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What makes an enjoyable cache?


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I came across a simple film canister cache that had a "cat" theme, and the CO had decorated the container with cat whiskers and a feline face. I found I really enjoyed what would otherwise have been a rather routine find.

 

It prompted me to wonder:

WHAT MAKES AN ENJOYABLE CACHE?

 

:huh:

 

I suspect there are a number things, such as location, theme. etc.

I plan to create a new cache in my area, and I want it to be interesting

and a fun adventure.

 

What are your suggestions?

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I came across a simple film canister cache that had a "cat" theme, and the CO had decorated the container with cat whiskers and a feline face. I found I really enjoyed what would otherwise have been a rather routine find.

 

It prompted me to wonder:

WHAT MAKES AN ENJOYABLE CACHE?

 

:huh:

 

I suspect there are a number things, such as location, theme. etc.

I plan to create a new cache in my area, and I want it to be interesting

and a fun adventure.

 

What are your suggestions?

 

My suggestion is hide a cache thet you would like to find.

 

There are too many variables on what floats a particular cacher's boat. Do what pleases YOU and other like minded cachers will like it.

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WHAT MAKES AN ENJOYABLE CACHE?

 

 

Container or the hide:

  • Creativity.
  • Imaginative.
  • Going a little beyond the ordinary.
  • Funny.

Location:

  • Something nice - Scenic, pleasant, historic, educational.
  • An interesting place that you would have missed seeing if it wasn't for geocaching.

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Yep, the totally unanswerable question. :blink:

Or at least the answer would be too long to really be useful... :lol:

 

In general, I usually enjoy a cache where the owner put some thought into the placement and/or creation of the container.

 

Cache write-ups that begin, 'I noticed there wasn't a cache within 528 feet, so I decided to place one.' usually don't rate very high.

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I've been thinking about this as well. A good description on the web is very good, because that's the first thing a seeker is going to see. The location is very important, but if the location is not interesting, then the cache itself or the hide can still make an enjoyable trip.

 

Content of the cache is one thing. Have SWAG, a good logbook and description of what geocaching is. The cache itself can be anything, as soon as it's weather and waterproof. Make it look like a rock for example. The hide itself is very important, it makes the discovery that much more rewarding. If it's hidden in a clever way, your bound to get some favorite hits. I've been thinking about attending some Do-It-Yourself workshops to learn how to create a unique hide.

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I usually enjoy a cache where the owner put some thought into the placement and/or creation of the container.

Yes. I like it when the the site and container go together well. If it looks like it could still be there just fine ten years from now, that's a good hide for me. A dry log is a plus.

Edited by kunarion
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For me, sometimes it's the journey, although for many caches, the CO didn't do much to create the journey other than hide a cache within cycling distance of my home.

 

And sometimes it's the location, whether historic, scenic, or artistic. (I especially enjoy caches that draw attention to public art.)

 

And sometimes it's the challenge, whether the challenge is solving a puzzle, finding a well-camouflaged cache, or retrieving a cleverly placed container. (I especially enjoy on-site puzzles and caches with 4-star camouflage.)

 

And sometimes it's about companionship, although again, the CO usually didn't do much to contribute to that.

 

But as others have suggested, our answers are much less important than your answers. What kind of cache do you find interesting and enjoyable? What kind of cache do you want to create, to maintain for the long term, and to be known for among local geocachers?

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Good! Thanks!

 

Container or the hide:

  • Creativity.
  • Imaginative.
  • Going a little beyond the ordinary.
  • Funny.

Location:

  • Something nice - Scenic, pleasant, historic, educational.
  • An interesting place that you would have missed seeing if it wasn't for geocaching.

 

That about sums it up for me as well. I passed by a few today because it didn't look like it would be worth the journey. Nothing on the cache page indicated there was something special on the other end. Nothing in the logs. So I simply passed them up.

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For me it's almost 100% about location. Everything else is just gravy.

 

There are exceptions, like quick park and grabs that I can do when I'm getting lunch at work, etc., but really, it's all about location for me. I enjoy going to places and seeing cool stuff. Today I went to find one. It was on a parking lot roof. Not interesting? Wrong. It had a spectacular view of the NYC skyline and it was a place I'd never been.

 

That, to me, is what makes a cool cache.

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I came across a simple film canister cache that had a "cat" theme, and the CO had decorated the container with cat whiskers and a feline face. I found I really enjoyed what would otherwise have been a rather routine find.

 

It prompted me to wonder:

WHAT MAKES AN ENJOYABLE CACHE?

 

:huh:

 

I suspect there are a number things, such as location, theme. etc.

I plan to create a new cache in my area, and I want it to be interesting

and a fun adventure.

 

What are your suggestions?

 

I love unique caches, like birdhouse, fake statues and even in a plastic frogs bottom!

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Anything that makes me smile.

 

That's not a very good answer, because that can be different things on different days. But in general, I'll smile in response to a surprise (like your cat-decorated film can), or to some unusual or interesting swag in the cache, or a great view.

