Radius Slave?

[Andronicus]

Hey. I just saw a different threat that someone suggested to the OP to stop being a Radius Slave.

 

That is so funny because I am a total Radius Slave. I even added it to my signature (as you can see). I have several radii. One around home that is the most developed. One around work, somewhat developed. One around my Dad's house, not very developed yet, and one around my in-laws house, also not well developed yet. Oh ya, and one around my time share (so far with only 3 finds; still working on that one).

 

Anyone else with this obsession (or other odd obsessions)?

Edited May 12, 2009 by Andronicus

[+benh57]

Hey. I just saw a different threat that someone suggested to the OP to stop being a Radius Slave.

 

That is so funny because I am a total Radius Slave. I even added it to my signature (as you can see). I have several radii. One around home that is the most developed. One around work, somewhat developed. One around my Dad's house, not very developed yet, and one around my in-laws house, also not well developed yet. Oh ya, and one around my time share (so far with only 3 finds; still working on that one).

 

Anyone else with this obsession (or other odd obsessions)?

 

I am somewhat of a radius slave. I have no caches on my ignore list.

 

I certainly understand why some are hostile to the radius slaves though. If not for the radius slaves, (aka "clean map" slaves), no-one would go for the horrible nanos stuck to the bottom of a dumpster behind the Burger King caches. However, us radius slaves have to go get them. So, in a way we encourage the placement of such caches by giving them finds.

[+gof1]

horrible nanos stuck to the bottom of a dumpster behind the Burger King

 

This is exactly why I won't ever be a "radius slave". It isn't that important for me to find every cache. I'd rather go find a nice walking path or interesting view.

[CoyoteRed]

I used to be a radius slave. Had it down to 4 unfound caches in a 50 mile radius. But then caches started showing up that I didn't care for. They went onto the newly created ignore list. Now there's 208 on the unfound and not ignored list.

 

Even then, some of those caches I've had in my hand, yet refuse to log them. Yes, they fall below my arbitrarily set "snob line."

[robertlipe]

If you also have goals of reading every book in the library and watching every show on every channel of TV, I admire your consistency.

 

Long ago, I learned that I don't dig every book, every show, or every cache. I'm not organizing book burning parties. I change channels.

 

But if that's your thing, enjoy!

[+Happy Bubbles]

I'm a radius slave, but that's because there is so little within my radius. There are only 11 caches within 50 miles of me, and I either own or have found all of them.

If anything new were published within my radius, you can bet I'd be off to find it whether or not the cache itself seemed attractive to me.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

horrible nanos stuck to the bottom of a dumpster behind the Burger King

 

This is exactly why I won't ever be a "radius slave". It isn't that important for me to find every cache. I'd rather go find a nice walking path or interesting view.

 

Although I try to find every cache within an ever increasing radius of home I don't think it exactly meets the definition of radius slave as it's being bandied about ere. First, there are only about 185 caches within 10 miles of me so after 2.5 years of caching it's not unexpected that I may have found all of them. Secondly, the closest cache near a dumpster that I have found is about 35 miles away and there are only 3 LPC caches within 15 miles and one of those is on a foot bridge that runs over a deep gorge. A radius of 15 miles of me also includes lots of caches in gorges, wooded areas, scenic trails, historical areas, and a couple that require a four mile round trip hike, about half of which without a trail. The closest find for me was a micro that was placed a couple of weeks ago but is about 300' from an 80' waterfall.

 

The assumption that being a "radius slave" means finding a lot of horrible nano's hidden near dumpsters is simply not true where I live.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I gave up on that a long time ago, when someone hid a cache 45' up a tree. Not to mention 5 kayaking caches, and a few in cemeteries. Oh, well.

[+Isonzo Karst]

Whoever coined "radius slave", stand up and take a bow. The existence of the phrase is useful. As people start to get whiny about caches they don't like, they can simply identify that it's their self imposed "radius slave" status that drives them to those hides. Clarifies the issue enormously.

 

I never was a radius slave, because the nearest cache to me when I first checked the website was in the motorcycle/ATV user area of the nearby state forest. I'd done some volunteer work there and knew I didn't want to spend any extra time in the area.

