Making a cache accessible for travlers

[+NYPaddleCacher]

bittens thread about requiring a DNF before providing a hint got me thinking, mostly because it seem that several responses seemed to elude to an issue that I had with that practice.

 

That is, by requiring a DNF prior to being provided a hint (rather than including an encrypted hint on the cache page) for those traveling through an area or a caching a great distance from home, it might mean the difference between finding the cache and not at all.

 

As I have cleared out a fairly wide radius around my home coordinates I am finding that a much greater percentage of my finds happen while I'm traveling. For the last 100 caches I've found, only 53 of them are in my home state and a good percentage of those are over 30 miles away. If I can't find a cache there's a good chance that I may not be in the area again in the near future, thus requiring contact with the CO to get a hint (whether I post a DNF or not) isn't much help.

 

Rather than pick on bittsen for his idea (if you want to pick on bittsen, do it in another thread) I thought a discussion on practices which make a cache conducive to traveling cachers might be useful. Obviously, easy park and grabs are one way to place a cache that can be frequently found by cachers traveling through your area, but are there other ideas for what one can do (or should not do) that provides a cache that the local community can enjoy as well as those which might only be passing through with a limited amount of time.

[knowschad]

A Big One: Parking coordinates. What seems obvious to a local can sometimes be very difficult and confusing to a visitor.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

In the case of a TB Hotel I think the point is easy access to a cache to swap TBs, so I hold them to a different standard. The one on my front porch can be seen from the street... since I live near an airport and two Interstates I thought it was a good location to swap bugs through.

 

Normal caches, however, generally have more of a hunt built into their purpose. Not to be found, however, isn't one of them... so I put my contact info on the cache listing and share it with our PAF network.

 

I want people to find my caches, even the difficult ones. I give them the ability to make their own decisions; if they want to come back, fine. If they want to log a DNF, fine. If they want to call me and ask me for a clue, fine. If they still can't find it and call back asking exactly where it is, that's fine too.

 

That puts all the control in the hands of the cacher. I have no desire to regulate how they play.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Oh, but picking on blitzen is fun!

Anything I try within 35 miles, and DNF, I may well attempt again.

As knowschad notes: parking coords are good. Directions on how to get to them would be better. Gupy will take us to the nearest road, which, sometimes, is not the proper way to get to the parking...

As mentioned elsewhere, we went on a state-coloring trip recently. (My sister colored in nine states. We colored in five.) I doubt I'll ever go back again to look for my DNFs. (Though one was one that we DNFed two years ago, on a different trip.) We picked easy terrain caches, near the highways we'd be travelling. Some with a bit of difficulty. Lots of cache and dashes. 87 finds. 14 DNFs. What went wrong? Mostly maintenance issues. 3 or 4 definitely gone. 3 not found since we were there, 2 of which I'm sure are gone. 2 match containers replaced by nanoes with no mention of the fact. A few just stumped us. (Found a couple of 4 difficulty. DNFed a 1.5) A little higher than my usual DNF rate, but we also had time restraints and poison ivy.

Even the maintenance issues were fairly recent, so I'm not faulting the COs. I suspect that some were not rated properly. And we felt very out of place checking out the air conditioning unit at the University, especially with the grad students playing with their robots nearby (but that had a high difficulty rating.)

My suggestion, therefore, is to rate your cache properly, and make sure your coords are good!

[+BlueDeuce]

...

 

Nevermind

Edited July 23, 2009 by BlueDeuce

[+flask]

'k. today is 23 july, i think. according to my notes, i am caught up in my logging to about four o'clock in the afternoon on 12 may.

 

on may 22 i was caching in, oh, let's just say, ithaca NY while STILL ON THAT SAME CACHING TRIP. i left home on may 1 and came back on may 25. over the course of that time i emailed at least one owner for a hint to a cache.

 

i'm still working on the logs.

 

requiring me to have logged my DNFs before getting those hints would have made the difference between finding the cache and not.

 

anyone requiring me to log a DNF now instead of in its proper order will not be getting a log of more words than are absolutely required.

 

left to my own devices i get around to making proper logs in the proper order (helps me remember the caches).

 

you can have something like this, or you can have "DNF."

[+geodarts]

When I am traveling, it is generally with my noncaching family so I have limited time to look for a cache. The terrain/difficulty levels help me to decide whether to do it. But generally if the name is entertaining or the location seems promising I will try to stop. I am not looking for numbers, but something that makes it worthwhile to stop. And if it is a virtual or earthcache I will go out of my way to get it.

 

With that said, a good hint can sometimes make the difference if my wife is waiting in the car on a hot day. I want people to find my caches and if I am traveling I will look for caches where it seems the owner has the same kind of attitude. If I a hint says "no hint is necessary" I will usually figure they don't care and move on down the road. If it says to email the owner, its obviously not traveler friendly and I move on.

 

I don't pay much attention to parking waypoints. Sometimes, of course, the gpsr navigator will put me on the other side of an obstruction and I will have to figure it out from there. But its all part of the trip.

 

So to make a cache accessible on a trip, provide some reason for me to visit it and make it a fair hide.

