Has the game passed me by?

[+9Key]

To set this up a little, I started geocaching 6+ years ago in the Dallas, Texas area and was really hooked by the chance to experience something new everytime I hunted a cache. It got me off the couch and away from the computer. Back then I would drive 30 miles west to Fort Worth just to find 5 caches - and that was a great day.

 

I got poison ivy, scratched by thorns, had encounters with ticks, chiggers, snakes, and other wild creatures and I loved it. Even the dang chigger bites. I put on my jeans, a long shirt, my trusty straw hat (even in 95 degree F weather) sprayed down with bug spray and went out into the woods just like I was a boy again in search or treasure in the woods. Awesome!

 

Fast forward to today, like the hotly debated Micro Sprew topics I think the game has changed, at least in my area, with cachers that are either not prepared or not willing to deal with what Mother Nature might dish out. They put on their flip flops and shorts and go on a numbers run, and when they encounter a cache that might involve a hike, no matter how short, in the woods they either avoid it altogether or log a DNF, detailing how the snakes, spiders, poison ivy / oak / sumac were thick as thieves. Are cachers just not as outdoorsy as they used to be or am I suffering from "old timers syndrome", thinking everything was better back in the old days?

 

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

[+KoosKoos]

To set this up a little, I started geocaching 6+ years ago in the Dallas, Texas area and was really hooked by the chance to experience something new everytime I hunted a cache. It got me off the couch and away from the computer. Back then I would drive 30 miles west to Fort Worth just to find 5 caches - and that was a great day.

 

I got poison ivy, scratched by thorns, had encounters with ticks, chiggers, snakes, and other wild creatures and I loved it. Even the dang chigger bites. I put on my jeans, a long shirt, my trusty straw hat (even in 95 degree F weather) sprayed down with bug spray and went out into the woods just like I was a boy again in search or treasure in the woods. Awesome!

 

Fast forward to today, like the hotly debated Micro Sprew topics I think the game has changed, at least in my area, with cachers that are either not prepared or not willing to deal with what Mother Nature might dish out. They put on their flip flops and shorts and go on a numbers run, and when they encounter a cache that might involve a hike, no matter how short, in the woods they either avoid it altogether or log a DNF, detailing how the snakes, spiders, poison ivy / oak / sumac were thick as thieves. Are cachers just not as outdoorsy as they used to be or am I suffering from "old timers syndrome", thinking everything was better back in the old days?

 

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

 

I believe more of it is the bell curve phenomenon. In the early days of caching, you had people on the smaller part of the scale that were into the outdoors and out of the way locations, so they put things off in the woods because it was a fun place to be and the handful of other geocachers would come find it and were like minded. As the hobby has grown, you see more of the middle section of the curve with people that wouldn't have been going out into the woods at all if not for a silly box waiting for them.

 

That's not to say every geocache placed before 2004 was in a pristine forest or that everything placed today is in a parking lot under a lamp post. The game is changing and always will.

[+Dread_Pirate_Bruce]

Many of the players who go after the urban micros wouldn't even have played a few years ago. The ones who played a few years ago still play that way. That being said, if you like hunting caches and there aren't any woods or mountain trails around, you either need to wait until you have the time to go to the woods or mountains or you have to evolve the game.

[+BadAndy]

It all depends on how you look at it. I'm perfectly content to ignore caches that I'm not interested in.

 

It's a good thing that I'm not into the numbers because most of the caches around me are those that I'm ignoring.

[+Save The Murlocs]

Yeah...I found a cache today that involved lifting up a bit of bark in a hollow tree to find the container. When I logged it I saw that someone had logged a find, but refused to sign the log because they said they "didn't want to touch it." Now granted, perhaps it was wet at the time or some such. But I wonder if they didn't want to reach in there cause of fear of bugs or something. People do seem a bit squeamish. Now, I personally have not actually found any out in the wilderness as of yet, but that's only because I don't have an actual GPSr yet and use my phone, which does not get service in the wilderness.

[+Flo.]

I enjoy the hikes that take you down trails, then off in the woods so many feet, I do not like a quarter mile hike that is complete bushwacking in the middle of August.

[+flask]

here's my squeamish log for the week.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...2f-12b3b7c98126

 

 

but yes, things have changed. anytime a lot more people start to do a thing, there's always a flood of people who just can't be bothered to put time into it but they still want tons of accolades.

 

that's ok. i kind of count on them to get bored and drift away. some of them i count on to implode under their own weight and go away in another fashion.

 

i'll still be here.

[+GrnXnham]

It's partially because GPS units are so much more mainstream now.

 

Back in 2000, the only people who purchased GPS units were the outdoorsey types who wanted them for climbing, backpacking, hunting, etc.

 

Now it seems like everyone has a GPSr in one form or another including people who have never been off of either asphalt or concrete once in their life. These people look for a geocache while on their way to the mall on a Saturday afternoon instead of on the way to the top of a mountain.

Edited June 23, 2008 by GrnXnham

[+softball29]

To set this up a little, I started geocaching 6+ years ago in the Dallas, Texas area and was really hooked by the chance to experience something new everytime I hunted a cache. It got me off the couch and away from the computer. Back then I would drive 30 miles west to Fort Worth just to find 5 caches - and that was a great day.

 

I got poison ivy, scratched by thorns, had encounters with ticks, chiggers, snakes, and other wild creatures and I loved it. Even the dang chigger bites. I put on my jeans, a long shirt, my trusty straw hat (even in 95 degree F weather) sprayed down with bug spray and went out into the woods just like I was a boy again in search or treasure in the woods. Awesome!

 

Fast forward to today, like the hotly debated Micro Sprew topics I think the game has changed, at least in my area, with cachers that are either not prepared or not willing to deal with what Mother Nature might dish out. They put on their flip flops and shorts and go on a numbers run, and when they encounter a cache that might involve a hike, no matter how short, in the woods they either avoid it altogether or log a DNF, detailing how the snakes, spiders, poison ivy / oak / sumac were thick as thieves. Are cachers just not as outdoorsy as they used to be or am I suffering from "old timers syndrome", thinking everything was better back in the old days?

 

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

 

Like everything in life, hobbies change and evolve. As someone who just started this game in March, I wish I had been around it years ago. I would have loved to have seen the evolution of the game as it went on.

 

When something grows -- and does so in a rapid-like way -- it takes different paths. Of the finds I've made, I've had hard climbs, long hikes, bushwacking, urban micros or even the film canister in the woods where you are left scratching your head wondering why they didn't put an ammo can there instead. I've liked pretty much every cache I've found.

