Geocaching: What's Changed?

[+KatnissRue]

I've been lurking and posting on the forums for about a month now and have seen many a cacher talk about the good ole' days of caching. Some have mentioned that physically logging a cache was more than just writing your username and the date, but things like what someone thought of the cache and the like.

 

As I'm a relatively new member (Retrospectively to some of you) and younger person, I'd just like to know how things in the game have evolved over the years.

[4wheelin_fool]

Yeah, what I liked was reading the logbook. Most people would write a few sentences about how they got there and finding it, as well as mentioning anything traded. By contrast, today there is just a list of nicknames which is intended as proof of visiting. It's a bit silly because very few people do audits on the logbook anyway. I recall recently opening a logbook from 2007 and finding four pages filled up with nearly 100 names, while the other 116 were blank. I suppose this practice started sometime around 2005 when micros suddenly became popular and proving you were there and not cheating was most important.

Edited November 7, 2014 by 4wheelin_fool

[+niraD]

You've already mentioned that people used to write more in the physical log book. As a corollary, it was more common to have a log book rather than a log sheet.

 

Another change is that the cache types have been more clearly defined. There are older caches that were (and still are) listed as traditional caches, that would now be listed as multi-caches or as mystery/puzzle caches.

 

Another change is numbers. Finding 1000 caches took years and a lot of travel, not a weekend in rural Nevada. And once upon a time, the guidelines actually said "On the same note, don't go cache crazy and hide a cache every 600 feet just because you can. If you want to create a series of caches, the reviewer may require you to create a multi-cache, if the waypoints are close together."

[+The Leprechauns]

When I started, there were so few caches that every one was special. I thought nothing of driving 100 miles to find four caches, or driving 25 miles out of my way for one cache on the way home from work. Each park or trail would have one or two caches; today, each park is packed with caches and many of the trails now have a cache every tenth of a mile.

 

Because each cache was a destination, there was much more focus on writing nice logs -- both in the log book and online -- as noted in the above posts. There was more focus on trading trinkets and on mentioning what was taken and left in each cache.

 

I don't trade anymore, but I kept the habit of writing long logs. 6000 cache hunts later, my average log is more than 100 words long. And, though every cache doesn't feel as special, I try to select "destination caches" as the focus for geocaching trips, picking up other caches along the way. In 2002 there would only have been that destination cache, without the 25 along the way.

[+niraD]

Each park or trail would have one or two caches; today, each park is packed with caches and many of the trails now have a cache every tenth of a mile.

Yeah, there used to be an etiquette that once someone had placed a cache in a park, others should find other parks for their geocaches, even if there was plenty of room according to the saturation guideline.

 

Then there was an etiquette that you should hide your cache in a way to leave room for others to hide caches in the same park. Instead of hiding a cache in the middle of a small park, blocking the entire park, you should hide your cache at one end of the park, leaving room for someone to hide a cache at the other end of the park.

 

Now, park trails are saturated with fungible numbered caches, each 529ft from its neighbors.

[+Uncle Alaska]

Each park or trail would have one or two caches; today, each park is packed with caches and many of the trails now have a cache every tenth of a mile.

Yeah, there used to be an etiquette that once someone had placed a cache in a park, others should find other parks for their geocaches, even if there was plenty of room according to the saturation guideline.

 

Then there was an etiquette that you should hide your cache in a way to leave room for others to hide caches in the same park. Instead of hiding a cache in the middle of a small park, blocking the entire park, you should hide your cache at one end of the park, leaving room for someone to hide a cache at the other end of the park.

 

Now, park trails are saturated with fungible numbered caches, each 529ft from its neighbors.

 

I remember when it was one cache per town/city. I started down in Southern California, remember that there were only 15-20 caches in the LA-Orange county. Those were the days. I recently swapped out a log book from a cache I placed in 2003...you can see a slow change in logs as the years passed, they became more and more brief, then it just became caching names.

Edited November 7, 2014 by Uncle Alaska

[+Crow-T-Robot]

Each park or trail would have one or two caches; today, each park is packed with caches and many of the trails now have a cache every tenth of a mile.

Yeah, there used to be an etiquette that once someone had placed a cache in a park, others should find other parks for their geocaches, even if there was plenty of room according to the saturation guideline.

 

Then there was an etiquette that you should hide your cache in a way to leave room for others to hide caches in the same park. Instead of hiding a cache in the middle of a small park, blocking the entire park, you should hide your cache at one end of the park, leaving room for someone to hide a cache at the other end of the park.

 

Now, park trails are saturated with fungible numbered caches, each 529ft from its neighbors.

 

I remember when it was one cache per town/city. I started down in Southern California, remember that there were only 15-20 caches in the LA-Orange county. Those were the days. I recently swapped out a log book from a cache I placed in 2003...you can see a slow change in logs as the years passed, they became more and more brief, then it just became caching names.

True, those were the days. Of course, there were so few caches in the early days, there was no reason to place two in one park when the other parks in the city had none.

 

The changes I've seen, and I haven't been here since the beginning, is that while geocaching is still available if you really want it, this is pretty much a numbers game. A recent post on a local forum was asking how to cache in winter and one of the responses was "Attend an event...those count as finds" . They were asking about how to find caches in the winter, not increase their find count.

