What makes a memorable cache?

[+Matt Tracker 1]

A unique container? A b*stard to find? A good view? Or maybe just a nice walk?

What, in your opinion, makes for the most memorable type of cache?

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

A unique container? A b*stard to find? A good view? Or maybe just a nice walk?

What, in your opinion, makes for the most memorable type of cache?

Hmmm...

1) Sharks first climb up an old telephone pole

2) Getting somewhat lost on a West Virginia mountain

3) Shark falling from a tree

4) First puzzle box to get to the log at midnight

5} Meeting Smiling Harry

6) Beans sliding down a wet creak bank at night

7) Pondering crossing a creek at night in December in skivvies to keep clothes dry

 

...it's not just one thing. Looking at my list, I think location is top of the list, but it takes a bit of everything.

[+Chief301]

Location, location, location. 😎

[+Matt Tracker 1]

A unique container? A b*stard to find? A good view? Or maybe just a nice walk?

What, in your opinion, makes for the most memorable type of cache?

Hmmm...

1) Sharks first climb up an old telephone pole

2) Getting somewhat lost on a West Virginia mountain

3) Shark falling from a tree

4) First puzzle box to get to the log at midnight

5} Meeting Smiling Harry

6) Beans sliding down a wet creak bank at night

7) Pondering crossing a creek at night in December in skivvies to keep clothes dry

 

...it's not just one thing. Looking at my list, I think location is top of the list, but it takes a bit of everything.

 

Location, location, location. 😎

 

I think I agree... I think most of the highlights for me have been hiking up a hill and embracing the view

[+T.D.M.22]

A unique container? A b*stard to find? A good view? Or maybe just a nice walk?

What, in your opinion, makes for the most memorable type of cache?

 

Remember it's memorable not good.

 

To take it from GTAV "I don’t know what I want. It’s like prOn or the perfect turd, it’s hard to describe, but I’ll know it when I see it."-Trevor Philips

 

Everything and nothing. A unique container. Clever cam. Scenic view. Historic Location.

 

Three people spending 10 minutes looking for it, and it has no camo at all, and we all three almost stepped on it. Scaring the girls in the middle of the night by yelling "OUCH!!" when you reach in a hole to get a micro. Meeting with other cachers, literally stepping on the cache, looking for 15 minutes and having the CO come by and tell you where it is. Then another cacher walks right up to it without looking at his GPS. Finding a 55 gallon drum with 300 pounds of sand in the middle of the prairie. Convincing someone you are looking for Brick Bugs-animals that eat bricks. OR that you are looking for tree spiders. Or convincing the CO, even for a second-that you took a a military helicopter to the cache site.

 

These are all true experiences from me and other local cachers. What do most stories you hear have in common? A lot of times it's about what happened, not what was found. Yes sometimes it is the cache, but not always. The most memorable cache, could have been a cardboard box in the rain, but that doesn't change what happened on the way from the car to GZ. And I think that's the beauty. I certainly remember getting the crap scared out of me at number 99 of 100 in a powertrail by a dear, even though the cache was a film can. But the micro I found near where the CO works-well nothing special about it.

 

Pretty much the experience. Even if you don't find it, or it's the crappiest cache it can still be memorable.

[+Manville Possum]

First cache that comes to mind is an ammo can at the entrance to an abandoned coal mine on a mountain side that took two trips to find. Two rattlesnakes present and one child almost fell off of a cliff but grabbed a tree root and held on long enough for me to get under her and land on top of me to break the fall.

[+geodarts]

Location. It could be historical; a beautiful view after a long hike; a roadside attraction; an abandoned building. An adventure. A photo op. A story. The search is the least interesting thing about this game. So I would like to find some place I will remember long after the container is forgotten, although I always describe myself as an ammo can in the woods type of cacher.

Edited March 18, 2014 by geodarts

[+briansnat]

For me it's the location. Bring me some place interesting, whether a nice view, historic site, oddity, ruins, a cool rock structure or just a nice walk. I found this cache recently. It was behind a gas station maybe 200 feet from a road that I've driven on hundreds of times over the years without knowing it was there. To me this is what geocaching is about. The terrain rating was seriously overrated, but other than that I thought it was an outstanding cache.

Edited March 18, 2014 by briansnat

[+terratin]

Location, location, location. 😎

 

Agreed!

We solved some tough puzzles or worked on some challenges for ages, but what we don't forget are interesting locations over everything else.

[+briansnat]

Location, location, location. 😎

 

Agreed!

We solved some tough puzzles or worked on some challenges for ages, but what we don't forget are interesting locations over everything else.

 

If the most ingenious cache container ever, or the end of a challenging puzzle is in a Home Depot parking lot it is still a cache in the Home Depot parking lot and holds no interest for me.

