JULY 2012 NEWSLETTER

IN THIS ISSUE: hepatitis carriers and the camps lack adequate sanitation Upcoming Events Watch facilities, making it likely that other people or their dogs will Cacher of the Month Logsheets come in contact with human waste and risk spreading the Sourdough Nametags Calendar Contest infectious disease to others. On occasion, illegal camp Event Reports 2012 Pathtags residents have accosted geocachers including one incident Reviewer’s Corner Geowoodstock X several years ago where a geocacher was assaulted with a Cache Maintenance Yakutat machete wielding resident while on an early morning cache Portage Matanuska Peak hunt. So, please, take the next step beyond mentioning a camp in your cache logs and report it for the good of all those who legally enjoy Anchorage’s parks.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR--EVENTS Let’s Make a Deal Sunday CITO, Sunday, July 15, Girdwood. Cacher of the Month Nominees Have Local Ties Hosted by Fuzzybelly, this is the second of three Adopt-a-Highway Former longtime Anchorage residents akpatty who now call clean-ups that will be held this year. Virginia home were nominated for the Groundspeak

Geocacher of the Month recogniation and featured in the Caching on The Kenai - 4th Annual Picnic, Sunday, July Latitude 47 Blog. Congratulations, Keith and Patty! 29. SSO JOAT barbecues, sets out caches and creates puzzles, and GeocacheAlaska! provides door prizes. A Kenai Summer is no longer just about chinooks, cohos, and sockeyes.

Windy City Welcome at the New York Café, August 19, Ketchikan. Hosted by some cruisin’ cachers who want to meet the locals.

8th Annual Geofest, Friday, December 14, Anchorage. Hosted by GeocacheAlaska! Big finale for the year with a gift exchange, slide show, dinner and much more!

Trail Watch—Your Chance to Increase Park Safety As cachers explore Anchorage’s Print a Better Logsheet parks, they sometimes come across Ever wonder where some people get those snazzy looking log an illegal camp in the woods. While sheets with the Geocaching language on them? Geocacher- one should not enter an illegal camp, u.com is one very good source of downloadable templates. one should record a waypoint in their GPS to report These templates can be printed on map paper to make a water- (anonymously if you wish) to the Municipality of Anchorage and weather resistant log sheet. Trail Watch Website. The good folks at Trail Watch will muster the proper resources to safely remove the camp and make the area safer. Many homeless camp residents are -1-

GeocacheAlaska! Sourdough Member Nametags This year's categories are: The GeocacheAlaska! Sourdough Names are now ready for distribution to existing and new Sourdough (formerly known People as Premium) members of GeocacheAlaska! Places/Locations Containers Flora Wildlife/Fauna Adventure/Extreme Whimsy/Fun Caching Children Winter

You may enter up to three photographs in each category. To be eligible for inclusion in the Calendar Contest the photograghs must be taken in . Thirteen photos will be displayed full-size on the calendar with at least one picture chosen from each category. The photo garnering the most overall votes will be placed on the cover. Entries will be accepted through September 30, 2012, the voting will take place in Ocotber 15-31, 2012.

By submitting your photo to this contest you grant GeocacheAlaska! Inc. the right to use and reprint the image on The trackable nametags have a magnetic backing (no more the Calendar, the Newsletter and the GeocacheAlaska! holes in your clothing!) and are personalized with each website. Photo credit will be given to the photographer. There member’s caching name. The tags are activated under the is no compensation awarded to the contest winners. Winners GeocacheAlaska! account and will be retained by the get the honor of having their picture grace a monthly page or organization. However, Sourdough Members are encouraged the cover of the calendar and the knowledge and happiness in to wear their tags at events for discovery, dip their tags knowing that their photograph was chosen to receive this through caches, and post photographs. Throughout the year, honor. GeocacheAlaska! will host contests that may involve logging, moving, and discovering the tags. Photographs may be submitted by emailing a high resolution copy to [email protected] . Please use the The tags will be distributed at the Let’s Make a Deal Sunday tag [PHOTO CONTEST] as the Subject Line of your CITO, Sunday, July 15, near Girdwood and the Caching on th message. the Kenai - 4 Annual Picnic, Sunday, July 29, in Kenai. All remaining tags will be mailed to members in August. In the body of the message, please state which category the photo is being submitted to, the names and/or geonickname of Credit for the nametag concept is due to Blazingpathways, any people appearing in the photo as well as the geocache the who proposed the idea to the GeocacheAlaska! Board of photo is associated with. Please provide the GC number and Directors and even provided vendor and pricing information. the cache name, or link directly to the cache page using the url From there, SSO JOAT took over and created the design and format http://coord.info/GCXXXXX. Include the custom icons (shown above), cleaned up the membership photographer's real name and their geonickname. Please database, activated the tags, created the TB pages, printed the include a title or caption for the image if you have one. customized name labels, and managed many other details for the project. Final tag sorting and assembly was performed by All photos submitted to the Calendar Photo Contest will be Blazingpathways, Tomanoble, akgh519, NorthWes, and posted on the GeocacheAlaska! website and will appear in the Ladybug Kids. GeoFest Slide Show in December. Some photos may be selected and published in the GeocacheAlaska! Newsletter.

