CO - what's your aim?

[+Oxford Stone]

If you're a CO - when you put out a new cache, what's your purpose?

I've put out my first 4 caches in recent weeks. 2 aim to amuse with fairly facile puns on adjacent roadsigns; one takes people to a small wetland nature reserve they'd otherwise miss; one is deliberately a fairly hard puzzle and I'm unapologetic if it causes some frustration (I'm on hand to help solvers who message me). My only other planned cache is going to take some finding / retrieval (though I imagine any 500+ cacher will have come across one like it before).

I've found caches which have taken me on scenic walks and to some historic spots - either one cache at a time or where a walk is rewarded with multiple finds. Plus others which would fit in with my categories. Some real mental challenges and one or two physical ones. A dozen or so of my 333 to date, have made me say YESSSS!!!! out loud even though I've been alone as they've taken research and planning and delving. Others - usually by a CO called JJEF - are amazing home-made contraptions that make me smile in disbelief at the ingenuity.

There are others where - how can I put this? - the purpose is less clear!

So are you an amuser, challenger, trail layer, frustrater, tourist guide, educator... or are you the one who chucks tupperware boxes under bushes?

[+313JTG]

I have nine caches placed: eight puzzles and one traditional.

 

My puzzles are meant to be challenging and a couple of them of are meant to be very difficult while some reward you with a larger sized cache. I love puzzles caches, they've made me a couple of friends and it's a great way to challenge myself or kill time.

 

The traditional is at a former golf range converted to a park and it's one of my favorite places to take my dogs. It's a neat little spot you probably wouldn't go to unless you were a cacher or were looking for a spot to walk your dog. Plus the container is very unique.

[+Ruddles1325]

Most of the caches I have placed are just in nice places which people might not visit otherwise. I did make one mistake with a puzzle cache which was meant to be a joke ( published on April Fools' day) but which is probably the least interesting of the lot.

[+Oxford Stone]

I'm off to look at your puzzles ss90!

Don't get me wrong / think I'm smug - I'm sure some people will look at my caches and think "meh" / have forgotten them a day later.

[+ByronForestPreserve]

I've put a cache out on each new piece of forest preserve property as it opens to the public. I am eagerly awaiting some maintenance work to be finished on a new wetland so that I can put one there, too. Mainly I want to get people out there, of course, but I also want a selection of large size caches available just outside of town. Most of them in town are micros.

 

I have one nearly ready to be published that is not on forest preserve property; it's at a historic spring at the end of a trail at a park where I used to work.

 

I can appreciate other people who put out urban caches that are hard to find, or create puzzle caches, but I love an ammo box in the woods.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

My goal as a CO is pretty simple. I want to place caches that people will remember.

[+mending_wall]

Depends. A few of mine a really hard and require technical gear (e.g., ropes) to retrieve. This just drives people mad, which I find fun :-) sometimes I just hide a cache to bring someone to a cool place

[+dprovan]

I'm not sure I'm the one you want to know about, but here's my list:

 

3 I put out back in 2011 because I felt I had to "give back". I'm still proud of them, but I don't feel the need to do that anymore since so many people are putting out so many new caches these days.

 

3 flag trailheads I thought needed flagged.

 

2 are puzzles I though would be cool with relatively simple hides at the end.

 

1 is a multicache that basically hid itself, I just had to wait a year for the cache that was in the way to get archived.

 

1 is a joke about a local caching fad.

[+Chief301]

My goal is to raise the bar a bit on the local caching scene. A boring micro on a street sign is becoming way too typical around here. I want to place the kind of caches that I enjoy finding. I want to place the kind of caches that earn Fave points. 😀

[+rdtorres3]

This is a great topic, and one all cachers - especially newbies - should read. I've only been caching a few months, and am ready to start hiding. I admit, the majority of the caches I have found in my area are typical city caches. I remember watching a video when I first began, and I remember it saying how caches are often placed in an area that the cache owner wants to share with others. I've decided that I don't feel like sharing a lamp post with anyone. I will be happy to have a few caches in places that interest me, and which I would like to share, than tons of caches just thrown here and there.

 

BUT - and there's the but - I do like to find caches most any where - at least now three months into the game. However, this weekend I have a long hike planned that will get me two, maybe three caches. All day to find a couple - for me - is becoming more satisfying than driving through the local malls collecting twenty.

 

I've read it on these forums plenty of times - different strokes for different folks. Guess I am finding my stroke ...

 

My .02

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

Our first was just to get out feet wet with the guidelines etc. We chose a multi because it is in a somewhat small park and it seemed a shame to take the whole spot for one hide. It has been received well although as with many multi's gets little activity.

 

Our second was placed to give back to the tree climbing cachers who placed some great climbs for us to enjoy. That is an activity we never would have imagined enjoying until we started caching. It's a multi also and w/ the higher T rating, gets less traffic than the first.

