Question for Canidates- Handicapped Accessible Caches

[Team Hemisphere Dancer]

We all love to take the hikes for the beautiful scenery and then stumble upon a cache just to make the day complete. But we are all a slip and fall away from not being able to do this. Whether from an accident or heath reasons, there is a population among us that cannot get to some of the caches. What as a BOD member would you do to help promote the caches that persons with a disability can go find?

[zuma]

Regarding the caches for folks with disabilities:

I have developed a bookmark list of caches that would be wheel chair accesible, assuming upper body mobility:

http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=261fe11c-dba9-4c18-a4b5-b8378ce9077d

Most of these caches I have visited, but I do add to the list when a cache owner emails me a request to add their cache to the list. For those unfamilar with the list, look it over, and let me know what ya think. If you are a cache owner, and think that your cache can be accessed by a person in a wheelchair, let me know, and I will add it.

zuma

[rogheff]

We have a geocache rating system. If followed, repeat-if followed, that should take care of the issue. The WGA could help with education for folks hiding their first caches would help. Maybe a geocaching mentor program.

Are you saying you’d like to see more easily accessible geocaches – short walks, easy to retrieve? OK, I’ll place more like that.

[Team Hemisphere Dancer]

Place what you want for caches.In the Fox Valley there are plenty of those kinds. But how would a visitor know about them.

I was more or less wondering why there wasn’t a linked bookmark like Zuma’s on the Bookmark pages for those folks that could use this list.

With the added benefit of anyone being able to put a cache into this bookmark as to not burden one person with adding all of them.

Or separate lists by region?

[Team Deejay]

Its easy enough to add the bookmark to the web page (just email Jeremy). I’m sure no one even considered it.

We can get a pocket query of terrain 1 caches in a given area, but given how loose some people are with that 1 rating, I, for one, would be hesitant to call a cache handicapped accessible without actually visiting it. I just did a quick check of our finds which have a 1 terrain rating. We have 83 finds with a terrain rating of 1, but at least 22 of them should be rated higher.
Examples (All have a current rating of 1.0) : Look at that View – 1/4 mile hike up a rough trail
Pins and Needles – 1/4 mile bushwack to the cache
Wanna Be a Rock – Bushwacking down a ravine
Caledonia Tiny Park Tour – Need to descend a steep slope to get to the final.
I’ve got lots more. We always contact the owner when we find these rating problems, but usually we get no response.

So, how would we put a set of lists like this together? I suppose someone could contact finders of each cache and ask them if the rating is legitimate. Is this a job for the board? Maybe someone on the board could coordinate it, but you need a much bigger group of volunteers to maintain a set of lists like this. Maybe you guys could coordinate it and ask for volunteers. I’m thinking one person for each county. (Maintaining bookmark lists is not a trivial job, due to the continual change in caches.)

[Cache_boppin_BunnyFuFu]

Excellent question and always a concern of mine.

It’s a difficult idea to promote, since many cachers are so eager to place the perfect, difficult cache. True, not everyone is wanting to do that, but many of us do… I admit to that. The education and promotion of the idea is what should occur. An idea to have a “Chair-iot Cachers” week or month or something to that order is and idea that came to me. A week or month in the Spring or early summer, promoting the placement of TRUE wheelchair accessible caches.

I know zuma! has that great bookmark with such caches listed, and I have added a few to them myself, BUT here is a problem which needs to address also. I can’t tell you how many times I have been out caching and done hides that were suppose to be 1-1.5 STARS on terrain, but there is either a huge curb to go up or a small hill, medium grass or low foliage. There is no WAY a wheelchair can get up that, without significat help. I know many of us use the GC.com Difficulty/Terrain rating system, but it’s not always accurate. What I do AT a cache I place.

1. I take a good look at the terrain for a couple different prospectives and assess if w/c cacher can get there by themselves or with a little assistance. Could “I” get there if I were in a w/c or with a little help???

2. I actually crouch down as if I would be in a w/c, at that height and reach to the cache. If I can’t… neither can they. So… the rating goes up past to a 2.

#2 is the other issue when placing. Sure a w/c cacher can get there but can they REACH it??!!! One other thing to consider, especially for those caches along a LONG trail. A w/c cacher is probably NOT going to travel a long distance down the trail, but will approach it from another location, as many of us do. It may be a 1 terrain from up top, but it helps if a cachers states that on the log page. Something like “This is a 3 difficulty/1 terrain, only if approached coming doen the train..if you park and come from the road, it is becomes a 3 terrain” This makes it helpful to all caches!!

Another help to promoting w/c Caches would be for those of us who DO caches, to help the owners re-rate them. Maybe there are some out there we KNOW a w/c cacher couuld get to, but the rating is set too high or the other way around. I often ask for assistance in RE-rating a cache!

Thanks for the great question!!

[LightningBugs Mum]

I think lists like zuma’s broken down by regions would be a good idea. And I agree that many people rate the terrains on their caches too low. Maybe we can promote the handicaching.com rating system more?

Handicaching.com

I’ve used it on a few of my caches and found the process to helpful when determining whether a cache is w/c accessible.

I think we can do more to raise awareness about this helpful rating system, starting with including it in the Hiding a Cache wiki.

[Cheesehead Dave]

I don’t know that the WGA board needs to do anything. There’s a cache rating system already in place, and the general rule is that a cache with a terrain rating of one star should be wheelchair-accessible. There’s also a “Wheelchair Accessible” attribute graphic that can be applied to cache pages.

If anything, perhaps make a “Guide to Hiding Caches in Wisconsin” page and be sure to highlight that point.

There’s also a website out there (Handicaching.com?) that also does a fine job of highlighting caches that are accessible to all.

[gps_junky]

I would say that the BOD dosn’t have anything to do with this. This is up to individual cacher that hides.

1. The rating system
2. The Attributes…..

This should be an easy fix. I have thought of a new idea. PHONE TEXT HELP LINE. There is a number you can TEXT with your cell phone, and ask questions like:
I C that Local Landings (Big Twin) is rated 1 on terain. Can a weel chair get there?
FEW MIN. LATTER :::::::: NO…..

I will get in more in detail about this latter……

[AuntieNae]

[GeoPink]

The WGA has always promoted “Handicapped Accessible” geocaches by placing these caches at our events.

At the last Campout, I ensured that the WGA took this one step further and provided Handicapped Parking near both the Event HQ (White Shelter) and the Group Camp. Appreciation was expressed for these efforts by those who found them useful.

The WGA will always continue to do whatever we can to accommodate.

[Author]

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