The GGA September 2005 meeting was held on the 10th at Fields Landing Park on the shores of Lake Alatoona. There were approximately 60 in attendance, comprising 43 geocaching teams who signed the roster. Of these, five were welcomed as new members. Cymbaline started the meeting by introducing our guest speaker: John Yoder of the Cherokee County Fire-Emergency Services. John is an EMC and spoke to us about how to avoid having to be rescued when in the woods. The first point he made was not to cache alone - to have someone with you who can render assistance if needed. Failing that, he said it was important to let others know where you go and when you expect to return. John indicated that an Emergency Locator Beacon, which transmits your position to searchers, might be a sound investment. A less costly alternative - a loud whistle, was also recommended.
John showed how to stabilize broken limbs by binding a stick with a bandage to the arm or leg, and how to stem bleeding. It was an excellent demonstration, and we thank Cherokee County for making him available.
The EMT presentation was followed by a brief break for socializing and trading tall tales.
Cymbaline next introduced ~erik~ who gave some insights into the job of cache reviewer for geocaching.com, and discussed the various types of caches. Waymarks, which replace locationless caches, most virtual caches, and eventually benchmarks, earthcaches, and webcam caches, were discussed. Mtn-man also provided some insight into the theory behind waymarks. Waymarks are currently only accessable to premium members at http://www.waymarking.com.
Following waymarks, the discussion turned to conventional physical caches and the guidelines (http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx) that dictate where they should and should not be hidden as well as maintenance requirements, cache contents, etc.
Erik's presentation was followed by the traditional door prize raffle. Thanks go out to Atlanta Gal and others for donating door prizes. The meeting was concluded with more socializing, as well as the hunt for a cache located about 150 feet from the pavilion.
Our next official monthly GGA activity will be the October 8th GGA Challenge at Dauset Trails it should be a lot of fun. Please plan to join us.