 

What goes further here is how one plays the game. Do you trade? Do you hunt to sign the log and move on? Do you do it for numbers? Those who like the rare find, but to get it you have to take a five-mile hike, I'm sure they'll feel the game has changed for the worse. Others might feel it's good for the game. Others might not care.

 

Personally, I like how it is. I don't trade, rarely carry much by way of "swag," but do like to swap out my sig items for other sig items. I also like the TB/coin game. Therefore, a lot of times it doesn't matter the size of the canister or where it is. I like to usually take each cache for what it is.

 

I don't think the game has passed you by. It's easy enough to find what you want and avoid what you don't like. The game has evolved and as long as it still gets you off the couch and away from the computer, it did what you had liked in the first place! Keep enjoying the game!

[+TrailGators]

To set this up a little, I started geocaching 6+ years ago in the Dallas, Texas area and was really hooked by the chance to experience something new everytime I hunted a cache. It got me off the couch and away from the computer. Back then I would drive 30 miles west to Fort Worth just to find 5 caches - and that was a great day.

 

I got poison ivy, scratched by thorns, had encounters with ticks, chiggers, snakes, and other wild creatures and I loved it. Even the dang chigger bites. I put on my jeans, a long shirt, my trusty straw hat (even in 95 degree F weather) sprayed down with bug spray and went out into the woods just like I was a boy again in search or treasure in the woods. Awesome!

 

Fast forward to today, like the hotly debated Micro Sprew topics I think the game has changed, at least in my area, with cachers that are either not prepared or not willing to deal with what Mother Nature might dish out. They put on their flip flops and shorts and go on a numbers run, and when they encounter a cache that might involve a hike, no matter how short, in the woods they either avoid it altogether or log a DNF, detailing how the snakes, spiders, poison ivy / oak / sumac were thick as thieves. Are cachers just not as outdoorsy as they used to be or am I suffering from "old timers syndrome", thinking everything was better back in the old days?

 

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

 

I think caching has changed but I haven't seem wimpy logs like on my caches and I only hide caches off trails. The terrain out here is too rocky for flip-flops so maybe that keeps those types away.... Edited June 23, 2008 by TrailGators

[+Markwell]

When the sport started out, it was an intersection of two kinds of people:

A) - Hiking enthusiasts who wanted something to do on their hikes in addition to great scenary

B) - Geeks who loved the technology and wanted to get out and exercise more

I was in the latter category. GPS units were still not mainstream at the time, and (in my personal opinion) since the caches were few and far between and people had to drive quite a distance to find them, MOST of the people wanted to do their best to bring people to cool locations that were little known in the world.

 

That was the major draw that I found. I grew up in the town that I still live in. There were at least six fabulous parks and forest preserves within a 10 minute drive of my home that I knew NOTHING about - and it's not like I never got out of the house.

 

I've bouldered in Tennessee, I've rowed in Busse Forest Preserve in Chicago, I've watched as crazy friends went down a sheer gorge while I stayed at the top waiting to call an ambulance (which never happened), I've learned about stinging nettles (again this morning). These are all fabouls adventures.

 

Lately, I too have seen an increase in the popularity of numbers runs and (in my opinion) unimagnative hides. That's why my caching tapered off. I'm much more selective about how I spend my time out of doors.

 

I believe there are two issues at play. One is the standard bell-curve:

As the mass of the sampling increases, there are the extremes that increase in frequency. There are many more people hiding caches just because there's no cache there, and they are doing it as frequently as they can. There are also many more people placing incredibly thoughtful caches at beautifully scenic locations, and they are really thinking out their spots. They do this less frequently because it takes TIME and EFFORT to do each cache. So while the number of cachers and their creativity level is truly a bell curve, the number of caches placed by the extremes is skewed to the lower end because they can place caches more frequently without the deep thought and consideration of each placement.

 

The other reasoning I think of the increase in less well-thought-out caches has to do with the "Reality T.V." analogy that I documented on my "manifesto" page back in September of 2005 (found here next to the "Survivor" graphic.

 

However, no longer do I bemoan the glut of caches I don't prefer to find, because just on the standard type of caches I do like to find, there are 22 unfound caches within 10 miles, 130 caches between 10 and 20 miles and another 420 caches beyond 20 miles still in the Chicago area that I can find.

 

With those in mind some will be great, some not so much - but at least I'm not bored. I was reminded of this with my find today - stinging nettles and all.

[+Kit Fox]

As someone who prefers great caches, in great locations, I can completely relate to 9key's observation. My caches hidden in scenic locations, that are filled with great swag get few finds per year. The only reason I keep hiding caches like this is because if the great logs I get from those cachers dedicated enough to find them.

 

A big killer for the game is the current gas prices. Caches hidden in remote locales get visited less because the cost of fuel is quite prohibitive. A good portion of cachers today would much rather drive ten miles, visiting 40 parking lots, rather than driving 50 miles to summit a mountain holding an ammo can with more swag than all of the parking lot caches combined.

 

I'm very thankful for the ignore feature. I did ask Jeremy at GW6 to create a search function to look for caches with bookmarks. I've noticed that my favorite types of caches usually have "Geocacher A's top 5% cache finds."

 

I tend to spend more time doing other things, than chasing parking lot caches.

[+TrailGators]

When the sport started out, it was an intersection of two kinds of people:

A) - Hiking enthusiasts who wanted something to do on their hikes in addition to great scenary

B) - Geeks who loved the technology and wanted to get out and exercise more

I was in the latter category. GPS units were still not mainstream at the time, and (in my personal opinion) since the caches were few and far between and people had to drive quite a distance to find them, MOST of the people wanted to do their best to bring people to cool locations that were little known in the world.

 

That was the major draw that I found. I grew up in the town that I still live in. There were at least six fabulous parks and forest preserves within a 10 minute drive of my home that I knew NOTHING about - and it's not like I never got out of the house.

 

I've bouldered in Tennessee, I've rowed in Busse Forest Preserve in Chicago, I've watched as crazy friends went down a sheer gorge while I stayed at the top waiting to call an ambulance (which never happened), I've learned about stinging nettles (again this morning). These are all fabouls adventures.

 

Lately, I too have seen an increase in the popularity of numbers runs and (in my opinion) unimagnative hides. That's why my caching tapered off. I'm much more selective about how I spend my time out of doors.

