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Playground Caches


mcrow

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There's nothing in geochacing that annoys me more than going to a cache and finding out it's on a playground.

 

Being a 32 year old male in a park seemingly scoping out playground equipment without my child present makes me and other park patrons a little nervous. Or maybe it's just me. Eitherway I hate it when people don't mark playground caches as such.

 

Personally, I'd like it to be a rule that you cannot hide caches on playgrounds (or within 100ft of one) school or not.

 

Anyone else hate these things or is it just me?

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I dislike them but not enough to call for a ban on them.

 

The biggest reason to dislike them is that little kids crawl on, over, around, through every possible crevice, around and around - add that to the natural high curisity of kids and thier observational powers and - such caches stand a good chance of being muggled.

 

Also - unless my 2 kids are with me - I'll echo that a 43 year old fat man lurking around playground equipment alone just looks bad - no matter how nice I am.

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Or you could look at maps ahead of time to see where they are, drive by without stopping, etc.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't like them either but they serve a purpose to some families to point out new parks to them that they may not have known about.

 

For me these fall into "don't have to do them all".

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Or you could look at maps ahead of time to see where they are, drive by without stopping, etc.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't like them either but they serve a purpose to some families to point out new parks to them that they may not have known about.

 

For me these fall into "don't have to do them all".

 

Sorry, I don't want to waste my time driving to a playground cache just to find out it's something I wouldn't want to do. And most maps don't tell you wether there is a playgroundt there or not and if the waypoint is in the playground.

 

That's why people should say that it's a playground cache in the description.

 

I think they have a purpose, like if your kids are caching with you they might like it.

 

If it says "playground cache" in the description I won't bother with it, my only real problem is when I show up at a cache only to find that it's on a playground.

Edited by mcrow
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Sorry, I don't want to waste my time driving to a playground cache just to find out it's something I wouldn't want to do. And most maps don't tell you wether there is a playgroundt there or not and if the waypoint is in the playground.
Maybe I'm biased. I've found a lot of caches sans GPS. I've never been surprised to discover that a cache is in a playground. After clicking on the "Google Maps" link and switching to satellite view, I can easily tell if the cache is hidden in a playground, near a playground, or elsewhere in the park.

 

For playground caches, I hunt for the cache when there aren't any kids around, and I decrypt the hints before searching. I also have my PDA out. I try to walk right to the cache location, take care of business, and keep moving. No one pays attention to people who do that. But they do pay attention to people who are trying to act stealthy.

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Sorry, I don't want to waste my time driving to a playground cache just to find out it's something I wouldn't want to do. And most maps don't tell you wether there is a playgroundt there or not and if the waypoint is in the playground.
Maybe I'm biased. I've found a lot of caches sans GPS. I've never been surprised to discover that a cache is in a playground. After clicking on the "Google Maps" link and switching to satellite view, I can easily tell if the cache is hidden in a playground, near a playground, or elsewhere in the park.

 

For playground caches, I hunt for the cache when there aren't any kids around, and I decrypt the hints before searching. I also have my PDA out. I try to walk right to the cache location, take care of business, and keep moving. No one pays attention to people who do that. But they do pay attention to people who are trying to act stealthy.

That's interesting since I've never seen a satellite view that shows detail enough to show playground equipement. Now, if you are familiar with the park you can probably tell by where the google mark is in the park whether or not it's in or near the playgound. Still, I almost always look at the google maps and they generally are not detailed enough to know.

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Sorry, I don't want to waste my time driving to a playground cache just to find out it's something I wouldn't want to do. And most maps don't tell you wether there is a playgroundt there or not and if the waypoint is in the playground.
Maybe I'm biased. I've found a lot of caches sans GPS. I've never been surprised to discover that a cache is in a playground. After clicking on the "Google Maps" link and switching to satellite view, I can easily tell if the cache is hidden in a playground, near a playground, or elsewhere in the park.

 

...

Try a google map for Bridgeport NE - tell me if any of those caches are in a playground from the sat view?? Just doesn't work most places I go.........

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That's interesting since I've never seen a satellite view that shows detail enough to show playground equipement. Now, if you are familiar with the park you can probably tell by where the google mark is in the park whether or not it's in or near the playgound. Still, I almost always look at the google maps and they generally are not detailed enough to know.
I just took a look at the satellite view of a couple cache locations in Hutchinson, MN. The highest resolution available is the 200' scale. Around here, the highest resolution available is the 20' scale. It makes a big difference.