 

 

[+niraD]

They were asking about how to find caches in the winter, not increase their find count.

You mean there's a difference?

 

Last weekend, I had a great time spending 2+ hours on a multi-cache where I eventually DNFed the final. It won't add to my find count, but I was having fun geocaching.

[cezanne]

As I'm a relatively new member (Retrospectively to some of you) and younger person, I'd just like to know how things in the game have evolved over the years.

 

To some extent the answer to this question will also depend on the area someone comes from. However the changes that have been reported in previous posts seem to be quite universal and I've observed the same in my country (Austria) and in Germany (the two countries where I have found a larger number of caches over many years.

 

There are many other changes that have not yet been mentioned and some of them are more regional or depend on the time when someone started to geocache as some changes happened quite early on and some others (like those implied by the emerging powertrail) much later.

 

In the first two years (2002 and 2003) indeed each cache in my country was something special in some sense because there were so few of them.

 

In the early years I knew almost all cachers in my area in person. This created a much closer knit and less anonymous community. Cachers were much more aware of the fact that

caches are hidden by other cachers and that everyone needs to contribute their share to keep the activity going.

 

I also notice big changes in the way cachers deal with each other. I think that this change to a good deal is caused by the change I mentioned in the paragraph above which had effects on the attitude of the cachers towards each other and how they treated cache owners. I can hardly remember logs from the early times which rather read like commands to the cache owner like "The log book must be changed", "This cache has been already unavailable for a few months. So it should be sent to the archive" and many others. Back then most of us had an interest that a nice cache would stay alive and one might even have offered help or at least asked kindly when the cache might be available again. Today for many cachers it seems to be one target of their personal game to colour all caches on their map with yellow smilies. A cache that gets archived is a quick way of getting rid of a cache which has not been turned into a smilie.

 

Micros hardly existed (it took more than 3 years until I encountered a micro hidden in a fence post which later became one of the standard hideouts).

 

The quality of the containers used for nice caches where the owner put effort into the cache has improved on average as more experiences are available (ammo cans have never been common in my area as they are more difficult to get). Back then many jam glas containers and plastic containers that turned out to be not tight or being liked by animals have been used, now lock and lock containers seem to have become almost the standard for containers of size larger than micro that are not specially designed containers.

 

Another dramatic change in my area concerns the number of hidden multi caches. Back then the standard cache type chosen when someone wanted to show cachers a nice hiking route was to hide a single multi cache. Nowadays this type of caches is near to dying out. The newer cachers prefer a series of say 15 traditionals and one bonus cache (mystery) where in each of the traditionals you have to pick up a number and then use all 15 numbers to find the bonus cache. Most cachers either write the same log for all 16 caches or write something very short for the first 15 caches like TFTC and then a few lines for the bonus. Often even important information like if the log sheet of one of the caches is wet, the T or D-rating is wrong for one of the caches, or there are temporary or permanent issues with a cache of the series are not mentioned any longer or only in the log of the bonus. People very often do not regard these caches as individual caches, they just see them as an implementation of a multi cache which provides a smilie for each stage.

 

While certainly also the number of lame caches (unsuitable containers thrown off at a unsuitable location etc) increased, also the number of caches where a lot of effort and work has been invested into building special containers has increased considerably in my country. In the early years hardly any of the existing cachers had an interest into this aspect - almost all of us focused on the walk/hike/bike ride and on showing interesting/nice locations. Nowadays it can easily happen that I spend 2 minutes with approaching the cache and 30 minutes with opening the container which is something I do not appreciate at all as I'm not into geocaching for experiencing special and creative containers.

 

The number of cachers who do not love the outdoors has increased dramatically in my area. Similarly the number of cachers who regard geocaching as a kind of PC game has increased dramatically in my area.

 

Many cachers from the early days in my area (and many other areas) left geocaching being frustrated by the changes. Many of those who stayed, moved to more extreme terrain and hide caches in more and more difficult terrain to still be able to target their caches to a small selected audience and avoid the mass aspect of geocaching as well as possible.

 

Sharing coordinates for multi caches and mystery caches became an issue over the years. Nowadays there exist many lists and databases for cheaters.

 

There are certainly many more changes. I just listed a few that came to my mind right now.

 

 

Cezanne

[Mr.Yuck]

I've been lurking and posting on the forums for about a month now and have seen many a cacher talk about the good ole' days of caching. Some have mentioned that physically logging a cache was more than just writing your username and the date, but things like what someone thought of the cache and the like.

 

As I'm a relatively new member (Retrospectively to some of you) and younger person, I'd just like to know how things in the game have evolved over the years.

 

You know, if I didn't discover Geocaching until 2012, I'd like to think I'd be interested in what it was like such as KaRue here. That's just a little commentary on some of the bashing "we" get around here as dinosaur's or even elitists.