 

I believe there are two issues at play. One is the standard bell-curve:

As the mass of the sampling increases, there are the extremes that increase in frequency. There are many more people hiding caches just because there's no cache there, and they are doing it as frequently as they can. There are also many more people placing incredibly thoughtful caches at beautifully scenic locations, and they are really thinking out their spots. They do this less frequently because it takes TIME and EFFORT to do each cache. So while the number of cachers and their creativity level is truly a bell curve, the number of caches placed by the extremes is skewed to the lower end because they can place caches more frequently without the deep thought and consideration of each placement.

 

The other reasoning I think of the increase in less well-thought-out caches has to do with the "Reality T.V." analogy that I documented on my "manifesto" page back in September of 2005 (found here next to the "Survivor" graphic.

 

However, no longer do I bemoan the glut of caches I don't prefer to find, because just on the standard type of caches I do like to find, there are 22 unfound caches within 10 miles, 130 caches between 10 and 20 miles and another 420 caches beyond 20 miles still in the Chicago area that I can find.

 

With those in mind some will be great, some not so much - but at least I'm not bored. I was reminded of this with my find today - stinging nettles and all.

Good post Markwell! I'm a type B too. My caching numbers have tapered off but my caching enjoyment has come back since I got much more selective. I don't bother logging poorly thought-out caches anymore. That really helps keep my enthusiam up.

 

I do think that the game needs better ways to sift through the huge phonebook sized listing of caches out there now. I'm going up to Seattle on vacation in a little over a week and there are so many caches up there I didn't know where to start. So I posted in the local threads and got some really good suggestions! That's about all we can do now....

[+Snoogans]

To set this up a little, I started geocaching 6+ years ago in the Dallas, Texas area and was really hooked by the chance to experience something new everytime I hunted a cache. It got me off the couch and away from the computer. Back then I would drive 30 miles west to Fort Worth just to find 5 caches - and that was a great day.

 

I got poison ivy, scratched by thorns, had encounters with ticks, chiggers, snakes, and other wild creatures and I loved it. Even the dang chigger bites. I put on my jeans, a long shirt, my trusty straw hat (even in 95 degree F weather) sprayed down with bug spray and went out into the woods just like I was a boy again in search or treasure in the woods. Awesome!

 

Fast forward to today, like the hotly debated Micro Sprew topics I think the game has changed, at least in my area, with cachers that are either not prepared or not willing to deal with what Mother Nature might dish out. They put on their flip flops and shorts and go on a numbers run, and when they encounter a cache that might involve a hike, no matter how short, in the woods they either avoid it altogether or log a DNF, detailing how the snakes, spiders, poison ivy / oak / sumac were thick as thieves. Are cachers just not as outdoorsy as they used to be or am I suffering from "old timers syndrome", thinking everything was better back in the old days?

 

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

 

In 5 years not much has changed for me in the way I personally experience the actual activity of geocaching, but the cachers themselves have changed a little.

 

I was a wilderness hiker and already owned a GPS (a 1996 Magellan GPS 2000) BEFORE I discovered geocaching, so I would be in the first group (group A) in reference to Markwell's post. I was also experienced at hiding caches before I ever heard of a geocache. Many of my former personal cache sites in the Sierras are now geocaches.

 

I was also there near the beginning with you Will, so I understand the difference you're seeing in the cachers themselves.

 

When I first started caching there was a grass roots feel to the sport/activity and a general sameness amongst EVERY geocacher I met. An instant connection. That feeling is long gone from most geocachers I meet today and from the Texas cachin' community at large.

 

The geocaching community in Texas was one BIG, happy family for a few years. Texas has pretty much divided into smaller local factions today. I sorta miss it, but I don't lament its passing. Lots of folks have drifted away over the years for one reason or another and the instant connections are fewer and farther between as different types of cachers join the game and make their mark on it.

 

I find it easier to pass on an event these days, but mostly because of my own change in priorities in caring for my Snooglet, but also because it's hard to get to know folks now that the faces are changing so quickly. I used to be able to spend time getting to know all the new folks, but so many of the old faces are fading away quickly that I'd rather just hang with the folks I know and let other folks get to know ME if they want to. I generally have to see someone a few times before I remember who they are now. That's not at all how it was in the past.

 

As far as the caches themselves, I find no difference in quality. I do find more frequency of caches that are easy for me to pass up, but then, I have a pace of about 100 smilies a year. I pick and choose my quality time to cache and it works for me. I can have just as much fun finding a LPC, or a guardrail cache as I can finding a cache with a breathtaking view, because I choose what suites me rather than caching willy nilly and blaming others for my own failure to have fun.

 

To me it's Darwinism by choice..... Either you can choose to adapt and continue on, or you can choose to hold onto the past and fade away.

 

P.S.: I'm still waiting for the whole low number of finds over a long period of time thang to become fashionable. I could call myself a pioneer.

[+briansnat]

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

 

I don't think it's isolated, as I've seen it in many other areas as well. However I'm blessed to live in northern NJ where the scene is still essentially old school. We're so old school here that LPCs would be considered "devious", and though I'm sure there may be some flip-flop wearing numbers hounds around, I still regularly get logs like this one.

[+BlackRok]

I think it is the nature of the game!

You will always have cachers who love nothing more than pulling up to a cache, get out of their vehicle, and sign the log!

Some are not meant to be trailblazers!

 

I fall into the other end of the spectrum!

I rarely ever seek a micro, as I like to find small containers & ammo cans in the wilderness!

 

Getting out into the countryside & rural areas is my preference, but would not be opposed to

hunting a micro if the mood strikes!

 

( BTW - I have plenty of bug spray, jeans, & hiking boots for the hunt! )

 

BlAcKrOk

[+rollercoastercub]

As a relative newbie, I thought Id put in my two cents here. I got my GPS (Etrex) for Christmas, and am addicted to this SMACK of a game. I mean really, I wish I had been here sooner playing this sport!

 

I have about 50 finds so far, and am about to place my first hide this coming week. Like yourself, Im not in it for the numbers, but for the challenge! Give me a puzzle cache over a quick park and grab any day. I like that there IS a variety of all sorts, so that wherever I am out and about there is usually one or two I can find along my daily activities. I tend to gravitate towards the larger caches, and used to eschew the micros, but I have come to see their own unique challenges that they sometimes present.

