+CanadianRockies Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) I've seen clips for the movie "The Big Year" about "enthusiastic" birders trying to identify as many bird species as possible in North America in a single year. I was wondering what a "Big Year" in geocaching would look like if a well funded, dedicated cacher tried to maximize their finds in a single year. I realize it's possible to find over 1,000 power trail caches in a single day, but there certainly aren't enough of those available to fill a year. I also see that one retired couple has found over 17,000 caches so far this year, but I doubt they're maximizing their efforts. Assume an independently wealthy (or sponsored) individual wanted to find as many caches as possible in a single year. He (or she) had a jet and pilot at his disposal and had funds to rent cars, stay at motels, buy food, etc. Most importantly, he could select a four-person team to support his effort. Whether you agree with it or not, please accept this rule as given: The "dedicated individual" must sign/sticker/stamp every log within 10 metres/yards of its hiding spot. I doubt the "dedicated individual" could sustain a 16-hour-a-day pace for 7 days per week. Would 12-hours a day for 6 days a week be reasonable? In addition to everyone taking one day a week off, each member of the support team probably would take a second day off per week so they would be more rested and alert. One member of the support team probably would stay at the motel to organize the next day's search: plan a route, buy food and supplies, arrange car rentals, etc. On most days, this would leave the "dedicated individual" and two others to search for caches. How many "power trail" caches could be found in how many days? After that, how many other cache-dense areas are available, and how many finds could this team average on a given day? Is 40,000 finds in a single year reasonable? I realize that few people would be into this kind of geocaching, but just suppose... Edited October 18, 2011 by CanadianRockies Quote Link to comment
+dakboy Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) That's a pace of 4.5 finds per hour, assuming every hour of the day is used. 6.8 finds/hour if you take 8 hours off per day. Even for the most trivial of flights, you'll lose a minimum 3 hours per flight, so I don't think it'd be possible to fly between locations without finding extremely cache-dense destinations. If you're doing a power trail for this, it'd be best on bike (foot too slow, logistically very difficult in a car with the other parameters given). Edited October 17, 2011 by dakboy Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I've seen clips for the movie "The Big Year" about "enthusiastic" birders trying to identify as many bird species as possible in North America in a single year. I was wondering what a "Big Year" in geocaching would look like if some well funded, dedicated cacher tried to maximize their finds in a single year. I realize it's possible to find over 1,000 power trail caches in a single day, but there certainly aren't enough of those available to fill a year. I also see that one retired couple has found over 17,000 caches so far this year, but I doubt they're maximizing their efforts. Assume an independently wealthy (or sponsored) individual wanted to find as many caches as possible in a single year. He (or she) had a jet and pilot at his disposal and had funds to rent cars, stay at motels, buy food, etc. Most importantly, he could select a four-person team to support his effort. Whether you agree with it or not, please accept this rule as given: The "dedicated individual" must sign/sticker/stamp every log within 10 metres/yards of its hiding spot. I doubt the "dedicated individual" could sustain a 16-hour-a-day pace for 7 days per week. Would 12-hours a day for 6 days a week be reasonable? In addition to everyone taking one day a week off, one member of the support team probably would take an additional day off so they would be more rested and alert. One member of the support team probably would stay at the motel to organize the next day's search: plan a route, buy food and supplies, arrange car rentals, etc. On most days, this would leave the "dedicated individual" and two others to search for caches. How many "power trail" caches could be found in how many days? After that, how many other cache-dense areas are available, and how many finds could this team average on a given day? Is 40,000 finds in a single year reasonable? I realize that few people would be into this kind of geocaching, but just suppose... Wow! "Power-birders"? I thought that was supposed to be a relaxing activity! I know one single, working cacher that works a 40 hour/week job that has found 12,704 so far this year. Quote Link to comment
+SwineFlew Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 That couple is Teamsnook and they are pushing around 58.7793 caches/day of the year of 2011. Quote Link to comment
+wiseye Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 That couple is Teamsnook and they are pushing around 58.7793 caches/day of the year of 2011. And they are nice folks too! Quote Link to comment