 

Many of the points I would normally make have already been covered. People used to write in logbooks. I have one laying around somewhere from a spring 2004 placed cache that lasted until 2010 or so, and it is truly amazing to see the transformation (around 2007 or so) from paragraphs to name and date. Another point is yes, I'd think nothing of going 25 miles out of my way for a single cache after work, or if I had some spare time on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Yet another point was "etiquette" of not placing a 2nd cache in the same park. Saw that twice in my area where people placed caches within a few days of each other in the same park (keeping in mind approval took several days), and one of them archiving after they were both published.

 

I do have a point of my own. The education level and respect for the hobby (for lack of a better term) of new people joining was light years ahead of what we see now; first with the availability of smartphone apps, and now even much, much worse in past year with the intro apps. You've heard the term thrown around here a few times in regards to the intro app, "muggles with apps". People interested in Geocaching had to go out and buy a $100 minimum GPS receiver, something most of them didn't even have before hearing of Geocaching. You had to hear about Geocaching, and in most cases think it sounded interesting enough that you were going to plonk down that $100 minimum. Now it's like playing Angry Birds 5 times, and losing interest in it.

 

P.S. These $100 minimum GPS receiver things did not include the overwhelming desire, and near universal tendency, to log every cache with "Tftc", "Nice one", or "Found it".

[+KatnissRue]

Thanks so much for the replies you guys. It means a lot that you took the time to answer my question.

 

Edited for the fact that I messed of the HTML coding again. Sorry.

Edited November 7, 2014 by KaRue

[+cerberus1]

When we first started, caches brought us to unique areas we never would have found if it wasn't for others sharing their secrets through geocaching.

Gas was cheap and we'd think nothing of traveling to other States for one or two hides.

We'd spend the day, often taking picnic stuff along (still do).

Take our time, write a nice cache log and make trades.

We wrote in the cache log as well as online whenever we traded (and what it was) and mentioned any trackables we picked up to move on.

One local cacher drew pictures of wildlife or flowers she encountered while out and others would sometimes write poems.

One of the fun things of having a log book.

Down side, quite a few of the containers at the time were inferior to what many use today.

The saying of using satellites to find Tupperware may sound cute, but it sucked as a container.

Rubbermaid wasn't much better.

- Rusted cookie tins wrapped in black garbage bags was fun too.

 

Today, there's some fascination with how many you've found, collecting "points".

- like eventually there will be prizes.

A hobby turned into a game.

There are still some we're interested in, but we have to search through hundreds (thousands?) of "placed-every-530'-'cause-I-can" hides to find them.

The log books we enjoyed, we're now happy when it's a lined log sheet and not another torn calendar page.

[+L0ne.R]

Check out the Facebook Geocaching Heritage Project for photos of old logbook entries. Here's an example from 2005:

 

 

 

[+geodarts]

Several years ago, a friend emailed me about a new cache that was described - in total - as being placed because there were no other containers in the area. It appeared to be a lamp post in a parking lot. My friend commented that the game was changing. He was right.

 

When I first began, many of us thought about where we would like to take somebody before we placed a cache. Caches brought me to areas I never would have discovered if not for this game. Now I try to find those areas elsewhere, and if there is a cache nearby I might decide to look for it.

 

When I first started, virtuals and locationless were an important part of the game. They extended and enriched the game. Locationless are gone and virtuals are now disappearing - although the remaining ones still interest me. Earthcaches keep part of that aspect of the game alive for me.

 

At some point, a friend found his 10,000th cache. It was an amazing milestone. He decided to drop out of "competitive caching" soon after that. Perhaps it was just as well. Repetitive trails made that kind of achievement common.

 

Every once in a while, there is something that reminds me of why I began to play, and why I continue. But it's hard to be an ammo-can-in -the woods kind of cacher when the woods are getting filled up with micros or old glue sticks with a paper stuck in them.

 

In some ways, I have changed as much as the game.

[+L0ne.R]

Today, there's some fascination with how many you've found, collecting "points".

- like eventually there will be prizes.

A hobby turned into a game.

There are still some we're interested in, but we have to search through hundreds (thousands?) of "placed-every-530'-'cause-I-can" hides to find them.

 

 

So true. It used to be the cache and the fun of finding it was the reward. For hiders it was the entry in the paper log, as well as the online log that was the reward. Today it seems the smiley is the reward for most finders and many hiders. More and more, hiders place 100s of caches then want to know how to avoid the annoyance of email notifications when their caches are found. They placed the caches to up the numbers. Often, the cache becomes superficial. The prize is the smiley count. And now with the advent of challenge caches the smiley count has become not only a reward but a commodity.

 

The log books we enjoyed, we're now happy when it's a lined log sheet and not another torn calendar page.

 

Here's my take on the history of the logbook (from another forum topic about someone moving logs à la power trail style)....

Over the years, the lowest common denominator tends to win out. Use to be log

books

were the norm. Then micros with micro scrolls became popular. People would still sign in and often would write something on the sheets, but then cache owners started printing off sheets with tables on them with 200 little cells to force people to write tiny signatures, or just initials. I interpret the CO saying "I don't want you to fill up this sheet, if you have something to say, say it online. If this sheet fills up I have to replace it. I'm placing a micro because it's easier and less work so don't write anything but a tiny signature. I'm not going to actually look at this sheet and will pitch it in the trash, if I ever get around to maintaining it."

