P&G Micros are Taking Over the World

[+Deliveryguy428]

We all play the game a different way and sadly some people don't like that because those people who place the easy p-n-g tend to tick off the "old timers" because back then it was all about the woods and being in nature.

 

 

I'll be honest and I do not care what is said, I will search for anything and everything. I was just recently in Charleston SC and yes I hit some basic p-n-g's but I also found a few caches that either gave me some type of history, a great view, a nice park. Instead of sitting here why not lets all go out and caches those caches we like and leave the others alone

 

 

I agree with Sbelle...it is July, the average temp right now here is close to 100 BEFORE the heat index, but I have a few on my list I want to go and get when the temp. starts to drop that involves some hiking

[+GRANPA ALEX]

FWIW from a new cacher, I have only one hide, and it is a very easy find. It is right near the Trans-Canada Highway, east of Regina, about 80 miles. I made it an easy find because it is likely that anyone who is travelling by would just enjoy the break, park the car, walk a hundred yards, make the find, maybe trade some swag, and be off. A little stealth may be required at certain times of the day, but it is a really nice area, good for the dog or the kids to run around a bit. Each to his/her own in this game, as I see it. kjohn73

 

This is a good idea for a cache . . . kinda like 'rest stop' hides on long freeway drives - gives one a refreshing break and a find log in an area deep into other territory .

[+hikemeister]

I know there are many opinions, but mine is, that after rich dark Rocky Road . . . there was NO reason to have any other flavors (it ain't no soft serve) .

 

As for cache types that I seek . . . mostly P&G because most of the caches are P&G caches. Locally, I try to cache out the area to support my local hiders . . . out-of-town, with the costs involved, it is strictly number runs except for occassional 'special' caches (ie: Elvis Confluence, etc.).

 

There are purists who still want "in-the-woods-hikes-climbs-etc. caches" to be the rule rather than the exception (this is fine!). These friends have become extremists simply by not moving because the game has gravitated heavily to micro P&G caches . . . initially this move was okay as it satisfied a need in growing the population of players and hides. But (IMO), it has gone too far in that direction. I used to find these purists to be a bore but I am starting to wish they had had more impact several years ago, before it got so crazy (can't believe I am sayng this) .

 

I will try any cache (locally) but I have gained a low frustration level and tire quickly of puzzles that seem more designed to NOT be found. For me, there is really no joy in such difficulty-elevated hides that have all the time & expense of a smiley, but suffer only a DNF. Long multi-caches, drive-to-stages are too expensive today.

 

That's all I have . . .

 

The cost of gas definately has become an issue. We used to live in south Florida and after about a year, found all of the caches within an hours drive - then started doing day long cache hunts within a much larger radius. However, back then gas prices were much lower. Then we moved to north Florida and have found all of the local caches up this way -- and are not repeating the wide radius geocaching approach because it costs too darned much to drive around all day. We now take them as the opportunity arises, like when we travel to different places on vacation.

 

P&G micros are a problem sometimes in that case. This summer we are headed over to Austria and I have a geocoin that wants to get home (to that country). Finding a full size cache was not easy, because about 90% of caches in the areas we will travel are either micros or full size caches with a 4 or 5 terrain (we are not mountain climbers or long distance hikers).

 

[+WebChimp]

 

Hey WebChimp -- where did you get all of those slick graphics on your web page? You must have every possible statistic that can be calculated displayed in pie charts, bar graphs and/or tables. Is this a canned program that you found in the web or self - generated?

 

I take it that in addition to Steely Dan (agree -- one of the best), steaks (agree again) and ammo cans (agree again) you are interested in numbers.

 

 

The stats and images are generated by a GSAK macro called FindStatGen3. It can be downloaded from the GSAK website.

 

It's not about the numbers.

[+Kit Fox]

I tend to place caches that Least Effort Per Smiley cachers tend to avoid. It is disappointing to get few finds on my hard to reach caches, but the long, descriptive logs are far more valuable to me than hundreds of TFTCs. My cache Eisen-Faust has had one find in almost two years. The found it log was priceless.

 

 

I tend to avoid most P&G micros, and hunt the caches that appeal most to me. Rather than lower my fun standards looking for carpy P&Gs , I engage in other forms of entertainment like fishing, hunting, and hiking.