[+T.D.M.22]

For me it's the location. Bring me some place interesting, whether a nice view, historic site, oddity, ruins, a cool rock structure or just a nice walk. I found this cache recently. It was behind a gas station maybe 200 feet from a road that I've driven on hundreds of times over the years without knowing it was there. To me this is what geocaching is about. The terrain rating was seriously overrated, but other than that I thought it was an outstanding cache.

 

Holy log batman. The cache looks cool, but your log- don't see many like those anymore. That's awesome.

[+niraD]

What, in your opinion, makes for the most memorable type of cache?

Most of the 5-star caches have been memorable, just because of the challenge (whether that challenge was the terrain or the difficulty). Other especially challenging caches have been memorable too, even if the puzzle or camouflage or terrain or whatever else didn't warrant a 5-star rating. A lot of the public art caches have been memorable. Some of the historical caches have been memorable too.

 

There are times when I remember the the trip (especially for high-terrain caches) or the puzzle or the artwork or the history or something else, even though I don't remember much about the cache itself. Well-camouflaged caches, I definitely remember. Puzzle caches that end with a nicely in-theme location, I remember the cache itself, and not just the puzzle. Likewise for caches with on-site puzzles (as opposed to the more common "solve at home to get the final coordinates" kind).

 

Of course, a few caches have been memorable for negative reasons. The first cache I ever found was a plastic footlocker hidden in a redwood forest. It was full of trade items, many of them quite large, but many of them ruined by mold and mildew.

[+WarNinjas]

I agree with the others. It is the location. Our most Favorited cache % wise is just a plain old micro. One everyone talks about. It could be a ammo can in the same spot and I don't think it would change anything at all. We do have a regular sized cache nearby so if people want to trade stuff and that one is not Favorited nearly as much. I also remember field puzzles. Even if they are not in the best place if they make you think a lot and are a really cool container.

[+Fugads]

My most memorable geocaches usually are related to some especially harrowing trial. Like when I crawled through a 24" diameter storm drain for hundreds of feet only to find out I was in the wrong (and harder) drain (see log). Or when I ended up down a sandy arroyo only to find a locked gate at a pecan farm, and then had to hike through the Pecan farm to find the farmers/security to help get me out (log). I guess it's the misadventures that I remember most vividly. That's not to say there aren't a lot of great caches that I've really been wowed by, there certainly have been those. Maybe too many of them for each one to stand out as memorable, guess I should be doing more "ho-hum" caches .

[+Mudfrog]

The more memorable caches for me incorporate some kind of physical challenge. Climbing a tree, pole, or some other structure, sloshing through a swamp, using the yak or the boat in a scenic area, and making a long hike in a beautiful forest are some of my favorites.

 

Other memorable caches are those that are a bit out of the ordinary. Night caches are almost always fun. Unusual, maybe handmade, well camoed containers keep things interesting. And of course, caches placed in scenic areas are always good!

[+BAMBOOZLE]

Location, location, location. 😎

 

This.

I also like custom made containers.

[Jayme H]

Our favorites are those hidden gems that make you say "whoa!" Long forgotten historical sites, sweeping vistas on hikes, tiny (beautiful) parks in the city...the list goes on and on. We have seen some pretty magnificent places and driven down roads that we never would have chosen, all in the name of finding smileys. So, I guess for us, the experience of exploring new locations is a biggie.

 

...and we have been known to say "whoa!" when we find a super creative camo job or a well-crafted puzzle. I love that there are so many ways to create memorable experiences for others in this game.

[+defamily]

For us its an unique container.

 

We love finding them

[+dprovan]

Location, location, location.

Really? A great location is more likely to make me forget the mundane cache I found there. I'll remember the journey, sure, but the title asks what makes a memorable cache, not what makes a memorable journey.

[+niraD]

Really? A great location is more likely to make me forget the mundane cache I found there. I'll remember the journey, sure, but the title asks what makes a memorable cache, not what makes a memorable journey.

+1

 

One of my most memorable days of geocaching was a group geo-kayaking trip at Lake Clementine. I remember the trip vividly. I really don't remember most of the caches very well, even though they were all at essentially the same great location.

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

Location, location, location. ��

Really? A great location is more likely to make me forget the mundane cache I found there. I'll remember the journey, sure, but the title asks what makes a memorable cache, not what makes a memorable journey.

A cache includes many things such as the cache container, cache log, cache location and cache listing, to name a few. If we're talking container, there is already a long thread on that subject complete with pictures.

[+RobDJr]

When I think of all the caches I've done that I found memorable, one thing stands out: the amount of effort put into the creation of the cache.