Once people got used to just signing their sigs without any comments, then only signatures started appearing in swag size caches with log

books

. This new logging practice was much easier for the finder, making it quicker to move on to the next cache. This became especially important when gobbling up power trail caches.

Power trails made speed caching the new norm.

Next cache owners who planted swag size caches started putting a sheet of paper or a micro scroll in their larger caches. It's rare these days to find an actual logbook in any cache.

Edited November 7, 2014 by L0ne.R

[Pup Patrol]

Our first find (2005):

 

http://coord.info/GC1C51

 

A nice scenic backroad location, totally accessible by car and close to snowmobile trail.Smile and wave to the farmers, they are more friendly than they look. If you have time follow the road out another direction, there are many routes ,all scenic.

 

A medium sized blue rubbermaid box. Contains some handy items including screwdrivers, electrical tape, lighters, air fresheners. Please take a picture of yourself/group .Let me know when the camera is low.

 

Indeed, it was a great location that we would have never found if it weren't for geocaching. I think that was the biggest cache container we've ever found, including the rare ammo box finds.

 

On our most recent geocaching excursion, it was a really bad day. DNF's prevailed.

 

http://coord.info/GC2RJMV (listed as "small", but had been changed to a bison tube)

 

It was the last straw search of the day.

 

My dnf log:

 

I think I need either a new gps or a new hobby.

 

I think we need to go out searching again, to break that funk.

 

 

B.

[cezanne]

My dnf log:

 

I think I need either a new gps or a new hobby.

 

 

That reminds of a cache a friend of mine and myself (she even caches longer than I do) could not find and where the cache owner states in the description

that if someone does not find the cache it is gone or those who fail to find it need a new hobby

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC507F8_nanometer?guid=d9377316-f108-4d8d-b684-52e58ff8e400

We searched much longer than I normally search when I'm alone and there has a been a third DNF log and some cachers mentioned that they needed help or spent

much time.

 

Such statements never would have part of cache descriptions back then when I started. The performance aspect did not play a real role. This has changed dramatically,

and not only with respect to the find count.

 

 

Cezanne

[+Twentse Mug]

To me it seems that geocachers themselves have changed too.

[cezanne]

To me it seems that geocachers themselves have changed too.

 

In which sense? It either could mean that the average cacher in say 2004 behaved differently or that that most (all?) cachers have changed since they started to cache or even something else.

Could you clarify? I certainly got older and are less performant, but that's not geocaching specific. As geocaching is regarded, I have pretty much the same preferences as ever and still cache in basically the same style as 12 years ago.

[+KatnissRue]

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

 

My goal is to take this information and make a cache that is as good as how things used to be.

 

Feel free to keep posting. I love reading your different stories and memories.

[+Twentse Mug]

To me it seems that there are many cachers who were once happy with a handful of beautiful finds on a day now have turned in cachers running along the power trails. I prefer to be careful about this statement and use the word "many" instead of making a generalization.

[4wheelin_fool]

Time travel to 2001. Cache page.

 

Discussions here. And here.

[+KatnissRue]

Time travel to 2001. Cache page.

 

Discussions here. And here.

Wow. It looks so different than it does now. I like the site navigation better as it is today, but the etiquette of the other cachers and discussion seems so much better back then. Thanks for sharing.

[+DanOCan]

The biggest change to me is the rise of the numbers game. Caching has evolved from "let me show you something you might not know about" to "let me hide as much as I can". I remember pouring over cache pages, finding which one sounded really interesting to make my target for the weekend. A cache was a destination, not just a smiley.

 

Of course, other things have come along: power trails, challenge caches, micro spew, Waymarking, Wherigo

Other things disappeared: virtuals, webcams, traveling/moving caches

Some things came AND disappeared: ALRs, Geocaching Challenges

 

I wish I could go back and do a search of what the area around my home coordinates looked like the day I joined. I have a fairly extensive database of Archived caches in my area, but I didn't start keeping it until several years after I started so it wouldn't give me a complete picture.

[+MountainWoods]

I am also an early 2012 starter with not a whole lot to offer. But I'll mention that I saw the geocaching site way back when I bought my first Garmin, a Legend, in 2005. I even remember saying to my wife something like, "Hey look at this, it's called geocaching, and folks are hiding things for you to find and sign the log that you found it." I had been thinking about getting into orienteering, so this sounded easier and just as fun.

 

But there were so few geocaches in our area, that I thought I'd just wait and see how it was going. I cannot, at this time, think of why I looked back at geocaching in January 2012. Something must have mentioned it or something. So I went back to the site and did some cursory checking, then signed up, thinking that I may or may not actually do anything with my account.

 

But when I saw all those really neat Conservation Area caches placed by ActMoritz, I decided that I had to go and check 'em out. And that got me started. Also did several GCs by the legendary GEO*Trailblazer 1, and got to meet him once before he passed away.

 

Point is that, in my area, back in 2005 the number of available GCs didn't hook me. But by early 2012 the number and placement of nearby GCs had hooked me. (Now if I were better at finding them, I probably wouldn't be averaging something like 1 find every 5 days...; but that's a different story.)

