What type of cacher are you?

[+Ahern Clan]

Ranger fox, I loved reading your post, thanks!

 

Second that! This was fun reading, although I am becoming one of those fanatics.....all I want for Christmas is geocaching stuff!

 

Nice response Ranger Fox!

[+Oxford Stone]

I've been GCing for about 6 weeks - am on 38. In the mid-90s I was, when staying at my parents' a keen Dartmoor Letterboxer. For those of you unfamiliar with this ancestor of GCing - we're talking word of mouth; a clue book available from one source if you could show you'd already found 100; no space restrictions ie often a dozen to find on one rocky hillside; each box (and each boxer) with their own rubber stamp so that your collection and the log book became a beautiful and esoteric collection. As my parents got frail, that went by the wayside but it got me to some very obscure parts of Dartmoor including a box that no-one had found for 2 1/2 years (ammo box, under an overhanging boulder, 4 miles from the nearest road. Perfectly dry!) and the occasional one behind the bar at a pub, if you knew to ask!

A friend has cajoled me into GCing, took me on a tutorial in late October. As it's winter I've done predominantly urban caches so far - got muddy a few times too.

I've enjoyed the wit of some of the hiding places - 3 magentic nanos in particular, 2 on plain view but a muggle would look straight past them; I've racked up points for some very forgettable tupperware boxes under trees surrounded by litter. Yesterday in central London all 3 finds in an hour were fun - Who Will Buy on a crescent that has been a film location; a flat magnetic box that took a couple of attempts to find; and one on Oxford Circus where I must have been within 10 yards of over 100 people (but no-one looking at a dad and his kid squatting by the railings to get a drink and grab a film canister at the same time)

So what type of cacher am I?

I enjoy the thrill of the find, and often the research - though a lot of the ?'s I've glanced at in Oxford and Paris just leave me cold. I do cryptic crosswords but a lot of these seem just too obscure.

I'm looking forward to doing some proper country trails in the spring and clocking up 20 in a day - the urban ones are good practice but often fairly mundane.

Virtuals and challenges - I don't see the point of them. I'll be in Vegas for work in Feb - but a pic of me in front of Bellagio - is that a cache? Really??? And the challenges I've looked at are equally naff IMHO. Webcam caches, ditto. I want to find a box.

I've read some other posts on here about people only being interested in memorable caches - well each to his own. There seem to be some real snobs on here about container types and locations. (But I've just written about types that don't interest me, so...)

In terms of obsession / GCing taking over: Well I'm going out at lunch from work to grab those near the office (so, despite a couple of new ones arriving in Nov., I'll soon run out); whenever I go anywhere new I look to see what's there, including next year's holiday destination and today's pub lunch destination, and plan to grab a cache or two. I have a good friend in Budapest whom we visit occasionally - if you've not seen the GC map of the city, do so, there are a few thousand there!

I've not yet driven anywhere exclusively for caching.

The concept of getting a cache on every day in the year is something I may well try - bearing in mind I can give myself until 29/2/16 to complete that one! I may not even look at what I need to do until say 1/1/14, to give myself 2 or 3 goes at every missing date.

I might put one cache out as there's a gap on the map - and some parkland - by where we are moving to in the New Year. I'll try to make it witty and pretty.

All in all, geocaching is a welcome addition to my life. 3 1/2 year old William likes it too and has found caches before me; so has my wife (imagine geeky husband gazing at GPS on smartphone saying "we're 3.44m away" and wife saying "yes, it's up that tree behind you..."). I am sure that, especially in better weather, we'll clock up plenty. But I would not want it to take over my life.

[+Ma & Pa]

All in all, geocaching is a welcome addition to my life. 3 1/2 year old William likes it too and has found caches before me; so has my wife (imagine geeky husband gazing at GPS on smartphone saying "we're 3.44m away" and wife saying "yes, it's up that tree behind you...").

