Crossing the line
A recent caching experience while on a business trip out of town got me to thinking about how far cachers go when it comes to getting a cache they really want to find.
Caches come in many shapes and sizes and can be found pretty much everywhere. But sometimes through the course of our hunting, we discover that the journey to find a particular cache might have us “crossing a line” that for some is a no brainer, and for others, it’s a big no-no.
This line varies from cacher to cacher. Some cachers won’t grab finds for caches that are hidden on private property, even with consent. Others think that having a cache in a person’s yard crosses a line and makes it uncomfortable for some cachers when they go to sign the log. Some cachers have been known to hide caches in areas where very clearly marked “No Tresspassing” signs reside, and thusly finders need to tresspass to get their name on a log. Have you found a cache in a no trespassing area?
Last night, I think it’s safe to say that I probably crossed a line that maybe I shouldn’t have. Being out of town for the week, I wanted to do some caching. Whenever I travel for work, I always look to snag finds on cache types that aren’t abundant back home. In this case, I wanted a couple of virtuals. I picked one out, figured out the subway route I needed to take, and made my way to the cache.
After getting across town, and walking to within 300M of the coords, with rain pouring down, I found myself at a park. Real nice park right on the waterfront. In fact, it’s a pier park dedicated to a local master shipbuilder with a real nice view of the city across the water. An awesome location. Problem was, the whole park was fenced off, and all gates/entrances were locked. The sign at the gates said the park closes at 8pm and it was only 6, but no unlocked entrances to be found anywhere.
I had two options: 1) Just walk away as it is just one cache, or 2) Find another way in. Well, truth be told, I was soaked to the bone and had traveled across town to get here and it seemed like a waste if I walked away. I wasn’t about to break any laws or any locks or anything like that, but upon inspection of the large snowbank adjacent to the fence, it became quite clear that it would be very easy to climb the bank, and hop the fence. So, I chose option 2 and entered the park via the snowbank.
Now, I did walk to the coords, take a photo, make note of what I needed to, and took in the view (which despite the rain and fog, was quite nice). I returned to the snowbank, hopped back over the fence, and made my way in the even heavier rain now, back to the subway station (about a 15 minute walk).
So, did I cross the line? My personal justification was that since the park hours were listed as closing at 8pm, the park was actually open, even though no gates were open so I “technically” didn’t go against any park regulations. However, I think the intent of having the gates closed is to keep people out when the park keepers decide to “close” it so I think by hopping the fence and going in, I kind of went against what the park owners had in mind. I didn’t break anything, steal anything, or damage anything, but I did enter an area that was clearly gated up with the intention of keeping people out. Did I cross a line?
The thing was, I could have easily walked away and it really wouldn’t have mattered because it is just one cache. But in the heat of the moment, I made the call to hop. There are far worse things I could have done, but in the end, I do feel a bit guilty as I do think I went against what the city’s intentions were. Would I do it again? Probably not, but it’s hard to say. It’s not my best caching moment, but it does bring me to the point of this article.
Every cacher out there has their own line, as I am sure all of you have. What do you consider to be just beyond that imaginary line? How far do you go to get the find you really want? It might not even be a matter of law or regulation breaking. It might even have to do with a danger factor, or other circumstances that reveal themselves in the midst of your hunt.
Tell me, what have you done that maybe wasn’t the best thing to do to get your find?
Now, what I should add to this is that after I got the find, I went back towards the snowbank and I got about 40M away from the fence, and noticed a city truck parked inside the park, lights on, and kinda looking around. Not sure why they were there but it certainly made me FAR more uncomfortable about the whole situation. I did my best to use “stealth” to hop the fence back to the street, and return to walking on the sidewalk. I think being spooked by them was enough to tell me I should probably not have gone in there and just left the find for another day.
I broke a padlock with a big rock on a gate to find “vertigo” in Bathurst, so some of us have done much worse. I put the lock back on after as it still worked. The other 2 cachers I was with wiggled under the fence as I held it up but then I couldn’t get under so I found my own way in.
LMAO… I don’t know how CacheupNB’s members can sleep at night? All these caches should be archived… Too dangerous!
I found on up north once that was hidden under a bridge with a no trespassing sign not 2 feet from the location of the cache container i didn’t see the sign till i was at the cache location so i ended up signing the log then hightailing it out of there after mentioning it in my log the cache was archived not long after. i felt kinda bad being the on that had a cache archived but if there’s no permission and there is a fairly evident no trespassing sign i can’t not mention something.
And while i have a cache sitting on my front lawn i don’t mind finding some caches on peoples own properties but there was one that had me a little worried as it required me going around the back of the CO’s garage to get that smiley.
I’m not really a guy who crosses the line often. I guess that’s why I love caching in the woods, sometimes, I’m not really comfortable with urban caching. Especially hides that takes long to find.
I did that cache vb mentionned, it’s under Miscou’s bridge. I swear I never saw the no trespassing sign. I was looking hard for a container I guess haha. Having seen that one prior to that I’m not sure if I would had did it alone.
As for the ones on private properties, I always have my iPod with me now and when it feels weird, I read the description. I did that for a cache near Salisbury. It was on the owner’s property and after reading the description it felt more appropriate to grab it.
The worst I did is probably park temporarly in a no parking area. But I only have under 700 caches, so I guess the worst is yet to come haha.
Trespass on private property.No.Jump a fence to a public park that was probably only closed because of snow or some other mundane reason.Yes.It’s a public place and you were not there with any malicious intent.Just a stroll in the park.I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
ZOR I would have done what you did but the presence of personnel would have made me nervous as there are often overzealous employees around who over react to situations. I feel the same when I go for cemetery caches. I avoid them when there are employeees around.
