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Over Hiding


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Over hiding

 

Every once in a while, when I get a chance, I use google earth to look at the caches in some area of the world with no real purpose but to see what is out there. I have noticed that in some areas, there is a cacher or two who seem to be “over hiding”.

 

The ones I am talking about have put say over a 200 caches in just one county or area – and every week they place several new caches. Now, I am new to this, and it is nice to have come into the game when there is already a large number of caches to choose from. But I am getting ready to hide my first, and it seems like some of these “over hiders” are taking more then their far share of good hiding spots.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

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Over hiding

 

But I am getting ready to hide my first, and it seems like some of these "over hiders" are taking more then their far share of good hiding spots.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

In regard to the OP: In my not so humble opinion, Ya snooze, Ya LOSE. The OP comes off like sour grapes.

It is nice to be in a cache rich area, but like Hula Bum said - they are not all meaningfull. Some have notes like "came across here, thought it should have a chache" and then a few hundred feet later the same hider finds something worth putting a cache at and does another one.

I'm more of a hider than a finder, but I go for quality over quantity.

 

I don't hold other hiders to my standards or I would find little to enjoy about geocaching.

 

Frankly, if the cache was approved and there's no valid reason to report the cache to Groundspeak for a violation of the guidelines, it counts. Some are just more inspired than others, but remember, it's someone's effort to add to the game regardless of your perception.

The hider is playing a game called geocaching. They are evidently playing it right because their cache was approved.

 

You are also playing a GAME (sport/hobby/obsession/etc.) evidently called MY version of Geocaching 1.5, or maybe even 2.O. You seem to be failing at your game if you are not able to enjoy it. -snoogans

 

"Failure is a hard pill to swallow until you realize the only failure you can really have in this sport is the failure to enjoy yourself."

TotemLake 4/26/04

 

"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.)

If someone else's valid effort to contribute irritates you, uhhhh, maybe you're just looking for something to get irritated about. Maybe not.

 

I come here to enjoy myself, not to be irritated by what I percieve to be another person's motive for hiding a cache. It's not worth the effort to have that angst for me. ;)

Edited by Snoogans
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If they're hiding in meaningful spots that's one thing. But just to put a cache in a location cuz there isn't one within a tenth of a mile irritates me.

 

You mean like one in the bushes in front of a pizza hut.....I was running errands yesterday and just followed my GPS to a nearby cache to see if I wanted to bother. Started zeroing in on it and when I realized the area (Between a Pizza Hut and a Mexican resturant), the thrill was gone and I went home. I didn't pick up this game/sport to find boring caches in front of WalMarts, Pizza Huts, under Lamp Posts, etc.....

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If they're hiding in meaningful spots that's one thing. But just to put a cache in a location cuz there isn't one within a tenth of a mile irritates me.

 

You mean like one in the bushes in front of a pizza hut.....I was running errands yesterday and just followed my GPS to a nearby cache to see if I wanted to bother. Started zeroing in on it and when I realized the area (Between a Pizza Hut and a Mexican resturant), the thrill was gone and I went home. I didn't pick up this game/sport to find boring caches in front of WalMarts, Pizza Huts, under Lamp Posts, etc.....

 

Being in town running errands. Just what did you really expect? A scenic overlook? A view of the ocean? To expect a "thrilling" cache would be what I call wishful thinking.

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If they're hiding in meaningful spots that's one thing. But just to put a cache in a location cuz there isn't one within a tenth of a mile irritates me.

 

You mean like one in the bushes in front of a pizza hut.....I was running errands yesterday and just followed my GPS to a nearby cache to see if I wanted to bother. Started zeroing in on it and when I realized the area (Between a Pizza Hut and a Mexican resturant), the thrill was gone and I went home. I didn't pick up this game/sport to find boring caches in front of WalMarts, Pizza Huts, under Lamp Posts, etc.....

 

Being in town running errands. Just what did you really expect? A scenic overlook? A view of the ocean? To expect a "thrilling" cache would be what I call wishful thinking.

 

Considering the rich history of this area, you never know. This area is dotted with historical markers dating back to the founding of the country, parks, monuments, and old buildings. It wouldn't be hard to place imaginative caches even in this suburban environment

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Being in town running errands. Just what did you really expect? A scenic overlook? A view of the ocean? To expect a "thrilling" cache would be what I call wishful thinking.

You have really low expectations, as do many, which is pretty sad. I can tell you from firsthand experience, quality is not impossible, it just requires a little effort.

