Legitimate Geocacher?

[+jeepdelfuego]

At what point are you not a newbie anymore? 100, 200, 300,400, or 500 caches?

[+Loony Londo]

At what point are you not a newbie anymore? 100, 200, 300,400, or 500 caches?

 

Once you have 200 finds you appear in the caching statistics league table so you can your rankiing against the other geocachers.

Edited October 31, 2009 by Loony Londo

[+bittsen]

Don't know.

Some still act like I'm a newbie with about 300 finds, 8 hides, caches found in 4 states and over a distance of over 3000 miles. I have found caches in 100 degree heat and at temps below 40 degrees. I have found the majority of my caches in the dark but have done day runs as well. I have gotten stung by nettles and climbed to get a cache and fallen 6 feet. I have climbed down a treacherous small canyon and almost broke my leg and I have suffered a dozen or so allergic reactions. And I am still questioned as being a "real" cacher by some. Oh well.

 

I feel I have surpassed my initiation though.

 

I guess one could say you are no longer a newbie when you feel you are no longer a newbie

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

IMO "newbieism" is a mindset............. it all depends upon whose mind you are sitting in!

 

Edit: Now, as far as being legitimate, my birth certificate says I am, what more do I need?

Edited October 31, 2009 by Gitchee-Gummee

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

1

[+JohnnyVegas]

At what point are you not a newbie anymore? 100, 200, 300,400, or 500 caches?

Depending on the number of caches on your area I would say 500 to 1000

200 or 300 can be an easy number to reach, but will those caches include a good assortment of hide styles.

[+WRASTRO]

It took us a year to find our first 100 caches and then we didn't think we were "new" to the game any longer. After 1,000 finds we felt like we were "real" cachers. But this was our mindset. It is different for each person. Keep at it and you will know when you feel you are no longer a "newbie".

[+LEGO]

1

what he said...

[djhobby]

I would go more for the length of time instead of the number of caches. So after about a six months you are no longer a newbie.

[+KBI]

At what point are you not a newbie anymore?

It’s all relative. It depends on relativity.

 

If you really want to get scientific about it, use the well-known equation from Einstein’s Extra Special General Theory of Relativity of Hidden Thingys:

 

E=mc²

 

I’m sure the details are intuitively obvious, but here they are anyway:

 

E is experience,

c is the number of caches you’ve found, and

m is your membership status*

 

(*Free membership is worth a value of one, Premium Membership is worth two, Platinum is three, and so on, all the way up to The Ultimate Membership Level Whose Name We Dare Not Speak.)

 

Run the equation for at least two cachers, then compare. The one with the lowest resulting value for E is the newbie.

 

Of course, as with all things relativistic, certain odd effects will become apparent as c approaches 186,282 – the speed of light pole hide growth. Clocks run slower for cachers involved in high-speed numbers runs; this time dilation is also accompanied by an increase in cache lameness as observed by stationary observers. Occasional urgent on-tree urination may occur as well.

 

Of course, quantum theories tell us that the mere act of observation changes reality; one can never be certain of the existence-state of a given cache until it is looked for, at which point its status 'collapses' into either a "found it" state, or the state that quantum mechanics refer to as De-particalized Non-Schrödinger Finality, or "DNF."

[+slowdownracer]

I would go more for the length of time instead of the number of caches. So after about a six months you are no longer a newbie.

[/quoe]

 

Our first find was on 5/10/03 and only have 280 something finds to date.

 

We know what to look for, but aren't fanatical about finding every cache.

 

It's a great hobby, but it doesn't dominate our lives.

 

I don't consider us "newbies".

 

Plus we hate micros.

 

[+doingitoldschool]

Well, since it's baseball season, let's say it takes 162 caches to no longer be a rookie,

and if you find more than that in one season, you're obviously good, because you're in the playoffs!

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I stand by my original answer... 1

 

This isn't rocket surgery.

 

You've never found a cache but think you'd like to, you're a newbie.

 

You get a GPS, load coords and go find a cache, you're a legitimate geocacher.

[+Capt. Ed]

At what point are you not a newbie anymore? 100, 200, 300,400, or 500 caches?

 

I think we're leaving out one important variable in the equation. How many hides along with the finds.

 

In my book, if a team has 1500 finds and no hides, they'll still feel a little green hiding those first few caches.

 

caped

[+KBI]

This isn't rocket surgery.

 

(I'm stealin' that one.)

[GOF and Bacall]

This isn't rocket surgery.

 

(I'm stealin' that one.)

