After hiking & caching in MD this weekend my husband & I were just discussing this. We’re new to caching & we love it! We love the thrill of it. There are improvements to be made though. A lot of the larger caches we have found in PA are empty. Whether muggled or inexperienced catchers got to them no one will know but I could imagine finding empty ones discourages younger cachers to the fun. Maybe CO’s when checking should be required to drop some extra swag if needed. My hubby & I probably drop more than we take for this fact alone. Some caches are placed by the owners of the land like our conservation department. They are the only ones permitted to place, they usually only put 1/location. When there’s a trail that spans over 2 miles & you place it a quarter mile in, there’s no fun in that. If you’re only going to allow one & there are miles of trails & acres of property how about a multi? Get people actually walking the whole thing. If not you may miss some beautiful things. I maybe mistaken but I thought geocaching was to get you out.
I also have only seen welcome cards in two caches. The one hubby & I found hiking that caused us to look this up & do it & one in MD last week. I think CO’s if larger containers should have to put a little paper in describing what the person found whether intentional or not. Maybe a little FYI on what to do for newbies & maybe draw up interest for non cachers. Might also cut back on muggle tampering. I’ve seen some log books where people flat out write no idea what this is or why it’s here but adding my name too. Could also be why some go “mia” as people are told to turn suspicious stuff in or its throw away as garbage left behind. Not all hikers are aware of caching, I know I wasn’t, so it could be mistaken as trash. We also always log dnf’s the first time with a note. We may go back more because we can’t be defeated. Usually after the 3rd time we’re contacting the CO regarding possible missing containers. We also help by adding sheets but add it all to our notes so CO’s know & can fix as needed. Response time on the PA caches can be forever. I’ve had one pending for over a month, CO has relocated out of town. We’ve had similar issues to those reported here caches placed in a “well there wasn’t one here so”, mislabeled smalls that should be micros, etc. Overall though it’s been a great joy. We know we’re not ready to place yet as there is still a lot we don’t know. We see new stuff everytime we’re out. So maybe a limit on minimum number of caches found as well as sizes maybe needed. I don’t think a limit on caches places is needed. We have a lady in our area who has placed ALOT but she’s responsive, checks hers often & is still out caching. So quality hiders shouldn’t be penalized. Sorry for my ramblings & I know I didn’t answer the questions but I hope my input is helpful.
Geocache Quality
in User Insights
Posted · Edited by 1n2Fish
After hiking & caching in MD this weekend my husband & I were just discussing this. We’re new to caching & we love it! We love the thrill of it. There are improvements to be made though. A lot of the larger caches we have found in PA are empty. Whether muggled or inexperienced catchers got to them no one will know but I could imagine finding empty ones discourages younger cachers to the fun. Maybe CO’s when checking should be required to drop some extra swag if needed. My hubby & I probably drop more than we take for this fact alone. Some caches are placed by the owners of the land like our conservation department. They are the only ones permitted to place, they usually only put 1/location. When there’s a trail that spans over 2 miles & you place it a quarter mile in, there’s no fun in that. If you’re only going to allow one & there are miles of trails & acres of property how about a multi? Get people actually walking the whole thing. If not you may miss some beautiful things. I maybe mistaken but I thought geocaching was to get you out.
I also have only seen welcome cards in two caches. The one hubby & I found hiking that caused us to look this up & do it & one in MD last week. I think CO’s if larger containers should have to put a little paper in describing what the person found whether intentional or not. Maybe a little FYI on what to do for newbies & maybe draw up interest for non cachers. Might also cut back on muggle tampering. I’ve seen some log books where people flat out write no idea what this is or why it’s here but adding my name too. Could also be why some go “mia” as people are told to turn suspicious stuff in or its throw away as garbage left behind. Not all hikers are aware of caching, I know I wasn’t, so it could be mistaken as trash. We also always log dnf’s the first time with a note. We may go back more because we can’t be defeated. Usually after the 3rd time we’re contacting the CO regarding possible missing containers. We also help by adding sheets but add it all to our notes so CO’s know & can fix as needed. Response time on the PA caches can be forever. I’ve had one pending for over a month, CO has relocated out of town. We’ve had similar issues to those reported here caches placed in a “well there wasn’t one here so”, mislabeled smalls that should be micros, etc. Overall though it’s been a great joy. We know we’re not ready to place yet as there is still a lot we don’t know. We see new stuff everytime we’re out. So maybe a limit on minimum number of caches found as well as sizes maybe needed. I don’t think a limit on caches places is needed. We have a lady in our area who has placed ALOT but she’s responsive, checks hers often & is still out caching. So quality hiders shouldn’t be penalized. Sorry for my ramblings & I know I didn’t answer the questions but I hope my input is helpful.