Manitoba Geocaching Association

[crabbything]

Sorry I just kept reading that they wanted all geocaches in the area archived.

Glad to hear that they are still allowing some.

[glacier_ice]

BHP will also be looking to accept new Geocache placement applications in mid-2011. There are some items that still need to be worked out before that happens, however, but we will be seeing new caches pop up there when it's all worked out.

[glacier_ice]

I was out at the Park today retrieving any archived Geocaches that hadn't been picked up within the 30 day holding policy. Better that the containers have a chance to be returned or recycled into new Geocaches than disposed of.

Note: the 30 day holding policy isn't just Geocaches, it is 'anything' left behind in a Provincial Park must be held for 30 days. After which, the Park disposes of or destroys. (I wonder how many tents are left behind after Folk Fest!)

The following cache containers are in my garage:

Rabbit Habit
LKST- Ring
Happy Birthday Big T 2009 Edition
Birds Hill Ant Hill
Stuffed Toys
Deer Trail
# 17
Rock Pile
'enjoy!'

I will be emailing the owners directly, but I'm posting the list here as well, just in case someone knows them personally. I'm offering a couple of choices.

1) Come and get it!
2) We can find a new home for the Geocache as a new hide in a new location.
3) Depending on the condition of the container... garbage. (I'd say that only 2 are looking like they are heading for #3.)

The owner of Bogalicious has already returned my email and is in favour of us finding a new home for his container.

[glacier_ice]

Again, to re-state an earlier post. Everything in BHP has been reviewed. Any affected Geocaches have already been dealt with or are in the process of being dealt with.

To date, we have had one successful Geocache relocation in the BHP. I worked with Parks staff to find a new home for my Frozen Pirate's Treasure as it didn't fall under their guidelines. I moved it, received approval and then relaunched it as a new Geocache as the distance between the old and new location was quite large.

There are 10 other Geocaches that have relocation requests. The deadline for the relocation is set for May 31, 2011 and they plan to have the new locations approved no later than June 30th. Anything moved before the end of March may be reviewed before April. (There will a staffing gap in April and May and nothing will be reviewed at that time.)

BHP has indicated that they are willing to look at new Geocache hide submissions between now and March if anyone is looking to hide them. While they haven't decided at what total number they want to cap (if a cap is even necessary) here are a few things to keep in mind.

#1 - Don't hide anything on a park sign, traffic or otherwise. This isn't BHP specific, but is part of the overall Provincial Parks Road policy that even pre-dates Geocaching. Signs cannot be modified at all, that includes hanging something on a sign.

#2 - The preference is that caches be hidden within 10ft of a marked trail or road. Some exceptions might be considered if the cache site has historical value (as one example) and environmental damage isn't a concern.

#3 - Ensure that your container is an inert container. In other words, did NOT contain food or something with an edible odour at one time. (This is part of gc.com's own hiding recommendations, but there have been a couple of caches in BHP where this was a concern.)

#4 - Some areas of the park won't be available for Geocache hides. If you look at the map linked below, you can find the following areas to know where things are generally off limits.

- Cedar Bog Trail (An eco-sensitive area.)
- Anything 'inside' the Group Use camping areas. (Could be some exceptions here.)
- Folk Festival Site
- Pan Am Games Equestrian Course
- Cross-Country Equestrian Course


http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/parks/pdf/park_maps/birds_hill/birds_hill_park_map.pdf

#5 - If you have an idea of where you'd like to place something, but want to make sure it might be a good spot, give them a call (204) 654-6730 and ask first before going through all the effort only to find out afterwards that the spot wasn't a good one. It will be a good time saver.


Note: The above are currently specific to BHP. The updated Provincial Parks Geocaching Policy and guidelines are still a work in progress. These guidelines may be subject to change when that policy comes into effect.

--

If you have any questions, or need clarification from me, please ask.

GI

[vsiedler]

Well after a full day of snowshoe hyjinks, and no geocache finds I am glad to come across this information. At least I was able to find TurdleEggs' caches this summer before they were removed or relocated.

[garium]

[junglehair]

Big T is (was) the new owner of Happy Birthday Big T, but as far as I am concerned you could just recycle that container. If Tobey wants to pick it up she could, but I doubt she's care. Thanks for retrieving the container though.

Edit to add: I'm still a bit surprised they had a problem with that cache. If it were any closer to the trail, they would have had to cut down the tree that it was hidden in because it would have blocked the trail. Oh well,