will impose for the group.
1) Off highway vehicle use is restricted to existing maintained
roads per NFS.
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
property leased from the Tonto National Forest. All rules and
regulations that apply on National Forest property apply here as
well.
However, much of the surrounding land and many of
the nearby caches are on Arizona State Trust Land. A Recreational
Permit is required to go on State Trust Lands. Recreational permits
are available for an individual ($15) or family ($20). 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
Consumption of
alcoholic beverages within the
confines of the Don's Camp property is
prohibited.