+BMndFul Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) That couple is Teamsnook and they are pushing around 58.7793 caches/day of the year of 2011. Sound like a team of nice people who really like caching (edited by popular request). I would think they are not enjoying much environment around the caches. If you are a number seeker then caching is your game....it not like you can find all the caches....even though some will devote a life time of trying. I waiting for the "Tiger Woods" of caching. "Billy found his first official cache when he was two. Now at the age of 5 he has over 20K in find etc etc.... Trust me it will happen. Edited October 17, 2011 by Russ! Quote Link to comment
+SwineFlew Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 That couple is Teamsnook and they are pushing around 58.7793 caches/day of the year of 2011. And they are nice folks too! Off from their profile. "Right now the only time it's not fun is when we run into people who want to make false accusations about our accomplishments." My question is, how many people think they are cheating the system of their huge found list? Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 We had a great day yesterday. Went for a long drive in the country. Stopped at several wineries to sample what they had. Purchased 5 bottles. Explored a historic old cemetery. Saw the most amazing sunset. OH, and we even found a cache and completed a challenge. The cache was in sad shape. Mold, mildew, yuck! Oh well, that's what hand sanitizer is for. At least it was in an interesting place. Quote Link to comment
+NanCycle Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 To find (or at least hunt for) 40,000 caches, you can minimize travel time by doing it all within 170 miles of Seattle. Quote Link to comment
+CanadianRockies Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Sound like a team of OCDs off their medication. Please, let's keep the tone of this thread civil. From the Forum guidelines: Please treat Groundspeak, its employees, volunteers, fellow community members, and guests on these boards with courtesy and respect. Quote Link to comment
+BMndFul Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) Sound like a team of OCDs off their medication. Please, let's keep the tone of this thread civil. From the Forum guidelines: Please treat Groundspeak, its employees, volunteers, fellow community members, and guests on these boards with courtesy and respect. Oh please....it's sarcastic humor....I wasn't seriously implying someone had a mental disorder. If you have a serious concern you might try a PM for an explanation of intent. The real message was....If you are caching at 6.8 per hour etc...you not enjoying a lot of what caching is to some, which is being outdoors, the people etc. That is a civil comment which I am sure some would agree with. Edited October 17, 2011 by Russ! Quote Link to comment
+Gitchee-Gummee Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Not saying that it isn't possible, nor the opposite, either.... Rather than looking at their "finds", look at their stats. They started normal enough, sped up later, and more recently have really "taken off". They also have held a goodly number of event caches and have a lot of placements, over the years. So... it certainly could be possible. I, however, and not going to lose any sleep over it. Quote Link to comment
+Team Dennis Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Have you been reading my journal? Let's assume the unlimited funds for travel, support staff and equipment as well as ZERO life outside of caching. I like the idea of one of the staff taking the day "off" from the trail to do planning and prep work for the following day. You would need an RV as hotels are too much work. Also, the "cacher" could sleep while a team member drove through the night to get to the next cache dense area. I would also employ a 4 door Jeep Wrangler (doors off of course) for easier parking and grabbing and mountain bikes for getting around the trails faster. I think 8 finds per hour would be a very healthy average over the course of a year. Let's say 300 caching days, too. That is about 38,400 finds. So is 40,000 finds possible? Yeah, I suppose it is possible. However I really don't think I could do it. Or would want to do it. Quote Link to comment
Mr.Yuck Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 That couple is Teamsnook and they are pushing around 58.7793 caches/day of the year of 2011. And they are nice folks too! Off from their profile. "Right now the only time it's not fun is when we run into people who want to make false accusations about our accomplishments." My question is, how many people think they are cheating the system of their huge found list? Well Alamogul doesn't cheat, so they probably don't either. And neither one of them is from one of the few remaining areas where people log events as attended 100 times. So I'm sure they're good. Quote Link to comment
