Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking

OK. Back to my question. Has anyone, ever, stopped you from enjoying micros? If I rant for hours about the evils of vanilla ice cream, will that stop you from enjoying it? Yes. At times some of the fun was taken out of it when someone who hates micros would find one I placed because he/ she had to obsessively clear out a region and would post some nastiness in a log entry. If I offered you vanilla ice cream and you accepted it, then ranted for hours about the evils of vanilla ice cream, that would prevent me from enjoying my ice cream and your company.

Or .... You can contact local cachers and see what they recommend.

Has anyone, at any time, tried to stop you from enjoying them? If I tell you "I hate vanilla ice cream", would that stop you from liking vanilla ice cream? Those who think all micros should be banned, and they have posted often in these kinds of threads, are those who would like to stop the rest of us from enjoying micros.

I dont hate those caches, but I am not physically able to do those caches. My physical limitations are getting worse not better so I will never be able to do those caches. I do not gripe about them though because there are many who do like them and I think its great that folks have caches they enjoy too even when they are different than my likes. It would be nice if those who dislike micros would let the rest of us enjoy micros lol.

I prefer a cache that fits its location. Sometimes a micro (or a *gasp* nano) is better than a regular cache or a small cache. Sometimes a regular sized cache is better. I do not like a micro hidden when a regular cache could be placed there. Nor do I like a regular cache placed where a micro would have been a better choice. I want to be entertained by a cache. Sometimes a micro makes a cache site more entertaining, sometimes a regular is more entertaining. For those of you who like to look at the swag, one thing Ive noticed here is that the quality of swag is almost nonexistent now. On very few occasions do we find anything worth trading for. Do you still love regular caches when all you find in them is junk? We have been leaving decent trade items in caches for the last couple of years in the hopes that folks will start leaving good stuff too, sort of leading by example. Its not working tho lol.

The operative words there are "new cacher". Eventually, you will find that you're clearing out a radius from around your "home base", and when you discover that's what you've done, you'll find yourself keeping it that way. Even those that filter micros as evil do the same thing, they just select different targets to clear. We'll all take something new and nearby if it fits. Out here, there are plenty of other heavy target environments not all that far away, so it's not like I'll ever run out of things to do if I feel like spending an afternoon "out caching". Meanwhile, if they pop up around here -- zap! This old cacher hasnt cleared out her neighborhood. There are some within a mile of me I just havent gotten around to. Some of them I am eager to find too lol. I would much rather go look for interesting ones in another area than waste time clearing out my neighborhood of every single cache. Thats far too task oriented for me to enjoy.

In Arizona, winter caching means: 16) You can cache without the risk of heat stroke. 17) No rattlesnakes.

He's not alone. I've met geocachers who do this. Some are friends of mine. They complain about the same kinds of caches that the OP is complaining about, but have a need to keep an X mile radius around their home clear of unfound caches and will hunt caches they find unappealing. One described it as a sickness. Maybe it is, but I don't think there is medication available for it yet. I am sympathetic to the OP's rant though. In many areas it's difficult to sort through the clutter to find appealing caches. There is medication for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

I solved a puzzle for a friend in Oz. I wouldnt dream of logging a find on it though. She solved some puzzles for me. She isnt logging any finds in Arizona. Solving a puzzle cache isnt the same as finding the cache. Only seems fair though to give credit to the originator of any idea one "borrows" or "steals" to use for a cache.

There are a few power trails in Arizona. I did one along Rio Verde that was fun. Each cache was differently hidden. Only 30 caches in the series though. There is one filling in along a historic road. Thats the kind of power trail I would like to see more of. We are not into high numbers runs so if we do a power trail, we usually do it in smaller sections over the course of months.

I wrote this last year when I was bored lol. Twelve Days of Caching On the first day of caching my garmin found for me A micro in a rock pile On the second day of caching my garmin found for me Two muggles watching On the third day of caching my garmin found for me Three DNFs On the fourth day of caching my garmin found for me Four altoids tins On the fifth day of caching my garmin found for me Five ammo cans On the sixth day of caching my garmin found for me Six soggy log sheets On the seventh day of caching my garmin found for me Seven thorns drawing blood On the eighth day of caching my garmin found for me Eight sig items On the ninth day of caching my garmin found for me Nine needs maintenance On the tenth day of caching my garmin found for me Ten broken toys On the eleventh day of caching my garmin found for me Eleven missing travelbugs On the twelfth day of caching my garmin found for me Twelve nano caches Merry Christmas folks.

