Change in Cache Placement guidelines for 1 star terrain

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:37 am

In the past, we have tried to recommend to people that when they create a cache with a 1 star terrain, that they also use the Wheelchair Accessible attribute, to confirm that the cache is indeed accessible. Since these suggestions were often met with scorn, derision, and instructions indicating where the suggestion should be "stuck", we just kind of stopped looking at that as a review criteria. You might have noticed if you are using the new cache submission form that this attribute is set automatically if a 1 star terrain is selected. For this reason, it is now a REQUIREMENT that this attribute be selected for a 1 star cache to be published. (Submitting a cache using the old form doesn't automatically set the attribute, and the attribute can be manually turned off in the new form.)

As a further note, please understand that wheelchair accessible means

Paved or VERY firm hardpack
No elevation gain or loss
No overgrowth or physical obstructions (like bushes)
A reasonably short distance from parking, say less than .25 miles

This would exclude packed limestone and dirt bike trails, lawns and other grassy areas, wooded areas, and stairs. If the terrain is very easy but not wheelchair accessible, please use 1.5 star terrain for your listings.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 1:37 pm

Kudos to the reviewers and groundspeak for enforcing this. While I'm not handicapped myself I have read and heard about the frustration of those that are with a 1 star terrain.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:31 pm

Excellent.

z

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:55 pm

Sounds like a good change. This has been a pet peeve of ours for a long time. Way too many cache hiders don't seem to understand what 1-star terrain means.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:57 pm

I am very glad that this is being addressed. I have always had disdain for those that do not understand the true challenges of those that cache from a wheelchair. I happen to be friends with several wheelchair bound people. One of the things that I have confirmed is that items on the ground can be sometime impossible to grab without the chance of falling out of the chair. That is why one of the guidelines is a minimum height above ground. Is that something that was considered? I remember a cache in Janesville that was a LPC. The skirt was on the sidewalk and it was rated as 1. No way in the world that was WC accessible.

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 6:20 am

What if it is place on pavement but isn't exactly able to be reached by a wheelchair, even if you could get right to the GZ, like maybe if it was really high or down low?

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 6:24 am

I remember that video that was going around a few months ago, that showed quite clearly that there's more to wheelchair accessible than flat pavement. The cache in question was actually at a decent height, but on the back side of a deep rail, so pretty much impossible for the guy in the wheelchair to retrieve from his seated position.

WGA Member Joined: 2007-11-26 Posts: 3259

I think you need to draw the distinction between "wheelchair accessible" and "wheelchair retreivable."

I have a friend who is a Tae Kwon Do black belt and is wheelchair bound. No use of his legs at all. But, he uses his arms to pull himself in and out of his chair, to the ground, to do throws and falls, etc. In his case, a ground-based LPC would be retrievable. Or, for that matter, something that required a bit of climbing...

Just like a "regular" cache, the rating is no guarantee that you will have the ability needed when you get to the cache site to actually retrieve the container.

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 7:34 am

According to Handicaching the best placement is 2-3 above ground, no more than 500 feet along a flat paved or smooth route with no obstructions. I would also add that this distance should idealy be measured from handicap parking. I saw a cache in IL that was rated 1, but the closest parking was down the road at a business. I do not even think that there was a bike lane along this highway.

I think that i would consider "accessible" to mean not only to the site, but to the container.

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 10:27 pm

Bravo!