Why we all cache. Just curious

[+mgbmusic]

I don't know about anyone else, but I really took up the hobby b/c at the end of the day, there's not much money that goes into it - except the GPS and the gas. But mostly, I enjoy caching, not for the numbers - a quick look at my profile will dispell that notion - and not fort he unique places it takes me. I cache becaue I enjoy hiking, but not for the sake of hiking itself. It's like hiking with a destination.

 

Part of that, is the thrill of the hunt too. Can I find this cache? I have been known to return 3 or 4 times to find a pesky DNF, and I get slightly irritated when it doesn't show up. But mostly, I enjoy the hunt. The SWAG, the logs, the "cleverness of the hide", the location, etc. doesn't really matter to me. I just enjoy getting out and exploring the places I've driven past daily and never gave a second thought to. I also enjoy the nature, which is why most of my finds are woods - urban forests, b/c that's all we really have around here, but nature.

 

Just curious to see what everyone else is into, be it unique hides, drive by caches, shopping mall micros, whatver. This is a ripping free topic.

 

Be nice, kids.

 

--MGb

[+Snoogans]

Just curious to see what everyone else is into, be it unique hides, drive by caches, shopping mall micros, whatver. This is a ripping free topic.

 

Be nice, kids.

 

--MGb

 

"Everyone plays their own game. There is no sense in trying to police another's mindset as long as it falls within the general parameters of the game." Me (quoting myself from the poll that I posted on 10/23/03.)

 

Snoogans' Game:

 

I'm more of a hider than a finder. A great log on one of my caches can really make my day and I try to place caches that will generate good logs.

 

Priority #1 for my hides: Most of my hidden caches must be above par in at least some aspect, or for me, what's the point? You don't see too many TNLNTFTC finds on my caches. All it takes is a little thought in hiding and folks will want to talk about it.

 

Conversely, a cache is a cache to me. I don't feel others need to uphold my personal set of standards in their hides for me to enjoy them. In many cases I don't really enjoy them, but I try to always remember to say thanks. I know that it's MY responsibility to have fun. It's NOT the hider's responsibility to show me a great time, in the safest of conditions, with adequate parking and restrooms, while being kid friendly, clever, giving just the perfect hint, and whatever else it takes to float my boat on that particular day.

 

I don’t absolutely require people to stick to the theme on my theme caches, but it is nice when they do. If someone cheats on my puzzle caches, I don’t care. I just don’t have control issues about small stuff and frankly, cheating to get coords on a puzzle is a part of the game whether people want to admit it or not. Whether it’s by email, under the table, or just hooking up with someone who has already done the work, if you go to the cache and sign the log it’s still a find.

 

When I post an event, I get a hide stat, but I also post a find on my own hosted events. It's hard work hosting an event and I feel that I deserve the find as well.

 

Attending events is my absolute favorite part of geocaching. When I discovered geocaching, it felt like I had found “My People.” I have attended a total of 71 geocaching events (3 non-official GC.com events) in 5 states. (Texas, California, New Mexico, Florida, and Colorado.)

 

I drove over 2,000 total miles just to attend GeoWoodstock III and it's not uncommon for me to make a 300, or 600, mile roundtrip to attend an event on any given weekend. I like talking about geocaching, so I guess that’s why I spend so much time in the forums between events.

 

Hunting caches is usually an opportunistic venture for me. I tend to WANT to hunt caches when I am traveling. I take the ones at home for granted. The nearest unfound cache to my house is less than 2 miles away. There are several caches within an easy walk from my job. One is just a couple hundred yards away.... I haven't bothered to find any of them.

 

When I choose to hunt a cache, at home, it's because the word of mouth on it is such that a great hunt is almost assured.

 

I like virtual and locationless caches.

 

I like a regular cache as much as the next guy, but I’m not repulsed by micros.

 

I think puzzle caches are cool. I don’t possess the skills or equipment (I.E. Sextant, sighting compass) to do many of the ones in my area, but maybe one day I’ll take a stab at them. Heck, it might be fun to team up with someone to tackle them. I certainly don't resent a cache being posted that I can't find.

