Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Temptations

On Sunday, during our hike to the Vernal Fall Bridge, I casually told my daughter there was another virtual cache further up the trail. She was willing to try for it, but it would be another .7 miles of hiking and an elevation gain of over 1000 feet. At that time, temptation set in. I told her that the only requirements for this virtual were that I name the two pools people weren't supposed to swim in near the brink of Vernal Fall.

In other words, this was one of those "arm chair" caches that people refer to that don't require you to be at the actual site to log them. As long as you can come up with the correct answers, feel free to log them. I've always been under the assumption that you had to get to the coordinates to log the find, even for a virtual cache, yet I was surprised that I was thinking about logging this one. All I would have to do is find a park ranger and ask the name of the second pool, since I already knew the name of the first one.

Once we got to the bridge, my daughter was rarin' to go on to the top, but I told her we couldn't make it with the time we had left. By that time, I'd also gotten hold of my senses and told her I wasn't going to log the cache. I told her the next time we're here, we'll get it. It will still be there. So if you look over my left shoulder in this picture, you can see the cache spot, one that I didn't log, because I didn't get there.

I know people log "arm chair" caches all the time, and I guess the answer to my question of why, they would probably say, because they could. I guess I'm taking a holier than thou attitude here, but just because people can, does it mean they should? That's my food for thought for the day.

Pictures were taken at or near the following geocache:
Split Rock: An Investigation - by Warren Harding

Profile for Webfoot

3 comments:

Just John said...

I think it would be very cheap of someone to log a cache that they didn't find, and never even attempted to visit. "All about the numbers" springs to mind...
-golfgunny

Paul Myers said...

Although I like the numbers, I believe my numbers would be tainted if I were to do something like that and don't understand the thought processes of others who do that. Yet, you can find several bookmarked lists on GC.com that are listed as "Armchair" caches, "for caching on a rainy day." I don't get it.

P.J. said...

I don't see the problem with how you handled it. I think anyone who logs a cache without going somewhere is ripping themselves off as to why someone wants to bring you somewhere. People play the game differently, but it seems like people who do it with "shortcuts" are being silly.

A 'lil HooHaa