Edited November 7, 2014 by MountainWoods

[+NeverSummer]

I've been lurking and posting on the forums for about a month now and have seen many a cacher talk about the good ole' days of caching. Some have mentioned that physically logging a cache was more than just writing your username and the date, but things like what someone thought of the cache and the like.

 

As I'm a relatively new member (Retrospectively to some of you) and younger person, I'd just like to know how things in the game have evolved over the years.

This feels like a trap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Numbers. When I started playing on geocaching.com in 2005, there were recorded find counts. That's well and good, and at the time someone with 1000 finds was otherworldly.

 

Now, if the examples presented in the forums, and the anecdotes from real life experience are anything of a sign, it seems like the goal has shifted to get a higher count than the next person. Even as there is no winner, there are very strange lengths people go to for a higher find count.

 

Also, the focus when I started playing was much more relaxed, and community-oriented. People would just hang out, gab, maybe organize a hike...but really just enjoy building a community of like-minded folks: those who loved the outdoors, and happened to also jump on the personal, handheld GPS bandwagon quite early. Now I see less community of the same type--don't get me wrong, there are still fun, great, dedicated groups out there. However, there isn't the same vibe. I can't define it, but I could throw out some gut feelings on the subject (I'll refrain).

 

The only constant for the game is me. I still cache the same way, enjoy the same things about the game, and hold fast to the way things were when I started. I know the game has evolved around me, and that it is inevitable to not have this game grow in the way it has. If I could go back, I'd wish we had a better way to help new players learn to play in a more community-minded, and consistent manner. When it was small-time, it was easy to all be on the same page, even thousands of miles away. The inevitability of paradigm shift in the gameplay came with adding a diverse and expansive user base to the game. Again, I just wish where was a better way to teach consistent ideals, guidelines, and fair play. The honor systems of old don't work when the game gets this big.

[+NeverSummer]

Oh, and edit to add that all of the folks I met who played on this website were friendly, helpful, and game for a "training session" with new cachers. It was inclusive, and fostered community and appreciation for the others around you. As it grew in the area, it became harder and harder to get new cachers into the fold. Many didn't know there was a "community", or have a desire to be social about it. That made it hard for others in the area to get used to the "newbies", as there was no way at all to get to know them other than by their behavior in online logs, logbooks, and how they left a cache after finding it.

 

More short logs online. More presumption. Less readiness for feedback from "veteran" cachers. More caches left in the open. Less swag trading. More missing TBs. It all compounded what was present, but much more easily coachable or approachable in smaller times. There was more "Welcome to OUR game", versus now, "Welcome to THE game".

[+nikcap]

One of the biggest changed is that caching and cachers have become much more social. Many players made this a solitary game and many wouldn't approach a cache if they saw someone else near GZ.

 

I also remember when there was no 520ft rule, and while most caches would find another park for their cache if there was already a cache there, there were a few cases were caches by the same hider were placed apart. I remember a really fun series of three caches that were all 250-300 ft apart, but to get to each one you either had to make a stream crossing or walk 1/4 to a bridge.

 

I believe Paperless caching changed a the way we play a lot. I used to have a binder of cache print outs in the car and would look up caches when I was in an area. (I felt like a complete techie geek when I downloaded all of those caches to my Palm Pilot)

 

Despite what many will say, I believe cache quality has gotten better over the last few years. There were always rusty cookie tins or Chinese take out containers in the woods, they just didn't last as long as film canisters under lamp post skirts. However, the creative aspect of well designed creative cache containers, field puzzles and "puzzle box" style containers has never been better, then it is now.

[cezanne]

Despite what many will say, I believe cache quality has gotten better over the last few years. There were always rusty cookie tins or Chinese take out containers in the woods, they just didn't last as long as film canisters under lamp post skirts. However, the creative aspect of well designed creative cache containers, field puzzles and "puzzle box" style containers has never been better, then it is now.

 

If you define cache quality in this manner, then I agree (and have written something similar on my first post in this thread). What makes a cache enjoyable for me is however not the involved creativity, container type etc. What counts for me are the locations, the hikes, the nature etc. Involved container constructions typically decrease my personal enjoyment.

 

I do not enjoy spending 20 minutes or more to retrieve and rehide a cache, for example to first open a lock with a code and use in addition a screw driver to open an outer box just to be disappointed not to find the cache container in there but an involved construction which needs to be used to get a plastic animal down from a tree in the body of which then a small pet preform is integrated which contains a tiny log sheet and offers no space for trackables, and then perform all the steps in the reverse order. While I admire the skill behind such caches, my idea of an outdoor hobby which is a nice addition to hiking is quite a different one. I like spending say 3 hours for the hike and 1 minute for retrieving and rehiding the cache to give you an idea of the proportions.

I prefer finding a leaking container to a cache as described above.

 

Back then I could pick almost any cache and be sure that I will end up with a nice walk/hike/bicycle ride which is why I got interested into geocaching. Nowadays the majority of caches (both good and bad ones) are about something else. If I wanted to see nice containers, I might end up happy by looking at caches with many favourite points. It gets much more difficult if one cares about the hike, but does not value special containers.

