Another "winter friendly" question.

[+skullsoup432]

I've been shying away from caches that have attributes marked, but not the snowflake. I kinda figured that if the cache owner took the time to mark certain attributes, but neglected the snowflake, that, well, maybe they would rather me not leaving traces (footprints) of a search. Or, of course, the cache is unfindable or inaccessible during the winter.

 

I realize that owners prolly don't have the time or inclination to mark EVERY attribute that applies to their cache.

Then too, living in a heavy snow belt area, maybe the owners just figure it is a given that cachers are gonna be looking for a fix, even in a foot of snow with single digit temperatures.

 

So, is it rude to look for caches if the snowflake attribute is not shown?

 

Thanks.

 

PS When I do leave footprints, I try not to make it obvious as to my actual destination.

[+Crow-T-Robot]

Normally, if an owner doesn't add the snowflake icon, it's because they feel the cache isn't winter "friendly". All caches can be found in the winter (with enough effort) but a micro hanging from a branch in a tree is a heck of alot easier to find than an ammo can sitting on the ground under two feet of snow. The one hanging in a tree would probably have the snowflake icon. The cache on the ground, probably not.

 

It's certainly not rude to hunt caches without the snowflake icon...just be prepared to work harder for them.

 

Then too, living in a heavy snow belt area, maybe the owners just figure it is a given that cachers are gonna be looking for a fix, even in a foot of snow with single digit temperatures.

 

Indeed. Hardcore cachers are deterred by very little when it comes to weather. I've cached when the mercury has dipped to -15° or hovered around 95 with high humidity. I've cached during snow storms, rain storms, wind storms, lightening storms, you name it. I'm more inclined to cache on the beautiful days, sure, but if I get the itch, I don't let the weather stop me.

[Dj Storm]

The attribute can have one of the following values: "Winter friendly", "not winter friendly" and "not chosen".

 

If the attribute is set to "winter friendly", most likely the cache can be found without extra effort.

 

If the attribute is set to "not winter friendly", either the area is inaccessible due to snowfall, or the cache is hidden close to the ground and hard to find under snow. Compare the current weather to the average of the past years, then decide if you want to attempt finding the cache or not. I have found such caches in December before the heavy snowfalls. In April the same caches were sitting under 10 feet of snow.

 

If the attribute is not set, then probably the situation is between the two described above. The cache might be findable when the snow is 1 foot thick, but unfindable in 3 feet of snow.

In my area, it is rare for the snow to be one foot deep, and usually it melts within a week or two. For my caches that are above the snowline, or can be found easily under the snow thanks to a good hint, I set the attribute to "winter friendly". For the caches that are on the ground, I left the attribute not chosen, since most of the winter they can be found easily.

[+StarBrand]

I don't know why anybody would be offended if you searched for any cache that either had or did not have that attribute set.