[+JL_HSTRE]

Nearly all of my caches are either related to a historical location, or in a park or natural area. Even my puzzles are in such locations.

[Luckless]

I try to make all my caches have the same aim--to be fun.

[+BAIN!]

My goal is to raise the bar a bit on the local caching scene. A boring micro on a street sign is becoming way too typical around here. I want to place the kind of caches that I enjoy finding. I want to place the kind of caches that earn Fave points. 😀

 

I am the same... In my latest published cache I actually had that in the description of our town needing more than just micros/nanos. I've only hidden two unable to hold trade/trackables because those were given as gifts. Our town just needs more than literal park/lift/grab.

[+Heli Leo]

I use a play on words in the cache name. My first cache was called Two Bison and a Buffalo. Needless to say one of the Bison was the cache and it was on Buffalo Rd. In the description I gave a brief history of the area and of the Bison. Pebbles, my next one, had to do with Pea Gravel and Aggregates. My third, I shot an Arrow into the air, involved a 20 foot arrow buried point first in the ground.

[+The_Incredibles_]

All of mine are supposed to be fun. I have educational bird series, but the main focus is just getting people out and about and enjoying themselves.

[+BlueDeuce]

If you're a CO - when you put out a new cache, what's your purpose?

I've put out my first 4 caches in recent weeks. 2 aim to amuse with fairly facile puns on adjacent roadsigns; one takes people to a small wetland nature reserve they'd otherwise miss; one is deliberately a fairly hard puzzle and I'm unapologetic if it causes some frustration (I'm on hand to help solvers who message me). My only other planned cache is going to take some finding / retrieval (though I imagine any 500+ cacher will have come across one like it before).

I've found caches which have taken me on scenic walks and to some historic spots - either one cache at a time or where a walk is rewarded with multiple finds. Plus others which would fit in with my categories. Some real mental challenges and one or two physical ones. A dozen or so of my 333 to date, have made me say YESSSS!!!! out loud even though I've been alone as they've taken research and planning and delving. Others - usually by a CO called JJEF - are amazing home-made contraptions that make me smile in disbelief at the ingenuity.

There are others where - how can I put this? - the purpose is less clear!

So are you an amuser, challenger, trail layer, frustrater, tourist guide, educator... or are you the one who chucks tupperware boxes under bushes?

 

When I first started placing caches I was lucky to find an ol' timer to bounce questions off of. Now adays I have many ol' timers to turn to.

 

Nothing like a friend to give you an honest opinion when someone criticizes your cache. Who knows? Maybe the poster was right.

[GPS-Hermit]

I want the hunter to be introduced to a place of value! Once introduced they can come back over and over and do more than just cache. I want the hunter to have to hunt for the cache and not find it with out exploring many places of possibility. Exercise is needed by everyone so I try to get them out there. Uniqueness is also a goal cause it makes the finder happy they came here to see this unique place. I want the finder to trade so I use a larger box and put good stuff in it - even if it cost me 20 bucks once in a while. I try to encourage thoughtful trading cause it adds a lot to the game. You gotta wonder what is going to be in there. It is always nice if the area has much to do other than the cache. I do get discouraged with all the lame caches and having to constantly weed them out.

[+fbingha]

To not receive these logs:

 

TNLNSL TFTC

Regardless of what you put out, someone will still do it.

[+briansnat]

Most of my caches are placed in spots that I found interesting for some reason. Could be a scenic view, interesting rock formation, historic site, hidden waterfall, etc. My goal is to bring people there and share that location with them.

 

And sometimes I'll place a cache where there is nothing particularly special or challenging about the actual cache location but I thought it was simply a nice walk to get there.

 

Once in a while I place a cache to challenge the finders. It's almost always a physical, rather than a mental challenge, with steep, rocky terrain, swamps or insanely thick undergrowth on the way to the cache.

Edited April 29, 2013 by briansnat

[+BCandMsKitty]

So are you an amuser, challenger, trail layer, frustrater, tourist guide, educator...?

 

My goal is to be each of the above depending on the hiding place.

Edited April 29, 2013 by BC & MsKitty

[+J Grouchy]

Depends on my mood.

 

The first two I placed are near my home and are interesting local spots that most folks never really stop to look at or think about. They aren't great scenic wonders or crazy difficult hides...they were mostly to bring folks to an area they might not normally go. There's a third that I placed a month ago that is also near my home and is in a spot where there is some future development planned (the cache is in an already developed park) that is part of a long term city-wide transit & pathway development.

 

I have recently begun trying to put out some puzzles. Those are always interesting to solve and my goal with those is to make the sort of puzzles that folks maybe haven't seen before. They seem to be doing the job because the solve rate on those are pretty low and I've gotten a number of communications from folks asking for help on them.

 

The remaining ones are in places I just felt were good spots...either AT scenic spots or along pathways/trails that are in scenic or out-of-the-way areas.

