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Another Record - 626 in 24 hours


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626 is a good number....however, I'm betting on some vehicle damage. B)

 

I knew TGR would have to out do us....after we sped past him in Santa Maria.

Congratulations Team Geo-Rangers and Peasinapod. :)

I talked to Peasinapod and he confirmed that he and Team Geo-Rangers did find 626 caches in 24 hours which is a new world record !

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A-mazing! That crushes. Congrats on the new number TGR and PiP.

 

Spoke to Peas yesterday and he mentioned this thread. It is true VKs are very fast and they did pass the local team I joined up with in Santa Maria. The personal goal for that day was to get some FTFs in an area that isn't in the normal geo-ranging "lebensraum." The rest of the Geo-Rangers opted to shop and play in Solvang. As far as numbers go, did manage to find a few more than those that were released because winning the prize at the event wasn't that important (to me). Congrats to VKs who went for it and earned their prize! I insisted we stop before the event at the Firestone Brewery and purchased a pitcher of their excellent IPA, to celebrate the day's work and toast some great new geocaching friends - locals MacGyver & Flo and Geobigdogs from Santa Barbara. Still logged over 100 that day, if numbers matter.

 

As far as that power trail goes, it was an amazing run with the funnest caching partner anyone could hope for! We did spot the VK & company round sticker on the outside of the torpedo cannister that FoToMoM notes but it was during the day when we stopped there. Saw a lot of their stickers inside the logs so believe without a doubt they got 566. The howling winds and cold at night made it difficult, especially to navigate the roads in the hills to spot where to turn. It is important to be experienced driving a 4WD vehicle at night and Peas did an awesome job and he also managed to assist on the "log extractions" for most of them when I got their first. Safety first when attempting something extreme like this.

 

I corresponded with EMC about a month ago and believe that both VKs and Peas are two of the fastest geocachers in the game. Still believe that. Open highways versus off road terrain poses different challenges and so good mission planning is really important for either. Luck matters too - the team that experienced two flat tires had us worried all day, especially after the first puncture wound we took into the sidewall from an angry bush around 6:30AM.

 

Our goal for this trip was to find over 500 in a day. We were aiming for 505 to up the record, then the alert notifying us that the bar had been raised before we left made us take another look at the planning because that is a big number! Getting over 600 was a bonus; are we the first to do that or does it only count as 313 as another forum poster suggested? Recognize another team will go for 627 and that's great. Records are meant to be broken. Who knows, it may have already been broken - saw a lot of names not posted yet in those log sheets! :)

 

Back to cut and pasting those logs, which doesn't take as long as extracting the log sheet from those @#$% eclipse containers. B)

 

It was a really fun challenge and look forward to the next one - hmmm, a trip to Geowoodstock or Europe this summer ... it will be interesting to see if power trails like this will catch on so cachers all over the world can take on a course to set their own personal best in their own backyards.

 

Happy Geocaching Everyone and stay safe out there!

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Last week I managed 257 in 16 hours, solo!

 

That equates to 385 in 24 hours.

 

Extrapolating from that, the other team records are easily believable.

 

A team could do a run like this much faster. Mainly by one person finding the cache and signing the log, while the driver gets the car turned around. Doing both of those functions by myself, in sequence, slowed me down.

 

I also went for all the caches, even the challenging 4x4 climbs that I noticed had a lot fewer signatures in the logs. Those also slowed me down. But they were hella fun to get to.

 

I also did my run on a very windy day. At one point I was driving down a sandy wash at about 30 mph and my dust cloud was passing me. Gusts over the passes topped 50 mph. This often meant taking the cache back to the car to sign the log. That meant extra time.

 

I wouldn't trade any of it. It was one of the most fun days I've ever had geocaching!

 

I'd love to see some more solo runs on the TotG.

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Thanks to all for the kind words on our fun day. TGRs and I had a great time. Records are made to be broken and it will only be a matter of time til someone makes their mark. Go for it.

