Tradition, Etiquitte Or Habit?

[+jimmyreno]

I'm new to this game and like it, but I don't understand why most caches don't give a hint as to what street to park on.

 

I find it annoying to drive around with one eye on the GPS and the other on the road. And if someone is behind me they get annoyed with me cause I'm driving too slow.

 

Especially because I like to do loop trips where I walk from cache to cache, 3 to 5 per outing.

 

Unlike many cities where the streets all go thru and are a simple grid, Reno has a lot of neighborhoods with winding streets and clusters of houses seperated with a green belt.

 

Great opportunities for hiding caches, but often no access if you come in the wrong way and find a chain link fence or no tresspassing sign. :

[+robert]

it's kind of up to the hider whether or not to put parking coords but that's "part of the game". there's been discussion in the past (with mixed results) on whether or not to put a separate field on the cache page for parking coords. i think the end decision was just put them in the description if you want to use them but they're not required.

 

i use a garmin 60cs with city select and let it route me to the area. works great, but wasn't the cheapest solution around. saves a lot of time though. (edit: doesn't always work though, since it tries to get the closest, which isn't always the best, access. but the detailed maps are helpful if i need to figure it out on my own)

 

good luck.

 

Edited February 22, 2005 by robert

[+briansnat]

Figuring out out to approach a cache is part of the hunt. The only times I place parking coords on the page are if I want the seeker to approach from a certain direction, or if there are private property issues and I want to make sure they stay on public land.

[CoyoteRed]

What Brian said.

 

However, I would welcome a way to have parking or trailhead coords included in the PQs when I want to include them.

[cacheman22]

A good way to check out a cache in advance is to use the Google mapping service

 

You need to enter the coordinates in decimal degrees which you can get by clicking on the "or convert to ND27 at Jeep.com" link below the cache coordinates on the cache page.

 

A sample map looks like this Cache

Edited February 22, 2005 by cacheman22

[+Miragee]

I'm new to this game and like it, but I don't understand why most caches don't give a hint as to what street to park on.

 

<snip>

 

Unlike many cities where the streets all go thru and are a simple grid, Reno has a lot of neighborhoods with winding streets and clusters of houses seperated with a green belt. 

 

Great opportunities for hiding caches, but often no access if you come in the wrong way and find a chain link fence or no tresspassing sign. :

I am also new to this sport/hobby, and San Diego is like that. There are many canyons and a couple of huge parks in the middle of urban areas.

 

I think with experience, I'll figure this out a bit better, but I sympathize with you and think it would be a great idea to include parking coordinates on some caches.

 

As for the Google Maps -- I use the Opera browser, a program I purchased , and Google Maps don't work with Opera.

 

Now, TALK about frustrating. I can do my banking and pay my credit card bills with my chosen browser, but I can't look at their maps.

 

(Sorry for the O.T. rant . . . )

[+Kealia]

I only put parking coords if there's a good reason to (Trespassing issues, etc) or if it's REALLY hard to figure out where to park and I want to help.

 

I agree that part of the fun is trying to figure out where to start the trek. Not everyone agrees, though.

[+TeamK-9]

I'm with Kealia. On my two caches, I only put the parking coordinates when problems might arise from the coordinates not being added. But when hunting for caches, I always appreciate coords for parking.

 

Generally, when I'm in an area where I'm out of my element (ie, the city) I do a quick check of the map to see where I might be able to park, and generally that works. If I don't know where I'm supposed to park, I generally slow down, and put on the four way flashers, and look for parking...

[+Isonzo Karst]

I love parking coords on caches. I have a couple of hides where I offer turn off coords, since the turn is a forest road, unlikely to be on many folks maps, and the traffic is moving at 60 mph. I'd rather you find the turn and not get rear ended doing it. I appreciate that from cache write ups as well.

[+cachew nut]

I find it annoying to drive around with one eye on the GPS and the other on the road. And if someone is behind me they get annoyed with me cause I'm driving too slow.

When you get close just pull over at the first spot you see. Most caches are accessible by foot. Hope this helps!

[+Miragee]

Here in San Diego, the canyons are large and can be nearly inaccessible unless you find the actual trailhead.

 

The other day I walked about eight blocks in an effort to find a way down into the steep-sided canyon. There is only one safe trail.

 

In another neighborhood I did the same thing. The canyon is completely surrounded by houses. When you are closest to the cache, there is NO access to the canyon.

