Caching Problem on PEI
PEI is our favourite place to cache because of the quality, the numbers, the biking, the views, the people, etc. We take a number of caching trips to PEI every year, each trip is usually 4 days or more. Despite the iffy weather, we are here again this week. The caching is still great, but we have run into a serious situation that could have an adverse affect on caching. Here is a log for a cache that I asked to be archived.
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We were not able to go and get a large number of puzzle caches and a few traditionals today because they were placed in hedgerows between farm fields. The fields have been tilled and crops planted in many of them, up to the edge of the hedgerows. It is therefore practically impossible to walk along the edge of the fields without stepping on plowed areas.
Later in the day we came to the final stage of this multi and noticed it was also in a hedgerow. about 200 meters from the road. There seemed to be a little space between the plowed field and the hedgerow, so we thought we would go for this one. As we walked along it soon became clear that we were stepping on the plowed field.
As we made our way back to the road after finding the cache, we noticed a lady leaning on an SUV at the road waiting for us. She was very pleasant and friendly as we explained what we were doing. She mentioned that she has been aware of other people also walking along hedgerows.
She is the farm manager for this particular farm and she had two concerns with the activity in these areas. First of all, the farmland is private property. Second and most important is the issue of food and crop safety: people walking in the fields can be carrying things on them that can affect the crop.
We had a good discussion and we gave her our email address. She has written us the following note:
” Hi Paul.
Thanks for agreeing to sort out the issue with geo caches located on private property in the Augustine Cove – Tryon area.
I hope you and your wife have a pleasant stay here on Prince Edward Island, even if the weather is not that great!
Best regards,
Lori
Lori J. Robinson
Farm Manager”
Sadly, it’s a whole new world out there where there is little or no respect for privacy or private property. It’s who can be the 1st to post news online? Good news or bad, someone needs to get it out there fast, even before families receive news of deaths, accidents or other important family events.
The same applies to private property. What do you mean I can’t smoke here? or, I take this short cut every day. There is a feeling of entitlememt.
Because of my tire cover I have had my jeep pic posted online no permission asked and removed caches others placed on private property because no one asked. We need to go back and review before placing or posting, is this an invasion of privacy, is this private property, did I ask permission because this is not mine.
I sincerely hope the crops mentioned were not compromised and the situation gets rectified with a positive outcome to both parties. I know I sound harsh but it is a real problem and getting bigger everyday.
Thanks for being a postive source of info to this farm manager and agreeing to help.
Although I had an idea on what it was, I had to google “hedgerows”, please don’t ask me to pronounce it! 🙄
You were lucky that your encounter was with someone civilised. We were once on an island for a geocache, in the south of the province, where the locals (only cottages, and the ferry is only open in the summer)essentially self-proclaim that this island is private and the Ferry is for their use only! Which is not the case, but anyway. We were given the boot not so much in a friendly way although it could have been worse. That was our worst geocaching experience, and because we were just starting, we almost decided to let go this geocaching business (perhaps some will say: Darn he should have! LOL).
Good reminder that before placing a cache out, you need to make sure that the spot is suitable for a geocache!
Anybody with 866 hides can’t be too concerned with where they place them, the quality of the placement or the container, in my humble opinion. I have heard rumblings about his hides in the past. I am going over there for the fathers day weekend and will have to be careful where we go. I had to archive a cache last week because it was supposedly on private land, it was about 2 kms back in on a dirt road surrounded by nothing but trees but the owner told some PEI cachers to get out of there.
Monday was our first day on PEI and that morning we were very disappointed when we noticed we could not get many of our solved puzzles. There were literally dozens of puzzle caches in the area in question that we didnt try to get because it would have meant walking along the edge of woods bordering farm fields. With many of the fields plowed and planted to the edge of the trees, you cannot avoid stepping on those fields. It seems that most of the caches were accessed during winter or before planting.
My concern here is that tourist season is almost here and many geocachers from away will arrive with their gps loaded with these caches and may end up trying for them. A backlash against geocachers by farmers and others in the media could easily occur. The reviewrs have archived a few of these caches, and will likely archive any more that are reported. It may be possible to identify some of the offending traditional caches by looking at a google satelite map but how can you identify the offending puzzles?
BTW we also ran into a similar situation with caches hidden in cottage country on the island, and again avoided going to many caches. Here is a log of ours on a cache that was arhived the next day by a reviewer.
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Cache seems awfully close to trailer.
After finding cache we were approached by Shirley Lord the mother of the owner of this whole area. She wanted to know if we were interested in renting one of their many cottages. We explained about geocaching and tried to show her the next one at this property without success. She did not think they wanted strangers wandering around their property. We gave her our email address in case they wanted to get in touch with cachers.
