Five unwritten rules of geocaching you shouldn’t break

[+Max and 99]

What rules would you add? I'm going to give this some thought.

 

Five unwritten rules of geocaching you shouldn’t break

The basics of geocaching are inspiring in their simplicity. A geocacher hides a geocache and challenges others to find it. But as with most things, there’s more to geocaching than meets the eye! Many of the rules of geocaching are outlined in the geocaching guidelines but others come from the experience of getting out there and geocaching. Below we share five rules of geocaching you may not know.

1. Leave no trace

It’s important to be conscious of your surroundings when geocaching so we can preserve the world around us and the geocaching game board! When geocaching, be sure to stick to designated trails and don’t cut across switchbacks when navigating to the cache. Doing so might disturb and destroy flora and fauna along the way. Just remember the saying “take only photos and leave only footprints” the next time you hit the trails! 

2. Use stealth

Searching through bushes, reaching under benches, looking through tree branches—to the untrained eye, a geocacher can look a little suspicious. Muggles (aka non-geocachers) who get curious have been known to unknowingly take or damage geocaches, which is why it’s important to maintain a level of stealth while geocaching.

3. Record your starting point

A waypoint is a reference point for a physical location on Earth. You can use waypoints to mark important locations such as stages of a Mystery or Multi Cache, but some like to use them to document our starting point at a parking lot or trailhead. To add a user waypoint in the Geocaching® app:

1. In the cache details page, select Waypoints.
2. Tap the + sign to add a waypoint.
3. Tap Current Location
4. Save the waypoint with any name.

4. Photograph thoughtfully

Sometimes there is a fine line between a helpful log and a spoiler. The same can be said for photos included with a geocache log. It can be tempting to share a creative hiding spot or a fun cache container but discovering that is part of geocaching! Be thoughtful of what you include and when in doubt, ask the cache owner if it’s ok to post the photo!

5. Dress appropriately 

Dressing appropriately for geocaching can go a long way! You never know when the weather may change or if that Multi-Cache will turn into a grand adventure. Pack layers and be prepared for all weather conditions if you’re heading into the wilderness. You don’t want to miss out on a smiley just because you don’t have the right gear!

These are not the only unwritten rules of geocaching, there are many more that exist.

[+Max and 99]

One personal rule I have while out geocaching: don't intentionally post anything that will spoil a virtual cache. This includes posting a waymark that will provide the information needed to claim a find on a virtual. I try to be mindful of this when posting.

[+cerberus1]

We use a version of "LNT".  Just common sense without the associated "feel good" bull.  

 - The last time a group of organized hikers were at a local state park,  the other 2/3rds, one of her friends, and I cleaned up after them. 

Sheesh...

She was tempted to create a CITO and name it "Traces of LNT" if they came back again.  

We saw footage of the aftermath of a couple of those GND rallies and saw the same.  "Fix" the Earth soon, but leave all your trash behind now...

 

I didn't use "stealth" when I did those 1.5/1.5 hides with the other 2/3rds.   

 - No furtive movements, simply accessed the pill bottle/film can/altoids tin like I was supposed to be there. 

In line with LNT, and even hunting maybe, we both know how to walk in the woods.  Most others in the woods know about this hobby.

[+barefootjeff]

Quote

5. Dress appropriately 

Dressing appropriately for geocaching can go a long way! You never know when the weather may change or if that Multi-Cache will turn into a grand adventure. Pack layers and be prepared for all weather conditions if you’re heading into the wilderness. You don’t want to miss out on a smiley just because you don’t have the right gear!

These are not the only unwritten rules of geocaching, there are many more that exist.

 

There seems to be a cold climate assumption in this. Here in subtropical Australia, people lost in the woods don't die from cold, they die from heat stress and dehydration. Forget those layers, the unwritten rule here is to always carry plenty of water even on short hikes, twice as much as you think you'll need is a good rule of thumb.

[+cerberus1]

5 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

There seems to be a cold climate assumption in this. Here in subtropical Australia, people lost in the woods don't die from cold, they die from heat stress and dehydration. Forget those layers, the unwritten rule here is to always carry plenty of water even on short hikes, twice as much as you think you'll need is a good rule of thumb.

 

The last time this was brought up in a newsletter, you were the one we thought of first.  

 

I can't even count all the people we've seen pretty far away with no water.

One popular waterfalls trail here that got closed down to tourists saw many at the top with no water.