 

As for vehicle damage, we suffered from one flat tire and a new crop of desert pinstriping. We lost our driver side mirror the day before while enroute to the area. A stick flipped up and shattered the whole thing, housing and all. Bummer. We used my 01 Toyota Tacoma with 155k miles on it.

 

Many thanks are due to NGA for providing the opportunity to have such a great time. Its not always about the numbers...but some days it is.

Edited by Peasinapod
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Thanks to all for the kind words on our fun day. TGRs and I had a great time. Records are made to be broken and it will only be a matter of time til someone makes their mark. Go for it.

 

As for vehicle damage, we suffered from one flat tire and a new crop of desert pinstriping. We lost our driver side mirror the day before while enroute to the area. A stick flipped up and shattered the whole thing, housing and all. Bummer. We used my 01 Toyota Tacoma with 155k miles on it.

 

Many thanks are due to NGA for providing the opportunity to have such a great time. Its not always about the numbers...but some days it is.

Well said PIP and it was a pleasure meeting you on the trail after you came down off that lofty perch H.F. & Psychopedics

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A-mazing! That crushes. Congrats on the new number TGR and PiP.

 

Spoke to Peas yesterday and he mentioned this thread. It is true VKs are very fast and they did pass the local team I joined up with in Santa Maria. The personal goal for that day was to get some FTFs in an area that isn't in the normal geo-ranging "lebensraum." The rest of the Geo-Rangers opted to shop and play in Solvang. As far as numbers go, did manage to find a few more than those that were released because winning the prize at the event wasn't that important (to me). Congrats to VKs who went for it and earned their prize! I insisted we stop before the event at the Firestone Brewery and purchased a pitcher of their excellent IPA, to celebrate the day's work and toast some great new geocaching friends - locals MacGyver & Flo and Geobigdogs from Santa Barbara. Still logged over 100 that day, if numbers matter.

 

As far as that power trail goes, it was an amazing run with the funnest caching partner anyone could hope for! We did spot the VK & company round sticker on the outside of the torpedo cannister that FoToMoM notes but it was during the day when we stopped there. Saw a lot of their stickers inside the logs so believe without a doubt they got 566. The howling winds and cold at night made it difficult, especially to navigate the roads in the hills to spot where to turn. It is important to be experienced driving a 4WD vehicle at night and Peas did an awesome job and he also managed to assist on the "log extractions" for most of them when I got their first. Safety first when attempting something extreme like this.

 

I corresponded with EMC about a month ago and believe that both VKs and Peas are two of the fastest geocachers in the game. Still believe that. Open highways versus off road terrain poses different challenges and so good mission planning is really important for either. Luck matters too - the team that experienced two flat tires had us worried all day, especially after the first puncture wound we took into the sidewall from an angry bush around 6:30AM.

 

Our goal for this trip was to find over 500 in a day. We were aiming for 505 to up the record, then the alert notifying us that the bar had been raised before we left made us take another look at the planning because that is a big number! Getting over 600 was a bonus; are we the first to do that or does it only count as 313 as another forum poster suggested? Recognize another team will go for 627 and that's great. Records are meant to be broken. Who knows, it may have already been broken - saw a lot of names not posted yet in those log sheets! B)

 

Back to cut and pasting those logs, which doesn't take as long as extracting the log sheet from those @#$% eclipse containers. :unsure:

 

It was a really fun challenge and look forward to the next one - hmmm, a trip to Geowoodstock or Europe this summer ... it will be interesting to see if power trails like this will catch on so cachers all over the world can take on a course to set their own personal best in their own backyards.

 

Happy Geocaching Everyone and stay safe out there!

 

How long did it take to change the flat? A fast time would be 5 min, so that is 2:17.5 per cache. That is rediculously fast!!

