State Park Series & handicap?

[+Pat in Louisiana]

I have volunteered to place some caches in several state parks and then let the state adopt them.

My question is this. They have requested some of them be wheelchair accessible. I don't mind this but it does limit placement. Especially in a Civil War battle field. I am curious as to the percentage of caches that use wheelchairs. I for one do not know and and have not met any. I have been doing this quite a while.

How many of you know someone that caches from a wheelchair?

Edited December 11, 2009 by Pat in Louisiana

[+BlueDeuce]

Limit placement?

 

I think this is an opportunity to place some caches that will attract some new cachers.

[+Touchstone]

I have no idea on the percentage, but I'm not sure that wheelchair use is a good yardstick. I know several cachers that are either disabled to some degree, or just have a difficult time walking. I know that some of them filter their PQ's for the Wheelchair Attribute and the 1 Star Terrains. I would think that just making them accessible would be greatly appreciated.

 

Great work with the Parks. Good luck!

[+Pat in Louisiana]

Limit placement?

 

I think this is an opportunity to place some caches that will attract some new cachers.

 

I agree with the opportunity it is just hard to hide an ammo can that is still within reach of a wheelchair.

That was one of the main requests is no small or micro caches.

[+Pat in Louisiana]

We have a cacher that has taken the initiative to contact the Louisiana Office of State Parks and worked out a plan that cover at least 37 of our state parks & historical sites.

I would love to see this in nearby states.

Do your hear that Mississippi & Texas!

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Fantastic! Great idea, I hope it spreads.

 

I lost a leg then broke my neck and so use a wheelchair any time it's feasible but usually cache on crutches. I've had to slow my caching down because the more I walk on crutches the more feeling and control I lose in my hand. I certainly wish more caches were accessible!

 

There are three of us in my local geocaching association in wheelchairs, myself and two paraplegics.

 

My friend Ric recently passed away but he was a full quadriplegic who delighted in geocaching... he would watch from his van or his mouthstick-operated electric wheelchair and delighted in watching us make the find, then we'd show him the loot and he'd use his mouthstick to make a 'signature' mark in the log.

 

As was pointed out above 'accessible' encompasses more needs than just wheelchairs, quite a lot of folks need smooth access.

 

Be sure you check out handicaching.com and please list your accessible caches there.

 

As far as hiding ammo cans in accessible places, there are sufficient hidey-holes most everywhere, you just have to slow down and look. Be creative!

 

Keep in mind that the place is the key. Like real estate it's about location, location, location! So, if there is really no place at your chosen location to hide a can then a box on a post mailbox-style is perfectly acceptable and us disabled and able-bodied alike can get to it - the location will over-ride the lack of a hunt.

 

A fake birdhouse on a tree or post near an accessible trail or parking area will work just fine!

Edited December 11, 2009 by TheAlabamaRambler

[+palmetto]

I'm aware of a number of wheelchair cachers, as well as others who use walkers, canes, and a two are towing an oxygen cylinder. Smooth easy trail is critical.

[+JBnW]

As for hiding...our state parks had another challenge this year, and a couple of them were definitely accessible. Ammo can chained (with a very hefty chain and padlock) to a kiosk, pretty much in plain sight along an ADA-compliant trail. Stuffed it full of park-related swag; maps, brochures, trinkets...the kind of stuff they give away anyway at the office. And so out in the open and obvious that muggles wouldn't bother with it. FWIW...

[+9Key]

We have a cacher that has taken the initiative to contact the Louisiana Office of State Parks and worked out a plan that cover at least 37 of our state parks & historical sites.

I would love to see this in nearby states.

Do your hear that Mississippi & Texas!

I think every one of our Texas state parks have at least one cache, and recently the parks have been placing their own caches. They also have a State Park Geo-Challenge that requires you to find x number of caches in x number of parks and you can earn a geocoin. Is that ok Pat?

[knowschad]

I think that it can be all too easy to think of wheelchair-accessable caches as being just for those with permanent disabilities, but I know of two cachers that have had to cache from wheelchair and/or crutches for a period of time because of short term injuries.

[+hairball45]

I know a wheelchair user quite well. I've slept with her for 30 + years. She's not full time in the chair but it allows her to head down trails and such that she could never do before. Wanna see a sight, watch her four wheel a power chair through a mulch trail or a grassy hill to get somewhere. She's placed a cache from the chair and plans a couple more.

[+ironman114]

My wife was on crutches for awhile after her total knee replacement. She placed a handicap accessible cache because of this. My brother is a quadriplegic so she placed it with someone like him in mind.

 

It is in a wheelchair accessible duck blind on state game management land. Because of the swampy ground, concrete trail and yearly winter floods it had to be just over four feet off the ground. So it was placed under the roof of the blind.

 

A non wheelchair visitor has a dis-advantage because they stand taller than the hiding spot and someone in a wheelchair will be able to see it clearly just above their eye level.

[+ironman114]

I know a wheelchair user quite well. I've slept with her for 30 + years. She's not full time in the chair but it allows her to head down trails and such that she could never do before. Wanna see a sight, watch her four wheel a power chair through a mulch trail or a grassy hill to get somewhere. She's placed a cache from the chair and plans a couple more.

 

Maybe she could use one of these:

 

 

Tank Chair

[+Pat in Louisiana]

We have a cacher that has taken the initiative to contact the Louisiana Office of State Parks and worked out a plan that cover at least 37 of our state parks & historical sites.