 

FTF is not my drug of choice although it IS quite good when I get one. I'd rather look at the logs and see if a cache is worth my time most days that I choose to hunt.

 

Sometimes I'm a lazy logger. In the past there have been times when I have been well over 100 caches found that I still hadn't bothered to log.

 

I post ALL of my DNFs immediately. I feel that it is important to let the owner and other potential hunters know my experience of a DNF.

 

I could care less what’s in a cache, but I usually make a trade if there’s anything at all there. Signature items are what I look for and all I really care about other than travel bugs. I especially like ANYTHING that is hand made.

 

I very rarely do more than sign my name in a log book and unless the weather is great and the bugs absent, I very rarely take the time to read one. I’d rather cover it all online. In my online logs I almost never post what I trade. I have a habit of cramming a cache that I enjoyed full of decent stuff and I just don’t feel like listing it all. If all I say is thanks, then you can bet it wasn’t a stellar experience, but I at least appreciate a hider’s effort and don’t waste my time pondering their motivation for placing a cache.

 

I think travel bugs are just plain cool as my TB stats will show. I try to log and move TBs as quickly as possible, but I’m no TB saint. I’ve lost, misplaced, forgotten, and held bugs too long. Eh, it happens.

 

I advocate counting coup (discovering) on TBs even though I rarely do it. To me, Travel Bugs are a game within the game. In MY tb game, a travel bug is a game piece. Just like caches, I want to find as many as I can. I must at least touch a travel bug to get credit for it unless it’s a virtual bug. I get around, so I like to move bugs to rack up mileage and that’s the only reason that I hardly ever count coup.

 

I have 113 travel bug tags of my own. About half of those are activated and of those only about a dozen or so have been released. I don’t have unrealistic expectations about my TBs. I accept responsibility that I released an inanimate item into the world and whatever happens to it is just fine by me regardless if whether it stays on mission or not. I don't hafta live vicariously through them, but a cool picture, or a fun log makes it wayyyy more fun than just throwing money away.

 

Other geocaching sites- I participate at least in some way on many other geocaching/geocaching related sites. A geocache is a geocache is a geocache to me and I really don’t understand the political nature of why some people refuse to consider using alternative cache listing sites. There’s more than one lane on the geocaching highway.

Edited November 23, 2006 by Snoogans

[+TrailGators]

Hiking with a destination is a great way to put it! I also do it to explore and discover awesome areas that I would have never known about or gone to had it not been for geocaching. Geocaching is an escape for me! But I really do it for the memories!

Here are some of my preferences:

1) I like caches that are a challenge to find

2) I like puzzles

3) I could care less about swag

4) I could care less what the container is

5) I prefer scenic hiking caches

6) I enjoy off-roading for caches

7) I really enjoy caching with others

Edited November 23, 2006 by TrailGators

[Tahosa and Sons]

I cache because I just love to hike and want to share some of the neat places that I know of with others that like to spend a day in the hills.

[+StarBrand]

To discover those little hidden away areas that I may have overlooked and to share the ones I know about with others. I too am more of a hider than a finder but I enjoy both.

 

......and (most importantly) to spend quality time with my family doing something we all enjoy.

[+Corp Of Discovery]

Because it's fun.

[+Airmapper]

Geocaching had an instant appeal to me. It wrapped up a lot of things I already enjoyed, into one really cool activity. It has the tech end with the Internet, computers, and GPS, plus the part where you get out of the house and find new places.

 

My favorite type of caches are the ones where you leave the pavement and hike to the cache. I used to try for the urban micros, but I just got annoyed while hunting them, so now I try to find places where I can park the truck and go find several caches in a place like a nature area. But I'm still game for almost any type of cache.

 

EDIT: Darn thing posted before I was done typing.

Edited November 23, 2006 by Airmapper

[me_chris]

most of my finds are woods - urban forests, b/c that's all we really have around here, but nature.

 

I feel you on the woods thing - though, there are some great caches in busse woods in schaumburg... :-)

 

Anyway,

 

I cache because it combines all of the things I like into one activity!

 

1) Hiking

2) Being outdoors

3) Solving puzzles

4) Exploring new places

5) Secret societies (cachers sortof count right?)

6) Maps and Navigation

and....

