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Who are the best Geocache HIDERS?

FMT15

By FMT15
in General geocaching topics

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Redfist

+Redfist

Posted
Posted

We often see lists of people with numerous finds and all sorts of achievements for finding caches. I was curious who has the best creative finds? The hider should have a good amount of caches hidden, all with a considerable amount of favorites. Any suggestions?

 

On the entire planet? I'm not sure we can draw the appropriate comparisons.

 

There may be relative favorites in specific locations but planet-wide??? Nope.

 

In Phoenix, there are a lot of great creative hiders. I like JCanyoneer, AZCampbell, MarkJ57, Corfman Clan, The Raven, etc. A pretty long list actually. *shrug*

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FMT15

+FMT15

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Why should it be someone with a lot of hides? I'll take one very creative puzzle cache over a sea of LPC and guardrail park and grab hides. Or one cache that takes me to that one spot where I can get a view that inspires me.... It all subjective to the finder IMO.

 

I mean someone with like 100+ hides and over 20 favorites on almost all their hides. Not boring hides like LPC's...

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Hypnopaedia

+Hypnopaedia

Posted
Posted

Why should it be someone with a lot of hides? I'll take one very creative puzzle cache over a sea of LPC and guardrail park and grab hides. Or one cache that takes me to that one spot where I can get a view that inspires me.... It all subjective to the finder IMO.

 

I mean someone with like 100+ hides and over 20 favorites on almost all their hides. Not boring hides like LPC's...

 

Dayspring comes to mind. He is one of the most inventive, creative cachers around. He has three of the 20 most favorited caches in Washington State. Goblin Dust is another very creative cacher who makes complex caches with a ton of planning, he has 2 caches on the top 20 most favorited caches in WA as well. Both have a stable of caches in addition that are incredibly good.

 

I do okay too, but I just drop big ammo cans in pretty or historical places. I have 2 caches which have almost 200 favorite points between them. I also have about 35 hides more that have about 25 points between them :)

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knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted

Great question, but that would be a very difficult list to assemble. First, "favorites" are a very new feature. Some of the most creative hiders that I have known stopped hiding long before that feature was initiated. Also, "best" is a very subjective term. Does "best" mean the most effective "in your face" urban hide, or does "best" mean the most stunning hike to the summit of a gorgeous mountain with an ammo can as the final? There are undoubtedly some that would consider those that hid the E.T. Trail and the sequel series to be "best hiders".

 

With all that said, I am the best geocache hider ever. Ask my mom.

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Gitchee-Gummee

+Gitchee-Gummee

Posted
Posted
Not boring hides like LPC's...

Around these parts we ain't got no lamp posts, so.....

 

Tread lightly on the favorites thing, as one persons' favorite doesn't always ring true to others -- the opposite is also true.

Some are tagged for their creativity, but mostly (from what we have seen) they are thrown at a cache that is in a nice spot -- the cache itself being nothing more than a piece of carp (leaky and always wet, full of loose papers and broken mctoys - general maintenance issues, etc).

 

We have placed three fav points -- two were for creativity, one for making us work (hard) at finding the cache (many don't care for that type). Overall, we are pretty stingy at doling out fav points. Some, drop them on a cache as soon as they earn one to drop.

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted (edited)

Best is a matter of opinion and it depends on what the searcher is looking for in a cache. I'm not trying to blow my own horn here, just using it as an example. I have a plaque somewhere in my basement that declared me the "best hider in northern NJ" back in 2006. I was also voted best hider in northern NJ in a recent online poll conducted by the regional geocaching organization. And one cacher who has over 20,000 finds told me that of all the cache hiders he's encountered, he thinks I hide the best caches.

 

What is so creative about the caches I hide? Nothing. I don't have a creative bone in my body. I simply hide caches in places that I think people would enjoy visiting. No fancy containers, no unique camouflage, no gimmicks, no ingenious contraptions, no puzzles, just a box in the woods or in town at what I think are cool places. Once you get there you can find most of my caches in seconds. I try to make them as easy to find as possible.

 

I've encountered many cache hiders whose creativity I envy. I wish I had that ability, but I don't.

 

So first you need to define "best". You may not even like my style of hiding. You may think my easy to find caches are boring. For you does "best" mean taking you to an interesting place? Does it mean challenging puzzles? Does it mean creative containers, or does it mean "evil" (i.e. difficult to find) caches? Once you decide what you like, simply focus on the cache hiders in your area who place that type of cache.

 

Go to an event. The discussion at events often centers on interesting caches. You will get a lot of leads that way.