+t4e Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Sound like a team of OCDs off their medication. Please, let's keep the tone of this thread civil. From the Forum guidelines: Please treat Groundspeak, its employees, volunteers, fellow community members, and guests on these boards with courtesy and respect. Oh please....it's sarcastic humor.... that is humor when you talk to people that are your close friends and know you, not when you refer to strangers in a forum more so without even using an appropriate smilie to indicate that you are kidding Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 That couple is Teamsnook and they are pushing around 58.7793 caches/day of the year of 2011. And they are nice folks too! Agreed. Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) Oh please....it's sarcastic humor....I wasn't seriously implying someone had a mental disorder. If you have a serious concern you might try a PM for an explanation of intent. The real message was....If you are caching at 6.8 per hour etc...you not enjoying a lot of what caching is to some, which is being outdoors, the people etc. That is a civil comment which I am sure some would agree with. It wasn't humor at all and you know it. I know the Snooks personally. They are a nice retired couple and caching is what they do for fun and togetherness. Civil. Really? Who are you to judge how they should enjoy their quality time? Because it differs from how YOU would spend your retirement? Sheesh. It amazes me how some folks justify their self centered view of how the universe should be experienced by others. It wasn't a civil comment. It was rude and wrong and unjustified. Live with the truth. Edited October 17, 2011 by Snoogans Quote Link to comment
+lamoracke Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 well, any number is reachable if you are going to count finds as a team. I am not saying any particular cacher is, but I would assume some are and are not even in the same location as other team members when caches are found on a regular basis. Otherwise, I am happy with 40 in a week. Quote Link to comment
+BMndFul Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Oh please....it's sarcastic humor....I wasn't seriously implying someone had a mental disorder. If you have a serious concern you might try a PM for an explanation of intent. The real message was....If you are caching at 6.8 per hour etc...you not enjoying a lot of what caching is to some, which is being outdoors, the people etc. That is a civil comment which I am sure some would agree with. It wasn't humor at all and you know it. I know the Snooks personally. They are a nice retired couple and caching is what they do for fun and togetherness. Civil. Really? Who are you to judge how they should enjoy there quality time? Because it differs from how YOU would spend your retirement? Sheesh. It amazes me how some folks justify their self centered view of how the universe should be experienced by others. It wasn't a civil comment. It was rude and wrong and unjustified. Live with the truth. Ok here we go... I am entitled to make my opinion like everyone else on this forum. Who are you to tell me my intent? You haven't even met me in person. You are as guilty judging me as your previous comment about my judgement. If my comment was taken as offensive, then I will be the first to sincerely apologize. I will be glad to remove my comment or alter it. Why don't you just ask about my intent then, or kindly ask about me removing it or changing it before going off half cock and making assumptions that have no merit. Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I am happy with 40 in a week. LOL. Just 40? That is just under half a year's worth of cache finds for me. I have been accused of not being a real cacher because I pick and choose the caches I'll go out of my way for (which is maybe a dozen or so a year) and the rest are just caches that happen to be in easy reach of where I am at the moment. That irks me like it irks the Snooks when their count is called into question. Like the post I quoted, my own experience, or The Snooks.... It's a matter of perspective. In the caching context it's not even an apples and oranges comparison. It's more like apples and fried squid. I happen to love fried squid, but oddly (for many) I'll pass on most apples. Now some might say, "How the heck can Snoogans NOT like apples!???" Everyone ELSE enjoys apples! The nerve of that guy turnin' 'is nose up at a decent apple! Now, even though I love fried squid, I don't go outta my way to get it. Get it? Forgive me, I believe I've channeled TOZ's spirit or sumthin'. And where the heck did that English accent come from there near the end? Oh look, SHINEY! Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) Oh please....it's sarcastic humor....I wasn't seriously implying someone had a mental disorder. If you have a serious concern you might try a PM for an explanation of intent. The real message was....If you are caching at 6.8 per hour etc...you not enjoying a lot of what caching is to some, which is being outdoors, the people etc. That is a civil comment which I am sure some would agree with. It wasn't humor at all and you know it. I know the Snooks personally. They are a nice retired couple and caching is what they do for fun and togetherness. Civil. Really? Who are you to judge how they should enjoy their quality time? Because it differs from how YOU would spend your retirement? Sheesh. It amazes me how some folks justify their self centered view of how the universe should be experienced by others. It wasn't a civil comment. It was rude and wrong and unjustified. Live with the truth. Ok here we go... I am entitled to make my opinion like everyone else on this forum. Who are you to tell me my intent? You haven't even met me in person. You are as guilty judging me as your previous comment about my judgement. If my comment was taken as offensive, then I will be the first to sincerely apologize. I will be glad to remove my comment or alter it. Why don't you just ask about my intent then, or kindly ask about me removing it or changing it before going off half cock and making assumptions that have no merit. LOL That was my opinion of your opinion nice fellow cacher person. Edited October 17, 2011 by Snoogans Quote Link to comment
