[Sky King 36]

Look at the number of people who have done over 500 in one day now... There are lots lately. Look at the number of power trails that have 150+ easy caches all .1 miles apart along a paved/improved trail or road. Lately, lots... Now granted, the people getting up over 500 and hitting the 1k mark in 24 hours are almost always teams of 4+, so let's leave 1,000 per day runs out of this, and assume that a few times a year, a person could hammer out 500 in one run. (Remember, there's no requirement in this case to beat a 24 hour clock so that run could actually be 30-40 hours with naps, potty stops, etc.

If someone, with the right planning, tools, and prep can knock out 500 in a run... He/she only needs to do this 80 days over the course of a year and the other 285 days would be available for rest/travel/logging/prep. OK, so maybe there's not 80x 500-cache power trails. Try this math... 20 days @ 500, 40 days @ 250, 100 days @ 150, 50 days @ 100. That's 210 days of caching, 155 days off, and off those 210 days caching only 60 to 80 of them are all out marathon days.

As Keystone pointed out, once you have seen how serious power trail marathons are done, there's not much mystery to how it could be done any more. I am not saying it is practical, or fun, I am just saying that the physical limitation isn't quite as daunting as it may sound. Imagining 40,000 finds spread evenly across 24 hours x 365 days is a whole different animal than f intense binges spaced a few days apart. What you'd want to identify are those power trails where all the caches are identically hidden, evenly spaced, with immediate access to a transportation path, like being able to find it within seconds of stopping your vehicle. My thought is that over the course of 2011, there may be enough trails now to do it.

This post has been edited by Sky King 36: 28 February 2012 - 08:48 PM

[Alkhalikoi]

BigChiefS4, on 28 February 2012 - 08:29 PM, said:

AZcachemeister, on 17 October 2011 - 04:29 PM, said:

Is there anyone who has 40,000 finds?

Yes, his name is Bobcam and he's from MN. He has over 43,000 finds. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him in person yet, but I've exchanged emails back and forth and he seems like a nice enough guy.

There are six people/couples with 40K+ finds. Including Team Snook with 51K and Alamogul with 63K. I don't know Team Snook but have certainly met Alamogul a few times -- terrifically nice guy -- but he's retired and caching is pretty much what he does. Of my 20 or so caches, I think he was FTF on about 5 of them.

[jellis]

Well I'm less then 400 from 20k and only done one powertrail. Not really a fan of them. It was fun but doubt I'd do it again.

[Team Dennis]

BigChiefS4, on 28 February 2012 - 08:29 PM, said:

AZcachemeister, on 17 October 2011 - 04:29 PM, said:

Is there anyone who has 40,000 finds?

Yes, his name is Bobcam and he's from MN. He has over 43,000 finds. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him in person yet, but I've exchanged emails back and forth and he seems like a nice enough guy.

I met Bobcam once out on the trails and I've exchanged many emails with him. Bobcam is a very nice guy and is very ethical about his cache finds. Knowschad keeps telling me I should go out caching with Bobcam this summer as he thinks I'd be able to keep up out on the trails. I guess we'll see...

[BigChiefS4]

Good luck keeping up with him. He literally runs from cache to cache and doesn't like to be slowed down. But I have seen his name on more caches than I can count so I have no reason whatsoever to doubt his numbers. He's a machine.

[Team Dennis]

BigChiefS4, on 29 February 2012 - 09:18 AM, said:

Good luck keeping up with him. He literally runs from cache to cache and doesn't like to be slowed down. But I have seen his name on more caches than I can count so I have no reason whatsoever to doubt his numbers. He's a machine.

The running from cache to cache is a myth. He does bike a lot, though. It is amazing how much ground you can cover on a bike. And yeah, he doesn't like being slowed down, but when I'm on a mission I don't like it either.

[vagabond]

Snoogans, on 17 October 2011 - 01:04 PM, said:

lamoracke, on 17 October 2011 - 12:42 PM, said:

I am happy with 40 in a week.

LOL. Just 40?

