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Geocache Alcatraz!


Guest Chris Juricich

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Guest Chris Juricich

Somebody had a cache named 'Alcatraz' and my excitement welled up. Wow! On the Rock! Alas, it's near 'Rocklin', not the 'Rock'!

 

But Alcatraz is a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), so it technically would be open season, yes?

 

Hmm...

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Guest Robereno

Is Alcatraz part of the National Park system? The last time we visited they gave us a lot of freedom to wonder around on our own and there are actually a lot of areas where a cache could be placed. They are of course, very concerned about safety and restoration of the native habitat. It would be a great place for a cache though.

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Guest jeremy

Always ask before placing a cache. I would think for Alcatraz, though, it would be interesting to make it a virtual cache - Have someone investigate one of the accessible but rarely trafficked locations and answer a question there. A micro cache would be interesting though, especially with an escape theme.

 

Jeremy

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Guest makaio

Considering the fact that the rock is covered with concrete and metal, I'd think placement of small tupperware or ammo box would hardly affect the ecosystem. Still, if it is NPS 'controlled' it's best to ask first.

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Guest Khao Mun Gai

Perhaps 10 years ago when I was a student in Berkeley my father visited from the East Coast and we spent a day at Alcatraz.

 

Being general deviants, as soon as we were able, we crossed into the area clearly marked as not being open to visitors. While I found the whole visit to Alcatraz very interesting, this not-open area was the most fascinating as it consisted largely of "bombed out" industrial/factory buildings which look as if they hadn't been touched since the day the machines and prisoners were hauled out. (The insides of the buildings were also largely covered in grafitti and just about every piece of glass or porcelain (from the toilets) was smashed into little bits).

 

Anyway, not that I would recommend placing a cache in a forbidden area, but Alcatraz already has *real* eco-problems. Leaving a cache somewhere would be a piss in the ocean compared with the mess in the forbidden area. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

P.S. I live on the East Coast now and when I heard about GeoCaching one of the first places I thought of was Alcatraz - so I hope somebody goes ahead and plants one.

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Guest dmdeitz

Realistically, for the NPS or even a town or county park - who in the gov't are you going to ask if a cache is OK that will know the right answer? And regardless if it is OK to place a cache, someone else in gov't won't know the right answer and trash it if they find it!?

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Guest Chris Juricich

Well now, that's interesting.

 

If that's the case, then currently the dozen or so caches in the GGNRA are... illegal? Or if not illegal (as what law covers this?), then... what? Frowned upon?

 

Jake's Booty, Dirty Rock... these then are all considered 'cache non grata'.

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Guest Chris Juricich

More thoughts-- yeah, who in the NPS would really know? With all due respect to Buzbon, did he talk to the 'right' guy? And who knows what opposite answer another fellow might give if asked the same question?

 

I'm all for respecting property rights and all the laws that make sense to me in this world-- or ignoring the ones that don't affect me or I think are ridiculous.

 

That being said, I sincerely doubt the NPS has a policy on geocaching-- for the simple reason that they have no experience with it more than likely, and if they did, they'd simply apply (I'm guessing) some regulation that would apply to being fined for failing to remove trash.

 

I will suspect that the jury is out.

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Guest jeremy

The NPS currently does not have an official "policy" regarding geocaching.

 

However they did send a memo out to all their parks letting the managers know that geocaching is to be deemed "off limits." They're decision is based on a law that any property left unattended for longer than 24 hours is considered "abandoned" and must be removed from the park. As geocaches are not found every 24 hours they fit within this rule.

 

Whether you like it or not, it is as it is until it is changed.

 

Jeremy

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Guest Chris Juricich

OK, so does that mean that any geocaches placed in National Parks are subject to being taken out or removed? Who does that? The rangers?

 

Good luck finding them!

 

Awww, sorry, just being mean.

 

Jeremy, thanks for the heads-up on the National Parks 'non-policy' on geocaching. It's a good thing to know!

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