Winter-Friendly Caches

1queenand4jokers · Senior Member

Winter-Friendly Caches

ertyu · Senior Member

My first thought is always that the cache is not winter accessible unless I read something that would convince me otherwise. The winter flag, a description mentioning its hidden in a tree, a hint or log to that effect, etc. In the early days, at least back in 2003 when I started winter caching was out of the question, but now I keep it in the back of my mind. For hides, I think 4 seasons, spring/fall you won't have bush or leaf cover, spring flooding, winter snow.

TurdleEggs · Senior Member

I don’t think people should disable caches that aren’t winter friendly. If they know the cache isn’t winter friendly, there’s an icon for that. Disabling a cache can be a little bit of a pain for the hider, but they also need to remember to re-enable it in the spring – and that might create its own problems if people forget to re-enable their caches. Also, how does a cache owner judge when a cache may no longer be “findable” unless they’re actually inspecting it? I wouldn’t want to deny a cacher a “find” for a cache that can still be found!

I appreciate the effort that some cachers put in to provide a summer and winter version of a cache – I’m not sure that’s something I would be willing to do though. I think another idea is to try and come up all-season caches. Ensuring the cache is water proof and won’t break in the cold are important qualities for a winter (spring) cache! Of course not every cache can be made all-season - some of the really imaginative hides or puzzles might not work in the winter.

I haven’t cached through a winter yet, so I have a bit of a hard time visualizing what works, and what doesn’t work in the winter. I’ve got some caches that are hidden under brush and I’ve identified these with the Available in Winter icon and a note that the “Cache should be winter friendly, but you may need to dig for it!”. Is that fair, or should I remove the icon? They’re all ammo boxes so should be large enough to find through the snow and can stand a hit from a shovel! There’s still a chance a cacher might drive out to one of our caches in the country and not be able to find it in the snow. I figure that’s the cachers choice though – maybe it’s just an excuse for a drive in the country!

I don’t see a “Special; Equipment” icon for X-country skiing, but the cache owner could certainly say that in the listing description.

-- Edited by TurdleEggs at 18:23, 2005-10-14

Peter and Gloria · Senior Member

I agree with ertyu that four-season caches are preferable.

I don't think that caches have to be disabled just because they are not winter friendly as long as the cache description indicates so. The cache hunter then decides when winter begins. If there is only 1 inch of snow on the ground on Jan 1st, most caches will probably be accessable but if there is a foot of snow by Nov 15th, it can be nearly impossible to find a 'not winter firendly' cache. Digging up a cache is not much of a problem, if you know exactly where it is. With GPS accuracy of 6 meters, that would be a 36 square meters area of snow that might have to be dug up. That is a lot of shovels full of snow!

If a cache is not marked as winter firendly, it might be best to pass on it during winter. What is really unfortunate, is that some caches are marked as winter-firendly or all-season when they are not.

TurdleEggs · Senior Member

After reading Peter and Gloria' post and an e-mail from MHz, it sounds like winter friendly means you should expect the cache to stay out of the snow and it would definitely be findable in the winter. I'll remove the "Available in Winter" icon for my caches on the ground (that I just put on yesterday), but I won't say they're not available either. I'll leave in the note that says cachers are welcome to try and find it but may have to dig for it. How's that sound?

1queenand4jokers · Senior Member

We didn't have those icons last year so we went hunting and used shovels just for the delight of it! (Polarbeardiggers duck or bird one comes to mind! Another DNF) Reason we did it is because we felt like overcoming the odds and we were in the area. We laughed ourselves sick at that one.
We always thought it was our own risk and it upped the level like night caching does. The 1 mile hike we did in the Whiteshell in waist deep snow (we posted a DNF) was very memorable but we knew it was probably NOT winter-friendly. Another idea we've had was that if we had caches placed on the ground and thought someone might want to dig for them (if they are fairly large) then we might put a flag within a few feet of the cache so people would know they were in the right area. We actually put a big log on top of one ours so people would know they'd "struck" the right area and we knew our co-ords were very good at that one especially with no tree cover.
And no one should get upset if "winter-friendly" ends up being a slog in the snow after a Manitoba blizzard! Winter-friendly may just mean that it is hidden above waist level or in a sheltered area. It may not mean that it is a pleasant shovelled walk! We have cross-country skis and have also tried some with snow shoes...But I think if it is on a trail like that "special equipment" should be marked. And yes Turdleggs just leave your cache unmarked winter-friendly and then it is cacher beware! We try to change some of ours to winter-friendly after the first great snowfall.

Wild About Cache` · Member

Hope its not too late to weigh in. This is our first winter with the GPS and I'm looking forward to stomping through 3-4 feet of snow in the bush!! But I've been trying to figure out how you find some of these caches with out leading muggles into the area (covering track in winter is tricky ) Any suggestions?

As for the winter accessible question, I'd say if you know and/or plan for it to be winter accessible then definately indicate that with the icons and in the description, but I wouldn't disable caches unless they are unavailable (as in not physically there).