I am not crazy about caches on private property especially in a residential area, unless I am 100% certain about the location and the cache owner is outside and smiles and waves at me and I recognize him or her. And then I send MA to get it.
For example
*A cache on someones mailbox at their driveway.
*A cache in a tree in the middle of a lawn
*A cache in a hedge along a footpath when you are certain the hedge actually belongs to the neighbour.
*A cache behind somebody’s baby barn in their backyard. Fortunately they had a big geocaching symbol on the front of the building and had TB codess on their vehicles. I sent MA.
*Caches On fire escapes and steps on back of building at shopping malls. You really could get in trouble with that.
*There was a recent cache in Dieppe which brought you to a hedge on private property. The cache was actually across the street and was placed by a kid who did not have a gps, so he used google to figure out the coords.
*We have a cache at the street on the edge of our property in the yellow protector at the power pole. The hint says YELLOW but a cacher would not attempt it. Another cacher got it while I was mowing the lawn; he had to time his attempt while my back was turned.
I also am not crazy about caches in very public locations. I just dont like the embarrassment of looking stupid in public.
For example
*Looking under a seat in a bus shelter in downtown Manhattan.
*Spending 20 minutes on a street corner in NY City trying to dislodge a magnetic micro 9 feet up behind a stop sign while a police car is parked half way down the block watching me.
*We placed a cache in a mailbox in a residential area in Gatineau. It lasted 2 days. A neighbour grabbed it and called the police. I archived it and informaed local cachers that they can claim it if they go get it at the police station.
*A puzzle in Ottawa brought us to a ventilation duct one foot off the ground on a building on a busy street in Ottawa. I would have to get on my hands and knees on a busy street to check in the duct. I brought our grandson Jake to get it.
*Buggy corrals can be tough with oots of people around
I would have easily doubled my numbers if it wasn’t for embarrassing or nerve racking situations. There is an unbelievable amount of caches I won’t go for after seeing they are too close to a house etc. I do think their is an advantage with pets (dog) or small children. They give you a good excuses to be in a dumb situation. My kid lost his ball in that hedge or my dog chased a bird into that… Having a group of friends is a good way to go also. You can all share the blame for being caught in a situation where we should not have been. So much easier hiding a cache in public than finding one.
I am going to be the bad guy here but what you did Zor was wrong.
The park was closed for a reason and you are lucky that you didnt spend the night in prison or worse you could’ve hurt yourself inside the fence.
You got to the spot, you enjoyed the view, where does it say that you have to sign a log or complete a task so you can log it online??
Is that all geocaching is about to you? Logging the online find??
I can see the headline now.
OUT-OF-TOWN GEOCACHER ARRESTED FOR CROSSING SNOWBANK INTO PARK.
Stranger insists that his name is ZOR and that he just wanted to find a container in the park. Park Staff have said that they were on duty last night and were on the look out for suspicious activity. When they spotted “ZOR” he was walking around in zigzags holding a GPS in his hand. When he did not have a satisfactory explanation for his behaviour, they searched him and discovered odd paraphenalia in his pocket including film canisters, wire, plastic bags, wire, magnets, etc. Police were called immediately The suspect spent the night in jail and will remain there until his trial next week.
Apparently he made an odd request to have a laptop to log his find.
I sure hope not because if I can’t find a cache I hide one of my own here I know it should be or I pretend I forgot my pen.
To most people it is about actually finding the cache before logging the find to make it official because if you don’t get there or sign it you didn’t find it. We all play it a little differently, oh by the way it does say on Geocaching.com that you have to sign the log or complete the task to claim the find. I have walked away from many caches because I was not comfortable getting it and because I walked away I didn’t find it and therefore no log. Is that what Geocaching is all about, getting close and then logging the find online? I agree that sometimes we get carried away with finding the cache especially if it is far from home and we may not get another chance but ultimately it is our own decisions and we will have to live with the consequences. Some people have a higher comfort levels than others be it taking a risk or logging with out signing the log.
I’ve done the walk away thing many times. Either because it was too dangerous or because there was something shady about the area I was in. In the end, it is JUST A CACHE and you can live without it. For me, this was one that I really wanted to find mostly to see the view that was being raved about in the listing.
With not much else to do in a city where you don’t know anything about where you are, geocaching provides me a way to see things I would never see, and this just happened to be another one of those trips. For me personally, I probably crossed a line (and I know I felt bad about it because of how I felt when I saw the guy get out of the truck near the park) but I also didn’t destroy any property, vandalize anything, or create any sort of incident to affect the local area. I also at least have the ability to come out and say what I did and know that maybe it crossed a line, and have folks engage in conversation and debate about it. I could have just as easily kept it to myself, and not told anyone, but I like to keep what I do in the open and have good points for debate on here.
What are the rules in Geocaching?
1. If you take something from the cache, leave something of equal or greater value.
2. Write about your find in the cache logbook.
3. Log your experience at http://www.geocaching.com.
It does not say we need to sign the log. We just need to write about our finds. I guess we have all been doing it wrong. Will have to start deleting finds…
Habits of a Good Geocache Owner
“As a geocache owner, your responsibilities don’t end once your geocache has been published. Owning a geocache is an ongoing responsibility that, when done properly, results in more geocaching fun for everyone. Here are some tips on being a good cache owner”…
“6. Cache owners are also responsible for quality control of posts the cache page. This includes deleting logs that are bogus or not within the stated requirements”…