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Just wondering what other peoples opinions are on this...

 

I live in Northeast Illinois - north of Chicago; a fairly populated area. I have done over 500 caches - many of those near my home. And I am getting the feeling more and more that there are simply too many caches around here. Or to be more accurate: too many uninspired caches.

 

It seems I am always reading descriptions like:

 

"I was just on my way to so-and-so and decided to drop off a cache in the little park nearby."

 

How much forethought was there? Why was this place special enough to put a cache there? Usually these quick and dirty caches aren't particularly interesting and the only value of them in my mind is to increment my cache-found count (which to me means little value).

 

I feel like I've been to every park bench and 10 foot creek bridge (and yes, even fallen tree) in the county - after a while they all look the same.

 

And worse: more and more caches blatantly put in easy view of muggles. There are several *series* of caches (meaning many caches) in my area that are just stuck on the back of street signs and so-forth right near busy intersections and shopping malls. Of course I'm going to be seen doing one of these caches! These caches rely on the fact that most people won't bother to actually investigate what you're doing.

 

In my area now, if I do a dozen or so caches in a day, I feel lucky if 2 of them were memorable. Often, none are.

 

So, I feel compelled to travel to more remote areas for my caching expeditions. Of course, this requires more time, and thus I am able to do it less often.

 

I welcome your comments.

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As I've mentioned before in the forums...I don't relish having to frisk every other fir tree for a 35 mm film canister. I really do wish some of our fellow cachers would be a bit more creative, discrete and original with their placings.

 

ON THE OTHER HAND...it doesn't keep me from logging them!

 

:rolleyes:

 

Edit: I've also seen some really standard film canisters that would otherwise have been boring if it weren't for a good puzzle cache or unique multicache coordinate placement. That can help make an otherwise simple cache pretty fun.

Edited by tabulator32
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There is an area near here that has recently been inundated with micros that are very uninspired. Thirty-eight new caches two weeks ago within a 15-mile radius of the town center. :rolleyes:

No problem. either spend a day and find them all, or put them on your ignore list. Either way, they will never bother you again.

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There is an area near here that has recently been inundated with micros that are very uninspired. Thirty-eight new caches two weeks ago within a 15-mile radius of the town center. :unsure:

No problem. either spend a day and find them all, or put them on your ignore list. Either way, they will never bother you again.

Very good.

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In my area now, if I do a dozen or so caches in a day, I feel lucky if 2 of them were memorable. Often, none are.

 

So, I feel compelled to travel to more remote areas for my caching expeditions. Of course, this requires more time, and thus I am able to do it less often.

 

I welcome your comments.

May I suggest you come to New England. As I TRIED to point out in a recent thread, my nearest 500 caches are 7% tradtional micros, and 27% multi's. We have puzzle caches galore, with some nasty ones to boot. The "average" cache takes you along a shaded forest trail, to a good-sized container. Plenty of opportunities to drop your yak in and paddle to the cache.

 

Sure, it's mosquito and poison ivy season, but aren't you itchin' to find some cool caches?

 

-WR

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xafwadohs--I welcome your comments. --How many inspired caches' have you hidden , yourself, in the last 6 months ? Not asking to be a smart alec, but your stats belie your complaint. We have a man locally who has probably hidden 100, all of which are interesting. We also have some folks locally who have found hundreds and who have never taken the time to hide a single one. Hiding a good one is about 10 times more difficult than finding, imo. I hope to be able to contribute by making a good hide once in awhile.

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There is an area near here that has recently been inundated with micros that are very uninspired. Thirty-eight new caches two weeks ago within a 15-mile radius of the town center. :unsure:

No problem. either spend a day and find them all, or put them on your ignore list. Either way, they will never bother you again.

:huh: I don't want to ignore all micros because a couple of people do take the time to hide good ones. However, I did knock off a few of those truly-uninspired ones late one night when a friend, who knew where many of them were hidden, drove me to within feet of the cache and then laughed at me as I tried to find them.

 

At least at that time of night, I didn't feel so conspicuous getting down on my hands and knees near grocery cart racks and trolley benches. And that was the only way I was going to look for some of those parking-lot micros. :blink:

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This is very odd indeed. I have been thinking the same thing for some time now. I just got nagged about a travel bug that's been wasting away in "my hands" for a coupla weeks now. The reason is, travel bugs DON'T FIT IN MAG KEY HOLDERS! And we haven't had a decent cache listed in weeks...