 

The more effort a cache owner puts into the cache, the more likely it is to be memorable. I don't care about the specifics, whether it's location or container or something else, I think that statement holds true. Or it does for me, at least.

 

All of the most memorable caches I've done had the most effort put into them from top to bottom, location, container, write-up, logbook, and more. And, by the same token, the vast majority of the caches I can barely recall are the ones that had minimal effort - one sentence write up (This spot looked like it needed a cache), unimaginative name (ABC12), substandard container (film can), poor location (big box store lamp post), poor log (sheet ripped out of a small notebook in an old plastic baggie), all in all virtually nothing expended in terms of time, money, or imagination (or anything else).

 

Compare that to one of my all-time favorites (now archived so I'm not giving anything away here): Name: Presumed Dead (a series, I: Crossed Paths, II: Libri Pestis, III: The Rising). Location: All good hikes in an excellent area for hiking. Containers: All custom containers ranging from a disembodied hand complete with bones protruding from a bloody stump, a full size replica of a book of magic, and a full size upper torso and head of a dead body. Write-up: All three caches have unique write ups telling and continuing the story, along with laminated booklets of story and information in each cache. Part I has a full "newspaper article" on the cache page. On my list of most memorable caches, this sort of thing is a very common theme.

 

I haven't taken into account things that cannot be controlled, such as weather, animal encounters, accidents, etc., even though those can, and often do, make for a memorable experience. The problem is that such things can rarely, if ever, be predicted or duplicated.

 

One note, on difficulty of finding the cache: this can make it memorable, but only if it's done well. A micro in a location that can swallow a dozen ammo cans without a burp is just annoying. An ammo can hidden in a spot that doesn't look like it can conceal a micro can be amazing.

[cezanne]

Really? A great location is more likely to make me forget the mundane cache I found there. I'll remember the journey, sure, but the title asks what makes a memorable cache, not what makes a memorable journey.

+1

 

One of my most memorable days of geocaching was a group geo-kayaking trip at Lake Clementine. I remember the trip vividly. I really don't remember most of the caches very well, even though they were all at essentially the same great location.

 

That's one of the reasons why I like multi caches where the journey is included into the cache concept and why I prefer to visit one multi caches to visiting 15 traditionals in the same area.

In the case of the single multi cache the awesome experience is tightly connected to the cache and my single log will record the full experience.

 

Containers, hideouts, camouflages do not belong to those aspects that are memorable for me (I might remember them, but they are not worth to be remembered from my point of view. What I like to remember is the journey, the locations and my experience. The container and the log book are for me nothing more than the entrance ticket to writing an online found log which is much easier to share than notes and DNF logs.

 

Cezanne

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

Really? A great location is more likely to make me forget the mundane cache I found there. I'll remember the journey, sure, but the title asks what makes a memorable cache, not what makes a memorable journey.

+1

 

One of my most memorable days of geocaching was a group geo-kayaking trip at Lake Clementine. I remember the trip vividly. I really don't remember most of the caches very well, even though they were all at essentially the same great location.

 

We had a similar experience at Lake Pawtuckaway in NH. So much so we are heading back again this year.

 

(edit: corrected name of lake)

Edited March 19, 2014 by BBWolf+3Pigs

[+niraD]

That's one of the reasons why I like multi caches where the journey is included into the cache concept and why I prefer to visit one multi caches to visiting 15 traditionals in the same area.

In the case of the single multi cache the awesome experience is tightly connected to the cache and my single log will record the full experience.

Some of the absolutely most memorable caches for me have been multi-stage mystery puzzle caches. Spending a few hours working on the cache becomes a single coherent adventure. It is indeed very different from spending a few hours traveling from cache to cache to cache.

[+RobDJr]

 

Containers, hideouts, camouflages do not belong to those aspects that are memorable for me (I might remember them, but they are not worth to be remembered from my point of view. What I like to remember is the journey, the locations and my experience. The container and the log book are for me nothing more than the entrance ticket to writing an online found log which is much easier to share than notes and DNF logs.

 

Other posts in this thread have touched on the subject, but I think these lines do an admirable job of shining a light on just how much a person's personality and preferences (or in my case, idiosyncrasies) play a role in defining whether or not an experience is classified as 'memorable' or not. The particular choices of words here (...do not belong to... ...not worth to be remembered... ...I like to remember... ...nothing more than...) seem to indicate a definite tendency to frame in advance whether or not an experience will qualify as memorable, and is probably something that the majority of people do, whether they're aware of it or not. It's probably likely that, if I went back over my cache history with an attempt to be as objective as possible, I'd find a few caches that were memorable even though I personally didn't and don't classify them as such.

