It's Time to Be Responsible

Southern states are showing the effects of opening up with COVID cases increasing. It seems to be time for the geocaching community accept that Megas are a very bad idea this year. The ASP Geobash crew understood the need for responsible action and cancelled the May event. The October Going Caching 2020 in Georgia has been cancelled. The same action was taken by the New Jersey 2020 Metro Gathering. It's disturbing to see at least two July Megas still standing as active events. I hope Geocaching leaders will show they are good citizens and do what is right. Hopefully with responsible behavior we can gather together next year in the fellowship of Megas. This year, especially this summer is not the time. I would be saddened to see a geocaching Mega event become a superspreader for COVID.

Happier Days at the 2019 ASP GeoBash

 

Posting Needs Archived Logs

Cache Maintenance Expectations

Geocaching HQ has suspended sending "Low Health Score" emails to cache owners of caches that may need maintenance, and has also asked the Community Volunteer Reviewers to "provide extra time for addressing maintenance issues on existing caches." See the Geocaching.com "Updates" page, "HQ's Response to COVID-19." The Ohio Reviewer team is following this guidance. We don't want a cache owner to feel obligated to make a maintenance visit to their cache if they feel uncomfortable doing so. Accordingly, the community should not worry if they see a cache that has been temporarily disabled for several months, or one that has accumulated several consecutive DNF logs. We are keeping track of these caches and we will address the issues. Cache owners who feel comfortable doing so are welcome to spend their downtime visiting caches that might need maintenance. Cache finders are cautioned to check the recent logs before seeking a geocache that might be missing or damaged. Thanks for your understanding!


My comments....

Some people post Needs Archived logs like there is a number count somewhere. It just serves as a distraction to reviewers. In Ohio we won't be doing any cache maintenance work for some time. Even with the all clear there are a number of cachers who are staying mostly indoors. We will be addressing caches that need maintenance soon, but not now. In the meantime Needs Archived logs are just a distraction. Please post your needs maintenance logs. When the time is right, they will be addressed.

Just a pet peeve as a cacher, if you log a find then post a Needs Archived, was it really there and did you really meet the guidelines? "You can log caches online as "Found" after you visited the coordinates and signed the logbook." Seems some of us will do anything for one more smiley. Maybe post a DNF...

You're Welcome

I was amused to see this cropped and posted as a general thank you from Signal to all geocachers.  As a reviewer of nearly thirteen years, I can say it is mostly rewarding, sometimes frightning when dealing with certain cachers, and a significant time investment to give back to the game we have played for nearly sixteen years.  To all the wonderful cachers for whom I review or have reviewed, thank you.

We're Publishing

It's been a while, but Ohio reviewers are now publishing caches.  We're still not publishing events as Ohio is limiting gatherings to 10 or fewer.  This morning I was greeted with the pent up demand of a number of hiders.  Stay Safe.  Go find a cache.

We celebrated the state opening a little bit more by donning our masks and heading to the Lake Erie Island area.  We enjoyed spotting a young oriole while visiting a glacial groove earthcache.

It was a little wet near Marblehead.  We decided to pass by the hide on this pedestrian walkway,

It was a grand day to be out being socially distant together.

US and Canada Geocaching COVID Map as of 9 May 2020