Is Geocaching a hobby?

[+Hysham Pirate]

Some people are in severe denial and call Geocaching a hobby.

 

It serves no purpose to trivialize what it really is. Addiction is an incurable disease but it can be treated. There IS hope! Lord grant me the str...... SOMEONE JUST POSTED A NEW CACHE!!!! If this turns out to be another Second to Find I will shank someone!

[+The_Incredibles_]

LOL. Bitten by the FTF bug, eh? Don't worry, in time, the adrenalin rush won't be nearly as intense.

 

Addiction is actually a good topic to discuss. Some people are so obsessed with FTFs, challenges, and finding every single cache in their area, to the point they are forcing themselves to do things they don't enjoy.

 

I wonder at which point it crosses from being just a hobby...to being an obession...to being a neurosis.

Edited June 26, 2013 by The_Incredibles_

[+6NoisyHikers]

I prefer to think of geocaching as a career. Without remuneration. In which my employment actually costs me money.

[+OZ2CPU]

if all you do is fun ? what is the the problem ?

call it what you like.. you choose to run out and seek that FTF

it must be you think it is fun,

think about it :

if there is no risk to get STF or worse.

there whould also be no joy when you get FTF.

no fun to play and win, if the only one in the area playing is YOU.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Good grief, Charley Brown......

 

It is all of the above, and more -- Hobby; sport; recreation; obsession; time with friends; time alone; a lifestyle; a 'reason' to travel; a family-maker; a family-breaker; a competition (to some); a "secret society" or whatever you want...

 

Aw geez... don't forget, it's a "game".

 

HP, my friend -- I think you need a visit (or two, or three) with a psychiatrist. So yes, it just may be a disease.

 

[+Team-Facetious]

It gets me out of bed early on a weekend when I would normally sleep in.

[+Mudfrog]

I don't know what to call it but i can say that it does cause me to do things i don't normally do.

 

Driving a thousand miles to attend an event, hiking 11 miles, climbing 45 feet up into a tree, and using SCUBA to grab a cache are not everyday activities for me,,, but they sure are fun!

[+DadOf6Furrballs]

It's a cult.

[+terrkan78]

*considers purchasing body armor to thwart fellow FTFrs bearing shanks*

[+wd1j]

It's differently an obsession.

[+eigengott]

SOMEONE JUST POSTED A NEW CACHE!!!! If this turns out to be another Second to Find I will shank someone!

 

 

[GrandPotentate]

Some people are in severe denial and call Geocaching a hobby.

 

It serves no purpose to trivialize what it really is. Addiction is an incurable disease but it can be treated. There IS hope! Lord grant me the str...... SOMEONE JUST POSTED A NEW CACHE!!!! If this turns out to be another Second to Find I will shank someone!

 

And this is exactly why I named our local geocaching group "Cachers Anonymous"

[+T.D.M.22]

It's an addiction. How many of us see something-it could be anything from a pen to a brick-and wonder how to make a cache out of it? OR how many people see a Lock and Lock used for food and wonder why that person is using a geocache container? I'm guilty on both parts.

[AZcachemeister]

Geocaching is a:

 

Recreational

Activity

Sport

/

Hobby

 

A RAS/H.

 

Rashes vary in degree of severity.

Sometimes it's a minor itching on your forearm.

Sometimes your body is covered with pus-filled blisters and you swell up like BIB the Michelin Man.

 

[+hukilaulau]

SOMEONE JUST POSTED A NEW CACHE!!!! If this turns out to be another Second to Find I will shank someone!

 

 

Fantastic video! "Soda water to celebrate and shoes next to the bed."

A lot of work to produce. Great stuff! Thanks!

[+thetwizz]

Addiction? Probably. A lifestyle? That's more likely. I like that better

[+Harry Dolphin]

I don't know what to call it but i can say that it does cause me to do things i don't normally do.

 

Driving a thousand miles to attend an event, hiking 11 miles, climbing 45 feet up into a tree, and using SCUBA to grab a cache are not everyday activities for me,,, but they sure are fun!

 

Early in my Geocaching experiences, my sister and I were working on hiking the AT. The Presi Transverse! 24 miles. 9000' of climb. Took us four days. Oh! Look. There's a cache at the top of Mount Washington! Found it! (I did caches in Mass, VT and NH on the way up.) Okay, the cache was coincidental to our Presi Transverse.

