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Traveling Caches?


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Howdy all. I'm active duty USCG and I'll be transferring this summer from Yorktown, VA to Atlantic Beach, NC. I've always wanted to host a GeoCache, but I didn't really want to count on having someone adopt it when I transfer. That's why I never created one 4 years ago when I was stationed in New Orleans.

 

I know you can update the location of a cache. Would it be bad etiquette to create a cache and then re-locate it each time I transfer? I transfer every 3 or 4 years. I think it'd be fun to have a cache that has been found in multiple states.

 

Thanks,

 

Hobo

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Howdy all. I'm active duty USCG and I'll be transferring this summer from Yorktown, VA to Atlantic Beach, NC. I've always wanted to host a GeoCache, but I didn't really want to count on having someone adopt it when I transfer. That's why I never created one 4 years ago when I was stationed in New Orleans.

 

I know you can update the location of a cache. Would it be bad etiquette to create a cache and then re-locate it each time I transfer? I transfer every 3 or 4 years. I think it'd be fun to have a cache that has been found in multiple states.

 

Thanks,

 

Hobo

 

Sorry, but traveling caches are no longer allowed. On the other hand, 3 to 4 years is a long enough life for a cache, if you don't want to, or can't, adopt it out when you transfer, so I would say don't let that time limit stop you from placing a good cache or two or a few.

 

And thank you for your service.

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The geocache permanence guidelines has 3 months as the cutoff between long-term caches and temporary caches. If you're going to be in the area for several months or longer, then go ahead and list a cache. If you want to archive the cache when you leave, then you can archive the cache, take the container with you, and then hide another cache at your new location.

Edited by niraD
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Howdy all. I'm active duty USCG and I'll be transferring this summer from Yorktown, VA to Atlantic Beach, NC. I've always wanted to host a GeoCache, but I didn't really want to count on having someone adopt it when I transfer. That's why I never created one 4 years ago when I was stationed in New Orleans.

 

I know you can update the location of a cache. Would it be bad etiquette to create a cache and then re-locate it each time I transfer? I transfer every 3 or 4 years. I think it'd be fun to have a cache that has been found in multiple states.

 

Thanks,

 

Hobo

 

Sorry, but traveling caches are no longer allowed. On the other hand, 3 to 4 years is a long enough life for a cache, if you don't want to, or can't, adopt it out when you transfer, so I would say don't let that time limit stop you from placing a good cache or two or a few.

 

And thank you for your service.

 

Thank you Nancy. I'll probably make one when I get to NC then. We're looking at buying a home there and maybe putting some roots down when I retire.

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The geocache permanence guidelines as the cutoff between long-term caches and temporary caches. If you're going to be in the area for several months or longer, then go ahead and list a cache. If you want to archive the cache when you leave, then you can archive the cache, take the container with you, and then hide another cache at your new location.

 

I suppose I could do as you described and just name them similarly and sequentially (GoGuard1, GoGuard2, etc.) with a description of the caches' history, geographic movement, etc. They would technically be different caches with different names and accomplish what I'm trying to do.

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Whatever you decide, welcome in advance to NC. I'm not aware of any active/retired CG who cache here. But you will meet plenty of Marines and Army out in that part of the state, especially Marines with the proximity of Camp Lejeune.

 

You could hide one in Yorktown and adopt it out when you move in six months, and then hide a new one here when you get settled in.

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If you're going to be in an area 3-4 years that is plenty of time to host a cache. Heck, I doubt half of all caches last 3 years.

 

Really?!? I'm a noob, but I really love the hobby. When I make a cache, I intend to maintain it meticulously. That surprises me to hear that they don't last that long.

 

GeoCaching is a bi-product benefit of my other recent hobby of hiking, camping, and just plain getting my arse off the couch and into the outdoors. I got out of geocaching a few years back and when I recently got into hiking I remembered Geocaching and was like "Doh! I could've been logging tons of caches on all the hikes I've been on!". So now I'm doing them all again and a lot of new ones in areas I had previously not known about until I saw caches there.

 

In NC, I'll be living in Newport right in the middle of the Croatan National Forrest and there's a trail called the Neusiok Trail that's 22 miles long. I plan on doing a lot of camping in the area and I'm chomping at the bit to put a cache out there as there doesn't appear to be any.

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I think that is a National Park. If you get started now you may have permission by the time you move to place one at least somewhere near it.

