Caches By Bridges

[twjolson & Kay]

How far do you have to hide a cache from a bridge? It says in the hiding guidelines that you can't hide them by them, but it doesn't say how far, at least not anywhere I've seen. Any one know?

[+New England n00b]

Totally guessing here, but .1 mile (528 feet) sounds reasonable to me. Far enough away to keep people from associating you with a bridge whilst in the underbrush, yet close enough to mention a "cool bridge to visit nearby" such as a covered bridge or something.

 

<-- Not a reviewer, doesn't know.

[+cache_test_dummies]

Depends on the bridge. It should be ok to place a cache in pretty close proximity to a lightly used rural or scenic bridge, but caches shouldn't be left anywhere close to a highway bridge.

 

I've found caches placed directly inside the structure of a handful of covered bridges located on small back roads.

[twjolson & Kay]

The one I have in mind is a railroad bridge, in a major metro area. There are other caches in the area, so if I go the tenth of a mile rule, I'll be too close to them.

Any other opinions/viewpoints on distances?

[+Munin]

Is it a bridge for an active railroad, or an abandoned one? If it's an active RR, then I think you'd want it at least 150 feet away, since that's another one of the placement guidelines. I suspect that would also be far enough away that nobody would mistake the cache (or cachers searching for the cache) as any kind of terrorist-related activity. So in that case, the question might be: can you find a decent hide spot that's at least 150 feet from the tracks, without getting too close to the neighboring caches?

 

If it's an abandoned railroad, well, I've gone after a cache that was at one end of a truss/bridge along an old RR line. Since it's abandoned, the 150' active RR guideline didn't apply, nor would it be a target for terrorist attack. So in that case, zero feet was an acceptable distance from the bridge.

 

Like NE n00b, I'm not a reviewer, but my understanding is that you might be able to make a case for placing a cache that somewhat infringes on the 0.1 mile saturation guideline if your cache would bring people to a particularly interesting spot that they wouldn't normally have come across while doing the existing caches.

[+WizCreations]

you might be able to make a case for placing a cache that somewhat infringes on the 0.1 mile saturation guideline if your cache would bring people to a particularly interesting spot that they wouldn't normally have come across while doing the existing caches.

You could make it a virtual cache and place it right on the bridge... if there is a pedestrian walkway. If not, just put it at one end.

[+AtoZ]

There is no rule for closeness!!!! For a railroad there is the 150 guideline so that might get you unless it is an unused railroad. So it will be mostly up to you approver.

cheers

[+Joypa]

I have been to many bridge caches. The covered bridges could have caches right on them because they are lightly travelled or not travelled at all. I did run into one cache on a regular roadway bridge that was in the bridge itself. While permitted, I thought it was a bad idea.

[+Bjorn74]

Someone should quote the actual rule referenced.

 

Caches near or under public structures deemed potential or possible targets for terrorist attacks. These include but are not limited to highway bridges, dams, government buildings, elementary and secondary schools, and airports.

 

I mentioned this to someone a few weeks ago. This rule is used to disallow caches near elementary schools, but not highway overpasses. That's just how it's being applied. As far as I can tell, you can place a cache on a bridge as long as it meets all of the other criteria and doesn't seem like a terrorist target.

[twjolson & Kay]

I didn't notice that before, but it doesn't say railroad passes. All the same, general consensus is 150 feet, which is ok for me. Since there is no hard and fast rule for distances though, if I need to I'll go closer then that.

[+Bjorn74]

The only distance rule you need to follow is this one.

 

Caches hidden in close proximity to active railroad tracks. In general we use a distance of 150 ft but your local area’s trespassing laws may be different. All local laws apply.

 

There are only a few guidelines if you are looking for information about a particular cache you want to place. Just read the sections that apply and you'll have a pretty clear idea of what will pass the tests.

[+Marcie/Eric]

There's a multi in my area, where you have to go across the bridge (in-use roadway) on the sidewalk (it's seperated from the road completely), find the little label with the coords. Then the coords lead you under the bridge. It's the tallest bridge in California, maybe the US, so to be under the bridge requires serious hiking. So it's not near the bridge distance-wise, but it is right under it. Just a long ways. Besides which, it's 3 years old, so it'd be grandfathered in anyway.

 

Longitude & Latitude with an Attitude

 

It's also the same bridge used in the movie XXX where Vin drives the red 'vette off. My friend has a piece of that car's fiberglass body..

 

Bridge:

Edited June 14, 2005 by Marcie/Eric