 

I, of course, could be wrong here, as I don't know cezanne at all. I'm just commenting on how those statements make such definite assertions about what is and isn't memorable to this particular person. And, by the way, cezanne, hope you don't mind me using your quote as a guinea pig for some amateur hack psychology.

 

Speaking of which, I think I'll now climb down from yon amateur hack psychology pulpit before someone in the back row starts throwing rotten tomatoes...

 

With the above rubbish out of the way, I would like to point out that, while I agree with cezanne on the idea of the journey, location, and experience being "central tenets of memorability", I disagree on discounting the value of the container and logbook. At the very least, I think even the best hike/location/experience multi would be seriously degraded if the containers and logsheets were merely film cans and torn scraps of paper. At the other end of the spectrum, proper selection and customization of a container and logbook to reflect the intended theme and experience of the overall cache can elevate the merely excellent to the truly sublime.

[cezanne]

I, of course, could be wrong here, as I don't know cezanne at all. I'm just commenting on how those statements make such definite assertions about what is and isn't memorable to this particular person. And, by the way, cezanne, hope you don't mind me using your quote as a guinea pig for some amateur hack psychology.

 

No, I do not mind at all. I definitely believe that the personal preferences and expectations do play an enormous role with regard to what someone regards as memorable cache.

 

With the above rubbish out of the way, I would like to point out that, while I agree with cezanne on the idea of the journey, location, and experience being "central tenets of memorability", I disagree on discounting the value of the container and logbook. At the very least, I think even the best hike/location/experience multi would be seriously degraded if the containers and logsheets were merely film cans and torn scraps of paper. At the other end of the spectrum, proper selection and customization of a container and logbook to reflect the intended theme and experience of the overall cache can elevate the merely excellent to the truly sublime.

 

It would not degrade the experience for me provided I find the container quickly and if the log sheet allows me to log without ending up with extra troubles.

I would not recommend such a cache however to anyone else. I'm not making any quality statements. I was just talking about myself.

Personally, I could very well do without the physical containers - a platform for hiking routes, but with all the other options of geocaches including a reasonable number of available logs and of users of the platform etc would be perfect for me but does not exist. I did not start geocaching because searching for hidden objects intrigued me and this has never changed.

 

 

Cezanne

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

I could very well do without the physical containers - a platform for hiking routes, but with all the other options of geocaches including a reasonable number of available logs and of users of the platform etc would be perfect for me but does not exist. I did not start geocaching because searching for hidden objects intrigued me and this has never changed.

 

Cezanne

That explains a lot, Cezanne. I never understood why you had such strong opinions on some subjects, containers in particular. We will have to agree to disagree as I feel the container is the foundation of Geocaching. I do not quite understand the part of your quote that I made bold.

[+RobDJr]

I, of course, could be wrong here, as I don't know cezanne at all. I'm just commenting on how those statements make such definite assertions about what is and isn't memorable to this particular person. And, by the way, cezanne, hope you don't mind me using your quote as a guinea pig for some amateur hack psychology.

No, I do not mind at all. I definitely believe that the personal preferences and expectations do play an enormous role with regard to what someone regards as memorable cache.

With the above rubbish out of the way, I would like to point out that, while I agree with cezanne on the idea of the journey, location, and experience being "central tenets of memorability", I disagree on discounting the value of the container and logbook. At the very least, I think even the best hike/location/experience multi would be seriously degraded if the containers and logsheets were merely film cans and torn scraps of paper. At the other end of the spectrum, proper selection and customization of a container and logbook to reflect the intended theme and experience of the overall cache can elevate the merely excellent to the truly sublime.

It would not degrade the experience for me provided I find the container quickly and if the log sheet allows me to log without ending up with extra troubles.I would not recommend such a cache however to anyone else. I'm not making any quality statements. I was just talking about myself.Personally, I could very well do without the physical containers - a platform for hiking routes, but with all the other options of geocaches including a reasonable number of available logs and of users of the platform etc would be perfect for me but does not exist. I did not start geocaching because searching for hidden objects intrigued me and this has never changed.Cezanne

 

That actually makes a lot of sense. Thanks for clarifying. I originally didn't get into caching for the "trappings" either, mainly just for the hiking. I just found, to my surprise, that I enjoyed other aspects of the game more than I thought I would.

 

I could very well do without the physical containers - a platform for hiking routes, but with all the other options of geocaches including a reasonable number of available logs and of users of the platform etc would be perfect for me but does not exist. I did not start geocaching because searching for hidden objects intrigued me and this has never changed.Cezanne

That explains a lot, Cezanne. I never understood why you had such strong opinions on some subjects, containers in particular. We will have to agree to disagree as I feel the container is the foundation of Geocaching. I do not quite understand the part of your quote that I made bold.

