+Volvo Man Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 I'd like to sugest a relaxation of the Vacation rule to allow microcaches to be placed by vacationers & those on business trips. Often a vacationer will find a spot that a local would disregard as mundane because they live there. However, from what I see on the logs, many geocachers will make time on their trips to go caching and would therefore appreciate other vacationer's caches. Also, with just a log & pencil in the cache, there's less likelihood of the cache going missing. I have also noticed that most cachers carry spare logs & pencils for maintenence when they find a cache that needs a little help. Isn't this kind of "community spirit" one of the big attractions of Geocaching? I for one wouldn't mind doing a little ad hoc maintenence as I go, safe in the knowledge that others would do the same for me. In my local area, a couple of the best caches were placed by vacationers a while ago, and they are doing fine. I fully appreciate the wisdom of disallowing regular caches by vacationers, although I think regular visitors to an area would be ok. Link to comment
Keystone Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 Sorry, but I don't forsee any changes in the vacation/distance cache rule. Problems arise with micros just as is the case with regular size caches. Micros need logs changed more often, for example, and tend to go missing fairly often when placed in busy areas. |x*x-x|x*x-x|x*x-x|x*x-x|x*x-x|x*x-x|x*x-x| Keystone Approver, Geocaching.com Admin "Eschewing Entropy and Ensuring Enthalpy in the Groundspeak Forums" Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 I agree with Keystone Approver. Vacation caches, or placing any cach you can't maintian is a bad idea. "You can't make a man by standing a sheep on his hind legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that position, you can make a crowd of men" - Max Beerbohm Link to comment
+Volvo Man Posted October 27, 2003 Author Share Posted October 27, 2003 Somewhere in the past, I have come across a hobby or sport or something where you go somewhere, sign a log book & when you find it and it's full you send it to the owner & replace it. maybe once you replace it, the next person who finds it full sends it to you or something. I'm not sure what the hobby/sport is, but I know it goes way back to the 70's and maybe earlier. it's a dim memory, but it's kind of what I had in mind for the vacation caches. Anybody out there enlighten me? Link to comment
+Mopar Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 quote:Originally posted by DaJagman:I'd like to sugest a relaxation of the Vacation rule to allow microcaches to be placed by vacationers & those on business trips. While you were vacationing in an unfamiliar area, did you know that park your eyeing for a micro requires a permit (with a steep fine for not getting one!) to place a cache? The locals do. Did you know the spot you picked out is 10ft away from the final location of that cool multi listed as starting .2 miles away that you didn't look for because you didn't have time for a multi between business meetings? The locals do. Did you know that cute little spot with nobody around today is usually a hang-out for drug dealers? The locals do. Gee, the coords you submitted for the cache don't look right. Everyone seems to be searching in the wrong place. Maybe you made a mistake? Can you run back out and recheck your coords? The locals can. "This is gc.com, love it or leave it " Link to comment
+Runaround Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 I've got to agree with the others. There are so many local rules it's hard enough to keep the newbies educated. Although, our area approver does a pretty good job at stopping illegal caches before they start. Next time you find that good spot the locals seemed to have missed, take a waypoint and then e-mail some of the locals. Maybe one of them will agree and place the cache. Now where did I park my car??????? Link to comment
+Strapped-4-Cache Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 DaJagman: The sport/hobby you're thinking about may be letterboxing. Same basic concepts involved, but the boxes are usually located by using orienteering skills rather than GPSs. Just a thought. (S-4-C) I KNOW I'll find it if I just keep LOOKING! Link to comment
+Corp Of Discovery Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 If virtuals get moved to their own section, will vacation virtuals be allowed? Remember, wherever you go- there you are! Link to comment
+Alan2 Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 I believe the rules on vacation caches are too stringent too. If an urban micro cache disappears, what's the hider to do. Go look for an empty film cannister? It's gone! Also, it seems too many cachers have no faith in their fellow cachers to help them out. I had a vacation cache in Florida for over a year. It was a delight to 30+ people many on vacation themselves. Many locals told me they didn't even know about the park I placed the cache in existed until I hid it. When it was finally plundered, the guy who discovered it volenteered to replace it for me and watch it without me asking for help. ( I declined and suggested he place his own there). People are just as helpful to vacation caches placers as they are to local helping other locals out. And why not? IF you're getting messages that indicate the coordinates are slightly off, so use the adjusted ones given to you by others. And what's wrong about contacting others to help you out? We're a community - it's nice to work and help others and communicate with others in distant places. Ever hear about pen pals. Too many cachers have no imagination. Lighten up, guys, this isn't brain surgery. Alan Link to comment
