How to get trackables to a remote location

[+-CJ-]

Let's say I've got some trackables that want to travel deep into the Russian province. Brave idea, but there are just few geocaches (and geocachers) outside Moscow / Saint-Petersburg at the moment. Imagine that I'm going to travel to such "deserted" city/town "in the middle of nothing" (in geocaching terms). I publish a "meet-and-greet" event at the website suggesting everyone to come at 8pm at some given place, put coordinates that I know (say, there are my colleagues there who can give me the exact coordinates). At the given date/time no one comes. I let all trackables to "visit" the event and they get their destination/distances.

 

To me it's an etiquette question because I suspect that no one will attend. (Though there's a little chance to meet another lonely geocacher at the same date/time in the same town). Thus, it's maybe not honest to announce a meeting.

 

However I've seen such "zero events" before in our country. So, I suppose there are no any violations of guidelines. Am I right?

[+Isonzo Karst]

Your question is whether it's legit to post a Geocaching.com Event page at a time and place where you don't seriously expect anyone to come?

Since an event is defined as to, "facilitate the social aspect of geocaching", I'd say no. Could you get away with it? Yes, probably. Area reviewer might stop listing events for you if it got to be a pattern.

 

If you really don't think that anybody is going to show up, don't post an event. If there's a chance that a local cacher or another caching visitor could be there, might be okay.

 

I've seen events listed where I didn't think anyone would come, but attendance was pretty good. I've seen events where only the event host came, and even one where the event host didn't come, but one other cacher did. These were all posted with honorable intentions, if something of a lack of understanding of local conditions.

[+TriciaG]

Why don't you just go to those remote caches and "visit" the trackables there, without the event?

[+dprovan]

As long as you're hoping someone attends even though you're not expecting them to, I don't see any problem with an event that only you show up to. Kinda sweet, actually.

 

If you don't really want anyone to attend and if you'll be disappointed if anyone does show up, then don't do it. (Worst is, of course, not even intending to be there yourself, but that doesn't sound like your plan.)

 

I think the trackables are irrelevant. Your plan is to have an event with the hopes of meeting a local or two and trading trackables with them. Keep it about that. The trackable question then devolves to "Do trackables visit an event even if, much to my dismay, no one shows up?" And when phrased that way, of course it makes sense for the trackables to be there.

[+-CJ-]

TriciaG, there are no caches in that regions. Not a single hide. There are also no cachers living nearby. It may hard to believe but in our country this situation is typical. I suppose it will take years before geocaching will reach those places.

 

dprovan: Your plan is to have an event with the hopes of meeting a local or two and trading trackables with them

 

I'm pretty sure that no one will come. As I said, there's a slight chance that someone could get interested and appear but this chance is close to zero.

 

I don't mind about forgetting about the game for a while and just leaving all trackables at home. I asked my question because

 

a) Sometimes there are trackables with missions like "Travel around Russia and come back to the country of origin". I bet their owners just don't know the situation. I would love to help them but I don't know how.

 

I've noticed (more than one) events of this sort: meet-and-greet in some cities/towns where there are neither cachers nor caches. Some enthusiast comes for business, spends several days there, just to discover that no one comes. I'm almost sure this is done without any hidden intentions (like bringing/visiting trackables) but in a true hope that someone will attend. The owners of these events do not deserve any bad words because they come without knowing the real situation. This reason doesn't work for me though.

 

So the words of Isonzo_Karst about event to "facilitate the social aspect of geocaching" seem reasonable. I just regret I cannot do anything to help trackables to move to great locations where they could be.

 

For instance, this is the city I'm going to visit next weekend: http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?lat=64.555467&lng=43.265133#?ll=64.5071,40.44754&z=10

Population: 361,000. Nice place, many interesting locations to visit and wonderful destination for any trackable that I currently have at hand. No traces of geocaching. I checked the local geocaching website too (which is far more "productive" in regions usually) but it looks like that all caches there have been placed as virtuals by guests from Moscow and have been totally unsupported since their appearance on the website.

[+TriciaG]

Ah - that makes sense. I misunderstood you.

 

Wow - zooming out, one sees all the caches thickly placed across the border, then almost nothing in Russia. Sad.

Edited April 10, 2014 by TriciaG

[+dprovan]

dprovan: Your plan is to have an event with the hopes of meeting a local or two and trading trackables with them

 

I'm pretty sure that no one will come. As I said, there's a slight chance that someone could get interested and appear but this chance is close to zero.

My point is that you should schedule the event with the hope that someone will show up even if you think that's statistically unlikely. Then if statistics wins out, well, at least the TB can visit the area.

 

When you turn it around and tell me you're scheduling the event only so the TB can visit the area, I stop liking the idea because I start wondering if you really want anyone to show up. In fact, I start to wonder whether you'll bother to actually physically take the TBs to GZ at all, since you seem convinced it will be a waste of time to be there.

 

I enourage you to follow your plan. It's a cool solution to the problem of TBs' goals. I'm just saying you should dream about that one time that another cacher actually shows up. That dream is what makes me see it as a valid event.

[+ramblingduck]

You could take a container and place a cache, bring geocaching to the area by force so to speak.

[+-CJ-]

I cannot place any cache because these locations are thousands of kilometers from my home, and since there are no local cachers I will not be able to provide proper maintenance.

[+GeoLog81]

I cannot place any cache because these locations are thousands of kilometers from my home, and since there are no local cachers I will not be able to provide proper maintenance.

 

That's a vicious circle. Nobody places a cache because there are no geocachers. There are no geocachers, because there's nothing to look for.

 

I'm sure it's possible to publish such cache. I've seen caches made by foreigners. For sure you can find there a place so far from people's homes that it would have near zero probability of being muggled. Such cache can survive 10 years without any maintanance. As long as there arise some local geocacher, you can give it to the adoption.

[+-CJ-]

I'm not sure that it sounds like a proper maintenance plan.