Clan Riffster Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 That couple is Teamsnook and they are pushing around 58.7793 caches/day of the year of 2011. And they are nice folks too! Agreed. Agreed to your Agreed. I make it a point to seek them out at events because just being around them is a pleasure. They truly enjoy what they are doing, and it shows. They radiate happiness like some curmudgeons radiate unpleasantness, and that is a neat feeling to bask in. It is rare to find a soul so in tune with themselves that they are truly happy at a spiritual level. Quote Link to comment
sabrefan7 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Agreed its just a game and Im 0.1968 per day so there Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I'm looking forward to finding 2000 in just over the next year...by 12/8/12 for my 10th year anniversary. If I succeed, I will have averaged 1,000 finds a year. 40,000 in one year? Is there anyone who has 40,000 finds? Quote Link to comment
+JL_HSTRE Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Alamogul last year became the first cacher to get 10,000 finds in one year (10,550). His profile shows 10,971 so far for 2011. Team Snook has 17,046 so far in 2011 - on pace for over 20K this year. They're closing the gap on Alamo, but he's still on pace to end the year with about a 10K cache lead on them. Alamogul is about to be the first to 60K finds lifetime; he is the only to reach 50K lifetime, though TeamSnook will break the 50K barrier before the end of this year too. Nobody else has 40K lifetime finds yet, though mondou2 is almost there. There are only 11 with 30K lifetime finds and at the moment 44 with at least 20K. 40K fins in a year? Maybe if the pace of power trail proliferation proceeds precariously... Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 That couple is Teamsnook and they are pushing around 58.7793 caches/day of the year of 2011. And they are nice folks too! Off from their profile. "Right now the only time it's not fun is when we run into people who want to make false accusations about our accomplishments." My question is, how many people think they are cheating the system of their huge found list? There are many cachers who claim finds when they didn't find a cache. These folk are generally well known in the community. I've never seen Team Snook mentioned with this group. I could be wrong, but until someone shows me logs where they are throwing down caches or logging finds on caches they didn't find I'm inclined to believe that they are legit. I met them at Geowoodstock and they were a very nice couple who to me seemed to be obsessed with caching. I know other cachers who are similarly obsessed. Some are so obsessed they are not quite honest about their find counts. I'd be disappointed to learn that Team Snook is included in that bunch. Right now I think they are darn near the max of the reasonable rate of finding caches and won't come close to 40K in a year. I'm not saying it couldn't happen legitimately because I'm amazed by the dedication (or obsession) of some cachers, but I think it would take someone with a lot of money, spare time and a singular dedication to geocaching. Quote Link to comment
+Crow-T-Robot Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I have a hard time believing that anyone could find 40,000 caches in a year. I know there is math that says it's possible but even with the necessary funds/time/want, you'd still have to sustain a mind-boggling rate for a year AND be willing to find every available cache in whatever area you are visiting. That's alot of uninteresting and mind-numbing caches to find hour after hour, day after day. Just thinking of it makes me shudder. I think 10,000 a year is a stratospheric number. Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I have a hard time believing that anyone could find 40,000 caches in a year. I know there is math that says it's possible but even with the necessary funds/time/want, you'd still have to sustain a mind-boggling rate for a year AND be willing to find every available cache in whatever area you are visiting. That's alot of uninteresting and mind-numbing caches to find hour after hour, day after day. Just thinking of it makes me shudder. I think 10,000 a year is a stratospheric number. LOL. Now there is an opinion I can get behind. When I started caching the local geo-gods were all at 300 to 400+ finds and the national over-achievers were between 1500 and 2000 finds. BruceS was a freak of nature nearing 5k finds. Now I've seen cachers with slightly over a month in the game blast 2000 or more finds and quickly burn out and fade away. Not one cacher I've watched that started that strongly has lasted much over 1 year. I hit 1000 earlier this year and I'm now at about 1025 or so, but I haven't logged any of my activity in about 4 months. Some day it's gonna be cool to have a low number of finds over a long period of time. There's no race to win in geocaching, but slow and steady defeats burnout for me. Quote Link to comment