[+vree]

Meh. What other people do affects me only to the extent that so many people find the park and grabs, micros in the woods, parking lot skirt lifters, etc. that these are the more popular placements and I need to filter through them to try to find what I consider to be quality placements.

 

That is one reason why I only have 4 finds this year, but to each their own.

[+sbell111]

P&G micros are a problem sometimes in that case. This summer we are headed over to Austria and I have a geocoin that wants to get home (to that country). Finding a full size cache was not easy, because about 90% of caches in the areas we will travel are either micros or full size caches with a 4 or 5 terrain (we are not mountain climbers or long distance hikers).

This isn't an issue for me because since I am a premium member I can build pocket queries filtered by size. Alternatively, I can load all the caches to my GPSr and pda, but sort for non-micros on-the-fly if I need to place a traveler.

[+hikemeister]

P&G micros are a problem sometimes in that case. This summer we are headed over to Austria and I have a geocoin that wants to get home (to that country). Finding a full size cache was not easy, because about 90% of caches in the areas we will travel are either micros or full size caches with a 4 or 5 terrain (we are not mountain climbers or long distance hikers).

This isn't an issue for me because since I am a premium member I can build pocket queries filtered by size. Alternatively, I can load all the caches to my GPSr and pda, but sort for non-micros on-the-fly if I need to place a traveler.

 

Me too, but I never realized that I could filter by size! That is fantastic and worth all of this other chatter to find out (even better than the information on how to make slick graphs of cache finds).

 

THANKS !!

[+WebChimp]

I tend to avoid most P&G micros, and hunt the caches that appeal most to me.

 

Not being in an urban area, with gas near $4/gallon, we have a limited number of caches to hunt, so we tend to do all of them as they crop up. A new cache in the area is cause for celebration in these parts.

[+sseegars]

I tend to avoid most P&G micros, and hunt the caches that appeal most to me.

 

Not being in an urban area, with gas near $4/gallon, we have a limited number of caches to hunt, so we tend to do all of them as they crop up. A new cache in the area is cause for celebration in these parts.

 

Amen brother (or sister as the case may be!) You have to consider that some of us don't live in areas of high cache density. I think that if the sport had remained where it was and hadn't evolved to where it is now, micros or not, it would have died out. You gotta keep changing to get new blood in. And what about cachers who may be physically challenged? P&G's may be all that some can find.

[+Kit Fox]

I tend to avoid most P&G micros, and hunt the caches that appeal most to me.

 

Not being in an urban area, with gas near $4/gallon, we have a limited number of caches to hunt, so we tend to do all of them as they crop up. A new cache in the area is cause for celebration in these parts.

 

Amen brother (or sister as the case may be!) You have to consider that some of us don't live in areas of high cache density. I think that if the sport had remained where it was and hadn't evolved to where it is now, micros or not, it would have died out. You gotta keep changing to get new blood in. And what about cachers who may be physically challenged? P&G's may be all that some can find.

 

So disabled cachers are relegated to parking lots, guardrails, trash filled alleys, and other nasty spots?

 

For the record, this park and grab / lamp post cache is in my favorite finds bookmark.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

And what about cachers who may be physically challenged? P&G's may be all that some can find.

This logic bothers me. We may be disabled, gimped up, physically challenged, choose your buzzword, but that doesn't make us stupid!

 

Yes, the 'park' part of P&G might be a realistic consideration, we do have terrain concerns, but the 'grab' part is not a realistic need.

 

We don't need it to be easy to find, just accessible!

 

Few folks short of being blind quadriplegics NEED a skirt-lifter! (And yes, I have cached with blind and quad geocachers who did not need them to be easy).

 

If you want to hide them with the disabled in mind then thank you for making the terrain accessible, but there is no reason to keep the difficulty level easy.

[+sseegars]

I tend to avoid most P&G micros, and hunt the caches that appeal most to me.

 

Not being in an urban area, with gas near $4/gallon, we have a limited number of caches to hunt, so we tend to do all of them as they crop up. A new cache in the area is cause for celebration in these parts.