 

Seems that our locals spit out a micro every time they pass a cemetery or village square war memorial gazebo... and if I can't nab an FTF, I just fugettaboutit... but they are cloggin up my list.... while travel bugs languish in the malaise...

 

Please, people - QUALITY not QUANTITY!

 

But, I have noticed, that creative caches seem to give approvers fits....

Edited by Rattlebars
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This is very odd indeed. I have been thinking the same thing for some time now. I just got nagged about a travel bug that's been wasting away in "my hands" for a coupla weeks now. The reason is, travel bugs DON'T FIT IN MAG KEY HOLDERS! And we haven't had a decent cache listed in weeks...

 

Seems that our locals spit out a micro every time they pass a cemetery or village square war memorial gazebo... and if I can't nab an FTF, I just fugettaboutit... but they are cloggin up my list.... while travel bugs languish in the malaise...

 

Please, people - QUALITY not QUANTITY!

 

But, I have noticed, that creative caches seem to give approvers fits....

I know that it's nice to put a tb in a cache that is new, but if it gets bad enough, you can always put that tb in a regular sized cache that you've already visited.

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Once this game becomes a competition on who can find the most. It will more likely snowball. I live in a perfect area for good caches, but I know that the infection will more likely spread here in years to come. Maybe limiting hides per member to 5 or 10, it will atleast limit these people who hide 50 film containers on Main Street.

 

~Just a thought.

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Once this game becomes a competition on who can find the most. It will more likely snowball. I live in a perfect area for good caches, but I know that the infection will more likely spread here in years to come. Maybe limiting hides per member to 5 or 10, it will atleast limit these people who hide 50 film containers on Main Street.

 

~Just a thought.

Unless 5 members decide to hide 10 film canisters each on Main Street. :unsure:

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...to be more accurate: too many uninspired caches

 

I don't relish having to frisk every other fir tree for a 35 mm film canister
:unsure:

 

Hunt the ones you like, ignore the ones you don't. There are probably 20 caches within three miles of my house, some I pass when I'm out biking, but I'll never look for them.

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I've been targeting old caches (GCxx, GCxxx) for the heck of it, and have realized that majority of them are great hides in terms of location and satellite reception.

 

Newer is not necessarily better!

 

I also try to remember the cache owner's names, primarily to get a feel for their hiding styles, but also to go out of the way to find more of their hides if I enjoyed their quality.

 

When I'm in a hurry, GCMxxx or later that's a Micro has a good chance of being skipped.

 

These are not the most efficient, automated, and scientific ways to filter out the Too Many Caches problem, but they work for me.

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I have to agree with xafwodahs. If one takes a look at his one cache, and has logged it, you'll find the time REALLY worth spending, as it not only is just another find, but takes you to an interesting spot WITH HISTORY worked in.

 

Xafwodahs and I did go to Maine a couple weeks ago and found many locations that were not "just another find's", but were accented by crashed aircraft remains, old rail trestles, ravines, rock cliffs. I know that NE IL is developed beyond all hope and finding these types of places is dwindling, but COME ON folks! Put just a tad more thought into it.

 

On my own caches placed; one is the typical "out in the woods" type, and the other brings you to a small natural wonder. I exercised a bit more thought than just finding a gap in cache placements in my area.

 

I also welcome more Virtuals, but ILAdmin has clamped down on those. There are plenty of interesting places to see that putting a container wouldn't be appropriate. I still haven't forgotten the main idea of geocaching, so I won't belabor this point.

 

Just my two cents, for all they're worth.

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. . .  Maybe limiting hides per member to 5 or 10, it will atleast limit these people who hide 50 film containers on Main Street.

 

~Just a thought.

Limiting the number of caches placed would curtail one of our more prolific hiders, who has hidden more than 80 caches, most of which are fun to look for and find, even though they are often micros . . .

 

but they are always findable . . .

 

something I really appreciate, since I recently looked for three that are hidden by people who seem to prefer getting emails stating the Geocacher couldn't find the cache. What's up with that? :D

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Just wondering what other peoples opinions are on this...

 

I live in Northeast Illinois - north of Chicago; a fairly populated area. I have done over 500 caches - many of those near my home. And I am getting the feeling more and more that there are simply too many caches around here. Or to be more accurate: too many uninspired caches.