 

Not low expectations. But realistic expectations. I do realize there can be a gem amongst the rocks. But they are the exception not the rule. I was just amazed that the poster said the thrill was gone and just went home. That seemed a bit drastic to me to have the wind taken out of the sails so easily.

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Being in town running errands. Just what did you really expect? A scenic overlook? A view of the ocean? To expect a "thrilling" cache would be what I call wishful thinking.

You have really low expectations, as do many, which is pretty sad. I can tell you from firsthand experience, quality is not impossible, it just requires a little effort.

Not low expectations. But realistic expectations. I do realize there can be a gem amongst the rocks. But they are the exception not the rule. I was just amazed that the poster said the thrill was gone and just went home. That seemed a bit drastic to me to have the wind taken out of the sails so easily.
There are a lot of people like that. The four other members of my family and some of my firends used to come with me but all it took was a few pointless caches for all of them to say "This is not fun" and quit coming with me. At the time, I didn't let a few caches bother me so I persisted. However, since then those kinds of caches have become very common. Too common in my opinion. I cope with this by ignoring them when I run into them. I refuse to log them anymore. Anyhow, as far as the OPs question, "How many caches are too many caches?" my answer is one cache if it's a no effort type of cache, and no limit if effort and care are put into each cache placed. Edited by TrailGators
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Not low expectations. But realistic expectations. I do realize there can be a gem amongst the rocks. But they are the exception not the rule. I was just amazed that the poster said the thrill was gone and just went home. That seemed a bit drastic to me to have the wind taken out of the sails so easily.

 

Its not that the wind is gone from my sails so easily, its just that I could give a rat's behind about a film canister/altoids tin/whatever thrown under a dumpster behind a pizza joint/walmart/stripmall. Out of curiosity, and without paper, I followed the cache icon on my GPS just to see if it was worth pursuing.

I know that not everyone is in this for the same thing. For some its about the hunt, and finding a film canister in some bushes while not getting caught ;) is exciting for them. For me, I want to find something unique, an excuse to walk through a park, or somekind of beauty.

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Not low expectations. But realistic expectations. I do realize there can be a gem amongst the rocks. But they are the exception not the rule. I was just amazed that the poster said the thrill was gone and just went home. That seemed a bit drastic to me to have the wind taken out of the sails so easily.

 

Its not that the wind is gone from my sails so easily, its just that I could give a rat's behind about a film canister/altoids tin/whatever thrown under a dumpster behind a pizza joint/walmart/stripmall. Out of curiosity, and without paper, I followed the cache icon on my GPS just to see if it was worth pursuing.

I know that not everyone is in this for the same thing. For some its about the hunt, and finding a film canister in some bushes while not getting caught ;) is exciting for them. For me, I want to find something unique, an excuse to walk through a park, or somekind of beauty.

My advice to you is to ignore those caches. There are lots of good ones. Start a "Must-Do" cache thread for your area in your local forum and find those caches! ;) Edited by TrailGators
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I don't even mind urban caches, there is one here by the home depot that i like and another a few blocks away by the mall. bu really i am talking about ONE person hiding 200 plus caches in a small geographic area.

 

8 in just last week. seems like some people just lay them out there anywhere with out a care but to log another hide.

That's why I wish they had an ignore button for cachers. So you could blow away all their caches from your radar screen with one click! ;)
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Thanks goodness my area isn't that saturated, yet!! But like others posted above, I like to use a cache as a reason to walk a few steps, get away from the truck for a bit. Or, better, to see something unique or interesting that I would have missed otherwise. So far, the most uninteresting cache that I have done was a magnetic on a guardrail, no challenge.

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Oh, yes, I have a few random thoughts.

 

If a person has been geocaching for several years, and likes to create hides, they may easily have a couple of hundred hides in a relatively small area without overdoing it at all. Good hides tend to take care of themselves for the most part and need few visits to maintain.

 

Putting out several hides at once may be the result of weeks of pre-planning before the person manages to find some time to physically place them. Alternately, they may have been placing them for a couple of weeks, and only recently had time to write them up. Face it, if you are out geocaching, you have a lot of opportunity to see neat places to put a cache. Alternately, the reviewer may have only recently had time to work on caches in the area.

 

Most people hide caches because other people go find their caches. It's no fun to put out hides that no one visits or caches people complain about. I'd bet that most prolific cache hiders have a good ratio of interesting caches--at least the prolific hiders that keep at it over years.

 

No offense to you, but your profile shows very few caches found and a recent join date. If that is a true reflection of your caching history, I'd suggest you go find a couple dozen of the caches that one person puts out before you form an opinion about their motiviation for hiding the caches or the quality and worth of the caches they hide.