 

I'll smile if I solved a difficult puzzle and found the container to prove it. If the puzzle is interesting enough, the container and location don't matter.

 

I'll smile if the cache page teaches me something about the history of the cache location.

 

I got a huge grin from the cache where I had to use a AA battery to lower the container from it's hiding place, and then retract the container after signing the log.

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For me its mostly about location. A nice view, an historic site, a pretty spot in the woods, a waterfall, cave, a cool rock formation, an oddity, interesting building, or simply at the end of a pleasant walk are all caches I enjoy.

 

A container that keeps the logbook dry is also important to me. It's not pleasant to reach into slimy water filled with rusty swag to retrieve a logbook that is a mound of pulp.

 

An interesting theme theme, cutely decorated or ingenious container are all nice, but if they are in front of a Walmart, next to a dumpster or in a trash strewn lot, they are still in front of a Walmart, next to a dumpster or in a trash strewn lot and all the lipstick in the world won't make it an enjoyable cache for me.

Edited by briansnat
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Some of the most enjoyable caches for us have been based around a local story or folk history which was brought to life by the cache placement, the journey it took us on, or just how it was presented on the page. Sometimes a bit of background knowledge can change ones view of an apparently boring field/ wall/ street and transport your mind back through time to imagine what life would have been like for someone else, or to think about someone else's experience relating to the cache placement.

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I think those that said make a cache you'd like to find yourself are spot on.

 

My first cache was in an area of a beautiful monastery where many years ago a renaissance faire was held. A LOT of people who walked those trails had no idea that faire was held in that area. I put in the cache a description and a photo album filled with photos. People have responded very well to that cache.

 

Personally, I hate cookie cutter slapdash caches with no thought to them whatsoever. It just takes the fun out of it.

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I came across a simple film canister cache that had a "cat" theme, and the CO had decorated the container with cat whiskers and a feline face. I found I really enjoyed what would otherwise have been a rather routine find.

 

It prompted me to wonder:

WHAT MAKES AN ENJOYABLE CACHE?

 

:huh:

 

I suspect there are a number things, such as location, theme. etc.

I plan to create a new cache in my area, and I want it to be interesting

and a fun adventure.

 

What are your suggestions?

 

Regular-sized, well stocked, dry inside with a dry logbook. Well maintained (checked regularly and restocked, etc) caches are always nice.

 

But, place is always key. When a cache brings you to a new, interesting place, it sure is nice!

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I like any cache that some thought was put into it. Had one that was a log cut in two and the cache was in the center, and was fun when we found it. Had another that was a big old bolt on a old Bridge. Had some that took me to hidden gems in my own town, that I had to just sit and take in.

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WHAT MAKES AN ENJOYABLE CACHE?

 

 

Regular-sized, well stocked, dry inside with a dry logbook. Well maintained (checked regularly and restocked, etc) caches are always nice.

 

But, place is always key. When a cache brings you to a new, interesting place, it sure is nice!

 

+1!

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Caches that are in the woods, along a hike, or lead to a great view are always appreciated.

 

Regular-sized caches where one will fit. I do love micros and nanos, but micros-in-the-woods are rarely fun. (Though they can be.)

 

Caches with cool and interesting containers: logs, branches, rocks, "floaters" and other types of figure-out-how-to-get-to-it tricks. Bolts, lightbulbs, switch plates--getting creative with urban caches.

 

Taking "just another LPC" to another level by doing something fun with it. I found one skirt-lifter where the container was a bone, another where you opened the pill bottle to see a piece of paper that read, "Not here! Look higher!" (There was a nano stuck far up on the lamp post.)

 

Of course, probably the best cache of all is when the cache is out in the woods AND the container shows a lot of work and creativity...

Aliensmall.jpg

 

--Q

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I've posted this before, and I think it still holds true FOR ME AND ME ALONE:

  • A decent hike (>=0.25 miles) in a sparsely populated area
  • Nifty little-known history
  • Great scenery
  • Unusual hide (suspended in a tree, on an island that you have to canoe to)
  • Thought-provoking puzzle
  • Cool camo or really neat container
  • Long history of being at that spot (old cache that's been around for a long while)
  • Good theme (and people are sticking to it)

Any one of these characteristics on a cache, and I'll think it's pretty cool. Combine a few, and it scores more points.

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This week, I have found 3 that stand out for different reasons; all 3 have quickly become favs. Here's what has made them my favs:

 

1) The first was a hike with a series of caches that ended with a cache with a gorgeous view. The view from the 3rd cache made the sweat & effort getting up to it worth it in spades. It was obvious that the CO put an incredible amount of thought into the journey as well as the destination/view at the top.

2) The second was in a cemetery. It was an offset multi designed to honor our veterans. The cache provided a valuable reminder of our history and that freedom isn't free. In addition to the reminder, I was in awe of the amount of work the CO put into it.

3) The third was a quick PNG that was hidden in plain sight. What made this one a fav is that the CO put a lot of thought and effort into making the camo look like an obvious part of the landscape, and it wasn't a rock or other natural object. If you weren't caching, you wouldn't have thought twice about it.

