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Caches located along trails


Guest Moun10Bike

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Guest Moun10Bike

I wanted to get opinions about placing caches alongside trails in spots that are a relatively long distance away from the nearest road.

 

I am an avid mountain biker, and I have thought that it would be a lot of fun to place a stash on each of my bike rides. However, I placed a stash in north Idaho back in June and it has never been visited. It is near a resort area, has a great view, and can be driven to, yet it is still unlogged. The problem seems to be that it is a long ways away from a major population center. For this reason, I question whether the kinds of locations I'm thinking about for my "mountain bike caches" would be unpopular.

 

What do others think? Would there be any interest in these sorts of caches?

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I live in Missouri and there are a number of nice trails in the Mark Twain National Forest southwest from where I live. I plan to place stashes there this summer after having ridden at least five miles from the road. I think these will be fun to place and fun to hunt. I am of the opinion that a more difficult stash is more rewarding in the end for both parties.

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*anybody* find one of your caches, it'll be much cooler to have someone find your hardest.

 

I, for one, will be going for the harder ones over Spring/Summer, so I may go to yours! It'll just be when the weather gets better.

 

Jeremy

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Guest WrongWay

While it would be neat to rack up a stash count, the reward for me would be visiting these remote sites, or bushwacking 2 hours before locating a stash. The local stashes are a bonus, my daughter is too young to be summitting any peaks (yet) so they are perfect for her. Maybe you could qualify for the "oldest cache not visited" award...

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Guest daviskw

I?ve two caches within 100 miles of St. Louis. Both require a hike to find them, one takes an hour to get to and the other 30 minutes from the trailhead. They have been out for 3 weeks or longer and I have had only one visitor and he was fryed who posted earlier. I think it may be that most people into geocaching are not hikers and my not have the skills to go long distances off road. I have two cache locations I plan to use in the near future. One is a 4-mile hike from the nearest road and the other will be a 10-mile hike for a multi-cache. Both will require the use of a map and compass, you will not be able to take a direct route unless you can swim and fly. If no one visits them I?ll place some closer to trails and St. Louis.

Butch

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Guest Ron Streeter

In northern California where I live, I put ALL my caches in what we call regional parks. They are upward of several thousand acres and have between 10 and 20 miles of trails for hikers, bikers and horses. It is a common practice here to park in the lot then hike in a mile or two (or more) and plant the cache off the trail. People hike and bike to them.

 

So, if your caches aren't being found yet, it is probably more a matter of the number of people looking more than anything else. As another cacher (in a forum) told me. Be patient..they will come.

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Guest Richard Amirault

Remember ....

 

Just because there is no log of a visit on the cache page does not mean that it has not been visited!!

 

There are many folks who do not log visits on the GeoCaching site. I've found 27 caches and have not logged a single one.

 

Richard in Boston

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by Richard Amirault:

Just because there is no log of a visit on the cache page does not mean that it has not been visited!!


 

Correct. In this case, however, I know that it hasn't been visited because I've checked on it fairly regularly -- no log entries and no change in contents (well, I suppose someone could still have visited it without changing anything! icon_smile.gif )

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by Richard Amirault:

Just because there is no log of a visit on the cache page does not mean that it has not been visited!!


 

Correct. In this case, however, I know that it hasn't been visited because I've checked on it fairly regularly -- no log entries and no change in contents (well, I suppose someone could still have visited it without changing anything! icon_smile.gif )

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Guest koshea

When I first heard of geocaching, the first thing I thought of was planting one on a mountain bike ride -- one only bikers can really get to. I think it's a cool idea, and plan to do that this summer. I use a Garmin EMap, with the bike mount. It's more fun than a bike computer. I love exploring and uploading tracks later to see where I went. Having the topos on the ride is great! icon_smile.gif I'm going to have to get a biking buddy to go looking for that cache of yours now!

 

One thing about the Garmin GPS bike mount... that piece that attaches to the GPS... it's made of hard plastic and it starts to bend and can eventually break if you use it on a lot of bumpy rides. I think once I got the GPS, I almost couldn't go anywhere without it... kind of annoying my friends? icon_smile.gif When I contacted Garmin to inquire about purchasing just that little piece, they were so good to me -- they sent me the whole package free. I didn't remember them advertising any sort of warranty.

 

One thing I do think about... as a mountain biker, I want to stay on the trail. I don't want to see any trail closures in my area. That means the cache I plant has to be in a good location... thoughtfully planted in an area so delicate as the desert.

 

[This message has been edited by koshea (edited 03-10-2001).]

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Guest koshea

When I first heard of geocaching, the first thing I thought of was planting one on a mountain bike ride -- one only bikers can really get to. I think it's a cool idea, and plan to do that this summer. I use a Garmin EMap, with the bike mount. It's more fun than a bike computer. I love exploring and uploading tracks later to see where I went. Having the topos on the ride is great! icon_smile.gif I'm going to have to get a biking buddy to go looking for that cache of yours now!

 

One thing about the Garmin GPS bike mount... that piece that attaches to the GPS... it's made of hard plastic and it starts to bend and can eventually break if you use it on a lot of bumpy rides. I think once I got the GPS, I almost couldn't go anywhere without it... kind of annoying my friends? icon_smile.gif When I contacted Garmin to inquire about purchasing just that little piece, they were so good to me -- they sent me the whole package free. I didn't remember them advertising any sort of warranty.

 

One thing I do think about... as a mountain biker, I want to stay on the trail. I don't want to see any trail closures in my area. That means the cache I plant has to be in a good location... thoughtfully planted in an area so delicate as the desert.

 

[This message has been edited by koshea (edited 03-10-2001).]