 

I remember feeling frustrated when I first started because I wanted to place a cache, but it seemed like all the "best spots" were already taken by people who had been doing this for years. Now I realize there are still many great spots around, and the old-timers frequently archive caches in my area so someone else can place something new that they can find. And in the meanwhile, I learned more about what makes a "good" hide, so the caches I am putting out are better than they might have been.

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Not low expectations. But realistic expectations. I do realize there can be a gem amongst the rocks. But they are the exception not the rule. I was just amazed that the poster said the thrill was gone and just went home. That seemed a bit drastic to me to have the wind taken out of the sails so easily.

 

Its not that the wind is gone from my sails so easily, its just that I could give a rat's behind about a film canister/altoids tin/whatever thrown under a dumpster behind a pizza joint/walmart/stripmall. Out of curiosity, and without paper, I followed the cache icon on my GPS just to see if it was worth pursuing.

I know that not everyone is in this for the same thing. For some its about the hunt, and finding a film canister in some bushes while not getting caught ;) is exciting for them. For me, I want to find something unique, an excuse to walk through a park, or somekind of beauty.

My advice to you is to ignore those caches. There are lots of good ones. Start a "Must-Do" cache thread for your area in your local forum and find those caches! ;)

 

I hear that a lot. Ignore them. The problem is that you don't know they are a waste of time until you've wasted your time driving there and scoping out the area.

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none taken neos2, i am new to the game, thus the question - so i can get a better idea of the situtaion from more experineced cachers.

 

And i do like your point about being able to see more places to cache as i get better at it. Maybe that is why i was feeling frusterated: it seems to me that a particular person is taking more then their fair share of spots, but maybe i just don't realize how many good spots there are.

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Not low expectations. But realistic expectations. I do realize there can be a gem amongst the rocks. But they are the exception not the rule. I was just amazed that the poster said the thrill was gone and just went home. That seemed a bit drastic to me to have the wind taken out of the sails so easily.

 

Its not that the wind is gone from my sails so easily, its just that I could give a rat's behind about a film canister/altoids tin/whatever thrown under a dumpster behind a pizza joint/walmart/stripmall. Out of curiosity, and without paper, I followed the cache icon on my GPS just to see if it was worth pursuing.

I know that not everyone is in this for the same thing. For some its about the hunt, and finding a film canister in some bushes while not getting caught ;) is exciting for them. For me, I want to find something unique, an excuse to walk through a park, or somekind of beauty.

My advice to you is to ignore those caches. There are lots of good ones. Start a "Must-Do" cache thread for your area in your local forum and find those caches! ;)

 

I hear that a lot. Ignore them. The problem is that you don't know they are a waste of time until you've wasted your time driving there and scoping out the area.

Someday maybe they'll solve that problem for us. Until they do I'm just gonna back into my car and go somewhere else. I haven't been doing this for very long, but I'm not going to condone these kind of caches by logging them anymore.
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Will Jeep for Cache I have a solution to the over hiding.

Move out here.

There are 437 caches in the 50 mile perimeter from my home.

of those I only have 120 to yet find. And they are way out towards the fringe of the 50 miles.

There are 3654 in the 50 mile perimeter of your first cache find.

Take the Jeep and head out off road to find cache hiding locales.

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Crud Duck, only 120 to go. Yeah, that sucks. i should send one of these guys up to your area for a month - maybe the one that over 250 hides.

 

that puts a different spin on things - i haven't even thought about running out of caches.

 

thanks for the comment, and by-the-way i wish i had my jeep out caching today instead of sitting at home with a house full of sicklings.

 

good luck

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none taken neos2, i am new to the game, thus the question - so i can get a better idea of the situtaion from more experineced cachers.

 

And i do like your point about being able to see more places to cache as i get better at it. Maybe that is why i was feeling frusterated: it seems to me that a particular person is taking more then their fair share of spots, but maybe i just don't realize how many good spots there are.

 

I'm willing to bet that yoiu don't realize that there are many good spots. I live in one of the most densely cached states in the country and I'm constantly amazed by the fascinating, or just plain nice areas my fellow locals come up with to place caches.

 

As the cache density increases it takes more work to find these places, but you can. Read newspapers and magazines keeping your eyes out for mention of interesting places or new open space land purchases. Go over maps, sat photos, and read books about local history. These are all things you can do to find good places to hide caches. And its not a matter of shoe horning a new cache into an already saturated park. If you do your legwork you can find new places.

