This thread has been an interesting read with a lot of good input. My two cents: This doesn't come down to a question of legality of rock climbing as much to the question of is rock climbing involved. Obviously, if rock climbing is legal, it's all a non-issue for all of the caches. If it is not, then the caches have to be examined on an individual basis. I don't believe any of them should be archived on that basis as I don't think rock climbing, or rock climbing skills, are required.
I skipped one of the caches because I didn't feel comfortable without backup (i.e. rope). If it turns out that using gear constitutes rock climbing and is not allowed, then I'll just pass on that cache. Cachers that can do without, good for them.
As far as legality, I'm not surprised that there are no explicitly documented rules for the park. Parks/counties will often enforce specific policy rules under under umbrella regulations, such as anything that is considered harmful to the environment is a park violation. Of course, this can be anything from dropping a gum wrapper, to mountain biking, to hammering a piton into a rock. Again, without the use of gear, I don't see how that these caches would result in a violation of these policies.