That is just under half a year's worth of cache finds for me. I have been accused of not being a real cacher because I pick and choose the caches I'll go out of my way for (which is maybe a dozen or so a year) and the rest are just caches that happen to be in easy reach of where I am at the moment.

That irks me like it irks the Snooks when their count is called into question.

Like the post I quoted, my own experience, or The Snooks.... It's a matter of perspective. In the caching context it's not even an apples and oranges comparison. It's more like apples and fried squid.

I happen to love fried squid, but oddly (for many) I'll pass on most apples. Now some might say, "How the heck can Snoogans NOT like apples!???" Everyone ELSE enjoys apples! The nerve of that guy turnin' 'is nose up at a decent apple!

Now, even though I love fried squid, I don't go outta my way to get it.

Get it?

Forgive me, I believe I've channeled TOZ's spirit or sumthin'. And where the heck did that English accent come from there near the end?

Oh look, SHINEY!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Calamari

[Clayshooter]

I just don't get power trails. Where is the fun in driving 528' and then doing a Chinese fire drill to spend the minimum amount of time at 0mph? I prefer quality over quantity. But, if it's all a numbers game to people, who am I to bash them? Live and let live.

This post has been edited by Clayshooter: 01 March 2012 - 04:31 PM

[gpsblake]

I think 40,000 in a year is possible, especially in this age of geocaching.

What was more impressive was people finding high numbers years ago, before google maps, paperless GPS units, logging with cellphones, power trails, and endless amounts of drive and sign caches. As someone mentioned, BruceS & CCC, it was amazing to follow them on geocaching finding caches, and using basic equipment and notes. And they would write unique notes, not this TFTC garbage we see now.

[gpsblake]

Clayshooter, on 01 March 2012 - 04:30 PM, said:

I just don't get power trails. Where is the fun in driving 528' and then doing a Chinese fire drill to spend the minimum amount of time at 0mph?

I don't see either via a polluting car. But I think it would be wicked to do it on a bicycle, or by jogging between the caches. Now that is a feat I would love to do myself, maybe one day.

[Sol seaker]

40,000 in a year? Sure, if you put your mind and your life into it.

But why??

I enjoy caching a lot, but that kind of caching is no fun to me.

Anyway, if I really wanted to put that much energy into something, I'd rather feed the homeless or something.

They say when you make a job out of your hobby it is no longer fun. I could see that would be the case here.

I'd rather do fewer caches, have more fun, and put all that energy of 40,000 cache finds into something more lasting and worthy.

[brain21]

I've recently run into logs from this BobCam. I'm not too sure about him. Some say he only caches on the weekends? I've looked at his stats and it says he found something like 712 caches in one day! That's a caches every 2 minutes! So in 2 minutes he has to bike/walk/fly 0.1 miles, stop, find a cache, open it, signed it, close it, and get back onto his mode of transportation. And do this all day long without stopping! And that's if they're all 1/1's! He has over 500 cache find that are >=4 terrain and more than 350 finds that are >= 4 difficulty.

How does he do this?? If it's all true, maybe he should teach a geocache excercise class! I'm totally in!!

[jellis]

brain21, on 25 March 2012 - 07:51 PM, said:

I've recently run into logs from this BobCam. I'm not too sure about him. Some say he only caches on the weekends? I've looked at his stats and it says he found something like 712 caches in one day! That's a caches every 2 minutes! So in 2 minutes he has to bike/walk/fly 0.1 miles, stop, find a cache, open it, signed it, close it, and get back onto his mode of transportation. And do this all day long without stopping! And that's if they're all 1/1's! He has over 500 cache find that are >=4 terrain and more than 350 finds that are >= 4 difficulty.

How does he do this?? If it's all true, maybe he should teach a geocache excercise class! I'm totally in!!