 

I see a sport that has not only evolved from its inception (a friend of mine is a 5 year cacher), but is about to go through a WILDLY large change yet still. This is good AND it is bad. The good, is that as it brings new people into the sport, it will bring new minds to the game, and who knows, maybe even some fun new contests, and new ways of thinking. But of course, as it becomes a little common-place, a little more commercial, and the everyday and sometimes the careless enter the foray, it can hurt too.

 

I forsee so many people getting into this that a LOT of new restrictions will soon face us. My searching in a tree in one local cache in Orlando, caused the police to call the bomb-squad and close down the street for an hour (after I left, as reported by the news).

 

So if you are not happy with the caches you have been finding lately, go after the harder ones, even if it means a bit of a drive. Failing that, just be patient as I think you will find many more people presenting new challenges to you all soon! Thanks for being here!

[+scrubjay1986]

My most favorite caches are the rural caches placed out in the middle of the woods. However I do avoid poison ivy at all cost and I have DNF caches before due to its location in a poison ivy patch since to me it is not worth it getting a smiley for a rash from the plant. There is one near where you are at on the SW side of Fort Worth I would have DNF if I was by myself but since I was with someone else, I was able to get the find. That was last May and it was funny in the same area where I saw the poison ivy the first trip, my dad was like there is no poison ivy my second trip in the area, this was back in December.

[+Snoogans]

I see a sport that has not only evolved from its inception (a friend of mine is a 5 year cacher), but is about to go through a WILDLY large change yet still.

 

I forsee so many people getting into this that a LOT of new restrictions will soon face us.

 

You are wise Grasshopper.

[+KBI]

To set this up a little, I started geocaching 6+ years ago in the Dallas, Texas area and was really hooked by the chance to experience something new everytime I hunted a cache. It got me off the couch and away from the computer. Back then I would drive 30 miles west to Fort Worth just to find 5 caches - and that was a great day.

 

I got poison ivy, scratched by thorns, had encounters with ticks, chiggers, snakes, and other wild creatures and I loved it. Even the dang chigger bites. I put on my jeans, a long shirt, my trusty straw hat (even in 95 degree F weather) sprayed down with bug spray and went out into the woods just like I was a boy again in search or treasure in the woods. Awesome!

 

Fast forward to today, like the hotly debated Micro Sprew topics I think the game has changed, at least in my area, with cachers that are either not prepared or not willing to deal with what Mother Nature might dish out. They put on their flip flops and shorts and go on a numbers run, and when they encounter a cache that might involve a hike, no matter how short, in the woods they either avoid it altogether or log a DNF, detailing how the snakes, spiders, poison ivy / oak / sumac were thick as thieves. Are cachers just not as outdoorsy as they used to be or am I suffering from "old timers syndrome", thinking everything was better back in the old days?

 

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

I’ve witnessed the very same change, but I must be an optimist because I generally only see the change as positive. Things were great in the old days, and they seem to be even better now.

 

I think the common easy urban cache can become tedious, but I also think it serves a purpose, and sometimes I’m very grateful that those hides are out there waiting for me to hunt – when that’s what I want.

 

On the other hand: When I’m in the mood for the truly hearty brand of caching you describe in the first half of your post, I know that they are (1) still out there; that it is (2) relatively easy to figure out from among the thousands of choices which ones they are; and that (3) there are a whole lot more of the hearty brand to chose from than back in the “old days.”

 

Seriously, if driving 30 miles west to Fort Worth just to find 5 caches was a great day in the old days, then what’s to stop you from doing that now? With the huge number of hides available today you can even afford to be more picky! I myself used to be happy to drive fifty miles into the north Georgia mountains just to find one or two hides. Now there are dozens and dozens of caches up there!

 

There is an ever-increasing number of ‘easy smiley’ type hiders, but there also seems to be an ever-increasing number of outdoorsy type hiders as well – at least in my area. The menu keeps getting deeper and wider, and that is a wonderful thing.

 

However, no longer do I bemoan the glut of caches I don't prefer to find, because just on the standard type of caches I do like to find, there are 22 unfound caches within 10 miles, 130 caches between 10 and 20 miles and another 420 caches beyond 20 miles still in the Chicago area that I can find.

As Markwell points out: It’s not just the unimaginative hides that are increasing in number; ALL hides are increasing in number.

 

Markwell illustrates that there are more than enough of his preferred type of cache within a convenient distance. This has been my experience as well.

 

A 20-ounce steak may have 100% more fat than a 10-ounce steak, but why concentrate on the negative when you can instead rejoice that the 20-ounce steak has 100% more meat?

[+briansnat]

A 20-ounce steak may have 100% more fat than a 10-ounce steak, but why concentrate on the negative when you can instead rejoice that the 20-ounce steak has 100% more meat?

 

Unfortunately it's more like the 20 oz steak having 300 percent more fat than the 10 oz steak. Great if you love

to eat the fat, but for those who like the meat, it's a lot harder to get at because it's surrounded by all that fat.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

To set this up a little, I started geocaching 6+ years ago in the Dallas, Texas area and was really hooked by the chance to experience something new everytime I hunted a cache. It got me off the couch and away from the computer. Back then I would drive 30 miles west to Fort Worth just to find 5 caches - and that was a great day.

 

I got poison ivy, scratched by thorns, had encounters with ticks, chiggers, snakes, and other wild creatures and I loved it. Even the dang chigger bites. I put on my jeans, a long shirt, my trusty straw hat (even in 95 degree F weather) sprayed down with bug spray and went out into the woods just like I was a boy again in search or treasure in the woods. Awesome!

 

Fast forward to today, like the hotly debated Micro Sprew topics I think the game has changed, at least in my area, with cachers that are either not prepared or not willing to deal with what Mother Nature might dish out. They put on their flip flops and shorts and go on a numbers run, and when they encounter a cache that might involve a hike, no matter how short, in the woods they either avoid it altogether or log a DNF, detailing how the snakes, spiders, poison ivy / oak / sumac were thick as thieves. Are cachers just not as outdoorsy as they used to be or am I suffering from "old timers syndrome", thinking everything was better back in the old days?

 

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

You confuse me. Your first two paragraphs deal with your enjoyment of the game. The next one deals with your perception of other people's enjoyment of the game. Perhaps what has changed is that you are now worried about how others cache... I see no reason that you can't still cache any way you like; that hasn't changed at all.

[+Moobeat]

I see no reason that you can't still cache any way you like; that hasn't changed at all.

