# length of stops - geocaching



## ErinB (Jan 2, 2016)

I was wondering how long are the stops in each city typically... I was looking at the Empire from MN to WA... I am a geocacher, so I would take the trip to find a geocache in each state along the way, so basically, ND, MT, and ID. Are any of the stops at least 30 minutes to allow time to quickly find a geocache and hop back on?


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## CCC1007 (Jan 2, 2016)

Not advisable to leave trackside, as the train can and will leave you behind. Most stops are about 1-3 minutes long.


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## TinCan782 (Jan 2, 2016)

You would have too look at the timetable for your route (Empire Builder, I'm guessing). Even crew-change and the so-called "fresh air" stops are less than 20 or 30 minutes (especially if late) and even so, I wouldn't wander away.


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## BCL (Jan 2, 2016)

Probably only Spokane.


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## TinCan782 (Jan 2, 2016)

BCL said:


> Probably only Spokane.


Yea, geocaching around town at oh-dark-hundred!


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## Chaz (Jan 2, 2016)

First we need to know what the heck 'geocaching' is!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching


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## BCL (Jan 3, 2016)

FrensicPic said:


> BCL said:
> 
> 
> > Probably only Spokane.
> ...


Well, that too. I was thinking about the sanity of trying to find one's way around an unfamiliar place in the middle of the dark, along with the consequences of not getting back to the train in time. However, that does present an exceptionally long break when the train decouples.

Using a train to do this seems a little bit ambitious.


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## crabby_appleton1950 (Jan 3, 2016)

I'm thinking whether the train is running early or late can affect the length of any stop, perhaps making it unpredictable? :unsure:


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## JayPea (Jan 3, 2016)

crabby_appleton1950 said:


> I'm thinking whether the train is running early or late can affect the length of any stop, perhaps making it unpredictable? :unsure:


This can have an effect on the lengths of stops. If a train is early into its scheduled stop, the length of the stop is lengthened so as to depart at the scheduled time. And if a train is late, the stop is shortened as much as possible to get the train moving again as fast as possible. For me, most of my Amtrak adventures begin and end in Spokane. The last time I went to Portland on the EB, the westbound train was about 3 1/2 hours late into Spokane. The Seattle half of the EB is scheduled to depart 45 minutes after its arrival into Spokane and the Portland half 30 minutes after that. But on this day the Seattle half was on its way just as soon as the switching and servicing took place, less than half an hour into Spokane. And the Portland half left not very long after the Seattle half. It left just a few minutes later than Seattle's train. There was nowhere near half an hour's difference between the two.


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## JayPea (Jan 3, 2016)

FrensicPic said:


> BCL said:
> 
> 
> > Probably only Spokane.
> ...


And the area around the Spokane station isn't exactly the greatest, especially at that hour.


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## NW cannonball (Jan 3, 2016)

Basically, and sorry, there is no way you can use the 10-20 minutes (max) at the train's service stops to explore, search for geocache, naah.

Not enough time, no way. When the train leaves without you, you'll have a whole day to explore - say- Malta MT, and a new ticket to buy.

It's really not likely to work out well.


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## I always rode the Southern (Jan 3, 2016)

I have ridden a lot of trains in my life and done a little geocaching. Never, ever, in even my wildest, "what the heck, just go for it", moments would I try to combine the 2.

Except maybe I would have tried it the time we missed a connection in Cinncinati and had a 13 hour layover, but then again I was too young to understand the yet to be invented gps and quite possibly the mother of the creator of geocaching was not even born at that time.


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## ErinB (Jan 7, 2016)

Ok, thanks for the feedback... thinking if I try it, to plan an overnight in MT and hop on again the next day....


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## tomfuller (Jan 9, 2016)

Hi ErinB, I am a geocacher and have been caching for over 10 years. The Empire Builder has been running behind schedule much of the time for the past several years

so the length of time a train is in the station is kept to a minimum .