Edited November 7, 2014 by cezanne

[+The Leprechauns]

4wheelin fool's links to the wayback machine made me nostalgic for the way the cache maps used to appear. Occasionally I saved cache maps over the years, for posting in threads like "what does your home caching area look like?" I found some vintage examples. The snapshots illustrate not just the growth of cache density over time, but also the increases in the quality of the mapping tools over time.

 

Here is the entire southwest PA/ southeast Ohio area as of December 5, 2002. At the upper right is Allegheny County, my home area. My found caches (represented by blue checkmarks in white boxes) reflect my very first weekend roadtrip through southeast Ohio, where I found the majority of the active caches in a broad area that now has thousands of caches. These were the original cache maps, which we called the "shapefile maps."

 

 

Around 9 or 10 years ago, the shapefile maps were supplemented by the "GeoMicro" maps. Here is a snapshot of my home county (Allegheny) and parts of bordering counties, as of April 1, 2006:

 

 

Here is my same home area as of today in the current Google-map based system -- bearing in mind that, at this zoom level, each icon may represent a large number of individual caches:

 

Edited November 7, 2014 by Keystone

[+Isonzo Karst]

In the earlier days of the game, only geeks and outdoorsman had recreational gps.

those units didn't do auto routing, didn't have point of interest data, not much memory nor computational power.

 

This meant geocachers were a somewhat select group.

 

That started to change with car gps in 07 and 08, and just snowballed with smartphones. Now, anybody can be in the game. And it's not a game or a community to many, it's just an app.

[+tozainamboku]

Jeremy used to post in the forums.

 

To me it seems that geocachers themselves have changed too.

Certainly the demographics have changed and this is partly due to the greater availability of devices with GPS cabability tha can be used for geocaching.

 

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

 

My goal is to take this information and make a cache that is as good as how things used to be.

 

Feel free to keep posting. I love reading your different stories and memories.

I'm not so sure that caches were all that better in the old days.

 

Certainly many will complain about micros taking over. I recall the first cach I found that I considered a nano, just a couple of months after starting back in 2003. And about a year after that finding my first binky-button cache (what developed into what we now call a nano). Yet I think many people still get excited finding a regular sized cache that has some interesting swag.

 

I know that it was common for me in those early days to find leaky tupperware full of water, and lots of caches with cracked lid that didn't survive well in the wild. We were learning then what containers lasted. One migth expect with that knowledge gained back then that cache containers have improved; however, people will still try to hide the cheapest container.

 

I think location has already been mentioned. Back when there were few caches people tended to place them in new locations - a new park or an interesting site that didn't have a cache. A common acronym in old logs was 'YAPIDKA' (yet another park I didn't know about) because the cache would take you to a little park somewhere you hadn't been before. With so many more caches we tend not to explore as far from home, and even if you do end up in a park you didn't know about, you probably found a dozen other caches nearby. I may be hard to recreate that experience given the number of caches placed nowadays.

[+DanOCan]

One of the biggest changed is that caching and cachers have become much more social. Many players made this a solitary game and many wouldn't approach a cache if they saw someone else near GZ.

That's very true. I can remember going out to find a cache and seeing another person at ground zero. My reaction was to put my GPSr in my pocket, walk on by and come back later when the area was free. Cachers did seem to like it solo. Events are certainly more well attended now. While some of that can be attributed to the overall growth, it does seem like more people cache together in groups now.

[Mr.Yuck]

 

I know that it was common for me in those early days to find leaky tupperware full of water, and lots of caches with cracked lid that didn't survive well in the wild. We were learning then what containers lasted. One migth expect with that knowledge gained back then that cache containers have improved; however, people will still try to hide the cheapest container.

 

 

I seem to remember these newfangled Lock-n-Lock things being invented around 2005. There was definitely no such thing when I started. Someone back me up on that. And then their patent must have run out after a couple of years, because I'd say it wasn't until 2008 or so when I started seeing "clones" in the stores. Like Farberware, for example.

[+Uncle Alaska]

Despite what many will say, I believe cache quality has gotten better over the last few years. There were always rusty cookie tins or Chinese take out containers in the woods, they just didn't last as long as film canisters under lamp post skirts. However, the creative aspect of well designed creative cache containers, field puzzles and "puzzle box" style containers has never been better, then it is now.

 

If you define cache quality in this manner, then I agree (and have written something similar on my first post in this thread). What makes a cache enjoyable for me is however not the involved creativity, container type etc. What counts for me are the locations, the hikes, the nature etc. Involved container constructions typically decrease my personal enjoyment.

 

I do not enjoy spending 20 minutes or more to retrieve and rehide a cache, for example to first open a lock with a code and use in addition a screw driver to open an outer box just to be disappointed not to find the cache container in there but an involved construction which needs to be used to get a plastic animal down from a tree in the body of which then a small pet preform is integrated which contains a tiny log sheet and offers no space for trackables, and then perform all the steps in the reverse order. While I admire the skill behind such caches, my idea of an outdoor hobby which is a nice addition to hiking is quite a different one. I like spending say 3 hours for the hike and 1 minute for retrieving and rehiding the cache to give you an idea of the proportions.