7) Fun electronic toys that I can keep upgrading every 6 months for no reason!!!!

[+mgbmusic]

Great posts everyone! Snoogans -with that much thought put into a forum post, I can only imagine what your logs are like!

 

I'll definitely check out busse woods. I'ts right on my way home from work, but with a new baby, that'll have to wait a while.

 

I can't wait until I can take my whole family with me, and I'd love to so some events/group caching. they all just happen to be on the weekends when my unfortunate work schedule has me other wise occupied...

 

Let's keep these posts coming!

 

--MGb

[+krisandmel]

I like gadgets, so when I got a GPS for the heckuvit I needed something to do with it.

 

And, I like the outdoors and hiking around anyway.

 

And, I like the kinda secret fun of hunting for treasure.

 

And, it gets me out to see areas that I've lived by for thirty years and never seen before.

 

And, it's something I can enjoy with my wife or a friend or alone.

 

And, it's better than work!

 

~K

[+The SuzyQs]

We cache because we can!

[+Renegade Knight]

It's fun.

[+Clan Delaney]

What did they say about climbing Everest? "Because it's there".

 

The whole thing about knowing that you're part of a very small group of people who know that that container is hidden there... I've always loved that. I never got to join a secret society when I was a kid. This is the next best thing!

[+OldNickCov]

My 'official' reason I started was to learn how to use the GPSr I had bought for 'geotagging' photographs. I suspect I've probably now found more caches than I've geotagged photos. I've certainly spent more time geocaching.

 

I enjoy the walks. I'm not a serious walker, I'm not particularly fit, I certainly don't g trekking across mountains these days, but I do enjoy the little mile or two walks with a reason that geocaching gives.

 

I enjoy the puzzles, and the semi-competitive nature of the hobby. In the area I live there's a very active cache-setter, and a number of us who enjoy getting the FTFs. It's not a real contest, but the lighthearted approach is fun.

 

The social side is good too. I tend to be a bit of a loner, but the two meets I've been to have been fun, with a new bunch of people for me.

[+Jhwk]

to get off the couch and out the door.

[KGunner]

It is like a treasure hunt, and since my 65 Mustang isn't here in CO with me to work on, it keeps me busy.

[+Lighteye]

I asked for a GPS for Christmas last year for fishing,and got one. Meanwhile, I had sold my boat, so what was I to do with this fine gift? I had heard of this thing called "geocaching" and thought I'd give it a try over my Christmas vacation. I was hooked after just one find. An adult easter egg hunt...a search for hidden treasure.

 

So many beautiful sights have been seen, friends made, and the trail goes on forever. What could be better?

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

All of the above!

Ed

[+jcblough]

I like it b/c

gets me out of the house

find cool spots to come back and visit again

like the hunt

stress relief

fun for my oldest boy

love being outdoors

cool way to get back to "orinteering" I had so much fun w/ years ago in scouts.

[+media601]

Because its there. (Ooops, wait, that's why we climb Mount Everest. I get the two confused.)

[+sbell111]

Because that's where the money is?

[+ArtieD]

I like caching because it brings both myself and at times my family to places we'd never normally see. Getting outdoors is so great.

 

As we are all family here, I will share another reason why I personally love to cache...it channels some of my energy I would normally have directed at drinking alcohol...something I haven't touched in over a year now!

Edited November 28, 2006 by Arthur & Trillian

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I like caching because it brings both myself and at times my family to places we'd never normally see. Getting outdoors is so great.

 

As we are all family here, I will share another reason why I personally love to cache...it channels some of my energy I would normally have directed at drinking alcohol...something I haven't touched in over a year now!

 

Way to go! I quit drinking November 22 1979 and have had way more fun sober than I ever did drinking!

 

I hope you are having the same experience!

 

Ed

[+ArtieD]

I like caching because it brings both myself and at times my family to places we'd never normally see. Getting outdoors is so great.

 

As we are all family here, I will share another reason why I personally love to cache...it channels some of my energy I would normally have directed at drinking alcohol...something I haven't touched in over a year now!

 

Way to go! I quit drinking November 22 1979 and have had way more fun sober than I ever did drinking!

 

I hope you are having the same experience!

