How far would you hike for an earthcache?

[Trekkin and Birdin]

I’m working with the nice rangers at Effigy Mounds National Monument in northeast Iowa to place an earthcache. The ranger has been awesome in taking an interest in learning more about this kind of caching and doing his own research on others in national parks with sensitive sites. Looking down the road, if this one is successful, there are a couple other sites along their trails that are really cool, but they require a hike of about 4 miles and the other about 7 miles. So……tell me by responding to the poll if you’d actually pursue such an earthcache. Comments are welcome, too.

[Lostby7]

4 miles…I sure would…7 miles not so much. I was just coming to the forums to inquire about Earthcaches in Iowa…I hope you have this one set up before the end of March.

[RSplash40]

Is that 4mi one way? While I like picking up a earthcache now and again I’m not built for a 4mi hike, round trip or not.

[Lostby7]

@RSplash40 wrote:

Is that 4mi one way?

Good point…I assumed round trip. But I have to add….the Earthcache would have to be pretty special…

[Mister Greenthumb]

I really enjoy Earthcahes, but I think they may eventually be dissallowed like Virtuals if they become insignificant and over abundant. Lets place really interesting ones that everyone can enjoy. I’ve taken the 3E’s (my grandchildren) to several and they really enjoyed them.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Gary,

I’m hoping this one will be up and running in a week or two. For this one, the hike is 2 miles round trip, but the waypoints were so interesting, it didn’t seem that long when we hiked it on Sunday. lagrac’s earthcache is just downriver from here, about five miles driving. It’s a wonderful little corner of Iowa to explore, one that dispels the popular image of the state as nothing but cornfields.

I do agree that earthcaches should continue to bring us to interesting places and features. In the case of this one, the seeker is looking at how the area geology shaped the culture that became known as the Moundbuilders. Their descendants today are the Ho-Chunk, therefore the sites at the Monument are sacred ground. Hence the need to handle this one with care (as all should be, actually!) It’s really been fascinating to me as a storyteller to read all the controversies surrounding the mounds and their meaning, when the oral traditions of the Ho-Chunk explain it all.

The view at the highest point is to die for, by the way. The confluence of three rivers, a string of mounds along the ridge behind you, the blufflands along the river….ah!

[Lostby7]

Thanks for the info.
I too agree with Mr. Greenthumb…the more novel the better. My wife keeps trying to get me to go to Tenn rather than Iowa in late March. We’ll see who wins on this one….I’m really interested in showing the kids some unique Earth features. Tenn does have some great caves…either way I will get to more of the Iowa Earthcaches eventually even if I have to go it alone…after all on my last trip to Iowa I was on my way back before the fam even got out of bed to eat breakfast. I look forward to crossing yours off my list.

[Team B Squared]

I would probably not consider stopping to do a 4 mile or 7 mile hike one way while out caching for a day…but I would consider making a special trip to do only that cache. I say go for it.

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

Would I be able to mountain bike to these caches?

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Probably not these, because of the spiritual aspect of the land. But I’m not sure.

There are a mess of caches in LaCrosse now on the mountain biking trails. The local veloclub has done a TON of work on those trails, too.

[Doc.]

Hmmmm, an earthcache like that sounds like it would be a “destination earthcache” and something that one would do for a special milestone. Crap, I better get caching! 🙂

[OuttaHand]

4 miles would probably be about the limit. Don’t think I’d get the wife to join me for 7 miles.
If you wanted to get more visitors, you could consider adding one or two regular caches (or milti-cachs) along the way. Just a good way for someone to get some extra smileys on the way to/from the earthcache.

[zuma]

I have found that many of the most memorable caches, and enjoyable caching days are for those special places that take a bit of effort. Often there is an direct correlation and close relationship to the enjoyability of a geocache and the amount of effort it took to find it. So yeah, I would go for it.

So, dont worry about putting out caches that take a lil effort. Some folks will go get em, and some folks wont.

Also, I think most people like a lil variety, some easy ones, and some that take more effort. And as always, it is a good idea to place caches like the ones you like to find. Those who find it will be more likely to emulate the type of cache, and you will have one similiar some where to go find. Truly a win-win situation.

zuma

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

@Trekkin’ and Birdin’ wrote:

Probably not these, because of the spiritual aspect of the land. But I’m not sure.

There are a mess of caches in LaCrosse now on the mountain biking trails. The local veloclub has done a TON of work on those trails, too.

We’d probably still do them, but save them for a milestone. I figure, if it’s worth you walking the 7 miles to check it out and set it up, it must then also be worth me doing.

[Jeremy]

I’d be up for either a 4 or 7 mile round trip hike for an earthcache. I assume you would have to collect information at various points along the route, which would keep the hike interesting and give you various points to stop and take a break.

But such a cache likely will not get many visitors, because (as you already know) some people won’t work that hard for a single smiley. I have my own multicache just across the river and it also requires a decent amount of hiking and there are no other caches nearby… the number of visitors to this cache is incredibly low. Putting out several earthcaches in the same area (even if they are all fairly difficult) would probably drive more visitors there.

[Author]

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