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Earlier today I posted a log re this Halo series but just received an email from Dave asking if I would resend it as it hadnt entered on to the site. Cant find where it has disappeared to so having a 2nd go which of course will be different from the 1st!
My pennyworth to this subject amounted something along the lines that initially Dartmoor Deliverer and I were immediately attracted to this series for the numbers to boost our numbers of caches found, and she duly organised that while DD and muggle Mr DD were on holiday camping at Mawganporth I could join them for some serious caching days walking this series. Planning was simplified by using both cars [one at the start of walking, and the other where we would get to approx mid-day] and therefore the walking was broken in 2 parts for the car reshuffle to the end of the day.
However it became apparent almost as soon as we started – there was certainly more than just cache numbers to savour. Companionship with each other, different scenery which varied from lanes, woods, sea views and through villages, and different walking terrains from footpaths, lanes and roads as well as meeting people on the way. A series like this is like a trip of discovery of new vistas and is a different type of challenge compared to, say, walking up to a mountain peak or walking across Dartmoor to a remote spot – each are a challenge, and with geocaching we have all types of challenges to tempt us saying “come and find me, you know you want to” !
I agree with the comment that many of the hides were similar, but that is TOTALLY overshadowed by my praise and gratitude to the geocachers who thought, financed and set out the walk, which then has its maintenance demands. Geocaching has a great variety of caches to find – some take hours to get to and some take great courage and some are on a trail like this – so everyone can find caches whatever their ability or available time. Brilliant series which I am very chuffed to have completed [well, apart from the couple of missing and one DNF which will be retried when next in the area hopefully].
Thought I would add my pennyworth on this subject as I agree that it is a shame that caches get archived and therefore unavailable for various reasons. Fuelled by Dave’s adoption of Cantor Clan’s excellent series Myths and Legends, I contacted the Cantor Clan offering to adopt any caches that they would perhaps be archiving. They kindly agreed and offered some caches which are not too far away from me, and which continue to provide many visitors from far away a safe and sensible caching experience on Dartmoor [but not the real Dartmoor as we locals know] and hopefully will continue to do so.
The “downside” of this adoption process was that the geocaching website contacted me soon after with regard to the several Needs Maintenance notifications on these caches, some of which were not recent. I have managed to get to all but one so far but they were all in need of a new log, often a new container and clearing out of odd pieces of paper. Embarrassingly I couldnt find 2 [despite having found them all several years ago] so left new containers! It was very interesting to note that several had moved several feet from the original site making them easier to access. I might have just been unlucky for this to happen but if anyone is thinking of adopting old caches, be prepared to have to go to “tidy them up”! However now I have done that, I am happy that they are all as good as a much newer one to find.Just thought I would add my thoughts on the quality of Dartmoor caches as this morning I went to check on 5 caches which I had recently adopted. These caches have been out for several years and are frequently found by visitors from outside Devon as well as outside England, which is great to see. However the negatives are that a couple of the caches which were larger than 35mm were full of scraps of paper and caching log strips only written on one side [?why?]. One of these caches had more than one log asking is this a geocache or a letterbox as it was far from obvious [the cache was named on the geocaching strips when eventually found amongst the paper] – it was very close to an icecream container again full of bits of paper which I removed as it was rubbish.
This experience leads me to feel that we all should have a responsibility towards the maintenance of caches we found, and not leave this to “someone else”.
Sorry, will now stop wingeing! [if that how it is spelt!]Hi, firstly many many thanks to Dave for his perseverance in getting this sorted for us all. I am sure it will make life easier for us siting caches as well as for our reviewer[s].
Hadnt really understood the rules previously so avoided siting my own caches until recently. Three were accepted sited on common land [Belstone Common] and then a 4th was refused as it was in an SSSI! The other 3 are also in the SSSI but the rules had changed inbetween applications. However I have just reapplied the 4th [with crossed fingers] and YES it has been accepted! So the new rules are working!
Also very pleased to see the siting in dry stone walls is not allowed – so it shouldnt as there is always “someone” who has to pull the wall to pieces to find the cache! Another good factor of these new rules! Many thanksI am making world-shattering history [well I think so!] in that this is my first post on one of these forum sites, but I want to add my grateful thanks to Dartmoor Dave for making the time to pursue and hopefully obtain easy-to-follow siting rules for geocaches on Dartmoor. The complications of needing landowner/farmer permission – or not – have been bewildering to me, and hence my reluctance to site any geocaches for others to seek [especially considering the number I have found which is rather embarrassing].
Hopefully with these new rules I will venture to site some caches – especially as otherwise I will not be able to log the Dartmoor Mega and Minor Challenges as I have some “empty” squares in order to qualify! I can’t continue to hope that someone else will site caches in these squares, and I also expect that I am not the only one who has these or other “empty” squares – so fingers crossed!