There is at least one Delorm square that was very hard to do a few years ago in that area. Could be because of the park. (I haven't checked the map)

It's Croatan National Forest, not Croatan National Park. Permits are required for caches in National Forests in NC, but are fairly easy to come by. There's probably two dozen caches in there already if not more.

Edited by wimseyguy
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Howdy all. I'm active duty USCG and I'll be transferring this summer from Yorktown, VA to Atlantic Beach, NC. I've always wanted to host a GeoCache, but I didn't really want to count on having someone adopt it when I transfer. That's why I never created one 4 years ago when I was stationed in New Orleans.

 

I know you can update the location of a cache. Would it be bad etiquette to create a cache and then re-locate it each time I transfer? I transfer every 3 or 4 years. I think it'd be fun to have a cache that has been found in multiple states.

 

Thanks,

 

Hobo

 

Since you can only move a cache 528 feet that wouldn't be much of a transfer

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I think that is a National Park. If you get started now you may have permission by the time you move to place one at least somewhere near it.

There is at least one Delorm square that was very hard to do a few years ago in that area. Could be because of the park. (I haven't checked the map)

It's Croatan National Forest, not Croatan National Park. Permits are required for caches in National Forests in NC, but are fairly easy to come by. There's probably two dozen caches in there already if not more.

 

Yep! Thank you, that's it. I did see quite a few on the side of the forrest west of Route 70 and some at the North and South trailheads, but none on the central more desolate part of the Neusiok Trail.

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If you're going to be in an area 3-4 years that is plenty of time to host a cache. Heck, I doubt half of all caches last 3 years.

 

Really?!? I'm a noob, but I really love the hobby. When I make a cache, I intend to maintain it meticulously. That surprises me to hear that they don't last that long.

Oh people start out intending to meticulously maintain their caches, but they lose interest, other things come up.

 

Cache life varies quite a bit. Sometimes the location where the cache is hidden changes and no longer supports the cache. Think of an area that gets developed; the woods where the cache is hidden are chopped down or maybe they cache is still there but you can't get to it because of new fences or highways.

 

Caches are found by non-geocachers (muggles) who take them. The owner can replace the container, but eventually they may decide the area is not a good one for a cache. Animals and even just nature can cause a cache to go missing as well.

 

The permanence guideline is 3 months. Some caches may not even last that long. But the idea is that when you place a cache you are promising to maintain it for at least 3 months. While many caches last for years, if after three months you have to stop maintaining the cache you can archive the listing. Good practice is to remove the cache as well. You've done your duty as a cache owner.

 

When you are reassigned to a different base, you don't move the listing. You can archive the old listing if you like and rehide the container as new cache listing in the new place. If you rehide the cache or place a new one near your new station, let the reviewer know you have moved; otherwise they may think you are hiding a vaction cache. You can leave the old cache and listing active, if you find someone to maintain it for you and you can transfer ownership of the cache using cache adoption.

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Really?!? I'm a noob, but I really love the hobby. When I make a cache, I intend to maintain it meticulously. That surprises me to hear that they don't last that long.

 

To back up some anecdotal data, here's the data for the GONIL area (Chicago region) for non-Event caches:

 

In looking at caches that were placed prior to January 1, 2012, here are the number of caches by 30 day chunks of life-spans. Caches that lasted 30 days or less are in the first column, caches with a life span of 31-60 days in the second column, etc. If the cache is not archived, the life span counts TODAY (January 5, 2014) as the current life span:

 

e7ae157d-ea3b-483f-9705-b0f7cf62fe78.jpg

 

Approximate "years" by colors:

-Blue is the first year

-Red is the second year

-Green is the third year

-Purple is anything more than four years

 

In the Chicago area...

--the caches that have a life-span of less than three years account for 32% of the caches

--the caches that have a life-span of less than four years account for 55% of the caches

 

So, it is safe to say that from this subset of caches, MOST of the caches last less than 4 years. I would doubt that others would be significantly different.

Edited by Markwell
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Decided to check the longevity of my hides. They tend to be off trail in out of the way places so don't get hordes of visitors. The 33 active and 8 archived caches currently have an average life span of 64 months with a range from 3 to 139.

Edited by edscott
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Better representation:

 

Caches in Chicago that either have been archived, or have been around since at least 2011 (so if they've been placed and already archived, no matter when, they're included). This time, in a pie chart:

1debaa26-3802-4fef-baff-fe87cb60707e.jpg

 

57% of caches have a life span of 3 years or less

73% of caches have a life span of 4 years or less

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