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Caches suitable for wheelchairs


Team Tate

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Can anyone tell me of any caches that are suitable for wheelchair users. I know some are ok for pushchairs etc, but wheelchairs are a bit bigger & more cumbersome. I look after a severely disabled chap who would like to do some caching with his mother & aunt and would like to suggest a few that they could try. Their dog was the one that we borrowed for the Inside Out filming and they are keen to have a go themselves.

I'm also wondering if there was a way that we could add wheelchair accessibility to the cache pages and not just pushchair or do we have to rely on the cache owner to make a note?

Sarah

 

Team Tate

 

Remember - if it's moving, it's not dead...

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There is a cache up here in Caithness that is suitible for Wheelchairs and people with buggies. I tried it not that long ago and thought it was very well done and original.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=50527

 

http://img.Groundspeak.com/cache/50527_700.gif

 

This is the logo to show it is suitible for wheelchairs.

I know this is maybe at wee bit far for you to travel but it will give you an idea of what can be done.

 

Hear about the 2 blondes that walked into a bar?

You would of thought at least one of them would of seen it!!

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As far as I can remember these should be ok.

 

Stonehenge:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=42637

 

A virtual. No problem at all for wheelchairs.

 

Royalty Hunters:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=16432

 

Accessible if you park in the little car park shown at Fritham then go back out to the gravel track, but a mile and a quarter walk. All packed gravel except for the last thirty yards or so which is grass. The find may be out of reach to someone in a wheelchair.

 

Salisbury Cathedral:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=49911

 

Level ground, mostly paved, some hard gravel, but the find itself is probably out of reach.

 

And this one I'm not certain about - Got Wood:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=38578

 

Another virtual. Grass, but should be ok in dry weather, only possible problem is the gate which I can't remember clearly enough to be sure whether a wheelchair would go through. If you want to do it email me and I'll check - it's not far from me.

 

I hope I haven't forgotten any problems with any of them!

 

Bill

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We had this problem last summer as Mandy had badly torn ligament damage to her ankle, we sussed out three in Cornwall which I pushed her to.

 

The three are:-

 

GC7D6D Right of Lands End - towards Sennen

GC52CD Lauri's a treasure

GC850D Cober's Edge (Cornwall)

 

I hope these are of some use if they visit our area.

I also like the logo posted by Naefearjustbeer, this would be the ideal way of telling if its wheelchair friendly before making a wasted journey.

 

Cheers

Mike

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quote:
Can anyone tell me of any caches that are suitable for wheelchair users.

 

"How many kinds of Sweet Flower Grow" (GCA628) is in the Abbey Gardens in Winchester, next to the Guildhall. As there are good paths there, a wheelchair should get withing 3 ft of the cache!

 

I believe that there is disabled parking available right in front of the Guildhall.

 

paul

 

Team Blitz

 

White gravel? What white gravel? I can't see any.... heck, who cares!

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I raised a similar subject about 2 months ago after I came out of hospital after an accident

 

( http://opentopic.Groundspeak.com/0/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=1750973553&f=1500909683&m=6800971145 )

 

Someone did say that you should be able to tell from the difficulty rating however, that isnt always possible. We did a 1/1 today which I would definately say isnt suitable for wheelchairs.

 

It would be great if it was something which you could construct a search around and I do hope this is implimented. There are some which are obviously suitable for wheelchair access (generally town/city ones)and there are some which are obviously not.... but there are a huge amount of caches which are maybes!

 

Tiffany

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we feel that it would be a good idea for geocaching.com should add a wheelchair/pram button to the 'hide a cache form' that then adds the logo. and enables searches.

There would have to be a rule on how close to the cache a wheel-chair must be able to get.

 

I think it is proably not posible to place caches so the person in the wheel chair can reach them, but, off the top of my head say within 30 feet.

 

I exspect this has been discussed before, but we have not seen it, so sorry if we are repeating something.

 

Tech-no notice

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There would need to be very strong guidelines about when the button should be pressed. I doubt they'd suit everyone and, frankly, I doubt many cache placers would read them.

 

I think Team Tate want to know if "you can push someone to within 30' of the cache", which would be a good choice for the icon, but unhelpful for geocachers in wheelchairs who want to actually find the caches.

 

The capabilities of wheelchair users vary even more widely than able bodied people. For some, the cache would have to be 3-4' off the ground and less than 1' from a path. Others would be happy to abseil in! I certainly know of paraplegics who fly hang gliders and the lifeguard who taught me to swim had no use of his legs; try telling them the cache is unsuitable because there's a log in the way!

 

Maybe a compulsory text box "pram / wheelchair considerations" would be better than an icon?

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I think the difficult truth is that geocaching is really a sport for able bodied people, excepting the occasional unusual person as mentioned in Teasel's post. If you are confined to a wheelchair almost all of the caches (that I've done at least) are going to be impossible to do on your own for one reason or another. Wheelchair bound people always have the option of e-mailing the owner to test for suitability.

