From August 1 – 31, Earn the 7 Souvenirs of August

[+wyrdsister]

I was wondering if there is some way to see who has completed this task i.e a log?

[+hzoi]

Not that I know of. But the August souvenir page does keep a running count -- as of 8:49 PM CDT, 994 caches had all seven.

[kanchan]

I got 6 of the 7 today, but didn't get the 7th. Am I the only one?

 

[kanchan]

I got 6 of the 7 today, but didn't get the 7th. Am I the only one?

 

 

I don't know what triggered it, but now I see the Achiever souvenir in my profile. It wasn't there when I posted my comment above, which was after more than 30 minutes from the 6th souvenir.

[+Pork King]

 

I don't know what triggered it, but now I see the Achiever souvenir in my profile. It wasn't there when I posted my comment above, which was after more than 30 minutes from the 6th souvenir.

 

Didn't I read somewhere you had to go view the main 7SoA page here ?

Edited August 3, 2014 by Pork King

[Pup Patrol]

Didn't I read somewhere you had to go view the main 7SoA page here ?

 

1050 geocachers have unlocked the Achiever souvenir so far. You could be next!

 

I feel like such a slacker. We haven't even started yet.

 

I'm hoping the weather is good tomorrow, and the caches we are going to search for are all there. If successful, we will get a Traditional, a Multi, and an Earthcache. I've got a Letterbox Hybrid on the list, and I've solved a Puzzle that's not far away. We've scheduled to attend an Event next weekend.

 

If nothing goes wrong, we should have our Achiever souvenir by the end of next week.

 

 

B.

[+Roman!]

Didn't I read somewhere you had to go view the main 7SoA page here ?

 

1050 geocachers have unlocked the Achiever souvenir so far. You could be next!

 

I feel like such a slacker. We haven't even started yet.

 

I'm hoping the weather is good tomorrow, and the caches we are going to search for are all there. If successful, we will get a Traditional, a Multi, and an Earthcache. I've got a Letterbox Hybrid on the list, and I've solved a Puzzle that's not far away. We've scheduled to attend an Event next weekend.

 

If nothing goes wrong, we should have our Achiever souvenir by the end of next week.

 

 

B.

 

I found 5/6 of them on the 1st, just need the event but the next event that doesn't involve ferries or crossing borders and 100 of kms of driving is on the 14th so I now have to bide my time.

[+terratin]

We (that is I as Mr. Terratin doesn't care) have 3 now. There's still a multi in town that we haven't picked up yet, though it's unfound for almost a year; nothing unusual here btw. Another multi might be an option, though I'm not sure I fully understand it

 

Next Friday we have a lovely little Post Ramadan event and there's still an EarthCache some 90km from home. Need to see if we really go for that one as I was sick the last two weeks and am uncertain if I should venture out into the desert, albeit it's all highways to the cache. If not I might be able to join a cito associated with a Mega if I let a business trip go through.

[+Tank and Spaz]

My one question is why is it that I am #350 and completed all requirements at 8am friday morning, but my caching buddy waiting till 3pm to finish and his number is 100 lower? Think there may be something wrong with the counter, but at least I am done.

[kanchan]

 

I don't know what triggered it, but now I see the Achiever souvenir in my profile. It wasn't there when I posted my comment above, which was after more than 30 minutes from the 6th souvenir.

 

Didn't I read somewhere you had to go view the main 7SoA page here ?

Maybe. That's quite anti-intuitive, IMO.

[+wyrdsister]

I came in at number 70 to complete the challenge on a very cold hail filled day we were lucky an event had been put on.

[cezanne]

I have a question that somehow fits into this thread even if the question is a different one.

 

One can see how many cachers have so far obtained all seven souvenirs. I'd like to know how this number splits up country-wise and how it relates to the number of cachers that have logged at least one cache in

August.

 

Cezanne

[+terratin]

36xxx. Not the fasted but I got there.

