Easy Caches for Physically Challenged

[+M-D-M Explorations]

As a new GPS owner who recently discovered Geo-Caching, I was wondering if there is a list somewhere with easier caches for the physically challenged who can not go hiking off into the woods and the like. It sounds like it would be a lot of fun, but most of the caches I have read about require a lot of walking which would be difficult for some people.

[+Dirt Hawker]

But there are a lot of urban caches in my area that use city parks and college campuses, perhaps you can find the same in your area. Also rest-stop caches are usually pretty accessible, and you can drive right up to most virtual caches. Happy Hunting.

[+IdahoMan]

You may want to check in your area, with any GeoCacher Clubs or groups about the issue of Caches accessable for the Disabled. I think that maybe Jeremy (GeoCaching.com) might want to add a category for the Disabled. I believe that it would be a great idea. I know that I would place more Caches under that label if there were one. We shall see what happens.

 

IdahoMan

IdahoMan@cableone.net

Lewis Clark Valley GeoCachers

[+Glenn]

Any cache with a terrain rating of 1 should be wheelchair accessable, and any cache with a terrain rating of 1.5 should be able to be completed by someone who is using crutches.

 

Check out the webcam caches there may be one in your area.

 

- Lone Rangers

[+rdw]

1 star terrain caches are not necessarily accesible by wheelchair or crutches. The best thing to do would be to read the descriptions or logs to get an idea of the difficulty. You could also email the owner before you try it.

 

Having said that, I have been to most of the caches in your area and could give you a good idea of terrain difficulty. For a good start you should try my Quad Cache on the U of I campus. It is a true 1 star terrain.

 

rdw

[+M-D-M Explorations]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I have managed to find some information for local caches that sound easy enough to get to. I also have discovered a few "Scavenger Hunt" and virtual caches that sound right up our alley! Will look forward to making time to enjoy all Geo-Caching has to offer.

[+Glenn]

quote:

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Originally posted by rdw:

1 star terrain caches are not necessarily accesible by wheelchair or crutches. The best thing to do would be to read the descriptions or logs to get an idea of the difficulty. You could also email the owner before you try it.

 

Having said that, I have been to most of the caches in your area and could give you a good idea of terrain difficulty. For a good start you should try my Quad Cache on the U of I campus. It is a true 1 star terrain.

 

rdw

---

 

If I find a cache that has a terrain rating of 1 and it is not handicapped accessible or if I find a cache that is handicapped accessible and its terrain rating is more than 1 then I will send an email to the cache owner and/or make a note of it in my log entry.

 

You really should use the Geocache Rating System to help you rate your caches.

 

- Lone Rangers

[+Harrald]

It seems that a lot of cache hiders lowball their terrain ratings. I have a daughter who is in a wheelchair so I pay pretty close attention to terrain. So far I have found at least 3 one ( 1 ) star terrain caches that should be a two ( 2 ) star. ClayJars rating system seems to be very accurate and fair. It doesn't take into account the fitness level of the placer. What one person feels is an easy hike could be impossible for you.

 

I would read the logs (it takes some of the fun out of the hunt but you haven't got much choice) and see what others say about the terrain.

 

Good luck and if you're ever in Northern, NJ email me and I'll be happy to let you know the caches that would challenge you without being impossible.

 

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As always, the above statements are just MHO.

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[phantom]

I can speak from experience on being challenged by some of the caches. I am a paraplegic and if it weren't for the assistance of my kids and some two way radios, I might not even be geocaching. Some more easily accessible spots would be fantastic.

 

phantom

 

phantom

 

"DOH!" -- Homer Simpson

[+Alan2]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Harrald:

I have a daughter who is in a wheelchair so I pay pretty close attention to terrain.

---

 

If you ever come over to Queens, try this virtual. It's in a great spot I think for your needs - you can make a day of it. The cache itself, the NY Worlds Fair time capsule is a NGS benchmark. You can drive up to it 30 feet away and then wheelchair the last thirty feet. You can check your GPS accuracy and post to the web page the accuracy. There's the Queens Museum and Science Museum really close by - wheelchair accessible throughout and great for kids. A half mile away is the QUeens Zoo - great for the Spring and since its small you can do it in 2-3 hours. It's layed out oin an oval about 1/2 to 1 mile around. You can really make it a family day and do a hunt to boot. Hope you can make it here to my neck of the woods.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=10814

 

Alan

[+Harrald]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alan2:

 

If you ever come over to Queens, try this virtual. It's in a great spot I think for your needs - you can make a day of it. The cache itself, the NY Worlds Fair time capsule is a NGS benchmark.

Alan

---

 

I know the area well. I grew up on the other side of the park from you. I was in Flushing. I could see the uni-sphere from my bedroom windows. I am planning on a cache day there when my wife goes to visit her father (he's in Flushing too). My son and I are going to hit Kissena (I know every corner of that park), Flushing and Alley Pond. It should be a 6 or 7 cache afternoon. I'll let you know when I go. maybe we'll stop by Continental and Queens (I built a video studio there 15 years ago) and yell your name.

 

 

====================================

As always, the above statements are just MHO.

====================================

 

[+Harrald]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alan2:

 

If you ever come over to Queens, try this virtual. It's in a great spot I think for your needs - you can make a day of it. The cache itself, the NY Worlds Fair time capsule is a NGS benchmark.

