Power Trails: an (ammo) can of worms

[blossom*]

Finally a good use for nano caches - fertilizer

And it would be really easy to "find" them with a strong magnet on a long wand Just walk along the trail, waving the wand around beside you and by the time you get to the end, the nanos should have stuck to the wand and you can log them all. Then just scatter them again as you walk back to the car

[Mr Emu]

I've got a FANTASTIC IDEA for a power trail and it'll save the trees too since it won't need logbooks

I'll create a series called GP1 to GP500 on a long but low traffic volume road (still gotta be safe) and the guide posts can be the caches

When you find the 'cache' you just write your log on the guide post in black waterproof texta (or just stamp it or us a label)

Geocaching Gold ... I don't know why it hasn't been done before




Now that I think about it some more ... why stop at 500? The number of guide posts is practically infinite

That may not be possible, according to Groundspeak's guidelines:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cache Types
Traditional Caches

This is the original cache type consisting of (at a bare minimum) a container and a logbook.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately the posts around my area are all plastic, so you can't even try to argue the definition of a "log".

Anyway, here's what you're missing out on as a result:

1000 "Rhinogeo Power-Trail Caches". They can all be seen in just under 14 minutes!
(And if you don't hit the 'ESC' key, it becomes Rhinogeo's infinite caches!)

[roundcircle]

Some clown has actually placed power trail:

GC256W8

Okay, it was me.

[stringy]

Talk about power trails....

some geocaches sent the new record of 566 geocaches in a day.

and this is only part of it.... Primm Nevada
http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.a ... zm=11&mt=m

woweee

[firesafe]

I have just got back from doing the shortest of the 3 Power Trails in California - The Presidents Trail with 32 caches 450 metres apart being mainly eclipse containers with magnets on the legs of the High Voltage Power pylons with an occasional 35mm film container in a bush nearby.

Certainly nothing exciting apart from adding numbers as there is no opportunity to leave swaps or TB's.

It offers the chance to meet other cachers as I came across some on the trail as I was doing it.

Apart from the view of the power lines, there was some interesting High Desert country to look at as well as some 4WDing although I had a Ford Edge SUV (all wheel drive).

No skill involved in finding the caches is required.

In order to do the other 2 trails, I would have needed at least another day and a real 4WD. It is a 3 hour drive out and 3 hours back from LA. It would be closer from Las Vegas.

On the big trail, there has been issues with the Power Company removing the caches, which you would expect so whether the trails continue for much longer is up to debate by the local cachers in CA.

The cachers I met up with did 412 finds in 17.5 hours over 2 days so they didn't get to find all on the long trail but managed the 2 smaller trails.

Not sure if you could build a similar trail in Australia as our power lines tend to run through parks and private land and are not as accessible as the CA trails.

[Team Wibble]

I was pondering the concept of power trails while on a bike ride a couple of weeks ago and I'd like to run an idea past the people on this forum.

While not strictly a power trail in some senses, I see an opportunity for roughly 30-40 caches a few hundred metres apart along a linear rail trail. Road access to the trail (where roads cross the trail) is intermittant and hence it would be a right pain in the bum to try and complete the trail using a car. The easiest way would be by bike (or walking - although it will be a walk of some 25km).
There are plenty of opportunities for cache hides along the trail for small-regular sistema containers, most of which would be a different hide/different view/different historic point/point of interest from each other. Ie, each hide in its own right would be one I would consider for a traditional hide would it not be part of the "power trail".

Would such a concept annoy people? Or would it be a goer? (And yes, I understand the biggest issue might be maintenance on such a trail).

[roundcircle]

Rail Trails are great. Caches that a good candidates to be done by bike are great too. There's a few trail series caches around me which seem popular.

Not sure about every couple of hundred meters though.

[mtrax]

I think 30 systema would get a bit expensive, but I assume the one listed was done by the Caching club in Nevada, I looked at the powertrail and its a dirt access road which a 4WD is recommended but agree long power trails should be "off-road" to avoid accidents caused by frequent stopping..

[setsujoku]

I was pondering the concept of power trails while on a bike ride a couple of weeks ago and I'd like to run an idea past the people on this forum.