[+Ben0w]

All in all there were just close to 67'000 cachers earning the Achiever souvenir. Given the suspected millions of cachers out there this isn't much.

 

The total numbers of active cachers is far beyond those "millions", I suspect (which would be a good thing).

 

However, it would be interesting how many just missed one souvenir or got all but not the Achiever, not understanding the thing with going to the 7SoA main page. Any numbers here?

Edited September 3, 2014 by Ben0w

[+NYPaddleCacher]

All in all there were just close to 67'000 cachers earning the Achiever souvenir. Given the suspected millions of cachers out there this isn't much.

 

Considering how loosely some define "earning" it's probably a lot less.

[cezanne]

All in all there were just close to 67'000 cachers earning the Achiever souvenir. Given the suspected millions of cachers out there this isn't much.

 

The total numbers of active cachers is far beyond those "millions", I suspect (which would be a good thing).

 

I do not think that there are millions of cachers that have been active in August 2014. Millions sounds like at least 10 million but rather more (and there only exist around 9 million accounts, many of them not active).

 

For example, according to project-gc there have been around 128000 active German cachers and around 143000 active US cachers last month.

 

Moreover, I suspect that the proportion of active cachers who obtained all 7 souvenirs varies a lot from country to country.

 

As the 67000 are regarded, the number still increases and many cachers have backlogs, some lagging behind by more than 6 months, but more than a month is quite common.

Edited September 3, 2014 by cezanne

[Mr.Yuck]

All in all there were just close to 67'000 cachers earning the Achiever souvenir. Given the suspected millions of cachers out there this isn't much.

 

The total numbers of active cachers is far beyond those "millions", I suspect (which would be a good thing).

 

However, it would be interesting how many just missed one souvenir or got all but not the Achiever, not understanding the thing with going to the 7SoA main page. Any numbers here?

 

The overestimated marketing number of "millions" of Geocachers rear's it's ugly head again. (Edit to add, I did know it was quoted on the now gone "trophy case" page.)

 

All you ever need to do is to look at cacherstats.com. Although they're getting very close, still under 300,000 accounts in the entire world have found 200 caches or more. And tens of thousands of them (possibly 1/4 of them) found a few hundred, and are long gone from the game.

 

There are at best a couple hundred thousand active Geocachers in the entire world. Despite Giga events in Germany. "Millions" of people may have tried it. "Millions" more have created accounts, without ever even trying it. 67,000 achievers is not a lot, lets face it.

Edited September 3, 2014 by Mr.Yuck

[+Ben0w]

"Millions of geocacher" is a quote from the Achiever webpage. Somewhere (here in the forum?) someone (Moun10Bike?) did a detailed database analysis of registered users to geocaching.com, just can't find it.

 

Your resp. project-gc's numbers seem far more realistic. Had expected far more Achiever souvenir hunters, though. There seems to be hope that not all is lost to number cachers.

 

(I'm number 3x'xxx Achiever, I have to confess - not really hunting it, but it fitted in my normal geocaching routine, plus trying a Wherigo thr first time)

[cezanne]

Your resp. project-gc's numbers seem far more realistic. Had expected far more Achiever souvenir hunters, though. There seems to be hope that not all is lost to number cachers.

 

(I'm number 3x'xxx Achiever, I have to confess - not really hunting it, but it fitted in my normal geocaching routine, plus trying a Wherigo thr first time)

 

In countries like Germany and Austria obtaining the achiever souvenir is not a big deal. In some other countries it is much harder and involves much more travelling and the real intent to collect all seven souvenirs.

The reason why I would like to see come country statistics is because I think that the numbers would reflect what I said above. It would not mean that cachers from countries with a higher rate of cachers with all seven souvenirs care more about numbers/souvenirs/....

[+Mudfrog]

All in all there were just close to 67'000 cachers earning the Achiever souvenir. Given the suspected millions of cachers out there this isn't much.

 

The total numbers of active cachers is far beyond those "millions", I suspect (which would be a good thing).