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Guest O-man

Moun10 - The remote ones are the best. I read in another thread that yours is under snow right now. That would be a very sporty hunt. There is one in the Sierra's that was recently posted that has two ratings; winter and summer - which is very cool since you can pick your challenge based upon the season.

 

Right now, it seems that a foundation of easy sites are being laid - which should get a lot of people into the game quickly. But as the months progress, look for more like yours.

 

The rating game ought to undergo a revision period as well - right now its pretty basic, but I expect it to evolve along with the sport.

 

Am I mistaken, or aren't you in the UK now? If so, you may want to place a few while you're there - or as you find the ones there, give us some feedback on "the hunt".

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Guest Moun10Bike

t my way through the streets to find the park in which it was located (my map of London didn't extend far enough to show this area). Not only did I have a great adventure hunting the stash, but I was treated to great views at the stash location, and got to see an area that I most likely would not have visited otherwise. I left a souvenir from my town, Seattle, essentially trading some of my "home" in exchange for the chance to experience someone else's.

 

I thought seriously about planting at least one cache while I was here, but my unfamiliarity with where it would be off-limits/acceptable combined with the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease has left me to consider otherwise. In fact, the epidemic means that this will likely be the only cache I get to hunt while here, as they are asking people to stay out of the country (and as far as I can tell, today's the only cache in the area that has an urban setting).

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by koshea:

I use a Garmin EMap, with the bike mount. It's more fun than a bike computer. I love exploring and uploading tracks later to see where I went. Having the topos on the ride is great


 

koshea, you sound just like me! I have heaps of tracks from mountain biking, snowmobiling, and hiking that I permanently archive to show where I went. I also like to create maps for areas in which I travel using previous tracks to mark out the route (I use OziExplorer for this). Like you, my friends can't understand why I won't go anywhere without my GPS. icon_smile.gif

 

I have a Garmin bike mount, but have since switched over to a RAM mount. I like it because my Garmin III+ takes up a lot of handlebar space with the Garmin mount, but the arm that the RAM mount uses frees up that space. Also, the arm design helps to absorb a lot of the shock that is otherwise transmitted to the GPS. Using the suction cup mount in the truck, I can move the GPS from vehicle to bicycle in seconds.

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by koshea:

I use a Garmin EMap, with the bike mount. It's more fun than a bike computer. I love exploring and uploading tracks later to see where I went. Having the topos on the ride is great


 

koshea, you sound just like me! I have heaps of tracks from mountain biking, snowmobiling, and hiking that I permanently archive to show where I went. I also like to create maps for areas in which I travel using previous tracks to mark out the route (I use OziExplorer for this). Like you, my friends can't understand why I won't go anywhere without my GPS. icon_smile.gif

 

I have a Garmin bike mount, but have since switched over to a RAM mount. I like it because my Garmin III+ takes up a lot of handlebar space with the Garmin mount, but the arm that the RAM mount uses frees up that space. Also, the arm design helps to absorb a lot of the shock that is otherwise transmitted to the GPS. Using the suction cup mount in the truck, I can move the GPS from vehicle to bicycle in seconds.

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Guest O-man

Cool - did you poke around the Heath a little and find some interesting spots? I believe this is where Guy Fawkes watched his fireworks from (Parliament Hill).

 

If the ban is not in effect in the N/NW of London, you should check out the Epping Forest. I know there is a cache there, but of additional interest are the two earth mound forts in the woods - and the woods themselves are full of the effects of centuries of selective forestry. Also, King Henry VIII built a hunting lodge on the southern end (closest to the train station) that is worth visiting.

 

If the ban is on everywhere, you might think of some micro-caches in and around the city. Theres lots of old intelligence "drops" around, maybe you could re-create one for fun. Check local bookstores for a guide to these places.

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by O-man:

Cool - did you poke around the Heath a little and find some interesting spots?


 

I did! I made sure to head west to Keats' House, only to find it closed until May. icon_frown.gif I also walked through the neighborhoods of beautiful Georgian homes in the area. I would have liked to have spent more time, and visited Sigmund Freud's house, etc., but I had to get back to the Tower of London to meet up with a friend.

 

As for the hoof and mouth disease closures, everyone here seems to indicate that it applies to the entire country. I'll look at planting a cache in a local park or something, though -- I'd love to be able to hide one here before I leave!

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by O-man:

Cool - did you poke around the Heath a little and find some interesting spots?


 

I did! I made sure to head west to Keats' House, only to find it closed until May. icon_frown.gif I also walked through the neighborhoods of beautiful Georgian homes in the area. I would have liked to have spent more time, and visited Sigmund Freud's house, etc., but I had to get back to the Tower of London to meet up with a friend.

 

As for the hoof and mouth disease closures, everyone here seems to indicate that it applies to the entire country. I'll look at planting a cache in a local park or something, though -- I'd love to be able to hide one here before I leave!

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Guest Troll

The government has granted powers to the local authorities to close what they see fit. In my county, all the footpaths seem to be closed, as well as all the parks. Elsewhere might be different, but it would be difficult to tell until you get there. In addition to this, all national trust and foresty commision areas are closed. One cache you should be able to get to, if you have enough time and a train fare (another crash this morning!), is the new one near Cambridge. Very new, so if they could get there to plant it, then you can get there now. I'm planning to hit it soon, so I may have to race you!

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by Troll:

One cache you should be able to get to, if you have enough time and a train fare (another crash this morning!), is the new one near Cambridge. Very new, so if they could get there to plant it, then you can get there now. I'm planning to hit it soon, so I may have to race you!


 

Unfortunately, I only have one more free day (I'm here for work) before flying back to Seattle, and the plan is another day in London. I'd still like to try to hide a cache down around Guildford during the week, though!

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