Read previous posts on this thread. He did a power trail

[Totem Clan]

brain21, on 25 March 2012 - 07:51 PM, said:

I've recently run into logs from this BobCam. I'm not too sure about him. Some say he only caches on the weekends? I've looked at his stats and it says he found something like 712 caches in one day! That's a caches every 2 minutes! So in 2 minutes he has to bike/walk/fly 0.1 miles, stop, find a cache, open it, signed it, close it, and get back onto his mode of transportation. And do this all day long without stopping! And that's if they're all 1/1's! He has over 500 cache find that are >=4 terrain and more than 350 finds that are >= 4 difficulty.

How does he do this?? If it's all true, maybe he should teach a geocache excercise class! I'm totally in!!

That's 712 on that date not that day. That date comes around once a year.

[niraD]

brain21, on 25 March 2012 - 07:51 PM, said:

I've looked at his stats and it says he found something like 712 caches in one day! That's a caches every 2 minutes! So in 2 minutes he has to bike/walk/fly 0.1 miles, stop, find a cache, open it, signed it, close it, and get back onto his mode of transportation. And do this all day long without stopping!

That sounds like a numbers run to me. Here's a video that shows how it's done:

[jellis]

niraD, on 25 March 2012 - 09:46 PM, said:

brain21, on 25 March 2012 - 07:51 PM, said:

I've looked at his stats and it says he found something like 712 caches in one day! That's a caches every 2 minutes! So in 2 minutes he has to bike/walk/fly 0.1 miles, stop, find a cache, open it, signed it, close it, and get back onto his mode of transportation. And do this all day long without stopping!

That sounds like a numbers run to me. Here's a video that shows how it's done:

Boy they are slow. I think I moved faster then that.

[knowschad]

BigChiefS4, on 28 February 2012 - 08:29 PM, said:

AZcachemeister, on 17 October 2011 - 04:29 PM, said:

Is there anyone who has 40,000 finds?

Yes, his name is Bobcam and he's from MN. He has over 43,000 finds. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him in person yet, but I've exchanged emails back and forth and he seems like a nice enough guy.

While it has been a few years, I have cached with Bob. He still works 8 hrs/day, 5 days/week. But he plans every cache to a "t", starts at or before dawn, ends at or after dusk. Never stops for lunch (when I was caching with him, it was a box of Ritz crackers and Crystal Lite to drink). He does some delayed logging these days, but back then, he'd log all of his caches the night before (brief, but unique logs) and plan the next day of caching on Saturday night, including making up "The List" for Sunday's caching. He has driven, alone, from Minnesota to Texas, stopping only for a few hours of sleep in his car at a rest area. While he is certainly attracted to high number power trails these days, those are not the bulk of his finds. There are a few cachers in the world with more caches than Bob, but none who have found them in so little time. He is a caching machine.

[bflentje]

It needs to be pointed out that 5 years ago there's no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off. It's only since the advent of the power trail that it's been possible.

[jellis]

bflentje, on 26 March 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

It needs to be pointed out that 5 years ago there's no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off. It's only since the advent of the power trail that it's been possible.

Uhhhhh...nah I won't go there!

[DragonsWest]

jellis, on 26 March 2012 - 08:54 AM, said:

bflentje, on 26 March 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

It needs to be pointed out that 5 years ago there's no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off. It's only since the advent of the power trail that it's been possible.

Uhhhhh...nah I won't go there!

I think that's a valid point. Geocache density is on an increasing slope now, but it took a long time for us to get to the one millionth geocache.

[jellis]

bflentje, on 26 March 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

It needs to be pointed out that 5 years ago there's no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off. It's only since the advent of the power trail that it's been possible.

Okay if this is true, how someone started in 2002 can get over 10000 in their first 3yrs of caching? No power trails back then.

[knowschad]

jellis, on 26 March 2012 - 11:24 AM, said:

bflentje, on 26 March 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

It needs to be pointed out that 5 years ago there's no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off. It's only since the advent of the power trail that it's been possible.

Okay if this is true, how someone started in 2002 can get over 10000 in their first 3yrs of caching? No power trails back then.

How did somebody who started in 2007 get over 20000 in 8 months? There were no power trails back then, either, but there was much more cache density than there was in 2002.

