[Az-Geocaching] Over reaction

[Jim Scotti]

I agree completely with Scott's sentiment and won't be making any of my
geocaches members only.  If any of my geocaches are a problem with managers
of the land I have placed them on, I would hope they would contact me (as one
actually did when he found one of my caches near a trail that he wanted to
close - he was happy to have a cache in the area, but just not at that
location and the cache was subsequently replaced about a quarter mile away
from the original site as a new cache).  It looks like the article has
generated at least one new member to this list already (welcome aboard!) as
well as an "anti-member".

I was also thinking of placing an "anniversary cache" soon.  My first cache
find was made on August 18 of last year.  I just haven't figured out where it
will go yet.  Of course, I did not place a cache on my wedding anniversary a
couple months back....

It's really too bad that the Republic article was so poorly researched and so
obviously negligent in its accusations.  It was good to hear from one of the
few visitors to the geocache in question and supports what I think is a
common feeling amoungst our group that it was not a geocacher who trashed the
area and destroyed the site.  I haven't met a bad geocacher yet, though of
course, there must be the occasional bad apple in such a large and diverse
group.

Jim.

On Thu, 8 Aug 2002, Eric Quinn wrote:

> In some ways I agree with the sentiment Scott has
> expressed and in some ways I don't. I can see where
> someone would worry about caches going missing with a
> large number of new people either trying out the sport
> or a large number of land managers looking for any on
> public property property.
> 
> At the same time, I believe that there are enough
> caches that will remain non-MO to satisfy new cachers
> for the next couple of weeks. I have no intention on
> making Picnic Leftovers a MO cache and we plan on
> hiding our fifth AZ cache this weekend, celebrating
> our one year caching anniversary (don't ask me when my
> wedding anniversary is).
> 
> Overall, it's just a personal decision everyone has to
> make. I do hope that this is just a temporary
> phenominon because, as Scott said, it would be a shame
> for new hunters not to be able to find some great
> caches.
> 
> 
> Eric
> TD

Jim Scotti                              
Lunar & Planetary Laboratory         jscotti@pirl.lpl.arizona.edu 
University of Arizona                
Tucson, AZ 85721 USA                 http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~jscotti/