I don't believe the water's safe to drink, and there's nothing but a bog above.  If we know we can't see the car we take water.

[+Max and 99]

I don't know if it's from all my years in Scouts, or from all my years living in Arizona, but I don't go anywhere without extra water.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Max and 99

[+lee737]

We carry more than we need, saying that we once diverted for FTFs on a new series that was just published - flew out of the car, forgetting half our water, so myself and two kids walked probably 4km in 35 degree C heat with about 500mL of water. The kids learnt about rationing that day.....

 

[+Mausebiber]

Quote

Five unwritten rules of geocaching you shouldn’t break

 

Rule 1 to 5:  Have fun and enjoy your day.

[+kunarion]

41 minutes ago, Mausebiber said:

 

Rule 1 to 5:  Have fun and enjoy your day.

 

Many people aren't responsible enough with other people's property to be told simply to have "fun and enjoy your day".  There are rules, if only for the place where the cache is.  "Have fun" at the expense of the property, and not only can all caches in that place be required to be removed, but access restrictions get added.  The offender could have stopped "Geocaching" altogether, yet the rest of us now face those restrictions.  The previous mention of leaving trash is just one example.  Someone had fun and enjoyed their day.  You and I clean up after him.  That's not as fun and enjoyable for some of us.

[+niraD]

3 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

3. Record your starting point

A waypoint is a reference point for a physical location on Earth. You can use waypoints to mark important locations such as stages of a Mystery or Multi Cache, but some like to use them to document our starting point at a parking lot or trailhead. To add a user waypoint in the Geocaching® app:

1. In the cache details page, select Waypoints.
2. Tap the + sign to add a waypoint.
3. Tap Current Location
4. Save the waypoint with any name.

One of my frustrations with Groundspeak's app is that waypoints must be associated with a geocache. After I've found the geocache, the parking waypoint that I associated with it will be much harder to access. Other geocaching apps that I've used have been able to create independent waypoints (for parking, for important junctions in the trail, for whatever). I wish Groundspeak's app could do it.

[+dprovan]

Meh. Not really geocaching rules for the most part, just hiking rules. But whatever.

 

The one I think is a little too absolute is the one about stealth. Stealth is one technique, but far more often I find "I'm geocaching, ever heard of it?" to be the more productive approach when encountering muggles. Too often, "stealth" makes muggles feel creepy.

[+The Jester]

4 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

2. Use stealth

Searching through bushes, reaching under benches, looking through tree branches—to the untrained eye, a geocacher can look a little suspicious. Muggles (aka non-geocachers) who get curious have been known to unknowingly take or damage geocaches, which is why it’s important to maintain a level of stealth while geocaching.

Given my nickname, I've found that spectacle is better than stealth.  If I dress in full jester outfit I can get away with just about anything - jumping around and diving under a bench will either be seen as 'performance art' enjoyed and dismissed, or as something too strange to pay attention to ("I will not look at that fool and give him the attention he wants!").  One time, not in outfit, I and a buddy started goofing around with juggling on the sidewalk while a couple of others searched the constructed rock formation just behind.  Nobody paid any attention to the caching activity as we drew all eyes.

[+CAVinoGal]

6 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

1. Leave no trace

It’s important to be conscious of your surroundings when geocaching so we can preserve the world around us and the geocaching game board! When geocaching, be sure to stick to designated trails and don’t cut across switchbacks when navigating to the cache. Doing so might disturb and destroy flora and fauna along the way. Just remember the saying “take only photos and leave only footprints” the next time you hit the trails! 

This is a contradiction of sorts - when hiding we ARE leaving something for others to find.  In doing so, they often leave geo-trails through the grasses and brush.  Hardly "leave no trace".  

 

Often, caches are placed away from trails.  I did a series of State Park caches in upstate NY in the fall of 2017, nearly all of them were 30-50ft OFF the trails, in the woods, able to be found out of sight of other hikers ON the trails.  Placed with the full knowledge and cooperation of the park rangers, a program they run every summer, to earn a very nice souvenir coin after finding a certain # of the caches.  This weekend I did a hike with friends at a local park, and the caches there were all well off the trails, through grass and brush.

 

We often follow the geo-trails to caches, trampled grass left by others who have already found the cache.

 

6 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

2. Use stealth

Searching through bushes, reaching under benches, looking through tree branches—to the untrained eye, a geocacher can look a little suspicious. Muggles (aka non-geocachers) who get curious have been known to unknowingly take or damage geocaches, which is why it’s important to maintain a level of stealth while geocaching.