 

However, it would be interesting how many just missed one souvenir or got all but not the Achiever, not understanding the thing with going to the 7SoA main page. Any numbers here?

 

I doubt there are "millions" of active cachers out there. But even if there were, i'd say that many were like me and just didn't really care about getting the souvenirs.

 

This being said, i did get them. I wasn't trying for them and i certainly didn't do any planning, just cached as normal. I realize there are a few areas around the world where getting them could be a challenge and an accomplishment. Down where i live,,, nah.

[+mvhayes1982]

Had expected far more Achiever souvenir hunters, though. There seems to be hope that not all is lost to number cachers.

 

(I'm number 3x'xxx Achiever, I have to confess - not really hunting it, but it fitted in my normal geocaching routine, plus trying a Wherigo thr first time)

 

I managed to snag all 6 and the Achiever, but it did require one significant change to my caching habits. In nearly three years in the hobby, I had never even considered attending an event. The event that I attended was a small, 10 person gathering or so. A flash mob that turned into an hour+ hangout. Really a good time.

 

I do know that the local geocaching organization saw greatly increased attendance at their monthly dining out event in August. Many of the logs talked about all the new faces. Whether all of those got the other 5 souvenirs, who knows. But I would have to assume that there was at least some correlation between the 7 SoA promotion and the increased event attendance locally.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

"Millions of geocacher" is a quote from the Achiever webpage. Somewhere (here in the forum?) someone (Moun10Bike?) did a detailed database analysis of registered users to geocaching.com, just can't find it.

 

Your resp. project-gc's numbers seem far more realistic. Had expected far more Achiever souvenir hunters, though. There seems to be hope that not all is lost to number cachers.

 

(I'm number 3x'xxx Achiever, I have to confess - not really hunting it, but it fitted in my normal geocaching routine, plus trying a Wherigo thr first time)

 

I thought it would have made more sense Wherigo cache types to be a qualifier for the Sightseer souvenir as it's somewhat similar to a multi-cache in the sense that it requires visiting several locations. If it had, I would have tried harder to do one that was near the hotel I was staying at in Austin and then I would have only needed the Socializer souvenir to get all of them. Getting the Socializer souvenir would still have been difficult as I was traveling most of the month and was never in a location where any events were being held during my time there.

 

 

[Mr.Yuck]

"Millions of geocacher" is a quote from the Achiever webpage. Somewhere (here in the forum?) someone (Moun10Bike?) did a detailed database analysis of registered users to geocaching.com, just can't find it.

 

 

I remember that, but don't feel like looking for it either. I do remember it was the first public admission (that I know of) that over 50% of account holders have never found nor placed a cache.

 

Like MudFrog, you can say I didn't go out of my way to earn all 7. I found myself with 3 Virtuals, an EarthCache, and a Multi Cache after a little 2 1/2 day mini vacation a couple hundred miles from home. So being so "close", I went for it, only going out of my way to find a ? cache. Which was not a puzzle, but rather taking information off of 3 or 4 tombstones in a cemetery to calculate a final location.

[+Ben0w]

The event was easy with the Munich Giga just in next town. There I accidentally stumbled over a traveling cache (oldest I've found so far: GC4C35), which gave me The puzzler souvenir. On the Giga event I was present at the public opening of an official geodaetic reference point, containing a traditional cache. Since I literally was washed away by the rain just before I could log, so I came back a day later to finish this one. At the same spot was an earthcache, on the way to the underground station was a multi. A week later I checked out the caches near an non-geocacheing-related event (yes, I still have other hobbies) where we could do a nice familiy walk after a good lunch. Found a Wherigo, which fitted perfectly - just was the first time I did a Wherigo, was a surprisingly nice walk through the town, showing a lot of interesting things. Just after logging this Wherigo, I was a bit surprised that I already completed the 7SoA mission.

[+Viajero Perdido]

Let me tweak that for you.

 

first public admission (that I know of) that over 50% of account holders have never found logged nor placed a cache.

