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I have seen the future ...


emmett

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Recent thread asking people to state their 2015 Geocaching goals is quite telling. As of this post, there have been twenty-six replies, with only five people indicating that hiding a cache was among their goals. Among them, only one mentioned quality placement as a goal. That's right, only one person gave thought to making the hobby better.

 

Of particular note, one person with nearly seven hundred finds and no hides had a goal of reaching eight hundred finds but added, "perhaps" he/she may place a cache.

 

This sampling is just another example of what has been evident for a few years now. Those who are investing their time and money to make this a better hobby are almost extinct. The takers are growing while the givers are going.

 

A former cacher and I were hiking yesterday and talking of this. Sad to note that all but one of the high quality cache owners in our region have called it quits. I know for sure some have been driven away by the rude treatment they have seen or experienced coming from on high.

 

But no worries, if you fancy a micro on a guardrail or a box of trash randomly placed in the woods, there should be plenty more coming. Too bad the powers that be do not shoot for a higher standarda. High numbers and high quality did not need to be an either-or proposition.

 

There will always be mediocre, even crappy caches. But once upon a time, you could count on something inventive, unique, or thoughtful coming out at least once a month, sometimes even more frequently. It's sad really because Geocaching could be so much better.

 

But when you can make boat loads of money by building a business off the shoulders of people who willingly volunteer their time and money (cache owners), there is not much incentive to change.

 

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All of your hides are archived and it is almost two years since you logged a find - are you still an active cacher or is your interest now limited to wishing for the good old days here on the forums?

According to his thread title, the future arrived a couple of years ago. (I'd need to be Confucius to wrap my head around that.) So when the future arrived, apparently he backed off from caching. Now I sense that he's venting bitterness over some past issues - & perhaps starting a lively debate. You have to give him credit for his analysis of the survey - although i'm not sure what it proves.

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All of your hides are archived and it is almost two years since you logged a find - are you still an active cacher or is your interest now limited to wishing for the good old days here on the forums?

 

I'd say his interest is in disturbing the poop. He apparently has nothing better to do on a Sunday night.

Long time member - since 2002. Nominally a mainstay. Here we have an anecdotal answer to the question, "where have all the mainstays gone?"

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This sampling is just another example of what has been evident for a few years now. Those who are investing their time and money to make this a better hobby are almost extinct. The takers are growing while the givers are going.

 

So let me get this straight, when you started caching, there was what, maybe 500 caches in the world, and now there are over 2.5 million? That sounds like a significant amount of giving to me :unsure:

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I have seen the past... actually it arrived in 2009. Bonus points for the OP's persistence, though. Every year or two we get a reminder that "nobody cares about quality." Meanwhile, over at Geocaching HQ, we've seen the addition of favorite points, the "Maker" promotion, an increased emphasis on maintenance of neglected caches, the "Geocacher of the Month" feature and other social media efforts designed to highlight quality in geocaching. I bet there will be more to come in 2015.

 

By my count, eleven of the thirty-three posts to the 2015 Caching Resolutions thread mentioned hiding a cache and, in several cases, hiding a cache of quality, such as an earthcache, puzzle or themed series. Ignoring simple quote replies and ignoring multiple posts from the same participants, that's well over one-third of respondents. But my Resolution for 2015 is to improve my reading comprehension, so that all figures.

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I've got 4 ammo cans looking for a good home in the woods, but it is not my goal to place them in 2015. It is my goal to place them when I find somewhere worth placing them.

 

This!

 

I have 2 metal and 2 plastic ammo cans. I also have 3 other good cache containers. Most of the good real estate in my area is taken.

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The takers are growing while the givers are going.

It appears that you're taking a single data point in the forums and extrapolating that to cover the entire planet. If you did a bit more analysis, you'd find that your post does not reflect reality.

 

I just did a bit of analysis using a GSAK database of all the caches in my home area. Looking only at active caches placed in the last 2 years (of which there are 473), 141 caches (~30%) hidden by 53 different cachers have at least 5 Favourite Points. 26 caches hidden by 13 different cachers have at least 20 Favourite Points.