 

Just this weekend I discovered a cacheless undeveloped park tucked away in a residential neighborhood a few miles from my home. I had been been driving by for years wondering who owned the land. When I finally took the time to investigate, I found the land (100 acres) was purchased several years ago by the town and devoted to "passive recreation". It's not the exactly the Grand Canyon as far as scenery, but its a quiet little ravine with a stream, pond and a hemlock grove. The kind of place that I think many geocachers like to visit.

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As said here by others, a lot depends on the quality. For some even one hide is too many if it's a really lame, junky hide.

 

But with that said, there are some areas where if it wasn't for 1 or 2 very prolific local hiders, there'd be very few hiders. While in the southern, more "urban" (but still lots of nice parks and small forest preserves that have caches) part of the county where I live there are lots of cachers, if it weren't for 2 hiders, geobernd and jonboy, there'd be almost no caches in the northern part of this county. And their caches are all "quality", usually some very nice views and often quite a challenge. I certainly don't want them to stop hiding. <_<

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As said here by others, a lot depends on the quality. For some even one hide is too many if it's a really lame, junky hide.

 

But with that said, there are some areas where if it wasn't for 1 or 2 very prolific local hiders, there'd be very few hiders. While in the southern, more "urban" (but still lots of nice parks and small forest preserves that have caches) part of the county where I live there are lots of cachers, if it weren't for 2 hiders, geobernd and jonboy, there'd be almost no caches in the northern part of this county. And their caches are all "quality", usually some very nice views and often quite a challenge. I certainly don't want them to stop hiding. <_<

 

Quality, quality, quality!

 

X

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Not low expectations. But realistic expectations. I do realize there can be a gem amongst the rocks. But they are the exception not the rule. I was just amazed that the poster said the thrill was gone and just went home. That seemed a bit drastic to me to have the wind taken out of the sails so easily.

 

Its not that the wind is gone from my sails so easily, its just that I could give a rat's behind about a film canister/altoids tin/whatever thrown under a dumpster behind a pizza joint/walmart/stripmall. Out of curiosity, and without paper, I followed the cache icon on my GPS just to see if it was worth pursuing.

I know that not everyone is in this for the same thing. For some its about the hunt, and finding a film canister in some bushes while not getting caught <_< is exciting for them. For me, I want to find something unique, an excuse to walk through a park, or somekind of beauty.

 

How do you know if it wasn't the first stage of a multi if you didn't see the cache page but just followed the icon without knowing what kind of cache it was. Who knows maybe if you had opened that film can you would see another set of coordinates to a better spot. But then maybe not. :blink:

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How do you know if it wasn't the first stage of a multi if you didn't see the cache page but just followed the icon without knowing what kind of cache it was. Who knows maybe if you had opened that film can you would see another set of coordinates to a better spot. But then maybe not. :)

 

Or a virtual. Or a puzzle. Just downloading coordinates into your GPSr and blindly going there isn't going to work in many cases. You really need the cache descriptions in many cases, which is why many folks carry a Palm containing all the cache data.

 

JustMike

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Over hiding

 

Every once in a while, when I get a chance, I use google earth to look at the caches in some area of the world with no real purpose but to see what is out there. I have noticed that in some areas, there is a cacher or two who seem to be “over hiding”.

 

The ones I am talking about have put say over a 200 caches in just one county or area – and every week they place several new caches. Now, I am new to this, and it is nice to have come into the game when there is already a large number of caches to choose from. But I am getting ready to hide my first, and it seems like some of these “over hiders” are taking more then their far share of good hiding spots.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

No

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Over hiding

 

Every once in a while, when I get a chance, I use google earth to look at the caches in some area of the world with no real purpose but to see what is out there. I have noticed that in some areas, there is a cacher or two who seem to be “over hiding”.

 

The ones I am talking about have put say over a 200 caches in just one county or area – and every week they place several new caches. Now, I am new to this, and it is nice to have come into the game when there is already a large number of caches to choose from. But I am getting ready to hide my first, and it seems like some of these “over hiders” are taking more then their far share of good hiding spots.

 

The way you post the question, I would say no. If someone is taking that many spots, quite frankly, it is because others are not. People should not limit their activity "just in case" someone else might want to start participating.

 

I did look at your area and, yes, it has quite a density however I can still see many potential areas. Metro areas like near me our see this as a norm.

 

Now, if you were to ask about maintenance, since they are fairly close, they may or may not be maintain properly. However there are some prolific hiders that cover an area of 150 or so miles end to end that still continue to hide and it is questionable if they are being properly maintained. I can't give a hard and fast number, but you should only place what you can reasonably care for yourself or with the help of friends.

 

As your finds increase, your targets naturally decrease. At some point, you will start appreciating the prolific hiders.

