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Authorized Vehicles?


shenry11

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Today, I was going to find a cache in a public park. I had looked for this one before, but could not find it. The cache is located a few feet from a "service road". The entrance to the service road is clearly marked that it is for authorized vehicles only. I found a good parking spot .32 miles from this cache. I was starting to walk to it, when a van pulls into the road, and very slowly starts making it's way to the cache. Perhaps they were not geocaching, perhaps they were bird watchers? Either way, I felt frustrated by that, and decided to head back to the car. So am I taking this too seriously? If a road says "authorized vechicles only", are we not as responsible cachers supposed to respect that? Besides, I saw at least one park ranger, and one city police car in the park. Why are they not where you want them to be, when you want them there!?! I am curious what others think. Thank! BTW, I was able to find three other caches this morning, so the morning was not a bust by any means!

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Just because someone else chose to ignore the sign doesn't give you the green light to do the same. Two wrongs don't make a right.

 

.32 miles is not a very far walk. And the walk is often the best part of some caches.

 

My recommendation is to go with your morals and do what feels right for you.

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If a road says "authorized vechicles only", are we not as responsible cachers supposed to respect that?

No. As law abiding human beings we're supposed to respect that. Being geocachers doesn't make any difference.

 

Having said that, all I can say is, if they're destroying some habitat, or even if it doesn't but you feel like it, report their license plate to the park authorities. Either way, no point getting all upset about it since it doesn't make any difference to the trespassers how you feel about it.

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How do you know that their vehicle wasn't authorized?

 

I have authorization to drive on roads in some areas where you would not. There's nothing on my vehicle that would indicate that. And there are areas around me that have are marked "authorized vehicles" where it's possible to pull a handicapped permit and drive in or other special use permit to drive in.

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How do you know that their vehicle wasn't authorized?

 

I have authorization to drive on roads in some areas where you would not. There's nothing on my vehicle that would indicate that. And there are areas around me that have are marked "authorized vehicles" where it's possible to pull a handicapped permit and drive in or other special use permit to drive in.

 

Exactly.. lots of parks have volunteers that have access to areas beyond the public parking lot. Representatives of groups holding special events might be there to do advance planning or set up. Besides in my book, a 5 or 6 minute walk is a good thing. B)

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Today, I was going to find a cache in a public park. I had looked for this one before, but could not find it. The cache is located a few feet from a "service road". The entrance to the service road is clearly marked that it is for authorized vehicles only. I found a good parking spot .32 miles from this cache. I was starting to walk to it, when a van pulls into the road, and very slowly starts making it's way to the cache. Perhaps they were not geocaching, perhaps they were bird watchers? Either way, I felt frustrated by that, and decided to head back to the car. So am I taking this too seriously? If a road says "authorized vechicles only", are we not as responsible cachers supposed to respect that? Besides, I saw at least one park ranger, and one city police car in the park. Why are they not where you want them to be, when you want them there!?! I am curious what others think. Thank! BTW, I was able to find three other caches this morning, so the morning was not a bust by any means!

 

Yesterday I went for a cache that has been on my todo list for awhile. The recommended parking coordinates are 2.15 miles from the cache but I knew of a alternate approach that looked like it was closer. There is a small spot to park 1-2 vehicles about 3/4 of a mile down a seasonal road. The first stage of another cache (which I had already found) is right next to parking area and the *usually* gated road. When I got there yesterday the gate was open so I continued down the road. After a few hundred feet I saw a vehicle next to an area which is currently being logged, but didn't see anyone else around. I decided to turn around and park outside the gate then headed for the cache (1.7 miles away). I walked down the road which was partially covered in snow and ice just over a mile before heading into the woods and bushwacked to the cache the last .64 miles. I found the cache then headed toward the last weypoint I set on the way and found sort of a trail back to the road. When I got back to my car the gate was closed and locked. I'm glad that I parked outside the gate and put in the extra walking distance or I might still be there.

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First you don't know that the vehicle wasn't authorized and second you don't know that it was occupied by geocachers.

 

I do find it strange that it so upset you that you returned to your car. Had you continued on and discovered that it was indeed geocachers there without authorization, you could have made your displeasure known to them.

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Thank you for the responses. I should also clarify a little. I had looked for the cache before, so I know to within just a few feet where the cache is. I parked my car 1/3 mile from the cache, but it is open fields almost to the cache, so I could see the general cache area from my car. When the van started pulling in, authorized or not, I thought dang, they are going to look for the same cache, and I really want to find this particular one on my own, so I'll let them have it this time. I think that I was more frustrated that someone else was possibly going for the same cache that I was, but since they were much closer to it than I was, they "beat" me. In level of frustration, it was maybe a 2 on a 1-10. I was also running out of time, and didn't want to wait for them to finish. I have written an e-mail in the past about meeting other cachers, and I am not afraid or unwilling to do that, but this particular cache "got the best of me" the first time, and I want to find it all by myself. I walk 2-3 miles every day, and so the walk is not an issue. That is one of the great things that I like about geocaching, is that it gives me great opportunity to walk in the woods.

