Team GPSaxophone

quote:Originally posted by Cheesehead Dave: How about adding a system where in addition to logging a find, you also rate how difficult you found the cache? The site would keep an average "user rating" that potential hunters could use as an additional guide as to how difficult a cache is. http://www.wi-geocaching.com/ http://home.wi.rr.com/thekrugs/geocaching/ Good idea, Dave!

It could be that there are very few caches in their area. Also, they may have done 3 or 4 "easy" ones (drive-up) and got discouraged when they embarked on a difficult cache. I went out my first weekend and found 7 or 8 that were around town. The other ones in my area require a bit of hiking. I have 3 small children, so I only do the easy ones. I'll do the harder ones when I have the time by myself.

It could be that there are very few caches in their area. Also, they may have done 3 or 4 "easy" ones (drive-up) and got discouraged when they embarked on a difficult cache. I went out my first weekend and found 7 or 8 that were around town. The other ones in my area require a bit of hiking. I have 3 small children, so I only do the easy ones. I'll do the harder ones when I have the time by myself.

We might have missed this on another post, but we have found some inconsistencies in how caches are rated for terrain and difficulty. I went on a cache hunt today with my wife and kids (ages 5,3,1). It was rated a 1 for both difficulty and terrain. This cache was well over a half mile one way up and down hills on rocky and sandy soil. The path was occasionally lined with cactus with the cache location being on the side of a small hill. My kids were ok for most of the hike to the cache, but worn out for the return. There were 5 other caches in the general area, but each one required a similar hike. They were all rated 1/1 with one of them being 1/1.5...This might have been okay for me and my wife with hiking boots on, but seeing a rating of 1, we wore sneakers. I think we need a set of guidelines for determining the difficulty/terrain ratings. My proposed list for terrain is: 1 - Suitable for any age (young kids and those over 80) 2 - Ok for children at least 5 or 6 years old and seniors in good shape. 3 - Teenagers and up to retirement age 4 - Physically fit adults 5 - Adults that are prepared for a challenge These are only rough guidelines, discretion should still be used on each cache. Difficulty ratings should be similar, but they don't have to match exactly. Obviously, children would need to be accompanied by an adult as most caches are in an area you must drive to get to the trailhead. The actual hike should follow the rating guidelines. Drive-up caches (within a hundred feet or so of the parking area) would probably be a 1 unless a 4-wheel-drive is needed. What do you think? FriarED Team GPSaxophone P.S. Found the rating system after making this post. I tried rating the cache using the form and it came back with 1/3. How about making that rating form more prominent on the placing a cache page? [This message was edited by Team GPSaxophone on May 01, 2002 at 05:24 PM.]

They are probably not allowed on many carriers have realized that the map units can show how well you are flying. Many hospitals do not allow you to videotape childbirth just in case there is a problem during the procedure. If you have videotape evidence, you will win a malpractice suit. GPS units record your altitude, speed, line travelled, etc. and would be unwelcome by any company that does not want the added scrutiny. The FAA checks up enough on them, why would they want a bunch of "amatuers" monitoring their flights as well?

I'd say that if caches in a particular area are being plundered, it would be a good idea to replace them with Members Only Caches. Thieves are not likely to pay $3 a month to steal caches. Hiding them better is only helpful to prevent them from being stumbled upon. It won't prevent unethical geocachers from "search and destroy" missions.

I'm not going to die until God is ready for me. No man-made object or action will kill me "early". I'll only get killed by a cache-bomb if that's what God wants. Same thing with riding my motorcycle.

I haven't picked a signature item yet. I was thinking of leaving a keychain from the company I work for. Is this acceptable? It doesn't have any contact info, just the company name.