Not to belittle anyone else, the more I see and hear, the more I realize what a great caching community we have here in NB. We don’t seem to be only about the numbers, we don’t seem to live for caching raids and we care about quality of caches and their placements (to echo Rev’s comment). And knowing we have such great caching communities in Moncton, Saint John, Freddy and beyond, makes for a better experience for cachers young and old, new and experienced.
Now, to belittle someone else, some of those cachers with 800+ hides and hides in several provinces did one of my local series recently.
I knew a couple of the caches needed some attention so I went on a maintenance run. Several of the caches had lids that were not closed properly, contents were not sealed well even though all was functioning properly. Had I not gone on this run, there’s no doubt in my mind that several of the containers or contents would have been damaged by the last few days of rain. It was clear that this group (OK, I’ll say it because I am not impressed to say the least) of Islanders practiced fast-food caching, hurrying through the series as if all that mattered was numbers. As a further sign of respect, they threw down a cache of their own in the one one gap then named the cache as if was part of the series. So to put it bluntly, their disrespect stretches beyond the borders of their home province.
There, I’ve had my public rant, but I think that I can, I’ve been at this long enough to know a spade and to call a spade a spade. And, I deeply care about the quality and locations of NB caches.
And then the claimed the find as they were “present when placed” nice to be the co-hider and get a find.
OMG
It wasn’t my intention to attack PEI cachers or a particular cacher. I wanted to highlight a situation that had the possibility of affecting geocaching in general and all of us.
We come caching in PEI 5 or 6 times a year because we love the hides, the quality, the places it brings us and the dedication of the cachers here. I will start another item here today or tomorrow outlining why we love coming here.
PAul
PEI is my favourite place to cache. The father’s day caching run is the highlight of my caching year. I have nothing but praise for the quality caches, puzzles and cachers over there. I’m sure this is a blip, but I do think it’s really good that you have made the cachers aware of some of the property issues. Caching is something PEI tourism, etc have really bought into and it would be a shame to see that goodwill damaged.
I too have cached on the Island and enjoyed myself.
Sorry Pa, if I brought up something that I could have stated in perhaps a new thread. But I told it like it was, for what it was.
I will continue to go to PEI to cache and look after the caches over there. Bringing extra baggies.
I won’t add a comment but I do agree with cableguy1 on this one.
There was a Bridgewater NB cache where you had to stand on a gravestone
to get. I decided not to get this one.
I also posted a much shorter version of this item on ACGA. I know that site is mostly NS cachers but PEI cacher also frequent that site. I have been surprised at the lack of reaction. Maybe people think I am over reacting and I hope that I am. Here is what I posted on ACGA
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Monday was our first day this year on PEI and that morning we were very disappointed when we noticed we could not get many of our solved puzzles. There were literally dozens of puzzle caches in the area in question that we didnt try to get because it would have meant walking along the edge of woods bordering farm fields. With many of the fields plowed and planted to the edge of the trees, you cannot avoid stepping on those fields. It seems that most of the caches were accessed during winter or before planting.
My concern here is that tourist season is almost here and many geocachers from away will arrive with their gps loaded with these caches and may end up trying for them. A backlash against geocachers by farmers and others in the media could easily occur. The reviewers have archived a few of these caches, and will likely archive any more that are reported. It may be possible to identify some of the offending traditional caches by looking at a google satelite map but how can you identify the offending puzzles?
I think we should all be concerned about this situation both when hiding and finding caches.
No Pa, the ACGA just doesn’t talk about caching anymore unless it is a silly milestone thing.
I may sound like a broken record but I would suggest it is because of the new look. I find it awkward to get on the site and find stuff. A lot less goes on since they changed.
forum posting was dropping way before the change. After the change, we have more people logging into ACGA daily, but the discussions are being done elsewhere with all of the other alternatives.
But back to the main topic, my reply on ACGA was that this wasn’t a PEI problem.
Thanks for responding. With regard to ACGA you are probably right. I see the same things at other forums that I frequent. Not being a Twitter or Facebook person, I guess I am missing out on a lot, and will keep missing out on a lot.
But back to the main topic. I realize that private property is a concern in many places that we place caches. For example lamp posts at walmart, the trees at side of dirt roads, snowmobile trails and the woods adjacent, the woods next to municipal trails, etc. In most of those cases, it would not be too much of a concern because you are not disturbing anything or causing a problem.
However, in the cases I identified on PEI, cachers would be walking in full view out in the open on plowed fields, disturbing crops, and endangering themselves with chemical fertilizers, etc. There were also situations involving caches on private property up close to rental cottages and trailers. I was just concerned that there was significant risk for being noticed and getting into the press when tourist season starts. As Paul pointed out, the PEI tourist industry has bought into geocaching, and it would be a shame to see that destroyed.
As for a solution, I have no idea