DreamMachine74

Sounds like a good series to make in other countries, maybe I'll give it a try in my province in Canada.

No, it's not required. It is a bit unclear to be fair, but I blame that on the redesigned Geo-guessr layout and website over the late couple years.....it's almost unrecognizable in some ways.

Part of me wished the Favourite point requirement wasn't so high this time around, or at the very least, it could go back to hides from the last 3 years (since 2020*), but I guess that wouldn't be fair in a sense. Anyways, maybe I just wish I qualified this time around, there's so many places that deserve a good virtual around the world! I guess I should do what you did Jeff, and find a spot.

With regards to the following year, I'm currently nearing 1,500 finds, but I expect to find about 80-100 caches next year. It's not really a goal, but something that'll probably happen. Next year, ~~>I want to find a 5/5 mystery cache that's about 15 miles from me, and a few other select puzzle caches closer to me. ~~> I want to host 3 events/CITO's, maybe even a T5 one if I have the time. ~~> I'm hoping to find a few more Wherigo caches, mostly to complete a challenge cache. ~~> I'll continue fine tuning my cache-load, archiving what I deem necessary considering that this following year will see me less dedicated to geocaching. I'll make an edit here later if I think of anything...but this is basically the jist of my goals.

I think it's time to look back on the year that was. So...my goals were => I'm intending on finding a cache in another state (New York), and also grabbing my first webcam there. - As I suspected in my post a year ago, my job is no longer secure and reliable as of January, where I'll be making some tough decisions. This year was not good for that whole industry, so I'm waiting on any travel plans beyond my region for the time being. => I'll try and host an event or two, one of which hopefully will be on a hill. - I hosted 5 events this year, and have a CITO tomorrow. One of my events in October is going to be the setting for said CITO, and both take place on and around a hill. => Continue streamlining my "cache" load. Basically I intend on continue archiving hides either removed due to local construction (I have 5 listings that have to be removed for a subway being built!) or due to no longer being a good hiding spot. - I ended up archiving 13 listings this year, and publishing 3 caches, 2 of them being in new locations. I found 156 caches so far this year, with a few more that I'm bound to find before January.

I hid a cache just like the one mentioned here by the OP, literally yesterday. My GZ is a bit more varied, with added potential obstacles, so I gave that cache a T4.5. It's a bit high, but the ground is very slippery where I was hiding this cache, and I can't imagine how it'd be in winter, or after rainfall. I might move it to a T4 because there is an alternate way to access GZ, although I don't know if I'd want to try it.

Nice work! I've had to go on a few caching trips to get closer to completing this. I'm going out for a few caches today, but don't expect to get many. I think I'll earn the last souvenir on the 1st of October, as there's a CITO happening in a place I very rarely geocache in, and some older/more well loved caches are there.

I don't really geocache to new areas, so this indicator hasn't done much for me. However, I did look for two well liked newer geocaches because of the feature. They were well done and all, but the feature isn't much of a draw to me. I'd probably disable it if I was visiting a new city with a bunch of caches in it due to the clutter on the map....but that's all hypothetical.

Sorry to hear that. At least they're doing controlled burns to minimize the devastation these fires could commit to. I'm lucky in my part of the world to live away from substantial wooded areas, in the case of fires. Rarely, my city has substantial floods, like in 2013...but I figure they'll be more likely in the coming decades.

It's been a seasonal summer for people in my area. (Southern Ontario, Canada). Well, mostly seasonal. It's for sure been a few degrees hotter some days and nights, but that can be expected with climate change. The biggest barrier to caching was really the wildfire smoke, which was at it's worst in late June in our area. Anyways, I've still kept in mind ways to beat the heat, like wading in rivers for caches, or going for a swim around the time of an event at a beach.

I enjoyed this challenge. I usually avoid some cache types, like EC's and multis, but this gave me the push the do something I usually don't. This month was the best time for me to geocache since I've been afforded more time, so I could plan out farther geocache trips, and could host an event on my vacation time. I earned the easy challenge after finding a few trads one day, then hosting an event and finding an AL stage the following day. (my 7th AL find ever, as I really dislike AL's) I only needed an EC to complete the hard challenge, after finding 4 more icons on the following week, but had to be more selective with my EC choice, given the select amount of easier ones there are near me, so I decided to go for one that required a watercraft, or wading into a river. Since I generally avoid EC's, this was a good reason to seek it and find a cache that I've been staring at on my map for nearly 7 years. Since I knew the area very well, it was a simple cache to get to, despite the river. I look forward to next month, and seeing what's up next.

Agreed. Al's are nice enough for those who enjoy them, but I see geocachers spending more time on building and finding them nowadays, and it's making it so there's less people hiding caches. That's just from my understanding.