Edited June 23, 2008 by Moobeat

[Geo Quest]

I think you're right. I've noticed a huge proliferation of lower-quality drive-by type caches that seem to be custom made for people who are after numbers and not a true adventure/treasure hunt. I got into geocaching BECAUSE I like to hike, not because I wanted a new way to measure my success/failure within a peer group.

[Kenshi Clay]

i can only speak for myself, but i'm new to this as of 2 weeks ago, and I am definitely not a lazy cacher. i love it for the "indiana jones" feel of it, of being outdoors, and places not many people would go to find "treasure" but then again i've always LOVED the outdoors, be it for camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, etc. I can't imagine playing this game on asphalt and concrete, and thank god i live in upstate ny where that's still the minority, it seems.

 

the problem i've seen here, as in almost ALL outdoor activities, is that people are just not raised to respect the outdoors anymore. In this tv, video game, computer using, internet browsing society, all activities seem to be brought indoors, instead of out. Each generation of children that comes up seems to be raised with less and less exposure to the outdoors.

 

Hence all the bunches of people caught on a state park trail in flip flops, and ill prepared clothing.

 

Does it affect the way *I* approach the outdoors? not at all, to each their own,and i'll still do things the way I do things, and raise my daughter with a love for the outdoors too. Is it DISAPPOINTING and SADDENING? yes it is...to witness all these people who don't know what theyre missing, and raised deprived of the great things the outdoors can show, teach, or instill upon you. Yes, it is sad.

Edited June 23, 2008 by Kenshi Clay

[+DeRock & The Psychic Cacher]

Sure geocaching has changed. Nothing as diverse and as loosely regulated as geocaching could possibely stay the same.

 

Unfortunately, you didn't change to adapt to the changes that have evolved in geocaching.

 

I'm with Alabama Rambler on this one - "I see no reason that you can't still cache any way you like; that hasn't changed at all."

 

Don't expect all cache hides to be of the same type and quality as they used to be. Just read the cache descriptions more carefully, pay carefull attention to the terrain and difficulty ratings, and look at and understand the attributes for each cache.

 

Seek out and find hiders in your area that you like and respect and seek their caches. You will also find cachers with hides you don't like and that is what your ignore list is for.

 

While caches of the type you don't want to hunt will probably out number the ones you do want to hunt, I'll bet that there will be more desireable ones than you could have found years ago.

 

If you really want to change the hide quality in your area to your liking then the proactive way to do it would be to:

 

1. Hide caches yourself of the quality you like. You can even start a series with an appropriate name.

 

2. Mentor hiders in your area individually.

 

3. Mentor hiders in your area in groups (events for newbies and old timers alike that deal hiding techniques and locations, camo containers, etc.)

 

The game is what you make of it. If you want to have a bad time I guarantee you will. If you want to have a good time I also guarantee you will. The choice is yours!

 

Deane

AKA: DeRock & the Psychic Cacher - Grattan Mi

[Skippermark]

Here in CT, back in the early days, most of the caches were in the woods, whether a short 1/4 mile walk from parking in a local park or a 3 mile hike through a state forest.

 

Lots of urban micros are coming out, and some folks are against them, but there's also lots of woods caches getting placed too. I think it's a good mix and offers something for everyone.

 

Like yesterday we did some harder caches, but the day before, we were in the mood for some easier terrain. If I'm on vacation, I prefer micros that take us somewhere scenic or historic and don't really hike too far into the woods, usually 1/4 mile or less unless there's a bunch along a trail.

 

As far as flip flops, I don't think I've ever cached in them, but I do wear shorts in the summer and that shows because my lower legs get cut and bruised from mountain laurel, rocks and other things, though I try to avoid purposely going into poison ivy and stinging nettles and things like that.

[+briansnat]

I'm with Alabama Rambler on this one - "I see no reason that you can't still cache any way you like; that hasn't changed at all."

 

But it has. At one time I could just load up my GPS with waypoints, head out the door and most of the time I'd be taken be taken somewhere special. Luckily it's still like that around here, but when I travel I find that most of the time I'm taken to loading docks behind strip malls, big box store parking lots and similar mundane places.

 

I used to find combining traveling and geocaching to be an enjoyable past time. No longer. I now rarely geocache when I travel. I'm told that I need to do research, or suck it up and set my bar lower, but that means I can't still cache the way I like.

[+9Key]

If you really want to change the hide quality in your area to your liking then the proactive way to do it would be to:

 

1. Hide caches yourself of the quality you like. You can even start a series with an appropriate name.

 

2. Mentor hiders in your area individually.

 

3. Mentor hiders in your area in groups (events for newbies and old timers alike that deal hiding techniques and locations, camo containers, etc.)

 

The game is what you make of it. If you want to have a bad time I guarantee you will. If you want to have a good time I also guarantee you will. The choice is yours!

 

Deane

AKA: DeRock & the Psychic Cacher - Grattan Mi

I do hide caches that I would like to find, but I'm seeing that people complain about the spiders, thorns, poison ivy, etc. more and more. Much more than they used to. Some folks get downright nasty about it in their logs in fact. I guess these are the urban cachers getting out of their element.

[+TrailGators]

If you really want to change the hide quality in your area to your liking then the proactive way to do it would be to:

 

1. Hide caches yourself of the quality you like. You can even start a series with an appropriate name.

 

2. Mentor hiders in your area individually.

 

3. Mentor hiders in your area in groups (events for newbies and old timers alike that deal hiding techniques and locations, camo containers, etc.)

 

The game is what you make of it. If you want to have a bad time I guarantee you will. If you want to have a good time I also guarantee you will. The choice is yours!

 

Deane

AKA: DeRock & the Psychic Cacher - Grattan Mi

I do hide caches that I would like to find, but I'm seeing that people complain about the spiders, thorns, poison ivy, etc. more and more. Much more than they used to. Some folks get downright nasty about it in their logs in fact. I guess these are the urban cachers getting out of their element.

Up the terrain rating a bit. A spider adds at least 1 to the terrain rating.

[+StarBrand]

I'm with Alabama Rambler on this one - "I see no reason that you can't still cache any way you like; that hasn't changed at all."

 

But it has. At one time I could just load up my GPS with waypoints, head out the door and most of the time I'd be taken be taken somewhere special. Luckily it's still like that around here, but when I travel I find that most of the time I'm taken to loading docks behind strip malls, big box store parking lots and similar mundane places.

 

I used to find combining traveling and geocaching to be an enjoyable past time. No longer. I now rarely geocache when I travel. I'm told that I need to do research, or suck it up and set my bar lower, but that means I can't still cache the way I like.

