15 years , Yep we are there, May 2nd, 2000
May 2nd, 2000
On May 2nd 2000, the switch was thrown. What does that mean? Before that date the GPS was a military product, and used by licenced surveyers. That was about it. There was a "fuzz" in the signal. That meant that you could be as much as 100 yards off. That may be great so that someone may not be able to drop a bomb on you, or record coordinates of something very accurate. Then the world changed.
The switch was thrown and we were tuned into an age where the accuracy dropped. There were a few with GPS units at that point and one of those was Dave Ulmer. On that day Dave made the following posts
-- Now that SA is off we can start a worldwide Stash Game!! With Non-SA
accuracy is should be easy to find someone's stash from waypoint information.
Waypoints of secret stashes could be shared on the Internet, people could
navigate to the stashes and get some stuff. The only rule would for stashes
is: Get some Stuff, Leave some Stuff!!
Have Fun!!
Dave...
Dave Ulmer - May 3rd, 2000
Dave began to wonder what he could do with this, and how accurate the coordinates could be. Would they be accurate enough to find something? Would they repeat? or would the error still be there.
The Great American GPS Stash Hunt !!
-- Now that SA is off we can start a worldwide Stash Game!! With
Non-SA accuracy it should be easy to find a stash from waypoint
information. Waypoints of secret stashes could be shared on the
Internet, people could navigate to the stashes and get some
stuff. The only rule for stashes is: Get some Stuff, Leave some
Stuff!! The more valuable the stuff the more stashes will be
started.
I'm thinking of half burying a five gallon plastic bucket with
lid at the stash point. Putting in some stuff. Adding a logbook
and pencil so visitors can record their find. The log should
contain: Date, Time, What you got, and What you put in. Scanning
the log book should give you a quick inventory of the stash.
I'll look for a place near a road where few people would
normally go... Put in some cash, an old digital camera, and some
antique silverware!! I will come up with a cool name for my
stash and post coordinates soon!!!
Make your own stash in a unique location, put in some stuff and
a log book. Post the location on the Internet. Soon we will have
thousands of stashes all over the world to go searching for.
Have Fun!!
Dave...
So on May 3rd he started to put together a bucket with some objects. This cache was a black plastic bucket that was partially buried and contained software, videos, books, food, money, and a slingshot. He then headed out into the woods near his home in Oregon and placed it off the road. He then went back to the usrnet and posted the following note.
Well, I did it, created the first stash hunt stash and here are
the coordinates:
N 45 17.460
W122 24.800
Lots of goodies for the finders. Look for a black plastic bucket
buried most of the way in the ground. Take some stuff, leave
some stuff! Record it all in the log book. Have Fun!
Stash contians: Delorme Topo USA software, videos, books, food,
money, and a slingshot!
So there we have it, the first weekend, someone got thinking, and now millions have played the game. Thanks Dave for going through the effort, thanks Jeremy for turning this into something that is not a flash in the pan, and putting the work and money into making it successful.
This year lets celebrate that weekend
What is groundspeak doing this year? Who knows. I have tried to figure that one out. I have asked, and I assumed they would say something, even to us reviewers. I loved the 10th anniversary, there was a buzz about it, there were people that traveleld all about the state to attend events and have a good time. I traveled up to Morgan and headed south. I attended many events that day.
So we planned our own celebration on May 2nd 2015, and a few others are popping up as well. Please take the time to plan something, get together with friends, and go caching. Lets make that weekend a celebration to remember.