 

I suspect that you could actually argue geocaching has a few things that could rightly be defined as foundations, among them the container, the log, the hike, and the location, and you would probably find ardent supporters of each viewpoint. I like to think of them all as buttresses which all support the same foundation, where a preference for one doesn't diminish the importance of the others.

 

As for the bolded parts, I read that to mean cezanne wishes there was a website much like geocaching.com, but for hiking only, and in most other aspects the same as the geocaching website, in particular the ability to log your hiking experiences on various trails and share those experiences with a sizable group of like-minded people.

 

Getting back on topic, this has all given me some interesting things to think about later, especially the concept of a cache being memorable while at the same time the container plays an insignificant role. It's an interesting thing to think of, using caching to fulfill a void for which no other suitable platform exists. Although when I think of it, that's actually probably closer to the way geocaching started, as a side game for people who enjoyed hiking and the outdoors, than the game as it exists now.

[+Fugads]

As for the bolded parts, I read that to mean cezanne wishes there was a website much like geocaching.com, but for hiking only, and in most other aspects the same as the geocaching website, in particular the ability to log your hiking experiences on various trails and share those experiences with a sizable group of like-minded people.

Such sites exist. Like much on the web some are pretty good and others are pretty ho-hum. There is one in particular that I think is pretty good, Hike-AZ. Despite its name, it encompasses much more than just Arizona. It appears you can enter in hikes for all 50 states, Canada and Mexico. Maybe it'll grow to Europe? It's pretty cool in that you can post off-trail hikes, mountaineering scrambles, canyoneering... all sorts of stuff. Where it has a strong user-base, it is a pretty good database/resource (like here in Southern NM), in other areas it appears that it is mostly populated with hikes already published in other resources..

[Clan Riffster]

Memorable could mean many things, both positive, or negative. The cache where I tried crossing a gorge on a dead tree, which broke, halfway across, is one I'll never forget. The cache where I suffered heat stroke, and ended up unconscious, in the woods, for over 8 hours is one I'll never forget. The cache where I parked my kayak on top of a 12' alligator is one I'll never forget. The cache where I crashed my KLR-650, three times, over a stretch of about 5 miles, is one I'll never forget.

 

But these are not necessarily positive experiences.

 

In looking at what makes the greatest caches, for me, I see a mixture of four different elements. First, is the location. This particular preference can be fairly subjective. For instance, I absolutely love old growth cypress swamps. I could spend all day wandering around them, score nothing but DNFs, and come out perfectly content. The Appalachian Mountains is another place I could wander all day and come away happy as a clam. Wally World parking lots? Not so much. Second on my list is the container. While I'm okay with finding any quality container, (quality defined as any container which keeps its contents dry, in its posted location), I must admit a fondness for ammo cans. The feel. The clunk of the latch. The "squoosh" of the lid opening... Love it! Third, is the write up. I'm a story teller at heart. I truly enjoy a well written cache page.

 

I suppose that's my awesome cache trifecta.

 

You could probably add hide technique in the mix somewhere, but for me that's not a crucial element. Give me an ammo can in a nipple deep, alligator infested swamp, with a kewl story, and I won't care if you just toss a bunch of sticks on it.

[+Don_J]

A unique container? A b*stard to find? A good view? Or maybe just a nice walk?

What, in your opinion, makes for the most memorable type of cache?

 

Without reading any replies, all of them! Give me at least one of the four and I think it's a good cache. What I don't like is a unique container that is hard to find that is in a bad location, like behind a restaurant's smelly grease container. I spent five seconds on that one and then got back in car and drove to a nice park with a cache in it.

 

I guess what I don't like is when you combine too many of the four. If I hiked five miles for good view, I'm probably not going to be in the mood for a cache that is really difficult to find, but I'm always up for a unique container.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I love that there are so many ways to create memorable experiences for others in this game.

 

This.^

 

There are many ways to create a memorable cache. It just take the initiative and/or a little creativity. All you have to do is try.

[cezanne]

As for the bolded parts, I read that to mean cezanne wishes there was a website much like geocaching.com, but for hiking only, and in most other aspects the same as the geocaching website, in particular the ability to log your hiking experiences on various trails and share those experiences with a sizable group of like-minded people.

Such sites exist. Like much on the web some are pretty good and others are pretty ho-hum. There is one in particular that I think is pretty good, Hike-AZ. Despite its name, it encompasses much more than just Arizona. It appears you can enter in hikes for all 50 states, Canada and Mexico. Maybe it'll grow to Europe? It's pretty cool in that you can post off-trail hikes, mountaineering scrambles, canyoneering... all sorts of stuff. Where it has a strong user-base, it is a pretty good database/resource (like here in Southern NM), in other areas it appears that it is mostly populated with hikes already published in other resources..