 

Amen brother (or sister as the case may be!) You have to consider that some of us don't live in areas of high cache density. I think that if the sport had remained where it was and hadn't evolved to where it is now, micros or not, it would have died out. You gotta keep changing to get new blood in. And what about cachers who may be physically challenged? P&G's may be all that some can find.

 

So disabled cachers are relegated to parking lots, guardrails, trash filled alleys, and other nasty spots?

 

For the record, this park and grab / lamp post cache is in my favorite finds bookmark.

 

Wow! Love the automatic feel good response there. No, they are not by any means and I know several who have proved just that. (Alabama Rambler being one of them.) But I bet that folks that are in that situation and that cache like Alabama Rambler does are the exception, not the norm. My wife and I both work with the folks with disabilities. Although my part is on a volunteer basis. Don't make me out to be the bad guy, I do not stereotype people for their abilities or lack thereof.

[+sseegars]

And what about cachers who may be physically challenged? P&G's may be all that some can find.

This logic bothers me. We may be disabled, gimped up, physically challenged, choose your buzzword, but that doesn't make us stupid!

 

Yes, the 'park' part of P&G might be a realistic consideration, we do have terrain concerns, but the 'grab' part is not a realistic need.

 

We don't need it to be easy to find, just accessible!

 

Few folks short of being blind quadriplegics NEED a skirt-lifter! (And yes, I have cached with blind and quad geocachers who did not need them to be easy).

 

If you want to hide them with the disabled in mind then thank you for making the terrain accessible, but there is no reason to keep the difficulty level easy.

 

I agree with you there. I try to make any micro I hide challenging at least in the hide. P&G doesn't mean it has to be simple. So no insult intended.

[+sbell111]

And what about cachers who may be physically challenged? P&G's may be all that some can find.

This logic bothers me. We may be disabled, gimped up, physically challenged, choose your buzzword, but that doesn't make us stupid!

 

Yes, the 'park' part of P&G might be a realistic consideration, we do have terrain concerns, but the 'grab' part is not a realistic need.

 

We don't need it to be easy to find, just accessible!

 

Few folks short of being blind quadriplegics NEED a skirt-lifter! (And yes, I have cached with blind and quad geocachers who did not need them to be easy).

 

If you want to hide them with the disabled in mind then thank you for making the terrain accessible, but there is no reason to keep the difficulty level easy.

Here's a counterpoint.

 

There was quite a bit of time after my accident and subsequent surgery when a skirt lifter was just about the most difficult cache that I was interested in due to my pain/immobility. I became very thankful for these P&Gs.

 

I needed P&Gs if I was going to continue playing the game during that period, and I was very thankful for them.

[+Barnacle Bear]

Mostly I'm just opinionated.

 

If it was listed in NW Ohio / SE Michigan I had to find it.

Finally I wearied of guardrails and skirt-lifters.

Then I discovered the Ignore List.

Micros in parking lots or on guardrails go on the list.

There is no way to discourage micro spew accept to ignore it.

 

It's interesting that there is a core of cachers, both new and old, who still enjoy regular caches.

 

Mostly I'm just opinionated.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

And what about cachers who may be physically challenged? P&G's may be all that some can find.

This logic bothers me. We may be disabled, gimped up, physically challenged, choose your buzzword, but that doesn't make us stupid!

 

Yes, the 'park' part of P&G might be a realistic consideration, we do have terrain concerns, but the 'grab' part is not a realistic need.

 

We don't need it to be easy to find, just accessible!

 

Few folks short of being blind quadriplegics NEED a skirt-lifter! (And yes, I have cached with blind and quad geocachers who did not need them to be easy).

 

If you want to hide them with the disabled in mind then thank you for making the terrain accessible, but there is no reason to keep the difficulty level easy.

Here's a counterpoint.

 

There was quite a bit of time after my accident and subsequent surgery when a skirt lifter was just about the most difficult cache that I was interested in due to my pain/immobility. I became very thankful for these P&Gs.

 

I needed P&Gs if I was going to continue playing the game during that period, and I was very thankful for them.

You are right, I shouldn't let my personal experiences be used to judge other's abilities and needs.