I think many of those people simply don't come back to say thanks. Sign up to get the coords, got 'em, gone.

[+K13]

From Project-GC:

Active cachers from WORLD 2014 2013 Difference Last week 237910 233099 4811 +2% Last month 564628 472527 92101 +19% Since 1st of January 1445375 1025746 419629 +41% Whole year 1445413 1266740 178673 +14%

 

From the 7SoA page, as linked from the Geocaching Blog:

 

Congrats! You're locked in as 21143 out of the 66572 geocachers around the world to earn the Achiever souvenir to date. Considering that there are millions of geocachers worldwide, that’s pretty awesome!

 

 

66572 Achievers out of 1445413 active cachers equals 4.605%

[cezanne]

 

66572 Achievers out of 1445413 active cachers equals 4.605%

 

I think that one should relate it only to the number of active cachers in August and then you get a considerably larger percentage.

[+K13]

66572 Achievers out of 564628 active cachers last month equals 11.790%

[+terratin]

I know several people who didn't make it, also from very cache-populated countries such as Germany because the only letterbox nearby turned out to be a 2/5, or the webcam was broken, or the next EC is a 90 minutes ride away, or on top if a mountain, or... well, many reasons really. All these people would have loved to finish this series, but what was actually required to do so was just one step too far for them.

[cezanne]

or the next EC is a 90 minutes ride away, or on top if a mountain, or... well, many reasons really.

 

Just out of curiosity: Do these cachers tend to find every cache within their reach soon after it shows up?

I had the impression that in most areas of Germany there are more ECs than in most areas of Austria. I do not have much EC finds as I find the tasks of so many of them pretty much boring.

Edited September 4, 2014 by cezanne

[+Gill & Tony]

My son and I decided to get together and try to do them all in one day. A mutual friend organised an event where we met up. We had made a list of qualifying caches which we had both not yet found and it all went reasonably smoothly. A missing multi held us up for a while but all was done by mid afternoon. #1133 locked in.

[Mr.Yuck]

66572 Achievers out of 564628 active cachers last month equals 11.790%

 

What constitutes an active cacher on Project-GC? If only one find during the month counts, I'd say you can throw out about half of the 564628 as being people running around finding a few caches with apps and logging them with Tftc or Found it, whom I'm sure had no clue there was a 7 souvenirs of August promotion going on.

[+K13]

I make no claim about the accuracy of the information or how project-gc determines it. I just used their number as a resource for the exercise.

 

I, too, wonder how that number is determined.

[cezanne]

What constitutes an active cacher on Project-GC? If only one find during the month counts,

 

Yes, one find suffices (but as the site is lagging a bit behind, one find which stays and not one which is deleted a few minutes later).

How else do you want to define active? Of course it makes a difference for which purpose you want to use the numbers.

For example, in some cases it makes more sense to use the number of cachers with at most 200 finds from a site like cacherstats, but that includes people who

have stopped caching long ago. For the August promotion, taking all cachers who logged a cache for August, makes the most sense in my opinion among all data

which we could easily obtain without the help of Groundspeak.

 

I think that using these figures makes much more sense than the millions used in Groundspeak's formulations and these figures already suffice to argue that millions does not make sense.

 

It would also be of interest however how many people ended up with 1/2/3/4 and 5 out of the 6 souvenirs.

Edited September 4, 2014 by cezanne

[Mr.Yuck]

What constitutes an active cacher on Project-GC? If only one find during the month counts,

 

Yes, one find suffices (but as the site is lagging a bit behind, one find which stays and not one which is deleted a few minutes later).

How else do you want to define active? Of course it makes a difference for which purpose you want to use the numbers.

For example, in some cases it makes more sense to use the number of cachers with at most 200 finds from a site like cacherstats, but that includes people who

have stopped caching long ago. For the August promotion, taking all cachers who logged a cache for August, makes the most sense in my opinion among all data

which we could easily obtain without the help of Groundspeak.