 

So before I had a chance to become addicted, I'd already identified that i didn't need to find ALL of them. I suspect this is commoner now for people starting. So many hides, and the standard advice, start with a low difficulty regular sized cache, means that many people will bypass micro caches nearer home.

 

I was mildly obsessed with Locationless when they were on the site. A few in particular I spent a lot of darn research time on.

[+kraushad]

THANK YOU! Now I know what to call myself. This is totally me. In fact there are a few puzzle caches (which so far I have proven to be miserable at) in my area that are preventing me from eliminating the "other than smiley" marks on my area map

[Mr.Yuck]

Hey. I just saw a different threat that someone suggested to the OP to stop being a Radius Slave.

 

That is so funny because I am a total Radius Slave. I even added it to my signature (as you can see). I have several radii. One around home that is the most developed. One around work, somewhat developed. One around my Dad's house, not very developed yet, and one around my in-laws house, also not well developed yet. Oh ya, and one around my time share (so far with only 3 finds; still working on that one).

 

Anyone else with this obsession (or other odd obsessions)?

 

Of course you're not the only radius slave. However, I think the pool of candidates for radius slavedom is pretty small; only the most consistently active of Geocachers who probably are never going to step away from the game for any extended period of time. I'd think most geocachers are much more casual in their approach to the hobby.

 

Who could argue with analogies such as "You don't have to read every book" or "You don't have to see every movie"? They hit the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned.

[+gof1]

I used to be a radius slave. Had it down to 4 unfound caches in a 50 mile radius. But then caches started showing up that I didn't care for. They went onto the newly created ignore list. Now there's 208 on the unfound and not ignored list.

 

Even then, some of those caches I've had in my hand, yet refuse to log them. Yes, they fall below my arbitrarily set "snob line."

 

HAHA! Snob Line. I'm gonna steal that.

[+gof1]

horrible nanos stuck to the bottom of a dumpster behind the Burger King

 

This is exactly why I won't ever be a "radius slave". It isn't that important for me to find every cache. I'd rather go find a nice walking path or interesting view.

 

Although I try to find every cache within an ever increasing radius of home I don't think it exactly meets the definition of radius slave as it's being bandied about ere. First, there are only about 185 caches within 10 miles of me so after 2.5 years of caching it's not unexpected that I may have found all of them. Secondly, the closest cache near a dumpster that I have found is about 35 miles away and there are only 3 LPC caches within 15 miles and one of those is on a foot bridge that runs over a deep gorge. A radius of 15 miles of me also includes lots of caches in gorges, wooded areas, scenic trails, historical areas, and a couple that require a four mile round trip hike, about half of which without a trail. The closest find for me was a micro that was placed a couple of weeks ago but is about 300' from an 80' waterfall.

 

The assumption that being a "radius slave" means finding a lot of horrible nano's hidden near dumpsters is simply not true where I live.

 

Lucky you. Lots of fodder for the ignore list around here. Don't get me wrong, there is a good number of great caches in a lot less than 50 miles. The trick around here is winnowing down the list.

[+supertbone]

I used to be a complete radius slave when I lived in a semi-rural area of California. I had cached the area out when I was there. Having moved states to a very cache dense area I am a bit more discerning, not by much though. I can drive to a cache I want to find and skip ones I don't want to find. I suspect after a while, once I have found the majority of caches in the area I might revert back to being a radius slave.

[+supertbone]

deleted duplicate post

Edited May 12, 2009 by supertbone

[+supertbone]

deleted duplicate post

Edited May 12, 2009 by supertbone

[+StarBrand]

Geocaching became so much more pleasurable when I came to the realization that I do not "have to" find every cache within xx miles of home.

 

So there is a road to recovery.

[+J-Way]

I was a "radius slave" for about 3 months when I first started. I wanted those caches cleared!

 

Then I realized my time was too valuable to waste running down every newly-published dumpster cache.