Agreed.

 

I filter out all Micros (usually these days) just to avoid the worst areas - but I miss out on the few good ones out there. Otherwise I end up spending more time doing research than Geocaching.

 

It has changed - I too see many more complaints about thick foliage, snakes, thorns, perceptions of vines and etc. My caches that require more time and effort see fewer and fewer annual visits.

[+Runaround]

I'm with Alabama Rambler on this one - "I see no reason that you can't still cache any way you like; that hasn't changed at all."

 

But it has. At one time I could just load up my GPS with waypoints, head out the door and most of the time I'd be taken be taken somewhere special. Luckily it's still like that around here, but when I travel I find that most of the time I'm taken to loading docks behind strip malls, big box store parking lots and similar mundane places.

 

I used to find combining traveling and geocaching to be an enjoyable past time. No longer. I now rarely geocache when I travel. I'm told that I need to do research, or suck it up and set my bar lower, but that means I can't still cache the way I like.

 

Well said. Unfortunately I live in an area where I need to do the research, lots of it. Probably why I do a lot of hiking without the GPS anymore.

[+DeRock & The Psychic Cacher]

I used to find combining traveling and geocaching to be an enjoyable past time. No longer. I now rarely geocache when I travel. I'm told that I need to do research, or suck it up and set my bar lower, but that means I can't still cache the way I like.

 

If you think so highly about the way it used to be, why wouldn't you care enough about giving yourself the kind of experience you want now? Because you have to do some research before you travel?

 

Here is how we encourage visitors to our region when they think ahead before they travel and ask the locals for cache suggestions: Grand Rapids, MI Area Caches, Must-Do's. Just think, the OP to that thread got advice tailored specifically to their history of finds. And if they show any interest at all - an invite to go caching with a local guide and a chance to tip a cold one at the end of the trail. Or not if they prefer.

 

I repeat: The game is what you make of it. If you want to have a bad time I guarantee you will. If you want to have a good time I also guarantee you will. The choice is yours!

 

Deane

AKA: DeRock & the Psychic Cacher - Grattan MI

[+KBI]

I'm seeing that people complain about the spiders, thorns, poison ivy, etc. more and more. Much more than they used to. Some folks get downright nasty about it in their logs in fact.

I say that’s their problem.

 

But you may have something there.

 

I placed a series of new puzzle caches earlier this year, and believe it or not I am happy to admit that my hides were somewhat influenced by the aggregate expressions of preference I’ve been reading in the forums – mostly from folks who were arguing against me at the time. Instead of making the physical hide portions of my puzzle caches unremarkable and easy, I created the six-cache series such that each cache is in a lesser known wooded area, each with more rugged and challenging terrain than the previous one, with the last one requiring a very steep climb through thick forest to a pretty view of a creek running past the nearby open-meadow park.

 

The hikes are not long and the terrain is not at all extreme, but the outdoor skills and physical effort required are substantially more that what one finds at most other caches around here in the suburbs where I live. Again, this is partially because of the strongly-stated preferences I keep seeing in the forums.

 

I have been rewarded with plenty of compliments (which is always nice when you’re not sure how your work is going to be received), and most of the logs are positive on balance, but the really surprising thing is how many people have complained! They gripe about the hikes, the ticks, the thorns, the steep hill climbs, the (unnecessary) creek crossings, and the general difficulty of the terrain – even though I have warned about each of those things using all the flags available to a cache owner.

 

As you report, some of it even gets a bit blunt. Much of the griping comes across more like good-natured ribbing, but even then it can be a bit much. It generally doesn’t make sense – speaking for myself, I’d be ashamed to complain afterward about something I was clearly warned about going in.

 

My response, however, is that I don’t let it bother me. If someone wants to complain about the thorns at a three-star-terrain-cache sporting a thorn attribute (or worse, admit that they refused to read the cache page), then I figure that’s their problem. It won’t affect my future placement decisions, as I will keep on hiding the kinds of caches I enjoy hunting.

 

The only real effect it has on me is a re-affirmation in my mind of an old truth: There’s just no pleasing some people.

[+Renegade Knight]

...Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

 

More of every kind of cache means more just outside your front door before you get to that 30 mile trip.

The 30 mile trip is still there for you. Just not if you can't see past the caches underfoot.

[+Renegade Knight]

... I'm seeing that people complain about the spiders, thorns, poison ivy, etc. more and more. Much more than they used to. Some folks get downright nasty about it in their logs in fact. I guess these are the urban cachers getting out of their element.

 

I'm noticing more of this. Candy Butted Cachers. Thier logs just make me smile. If they find it, that's more tough and less candy even if they did whine some. They are better folks for it. If they don't and whine, that's more candy. Oh well.

[+Langly]

I got poison ivy, scratched by thorns, had encounters with ticks, chiggers, snakes, and other wild creatures and I loved it. Even the dang chigger bites. I put on my jeans, a long shirt, my trusty straw hat (even in 95 degree F weather) sprayed down with bug spray and went out into the woods just like I was a boy again in search or treasure in the woods. Awesome!

 

Fast forward to today, like the hotly debated Micro Sprew topics I think the game has changed, at least in my area, with cachers that are either not prepared or not willing to deal with what Mother Nature might dish out. They put on their flip flops and shorts and go on a numbers run, and when they encounter a cache that might involve a hike, no matter how short, in the woods they either avoid it altogether or log a DNF, detailing how the snakes, spiders, poison ivy / oak / sumac were thick as thieves. Are cachers just not as outdoorsy as they used to be or am I suffering from "old timers syndrome", thinking everything was better back in the old days?

 

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

/quote]

 

This is some really stinky bait but I'll bite anyway. There seem to be several issues.

 

First off it doesn't matter if someone was in Dave Ulmer's back pocket when he hid the first cache or registered 20 minutes ago, everyone with an account is a cacher. I'm so sick and tired of people looking down there noses at cachers for this and that. It would be a pretty boring game if everyone logged the same caches the exact same way. There are cachers out there that are great loggers, great at solving puzzles, great at finding lots of caches, great at finding difficult to find caches, great at reaching high terrain caches. I like the rich and diverse pagent of cachers. If everyone were the same where would we be?

 

Who cares if cachers are more or less outdoorsy as another? I'll guarantee there are cachers out there that are more athletic and outdoorsy. There are also many cachers out there that are less athletic and outdoorsy. Who cares. Does that make them lesser cachers? Perhaps they are brilliant puzzle solvers. All cachers/people have their unique talents. Don't pick on them other cachers issues. That is poor form.

