How about 4x4 Caching?

[TerryS]

I like 4-wheeling in my Jeep and geocaching. It seems natural to me that other geocaching/4x4 fans would enjoy caches that they could drive to. These caches would have to be on public land, or private with the landowners permission. Of course we would 'tread lightly' and not unduly tear up the landscape.

 

Any comments?

 

www.small.bz

[umc]

This has been brought before but I haven't followed the threads so you may want to a search to find some info you may want.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________

Coming Around, New Owner Of a Garmin GPS V Received on 10-03-02

[+Nurse Dave]

We went to one in Yakima, Washington in our Explorer. A little rougher road than I was used to. Was just waiting for a tire to pop while LKay had a blast driving.

 

---Real men cache in shorts.

[+oneeyesquare]

I have a spot in mind about 25 mi. north of Atlanta, Mi. Legal 4WD or quad, several miles from a main road, two different routes possible, and a great view upon arrival.I hope to place next April/May.

I have saw a few Mi. caches that noted you could get closer by using two tracks. Also saw some out west that were REAL 4wd type caches! Little more open space out there though...

[+jonboy]

How about Bulldozer caching?

[TerryS]

OK jonboy, now THAT would be fun!!

 

www.small.bz

[+creagerstonefamily]

TerryS,

 

There are lots and lots of caches in southern Nevada that suggest or require 4x4 or high clearance vehicles. You could probably spend more than a week bagging them all.

[enfanta]

Then please say so on the cache page.

 

Please.

 

I beg you.

 

My Honda can't take many more rough roads!

[+VegasCacheHounds]

As said two posts up, there are a lot of "high ground clearance" caches here in Southern Nevada. For the most part, there are four types of caches around here. Virtuals, ones that you can drive on pavement within 500 feet, ones that require a looong hike to reach, or the ones that require a high ground clearance vehicle to reach, like this one. I'd say that most don't really need 4WD, but it doesn't hurt. On some of the ones that were a tough drive in a Durango others had made it in things like a small 2WD mazda truck.

 

We like the ones that involve long rough trails

 

Shannon

 

VegasCacheHounds

[+T & G's Adventures]

Our 4x4 is like American Express... We don't leave home without it, at least when we're caching. We just never know where we're going to end up. And besides, we usually go out prepared to find several caches.

 

We'll be down in Pahrump next spring on vacation and we intend to bag 'bunches' of caches on this trip. Maybe we'll be able to bag this one you posted a link to.

 

Thanks

 

"Nobody cares what you REALLY do,

as long as the paperwork looks good"

[+VegasCacheHounds]

Well, if you're gonna be in Pahrump, heres a couple for you (yep, both by us, hehe):

Atomic Cache

SciFi

There are a couple of others in Pahrump as well, do a zip-code search from 89041.

Both me and my sister (another member of the team) grew up in Pahrump, so we had to place at least one out there.

 

Shannon

 

VegasCacheHounds

[+T & G's Adventures]

Hey, thanks you guys. We're really looking forward to our trip down there next year. We stay at "Terrible's Lakeside RV Resort and Casino", which is on Homestead on the way to the Sci-Fi cache, if I read the directions right. Did you know you pass Art Bell's house about a mile down from Terrible's RV???

 

Who's Art Bell, you say?

 

Um, honey, did you mark a waypoint for the car?

[GeoStop]

4x4 and 'tread lightly' are oxymorons.

[+Mr. Snazz]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GeoStop:

4x4 and 'tread lightly' are oxymorons.

---

 

There are plenty of geocaches where I live which are on roads that only 4x4 high-clearance vehicles can negotiate.

 

[Reddfrogg]

I love my Jeep, but I am not in favor of Drive Up caches. Getting out and searching is just part of the fun.

 

Reddfrogg

[+T & G's Adventures]

Sounds like the term "4x4" brings out the same emotions that simply mentioning "guns" does. I've seen idiots in VW's and Yugo's tearing up more open space with their cars than I've EVER done in my pickup. The description of your vehicle does not imply driving habits or your respect (or lack thereof) for your surroundings.

 

 

Um, honey, did you mark a waypoint for the car?

[+Mr. Snazz]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Reddfrogg:

I love my Jeep, but I am not in favor of Drive Up caches. Getting out and searching is just part of the fun.

---

 

Same here. I use my bronco to get as close as the roads allow, and then hike the rest of it on foot. Some of these roads have very large rocks on them, but they are still "roads" The gigantic dent in my gas tank is a testament to what happens when those roads vanish just over the top of a hill

 

[GeoStop]

I'll give you that T & G, it doesn't take a 4x4 to make a person disrespective of their surroundings.

[+creagerstonefamily]

If you know that 4x4 placard on a truck automatically means that the driver destroys wilderness and cannot "tread lightly", then you must also think that all white Southerners are racist white trash, all Black people are lazy, all Germans are Nazis, all Mexicans are stupid, etc.

 

Feel free to insert your own heritage in there somewhere, since you believe so much in generalities.

 

Well, at least a few letters of that post is right. There is a "moron" in there.

 

Does anyone remember the commercial in which the XTerras did something like play polo on a lush green field? A coworker's brother used to be the webmaster for one of Nissan Motor Company's sites.

 

He could track every time that commercial played because he would get a couple (sometime 50+ for a highly rated program) emails from EcoFrrrrreaks complaining about the damage to the grass.

[GeoStop]

Hit a sore spot eh? I drive a vehicle with 4x4 on the side. Oh yes, it is true. It sits in the drive until the snow falls, then I need it to get off my property. So, what was your point? Oh, and I'm not a eccofreek, but I am a moron.

