How far *off the trail* should a cache be placed?

[Guest Ron Streeter]

I usually place my caches 25 to 50 yards or so off the trail and maybe "around the corner" so people who are sitting and looking at contents won't be spotted by people on the trail.

 

I have gotten several comments that the caches were "too far off the trail" and some concerns about people "tromping on plants".

 

What are other cachers doing for distances off the trail?

 

I can't imagine just going 6 feet off trail to plant a cache !

 

As to "tromping plants", I always "tread lightly" and I guess I assume others do the same thing. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

Thoughts?

[Guest bob_renner]

When I've placed caches, I tend to pick an area that is sparce on vegetation between the trail and cache location. Here in the desert of AZ, one tends to avoid the vegetation rather than tromp on it. One tromp on a cholla and you don't do it again. Plus, most of the areas I've been to are rocky enough that I can't see my own boot prints.

 

Two of the three caches I've placed haven't had high traffic so being hidden from trail traffic hasn't been a problem. The other one was about 20-30 feet off the trail, but the area is primarily used by mountain bikes and dirt bikes which zip by pretty fast and don't pay a lot of attention to someone who looks like thery're just taking a break.

 

When I've hunted a cache and it was near a trail, I just sat down as if I were taking a break and pretended to be writting notes to myself in a notepad. I position the container behind me so it's not in plain view and maybe put my pack on top of it.

 

Bob

 

p.s. Ron, Glad you had a good time here in AZ. I hope to check out your caches soon.

[Guest Moun10Bike]

I have asked myself the same question, Ron. The last cache I hid was in a high-traffic area, so I chose to place it about 10 feet or so off the trail. However, in the visits logged on the web site, at least one person abandoned the search when he realized that he would have to leave the trail to get to it. Another commented with concern that he could see where people had tromped through the the brush to get to it (i.e. a path has started to appear). I wasn't too concerned about these things because the area is a state forest managed by the Department of Natural Resources, which means that it is routinely logged. However, I now question if I did the right thing. I'd be interested to see more opinions from fellow cachers.

[Guest CaptHawke]

My feeling is that the farther from the trail, the less likely you are to cause environmental damage. Therefor, go deeper into the woods to statisfy the "tromping on plants" people. There are two reasons.

 

1. The farther from the trail, the fewer visitors your cache will recieve. Most people need the security of a trail under their boots and fear the deep woods. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Others are just looking for an easy walk in the park and will shun your remote cache. Ignore their complaints and let them stick to the caches with easy ratings. Over time there will be plenty of caches for every type of cache seeker.

 

2. The farther from the trail the more possible approach routes. There is less chance that everyone will take the same route and step on the same plant over and over. Consider the terrain when placing your cache and put natural obstacles (streams, swamps,cliffs, thickets, downed trees) between the nearest trail and the cache. Each obstacle lessens the chance of a beeline path developing from the maintained trail to the cache.

 

I'm coming at this activity from many years of competitive orienteering. At an O meet there will be several courses available with only the very easiest, the white course, entirely on trails. In the few hours of the meet, each control on an advanced course will get more orienteers stomping around it than an off trail geocache will get in a season. If orienteering clubs were causing any damage, the public land managers wouldn't allow them back to the same parks and forests year after year.

 

Here in the northeast, there is more vegetation on the forest floor now than there was before the white man arrived. In pre-Columbian times there was a thicker canopy of mature trees blocking sunlight, more abundant game feeding on the available undergrowth and heavy foot traffic by the native peoples. The forest floor was much more open. Most of the woods we are walking in today are not natural, but of our own making. Old growth forests are virtually unknown around here.

 

Environmentally sensitive areas, deserts and alpine meadows for example, are special cases that require extra care. Off trail traffic there can have devastating consequences.

[Guest daviskw]

Every post here has some good ideas, but I believe there is something even more important than placement. We should all maintain our caches. That means check on them from time to time. If we see an adverse impact then we are obligated to remove or move the cache and notify the website as soon as possible. It is better to police ourselves than to have a governing authority do it for us.

 

Butch

[+Newenglandah]

Just wanted to add to this post....