 

Don't like it when cachers log that your cache was in poison plants and briers? Move them like was done yesterday? Or read the logs. Granted there are many areas with poison plants, insects, and reptiles in Texas. My observation is some cachers caches are in these poison plants and cacher hostile areas more often than not. More than the law of averages would dictate.

Don't like the way people log your caches? Is the mind so closed it can't take some constructive criticism? Change your caches? or not? Man up..

 

Have an issues with what attire people cache in? Tough. Most of the cachers I know come prepared and don't cache in shorts or flip flops. I personally only know of one cacher that caches in shorts and flip flops and they are the one complaining about the same attire. Pot hello kettle. Poison plants and insects don't effect some cachers as they have stated before. None of the people I know that are highly allergic to poison plants and insects cache in shorts and flip flops, they come prepared but often suffer due to poor cache placement choices.

 

This game is about finding things and logging them. If a cacher notes poison plants, terrain, insects, reptiles etc isn't that part of the game? Who are you to complain about how they log the cache or play their game? As I have read many times before everyone plays their own game and that is their right. This is the second time you have come complaining and seeking whatever it is you are seeking from these forums. Last year was the personal attacks related to the Bork! Bork! Bork! cache that was placed in a location surrounded by poison ivy.

 

If cachers want to go on numbers runs or sign the outside of 300+ containers in a 24 hour period, find hundreds or one lamp post caches, go hike to great locations, camp to caches, walk to caches, fly halfway around the work or country for a cache, crawl to caches, hike trails, scuba dive to caches, boat to caches, log one cache a year, several thousand caches a year. Whatever cachers want to do as long as they are following the guidelines and doing their own thing playing their own game, that makes them happy, I'm happy for them. I may or may not agree with or like people signing the outside of containers instead of the logs, I may or may not like a cache someone logs, I may or may not like their log. That is my problem not theirs.

 

I think this thread is stinky troll bait and hope it makes someone feel better about themselves and their actions. This thread and these attitudes make me sick.

Edited June 23, 2008 by Langly

[+9Key]

I got poison ivy, scratched by thorns, had encounters with ticks, chiggers, snakes, and other wild creatures and I loved it. Even the dang chigger bites. I put on my jeans, a long shirt, my trusty straw hat (even in 95 degree F weather) sprayed down with bug spray and went out into the woods just like I was a boy again in search or treasure in the woods. Awesome!

 

Fast forward to today, like the hotly debated Micro Sprew topics I think the game has changed, at least in my area, with cachers that are either not prepared or not willing to deal with what Mother Nature might dish out. They put on their flip flops and shorts and go on a numbers run, and when they encounter a cache that might involve a hike, no matter how short, in the woods they either avoid it altogether or log a DNF, detailing how the snakes, spiders, poison ivy / oak / sumac were thick as thieves. Are cachers just not as outdoorsy as they used to be or am I suffering from "old timers syndrome", thinking everything was better back in the old days?

 

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

 

This is some really stinky bait but I'll bite anyway. You seem to have several issues.

 

First off it doesn't matter if you were in Dave Ulmer's back pocket when he hid the first cache or registered 20 minutes ago, everyone with an account is a cacher. I'm so sick and tired of people looking down there noses at cachers for this and that. It would be a pretty boring game if everyone logged the same caches the exact same way.

 

Who cares if cachers are as holy and as outdoorsy as you? I'll guarantee there are cachers out there that are more athletic and outdoorsy than you. There are also many cachers out there that are less athletic and outdoorsy. Who cares. Does that make them lesser cachers. Perhaps they are brilliant puzzle solvers. All cachers/people have their unique talents. Don't pick on them and put them down to make yourself feel better.

 

You don't like it when cachers log that your cache was in poison plants and briers? Granted there are many areas with poison plants, insects, and reptiles in Texas. My observation is some cachers caches are in these poison plants and cacher hostile areas more often than not. More than the law of averages would dictate.

You don't like the way people log your caches. Take some constructive criticism like a man. Change your caches or not? Man up don't come crying to the forums for sympathy and support.

 

You seem to have an issue with what attire people cache in. Most of the cachers I know come prepared and don't cache in shorts or flip flops. You are one of the very few people I know that cache in shorts and flip flops, but hey that's your choice. Poison plants and insects don't effect you as you have stated before. None of the people I know that are highly allergic to poison plants and insects cache in shorts and flip flops.

 

This game is about finding things and logging them. If a cacher notes poison plants, terrain, insects, reptiles etc isn't that part of the game? Who are you to complain about how they log the cache or play their game? As I have read many times before everyone plays their own game and that is their right. This is the second time you have come complaining and seeking whatever it is you are seeking from these forums. Last year was the personal attacks related to the Bork! Bork! Bork! cache that you placed in a location surrounded by poison ivy.

 

If cachers want to go on numbers runs or sign the outside of 300+ containers in a 24 hour period, find hundreds or one lamp post caches, go hike to great locations, camp to caches, walk to caches, fly halfway around the work or country for a cache, crawl to caches, hike trails, scuba dive to caches, boat to caches, log one cache a year, several thousand caches a year. Whatever cachers want to do as long as they are following the guidelines and doing their own thing playing their own game, that makes them happy, I'm happy for them. I may or may not agree with or like people signing the outside of containers instead of the logs, I may or may not like a cache someone logs, I may or may not like their log. That is my problem not theirs.

 

I think this thread is stinky troll bait to make you feel better about yourself and your actions. This thread and these attitudes make me sick.

How about not picking on me? Go flame elsewhere, troll.

The forums are for public discussion, or maybe I'm wrong?

[+GeorgenHeather]

To set this up a little, I started geocaching 6+ years ago in the Dallas, Texas area and was really hooked by the chance to experience something new everytime I hunted a cache. It got me off the couch and away from the computer. Back then I would drive 30 miles west to Fort Worth just to find 5 caches - and that was a great day.

 

I got poison ivy, scratched by thorns, had encounters with ticks, chiggers, snakes, and other wild creatures and I loved it. Even the dang chigger bites. I put on my jeans, a long shirt, my trusty straw hat (even in 95 degree F weather) sprayed down with bug spray and went out into the woods just like I was a boy again in search or treasure in the woods. Awesome!

