Clackamas Print
Wednesday, Dec.3, 2008
easure hunters find new hobby
ara Huber
\iting Writer
the cache. Watch out
kgles. Don’t forget to
I Visit.
■s a child, a person
■d of being a pirate or
”jner, geocaching is her
■asure hunt.
hid-
fhing
for
pjects using Global
■ng System (GPS) is
momentum each year,
on City alone, there
_Bre than 200 caches
I ig four right here on
’ojege campus. __
pi ies are usually boxes
B [with small toys,
tacks, and a pen
■r to log your
hen an item is
[of the cache,
[pected that
of equal
ter value
¡added in
Ila
The
■hiding
cache is
cmpible
maintenance.
Cachers attempt to be discreet
while on the hunt, as to not let
muggles, or non-geocachers,
see what they are
doing.
It is because of the fear of
cache vandalism that makes
geocachers try to be private.
According
to
the
Gedcaching.com, the hobby
began on May 3, 2000, a few
days after the U.S. Government
disabled a security feature,
called Selective Availability
(SA) that made GPS units less
accurate by creating random
errors when used.
After SA was disabled,
one theory states that Dave
Ulmer, a Beaver Creek resi
dent, placed a five-gallon
bucket near his home, and
posted the coordinates
online. While there are
many other theories
regarding the birth
place of geocach
ing, this legend is
the most exciting
for Oregon resi
dents.
When a per
son conceals a
cache, they log on
to geocaching.com
and enter the
coordinates to
their hide. It
is then that
the cache
is open to
public
view-
e r s
o f
Photo illustration by Kayla Berge Clackamas Print
the Web site. On the site,
which lists over 680,000 cach
es throughout the world, there
are often clues to help the
seeker find the hidden object.
The deciphered clue to one
of the Geocaches here at the
campus is, “The cache is at
ground level under small piec
es of concrete.” The cache
has had 94 logged visits since
being placed in January 2007.
Robert Taylor, a local geo-
cacher, believes that campus
security has been discourag
ing the public from entering
the area where his cache is
hidden.
As geocaching is a covert
operation, the name used
is a code name. Taylor, or
“ORNITH,” has been geo
caching off and on since the
sport began. He also partici
pated with the Clackamas
County Tourism Development
Commission and placed 22
caches for them, as well as one
of the four here at Clackamas.
The funniest thing anyone
has left at one of his caches
was, “A 30 lb weightlifting
weight, a seriously macabre
mannequin head - just about
anything can be left, but if it
doesn’t fit in a weatherproof
geocache, you can expect seri
ous deterioration in the Oregon
weather.”
Geocaching can be done
any day of the year, in any
kind of weather. The only
requirements are: an adven
turous seeker, Internet access,
and transportation.
While a GPS unit can make
finding the cache a lot easier,
Google maps, from the geo-^
caching.com Web site, is also
an option for those who would
like to try out the sport without
Geocachers
Lingo
Cache: shortened version
of the name geocache.
DNF: Did not find, an
acronym used to state that
the cacher did not find a
cache. Also used to alert
cache owners of potential
problems with their cache.
h
t h e
initial investment. A map
can be used on some of the
simpler caches. GPS units
can cost anywhere from
around $90 to several hun
dreds of dollars-
Caches are located in
many countries, on every
continent on Earth. There
are many in Clackamas
County, and can easily be
looked up using a zip code
on the Web site.
“It is a great activity for
young and old. It teaches
awareness of your environ
ment. It takes you to places
that many people will never
see,” Taylor said.
■-* Adventure types, as well-as
computer geeks, get a thrill
out of discovering a cache.
There are hundreds of geo-
GPS: Global Position
ing System, a network of
satellites that work with
a GPS receiver to deter
mine your position on the
planet.
Ground zero: This is the
point where your GPS unit
shows that you are zero
feet from the cache.
Muggle: a non-geocach-
er, or someone who ac
cidentally stumbles upon
a cache.
