Jump to content

Full time traveler making caches?


Recommended Posts

so, im just getting into caching, and im not traveling, YET, but when i do, can i make caches and ask nearby geocachers to look for it, and after i have left send them a youtube video that is a cache "dossier" that explains the cache, how its hidden, and how its built?? and ask them to take care of it??

 

Im still researching into the cache rescue system, but yea, can ppl who travel set caches and assign them to locals?

Link to comment

Darn!

and its not vacation, ill be living in a travel trailer.

the US will be my caching location!

 

Edit -

It also says =

If you have special circumstances, please describe your maintenance plan on your cache page. For example, if you have made arrangements with a local geocacher to watch over your distant cache for you, that geocacher’s name should be mentioned on your cache page.

 

So, is it not acceptable if i find a local, or, two, who has set caches, that is willing to take over mine for me?

Or, does it depend on if i get a nice reviewer?

Edited by FightingDrag
Link to comment

Woot!

 

ok, so that i can place catches when i travel is awsome.

 

im thinking of making my own logo'd geocaching stickers, and using those on my cache, 1.50 for 1 sticker is alot when i can get a giant online printer organization to print a bunch for 5 dollars

 

Is this allowed? or must the stickers have the geocache logo?

Link to comment

Woot!

 

ok, so that i can place catches when i travel is awsome.

 

im thinking of making my own logo'd geocaching stickers, and using those on my cache, 1.50 for 1 sticker is alot when i can get a giant online printer organization to print a bunch for 5 dollars

 

Is this allowed? or must the stickers have the geocache logo?

You can do what ever you want to your cache. Go ahead spray paint it, put stickers, put in a few "donate to cause" flyers, put it in a patch of poison ivy if you want! You can do anything you want as long as it is within the guidelines, which are extremely lenient. Remember though, you have to prove you have someone who is willing to take care of the cache for you. If the cache breaks it has to be fixed, whether you do it or someone else does.

Link to comment

....ay paint it, put stickers, put in a few "donate to cause" flyers, put it in a patch of poison ivy if you want! You...

 

PLZZZZ no, i got poison oak on my cache a few days ago, it itches horribly!!!

 

:lol::unsure:

 

but, i got a bunch of caches and had a blast on that trip, so it was well worth it

:P:laughing:

Link to comment

If you have a plan to maintain the cache, then it might be publishable, but check with the local reviewer ahead of time just in case.

 

What you positively shouldn't do is hide the cache, move on, then look for someone to maintain it. If you are going to do it make sure you have someone lined up ahead of time and mention who it is in a note to reviewer on the cache page when you submit it. It would also be nice to give him credit on the cache owner information line. E.g. A cache by FightingDragon, maintained by GeoBain.

 

But why this urge to sprinkle caches all over the country that you probably will never see again? Surely the locals are better qualified than you to hide caches. They are more likely to know the best spots, they are more likely to know the local rules and regulations (if any).

 

You may find the greatest place for a cache and not know that park does not allow caches, or that you are on private property. The locals will.

 

And how do you know that the person you select to maintain your cache will do so to your standards? Do you really want your name connected with a cache that has fallen into disrepair because your maintainer left the sport or is too lazy to fix it?

 

You are best off finding the great caches placed by the locals and leaving the hiding to them.

Link to comment

I would make friends with the local cachers go out with them to hide a cache if they so desire and then let them be the primary owner of the cache and you could be the secondary owner. That way they get all the notifications of the cache and own the cache so when you move on to a new spot never to return to maintain it the cache is actually taken care of.

Link to comment

When I read the topic, I thought you were wanting to hide the cache in like 5,000 B.C. and wanted to ask the best way to get coordinates 7,000 years before there were GPS satellites. :P

 

I thought the same thing. I was excited for a minute there thinking that Doctor Who was using the TARDIS to place caches.

Link to comment

vacation caches: within the confine of the forum... forbidden... or highly discouraged. even suggesting that you'll do a vacation cache will get you flamed and people hinting that you are "bad for the game".

 

vacation caches: in reality, not sure they are the least bit discouraged, i've seen a few pop up in town by people who clearly live elsewhere - or certainly not within 500+ miles. of course, the entire backstory to why the cache is placed and owned by someone who lives a great distance away isn't given on release of a cache... who knows, maybe they are good buddies with the reviewer, or relatives or other known entity to a sacred cow who is vouching for them.

 

i would say try it, i don't believe it is a banishment if they say "NO"

Link to comment

Just wondering if you actually read the guideline yourself before making this post?

 

So here it is again, in its entirety.

It may be difficult to fulfill your maintenance obligations if you place a cache while traveling on vacation or otherwise outside of your normal caching area. These caches may not be published unless you are able to demonstrate an acceptable maintenance plan. It is not uncommon for caches to go missing, areas to be cleared, trails to be blocked or closed, objects used for multi-cache or puzzles to be moved or removed, etc. Your maintenance plan must allow for a quick response to reported problems.