+Isonzo Karst Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Team Snook has 17,046 so far in 2011 - on pace for over 20K this year. ....40K finds in a year? I think, given the unlimited funds condition in the OP, and a new cacher starting with no finds, with all the existing powertrails, and heavy concentrations of caches around, that it might be possible right now. The current cachers at the top of the leader board on finds probably can't do it, because they've already cleared out the major power runs, and the heavy cache concentrations. But if Snook or Alamogul started caching today, and had unlimited funds for a support team to route and travel plan, could they sustain a relentless pace day in day out, week in week out? sure, they already are. Quote Link to comment
+t4e Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I have a hard time believing that anyone could find 40,000 caches in a year. I know there is math that says it's possible but even with the necessary funds/time/want, you'd still have to sustain a mind-boggling rate for a year AND be willing to find every available cache in whatever area you are visiting. That's alot of uninteresting and mind-numbing caches to find hour after hour, day after day. Just thinking of it makes me shudder. I think 10,000 a year is a stratospheric number. 110 caches a day for 365 days?...personally i think its impossible lol Quote Link to comment
Clan Riffster Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I think 10,000 a year is a stratospheric number. I think 1,000 a year is a huge number. My largest annual finds number was less than 400, back in '08. I seem to be hitting around 250 a year. Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I think 10,000 a year is a stratospheric number. I think 1,000 a year is a huge number. My largest annual finds number was less than 400, back in '08. I seem to be hitting around 250 a year. LOL. My best year I got 243 finds and 1,000 in a year doesn't seem so much to me. You or I could do it easily. Heck the E.T. powertrail is not too far off off my annual trek to the west. I would even do it with a group as long as I didn't have to drive.... But alone? Probably not. The fact is we choose not to find them all for personal reasons. For me it's not snobbery. I just refuse to go outta my way for a cache that doesn't have good word of mouth. I will go for the most mundane cache and enjoy it if it happens to be in easy access to where I'm at, I have the time, and I'm inclined to cache, but I won't waste gas and quality time with my family for a run of the mill P&G or gladware in the woods just to cross it off my list or meet some personal goal. My only geocaching goal is not to burnout. Quote Link to comment
+hzoi Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I had turned up my nose at the idea of power trail caching until recently, when I decided I wanted us to celebrate our 4k milestone in Japan in December. That meant a lot of catching up, since we barely cached this summer (too hot). So I went out over the Columbus Day weekend and hit three small Alabama power trails. I ended up with not quite 200 finds for the weekend. Just that was enough to wear me out (and I realize full well that less than 200 finds in a weekend is a drop in the bucket to some folks). I have to say, it was getting boring for me towards the end. Normally I enjoy looking for caches. It's fun to put myself in the hider's mind and try and figure out how they think. That weekend, I was so worried about numbers that I avoided tougher hides and cut myself off if I couldn't find a given cache after just a couple minutes. It just got mentally tiresome. I have a newfound respect for folks who do this (or more) on a regular basis. I also now understand that this isn't the kind of caching I enjoy at all. So unless some other rare opportunity presents itself, I ain't doing this again. 40,000 in a year? I guess it's doable if someone really wanted it. But it'd be work. A lot of work. It would definitely not be about the location, things like local folks and scenery would just become background noise. As Crow-T-Robot said, that's way, way more uninteresting caches, day in day out, than I ever need to find. God bless folks like alamogul and TeamSnooks, and more power to them. I guess I'm converting to Frisbeetarianism, because I identify more with the path of Snoogans than the roads down which they are power caching. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) When I started caching the local geo-gods were all at 300 to 400+ finds and the national over-achievers were between 1500 and 2000 finds. BruceS was a freak of nature nearing 5k finds. Hah, I remember when some people were calling BruceS a fraud because he logged something like 80 finds over two days. He had to come here to defend himself and explain how it could be done. Some day it's gonna be cool to have a low number of finds over a long period of time. There's no race to win in geocaching, but slow and steady defeats burnout for me I thought I had a low number over a long time, having yet to break a thousand in 10+ years but I received a log recently on one of my caches from someone who started a month after I did (in Sept 2001) and he just logged his 114th find. He's been caching all along but has just a few finds each year. I wonder if someone out there can break that record. Might be an interesting competition to see who has the fewest finds over the longest period of time. I don't mean someone who found a few caches in 2000 then quit, or someone who found a few caches in 2001 and returned to geocaching after 8 years away, but someone who has at least one cache find in every year since he started. Edited October 18, 2011 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
