Traveler wants to stash caches...

[seators]

I travel for work (new state every week) and have the opportunity to hide caches all around our great country...

 

Question: Is it considered bad form to hide caches knowing you will probably never return to the location?

[+Planet]

A cache hider is supposed to be able to maintain their cache. You could do virtuals, but only if an actual cache cannot be placed, otherwise it might not be approved. Suppose several geocachers cannot find it, who will go to verify it is there? Who will retrieve it if noone can find it so it doesn't become geo litter. If it gets wet, stolen? And then there's the whole permission thing. That's another can of worms. You'd probably be better off cache hunting every state, and leave the hiding to people who know the areas. That's just my humble opinion, there may be others who feel differently.

 

Cache you later,

Planet

 

"To err is human, to forgive....$5.00"

[ckoepke]

Yes, it is indeed a faux pas to leave your can personally unmonitored for an extended duration.

 

This is a newbie comment based on commom sense and I forgot to underline personally.

[+OzzieSan]

Exactly.

[+Jamie Z]

I think traveling is a great opportunity to find out-of-state caches. How else will you learn about places you would otherwise not have visited.

 

There is no shortage of caches in the US. Let the locals find the good hiding places so that you can seek them out when you visit.

 

Jamie

[+briansnat]

I wrote this, then realized that I said almost exactly what Planet said, so I deleted most of it. She's smart, listen to her.

 

But I'll add...The only times placing caches while traveling is appropriate is if it's an area that you frequently visit, or if you can enlist a local geocacher to look after it for you.

 

Many geocachers do look after caches once they're abandoned (which is what you would be doing), but it is presumptious to assume they will.

 

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" - Abraham Lincoln

[+MarkRobb]

Develop a "most sought after" personal item to leave at caches in each state. Or a personalized item for the cache you leave it in. If you have a digital camera upload some pictures at the site for others to see.

 

Mark

[magellan315]

Rather than hide caches, for all of the above reasons. I would reccommend that you cocnentrate ona unique siganture item to place in the caches you visit. As welll as watch for caches with travel bugs in them, you could really move travel bugs around.

[+Logscaler and Red]

Speaking from personal experince, NO !

 

Red and I spent over three days and several hundred if not close to a thousand miles last year in redoing three caches that where pre-abandoned caches. Some one coming through on vaction and admitting they would never be back as it was a once in a life time trip. They left 13 caches scattered around and Red and I went out and replaced cheap a$$ ziplock boxes with ammo cans as well as resupplying cache goodies, log books, writing utensils.

 

The locations where okay but they basicly left trash for someone else to clean up, US. The caches where not local caches for me but Red and I felt in the name of the game, the caches needed babysat and as we where the closest cachers in the area at that time, and as we where the first finders of two of the caches we made the special 200-300 extra miles trips from work to home to redo the caches right after several not found logs. ( who wants to be responsible for caches getting plundered after they found it??)

 

Like the others have said, just enjoy the out of state hunt's and try to match quality in your local area.

 

Who knows, you just might be the first person to log caches in all fifty states.

 

TTFN, Logscaler and Red

[SampleSize]

Would it be okay to set up a virtual cache of something you found on a vacation?

 

It seems like they don't really have to be looked after.

 

SampleSize

[+Jamie Z]

quote:

---

Originally posted by SampleSize:

Would it be okay to set up a virtual cache of something you found on a vacation?

---

In my opinion, No.

 

From the Geocaching Guidelines:

 

Prior to considering a virtual cache, you must have given consideration to the question “why a regular geocache – perhaps a micro or only a log book - couldn’t be placed there?” If there is a good answer, then it may be a valid virtual cache opportunity. Also, consider making the location a step in a multi-stage cache, with the physical cache placed in an area that is appropriate.

 

There have been virtual caches approved in the past on the basis that "a physical cache could not be appropriately maintained" at the location, often by a user who is traveling through the area. This essentially "blocks" the area for later placement of a physical cache. Physical caches have priority, so virtual caches of this nature will usually not be approved.

 

Clearly, the geocaching admin intended to discourage visitors from dropping virtual caches wherever they found something neat.

 

In my personal opinion, I think locals will have a much better idea of great hiding spots for caches. Likely a visitor to an area will see places frequented by other tourists. My goal when geocaching is to see things I wouldn't have otherwise seen, not to see other tourist-type places.

 

Jamie

[+Renegade Knight]

My take is simple. If you are visiting and there are plenty of caches in the area then you should not make more.

 

On the other hand if the area needs help... then by all means hide some caches. Locals could adopt the cache at a later date when geocaching catches on in the area.

 

In general caches should be placed where you can maintain them.

 

Wherever you go there you are.

[seators]

Thanks for all your feedback...