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ET highway


CherryPi

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Hi guys

 

I'm considering trying to do the ET highway cache trail in the summer - would be great to do this as a small group to share costs and experiences etc. Would anyone out there be interested In this?

 

Drop me an email/ reply to discuss further

 

Claire

 

Ps I'm a teacher so I'm looking early August

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A little searching the forums and a guess that it's this:

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=252344&st=0

 

If it is, I am undecided if I would find a trail of that length fun. Possibly best as part of a group as you are looking to do, the way I struggle to spot caches sometimes I'd probably never return from the desert for perseverance of looking for that many if I was alone. But for sure it is something I cannot look at doing in the near future, I struggle even to find the coins for the batteries for my GPS right now :P

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A couple of little dots and mentioning it wasn't in the UK would have described the quest so much more accurately. :blink:

 

Having done the UK Skeg to Ness series as I wasn't feeling up to walking far at the time 200 was enough, think 1000 would be the ultimate bore.

 

Not that I'm likely to ever cache outside the UK. :D

 

Good luck with your quest :D

Edited by Malpas Wanderer
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Pick the months carefully, it gets hot in Desert in August.

 

There are other places around that might also be worth visting, like Valley of Fire, Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley, Zion National Park, Grand Canyon and of course Las Vegas, if you get tired of doing the Power Trail thing.

I am planning a trip with a few GC buddies in late April in an attempt to beat the heat, and we are mixing it to up to get the best caching experience.

 

Have fun..

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Hi guys

 

Yep should have given more details - my apologies!!

 

I'm quite used to the heat as I've been heading out to Vegas for a while, but it is a loooong trail to consider. I think I'll put the plans on hold for a while and see how things develop with the authorities.

 

Thanks

 

Claire (Cherrypi)

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Hi Claire

I rode the ET Highway last year in May and I loved it. We spent the morning at the crazy little diner in Rachel and it really was something else.

The thing was I did not know about Geocaching at the time so I missed a great opportunity. I posed for my picture in front of the sign and it has a GEO sticker on it that is when my friend explained what geocahing is to me.

 

I would certainly be interested in a return trip so please keep me informed of any plans you make. Email me off forum by all means.

 

It will be very hot in August but hot is good!

 

Jane

 

Email me

 

Hi guys

 

I'm considering trying to do the ET highway cache trail in the summer - would be great to do this as a small group to share costs and experiences etc. Would anyone out there be interested In this?

 

Drop me an email/ reply to discuss further

 

Claire

 

Ps I'm a teacher so I'm looking early August

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Hi All

It's been a few years since I've posted in the UK Forums, since we've been in the US, actually living in Las Vegas for 3 years.

Although we know the guys concerned Clay4 and Whtwolfden, I would caution attempting this trail in the summer and looking at the ruckus it is currently causing, we'd definitely stay away.

But for those of you who might consider it still, here's a few facts.

Southern Nevada has temperatures above 100F for what they term the 100 days of summer, from Memorial Day (May) to Labor Day (Sep). The region is typically over 3,000 above sea level, that's the height of Mt Snowdon. Humidity is typically below 10%RH and the UV levels in the summer are such that you will burn in about 10 minutes.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our caching in the US and having a 4x4 used to cache the desert dirt roads (I use the term as Nevadans would; UK bridleways are better quality than some Nevada dirt roads)but please don't underestimate the logistics of such a trip.

Check out the log on Feb 13 on ET 1021, it's quite an honest opinion. Here

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This trail, well to be more exact noticing that UK cachers had started doing it was what made me stop chasing numbers. In that sense I'm glad it exists. Looking forward to going out at the weekend. Don't care if I get 1 or 10 caches. If nothing takes my fancy, we will just have a nice walk instead. Guess I'm caching like the majority of cachers now.

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Oh dear... It seems that one of my geocoins has just been dumped in E.T. 001, which already contains 24 other trackables. It would seem that those folks attempting this series aren't interested in taking travellers so I guess I'll just have to write that one off.

<_<

I wouldn't lose hope so quickly. The cache has only been in place since May last year, but 239 trackables have been logged in and only 25 are currently in situ. Sounds like a pretty good turnover rate.

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Oh dear... It seems that one of my geocoins has just been dumped in E.T. 001, which already contains 24 other trackables. It would seem that those folks attempting this series aren't interested in taking travellers so I guess I'll just have to write that one off.

<_<

I wouldn't lose hope so quickly. The cache has only been in place since May last year, but 239 trackables have been logged in and only 25 are currently in situ. Sounds like a pretty good turnover rate.