hoosier guy Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 If going for huge numbers in a day, month, year, whatever and if that makes you happy then fine go do it. Pretty cool that someone has figured out the logistics and all to get something like that done. But for me with all the other responsibilities that come with life and family such a undertaking isn't feasible or desirable. I don't mind plodding along and fitting in some caching when I can. So to those who log big numbers and to those who find a couple a month I say Happy Caching! Quote Link to comment
Mr.Yuck Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) I thought I had a low number over a long time, having yet to break a thousand in 10+ years but I received a log recently on one of my caches from someone who started a month after I did (in Sept 2001) and he just logged his 114th find. He's been caching all along but has just a few finds each year. I wonder if someone out there can break that record. Might be an interesting competition to see who has the fewest finds over the longest period of time. I don't mean someone who found a few caches in 2000 then quit, or someone who found a few caches in 2001 and returned to geocaching after 8 years away, but someone who has at least one cache find in every year since he started. Well, using the look at the 5 oldest caches in my area method, best I can do is a guy who also beats you, joined October, 2001, found caches every single year, and has only 610 finds. If your guy with 114 has found one every single year, he's going to be really tough to beat. Edited October 18, 2011 by Mr.Yuck Quote Link to comment
+RThreeSonz Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) Did you all see the news story eariler this year of the runner who ran a 'marathon' a day for a year? http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/02/05/marathon.record.engels.365/index.html As others have said, it seems if one laid out a route (using an RV, bike & car) that goes from high density locations & power trails to the next one then a sustained 100+ cache day average rate is almost certainly doable for an extended period of time. Heck, if you want a 'break', do one of the 1000+ cache power trails and then take the next week off. Me? No way! It's not why I'm here. But, what could the 'high density week' of such a cacher look like & where could it occur? Topping out at 3K? 5K? 8K? more? Edited October 18, 2011 by RThreeSonz Quote Link to comment
+Ambrosia Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I hit 1000 earlier this year and I'm now at about 1025 or so, but I haven't logged any of my activity in about 4 months. Some day it's gonna be cool to have a low number of finds over a long period of time. There's no race to win in geocaching, but slow and steady defeats burnout for me. I just hit 1600 finds, after 9.5 years of caching. But in my case, I would have found a lot more caches if it weren't for family, money, health issues and the lack of my own gps. I do enjoy caches out in nature more, however, which take longer. After almost 7 years of being sick, I'm finally getting better, so I've been stuffing myself with lots of hikes over the past couple weeks, something I haven't been able to do for five years. Pure bliss, I tell ya. Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Might be an interesting competition to see who has the fewest finds over the longest period of time. I don't mean someone who found a few caches in 2000 then quit, or someone who found a few caches in 2001 and returned to geocaching after 8 years away, but someone who has at least one cache find in every year since he started. If there's a prize I could delete a few finds... Quote Link to comment
+Isonzo Karst Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 If your guy with 114 has found one every single year, he's going to be really tough to beat Yes, I just checked a cacher local to me, started Jan 02 - thought he might be a contender at 114 or less, but he's over that - owns a couple of hides, has nearly 200 finds. Only one for this year, but 34 for 2010 pushed him into the high find count. ;-) I'm glad I checked, turns out he placed a multi-cache that I didn't know about. A local woodsman, his hides tend to highlight some spot worth seeing, so I'll be out after that cache. Quote Link to comment
