Dirty Dealing in New Mexico

[+BigOpe]

It is looking like some evil, disgruntled muggle has started stealing caches on a large scale in New Mexico. A couple dozen or more recently disappeared along highway 380, all the way from San Antonio to Roswell. The scale of the vandalism is still being investigated, as is what if anything we can do about it. One hopes at a minimum Groundspeak has a way to identify who might have recently run a route query for that highway and block his IP address until he can be checked out. At any rate, be warned -- somebody out there has a real chip on his shoulder about our hobby. If you have similar experiences, particularly in central NM, suggest you post here and also report them to Groundspeak.

[+BigOpe]

UPDATE: "to Roswell" was an overstatement. The mischief now seems to have been just along 380; most caches Roswell to Hondo were confirmed as still there. There is, however, rumor of similar problems in the Hobbs area in SE New Mexico.

[+WIZEOLDFARTZ]

Hi! We are new to geocaching and love it! We were wondering if there were any local groups (we are in Ruidoso, NM) who get together and have events or get togethers - we would love to join in. Also, was wondering if the caches from San Antonio to Roswell have been replaced or are going to be? We have not stopped to look for any because I had read that this had happened.

[+BigOpe]

I don't know of any cacher groups "home based" in Ruidoso, but there are quite a few who have placed caches there and visit with some regularity. I have three up there, one of which is on the stolen list and is inactive for the present. I'm a summer resident, though, not there in the winter months, which I spend in Tucson.

 

Groundspeak has been asked to look into the mischief, but haven't heard of any results to date. Though not officially the guy in charge, one of the best informed about that situation is probably BLMBilbo, who lives in Ft Stanton and has many interesting caches around the area. As to replacing the stolen caches, that's ultimately up to the individual cache owners. I shut down NM 8-219 because I may not be able to replace it until next spring; others may have decided otherwise. Best I can say is to check on line and see if they still show as active. I can tell you, though, that Homage to Hoagy (CarMuggle) is still alive and well over near Lincoln, or was a couple weeks ago. It's not too far from NM 8-219, but evidently the dirty rat didn't want to walk much to commit his crimes. In general the situation seems to be that only caches quite near Hwy 380 were affected; if you search out to include a mile or so from 380 you should find some that are still in business. I've found at least a dozen that would fall in that category. And don't be too intimidated by ones that look like they're way out in the boonies; many of the dirt roads on BLM land in Lincoln county are actually quite passable, even for 2WD vehicles.

 

Oh, almost forgot: BLMBilbo has been involved for at least 2-3 years now in an annual caching event in the general area of Ruidoso, the Billy the Kid geo-event, typically in early summer. Ask him about the next one.

Edited November 13, 2012 by BigOpe

[+WIZEOLDFARTZ]

Thanks BigOpe for all the great information I will try to make contact with BLMBilbo.