 

I know along some of the Bigger Hiking trails, i.e. the A.T. Appplachian Trail there are some strick rules on how and where you can set up camp if the desinated area are full...So you may want to consider looking into the regilations if you are placing a cache on any major trails...The reg's vary state to state...I know new hampshire is one of the toughest.....

 

See you in the woods!

Natureboy1376

[+briansnat]

I usually place mine pretty far off the trail. Several hundred yards is not unusual.

 

It cuts down on plundering and I also agree with CaptHawke's post that the practice reduces impact on

the surrounding area. Social trails to the cache are much less likely to form when the cache is a good distance from the trail.

 

Using a little common sense when you are placing it goes a long way.

 

"Paternalism is the greatist despotism" - Emmanual Kant

[+writer]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

Another commented with concern that he could see where people had tromped through the the brush to get to it (i.e. a path has started to appear).

---

 

That can be deceptive. For example, I had a first find on a cache today. It was off a side trail that could easily be mistaken as the tromping results of cachers. Yet the path was already there.

[+rayt333]

Personally I like to keep my caches fairly close to the area where people travel, I do this to keep the off trail traffic down to a minimum. Most cachers are very careful and wouldn't damage the area no matter how far away you placed the cache. But there are others who would damage the area just because they can, and sometimes these are the ones who gets pissed because cache was hard to find and may destroy or steal the cache (just for spite).

MOST cachers are honest people but there are a few bad apples also.

[+Smitherington]

I tend to like the caches to be farther from the trail. I am in this to get out. If I wanted to stay on the pavement or trails I could go to town and walk in any park or down any sidewalk.

To spell out other reasons, I will defer to Capthawke who spoke eloquently regarding this matter.

[Jomarac5]

It doesn't matter much to me how far the cache is located off of the trail as long as it is placed well. I do however, appreciate a cache location off of the main trail if the area is well used. This allows us to look at the cache without worrying about non-cachers peeking in on us.

 

A few days ago I was in a park that has a considerable amount of use -- the cache was hidden about 50 ft off of the trail behind a large stump -- a secluded spot that was perfect for avoiding passing park users while investigating the contents. I've also done a few caches where the cache was located within a few feet of busy trails -- this can be challenging just to retrieve and replace the cache without being seen (sometimes adding to the excitement!).

 

If a cache is placed off of the trail, please make a point of treading lightly. I've found a number of caches by watching for footprints, kicked rocks, broken branches, etc, from previous cachers (I'm assuming that it was from cachers).

 

I make it a point to cover my tracks well when I leave a cache that is off the beaten path -- a few thrown leaves or the scattering of some dirt, branches and sticks is often enough to make your access path invisible to others. My kids are also learning how to cover their tracks and now return to the trails walking backwards for the last 20 or so feet (when possible) and covering their tracks behind them.

 

Basically, it's simply a matter of respect. When I was a kid, my father always told me to leave the wilderness the way that I found it -- to allow the next person that visits the spot to believe that they were the first there. Works for me

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[+sbukosky]

But generally speaking, I like caches to be off trail enough to be out of sight of the trail. I don't worry about ''volunteer trails'' provided the area is not a sensitive area.

 

I think some people are troubled by many park rules stating to stay on the trails. Holding to that rule would pretty much eliminate most conventional caches and limit you to either a micro cache or virtual cache. I was just on one today that is in a nature trail park and the cache was located only a foot or two off the walkway. Not much of a problem in the middle of January here, but what about when the weather warms and more people are around to see someone with the cache? I suspect that within two years, just about every kind of park will have rules for geocaching.

 

Steve Bukosky N9BGH

Waukesha Wisconsin

[+evergreenhiker!]

A cache can be very well hid just inches off the trail...e.g. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=28923

This is one of the best hides of all time...I've got 375 finds adn have seen some outstanding hides, but this one is takes first place in terms of simplicity and hiding effectiveness.

 

One of my caches, the box is about 20-25 yards away from teh trail, but that was my second cache ever planted. Now I just plant them close to the trail to minimize bushwacking. You can really hide those .30 Cal boxes if you look hard enough for a good spot.

 

However, if you live on the east side of the Cascades or in drier areas, the woods are more open and less vegetative, then placing a cache deeper in will be more feasible. Do place a specific hint though.