[Ameliaonstage]

I was wondering the same thing. Maybe a new challenge perhaps?

[BigChiefS4]

knowschad, on 26 March 2012 - 11:50 AM, said:

jellis, on 26 March 2012 - 11:24 AM, said:

bflentje, on 26 March 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

It needs to be pointed out that 5 years ago there's no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off. It's only since the advent of the power trail that it's been possible.

Okay if this is true, how someone started in 2002 can get over 10000 in their first 3yrs of caching? No power trails back then.

How did somebody who started in 2007 get over 20000 in 8 months? There were no power trails back then, either, but there was much more cache density than there was in 2002.

That one is right across the river from me...

[brain21]

Ok I see how that's done. 2 people find the cache and 4 log it. Interesting. Where I come from, we don't have power trails that are that easy. In that video they didn't look for long to find the cache. In Ontario, Canada, finding 150 in a 24 hour period on a power trail is a lot! There is a power road near where I live that has around 1100 caches on it, but they are well done caches. One was a bison tube in a plastic snake near a fence post. Then the next was a chirp enabled redirect. and so on.

Still, 43000 sounds like a lot for someone who only caches on weekend. There aren't unlimited power trails. Anyways, I'll go now.

[bflentje]

jellis, on 26 March 2012 - 11:24 AM, said:

bflentje, on 26 March 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

It needs to be pointed out that 5 years ago there's no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off. It's only since the advent of the power trail that it's been possible.

Okay if this is true, how someone started in 2002 can get over 10000 in their first 3yrs of caching? No power trails back then.

Don't misunderstand me. I didn't say it was impossible. My point was that it's much easier today than it was back when I started.

I can look at my own experience. I cache half or a quarter of the days I did back in 2008, 2009, and 2010. But yet I find twice as many caches. Yes, I am more effective at hunting. But I also attribute it to the fact that there's so much cache spew. 5000 finds no longer surprises me. 10000 finds is attainable. 40000 is pretty wild but no nearly as cool as it would have been 4 years ago.

[knowschad]

bflentje, on 27 March 2012 - 06:06 AM, said:

jellis, on 26 March 2012 - 11:24 AM, said:

bflentje, on 26 March 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

It needs to be pointed out that 5 years ago there's no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off. It's only since the advent of the power trail that it's been possible.

Okay if this is true, how someone started in 2002 can get over 10000 in their first 3yrs of caching? No power trails back then.

Don't misunderstand me. I didn't say it was impossible. My point was that it's much easier today than it was back when I started.

Ahhh... so THAT is what you meant by "no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off."

[Team Dennis]

brain21, on 26 March 2012 - 07:17 PM, said:

Still, 43000 sounds like a lot for someone who only caches on weekend. There aren't unlimited power trails. Anyways, I'll go now.

43,000 finds would be very impressive for someone that retired young and started caching 10 years ago and is bordering on incomprehensible for someone that that works 40 hours per week and only caches on the weekend...power trails or not. But based on my experience I can tell you that Bobcam does not "cheat" in any way, shape or form to get these numbers. He is just a very motivated individual.

[DragonsWest]

At the present rate of power trails, if money were no object, I could probably swing 20,000 in one month. I'd feel pretty beat and probably be a bit ornery by the end of the month, but it could be done.

Back in 2003, it was a big day when I'd find 5 or more caches. Usually involved a lot of moving about to do that, too.

As I approach 5,000 finds, I have a pretty good representation of caches hidden in 2004/2005/2006/2007 etc. Of those surviving, the numbers are still pretty sparse, meaning you usually had to get your bike or boots out to find a large number. Now I could find a large number in an hour of park-n-grabs.

Not a fan of powertrails, either. I had a blast driving down the central valley of California, from Los Banos to Visalia, with about 43 finds for the day. Some virtuals, some puzzle finds, tried one Wherigo, but didn't have enough time to finish it - will get it next time, I swear!

[jellis]

Well I slowed down to almost a complete stop. Itching to get out and finds soon.