 

I do wish we could still do virtuals here. I've had ideas for those every now and then, but now I have to figure out ways to incorporate some of those ideas into my caches...and one in particular is giving me trouble because I don't want it to seem too forced. I don't want to repeat some of the stuff I've seen in other multis/mysteries where tortured math is used to derive coordinates. I like it all to work out cleanly and with some real sense to it. I've had at least a dozen cache ideas that so far have not made it to 'prime time'...but hopefully they will some day.

[+Snoogans]

You forgot one option..... Just to participate.

 

That's why I hide caches. I also hide caches that I wouldn't mind finding so that includes lpc and micro caches.

 

I'm lucky though. I have caches that folks with 20k, 30k, and 40k+ finds count amongst their most favorite and/or memorable geocaching experiences. That was not my intended goal. My only goal was to participate. My hope was that folks would like my caches, but I know you can't please everyone.

 

There are others where - how can I put this? - the purpose is less clear!

So are you an amuser, challenger, trail layer, frustrater, tourist guide, educator... or are you the one who chucks tupperware boxes under bushes?

 

This is where your post jumped the shark for me. Printed words are easy to misunderstand, but it appears that participation ranks pretty low with you.

 

The gift of smiley is just as valid as any other excuse to participate. Not every cache needs to be some profound experience having inspiring scenery with water, restrooms, and adequate parking at the trailhead.

 

Not every cache owner has the resources, skills, talent, or time, to hide behind a bush and blow every finder's skirt up.

 

The "Why did the CO bring me here?," mindset is the lit fuse to an eventual burnout. I've seen it time and again over the past decade that I have been caching.

 

Caches are just choices. Everyone needs to take responsibility for the choices they make.

[+stijnhommes]

My goal is to place fun caches. For me fun is a great location, a nice puzzle or a funny play on words -- a combination of any of these is even better.

My first cache is a multi in a nearby park. Apparently a lot of people who live in the area never thought to check it out -- my cache helped them to rediscover a piece of nature in our town.

My second cache is placed near a war memorial -- again a place few locals even know exists.

My third and final hide is along a well-known road in my town, but rather unspecial compared to the other two locations. What makes this cache fun is the attached puzzle. The password you have to find to get the coordinates is also a hint to the hiding spot of the cache...

[+The VanDucks]

We have hidden almost every style of cache, except those "extreme" ones involving rappelling down a cliff or crawling a mile through a sewer. We don't want to hide ones we couldn't find ourselves!

 

Some of our multicaches are in parks where we want the finders to enjoy a good walk and a fun search, maybe with a little history lesson thrown in. Some are "puzzle" caches that are extremely simple ones that anyone can solve right away - we placed them in a good natured protest against all the very difficult puzzles in our area!

 

But I have to admit our most found ones are the easy cache and dash types in some of the shopping areas around town. These are often logged by visitors to our area who are probably looking for a little diversion between business meetings. We're glad to help them get a "smilie" for a find in our state!

 

Our goal is that each of our caches, whether easy or difficult, be as original and fun as we can make it. We've tried to never duplicate our method of hide, although sometimes we've had to replace the original container with something less exciting because the "landscape" around it changed.

[Clan Riffster]

My objective in creating a hide is to make one which will generate longer than normal logs. Whilst it is certainly not an exact science, I feel I have been mostly successful. My trick is to approach the design aspect from the seeker's viewpoint, creating an adventure which generates memories which will last them a lifetime. When I see the occasional "TNLNSL", I feel that I have failed.

[+BlueDeuce]

To not receive these logs:

 

TNLNSL TFTC

Regardless of what you put out, someone will still do it.

 

Hear you there.

[+BlueDeuce]

...

 

I'll save it for later.

Edited April 30, 2013 by BlueDeuce

[+jellis]

Like below your title. all of the above. Each could serve a different purpose

[+JKMonkey]

For traditional caches I would want to bring the cacher to somewhere they either would have not visited unless looking for this cache, or a place of great beauty that the cache can enhance. For puzzle/mystery caches I would want to puzzle the cacher and make them think while having fun doing so.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

For traditional caches I would want to bring the cacher to somewhere they either would have not visited unless looking for this cache, or a place of great beauty that the cache can enhance. For puzzle/mystery caches I would want to puzzle the cacher and make them think while having fun doing so.

 

For me, the best places for a cache are locations that people would not discover, if not for the cache, but would want to visit even if there wasn't a cache at the location.

 

 

[+OZ2CPU]

I think I tried to make the worst cache ever, and the best cache ever.

I got one on top 21 in my contry FP wise so that is kind of cool.

and others I got gets logs like: the best cache I ever found, by people with 3000-4000 finds.

stuff like this makes me happy,

 

But I also need the right to be able to make caches that took me 5 sec of mind power to create while on site.

 

I love to read funny logs,

I rather like get honost logs, if a cache is bad, just say it suck, I fix it or arc it.

just dont TFTC