In Defense Of Park And Grab Micros

[etarace]

I know they are looked down upon with scorn, but us newbies like them for a couple reasons. Park and grab micros. These do two things for us: 1 - confirm accurate gps coords and 2 - boost our confidence.

I love the idea of "traditional" caches, with the concept being "it's more about the journey/scenery than the find" placing the cache in a lovely location that I might not otherwise have gone to. And honestly, I have SEARCHED for more traditional caches than for park and grabs... but I have FOUND more of the micros in parking lots.

I am by no means going after numbers. The "main street" of my town and a nearby paved path park have something close to 80 micros you can nab in an afternoon if you are so inclined. I have went after only a handful of them.

I do not always log a DNF on the traditional woodland caches that I did not find. I chalk this up to my inexperience, and always go back again to try. But I do write a note, thanking the CO for taking me to such a beautiful place.

However, after a few attempts and not finding one, I check if there is a micro nearby when I am stopping for Chinese or going to the grocery store. It helps me to confirm that my gps is accurate, and it keeps me in the game.

Another thing the park and grabs do for my situation, is gets my Beloved Husband out searching with me. Due to my inexperience, some of these are sometimes even difficult. He feels all awesome and manly to have "helped" me, and it is a great step towards encouraging him to be even more active and going out to help me find some of the real ones.

And while I will agree that the players who only go after the park and grab micros and just pad their count are really missing out on what is actually GREAT about this game, I do see the micros as having a very good purpose.

It keeps people in the game. And that's pretty awesome.

[+Max and 99]

Park and grab micros. These do two things for us: 1 - confirm accurate gps coords and 2 - boost our confidence.

 

....

 

And honestly, I have SEARCHED for more traditional caches than for park and grabs... but I have FOUND more of the micros in parking lots.

 

 

How do park and grab micros confirm accurate gps coords any better than non-park-and-grabs?

 

I thought most park-and-grabs ARE traditional caches.

[etarace]

Park and grab micros. These do two things for us: 1 - confirm accurate gps coords and 2 - boost our confidence.

 

....

 

And honestly, I have SEARCHED for more traditional caches than for park and grabs... but I have FOUND more of the micros in parking lots.

 

 

How do park and grab micros confirm accurate gps coords any better than non-park-and-grabs?

 

I thought most park-and-grabs ARE traditional caches.

 

Sorry (newbie) by "traditional" I mean the "regular/ammo can" size hide in a beautiful location in nature. My terminology is off being new. Yes.... park and grabs are "technically" actually "traditional" caches.

When I had said "traditional" I suppose I meant "in the traditional spirit of bringing a person to a beautiful location"... but perhaps I am wrong. Thank you for the heads up on my use of that word.

 

They confirm coords in that they are usually ONLY in one spot, and often with little obscuring factors such as trees. If I can go to the closed down A&P parking lot and find the cache on the lamp post with my gps.. my gps is pretty okay!

 

When I go to the woods I generally just start "looking" rule when I get around 50 feet of it. ... The finds in parking lots help confirm to me that I am indeed within around 50 feet or so of the cache.

Edited May 22, 2012 by etarace

[+hydrodis]

Remember not every one is mobile enough to venture far from their car. A park and grab allows them to take part and gain enjoyment from this great hobby..

[Mr.Yuck]

Remember not every one is mobile enough to venture far from their car. A park and grab allows them to take part and gain enjoyment from this great hobby..

 

Yes, but the overwhelming majority are mobile enough. And then of course it becomes a question of do the mobility impaired deserve to dodge traffic in a store parking lot, for a cache I personally disagree should even be allowed (private property without permission) or walk 10 feet from parking in a nice public park?

 

So I looked where the OP is from, and I'm from your State, and have driven through the Binghamton area a few hundred times. I've even cached there a few times. So does there need to be 80 micros off your Main Street? What if there were only the 10 or so you found? Then I'd be more inclined to support the "they have their place" angle that I've heard a thousand times.

