Is it bad form to...

[+Yensid40]

I was scouting an area to place my first cache and came across a letterbox. I was looking to place a cache in a very old and elaborate rock wall in a cemetery. My cache spot will be 30 or so yards away from the letterbox. Is it bad form to place the cache with the letter box so close?

[+Panther&Pine]

I'd encourage you to find another place to hide it, mainly for the sake of the letterbox.

However if you do go with that location let people know clearly on the cache page that there is a letterbox near by and mark in the geocache that it is the cache.

[+Bear and Ragged]

I was scouting an area to place my first cache and came across a letterbox. I was looking to place a cache in a very old and elaborate rock wall in a cemetery. My cache spot will be 30 or so yards away from the letterbox. Is it bad form to place the cache with the letter box so close?

 

IF you do, mention in the description that there is a letterbox nearby.

 

AND make sure your cache is well labelled as a Geocache, so the letterboxers finding it know it's a cache and not the letterbox!

[+briansnat]

What will happen is that you are going to get people finding the letterbox, assuming it's the cache and logging finds on your cache. To avoid that confusion it's best to move it farther away.

 

A second issue is the rock wall. Please don't hide geocaches in dry stone walls. They are eventually torn apart by frustrated cachers.

[4wheelin_fool]

I know of at least one abandoned letterbox full of signatures from geocachers with scraps of paper being added, and NM logs posted, while the actual geocache was nearby and fine. I also know of more than a few loose rock walls dismantled right at ground zero at cache sites. In some areas that type of hide is forbidden, so perhaps you should consider something else..

[+dprovan]

A second issue is the rock wall. Please don't hide geocaches in dry stone walls. They are eventually torn apart by frustrated cachers.

One would like to assume this would only be frustrated cachers, but the fact is that dry stone walls -- more commonly here in America, artificial stone walls -- are dismantled by perfectly calm and definitely not frustrated cachers that think they are searching in the expected way. In fact, the worst case I saw was, in fact, hidden in a way that such dismantling was actually the reasonable approach, assuming you judge "reasonable" only by what it takes to find the cache.

 

So I agree with everyone that's saying stay well away from the letterbox, and I also agree with those suggesting you stay well away from the wall, as well.

[+L0ne.R]

The problem from the letterbox owner's perspective is a nearby geocache will mean their handcarved stamp (I assume handcarved because most on the AQ or LBNA sites put handcarved creations in their box) may inadvertently get traded out. If you do knowingly plant near a letterbox, put a small but eye-catching note in the letterbox that says 'this is not the geocache, this is a letterbox, do not take the stamp'. Many cachers do not read the cache description, so putting a note at the source will hopefully save the stamp.

[+Yensid40]

Thanks everyone. I didn't realize it is frowned upon to hide in dry stacked stone walls. There have been plenty of caches I have found in walls. I never move rocks though. There is a small nature reserve in the area that I am going to scout instead. Thanks for the tips.

[+Chief301]

Thanks everyone. I didn't realize it is frowned upon to hide in dry stacked stone walls. There have been plenty of caches I have found in walls. I never move rocks though. There is a small nature reserve in the area that I am going to scout instead. Thanks for the tips.

 

Unfortunately not everyone is as conscientious as you. I've experienced similar behavior. Not a rock wall but a border of rocks lining the edges of a concrete boat ramp. The very first seeker destroyed the place (brand new Intro a app user)....never even got a find and I had to archive it.

[+briansnat]

Thanks everyone. I didn't realize it is frowned upon to hide in dry stacked stone walls. There have been plenty of caches I have found in walls. I never move rocks though. There is a small nature reserve in the area that I am going to scout instead. Thanks for the tips.

 

As you have learned already, just because you've seen it before doesn't mean it's a good idea.