 

Sorry. I forget that the satellite photos aren't as useful elsewhere as they are here.

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There's nothing in geochacing that annoys me more than going to a cache and finding out it's on a playground.

 

Being a 32 year old male in a park seemingly scoping out playground equipment without my child present makes me and other park patrons a little nervous. Or maybe it's just me. Eitherway I hate it when people don't mark playground caches as such.

 

Personally, I'd like it to be a rule that you cannot hide caches on playgrounds (or within 100ft of one) school or not.

 

Anyone else hate these things or is it just me?

 

I come to a playground cache, I'll keep driving to the next cache since there are usually a lot of other caches out there to do close by (at least for me there are).

 

I'll do like another post said; go back at night or when it raining.

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That's interesting since I've never seen a satellite view that shows detail enough to show playground equipement. Now, if you are familiar with the park you can probably tell by where the google mark is in the park whether or not it's in or near the playgound. Still, I almost always look at the google maps and they generally are not detailed enough to know.
I just took a look at the satellite view of a couple cache locations in Hutchinson, MN. The highest resolution available is the 200' scale. Around here, the highest resolution available is the 20' scale. It makes a big difference.

 

Sorry. I forget that the satellite photos aren't as useful elsewhere as they are here.

 

Yeah, I see that out in Cali you guys get a lot better coverage than we do. You could actually see people on some of them.

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...Being a 32 year old male in a park seemingly scoping out playground equipment without my child present makes me and other park patrons a little nervous. Or maybe it's just me. Eitherway I hate it when people don't mark playground caches as such. ...

 

Two thoughts. It's not just you. However there is nothing wrong with a guy in a playground looking for a cache. The larger problem is living in the world where a guy can't enjoy time in a park without getting glares. Seriously, if someone comes to harm a kid while you are there, you just going to let it stand? The kids safer for you being there.

 

Watching kids play is a treat in this world. It reminds us of simpler days when just running barefoot was a joy in itself, before we all took on adult responsiblites and slogged off to work, slaves to the grind.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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As the father of two small kids I love playground caches. I agree that they should be labeled as such so that those who choose not to hunt them can avoid them better. The reason for chiming in here is to say that they should NOT be banned. We had one nearby that was archived because middle aged men without kids were uncomfortable with it. Should all 5 terrain caches be disabled for people that aren't comfortable climbing a mountain or getting in a boat? I'm not comfortable with urban micros but I choose not to hunt them and I don't think they should be banned. It's a slippery slope when you disable caches to appeal to one demographic. You don't HAVE to hunt ALL caches. This particular issue is close to me because I had to fight to keep a playground cache open and my only hide is in a park with a playground but not IN it.

 

Scott

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I don't get why people want to ban caches they don't like. And I don't think (and really hope) Groundspeak ever will ban a certain hide.

 

But I do see and agree with a couple points. I am 24 and I know walking around a playground may catch me some stares, but since I am innocent I have no fear. I've really only found one. And thought it was a gutsy hide due to its proximity and easy to find nature. I know the people there saw me, but they didn't pay attention to me. I just pulled up that page and it has been out for nearly two years and never been disturbed. And maybe it has educated a few muggles along the way which is good.

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I guess my views fall in line with the majority that have spoken up so far. I hate playground caches! I don't think they should be banned, but as I run across them I'll scope them out one time and then if I don't feel comfortable with them they go on my rapidly growing ignore list.

 

As a 46 year old man I may have a right to be there, but I also realize the police have a right to question me if people start complaining (which of course they will) and that's just not something I want to deal with. If there was some middle aged man lurking around the park and I had kids playing there I'd be calling the cops too. To me the typical caching search is just too suspiciuos looking for a middle aged man in a childrens park.

 

Also, I never could understand people that love the caches requiring ultra stealth because somebody hid them within 50 feet of where there are always lots of muggles. The playground caches also fall into that category of hides that I almost always end up ignoring.

 

Thankfully this is a sport where it's not an all or nothing situation. We can all choose which elements of the game/sport we enjoy playing and ignore the rest.

