--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "knightbaker63" wrote:
>
> I was wondering about how much impact that ATV's have had in your
> area... I personlly would like to see them banned.

Well, Out West (or in our small part of it, i.e. Southern California),
ATV use is rampant, but it is also highly controlled, in many areas.
There are a number of places, in the mountains and in the Mojave
Desert, where off-highway vehicles (OHV is the term used out here) can
run to their heart's content, with very few restrictions other than
safety ones. Some of these areas are huge, but they are mostly
out-of-the-way, and in places that have been deemed free of endangered
species, etc. There are also areas where OHVs can run on established
roads and trails only, and going off them is frowned-upon. Finally,
there are areas where OHVs are prohibited, and violating that can be
very expensive, with fines up to and including confiscation of the
vehicle, plus monetary fines and even jail time. The vast majority of
riders have reconciled themselves to the reality out here: they ride
where they are allowed to, and generally stay out of where they
shouldn't be. We don't own an OHV, but have thought about a Jeep-type
vehicle for our rockhounding, so are at least a little sympathetic to
those who do enjoy roaring around on them. As long as they stay
inside the areas set aside for them, we're quite happy that they *do*
have such areas. We can't complain about their form of recreation, as
long as they respect ours :-) Naturally, these OHV areas are *not*
the best places for letterboxes, geocaches and other such things, and
the few that show up in them are generally designed with the OHV-user
in mind. The advantage that California, Nevada, etc. have over New
York, New Jersey and much of the rest of the Eastern Seaboard is
space: we still have a lot of it, although what isn't set aside for
recreation is being gobbled up for homes and such at an alarming rate.

> ...How do you feel about using GPS coordinates in addition to the
> regular clues?

I might respond there as well, but I'm going to take advantage of this
question here.

My short answer would be "Bring 'em on!!" :-) We've stated more than
once that we are very active geocachers, so we are very conversant
with GPSr use. We've given some thought to how we might hide an LB
that used both "standard cluing" as well as GPSr, and someday we hope
to be able to figure out a good way to do it. If anyone wanted to
hide an LB that uses GPS coords as part of the clues, we think it
would be fun. The only thing that would *not* be good, IOHO, is to
have the final hiding spot be given with coords: that's a geocache, no
matter how else you disguise it. Geocaching already has hybrid boxes,
so letterboxing ought to be able to, as well.

On a related issue, I have to say that anyone (and please don't take
this as a personal attack; I'm concerned for individual safety,
nothing else) who rejects carrying a GPSr out-of-hand, is foolish, or
at least a bit foolhardy. OK, if you only hike on trails you've
already been on, and/or you never hike more than a tenth-of-a-mile
from your car, maybe you can get along without one. But anyone who
(like us) does a lot of hiking on trails we don't know (that's one of
the points of both geocaching and letterboxing, isn't it?), as well as
long hikes on trails we do know, really ought to have both a GPSr
along, as well as a means of emergency communication, and I don't mean
just a cell phone. Cell phones are notorious for not working in the
very areas where they are most-useful, at least out here. At the
least, carrying an FRS radio is a good idea. These are usually sold
in pairs. Sharon and I use an agreed-upon frequency, so even if one
of us is on his/her own, the other can make an attempt to communicate.
Single hikers can leave the other radio with a friend. Naturally,
anyone hiking alone should leave a note with someone as to where they
are going, when they expect to be back, etc. etc. etc. FRS is limited
in range, but it's better than nothing, and it works in areas where
cell phones don't.

Bottom line: emergency radios, compass, good map and a GPSr with a
mapping function (they all have that, now) are all good things to have
along on any hike, even a short one. It's not being a geek or a nerd
to be prepared. It comes down to "Better Safe than Sorry."
Rattlesnakes, mountain lions, bears and people-with-bad-intentions
don't care if you are just out for a short jaunt.

Jim