 

You may as well. It isn't like it was his to begin with.

[+Team Cotati]

The very first day that you don't want to be.

[+jeepdelfuego]

I personally think that 100 finds and a few hides makes you a legitimate geocacher. My family just thinks that I am a nutjob, no matter how many finds I have.

[+Vater_Araignee]

1

what he said...

what they said.

[+jeepdelfuego]

I just saw Alabama Ramber's reply of 1. Well, I may have to agree with that as well. What if you are the one that finds the geocache that is 7,000 ft underwater, or on top of the worlds tallest mountain? Either one of those finds would make you a legitimate geocacher because it would take a lot of will power, stamina, and fortitude to even attempt either of those feats.

 

-Just my .02

 

 

I personally think that 100 finds and a few hides makes you a legitimate geocacher. My family just thinks that I am a nutjob, no matter how many finds I have.

[+Chrysalides]

Square root of negative 1.

 

(or in other words, an imaginary number).

[+bittsen]

I just saw Alabama Ramber's reply of 1. Well, I may have to agree with that as well. What if you are the one that finds the geocache that is 7,000 ft underwater, or on top of the worlds tallest mountain? Either one of those finds would make you a legitimate geocacher because it would take a lot of will power, stamina, and fortitude to even attempt either of those feats.

 

-Just my .02

 

What if you were already at the top of the worlds talles mountain and just happened upon the geocache. Then aren't you just a mountain climber who stumbles upon things?

 

 

How about, the second you log your first geocache that you actively searched for except in instances outlined in paragraph 4, subsection one of the official rules and bylaws for geocaching...

 

Nah, lets settle on ONE!

[GOF and Bacall]

Some people are "legitimate" the day they start. Some we could do without have been here from the start. Numbers have nothing to do with it.

[GOF and Bacall]

I just saw Alabama Ramber's reply of 1. Well, I may have to agree with that as well. What if you are the one that finds the geocache that is 7,000 ft underwater, or on top of the worlds tallest mountain? Either one of those finds would make you a legitimate geocacher because it would take a lot of will power, stamina, and fortitude to even attempt either of those feats.

 

-Just my .02

 

What if you were already at the top of the worlds talles mountain and just happened upon the geocache. Then aren't you just a mountain climber who stumbles upon things?

 

 

How about, the second you log your first geocache that you actively searched for except in instances outlined in paragraph 4, subsection one of the official rules and bylaws for geocaching...

 

Nah, lets settle on ONE!

 

A mountain climber who stumbles isn't a geocacher, he's a messy spot on the mountain.

[+Chrysalides]

A mountain climber who stumbles isn't a geocacher, he's a messy spot on the mountain.

Or valley floor.

[Dinoprophet]

Well, since it's baseball season, let's say it takes 162 caches to no longer be a rookie,

and if you find more than that in one season, you're obviously good, because you're in the playoffs!

Tell that to the Tigers.

[+webscouter.]

I won't be a newbie once I find at least 50 caches in all 50 US states.

[+Unkle Fester]

This isn't rocket surgery.

No... It's much more important.

[+AirborneSurveyor]

When you plan your vacation to go to a state on the sole grounds that you have not marked that state off as one of the places you have cache in. Heck I almost did not take R&R wile in deployed in Afghanistan, but there were 15 caches on Bargram Airfield and a few caches in Kuwait that I would not have had access to if I did not go on leave. Once you cross that line you are a Geocacher.

[+Shop99er]

1

what he said...

what they said.

what they said

[+KBI]

1

what he said...

what they said.

what they said

Yeah. Add me to that list too.

[+doingitoldschool]

1

what he said...

what they said.

what they said

Yeah. Add me to that list too.

 

Even with my earlier baseball joke, 1 is of course the right answer. After you've found a cache, you're a cacher.

[+Chrysalides]

After you've found a cache, you're a cacher.

Actually, once you've tried searching for a cache, you're a cacher.

 

Or, according to the forum, once you've made 10 posts, you're a geocacher.

[+geodarts]

I always like to think of myself as an illegitimate cacher. But my basic rule of thumb is that anything less than 500 dnfs and you are still wet behind the ears.

Edited November 1, 2009 by Erickson

[+Vater_Araignee]

I always like to think of myself as an illegitimate cacher. Anything less than 500 dnfs and you are still wet behind the ears.

would that be logged or admitted to? I'm probably near 40 on one cache alone.

[+geodarts]

I always like to think of myself as an illegitimate cacher. Anything less than 500 dnfs and you are still wet behind the ears.

would that be logged or admitted to? I'm probably near 40 on one cache alone.

