Question on Placing Puzzle Caches

[+Seawind]

I have created a number of puzzle (mystery) caches and had good success with them. Every time I create one, I run into a question. My cache listings begin with the traditional, "the cache is not at the posted coordinates..." When I select a location for the final cache itself, I get on geocaching.com and run a search on those coords to see if another cache is within 528 feet. If not, I assume all is well. When submitting my cache listing, I enter the final coords both as a reviewer note and a waypoint.

 

However, what if another mystery cache's final coordinates are 5 feet from mine? I assume I would not learn that fact from searching on the find a cache page, since the other cache's listed coords would not be the final location.

 

Is there a way to determine this or should I just not worry about it?

 

Thanks!

[+StarBrand]

You do have to worry about it. Your final must be 528 feet from ANY other cache. You jst better do all the local caches to be certain.......

 

A reviewer will let you know if you are in violation. No way to search on this yourself. I have seen the idea of this kicked around before but any implementation would probably give away too much info about another cache.

[Keystone]

Under the listing guidelines, the posted "bogus" coordinates are supposed to be no more than 1 or 2 miles away. So, when selecting a spot, check out all the puzzle caches within 2.25 miles that you haven't yet found. If the cache description says "the coordinates are bogus, they are for parking" and they're 2 miles away in the suburb across the river, you can skip that one. Find any puzzles that might be in the park where you want to hide your cache. Ditto for multicaches if they might end near your cache.

 

Even then, you run the risk of bumping into a puzzle cache that was placed before the "1 or 2 miles" guideline was added, or which qualified for an exception. I hate having to break the news to a hider when they select a spot 100 feet from a cache with posted coordinates in the geographic center of the state, or a mile out in Lake Erie.

 

Or, you can just wing it. In an area that's not too cache dense, you are probably safe. Like StarBrand said, the reviewer will let you know if you are too close. (But if the puzzle is ULTRA hard, and people are hiding caches in a two-mile round game of "Battleship" to stumble across the puzzle final, maybe the reviewer will just list the cache... )

 

The reviewers have an automated process to compare each waypoint against all others in the database, including multi's and puzzles. That is why we ask you to use the Additional Waypoints tool.

[bogleman]

<snip>

(But if the puzzle is ULTRA hard, and people are hiding caches in a two-mile round game of "Battleship" to stumble across the puzzle final, maybe the reviewer will just list the cache... )

 

hmmmmmm and again hmmmmmmm . The fog will clear at some point