First...Find 100

[+Outspoken1]

I do agree with the intent of the original post. Yes, there are people who have a natural ability to make great hides--but a little experience can truly help. I don't think '100' was meant as a hard rule, but the author was trying to get across the idea of learning (yes, learning!) the difference between a mediocre cache, a good hide and a great cache!

 

Why? Because I have learned this lesson in my profession. I am a massage therapist and I remember learning so much when I was in massage school. One of my teachers said, (paraphrased) "When you graduate from here, you will be able to give a competent massage. If you choose to learn and grow in this profession, the following is true. By the time you have given 500 massages, you will be starting to learn what is a true massage. By the time you have done 1,000, you will have a great foundation. By the time you have given 10,000 massages, you will be a well-qualified massage therapist."

 

I have been in practice for 11 years now and I fully realize that the massage I provided when I graduated from massage school pales in comparison to the massage I provide now. Was I a poor massage therapist at first? No. But I had much to learn and experience. When I first started really geocaching (only about 18 months ago), I had read similar advice on the forum boards. Because of my massage school experience, I did follow the wait until 100 (or a few more than 1). I have had many compliments from my hides; in large part because I learned from other caches - what makes a really neato cache versus an obvious lampost skirt hide (no, I am NOT opening that can of worms because SOMETIMES the LSC is a fun hide - watch out for hornet nests, though). To prove my point, look at the HUGE forum posting on 'Evil Caches.'

 

This sport/hobby is so fantastic because it runs and continues to grow on 99% volunteer work. All of us fellow geocachers basically 'get along' to grow this world-wide game into both a learning and exploring experience. So maybe waiting until a new cacher gets good footing (that learning thing again) in the nuances (which are very hard to 'write up' in the directions for hiding a cache) with more than a handful of finds would add to everyones pleasure and experience.

 

Take care,

Outspoken1