Useless Hints

[+wolfslady]

BYOP Um it's listed as I micro I already know that. I didn't actually need the hint since it was clear it was a lamp post cache from over 100' away and if I had any doubt the geoscratches in the paint on the post was a dead give away. But a newbie who had never seen or hear of one might not be thankful for that hint on a 1/1. And boy was that the heaviest LP skirt I've ever lifted. What was it made of anyway, cast iron? Then again I seldom even bother with LPC's even whe I drive within 20' of them and only did this time because I want to dip a Bug and coin I have and we were right there in the parking lot anyway.

 

I've seen a few of the others listed here and yes they are rude. I cache with a 3 1/2 year old and my (dear husband) DH who is only mildly interested there are times that I know I only have so long and I might choose one cache over another because I see it has a hint. One time I took a 1/2 mile walk into the woods while my Son slept in the car (don't freak DH waited with him.) I searched for about 20 minutes and then looked at the hint only to see some form of "no hint needed" only in about 2 sentences. I was not amused. Even less so when I happened to find it about 90' from GZ as I headed out on another way. I've had some good hints though. Maybe we need a thread on the most creative hints. I wouldn't be surprised if there is one and I just haven't stumbled across it.

[+Akedos]

There is a multi-cache in my area that HAD a clue "Was not hidden by a troll." In the area there was a huge stack of cut wood, and of course a small bridge. I thought the clue was an indicator that the cache was NOT at the bridge, and the coordinates were actually leading me more to the wood anyway. After a half hour of unstacking and restacking wood I went and checked the bridge... voila!!! The clue was changed a few months later to not be sarcastic anymore.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

There is a multi-cache in my area that HAD a clue "Was not hidden by a troll." In the area there was a huge stack of cut wood, and of course a small bridge. I thought the clue was an indicator that the cache was NOT at the bridge, and the coordinates were actually leading me more to the wood anyway. After a half hour of unstacking and restacking wood I went and checked the bridge... voila!!! The clue was changed a few months later to not be sarcastic anymore.

I don't see sarcasm in that clue. I see it directing you beneath the bridge BECAUSE it wasn't hidden by a troll. Personally, I would've worked the bridge over long before going to the woodpile. Now, if had said something like "does a woodchuck chuck wood...", I would have never gone to the bridge.

 

Clues are meant as just that, not a roadmap to the rainbow!

 

Totally useless clues are a different animal. A waste of time and effort (everybody's), electrons, and generally is a true sign that "A mind brain is a terrible thing to waste"!

Edited March 20, 2011 by Gitchee-Gummee

[+sword fern]

most annoying hint of late...."you are looking for a geocache".

Yep, I even commented on that one.

Yeah I know that one. I don't want to point out fingers but its a hint.

[yoshi2093]

There's a cache that's I really struggle on I tried it like 4 times and the hint is "no hint needed".

[+BigAl437]

As a Geocacher I like to decode the hint in the field. I have them downloaded on my Garmin with the hint so that if I am out and about I can stop at any cache and try and complete it. I try to do them without the hint and then if it is needed I decode it. It makes it more fun as part of the adventure. If I am taking the family out we might decode the hints before leaving the house. My son takes great pleasure in decoding the hints and I want him to enjoy his time out with me. To him this is all part of the game.

 

Now as far as the useless hints go I fully agree. If no hint is needed why put it in at all. Just leave it blank like you should. It's not funny to my wife if we are out and have been looking for a cache and we cannot find it and then I decode the hint just to see this response "no hint needed" she really gets ticked off. It's probably a good thing the CO is not around at that time. Remember, (as stated by someone else)Geocachers know all the best places to hide a body.

[+LightHouseSeekers]

This thread reminded me of one of my favorite caches. Some people understood the tongue in cheek humor, others have posted very angry logs about this cache. The Annoying Hint Cache

I found the cache writeup and hints very amusing.

[+dfx]

There's a cache that's I really struggle on I tried it like 4 times and the hint is "no hint needed".

 

Whenever I read a hint like that, I can't help but think "no cache needed here".

[+sword fern]

There's a cache that's I really struggle on I tried it like 4 times and the hint is "no hint needed".

 

Whenever I read a hint like that, I can't help but think "no cache needed here".

 

No hints available

[+IsaCathrine]

I have only found he catches yet, but I have already found some bad hints.

 

One was "watch out for mugglers", and thats kind of what geocaching is about..

And the cache is on a train station downtown a little village, it´s pretty obvious that you have to watch out for mugglers.

 

I thought to that the hint was there to help you - when you get stuck.

 

Give a helpful hint or don´t care!

[+Towcester Pirates]

annoying hint - 'you will find this Geocache in the last place you look!'

 

well, duh! i will most likely stop looking for it after i found it, so yeah, it will be in the last place i look!

[AZcachemeister]

My favorite is "Too easy for a hint". Hey knucklehead, if it was that easy I wouldn't be sitting here decrypting the hint.

 

 

And my favorite is: 'Email me for a hint'.

Like I'm going to send an Email and sit and wait for the response.

[+TomToad]

That gives me an evil idea for a cache. Put a hint that says "too easy for a hint." Those that get upset over it will leave and never find the cache. Those that don't get upset and continue looking will find the sheet magnet cache with the code 2EZ4AHNT printed on it.

[+FunnyNose]

Here is a classic useless hint from a cache recently published in my area.

 

"Gur Gragu Vafvtug vf nobhg znvagnvavat bhe bcgvzvfz naq fgnlvat njnxr. Jr'er yrneavat gb orggre vqragvsl naq oryvrir va bhe bja vaghvgvbaf." Wnzrf Erqsvryq. Gur Gragu Vafvtug. Jneare Obbxf. 1996

 

Or for those who don't want to waste their time decrypting.

