Five Star Rating

I'm putting out a Flagstaff Lake Cache trail series. The first one requires a boat in the summer. If the lake is low enough you can walk to it in the fall. And in the winter you can walk or snowmobile to it. I can also swim to it but then I'm a good swimmer, I wouldn't recommend doing that in general. I hate to lose cachers!

The second in the series I say requires a boat but it's a 10 minute paddle if you put in at the right place. However, KG walked to it! Took her 3 hours round trip but she did it, along the shoreline.

The third I don't think even KG could walk to although I suppose it's possible. At least you could when the lake is frozen. Where's there's a will there probably is a way.

Do I need to give all three a five star rating because you "need" a boat? Somewhere I read if it requires a boat, then it's got to be 5 star. However, the difficulty is different on all three of these. Help? :confused:

On my caches, I've figured that most people are doing them when there is no ice on the lakes. Having said that, I've done many that I walked to. If you assume that the majority of cachers are getting the cache in the spring/summer/fall seasons, I would think that a 5 rating would be accurate.
Many caches can vary in difficulty. If you place a cache under heavy tree cover and someone finds it in early spring when there are no leaves, the difficulty goes down. I would say rate for the conditions that most people would experience when finding the cache.

It's the terrain rating that needs to be a 5.

Due to the fact that " specialized " equipment is needed. That could be a boat, or even climbing
ropes.

Here's the link: http://www.clayjar.com/gcrs/index.php

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Originally Posted by Team2hunt

It's the terrain rating that needs to be a 5.

Due to the fact that " specialized " equipment is needed. That could be a boat, or even climbing
ropes.

Here's the link: http://www.clayjar.com/gcrs/index.php

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Thanks for the link. I was referring to the terrain rating. Maybe I'm just so used to kayaking I don't think of it as "difficult". I took two people from Ohio out today to find Cache Trail # 1 and # 2. It took 30 seconds to teach them how to paddle and they bucked a strong head wind coming back with no problems. But "5" it is! I'm changing my ratings now.

PS Anyone that's coming up this way, I have five kayaks and can teach you how to use them.

IMO, a boat should not be special equipment. At least not a boat that an average person could use with no more instruction that it takes to run a bicycle. If the cache was 300 miles into the ocean, that might be different.

However, The GCRS as T2H cited was decided upon a long time ago and cache hiders should adhere to those standards. So, it's a 5 terrain!

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Originally Posted by brdad

IMO, a boat should not be special equipment.

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When you get to a shoreline and the cache is 300' away and you don't have a boat, it IS special equipment! Very special. One of the difficulties of island caches far from home is lugging the kayak. I'm very at home in a canoe or kayak, but if I don't have it with me, I gotta wait for the water to ice over to get the cache:p

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Originally Posted by Sudonim

When you get to a shoreline and the cache is 300' away and you don't have a boat, it IS special equipment! Very special.

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Yes, but using that definition I have had times caching when batteries would be special equipment! Or boots! Or a spare tire! Or a dry set of clothes!

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Originally Posted by Sudonim

One of the difficulties of island caches far from home is lugging the kayak.

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Actually that's the subject that prompted me to think about this thread. I was talking to someone about how Lee and I loaded the kayaks and drove two and a half hours to kayak less than a half mile to the Two if by Sea cache. We did get one other land cache that day but never put the kayaks in water again.

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Originally Posted by Sudonim

When you get to a shoreline and the cache is 300' away and you don't have a boat, it IS special equipment! Very special. One of the difficulties of island caches far from home is lugging the kayak. I'm very at home in a canoe or kayak, but if I don't have it with me, I gotta wait for the water to ice over to get the cache:p

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I once had to swim out almost 200' and dive down 6' to retrieve a cache. The special equipment needed that day was a towel. It was October in NH.