 

Ed

 

I am...and it's great. Admittedly, it has been tough at times but overall it is very much worth it.

[+sbell111]

I really haven't drank much since college. I had way more fun in college...

[+mgbmusic]

I really haven't drank much since college. I had way more fun in college...

 

Houston, we are drifting down and away...

 

I personally can't wait till my son gets older and we can go out together....And I can't wait til spring...stupid winter in Chicago..... I know, I know....I'm just not as hard-core as some of ya'll...

 

--MGb

Edit: spelling

Edited November 28, 2006 by mgbmusic

[Shiraz-mataz]

Why does anybody do anything? Why do I like tromping around in the woods when my wife mocks me from the comfort of our living room? Why do I love vegetables when my kids would lay down and starve to death next to a can of string beans? Ah... questions which require deep thought...

 

In a nutshell, it gets me outta the house! But when I think back to the very first time someone explained geocaching to me, the thought that there was something secretly hidden "out there" somewhere and that I could find it intrigued me to no end. It's probably similar to the emotions felt by Dr. Robert Ballard back in 1985 as he peered into a monitor at the blurry image of rocks and sand some two and a half miles below, hoping for a hint at the resting place of the Titanic. Imagine his elation when those boilers came into view... Kinda like catching that first glimpse of a Rubbermaid container under a root ball??? Well, maybe a little... We're all a little like Robert Ballard, but with significantly smaller budgets and less whiz-bangery search tools. And maybe our booty amounts to McToys and dollar store junk instead of priceless artifacts from an underwater grave but the reward is internal and no less real.

 

For me specifically, as an only child I am a bit of a loner and prefer to cache by myself or with my kids when they are willing. I'll opt for a cache in the woods over an urban cache any day and am doubly impressed if the hider has invested time in making a clever container and/or a good theme. Swag is ok but I rarely trade - if I do it is always even or up. I enjoy relating my experiences of the hunt in my log on the GC cache page - it's a way of giving back to the hider, sharing more than a simple "TFTC."

 

Travel bugs are pretty fun. I usually check to see if a cache has any TB's in it before I go out and I read the TB's mission. If it doesn't have a mission I won't bother with it. If the mission is kind of cool I will take the TB only if I can help it along. I haven't moved very many TB's but if you look at those I have handled, you will be impressed with some of their adventures (one I am particularly proud of!).

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

I cache (and I place and seek primarily extreme terrain caches, except when I am traveling in an exotic area far from home, such as Michigan, West Virginia, or California), at which time I am a bit less picky about what I will hunt) only because the voices in my head tell me to do so, same as is true with everything else that I do in life. The only problem with admitting this is that many people, upon reading my statement, become extremely jealous because they cannot hear voices in their heads! As famed poet/playright Charles Bukowski once said: "Some people live their lives without ever going crazy. How incredibly dull their lives must be!"

 

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2006 by Vinny & Sue Team

[+emurock]

All of the above!

All of the above and them some.

[+AJB3023]

I bought a Magellan 300 or 310 or something like that several years ago. Used it for hiking and camping. Worked really well to get us there and back. I still have it and it still works great. While reading a outdoors type magazine I discovered the Jeep Geocaching Challange and then followed that to here. The wife and step son and I tried several caches with the old Magallen but didn't find anything, BUT still had more fun than if we had just been on a regular hike, because my step-son got involved and had a purpose other than just walking in the woods. Since getting the EX 400 we are 3 for 3. The wife has already ordered a Palm for me so we can go paperless. So I guess the answer is because its fun, because its good exercise, because my step-son gets involved and has fun.

[Luckless]

I think I like it because it is something that I can do by myself and yet I don't feel alone because of all those who have blazed the trail before me and maybe left a little account of their effort in the cache or online.

[+mgbmusic]

I think I like it because it is something that I can do by myself and yet I don't feel alone because of all those who have blazed the trail before me and maybe left a little account of their effort in the cache or online.

 

Feeling nostalgic. wanted to give this one a bump..