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Not counting the 100+ found enroute and back to Phoenix, 626 logs in a day is just way too many to personalize. Try to do that when time permits on other days. Not complaining one bit, for it was really fun being a "Geo-Ranger" on the 2nd with Peas rather than a "Chair-borne Ranger" with the laptop for the several days that followed. Lamented in the Cut and Paste disclaimer for each post that a logging service was used ... if it were only true! Will gladly pay Groundspeak more money to be a Super Premium member if they can provide a feature to expedite logging to save time ... of course, that would allow more time to cache and then it just becomes a vicious circle. :D

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Let's see if this pastes (Ha-ha, a cut and paste log) a graph by geoides of our 400 run.

normal_TOTG.jpg

400 is so old school. Just literally raise the bar from 17/hr to 27/hr. Watch that exit for gas at 9 hours, drop the 4x4 hills and fill the graph's valleys, and cache through 25/hr areas. Got bitter windy cold at 23 hours.

 

Remember, this is 24 hours out in the desert on dirt... Don't try this at home. Rent a jeep out of Vegas, and put action to words with a credible attempt yourself.

Edited by bthomas
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WELL, IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED -- in fact, it's still fun!

 

By my reckoning, the Ventura Kids, f0t0m0m and I held the record for exactly one week.

When we had broken the record, I remember commenting, as we bounced through the desert, that it wouldn't be long before someone would come bouncing along behind us and top what we had done.

 

I just didn't think it would happen that quickly! CONGRATS to Team 500 - Geo-Rangers & Peasinapod.

Now we've all experienced the same thing: the euphoria that comes from being totally focused on a mission non-stop for 24 hours.

 

Those who say it's not geocaching and that it's cheating just don't get the point - the exhilaration of bonding over a shared experience, of doing battle with the terrain and the clock -- that you just don't get when you find 15 caches by yourself on a Sunday afternoon.

 

I'm still grateful to all who made our record run possible, and I look forward to the next time!

 

Cachepal

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WELL, IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED -- in fact, it's still fun!

 

By my reckoning, the Ventura Kids, f0t0m0m and I held the record for exactly one week.

When we had broken the record, I remember commenting, as we bounced through the desert, that it wouldn't be long before someone would come bouncing along behind us and top what we had done.

 

I just didn't think it would happen that quickly! CONGRATS to Team 500 - Geo-Rangers & Peasinapod.

Now we've all experienced the same thing: the euphoria that comes from being totally focused on a mission non-stop for 24 hours.

 

Those who say it's not geocaching and that it's cheating just don't get the point - the exhilaration of bonding over a shared experience, of doing battle with the terrain and the clock -- that you just don't get when you find 15 caches by yourself on a Sunday afternoon.

 

I'm still grateful to all who made our record run possible, and I look forward to the next time!

 

Cachepal

 

It's all good, but those power trails were GREAT! Well stated Cachepal - there is so much variety of experiences to be had in this geocaching game to keep it interesting for anyone, whether casually seeking, hiding or trying something more on the extreme side. Finding a cache in every CA county was something done by the entire family back in '04-'05 and proved to be quite educational for the junior geo-rangers. Anybody can come up with any crazy goal and go for it as Peas notes. It's your time on this earth, so choose how you wish to spend it?!

 

Don't think any pit crews out there will want us. Peas did the heavy lifting on the tire change - I merely assisted on the periphery (to stay out of his way) - about 8 minutes elapsed time. On the flip side, suspect most pit crews don't stay up all night before race day either or pull double duty as driver and nav.

 

Am open to suggestions on the next crazy goal to attempt (the adrenaline has long worn off) ...

 

Is there room for one more on that school bus headed for the Alien Inn in June? ;)

Edited by Team Geo-Rangers
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If you guys are really believing all these records, I know an Amway distributor who would like to meet you.

 

I can support this ...

 

If people here would only use simple maths and physics plus some basic assumptions they would see that this "record" is nearly impossible.

My rough calculations pointed out that they had less than 90 seconds from jumping out of their car and finding+opening any of these caches under very optimal circumstances.

The rest of the time in my calculation is used for short logging (date + name), hiding the cache again, driving from cache to cache respecting speed limits and jumping back into the car. All this calculation was made according to the assumption that the average distance from cache to cache is less than 200m (650 ft) (as I already said ... veeeeery optimal circumstances).

