DEUTSCH: Dies ist der erste in der Schweiz gefundene und auch geloggte Cache (und der dritte, der in der Schweiz versteckt wurde). Herzlichen Dank an 'Desert Dingo' in Australien!
Achtung: In diesem Gebiet hat es sehr viele Zecken. Eine sorgfältige Körperkontrolle nach dem Cachen ist hier Pflicht! Gruss, PicoKnirps
ENGLISH: This is the first cache ever found and also logged in Switzerland (and the third cache hidden in Switzerland). Many thanks to 'Desert Dingo' in Australia!
Attention: There are many ticks in this area. A careful check of your body after caching here is necessary! Cheers, PicoKnirps
Originaltext von Desert Dingo - Original text by Desert Dingo:
This is a good one for anyone on a business trip and staying at any of the hotels near Zurich Airport. There is a forest area nearby with jogging tracks and walking trails and is a great place to explore on foot. This stash has been placed near one of the highest points (491 meters elevation) – hence the name.
You can get a very good topographic map of the surrounding area from most bookstores. It is 1071 Bülach , 1:25,000 scale. If you set your GPS to the Swiss grid and the CH-1903 map datum it makes navigating using the map very easy. This makes the stash coordinates SUI 687589E 254556N. The stash is close to the highest local elevation in a small clearing to improve GPS reception. My eTrex Summit was showing 7m accuracy from 5 satellites most of the time and I averaged several readings. The stash should not be difficult to find once you get in the general area. The clearing is where trees have been cut down. The stumps still remain and the stash is in the top of one of these stumps.
As you can see from the photos, the vegetation in the area has grown up rapidly since the cache was first placed there. Therefore please take note of the following....
WARNING:
The cache is in an area that is marked by the federal office for health issues in Switzerland as being infested with ticks that carry the FSME virus (tick-borne encephalitis).
You should be aware of the following points:
- - The site of the cache is in a low danger area.
- - Even in infeste d areas only a very small percentage of the ticks are infected.
- - Even if a person gets infected, only a small percentage of the infections lead to the actual encephalitis, which however can lead to a damaged brain or even death within a few days.
- - In spite of many rumors, the ticks don't jump on you, they only get brushed off bushes, weeds and the like.
- - Most importantly: You can protect yourself by wearing long sleeves, long trousers and good shoes.
- - People going into the area should be familiar with the issue and should also check themselves for any ticks after having been in the woods.
The following links point you to statistics and maps of the federal office and some additional information about the virus.
http://www.admin.ch/bag/infreporting/f22.htm
http://www.tripprep.com/travinfo/travinfo_articles/tick-borne_trav.html
Don't be discouraged from visiting the site, but do take precautions to minimise the risk from ticks.
Enjoy a walk in the forest and good luck locating the stash.