To hide or Not to hide

[heather1985]

Ok so i have this spot that i want to hide a cache at. Its a truly beautiful spot with an amazing view and a slight difficulty to it i think that it would be perfect for a cache. My problem is that at night time it does turn into a spot for local teens to go and drink and smoke pot. This has resulted in a lot of graffitie and broken glass. i know that geocaching is a family sport and i know that this spotisnt exactly the best place for children. Actually for more reasons then just the glass and graffitie. it also is pretty high up with nothing to pretect someone from falling a fairly high fall into a pretty big river. This is a place i know an adult can handle but worry about families bringing their children. should i place the cache and specify that it is an adults only cache or should i place a second cache nearby that is kid friendly so the adults and children can have their fun. or should i just not place at all?

[+WRASTRO]

This is a tough question. I have found a few caches similar to what you describe. Unfortunately I usually end up with a stronger memory of the garbage and graffiti than of the otherwise cool location and view. Unless you can do some CITO on an ongoing basis I would suggest passing on the spot. Others will have different opinions and advice.

[+Hakali]

This is a tough question. I have found a few caches similar to what you describe. Unfortunately I usually end up with a stronger memory of the garbage and graffiti than of the otherwise cool location and view. Unless you can do some CITO on an ongoing basis I would suggest passing on the spot. Others will have different opinions and advice.

 

Gotta agree here. There's a new cache that got placed locally, replacing an older deactivated cache, and while it has a delightful theme I have read in the logs and heard directly from multiple cachers that GZ appears to be an unofficial bathroom area for a local transient.

 

EW.

 

You couldn't pay me to visit that cache.

[aniyn]

I've got a spot just like yours. It's in a beautiful gorge, with ruins of an old hydro dam and some very tall pilings from an old railway trestle. Unfortunately thursday night until moday it's theres a good chance it'l be filled with people drinking. The glass and trash I could live with, but combine that with the higher chances of the cache being muggled and the slim chance that some drunken asshat could start an altercation with someone I brought there made me decide to skip it. It's a shame too, I really wanted to do an underwater cache there.

Edited July 14, 2009 by aniyn

[heather1985]

its nothing like that just some broken glass and graffitie like i said. i know that it does take away from the veiw a lot but it seems that people still stop and take pictures and what not there still hasnt been one time that i have been up there and not had someone else taking a picture. its just that from the spot where most people take their pictures is away from the glass. but it still doesnt offer the best veiw and most exciting experiance. i still tell my friends when they go there that they havent been there until they make the little climb down the side to the landing that looks out over the river. unfortunitly that is where the glass is. my idea was to place 2 caches in this location one for children at the normal picture spot and one on the landing for adults. i would place the waypoint for the adult one as the regular cache coords then in the listing place the secind cache coords as a way point and specify that it is for the children. should i just give up on the idea or is this a good solution?

[aniyn]

I'm not sure how 2 caches would work. Maybe something like a reverse offset cache would be better? IE 1 cache with a second set of coordinates?

[+kunarion]

i would place the waypoint for the adult one as the regular cache coords then in the listing place the secind cache coords as a way point and specify that it is for the children.

 

Heather,

One thing I look for, is safety to search for caches. If it's a graffiti-covered area, I’ll pass since there are many nice places to choose -- and I don’t contact the owner of an unappealing cache spot about why I didn’t go there.

 

A couple of caches I've found recently are in borderline trashy/dangerous spots as you describe. One was placed new in the past couple of weeks, and after finding the third condom, I lost interest in looking.

 

At the other cache, the edge of the woods is used as an outdoor toilet. As I stepped out of the forest, a police officer approached and asked what I was doing there. He seemed generally satisfied with my "Geocaching" explanation. But he said the area is monitored by police, since "kids go back there at night to drink and party", and that they leave a mess. I also think the teens pick through the cache -- we blame other Geocachers for the low-quality of some caches, but consider who else has found them.

 

If there’s a safe, fun place to put a cache, put it there only (and hide it well). You can then include coordinates for “an even better view”, with appropriate warnings, so families can decide if they want to check it out. I think that Geocachers should never keep a cache in such teen/gang hangouts strewn with garbage (just my opinion). But it also ticks me off to no end that locals allow their beautiful hide-a-ways to become dangerous hideouts.

Edited July 14, 2009 by kunarion

[+StarBrand]

Any place that is frequented by drunken teenagers is not a good place for a cache. Not because of the broken glass or the teenagers though. Simply because it becomes highly likely the cache will go missing.

[+briansnat]

Sounds like a good place for a cache to me. Just mention the condition of area on the page so people are forewarned and you might want to ue the "not child friendly" attribute. Other than that, go for it. I'd rather find a cache at beautiful, but litter-strewn view, then on a litter-strewn road shoulder.

 

You can encourage finders to CITO the area on your cache page and even include some trash bags among the contents. Put some plastic shopping bags in film canisters, make up a CITO label and tape it to the outside of each cannister.

 

Maybe the cache can have a positive affect on the area. Just make sure you hide it well, because partying teens are often scavenging for wood for a bonfire or looking for an outdoor lavatory.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Graffito I can deal with. You sometimes find it in the greatest places. I've learnt to deal with cliffs. Here's an example of both:

Great cache! Great spot! The drop off the side of the Palisades is only a couple of hundred feet! Yes. Exercise due caution, and watch your children.