 

There indeed exist sites that list hikes and a even a few that allow some sort of user feedback though that could not be compared to log stories and gallery photos on gc.com which is organized in a much better way.

I agree it depends on the user base and the user base is not strong around here for the existing sites and many of the locations caches led me to are somehow secret ones not being listed in the typical printed hiking guide.

 

Even on those sites where feedback is possible, it hardly exists and the people who did a hike before me and the person who entered the hike into the system are either not reachable or very difficult to reach while on gc.com I can profit a lot from knowing the hider and/or some finder of the cache which allows me to ask questions about the terrain or the approach in advance. That has been one of the real advantages for me when it comes to use geocaching instead of hiking guide books. In the early times in my area almost all cachers had some outdoor background and none was interested into special containers.

 

Cezanne

[+L0ne.R]

Location, location, location. ��

Really? A great location is more likely to make me forget the mundane cache I found there. I'll remember the journey, sure, but the title asks what makes a memorable cache, not what makes a memorable journey.

 

Good point. Put an unmaintained leaky bison tube with a full mushy log by vista viewing platform and the bison tube actually sours the cache experience.

 

Last year I had the good fortune of finding two all-time favourite caches. One was a field puzzle in a forest - nice location, fantastic puzzle - the cache owner did some nice work in his workshop handcrafting a fun jigsaw puzzle and a table top to work out the puzzle, well maintained, ended in an ammo can with a fun logbook. The other was the most freaky weird cool artist property but I wouldn't have given it a fav point for the location only (although it was amazing), the cache was also creative and it was well maintained. I like the stuff where the cache owner cares to provide an inclusive all round great caching experience - location, creativity, and non-micro, well-maintained cache.

[+justintim1999]

Caches should have at least one of three things.

 

1. Location

2. Creative Container

3. Unique Hide

 

If a cache has all three it's usually a good one.

 

There is also the random things that can happen when caching that can make a cache memorable. Seeing an animal, weather (good or bad). A chance meeting with another cacher ect.

[cezanne]

Caches should have at least one of three things.

 

1. Location

2. Creative Container

3. Unique Hide

 

If a cache has all three it's usually a good one.

 

1 is important for me too. 2 and 3 rather detoriate my personal experience, I noticed that something is missing in your list that probably is most important for me - it is the way

to the cache, both from the point of view what I experience there and the point of view of physical activity.- If I go by car or bus very close to a cache, then even the most unique location will

make me fully happy. From time to time I encounter a puzzle cache where I enjoy the homework part, but in order to result in a real nice cache experience I need an outdoor part that involves a certain minimum level of physical activity. Typically this means a bicycle trip of a walk of at least 30 minutes, but preferably considerably longer.

 

Cezanne

[+DanOCan]

I'm a location person. You can have everything else in the world, but if the location leaves me wondering "Why did you bring me here?" then it isn't likely to be a memorable cache.

 

Containers? While I like larger containers, if you take me to an interesting historical spot I never would have known about otherwise then I don't care if it is a bison tube or an ammo can. Some of my most memorable caches haven't had containers at all.

 

Clever hides? A clever hide to me means a cache hidden from muggles, not from other cachers. If I have to spend more than five minutes looking for your cache then it might be memorable, but for the wrong reasons.

[+L0ne.R]

Clever hides? A clever hide to me means a cache hidden from muggles, not from other cachers. If I have to spend more than five minutes looking for your cache then it might be memorable, but for the wrong reasons.

 

You are so right about that.

I geocache to find caches. Not finding the cache is frustrating. Example, cache in a large slippery rock pile slope with bouncy coordinates and no hint. Memorable for all the wrong reasons. Even if I find it I end up all grumbly.

 

 

Keep it in the green zone.

 

 

[cezanne]

I geocache to find caches. Not finding the cache is frustrating. Example, cache in a large slippery rock pile slope with bouncy coordinates and no hint. Memorable for all the wrong reasons. Even if I find it I end up all grumbly.

 

Keep it in the green zone.

 

The issue is just that the green zone is subjective. For some it is ok to search for 15 minutes or even longer (provided it is not a stupid needle in a haystack search) while others have their limit at 5 minutes regardless of the type of hideout.

 

The same level of subjectivity enters also for creative containers. What means fun for person X, can be completely annoying for person Y. I know caches where the average cacher manages to retrieve, open and rehide the container in say 5 minutes and I have to invest at least 20 minutes and that can be quite long when one needs to spend this time in an uncomfortable position and suffers from physical pain just to give one example.