 

Which is pretty strange stats for a MICRO. I've done several Clay4 caches and without checking I would say the vast majority, if not all, have been Bison Tubes, and the roadside ones are usually in mile marker posts, fence posts or cattle grids.

However all 25 of the trackables in the MICRO have been placed there by the same person????

It's very strange that a couple of Canadians fly from Nova Scotia to Las Vegas (about 2700 miles), drive about 120 miles out of the city to get only about 120 caches and then back to Vegas to fly back to NS, all without doing any caches in the Vegas area???

And why drop 25 trackables in a Micro?

 

In my book very strange....

Edited by careygang
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Beaver Pelt hasn't logged many caches in the area, but he visited with another NS cacher who logged hundreds. I suspect that Beaver Pelt is only part way through logging; quite understandable as it looks to be a pretty big task! As for the trackables, no doubt they'll soon be logged into their current locations. But it's not impossible that they just "visited" ET 001.

Here's a bookmark list for the first 500 ET caches.

 

The odd thing to me is that there are no hints to the caches and yet people frequently report that a cache has been blown away so they've replaced it. Perhaps the hide is always the same so no hint needed?

 

But it must be tempting to search for ten seconds then place a replacement and declare the cache "found", leading to a scattering of containers in the area.

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But it must be tempting to search for ten seconds then place a replacement and declare the cache "found", leading to a scattering of containers in the area.
From reading the main thread about this, I don't think many "finders" waste as long as 10 seconds before chucking down another one!

 

Rgds, Andy

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Oh dear... It seems that one of my geocoins has just been dumped in E.T. 001, which already contains 24 other trackables. It would seem that those folks attempting this series aren't interested in taking travellers so I guess I'll just have to write that one off.

<_<

Only one geocoin in the cache now. I think you were a bit hasty writing that one off!

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Oh dear... It seems that one of my geocoins has just been dumped in E.T. 001, which already contains 24 other trackables. It would seem that those folks attempting this series aren't interested in taking travellers so I guess I'll just have to write that one off.

<_<

Only one geocoin in the cache now. I think you were a bit hasty writing that one off!

 

Indeed, it would seem so :lol:

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Oh dear... It seems that one of my geocoins has just been dumped in E.T. 001, which already contains 24 other trackables. It would seem that those folks attempting this series aren't interested in taking travellers so I guess I'll just have to write that one off.

<_<

Given THIS from the US side of the forums:

Posted Today, 06:06 PM

The E.T. Series (1027 caches spaced about .1 mile apart) and the Route 66 Series (800 similarly spaced caches) have written a new chapter in the Book of Geocaching: Ultimate Power Caching.

 

They have also created two sub-chapters:

 

Cache Swapping

Leapfrogging.

 

Cache Swapping (or Moving) is the practice of picking up a cache, replacing it with one that has a log you or your group has signed, and signing the log as you drive to the next cache, where you will repeat the process.

 

Leapfrogging is the practice of having two or more cars working together and alternating caches, for example one car gets all the even numbered caches and the other car gets all of the odd numbered caches.

 

... Your Geocoin could be working it's way along the series. :blink:

Edited by Bear and Ragged
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They have also created two sub-chapters:

 

Cache Swapping

Leapfrogging.

 

Cache Swapping (or Moving) is the practice of picking up a cache, replacing it with one that has a log you or your group has signed, and signing the log as you drive to the next cache, where you will repeat the process.

 

Leapfrogging is the practice of having two or more cars working together and alternating caches, for example one car gets all the even numbered caches and the other car gets all of the odd numbered caches.

 

 

 

All seems against the guidelines to me. :ph34r:

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But it must be tempting to search for ten seconds then place a replacement and declare the cache "found", leading to a scattering of containers in the area.
From reading the main thread about this, I don't think many "finders" waste as long as 10 seconds before chucking down another one!

 

Rgds, Andy

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I did the E.T. run and we did it the "true to us" way. We found all the caches except for maybe 5 (which we replaced as per CO instructions). Not bad, 5 out of over 1K. We did spend longer than 10 seconds looking for some of the caches. I remember it very well because my fingers and toes were FROZEN!!! There was about an inch of snow on the ground (in places) at the begining of the run which...of course...was in the dark. What made this run easier was that almost all of the caches were hidden at a spot that was to become a "trend" to us as we went along.