I would love to see this in nearby states.

Do your hear that Mississippi & Texas!

I think every one of our Texas state parks have at least one cache, and recently the parks have been placing their own caches. They also have a State Park Geo-Challenge that requires you to find x number of caches in x number of parks and you can earn a geocoin. Is that ok Pat?

 

Sound like a winner to me!

Most of our parks also have them.

These will all be donated to the park and maintain by them.

Edited December 12, 2009 by Pat in Louisiana

[+briansnat]

I have volunteered to place some caches in several state parks and then let the state adopt them.

My question is this. They have requested some of them be wheelchair accessible. I don't mind this but it does limit placement. Especially in a Civil War battle field. I am curious as to the percentage of caches that use wheelchairs. I for one do not know and and have not met any. I have been doing this quite a while.

How many of you know someone that caches from a wheelchair?

 

I don't personally know someone, but I know of a few. I don't think the numbers are huge though.

I'm not aware of a wheelchair using cachers finding any of my caches, though there have been thousands of finds on them. Of course I haven't asked every finder if he used a wheelchair.

 

Perhaps there aren't a lot of wheelchair using cachers out there because there aren't a lot of truly wheelchair accessible caches in interesting areas. Place a few and see what happens.

[+Team Cotati]

I don't know anyone who caches from a wheelchair. I don't know anyone who knows someone who caches from a wheelchair.

 

In all of our geocaching adventures we might have encountered five caches that were truly wheelchair accessible.

 

I think that it is really great that you will be placing some caches for this portion of the community.

 

I think that many people think that wheelchair accessible means that the path to the cache must be accessible via wheelchair. While this is of course true, you need to try and picture being wheelchair bound and when arriving at the cache location, being able to retrieve the cache, sign the log and return it.

 

Some think that there is an expectation that there will be an assistant available who would actually grab and return the container. Many virtual caches could be wheelchair accessible.

 

There just aren't that many of those around. I have heard some people say that in fact the only criteria is that the path to the cache location be wheelchair accessible. The recommended cache rating system seems to only concern itself with terrain so perhaps that is the case. Trying to locate a physical cache for a hunter who is wheelchair bound can be a good challenge, that's for certain.

Edited December 12, 2009 by Team Cotati

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Here are some of my local cachers at a recent geocaching & caving event (GC1XN1R).

 

The two in wheelchairs are myself and UglyInjun (who logs under his wife's account InstantClogger).

 

He's found 770 from his wheelchair and does NOT sit in the car and have his wife sign... he gets to every one!

 

I've found at least 200 from my chair, though I most often leave it and cache on crutches.

 

Two more are somewhat limited and can do high terrain but prefer not to.

 

I suspect that there are more handicachers out there than you might think and am certain that your ideas about accessible caches would attract many more.

 

 

Rambler gathering a crew to tackle a local night cache.

 

We don't need paved parking lots for it to be accessible!

Edited December 12, 2009 by TheAlabamaRambler

[+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking]

Its great that you are going to place caches for handicapped folks. I wish more would do that. I appreciate any information on a cache page that enables me to figure out if I can get a cache or not.

 

Im handicapped but not in a wheelchair. I can walk on relatively flat terrain short distances (a few hundred feet at a time on a good day), but cannot bend easily or reach far to get a cache. Not every handicapped person has the same limitations.

Edited December 13, 2009 by Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking

[+goodwrench00]

We have a cacher that has taken the initiative to contact the Louisiana Office of State Parks and worked out a plan that cover at least 37 of our state parks & historical sites.

I would love to see this in nearby states.

Do your hear that Mississippi & Texas!

I think every one of our Texas state parks have at least one cache, and recently the parks have been placing their own caches. They also have a State Park Geo-Challenge that requires you to find x number of caches in x number of parks and you can earn a geocoin. Is that ok Pat?

I believe Arkansas has a state park cache prog. in place also.

 

EDIT to add links

 

Arkansas State park caching

 

Park caches

Edited December 13, 2009 by goodwrench00

[+brslk]

Its great that you are going to place caches for handicapped folks. I wish more would do that. I appreciate any information on a cache page that enables me to figure out if I can get a cache or not.

 

Im handicapped but not in a wheelchair. I can walk on relatively flat terrain short distances (a few hundred feet at a time on a good day), but cannot bend easily or reach far to get a cache. Not every handicapped person has the same limitations.

 

Like TMDV above, I am also disabled (Psoriatic arthritis) and sometimes I am able to do a 3 terrain rating, sometimes barely a 1.

At this moment I am typing this with one hand because my right hand, wrist and elbow are flaring really bad and are painfully immobile.

 

I am fortunate in that I cache with my wife 95% of the time and she can do the kneeling, bending and rough stuff that I can't. (she even helped me change the radiator in my car a month ago)

If I have to get down on my knees or lower, I cannot get back up by myself.

 

With this is mind, I plan on trying to hide a few ammo cans that are handi-capable when I get the chance.

 

Bruce.

[+Pat in Louisiana]

I actually went out and surveyed three of the four State Historic sites today.

Only one looks like it will lend itself to what I am trying to do as far as being accessible.

I think a 1 mile round trip on a concrete path is doable by most. Don't you?

The other places all use pea gravel for their paths so they might be 2 x 2s or 2 x 3s.