Okay. Went to the First Annual EarthCache Event in Maine last year. 302 miles by Gupy. Okay long drive, but my sister lives nearby. Then what shall we do? Canadian Maritimes! (Okay. I've cached in New Brunswick before..) What if we... Two week vacation. Let's color in: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland Hey! Only a two-hour flight from Halifax to St John's, Newfoundland!! St John's is over a thousand miles from the Dolphinarium! A bit expensive but we colored in three provinces! Only $44.50 toll on the Confederation Bridge to PEI. Well worth it!

This year? Our major plans were for The Spot and State Game Lands 117 (to color in some Jasmer months (Hey! Found First Canada last year near Halifax!) Hey! a sibling might be getting married in Seattle in a few months??? Should be able to get GS HQ!!!! And color in Wash, BC and Ore!!! Visiting my two sisters in Oregon! (Have to check Jasmer caches near Seattle Portland...

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I don't know what to call it but i can say that it does cause me to do things i don't normally do.

 

Driving a thousand miles to attend an event, hiking 11 miles, climbing 45 feet up into a tree, and using SCUBA to grab a cache are not everyday activities for me,,, but they sure are fun!

 

Early in my Geocaching experiences, my sister and I were working on hiking the AT. The Presi Transverse! 24 miles. 9000' of climb. Took us four days. Oh! Look. There's a cache at the top of Mount Washington! Found it! (I did caches in Mass, VT and NH on the way up.) Okay, the cache was coincidental to our Presi Transverse.

Okay. Went to the First Annual EarthCache Event in Maine last year. 302 miles by Gupy. Okay long drive, but my sister lives nearby. Then what shall we do? Canadian Maritimes! (Okay. I've cached in New Brunswick before..) What if we... Two week vacation. Let's color in: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland Hey! Only a two-hour flight from Halifax to St John's, Newfoundland!! St John's is over a thousand miles from the Dolphinarium! A bit expensive but we colored in three provinces! Only $44.50 toll on the Confederation Bridge to PEI. Well worth it!

This year? Our major plans were for The Spot and State Game Lands 117 (to color in some Jasmer months (Hey! Found First Canada last year near Halifax!) Hey! a sibling might be getting married in Seattle in a few months??? Should be able to get GS HQ!!!! And color in Wash, BC and Ore!!! Visiting my two sisters in Oregon! (Have to check Jasmer caches near Seattle Portland...

 

Sounds like some of the things that I've done. During my first visit to Africa I was in Zambia for almost a week but rather than go for the virtual cache nearby I crossed the border into Zimbabwe to find the traditional cache at Victoria Falls. The 1 day visa, entry fee into the park, and a driver/guide cost me about $75. Absolutely worth it. During my first visit to Tanzania I was in a small town several days and had one day free after my meetings and hired a guide/driver to take me to a national park where there was a cache at the entrance (the closest cache to where I was staying, about 60 miles away). Total cost was a bit over $100 (fuel in Tanzania was very expensive) but how often to you get to find a cache and see elephant, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, hippo, and antelope in the wild? For a trip to a conference in southern France I could have flown through Paris (where I had previously found a cache) to Montpellier. Instead, I flew through Frankfurt (got the RWY 42 virtual) to Marseille, took the train to Montpellier, then another train to Barcelona and flew home from there. That actually didn't add to my trip costs other than two nights at a hotel in Barcelona, which I would have done even if I didn't find any caches in Spain.

 

 

[+Maingray]

I was asked the same question during an interview for an outdoors print magazine this week. I had to think.. I replied, "You know, for some it's a hobby...some a sport...some definitely an obsession or even a lifestyle". It's kinda hard to define generally.

[+suchanana]

Some people are in severe denial and call Geocaching a hobby.It serves no purpose to trivialize what it really is. Addiction is an incurable disease but it can be treated. There IS hope! Lord grant me the str...... SOMEONE JUST POSTED A NEW CACHE!!!! If this turns out to be another Second to Find I will shank someone!

 

And this is exactly why I named our local geocaching group "Cachers Anonymous"

 

yuppers, what they all said...

[+rdtorres3]

I started caching in February, and loved it right away. It was a hobby, but then after about 50 days I noticed that I had at least one find every day, so the obsession started to set in! I wanted to make 100 days, and made it. Then I figured why stop? By the time I got to 140 days the joy was not there. While on the way home from work on day 141 I thought to myself - let it go and start enjoying the hunt instead of fueling the obsession. So I didn't find one that day even though I had several mapped out for that afternoon. The next day I stopped and made a find and the joy was there again! Now I've got another streak going, but will let it go for a day when the joy isn't there.

 

I have read about some seriously long caching streaks, and admire those who make that sort of commitment, but for me I know when my OCD kicks in the joy is gone. So, trying my best to keep it a hobby, maybe even a lifestyle, but not an obsession.

 

My .02