Calendar Contest, by Tom Noble, aka Tomanoble Due to the popularity of this year's Photo Contest and Calendar GeocacheAlaska! has decided to present you the chance to be the envy of geocachers all over Alaska and have your favorite photograph grace the cover of our 2013 GeocacheAlaska! Calendar.

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EVENT REPORTS WWFM IX Homer – the End of the Road was small, but WWFM IX - Anchorage AK - Town Square Flash Mob 3 mighty!! Three cachers, plus one spouse and one munchkin on June 9th dawned clear and sunny, and by 9am the joined the fun. Introductions were made on a wonderfully temperature was well above the 50 degree mark. Encouraged clear day, though it was a little breezy. We all watched the in part by the fine weather, more than forty geocachers cruise ship arrive (a little behind schedule) and wondered how descended on Town Square to help celebrate the 9th many cachers were on the boat, wishing they were mobbing celebration of the World Wide Flash Mob phenomenon. This with us. Congratulations to NeverSummer for the "FTF" was the third time the WWFM has been hosted in award and to torn8owx for winning the very competitive door Anchorage’s Town Square Park during the summer visitor prize challenge. :-) NeverSummer and torn8owx are recent season. Attendees came from all around Anchorage as well as arrivals to Homer. This was a great way for a few of us Vancouver BC, Kitchener Ontario and Denmark. Participants Homer folks to meet each other. were treated to a front-row seat for the first leg of the Alaska Run for Women (with one competitor who actually broke from the race, sprinted over to the event, logged in and chatted for a minute before running off to complete her race). This was one of 312 events held in 31 countries, drawing 15,443 people attendees at last count – and based on this map, perhaps the most northerly WWFM event!

(report submitted by itsmylastname)

WWFM IX - Big Lake, Alaska More than a dozen cachers turned out for the Flash Mob event in Big Lake, Alaska, where cavyguy played host.

Burtons in Alaska were the proud winners of the WWFM IX unactivated geocoin provided by GeocacheAlaska! The great weather caused most participants to spend extra time beyond the 15 minutes socializing and getting to know folks they’d never met before, and recording discoveries on a wide variety of trackables present at the event. Thanks to all who attended, and to GeocacheAlaska for hosting the Anchorage AK - Town Square Flash Mob 3!

pi-2, or is it two pies, Flash Mob event, June 28 Just as I climbed out of the georig after arriving at the event, Akgh519 made a beeline to me and urgently said, "check this out!" I followed his gaze and saw Brother Fuzzybelly atop his monster mobile podium, exhorting people in the parking lot to partake in pizza pi(e) and dessert pi(e), since it was 2pi day. Folks couldn't resist the call, and nary a pi(e) went untouched. Adding to the sense of being at a revival, the pi(es) miraculously held out and there was plenty to go around. Even the animals heeded the call, including a sweet brown canine and a very large ungulate. GeocacheAlaska! prizes were (report submitted by NorthWes) handed out and then cachers headed into the woods to obtain more smilies.

