Avoiding Bushwacking

[+ptplacecacher]

I'm very new to Geocaching and have found myself facing a problem! When going caching I always seem to find myself bush wacking only to find....that when I do find the cache usually theyre is a trail extremely close by! How can I avoid this?

ptplacecacher/mike

[+T.D.M.22]

Plan ahead-check the satellite views on the maps. Sometimes you just have to know the area, or you just have to scout the area. I spent 15 minutes climbing a hill, that if it was any harder, you'd need climbing gear. Only to find out the cache was an easy 5 minute walk up the back way, or 30 seconds from a parking lot. Look at the terrain rating-a higher rating may signify some bushwacking, or off trail travels. Look at the previous logs-Someone might have said something like "I'm glad there's a trail here" or "Spent half hour bushwacking only to see a trail 5 feet from the cache"

[+dprovan]

T.D.M.22 covers the solution quite nicely, so follow his advice to begin with. On the other hand, sometimes I don't have a chance to study the situation in advance. In that case, I typically just trust the cache's owner and assume if I follow the trails, one of them will lead me to the cache. That works most of the time, and when it doesn't, big deal: I don't have to get every cache. And after learning the lay of the land, I can come back and try again some day.

 

Of course, I'm assuming you're talking about an unpleasant bushwhack. I don't worry about trails if it looks like the off-trail direction will be a fun walk (and it doesn't hurt the environment, of course).

[+luvvinbird]

I'm very new to Geocaching and have found myself facing a problem! When going caching I always seem to find myself bush wacking only to find....that when I do find the cache usually theyre is a trail extremely close by! How can I avoid this?

ptplacecacher/mike

Here's a tip from an "unnecessary bushwhacking" master, make sure to at least wear long pants when trudging through stinging nettles or poison ivy, lol.

[+6NoisyHikers]

Sometimes the cache owner is nice enough to include parking and trailhead waypoints on the cache page. I know these download into our GPS (Magellan eXplorist GC) as "child waypoints". Of course, sometimes it's so tempting to just make a break for it those last twenty or thirty metres. Nine times out of ten that trail you're on will come around.

[+T.D.M.22]

Here's a tip from an "unnecessary bushwhacking" master, make sure to at least wear long pants when trudging through stinging nettles or poison ivy, lol.

I second that. Take a lesson from the cowboys-They wear jeans and boots. Not just because they are cowboys but because that type of clothing works. Protect your legs and feet from pokey sticks, plants that have needles, poison ivy, and some protection for when you take a fall. I also find boots give some ankle support that runners don't.

 

I'm not saying go and spend $100 on Silver jeans(or whatever the good brand is now) and $350 on some Tony Lama cowboy boots. $20 each for jeans and hiking boots from walmart will do the job too. Also some eyewear, and if you prefer gloves( I use mountain biking gloves). Like was mentioned sometimes you just have to bushwack, or dive into a tree and you don't want to be doing that in runners, and volleyball or cycling shorts.

[+L0ne.R]

Read some of the last logs. If the cache owner and the last few finders don't mention bushwacking, stay on the trail. If your veering further and further away perhaps you're on the wrong trail or you missed the secondary trail. Go back and look carefully for a smaller less noticeable trail.

[+ipodguy]

I like to use Google Earth to draw a path of the route I want to take to a cache. Then I save the file, convert it to gpx and save it on my GPS. Then I just follow the line.

 

Cuts down on a lot of bushwhacking.

[+briansnat]

When you find out let me know. I've been caching a long time and still find myself doing that. But remember it is likely that the cache owner took an easy route to the cache. If you are on a trail sometimes you need to stick with it even if it seems to be going the wrong way. It may eventually swing around in the right direction. If you have topo maps or trail maps study them for an easier route.

[Pup Patrol]

I'm very new to Geocaching and have found myself facing a problem! When going caching I always seem to find myself bush wacking only to find....that when I do find the cache usually theyre is a trail extremely close by! How can I avoid this?

ptplacecacher/mike

 

The thing to remember is that your gps is pointing to where the cache is...as the crow flies. It doesn't follow the trail, that's up to you to figure out.

 

We had a great time with a cache hunt a few years ago when it really took some thinking to interpret how to get to the cache. Following the arrow was not possible.

 

On the other hand, some times we've gotten impatient with meandering trails and bushwhacked the shorter distance. It was probably easier to do in the winter on snowshoes than it would have been to do in the summer.

 

But, yeah, it's almost a tradition to struggle to get to the cache only to discover there's a trail. At least the walk back to the vehicle is more straightforward.

 

 

B.

[+Chief301]

I've done my fair share of unnecessary bushwhacking as well. The best way to find the easy trail to the cache is to bushwhack to it. Once you reach the cache site the easy way in will reveal itself. 😎 Oh, well, at least you now know the easy way out

 

+ 1 on the long pants and hiking boots. A certain amount of bushwhacking is inevitable during any day of serious caching. I always wear 5.11 pants and the aforementioned Walmart hiking boots when I go caching, at least when it's a planned outing. I've got my legs cut up enough to learn not to wear shorts. 😬

[+Lieblweb]

We've all done it and we all still do it. There are days when you just 'wing it' and hit some trails to do some geocaching and you have no idea where you are or what the trail system looks like...you follow the trail for so long and realize its not going where you need to be and ...WHAM, bushwhacking!!

 

One thing...my husband has trail maps loaded into the GPS. They show up as red lines on the map. So - you can get an idea of where the cache is in relation to the trail map.

 

Some trails aren't listed....and we still end up bushwhacking.

[+The_Incredibles_]

Well, you can get trail maps for your GPS.

 

I would ask some other cachers in your area where they get their maps from.

[+Trucker Lee]

Avoid bushwhacking! What's the fun in that?

[hqtitan]

Long pants and boots are very good advice. I never go out in the woods without my blue jeans, because I've come home with my legs scratched up so many times. Also remember to step lightly, watching where you step. If you're pushing through heavy brush, there's an easier way. You can usually find a way around or a spot where it thins out a bit and is easier to get through.

[+JohnCNA]

I think one of the hardest things us newbies have a hard time with is learning NOT to follow the arrow all the time. I'm working on it but still do it sometimes. I'm getting better at taking a directional reading and then putting the GPSr in my pocket for a while. And remembering that it's not a Nuvi telling me which way to go. It's telling me where the cache is, not the best way to get there.

[+ldyparadox99]

I'm short and the dutch guys I hang with are tall. They like following the arrow as the crow flies. I just wear long pants, hiking boots, and I'm now considering getting a real hiking stick. Not necessarily for hiking mind you, but to wack those really tall dutch guys that lead me on unnecessary bushwacking goose chases in the knee caps when I finally catch up to them. ;-)

[+ptplacecacher]

Thank you everyone! I do wear the boots and long pants everytime I go out! Sometimes I just get so frustrated after all that bushwacking only to find the trail just feet away. Other times I just laugh but either way its well worth it! I'm totally hooked on the hobby!

[+MountainWoods]

I like the acronym that just appeared in the Facebook feed from geocaching.com:

 

BWITO

 

BushWack In, Trail Out

 

Boy, isn't that the truth.