PA DNCR removal policy: which caches are safe???

[+Florafloraflora]

I am going to the Michaux Forest area of PA this weekend and I have several travel bugs to drop off. I notice that PA DNCR has been removing unapproved caches on state land, including one of my favorites

 

I'd hate to drop the bugs in caches that will be removed. Does anybody know which caches in the area have DNCR approval or are otherwise safe? I was especially interested in Rocky Knob, the Big Flat Ridge cache, Sunset Rocks at Michaux, and Halfway AT Heaven. I'd be grateful for anything you can tell me.

[+Goblin]

I did Micheau the last weekend in May. Sunset Rocks is VERY steep and difficult to find even when you get to the top. Halfway to AT is good and if you are doing that one you might as week be Steeple Pole and Chase to Steeple Pole (or something like that), they are quite close to it. Also BassAkwards is close to that. There is an amphitheatre at Pine Grove Furnace so youcan get the loctionless cache whch I think is called Classically Greek. I also went for Lone Pine but it had already been grabbed by DNCR. If you go south on 233 (south of 30) you can get Leaders Summit (a hard one but with a bug I left) and Raccoon Run (easy). Enjoy, this is a beautiful area. Hit me offline ifyou want more info.

[+Mopar]

If you want to be safe, look for cache pages that display this logo on them:

 

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

[+Florafloraflora]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mopar:

If you want to be safe, look for cache pages that display this logo on them:

 

---

 

Hmmm, that's what I was afraid of. None of the caches on my list have that logo. I've written to the cache owners. Surely if they have at least applied for permission, DCNR will not confiscate the caches during the waiting period.

 

[This message was edited by Sugar Kane on July 02, 2003 at 04:58 AM.]

[+Quest Master]

Refer to the topic "PA: DCNR wait time on approval" for more info on the status of geocaching in Michaux. Geocacher gnbrotz reports that park rangers have already removed 6-8 caches and will continue to remove those that have not been registered. He had to wait one month AND visit the cache site with a ranger before his permit was approved. I believe that this is the first and only permit for a geocache that has been approved in Michaux to date. It remains to be seen how many other cache owners will jump through the DCNR hoops to get their caches registered. I would say that none of the caches in this particular state forest could be called "safe" under these circumstances but you might contact the owners to see if they are planning to register their caches.

 

Johnny

[+Florafloraflora]

Just out of curiosity, what happens to these caches when they are removed? Are they destroyed or are the owners able to get them back?

[+gnbrotz]

Questmaster is almost 100% correct. I have two caches approved in Michaux state forest. As of yesterday, the are have been NO other caches submitted for approval.

 

One cache owner apparently wrote quite a nasty e-mail to the forestry office expressing sentiments that the ranger "would not repeat" to me. Also, they have everything they have confiscated in their posession, but NO ONE has made any contact to see about claiming the items.

 

As far as I know, Big Flat Ridge and Sunset Rocks are still in place. The ranger requested that Rocky Knob be moved due to its proximity to possible snake dens. He assured me they were going to make sure that happened or they would pursue that one further. Also, He mentioned a couple of caches near Pine Grove Furnace were removed, so I'm not sure if Halfway AT Heaven is still there or not.

 

At this risk of self promotion, I'll mention my two caches:

 

Crazy Kid's Cache

and

White Rocks

 

These caches have approval and are in no danger of being removed by the local rangers.

 

Feel free to e-mail me of forum if you want any more info or want to run around with another cacher a bit.

 

Greg

N 39 54.705'

W 77 33.137'

[+Florafloraflora]

Thanks for that rundown. The Pine Grove Furnace caches that were removed are probably two that I did, Steeple Chase and Bass Ackwards. They belonged to CCCooper Agency. Halfway AT Heaven is still there as far as I know. I appreciate the heads-up on Rocky Knob. I may still look for it but I won't leave TBs there.

 

I got email back from two of the cache hiders I had contacted. I'm not sure that I was clear enough in my email, because they seem to be in denial about the DCNR policy and the chance that their caches will be removed. One of them could be the cacher that sent the nastygram to the forestry office. Not really sure how much further I can press the issue.

 

Thanks for letting me know about your two caches. They're not that far from where I'll be camping and they look like good places for TBs.

[+gnbrotz]

As of this post, these are the caches that have definitely been removed from Michaux state forest by DCNR (I spoke with the forester personally):

Birchwood Trail

The Race to Pole Steeple

Steeplechase

Liberty View

Long Pine

Deer Lick

Over the River and Through the Woods

She Ain’t No Creampuff

 

I have asked him to keep me updated if he removes any more. He has also told me that if the cache owners wish to claim their caches, they can do so without fear of citation for littering; however, he has said that "Any additional caches placed without permission may result in a citation". He also said if the owners do not want the stuff back, I can pick it up to recycle into new caches IF I can get written permission from the cache owner.

 

Greg

N 39 54.705'

W 77 33.137'

[+Quest Master]

Just curious.

 

Did the authorities in Michaux make any attempt to contact the cache owners prior to removing these caches?

 

They will probably say that they notified geocaching.com and the other geocaching websites but that notification only filtered down to a minority of geocachers who regularly monitor these discussion boards. Groundspeak didn't even post the State Forest notification probably because they thought it was the same notification that the State Parks sent out at about the same time. An alert geocacher spotted the notification on Buxley's and posted it here.

 

I would make an effort to notify local geocachers who have caches hidden in DCNR areas of the policy IF I knew that there was a simple and straightforward process for getting them registered.

 

Johnny

[+gnbrotz]

Johnny,

 

Once again, you've pretty much nailed it.

 

They have not initiated any direct contact with any specific geocacher. Even though I'm guilty myself, I'd also just mention that if cache hiders sought permission before hiding a cache (anywhere), it would avoid many of these problems.

 

I am currently contacting those who have had caches already removed, encouraging them to fill out the papers to get their caches back out there, and when complete, will move on to those who have not had their caches removed (yet), but still need to register them.

 

Any volunteers to help?

 

Greg

N 39 54.705'

W 77 33.137'