 

That is a common situation. But we seem to have often switched roles and geeky wife often cant see it

 

 

But I would not want it to take over my life.

 

GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE.

Edited December 9, 2012 by Ma & Pa

[Lonely Nut (Peanut)]

Hi,

I'm a newbie (sort of) cacher.

Thanks, Ranger Fox, for posting all the different kinds. (I love lists!)

I guess I'm a Terrain cacher, Travel cacher, & Heritage cacher (which goes alone with my scrapbooking habit & historian background). I'm not uber-competitive so I don't want to get around the folks who take this way too seriously. And I can't imagine trying a year-long challenge.

Mostly, I just really like treasure hunting and this is just plain ole fun!

Thanks,

Kimba (the Lonely Nut)

[+davejp84]

I'm a do a few caches now and then but not too many because i dont have the money to burn on petrol/gas.

 

otherwise i'd be out most days totting my numbers up alot faster than of late

 

I'm easy when it comes to the type of cache i look for, i'll give anything a go given the proper prep.

 

More stars when i wanna challenge, less for a casual wonder round picking them up as i go!

[+chrysleraspen08]

I am currently an occasional cacher who goes after amount of caches (as many as I can possibly get). I also tend to go after caches with more favorite points. Later in the coming spring and into next summer, I am sure my numbers will pick up once I have access to a car and a lot of free time on my hands. I will also try tougher caches and challenge caches too. I may go out and try to get some FTF's too next summer.

[+DragonsWest]

I'm a daily cacher. I've found at least one every day since some day in August 2009. Sometimes I find it a bother, but generally it forces me to do a little planning of fitting a side trip into my daily schedule. I'll stop when the feeling is strong enough that it's a hassle.

 

Weekends are usually days of getting out and about, exploring park trails. I find it a drag to do urban caching, though city parks aren't too bad.

 

I love going places I haven't much been to, if ever. Vacations are a great adventure of running off in various directions for caching here or there. Travel has been greatly spiced up by all these little bread crumbs which take me to new and interesting places. Occasionally I get into a spot of trouble, like I did when my car was stuck in a sandy wash in the Amargosa Valley a few weeks ago, I got out, but it has reinforced the notion I really need to get myself a Jeep. (Not just so I can avoid getting into these little spots of bother, but so I can get into a much better class of trouble )

 

I like containers which are at least the Groundspeak Definition of Small. I'm having more trouble with my eyesight, now that I'm getting older, and the search for a well camouflaged bison in a bush can be aggrevating (and thus sucking the fun right out of my geocaching outing.) I was only too pleased to give out over a dozen ammo boxes at the 12-12-12 event I hosted, cuz now I can go find them

 

I've done a few bits of powertrailing, but have to be in the mood for it. Also in the mood for doing the logs, which can resemble doing actual work on important leisure time. I'm not an accountant, but I feel entering a lot of little debits (or credits, which are they?) is like filling up some hungry ol' ledger.

 

Benchmarks are the spice of life. They were placed all over the country and there are a great many which haven't been found in a long time. Some have been destroyed in the march to progress, while others have been misplaced or forgotten. Seeking them out, with the often cryptic notes of surveyors back when the world looked a bit different (or possibly a lot different) can be the sort of challenge evil geocache hiders would marvel at. A recovery is worth more than 100 FTFs, in my book. I've recovered three, so far. I usually combine geocaching and benchmarking, especially when far out of my home area.

 

I like moving trackables, but the increasing number of caches incapable of holding them means I'm stuck holding some for much longer than I like. Honestly, if there's enough cover to hide a Volkswagen in, don't place a micro. We've got enough by now.

 

I'm a photographer and generally have at least two cameras with me. Geocaching has taken me some great places at some great times of the year where certain locations really shine, sometimes not in the most obvious ways, as I enjoy macro work where I return home with a collection of pictures of very tiny subjects.

 

I'm not much of a high speed cacher. I take my time. I find it's a lot more enjoyable that way.