Plan on a 24 hour stop in Whitefish MT. Rent a car and find a few caches and go to see Glacier NP.

Last March I took a geocaching trip using AGR points. I left CMO to SAC and then took the CZ all the way to Galesburg (GBB).

I rented a car from Enterprise (100 yards from GBB) for a week. During that week I found caches in 11 "new" states and attended the MOGA event in Missouri.

I'm now up to 42 states that I have found caches in. Getting off the train for 24 hours and renting a car seems to be the safest way.

A couple years ago, I did look for a cache under a "retired" railcar in Mariposa AZ while the train was waiting to leave on time.

On the way back from GBB, I took the SWC to Los Angeles and the CS back to CMO. I had a good breakfast in NM with Mark Murphy (VP of long distance routes).

My caching handle is tomfuller & Quill


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## Lonestar648 (Jan 9, 2016)

Agree, there is not enough time at most stops. Even the smoker stops barely allow a full cigarette to be smoked when running late. Plan your stops as layover stops as stated above.


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## ErinB (Jan 10, 2016)

tomfuller said:


> Hi ErinB, I am a geocacher and have been caching for over 10 years. The Empire Builder has been running behind schedule much of the time for the past several years
> 
> so the length of time a train is in the station is kept to a minimum .
> 
> ...


Thanks for the information! My goal is to get to HQ in Seattle, but want to get a few states as well... I only have 24 done, and am going to get a passport to start on Canada. I would like to get MT, ID, WA, OR at least on this trip... maybe just rent the car out of Whitefish for a week, then head back? My handle is dmnrec.


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## crescent2 (Jan 23, 2016)

Hi dmnrec,

I'm late to this thread, but I know how disappointed you must feel at the "Not enough time!" replies you received. Therefore, in hopes of soothing your mind even further, let me say that I totally agree with those answers. I'm a geocacher, not as avid as I once was, but still love to grab a couple of caches every time I visit new places, so I know how you feel. A friend and I took a wonderful award trip in 2014, and I scoped out all the caches near the train stations along the way ahead of time. My verdict was "No way should I try this!" so I didn't. One nighttime stop was really tempting, with a cache just about within sight of the train, but the train was running slightly late, and I didn't even ask the attendant if I could step off for a few minutes. It was probably a good call. I reluctantly kept my caching to the layovers between different trains, and added caches and some sightseeing in DC, Chicago, and Charlottesville. We traveled through over a dozen states, in most of which I have no finds, but some things just aren't doable. *sigh* A daredevil and fast runner might have pulled off that one grab, but I'm neither, LOL. All the others were hopeless.

I wish cachers would put a very quick and easy grab at some of the stations that have smoke stops, but the stations I looked at didn't have any P&G caches on site. I've thought about trying to get permission to put an easy one at my small "home" station, but the train truly isn't there long enough to even let anyone step off the train for two minutes. And of course, new virtual caches that might be visible from the train are no longer allowed. There are already caches nearby in town that those departing or arriving there can easily find.

Have fun on your trip and enjoy your visit to GC HQ! I'll check you out on the website and take a look at your souvenirs. Happy caching! ~busternfruss

For those interested in this activity, check out http://www.geocaching.com . People often either get hooked or think it's the dumbest thing ever. "Tupperware in the woods" or lamp posts lots of times, but sometimes some great and unique spots you'd never otherwise know were there.


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## tomfuller (Jan 25, 2016)

For anyone interested in the sport, there are 2 "Mega" events (500+ people) this spring and summer. The first is April 2 2016 MOGA 2016 near Cincinatti (GC5KYNP).

The second is GeoWoodstock 14er in Denver on July 3. (GC5Q1ET) The sport was born on May 3 2000 when the first geocache was hidden in Oregon by Dave Ulmer.

The worldwide HQ is in Seattle (Groundspeak Inc.)

I hope you get the chance to meet Jeremy Irish (CEO) at Groundspeak HQ.


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