Geocaching!

[topaz]

Morgan triumphant!
Originally uploaded by qwrrty.

Geocaching with the kids, my dad and three dogs today. Morgan was especially proud of finding the actual cache all by himself.

this cache was on the Otter Slide Trail in Carlisle, which I think is just about the coolest name for a woods trail that I can recall.

I have to agree, though, that climbing trees is at least as awesome as geocaching.

Comments

[pancua.livejournal.com]

OMG! So big!

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Isn't it SCARY?

[pancua.livejournal.com]

Just a little bit! Still a cute-y though!

[keyne.livejournal.com]

"The thing I really like about that picture," M says about the first one, "is the huge grin plastered on my face."

[vasilatos]

This all sounds like loads o' fun, but I guarantee you it's illegal in California. From the geocaching FAQ: "... a waterproof plastic bucket placed tastefully within the local terrain." Absolutely against the law.

Sorry to rain on your parade.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

It's a good thing we don't live in California, then!

[vasilatos]

Look. I don't want to be negative, but I am. I think this thing is also against the law in Massachusetts, and probably every state in the union. Even if it weren't, I consider it a heinous idea, organized littering at the very least. You might as well just sponsor thrown away beer bottles. By what logic is it ok to leave plastic containers in the woods? It's NOT.

Love your cheer, love your kids, love you, but don't love the geocaching.
Sorry.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

This got me very curious because I know that California has a very active geocaching community, and I've never heard that the activity is unlawful there. Searching Google for terms like "geocaching california illegal" and "geocaching california parks" has not turned up anything like a clear and unambiguous blanket prohibition.

The closest I can find is this CA parks newsletter: http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/795/files/feb%2005%20bearfacts.pdf which agrees that geocaching on federal land is a violation of federal land use guidelines, but goes on to say that the placement of any new geocaches should be coordinated with the local park personnel.

It seems a far cry from "absolutely against the law" to me, but I guess you're the one with the MCJ and I'm not. :-)

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Wow!

I have a lot of respect for your opinion and it makes me sad that this bothers you so much. Still, the strongest general prohibition that I can find against geocaching is that you must obtain permission from local parks authorities before placing a cache on public land, which seems entirely reasonable to me. If the parks service doesn't consider this a sufficiently serious misuse of public lands to prohibit it entirely, I'm not going to worry too much about it.

[vasilatos]

Again, sorry. What you're describing sounds like some legal shuffling to accomodate "geocaching" in a world where "dumping litter" is illegal. (There's a vaguely classist element there, but I digress...)

BUT, that's for the legal beagles. Completely aside from any criminal justice issues, I find the geocaching thing suspect, from a personal standpoint. That's my own personal prejudice, and it could derive from having grown up in the woods, where I developed a strong proprietary sense and resentment of outsiders tromping around and leaving crap behind. Logically, I'm aware I don't actually own the woods myself. :-)

[dbang.livejournal.com]

So what constitutes "litter" in a forest? Why is a single plastic bucket, deliberately placed in a single spot, litter? Is a signpost litter? Trail blaze? Picnic table? Water fountain? Fire circle? Stone wall?

[vasilatos]

http://www.netbackpacking.com/clean-camping-litter.html

[dbang.livejournal.com]

Was that supposed to answer my question?

I don't see anything in there defining "litter", and especially not as including permanent man-made placements as "litter". Which is why I gave the above examples that I gave.

I'll all about getting rid of litter (http://dbang.livejournal.com/254619.html) but not about including every single man made item as falling into that category.

[vasilatos]

Ah. I failed in the "why are these things alike" recognition category. :-)

Basically, ya got me. This is making me think about stuff, which is good. I doubt anyone is ever going to convince me that leaving plastic in the woods is a good plan, though.

Thanks for replying.

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Is it just me, or does that kid look more like his father every day?

[jss]

It's not just you, no.

[inseriatim.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, caches are supposed to be actively maintained. Cache owners check on them regularly, firstly to cycle logbooks and so forth, and secondly to make sure the containers haven't been dislodged or moved. Cache seekers will also let the owners know when something's gone wrong, and folks will take over or remove caches that have become unowned (remember every single one is logged on a website). The negative qualities of litter -- ugly, bad for the environment, dangerous to animals, etc. -- don't apply to geocaches, in my mind.

As Tim pointed out, geocachers do seek permission from park wardens, etc, and most park wardens will allow it (some don't). Geocachers also organize Cache-In Trash-Out (http://cacheintrashout.org/) events frequently. You can still debate the merits of leaving bits of plastic and metal around the wilderness, but at least geocachers aren't simply a bunch of thoughtless kids.

[penk.livejournal.com]

Even beyond that, when I go caching with my son, we -always- pick up trash if we find it, and remove it. He's learning what it's like to be environmentally positive in land use - he can see how you can use open woods and fields in a positive, safe, sustainable way.