[+Explorerphenom]

What a wonderful, helpful topic. Three months ago I was a pure muggle - I had never heard of geocaching. Now I am addicted. So I've looked at the map and am trying to get all my local caches. After seeing this topic, it has given me something to think about - do I want to be a 'generalist' or specialize in 'puzzles', 'hiking' or exactly what I am not sure. I am so new I don't even know where to find some of these caches just as puzzles. One thing - this is an exciting hobby! And presently I could cache 24/7!

 

ExplorerPhenom (EP)

[+mcfarmall]

I like the challenge of the search. Caching has also turned me into more of a hiker. When my family goes camping, I come armed with a GPS full of caches to search for. I've never been into hiking just for the sake of walking through the woods but I've seen and visited so many wonderful places during the course of caching that now I look for campgrounds with lots of hiking and biking trails. Caching has also taken me off-roading to some beautiful seldom-visited spots in our National Forest system. I am also fascinated by the creativity and cleverness of the caches that I have found.

[+Zekester & Simon]

Particularly enjoyed this post, as it a came at a time when we are considering what our caching goals for 2013 will be. Like many others, we would likely be considered hybrid cachers. While we don't like to think of ourselves as numbers hounds, (1400 some odd finds in about 8 years of caching), we do go after some goofy stats sometimes. We've almost filled in the calendar, but we only started looking at that this year; not at all interested in making caching a daily grind. We love virtuals and earth caches. We take no pleasure in puzzle caches where we have to figure out the coordinates; for us the joy is in finding the hide, not finding the coordinates of it. We certainly enjoy a good hike. Would also note that as caching has changed over time, perhaps we have too. We have no real interest in finding repetitive hides of the sort we have done before; that being said, another tupperware under a log in the woods is always something new for us because of the hike. A guard rail may be if there was a worthwhile drive to get to it; a light post, not so much. To be clear, we are not passing judgement on anyone else here, just illuminating what appeals to us.

 

As we think about what we've done and where our goals are headed, I'd say we are geographic cachers. We keep some radius around the house clear and try to expand it. We have completed the ADC challenge for our home county, and the DeLorme challenge for our home state. We have cached in all but two of the states on our home country. Where are we headed in 2013? We hope to become more socially involved with our local caching crowd - we'll host an event every month, try to participate in the upcoming Maryland Municipal Trail, and the Cache Across Maryland Events. Hopefully we'll make it out to either Montana or Alaska to snag one of those two states. We hope to attend a mega-event, which we have never done. Help a few more bugs on their way in their adventures. Knock out the rest of the earth caches and virtuals we have not yet done in Maryland, and do spend some more time in D.C.

 

But our biggest goal for the upcoming year is to give back some of the joy we've gotten from this fine hobby. We are already working on a variety of quality hides which we hope will provide some joy to our fellow cachers.

[+ShaunEM]

Unfortunately I'm a cacher who is trying to fill my one cache for every day of the year grid. It has completely sucked the fun out of simply going caching. I wish I could blame it on someone else.

 

Force yourself to stay home! Take a break, put the fun back into it.

 

Otherwise, you just got yourself a second job.. and the medical benefits are horrible!

 

Shaun

[+simpjkee]

I've been all of those at different times.

 

When I first started I just thought it was something fun to do every so often. About 6 months in I cached for the numbers cuz I wanted some kind of respect or prestige from my peers in the geo community. I then slowed down and cached at a fairly even pace in my area. Two years ago I was pretty much purely a hiking cacher. And the last 2 years I've been a nonexisistent cacher.

 

I will getting back in the swing of things after I get a GPS for X-mas tomorrow and I'm not sure what kind of cacher I will be now. I don't think I'll be in to the power trails or geo art. I look most forward to caching along the hiking trails. Those have always been my favorite caches.

 

I've always prided myself on being a good cache owner (even in the past 2 years).