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As another poster said the really sad part is that as a 40 year old man someone would call the cops just because you are in a playground with out a kid - what ever happened to your Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. Seems you are no longer free and not many are brave enough to stand up and do anything about it.

 

In South Africa we have our fair share of problems, but being 40. male and alone n a playground is not one of them. Check out NABM. I spent the better part of three hours in the park searching for the trail of micos - two of which were hidden on the slide and one on the see saw.

 

You're never too old to go on the roundabout - the swings were a bit low though!!

 

BTW I am 41.

 

This post is not meant to antagonize or start any flame wars, just a wry observation from many miles away.

Edited by trevorh7000
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- what ever happened to your Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

Consider coming at this from another perspective. It's not just about you and your right to be at a public playground. Kindly consider how your presence is making others feel. It is unusual for a man to be at a playground without a child. So when we moms see one "lurking" around, it makes us anxious for the safety of our children.

 

Yes, you have a right to be there. Yes, it is a shame that your presence makes some suspicious. I'm really sorry about that. I am. I have a father, a husband and three sons who all go Geocaching, so I am not anti-man by any means.

 

But rather than wrapping yourself in the flag and asserting your rights, it might be more prudent to do what some of these gentlemen are doing... acknowledging that it's a fallen world in which we live and deciding not to worry mothers and put themselves in suspicion. Thanks, guys.

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I am also a 32 yo guy. I like playground caches. Mostly because the kids love to play when we are there. Even if I was there alone, I would go for it. Some might worry, bit I don't need a pink license plate. I love kids too, but I try not to talk to them unless their folks are around. I don't want to encourage them to talk to strangers.

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I too don't like the playground caches but i still go and i try to look like i'm some kind of surveyor or something and i hold the gps where everyone can see it and a paper copy of that cache in hand continually looking back and forth between the two and if i don't find it right away i usually go over to the group that is watching me and explain that i am doing a treasure hunt with a gps unit and not some kind of stalker .... I show them the paperwork and the gps and you could see the worried look on their faces go away and many have asked me about the sport and got really interested to which i directed them to the geocaching.com site. I'm a 59 year old male and walking around childrens play equipment I must look somewhat out of place.

Joe

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There's nothing in geochacing that annoys me more than going to a cache and finding out it's on a playground.

 

Being a 32 year old male in a park seemingly scoping out playground equipment without my child present makes me and other park patrons a little nervous. Or maybe it's just me. Eitherway I hate it when people don't mark playground caches as such.

 

Personally, I'd like it to be a rule that you cannot hide caches on playgrounds (or within 100ft of one) school or not.

 

Anyone else hate these things or is it just me?

 

It is a very bad idea to search for a playground cache with one of these shake flashlights.

 

Flashlight

;)

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It is a very bad idea to search for a playground cache with one of these shake flashlights.

 

Flashlight

:D

;)

 

I feel funny when I go to my daughters school and the kids run up and hug me. (1st grade.) They hug the moms so is it ok for me to hug them? So far I haven't really. I just pat them on the back when they grab me for a hug. It stinks that we have to look out of place and feel funny. I should just hug them and say heck with it.

Edited by Knight2000
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There's nothing in geochacing that annoys me more than going to a cache and finding out it's on a playground.

 

Being a 32 year old male in a park seemingly scoping out playground equipment without my child present makes me and other park patrons a little nervous. Or maybe it's just me. Eitherway I hate it when people don't mark playground caches as such.

 

Personally, I'd like it to be a rule that you cannot hide caches on playgrounds (or within 100ft of one) school or not.

 

Anyone else hate these things or is it just me?

 

So don't go find them. If we start banning every cache some group dislikes, we will have no caches left. There are plenty of caches I won't visit because I would be viewed with suspicion there (or worse). I'm all for better cache descriptions so folks can better zoom in on the caches they want to hunt, but banning caches is not a solution.

 

As a mother of a small child, I am cautious of everyone in any public place we are. I am always vigilant in watching my child, as well as watching the behavior of others, and assessing possible threats and points of ingress and egress. Yes, the sheeple will judge who is a threat based on demographics instead of behavior -- their little brains can more easily tell what sex, race, or age one is than whether one is behaving in a way that should raise red flags. That's true anywhere -- which is why, as I said, there are places I won't cache.

