2024-11-08 45 -93

Looking east from hash location.

Location

In Peltzer Park, Ramsey, MN.

Participants

Kyrkazakh (talk)

Plans

Cram a trip up to Anoka County in between housework and a class. What could go wrong!?

Expedition

Kyrkazakh (talk): Heads up, this one's gonna be political. If that's not for you, no worries, feel free to move along. Because as much as I'd like politics and geohashing to be kept well-separated, a geohashing expedition is also about the lived experience of a human body moving through space, and that's frequently going to be inherently political. Why are many European geohashers able to utilize public transit to reach far more of their destinations than Americans? Why are certain demographics of folks much more likely to respond with interest when I tell them about geohashing? Both questions have answers that can be uncomfortable. Anyways, all that is to say, I hadn't been out to geohash since The Election, especially not in rural areas. But Ramsey ended up being pretty exurban, and perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised when a Trump yard sign greeted me as I pulled over next to the park where the hash was located.

Almost immediately the dogs outside the house with the sign started barking, continuing and growing more frequent as I crossed the street (away from them) and started traversing the burr-covered grasses on my way to where I knew the hash site was. And sure, I was on public land as far as city maps and OSM indicated. And I'm white, and I didn't 'look' trans today. But I'll be honest, I did not feel safe. I'd like to think that was unfounded paranoia but perceived 'trespassers' have been threatened for far less, and the local area's State House representative has made it very clear where his priorities lie. So I took a photo at the hash site, screenshotted proof, tried to find solace in nature for a couple of seconds, got interrupted by the barking dogs and realized that solace wasn't going to happen, and booked it back to my car. Success? Yeah. Would I do it again? ...

Geohashing in an area like this requires trust. Trust from the nearby residents that someone out their window isn't up to dangerous activities, and trust from geohashers that residents won't call the cops or themselves emerge with weapons ready to go. I want a world where we can trust each other and experience Earth for ourselves without constantly having to check our backs. And also I probably should be more prudent about how I approach rural hashes. Anyways, apologies for the polemic. We now return you to your regularly-scheduled and value-neutral programming. P.S. I 'relit' this graticule as it hadn't been successfully hashed in (or even any activity at all I think?) since more than 9 years ago (pre-Dark Ages).

Photos

Aw, beans.
Playground near hash site.
Success! Not a far walk from the street, thankfully.
I have really got to log back into my Gaia account.
Looking east. I remember thinking this would've been a great scene to paint if I wasn't so rattled.
Looking northwest (from site).
I doubt these doggos meant any harm. Wasn't really them I was worried about.