 

I am also a huge fan of events. Events have always been very important to me.

[+DonB]

Just curious, what type of cacher are you? A numbers cacher, a challenge junky, a star chaser, do you go after favorited caches, or a just enjoy a nice hike? I consider myself a hybrid type of cacher, I enjoy all aspects of the hobby. While I enjoy a challenge, I also sometimes just want to pick up a bunch of 1.5/1.5 caches!

Not caring about numbers and the way caching has gone the past few years I am getting very choosey as to the caches I do, so I guess I would call myself a casual cacher.

[+DirtyBeard]

Long Strenuous Hikes are amazing... The feeling of accomplishment after you get to the cache, working through the muscle aches. There is nothing like it, me and my parents are trying to frequently do high terrain caches. I will also be getting into caches that i need my kayak to get to. Just wish they were easier to find.

[Clan Riffster]

I like a nice hike or paddle or caches in historic or otherwise unique locations.

That sums the Riffster Clan up nicely.

Of all the aspects of a cache hide, I would list location as the most important.

[+J Grouchy]

For me it's wherever/whenever I can find an opportunity to run out for one. I call it a "Cache of Opportunity"...with kids and work and these days with the shorter days, it just is too tough to get out and do it for more than 30-60 minutes, which limits my search radius.

 

Hopefully this spring and summer I can get out more to hunt!

[+Oxford Stone]

Not a gregarious one I've decided - solitary / with family / a friend is great, but I really don't understand these mass get-togethers where someone finds a cache and then 50 other people line up behind to sign the log, having discovered nothing more stimulating than the back of the cacher in front. There's a D1/T5 under a bridge in Oxford, and the CO is mighty peeved that that is what happened at last year's Oxford Geolympix - 1 guy abseiled down for it, the world and his wife signed the log from the road above.

Went on a short trail yesterday and a lot of the pleasure was seeing no-one else, muggles or cachers. If I found myself catching up with another cacher on a trail, I'd avoid traipsing on alongside them, it'd defeat the object.

Rant over - if you're an event lover and can tell me I've misunderstood the concept, feel free to tell me!

[+sparklefingers]

It seems I am an urban cacher. I love doing caches where you have to find them in tree growth but always fail to find them. Urban caches I don't even need to look for them I get close to the area look up and will say it'll be on the gate or its that sign.

I don't like looking a figures and I don't hunt for the ftf (though I would love to find a ftf)

I work out puzzles but then I never seem to get to the cache with them, I have 6 completed puzzles but none of them logged as found.

[+cozgirl26]

I'm a numbers girl. I also like the lazy day off casual drive from cache to cache.

[+JKMonkey]

I like to just do them whenever I have free time and I'm allowed to use the car. Once I get a job and my own car I plan on going after the illustrious "Cache for Everyday of the Year" achievement, but unfortunately that may be some years away

[authoraileenstewart]

My husband, daughter, and I are "Newbie" cachers. We like the thrill of the hunt big or small. Our daughter likes to trade swag, I like to find travel bugs, and hubby just likes the fact that we are outdoors. I like to see the interesting containers people use, the interesting places they hide them, and I love to take photos which is one of my many other hobbies

[GPS-Hermit]

I like to be taken to interesting places and usually like a hike in place while doing so!

If no hike I prefer it be something of interest! I also like at least some measure of hunt involved.

Quality caching is what it is all about. I could care less about the numbers.

 

Urban caches are out for me and any cache that says watch for muggles. I want muggle free caches.

 

I avoid any cache that might upset muggles. An old baldhead man by his self is usually not welcome around a childrens playground.

 

I absolutely love the GPS and track everything and download it on my Delorme maps. I have as much fun playing with the GPS as I do Geocaching. If I can get to the cache by harmless bushwacking I choose too very often.

 

I usually clear the trails I hike on to keep the quality up! CITO as well!

 

I almost always cache alone because of caching on short notice.