[+bflentje]

I used to be a radius slave until I couldn't keep up with all the new caches planted by noobs. Now I am more of a challenge slave. I seem to have been prisoner to the following over the last couple years:

 

2009 MN State Park Geocaching Safari Challenge

2008 MN State Park Geocaching History Challenge

MN DeLorme

MN Counties

MN County Seats

MN County Parks

Alphabet Cachers

COAC: FTF

Early Cache Finds

Bakers Dozen

Lucky Sevens

COAC: Hides

COAC: Multi

12 Pack

 

Anything with Challenge in the title.

Any cache requiring equipment.

Any cache higher than 3 stars difficulty.

Any cache high than 3 stars terrain.

 

I guess you get the picture.

[+wimseyguy]

My snob line is quite flexible from day to day. I'm an omnivorous cacher, but some days I'm in the mood for super rich decadent chocolate mousse torte, and other days I'm content munching through a box of Snackwells.

 

I could never be a radius slave around here. At some point about two years ago my PQ radius of the nearest 500 unfound dropped from almost 30 miles to barely 16. And I even started filtering out 5* terrain to remove the nearly 100 hydrocaches I cannot get to.

[+tomfuller & Quill]

Yup, I have found (or own) every physical cache within 18 miles of home. Another new one popped up this morning at 16 miles. I'll stop and log it sometime within the next week when I'm in the area.

The trouble with this is that I put a minimum of 36 miles on the car or truck anytime I go geocaching.

In 2006 I was a challenge slave completing "Counting Counties in Oregon" GCR9XY.

[Clan Riffster]

I doubt that I would ever qualify for radius slave status.

I would much rather spend a whole day finding one quality cache than spend the same time finding 50 crappy ones.

Quality is way more important to me than quantity.

My time is way to valuable a commodity to me to waste hunting caches that don't meet my caching aesthetics.

[sdarken]

I prefer caching goals that are not moving targets. Keeping a particular area (radius) "clear" doesn't seem like fun to me.

 

For quite a while I worked on a goal of finding all the older (pre-2007) traditional caches in my county. That was more fun than running out to visit every new parking lot cache that got published. I may get to those parking lot caches eventually but they don't motivate me.

[+Chrysalides]

I don't see any problem with anyone being a "radius slave" (not that it would have made even a tiny bit of difference to anyone else if I did). I have very little sympathy for those who complain about caches they do not like, however. If you enjoy clearing a radius, remember that you're doing it because you enjoy it, even if you don't enjoy that particular cache you're finding at the moment. I guess it could be an OCD kind of thing - many aspects of this hobby borders on OCD...

[+david5kfull]

I think that this is a typical issue with those new to geocaching. If you look at my map, you will see that most of the caches around my home coordinates have been found. When I started out, I didn’t know enough about the game to determine what was good or bad. That being said, through time, I have started to learn more about the caches that are fun verses the ones that were placed with no imagination.

 

I can say this, there is one place that I want to place a cache so badly, but too many others have placed random caches in the area prohibiting me from getting this one done right. It is sad to find such a good place for a cache just to be denied the opportunity to create a really fun one due to all of the garage caches within 500 feet of that location.

[Andronicus]

Just for the recored, as far as I know it was Kit Fox who coined the term here.

Edited May 14, 2009 by Andronicus

[+flight815]

The first step in overcomming an addiction is admitting that you have a problem. So here goes:

 

"Hi, my name is flight815, and I'm a radius slave." There...much better now.

 

Actually I have a very split personality in regards to this game. Some days I'm a radius slave. However "grid geek" may be more appropriate for me - I tend to focus on clearing a section between this road, that road, and the other road. Or maybe a "mountain monk" - I have to get all the caches off that mountain near my house because I don't want to have to climb up there again. I may want to climb up there again, but at least I won't 'have' to. These tendencies obviously fuel the 'numbers whore' in me.

 

Other days I'm a total map slave - have to turn those states in my profile red! I'm seriously contemplating a 4 hour drive during my next visit to Kentucky just to 'nab' Indiana or Illinois. Or maybe planning that Alaskan vacation that 'everyone' has been asking for all these years.

 

However, my favorite cache of all time took me all day to hike up to. The snowball fight with my boys, the rope climb up a cliff, and the beautiful views of Mt. Rainier on that July day made it all worth it. I stated it in the log and I'll repeat it again - I would have never, ever, ever gone to that exact spot on this earth had it not been for Geocaching.

