geomarkp

Guys, Thanks for those who provided some thought provoking discussion to my original question. A few additional comments: Don't get me wrong, I love to geocache and don't want to necessarily impose any limits, but wanted to better understand if there were general guidelines or policies regarding placement of geocache sites. Based on the feedback, it appears there is a general 0.1 mile rule. I live in the Phoenix area and was referring to South Mtn Park, which sees probably more traffic then most parks in the country and has a high density of geocache sites. My 0.25 mile estimate was probably a bit conservative. Out of curiosity, I will talk with the park and ask if they have their own guidelines. Even though I do some limited geocaching in the park and around town , most of my cache searching adventures are elsewhere in the state when out camping, hiking or backpacking. Touchstone's comments about 'access vs resource protection' were right on. This is an issue we face with any outdoor adventures (ie. fishing, hunting, biking, 4wd, hiking) and not just geocaching. We need to do our best to manage our lands effectively, w/o restriction. As for spider trails, yes animals do create trails, but man creates even bigger ones. You can pick up any topo map from 30-60 yrs ago and compare to today or review satellite images over time and see how the landscape changes. I fully agree that it's human nature to find another route, assuming that route is one that is the shortest distance between two points or offers some other intriguing reason to create a path, trail or road. With respect to placing geocache sites off trail, you have certainly created an intriguing reason to create a path, but in a high density park you create multiple spider trails that are not conducive to the parks policies and not conducive to leave no trace principles. I'm an assistance scoutmaster with a local Boy Scout troop and spend a lot of time in the outdoors. We spend a lot of time teaching the boys about outdoor ethics, survival and leave no trace principles. I think that geocaching is a great sport (like most outdoor activities) and above all, it gets people outdoors, offers a sense of fun and adventure. It's also great exercise and gets folks (especially kids) out of the house and away from the tv and video games. As for comments about being a sock puppet, sorry didn't mean to hide behind anything. I saw a Forum link on the www.geocache.com site and decided to post a question here, that simple. Also, I don't make a habit out of logging my adventures, just something that I don't have interest in, like a lot of others I know that geocache. Have fun and enjoy the outdoors. Mark ps. for those who offered some less then thought provoking comments, drink and beer (or two) and chill out. For me, I like to drink my homebrew.

Hey Folks, I've been geocaching for a longtime, but this is the first time I have posted here. I've noticed near my home that the number of geocache sites has increased dramatically over the years. Of course, geocaching has become more and more popular, so it's obvious to expect to see more of them pop up over time, but when is enough, enough? I'm curious if there is general policy or protocol, when it comes to the location where geocache sites are placed or the density of sites in a general location. I live close to a park and on some of the main trails there seems to be a geocache site every 0.25 miles or so. Also, there are a large number of sites placed off trail. In my opinion, I've always thought of geocache sites as being few and far between and it was considered an adventure to look for them. Also, next to trash and crime, one of the bigger issues in the park is foot traffic and the creation of side trails where they don't belong. There are signs everywhere to remind folks to stay on the main trails and with such a high density of geocache sites, there are a number of spider trails that have popped up. Is it feasible to get some of these excessive geocache sites removed, so we retain our natural surroundings. I love to geocache with family and friends, but when is enough, enough? Thanks, Mark