And that was rated 2.5\2.5

If a cache is on an island and you need a boat to get there it should get a 5. Now here in Maine that same island on a frozen lake may only rate a 2 depending on the walk. If that lake was in the south then a 5 would be appropriate all year round. Unless there are gators then it's an 8. If the cache is on the shore of a lake then technically you can walk to it from another part of the lake shore. This is where I would question what rating to give it. Many on remote lakes are not feasible to walk to. Clear as mud, right.;)

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Originally Posted by Sudonim

On my caches, I've figured that most people are doing them when there is no ice on the lakes. Having said that, I've done many that I walked to. If you assume that the majority of cachers are getting the cache in the spring/summer/fall seasons, I would think that a 5 rating would be accurate.
Many caches can vary in difficulty. If you place a cache under heavy tree cover and someone finds it in early spring when there are no leaves, the difficulty goes down. I would say rate for the conditions that most people would experience when finding the cache.

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I'm going with Andy on this one in regards to the terrain rating . . . I figure most sane people do most of their caching in the summer, spring or fall . . . and yes I am kidding. ;):D As such, they would need specialized equipment . . . i.e. some type of boat . . . I consider specialized equipment anything an average geocacher would not normally pack along for a geocaching attempt (i.e. most geocachers would pack a GPSr, batteries, boots, their car has a spare tire, etc.) . . . but most don't routinely haul around a kayak (and some would have to borrow one if they do not own one themselves), bring along climbing rope, ice crampons, diving equipment, spelunking gear, etc.

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Originally Posted by Team2hunt

I once had to swim out almost 200' and dive down 6' to retrieve a cache. The special equipment needed that day was a towel. It was October in NH.

And that was rated 2.5\2.5

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Somewhere in here is a Seinfeld joke about shrinkage and cold water. ;):D:eek:

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Originally Posted by Mainiac1957

If a cache is on an island and you need a boat to get there it should get a 5. Now here in Maine that same island on a frozen lake may only rate a 2 depending on the walk. If that lake was in the south then a 5 would be appropriate all year round. Unless there are gators then it's an 8. If the cache is on the shore of a lake then technically you can walk to it from another part of the lake shore. This is where I would question what rating to give it. Many on remote lakes are not feasible to walk to. Clear as mud, right.;)

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I don't know . . . I did one cache that involved walking on some ice and the specialized equipment I could have used for that one would have been a) ice skates to get me there and back faster and safer since I kept falling down, b) ice crampons to keep me from falling or c) some water-proof boots since there was several inches of water on the ice in some places. ;):D

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Originally Posted by firefighterjake

. . . but most don't routinely haul around a kayak (and some would have to borrow one if they do not own one themselves), bring along climbing rope, ice crampons, diving equipment, spelunking gear, etc.

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I'll guess I'm an overachiever

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Originally Posted by Mainiac1957

I'll guess I'm an overachiever

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Yeah, if one of the cache requirements is that you bring two micro-dogs with you, I suppose you've got that too:p

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Originally Posted by Sudonim

Yeah, if one of the cache requirements is that you bring two micro-dogs with you, I suppose you've got that too:p

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Better to have micro-dogs, than one of those off the shelf, like all the rest, regular-dogs. :p

Or a main dog and an emergency back-up dog

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Originally Posted by Team2hunt

It's the terrain rating that needs to be a 5.

Due to the fact that " specialized " equipment is needed. That could be a boat, or even climbing
ropes.

Here's the link: http://www.clayjar.com/gcrs/index.php

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So if a 5 minute kayak trip requires a 5 star rating, how come those on islands like North Haven don't? There you have to check ferry schedules, pay for a ticket, take the boat out, find the cache and catch the ferry before it leaves for the day. I was checking out some Stonington caches and several were way out on islands but they didn't have a 5 star rating. Just wondering.....:confused:

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Originally Posted by kayaking loon

So if a 5 minute kayak trip requires a 5 star rating, how come those on islands like North Haven don't? There you have to check ferry schedules, pay for a ticket, take the boat out, find the cache and catch the ferry before it leaves for the day. I was checking out some Stonington caches and several were way out on islands but they didn't have a 5 star rating. Just wondering.....:confused:

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Going by the GCRS, they should be a 5 terrain. I don't necessarily agree, but that's the way it is. According to that theory, all Austrailian caches should be a 5 terrain, too!

The ratings are subjective, and no one regulates their accuracy. At least using the GCRS, there is a minimal degree of standardization.