Maintaining caches of other cachers?

[+lacruz18]

Living on an island (Tenerife), it happens to me nearly every month or two, that cachers,

who visit the island from anywhere in the world, ask me whether I would be willing to

maintain a cache, which they want to place for whatever reason on the island. It often

even happens, that they place a cache and back in their home country, they ask me to

maintain it. The caches most of the time are far away from my home sometimes 60 kilomters

(nearly 40 miles) or more. Those I denied by the way and there is meanwhile some

significant geocaching trash on the island for caches, which never have been published.

One more thing to mention is, that there are very few active Geocachers living on the

island (just a handful).

 

After having taken maintenance for some of those caches, I am meanwhile reluctant to do so

and would like to get opinions from some other people, about this practice and what you

would do in cases like that? Would you ever maintain caches of other cachers? How far

would you drive (on your own cost and time by the way)? Any opinion is highly appreciated.

[+NorthWes]

IMHO it's rude both to attempt to lay some kind of 'obligation' (no matter how nicely the request is worded) onto you for cache maintenance and additionally violate the Groundspeak ban on 'vacation' caches. You've correctly worded the result - 'geocaching trash' - and that's not something we need to gain a reputation for scattering about while on vacation. Besides, it degrades the value of correctly-placed caches!

 

There is a significant cost in time and resources (gas, wear & tear on transportation assets, swag, replacement logs & cache containers, etc.) for cache maintenance. No one should be expected to assume those costs for taking care of caches strewn about while on vacation...

 

We experience this from time to time in Alaska, and from time to time have said 'yes' to a cache placement/maintenance request - but always with cachers we've invited to come along with us, and always in areas easy for us to maintenance because of proximity or frequent travel. And, I want to be sure to note, these cachers have always been most gracious about providing resource support. However, randomly-spewed caches don't get local support, except as we see a need to remove 'geocaching trash' to ensure our relationship with local land managers continues to be good and our reputation as good stewards of the land we play on is safeguarded.

 

I say 'right on' to saying NO, THANK YOU! under the circumstances you've described!

[+Isonzo Karst]

I've said no to every request for cache maintenance by a vacationer (who usually contacts me after the reviewer explains that they need a local maintainer) and yes to every local whose cache is nearer to me then to them. You're under no obligation to support vacation caches.

[+Cpt.Blackbeard]

If you don't personally know these cachers then just say no unless you truly do want to maintain it.

I would never hide a cache I couldn't maintain myself, and if it's a good spot they found let their vacation cache get rejected and then place one yourself, if you're doing the work you should at least get the credit.

[+New England n00b]

Let me get this straight - people place a cache on an island, which they cannot maintain, and then have the gall to ask you to take care of it for them?

 

I would say 'NO' just on the principle of it. It might be one thing if the two of you worked something out face-to-face beforehand, but for someone to just dump a cache and the responsibility onto someone else? I think, were I a volunteer reviewer, I would archive all of their LOCAL caches and ban them from the geocaching website. Talk about giving geocachers a black eye. Geotrash indeed.

 

Don't feel even slightly guilty about saying 'no'.

[+ShadowAce]

 

Good evening ShadowAce,

 

We have just enjoyed a three week vacation in southern Arizona and we have loved it. Before heading home in a few days we were thinking of leaving a cache behind as a way of saying thank you.

 

We located a place (description here).. No caches are in the area and we thought it would be real nice to share this special place we found with locals to wel.. say thanks.

 

Any chance if we went and placed one, it would be a full size ammo can, that you would be willing to maintain it for us?

 

I know this is a lot to ask, and we have not placed it yet in case you cannot.

 

Let us know your thoughts?

 

 

Nice place? Fairly Near? Actually asked before placing? Not a mico shoved under a lamp pole 600 feet from another lamp pole micro?

 

Oh you bet your sweet toots I would assist them.

 

ShadowAce

 

I place a micro under a lamp pole in walmart before heading back to New York. It is in the same parking lot as two other caches. Now your reviewer says they wont list it unless someone takes care of it. Would you say your going to?

 

Well, I am sorry to hear this, I would be happy to pick it up and mail it back to you if you could provide an address?

[+Harry Dolphin]

Hmm... I've never heard of anyone visiting New Jersey on vacation, leaving a cache and asking a local to maintain it.

But I have seen it in NYC. My thought would be: We have enough local cachers hiding their own. I place and maintain the ones I want to hide. (Somehow, the word 'sponge' comes to mind.) There are/were a number of grandathered vacation caches in NYC. They disappear and are archived. Oh, well. Opens the area for local cachers. Too bad the vacation Virtuals aren't archived when they have problems. Oh, well.

Same vein as adopting caches. I can only think or one or two old historic caches that I might consider adopting. I might replace a soggy log, or broken container, but I wouldn't adopt most of the caches. Open the area for someone new.

[+briansnat]

I have plenty of my own caches to take care of, so unless it was someplace that was very convenient for me, I would have to say no to anybody who asked. I would offer to pick it up and mail it back though.

[+mudsneaker]

just to look at the flip side of this discussion. Not that I am for leaving vacation caches, I like to look at both sides of an issue is all.

 

example: If i lived in a remote area (I dont) with very few new caches to find, I might like to have a cache to look for. Once found, if within reasonable distance I may be willing to maintain it.