[+Von-Horst]

...practices which make a cache conducive to traveling cachers might be useful..

 

From our experience, an interesting sounding cache title that makes it 'pop' out of the hundreds on the geocaching map, and a description that tells us a bit about the area or what there is to see is always useful.

 

When travelling, there are hundreds of potential caches to choose from each day, and it is nice when the owner has made the effort to 'sell' his/her/their cache.

 

Mike

[+niraD]

When I'm traveling, I tend to seek either quick finds or destination caches. The quick finds are just that: caches I can grab quickly when I have time, without inconveniencing the people I am with. The destination caches are those that can serve as a destination for a group hike, even if I'm the only one in the group that cares about the cache that's placed there. Most destination caches feature scenic locations, but last summer my (non-geocaching) wife and I did a night cache together, and after the hot day, we enjoyed walking in the cooler night air.

 

For destination caches, it helps to know what the hike is really like, in more detail than the terrain rating offers. Three or four miles on a paved or well-groomed trail is very different from a few hundred yards over uneven, rocky ground, even if they might both receive the same terrain rating. And it helps to have coordinates for recommended parking, trailheads, etc.

 

When I know my plans well enough in advance, I like to solve some of the local puzzle caches in advance, hoping that the solved coordinates for some of them will work out so I can find the cache when I'm there.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

 

When I know my plans well enough in advance, I like to solve some of the local puzzle caches in advance, hoping that the solved coordinates for some of them will work out so I can find the cache when I'm there.

 

I do the same thing. I solved a 5 star difficulty cache at a location where I knew I was going to be staying overnight on the way to Maine. It was in place almost a month before a group of three cachers got the FTF. I found it about a week later and nobody else has found it since.

 

I like the idea of picking out "destination" caches as well. On a previous trip through several of the New England states I found the oldest caches placed in Rhode Island and Connecticutt. I only found 4-5 other caches during the trip but finding those two old caches was worth more than a dozen rest stop caches.

[Dj Storm]

I travel by public transport only (trains or planes), and use public transportation in destination cities.

My family doesn't cache, and if I'm with someone else the hunt usually ends with a DNF.

 

What I do is look for some regular traditionals within the city limits, not disabled and without a streak of DNF's. Because of their sizes these usually are in unpopulated parks. I go alone to search for those either early in the morning or late in the evening.

The reason why I look for regulars is moving trackables. When I carry a trackable on a long trip, I want to place it in a cache, and because of my limited time I can't afford searching in busy areas, or searching for smalls in which the TB's won't fit.

If I stay in a town longer, and my agenda isn't full, then I will search for other caches that look interesting from the description and logs, that require a long hike or have a high terrain rating.

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

A Big One: Parking coordinates. What seems obvious to a local can sometimes be very difficult and confusing to a visitor.

 

Along the same lines, how about Trail Head coordinates. I recently did one in a New York State park/campground where I was camping, so parking wasn't the issue. I thought I found the right point in, but after nearing the cache, I found the shorter, easier way in.

[+The Leprechauns]

Less than 45% of my finds are in my home state, so this subject is of interest to me.

 

In addition to what's already been posted:

 

Please disclose any entrance fees. I planned a stop in a County Park 200 miles away that I had heard good things about. I wanted to drive in, tour the park, find one cache and leave for my destination many hours away. When I found out that a day visit cost $5.00, I hunted the micro in the parking lot across the street from the park entrance and got back on the highway. I won't pay $5.00 to visit a park for 30 minutes. Sure, local residents all know to buy an annual park pass. Visitors are blissfully ignorant.

 

When giving directions, don't rely on local knowledge. "Turn off on the gravel road right after the lot where the bowling alley used to be until it burned down."

 

When giving hints, don't rely on local caching history and customs. "If you found my Evil Hides Series #42, you'll know just where to look for this one" or "hidden in the style of BillyBobCacher's Camo Caches." Ummm, it's my first and only day in your state, so that wasn't helpful.

[+Snoogans]

Oh, but picking on blitzen is fun!

 

Yeah but Rudolph is the easier target!

 

[knowschad]

In addition to what's already been posted:

 

Please disclose any entrance fees.

 

When giving directions, don't rely on local knowledge.

 

When giving hints, don't rely on local caching history and customs.

 

I've had issues with all three of those in the past. And you don't need to be on vacation or that far from home to encounter them, either.

 

Re: Entrance fees: Even if I'm willing to pay the fee, often those are of the "stuff the money in the envelope" sort of fee, and if all I have is a $20 bill and the fee is $5, I'll be driving past.

[+Snoogans]

Less than 45% of my finds are in my home state, so this subject is of interest to me.

 

I'd say a fair amount of mine are outta state too though I haven't taken the time to figure the percentage. I tend to hunt mostly when I'm 100+ miles from home.

 

I also own caches outta state and the best formula for me as a finder and a hider has been convenience. Easy parking, short hike, clear hint = less instances of No Joy.

 

Any time you get more than a mile off of a highway there's no tellin' what you will have to do to make a find and get back under way in short order, so I'm always prepared for that when I have time to stray.