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Lamppost Caches


23below

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Has this ever happened to you?

 

You drive into a parking lot, the cache is a difficulty one, and the only possible place for it to be is in a lamppost. Then, you go there, and, surprise, there's the cache!

 

Is it just me, or are these getting really annoying? Come on, how about a little bit of creativity?

Edited by 23below
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They may be annoying to you, but there are a lot of other people that like them. As with any cache, if you don't like it then don't hunt for it.

 

You could always remove all Difficulty 1 Terrain 1 Micro caches from your PQs and the number of LPCs you see will go WAY down. Just a suggestion.

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They may be annoying to you, but there are a lot of other people that like them. As with any cache, if you don't like it then don't hunt for it.

 

You could always remove all Difficulty 1 Terrain 1 Micro caches from your PQs and the number of LPCs you see will go WAY down. Just a suggestion.

 

I avoid caches in parking lots, so no, I'm not tired of them.

 

Echoing what they said, the power of pocket queries is your friend. I've made all caches with a terrain rating below 2 stars disappear from my pocket queries.

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My wife and I have very different caching styles. I like tromping thru swamps in the middle of the night, while she likes far milder terrain, including the dreaded LPC. Of the 16 or 17 PQs I run every week, my main one excludes micros, not listed and unknowns, so if I'm caching all by my lonesome, these pesky things never show up on my radar. I have a second PQ just for her, that incorporates those nasty little buggers. Since caching with her gives me great pleasure, I don't sweat any LPCs I might encounter to hard. These shrines to the gods of patheticness, (yeah, I made that up), only take a few minutes to complete, at which time I can get back to finding ones that may have more appeal to me.

 

To address this question specifically:

Is it just me, or are these getting really annoying?

Absolutely! From the very first one I found I thought they were utter voids of creativity, placed by folks whose caching aesthetics are quite far removed from mine. To call them "Lame" would be to insult that term. A proper description would probably get me a well deserved ban from the forums. That's why I heeded Kit Fox's advice many, many moons ago, editing my PQs so they don't show up.

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When I am bored and need something to do for a quick fix, finding a park and grab is still more fun than watching TV.

 

When I read a book I prefer one that is well written. Maybe a classic, but for sure a good book that leaves me better off when I'm done with it. However, I still enjoy the cheesy pulp western or detective book. Why should caching be any different. ;):unsure:

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You can avoid any cache you want.

I came across a NIH cache the other day. The second I knew it was a NIH cache I left. Won't log it as a DNF. If they had a specific log for "Should have never downloaded it" then I would log it that way.

 

On the previous day I had just done a few caches off of a road in the wilderness and was somewhat relieved to do a simple LPC for a change of pace.

 

If they weren't as popular as some want us to believe then there wouldn't be so many signatures on the logs of LPCs.

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There's caches in lampposts in parking lots? ;)

 

Finding geocaches is kind of like eating dessert. You don't have to do it, but it sure can be fun. Sometimes a few cheap cookies satisfies the sweet tooth, but most times something with more thought and taste is what is really wanted to satisfy the cravings.

 

But from the proliferation of fast food and crappy middling chain restaurants, many people seem satisfied with a box of cheap cookies and PnGs.

 

I blame the corn farmers and military industrial complex. :unsure:

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The sad part, as far as I am concerned, is that they are in boring retail lots. I actually know of an LPC that I would recommend to someone visiting Buffalo. It is in a historic location. I know of another micro that is in a great historic location but it isn't an LPC. With so many lackluster micro hides out there many people filter out micros. The result is that we miss the few that are exceptional. I am sure that there are more great micro hides in my area but unless someone specifically tells me about them I am unlikely to find them.

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Finding geocaches is kind of like eating dessert. You don't have to do it, but it sure can be fun. Sometimes a few cheap cookies satisfies the sweet tooth, but most times something with more thought and taste is what is really wanted to satisfy the cravings.

I like this answer. :unsure:

Two weeks ago my caching partners were each on vacation so I was on my own. Rather than risk life and limb by myself where we normally go I opted to do some quick LPCs as I was out running errands. Got a partial cache fix and shopping done too. ;)

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The sad part, as far as I am concerned, is that they are in boring retail lots. I actually know of an LPC that I would recommend to someone visiting Buffalo. It is in a historic location. I know of another micro that is in a great historic location but it isn't an LPC. With so many lackluster micro hides out there many people filter out micros. The result is that we miss the few that are exceptional. I am sure that there are more great micro hides in my area but unless someone specifically tells me about them I am unlikely to find them.

 

Sounds like a great place for a virtual cache. You should post a thread in the website forum and ask to submit one.

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The sad part, as far as I am concerned, is that they are in boring retail lots. I actually know of an LPC that I would recommend to someone visiting Buffalo. It is in a historic location. I know of another micro that is in a great historic location but it isn't an LPC. With so many lackluster micro hides out there many people filter out micros. The result is that we miss the few that are exceptional. I am sure that there are more great micro hides in my area but unless someone specifically tells me about them I am unlikely to find them.