 

42 bone graft surgeries since my original injury in '72 and many years of extreme chronic pain from both a botched leg amputation in '99 and an irreparable (due to chronic bone infection) broken neck in '02 and learning to cache on crutches despite the effort and pain tends to make me define words like 'need' a bit differently I guess. I don't need LPCs but there are many days when I sure prefer them!

[+DArR]

I believe it's called evolution.

[+hikemeister]

There is a bit of a micro explosion in parts of our area too. Recently, I decided that with the price of gas, I wanted our finds to count for something more than just numbers. So instead of quantity, we'll be focusing on quality. We've decided to work on the MA Delorme Challenge, RI Delorme Challenge, and the Well Rounded New England Cacher Challenge.

When you mentioned the price of gas, I totally thought you were going to go in a different direction.

 

For me, the price of gas has caused me to eliminate these challenge caches. In my opinion, their fun per mile quotient is simply too low to justify them. Instead, the bulk of my caching will be in areas near to where I will be anyway. This will result in a higher number of finds on 'P&G micros', but that doesn't bother me, at all. If I didn't wish to find these caches, I would simply filter them out of my PQs. Otherwise, nothing about my method would change.

 

I really like this 'fun per mile' quotient ! We like to get at least 10 laughs per gallon!

[+KBI]

I really like this 'fun per mile' quotient ! We like to get at least 10 laughs per gallon!

Avoid the ethanol blends, then. With 10% ethanol you'll only get about 8.5 LPG.

[+CrippledBlindSquirrel]

And what about cachers who may be physically challenged? P&G's may be all that some can find.

This logic bothers me. We may be disabled, gimped up, physically challenged, choose your buzzword, but that doesn't make us stupid!

 

Yes, the 'park' part of P&G might be a realistic consideration, we do have terrain concerns, but the 'grab' part is not a realistic need.

 

We don't need it to be easy to find, just accessible!

 

Few folks short of being blind quadriplegics NEED a skirt-lifter! (And yes, I have cached with blind and quad geocachers who did not need them to be easy).

 

If you want to hide them with the disabled in mind then thank you for making the terrain accessible, but there is no reason to keep the difficulty level easy.

Here's a counterpoint.

 

There was quite a bit of time after my accident and subsequent surgery when a skirt lifter was just about the most difficult cache that I was interested in due to my pain/immobility. I became very thankful for these P&Gs.

 

I needed P&Gs if I was going to continue playing the game during that period, and I was very thankful for them.

You are right, I shouldn't let my personal experiences be used to judge other's abilities and needs.

 

42 bone graft surgeries since my original injury in '72 and many years of extreme chronic pain from both a botched leg amputation in '99 and an irreparable (due to chronic bone infection) broken neck in '02 and learning to cache on crutches despite the effort and pain tends to make me define words like 'need' a bit differently I guess. I don't need LPCs but there are many days when I sure prefer them!

 

I just did a LPC this morning where the dang skirts was six inches off the ground - Us poor old folks just can't win can we?

Edited August 4, 2008 by CrippledBlindSquirrel

[+hikemeister]

This thread amazes me in regard to where it has taken us -- to everything from the cost of gas to issues associated with disabilities.

 

How about bugs and coins? The really is the only down side I notice with P&G micros. We go somewhere and want to drop TBs and/or coins, and only can find micros. More than twice we have come home with those TBs and/or coins for this reason.

[+infiniteMPG]

There seems to be a feeling that the number of times a cache is found is the soul indication of how desirable it is.

Phoney Music GC1BR3J, published 4/29/2008, after busting my brain and killing a forest of trees and a case of pencils I figured this one out and found it 5/8/2008, now over 3 months after publishing it has as many as 1 finds I think it's a great cache! Don't think other locals would agree with me but I like it.

 

I have a bunch of puzzle caches out there, some raw brain busters, some internet intensive searching, some just trickey, some HTML based, but they average 1 or 2 a month and I am happy with that. As far as TB's and micros, there's usually some regular cache around to make a drop in and it can be one you've already found. There are TB hotels I have visited a dozen times to help TB's along. Regulars tend to collect McTrash toys more then TB's and are good for kid friendly caches but having a ton of plastic dollar store swag in a full sized cache after a ten mile hike doesn't add to the joy of the find to me and doubt any children will visit it.

