Jump to content

Under a Rock in a Rock Pile, Again?


AzSunset

Recommended Posts

I know there are rocks everywhere but being from Arizona... What is the fascination that some cachers have with the proverbial Needle in a Haystack concept of hiding caches? Some of them are downright treacherous, on the side of a slope, near cactus or snakes! I don't mind a certain degree of difficulty but isn't/ shouldn't the idea be: Not impossible to find just not obvious or visible to someone that is not looking for it? Almost always I can look around (within a few feet) and think "This spot would be a much more clever placement for a Geocache". Not to mention I'm seldom alone; how inconspicuous can people look check under rocks in a public desert park?

I'm just saying, I love this game but who has time to spend 20, 30 + minutes looking for one cache?

I can't imagine I'm the only one that feels this way. I vote for a little more thought and planning.

Link to comment

I know there are rocks everywhere but being from Arizona... What is the fascination that some cachers have with the proverbial Needle in a Haystack concept of hiding caches? Some of them are downright treacherous, on the side of a slope, near cactus or snakes! I don't mind a certain degree of difficulty but isn't/ shouldn't the idea be: Not impossible to find just not obvious or visible to someone that is not looking for it? Almost always I can look around (within a few feet) and think "This spot would be a much more clever placement for a Geocache". Not to mention I'm seldom alone; how inconspicuous can people look check under rocks in a public desert park?

I'm just saying, I love this game but who has time to spend 20, 30 + minutes looking for one cache?

I can't imagine I'm the only one that feels this way. I vote for a little more thought and planning.

 

DANGER! DANGER! Dangerous topic, and here's why. Plenty of people not only have 20, 30, 45 or more minutes to look for caches, but there is a large number of people who enjoy the long hunts and dangerous hides. Here's what you'll be told in a nutshell:

 

We all play the game our own way.

Filter out those you don't want to find (ie high terrain or diff. levels)

Micros are bad

If you don't like it, turn around and go the other way.

 

 

Now all those who post after me can give you some sort of variation of one of those. There's more, but I can't remember them all now.

 

:D

Link to comment

I just wish that cache owners would do more to indicate caches that are in potentially dangerous locations. I don't mind hiking 3 or 4 miles, but it is very annoying to get there and learn that the cache is on the side of a steep icy slope or 20 feet up a tree or right next to a bee's nest. Some cache owners do a good job of this but some don't. Honestly, if you have a good chance of getting seriously hurt, then the terrain ought to be at least 4.5 and there should be some kind of note in the description. If people would use the terrain ratings appropriately then I could focus on the caches that are in my comfort zone.

Link to comment

LOL at 'J the Goat's' post. So here's my variation:

 

I have no idea what motivates people to hide caches like that. It boggles my mind. They usually take me 4 or 5 visits over the course of 6 months to find. Then everytime I finally find one, a few miles down the road a new one gets published. ;)

 

I've noticed though that often times they are placed by newbie cachers. From my experience, it's common to hear newbie cachers say "Ohhh, I'm gunna place the hardest cache EVER!". Maybe they just don't realize yet that: Hard caches do not equal good caches.

 

The best is when people DNF them and then the owner posts a not saying "The cache is there. Don't give up so easily." :anibad:

Edited by simpjkee
Link to comment

I know there are rocks everywhere but being from Arizona... What is the fascination that some cachers have with the proverbial Needle in a Haystack concept of hiding caches? Some of them are downright treacherous, on the side of a slope, near cactus or snakes! I don't mind a certain degree of difficulty but isn't/ shouldn't the idea be: Not impossible to find just not obvious or visible to someone that is not looking for it? Almost always I can look around (within a few feet) and think "This spot would be a much more clever placement for a Geocache". Not to mention I'm seldom alone; how inconspicuous can people look check under rocks in a public desert park?

I'm just saying, I love this game but who has time to spend 20, 30 + minutes looking for one cache?

I can't imagine I'm the only one that feels this way. I vote for a little more thought and planning.

I like the hard to find caches. It doesnt bother me to spend 30 or 45 min. looking. I almost allways have my wife and my children with me. Family time. I do check the logs before hand on the danger factor. There is usually a good post or two warning if they though that it was risky.

 

And my gripe is Nano's... HATE THEM.... There hard to find and then it takes forever to get the log back in.

 

Alfa Male Sdrawkcab Clan

Link to comment

I just wish that cache owners would do more to indicate caches that are in potentially dangerous locations. I don't mind hiking 3 or 4 miles, but it is very annoying to get there and learn that the cache is on the side of a steep icy slope or 20 feet up a tree or right next to a bee's nest. Some cache owners do a good job of this but some don't. Honestly, if you have a good chance of getting seriously hurt, then the terrain ought to be at least 4.5 and there should be some kind of note in the description. If people would use the terrain ratings appropriately then I could focus on the caches that are in my comfort zone.

 

Yes agree, although things like a bees nest or snakes might have come along after the cache was placed and the CO might not be aware of them. I'd add that to my found/ DNF note so other seekers are aware. If it gets deleted, you should report it, geocaching isn't about getting people into danger unawares.

Link to comment

I know there are rocks everywhere but being from Arizona... What is the fascination that some cachers have with the proverbial Needle in a Haystack concept of hiding caches? Some of them are downright treacherous, on the side of a slope, near cactus or snakes! I don't mind a certain degree of difficulty but isn't/ shouldn't the idea be: Not impossible to find just not obvious or visible to someone that is not looking for it? Almost always I can look around (within a few feet) and think "This spot would be a much more clever placement for a Geocache". Not to mention I'm seldom alone; how inconspicuous can people look check under rocks in a public desert park?