I'd love to see more webcams, but I understand why they're so difficult to keep when enforcing the simple guidelines is a hassle. I've never logged one, but I might just walk a few kilometres into NY state to get one next year. It'd save me money when compared to taking a train to the next nearest webcam, which while in my own country, is still a good couple hours away.

This year went much differently with how I geocached compared to what I expected. - I only hid 3 hides as of today (I just placed a new cache today) and doubt I'll hide 3 more by next year. - I had 3 events published, but cancelled one sice my schedule got in the way. So..really I hosted two events. I think next year I'll hit 4 event, I already have one for the 1st of January happening. - My Community Celebration Event happened, but I think I could've hosted it another time. It wasn't ideal for most cachers and their schedules, but oh well. - I found more caches than last year, and in multiple countries. That in itself is something I'm really quite happy with. I also finished my first fizzy in Fabruary, it took me 5 months to get that 81st square.

I never geocached beyond a trainride from my city, so finding geocaches in Mexico and the United States was mind blowing to me. I was very grateful to go out and see these places for the first time. Next year, I intend on going back to the States to get my first webcam cache, and find caches in New York state.

AL's count a hides too?? That's so odd. After my last post here, I deleted my "finds" from ALs and can now forget about my redundant (subtract 15 from my find count) rule.

The way AL's have been implemented irks me, but I'm not going to delve deep into my dislike for the game because it's already been fairly well covered on thsi thread recently. Basically, it boils down to earning 5 geocache finds for every "adventure" despite the fact that these are not geocaches and are not part of a geocaching code, listing or experience, but are more like mini-virtuals. I've become a stickler to statistics based solely on cache finds, so when I see someone earn 5,000 "finds", I'm impressed, but still feel on the fence about how I should feel if they have 1,000 of them as AL finds. AL's are a grat concept, but the current way that they're integrated into geocaching rubs me the wrong way. It doesn't feel very well connected. I haven't done an adventure lab in years, and I only feel compelled to do some because there are physical geocaches hidden as bonus hides near me. (I also find bonus caches for AL's annoying frankly) I still need to delete the 15 AL finds I made 3 to 4 years ago...I've been deducting 15 from my find count since then. Yes, it may sound inane to be this stubborn about AL's, but I just don't like the way they've been weaved into the current geocache website/application.

I must think about this, I've been geocaching since I was 13, but I don't recall ever doing anything very bad to myself for a geocache, other than the usual scratches, bruises and cuts. I did manage my longest streak (21 days) whilst nursing an injury from work, which I "earned" on the 8th day of said streak. It was a bad cut to my thumb, reuqiring a few stitches, so opening up cache containers was a bit awkward, but I still managed to walk every day for a cache, and a walk or two in the woods to hide a cache or two.

Well, I guess I'lll throw a few goals for next year here for now, and edit things accordingly. I'm scaling back my goals fro prior years, not that they were hard or anything, but just because I'm not exactly interesting in going to X, Y and Z if work slows down and I have less money to spend on travelling in my area. That being said, next year, => I'm intending on finding a cache in another state (New York), and also grabbing my first webcam there. => I'll try and host an event or two, one of which hopefully will be on a hill. => Continue streamlining my "cache" load. Basically I intend on continue archiving hides either removed due to local construction (I have 5 listings that have to be removed for a subway being built!) or due to no longer being a good hiding spot. EDIT: I just realized one of my goals in 2020 was to find a webcam cache...huh, that'll be good to get done next year then. EDIT 2, December 26th: Added one more goal. I'm not adding a find based goal, to me thats irrelevant, especially since I intend on geocaching less next year. Earning nearly 200 finds this year was a surprise to put it lightly.

This is my own. I hid most of my higher DT caches just as the pandemic was starting, and prior...anything recent has been easier to get to or the occasional tree climb: Oh, and those 8 caches that are 1D are all events.

I've been mulling this over within the last couple minutes, trying to figure out just what statistic I'm happiest with. I think the one statistic I can look back on and feel most proud with is this: Most consecutive days with finds: 21, from 2020-02-21 to 2020-03-12 Both in terms of the timing, seeing as this was all done just before the pandemic really became a bigger deal internationally, and also because this was a bad time to have a streak. I believe I needed 12 days of streaking for a challenge, then decided after to keep going as far as I could. I had recently bought a premium membership for the first time, so a bunch of "new" geocaches were still around nearby....making for easy pickings, well....sortof. There were some cold days, but I still managed to figure out places to geocache while I managed work and rest. I actually injured myself at work on the 1st of March, and had to take a week off work. It meant I had time to geocache, but it also meant signing logs was...awkward let's just say. It was ahand injury, so I could walk around with no issue, but signing things meant more care was neede. Anyways, I think the ability to find time to geocache was getting to be too much and I had to stop....I'm justs urprised I got as far as I did considering there were not many geocaches to find near me at the time, and that remains the case to this day. In terms of hide statistics, I'm pretty happy with this. 69 hidden dates, out of 366 (18.9%) I may not have many hides, but I do have a decent selection (34 DT square out of 81 isn't too bad) . I we exclude events, I still have about 65 dates, which is alright, but is satisfactory for me. I like hiding in all seasons, but these days, I find it tougher finding good hiding spots I feel compelled to revisit down the road...perhaps I'm just happy with what I have and don't feel the need to hide further away.

