Zepp914
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Posts posted by Zepp914
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I agree with many of the above, I will just add:
- The metal clank when opening and closing an ammo can.
- The discovery of swag that you or your child wants to trade for.
- Going to an event where you don't know anyone and being instantly accepted.
- Finding a cache that has either been DNF'd recently by multiple people or that hasn't been found in years.
- The relief felt when getting back to the car right before the sun goes down and getting out of the park before they close the gates.
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I have a few micro caches, but I regret putting them out. I don't enjoy finding them at all. If I happen across one, I may spend 5 to 10 minutes on it, but no more. Afterward I don't feel happy that I found it, but more relief as I am glad it is over.
The worst are nano caches. A lot of folks label them as "other" which makes me avoid those listings too. I am sure I am missing out on some cool bird houses and neat hides, but I don't ever want to roll one of those back up again.
Also, I have an 8 year old. Even though most regular sized caches have nothing he is interested in, he at least has hope that they may. With micros or nanos, there is no hope.
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Wow so people like putting out big empty containers. I didn't see that coming. I don't see how old swag is bad unless its something that makes a mess like bubbles or stamps. For me the worst part of any cache is the log book. I hate signing damp smelly logs or rolling them back up and carrying tweezers to get them out. If we could get rid of the log book by using QR codes, photos, or pass codes, we could truly have the biggest and best empty containers for people to find.
So I think geocaching is dying, but geofinding or gelogging is doing quite well.
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I have a 7 year old and if there is no swag, he isn't interested.
But then you need to know whether there is swag - the cache size will not tell you that.
Well there is at least a decent chance of swag in a regular and large. There is a very small chance in a small. There is no chance in micro, which is the size of 90% of all new caches seem to be.
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No, the old timers i know, i'm one of them, don't cache much anymore because there's nothing interesting to find these days. I drive by unfound caches all the time, some i've actually parked within a couple of feet of. There are many within a few miles of my house, last i checked, over 500 within 50 miles. The vast majority are micros placed the same way, in parking lots and the such. Nope, not interested!
I wish there was a way to limit alerts to certain cache sizes. I don't care to be FTF, but my son and I love knowing when a new regular or large cache appears within a reasonable distance. I still find bison tubes and nanos if I happen past them (I found 3 the other day while waiting for my car to be serviced), but they aren't exactly something that motivates me to get off of the sofa. I have a 7 year old and if there is no swag, he isn't interested.
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I think that most, if not all, of the Geocaching Adventures Exhibit (GPS Maze) "caches" were set up at science/discovery museums. The GPS Maze icon is almost as rare as the APE cache icon. It only existed at 16 locations from 2007 to 2014 in the U.S. There have been a handful of location in Canada and Europe since.
The exhibit was less than 6 miles from my house. Of course I didn't know about it because I didn't cache back then, so thanks for reminding me of another cool thing I missed.
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I don't see the point in putting a geocache in a museum. Who wants to see a container behind glass? We aren't exactly talking about Abraham Lincoln's hat here. Remember that whatever happens sets a precedent and they only need one container in the museum. What would happen if another lost APE container ever turns up? I guess it would be best to throw it away or use it to make another non-APE related cache.
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Sometimes I do. It really depends on if I can determine which letterbox it is. Same goes for geocaches I have accidentally found.
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I have been holding onto one for too long. I just haven't found a regular sized cache recently to put it in. I think most people swap them at events. Outside of TB hotels, I can't remember the last time I saw one in a cache.
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3. The cache is the least important part of geocaching. People are hyped to find virtual cartoon critters that aren't interested in film cans, tupperware, or even ammo cans. Yes, there are good containers and great containers, but the driving force for most people is either the location/experience or activity.
Wow I can't disagree more. The cache is everything. Without the cache, there is no point in bothering with this site and there is no point in digging through leaves near fallen trees. Without the cache you are just hiking (which I do enjoy). Some virtual caches and Earthcaches take you to some cool places that you might not otherwise go. I have done some really horrible ones too. If every waymark (or Pokestop) was a virtual cache, I'd switch to the Pokémon game. I did 1 webcam cache just to get the icon. I won't do another. Geocaching, to me at least, is the hunt for hidden physical containers.
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I'd like to see the Souvenirs and Statistics tabs editable as well as the addition of a "Awards/Accomplishments" editable tab that one could use for adding Badgegen badges or some of those graphics that are common in Europe (especially in the UK) created by cache owners specifically for a single cache or series. Leave the Profile tab just for Personal Bio information and allow the user make any of the tabs private.
I can't agree more.
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I don't see Pokemon Go as a competitor or a complement, but as a nuisance. Please, allow me to explain. Groundspeak/Geocaching emphasizes safety and respect in regards to trespassing, laws, CITO, etc. This insanely popular Pokemon Go game has people out in droves, clambering to chase down as many of these characters as possible with little to no regard (sometimes even blatant disregard) to private property, trespassing, etc., essentially giving us all a bad name. Yes, there are jerks in every organization; I get that.
I think the scale is the problem. There are too many people playing this new game. The number of geocachers who do all of what you complained about above PLUS leave geo-litter is large enough that some parks have already banned geocaching. Now multiple that by 100! It really doesn't matter what activity people decide to do outside. If millions of people took up juggling, the number of bowling pins and tennis balls that were left behind or rolled into traffic would be a big concern.