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Reviewer’s Corner-Cache Publishing Timing Geocaching.com Cache Reviewers work as volunteers for Groundspeak. Sometimes I’ll receive an e-mail from a cache owner asking why their cache hasn’t been published just a few hours after they submitted it. Section 4.2 of the Knowledge Books states that “all geocaches are reviewed by volunteers, and we ask that they contact you within 7 days of (you) enabling your geocache,” so a delay of a few hours of even a day or two is well within Groundspeak’s established performance standard. Fuzzybelly’s Creed: “Life is Short, Eat Dessert First!!!” I typically check the review queue two or three times a day during the week and less frequently when I’m traveling, camping, or, actually 2012 Pathtags Are Here!!! geocaching. I’ve published caches using airline WiFi at 38,000 feet This year’s editions feature a first quarter (1Q) brown bear and borrowed my wife’s smart phone, so I do what I can to get your (shiny copper finish), 2Q loon (black nickel), 3Q salmon caches published as soon as reasonably as possible. As a cache owner, (shiny nickel), 4Q tundra caribou (shiny gold), and the annual I fully appreciate the anticipation of receiving the publish e-mail, moose (black nickel). Sourdough members of watching for the first to find, and reading cachers’ logs. However, GeocacheAlaska!, may buy the pathtags for $2 each or $17.50 please understand that I have a full time job, a family, for ten. A combo set of all five may be purchased for $10. GeocacheAlaska! Board of Directors accountabilities, and yes, even Cheechako members may purchase the tags for $2.25 each, geocaching, that might keep me away from the review queue for a $20 for ten, and $11.25 for the combo set. A limited number while. of the tags will be available at GeocacheAlaska! events. Local event sales have been so successful that more had to be I’ve also had cachers approach me about publishing caches at different ordered, so online mail order sales will not begin until after times so they might have a better chance to be the first to find (FTF). the refills arrive at the end of July or early. An announcement It’s not one of my roles to get affect the FTF chase. I review and for the online sales will be made via e-mail and posted in the publish caches when I see them in the review queue, so when a cache is GeocacheAlaska! Forums 2012 Pathtag thread. submitted for review is typically the biggest factor of when it gets published as long as it meets the guidelines. The best way to get into the FTF chase is to purchase a Groundspeak Premium Membership for a mere $30/year, set up your instant cache notifications for computer and cell phone, and be ready to roll out the door at a moment’s notice no matter the time of day.

On occasion, a cacher will ask me to publish a cache or caches at a particular time for special reasons (to coincide with an event, a birthday, etc.) and I do what I can to accommodate those requests. Just for fun, check out the video Groundspeak just released about its Volunteer Reviewer Team. You may view it on UTube here.

Front: Moose, Loon, Brown Bear, Salmon, Caribou Check out the National Recreation and Park Association website and get wild about geocaching and you just might win a new Magellan GC Explorist GPS.

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Alaskans Attend Geowoodstock X, by Coloreido

Geowoodstock is an annual, one-day mega-event that occurs in a new location every year. The first event was held June 21, 2003 in Louisville, Kentucky with 75 attendees, and it has evolved into the world’s largest gathering of geocachers.

Coloreido at GeoWoodstock X

A mega-event, by definition, is an event with at least 500 people in attendance. Geowoodstock X (GWX) occurred on May 26, 2012 with nearly 1,800 geocachers from all over the world. Alaska cachers in attendance include akjoey, cavyguy, dmzlstone, glenn.fish, saiyuki, wolfmaster1, and zakthemaster. Taking place in Sellersburg, Indiana, the event planners intentionally chose for this ten-year anniversary event to take place near the original event.

While attendance to Geowoodstock is free, a paid registration helps support the event. Registered attendees also get a meal at the event, and may receive event t-shirts, geocoins, and pathtags depending on their level of registration.

There are often other related events associated with Geowoodstock. The registration pick up the night prior is a great place to meet fellow geocachers, trade signature items such as pathtags, and drop off trackables intended to be swapped at Geowoodstock. A special committee will organize the trackable items by geographic destination so that it has the best chance of meeting its goal. Other events this year included a bachelor/bachelorette party (a wedding actually occurred at GWX!), a zombie costume contest, and a birthday celebration flash mob.

Sometimes there is a special event with limited tickets. This year the steamboat ride on the Ohio River was that event. It is best to watch for these special events as the tickets often get sold out quickly. Much thanks to cavyguy, I was able to ride as he bought a few extra tickets! There, I was able to meet other geocachers and swap pathtags while relaxing on the cruise and enjoying the scenery.

Taking place in a park, GWX had a lot to offer to include a silent auction, kids’ games, challenges (GPS accuracy, etc.), educational sessions (signature item design, trip planning, etc), and, of course, geocaching! Just a reminder for those used to Alaska geocaching, the continental U.S. does have its hazards in the form of heat (highs that day extended into the mid-90s!), snakes, ticks, and poison ivy! I enjoyed caching with lower 48 geocachers because they would point out the poisonous plants but also shared some ideas of tricky hides that they have seen.