I'm just saying, I love this game but who has time to spend 20, 30 + minutes looking for one cache?

I can't imagine I'm the only one that feels this way. I vote for a little more thought and planning.

 

DANGER! DANGER! Dangerous topic, and here's why. Plenty of people not only have 20, 30, 45 or more minutes to look for caches, but there is a large number of people who enjoy the long hunts and dangerous hides. Here's what you'll be told in a nutshell:

 

We all play the game our own way.

Filter out those you don't want to find (ie high terrain or diff. levels)

Micros are bad

If you don't like it, turn around and go the other way.

 

 

Now all those who post after me can give you some sort of variation of one of those. There's more, but I can't remember them all now.

 

;)

 

 

:blink: Could not have said it better, myself! You hit the nail on the head :anibad:

Link to comment

Grumble, grumble, gripe, complain.

 

When I was in AZ I was finding these Cattle Guards all over the place and thinking, "What's the matter with these people? Can't they hide a cache without a cattle guard?" Each time I pulled down a dirt road and saw I was approaching GZ and saw one more CG I wanted to scream.

 

On the other hand, the best rockpile caches are the cleverly disguised hollow stick nearby which actually contains the cache. ;)

Link to comment

We all play the game our own way.

Filter out those you don't want to find (ie high terrain or diff. levels)

Micros are bad

If you don't like it, turn around and go the other way.

 

Yep I am sure these posts will show up. But to tell the truth there are those who want to repel out of a helicopter upside down to reach a cache. That's fine. There are those like me who just want to take the kids out and pick a few caches for family time. That’s fine too. I'd say just pay attention to the difficulty and terrain ratings when choosing what to go after. I'd also ask that OC be realistic when rating those factors as well.

Link to comment

Tht's where my definition of evil versus nasty come into play. Rock in a rockpile is just nasty. No redeeming social value, except to inflate the hider's ego.

Evil, on the other fin, is an ingenious hide that take a lot of searching. When you find it, you say "wow", as opposed to "What a waste of my time".

I'm just saying, I love this game but who has time to spend 20, 30 + minutes looking for one cache?

Hmm.. I frequently spend a half hour looking for a cache! Glorious day in New Jersey today. Temp hit 70º. Did a four mile bushwhacking hunt for eight caches. WMA. Found seven of them. Took me about six hours. I had a great time! I probably averaged a half hour search on each. Definitely a lot more fun than cache and dashes. (I save the C&Ds for rotten weather.) I saw some beaver ponds, and a couple of vultures watching to see if I would keep moving. And the bufflehead ducks are back in Jersey!

Link to comment

I'm just saying, I love this game but who has time to spend 20, 30 + minutes looking for one cache?

A lot of use have personal time limits, you can set one for your self.

You're required to find them all.

I can't imagine I'm the only one that feels this way. I vote for a little more thought and planning.

No, your not the only one that feels that way, fortunately you could always chase LPCs. I bet Flagstaff has enough to keep you busy for a wile. ;)

Link to comment

Tht's where my definition of evil versus nasty come into play. Rock in a rockpile is just nasty. No redeeming social value, except to inflate the hider's ego.

Evil, on the other fin, is an ingenious hide that take a lot of searching. When you find it, you say "wow", as opposed to "What a waste of my time".

 

I like how you differentiated the two. :laughing:

Link to comment

Micros can be nasty, but I've noticed that you will find that good and responsible users let you know.

 

A good example is GC1ZMT5 which is located inside a storm drain that has seen some "interesting" activity in the past. The storm drain is actually a pitch black tunnel that you walk into and the container is a about the size of a cut off section of drinking straw. So not only is is somewhat dangerous, but also insanely hard to find.

 

Yet it is an absolute blast and takes you to an interesting place. Like everyone above has said, if you don't think the cache is worth the time, move on. Some people have a more adventurous spirit.

 

We've even climbed to the tops of trees to get caches...extending over rivers. Yet some of our favorites are nice and easy lock-n-locks.

 

To each their own.

Link to comment

Tht's where my definition of evil versus nasty come into play. Rock in a rockpile is just nasty. No redeeming social value, except to inflate the hider's ego.

Evil, on the other fin, is an ingenious hide that take a lot of searching. When you find it, you say "wow", as opposed to "What a waste of my time"...

When it comes to rock-in-a-rock-pile there is a thin line between creative and PITA.

 

The more rocks you have to turn over the closer it gets to being a PITA. :laughing:

Link to comment

I usually look for the "Aha" moment, When I turn my senses on their sides and find a cache in a place that I'd never thought of. Like my first LPC, which took me 30 minutes to find (one of my first 10). Now that LPS woould be a quick park n grab. Does that make the first experience more memorable? you betcha. It was nearly 700 finda ago and I can still remember it. On the other hand, I barely remember the nex2 200 or so. Why? Reread my first sentence. Doesn't make LPCs any less valuable. On ther other hand, a hide that requires me to methodically turn over every rock in a pile of 300 rocks lacks that "Aha" moment, especially if the hint says something like "thic hide rocks". Unless its hidden in a hollow stick 3 feet away. Aha!!!

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...