Just hid a cache near broken glass. I think it's a very interesting spot. Almost posted to the cache page "Beware of falling glass." People are slobs!

Party spots are a tougher decision. The cache is much more likely to be muggled.

If it's a really great spot, with a great view, I'll put up wth almost anything.

Is this a really great spot? Can you hide the cache so that it will last? Then go for it! But you might consider putting warnings on the cache page.

[heather1985]

thanks everyone for your advice i've decided to plant the cache and hope for the best i am ging to plant it at the spot where people normally go for pictures and add to the cache page that there is a better view. i am actually about to go scout out spots right now

[+swizzle]

I've had problems with redneck muggles in a party spot that I found. When I went there it was very nice, quiet and peaceful section of a creek. I placed a cache despite the fact that it was a considerable distance from my house. Through several emails and nasty logs I soon discovered that this was a very popular underage youth drinking spot. One cacher actually called the police and a few felt threatened. I archived the cache and a few days later picked up my cache after a couple DNF's. The cache was actually in a hollow log that the party crew had moved with there 4 wheel drive by blowing donuts in a mud hole next to the cache. I had to partial dig out and rip a hole in the side of the log to get my cache back out. If I had lived closer to the cache then I might have stopped in during a party or two and try to talk to them. Maybe even offer to remove trash if they would be kind enough to bag it for me. Just make sure that people know the possiblities of running into a more unsavory type of muggle and tell them to come back another time if anyone is there. Use the attributes to indicate that it is not kid friendly and that its along a cliff or otherwise dangerous area. I would also put it in the listing itself. Can you post a link to your cache? It should definately be a sneaky hide if you're worried about it being muggled. Up the difficulty level and everything should be good. I love the pic of the spot. I think its a great spot for a cache. Its just one of those caches that isn't for everyone. I personal don't like tiny park micro's as much as I like backwoods ammo cans. To each there own and everyone that reads your cache page should be able to determine wether or not they actually want to find it. If they're not cool with it then they can use the ignore cache feature. That's why its there. Swizzle

[heather1985]

so i placed the cache and come to find out its actually on the edges of a state park so now i am waiting to get approval for a permit. this cache is turning out to be harder then i thought but it is worth the veiw so here comes the waiting

[+ohgr]

I would, if I were you, make sure to state that the cache area is frequented at night by partying/parking kids etc. And any other issues you think someone would come across. Going into a cache informed of the special needs of the hunt is the best.

 

I've gone to caches where the hider HAD to know he placed the cache in a homeless camp, he was noted on the cache page many times, and didn't seem to care.

 

Make sure people know any issues and let them decide if they want to try it or not.

[+Sol seaker]

Very important to note that the site is a party site on the cache page.

Sometimes I like to go out caching alone, and I wouldn't want to find myself in an unsafe situation that I could avoid if I knew about it.

 

If it's in a state park (which must be the case if you've got to get a permit) then you might ask them about placing trash cans at the site. Maybe even some graffitti clean up.

 

If you really love the site you might consider placing some trash cans yourself if you're up to emptying them. (Be sure to chain them to a tree)

 

You could organize a CITO to this area. Since you love it, adopt it, and hold regular CITO's there. If so many people are taking pictures there now, it being cleaner can only draw more people. More good people may crowd out the bad.

 

Another note: you considered hiding two caches there. There are rules about hiding caches at least, .10 miles apart or 528 feet apart. Yours would be too close together. (the exception would be a multi-cache, which would ruin the reason for you having two caches)

[+Renegade Knight]

Ok so i have this spot that i want to hide a cache at. Its a truly beautiful spot with an amazing view and a slight difficulty to it i think that it would be perfect for a cache. My problem is that at night time it does turn into a spot for local teens to go and drink and smoke pot. This has resulted in a lot of graffitie and broken glass. i know that geocaching is a family sport and i know that this spotisnt exactly the best place for children. Actually for more reasons then just the glass and graffitie. it also is pretty high up with nothing to pretect someone from falling a fairly high fall into a pretty big river. This is a place i know an adult can handle but worry about families bringing their children. should i place the cache and specify that it is an adults only cache or should i place a second cache nearby that is kid friendly so the adults and children can have their fun. or should i just not place at all?

 

Nothing like random adults showing up for a spot of night caching to make teens realize that their hiding spot has been compromised.

 

Personally, I'd place the cache, encourge a little CITO, and better still encourage groups of night cachers to find it on Weekend nights and help put a damper on the ongoing vandalization and litering of the spot.

 

Mentioning all the in your cache write up, warns everone about what they are getting into. None of that changes the view.

 

Lastly parents who's kids are too small to be near a cliff edge will likely spot the cliff and take the right precautions. Your write up of the view can cover that base as well.

 

A 3 year old isn't the one who's going to look this cache up and ask the parents if they can go. The parent will read up on caches and decide to bring their kid or not.

 

Edit: Read more posts. Looks like you did most of that. Excellent.

Edited July 28, 2009 by Renegade Knight