 

It seems I am always reading descriptions like:

 

"I was just on my way to so-and-so and decided to drop off a cache in the little park nearby."

 

How much forethought was there? Why was this place special enough to put a cache there? Usually these quick and dirty caches aren't particularly interesting and the only value of them in my mind is to increment my cache-found count (which to me means little value).

 

I feel like I've been to every park bench and 10 foot creek bridge (and yes, even fallen tree) in the county - after a while they all look the same.

 

And worse: more and more caches blatantly put in easy view of muggles. There are several *series* of caches (meaning many caches) in my area that are just stuck on the back of street signs and so-forth right near busy intersections and shopping malls. Of course I'm going to be seen doing one of these caches! These caches rely on the fact that most people won't bother to actually investigate what you're doing.

 

In my area now, if I do a dozen or so caches in a day, I feel lucky if 2 of them were memorable. Often, none are.

 

So, I feel compelled to travel to more remote areas for my caching expeditions. Of course, this requires more time, and thus I am able to do it less often.

 

I welcome your comments.

I was raised in the chicagoland area very near Bussee Woods. Based on my past experience, I suspect its the area itself that lends itself very well to uninspired caches. I think that's why we were always 'Escaping to Wisconsin'.

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Too many caches? Never!

 

As I've said in a different thread recently, the more caches that are placed, the better. Yes, there are more and more 'lame' caches placed every day, but there are also a lot more of every type of cache placed every day. I'm sure that, if asked, people from every region could pop off a few examples of recent new caches that have knocked their socks off with the creativity involved.

 

As others have said, both in this post and in countless others, there is a two pronged approach to dealing with this 'problem': first off, you don't have to hunt the caches you don't like, and second, you can always hide more caches like the ones you like to find and this may inspire others to do the same.

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It just occured to me. Caches are not inspired, geocahers are.  How do you turn that into a rule?  "You there, yes you, the one holding the film canister.  Put it down, turn around and leave, you are uninspired and not worthy of being a geocacher. Try knitting."  yeah, that'l work.

funny enough, that is a good point. I enjoy caching, but do it sporadically. there's like 500+ caches within 25 miles of my house so I have years of enjoyment at the pace I go. I probably do 1 cache a month-if I'm lucky, so I've never met a bad cache. B) I enjoy the large ammo boxes, easily found. I enjoy the fake rocks, the micros (it's a love hate thing with them B):laughing: )....

 

Maybe b/c I find so few caches at a time, I really enjoy discovering the areas, the cache, and even the swag (even mctoys)!! The experience of caching is what I enjoy best, so I don't think I can find a lame one. Every cache found, (treasure hunt to my kids) in my family's eyes, is cool. :anibad: We make the outings and have found many places we never knew existed. Even the places we have been a million times is neat when you hike with a purpose! B)

 

I enjoy playing golf, and am ok at it. I can play the same course 20 times in a row and still enjoy it - b/c I enjoy the experience. To me, caching is the same. I enjoy the experience of caching. I guess, when I'm thinking that the swag is too lame and the cache's are all the same, it would be time for me to hang up my GPS and play more golf!! B)B)

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Many of these posts suggest simply not going to the uninteresting caches.

 

However, it is often difficult to tell if a cache will be interesting or not until you get there. Difficulty and terrain don't really provide a good, consistent measure - some of the best caches are easy ones; and the descriptions might give you a good idea, but sometimes, instead of spelling the whole thing out before you even get there, the cache has only a short description so that you're surprised when you get there.

 

I realize "interest" is in the eye of the geocacher, so to speak, but I also think most people will generally agree on what's interesting and what isn't.

 

Personally, in 2.5 years of geocaching, I have only placed one cache (I have adopted a couple more from someone else). I want to place more, but I haven't found anything I think is interesting or unique enough, yet, so I'm holding off until I do.

 

I'm not saying ever cache needs to be a masterpiece, but a park bench that's clearly visible in a popular park? Come on...

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Maybe the answer is that we, (the people who post and read these forums) should

make sure we, (see above) only install caches that we have worked on and are proud of. I have only installed 4 caches, but I am happy with all of them. I enjoy reading the comments; things like "great camo-job" "Really enjoyed doing this multi".

To me that makes all the work worthwhile and I carved stones for one of mine, with a diamond bit dremel.

