Ill-advised Promotional Tie-in?

[+K13]

Could this be why many people out there think geocaches are buried treasure?

 

LINK

(note the banner touting the metal detector with GPSr on its handle)

 

With the loss of so many parks and other public places due to the notion of buried geocaches, should GC be promoting the idea of needing/using metal detectors for geocaching?

 

What are your thoughts?

[+kunarion]

What are your thoughts?

Aside from the unfortunate banner, there's no hint of digging for Geocaches. The promotional tie-in is about discovering Geocoins in containers.

 

Geocaches are not buried, no digging. Metal detectors are not allowed in many parks, even when Geocaching is. So it's kind of a strange tie-in, but targeted to treasure hunters, so it's maybe not too far removed from Geocaching. But, sure, it may confuse some people who read that one finds caches using a metal detector.

 

There are two places where I might use a metal detector. One is at an archived cache in town. It was a shattered paint bucket, not a good cache container at all. Now it's in tiny pieces among a thick carpet of leaves. A cacher thought it would be great to put a Geocoin in that mess, and the coin was never seen again. It's slightly possible that the coin is on the ground, and that's why I'd bring a metal detector (not so much for finding a Geocache).

 

There's another cache, a 4+ star difficulty cache never found, that the locals all think is a prank. It's several miles up badly rutted forest roads, then a hike to a waterfall. It's a Regular container, could be an ammo can. One way to locate it (particularly if it's in the shallow creek bed) is with a metal detector.

Edited November 16, 2012 by kunarion

[+PeoriaBill]

There are a few times, that I wish I had a metal detector! Appears to be popular..all the coins they offered are spoken for. It might be fun if there is a way to do it without violating Groundspeak rules.

Edited November 16, 2012 by Peoria Bill

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Hey, think of it this way.... around here, the snow total sometimes exceeds 280". Using a metal detector during the winter is not

a bad idea.

 

In reality, most think of geocaches being buried because so darn many call it "treasure hunting". Nearly every piece of literature about treasure indicates that it is buried. 1 + 1 = 2!

[+NeverSummer]

In reality, most think of geocaches being buried because so darn many call it "treasure hunting". Nearly every piece of literature about treasure indicates that it is buried. 1 + 1 = 2!

This. Language is important. Things some see as harmless are inherently not so...like calling it "treasure hunting", saying "plunder" or "plundered", etc. It sounds like no big deal in our insider vernacular, but to outsiders and land managers, it sends the wrong message.

[+lamoracke]

Missing or lost caches, a mine detector might be helpful. A pile of leaves buried the cache somewhere and its an ammo can? Well, a metal detector could be an upgrade to an old fashioned pokey stick. Not buried though.

[Andronicus]

There are many geocaching uses for a metal detector. Benchmarks, bison tubes in trees, ammo cans in tall grass or snow.

 

But you do have a point. The whole "Treasure Hunting" think already gives us a bad name, now metal detectors?

 

Anyway, I am going to try to find one of these in a geocache or at an event.

[Clan Riffster]

In reality, most think of geocaches being buried because so darn many call it "treasure hunting". Nearly every piece of literature about treasure indicates that it is buried. 1 + 1 = 2!

This. Language is important.

Yup. Couldn't have said it better. It is this skewed perception that has caused me to never use the term "Treasure Hunt" when describing this kooky hobby. I am much more likely to describe it as a high tech version of hide & seek.

[+kunarion]

Missing or lost caches, a mine detector might be helpful.

That's almost worse than the term "Treasure Hunter"! "Don't worry, officer, I'm using my MINE DETECTOR!"

Edited November 17, 2012 by kunarion

[+Don_J]

The whole thing makes it sound like you need a metal detector to find a geocache. I think that it is a really bad idea to promote this idea. One buried cache led to the total ban of physical caches in all NPS land. Ten years later, less than a handful of NPS park managers allow us to hide caches on the land they administer. We talk so much in these forum, not about actual harm but the perception of harm that our activities can cause. A nail in a dead tree really causes no harm yet it suggest that we are running around hammering nails into all trees. Needing a metal detector suggests that the caches are buried.

 

What happens when we have a park that allows caches but not metal detectors or digging, and some cacher asks the Ranger if he can bring in his new fancy gadget because he needs it to find a geocache?

[Andronicus]

In reality, most think of geocaches being buried because so darn many call it "treasure hunting". Nearly every piece of literature about treasure indicates that it is buried. 1 + 1 = 2!

This. Language is important.

Yup. Couldn't have said it better. It is this skewed perception that has caused me to never use the term "Treasure Hunt" when describing this kooky hobby. I am much more likely to describe it as a high tech version of hide & seek.

I normally call in a GPS enabled scavenger hunt

[+hukilaulau]

 

Anyway, I am going to try to find one of these in a geocache or at an event.

 

Can I get an over/under on two prop bets? (with my guess in parentheses)

 

How many of these coins will actually be left in a cache by the people who get them? (50%)

How many of the ones that do get left in a cache will survive more than 3 days

before disappearing? (3%)

[+Don_J]

 

Anyway, I am going to try to find one of these in a geocache or at an event.

 

Can I get an over/under on two prop bets? (with my guess in parentheses)

 

How many of these coins will actually be left in a cache by the people who get them? (50%)

How many of the ones that do get left in a cache will survive more than 3 days

before disappearing? (3%)

 

The application said that you promised to place it in a cache within two weeks of arrival. I plan on doing just that. Hard to say how long before it disappears, but I expect that it will. I remember placing my free Diabetes TB in a cache about .1mi from my house. The next day it was reported missing. Six months later, someone on the other side of the globe grabbed it after finding it in a cache. It bounced around Europe for a few months, then disappeared again.

[+Manville Possum]

I think that it is misleading, but Groundspeak also sells advertisement to operate and Minelab hit it's target audience here with me. I want one.