Sometimes, trying to be "stealthy" draws more attention than just looking for the cache as if it's a normal thing to do.  We carry a clipboard - I use my phone as if I am taking photos or recording info as we retrieve a flatpack on a power pole or a logsheet behind a fake electrical plate. The clipboard gives us a surface to write on when signing the log, and if questioned, we tell the truth - we are geocaching!

 

Though I haven't done it, a friend has geocached in downtown San Francisco.  She said all you have to do is wear a bandana, and mumble or sing to yourself as you look in the bushes or under a bench and everyone will give you plenty of room to search!

[+Max and 99]

3 minutes ago, CAVinoGal said:

Sometimes, trying to be "stealthy" draws more attention than just looking for the cache as if it's a normal thing to do. 

That's my husband's preference. Act like you're supposed to be there. 

 

5 minutes ago, CAVinoGal said:

 

Though I haven't done it, a friend has geocached in downtown San Francisco.  She said all you have to do is wear a bandana, and mumble or sing to yourself as you look in the bushes or under a bench and everyone will give you plenty of room to search!

Hilarious. 

[+barefootjeff]

8 minutes ago, CAVinoGal said:

This is a contradiction of sorts - when hiding we ARE leaving something for others to find.  In doing so, they often leave geo-trails through the grasses and brush.  Hardly "leave no trace".  

 

When placing a cache, I take particular care that, when it's ultimately archived and removed, there'll be no trace it was ever there. As for geo-trails, that's something I keep in mind when choosing hiding places. Most of mine are accessed across rock from the pre-existing tracks, or across tidal flats where any geo-trail will be erased by the next high tide. There's one where I was a bit concerned a geo-trail might form but it's had too few finds for that to happen.

 

Once away from suburbia, the forest floors here tend to be mostly leaf litter and bark rather than grass, so any trail left by a few cachers will quickly disappear.

 

[+thebruce0]

I guess the point about stealth is not so much about trying to be inconspicuous as it is not trying to draw people's attention to there being something there. IMO the concern with stealth is more about helping the cache have a prolonged life by minimizing the risk that someone will get curious and muggle it.  Often, as mentioned, being stealthy isn't always the best way to accomplish this

 

 

I would another point - Be aware of your camera and photographs' location settings!  If you're at the final of a puzzle, don't post a photo knowing that you have location details stored with the photo.  The EXIF data with the photograph can be read by anyone who views the photo gallery, and can ultimately give away the location, or general vicinity, of the cache. Every camera/app should have the option to not include location information (typically a feature brought on by privacy concerns).  If you post photos with your log, don't include the gps data!

 

There's are apps that will strip EXIF data on photos, if you're unsure. Good to use it if you don't want to keep changing the location settings. (I just don't include gps info with my photos at all; easier that way)

[+barefootjeff]

21 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

I would another point - Be aware of your camera and photographs' location settings!  If you're at the final of a puzzle, don't post a photo knowing that you have location details stored with the photo.  The EXIF data with the photograph can be read by anyone who views the photo gallery, and can ultimately give away the location, or general vicinity, of the cache. Every camera/app should have the option to not include location information (typically a feature brought on by privacy concerns).  If you post photos with your log, don't include the gps data!

 

There's are apps that will strip EXIF data on photos, if you're unsure. Good to use it if you don't want to keep changing the location settings. (I just don't include gps info with my photos at all; easier that way)

 

Unless it's changed again, it appears the geocaching website is now stripping all EXIF data from photos uploaded to it, including in cache and TB logs and cache page galleries.

 

Edit to add: I just tried uploading an image containing EXIF data to one of my logs and, yep, the system stripped it off.

Edited November 6, 2019 by barefootjeff

[+Mausebiber]

7 hours ago, kunarion said:

Many people aren't responsible enough with other people's property

 

Unfortunately this is true but has very little to do with geocaching. 

[+baer2006]

7 hours ago, dprovan said:

The one I think is a little too absolute is the one about stealth. Stealth is one technique, but far more often I find "I'm geocaching, ever heard of it?" to be the more productive approach when encountering muggles. Too often, "stealth" makes muggles feel creepy.

This.

