Ask Signal: Volume 2
For volume 2 of Ask Signal, our monthly feature that answers geocacher’s burning caching questions, we’re sharing Signal’s response to this question: How do I know what a good difficulty/terrain rating is for my geocache?
Deciding the difficulty and terrain ratings of your newly placed geocache is an important part of the hiding process. These ratings give geocachers helpful information about what to expect when they look for your geocache and how to prepare for the outing. Though the ratings are on a simple scale of one to five, giving your cache ratings for difficulty and terrain sometimes feel like more of an art than a science. After all, your idea of what qualifies as a three for difficulty might not match another cacher’s idea. To give a better understanding of what the different ratings mean, take a look at the table below which gives descriptions for each level of difficulty and terrain:
| Difficulty | |
| Difficulty 1.0 | Great for new cachers. Easy to find or solve for an experienced geocacher. Could be hiding in plain sight or obvious hiding places. |
| Difficulty 1.5 | Great for new cachers. Somewhat easy to find or solve for an experienced geocacher. Could be hidden slightly out of sight. |
| Difficulty 2.0 | Relatively easy to find or solve for an experienced geocacher, could be hidden out of sight. |
| Difficulty 2.5 | A mild challenge to find or solve. Could be hidden out of sight. |
| Difficulty 3.0 | Somewhat challenging to find or solve. |
| Difficulty 3.5 | Fairly difficult challenge to find or solve. Could take extra time or a helping hand. |
| Difficulty 4.0 | A difficult challenge that may take special knowledge, advanced preparation, or multiple visits. |
| Difficulty 4.5 | A very hard challenge and likely requires special knowledge, advanced preparation, or multiple visits. |
| Difficulty 5.0 | The hardest mental challenge requiring special knowledge, skills, or significant effort to find or solve. |
| Terrain | |
| Terrain 1.0 | The cache should be in a flat, paved area and accessible for someone in a wheelchair to retrieve, log, and replace the container without outside help. |
| Terrain 1.5 | The cache is somewhat easy to get to and reach. |
| Terrain 2.0 | The cache is relatively easy to get to and reach, and might be a short hike with no significant elevation change or overgrowth. |
| Terrain 2.5 | Might require a small to medium hike, in an area that has moderate overgrowth, or difficult to reach and search in. |
| Terrain 3.0 | Might require a medium to long hike to reach, or a search on difficult terrain/vegetation. |
| Terrain 3.5 | Might require a strenuous hike or easy climb. |
| Terrain 4.0 | Requires strenuous movement or a significant hike over variable terrain. |
| Terrain 4.5 | Requires very strenuous movement or a difficult climb. |
| Terrain 5.0 | Requires specialized equipment to reach, like scuba gear, rock climbing gear, or even a boat. Check the cache description and attributes to find out how to prepare. |