 

 

Cezanne

[+niraD]

The issue is just that the green zone is subjective. For some it is ok to search for 15 minutes or even longer (provided it is not a stupid needle in a haystack search) while others have their limit at 5 minutes regardless of the type of hideout.

Absolutely. I love searching for well-camouflaged caches. I can think of several well-camouflaged caches that took me more than an hour to find (possibly spread over multiple visits). But clearly, not everyone enjoys searching for these kinds of caches.

[Clan Riffster]

...provided it is not a stupid needle in a haystack search...

The phrase 'stupid needle in a haystack' is also subjective.

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

...provided it is not a stupid needle in a haystack search...

The phrase 'stupid needle in a haystack' is also subjective.

 

There's a big gravel pile in one of the local management areas. I keep joking I am going to drive a pipe into the center of it, drop a bison tube down the pipe, and tehn remove the pipe, leaving the bison tube deep in the center of the gravel pile. Working title - "Unnatural Pile of Rocks".

 

I think must would call that a needle in a haystack.

[+WarNinjas]

Location is probably the most important in my mind but the container also plays a factor! If the possibility of a creative container was not part of this game I could just play another game where all you have to do is scan a bar code. Those could be in a great place but it doesn't interest me for some reason. I think the creative container is what is the difference. My daughter PinkNinja had to set up a event for her rainbow club. She wanted to cache. We worked on setting up a Wherigo but fell short at the last moment. One member of the group however did download 5 caches in the area to a gps. They all went looking for them. It was disappointing because out of the 5 4 of them were missing. (from what I hear) They did find one blinkie and the log was full so no one could sign it. I felt bad we didn't get our Wherigo finished as we made a cool treasure chest and all but my point is that if the container is bad it could make for a less fun find.

[+The_Incredibles_]

A special location or a well-designed cache.

 

Interestingly, some of my most memorable finds have been on fairly average caches. I'm talking about the 1/1 cache which I DNFd on 6 times. Or the cache where it started to snow at GZ (snows rarely here). Or the cache where my GPSr batteries died, but I managed to find the cache anyway. These are the ones I remember.

[cezanne]

If the possibility of a creative container was not part of this game I could just play another game where all you have to do is scan a bar code. Those could be in a great place but it doesn't interest me for some reason.

 

Do you happen to talk about m......? Apart from the fact that this requires a smartphone, I could not think of anything more boring for me. In my area there are tons of those and hardly any at an interesting place and it's even much more about numbers than the worst powertrails on geocaching.com. The descriptions typically are empty or contain one line and the logs are even worse. Hiking and in general the physical activity component play no role there.

 

I agree however that for many of those who feel that they play a game, the container will have an important role.

In the same way as I never thought of hiking up a mountain as a game, geocaching has never been a game for me.

 

Cezanne

[team tisri]

A unique container? A b*stard to find? A good view? Or maybe just a nice walk?

What, in your opinion, makes for the most memorable type of cache?

 

Depends why it was memorable I guess

 

Memorable for good reasons - a good walk, good views, creative hide, interesting puzzle, and a nice day helps

 

Memorable for bad reasons - bad coordinates, boring or unpleasant location, uninventive hide, pointlessly repetitive search, and add rain for good measure...

 

A few caches I remember for good reasons:

Pachydermophobia - top of mountain ridge that required climbing 1000 stone steps, then hiking a couple of miles, then climbing a pile of scree, a glorious day and FTF helped

Stone Valley Vista (sadly now archived) - a walk up the side of a mountain to a beautiful vista, a place I frequently revisit and will continue to revisit even with no cache there

One Fat Lady - a puzzle I hadn't seen before and even though the cache container was nothing to write home about it was in a nice area

Centenarian series - none of the containers were anything special but they took me to a park I didn't know existed, and that I've subsequently visited when in the area.

 

Caches I remember for bad reasons (not named, to avoid triggering flame wars, even though I think all are now archived)

Cache A - a film pot buried under general rubbish in a dingy corner of an overflow parking area at the train station

Cache B - a magnetic film pot attached to a metal railing that was about 10 feet tall and several hundred feet long, with nettles and brambles growing through it.

Cache C - a fake rock at the base of a spiky hawthorn bush in a busy area that stank of dog urine, and it turned out the cache was actually about 100 feet away.

Cache D - an place with beautiful views but the cache was a nano in a tree, in area where there were so many possibly places to hide a nano the search rapidly became tedious.

[+justintim1999]

Caches should have at least one of three things.

 

1. Location

2. Creative Container

3. Unique Hide

 

If a cache has all three it's usually a good one.