 

"The Tenth Insight is about maintaining our optimism and staying awake. We're learning to better identify and believe in our own intuitions." James Redfield. The Tenth Insight. Warner Books. 1996

[+TomToad]

Here is a classic useless hint from a cache recently published in my area.

 

"Gur Gragu Vafvtug vf nobhg znvagnvavat bhe bcgvzvfz naq fgnlvat njnxr. Jr'er yrneavat gb orggre vqragvsl naq oryvrir va bhe bja vaghvgvbaf." Wnzrf Erqsvryq. Gur Gragu Vafvtug. Jneare Obbxf. 1996

 

Or for those who don't want to waste their time decrypting.

 

"The Tenth Insight is about maintaining our optimism and staying awake. We're learning to better identify and believe in our own intuitions." James Redfield. The Tenth Insight. Warner Books. 1996

Was the cache near a fence? Maybe the tenth pole from the end? Or maybe the tenth slab of cement from the driveway, or the tenth tree from the road.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

Saturday I was traveling to a conference, and decided it would be a good opportunity to color in a couple of counties on my map. So I was looking for easy caches near the interstate.

 

I stopped for one located right off the Interstate, difficulty 1.5, terrain 2. I parked in a Wendy's parking lot near the coordinates, and my GPS was pointing into the street. So I decoded the hint.

 

It said "THINK DUH DUH DUH ITS NOT THAT HARD." Yes, all in caps. My first thought was a phrase that I cannot type in this family-friendly forum. My second thought was, "there's another film can a tenth of a mile from here, I think I'll go find that one."

 

If you're not going to put a useful hint, why not leave the field blank? Why would a CO choose to insult the person who is looking for his cache?

 

OK, rant over. Discuss.

 

My feelings exactly since 2003.....I guess some think that BS is cute......at least we don't need to de crypt them anymore to read the dribble.

[+t4e]

lets see:

 

"see spoiler for hint"...what if i can't access the internet in the woods?

 

"small lock and lock"

 

"how do you like those apples"...we actually found the cache under a pine tree

[+aka Momster]

lets see:

 

"how do you like those apples"...we actually found the cache under a pine tree

 

What? You have never heard of pineapples?

[+t4e]

lets see:

 

"how do you like those apples"...we actually found the cache under a pine tree

 

What? You have never heard of pineapples?

 

 

sorry, forgot to mention there was an apple tree next to the pine and the coordinates were pointing to the apple

[+TL&MinBHIL]

There's a CO in my area who seems to have difficulty grasping the concept of hints. They tend to refer to the area the cache is in and nothing to do with helping find the cache itself. For example, one near an airport says to keep your head down so you don't get hit by a plane. OK we get it, we're near an airport. But the cache is tacked to a random tree in a heavily wooded area.

Another says to look for the stacked rocks. It's by a bridge in a rock field used to prevent erosion around & under the bridge. This rock field is about 50 ft. x 50 ft. The rocks are large & dumped everywhere so none of them look hand "stacked." The CO admits the coords were off at the time of hiding it so there's really no good reference to go from. We've tried twice without any luck. People who have found it seem to have stumbled upon it by luck. The CO recently performed maintenance and couldn't even find it, so they placed a new container.

 

The CO did realize it means cache finding hints right??? Not like helpful hints around the house. Reminds me of Mom..."always wear clean socks and underwear, you never know when you might be in an accident".

What was up with that advice? If we were in an accident, there's a chance they wouldn't be clean anymore. Like Bill Cosby used to say, "First you say it, then you do it."

[+and off we go]

I am new at this and remember one of my earlier ones. It was a PAF and said it was a MKH I could not find it for the life of me. That night just before I went to sleep it came to me .....ran off the next morning and did 2 PAF.

 

Hint PAF Phone a friend Phone booth........

MKH Magentic Key holder

[+Coldgears]

Nobody mentioned the "double" encrypted hint yet? Seriously!?!?!?!

 

I can't count how many times the hint was encrypted in a second way, whether you had to read it backwards or unscramble it.

[+kpanko]

I saw a triple encrypted hint -- in Spanish, reversed, then ROT13.

 

And then it just said "five" (cinco). That meant something in context.

[+Baad Daata]

I don't come here frequently but I will add a comment. If I look for a cache and can't find it and the difficulty is listed as a 1.5 or a 1.0.......and the hint says, "none needed" or something similar, I immediately post a "needs maintenance" log because if I can't find a 1.0 and I shouldn't require a hint then it must be missing.

[knowschad]

I am new at this and remember one of my earlier ones. It was a PAF and said it was a MKH I could not find it for the life of me. That night just before I went to sleep it came to me .....ran off the next morning and did 2 PAF.

 

Hint PAF Phone a friend Phone booth........

MKH Magentic Key holder

 

There are a lot of acronyms that are strictly local jargon, and plenty that are made up by only one person. In the case of MKH, I would venture to guess the "H" simply means "hide", leaving you with only two letters to deal with. Have you got a cacher in your area whose caching name could have the initials "MK" and has a distinctive hiding style? Could "M" stand for "micro"?

[+jon.hemlock.Chantal]

I don't come here frequently but I will add a comment. If I look for a cache and can't find it and the difficulty is listed as a 1.5 or a 1.0.......and the hint says, "none needed" or something similar, I immediately post a "needs maintenance" log because if I can't find a 1.0 and I shouldn't require a hint then it must be missing.

+1