 

For people familiar with those neighborhoods, they might know about access, but I don't live nearby, so it is a real guessing game. I still haven't figured out how to get to one cache. At the head of the canyon there are big "No Tresspassing" signs with pictures of handcuffs on them.

 

I don't know how to get to the other end of the canyon because there is no road down there, only the trolley tracks . . . which are definitely off limits.

[[MTB]_Intrepid]

This is a good topic to bring up. Urban caches have their own parking concerns, but what about those that are 20 or more miles outside of town - it's a big help if you know that there is a safe place to leave your vehicle. I hate to park on the side of the highway because there's a good chance you'll be ticketed. If the cache placer lets you know that there is a little-used side road or empty lot nearby you'll be more inclined to try the hunt.

[+Miragee]

That is another good point. The second and third caches I looked for were accessed from a VERY narrow, winding road. I wish I had known ahead of time that there was a bit of a turnout where I could get off the road. I only found it after going past the trail, turning around in a none-too-safe a place on the narrow road and backtracking.

[+StarBrand]

Unless there is a safety or property issue, I think part of the fun is to.....Navigate. I use maps and routing and I have on occasion stopped and asked locals for the best access to areas - It is all part of the adventure!!! I always leave parking coors or instructions if there is an issue on mine but I like the advebture of finding the right street or best parking or best approach. Much fun!!!!

[+sept1c_tank]

IMHO, if someone has a liscense to drive, they should be capable of choosing their own parking spot, be it convenient, legal, or not. I hate it when that's the day's biggest challenge.

 

Edited: (It's a love/hate thing.)

Edited February 23, 2005 by sept1c_tank

[+fly46]

First of all, there's a difference between a trailhead and a parking cordinant.

 

Why should I tell you where to park? If we wanted caching to be easy, we'd take you in by hellicopter and drop you down next to a fully exposed container.

[+Renegade Knight]

I provide a parking coordinate if that's where you should approach the cache from or if the parking might be hard to find. Sometimes I didn't have any luck myself finding a good spot to park even though I found a good spot for the cache.

[+NightPilot]

If I have any doubts about where to park, I open up USAPhotomaps and take a look at the cache location on an aerial photo. Urban areas (some) have high-resolution color photos taken only a few years ago, and it's easy to see the best way in and out.

[+jimmyreno]

IMHO, if someone has a liscense to drive, they should be capable of choosing their own parking spot, be it convenient, legal, or not.  I hate it when that's the day's biggest challenge.   

 

Edited: (It's a love/hate thing.)

 

You hit the nail on the head, for me geocaching is about getting my feet on the ground and getting away from the streets.

Edited February 23, 2005 by jimmyreno

[+Miragee]

You hit the nail on the head, for me geocaching is about getting my feet on the ground and getting away from the streets.

Exactly. And, in some areas finding the parking place is the biggest challenge. Parking coordinates in particularly tricky areas, or in areas where the road is narrow, are very welcome.

 

I want to stop driving around, get out of my car, and go for a walk . . . if the rain here ever stops . . .

[+WalruZ]

I agree that part of the fun is trying to figure out where to start the trek. Not everyone agrees, though.

 

-- like me. GeoCaching is what you do after you get out of your car. GeoCaching is not about driving around looking for a parking space.

[+Genius Loci]

If you choose to use a vehicle to help get you to a cache, then isn't it your responsibility to find where to park the darn thing? What about the folks that don't have that choice and must rely on some other means of transportation to go caching? Cache descriptions don't usually tell them where to park their bikes or which train or bus to take!

 

I don't think that listing parking coordinates should be the expectation in most cache descriptions. When the cache placer does list them, I take it as an act of courtesy for those who drive. Far fewer caches list the nearest available public transportation, and I haven't seen any complaints on that account!

 

Also, when cache hiders do list parking coordinates and I'm in a vehicle, I've noticed that the driver very often prefers to select his own parking place regardless.

[+jimmyreno]

If you choose to use a vehicle to help get you to a cache, then isn't it your responsibility to find where to park the darn thing? What about the folks that don't have that choice and must rely on some other means of transportation to go caching?

I don't know what city you live in, but out west I think 75% of the geocachers use dirt bikes and 4wd to drive as close to the cache as they can.

 

People who park at a paved street and walk all the way are the minority.