So if we do better, others will follow. There will always be a certain element, who drive down the road and throw them out of the car window. But, I believe as new people join and find our well thought out, well placed caches, they will do the same.

 

Just my opinion...

 

Rick

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I'm not saying ever cache needs to be a masterpiece, but a park bench that's clearly visible in a popular park? Come on...

Well, actually to the cachers who are in one way, shape or form (be it temporary or permantly) handicap find these to be interesting because they keep them in the sport/hobby/addiction. They are a welcome respite from the doldrum of naps, medication and inability to be truly active. I used to think I wouldn't do these types myself...until I found myself in the "other shoes" now I am grateful for them.

 

Additionally, it also gives the above mentioned cachers a chance to place some of their own...not everyone is physically capable of walking further than that park bench and unfortunately you don't think of this until you are the one who can't do the walking.

 

Just my .02

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Just wondering what other peoples opinions are on this...

 

I live in Northeast Illinois - north of Chicago; a fairly populated area.  I have done over 500 caches - many of those near my home.  And I am getting the feeling more and more that there are simply too many caches around here.  Or to be more accurate: too many uninspired caches.

 

Warning. This is a critical post right from the start.

 

Hey, xaf..... over 500 finds and how many placed? One. OK you adopted your other 4. How hard would it be for you to place a decent cache that meets your standards? Perhaps you should spend some time on that pursuit.

 

I agree that placing an intrigung cache is difficult. I have a few placed that alwas get good logs, which pleases me greatly, but I have nearly reached the end of my creative abilities in placing caches.

 

The point of this post is: Consider the fun you could have in placing more than one cache. Give it a try, and impress the local cachers with your hides.

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I think it depends entirely on where you are. In my neck of the woods, the caches are few and far between and almost every one of them have a certain amount of careful consideration as to where and why they are there. Almost all are oriented around a scenic view or memorable site. But then, when you have a state of a million-billion square miles and only a few 100 thousand inhabitants, it is easy.

 

Check my cache hides if you want to see inspiration.

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How can anyone properly take care of lierally dozens of caches?

It's possible for some, but definitely not for everyone. There is a handful of super-dedicated cachers in my area but their names won't be mentioned since they've already endured publicity (and misquotes). :o

 

If people tell me my hide count is too low, I accept the criticism but ignore the advice, since I know my own limits. I try to keep the mindset of "sharing" instead of "peer acceptance" then it shouldn't matter how many I hide.

 

Another way to lower the impact of uninspiration: go on an non-caching trip to an interesting location, and pick convenient waypoints semi-randomly. The primary focus is your destination, so even an occasional "lame hide" might be a nice diversion along the way.

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How can anyone properly take care of lierally dozens of caches?

Most of my caches are on routes that I take often, or so far away in the wilderness that I've never had to maintain them in years. The highest maintanance is on micros, because you have to replace the log more often.

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Just wondering what other peoples opinions are on this...

 

I live in Northeast Illinois - north of Chicago; a fairly populated area. I have done over 500 caches - many of those near my home. And I am getting the feeling more and more that there are simply too many caches around here. Or to be more accurate: too many uninspired caches.

I've been finding much of the same around my area since returning to geocaching this past spring. The game has changed. Lots of caches being placed fairly close to others, most not very imaginative.

 

I'd like to counter that with a cache or 2 of my own, but the area's pretty saturated IMO. But I keep milling about and trying to come up with something worthwhile. Thankfully there are a few cache owners in my area that are good either with hiding, or with location.

 

Even so, there ARE good ones out there. It just takes a bit reading of cache pages to pick and choose potentially good ones. Even so, I'll snag a so-so cache if it's nearby where I'll be in the off chance it does in fact prove interesting.

 

Eh, regardless it still keeps me entertained, active, and for the most part out of trouble. :D

 

BTW, I have to agree on another point you made... what's with so many being blatantly in view of muggles??? Once in a while is a fun exercise in stealth now and then. But I'm passing up caches around here b/c of it at times.

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How can anyone properly take care of lierally dozens of caches?

Most of my caches are on routes that I take often, or so far away in the wilderness that I've never had to maintain them in years. The highest maintanance is on micros, because you have to replace the log more often.

Having said that what are the guidlines for cache owner maintenance/inspection. I guess they are around but I am a newbie and haven't caught up with everything I need to know yet.