 

--Susan

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Or you could look at maps ahead of time to see where they are, drive by without stopping, etc.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't like them either but they serve a purpose to some families to point out new parks to them that they may not have known about.

 

For me these fall into "don't have to do them all".

 

Sorry, I don't want to waste my time driving to a playground cache just to find out it's something I wouldn't want to do. And most maps don't tell you wether there is a playgroundt there or not and if the waypoint is in the playground.

 

That's why people should say that it's a playground cache in the description.

 

I think they have a purpose, like if your kids are caching with you they might like it.

 

If it says "playground cache" in the description I won't bother with it, my only real problem is when I show up at a cache only to find that it's on a playground.

 

I have to agree with that one. I wish the Cache hider would do all my exploring for me so that I always know exactly what to expect at the Cache site.

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Sorry, I don't want to waste my time driving to a playground cache just to find out it's something I wouldn't want to do. And most maps don't tell you wether there is a playgroundt there or not and if the waypoint is in the playground.
Maybe I'm biased. I've found a lot of caches sans GPS. I've never been surprised to discover that a cache is in a playground. After clicking on the "Google Maps" link and switching to satellite view, I can easily tell if the cache is hidden in a playground, near a playground, or elsewhere in the park.

 

For playground caches, I hunt for the cache when there aren't any kids around, and I decrypt the hints before searching. I also have my PDA out. I try to walk right to the cache location, take care of business, and keep moving. No one pays attention to people who do that. But they do pay attention to people who are trying to act stealthy.

That's interesting since I've never seen a satellite view that shows detail enough to show playground equipement. Now, if you are familiar with the park you can probably tell by where the google mark is in the park whether or not it's in or near the playgound. Still, I almost always look at the google maps and they generally are not detailed enough to know.

I guess it depends on the area you are looking at...I've been able to spot individual people on the Satelite/Ariel images in some places.

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That's interesting since I've never seen a satellite view that shows detail enough to show playground equipement. Now, if you are familiar with the park you can probably tell by where the google mark is in the park whether or not it's in or near the playgound. Still, I almost always look at the google maps and they generally are not detailed enough to know.
I just took a look at the satellite view of a couple cache locations in Hutchinson, MN. The highest resolution available is the 200' scale. Around here, the highest resolution available is the 20' scale. It makes a big difference.

 

Sorry. I forget that the satellite photos aren't as useful elsewhere as they are here.

 

Plus, of course, the satellite photos can be several years out of date.

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There's nothing in geochacing that annoys me more than going to a cache and finding out it's on a playground.

 

Being a 32 year old male in a park seemingly scoping out playground equipment without my child present makes me and other park patrons a little nervous. Or maybe it's just me. Eitherway I hate it when people don't mark playground caches as such.

 

Personally, I'd like it to be a rule that you cannot hide caches on playgrounds (or within 100ft of one) school or not.

 

Anyone else hate these things or is it just me?

 

Being a middle aged man, I am also uncomfortable searching a playground alone for a cache, so I drag along my son for cover. I have been struggling with a local playground cache that must be hidden in a piece of playground equipment, based on the coordinates. Around the equipment is just an open flat area with wood chips. On the underside of the plastic equipment are these big plastic "plugs" that cover holes that expose the bolts used to construct it. After fruitlessly searching everywhere else I am starting to think that it may be hidden inside the plastic body itself under one of these plugs. Several were loose enough to remove and replace with my fingers, but others are too tight and would require a large screwdriver to pry them off. Many of them are marked up like have been pried off before, probably by other geocachers. I am still trying to build up the gumption to show up with a big screwdriver and start prying, but what do other people think about hiding a cache that requires searchers to use tools to pry open, and possibly damage, public playground equipment. I am not comfortable with it, but really can't officially complain until I actually find the dern thing, maybe it isn't inside at all. But even if it isn't, it encourages people to open up the plugs to look for it. Is this a common hiding technique for playgrounds? Any thoughts? Bad hide, or frustrated newb complaining?

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Sorry, I don't want to waste my time driving to a playground cache just to find out it's something I wouldn't want to do. And most maps don't tell you wether there is a playgroundt there or not and if the waypoint is in the playground.
Maybe I'm biased. I've found a lot of caches sans GPS. I've never been surprised to discover that a cache is in a playground. After clicking on the "Google Maps" link and switching to satellite view, I can easily tell if the cache is hidden in a playground, near a playground, or elsewhere in the park.

