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caches far from home


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We are getting ready to hide our fist cache. But the guideline regarding caches far from home may be a barrier which excludes us from ever hiding a cache. We have two home locations; a summer home and a winter home. Since we may be away from either home location for several months does that disqualify us from ever hiding caches in either locale? This seems unfair. Not everyone has more than one home location, but many retired persons do!

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There is some flexibility about what can be considered "home." It doesn't have to be one spot, even though you're only able to pick one set of coordinates on the website for "home."

 

The reason for the rule is to make sure that cachers are in the position to take care of a cache. Cache maintenance, as I'm sure you're well aware, is an enduring commitment.

 

A geocacher who lives in one part of the world is not going to be able to maintain a cache hidden in a completely different part of the world, which they visited once and to which may never return. So, there is a rule against "vacation caches" in order to prevent cachers from spewing forth remote hides they cannot possibly maintain.

 

But if you regularly visit a location that is not immediately adjacent to your "home coordinates," and can perhaps arrange with someone who lives there year-round to help out with your geocache when you're not there, that may be enough to get by.

 

When hiding such a cache, make sure to explain to the local reviewer in a reviewer note that you are not just some random visitor, and they should be able to work with you.

 

 

 

(And since I'm an earthcache reviewer when I'm not moderating the forums, let me add an aside, earthcaches based on geologic features that will not change in a thousand lifetimes can make the PERFECT "vacation caches.")

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Thanks so much for your reply geoawareUSA9 We understand the importance of maintenance. We have planted about 400 active letterboxes around both of our home locations and perhaps 98% are currently in perfect condition, dry and intact, because we maintain them, even after many years in the wild. Any reports of problems are addressed promptly, weather permitting. Yes there are a few problems we have not yet resolved but nobody is perfect.

 

We have only logged several hundred caches so far, but personal experience is that less than 20% of the caches we have found are in a condition which might be considered "good". Perhaps 70% are wet and bothersome to log, and the remaining 10% are not able to be logged without supplying a temp log. So despite the guidelines which encourage maintenance, this does not translate to the real world.

 

We will attempt to work with our local reviewer and hide our first cache. If the process is unmanageable we will simply not contribute our time and skills to support geocaching.

 

 

 

 

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We have a caching family that have homes on both ends of the country.  They travel often, similar to your "retired persons" (snowbirds) do.

If they can't be there if an issue arises, another cacher in that area will help out until they're back.  Have a plan, and you should be good.

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16 hours ago, ZeroDotZero said:

We have two home locations; a summer home and a winter home.

 

16 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

If they can't be there if an issue arises, another cacher in that area will help out until they're back.

 

Host an event or two in both locations - and get to know the local caching community in each area.  Then you will have folks to reach out to when you are not able to physically be there.  When you do place a hide, mention the names of those in the area who have agreed to help with maintenance; a reviewer will likely recognize the name as a local and allow the hide.

 

I visit my hometown in NY (from California) once a year, and I have an Adventure Lab and a bonus cache in NY.  We also host an event there each year when we visit and have come to know several cachers in the area!  I have a cousin who lives there, and the owner of the property where the cache is hidden, both on board for maintenance, and the reviewer accepted that without a problem.

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