Letterbox/Geocache Rating System


This has been rated 2/3.


Difficulty rating: 2
* Easy. In plain sight or will only take a few minutes of searching.
** Average. Seekers should find this in less than 30 minutes of hunting.
*** Challenging. An experienced searcher will consider this challenging, and it could take up a good portion of an afternoon.
**** Difficult. A real challenge for the experienced hunter - may require special skills, knowledge, or in-depth preparation to find. May require multiple days or trips to complete.
***** Extreme. A serious mental or physical challenge. Requires specialized knowledge, skills, or equipment to find.


Terrain rating: 3
* Handicapped accessible (likely a paved path, relatively flat, and less than a ½ mile hike);
** Suitable for small children (Terrain generally follows marked trails, with no steep elevation changes or heavy overgrowth; Less than a 2 mile hike required).
*** Not suitable for small children (The average adult or older child should do okay, depending on physical condition; Terrain likely includes some off-trail work and may have some overgrowth, some steep elevation changes, or more than a 2 mile hike).
**** Experienced outdoor enthusiasts only (Mostly off-trail terrain; Can have very heavy overgrowth, very steep elevation (requiring use of hands, or more than a 10 mile hike; May require an overnight stay).
***** Requires specialized equipment and knowledge or experience, (boat, 4WD, rock climbing, SCUBA, etc), or otherwise includes extremely difficult terrain.


This rating system comes from criteria discussed on the Geocaching message boards. Thanks to ClayJar for permission to modify and rehost this less Geocaching-specific version of this page; who in turn thanks Scout, Markwell, and Brokenwing for their input, and to Brokenwing for providing his rating system source to use as a base. If you want the PHP source for this page, have at it.