I prefer finding a leaking container to a cache as described above.

 

Back then I could pick almost any cache and be sure that I will end up with a nice walk/hike/bicycle ride which is why I got interested into geocaching. Nowadays the majority of caches (both good and bad ones) are about something else. If I wanted to see nice containers, I might end up happy by looking at caches with many favourite points. It gets much more difficult if one cares about the hike, but does not value special containers.

 

In my experience...when I first started, not every cache was in a outdoor/nice hike/bike destination. Sure, there were fewer caches, but not all of them were placed in what I would call "outdoorsy" or "wildland" locations. There seemed to be plenty of roadside caches that were not really remarkable in any way. Probably because there were so few caches out there, many of them were in prime locations, or places that might get one excited. And as those places became overwhelmed, caches moved out to other places.

 

I personally don't feel any ill will towards where geocaching is now compared to what it was back then. I think, for the most part , one can CHOOSE the way they want to participate. That kind of flexibility (and some basic rules, that have expanded over the years) allows us to approach the game in whatever way we feel like playing it.

[cezanne]

In my experience...when I first started, not every cache was in a outdoor/nice hike/bike destination. Sure, there were fewer caches, but not all of them were placed in what I would call "outdoorsy" or "wildland" locations. There seemed to be plenty of roadside caches that were not really remarkable in any way.

 

That's why I mentioned the regional aspect in my first post. For my area what I wrote is certainly true because almost all of the early cache hiders were outdoor fans and none of them belonged to the group of cache hiders who come up with creative containers.

Even in cities it was common to have multi caches with the final somewhere in the outskirts to hide them in some nice green spots and not in urban locations.

 

I think, for the most part , one can CHOOSE the way they want to participate. That kind of flexibility (and some basic rules, that have expanded over the years) allows us to approach the game in whatever way we feel like playing it.

 

Certainly not true for me in my area except for a few exceptions. Long hiking multi caches get hardly hidden any more.

[+humboldt flier]

As Geo-darts stated in his earlier post

 

"When I first started, virtuals and locationless were an important part of the game. They extended and enriched the game. Locationless are gone and virtuals are now disappearing - although the remaining ones still interest me. Earthcaches keep part of that aspect of the game alive for me."

 

Even while searching out what were coined "Goober Caches" **(a term first floated by Arse and Hemi, to indicate a meaningless cache)** we on the N.W. Calif. coast followed their suggestion that we look around at the surrounding beauty rather than the "Goober Cache" itself.

 

So, looking beyond "The Goober" has served me well and has tempered my angst over the flood of the mundane.

 

 

Another change aspect, until recently, was the price of fuel ... As fuel prices rose it became challenging to extend into other areas once my immediate area had been "cached out".

[+Uncle Alaska]

Even while searching out what were coined "Goober Caches" **(a term first floated by Arse and Hemi, to indicate a meaningless cache)** we on the N.W. Calif. coast followed their suggestion that we look around at the surrounding beauty rather than the "Goober Cache"

 

As an HSU grad, I know how easy it is to find many spots of beauty up in redwood country...but what if you are a geocacher in South Central Los Angeles? Fewer spots of beauty, and many are already "occupied" by other caches.

 

I guess, what it boils down to is the very subjective nature of an individual cacher. A cache hidden near a bridge in the middle of downtown LA may have no interest from a cacher used to finds in the redwoods. Wheras, a civil engineer from Germany might be thrilled to see a bridge that was built in the thirties...

Edited November 8, 2014 by Uncle Alaska

[+colleda]

In 10 years time there may be current noob on this thread lamenting the demise of PTs, challenges and multi logged events, in the good old days.

Things evolve, who knows now what this game will be like in 10 years?

[vagabond]

Each park or trail would have one or two caches; today, each park is packed with caches and many of the trails now have a cache every tenth of a mile.

Yeah, there used to be an etiquette that once someone had placed a cache in a park, others should find other parks for their geocaches, even if there was plenty of room according to the saturation guideline.

 

Then there was an etiquette that you should hide your cache in a way to leave room for others to hide caches in the same park. Instead of hiding a cache in the middle of a small park, blocking the entire park, you should hide your cache at one end of the park, leaving room for someone to hide a cache at the other end of the park.

 

Now, park trails are saturated with fungible numbered caches, each 529ft from its neighbors.

 

I remember when it was one cache per town/city. I started down in Southern California, remember that there were only 15-20 caches in the LA-Orange county. Those were the days. I recently swapped out a log book from a cache I placed in 2003...you can see a slow change in logs as the years passed, they became more and more brief, then it just became caching names.

started out down in San Diego, and would drive up to Orange & LA counties to do caches. Your first find we found about 2 months after you did. Around the summer of 2003 we spent a week of our vacation caching in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

 

Oh and if anyone wants to read some long logs check out some of Yrium's

logs usually funny

[+Chrysalides]

Yeah, there used to be an etiquette that once someone had placed a cache in a park, others should find other parks for their geocaches, even if there was plenty of room according to the saturation guideline.

