Rating terrain and difficulty

[+dibbg]

I hate to even ask this because I'm sure it's somewhere obvious, but where is the page that shows how to rate the terrain and difficulty of hiding a new cache?

 

I remember seeing it, I've searched, I can't find it again.

[Motorcycle_Mama]

http://www.clayjar.com/gcrs/

[+dibbg]

http://www.clayjar.com/gcrs/

 

Cool, thanks!

 

I was surprised it rated my terrain as a 4, I was going to put a 3.

 

For this particular cache, you park, then take an easy walk about 200' through grass. Then there's a small muddy stream about 2' wide that most people could jump over. Then you walk through trees and slight brush about 50', some kinda steep hills about 5' high, so not too bad.

 

Really the only "rough" part is getting past the stream.

 

I was able to carry and jump over it with my 4 year old daughter, although I know some people wouldn't want to do that. My girl is tough.

 

Edit: and I did add the "no strollers and no wheelchairs" attributes to the listing.

 

Also, this kind of area COULD have snakes, I mean it is near a lake and stream, but I haven't seen or heard of anyone seeing snakes. So should I list the snakes attribute, I don't want to scare people off thinking they're going into a snake pit!

Edited February 11, 2008 by tgbp

[+Rattlebars]

 

I was surprised it rated my terrain as a 4, I was going to put a 3.

 

 

I concur. The Geocache Rating System yields much too high a rating for what little you say your hunters need do. The terrain rating is always way too high. If it's not paved and level, it's a three. If there's a bush in the way, it's a four. Too high.

 

I'd leave it a three if I were you.

[+edscott]

http://www.clayjar.com/gcrs/

 

Cool, thanks!

 

I was surprised it rated my terrain as a 4, I was going to put a 3.

 

For this particular cache, you park, then take an easy walk about 200' through grass. Then there's a small muddy stream about 2' wide that most people could jump over. Then you walk through trees and slight brush about 50', some kinda steep hills about 5' high, so not too bad.

 

Really the only "rough" part is getting past the stream.

 

I was able to carry and jump over it with my 4 year old daughter, although I know some people wouldn't want to do that. My girl is tough.

 

Edit: and I did add the "no strollers and no wheelchairs" attributes to the listing.

 

Also, this kind of area COULD have snakes, I mean it is near a lake and stream, but I haven't seen or heard of anyone seeing snakes. So should I list the snakes attribute, I don't want to scare people off thinking they're going into a snake pit!

 

Yes It sounds more like a 3 at the very most, probably a 2.5. If the brush is "slight" I'd just ignore it. A step is nearly 3 feet so the stream is not a factor. So its a 2 so far. Add in the 5 ft bank at the end and call it a 2.5. Snakes? I wouldn't add the logo unless you know there is an unusually high population of poisonous snakes in the area. In my opinion using that logo for water snakes, garter snakes, and such is totally unnecessary.

[+Isonzo Karst]

Remember that geocachers can be 6 or 70. A lot of thought went into the Clayjar system. I rarely modify the numbers it yields.

[+edscott]

Remember that geocachers can be 6 or 70. A lot of thought went into the Clayjar system. I rarely modify the numbers it yields.

 

Yes, but people's interpretation of the system varies. How steep is steep? How much vegetation does it take to be overgrown. Then there's the glitch where if there is no trail you still have to say how good it is.

[+TeddyR]

I would tend to agree that if a 4 year old was with you then the rating of a 4 is too high. I think a 4 tends to scare some people away from even trying. Sounds like a 2.5-3, but I live in Ohio, someone from The Rockies might call it a 1.5 .. I have noticed terrain ratings change based upon one's geographical location..

 

Snake icon? I have used it in the same type of area. Just cause!!

[+KoosKoos]

Also keep in mind that it's a very general system. I try to read through the descriptions once it spits out a rating to see if they really capture my feel for the terrain:

 

*** Not suitable for small children. (The average adult or older child should be OK depending on physical condition. Terrain is likely off-trail. May have one or more of the following: some overgrowth, some steep elevation changes, or more than a 2 mile hike.)

 

**** Experienced outdoor enthusiasts only. (Terrain is probably off-trail. Will have one or more of the following: very heavy overgrowth, very steep elevation (requiring use of hands), or more than a 10 mile hike. May require an overnight stay.)

 

Reading these, it doesn't sound like your elevation was steep enough to require hands and it may not be suitable for small children (without some adult helping). I agree with you that it's probably closer to a 3 than a 4.

[+KoosKoos]

Oh and I wouldn't worry about the snake icon unless you've seen some. I don't know about all geocachers, but I pretty much assume that if I'm going out into the woods, there's a chance I may see a snake.

[+NWMOhunter]

There are a couple caches locally that are located on public land that is VERY hilly and is a very steep walk. Crosses a couple of creeks and up and down several hills. The terrain rating is a 3. It wasn't that difficult for me to find, but I'm used to hiking hills like this so it wasn't bad. A couch potato might have rated the cache a 5+.

 

It is all in the cache placers interpretation. We had a new guy put a cache out with some SUPER tough terrain. Very long walk, bush whacking was mandatory, no trail at all and some hills and the guy listed the cache as a 1.5/1.5.

[+briansnat]

I was surprised it rated my terrain as a 4, I was going to put a 3.

 

I've found that using the rating program tends to over rate terrain between 1/2 and 1.5 stars, compared to the actual definition.

 

I just go with the definitions and rate according to them:

 

Terrain rating:

* Handicapped accessible. (Terrain is likely to be paved, is relatively flat, and less than a 1/2 mile hike is required.)

** Suitable for small children. (Terrain is generally along marked trails, there are no steep elevation changes or heavy overgrowth. Less than a 2 mile hike required.)

*** Not suitable for small children. (The average adult or older child should be OK depending on physical condition. Terrain is likely off-trail. May have one or more of the following: some overgrowth, some steep elevation changes, or more than a 2 mile hike.)

**** Experienced outdoor enthusiasts only. (Terrain is probably off-trail. Will have one or more of the following: very heavy overgrowth, very steep elevation (requiring use of hands), or more than a 10 mile hike. May require an overnight stay.)

***** Requires specialized equipment and knowledge or experience, (boat, 4WD, rock climbing, SCUBA, etc) or is otherwise extremely difficult.