what about vacation caches?

[+Etoa Nrish]

 

what a loser? ow. hehe.

 

Look again at my hides. read the logs. People seem to enjoy them quite a lot, and I put a lot of effort into every one of them because that is important to me.

 

 

BTW... yes, it was a joke. I actually agree with much of your position. No need for attacks against me.

 

I do understand your point, and I find you to be a good cache owner as well. You emailed me almost immediately upon a DNF I posted (which I felt bad about, since I didn't look that hard, I was just there for the view and I don't care about my find count.).

 

I've been told that people in your state have an almost legendary hate for people from outside of it, which is unfortunate, and probably has something to do with some of the posts in this thread, but try to remember this is supposed to be fun, there's no reason to attack people even if you disagree with them, especially if they mostly agree with you and are just joking. :hugs:

 

A joke? OK, but the humor escaped me. We were having a serious discussion so I was expecting serious responses. I guess that was not the case.

[+Etoa Nrish]

 

I've been told that people in your state have an almost legendary hate for people from outside of it, which is unfortunate, and probably has something to do with some of the posts in this thread, but try to remember this is supposed to be fun, there's no reason to attack people even if you disagree with them, especially if they mostly agree with you and are just joking. :hugs:

 

Don't believe everything you are told. Hawaii hosts millions of visitors a year from all over the world and most of them have a very positive experience. But, the islands have a history of being exploited and plundered by outsiders so local folks may be suspicious of your motives at first. Witness BB Wolf's comments. Although he is from RI and we did not know him from Adams off ox a few years ago, he is now part of the Hawaii Geocaching Ohana (extended family) and we welcome him back whenever he comes.

 

Rather than believing what you have been told about our "hate" for outsiders come see for yourselves. Make contact with some local cachers (Menehune Man is our official Geo ambassador) and we will show you the sights, take you on some great hikes or whatever. Just don't ask us to host a vacation cache.

[+Etoa Nrish]

Having read large chunks of this thread and then going back through my own finds, I vote a large "NO" to vacation caches. Here's why: Maui Cache

 

This is an amazing spot on the edge of Maui. Gets tons of visits. Placed by a person from Washington. It's been having problems since February of 07. Contents soaked, logs too wet to write on, container reduced to a couple zip locks and a garbage bag. And because the spot is so cool people still hunt for it. When we logged it, it was not much more than trash in a bag. I felt bad for not noticing the problem and packing some new tupperware to replace the bags.

 

It's not adopted, there's no mention of a local cache buddy to maintain it. It's had maintenance notes posted for ages. The owner has not been on geocaching.com in over a year. They found 5 caches and placed one. this one.

 

The only hope for this one is that someone who has a trip planned will bring a new container and then replace it. But that's a temporary fix at best. The thing should be archived and a local cacher take over the spot.

 

Sorry, I must be fussy today, but this one is a great example of how NOT to place a cache.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. I published that cache based on the CO's promise that he visited several times a year and had friends who lived nearby who would also help. I e-mailed him this morning asking him to follow through on his promise, but as he has not logged onto the site in over a year, nor responded to requests for maintenance going back at least two years, I don't hold out much hope. Perhaps a future visitor will take the initiative to trash out what has obviously become trash and post a "should be archived" note to open up a great area to local cache placement. As a cache reviewer I can't ask that be done, as the cache is still considered to be the property of the cache placer.

 

Old timers may remember that many geocaches placed by visitors on the south shore of Maui were archived at the request of someone in local government many years ago for this same reason - lack of maintenance. At the time that included virtual caches leading people down closed roads on NPS administered land. Hopefully we can police our sport so it won't be done for us.

 

~erik~

 

Erik and the poster he is responding to make the case against vacation caches far better than I could so I think that I will leave it there.

[+sillygirl & jrr]

Been thinking about this thread. And since we currently maintain one vacation cache here on Oahu and we own a cache on Maui and one on Kauai we do understand the desire to own caches far from home. So if after reading this whole thread, you still have the urge to place a vacation cache in Hawaii (or elsewhere), this is what has worked for us.

 

1. Do identify a local maintainer before you hide a cache.

2. Once the maintainer is identified, work out cache size/location/terrain ground rules. (Our cache on Kauai is maintained by a cacher who doesn't hunt caches with terrain higher than 2 so we made sure ours would be easy for him to access.

3. Ask you local for advice on either locations that could use a cache or locations to avoid.

4. After the cache is hidden give the maintainer the option of "approving" the coordinates (or at least the general area) before the cache is submitted for publication.

 

Now if you have read this thread and have been convinced that vacation caches are just a bad idea, here are a couple alternatives to consider:

 

A.) Set up a "collaborative" cache. We own two: Aoha Eh, (Hawaii) and From Sea to Shining Sea (Pacific). Click on the links for more info. But the idea is, you hide a cache in your hometown and your partner hides a cache in the vacation location/his hometown. Not only do you get to collaborate with a cacher from far away, all the finders do too! Put your partner's cache on your watch list, and it's almost a good as being there!

B.) Set up an earthcache! Hawaii is full of amazing geologically important places that would make great Earthcaches. There are currently less than a dozen in the state, most set up by visitors.

 

And as for us Hawaii cachers, like Etoa said, don't believe everything you read. We have made friends from all over the world thanks to caching here in the Aloha State!

 

jrr

[+sbell111]

what a loser? ow. hehe.

 

Look again at my hides. read the logs. People seem to enjoy them quite a lot, and I put a lot of effort into every one of them because that is important to me.

 

BTW... yes, it was a joke. I actually agree with much of your position. No need for attacks against me.

 

I do understand your point, and I find you to be a good cache owner as well. You emailed me almost immediately upon a DNF I posted (which I felt bad about, since I didn't look that hard, I was just there for the view and I don't care about my find count.).

 

I've been told that people in your state have an almost legendary hate for people from outside of it, which is unfortunate, and probably has something to do with some of the posts in this thread, but try to remember this is supposed to be fun, there's no reason to attack people even if you disagree with them, especially if they mostly agree with you and are just joking. :hugs:

A joke? OK, but the humor escaped me. We were having a serious discussion so I was expecting serious responses. I guess that was not the case.

Sometimes these threads get too serious. Emotions get high, nerves get frayed, guidelines get broken.

 

The occasional humorous post can help break that tension.

[+erik88l-r]

Sometimes these threads get too serious. Emotions get high, nerves get frayed, guidelines get broken.

 

The occasional humorous post can help break that tension.

 

I second that emotion.

 

~erik~

[+Bad_CRC]

Rather than believing what you have been told about our "hate" for outsiders come see for yourselves.

I'm more than happy to assume most people from your state have better manners than you.

 

And as for us Hawaii cachers, like Etoa said, don't believe everything you read. We have made friends from all over the world thanks to caching here in the Aloha State!

 

Sounds good to me! Perhaps I'll have to meet you sometime. ... oh wait, I already have.

[+Menehune Man]

Here's a recent log on my "Menehune Man Was Hea!" TB page as just one example.

Menehune Man Was Hea!