No Caches in the Catskills

[+briansnat]

I was heading to the Catskills for a weekened of backpacking and checked the map for some area caches. I found one that apparently has been removed by the authorities:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=2115

 

Does anyone know of an official, anti Geocache policy in the Catskill Park?

[+adomatis]

I'm marking this as another good reason for a Permission Database. Check out the

Permission Database topic in the GeoCaching.com discussion.

 

- Doug Adomatis

Travel by GPS

[+Rich in NEPA]

Brian, it may not be within the area you're interested, but I recently did SFR001 in the western Catskills and can verify this one is still intact. Cheers ...

 

~Rich in NEPA~

 

 

=== A man with a GPS receiver knows where he is; a man with two GPS receivers is never sure. ===

[+briansnat]

I e-mailed the cache owner of the cache in question and he responded with this:

 

"They said their rules don't allow private property to be stored or abandoned on wilderness, unique, preserve, etc. lands without a permit first being issued by the land manager. They sent rangers out to get the caches within a week of their being placed. I guess it was a slow week or an important issue for them. I hope they will be receptive to granting permission in the future."

[+Harrald]

I have a place in the catskills I've picked for a cache. I won't be able to place it till next spring though.

 

I guess I need to check on whos land it's going to be on. I would hate to see it tossed in the garbage because I'm a dope.

 

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As always, the above statements are just MHO.

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[+Ttepee]

Found it interesting to see this topic today.Let me start this by saying that I had seen this cache in the catskills back when the rangers first lifted it. The talk in the forums back then was leaning towards caching being illegal in Catskill State Park.

 

This past weekend I was up North around Oneonta area checking on the very first cache I had placed a year previous at Gilbert Lake State park. I spoke with the ranger while I was up there and he filled me in on some interesting NYS parks history this past year with geocaching.

 

I believe the cache that Brian Snat is speaking of here may be the cache the ranger told me about. It seems there was a cache placed in a restricted area on a cliffside that the parks people got upset about. My ranger then received a notice from the state for all state parks to check the geocaching site to see if there were caches placed in their parks. That is how my cache was discovered by the ranger. It was the first cache I'd ever placed and I didn't know better at the time. Since then I've been trying to go the authorization route but it's not a quick or direct road.

 

The ranger at Gilbert Lake State Park told me that my cache caused quite a stir.... there was talk of fines being issued and he spoke of a special permit but did not ask me to apply for one. He said that at the time he told the state that the area this cache was in was fine and he saw nothing wrong with it remaining. He actually was the first to sign into the cache log book, and checked on the cache again on Labor day weekend, he enjoyed reading the logs and I saw genuine concern on his face when I told him the cache had disappeared since his last visit and was in a new location now.... "but that log book was priceless" he said.

 

Well it was Memorial Day weekend this past weekend and the office was a mob scene as we were trying to discuss this so I plan on following this up with a letter to the ranger to try to clear up the special permit question.

 

I have currently got a request into the state parks regional office here in the Hudson Valley and they have had me on perpetual hold now for a couple of months. I would like to try to work with them to help support the sport but they don't offer a clear avenue for communication. I am going to try to send a letter out tommorrow to my cache friendly ranger and try to get more details from him if they have a policy in place in other areas of the state maybe I can use their info to help speed things along down here. I'll keep you posted about it here in the forums. For the time being though I would consider the Catskill area open for responsible caching requests... they had definite issues with the cache in question. I think the talk back last year may have put some people off the idea of hiding there...I know it did me.

 

[This message was edited by Ttepee on May 28, 2002 at 06:54 PM.]

[The Artful Dodger]

I was away last Memorial Day weekend doing dayhikes in the Catskills with some friends.

 

I have placed a cache within the Catskills on Saturday - but I haven't created the cache page ... yet.

 

I am wondering whether to publish it at all ... considering that it may be picked up/plundered so soon.

 

Perhaps a thought is to create incorrect coordinates and get cachers to email me for the correct ones before going off to seek this one.

 

...must give it more thought ...

 

[+briansnat]

It's possible that Geocaching was a concern when first brought to their attention, but is no longer on their radar screen. I'd post it out of curiousity. The trails up there are well patrolled, so if anything were to happen, it would be soon. Either that, or ya have to go back up there to fetch it.