 

90seconds average find time ... well that's only possible (if at all) with D1/T1 drive-in caches

 

If they really made it ... R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

 

A very sceptical

idl0r

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If you guys are really believing all these records, I know an Amway distributor who would like to meet you.

 

I can support this ...

 

If people here would only use simple maths and physics plus some basic assumptions they would see that this "record" is nearly impossible.

My rough calculations pointed out that they had less than 90 seconds from jumping out of their car and finding+opening any of these caches under very optimal circumstances.

The rest of the time in my calculation is used for short logging (date + name), hiding the cache again, driving from cache to cache respecting speed limits and jumping back into the car. All this calculation was made according to the assumption that the average distance from cache to cache is less than 200m (650 ft) (as I already said ... veeeeery optimal circumstances).

 

90seconds average find time ... well that's only possible (if at all) with D1/T1 drive-in caches

 

If they really made it ... R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

 

A very sceptical

idl0r

Have you guys not seen this trail? The caches are only like 200 ft apart. From what I understand, they are all hidden exactly the same at the base of powerline towers. There is absolutely no hunt involved. So yes, I doubt that even 30 seconds was spent "hunting" each cache. And they use stickers instead of signing the logs. I don't see the point myself, since there is no actual hunt involved, but yeah, I think it's possible.

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Have you guys not seen this trail? The caches are only like 200 ft apart. From what I understand, they are all hidden exactly the same at the base of powerline towers. There is absolutely no hunt involved. So yes, I doubt that even 30 seconds was spent "hunting" each cache. And they use stickers instead of signing the logs. I don't see the point myself, since there is no actual hunt involved, but yeah, I think it's possible.

 

So then let's call this record as "I found 600+ powerline towers"-record and not a record in geocaching for I absolutely don't see the point of geocaching here.

 

idl0r

 

PS: did I miss an update of the guidelines or is 200ft distance from cache 2 cache now possible?

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Have you guys not seen this trail? The caches are only like 200 ft apart. From what I understand, they are all hidden exactly the same at the base of powerline towers. There is absolutely no hunt involved. So yes, I doubt that even 30 seconds was spent "hunting" each cache. And they use stickers instead of signing the logs. I don't see the point myself, since there is no actual hunt involved, but yeah, I think it's possible.

 

So then let's call this record as "I found 600+ powerline towers"-record and not a record in geocaching for I absolutely don't see the point of geocaching here.

 

idl0r

 

PS: did I miss an update of the guidelines or is 200ft distance from cache 2 cache now possible?

 

Most caches were very easy to spot, but a few took some time. Moose Mob came upon us spending more than the average 2 minutes and 18 seconds searching for a micro that was not on the power tower. We eventually got it. The power towers with caches were all spaced more than 528' apart (most seemed like 0.2 miles apart), and the route to get to them was not always obvious. Have no doubt that all cache hides abided by the guidelines, and hiding them all is a pretty incredible time intensive feat. They deserve much praise for all the time spent doing this for the enjoyment of others. That's the most important point to make.

 

We did this in a vehicle, not in an ultra-light, and where to turn is not easy to spot each time. It's not a straight line on the map as the trail of caches suggests. Keep in mind, for the 24 hour marathon, we spent ~ 9 hours in darkness. Even the tins that are color matched to the towers are not readily easy to spot with a headlamp and flashlight. This was a test against a specific course that we wanted to attempt for the pure challenge of it, and had a fun time doing it. Not all geocachers will embrace this type of experience and respect their opinion. That's what the ignore button is for. The average terrain rating for all we found must be around a two, and we did find some 3Ts on the day and noticed far less logs or stickers on those caches. There were times when we put Peas vehicle to the test going through a wash, up a big hill or a ridgeline on a small dirt path (many times at night). Some places where you try to turn around, the tail gate over hangs a steep cliff. Humboldt-flier saw us come down from just such a "lofty perch." Wish they would have snapped a picture! Almost all the hides are easy as rated, but there were other challenges encountered and documented along the way that add to the experience. This power trail isn't for everyone or every vehicle. However, we loved it! Thank you NGA!!!