For more information,
visit www.geocache.com
caches in the Oregon City
area. No school for most of
the month of December means
plenty of free time.
“Try it. You’ll like it!”
Taylor said.
iidents fight exhaustion with energy boosting drinks
If DeVilliers
finta ting
posed to help with jet lag.
Since the day it hit the
Writer
shelves, it has continued to
dominate and still makes up
fith finals just around 50 percent of the energy drink
comer, many students are market.
ting for a little legal lift,
Red Bull contains taurine
boost they need to get — from which it gets its name
oligh those nights of cram- - and about as much caffeine
nine weeks of education as a cup of coffee. This is now
■th their already exhausted the model which most of the
finds.
other brands base their own
■Coffee, tea. and cola just drinks on.
isn’t seem
Most
of
do tic trick
these energy
Imoir. and
drinks do the
| has left the
same thing - a
“That stuff is
r opjjen for a
little B12 here,
V contender
a
dash of tau
horrible... I felt
' the lenergy
rine or guarana
Ik.
like the back of
there and the
from Red
caffeine to fill
my throat had
1, Roekstar.
in the cracks.
been
burned
1 Ihroiile.
Many now
nster and
with hot gravel
come in larger
p, to more
16 ounce cans
or something.”
I drinks like
rather than the
' vis, Cocaine
Red Bull model
I Bllw, the
of 10 ounces,
^Irgy drink
but even Red
Corey Stenhouse
^Ijket seems
see;":;
Bull sells larg
Student
have a com-
er variations.
____
All of these
J n ■theme:
«ffeine, I——
have
come
sBal|in
under fire for
'eB° ■amer’s market and the potential health risk, many
bieslhai sound like they for marketing toward young
W Iw(5e UP
we^’ over- teens. A lot of trouble has
leinascl geeks.
come from the connection to
¡Ji >97, Red Bull came partying. In the end though,
from Austria and most endure the bad press and
!lifted|L energy drink revo- do their best not to look too
ybn.Bled
vvas a^aPG “bad.”
■tomia Thai drink called
But
then
there
was
bating
Daeng that is sup- Cocaine.
1’1
One can already
imagine the trouble
an energy named
Cocaine has been
in. Schools, par
ents and news
anchors all seem
appalled at the
marketing of this
extremely highly
caffeinated bev
erage. The writ
ing on the can is
even made to look
like lines of true
cocaine.
Beyond the drug
connection
and
bad press is even
more trouble.
The ingredients
in this drink go far
beyond the norm
Photo by Robert Crawford Clackamas Print
for standard energy
Various
popular
energy
drinks
are
stacked
on a shelf at Fred
substance abuse.
Where an eight Meyer in Oregon City.
ounce can of Red
ingested nasally as the pack can anyway, the bigger ones
Bull has 76 mil
just make you feel sick,”
ligrams of caffeine, Cocaine, aging may suggest.
Jackson said.
Corey Stenhouse goes
which is now called No Name,
Health concerns have
contains an astounding 280 to Clackamas, and has his
share of late nights to power always been an issue with
milligrams.
Copycat companies have through. He mentions that he these powerful pick-me-ups,
tried to capitalize on Cocaine’s has had most every energy but most college students have
press. Blow began duplicating drink on the market, even already given up on worrying
about health the second week
the marketing concept from Cocaine.
“That stuff is horrible, I felt they got here.
the drink, and package their
The majority of students
energy powder in vials and like the back of my throat had
even are shipped online in a been burned with hot gravel or know that when you go up,
you’ve got to come down, and
Styrofoam box made to look something,” Stenhouse said.
Another student, Nick the higher you fly the harder
like a brick of cocaine and
come with a fake credit card Jackson, says he enjoys Red you crash. But now and then,
a little legal boost helps get
and a mirror. The powder is Bull more than the others.
“It isn’t so sweet and syr the job done.
meant to be put into a bev
erage to give it a kick, not upy; you only need the small