 

--MGb

[Pnerissa]

I like it because it lets me feed my secret desire to live the life of Indiana Jones, Laura Croft, Sydney Fox (Relic Hunter), or Flynn Carsen (The Librarian). Who can resist the urge to adventure for hidden "treasure"? Not I. So I may lead a boring M-F 8-5 job during the week, but come the weekend I am a daring adventurer on a quest for hidden treasure!!

 

Nerissa

[nonaeroterraqueous]

• It's the most comprehensive way to play with my GPS
  
• It gives me someplace to go that doesn't involve eating, watching movies, or otherwise spending money.
  
• I get all the benefits of human involvement, minus all of that tedious human interaction.
  
• I'm marginally insane (not really, I hope)
  

[+Bamboogirl]

Things Parents frequently tell their children:

 

"Look at you. How did you get so filthy dirty?"

"Put that down. You don't know where it's been."

"Get out of that tree. Do you want to break your arm?"

"Where were you?"

"Why do you keep staring at your feet mumbling? Look at me when I talk to you."

"Get out from under that bush."

"Take your hand out of there. There could be snakes/spiders/things that bits in there."

"What are you doing with all that junk?"

"You could at least leave a note so I'll know where to look for your body."

"Oh no. You are NOT going to climb up that cliff/down a mine shaft just because your friends are."

"Get out of the house. It's too nice to sit in front of the TV/computer/video game all day."

 

Geocaching give us all an excuse to torment our parents. We are simply reliving our childhoods with better toys.

[+txoilgas]

Things Parents frequently tell their children:

.......

Geocaching give us all an excuse to torment our parents. We are simply reliving our childhoods with better toys.

 

VERY WELL SAID !!!

[+ReadyOrNot]

It depends on the day. Some days it's fun to go out and grab a bunch of them. Some days it's fun to do puzzles.. Just depends on the mood...

 

But most of all, when a new cache shows up on the radar, I grab my stuff and am out the door! Rain, snow, sleet, ice.. 20 degrees below zero. Who cares! It's not for the reasons you'd think. I don't really care about numbers. I care about them in the sense that if I say I have 250, then I better have 250, but the greatest part of the first to find rush is that 90% of my cacher encounters happen on a FTF mad dash.

 

I've never attended an event. Not because I don't want to, just haven't taken advantage of the opportunity.

[+DutchGeek & Lollypops]

I figured when I read everyone's replies that i could not possibly add anything, but then I realised that this is not the point of this thread, so here goes with why I enjoy it.

 

I got started because I bought a GPSr and needed to rationalise it to my wife, so I found geocaching. After a couple of finds, circumstances stopped me going out and forced the sale of the GPSr. Recently, having come into posession of another GPSr, I returned to the site to see if my registration was still active and it was so I decided to give it another stab.

 

I'm a sales rep and drive all day everyday for a living. I'm getting a little larger around the equator and thought that I should probably do a little more exercise, and wanted to do some thing I could do in my lunch break, something I could do either alone or with other people (you see I also go climbing, but that is a little more difficult to do on your own, at least if you do not have a death wish), and some thing which was not just walking for walking's sake. Geocaching ticks all the boxes for me. Some times I only find one cache in a week. Other times I find five or six in a day, but I still get the same satisfaction out of it.

I'm proud of my first FTF, I love finding TBs and helping them to attain their goal if I can and I hope to carry on walking with my electronic gizmo looking for lunchboxes for a long time to come.

[+Manimal N Button]

we cache for the adventure. We like not knowing where exactly we will end up or exactly what we will find. That and its a good way to get fresh air and exercise. A nice hike in the woods is a lot more fun than running your rear end off for an our on a tread mill in a stinky sweaty gym!

[+gh patriot]

Get away from the Mrs.

[+vaddynwashere]

• It gives me someplace to go that doesn't involve eating, watching movies, or otherwise spending money.
  
• I'm marginally insane (not really, I hope)
  

 

YES! Exactly!

+ Gives me a reason to get out of the house when otherwise I would be sitting at home wasting time on livejournal and forums.

+ Free unless you choose to spend/invest money in it.

+ I am definitely "marginally" insane. I'm one of those who can spontaneously decide to go on a roadtrip at 3 in the morning and leave in less than an hour. Used to have a friend just like that... I miss her Now I do all my crazy stuff alone and it's not nearly as much fun