Edited by briansnat
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M 5

+M 5

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Posted

As others have pointed out, it is very subjective on the type of cache you enjoy. The difficulty (if that is one of your considerations for best hide) can also depend on how you happen to think, compared to the hider. I recently had a cache that one cacher spent 8 hours and 5 trips, before I had to show her where it was, while other cachers have found it in under 5 minutes of looking (and it isn't a needle in a haystack hide either).

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TheBearPack

+TheBearPack

Posted
Posted (edited)

Ugh. Totally tl;dr. It's so variable, I don't know how these are judged objectively and I hope I never have to be one of those judges! Most of them have their own charm.

 

Personally, I tend to love the 1/5's. I love struggling to get there, but not much of a 'hunter' to be honest. Sadly, the other half is a wee lazy, but an awesome hunter. But I don't get to do as many 5 terrains as I'd like (he's paranoid at me going about them solo). I'd try it with my girlfriend who I go climbing/hiking with, but when I want to stop to 'find tupperware' she looks at me like I'm nuts. LOL.

 

Anyway, one of my favorites was a night cache multi that was a puzzle. We had to follow tree reflectors through a 'forbidden forrest' to a wooden box where we reached into it to 'feel' the carved clue to the final (we used a flashlight and a mirror). Cheaters pumpkin eaters, but I was afraid of the creepies crawlies. Anyway, it was such fun! After a few too many beers, it was the topper to my 'Last Goonie Weekend' before school started.

 

Then there was a 1/1 that I favorited that involved a short, scorpion infested trek into the Yuma desert in 120° heat. My iPhone even died from heat. 1/1? Really? :P As fun as the trek was, the hide was the best part! Sheer luck that I found it since iPhone was dead. Such a great idea and fun experience mixed with a piece of historical information. Another favorite was a simple ammo can under a rock at the beach (fairly common). However, it had an informative, laminated card describing the birds in the area and what to look for (binoculars were included, but sadly pilfered). I'm not an ornithologist, but I loved the dedication to local biological nature.

 

Yet another favorite of mine that stood out was a fairly urban cache located at the harbor. Loved the theme, loved the tricky little hide. Never would have found this one without the SO. Plus it was a great TB memory. It was my first TB find. I followed the instructions (took photo) and sent it on its way. Turned out the TB owner was a lovely lady who had a blog on baking and sweets. She introduced her young daughter to geocaching and TB's. She blogged about the TB's first adventure; it was an honor to be part of it. Lastly, we found a really huge urban cache that was just something I never would have guessed. It was crazy.

 

In short (after a very long diatribe), what makes great hiders, IMO, definitely depends upon the individual. Sentimentality, adventure, riddles, themes, absolute trickery, and a bit of fear generally do the trick for this geocacher. :)

Edited by TheBearPack
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A & J Tooling

+A & J Tooling

Posted
Posted

Why should it be someone with a lot of hides? I'll take one very creative puzzle cache over a sea of LPC and guardrail park and grab hides. Or one cache that takes me to that one spot where I can get a view that inspires me.... It all subjective to the finder IMO.

 

I mean someone with like 100+ hides and over 20 favorites on almost all their hides. Not boring hides like LPC's...

 

Boring? LPC's? I've encountered quite a few bee's with my limited LPC finds and I can assure you they weren't boring. They have also put me off of them until the weather changes. Then they'll be boring.

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Snoogans

+Snoogans

Posted
Posted

The hider should have a good amount of caches hidden,

 

What is your perception of a good amount?

 

In my experience, I have run across exceptionally creative hides from hiders who have only hidden a few caches. Sometimes only one.

 

Some folks have the knack and some folks don't. Creativity isn't a quality that is imbued by geocaching experience.

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ArcherDragoon

+ArcherDragoon

Posted
Posted

Great question, but that would be a very difficult list to assemble. First, "favorites" are a very new feature. Some of the most creative hiders that I have known stopped hiding long before that feature was initiated. Also, "best" is a very subjective term. Does "best" mean the most effective "in your face" urban hide, or does "best" mean the most stunning hike to the summit of a gorgeous mountain with an ammo can as the final? There are undoubtedly some that would consider those that hid the E.T. Trail and the sequel series to be "best hiders".

 

With all that said, I am the best geocache hider ever. Ask my mom.

Up until that mom statement...I agree!!! :P

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JL_HSTRE

+JL_HSTRE

Posted
Posted

From a purley statistical perspective (avg # of Favorites per hide?)...coming up with numbers would be incredibly difficult.

 

Down here in Florida, the two COs I would definitely recommend are ClanRiffster (active on these here forums) and Dale-n-Barb.

 

I have yet to get around Florida to see hides by some of the other COs I know by name and/or reputation that are probably noteworthy.

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Frank Broughton

+Frank Broughton

Posted
Posted (edited)

In WNY the legendary -=GEO=- he moved out of the area some time ago but his caches still live on as they are excellent. Cayuga Crew hides some excellent caches around here as does the grumpy old fart GOF! (GOF I wish you did not archive Razor's Edge that was a great cache location!) How about some new caches grumpy old fart! haha

 

Inkman does a good job too!