 

Friends, enjoy this game however you choose to play it. My motivations are many and varied and seem to change every day I play but that's what I like about it the most.

[+flight815]

Deleted multiple posting....

Edited May 14, 2009 by flight815

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I don't see any problem with anyone being a "radius slave" (not that it would have made even a tiny bit of difference to anyone else if I did). I have very little sympathy for those who complain about caches they do not like, however.

 

Similarly, I wonder how many "You don't have to find every cache" cachers have over 1000 finds, and over 1000 more unfound caches within 20 miles of home. I've seen some cache stats from some that have found as many caches in a month or two that I have found in 2.5 years. Maybe once I hit 1000 finds, my approach will change, but I still have 199 to go, and to get that I either have to find a few P&G caches when they come up reasonably close to home, or only go cache 2-3 times a month when I have more than a couple of hours free to go caching.

 

If you enjoy clearing a radius, remember that you're doing it because you enjoy it, even if you don't enjoy that particular cache you're finding at the moment. I guess it could be an OCD kind of thing - many aspects of this hobby borders on OCD...

 

I suspect that most of the people that work on clearing a radius close to home *do* enjoy doing it, but that hasn't stopped others from writing about those that do as if they're playing the game in an inferior manner.

[+Renegade Knight]

...Anyone else with this obsession (or other odd obsessions)?

 

Not exactly. I had 50-100 miles cleared out once just to have caches to find. I also had half the caches in the entire state found. Then the flood began and I started losing ground. Now I'm not even a contender keeping my own block cleared out. I never set out for a specific radius though.

[+Sol seaker]

I stated it in the log and I'll repeat it again - I would have never, ever, ever gone to that exact spot on this earth had it not been for Geocaching.

 

Friends, enjoy this game however you choose to play it. My motivations are many and varied and seem to change every day I play but that's what I like about it the most.

 

I have to agree with this one a lot.

 

i've never heard of the term, "radius slave" and I guess it might apply to me.

I've been known to e-mail people to find a new clue for one I just could not get for anything.

I couldn't stand having that one sit out there too long after searching for it for more than three times.

And sure, I've put a boat on a lake "just to get a cache" but the real truth is I needed the time on the lake more than I needed the cache.

 

But It's not just the radius around my house. I am working on the radius around my partner's house.

 

When I go places regularly, I like to hit those areas.

 

the upside of this has been when I've gone to new areas, I've learned them more than I've ever known them in the past. Suddenly I actually know the streets (oh that's by the cache: Right Guard), and I learn more of the history of these areas. I go to parks Ive never been to.

 

Will I ever get a radius around anything? I doubt it. There's over 700 within ten miles of my house. More new pop up every week within that radius. Then there's my partner's radius.

 

Well I better run. So much caching to do, so little time.

Edited May 14, 2009 by Sol seaker

[+beejay&esskay]

When I started caching more than 6 years ago, there were only 41 caches within 30 miles. I thought it a reasonable goal to find them all. By the time that radius had increased to 65 caches, I had found all but 3 of them (and have never been that close since.)

 

There are now 590 caches within 30 miles. 159 of them are unfound by me.

 

Not a radius slave, perhaps a radius servant. I'd still like to find them. Heck, I'd like to find all the caches in my city, but I don't focus on that to the exclusion of every other cache.

 

After all, to satisfy my OCD I have other goals to be a slave to.

 

Find a cache in every county.

 

Find a cache on every day of the year.

[Andronicus]

I just saw a post about radius slavery in another thread. Rather than dragging that thread off topic, I thought it would be fun to pull this one out of the past.

 

Anyway, I have broken my radius problem. And a good thing too; as I have DNFed a micro twice that is just accross the street form me. If I was still a radius slave, I would be going crazy!

 

Now I have a anti-micro problem. I have cleaned a couple of nearby towns of all non-micro caches, while conciously avoiding any and all micros.

 

Now I am thinking that I need to get to know myself better, and stop with thses silly self imposed rules, and just try to find caches that I will enjoy finding.