In summary, Geowoodstock X was a fun mega-event which allowed me to meet new people who share my hobby and provided an opportunity to explore a part of the country I had never visited before. Mark you calendars, as Geowoodstock XI is scheduled to take place May 25, 2013 in Lakeland, Florida!

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Doing the Right Thing…Extreme Cache Maintenance, by Coloreido with Photos by akgh519 What happens when a geocache container becomes lost as a result of a clumsy cacher? The easiest answer would be to slap a “Needs Maintenance” log on the cache page and let the cache owner fix it. The right answer is the guilty party should either retrieve the container him/herself, or replace it with a suitable new container.

Here is a story of a container rescue, adopted from my log: akgh519 and I were between Mt. Baldy and Blacktail Ptarmigan Rocks at the Oil and Army cache (GC1HFD4) when I found the lid placed improperly. After draining out the water, I was adjusting the ammo can so that the sun could dry the interior while I signed the log. It was then that the can rolled over and off the cliff! At first, I laughed at my foolishness but the humor of the situation turned to horror when I could hear the can continue to roll down the cliff: ka-CLUNK, ka-CLUNK, ka-CLUNK... as rolled down the avalanche chute. As it kept going and going, it gradually got quieter and quieter as it traveled further and further. When it finally came to a rest, I was sitting in an uncomfortable silence interrupted only by the faintest whispers of Meadow Creek far below in the valley.

Neither ‘519 nor I had a container that was large enough to hold all the swag and so we decided to descend the cliff to retrieve the container. The chute was littered with other items amongst the sliding rocks, presumably geoswag from previous visitors: a pen, two water guns, and a pair of plastic handcuffs. The ammo can was found near the end of the rock slide after a 500 foot descent, 0.11 miles from GZ -- practically a 45° slope! The can was slightly dented out of shape, but its journey had shaken out ALL of the water! ‘519's Gerber gave it the necessary field repair, the lid was placed properly, and the container and salvaged contents were returned to its original spot waiting to be found. I must say, that ammo can was built Army Strong!

Alaska (The Best of Many Worlds), by Quigley’s Mom My husband (Bearbait Bob) and a group of friends/relatives called the Fishing Fools travel to Yakutat a couple of times a year to go fishing. We just recently began geocaching. During his June trip this year he visted the two caches in Yakutat - Plymouth and Gator. I enclosed a couple of pictures you might like. When he went to find the caches, all eight fishermen muggles wanted to go with him. They all had a great time. Maybe there will be new converts.

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Portage Valley Update, by NorthWes

Portage Valley is a narrow 14-mile chunk of , connecting the to mainland Alaska. The earliest trails here were Alaska Native historical routes over this low point between the marine environment of Prince William Sound and the rest of south-central Alaska. Cleanup efforts in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill uncovered rich evidence of trade in Russian goods from SW Alaska into Prince William Sound through this geographic choke point. More recently this valley featured prominently in the gold rush era as a crossroad for travelers heading north from Passage Canal and Seward. Today the gold-rush era pathways are collectively known and managed as the Iditarod National Historic Trail – the only winter trail system in America’s network of National Historic Trails.

Watching for salmon in one of the streams along the Portage Ponds Loop Trail

The Trail of Blue Ice runs for nearly six miles along the south side of the valley floor, and is well-known to most southcentral geocachers for its combination of high-quality trail surface and series of caches hidden along this scenic corridor. Less well-known is the Portage Ponds loop, running from the Salmon Viewing platform under the Highway northward to Portage River. This loop is nearly as hardened as the main section of the Trail of Blue Ice and carries hikers through the reclaimed gravel pits which provided roadbed material for the and the out into the center floor of the valley. This trail moves past several large ponds as it travels first north then east, before looping back southward and crossing the Portage Glacier Highway and finally connecting back to the main stem of the Trail of Blue Ice. A short hike west down the trail brings one back to Williwaw Campground and a connection back to the Salmon Viewing Ponds. The two mile loop features one of Alaska’s older caches - GCJTT7 - Spawn and Die – and several new ones as well, but it also crosses some of the most pristine areas of the valley floor. The loop trail’s not well-marked on the Northwest Trails mapset, but don’t let that keep you from experiencing this hike across the valley floor. (continued on next page)

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Looking east (L) and south (R) from the southern end of the Portage Lake Put-In Trail