 

Are there any Vargseld caches left in Greater Binghamton? He was a college kid, and I'm quite sure he moved away. You'll never be disappointed at one of his.

[+YooperSnowman]

There is a place and time for P&Gs. I prefer caches that get me off the beaten path and require some hiking with a bit of challenging terrain. But, I will sometimes grab LPCs and other micros just because I want to hunt for a cache and don't have the time for a more extensive outing to the wildlands. When I travel for work, its the P&Gs that scratch my caching itch.

[etarace]

Remember not every one is mobile enough to venture far from their car. A park and grab allows them to take part and gain enjoyment from this great hobby..

 

Yes, but the overwhelming majority are mobile enough. And then of course it becomes a question of do the mobility impaired deserve to dodge traffic in a store parking lot, for a cache I personally disagree should even be allowed (private property without permission) or walk 10 feet from parking in a nice public park?

 

So I looked where the OP is from, and I'm from your State, and have driven through the Binghamton area a few hundred times. I've even cached there a few times. So does there need to be 80 micros off your Main Street? What if there were only the 10 or so you found? Then I'd be more inclined to support the "they have their place" angle that I've heard a thousand times.

 

Are there any Vargseld caches left in Greater Binghamton? He was a college kid, and I'm quite sure he moved away. You'll never be disappointed at one of his.

Vargseld is still here and active. The player/account now goes by SPC-173. I believe it is maintained by his family, and him when he comes through town.

I have seen some of his conversations/comments about placement. And while he is not as polite about it as I would be, I think I share his sentiments (mostly). I hope to get a couple actual finds in the woods that do NOT require sliding on my butt down a cliff before I go after one of his so that I have a better idea of what I should be looking for (I believe this is sort of what is called "developing a geo-sense"). But I do look forward to going to some of his. There are some gorgeous places around here.

 

As for 80 micros being overkill... I see a lot of comments in these that say something like "number 19 of 47 we did on this blustery day"... WHY are you doing 47 caches in a day? What are you possibly enjoying? Did you stop and have Chinese food at that one? Did you grab a movie at this one? Did you even notice the huge pretty patch of buttercups growing near this one?

But, for my purposes, I am glad the 80 are out there. I will do three or so, here and there. I've done maybe 10 of them in the past month that I have been geocaching. At this rate I have 7 months worth of easy ones whenever myself or my husband feel the urge to go out for one (for reasons already covered).

If you're doing 47 of them, or all 80+ of them in a single day for the sake of "scoring a point in a geeky internet game" then... do a Vargseld instead. Less gas used, more photos taken.

[Mr.Yuck]

 

Vargseld is still here and active. The player/account now goes by SPC-173. I believe it is maintained by his family, and him when he comes through town.

I have seen some of his conversations/comments about placement. And while he is not as polite about it as I would be, I think I share his sentiments (mostly). I hope to get a couple actual finds in the woods that do NOT require sliding on my butt down a cliff before I go after one of his so that I have a better idea of what I should be looking for (I believe this is sort of what is called "developing a geo-sense"). But I do look forward to going to some of his. There are some gorgeous places around here.

 

As for 80 micros being overkill... I see a lot of comments in these that say something like "number 19 of 47 we did on this blustery day"... WHY are you doing 47 caches in a day? What are you possibly enjoying? Did you stop and have Chinese food at that one? Did you grab a movie at this one? Did you even notice the huge pretty patch of buttercups growing near this one?

But, for my purposes, I am glad the 80 are out there. I will do three or so, here and there. I've done maybe 10 of them in the past month that I have been geocaching. At this rate I have 7 months worth of easy ones whenever myself or my husband feel the urge to go out for one (for reasons already covered).

If you're doing 47 of them, or all 80+ of them in a single day for the sake of "scoring a point in a geeky internet game" then... do a Vargseld instead. Less gas used, more photos taken.

