How many caches in a 24 hr period?

[+flper]

Well I will find out tomorrow into Sunday. Team h-d, Fried Chicken and Coffee, and myself are heading out at 5am on Saturday and will return 5am on Sunday. We are hoping to hit at least 125, but who knows....

 

I will post the results after I wake up on Tuesday :-)

 

FLPER

[+whistler & co.]

That sounds like fun! Where are you going? How much preparation have you done (just downloaded waypoints, or carefully printed out cache pages with complete descriptions, hints, and log...or something in between)? Have fun, drive carefully, and good luck!

[+jgstef]

Good luck to you and the team flper! Hope you get your goal and more!

[+KerBear]

best we did was 56 caches in 12hours. so sounds doable! good luck!!!

[+flper]

Team h-d and FC&C did the pocket query and are planning the route and I loaded all the pages into my ipaq and printed out a couple maps from mapsource. Will probably take the laptop incase we have a total mental breakdown. Hopefully we will have good luck and a bunch of smiles....

 

flper

[+stellarscapes]

I did 123 caches in 12 hours (8 AM - 8 PM) at GeoWoodstock5 with the numbers-run group.

That was really gruelling and after finding 100 caches, we were exhausted, but we wanted

to finish, so we continued on.

I'd recommend having your route pre-planned and having

copies of the cache descriptions so you know what you're looking for. Be sure to start with

a full tank of gas and have plenty of munchies and water with you in the car.

Good Luck !!

[+whistler & co.]

And don't forget the headlamps and flashlights, as well as extra batteries!

[+The Leprechauns]

Ten Tips for 24 hour cache runs:

 

1. Choose your caches in advance, filtering out multi's, unsolved puzzles, high terrain, long hikes, etc. Load only your target caches into your mapping software and GPS, so you won't be tempted to deviate from the chosen route. Select a cache-dense area where no team members have found a lot of the caches.

 

2. Skip isolated caches that are miles off your main route. Look for clusters of caches, like six in the same park or a long line of caches in a commercial district.

 

3. Where possible, plan your route to hit all the caches on the right hand side of a busy road (the one with all the malls, shopping plazas and big box stores on it), and then turn left one time and hit all the caches on the opposite side of the road during the return leg. You'll be amazed at how much time is saved by not waiting to make left turns. Over the course of 24 hours, this alone can mean getting up to five more caches.

 

4. Use turn-by-turn mapping software like nRoute or Streets and Trips, preferably on a laptop computer in the car. Don't just choose "next nearest," choose the cache that makes the most sense in light of the available roads. The large laptop screen makes it easier for the navigator to see the big picture and avoid mistakes. Hook the laptop up to a spare GPS, and track the vehicle's position in real time on the map.

 

5. Set a time limit after which you all agree to abandon a hunt, take a DNF, and move on to the next cache.

 

6. Plan your route so that the night time hours are spent in areas where it's legal for you to be there at night. Use the daylight hours to find caches in cemeteries, town parks that close at "dusk," and caches in residential areas.

 

7. Carry copies of the Groundspeak Geocaching Brochure to show to landowners or law enforcement officers. Record runs, especially the night time portion, are more likely to attract attention. Be honest about what you're doing, and in the vast majority of cases you'll receive a friendly wave to go about your fun. If you're told you are somewhere you shouldn't be, apologize and leave immediately.

 

8. Practice the same caching ethics that you would on any other geocaching trip. Sign each logbook. Log courteously -- don't slap giant stickers saying "Team Record Run" onto tiny microcache scrolls. Take reasonable care not to be spotted by muggles. Replace the cache exactly as you found it.

 

9. Appoint different team members to different specialized jobs -- driver, navigator and record-keeper are the essential ones.

 

10. The record-keeper should capture a few details about each cache as it's found, to make it easier for everyone to keep the caches straight when logging. Even a few cryptic notes like "Guardrail MKH @ Target - John found - log wet" will allow team members to write meaningful logs instead of copy-paste logs saying "1 of 150 caches found during a 24 hour cache marathon, TNLN, TFTC."

 

My personal best is 240 caches in a 24 hour period, using these techniques as part of a team that included one other finder plus a local driver and a local navigator/record keeper who did not participate in finding the caches and who did not give clues to the finders. It's not something that I'm itching to do again any time soon, but it's a lot of fun to try it once. If I tried a 24 hour marathon again, I would try to see how many caches I could find totally solo. Finding 100+ caches solo would be a cool goal.

Edited November 17, 2007 by The Leprechauns

[+edscott]

Ten Tips for 24 hour cache runs:

 

edit to save space......list of 10.....

 

 

Great list. I've never tried anything like a 24 hour caching marathon, but it sounds like something to do just once. I'd need to add one more item... skip any caches that are placed in shopping malls built after the latest published aerial photos. One of those could take me take the whole 24 hours. I did just scroll through my finds and have done 17 in a day two different times!!!! Is that good for second place??

[+tomflushing]

Is this like one of those game shows where they make you wait until after the commerical break to see if you advance to the next round.The numbers already -you know we what them.

[Mr.Yuck]

Is this like one of those game shows where they make you wait until after the commerical break to see if you advance to the next round.The numbers already -you know we what them.

 

Looks like less than 100, and in the Harrisburg area. What's up Flper? how was it? Surely you must have recovered by now.