 

Also in maintenance runs found TB's in my caches that weren't logged in, TB's listed in inventory that were not there, my TB's in the wrong cache and inactive for years because of that (one just logged found today after sitting in the wrong cache since 11/11/2006!!!!), TB's we put time and effort and money into making or sentimental TB's and had them vanish before even making their first hop gets frustrating and starting to be more frustration then fun.

[+sbell111]

This thread amazes me in regard to where it has taken us -- to everything from the cost of gas to issues associated with disabilities.

 

How about bugs and coins? The really is the only down side I notice with P&G micros. We go somewhere and want to drop TBs and/or coins, and only can find micros. More than twice we have come home with those TBs and/or coins for this reason.

Luckily, it is easy to sort caches by size. That way, if you need to drop a traveller, you don't have to waste your time with any micros.

[+Scaber]

Certainly it has changed over the years. The original caches were all "cans in the woods". I love the diversity of caches. I enjoy getting dirty and running around the woods. I enjoy getting a few park and grabs while doing errands. I enjoy learning while doing Earth caches and alike. Everyone has the freedom to go after the type of caches that they like. Personally, I like them all (although honestly I do get tired of parking lot skirt lifters). Anyway, cache on!

[+hikemeister]

Certainly it has changed over the years. The original caches were all "cans in the woods". I love the diversity of caches. I enjoy getting dirty and running around the woods. I enjoy getting a few park and grabs while doing errands. I enjoy learning while doing Earth caches and alike. Everyone has the freedom to go after the type of caches that they like. Personally, I like them all (although honestly I do get tired of parking lot skirt lifters). Anyway, cache on!

 

Last month we found a new twist on the parking lot skirt that was quite fun. It was a metal skirt on one of those information signs in an outdoor shopping mall, right in front of the main doorway into a woman's clothing shop with considerable traffic. The funny thing was that we just lifted the skirt (noise and all) and pulled out the cache with people walking everywhere, and they literally ignored us. This has been my experience with muggles -- that except for the police and security folks people are so used to seeing strange things or focused on their own thoughts (most likely the latter) -- they don't notice you pulling out a cache right next to them. So we don't worry too much anymore about whether we are being watched or not, and to date it has not led to any muggle stolen micros -- we watchlist them.

 

[+drat19]

There are purists who still want "in-the-woods-hikes-climbs-etc. caches" to be the rule rather than the exception (this is fine!). These friends have become extremists simply by not moving because the game has gravitated heavily to micro P&G caches . . . initially this move was okay as it satisfied a need in growing the population of players and hides. But (IMO), it has gone too far in that direction. I used to find these purists to be a bore but I am starting to wish they had had more impact several years ago, before it got so crazy (can't believe I am sayng this) .

I tried, I really did.

[Dinoprophet]

P&G doesn't mean it has to be simple.

Yeah, it kind of does. "Park & Go" implies that it takes very little time, so the hide must be easy and obvious.

[+sbell111]

P&G doesn't mean it has to be simple.

Yeah, it kind of does. "Park & Go" implies that it takes very little time, so the hide must be easy and obvious.

Agreed. To me 'park and go' would be the small subset of caches with low terrain and difficulty ratings. Therefore, if one didn't like P&G micros, they could simply filter out micros with low difficulty and terrain ratings.

[+Klatch]

I tried, I really did.

Yes, you did. Thank you.

[+briansnat]

Here's a counterpoint.

 

There was quite a bit of time after my accident and subsequent surgery when a skirt lifter was just about the most difficult cache that I was interested in due to my pain/immobility. I became very thankful for these P&Gs.

 

I needed P&Gs if I was going to continue playing the game during that period, and I was very thankful for them.

 

I spent 3 months on crutches earlier this year. I didn't want P&Gs to continue playing the game. What I wanted were more interesting caches on easy terrain.

 

What I was thankful for were the handful of people who put some thought into their P&Gs, giving me a few to hunt during that time, but for the most part I had to take a 3 month hiatus from hunting caches.

 

P&G doesn't mean it has to be simple.