Its great that you are going to place caches for handicapped folks. I wish more would do that. I appreciate any information on a cache page that enables me to figure out if I can get a cache or not. Im handicapped but not in a wheelchair. I can walk on relatively flat terrain short distances (a few hundred feet at a time on a good day), but cannot bend easily or reach far to get a cache. Not every handicapped person has the same limitations.

Respect seems to be a thing of the past too. (I am not singling anyone out with that comment either, just making a general observation about society.)

Caching is different than it was before. Whether its better or not is up to any cacher. We search for the ones we are interested in, and log as I see fit. (Mike doesnt want to spend time online logging so he leaves it to me.) We have a good time caching our way. We have just as much fun as we did years ago. We learned how to adapt.

I dont read the forums that intently. If it is the same as yours, I do not recall reading it or I would have given you credit. If it was in this thread ... well Im just forgetful I guess.

How do you do that? I have a cache with missing bugs in it, and Ive not been able to figure out a way to do it.

I know this is a few months old, but it ties into the thread about writing long logs and trading swag in a cache. Many folks now download waypoints into their gps and go off hunting without any description. It seems like some folks may not bother filling out cache pages no one will read perhaps? I know some logs were posted on my caches when its clear the folks have not read the cache pages.

Ok I cant resist responding to this post. We appreciate quality caches, but some folks are just not that creative. Just as some folks dont like typing long logs because they are not comfortable either typing on the computer or putting together a sentence, some folks just dont have what it takes to be creative in putting together a cache. Does that make their run of the mill LPC any less deserving of a good log entry if that is all they can think of to do? They put forth their best effort, even if it isnt a state of the art fantastic cache. Doesnt that deserve a nice log too?

I do think creativity and innovation is a bit discouraged in caching. That may be unavoidable as tptb seek to keep land managers etc happy and so permit geocaching to continue.

Is the interest in trading swag correlated to the change in writing lengthy or unique logs? Along with writing logs, have folks lost interest in trading because of the quantity of caches?

You may be right. Got a counter theory? Sbell may have nailed it in part. The mass quantity of caches (which I appreciate having) I think detracts from online logging. We typically only do a few caches a day, maybe even 10 caches at a time. The experience stays with us, and it shows in our logs. Quite a few folks log their finds without even seeing the cache page. There seems to be less emphasis on the cache page and logs. Just a different mindset in caching as the sport/ hobby/game grows.

I tend to check aerial photos anyway before seeking a cache. There have been many times we have not bothered with a gps and found a cache. It adds an element of fun to it. Usually that is when we were doing some spur of the moment caching and I didnt have the coordinates with me, yet knew there was a cache in the area. For the most part though, we use the gps. The maps and aerial photos are not always that accurate.

I hope that is sarcasm. Likely not at all. As many of us have said repeatedly, both in this thread and in numerous others devoted to the same topic, one of about ten good reasons to make a cache PMO is that is PROVEN to drastically reduce the amount of damage by pirates, maggots, thieves, swine riff-raff who leave junk swag, careless cachers and the walking dead (that is, walking idiots who accidentally destroy everything in their path...) This point cannot even be argued, for it is indisputable and proven fact. We had a cache thief in the area, one more annoying than the usual cache thief, and he was a premium member. We never figured out who he was, but many of the caches he hit were members only.

Tragedy of the commons? As this game falls farther into the mainstream, more folks of the P&G mentality are playing? If they're too lazy to walk more than 50' for a smiley, perhaps they're too lazy to type more than 6 keystrokes? Just a guess... not quite a theory. Thats just wrong. Im too "lazy" to walk more than 50 feet (my body just aches so much) but I write rather wordy logs. Ive seen hikers who demand more mountain top caches write short logs too.

Or they call you in as a terrorist! That happened to Tsegi Mike, only not while geocaching. It was while he was participating in another hobby of his. He is just a bit seedy looking at times lol. Fortunately it was readily apparent to the cops that he was not a terrorist at all and that his actions were perfectly legal.