 

So I guess what makes a cache a fav for me is creativity and thought on the part of the co. However, I also appreciate the quick PNG's on those days when I just want a quick grab.

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The cache being located in a creative interesting area.

The cache not being located in a vacant field, full of broken bottles next to a wal-mart.

The cache including a pen. I pretty much always lose my pen if I'm out for a day of cashing.

The contents of the cache being clean and dry.

Not having to crawl around on my hands in knees in a busy public place.

Mostly I just really enjoy it when the caches are in an interesting area that I probably would not have visited if I wasn't geocaching.

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The cache including a pen. I pretty much always lose my pen if I'm out for a day of cashing.

 

A pen or pencil is nice added touch.

Which got me thinking of added touches that increase the enjoyable-factor.....

A logbook instead of a logsheet makes for a nicer caching experience.

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As a beginner to the geocaching scene, I enjoy every cache my friends and I manage to find. However recently, there's one that has been caching (haha, pun) our eye:

 

In our local area, we have a cache called 'Holy Diver'. It's quite obvious that it's in this creek, however we just cant find it. The mystery and difference from all of the other caches is what really intrigues us I suppose. We keep going back to the spot hoping to find the damned thing but we can't.

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I love finding those creative ones, ones that just make you laugh. I found an ordinary bison tube in a tree the other day, but because it had two googly-eyes glued on it, I gave it a favorite point. Even if the CO thinks of the tinyest thing to give to their cache, its great.

 

Thats why I pride myself in hiding caches that are different, more enjoyable. Even finding an old dog-toy in the backyard and turning it into a cache will make it fun for someone to find. Its not what you expect to find.

 

I also like to find caches that make you figure out how to get it, whether its a pully-system, or mechanical like "Totally Tubular III," makes it fun. I just recently hid one like that called "Roller Coaster" where the cache is a normal ammo box that is locked with three padlocks, and the cacher has to walk up the hill near the cache and make the pill bottles holding the keys slide down the rope to where the ammo box is. Just makes it more fun to find.

 

All in all, the cacher really has to remember it, especially when they have found thousands of caches.

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I just found a peace of paper where I had broken down all the things that make this hobby enjoyable, and divided it into percentage.

10% internet geekiness

30% treasure hunt

15% outdoor activity

20% social

10% trading items

15% traveling

bonus secrecy and physical activity.

 

Does that make sense? Since then I've mostly stopped trading items tough

 

What's your percentage?

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WHAT MAKES AN ENJOYABLE CACHE?

 

 

Container or the hide:

  • Creativity.
  • Imaginative.
  • Going a little beyond the ordinary.
  • Funny.

Location:

  • Something nice - Scenic, pleasant, historic, educational.
  • An interesting place that you would have missed seeing if it wasn't for geocaching.

I totally agree. I am slowly archiving my boring caches or just changing them to make them more desirable.

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I just started and I'm already getting sick of finding "crap cache containers" (maybe an idea for another CCC thread, post pictures of the bad caches you have found).

 

Most caches I have found have soaked log books. Film canisters under lamp posts are already boring.

 

It doesn't need to be hard to find, although it can't hurt. Just take me somewhere unique, or give me a history lesson. Have a decent waterproof container for God sakes.

 

If there isn't anything cool or challenging about the area, you should at least have a cool container or swag in my opinion.

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I came across a simple film canister cache that had a "cat" theme, and the CO had decorated the container with cat whiskers and a feline face. I found I really enjoyed what would otherwise have been a rather routine find.

 

It prompted me to wonder:

 

I like a little history of the location in the description.

WHAT MAKES AN ENJOYABLE CACHE?

 

:huh:

 

I suspect there are a number things, such as location, theme. etc.

I plan to create a new cache in my area, and I want it to be interesting

and a fun adventure.

 

What are your suggestions?

Link to comment

We are new to caching, but enjoying it immensely.

 

We like the chaches best that take us someplace we just wouldn't have otherwise ended up going AND that we have a reasonable expectation of finding the cache container to sign the book.

 

That said one thing I'm finding is that i don't like pill bottles and such out in the woods. Trees are hard on my GPS (A Samsung Captivate smart phone), and as I understand it they aren't completely wonderful for regular GPS units either.

 

So I'm looking in a 60-100 foot circle in the woods for a pill bottle that has been painted to look like a part of the tree it's attached to? if i want to test my eyesight I'll visit the doctor, you know?

 

In a more urban, or contained setting, I find the pill bottles quite fun. Just5 yesterday we found one placed within the area of an Artesian spring, and because of the nature of the hide, it was challenging, but it was still limited because we had a boundary to limit the hunt. Later in the day we sought on that was simply in the woods off a gravel road. it was very frustrating after some time and after an hour we simply gave up.

 

I'll probably just bypass caches that mention micros in the woods without mentioning something significant to ground their location. Maybe later I'll learn something that makes me just see these things out there, but for now, frustration isn't much fun. If the area sounds cool, I'll go look at the scenery and skip the hour of frustration.

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