 

By definition it does need to be simple. What it doesn't mean is that it has to be hidden in the most mundane and/or unappealing places imaginable.

[CoyoteRed]

You know, too bad caches don't have a third rating: Entertainment.

1. Nothing to see or do, but find the cache and sign the log.
   
2. Nice location with some sort of point of interest.
   
3. Location or journey with elements that are out of the ordinary.
   
4. Highly entertaining adventure designed to make a cacher's top 5% of all-time caches.
   
5. Wildly entertaining adventure designed with many elements and themes that makes folks go WOW! (Tube Torcher, Athena's Curse)
   

(Obviously a 2 minute posting doesn't make a fully fleshed out scheme.)

 

Then I wouldn't have to filter on anything but entertainment!

[CoyoteRed]

By definition it does need to be simple. What it doesn't mean is that it has to be hidden in the most mundane and/or unappealing places imaginable.

Absolutely correct!

 

Unfortunately, P&G micros, like micros in generally, have gotten a deserved reputation of being trache. There are so many caches that are trache that fit the category that it's pretty much become synonymous. I believe it was Team260 who used to throw out a perfect example of a great P&G micro, a guardrail micro to boot. It was a roadside pull-off with a great view of a lake. Now there's a P&G micro/guardrail cache I wouldn't mind pulling over for. Most, though, are pure junk.

[+NevaP]

Certainly it has changed over the years. The original caches were all "cans in the woods". I love the diversity of caches. I enjoy getting dirty and running around the woods. I enjoy getting a few park and grabs while doing errands. I enjoy learning while doing Earth caches and alike. Everyone has the freedom to go after the type of caches that they like. Personally, I like them all (although honestly I do get tired of parking lot skirt lifters). Anyway, cache on!

 

Last month we found a new twist on the parking lot skirt that was quite fun. It was a metal skirt on one of those information signs in an outdoor shopping mall, right in front of the main doorway into a woman's clothing shop with considerable traffic. The funny thing was that we just lifted the skirt (noise and all) and pulled out the cache with people walking everywhere, and they literally ignored us. This has been my experience with muggles -- that except for the police and security folks people are so used to seeing strange things or focused on their own thoughts (most likely the latter) -- they don't notice you pulling out a cache right next to them. So we don't worry too much anymore about whether we are being watched or not, and to date it has not led to any muggle stolen micros -- we watchlist them.

 

 

This has been my attitude about muggles and caches described as "stealth required". I just go after them and almost all the time nobody pays any attention to me. Sometimes, when I am down on my knees peering under a park bench someone will kindly ask the old lady if she needs help or they will ask if I have lost something. I just reply no, it's a game called geocaching". This can get an "Oh, I've heard about that" response which can lead into my short Caching 101 lecture.

[+sbell111]

Here's a counterpoint.

 

There was quite a bit of time after my accident and subsequent surgery when a skirt lifter was just about the most difficult cache that I was interested in due to my pain/immobility. I became very thankful for these P&Gs.

 

I needed P&Gs if I was going to continue playing the game during that period, and I was very thankful for them.

 

I spent 3 months on crutches earlier this year. I didn't want P&Gs to continue playing the game. What I wanted were more interesting caches on easy terrain.

 

What I was thankful for were the handful of people who put some thought into their P&Gs, giving me a few to hunt during that time, but for the most part I had to take a 3 month hiatus from hunting caches.

 

That's why my reply didn't say "Brian became thankful..." or "Brian was very thankful". Clearly you were not.

[+briansnat]

By definition it does need to be simple. What it doesn't mean is that it has to be hidden in the most mundane and/or unappealing places imaginable.

Absolutely correct!

 

Unfortunately, P&G micros, like micros in generally, have gotten a deserved reputation of being trache. There are so many caches that are trache that fit the category that it's pretty much become synonymous. I believe it was Team260 who used to throw out a perfect example of a great P&G micro, a guardrail micro to boot. It was a roadside pull-off with a great view of a lake. Now there's a P&G micro/guardrail cache I wouldn't mind pulling over for. Most, though, are pure junk.

 

During my time on crutches I probably drove by more P&Gs in a day than caches I'll usually find find in a few months, but there were a few that were worth stopping for. I wish more P&Gs would be like these...