Edited by Team Geo-Rangers
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My wife, who is not a cacher, was inspired by VKs' record setting effort and as a result, we drove out and tried a segment of the trail. We did not come close to the record. We only got about 120 or so caches in 7 hours. But, then again, we were not trying for a record and did not have a comparable vehicle or skill in dessert driving. That being said, I am very confident that the records are pretty doable. The thing to keep in mind is that the trails are pretty much unique: There is not much of a hunt. Rather it is a test against a specific course. In fact, once we got going, we needed our GPS only three or four times, and that was when the dirt road meandered away from the line of towers. Once we pulled up to the tower, we didn't even take the GPS out of the car.

 

I have no reason to doubt the legitimacy of the records.

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A-mazing! That crushes. Congrats on the new number TGR and PiP.

Congrats TGR and PiP on the very impressive number. For those who question that number, I have to give them some info. Macgyverandflo and me(geobigdogs) cached with you a while back. If only the unbelievers could see how much energy you have and how fast you drive and how you run to find a cache and then run back to you car, they would become believers. GeoBigDogs

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With the Trail of the Gods being archived you guys may hold the record for many years to come!

 

Oh no !!!

In that case they certainly must have cheated. :):D

I calculated it out, and it's impossible to find that many caches in that short of time.

If it's true....then someone needs to go to each of the caches and check the logsheets.....I'm quite certain you will find dozens if not hundreds of them are missing the record setting stickers....lol.

 

:D:)

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If you guys are really believing all these records, I know an Amway distributor who would like to meet you.

 

I can support this ...

 

If people here would only use simple maths and physics plus some basic assumptions they would see that this "record" is nearly impossible.

My rough calculations pointed out that they had less than 90 seconds from jumping out of their car and finding+opening any of these caches under very optimal circumstances.

The rest of the time in my calculation is used for short logging (date + name), hiding the cache again, driving from cache to cache respecting speed limits and jumping back into the car. All this calculation was made according to the assumption that the average distance from cache to cache is less than 200m (650 ft) (as I already said ... veeeeery optimal circumstances).

 

90seconds average find time ... well that's only possible (if at all) with D1/T1 drive-in caches

 

If they really made it ... R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

 

A very sceptical

idl0r

Have you guys not seen this trail? The caches are only like 200 ft apart. From what I understand, they are all hidden exactly the same at the base of powerline towers. There is absolutely no hunt involved. So yes, I doubt that even 30 seconds was spent "hunting" each cache. And they use stickers instead of signing the logs. I don't see the point myself, since there is no actual hunt involved, but yeah, I think it's possible.

 

200' apart? If true, then the whole thing is bogus.

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With the Trail of the Gods being archived you guys may hold the record for many years to come!

 

Oh no !!!

In that case they certainly must have cheated. :):)

I calculated it out, and it's impossible to find that many caches in that short of time.

If it's true....then someone needs to go to each of the caches and check the logsheets.....I'm quite certain you will find dozens if not hundreds of them are missing the record setting stickers....lol.

 

:D:)

I dunno, I don't have any facts to work with, I don't know these cachers or their reputations. Could well be a big hoax... but folks said "I did the math and you couldn't have done it" about our record attempt in Dallas and the same math argument has been used against every record run since then!

 

I did know something about your reputation and was therefore willing to take your word about your record, so unless someone proves this claim to be a hoax I am willing to accept it... we both know how irritating it is to have naysayers essentially call us liars about something we know we did! :D

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With the Trail of the Gods being archived you guys may hold the record for many years to come!

 

Oh no !!!

In that case they certainly must have cheated. :):)

I calculated it out, and it's impossible to find that many caches in that short of time.

If it's true....then someone needs to go to each of the caches and check the logsheets.....I'm quite certain you will find dozens if not hundreds of them are missing the record setting stickers....lol.

 

:D:)

I dunno, I don't have any facts to work with, I don't know these cachers or their reputations. Could well be a big hoax... but folks said "I did the math and you couldn't have done it" about our record attempt in Dallas and the same math argument has been used against every record run since then!