 

For playground caches, I hunt for the cache when there aren't any kids around, and I decrypt the hints before searching. I also have my PDA out. I try to walk right to the cache location, take care of business, and keep moving. No one pays attention to people who do that. But they do pay attention to people who are trying to act stealthy.

That's interesting since I've never seen a satellite view that shows detail enough to show playground equipement. Now, if you are familiar with the park you can probably tell by where the google mark is in the park whether or not it's in or near the playgound. Still, I almost always look at the google maps and they generally are not detailed enough to know.

I can almost always tell it's a playground without even looking at the satellite view. When there's a cache symbol in a conspicuous hole in a residential area, what do you think it's going to be?

(The rest of my commment is edited out, since I just read your last found log and it is now apparent that your OP was either an outright troll or you've done a complete about face)

Edited by hukilaulau
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Sorry, I don't want to waste my time driving to a playground cache just to find out it's something I wouldn't want to do. And most maps don't tell you wether there is a playgroundt there or not and if the waypoint is in the playground.
Maybe I'm biased. I've found a lot of caches sans GPS. I've never been surprised to discover that a cache is in a playground. After clicking on the "Google Maps" link and switching to satellite view, I can easily tell if the cache is hidden in a playground, near a playground, or elsewhere in the park.

 

For playground caches, I hunt for the cache when there aren't any kids around, and I decrypt the hints before searching. I also have my PDA out. I try to walk right to the cache location, take care of business, and keep moving. No one pays attention to people who do that. But they do pay attention to people who are trying to act stealthy.

That's interesting since I've never seen a satellite view that shows detail enough to show playground equipement. Now, if you are familiar with the park you can probably tell by where the google mark is in the park whether or not it's in or near the playgound. Still, I almost always look at the google maps and they generally are not detailed enough to know.

I can almost always tell it's a playground without even looking at the satellite view. When there's a cache symbol in a conspicuous hole in a residential area, what do you think it's going to be?

(The rest of my commment is edited out, since I just read your last found log and it is now apparent that your OP was either an outright troll or you've done a complete about face)

 

Talk about a trll. You have no idea.

 

I found the rocket hill cache today which is actually over 200 ft away from a playground plus I had my daughter with and we went to play on the playground after we found the cache. As others have noted Google maps do not zoom to that level of detail in all places, I have yet to see one in MN that zooms to that level.

 

In the future you may want to keep your snark to yourself unless you know what you are talking about. How is what I said a troll? I just stated I don't like them to be right on the playground and I think people should note in the description if it is on,/near a playground. I don't care if others like playground caches or not, if you like them good for you but I don't and I'm not the only one.

Edited by mcrow
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I am in the south metro of the Twin Cities and for this area Google Maps does a great job on zooming in to see playground equipment. I have 2 kids, 8 and 5, so have used this to scout for new parks even before starting geocaching.

 

I've looked at parks in Apple Valley,Eden Prairie and Burnsville and have not been able to tell if there were playgrounds there or not. You can clearly pick out ball fields, tennis courts and basketball courts but playgrounds are more tricky. I can see big spots of what looks like it could be sand but it could be an unpaved parking lot for all I know.

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Being a 32 year old male in a park seemingly scoping out playground equipment without my child present makes me and other park patrons a little nervous.

 

Ooo. I see your point. I'm an over-the-hill female, so I don't get stinkeye the way males do. Plus, none of the parks I've gone to so far have had the cache near the playground itself....usually it's out by the softball field.

 

But I do worry about being a female poking around in strange bushes in secluded corners. We have a lot of homeless folk around here, and I don't particularly want to get in an altercation.

 

I've been seriously considering purchasing an orange safety vest, orange cap (like the one from geocaching.com) and one of those trash sticks. Most people ignore the lowly folk who are obviously picking up garbage and sticking it in a bag. As long as you ignore the kids and continue picking up the trash, you shouldn't have creeped out parents glaring at you.

 

As for satellite photos.....I've been pretty pleased with Google Earth. I've been able to zoom in on the backyard of my house and friend's houses to the degree that I can see the cars in the driveway and even mailboxes. We used Google Earth to scrutinize the area where a pilot friend of ours met his demise on a mountain. :P Provided the playground was built in the past five years, it ought to give you a pretty good idea if there's playground stuff there.