 

Fast forward to today, like the hotly debated Micro Sprew topics I think the game has changed, at least in my area, with cachers that are either not prepared or not willing to deal with what Mother Nature might dish out. They put on their flip flops and shorts and go on a numbers run, and when they encounter a cache that might involve a hike, no matter how short, in the woods they either avoid it altogether or log a DNF, detailing how the snakes, spiders, poison ivy / oak / sumac were thick as thieves. Are cachers just not as outdoorsy as they used to be or am I suffering from "old timers syndrome", thinking everything was better back in the old days?

 

Is this something others are encountering, or is it just isolated to my little corner of the planet?

 

You hit the nail on the head with this one. If the cache isnt in a parking lot and easy as pie people wanna complain and log a DNF. I wish there were more in the woods hides around here.

[+briansnat]

I used to find combining traveling and geocaching to be an enjoyable past time. No longer. I now rarely geocache when I travel. I'm told that I need to do research, or suck it up and set my bar lower, but that means I can't still cache the way I like.

 

If you think so highly about the way it used to be, why wouldn't you care enough about giving yourself the kind of experience you want now? Because you have to do some research before you travel?

 

Here is how we encourage visitors to our region when they think ahead before they travel and ask the locals for cache suggestions: Grand Rapids, MI Area Caches, Must-Do's. Just think, the OP to that thread got advice tailored specifically to their history of finds. And if they show any interest at all - an invite to go caching with a local guide and a chance to tip a cold one at the end of the trail. Or not if they prefer.

 

I repeat: The game is what you make of it. If you want to have a bad time I guarantee you will. If you want to have a good time I also guarantee you will. The choice is yours!

 

Deane

AKA: DeRock & the Psychic Cacher - Grattan MI

 

What you're saying is change the way I do things, which is my entire point. I can no longer geocache the way I used to enjoy it.

[+Langly]

How about not picking on me? Go flame elsewhere, troll.

The forums are for public discussion, or maybe I'm wrong?

 

I'm sorry I forgot you are the victim here.

 

You really feel my post was a flame? They are nothing compared to the personal e-mail attacks I have seen from you.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

The game has changed as a more diverse base of players has joined in. Your experience of it does not have to.

 

Perhaps one way to deal with it is to choose the location of a PQ that is more to your interest.

 

If I run a PQ centered on the city of Birmingham I can count on most of the caches to be urban micros.

 

If I run a PQ centered in a local State Park or rural forested area I can pretty much count on the hikes and 'traditional' style of containers and hides.

 

Where I center my PQ and the ratings I select determines what kind of caching experience I can expect.

[+9Key]

How about not picking on me? Go flame elsewhere, troll.

The forums are for public discussion, or maybe I'm wrong?

 

I'm sorry I forgot you are the victim here.

 

You really feel my post was a flame? They are nothing compared to the personal e-mail attacks I have seen from you.

Whatever. Go slink back into your hole. You and your buddies go find someone else to pick on.

[+DeRock & The Psychic Cacher]

What you're saying is change the way I do things, which is my entire point. I can no longer geocache the way I used to enjoy it.

 

"Keep not standing fixed and rooted, briskly venture, briskly roam"

 

Deane

AKA: DeRock & the Psychic Cacher - Grattan MI

[Keystone]

You really feel my post was a flame? They are nothing compared to the personal e-mail attacks I have seen from you.

Ahhhh, e-mail. That would be a fine place for you two to hold your conversation, if you hold it at all.

 

I think we can have a nice general discussion of "now vs. then" without personalizing it. Everyone was doing fine with that until your post, Langly.

[Skippermark]

I'm with Alabama Rambler on this one - "I see no reason that you can't still cache any way you like; that hasn't changed at all."

 

But it has. At one time I could just load up my GPS with waypoints, head out the door and most of the time I'd be taken be taken somewhere special. Luckily it's still like that around here, but when I travel I find that most of the time I'm taken to loading docks behind strip malls, big box store parking lots and similar mundane places.

 

This is a good point I didn't think about. Planning to go caching isn't as quick as it was. I used to be able to load my GPS with most of the state and go out, but now there are so many caches that I have to either research and selectively eliminate ones to make them fit or just eliminate whole ranges based on difficulty/terrain.

[+derangedlunatech]

 

I do hide caches that I would like to find, but I'm seeing that people complain about the spiders, thorns, poison ivy, etc. more and more. Much more than they used to. Some folks get downright nasty about it in their logs in fact. I guess these are the urban cachers getting out of their element.

 

When I was growing up, I used to love being ouside, in the woods, hiking...

 

Over time, I moved away from that (priorities), but I still miss it. Caching for me has given me some motivation to get back to it. Unfortunately I'm also somewhat hindered in it by a small child, and a wife who hasn't spent much time in the woods. We're working on those things.

 

I do have to confess that out of your list, I'm not a big fan of the poison ivy. I prefer to stay away from it when possible. The rest of what comes along with the outside and the woods don't bother me at all

[+Renegade Knight]

I'm with Alabama Rambler on this one - "I see no reason that you can't still cache any way you like; that hasn't changed at all."

 

But it has. At one time I could just load up my GPS with waypoints, head out the door and most of the time I'd be taken be taken somewhere special. Luckily it's still like that around here, but when I travel I find that most of the time I'm taken to loading docks behind strip malls, big box store parking lots and similar mundane places.

 

This is a good point I didn't think about. Planning to go caching isn't as quick as it was. I used to be able to load my GPS with most of the state and go out, but now there are so many caches that I have to either research and selectively eliminate ones to make them fit or just eliminate whole ranges based on difficulty/terrain.

Plan B. Try another site with less caches listed. They may be closer to the orginal expereince. Right down to having to drive somehwere else to find a cache at all.

 

Most folks like the one stop shopping here, but that takes work to cherry pick the caches you like out of the multitudes.

[+TrailGators]

Most folks like the one stop shopping here, but that takes work to cherry pick the caches you like out of the multitudes.

I thought we did this to escape work?

[+DanOCan]

...because it's hard to get to know folks now that the faces are changing so quickly. I used to be able to spend time getting to know all the new folks, but so many of the old faces are fading away quickly that I'd rather just hang with the folks I know and let other folks get to know ME if they want to. I generally have to see someone a few times before I remember who they are now. That's not at all how it was in the past.

 

That's how I feel too at events. I spend most of my time talking with my friends and people I know and let others come to me if they choose. This is often interpreted by some as being anti-social, but...

 

The caching community has grown so large it is very difficult to make those person connections now.