 

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jeremyp

The second ten million caches were the worst too.

http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching

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quote:
Originally posted by jeremyp:

I think the difficult truth is that geocaching is really a sport for able bodied people, excepting the occasional unusual person as mentioned in Teasel's post. If you are confined to a wheelchair almost all of the caches (that I've done at least) are going to be impossible _to do on your own_ for one reason or another. Wheelchair bound people always have the option of e-mailing the owner to test for suitability.

 

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jeremyp

 

This is not just about Wheelchairs, it is also about Prams/Buggies. We cache with a vey young baby, and we are not alone. As the sport grows older some of you 'young' men might find yourselves in a simalar position.

What we need to know is if we have to use the 'sling' or can we take the 'pram' to the cache site.

 

We have tried e-mailing cache owners. BUT

Apart from the regular cachers who often give a helpful responce within 24 hours we get no reply at all to over 50% of queries and about 25% take over 3 days and up to 3 weeks to reply.

NO crititism intended, its just the way it is.

 

Life gets in the way of caching icon_confused.gif

 

 

The second ten million caches were the worst too.

http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching

 

Tech-no notice

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quote:
Originally posted by Nia:

As the sport grows older some of you 'young' men might find yourselves in a simalar position.


David is now 4 months old and we often take him caching with us. We delight in getting the pram to caches where other people have difficulty in getting themselves. I tell you, I didn't feel like a 'young man' after carrying the pram back out of Monsal Dale! (Where's the 'dead' icon on this thing?!) We do get some odd, and sometimes disapproving looks off others icon_smile.gif But if he's warm, safe and happy...

 

It'd be nice to know what to expect, though, either by an icon or, preferably, though accurate descriptions. Even with the sling, sometimes one of us has to stay with David while the other goes off and bags the cache. With better info, we could choose caches where we could all find it together.

 

[This message was edited by Teasel on February 04, 2003 at 05:29 AM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by Nia:

This is not just about Wheelchairs, it is also about Prams/Buggies. We cache with a vey young baby, and we are not alone. As the sport grows older some of you 'young' men might find yourselves in a simalar position.


To be fair, Nia, the original question was specifically about wheelchairs.

However, thats not to say the issue shouldn't be opened to pushchairs and buggys.

As one who has taken my son caching I would say that the safest bet is to take him in one of those back-pack rucksack type things. We have done quite a few caches like this and you only really run into trouble where there are low branches on trees - have to remember to duck lower than you otherwise would normally.

 

Rich

mobilis in mobili

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quote:
Originally posted by el10t:

quote:
Originally posted by Nia:

This is not just about Wheelchairs, it is also about Prams/Buggies. We cache with a vey young baby, and we are not alone. As the sport grows older some of you 'young' men might find yourselves in a simalar position.


To be fair, Nia, the original question _was_ specifically about wheelchairs.

However, thats not to say the issue shouldn't be opened to pushchairs and buggys.

As one who has taken my son caching I would say that the safest bet is to take him in one of those back-pack rucksack type things. We have done quite a few caches like this and you only really run into trouble where there are low branches on trees - have to remember to duck lower than you otherwise would normally.

 

Rich

_mobilis in mobili_


 

As a whitness to one of these events I can testify that Richard's son absolutely loves suddenly being the tallest person around.

 

Anyway, my comment applies to a lesser extent even where prams are concerned. If you are prepared to accept the challenge of taking a pram to a cache, that's great, but I think you should be prepared for disappointment on numerous occasions.

 

If there was a pram rating, I for one wouldn't know how to apply it. What is pramable? Does it have to have a made up path to the cache? Does it matter if it's five miles away from the nearest road. Do steps make it non-pramable? Or a style?

 

I think I'd make all my caches pram-free caches to avoid abuse from people who think that my definition of pramable is too hard.

 

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jeremyp

The second ten million caches were the worst too.

http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching

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el10t.

 

this far down a thread i can't remember how it started icon_smile.gif

 

You cant actully use those back-packs for babies, as they cannot support themselves enough. icon_mad.gif

 

We have 2 slings we use but they are only good for short distances, and you can't bend forward to pick anything up, so we like to take a pram when we can. icon_razz.gif

 

Tech-no notice

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quote:
Originally posted by Nia:

You cant actully use those back-packs for babies, as they cannot support themselves enough. icon_mad.gif

 

We have 2 slings we use but they are only good for short distances, and you can't bend forward to pick anything up, so we like to take a pram when we can. icon_razz.gif


Oh yes I had forgotten that - the support thing. When Sam was very little we had a thing that strapped to your front and supported him pretty well. I once took him on a three mile walk in it and it nearly killed me!

 

Rich

mobilis in mobili

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quote:
Originally posted by el10t:

When Sam was very little we had a thing that strapped to your front and supported him pretty well. I once took him on a three mile walk in it and it nearly killed me!

 

Rich

_mobilis in mobili_


 

If I got out of my car at the nearest parking spot and the GPS still said 1.5 miles, I would seriously consider posting "not found, too lazy" even without having to carry a small child for the round trip.

 

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jeremyp

The second ten million caches were the worst too.

http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching

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