[at-l] Geocaching on the AT

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 02:05 PM 8/9/2004 -0400, Steve Adams wrote:
>Rusty,
>
>Reference your post, dated 8-8-04, asking about caching.  Dammit, man, 
>don't you realize this is a political list?   ;  )
>
>First, since I'm lazy, please distinguish "Geocaching" from "Caching."
>
>"(H)ave you ... found caches on the AT?"
>
>I noticed what was probably a large cache suspended from a line connecting 
>two trees for a couple of weeks.  This cache was off a side trail, which 
>was itself off the AT.  The side trail wasn't long enough to justify a cache.
>
>To me, if you cached all your re-supplies and never went into a town - - 
>bathing au natural - - during a Thru-Hike, the experience would be more 
>"pure."  The risk is, of course, when you reach your cache it may not be 
>there, or it may not be intact.
>
>"(I)s this a HYOH opinion?"
>
>Everything is a HYOH opinion.  There's room for everyone.
>
>Steve

In the early days of thru-hiking caching supplies was not unusual but the 
ones I've read about were buried, not hung. I've read several accounts of 
hikers driving South and caching large sealed jars (the gallon sized glass 
jars that institutional food comes in sealed with wax) near road crossings. 
The hiker made note of where they were buried so they could find them later 
as they hiked North. I can recall reading only one mention of the cache 
being disturbed.