Chugach National Forest planners are nearly done with plans to mark the newest trail in Portage Valley – the Portage Lake Put-In Trail. This pathway drops a mere 30 feet in elevation as it travels less than 300 feet from the easternmost side of the Bear Valley parking lot (located just east of the first vehicle tunnel just past the Begich-Boggs Visitor Center) down to the shore of Portage Lake. This is actually an ‘old’ trail dating back at least to the gold rush era, when miners crossed this area in the wintertime on a then much- larger Portage Glacier. Today it’s a subroute of the Iditarod National Historic Trail, and is meant to provide modern-day travelers with a place to access a three-mile muscle-powered boat route along Portage Lake’s northern shore to connect with the Portage Pass Trail coming over the mountain from Whittier and western Prince William Sound. The Portage Pass Trail is only a very rough route from Divide Lake down to Portage Lake at this time, but plans are in place to brush out the old trail and return the route to easier travel conditions.

A laminated map panel at the Bear Valley Parking Lot trailhead shows the boat route

Future plans for Portage Valley include linking the Trail of Blue Ice to an extension of the bike trail system. It’s exciting to consider the possibilities inherent in linking the valley trail network to an extended web of Turnagain Arm trails – which is really a return to the travel routes of yesterday.

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Over a Barrel, or, Christmas in July by Ladybug Kids

I have looked at Matanuska Peak for more than twenty years and yearned to climb it since I first saw it. I have winter camped in the alpine meadow below the peak and enjoyed the alpen glow on the peak at sunset. I have long been in awe of the mountain racers who run up Lazy Mountain to the summit of Matanuska Peak back over Lazy Mountain and down in less than 3.5 hours. After so many years passed and I’d viewed the mountain dozens of times, things came together for me to go up the peak with Coloreido, akgh519, and geohounds Victor and Mesa, on a quest for MTBoy’s “Barrel of Monkeys” geocache.

We chose to hike the McRoberts Creek Trail because it offers the more direct route to the base of Matanuska Peak with fewer miles and less total elevation gain than the official Matanuska Peak Trail. Both trails are accessed from the end of Smith Road (accessed from the Old ) by taking the main trail east out of the parking lot and crossing the Morgan Horse Trail. A little further on, the Matanuska Peak Trail branches off to the left while the McRoberts Creek Trail continues straight ahead. Both trails will be in the next update of the NorthWest Trails mapset on switchbacks.com.

During the drive to the trailhead, we questioned whether we would even be able to summit because we drove through a couple of rain squalls in the Eagle River area, but we decided to go for it because we could still see the mountaintops. Once on the trail, the weather held and we made good time as far as the hydroelectric plant where the jeep road part of the trail ends and the single track through the "jungle" begins. From here to the alpine meadow above the alders, the trail features waist- to head-high ferns, grass, devil's club, watermelon berries, and cow parsnip with plenty of water holding capacity to thoroughly drench a person if it's rained recently (it had). Akgh519's rain repellant pants held up well and my quick drying shorts did all right, but because I didn't don my gaiters, my socks got swishy wet.

At one juncture, we had a choice of heading through some much or going straight up the hill and I chose the latter which took us straight to [url=]"McRoberts Creek 2"[/url], but then dumped us into the alpine meadow without a clear path to the Matanuska Peak Trail. Coming down, we picked up the correct trail into the McRoberts Creek drainage and had relatively smooth sailing to the georig. Once we "swam" up the meadow and gained the Matanuska Peak Trail, the rest of the route to Matanuska Peak was easy to follow, even if the real work was yet to come.

(continued on next page)

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We took a break at the picnic table at about 3000' elevation and then pushed for the summit. About thirty minutes into our effort, we saw a group of hikers coming up behind us and they passed us fairly effortlessly. Ah, to be young and light again (I can't help the former, but I can definitely do something about the latter). About 1000' from the summit, the drizzle turned to rain and then to snow which prompted akgh519 and coloreido to sing a chorus of "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas." After picking our way through the summit boulder field (which the dogs did a bunch better job at than the humans), we reached the top, snacked, drank, and pulled out hats, gloves, sleeved shirts, and windshells to fend off the falling snow and wind. Once properly dressed, we commenced searching for the cache, and eventually resorted to the clue. However, since we couldn't see more than one hundred feet, lining up on the reference was tough, so we did a full circumnavigation of the summit and collected a fair amount of refuse to pack out, but never did find exactly what the clue referred to and definitely failed to find the cache. Even the satellites conspired against us and kept telling us ground zero was in the space off the cliff side of the summit which was not where we were going to explore in the given conditions. Eventually, akgh519 had to bail off the summit due to being cold and a bit later I decided I needed to go because my gloves were soaking wet from poking around all the wet rocks, 1/2" of snow had accumulated on my pack, Victor the pointer was beginning to shiver from being wet and cold, the boulder field was getting slicker by the minute, and we had no idea whether the storm was going to get worse or blow over.