+The Leprechauns Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 In my home area there's a geocacher who found his first cache in May 2001 and his 52nd cache in February 2011. He has finds in each year with the exception of 2008. His most recent find was made while he was maintaining one of his four active cache hides -- all from the earliest years of geocaching, and all excellent. He hid the first lamp post cache in my region -- it took me close to an hour to find it, but I didn't mind because I was enjoying a flag memorial in a riverfront park I never knew about. I don't think that this geocacher would be a good candidate for the 40,000 finds in a year project. Neither would I. I have tried that grinding pace in small doses, and enjoyed those adventures, but I would burn out if I had to keep it up over time. I'm darn close to being burned out as it is. Quote Link to comment
cezanne Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) I met them at Geowoodstock and they were a very nice couple who to me seemed to be obsessed with caching. I know other cachers who are similarly obsessed. Some are so obsessed they are not quite honest about their find counts. I'd be disappointed to learn that Team Snook is included in that bunch. I do not know them and did not take the time to have a look at their logs and thus do not know whether they typically cache together. I know some cacher couples with a team account that often separate to increase their find count (and not because one is on business travel and the other at home) and to stay on top of ranking lists. While this cannot be considered as cheating as there no rules in this respect, I not appreciate if such cachers boast with their achievements/find count/rank on top. I do not care if they enjoy caching in their own way, but if it comes to comparisons to others, it of course plays a role how many people are involved in a find and it is somehow childish and dishonest to create the impression in online logs that all team members have been present when this is not the case. (It is of course possible that A of team AB logs a cache in country X today at 10 a.m. and B logs a cache in another country Y today at 10 a.m. (same time zone), but it is dishonest to create the impression that both A and B have been at both caches.) As the 40000 caches per year is regarded, I guess it is possible with unlimited resources, but crazy in my opinion. Cezanne Edited October 19, 2011 by cezanne Quote Link to comment
+mdplayers Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 If someone would like to sponsor us, we'll try to make the 40,000 in a year. My husband would be all for it. Let's plan the attempt for the year 2015. PM me if you are interested in sponsoring us! Quote Link to comment
+Bowlr Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I don't know about anybody else, but not only do you find them, but you also gotta log them online. So, going by my logging speed and caching speed. My wife and I can average about 6/hour finds. Recently, though, we are on a 10/hr streak. So, after a long day of caching, about 100, we gotta log them which takes up to 2 hours for me. When we did the Route 66 series in Calfornia, this took several hours and a lot of it was copy and paste. So, you gotta add in all the logging. 1 minute per log? 40k caches? =23 days or 552 hours of just logging. 365-23=342 days of actual caching which means that you need to find 117 caches/day or 4.875/hour. However, if you do a power run of 1500 caches, then you could rest up for 10 days before starting to cache again. Quote Link to comment
CACAHUETES Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 All I can say is Bee ess 'Huetes out Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 All I can say is Bee ess 'Huetes out Brilliant response. Quote Link to comment
+mineraljim47 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Alamogul last year became the first cacher to get 10,000 finds in one year (10,550). His profile shows 10,971 so far for 2011. Team Snook has 17,046 so far in 2011 - on pace for over 20K this year. They're closing the gap on Alamo, but he's still on pace to end the year with about a 10K cache lead on them. Alamogul is about to be the first to 60K finds lifetime; he is the only to reach 50K lifetime, though TeamSnook will break the 50K barrier before the end of this year too. Nobody else has 40K lifetime finds yet, though mondou2 is almost there. There are only 11 with 30K lifetime finds and at the moment 44 with at least 20K. 40K fins in a year? Maybe if the pace of power trail proliferation proceeds precariously... Quote Link to comment
+mineraljim47 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 40,000.00 finds in a year no way can not be done sounds like armchair cachers to me. Have the show each cache or pics of them. If they cant do that send them off geo Cache and to the far side of the moon. Quote Link to comment
Keystone Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 mineraljim, I'm sorry that your limited perspective doesn't permit you to imagine how feats like this can be accomplished. I suggest sitting back and listening to those who have seen power cachers in action, rather than violating the forum guidelines by accusing someone of "armchair" finds when you have articulated no valid evidence in support of your accusation. Quote Link to comment
+BigChiefS4 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Is there anyone who has 40,000 finds? Yes, his name is Bobcam and he's from MN. He has over 43,000 finds. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him in person yet, but I've exchanged emails back and forth and he seems like a nice enough guy. Quote Link to comment
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