PLEASE watch where you step!

[+Sioneva]

Talk about lessons in watching where you step...

 

I stepped on a cactus near Valentine, NE, last Friday. It went through shoe, sock, and into foot.

 

Does that count?

[+bflentje]

This doesn't even seem like something that really needs to be said or that the vast majority of geocachers would need a no-no list for. What are we, toddlers?

 

Carolyn

 

Yep. But not me of course.

 

BTW, glad to see you decided to come on back to the forums after your very brief "I'm outta here" last week.

[+power69]

On the other hand, if somebody walks through a flowerbed, and crushes the flowers that I planted there, we'd also rightfully call those destroyed, even though, at a cost to the owner (a cost that the owner does not deserve, of course), they could be quickly and easily replaced. Destroyed, of course.

Didn't we all get swatted by our mothers when we were seven or eight for doing this?

But mothers plants didn't have a 35mm film cannister with a slip of paper in it!

[Luckless]

OK, I realize I'm preaching to the choir here, but I need to vent for a minute.

 

If you're caching around landscaping, PLEASE watch where you step. I was contacted by a VERY pi**ed off business owner. I placed a cache in a little park area that is surrounded by businesses. You could grab the cache without stepping off of the sidewalk.

 

The business owner saw someone trampling the flowers (I hadn't realized that he was doing the landscaping, even though it's a public green space, I guess he "adopted" it) and went out and asked them what they were doing.

 

The cacher in question told them "Geocaching" and explained it to him, and he was NOT amused. He created an account, contacted me, and was less than understanding.

 

I'll spare you the gory details, but I hope all of us will be careful where we step.

 

There are so many things you have to think of when you are placing a cache. Don't assume geocachers are going to naturally take care. You really have to consider damage when placing a cache. I was amazed with my first cache when after a few days I looked over and saw what looked like every inch of the area had been swept through (scorched earth policy?) Luckily the cache was in a place where it would not make a difference. I do try to consider all possiblilities now when placing a cache and I check back on them too to be sure no one is abusing the area. If it looks like there might be a problem it is out of there. I just removed one cache from a stone wall that looked as though the wall had been slightly dismantled- a few rocks were pulled out. Moved it to a tree that later appeared to have a couple broken branches- maybe from cache hunters or maybe not....so now the cache is at home. I'm still looking for a good place to put it.

[Luckless]

I have seen way too many cachers trample flowers, pull out plants, and all sorts of ridiculousness to retrieve a cache.

Its pathetic. Haven't any of these guys heard of Leave No Trace?

I feel that there should be a day, like CITO day that would teach geo-cachers not to hurt plant life in their quest.

 

A Leave No Trace Day sounds good to me. I'd like to see people encouraged to learn to appreciate to beauty of undisturbed nature.