FritzX Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 Hi, I'm a real newbie with geocaching. My GPS just arrived tomorrow, but I have a few targets in mind. I think a virtal cache, would be the perfect solution as a vacation cache. You have nothing to maintain, but still draw fellow cachesters to something you find special. Thoughts? Thanks, FritzX Link to comment
BassoonPilot Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 "It's deja vu all over again!" The short answer is no, virtual caches are not the solution to vacation caches. You may enjoy reading the several forum threads in which the matter has been discussed ad nauseum. Link to comment
+Volvo Man Posted October 30, 2003 Author Share Posted October 30, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Mopar:While you were vacationing in an unfamiliar area, did you know that park your eyeing for a micro requires a permit (with a steep fine for not getting one!) to place a cache? The locals do. In my general experience, "Locals" are just as likely not to know this as anyone else. Also, someone from out of town is far more likely to check local park regs than the local who drives past it every day and takes it for granted. quote:Did you know the spot you picked out is 10ft away from the final location of that cool multi listed as starting .2 miles away that you didn't look for because you didn't have time for a multi between business meetings? The locals do. The nearest Cache to my house is the start of a really fun looking Multi, but I haven't had time yet to go do it. the only time I have that ammount of time spare is when I am away on Vacation. quote:Did you know that cute little spot with nobody around today is usually a hang-out for drug dealers? The locals do. Or perhaps someone from out of town is more likely to spot something that looks out of place than the local that takes it for granted. Or perhaps the resident of San Francisco or Brighton (UK), vacationing in Texas is more likely to spot the signs of a clandestine meeting place for Gay men to meet for annonymous sex than the locals (I read an example of this on another thread) quote:Gee, the coords you submitted for the cache don't look right. Everyone seems to be searching in the wrong place. Maybe you made a mistake? Can you run back out and recheck your coords? The locals can. Personally, I check my GPS against nearby cache locations to see how good the co-ords are that day before i take readings for a cache location, then I leave the GPSr averaging for at least 15 minutes stationary before I start taking co-ords (always at least 6 satelites in view and a least one WAAS). If the co-ords are out, there is every chance the hardware used to get them is inaccurate, no matter how many times that hardware goes back to the spot, there's little chance the co-ords are going to be any better. My simple advice for this is to find the place, waypoint it, then go back another day to place the cache, using your original waypoint as if you were hunting for a cache. if you can find it, chances are someone else can. quote:+ _"This is gc.com, love it or leave it "_ This is GC.com, it is where it is because of user feedback and if that stops, so will GC.com All of my answers to your comments are simply plucked from the essence of the guidelines for placing a cache prior to the no vacation caches rule coming into force. And all make good sense for any cache to be placed, no matter how far from home. My Current multi cache project has so far taken me 2 weeks of research along these guidelines, so far I only have the co-ords for a third of the caches and none have yet been actually placed. (and this is in my home town) responsible placing of caches does not have to rule out vacation micros, and the spirit of the sport is to help out your fellow geocacher if you can, in thanks for the fun of finding their cache. "This Is GC.com If you don't like it, speak up, others may thank you for it." Link to comment
Keystone Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 I think we've reached the boundaries of the "Getting Started" forum, which is for the purpose of helping new folks get familiar with geocaching by answering their questions. DaJagman, you're not going to get the rule against vacation caches overturned here. Please consider joining the ongoing discussion of this issue in the "General" forum. |x*x-x|x*x-x|x*x-x|x*x-x|x*x-x|x*x-x|x*x-x| Keystone Approver, Geocaching.com Admin "Eschewing Entropy and Ensuring Enthalpy in the Groundspeak Forums" Link to comment
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