 

I did know something about your reputation and was therefore willing to take your word about your record, so unless someone proves this claim to be a hoax I am willing to accept it... we both know how irritating it is to have naysayers essentially call us liars about something we know we did! :D

 

Well.....I was certain the record was going to be broken. Remember,.....Sandy broke her foot at about halfway thru the run. So, we were running much slower after that. I was concerned we might get stuck in the deep sand, so we skipped a couple dozen caches. We ran out of caches after 23 hours. We also didn't pick up the 29 president caches. So, ....626 is quite reasonable for a screaming fast pair of cachers....or was.

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Last week I managed 257 in 16 hours, solo!

 

That equates to 385 in 24 hours.

 

Extrapolating from that, the other team records are easily believable.

Not saying that these fine individuals did not crush the record, but I once found a cache in less than one minute. That equates to over 1400 caches in 24 hours. <_<
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So, ....626 is quite reasonable for a screaming fast pair of cachers....or was.

 

Both records are great achievements, but in light of the archival, history may later discount them both on that technicality.

 

However, your record in Colorado might be the more memorable in the long run. There's no discounting that one.

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If you guys are really believing all these records, I know an Amway distributor who would like to meet you.

 

I can support this ...

 

If people here would only use simple maths and physics plus some basic assumptions they would see that this "record" is nearly impossible.

My rough calculations pointed out that they had less than 90 seconds from jumping out of their car and finding+opening any of these caches under very optimal circumstances.

The rest of the time in my calculation is used for short logging (date + name), hiding the cache again, driving from cache to cache respecting speed limits and jumping back into the car. All this calculation was made according to the assumption that the average distance from cache to cache is less than 200m (650 ft) (as I already said ... veeeeery optimal circumstances).

 

90seconds average find time ... well that's only possible (if at all) with D1/T1 drive-in caches

 

If they really made it ... R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

 

A very sceptical

idl0r

Have you guys not seen this trail? The caches are only like 200 ft apart. From what I understand, they are all hidden exactly the same at the base of powerline towers. There is absolutely no hunt involved. So yes, I doubt that even 30 seconds was spent "hunting" each cache. And they use stickers instead of signing the logs. I don't see the point myself, since there is no actual hunt involved, but yeah, I think it's possible.

 

200' apart? If true, then the whole thing is bogus.

 

Everyone can end that 200' line of chatter right now. There was not one cache on Totg that I noted that was not within or far exceeding the distance guidelines. Many if not most were closer to .18 miles apart than .10 miles apart.

 

None of these were only 200' apart.

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I read somewhere that the caches in this run were only 200' apart.

 

I read that too. <_<

I read somewhere else that they weren't 200' apart.

 

It boils my blood to learn that caches that are not even 200' apart can be listed.

Whatever...some person "Heard" it, then they "wrote" it, and you "Read" it, so now you've "Learned" it...

 

so we've gone from one person "Hearing" to it being a fact that can be "learned"

Disregard the fact that it was never true.

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Cache Saturation

Cache containers and physical stages should generally be separated by a minimum of 0.1 miles (528 feet or 161 m). A physical stage is defined as any stage that contains a physical element placed by the geocache owner, such as a tag with the next set of coordinates or a container. Non-physical caches or stages including reference points, trailhead/parking coordinates and question to answer waypoints are exempt from this guideline.

Additionally, within a single multi-cache or mystery/puzzle cache, there is no minimum required distance between physical elements.

Please don't hide a cache every 600 feet just because you can. The ultimate goals of the saturation guideline are to encourage you to seek out new places to hide caches rather than putting them in areas where caches already exist and to limit the number of caches hidden in a particular area, especially by the same hider. Groundspeak may further restrict cache listings in areas where cache saturation becomes a concern.

 

Even though the caches may not have been within 0.1 miles, they definitely broke the "spirit of the rule" clause. Setting up 1000 pins just so someone else can knock down a record-setting amount feels dishonest. If anything, since the trail was intended as a single game of see-how-many-you-can-find-in-24-hours, it should have been listed as a single multicache with rules on how to play the game in the description.

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