 

Then there was an etiquette that you should hide your cache in a way to leave room for others to hide caches in the same park. Instead of hiding a cache in the middle of a small park, blocking the entire park, you should hide your cache at one end of the park, leaving room for someone to hide a cache at the other end of the park.

 

Now, park trails are saturated with fungible numbered caches, each 529ft from its neighbors.

These 3 statements conflict with each other

[+cheech gang]

Leprechaun area today:

 

Leprechaun area one year from now:

[+Uncle Alaska]

I think, for the most part , one can CHOOSE the way they want to participate. That kind of flexibility (and some basic rules, that have expanded over the years) allows us to approach the game in whatever way we feel like playing it.

 

Certainly not true for me in my area except for a few exceptions. Long hiking multi caches get hardly hidden any more.

 

Which is why I said one can CHOOSE...you can choose to only do those caches that are long hikers (even though there are few) or choose not to.

[+L0ne.R]

I know that it was common for me in those early days to find leaky tupperware full of water, and lots of caches with cracked lid that didn't survive well in the wild. We were learning then what containers lasted. One migth expect with that knowledge gained back then that cache containers have improved; however, people will still try to hide the cheapest container.

 

 

I seem to remember these newfangled Lock-n-Lock things being invented around 2005. There was definitely no such thing when I started. Someone back me up on that. And then their patent must have run out after a couple of years, because I'd say it wasn't until 2008 or so when I started seeing "clones" in the stores. Like Farberware, for example.

 

Yep. It was around 2004/2005 that we switched. We used Rubbermaid from 2002-2004/5. It was the best and most popular plastic container in our area at the time. Then Lock & Lock hit the market. No other plastic container in that price range works as well. Pelican boxes are better but too pricey.

[+NeverSummer]

One of the biggest changed is that caching and cachers have become much more social. Many players made this a solitary game and many wouldn't approach a cache if they saw someone else near GZ.

That's very true. I can remember going out to find a cache and seeing another person at ground zero. My reaction was to put my GPSr in my pocket, walk on by and come back later when the area was free. Cachers did seem to like it solo. Events are certainly more well attended now. While some of that can be attributed to the overall growth, it does seem like more people cache together in groups now.

While out on a hunt by myself I would often be the same way--try to wait out muggles, or just leave and come back later to avoid questions. But I was approached once with my back turned as I was looking for a cache, and the person was a geocacher (the owner of the cache, actually). From then on I got used to being more patient at a cache site and watching to see who was there. Sometimes it turned into an easy way to meet another cacher, and sometimes a way to practice my shoe tying.

 

I don't know if it was comfort of knowing how to play the game, or the "community" or "social" (or antisocial) aspects of playing the game that changed. I think personality (introvert/extrovert, e.g.) has more to do with that than overall community social preferences, especially over time.

Edited November 8, 2014 by NeverSummer

[+gpsblake]

Nevada in 2002 and it's 143 geocaches for the entire state. At least 20,000 today

[+niraD]

Even as there is no winner, there are very strange lengths people go to for a higher find count.

Yeah, I remember a numbers run team being ripped to shreds in the forums because they wrote a team name on the outside of containers, rather than opening the containers, writing the team name on the log, and replacing the log in the container.

 

Now, fungible caches are placed specifically for numbers runs, and the caches themselves aren't even replaced in their original locations.

[4wheelin_fool]

Time travel to 2001. Cache page.

 

Discussions here. And here.

Wow. It looks so different than it does now. I like the site navigation better as it is today, but the etiquette of the other cachers and discussion seems so much better back then. Thanks for sharing.

 

It's interesting to see what happened to those early caches. Here is the updated version of the cache mentioned. Unfortunately it didn't turn out too well. http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC9FC_lunch-hour-cache?Submit6=Go

 

Here is the latest one, hidden 220 feet from the other in 2008. It looks like the placer was unaware of the previous hide, and was complaining about all of the micros in the area, so they hid a larger cache. It too, needs maintenance now, and the new hider hasn't logged in since 2012.

 

One thing that hasn't changed is the prevalence of lousy containers, and people who lose interest. New, enthusiastic people will always join and make the same exact mistakes. Forever green.

Edited November 8, 2014 by 4wheelin_fool

[+Roman!]

armchair logging, challenges (the now defunct ones) and lab caches, three simple ways to log a cache from the comfort of your bathroom.

Edited November 8, 2014 by Roman!

[+Crow-T-Robot]

 

One thing that hasn't changed is the prevalence of lousy containers, and people who lose interest. New, enthusiastic people will always join and make the same exact mistakes. Forever green.

 

Sort of in the same spirit, there used to be a natural churn cycle for caches. Lousy caches were placed, went missing or broke, the owner either archived the cache or quit the game and the reviewer ended up archiving the cache. If the location was worthy (or even if not), someone stepped in and placed a new cache, sometimes better, sometimes the same, sometimes worse. But, there was an order to that. Now, with power and mega trails, a lousy cache might never die because if it's missing or damaged, the finder is encouraged to replace it and there would be no reason to archive the listing.