 

Sounds like a great place for a virtual cache. You should post a thread in the website forum and ask to submit one.

 

I'll be sure to explain that you said it was OK.

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The sad part, as far as I am concerned, is that they are in boring retail lots. I actually know of an LPC that I would recommend to someone visiting Buffalo. It is in a historic location. I know of another micro that is in a great historic location but it isn't an LPC. With so many lackluster micro hides out there many people filter out micros. The result is that we miss the few that are exceptional. I am sure that there are more great micro hides in my area but unless someone specifically tells me about them I am unlikely to find them.

 

Sounds like a great place for a virtual cache. You should post a thread in the website forum and ask to submit one.

 

I'll be sure to explain that you said it was OK.

 

Absolutely! "BlueDeuce said it was OK."

 

They'll push it right through for you, trust me.

 

 

edit: spell-check doesn't catch everything.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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OMG this post comes up weekly like LPCs in a Wal-Mart parking lot, If you dont like them don't hunt for read them!

 

 

Actually, I had a short-lived, but I think, creative LPC, as have a few others here. They're rare, but they are out there. Of course, if they weren't rare, they'd also be as lame (no offence intended to the word "lame") as the rest.

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2 points to ponder:

 

1. Think of the people who are in wheelchairs or need scooters to get around that want to enjoy this activity, too. LPCs are a great find for them - they can't exactly take their chairs and go bushwhacking through briars. Every cache serves a purpose for someone, but if this particular type doesn't serve a purpose for you, simply avoid them.

 

2. Want to find a way to appreciate those LPCs and Phone-a-Friends more? Try doing a streak. I see the most consecutive days you've gone so far is 8. Try for 50 or a 100 day streak. Then when it's nearing the end of day 44 and you realize you haven't found a cache yet and you're going to blow your streak, a nice and easy LPC will look quite inviting. :unsure:

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"You can avoid any cache you want.

I came across a NIH cache the other day. The second I knew it was a NIH cache I left. Won't log it as a DNF. If they had a specific log for "Should have never downloaded it" then I would log it that way."

 

I'm a newcomer to the sport. What's a NIH Cache?

 

Thanks,

Decemberspill

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2 points to ponder:

 

1. Think of the people who are in wheelchairs or need scooters to get around that want to enjoy this activity, too. LPCs are a great find for them - they can't exactly take their chairs and go bushwhacking through briars. Every cache serves a purpose for someone, but if this particular type doesn't serve a purpose for you, simply avoid them.

 

 

The "there are people in wheelchairs" response was scheduled for post #35 in the scheduled weekly lame lpc thread. You're just a wee bit early. :unsure:

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2 points to ponder:

 

1. Think of the people who are in wheelchairs or need scooters to get around that want to enjoy this activity, too. LPCs are a great find for them - they can't exactly take their chairs and go bushwhacking through briars. Every cache serves a purpose for someone, but if this particular type doesn't serve a purpose for you, simply avoid them.

 

 

The "there are people in wheelchairs" response was scheduled for post #35 in the scheduled weekly lame lpc thread. You're just a wee bit early. :D

 

:unsure: My apologies! I'm still kinda new here and haven't quite got the schedule down. I think I had "lame cache locations" and "lame cache swag" confused. Will try harder next time! ;) -K

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2 points to ponder:

 

1. Think of the people who are in wheelchairs or need scooters to get around that want to enjoy this activity, too. LPCs are a great find for them - they can't exactly take their chairs and go bushwhacking through briars. Every cache serves a purpose for someone, but if this particular type doesn't serve a purpose for you, simply avoid them.

 

2. Want to find a way to appreciate those LPCs and Phone-a-Friends more? Try doing a streak. I see the most consecutive days you've gone so far is 8. Try for 50 or a 100 day streak. Then when it's nearing the end of day 44 and you realize you haven't found a cache yet and you're going to blow your streak, a nice and easy LPC will look quite inviting. :unsure:

 

additionally, is there any reason why people in wheelchairs should be happy with sucky hides in parking lots?

 

all those wishing to make an enjoyable experience for people with handicaps should do a little better than that.

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The trick is to make it like like a typical LPC on paper or on site and then hide the cache in a different way. It's difficult to do but it can be done.

 

I knew I was doing something wrong. I've been creating beautiful cache pages with nice wallpaper, great write ups, and clever hints. Then just putting a film can in the wallyworld parking lot. No wonder the logs are so full of initials and acronyms. :unsure:

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2 points to ponder:

 

1. Think of the people who are in wheelchairs or need scooters to get around that want to enjoy this activity, too. LPCs are a great find for them - they can't exactly take their chairs and go bushwhacking through briars. Every cache serves a purpose for someone, but if this particular type doesn't serve a purpose for you, simply avoid them.