[knowschad]

Ten Tips for 24 hour cache runs:

 

1. Choose your caches in advance, filtering out multi's, unsolved puzzles, high terrain, long hikes, etc. Load only your target caches into your mapping software and GPS, so you won't be tempted to deviate from the chosen route. Select a cache-dense area where no team members have found a lot of the caches.

 

2. Skip isolated caches that are miles off your main route. Look for clusters of caches, like six in the same park or a long line of caches in a commercial district.

 

3. Where possible, plan your route to hit all the caches on the right hand side of a busy road (the one with all the malls, shopping plazas and big box stores on it), and then turn left one time and hit all the caches on the opposite side of the road during the return leg. You'll be amazed at how much time is saved by not waiting to make left turns. Over the course of 24 hours, this alone can mean getting up to five more caches.

 

4. Use turn-by-turn mapping software like nRoute or Streets and Trips, preferably on a laptop computer in the car. Don't just choose "next nearest," choose the cache that makes the most sense in light of the available roads. The large laptop screen makes it easier for the navigator to see the big picture and avoid mistakes. Hook the laptop up to a spare GPS, and track the vehicle's position in real time on the map.

 

5. Set a time limit after which you all agree to abandon a hunt, take a DNF, and move on to the next cache.

 

6. Plan your route so that the night time hours are spent in areas where it's legal for you to be there at night. Use the daylight hours to find caches in cemeteries, town parks that close at "dusk," and caches in residential areas.

 

7. Carry copies of the Groundspeak Geocaching Brochure to show to landowners or law enforcement officers. Record runs, especially the night time portion, are more likely to attract attention. Be honest about what you're doing, and in the vast majority of cases you'll receive a friendly wave to go about your fun. If you're told you are somewhere you shouldn't be, apologize and leave immediately.

 

8. Practice the same caching ethics that you would on any other geocaching trip. Sign each logbook. Log courteously -- don't slap giant stickers saying "Team Record Run" onto tiny microcache scrolls. Take reasonable care not to be spotted by muggles. Replace the cache exactly as you found it.

 

9. Appoint different team members to different specialized jobs -- driver, navigator and record-keeper are the essential ones.

 

10. The record-keeper should capture a few details about each cache as it's found, to make it easier for everyone to keep the caches straight when logging. Even a few cryptic notes like "Guardrail MKH @ Target - John found - log wet" will allow team members to write meaningful logs instead of copy-paste logs saying "1 of 150 caches found during a 24 hour cache marathon, TNLN, TFTC."

 

My personal best is 240 caches in a 24 hour period, using these techniques as part of a team that included one other finder plus a local driver and a local navigator/record keeper who did not participate in finding the caches and who did not give clues to the finders. It's not something that I'm itching to do again any time soon, but it's a lot of fun to try it once. If I tried a 24 hour marathon again, I would try to see how many caches I could find totally solo. Finding 100+ caches solo would be a cool goal.

 

And don't complain a bit about lamp post skirt lifters, guardrail key safes, wet Altoid Tin logs, spewed micros, or any other sort of cache that you find because every one of them just helped you make your numbers. (I'm not saying that Lep complains about those things... just a general comment about numbers runs like that)

[+The Leprechauns]

Gosh no, I wouldn't complain about the caches I found. You can't rack up 50 finds in a day without a fair percentage of park and grabs, much less 240. As I recall, that run in Nashville had about 25 or 30 easy two-step multicaches, 20 virtuals, and even a webcam cache. There was a variety of containers, from evil nanos that I'd never seen before, all the way up to ammo boxes. Yes, the overwhelming majority were film canisters, hide a keys and pill bottles, but that's what we were after, so no complaints. And, for every ten predictable guardrail or lamp post caches, there was a gem of a hide, including a few that made my all time favorites list.

 

After *any* big run of park and grabs, whether it's 40 caches or 240, my cache appetite naturally tends to shift, and I spend a day or two finding some nice "long hike" caches. Too many long hikes, and I get tired and sore, and I'll go on a numbers run. Balance prevents burnout.

[+jaxstraww]

We all know Philly, University of Delaware and vincinity have allot of action in a small area. Anyone know of any other number locations in the tri state area that may be off the grid? Looking for bike friendly places. I'll travel as far North as NYC and as far south as 2-3 hours.

 

How did the thread starter manage? Guess we could look up his profile and go back a few weeks to see what kind of action his team grabbed.

[+tomflushing]

We all know Philly, University of Delaware and vincinity have allot of action in a small area. Anyone know of any other number locations in the tri state area that may be off the grid? Looking for bike friendly places. I'll travel as far North as NYC and as far south as 2-3 hours.

 

How did the thread starter manage? Guess we could look up his profile and go back a few weeks to see what kind of action his team grabbed.

 

We shouldn't have too.

[+MountainRacer]

We all know Philly, University of Delaware and vincinity have allot of action in a small area. Anyone know of any other number locations in the tri state area that may be off the grid? Looking for bike friendly places. I'll travel as far North as NYC and as far south as 2-3 hours.

 

If you're looking for quick bike-accessible cache action, the Mahwah-Ramsey area has at least thirty that you could rack up in a short time, and that's just counting ones you can get to over pavement. Use the Google Maps tool on this site and punch in 07430 (the zip code).