Edited by Frank Broughton
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Gan Dalf

+Gan Dalf

Posted
Posted

Well here in the Northwest, some have already mentioned Dayspring, whom places creatively constructive hides the often are mechanical in nature, and some have mentioned themselves as great cache hiders but for me, the far and away all time great is Eraseek, a Charter Member with a firm grasp of what geocahcing is, was and has become and that is happy to find the caches he looks for with a kind word (unlike me) and a word or two about his hunt. His caches are always well liked if not exonerated and he is a Charter Member that has been finding and placing caches since the game began and yet has a modest number of finds for someone that still actively hunts and hides and has been a cacher for so long. If ever there was a cacher that I would like to emulate it would be him. That however, continues to be my wish...

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B+L

+B+L

Posted
Posted

If ever there was a cacher that I would like to emulate it would be him. That however, continues to be my wish...

If you want to emulate EraSeek then you need to have a sense of style. He has that in spades.

A well-developed sense of humor is also a requirement. You have chosen well.

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mikeb226

+mikeb226

Posted
Posted

If you are ever in, or passing through Northwest PA/ Southwest New York, there is a cacher by the name of GoldSnoop.

 

His caches are legendary in these parts, and some talk of him with bitterness and some talk of him with awe. I truly believe his caches make me a better finder and his caches are very clever for the most part. I won't lie, though, many have more than once cursed the name of GoldSnoop, and many have felt the adulation of finding a Snoop cache.

 

He's a real nice guy, too. :)

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brennan7

+brennan7

Posted
Posted

I vote SparrowPI from the Colorado Springs area. He has such a good reputation for creating master multi-caches, that he could hide a casual LPC and get 4 or 5 favorite points after a week or two just because he hid it. But of the few of his hides Ive found, all of them are on my list. Check him out!!

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TorgtheViking

TorgtheViking

Posted
Posted

We often see lists of people with numerous finds and all sorts of achievements for finding caches. I was curious who has the best creative finds? The hider should have a good amount of caches hidden, all with a considerable amount of favorites. Any suggestions?

 

Anyone who does not use film cannisters, and magnetic key boxes, and avoids placing them at guardrails, lightposts, and dead end road illegal dump sites. They have my vote!

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Snoogans

+Snoogans

Posted
Posted (edited)

We often see lists of people with numerous finds and all sorts of achievements for finding caches. I was curious who has the best creative finds? The hider should have a good amount of caches hidden, all with a considerable amount of favorites. Any suggestions?

 

Anyone who does not use film cannisters, and magnetic key boxes, and avoids placing them at guardrails, lightposts, and dead end road illegal dump sites. They have my vote!

 

DOH! I'm out of the running then. :rolleyes:

Edited by Snoogans
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NevaP

+NevaP

Posted
Posted

I nominate James Bridger, who is based in Valentine, Nebraska. As of today 612 hides in Nebraska, South Dakota and a couple other states. The caches range from ordinary micros and diabolical micros to difficult and very imaginative puzzles. There are lots of ammo cans and other regular sized containers, most of them in interesting places including some lovely remote locations. Also some fine series. My favorite is Triskaidekaphobia which requires finding 13 caches (mostly ammo cans) in rural cemeteries in Cherry County Nebraska(an area larger than the state of Connecticut, with a population of about 6000 people and 200,000 cows in our beautiful sandhill county.)

 

Read My log for You Only Live twice (part of the Office of Sandhills Security series)as an example of what JB offers.

 

JB also hosts a great event at Valentine, in June. Cache and Splash.

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Frank Broughton

+Frank Broughton

Posted
Posted

If you are ever in, or passing through Northwest PA/ Southwest New York, there is a cacher by the name of GoldSnoop.

 

His caches are legendary in these parts, and some talk of him with bitterness and some talk of him with awe. I truly believe his caches make me a better finder and his caches are very clever for the most part. I won't lie, though, many have more than once cursed the name of GoldSnoop, and many have felt the adulation of finding a Snoop cache.

 

He's a real nice guy, too. :)

 

The only thing being, look how many have needs maintenance tags on them. I like this week Groundspeak Newsletter!

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Sol seaker

+Sol seaker

Posted
Posted

Dayspring gets my vote too.

 

Incredibly creative inventive hides. One of his multis (that I haven't even finished) is probably the all-time best hide I've found. And I've found some good ones!

At each stage you've got to figure out what to do to get the coords. I can't say more without giving it away. Amazing imagination.

I you're in the Seattle area his are "must dos". Do not miss them. Especially his multi with an incredible view of Puget sound.

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