[+Sissy-n-CR]

I'm all in favor of 4x4 caches!

 

"Honey, now we need a 4x4 to get these last few caches!"

 

It's been almost twenty years since I've owned a Jeep and I used it regularly. I miss it dearly.

 

CR

 

-- Insert pithy aphorism here --

[TerryS]

Living in SoCal, many of my friends are involved in 4-wheeling. I don't know ANYBODY who advocates indescrimate tearing-up of the enviroment. 'Treading Lightly' involves using clearly defined trails to drive upon, and driving in such a way as to prevent damage to the enviroment. Any ethical 4-wheeler would have no problem with this.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

www.small.bz

[+Team Boogidy]

My husband and I were just talking last night about a couple of caches we would like to place that would require a 4x4. We think they would be a blast for people to find. .

We have been 4xing for years and have always been very respectful of our surroundings.

 

Visualize Whirled Peas

[+Ltljon]

I recently hid a cache in an area called an ORV Park (Off Road Vehichle). It's one of only 4 (I think) places in NC where you can off-road legally ride a 4-wheeler, 4wd truck, dirt bike etc. on about 40 miles of USFS property. I couldn't make it a requirement to take a vehichle to the cache since there is an admission fee if you do, but hiking is free. I also only hid the cache a bit over 1/2 mile from parking area.

It just looked like a neat spot & it's the cacher's choice as to how they get there.

After all, they could start walking from home!

[Xtremjeepn]

I am new here. I actually did my first cache today.

 

I am an avid four wheeler. I actually write for an online four wheel drive e-zine "Rockcrawler.com".

 

I got into four wheeling for the same reason I am getting interested in Geocaching, exploration.

 

There are many old mining towns and historic sites here in Colorado that you can only get to with a well equiped four wheel drive.

 

We have been exploring ideas on how to incorporate four wheeling and geocaching into the e-zine.

 

I am not in favor of drive up caches, but am interested in ones that are maybe further out of the way and may take a bit of a challenge to find.

 

They should of course follow trails and roads and not lead anyone to hurt the environment to find them.

 

I would welcome any thoughts and ideas you may have. Feel free to email me, I am not sure how often I will check these boards until I get into the sport more.

 

Cole Ford

[+Cachetrotters]

quote:

---

Originally posted by T & G's Adventures:

I've seen idiots in VW's and Yugo's tearing up more open space with their cars than I've EVER done in my pickup.

---

 

Gee, aren't you afraid a child will accidentally find your 4-WD and hurt someone?

[+Breaktrack]

I have created a few 4X4 caches where I have recommended that you use a 4 wheel drive vehicle to get to it. The surprising thing has been how many people that have 4 wheel drive vehicles put in their logs that "I didn't have to use my four wheel drive all the way to the cache and back." Or, I drove all the way to the area of the cache in my 2 wheel drive pickup, I didn't need the 4 wheel drive I left at home", or, "I don't think this cache requires a 4 wheel drive vehicle" etc, etc, etc.

 

Let's think about this for a minute. Those that own and drive a 4 wheel drive vehicle become very adept at driving in rougher terrain that most folks that do not regularly drive in rouch terrain, therefore, you become BETTER at judging the terrain AND driving in it, even if in a 2 wheel drive.

 

In every instance where I have placed what I refer to as a 4X4 cache I have SEEN people stuck somewhere along the route there or back so I KNOW people have had trouble in the area. And each and every one of the areas have places where if you just can't stand NOT getting stuck, you can!!!!

 

I for one explore more than the area immediately around caches I hunt, thus raising the likelihood that I'll get stuck if I'm not careful, and so far, I've only gotten stuck in 2 wheel drive vehicles that I had driven FAR into areas where I had NO business being in without 4 wheel drive.

 

Those of you who know how to drive in rough terrain and find the area you wind up in as no challenge, I am so sorry, but I have to plan and explain my caches in such a manner that those who are not as skilled as we like to feel we are, are forewarned the terrain is not a nice paved road, or even a nice whiterock or dirt road, but maybe just an open beach with soft sand spots you might not see before you are axle deep in it.

 

WHEW!!!! I've been wanting to get that off my chest for a while, I'm all better now. Please hunt my 4X4 caches, but do so safely. Please cache in and trash out, and "Tread Lightly." which is not an oxymoron, but a goal anyone that goes into any wilderness area ought to aspire to. It applies toward vehicles, bicycles, or even on foot. It is an attitude, not a vehicle restriction. As an Armor officer in the U. S. Army I have torn up some terrain in tanks all over the world so I know what it means to tear up the terrain!!! Trust me!! So when I see people who think a simple tire track in a dirt road is some kind of environmental attack I just have to shake my head.

 

Of course, this is all my most humble opinion....lol.

 

"Trade up, trade even, or don't trade!!!" My philosophy of life.

[+Team Golden]

I would love it if there were some around here but I don't know of any 4x4 areas in southern WI. Up north there are a lot of ATV trails. It would be nice to use 4x4 other than for a boat or snow.

[+RocketMan]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Reddfrogg:

I love my Jeep, but I am not in favor of Drive Up caches. Getting out and searching is just part of the fun.

---

 

There is nothing that says you can't have a cache where you first do some 4 wheeling and then have to hike some distance to get to the final cache location. I have a couple of caches where you can choose how to get to them (4WD and Hike or 2WD and Hike):

Thread the Needle

Slots-O-Fun

 

On the same subject, I also have a travel bug that is dedicated to off-road geocaching: Hummer

 

RM