1. Hide a new cache that earns at least ten Favorite points. -> No thank you. I hold very little interest in favourite points and frankly, I care more about peoples experiences than a "point". 2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition. -> I can do this during a lockdown like the one my state is currently in...but under normal circumstances, this is not necessary unless I have a reason to visit a cache or indication it needs my assistance. 3. Take action on Needs maintenance logs or a string of DNFs within two weeks. -> I adressed my point above for this point. I'll do my best, but if I'm busy with work or something else I'll disable the cache....and get to it when I can. 4. Find at least ten caches with ten or more Favorite points. Then, apply what you loved about those caches to your owned hides. -> Respectfully I disagree. I find favourite points can be given for sporadic reasons not necessarily for the creativity of the hide. Not all the time, but sometimes. 5. Place a geocache that is accessible to people of all abilities. -> This is a goal I can do this year, no problem. 6. Reflect on the least favorite cache you’ve hidden. Ask yourself how you would make that cache better if you could do it again. -> I've doen this already. And I archived said geocache. 7. Follow us on Instagram to get inspired for your future hides. -> No thank you. 8. Visit your cache owner dashboard frequently to keep up to date on your hides. -> I don't really need to when I received e-mails, but the dashboard is still useful. 9. Pick a geocaching friend who has never placed a cache before and introduce them to the art of hiding. -> I've spoken with a friend online....so maybe I'm working on this without realizing it. But, I'm not introduing them per-se...they intend on hiding it. 10. Summon your inner Marie Kondo and declutter your caches. If one no longer sparks joy there is no shame in archiving it and making room for a new cache. -> I have a plan in mind. I'll probably archive two hides this year...perhaps more. But really...the lockdowns and restrictions have limited movements in my region....many people aren't caching as much as they would. I appreciate the effort made in these ten points, but I think I've kept a lot of these ideas in mind already. My main concern this year is continuing with my already set forth plans to review a few of my oldest finds and archive them based partly on their location (and well, the thousands of people movign in to my area). My area is becoming more urban in some ways, and that means some caches will have a tougher time staying hidden, or closer to balconies and windows of new buildings going up. I archived my 4th hidden cache due to this exact reason. 2 new apartment buildings opened up adjacent to the park where my cache was and the hiding spot I had was filled in with concrete. I have a few caches close to this rapidly growing area, and I forsee some archival logs coming in the next two years.

I've only recently invested in good shoes with geocaching in mind. I have two pairs of running shoes that are fit for city streets and trails in parks with not much terrain variability, havig bought them just after pur last lockdown. I also have only recently [maybe 3 months ago] bought a pair of good, waterproof hiking shoes that, upon testing yesterday to replace my 3D/5T ammo can [which is no longer an ammo can....grr ] , stood up well to the test of mud, slopes and well,enough sturdiness to keep out the water....I do need to run more tests on just how far submerged thse shoes can be. I've only come to invest in good shoes after many years of just wearing one pair of running shoes...or boots for the winter. I've slid many times on leafy slopes in river valleys and such, but I was always lucky, mostly in that there were just leaves on the ground and I caught my fall with my hands.

I still managed to hide a few caches this year, and find some despite the lockdowns and restrictions going around. I found 113 caches this year, which might go up to 114 for New Years Eve...and had 11 caches hidden. 3 events too. I'm happy with what I have hidden and accomplished this year, despite not finding many caches. (this is the smallest amount of finds since 2017). Next year, I have some intentions... --> Hide 6 caches. (I already have a decent amount in the city I live in...hiding a lot more would be tough for me since maintenance is already starting to be a bit annoying at times) --> Host 4 events. I want to beat my events record in a year, partly because I find being a host is rather fun frankly! --> Host my C.C.E. : THis is a tough thing to do....I had plans to host this event in a park, but city limitations are rather annoying and well, costly. --> Find a few caches. I'm not going to put out a number or anything, but I would be happy finding afew, of different tyes and sizes. But nothing as a goal that I should feel compelled to do.

Been caching on and off from 2014 until the end of 2017. From there, I cached more regularly....this year is my most notable drop in caching, partly due to maintaining over 60 caches in one area, and others elsewhere....alongside dealing with stay at home orders which recently have become very serious. I don't have many local caches anymore, though new ones have cropped up. I'm saving em for a future date, to fill in my finds calendar...most still are a bit of a trek with this pandemic in mind. That said, a 10 or 15 km walk will still allow for about 30 caches at least in walking distance.