 

My main purpose in writing my original post was not really to "flame", but more out of a curiosity to see how people feel about driving on roads marked "authorized personnel only", or in a similar vein, going on private property where the people that placed the cache might not have indicated that they have permission from the owner. Thanks!

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My main purpose in writing my original post was not really to "flame", but more out of a curiosity to see how people feel about driving on roads marked "authorized personnel only", or in a similar vein, going on private property where the people that placed the cache might not have indicated that they have permission from the owner. Thanks!

 

I can't say for sure what I'd do in that situation since I've never been in that situation. But if I compare to a similar situation like seeing someone at the mall go thru a door labeled authorized personnel only then I'd say I really wouldn't think much of it unless I noticed something out of place or I had a reason to believe that they were "up to something". Then if I did think they were up to something it would be a judgment call if I confront them, call the number on the sign if there is one or call the authorities. This hypothetical situation is to general to have a simple and single answer.

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My main purpose in writing my original post was not really to "flame", but more out of a curiosity to see how people feel about driving on roads marked "authorized personnel only", or in a similar vein, going on private property where the people that placed the cache might not have indicated that they have permission from the owner. Thanks!

As I geocacher I would NOT drive on roads clearly marked "authorized personnel only".

 

But as a non-geocacher I spent the entirety of last week driving on such posted roads through the desert between Indio and Blythe, California. We were in a rented Toyota Highlander with no official markings. We were there on official business, but had you seen our vehicle you would have assumed we were trespassing.

 

We encountered only one other vehicle on a posted road south of Chiriaco Summit. It was early in the morning, and the occupants were apparently asleep on our first pass through the area. It started rocking while we were up on the hill behind them taking field measurements, but surprisingly it stopped moving and no-one was visible when we drove back out. I wonder what they were doing?

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My recommendation is to go with your morals and do what feels right for you.

 

This is my general recommendation as well but typically add "as long as you are not hurting or effecting someone else."

 

Therefore, if you choose to drive on an "authorized vehicles" road, that is your choice and you are the one that will pay the consequence if you get caught. However, if you are caching and get caught then you may be the reason that the property manager creates restrictive policies on geocaching.

 

I have seen several situations where it is the irresponsible few that get activities banned for the majority. I am a strong believer that as a community if we as cachers see other cachers breaking rules we should voice our disapproval and implement some peer pressure to get them to do the right thing, so that the community as a whole does not pay the consequences.

 

This topic did remind me of a funny story: A few years back I got a call from some friends that where out caching. They were following the arrow on their GPS and they pulled off onto an "Authorized Vehicle" road and stopped when they saw the sign. As they were looking at the map they looked up and saw a ranger was sitting behind them. The ranger came over his PA and said "I Authorize You".

Edited by GEO.JOE
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For a couple of years I organized the annual picnic of a club I belong to. We rented a pavillion at a county park. Part of the rental agreement stated I could bring one vehicle at a time to the paviliion for unloading and loading in support of the event. For that period of time, it was an authorized vehicle.

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Today, I was going to find a cache in a public park. I had looked for this one before, but could not find it. The cache is located a few feet from a "service road". The entrance to the service road is clearly marked that it is for authorized vehicles only. I found a good parking spot .32 miles from this cache. I was starting to walk to it, when a van pulls into the road, and very slowly starts making it's way to the cache. Perhaps they were not geocaching, perhaps they were bird watchers? Either way, I felt frustrated by that, and decided to head back to the car. So am I taking this too seriously? If a road says "authorized vechicles only", are we not as responsible cachers supposed to respect that? Besides, I saw at least one park ranger, and one city police car in the park. Why are they not where you want them to be, when you want them there!?! I am curious what others think. Thank! BTW, I was able to find three other caches this morning, so the morning was not a bust by any means!

First, I find your post very confusing. While it is clear that you were/are feeling irritated and annoyed about something, I am not at all sure what it is that you are feeling irritated and annoyed about. The overall sense of confusion and disorientation which permeates the entirety of your post grossly overwhelms and eclipses any information about the exact source or genesis of your irritation, and yet, even with the sense of confusion and disorientation, I am not at all sure what you feel confused or disoriented about.

 

And now, a few questions that beg to be asked after I have rad your post four times in an attempt to decipher its meaning:

  • It seems that you are somehow concerned about the presence of the vehicle on the road. Why are you so concerned about its presence? Are you assuming that it was not an authorized vehicle? Are you a law enforcement officer whose duty it is to patrol this road? In other words, why was it even your business that the vehicle was present?
  • For the life of me, even after reading your post five times, I cannot figure out why you have assumed that the vehicle was operated by a geocacher and that she/he was seeking the cache in question. That string of assumptions seems like a major leap in faith and logic.
  • Why are you so concerned that you saw at least one park ranger and at least one city police officer in his/her car in the park? Your post does not make at all clear why you mentioned these facts, nor why they hold significance and importance for you.
  • Again, I remain entirely confused about the source of your frustration, and also about the etiology of the confusion which rings loud and clear in your post.

That about sums it up!

 

.

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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