 

The territory in which a geocacher is able to maintain caches responsibly will vary from one person to the next. An active geocacher who regularly visits areas hundreds of miles apart can demonstrate their ability to maintain a cache 100 miles from home. A geocacher whose previous finds and hides are all within 25 miles of their home would likely not see their cache published if placed 250 miles away from their home.

 

If you have special circumstances, please describe your maintenance plan on your cache page. For example, if you have made arrangements with a local geocacher to watch over your distant cache for you, that geocacher’s name should be mentioned on your cache page.

 

"May be difficult", "may not be published" "have special circumstances" certainly sound like discouraging words to me.

I would think that hiding a container that may not be published, and will simply become geotrash is bad for the game, don't you?

 

Some geocachers have wider ranges than others, some arrange for locals to maintain their caches before placing them. This too is covered in this guideline, and following this guideline is a good way to get your caches published. I don't see anything in there about being best buddies with the reviewer helping your cause. In fact it's been my experience that the reviewer's buddies are sometimes held to a slightly higher standard just to avoid knucklehead comments like that. :P

Edited by wimseyguy
Link to comment

I got an email from a cacher who had been in the area on vacation. Could I maintain a some caches in the area for him that he'd placed without realizing the guidelines didn't allow such things?

 

Sure, I think to myself, what's a couple more caches, and if I say 'No' they're just gonna be geo-litter!

 

So, SIX caches later, here I am maintaining a bunch of micros in spots that could, for the most part, supported much bigger caches. :P One was placed on land that the manager asks you get explicit permission, most of the rest on land that now does.

 

Don't get me wrong, the CO is attentive enough, he's sent replacement containers when one kept disappearing. (That one's now archived. Very high traffic. . .) It just happens that one was the furthest from home for me, in fact I only own one cache that is further.

 

Once the caches were published, I heard from a couple cachers (at least one of whom didn't know I was the maintainer) commenting on the fact that a bunch of micros were now blocking out some really cool spots. Let's just say they were not happy.

 

What to learn from this?

  • Like Brian said, it is very useful to know what land management policies are. Locals will know this information, you likely won't.
  • Don't leave a mess for locals to clean up.
  • If you find a local maintainer, be specific about what it is you are asking them to maintain. Quantity, size, locations, etc.
  • Some people will liken your hiding a micro in their area to you using the neighbor's back yard as a bathroom.

Link to comment
Not to hijack this post but is it verboten to do a vacation cache if its an earthcache?

It isn't like I would be doing any maintenance - don't think the park service would appreciate it if I did.

Vacation caches (or rather caches located far from your home coords) are not forbidden at all. In fact, I used to have 2 caches over 6 hours from my home.

 

The key is to have a maintenance plan in place prior to hiding it. In my case, we travelled up there 2 or 3 times a year to see my wife's aunt. Her nephew also lived there and agreed to do the maintenance if needed. I left some logs and the one time I had an issue, he went over within a week and swapped the log out for me. Easy.

 

The problem with most caches like this is that people tend to hide them and THEN start asking for help after they are long gone and the cache needs maintenance.

 

The other problem, especially in big tourist areas like Hawaii, is that so many people do this that the locals get sick of people asking them to look after their caches.

 

I know of several people who work construction that live in travel trailers. They will live in an area for a year or so at a time. If this is the OP's situation, then I can understand why he would want to do this. I would probably agree to maintain someone's cache in this situation.

 

But if the OP is simply travelling around the country and is only in an area for a week or so at a time, he probably should just enjoy finding caches and wait until he finally returns home to hide caches.

 

And I included a link to the guidelines in my original post. All of the OP's questions are answered in the maintenance section of the guidlines.

Link to comment

Not to hijack this post but is it verboten to do a vacation cache if its an earthcache?

It isn't like I would be doing any maintenance - don't think the park service would appreciate it if I did.

 

I don't recall if there is anything specific in the guidelines but I know someone (that lives in Ithaca, NY) that's really into earthcaches and fairly recently placed on in Belize.

 

It's probably worth mentioning that "maintenance" goes beyond just maintaining a physical container. You also need to maintain the cache page listing. If, for example, you required someone to answer a question (as is required for Earthcaches) from information obtain on a sign near the cache, and that sign was removed or replaced, you'll need to make some changes to the cache listing to properly maintain the cache.

 

From the guidelines:

 

"The cache owner will assume all responsibility of their cache listings.

 

The responsibility of your listing includes quality control of posts to the cache page. Delete any logs that appear to be bogus, counterfeit, off topic, or not within the stated requirements."

Link to comment

so, im just getting into caching, and im not traveling, YET, but when i do, can i make caches and ask nearby geocachers to look for it, and after i have left send them a youtube video that is a cache "dossier" that explains the cache, how its hidden, and how its built?? and ask them to take care of it??

 

Im still researching into the cache rescue system, but yea, can ppl who travel set caches and assign them to locals?

Check out GeoTruckers.com, a website for travelers who agree to look after each others caches.

Link to comment

Not to hijack this post but is it verboten to do a vacation cache if its an earthcache?

It isn't like I would be doing any maintenance - don't think the park service would appreciate it if I did.