 

I think that using these figures makes much more sense than the millions used in Groundspeak's formulations and these figures already suffice to argue that millions does not make sense.

 

It would also be of interest however how many people ended up with 1/2/3/4 and 5 out of the 6 souvenirs.

 

I don't know how it is in Austria, but there are a lot of intro app people over here trying Geocaching. For example, here's a 1.5/1.5 small in my area where 5 of the 13 finders in August (and three of the four this month) were obvious intro app users. You think the guy who logged the cache with "nice one" on August 31st had any clue there was a 7 souvenirs of August promotion going on?

 

I ultimately agree with you above, it's the best "active cacher" number we have. Can we change that to "serious cachers"?

Edited September 4, 2014 by Mr.Yuck

[cezanne]

I don't know how it is in Austria, but there are a lot of intro app people over here trying Geocaching.

 

I also encountered this summer a higher number of logs from cachers with very few finds which apparently come from mostly very young people who try out geocaching for the first time.

Intro app logs with the text "This is another ..." (or the German equivalent) are however less frequent than they appear to be in North America. Probably the number of such logs is 5% in my area, but certainly not 50%.

 

I used the relatively high number of such beginner logs also as an argument when a friend asked me what I think could be a reason for the fact that she noted differences in certain ratios computed for different countries.

 

I ultimately agree with you above, it's the best "active cacher" number we have. Can we change that to "serious cachers"?

 

Like you I think that among those who have been aware of the seven souvenir promotion and have been able to cache in a way you call serious in August (not everyone has been so happy and I also do not like that much the term serious in this context) the percentage of

those who ended up with the achiever souvenir is certainly higher than close to 12%. This number can serve however as lower bound in my opionion and for demonstrating how much the marketing team of Groundspeak

exxagerates.

 

 

Cezanne

Edited September 4, 2014 by cezanne

[Mr.Yuck]

"Serious cachers" might not be the best phrase either, sorry.

 

At least over here, the "that's one more find for me" pre-made logs have been eliminated, and I remarked in another thread the last time I remember seeing one was in May or June.

[+hzoi]

I think the total is just over 69,000 now. So, there's that.

[+Ben0w]

Intro app logs with the text "This is another ..." (or the German equivalent) are however less frequent than they appear to be in North America. Probably the number of such logs is 5% in my area, but certainly not 50%.

This phrase isn't part of the intro app any more (since few months?). It now shows a text like "describe your experience in finding this cache here" and let the log getting sent only if there is some own text entered by the user.

[Mr.Yuck]

Intro app logs with the text "This is another ..." (or the German equivalent) are however less frequent than they appear to be in North America. Probably the number of such logs is 5% in my area, but certainly not 50%.

This phrase isn't part of the intro app any more (since few months?). It now shows a text like "describe your experience in finding this cache here" and let the log getting sent only if there is some own text entered by the user.

 

Wow, K13's avatar is now in technicolor? When did that happen? So in German speaking Countries, they used to have "That's one more find for me, thanks so much for placing this Geocache" in German for the intro app? Did you see a lot of logs with that text?

[+Ben0w]

So in German speaking Countries, they used to have "That's one more find for me, thanks so much for placing this Geocache" in German for the intro app?

Yes. For some months. One upgrade introduced it, another got rid of it.

 

Did you see a lot of logs with that text?

Just a few.

 

Once I used it myself for a lame cache of a lame cache owner with a lot of lame caches. However I faked this canned entry by typing it all myself, individually.

[+L0ne.R]

1410173202[/url]' post='5424710']

1410141060[/url]' post='5424623']So in German speaking Countries, they used to have "That's one more find for me, thanks so much for placing this Geocache" in German for the intro app?

Yes. For some months. One upgrade introduced it, another got rid of it.

 

1410141060[/url]' post='5424623']Did you see a lot of logs with that text?

Just a few.

 

Once I used it myself for a lame cache of a lame cache owner with a lot of lame caches. However I faked this canned entry by typing it all myself, individually.

You're not the only one.