[DragonsWest]

jellis, on 27 March 2012 - 10:57 AM, said:

Well I slowed down to almost a complete stop. Itching to get out and finds soon.

Those casts do itch, don't they?

Try not to think about it...

Hope to hit the trail with you again some time.

[jellis]

DragonsWest, on 27 March 2012 - 11:02 AM, said:

jellis, on 27 March 2012 - 10:57 AM, said:

Well I slowed down to almost a complete stop. Itching to get out and finds soon.

Those casts do itch, don't they?

Try not to think about it...

Hope to hit the trail with you again some time.

yeah I know. I can also feel the muscles getting soft.
Thanks me too

This post has been edited by jellis: 27 March 2012 - 01:33 PM

[m9898]

Snoogans, on 18 October 2011 - 04:17 AM, said:

Some day it's gonna be cool to have a low number of finds over a long period of time. There's no race to win in geocaching, but slow and steady defeats burnout for me.

Just take a look at my Profile

[bflentje]

knowschad, on 27 March 2012 - 06:28 AM, said:

bflentje, on 27 March 2012 - 06:06 AM, said:

jellis, on 26 March 2012 - 11:24 AM, said:

bflentje, on 26 March 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

It needs to be pointed out that 5 years ago there's no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off. It's only since the advent of the power trail that it's been possible.

Okay if this is true, how someone started in 2002 can get over 10000 in their first 3yrs of caching? No power trails back then.

Don't misunderstand me. I didn't say it was impossible. My point was that it's much easier today than it was back when I started.

Ahhh... so THAT is what you meant by "no WAY he, or anyone, would have been able to pull it off."

Keep it in context. I said 5 or more years ago..

[eagsc7]

Bowlr, on 19 October 2011 - 08:03 AM, said:

I don't know about anybody else, but not only do you find them, but you also gotta log them online. So, going by my logging speed and caching speed. My wife and I can average about 6/hour finds. Recently, though, we are on a 10/hr streak. So, after a long day of caching, about 100, we gotta log them which takes up to 2 hours for me. When we did the Route 66 series in Calfornia, this took several hours and a lot of it was copy and paste.
So, you gotta add in all the logging. 1 minute per log? 40k caches? =23 days or 552 hours of just logging.
365-23=342 days of actual caching which means that you need to find 117 caches/day or 4.875/hour. However, if you do a power run of 1500 caches, then you could rest up for 10 days before starting to cache again.

Here's a Thought... Are there 52 Power Trails around the world, Each consisting of at least 1000 caches? This way, you could use the days between to Log caches and travel between runs. Of course, you'll want to get a good Support system for recovery and such.

The Steaks

[nordicbiker]

Those folks who are just hunting numbers are in my oppinion missing the whole point of geocaching! Geocaching was originally never intended to be and hopefully will never be just about the number of caches you find! All the geocaches I have placed (around 20) mark a special place which is worth visiting because of it's history (rune stones from viking times), because they are showing an interesting phonomenom in nature (ice cracking of rocks), because they are located at a place with a great view etc. Reducing them to a pure number in someone's statistic feels like a loss of resepect for the person who placed them, because if your goal is to make 500 in a day this will just be "grab, log and run" day without any time to appreciate the effort someone has made to discover the place before you and install the cache.

Those who want to spend their time jumping in and out of a car 500 times a day - fine with me, but for most people there are much more exciting ways to spend a day! I don't think we should ban powertrails (personal freedom, bla bla bla...) but there needs to be an easy way in querries and maps to filter out those useless caches!

[6NoisyHikers]

eagsc7, on 03 April 2012 - 01:56 PM, said:

Here's a Thought... Are there 52 Power Trails around the world, Each consisting of at least 1000 caches? This way, you could use the days between to Log caches and travel between runs. Of course, you'll want to get a good Support system for recovery and such.

The Steaks

You know, this is almost tempting The travel from trail to trail would be the best part. I might do something like this with my family. It would make a heck of a reality show.

