MnGCA

[northtrekker]

I still find it hard to believe that Russ has passed away. Like other Northern MN Geocachers, we first met along the trail. Not only once, but several times which lead to planned geocaching ventures. A very humble person, a heart of gold, a twinkle in his eyes, and a deep appreciation for the friendships he shared with fellow geocachers. He was so proud of all of his geocache finds. I can just picture him trekking down the trail, hiking stick in one had and a gps in the other hand. What a character and what a friend to all of us. His last words to me were "get out geocaching, the ticks aren't bad." Will do, Ole, will do. You are missed.

[Toivo Twofeathers]

Placing geocaches will not be the same anymore. I could always count on Ole being one of the first to look for my geocaches. I will cherish every minute spent with this unique person. In fact, Russ was the first geocacher I met in person, he had just done one of my caches and I was out looking for a benchmark. I can still remember this first meeting, and the many more that followed. There is a group of local geocachers who were geocaching when I placed my first cache, Ole is a member of that very exclusive group that I call my fan club. When I had placed Mount Griffin, he told me the walk would be too much for him. The next day I receive a cell phone call saying "I am out here at Mt. Griffin, and I can't find the cache and I REALLY DON'T WANT TO MAKE THE TRIP AGAIN TOMORROW. This was the start of call Toivo for a hint. I asked him where he was at the site, he said sitting down on the rocks. Then I asked him where his gps said the cache was, he said, three feet west of where I am sitting, so I said look there, and in a few seconds he responded with yeah, it IS here!

He will be missed by all geocachers who had the fortune to meet him. We had a special affinity as we were born within two weeks of each other.

Bill Hanson