 

If I'm on a more or less lonely trail, but a single muggle is approaching when I'd like to start searching at GZ (e.g. someone walking their dog), I let the muggle pass, while I'm like "reading a new message on my phone". But in an area with many muggles, or one where I have no way to judge if and how many muggles may see me (e.g. a residential area with lots of windows in line of sight), I just "do my thing", and search for the cache. As you say, acting "stealthy" (looking around before doing anything) in such a situation is way more suspicious. And if someone is curious, and asks me what I'm doing, I give the honest answer "Geocaching". By now, many muggles have already heard of it. If not, I explain it. So far, I had no completely negative reactions (but some people shake their head about such a silly pastime ).

There is only one type of muggle, where I always walk away without searching: Bored teenagers hanging around, usually with beers in their hand. I'm probably prejudiced, but I always think that when these guys learn about the location of the cache, it's gone 5 minutes later.

[+lee737]

25 minutes ago, baer2006 said:

 

There is only one type of muggle, where I always walk away without searching: Bored teenagers hanging around, usually with beers in their hand. I'm probably prejudiced, but I always think that when these guys learn about the location of the cache, it's gone 5 minutes later.

 

Agree - there are muggles and there are teens.

[+thebruce0]

9 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

Unless it's changed again, it appears the geocaching website is now stripping all EXIF data from photos uploaded to it, including in cache and TB logs and cache page galleries.

 

Edit to add: I just tried uploading an image containing EXIF data to one of my logs and, yep, the system stripped it off.

 

Yeah that must be a fairly recent new addition.  Surprised it hasnt' come up in the forums yet. I'm pretty sure that was a hot discussion topic at some point, with the controversy over this very point of puzzle spoilers with GPS location and concerns over privacy... In testing myself, I tried photo uploads via Cachly - new and edited images - and the official app, and uploading by web, and none kept the EXIF data. (or more specifically, the exif fields were set to blank values)  Out of curiosity I also tested by uploading images to FB, and apparently FB also strips the GPS location.  I wonder if the GPS removal is in part also due to GDPR.

 

Well this is good to know now.

[+barefootjeff]

4 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

Yeah that must be a fairly recent new addition.  Surprised it hasnt' come up in the forums yet. I'm pretty sure that was a hot discussion topic at some point, with the controversy over this very point of puzzle spoilers with GPS location and concerns over privacy

 

It's been a while, mid to late last year I think, and there was plenty of discussion about it here at the time. It's a double-edged sword for puzzle caches as it also can cause problems for those that use EXIF data on cache page images as part of the puzzle.

[+thebruce0]

7 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

It's a double-edged sword for puzzle caches as it also can cause problems for those that use EXIF data on cache page images as part of the puzzle.

Yep I was going to mention that, but unless they retroactively stripped all photos already in their system of all EXIF data, then past puzzles shouldn't be broken. New puzzles won't be able to use that trick.

[+Wet Pancake Touring Club]

I wonder where the first waypoint is??? A geotrail that can be seen from space.

 

[+lee737]

1 hour ago, barefootjeff said:

 

It's been a while, mid to late last year I think, and there was plenty of discussion about it here at the time. It's a double-edged sword for puzzle caches as it also can cause problems for those that use EXIF data on cache page images as part of the puzzle.

They'll need to host those images themselves now....

[+cerberus1]

16 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

Once away from suburbia, the forest floors here tend to be mostly leaf litter and bark rather than grass, so any trail left by a few cachers will quickly disappear.

Yep.

This is why I feel LNT is a common sense thing.  The whole idea misses the point that critters often do more harm than us. 

Many of the trails we've helped set in new park systems here were older single-tracks blazed by deer. 

One in the backyard is thirty years of hoof traffic.  Looks like a typical trail.  Even looks "groomed".

 - They know the easiest way around n through terrain.  

Here, deer create more issues for forest systems than humans, destroying habitat for birds and most other wildlife.  

Many reforested areas are fencing in their properties, long-term testing for damage done by deer, with spring-loaded doors for humans to pass through.

Much of our favorite fishing areas have been completely ruined by beavers,  and they're protected on some federal properties.

 

 

[+thebruce0]

5 hours ago, BendSinister said:

I now try to host puzzle images about 50/50 in the gallery AND on external hosts

Or you could just host all your images on your own website. That would be just as uninformative, and in my experience much more easy to maintain

 

* and it avoids broken images over time when inevitable 3rd party hosting site change their sharing ways or pack up their bags and poof out of existence

Edited November 7, 2019 by thebruce0