[briansnat]

nordicbiker, on 02 June 2012 - 11:58 PM, said:

Those folks who are just hunting numbers are in my oppinion missing the whole point of geocaching! Geocaching was originally never intended to be and hopefully will never be just about the number of caches you find! All the geocaches I have placed (around 20) mark a special place which is worth visiting because of it's history (rune stones from viking times), because they are showing an interesting phonomenom in nature (ice cracking of rocks), because they are located at a place with a great view etc. Reducing them to a pure number in someone's statistic feels like a loss of resepect for the person who placed them, because if your goal is to make 500 in a day this will just be "grab, log and run" day without any time to appreciate the effort someone has made to discover the place before you and install the cache.

Those who want to spend their time jumping in and out of a car 500 times a day - fine with me, but for most people there are much more exciting ways to spend a day! I don't think we should ban powertrails (personal freedom, bla bla bla...) but there needs to be an easy way in querries and maps to filter out those useless caches!

I'm with you 100 percent but people get into this sport for different reasons.Some enjoy going after numbers thinking that finding X numbers of caches will give them some sort of status. Hey, more power to them but I agree that they are missing the point. I prefer the concept of each geocache being more that just a plus one.

[Jackie and Bob]

cezanne, on 19 October 2011 - 04:59 AM, said:

briansnat, on 17 October 2011 - 05:19 PM, said:

I met them at Geowoodstock and they were a very nice couple who to me seemed to be obsessed with caching. I know other cachers who are similarly obsessed. Some are so obsessed they are not quite honest about their find counts. I'd be disappointed to learn that Team Snook is included in that bunch.

I do not know them and did not take the time to have a look at their logs and thus do not know whether they typically cache together. I know some cacher couples with a team account that often separate to increase their find count (and not because one is on business travel and the other at home) and to stay on top of ranking lists. While this cannot be considered as cheating as there no rules in this respect, I not appreciate if such cachers boast with their achievements/find count/rank on top. I do not care if they enjoy caching in their own way, but if it comes to comparisons to others, it of course plays a role how many people are involved in a find and it is somehow childish and dishonest to create the impression in online logs that all team members have been present when this is not the case. (It is of course possible that A of team AB logs a cache in country X today at 10 a.m. and B logs a cache in another country Y today at 10 a.m. (same time zone), but it is dishonest to create the impression that both A and B have been at both caches.)

As the 40000 caches per year is regarded, I guess it is possible with unlimited resources, but crazy in my opinion.

Cezanne

A little more about TeamSnook

TeamSnook has a small popup trailer that they pull behind their car. They plan each day around geocaching. They travel to an area and set up camp for several days. Then travel around in their car looking for geocaches. They do log DNFs and will only drop a cache if they have permission from the cache owner. They will take their car on any road that it can possibly go down. They plot a route that appears to be the most efficient for finding the greatest number of caches for the next day. When they go out they do NOT stray from that route. Doing so would only mess up their plans. I know because I go out with a plan and usually end up doing something entirely different. They cache together, they cache with other people, but they don't go their separate ways and each find 50 different caches to total 100 for a day. Nope. When they get hungry they park on the side of the road and open up the back of their car where they have a cooler and make their sandwiches and stop for awhile to eat their lunch. I've come across them several times while they are stopped for lunch. They usually offer to feed me, but usually we just chat for awhile and then I head for home, while they do more geocaching in the afternoon. I'm retired too, but doing what they do seems like work to me, but it is their passion. And I would love to have visited some of the places they've been because of geocaching.

I just don't want to do the power trails.

[briansnat]

Quote

little more about TeamSnook

TeamSnook has a small popup trailer that they pull behind their car. They plan each day around geocaching. They travel to an area and set up camp for several days. Then travel around in their car looking for geocaches. They do log DNFs and will only drop a cache if they have permission from the cache owner. They will take their car on any road that it can possibly go down.

I was sitting at a table next to Team Snook at GWX last week. They were asking around if anybody knew of a place in a certain area where they could find at least 17 quick, easy caches the next day. They apparently have it all down to a science. Not the life for me, but they seem to be enjoying themselves.