 

An ancient cemetery tucked behind a McDonalds and a car wash

 

A beautiful view of Barcelona NY harbor.

 

An outstanding view of Lake Erie

 

Next to a blacksmith shop on a 200+ year old estate.

 

Next to a scenic gorge.

 

And there's one of my favorite, all time P&Gs.

A regular sized guardrail hide (how often do you see that) with an incredible view that's said to be 100 miles on a clear day.

[+stites1]

It's funny you point out Florida. We just returned from a trip to the keys annd were amazed how few P&G micros were there. Most caches seemed to require at least a short walk off the road along a beach to an area you wouldn't see if not for geocaching. Ammo cans were popular along with large tupperware-type containers. The geocaching experience just reinforced my idea that the Keys really are a paradise.

[+DocDiTTo]

1. Our mystery caches, multi-stage caches, long hike caches, and in fact any high level of difficult caches rarely are visted -- some have gone for over a year without a single person finding them.

 

2. Our park and grab micros are logged multiple times a month.

 

 

More difficult caches have always been hit fewer times than easy P&G or C&D caches. In the 4 years I've been caching, that's what I've seen.

 

Why? Lots of reasons. Maybe the seekers are really lazy or all about the numbers. Or, perhaps the seekers are really short on time. I travel a lot for business and simply don't have the time it might take to do a 3 hour hike or crack a brain twisting puzzle cache. Multis can take up a lot of time too. We live in a hurried world, and some caches just can't be hurried though.

 

As for puzzles, it's possible that seekers aren't clued in enough to decode the puzzle, or that they simply don't like them. I've got a lot of unfound puzzle caches in my local area, some because I'm too dumb to figure them out, a few because the hider was too dumb to make a decent puzzle, and some just because I haven't had time to look at them yet. Some people just dislike puzzles and won't hunt them at all, ever.

 

I have one "easy" cache that gets hit a lot and a number of more involved caches that get hit a lot less. I always enjoy reading the logs on the harder caches more, even if those logs only come in once or twice a year. People who have the time and take the time to hunt my caches usually enjoy themselves. I don't see parking lot micros as competition for my hides. People will hunt what they enjoy and what they have time for. My hides serve a purpose - to show people that caching can be fun when done the "old school" way. If you want numbers, don't even look at my hides. If you want nice views, cool adventures or to see some really neat places, then I probably have a cache that's right up your alley. Hunt what you like, and hide what you like to hunt.

[+poohstickz]

By definition it does need to be simple. What it doesn't mean is that it has to be hidden in the most mundane and/or unappealing places imaginable.

This last year I've had my share of injuries so at times I've been caching on crutches or have been severely limited in my mobility. I've also had the chance for several 500-1000 mile road trips where I passed literally hundreds and hundreds of 1/1 P&G micros.

 

I tried going for the 1/1 gimmes but most of those left me so unbelievably bored I found myself wondering what it was that I was doing and why I was doing it. The location was often without merit and many of the caches were in disrepair. Many all you needed was a street map or a knowledge of where to locate such-and-such shop or whatever. So I went for what I could get to on crutches and as I wasn't proficient enough with those to get up mountains I simply didn't go for the higher terrain caches. It was OK that I couldn't go geocaching too. I didn't expect to be able to compete in sporting events either.

 

With the road trips I stopped at a few P&Gs along the way but the same "why am I here?" feeling pervaded the experience. Perhaps if the numbers mattered to me I'd feel differently but, equally, I'm struggling with the concept of achieving a milestone of finding 100 rest areas. So, I passed on hundreds and hundreds of caches not just along the way but, also, in the areas I was visiting. That was a shame.

 

For example, in Utah, I happened to stop at a place with an amazing view where you can see forever and noticed that there was a cache right there and it was place that you'd have been happy to drive out of your way to visit. Sadly, I probably missed dozens of great caches just like that but the banality of the ones I did investigate turned me off as I really wasn't in the mood for sorting the wheat from chaff.

 

So now I'm ignoring a whole aspect of geocaching simply because so many are placed without a thought other than "there is no cache here". Personally, I don't think that's a good advertisment for Geocaching.