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...Being a 32 year old male in a park seemingly scoping out playground equipment without my child present makes me and other park patrons a little nervous. Or maybe it's just me. Eitherway I hate it when people don't mark playground caches as such. ...

 

Two thoughts. It's not just you. However there is nothing wrong with a guy in a playground looking for a cache. The larger problem is living in the world where a guy can't enjoy time in a park without getting glares. Seriously, if someone comes to harm a kid while you are there, you just going to let it stand? The kids safer for you being there.

 

Watching kids play is a treat in this world. It reminds us of simpler days when just running barefoot was a joy in itself, before we all took on adult responsiblites and slogged off to work, slaves to the grind.

 

I agree with knight. I cache alone most of the time and should be able to search with out getting the look. But these day's waht can you do.

 

Last weekend I was caching near a playground in a little wood strip area. A father with two daughters ask me if I was geocaching. I said yes and we had a nice conversation about caching. He heard about it but knew very little. His girls also were excited about treasure hunting. I gave them both a little toy from my treasure bag and continued my search. Maybe their dad will be a future geocacher.

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I know where a cache is near me - I've known since before I bought my gps - it's in a sandbox in a park near me.

but I haven't braved it yet, even though I'm female - because I know parents are going to think I'm loony for digging around in the sand!!!

 

maybe I'll be brave this weekend.

or find a random kid to use as a beard!

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There's nothing in geochacing that annoys me more than going to a cache and finding out it's on a playground.

 

Being a 32 year old male in a park seemingly scoping out playground equipment without my child present makes me and other park patrons a little nervous. Or maybe it's just me. Eitherway I hate it when people don't mark playground caches as such.

 

Personally, I'd like it to be a rule that you cannot hide caches on playgrounds (or within 100ft of one) school or not.

 

Anyone else hate these things or is it just me?

 

How do we go about making a rule like this. I think that many geocachers would agree.

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I have been struggling with a local playground cache that must be hidden in a piece of playground equipment, based on the coordinates. Around the equipment is just an open flat area with wood chips. On the underside of the plastic equipment are these big plastic "plugs" that cover holes that expose the bolts used to construct it. After fruitlessly searching everywhere else I am starting to think that it may be hidden inside the plastic body itself under one of these plugs. Several were loose enough to remove and replace with my fingers, but others are too tight and would require a large screwdriver to pry them off. Many of them are marked up like have been pried off before, probably by other geocachers. I am still trying to build up the gumption to show up with a big screwdriver and start prying, but what do other people think about hiding a cache that requires searchers to use tools to pry open, and possibly damage, public playground equipment. I am not comfortable with it, but really can't officially complain until I actually find the dern thing, maybe it isn't inside at all. But even if it isn't, it encourages people to open up the plugs to look for it. Is this a common hiding technique for playgrounds? Any thoughts? Bad hide, or frustrated newb complaining?

Like this?

 

kapaaaabh.jpg

 

BTW- It was assumed that I placed mine in playground equipment. The park my cache is in has no playground equipment.

Edited by Knight2000
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I have been struggling with a local playground cache that must be hidden in a piece of playground equipment, based on the coordinates. Around the equipment is just an open flat area with wood chips. On the underside of the plastic equipment are these big plastic "plugs" that cover holes that expose the bolts used to construct it. After fruitlessly searching everywhere else I am starting to think that it may be hidden inside the plastic body itself under one of these plugs. Several were loose enough to remove and replace with my fingers, but others are too tight and would require a large screwdriver to pry them off. Many of them are marked up like have been pried off before, probably by other geocachers. I am still trying to build up the gumption to show up with a big screwdriver and start prying, but what do other people think about hiding a cache that requires searchers to use tools to pry open, and possibly damage, public playground equipment. I am not comfortable with it, but really can't officially complain until I actually find the dern thing, maybe it isn't inside at all. But even if it isn't, it encourages people to open up the plugs to look for it. Is this a common hiding technique for playgrounds? Any thoughts? Bad hide, or frustrated newb complaining?

Like this?

 

kapaaaabh.jpg

 

BTW- It was assumed that I placed mine in playground equipment. The park my cache is in has no playground equipment.