 

We did NOT leap frog but were passed by cachers (doing about 1,000,000 miles an hour) that were leaping. I guess these folks do this at home....have a friend, in another vehicle, grab a cache, write (or stamp in this type of run) your name on it, and then everyone who was within a 50 mile range would get credit. The note of "I'm better than you" is really not called for. They can and should do whatever they want. Who REALLY cares?

 

I have to admit that it made me VERY mad when I first realized what these folks were doing. Then I remembered that my numbers mean nothing to anyone except to me. I tried to remind myself of that as the 24 hour time clock draggggggged by. The loss of feeling in the feet, the blisters on the thumb from opening the cache, the falling out of the truck door (because I was not in before it took off for the next cache), the dust (which was a change from the ice crystals) in the eyes), the trying to get a drink of water while the truck peeled out and then slams to a stop at the next cache....

 

Well, say what you will. I know that my team did it the way we thought was "true" to OUR beliefs. All of us at every cache. I loved it and will NEVER EVER do anyting like that again. I think that anyone that tells you they had a "great time" doing the run...never really "did" the run (HA). Kind'a like saying you remember having a great time at Woodstock...if you remember anything....you were not there (HA/HA).

 

By the way...all E.T.s, Head Alien, vitruls, EC and a few traditionals in 20 hours and 15 minutes. I trudly think that if anyone does it in a lot shorter of a time...it was done by their rules....not ours.

 

I am learning not look at other cachers "stats, records, "claims to fame" becuase their numbers mean nothing to me. My numbers are the only ones that count and I know that there are cachers that would dispute my nubmers and say that THEY do not think that some of them are "real". As I tell my cachers-in-training..."there will always be someone with a higher number than you and there will always be someone with a lower number than you". STOP looking at numbers. Life is short. Have fun AND when it stops being "fun"...STOP doing it!

 

PS: I am very happy that my team of two marines and a marathon cacher came back for me when I HAD to do a bio-break and they realized that someone was missing. Hey, at least they came back for the "weak link in the chain"....the 56 year old woman.

 

Happy Hunting

AMTG (And Miles To Go)

Kathleen

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I don't think someone who has done 1,000 plus in a day on the ultimate of power trails should be making the comment that numbers don't matter (in the sense of comparing with others) etc . It is a bit like a millionaire telling someone in poverty that money really isn't important.

 

I still am amazed that Groundspeak have this guideline

 

Please don't hide a cache every 600 feet just because you can. The two main goals of the saturation guideline are to encourage you to seek out new places to hide caches rather than putting them in areas where caches already exist, and to limit the number of caches hidden in a particular area, especially by the same hider. Groundspeak may further restrict cache listings in areas where cache saturation becomes a concern.

 

Yet they published this trail.

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I wouldn't avoid this series (or others like it) because it's boring (even though it probably is a lot of the time). After all, it's clearly meant to be a challenge to test your determination.

 

I would avoid it if I thought that a large number of people are cache-swapping or leapfrogging. In theory, I could still use "traditional" etiquette and log it "properly"; but what's the point when so many take shortcuts? You might think that their collecting of bogus statistics doesn't affect me, but as this series is supposed to be a challenge then what's the point at all if people commonly just cut out a lot of the effort?

 

Fortunately, although I've been to Nevada I'm unlikely to be in a position to consider the ET Highway. I just hope that no such practices become customary on UK power trails.

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I wouldn't avoid this series (or others like it) because it's boring (even though it probably is a lot of the time). After all, it's clearly meant to be a challenge to test your determination.

Something to test your determination ro do something boring?

 

I can think of lots of things that I enjoy caching testing me on, such as my navigation skills, my stamina, my fear of heights ...

 

But testing my boredom threshold isn't on the list!

 

Rgds, Andy

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The Geocaching podcast covered the ET Highway in a recent show on Feb 17th where they interviewed its cache owners. They discussed the problems the authorities were having with the caches and said that it was only certain caches that were problematic and they had been talking to the authorities who have said the trail can stay there, but they need to remove those ones. I think they said it was the caches at mile marker posts where cachers were parking right on the road and causing a bit of a hazard. Certainly didn't sound to me like the trail would be archived so trackables should be safe. :D

 

For anyone thinking on doing it, I think it'd be worth listening to the podcast. The CO's give an email address where you can contact them about the trail. They will then reply with some info and advice, e.g. how much petrol you're going to need.

 

Cass

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Just seen a tweet saying this power trail has been archived. Looking at the map it looks to be true.

 

Edited to say; ok, just noticed that's not soo new news, just seen that it's being talked about in other parts of the forum.

Edited by Gackt
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