While not strictly a power trail in some senses, I see an opportunity for roughly 30-40 caches a few hundred metres apart along a linear rail trail. Road access to the trail (where roads cross the trail) is intermittant and hence it would be a right pain in the bum to try and complete the trail using a car. The easiest way would be by bike (or walking - although it will be a walk of some 25km).
There are plenty of opportunities for cache hides along the trail for small-regular sistema containers, most of which would be a different hide/different view/different historic point/point of interest from each other. Ie, each hide in its own right would be one I would consider for a traditional hide would it not be part of the "power trail".

Would such a concept annoy people? Or would it be a goer? (And yes, I understand the biggest issue might be maintenance on such a trail).

Would work for me, especially as we are near to the top of the trail, so going from the start would be pretty easy

[Team Wibble]

Would such a concept annoy people? Or would it be a goer? (And yes, I understand the biggest issue might be maintenance on such a trail).

Would work for me, especially as we are near to the top of the trail, so going from the start would be pretty easy [/quote]

OOOOH you're making a big assumption about which trail I'm referring to there
(a river is not a rail, hence that trail is not a rail trail!)

[Cheesy pigs]

OOOH you're making a big assumption about which trail I'm referring to there
(a river is not a rail, hence that trail is not a rail trail!)

But can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?

yes i know I'm sorry I'll go now

[PesceVerde]

But can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?

Aargh! Blasphemer.

[Zytheran]

I was pondering the concept of power trails while on a bike ride a couple of weeks ago and I'd like to run an idea past the people on this forum.

While not strictly a power trail in some senses, I see an opportunity for roughly 30-40 caches a few hundred metres apart along a linear rail trail. Road access to the trail (where roads cross the trail) is intermittant and hence it would be a right pain in the bum to try and complete the trail using a car. The easiest way would be by bike (or walking - although it will be a walk of some 25km).
There are plenty of opportunities for cache hides along the trail for small-regular sistema containers, most of which would be a different hide/different view/different historic point/point of interest from each other. Ie, each hide in its own right would be one I would consider for a traditional hide would it not be part of the "power trail".

Would such a concept annoy people? Or would it be a goer? (And yes, I understand the biggest issue might be maintenance on such a trail).

Would work for me, especially as we are near to the top of the trail, so going from the start would be pretty easy

Pretty sure Wibbles are talking about the Reisling trail up near Clare. What they don't mention is that you have to have a glass of wine at each winery you pass, thus making this an extreme event as the chance of death through alcohol poisoning would be pretty high.

/flame proof suit on
As I tend to filter most caches less than 3/3 these days as the cities are filling full of drive-by crap, go for it with the "power cache".
However, our reviewers are more than busy already and I would urge them to simply ignore any requests to publish such garbage, they have better things to do.
The sport can be about numbers if that's what floats your boat however you don't need to be a total tosser about it, either placing or finding a power trail. The hobby can already have a PR issue and this sort of idea does not help one little bit.
In fact there are already too many pointless caches ,having 5 decent caches would IMHO be a lot better than 100 crap ones.
It really is time for quality over quantity.

If you want to find lots of pointless temporary things quickly, at least get fit and take up orienteering or rogaining and do it on foot or bike.
IMHO power trails by vehicle = Dumbest thing in Geocaching yet.
/gets back into comfy clothes

[Richary]

Under GC's own guidelines on cache saturation...

Please don't hide a cache every 600 feet just because you can. The ultimate goals of the saturation guideline are to encourage you to seek out new places to hide caches rather than putting them in areas where caches already exist and to limit the number of caches hidden in a particular area, especially by the same hider. Groundspeak may further restrict cache listings in areas where cache saturation becomes a concern.

Given that restriction, why are powertrails approved in the first place (anywhere)?

[Zytheran]

Under GC's own guidelines on cache saturation...

Please don't hide a cache every 600 feet just because you can. The ultimate goals of the saturation guideline are to encourage you to seek out new places to hide caches rather than putting them in areas where caches already exist and to limit the number of caches hidden in a particular area, especially by the same hider. Groundspeak may further restrict cache listings in areas where cache saturation becomes a concern.

Given that restriction, why are powertrails approved in the first place (anywhere)?

Never underestimate human incompetence...
just add it to the list of other stupid things they have done.
(and btw, heartfelt thanks to the reviewers who have to deal with that organisation, I couldn't do what you do without going postal.)