So, we gingerly worked our way down the mountain, watching a trio of mountain running women and their dog fade into the distance after they tagged the mountaintop, and as luck would have it, the summit reappeared after we'd already shed 1000' of elevation. We continued down the ridge, collected the gear Coloreido and akgh519 had dropped to make for a quicker ascent, and then hopped off the ridge into a snow-filled gully for an express ride down the next several hundred vertical feet. The rest of the hike out was uneventful except for a couple of slips and slides in the slimy mud and after calling cavyguy from the trailhead for a dining recommendation, ate breakfast and blueberry pie at the Valley Hotel.

No, we didn't get to sign the log, drop off a Red Jeep TB, or fill in another square on our Fizzy Challenge grids, but, we got to stand atop a 6000' peak in the . For me, this was definitely first about the journey to go where I've wanted to go for more than two decades, before caching even existed, rather than the smiley. The hike is one deserving of a return trip under blue sky conditions and I look forward to when that happens. -10-

STATE PARKS PERMITS Remember, if you want to hide a cache in a State Park, you may need a permit number for your cache page and the geocache. The 2012 permit number for the Chugach State Park is 12-044 and it must be on the cache container and the cache page. The 2012 permit number for the Mat-Su State Parks is S12-010 and it must be on the cache container and the cache page. Downloadable copies of the permits can be obtained from the GeocacheAlaska! Land Manager webpage or the GeocacheAlaska! Land Use Forums.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! Follow GeocacheAlaska! Inc. on Facebook! Stay in touch and share your activities with fellow members of the geocaching community by visiting our page and clicking ‘Like’. Stay tuned for more Facebook fun as our webmaster develops a new Facebook Group page where GeocacheAlaska! members can plan caching adventures, post photos, and pass messages within the membership ranks. This Facebook Group is designed to be yet another member benefit for Sourdoughs and Cheechakos alike.

GEOCACHEALASKA! MEMBERSHIP There are two membership levels at GeocacheAlaska! Inc.

Sourdough Membership (formerly known as Premium Membership) affords you discounts in the GeocacheAlaska! online and traveling stores and events that have an entrance fee (Geofest, etc.), voting rights in Board of Directors elections and a warm fuzzy feeling for helping underwrite the organization’s operating expenses that include web hosting, printing, banners, post office box fees, event prizes and lots of other things that are required to make things happen. Because GeocacheAlaska! is an incorporated 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, your membership dues are tax deductible.

If you cannot join as a Sourdough at this time, you may support GeocacheAlaska! by joining as a Cheechako (formerly known as Associate) Member. This will allow you to receive the monthly newsletter and e-mail announcements. More members at any level gives GeocacheAlaska!’s more clout and credibility during land manager conversations, so sign up today!

There are four ways you can join GeocacheAlaska! at the Sourdough level for $20/year.

1. Navigate to the GeocacheAlaska! webpage and click on the “Subscribe” button to set up an automatic subscription which will renew annually. Please enter your caching name in the provided box. 2. Navigate to the GeocacheAlaska! webpage and click on “Add to Cart” to purchase an annual membership that will run through December 31, 2012. 3. Navigate to the GeocacheAlaska! webpage to download a membership form you can print and mail with your payment. 4. Attend one of the upcoming GeocacheAlaska! events and speak to any Board Member.

ONLINE ARCHIVES Previous editions of “Around the State” are now on our website. If you have missed previous newsletters, check out the series (including previous Trail Reports) here.

The editors of ‘Around the State’ welcome your articles and photos. We’d love to publish your favorite trails in your own back yard! Send your articles, photographs and ideas to [email protected], attention “Around the State.”

200 W. 34th Avenue, PMB 314, Anchorage, AK 99503

Find us online at: 1. GeocacheAlaska! Website: http://www.geocachealaska.org 2. GeocacheAlaska! Forums: http://geocachealaska.proboards.com/index.cgi 3. GeocacheAlaska! on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/GeocacheAlaska-Inc/180089884756 4. E-mail to [email protected]

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