 

Love to teach other to use the GPS and the Delorme map programs.

 

I always take my camera and love the get great pictures of views, wildlife, bugs, flowers, or anything of interest. I take way to many pictures.

 

I always want to go somewhere I have never been and if i see the comments in the logs that says - "If it weren't for Geo-Caching I would never have found this place" I get real excited! Take me there!

 

Love anything outdoors - Hiking Biking camping paddling exploring, clearing trails and taking pictures and playing with the GPS!

[+photonut4]

As we travel the country in our RV, we tend to go for the caches that have a lot of favorite points. Those usually take us to some very scenic or interesting locations. We have discovered more places that we never would have come across otherwise. We enjoy a good hike and will go for those first, or if we are going for a bike ride then we will choose a couple along the bike route. We prefer the ones out in the country so we don't have to worry about being seen. We don't care about the numbers, but we do like to get the different states and country badges.

[Luckless]

My Dad was a teacher. When I was little summers meant camping and running all over state parks with my dog. I always liked hiking, but as I got older I became more and more scared of what was out there so I stopped going. When I started geocaching it reminded me of those fun times camping and how much I loved being outdoors, really loved being outdoors. There's something about looking for a geocache that makes me just want to go out and find it. Sure I'm still scared but I don't care so much now about the four legged things that can eat me or the snakes or the weirdos.

 

I like to find all of the local caches, but lately have been avoiding looking for the few that are located center city that involve lots of muggles milling about or the possibility of running into security. I'm not stealthy and so I avoid these, or in this case avoid them for as long as I can. I still want to get them so that I have all of the local ones.

 

I love caches that take me somewhere cool that I've never been. I used to do one cache at a time trying to make it an adventure by exploring the area nearby, but when a local cacher started to archive all his caches it became apparent that I needed to do as many as I could in one area, because you never know when they might be archived. I missed out on some of his caches that I wanted to do by only doing one at a time.

 

My caching partner loves looking at old buildings and historical places. Usually our trips are built around interesting old places she can explore that includes lunch at a local establishment. No McDonald's or Burger King for her; the place has to have local "atmosphere". I like caches in parks and on trails I didn't know about. I also love to do bird watching while caching too.

 

I'll try hunting any type of cache (well maybe forget the dangerous 5/5s). My favorite kind of cache is one that is a little clever so when I find it it makes me stand back and say "All Right!" When traveling I'll do the micros by the side of the road because of time constraints. It's just nice to get out and stretch my legs and think about something other than driving. When time isn't a problem I'll skim through the listed caches in the area where I'll be to see if there is something interesting. I prefer something interesting rather than looking for something just because it's there.

[+DogArtist]

This thread is a great read! I'm a newbie but have been lurking for a long time. I only recently bought a GPSr and went out to find my first cache. That experience met every expectation and then some. Geocaching appeals to me because I like the idea of using technology to discover new places out in the real world. I like that I can combine it with my sketching hobby and take my dog along. I like that I can do it alone or with others, as I prefer. I enjoy that it has a place in my goal to get more fit this year.

 

Considering all those things, the caches that require easy to moderate walking or hiking to reach, that are located in visually interesting places, and which permit my dog to go along are the ones that interest me most. As a gamer and geek, puzzle caches have enormous appeal. Nano caches do not really appeal to me at the moment because I just love the trackables and personalized swag element of caching and want to maximize my opportunities to help move trackables along on their journey and to share and collect swag. Since letterboxing also appeals to me, combos interest me quite a bit. When I place hides eventually, they will likely be combos.

 

Playing the numbers game will never appeal to me. I don't really care about my stats. I see zero appeal in rushing from one cache to the next just to buff them. Numerical milestones are great but I will take a long time to achieve them because I like going slow and smelling (and sketching) the roses along the way. Plus life is busy and geocaching has to fit into everything else. It will be rare when I can devote a whole day to caching and even if I do, I'll be lucky to find three or four if I spend an hour sketching at each location. Totally okay with that.