 

 

A bad day fishing beats a good day at work, any day!
:D
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Too many caches? Never!

 

As I've said in a different thread recently, the more caches that are placed, the better. Yes, there are more and more 'lame' caches placed every day, but there are also a lot more of every type of cache placed every day.

Before I went on a recent vacation, I checked the zipcode of the area I would be visiting for caches. Of the dozens of caches within 20 miles of where I would be staying, all but two were of the park bench/guardrail/roadsign variety. What a turn-off. I don't go on vacaction to study guardrails or lightposts, so I didn't cache at all.

 

Perhaps there aren't too many caches, but for my taste, there are certainly too few worthwhile caches and far too many pointless caches.

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I've been targeting old caches (GCxx, GCxxx) for the heck of it, and have realized that majority of them are great hides in terms of location and satellite reception.

 

Newer is not necessarily better!

 

This is what I've been doing lately. Works pretty well, most of the older ones that aren't archived are in interesting places. I wouldn't say that caches placed a year or two ago are any higher quality than those placed now, but the better ones tend to last longer.

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Hey, xaf..... over 500 finds and how many placed?  One.  OK you adopted your other 4.  How hard would it be for you to place a decent cache that meets your standards? Perhaps you should spend some time on that pursuit. 

 

I agree that placing an intrigung cache is difficult. I have a few placed that alwas get good logs, which pleases me greatly, but I have nearly reached the end of my creative abilities in placing caches.

 

The point of this post is: Consider the fun you could have in placing more than one cache.  Give it a try, and impress the local cachers with your hides.

It's very hard to find an adequate place for a cache in an area saturated with caches. Personal circumstances may make it even harder. For example, I know dozens of interesting places where I grew up that would be excellent for cache hides. But that's 1600 miles away from where I am. In Houston, basically the only interesting places I've discovered have been because there was a cache there. Therefore, I have very few cache placements because I don't want to place a boring cache. So give the OP a break.

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Having said that what are the guidlines for cache owner maintenance/inspection. I guess they are around but I am a newbie and haven't caught up with everything I need to know yet.

I just placed four caches that go up a sizable peak (for around here). Two of them are ammo cans that should survive for years.

 

All the caches are well hidden and unless someone writes in their log that the cache needs attention, I won't hike back up there to inspect them -- I would rather spend the time finding someone else's caches. :blink:

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All the caches are well hidden and unless someone writes in their log that the cache needs attention, I won't hike back up there to inspect them

Isn't visiting one's cache(s) periodically and comparing the contents of the logbook to the online logs one of the responsibilities of cache ownership?

Edited by Yankees Win!
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Isn't visiting one's cache(s) periodically and comparing the contents of the logbook to the online logs one of the responsibilities of cache ownership?

If so, it's news to me. I like to read the physical log in my caches, but it never occurred to me to do an integrity check. Nor would I.

 

Excellent caches in my area, including the new ones I've done. Lately, I've done several that were new hides in parks that already had a cache I did last year. I love this; these were great parks with plenty of room for multiple caches, and I enjoyed the excuse to go back and re-walk the trails. I'd enjoy it even more as a newbie, exploring a great park and getting multiple smilies for my experience.

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Isn't visiting one's cache(s) periodically and comparing the contents of the logbook to the online logs one of the responsibilities of cache ownership?

If so, it's news to me. I like to read the physical log in my caches, but it never occurred to me to do an integrity check. Nor would I.

I think it's a good idea that you do. I've had a few non-Geocaching.com members visit my caches. They respected the sport's guidlines about signing, dating, and trading items (fairly, too, I might add) when appropriate.

 

I consider checking the logs to be part of my responsibility for maintenance. It's not just an integrity check, many of them leave their thoughts for the owner to read.

 

If an owner is unable to take a little time out to do these little things, then the topic of this cache might apply for that person - Too Many Caches!

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All the caches are well hidden and unless someone writes in their log that the cache needs attention, I won't hike back up there to inspect them

Isn't visiting one's cache(s) periodically and comparing the contents of the logbook to the online logs one of the responsibilities of cache ownership?

Because of where these are, I don't expect more than ten people to find them in a six-month period of time. More than likely, I'm going to know, and trust, those people.

 

Would you climb a mile up a good-sized peak just to check on the logbook? :blink: Especially if you could use that time to look for other caches? :ph34r:

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