 

1 is important for me too. 2 and 3 rather detoriate my personal experience, I noticed that something is missing in your list that probably is most important for me - it is the way

to the cache, both from the point of view what I experience there and the point of view of physical activity.- If I go by car or bus very close to a cache, then even the most unique location will

make me fully happy. From time to time I encounter a puzzle cache where I enjoy the homework part, but in order to result in a real nice cache experience I need an outdoor part that involves a certain minimum level of physical activity. Typically this means a bicycle trip of a walk of at least 30 minutes, but preferably considerably longer.

 

Cezanne

 

I understand your point. I would include the walk to the cache as part of location. A simple cache can

be a great if it dose nothing but bring you to a beautiful area or something unique your wouldn't have discovered otherwise.

 

Creative container would include camo as well as something out of the norm. A container other than a lock and lock or bison tube.

 

Creative Hide would pertain to the way the cache is presented, something hidden in a different way. There is nothing wrong with finding a simple lock and lock, but when the cache owner shows me something a little different, something I haven't seen before. That's what brings a smile to my face.

 

Many times it's simply just a great day of caching.

 

Don't be afraid to try something different. Put a little time and creativity into your hides. Cachers will appreciate it.

[+WRASTRO]

Clever hides? A clever hide to me means a cache hidden from muggles, not from other cachers. If I have to spend more than five minutes looking for your cache then it might be memorable, but for the wrong reasons.

 

You are so right about that.

I geocache to find caches. Not finding the cache is frustrating. Example, cache in a large slippery rock pile slope with bouncy coordinates and no hint. Memorable for all the wrong reasons. Even if I find it I end up all grumbly.

 

 

Keep it in the green zone.

 

 

I have not yet managed to define a statement to post here, but I am going to add my strong opposition to the stated 5 minute rule. To me this means a cacher is only in the game for a smiley. The smiley is the only positive experience in this mindset and I will never agree with this philosophy. I guess I can say the experience is what makes a cache memorable to me. They are not always positive experiences. Most of them are or I would not still be caching after 10+ years.

[+Dreamer of Pictures]

Interesting locations are memorable, such as the Dolly Sods cache in West Virginia, literally embedded in a cliff on the Eastern Continental Divide adjacent acres of wild blueberries, or the cache found at sundown in an assembled ghost town in Kansas.

 

Or interesting cache history, such as Mingo in Kansas, the oldest still active in the US.

 

Sometimes the interest is personal, such as the cache across the street from the house where I grew up, but nonetheless memorable personally. Or the two I found based solely on description and a map, when my GPS batteries died, in Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia.

 

On the flip side, lightpole skirt caches and guardrail caches are not only a cliche but often accumulate hazards unplanned by the CO, such as spiders or wasps. I seldom remember the individual caches in those situations.

 

It was fun to introduce the managers of a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Pueblo Colorado to the micro hidden behind a sign on the front porch of the restaurant. I thought they deserved to know that visitors have a reason to be nosing around, and the cache was placed by a Cracker Barrel marketing guy.

 

There are truly rare and unusual comtainers, memorable for that reason alone, such as the antique fire truck in Arizona (possibly the largest cache container in the world) or the elaborate, artistic flying insect built around a bison tube in Denver.

 

Some hides involving a memorable back story, such as Zombie Town in the New Mexico Rt 66 abandoned truckstop, Bobcat Crossing in Virginia, and the Fairfax Stone in West Virginia.

 

Our own unusual solutions can be memorable. We used battery powered LED floodlamps to illuminate a Utah hillside to find a cache amid towering boulders at 9:45 PM local time. I elaborately planned a solo sojourn to the White Sandy Beach cache on the Delaware RIver.

 

A decent view or hidden natural wonder revealed is a darn good payoff. There are two caches adjacent the highest point in Maryland, with great views across the hills to the north and to the southwest. In my home county, 100% suburban, a cache led me to a spring that I had not previously known about. My daughter and I adored a remote and hidden triple waterfall in West Virginia, and found the cache hidden on the vertical face of the downstream falls.

 

Some are memorable but not in the pleasant sense. There was an Elkins WV town square where an overexcited muggle literally called the city cops rather loudly as we searched for a cache placed there by a state government agency. The muggle even pulled up behind our van and read our license plate to the cops. What a disincentive. We did find that cache regardless. And the cops appeared to be in no hurry to find us.

 

Then there are the ones that got away. We meant to drive to the top of Pikes Peak for caches and the 02 bar, but we happened to arrive in Colorado Springs on Commencement Day at the USAF Academy. The President was the featured speaker, and the police shut down all roads west of I-25 as a security precaution. Once I was walking by a stream in my home county seeking a puzzle cache, and came within two feet of an adult copperhead lounging nearby, putting a rapid end to that investigation.

 

But those are few and far between. In general geocaching has been great fun.