 

40 on one cache will bolster your reputation for preserverence. But the other half of the equation (at least as far as I can figure out from people with far more finds than I) is that you should have at least a dozen lifelines in every city you cache in before your legitimacy is presumed.

[+Nozzletime]

The first time you go out geocaching, whether you find it or not.

[GOF and Bacall]

Is it alright if I build on this question? If you aren't yet a legitimate geocacher but can no longer be called a muggle just what are you?

[+KBI]

If you aren't yet a legitimate geocacher but can no longer be called a muggle just what are you?

A GPS purchaser in mid-purchase.

[+KBI]

Wait. That would make you a "GPS P.I.M.P."

[+KBI]

Dangit, I thought I had figured out how not to double-post.

Edited November 1, 2009 by KBI

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Is it alright if I build on this question? If you aren't yet a legitimate geocacher but can no longer be called a muggle just what are you?

 

You are a GIT. A Geocacher In Training.

 

Edit: Maybe that is when you really are an Illegitimate geocacher.

Edited November 1, 2009 by Gitchee-Gummee

[jimdean2544]

I would go more for the length of time instead of the number of caches. So after about a six months you are no longer a newbie.

[/quoe]

 

Our first find was on 5/10/03 and only have 280 something finds to date.

 

We know what to look for, but aren't fanatical about finding every cache.

 

It's a great hobby, but it doesn't dominate our lives.

 

I don't consider us "newbies".

 

Plus we hate micros.

 

 

I second the Micro comment. I just don't want to look that hard. I find it way more interesting if I term it "A walk in the woods the end of which you find a treasure chest." I like ammo can sized finds. At just over 7 finds ( OK OK, 8) I think I am still new to it, LOL.

[+Team Cotati]

Is it alright if I build on this question? If you aren't yet a legitimate geocacher but can no longer be called a muggle just what are you?

 

No, it is not alright.

[+flask]

did you go geocaching?

 

then you're a legitimate geocacher.

 

i am no more a legitimate cacher today than i was the first day i cached.

 

you build experience and you build skills, but you're legit from day one.

 

if you're asking when a cacher develops enough skill to consider themselves experienced, some people are naturals. others can cache for years and never really go deep into it.

 

it's a milestone for you every time a cache leads you somewhere surprising, or you figure out a thing you never did before, or you do something you would have thought impossible or at least unlikely.

 

always watch, always study. stretch yourself a little. and hold your head up. you're legit.

 

anyone who thinks you need a certain number of finds or hides or makes assumptions about your skills or your worth based on your numbers needs some attitude adjustment.

 

i hear a claw hammer is very effective for that.

[GOF and Bacall]

Is it alright if I build on this question? If you aren't yet a legitimate geocacher but can no longer be called a muggle just what are you?

 

No, it is not alright.

 

Too late.

[+Sol seaker]

I felt like I was in with the game after about 100 finds.

 

But every time I write something in the forums someone doesn't like (especially from one person, but from someone else too), I get the response "You're still new to this game" so my input carries no weight.

 

So I've got over 500 finds and been at it eight months and to some I'm still a newbie.

 

Guess I'd better get at it. (WHAT AM I DOING SITTING HERE AT HOME????!!!!!!!!)

[+flask]

I felt like I was in with the game after about 100 finds.

 

But every time I write something in the forums someone doesn't like (especially from one person, but from someone else too), I get the response "You're still new to this game" so my input carries no weight.

 

So I've got over 500 finds and been at it eight months and to some I'm still a newbie.

 

Guess I'd better get at it. (WHAT AM I DOING SITTING HERE AT HOME????!!!!!!!!)

 

people with no real credibility and a poverty of ideas will try to measure your worth by the number of hides/finds/posts you have.

 

of course, there are stages we all go through as our game matures.

 

the answer to "since you're too new to have a valid opinion" is properly "since you're too jaded to have a valid opinion"...

[+tber1981]

Why does it have to be about a number or length of time? I say, if you enjoy doing it and you are familiar with and respect the rules, then you are legit. As Flask said, you build skills as you go, but you're legit from day one.

[+popokiiti]

Is it alright if I build on this question? If you aren't yet a legitimate geocacher but can no longer be called a muggle just what are you?

 

You are a GIT. A Geocacher In Training.

 

Edit: Maybe that is when you really are an Illegitimate geocacher.

 

Time for me to clean the tea from my computer screen! Just need the GPSr to lead me to the cleaning materials........................................................thanks for the laugh!