 

Actually these are bigger plugs about 4 inches in diameter. What do people think about requiring people to pry off pieces of playground equipment to find a cache? Does that fall under the guideline "Caches that deface public or private property, whether a natural or man-made object, in order to provide a hiding place, a clue or a logging method."?

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What do people think about requiring people to pry off pieces of playground equipment to find a cache?

 

Seems to me that would fall under defacing property, and may get you hauled in for vandalism.

 

I have no problem with caches in playgrounds, but I don't see any reason for placing them on or among the equipment itself. That stuff is there for kids to play on. Surely there are more suitable locations on the playground perimeter? Nearby trees, bleachers, fences?

 

I sometimes carry a micro recorder for making field recordings. I've recorded the sounds of playgrounds, and always expected a squad car to pull up after a few minutes of lurking suspiciously. Geocaching will actually give me a more acceptable excuse for hanging about the playground than "tape recording the kids."

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I have been struggling with a local playground cache that must be hidden in a piece of playground equipment, based on the coordinates. Around the equipment is just an open flat area with wood chips. On the underside of the plastic equipment are these big plastic "plugs" that cover holes that expose the bolts used to construct it. After fruitlessly searching everywhere else I am starting to think that it may be hidden inside the plastic body itself under one of these plugs. Several were loose enough to remove and replace with my fingers, but others are too tight and would require a large screwdriver to pry them off. Many of them are marked up like have been pried off before, probably by other geocachers. I am still trying to build up the gumption to show up with a big screwdriver and start prying, but what do other people think about hiding a cache that requires searchers to use tools to pry open, and possibly damage, public playground equipment. I am not comfortable with it, but really can't officially complain until I actually find the dern thing, maybe it isn't inside at all. But even if it isn't, it encourages people to open up the plugs to look for it. Is this a common hiding technique for playgrounds? Any thoughts? Bad hide, or frustrated newb complaining?

Like this?

 

kapaaaabh.jpg

 

BTW- It was assumed that I placed mine in playground equipment. The park my cache is in has no playground equipment.

 

I only asked if it was playground equipment and then I said if it was I'd not look for it. It looked like the base of slide or something and with your post earlier in this thread indicating that you were inspired to hide a playground cache I don't think it was unreasonable to ask.

 

Let me just say for clarity. I have no problem with a cache in the same park as playground equipment. I just don't see the need to hide things on or in close proximity to the playground equipment.

 

I am quite certain that if you saw me near the slide in a playground your daughter was playing in you would not be happy. I'm an overweight, bald guy with a scruffy, greying beard. It is not unusual for me to go caching with A GPS, camera, and a bag full of dime store toys, swag. If some young mom flags down the local politzei I'm gonna have a grand time explaining just what it is I'm doing there. The situation is easily avoided. I just put these caches on my ignore list. Any time I come upon one I just don't get out of the car. It sucks that I have to do that but it is the reality of the world we live in. It would be nice if there was an attribute to filter out caches that are on or close to playground equipment. It would be even better if they didn't exist. Take your kids to the park. Find the cache and then go play on the swings on the other end of the park.

 

Edit to add that this is the picture that caused me to ask if it was on playground equipment.

japaiaabh.jpg

Edited by gof1
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Actually these are bigger plugs about 4 inches in diameter. What do people think about requiring people to pry off pieces of playground equipment to find a cache? Does that fall under the guideline "Caches that deface public or private property, whether a natural or man-made object, in order to provide a hiding place, a clue or a logging method."?

In the case of my cache, the holes were there. They did not have plugs. I bought the plugs. A tool is not needed to remove them.

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I have never even seen one at a playground. Lots on the other side of the park, but not on the playground. I think that a rational person would realize that the kids would likley find and destroy it in short order. Even as impressive as those two pictures are, Kids would likely find them,.

 

Where I live (Calgary Alberta Canada) we can see enough detail in the sat pictures to see the equipment. With microsoftes Live Maps, I can even see the lights on top of a police car that is frequently parked behind my house.

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I was approached by a "concerned mom" at a playground just last week. I wasn't Geocaching, and I even had my son with me. Some people are so scared of middle-aged males they should see a therapist. (and yes, I know the other words you can create out of the word "therapist"). :anitongue:

 

I appreciate that people should keep an eye on other people's children when in public places, but be reasonable, folks!