[+bjmccacher]

It's also interesting to see how a cachers mentality can change. I started out being a numbers guy, and I still like numbers, but would rather have them be high quality caches now, ones with good d/t or creative containers, or take me to fun locations. I've turned from a guy who loved getting everything, to more of a challenge cacher, the more fizzy the better!!!! I look up to those infamous star chasers

[+NYPaddleCacher]

It's also interesting to see how a cachers mentality can change. I started out being a numbers guy, and I still like numbers, but would rather have them be high quality caches now, ones with good d/t or creative containers, or take me to fun locations. I've turned from a guy who loved getting everything, to more of a challenge cacher, the more fizzy the better!!!! I look up to those infamous star chasers

 

For me, that happened when I was approaching my 1000 finds milestone. When I had about 960 finds (which took me a little over 3 years) I was told by a local geocacher that she was going to place a 1000 finds golden ammo can in my honor and to be found for my 1000th find. When I got to about 990 she sent another message asking if I thought I might be able to hit 999 by the weekend so I went out the next few days grabbing whatever I could get to get set up for #1000. I think it was on #998, as I was signing the log on a hide-a-key cache located within a few feet of a very smelly dumpster, that I consider if going for the numbers was really worth it if it meant seeking caches of that caliber. It's been 2.5 years since I hit #1000 and I still haven't reached 1150.

[+SoonerCardsFan]

I guess I would call myself an all-around cacher. I just like the whole game and I'm not picky at all.

 

I love a long walk on a trail or cross country bush whacking to get to a beautiful area for a cache. I also like skirt lifters.

 

I like interesting containers that are different and took some thought. I also like bison tubes.

 

I like extremely difficult hides that may take a few trips or even extra help from the CO. I also like hides that I know where they are from the car.

 

Swag is fine. But as long as there's a log I'm a happy cacher.

 

I'm not obsessed with numbers. But I do keep track.

 

Lately my favorite caching is taking a specific area, say a lake or a X square mile area, and finding all the caches in that area. One nearby lake took my brother-in-law and I four Saturdays to clear out. In that area there were just about every type and size of container and every type of hide you could think of. And they were all good to me.

[+hzoi]

<---------

 

I'm this kind.

 

Sometimes I like tough puzzle caches.

 

Sometimes I like tough camo.

 

Sometimes I like long hikes.

 

Sometimes I like working on challenge caches.

 

Sometimes I'm just in the mood to grab a few.

 

Sometimes I just don't feel like caching and do something else all weekend. (Though this rarely lasts more than a week or so -- our longest break has been 17 days so far, and that was because I was in the field for a V Corps exercise in Grafenwoehr.)

 

Always I like exploring new areas, ever since I was a kid. Which is why I love geocaching. I went to a Christmas party last month and knew more about the host's neighborhood than they did, because I'd been caching around that area. I bet if I gathered up all the non cachers I know in Alabama, I'd be the only person in the room who has visited all 67 counties, or even visited all 22 state parks.

[+ShaunEM]

Be a "do what you want" cacher..

 

Labels are for cache containers, not people.

 

Shaun

[Zerpersande]

Just curious, what type of cacher are you? A numbers cacher, a challenge junky, a star chaser, do you go after favorited caches, or a just enjoy a nice hike? I consider myself a hybrid type of cacher, I enjoy all aspects of the hobby. While I enjoy a challenge, I also sometimes just want to pick up a bunch of 1.5/1.5 caches!

 

Kind of a hybrid. Mainly for adding interest to walking around for exercise. Never understood weight training. Pick up a weight, put it back down. Hmmm, why not just leave it where it was to begin with. ;-)

 

Most often, jump off the train in the middle of the city and just go for a walk, repeatedly pressing Find Nearby Caches. Sometimes make trips into the areas surrounding the city having identified a batch of caches near a train station.