Recently had a discussion about this topic. It would be boring to be in an isolated place with few caches to look for. If the only way to get new blood is by vacation caches, it could be worth letting them get placed just for something new to do.

 

And if they are lame, could arrange for it to get "muggled" and be archived, its not like a vacationer will be back soon to replace it.

 

please dont flame or chew me up, Im just tossing a different angle into the mix.

[+Renegade Knight]

If I wanted to maintain a cache I'd place my own. That said since this site requires that a person maintain their caches and also has rules they use to decide if you can, if you can't they may only approve your cache if you obain help and say so as part of the approval process.

 

So far where I've needed to get help the help isn't any faster than I am.

[Mr.Yuck]

Living on an island (Tenerife), it happens to me nearly every month or two, that cachers,

who visit the island from anywhere in the world, ask me whether I would be willing to

maintain a cache, which they want to place for whatever reason on the island. It often

even happens, that they place a cache and back in their home country, they ask me to

maintain it. The caches most of the time are far away from my home sometimes 60 kilomters

(nearly 40 miles) or more. Those I denied by the way and there is meanwhile some

significant geocaching trash on the island for caches, which never have been published.

One more thing to mention is, that there are very few active Geocachers living on the

island (just a handful).

 

After having taken maintenance for some of those caches, I am meanwhile reluctant to do so

and would like to get opinions from some other people, about this practice and what you

would do in cases like that? Would you ever maintain caches of other cachers? How far

would you drive (on your own cost and time by the way)? Any opinion is highly appreciated.

 

Wow, Tenerife looks amazing!! I'll visit some day, I hope

 

Now the OP is talking about cachers from all over the world who try to drop caches there, and I don't understand the thought process of these vacation cache placers at all. I can think of a glaring local example where an Austrailian tried to drop a micro in Niagara Falls, Ontario. I wonder if that one was ever removed, or is still sitting there as trash.

 

In this case, I'd categorically deny all requests, along with a very polite explanation about the frequency of all the requests the residents of the Canary Islands are bombarded with.

[FlagFinder]

i would just watchover it until you get a bunch of DNF's in a row then archive the thing i think caches you adopt are considered yours? i have 2 adopted caches and i dont get any notification when they are found unlike my other caches and they dont appear on my hides list.

[+briansnat]

i would just watchover it until you get a bunch of DNF's in a row then archive the thing i think caches you adopt are considered yours? i have 2 adopted caches and i dont get any notification when they are found unlike my other caches and they dont appear on my hides list.

 

Offically adopted caches should appear on your hide list and you should get the notifications. I have 3 and they are on my hide list and I do get notification of finds.

 

That said, I don't think the OP was talking about adopting, but rather taking care of a cache that is owned by someone else. If that is the case then he doesn't have the ability to archive the cache.

 

Anyway, its great to get someone to take care of a cache for you. You get all the credit and they do all the work.

[+lacruz18]

Thanks a lot to all of you for your opinions. This really helps and the next time, that any of the strangers will ask me to maintain their cache, I can just point them to this forum entry

Of course, if the cache has alread been placed, I will offer them to mail it to them on THEIR cost.

[+Sagefox]

... I am meanwhile reluctant to do so and would like to get opinions from some other people, about this practice and what you would do in cases like that? Would you ever maintain caches of other cachers?

 

I've been maintaining most of the visitor placed caches in our area, the Mendocino County coast of Northern California. I do so because we live in a remote area and if I didn't there would be very few caches for this visitor destination town.

 

Mendocino County is quite a bit larger than Rhode Island and there have only been approximately 150 caches placed here since the summer of 2001.

[nonaeroterraqueous]

Anyway, its great to get someone to take care of a cache for you. You get all the credit and they do all the work.

Well said.

[+halffast]

I wouldnt maintain anothers cache that was dropped off while they were just on vacation and probably wont return..I will check on the caches in my area that was placed before I started caching.Those that the cachers dont live in the area but were placed to get cachers to visit the area.I check on these older caches out of appreciation of letting me be part of this great hobby.

[+edscott]

I thought vacation caches were no longer being approved. ??

[+wimseyguy]

The guideline seems pretty clear to me (bolding is mine):

Placing caches on vacation or outside of your normal caching area is unacceptable and these caches may not be listed. As the cache owner you are obligated to be in a position to manage your caches, and caches placed on vacation require someone else to maintain them for you. It is not uncommon for areas to be cleared, trails to be blocked or closed, objects used for multi-cache or puzzles to be moved or removed, etc. You must be able to react to negative cache logs and investigate the location quickly. Please be responsible. This guideline applies to all types of caches.

 

The territory in which a geocacher is able to maintain caches responsibly will vary from one person to the next. An active geocacher who regularly visits areas hundreds of miles apart can demonstrate their ability to maintain a cache 100 miles from home. A geocacher whose previous finds and hides are all within 25 miles of their home would likely not see their cache listed if placed 250 miles away from their home.

 

If you have special circumstances, please describe these on your cache page or in a note to the reviewer. For example, if you have made arrangements with a local geocacher to watch over your distant cache for you, that geocacher’s name should be mentioned on your cache page.

So to sum up, you shouldn't do it. If you do it anyway, they likely won't get published. If you can find a local kind enough to maintain if for you then they might be published. You will owe them bigtime though.

Edited December 10, 2006 by wimseyguy