 

And back OT, yeah, I hate playground caches.

Edited by J-Way
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There's nothing in geochacing that annoys me more than going to a cache and finding out it's on a playground.

 

Being a 32 year old male in a park seemingly scoping out playground equipment without my child present makes me and other park patrons a little nervous. Or maybe it's just me. Eitherway I hate it when people don't mark playground caches as such.

 

Personally, I'd like it to be a rule that you cannot hide caches on playgrounds (or within 100ft of one) school or not.

 

Anyone else hate these things or is it just me?

 

How do we go about making a rule like this. I think that many geocachers would agree.

Many geocachers would agree to ban many kinds of hides because they feel uncomfortable in that area or perhaps they think the cache is unsafe. We get calls all the time to ban caches in parking lots or next to green transformer boxes or too close to busy streets. If there were to be rules for every cache someone is uncomfortable with they would soon be no places left to hide caches.

 

There is really nothing to be concerned about when looking for a cache near a playground so long as you are sticking to geocaching. Sure if you are searching when there are children around you might have an overly suspicious parent get concerned enough to approach you or even call the police. But my guess is that if you are looking for a geocache your are not acting like a pedophile would be acting. You're actually trying to avoid contact with the children in order to find the cache. If the cache is hidden where you couldn't retrieve it while children or any other muggles are around then you should come back a different time to find the cache anyhow. I would imagine a bigger problem looking for a cache in the bushes in the park than at the playground. What happens if a child were to follow me into the bushes and a parent sees that? At least on the playground equipment everything is in sight of the parents so they know you haven't done anything wrong. Let's ban hides in bushes in parks where there are children.

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Again, I'm not against people hiding caches on playgrounds but I am against people not stating that they are on playground equipement in their cache description.

 

For people like me who often travel 60+ miles while caching I'd prefer not to have drive to 3-4 along the way just to find out they are playground caches. As some people have pointed out you can use google maps to tell for some if they are in playgrounds but in my area that is a pretty rare thing.

 

I'm no advocating banning them, just making a general policy of noting playground caches.

 

No, we should not as adult males have to worry about people seeing us as a threat around children but that's what it has come to these days. Some people are more or less suspicious but I think many parents are uncomfortable with adult males hanging around playgrounds.

 

Yes, you can come back at off hours but again when you are driving a ling distance to cache there's a good chance you wont get to come back.

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Personally, I'd like it to be a rule that you cannot hide caches on playgrounds (or within 100ft of one) school or not.

 

Anyone else hate these things or is it just me?

 

Id love to see that rule and I'm not even a male. But even I get funny looks and people moving closer to their children as I walk back and forth trying to zero in.

 

My male geocaching friend doesn't get the playground caches without me along, but one does not always know. You're downloading 30 caches, to look up each one on google earth is tedious to say the least. And what about single males? it's just not fair to them.

 

my biggest complain with them is there are ALWAYS muggles around.

I don't cache at night. It's not always safe for a woman to be in parks at night alone.

 

Also these caches are more likely to be muggled because kids are all over everything.

 

I think it's just a dumb idea.

(I accidently wrote dump idea at first. That too.)

 

But I guess there are a few that are really dumb ideas for caches. A list of guidelines might be better that covers these things.

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Personally, I'd like it to be a rule that you cannot hide caches on playgrounds (or within 100ft of one) school or not.

 

Anyone else hate these things or is it just me?

 

You're downloading 30 caches, to look up each one on google earth is tedious to say the least. And what about single males? it's just not fair to them.

 

So you want a rule to protect you from caches you don't like because you're too lazy to use all the information available to help you make an informed decision? There are cache types I don't like, but I've never advocated banning them because I always read the cache pages and usually look at the maps. Over 2000 times I've decided to look for the cache. Maybe a few hundred times I've decided not to hunt for one based on readily available information about it. Occasionally I've arrived at a cache site and decided not to get out of the truck. In that case, I just drive on.

As for "fair" to single males, I'm not even sure what that means. I don't own a kayak. Does that mean it's not "fair" that people place caches on islands?

OK, I'll give you this: I'd like to see a playground icon added to the attributes. You would still have to read the cache pages though. What a drag.

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