 

There is no limitation on the Earthcache submittal guidelines.

http://www.geosociety.org/earthcache/guidelines.htm

 

You can also create Waymarks while on vacation.

 

Gotta make sure every Starbucks gets tagged. :laughing:

Link to comment

 

Once the caches were published, I heard from a couple cachers (at least one of whom didn't know I was the maintainer) commenting on the fact that a bunch of micros were now blocking out some really cool spots. Let's just say they were not happy.

 

What to learn from this?

  • Like Brian said, it is very useful to know what land management policies are. Locals will know this information, you likely won't.
  • Don't leave a mess for locals to clean up.
  • If you find a local maintainer, be specific about what it is you are asking them to maintain. Quantity, size, locations, etc.
  • Some people will liken your hiding a micro in their area to you using the neighbor's back yard as a bathroom.

 

of course you be carefull and research

 

the point of this game in my opinion is to get amazing places discovered, and if i was blocking a nice spot, all someone has to do is msg me and i will archive it in a heartbeat.

 

speaking of archiving, 2 questions

1. if a cache that you discovered is archived, do you still get the count for it???

2. when a cache is archived, you can still look at its page (learned this first hand) its just removed from the map, right?

 

 

Vacation caches (or rather caches located far from your home coords) are not forbidden at all. In fact, I used to have 2 caches over 6 hours from my home.

 

The key is to have a maintenance plan in place prior to hiding it.

 

The problem with most caches like this is that people tend to hide them and THEN start asking for help after they are long gone and the cache needs maintenance.

 

I know of several people who work construction that live in travel trailers. They will live in an area for a year or so at a time. If this is the OP's situation, then I can understand why he would want to do this. I would probably agree to maintain someone's cache in this situation.

 

 

You hit this on the head, I will be traveling from place to place, staying 3-6 months at a time, or more if i still want to keep looking around. thinking of becoming a traveling nurse.

 

And yes, thats a obvious, FIND someone BEFORE you set one.

 

If you are really a time traveller, then you should be able to jump into the future to see if and when the caches will require maintenance, hence, you can be fully prepared for those occasions, right?

 

Is this anything like what you drive?

 

back-to-the-future-car-dolorean.jpg

 

this is what i LOL'd to, LOVE the responce, YES I WILL BE TIME TRAVELING!!!!

 

 

so, im just getting into caching, and im not traveling, YET, but when i do, can i make caches and ask nearby geocachers to look for it, and after i have left send them a youtube video that is a cache "dossier" that explains the cache, how its hidden, and how its built?? and ask them to take care of it??

 

Im still researching into the cache rescue system, but yea, can ppl who travel set caches and assign them to locals?

Check out GeoTruckers.com, a website for travelers who agree to look after each others caches.

 

TY!! signing up here soon

 

 

Not to hijack this post but is it verboten to do a vacation cache if its an earthcache?

It isn't like I would be doing any maintenance - don't think the park service would appreciate it if I did.

 

There is no limitation on the Earthcache submittal guidelines.

http://www.geosociety.org/earthcache/guidelines.htm

 

You can also create Waymarks while on vacation.

 

Gotta make sure every Starbucks gets tagged. :laughing:

 

was gona make some Wherigo caches, but i like that, ill just tag starbucks instead. make a "starbucks cache" system.

 

LOL

 

 

TY for all the responces guys, keep them coming.

great ideas

Link to comment

If you are really a time traveller, then you should be able to jump into the future to see if and when the caches will require maintenance, hence, you can be fully prepared for those occasions, right?

 

Is this anything like what you drive?

 

back-to-the-future-car-dolorean.jpg

 

ETHICAL DELIMA!!!!! If I travel forward in time and find a cache that my future self has hidden can I log that find as found on the website if my current self was not aware of the hide in my native time period???

 

If my past self logs a find on my present self's hides should I allow the log to stand if they didn't know about the hide in their native time period???

 

:shocked::laughing:

Link to comment

When I read the topic, I thought you were wanting to hide the cache in like 5,000 B.C. and wanted to ask the best way to get coordinates 7,000 years before there were GPS satellites. :laughing:

 

I thought the same thing. I was excited for a minute there thinking that Doctor Who was using the TARDIS to place caches.

 

J:"Who Are you?"

D:"The Doctor. People just call me The Doctor"

J:"Just The Doctor? What are you Doing here?"

D:"I'm here to Place a Geocache."

J:"Whats a Geocache?"

D:"It's something that Everyone will be doing in 2000 Years"

J:"Yeah, and I'm Jesus."

D:"But you ARE Jesus"

J:"I Know."

D:"So, can I place it over here?

J:"Yeah, Whatever."

*2000 Years Later*

Reviewer: "I'm sorry, but your cache is only 501 feet from "The Doctor Placed a Cache Here by Jesus(GCHAHA)". It needs to be at least 528 Feet from another cache. Also, IF this cache was actually placed tha tlong ago, then I need to assure that this cache is not Buried, and is still available."

D:"DRAT"

J:"I'm glad that The Doctor told me about Geocaching. This is so much Fun."

 

The Steaks

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...