The "there are people in wheelchairs" response was scheduled for post #35 in the scheduled weekly lame lpc thread. You're just a wee bit early. :unsure:
Strangley, the standard response came exactly on schedule at post #37. Edited by sbell111
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OMG this post comes up weekly, If you dont like them don't hunt for them!

 

I think the problem is that you don't know it's an LPC until you are 100 feet from it and the arrow is pointing at the lamp post. So you drive 10 miles out of your way for what? It's frustrating.

 

For those who say -- check the satellite view on google maps, you'll see that the cache is in a parking lot -- not everyone drives around with a laptop and wifi access.

 

The only solution so far is, ignore all micros and ignore all caches whose terrain rating is under 2. Which is a shame because there are some good caches out there that are clever micros or decent easy to get to caches.

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They don't annoy me at all because I just ignore them. :unsure:

same with me. never found one nor looked for one.

 

Parking lot hides can be surprising.

 

I understand some don't like the hides under LP skirts. We don't mind them if they are far and few between. A few weeks ago we looked for some traditional ones and came up with 3 DNFs so a LP was great boost.

 

As far as avoiding parking lots - I'm glad we don't do that. We have found cool hides on the outside edges, even behind a couple of WMarts we walked into woods, even found a large pond. Of course if you look at the distance it helps tell you if it's outside the pavement, but if I was just driving by I might not realize it's not a LP.

 

We placed one LP cache that's been out for a 1.5 years, 80 finds and everyone enjoys it - however I'm sure there are some that drive by without looking for it. GC19FBD (no skirt here, 5 large bolts under the platform, now there are 6.

 

Another parking lot hide we placed is GC1DTTZ is not a LP hide, I've been told some cachers have gone straight for a LP even though the coords are way off! It's a little paint holder with fake pine pieces glued on placed in the crook of a pine tree.

 

We don't assume anything just because it looks like a bland parking lot hide.

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OMG this post comes up weekly like LPCs in a Wal-Mart parking lot, If you dont like them don't hunt for read them!

 

 

Actually, I had a short-lived, but I think, creative LPC, as have a few others here. They're rare, but they are out there. Of course, if they weren't rare, they'd also be as lame (no offence intended to the word "lame") as the rest.

 

Ilm not saying I hate them, I actually enjoy finding them. Also thinking of hiding one soon. My point was that if you have a problem with them dont have a whole thread dedicated towards bashing these types of caches.

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Nope it is not just you, I have one that I posted like for my 1 or 2 hide, but it has all went down hill from that.I don't hide anything anymore that is under a 2.5 on difficulty. For the most part the people in my area really like a challenge so I really try to give them one.I have had alot of praise on my caches since they are not your typical park and grab type cache. So I am with you and no I have gotten where I don't care about padding my numbers I try to find a good hunt.

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After over 160 finds, I have just recently found my forst LPC (Winstonsdad, that is a "Lamp Post Cache"). My 3 year old son loved it. I definatly could see that they may become anoying after 10 or 50 of them. (Try using a internet/GPS enabled cell phone; you will be able to see these from miles away using google maps' satalite view)

 

Edit: I have not tried to avoid LPCs, just never actualy found one.

Edited by Andronicus
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2 points to ponder:

 

1. Think of the people who are in wheelchairs or need scooters to get around that want to enjoy this activity, too. LPCs are a great find for them.

 

2. Then when it's nearing the end of day 44 and you realize you haven't found a cache yet and you're going to blow your streak, a nice and easy LPC will look quite inviting. ;)

 

2 counterpoints to ponder:

 

1. Folks who have physical disabilities don't usually lose whatever degree of appreciation for creativity that they had prior to becoming disabled. It is quite possible to create a cleverly hidden cache that folks stuck in a wheelchair can hunt for, without subjecting them to 500 acres of sweltering, exhaust laden fields of blacktop, dodging soccer moms in SUVs. As an ole fat cripple myself, I see the day coming when my physical mobility may become so impaired as to limit my hunts to only those with a low terrain rating. If that day comes to pass, I would hate to think that folks are creating lame hides just to give me another smiley. Cripples like creativity just as much as the next guy. LPCs are decidedly "not" great for "them", unless they happen to enjoy hunting them.

 

(Post script: It just occurred to me that the term "lame" is synonymous with "crippled". Hopefully, this won't lead to folks hiding lame caches for us lame folks) :unsure:

 

2. For those who incorporate a love of numbers, simply for the sake of those numbers, into their game play, that would certainly be a valid reason, (if reasons were needed), for the existence of such crappy hides. However, for those who prefer quality to quantity, (a rare breed these days), another mindless smiley does nothing but pollute the landscape.

 

(Naturally, neither of these counterpoints invalidates the mantra of "Don't like 'em? Don't hunt 'em!")

 

I ignore caches with names like "Always _____"

Oddly enough, considering my earlier rantings, I actually own a Wally World LPC. ALWAYS Lame :blink::o

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