[+lamoracke]

I used to be a radius slave but have seemed to have nipped that in the butt. With my old radius (which was 20 kilometers) in mind, I am conscious of caches in it, but no longer feel I have to get each one in it.

[+J Grouchy]

Took me a while to figure out what the OP meant by the term "radius slave".

 

As for me, it's pretty much impossible since there are a fair number of challenges close to home that I'll never be able to qualify for. I say "never" with a high degree of confidence since I just don't think I'll ever be able to complete "all 4 grids" or have a quad-fizzy grid completed. I'll never be that kind of cacher...doesn't really interest me.

[+DanOCan]

I'm still a radius slave. Since moving last year I have really enjoyed watching the "cleaned out" area around my house grow. Of course, I don't find all of them -- if I discover they aren't my cup of tea after I go look for them, I'll just dump them on the Ignore list and clean the radius that way.

[+J Grouchy]

I'm still a radius slave. Since moving last year I have really enjoyed watching the "cleaned out" area around my house grow. Of course, I don't find all of them -- if I discover they aren't my cup of tea after I go look for them, I'll just dump them on the Ignore list and clean the radius that way.

 

Ignoring them isn't enough because I KNOW they're there...whether the icon shows on the map or not!

[+Roman!]

Within 10 km of my house I have 100 caches I have not yet found, granted most are either puzzles, or T5 caches.

[+zach.ruesch]

THANK YOU! Now I know what to call myself. This is totally me. In fact there are a few puzzle caches (which so far I have proven to be miserable at) in my area that are preventing me from eliminating the "other than smiley" marks on my area map

 

Ditto. I know the feeling. Plus, I recently moved and had to start all over. Bummersauce. I love geocaching though. For me, its about the experience, sharing with others (especially daughter and youngest brother), and clearing a grid. It reminds me of being in the military. Good stuff. Get some!

[Andronicus]

I'm still a radius slave. Since moving last year I have really enjoyed watching the "cleaned out" area around my house grow. Of course, I don't find all of them -- if I discover they aren't my cup of tea after I go look for them, I'll just dump them on the Ignore list and clean the radius that way.

That is a good idea. Maybe I should 'ignore' all the micros near me, then maybe I could get interested in radius clearing again.

[Mr.Yuck]

I'm still a radius slave. Since moving last year I have really enjoyed watching the "cleaned out" area around my house grow. Of course, I don't find all of them -- if I discover they aren't my cup of tea after I go look for them, I'll just dump them on the Ignore list and clean the radius that way.

 

Ignoring them isn't enough because I KNOW they're there...whether the icon shows on the map or not!

 

You really need to try the ignore list then. Trust me, even if you know they're there now, you'll forget in time. They are completely wiped out of existence. If YOU find one on my ignore list, I can't even see it in YOUR finds in your profile.

[+DanOCan]

I'm still a radius slave. Since moving last year I have really enjoyed watching the "cleaned out" area around my house grow. Of course, I don't find all of them -- if I discover they aren't my cup of tea after I go look for them, I'll just dump them on the Ignore list and clean the radius that way.

 

Ignoring them isn't enough because I KNOW they're there...whether the icon shows on the map or not!

 

You really need to try the ignore list then. Trust me, even if you know they're there now, you'll forget in time. They are completely wiped out of existence. If YOU find one on my ignore list, I can't even see it in YOUR finds in your profile.

Same here. At first it would bother me because in the back of my mind I would remember the cache was there but after awhile the feeling passed and I rarely give them a second thought. It's only when I go to my Ignore list to remove the caches which were Archived that I'll remember "Oh yeah, that nano in a tree in a high-visibility location. Forgot about that one. Meh." and then I'll quickly forget about it again.

[+BaylorGrad]

I am most definitely not a radius slave. That would be rather difficult in my current town (although I guess that depends on the radius). I would call myself an "Opportunistic Cacher, Plus." That is to say, most days I don't have the time for anything more than opportunistic caching. (Or here in Texas, these are the days where it's over 90 degrees, which is about 35% of the year.) These are the days I will stop for easy P&Gs--basically anything to tide me over. Then there are those few sweet but rare "Plus" days--when I get to geocache the way I actually want to geocache. Doesn't happen often, and the conditions have to be right. The ideal setup is a nice, large park--me on my bicycle--temperatures between 45 and 65. Thus, I a generally an Opportunist--never a Radius Slave--and I strive to be neither.