Alan

---

 

I know the area well. I grew up on the other side of the park from you. I was in Flushing. I could see the uni-sphere from my bedroom windows. I am planning on a cache day there when my wife goes to visit her father (he's in Flushing too). My son and I are going to hit Kissena (I know every corner of that park), Flushing and Alley Pond. It should be a 6 or 7 cache afternoon. I'll let you know when I go. maybe we'll stop by Continental and Queens (I built a video studio there 15 years ago) and yell your name.

 

 

====================================

As always, the above statements are just MHO.

====================================

 

[+Alan2]

That's great. My Kissena Park cache was recently plundered however the park is still there!! At least the last time I looked.

 

ALan

[+M-D-M Explorations]

We are proud parents today! Well, maybe not real parents. We were in Danville, Illinois this weekend and while we were there decided to hunt out our first ever cache. This one was called Stars and Stripes (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=7708) and was in an easily accessible urban area. We are still pretty inexperienced with using the GPA and all, but after about half an hour of searching and narrowing down, DogMa found the hidden cache!! We are now officially a team and will be coming up with a team name real soon. But first.... I have to find more of these kind of caches! hehehehe

 

MrSki and Dogma

[robertlipe]

'Handicapped' is not a boolean. It's not even an enum. It's a float. It has a different meaning for most everyone in the group.

 

My wife, an amputee, is on crutches a big part of the time lately but not always. We've found the best thing to do is to get involved with the locals. By doing this, we've made others more aware of the needs of the challenged and we're starting to see others mention accessibility in the cache description. The same things that make a wheelchair possible ("but i don't know anybody in a wheelchair" I hear people whining right now) make access with a baby stroller possible. And fess up, most of you do know someone that's had a baby. Crutches are different than chairs and both are different than life on prostheses. It gets complicated. The best I can recommend is to find a friend (or friends!) and work with them.

 

We know we can ask our local "five star" cachers about a cache and get a good recommendation. But that's becuase they know us as a team, our level of determination, our limitations, and our challenges. It'll be different for everyone. Vines that a chair can roll over will stop a crutch user in their tracks. Stubble that won't bother a crutch user can stop a chair. If you don't know that it's important to *someone*, you probably don't think to look.

 

Find/Make a friend. Ask. Contact the cache owner before you trek out if "terrain:1" *really* meets the guidelines for terrain:1. If it doesn't, most sensible cache owners will change it.

[+sbukosky]

I've long wanted to have wheel chair accessable caches where you could direct someone from the trail and have an active involvement in the hunt. My wife has had both knees replaced and I have one going to hell. I'm able to do all of them now but fear that I'll be unable to walk the tough terrain in the near future.

 

I messaged the Segway people about a unit with mountain bike-like tires that could be used on the trails. Never got an answer back. I thought they might be receptive to the idea as they promote the mobility of their experimental wheel chair.

 

Enjoy the tough ones while you can!

 

Steve Bukosky N9BGH

Waukesha Wisconsin

[Buddy11]

Can any of you out there hide caches near the loeb in blckburn because im only 11 so i cant find very many around here because i cant drive

 

Buddy Thomson

[Buddy11]

Can any of you out there hide caches near the loeb in blckburn because im only 11 so i cant find very many around here because i cant drive:(

 

Buddy Thomson

[+Jamie Z]

Buddy,

 

You should get your parents involved. They might like to go out caching with you. Plus you'd get to teach 'em something new.

 

If you're parents don't like the idea, maybe you have an neighbor or uncle that enjoys the outdoors that you could bring with you on your cache hunts.

 

Jamie

[+Gratefulmike and NaviBear]

quote:

---

Originally posted by MrSki and Dogma:

We are proud parents today! Well, maybe not real parents. We were in Danville, Illinois this weekend and while we were there decided to hunt out our first ever cache. This one was called Stars and Stripes (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=7708) and was in an easily accessible urban area. We are still pretty inexperienced with using the GPA and all, but after about half an hour of searching and narrowing down, DogMa found the hidden cache!!

MrSki and Dogma

---

 

Hi there! We are glad you liked it! Welcome to GEOCACHING!

[+Gratefulmike and NaviBear]

quote:

---

Originally posted by MrSki and Dogma:

We are proud parents today! Well, maybe not real parents. We were in Danville, Illinois this weekend and while we were there decided to hunt out our first ever cache. This one was called Stars and Stripes (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=7708) and was in an easily accessible urban area. We are still pretty inexperienced with using the GPA and all, but after about half an hour of searching and narrowing down, DogMa found the hidden cache!!

MrSki and Dogma

---

 

Hi there! We are glad you liked it! Welcome to GEOCACHING!

[+M-D-M Explorations]

We surely are excited to jump into this hobby. We love to travel around any way we decide to go just to find new places. Now we have an extra way to make it fun! I already have a real thick folder of real caches and virtual ones we can "cut our teeth on" locally!

[+urbo]

i have quite a few urban geocaches. they depend more on how they are hidden than getting to them. i would say most are handicap friendly.

 

i would dare say most urban geocaches would fall under this same criteria, harder to find than to get to.

 

try urban caches

 

URBO

[+martinp13]

Of course, the best laid plans sometimes go bad. I took my Mom (75 but still kicking!) on a nice peaceful "1/1" in the Atlanta area. A level path is fine, but not when there's a fallen tree in the middle of it... we had to climb over that, then negotiate a semi-washed-out part of the path near the creek. It was more of a 2/1 when we did it, but I'm sure when it was placed months earlier, it was a simple 1/1.

 

> Martin (Magellan 330)

Don't have time to program and record your shows while geocaching? Get a TiVo!