 

Someone actually read my signature? Yes, I'm a super Foursquare Geek, and you do "score a point" for going to WalMart. Oh yeah, Vargseld did go off on "lame micros" in cache logs or his cache pages sometimes, but he's very mild-mannered in person. I have found the SPC-173 profile on Google, but will have to look later, the website is down for maintenance while I'm replying. Yes, his Father is an active Geocacher with thousands of finds, so I'm sure sure he maintains them. And I did spot a Vargseld cemetery multi that starts in Downtown Binghamton, although I doubt the cemetery itself where the final is, is downtown.

 

Being from NY, I'll often surf the listings of the latest caches in the whole State (don't know if you know how to do that, or have ever done it), and I definitely have noticed a Binghamton area account with like 3 finds and 65 (mostly micro) hides. Could be someone much more experienced using a new account to hide their identity though. One person dropping 60+ micros in a City that size is a bit much, in my opinion.

[+Sol seaker]

I think all caches have a purpose. Well pretty much all of them. If they are in real garbage heaps, or next to homeless camps, maybe not.

 

But besides the few, no matter what type they are, I think there is a good purpose for all the rest.

 

I injured my back pretty severely a couple of years back. I wanted to cache but could only manage drive-up park and grab caches. I was really thankful for them.

 

There are people who are too disabled to make it even into a park. People in wheelchairs need easy caches too. Who cares if "the majority" of people can walk to a cache in a park. Everyone can't. Caching is for everyone. Let's not leave some people out just because they're not the "majority."

 

Recently I started working on trying to fill in my calendar in my statistics. You know, the one that you've got to find a cache for every day of the year. There are days I need a cache for, but really don't have time to go for a hike or walk in a park. I really appreciate the park and grabs. Especially since the circle of found caches around my house is getting bigger all the time. I've got to have the time to drive somewhere, and then find it. Sometimes it's tough.

There are people who are working on challenges that require them to find a cache every day for a year or two. They really appreciate those fast caches too!!

 

There are all kinds of people who play this game. The hiking caches aren't for everyone, just as the drive-up caches aren't for everyone.

"Different strokes for different folks" as they say.

 

There should be as many different types of caches as there are cachers.

[Mr.Yuck]

I think all caches have a purpose. Well pretty much all of them. If they are in real garbage heaps, or next to homeless camps, maybe not.

 

But besides the few, no matter what type they are, I think there is a good purpose for all the rest.

 

I injured my back pretty severely a couple of years back. I wanted to cache but could only manage drive-up park and grab caches. I was really thankful for them.

 

There are people who are too disabled to make it even into a park. People in wheelchairs need easy caches too. Who cares if "the majority" of people can walk to a cache in a park. Everyone can't. Caching is for everyone. Let's not leave some people out just because they're not the "majority."

 

Recently I started working on trying to fill in my calendar in my statistics. You know, the one that you've got to find a cache for every day of the year. There are days I need a cache for, but really don't have time to go for a hike or walk in a park. I really appreciate the park and grabs. Especially since the circle of found caches around my house is getting bigger all the time. I've got to have the time to drive somewhere, and then find it. Sometimes it's tough.

There are people who are working on challenges that require them to find a cache every day for a year or two. They really appreciate those fast caches too!!

 

There are all kinds of people who play this game. The hiking caches aren't for everyone, just as the drive-up caches aren't for everyone.

"Different strokes for different folks" as they say.

 

There should be as many different types of caches as there are cachers.

 

Um, seriously? You've never seen handicap parking spots in a park? You did see the part where I said "10 feet from parking in the park"? No need to go into a multi-paragraph narrative to make Mr. Yuck look like a big meanie.

 

I guess the point I am having trouble conveying, and don't worry, hardly anyone ever "gets it", is that mirco in a store parking lot on private property without permission is NOT the same as a micro 10 feet from parking in a public park. But I suppose the parking lot micro, published under a "look the other way" policy is so deeply ingrained into the fabric of Geocaching, that I should just give up.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Mr.Yuck

[+briansnat]

There is already a discussion in progress here http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=295869

 

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