[+TerraViators]

I've never heard it called Radius Slave, but I like it. I am one to an extent. I have several geocaches on my ignore list, such as hide styles I don't enjoy and challenge caches I've no where near completed.

 

I definitely have a radius for home, somewhat for work but mostly I work when at work. I do check my lake property a couple times a year and work in geocaching but I rarely check the map until I'm in the area.

Edited July 30, 2014 by TerraViators

[+Viajero Perdido]

I am a Radius Anti-Slave.

 

I've been happily able to ignore the closest cache to my house, a micro on a rusting piece of railroad junk proudly on display, from the day I took up caching to the day years later when it finally went missing (not by me) and was archived.

 

[+GrateBear]

When I started in Chicago, I did go out in an ever widening circle to clean them out. Was fairly easy, as new caches were not common near where I lived. When I got to ID, I thought I'd do the same thing. Initially I set a radius of a few miles that showed around 625 caches. So, I'd find a bunch, update my list, and new ones had been added that kept the number around the same. Then I started running into caches I either had no interest in finding (such as those in someone's front yard) or were puzzle caches I had no clue as to how to solve (and many still the same). That was the end of radius caching!

[+J Grouchy]

I am a Radius Anti-Slave.

 

I've been happily able to ignore the closest cache to my house, a micro on a rusting piece of railroad junk proudly on display, from the day I took up caching to the day years later when it finally went missing (not by me) and was archived.

 

 

Actually, I'd say the fact that you paid attention to it and when it got archived means the opposite.

[+DanOCan]

For me it became a bit of a side game after my most recent move.

 

Once I had the first kilometer around the house cleaned out I created instant notifications for any new caches placed in that radius. I then took some odd form of pleasure when it was time to go in and change the notifications by bumping up the radius by another kilometer as I cleaned out the area.

[+geodarts]

I am a Radius Anti-Slave.

 

I've been happily able to ignore the closest cache to my house, a micro on a rusting piece of railroad junk proudly on display, from the day I took up caching to the day years later when it finally went missing (not by me) and was archived.

 

 

Actually, I'd say the fact that you paid attention to it and when it got archived means the opposite.

 

Not necessarily. When I first started, I aimed to find every cache in the county. There weren't that many in those days. Then some puzzles were listed that required advanced math and/or computer programming skills - those were not fun so I left puzzles off the pq and changed my sights to all other types of caches. Then a nano was placed on a landscaping trellis in front of three businesses in a busy shopping center. I had once found a cache about sixty feet away, but when I got to the nano I looked at its location and realized that there was nothing but my compulsion that made me want to log it. So I walked away.

 

I kept the "cache" on my pq just to remind myself that I did not have to look for a container just because it was listed in my county. It was eventually archived, but the attention I paid to it freed me to some extent; being aware of a cache is not the same as feeling compelled to find it. The county map now includes dozens of caches I will never seek, no need for the ignore list.

 

I would find a cache on a rusting piece of junk, though. And if you place a non-puzzle cache within my immediate territory, I will probably find it sooner rather than later. A few months ago, I found a cache that was nothing more than two pill bottles rubber-banded together because it was on a trail in my "backyard" watershed. But when the same person placed an old glue stick that was in a random spot on another trail in a nearby town, at least 80 feet from the posted coordinates, I decided that the second area was outside of my personal boundaries (at least until it is archived) and walked by it without stopping. So to some extent, then, radius might still be important. I am just defining it differently.

Edited July 30, 2014 by geodarts

[+cerberus1]

When we started, it was CJ's mission to clear everything within 20 miles.

She kept with it for some time.

She's finally tired of the caches put out for no apparent reason than a smiley and kinda gave up.

I haven't bothered years earlier.

We no longer use the ignore list. Many get archived soon after we ignore 'em anyway. May again if we could put CO's names on it...