 

Now I have to go pick out the splinters I just got from that fencepost.

Edited by baloo&bd
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I have over 600 active hides mainly across a four/five county area in western NC. My hides are a diverse mix of every conceivable type of cache. If you want park-and-grabs, I got em. Puzzles that will make your head spin, come on down. Long hikes to awesome views, bring a camera. I continue to find cool spots for caches, as do other cachers in the area.

 

A few months ago a new cacher complained that I had all the great spots already taken; they have recently started a 101 Dalmatian series, and many of these are not just park-and-grabs but have taken me to new/cool spots.

 

Is there a great city/county/state/national park in your area? Can you fit in another cache or three? How about a different trail with no cache? Is there a historical multi-cache in the area that takes you from historical marker to historical marker and winds up at a cache? And if you hate park-and-grabs at least make it a puzzle cache so that the seekers have to work a little.

 

Good luck!

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That's why I wish they had an ignore button for cachers. So you could blow away all their caches from your radar screen with one click! :P

I have to agree on that one.

 

I've seen cachers who could hide hundreds and do a great job with each one. Then there are those who barely finish off their Altoids before tearing off a strip of paper bag for a log and tossing the whole un-cammo'ed thing into a bush, several times a week. It's a real problem, but it's not always easy to make people understand it. It is a problem for me, because I don't like to geocache alone. I'm always willing to find just about anything, but I can't keep other people interested when the people hiding the caches don't put enough effort into it.

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There is a fellow in my area that has placed 136 micros about town...and he doesn't even live in my town. I hardly see how they can all be servicable. Most (I think,) are scrolls rolled into sawed off pens. No booty to find. So I too wish there was a block button. And I absolutely hate wasting my time driving to a cache, only to find it's just another LPC, which I refuse to do anyway. Very irritating I say!

monkeytap-6-7.gif

Edited by X-isle
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*no i am not bumping my topic* this is a legit update

 

I went out this weekend and took some scouts on their first time caching. we went to a couple of caches that happened to be owned by THE particular cacher that prompted me to start this thread. Quality was the key - you were right. I fear that these scouts will never get into caching, partly because of these low quality hides.

 

clear plastic containers, contatining 2 or 3 items (some advertising the cacher's business), hidden in bushes, just off the road. The thought that maybe the cacher tossed the caches from his truck window was brought up. It was very sad.

 

Both of these were near ghost towns and could have been GREAT caches, but sadly they were not.

 

When i emailed the cacher to express my dissapointment, all he reaplied was "Cool places huh? thanks for visiting the caches."

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Retiredprof does have a lot of hides, and I've found a fair amount of his hides. I also have a couple from him that were dnf's as they were kind of tough for me. I know they were still there since they were found by people after me. I do like the fact that he chooses areas that may have some memories of my past (I spent a great deal of my life in his area of California) and one of them is even hidden on a relative's property, with permission. A few I've found are the common film cans, but the thing about them is that they are in out of the way places that many of us would not ever otherwise explore. Places we've driven past for years and never ventured to just to "see what's there". Some think that's boring, and I'm ok with that, I like to explore roads that I've never been to just to see what's out there, even if it's just a road between rolling hills in the middle of nowhere (yes he has a few like that). If I'd done my homework, I could have snagged someone else's hide also.. but alas, my pda was only loaded at the time with his stuff.

 

In my case, I'm using a Garmin 12XL with no mapping capability, the arrow points this way and that and I have to do the physical mapping based on a road map or my memory looking at it in Google earth. Sometimes it's frustrating and I keep promising myself that I'll get a mapping unit someday, but my wife enjoys that part of it, so for her, I'll keep the old 12xl for when we go out together.

 

Vince

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There is a fellow in my area that has placed 136 micros about town...and he doesn't even live in my town. I hardly see how they can all be servicable. Most (I think,) are scrolls rolled into sawed off pens. No booty to find. So I too wish there was a block button. And I absolutely hate wasting my time driving to a cache, only to find it's just another LPC, which I refuse to do anyway. Very irritating I say!

monkeytap-6-7.gif

 

 

The page for each cache notes the owner, so it is possible to avoid a problem cacher. Also one can get a good feel for the type of cache from the location (google map or google earth), although one can't determine a poor cache in a good location.

 

I think there is a consensus, although not unanimous, that as long as a person is placing quality caches that are being maintained, he or she is doing a service for all of us, and the more the better. If one is creative, there is no shortage of places to place caches. I don't think over-saturation is a problem. In my neck of the woods, my "burn rate" for finding caches is exceeding the rate of placement.

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