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I see it as something that can entertain my kid on the way to a cache. If a Pokémon appears on the way, he can take a picture of it and I can add it to my Geocaching log. I don't see it as a competing product. Geocaching is searching for the tangible while Pokémon, Ingress, etc is searching for the intangible.
As for your suggestions of what geocaching could borrow from Pokémon:
1) Geocaching already has leveling with BadgeGen and milestones.
2) I like how events are currently handled. Only folks in the FTF race ever run into each other at GZ.
3) This is probably your best idea, but I am not sure how to implement it. The biggest geocaching divide is between GPSr and phone users. I supposed you could declare yourself a phone cacher or a GPSr cacher. The State, province, or country will show the color of whichever group owns the most caches in that area. You can divide this into 3 teams if you want (GPSr, Apple phones, and Android phones). This will probably just allow for an increase in crappy micro caches, but that seems to be happening regardless.
4) Making TBs more important would alienate those who look down upon discoveries.
5) Definitely not. I wish Groundspeak would prevent people from logging the same cache multiple times. I have done it once or twice by accident and it threw off a few milestones.
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My son loves this so far. I'm not sure how long this craze will last. At least when muggles see me acting strangely, they will assume I am catching Pokémon.
For me, it seems like an elaborate ruse to get young people to go to church.
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Or you can plan ahead which non-traditional caches you want to target and translate the pages before you go.
If you use GSAK you can edit the text that will be downloaded to your GPS as well as corrected puzzle coords.
If you don't you can still print out a few pages, or just compress the important stuff into a doc of your own creation.
Thanks for the tips. I may just solve the ones by the hotel and the places we are definitely going to see.
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I am planning on going to Germany later this year or maybe next year. After seeing this thread, I realized I won't be able to read the descriptions. I am going to be using a GPS and not a phone, so I don't know an easy way to translate any of them. It will be a traditional only trip I suppose.
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I did the letterbox portion last summer, but I am sure December is much different. It hadn't rained in a while, but there were certain sections that had a few inches of water sitting in them. Sometimes you can jump over it, other places you couldn't. We didn't bring hiking boots with us, so we crossed in shorts and flip flops. I think the worst one was 7 inches deep or so. We got really muddy on one of them.
Ohhh bring a stamp or a pen that writes well on wet paper. A lot of these are in very wet areas and some of the lids are cracked. I believe most were standard disposable Glad containers and not lock n' locks. Like I said though, we only did the letterbox portion.
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I had a trackable go to a very popular cache near Groundspeak Headquarters (GC20Y24). None of the logs after the drop mentioned it and hundreds of people find it every week. I thought it was gone for good. Three or four months later it showed up at an event in Denmark!
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Other ways to increase traffic to your caches:
1. Place TBs you find in your caches
2. Put a bunch of caches close together. High numbers cachers travel to places with high yields.
3. Place caches Just Off Exits (JOE) of major highways.
I doubt this was your intention, but I can imagine someone posting this list as a sarcastic comment on the state of geocaching. I don't mean to belittle the suggestions, since I agree these are valid ideas for increasing traffic that can all be done well. But #1 seems like as a cheap trick, and many people see #2 and #3 being the harbingers of junk caches. So if you're going to follow this advice, strive to do it in a way that proves those people wrong.
I wasn't being sarcastic, I was being realistic. I agree with everything you said, but the game is the game. I am usually someone who prefers going for a regular sized cache that requires a hike, but I am very guilty of grabbing a #3 when passing through with my family. If the hiders goal is to get as many finds as possible, there is nothing stopping him or her from putting out a quality JOE cache. In fact, one of the best letterboxes hybrids (GC39DDR) I have done was at a rest stop in North Carolina.
As for #2, I believe the area with the most favorite points consists of thousands of film canisters in a desert every 10th mile for hundreds of miles. That isn't how I like to cache, but I realize I am probably in the minority.
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Other ways to increase traffic to your caches:
1. Place TBs you find in your caches
2. Put a bunch of caches close together. High numbers cachers travel to places with high yields.
3. Place caches Just Off Exits (JOE) of major highways.
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The bigger problem is geocachers and hikers spreading the seeds of invasive plants. In Maryland you will know you are near GZ by the presence of wavy leaf basket grass.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/Plants_Wildlife/WLBG/index.asp
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The cache is now logged as "Found It" by 2Nutz for Team Bad Trail Mix! Thanks to all of you who made this find possible.
Marty
One of 2Nutz
Make sure you log found on 10/21. I believe we must log the same date as 2Nutz.
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If you're feeling competitive, maybe try to have the highest difficulty- and terrain averages of anyone you know. Even getting - and keeping - them both above 3 (out of 5) doesn't sound that hard. Go ahead, try it.
That is actually not too hard to do. You just avoid events and anything below 3/3 like the plague. I would never do that, but I have met someone who does. You need to get a kayak and some rock climbing equipment. Even then you will have a low find count.
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Where would YOU place a new virtual cache?
in General geocaching topics
Posted
I would just put this one back:
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCK12J_last-stop-for-a-weary-traveler