 

While the "quality" hiders in your region may have quit playing for various reasons, quality caches are still common in other regions. Contrary to the predictions of doomsayers, the end of geocaching as-we-know-it is not nigh.

 

If you aren't happy with the way you think things are trending, why not lead by example and hide some quality caches?

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This sampling is just another example of what has been evident for a few years now. Those who are investing their time and money to make this a better hobby are almost extinct. The takers are growing while the givers are going.

 

So let me get this straight, when you started caching, there was what, maybe 500 caches in the world, and now there are over 2.5 million? That sounds like a significant amount of giving to me :unsure:

 

I feel I would be shocked to see how much money and time I have given to hiding and maintaining geocaches, best not to actually look for even a rough estimate, but it's got to be in the hundreds of dollars by now. Sometimes people steal the containers. Sometimes people lose my trackables. Sometimes people trade down or not at all. If I let things like that bother me I'd be no better than Ebenezer Scrooge - I guess I'm destined to be one of life's Bob Cratchits.

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While the "quality" hiders in your region may have quit playing for various reasons, quality caches are still common in other regions. Contrary to the predictions of doomsayers, the end of geocaching as-we-know-it is not nigh.

Right.

 

There's a quality-caching game within the larger game that keeps Groundspeak happy. It just takes some filtering to find it.

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While the "quality" hiders in your region may have quit playing for various reasons, quality caches are still common in other regions. Contrary to the predictions of doomsayers, the end of geocaching as-we-know-it is not nigh.

Right.

 

There's a quality-caching game within the larger game that keeps Groundspeak happy. It just takes some filtering to find it.

 

I'm surprised Groundspeak feels they have influence over the game - the more I see how people are changing it over time the less I think they keep up with us.

 

In the past couple years Challenges have skyrocketed and aside some guidelines from reviewers, we have no icon or anything, though they are largely placed where the coordinates say they are and are usually some readily identifiable container, they remain Unknown types (as if to say, we have no idea what to do with this thing.)

 

These international participation caches are a very cool concept, too. I can't see them existing in large numbers as the inter-cache logistics are quite demanding upon those who try to move things along, but as a rewarding part of the greater game they are a good thing.

 

As to the continued stance on Virtuals, it's really a shame because many public lands managers would love Virtuals - particularly as physical caches aren't going to be allowed, and not everything can be stated in Geological terms no matter how people stretch Earthcaches.

 

I hope HQ finds their footing with enabling the game this year, rather than finding more ways to limit and control it.

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While the "quality" hiders in your region may have quit playing for various reasons, quality caches are still common in other regions. Contrary to the predictions of doomsayers, the end of geocaching as-we-know-it is not nigh.

Right.

 

There's a quality-caching game within the larger game that keeps Groundspeak happy. It just takes some filtering to find it.

 

I'm surprised Groundspeak feels they have influence over the game - the more I see how people are changing it over time the less I think they keep up with us.

 

In the past couple years Challenges have skyrocketed and aside some guidelines from reviewers, we have no icon or anything, though they are largely placed where the coordinates say they are and are usually some readily identifiable container, they remain Unknown types (as if to say, we have no idea what to do with this thing.)

 

These international participation caches are a very cool concept, too. I can't see them existing in large numbers as the inter-cache logistics are quite demanding upon those who try to move things along, but as a rewarding part of the greater game they are a good thing.

 

As to the continued stance on Virtuals, it's really a shame because many public lands managers would love Virtuals - particularly as physical caches aren't going to be allowed, and not everything can be stated in Geological terms no matter how people stretch Earthcaches.

 

I hope HQ finds their footing with enabling the game this year, rather than finding more ways to limit and control it.

 

I could be completely wrong as i have never really looked into the game at all but isn't Waymarking supposed to fill the gap left by virtuals?

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I've got 4 ammo cans looking for a good home in the woods, but it is not my goal to place them in 2015. It is my goal to place them when I find somewhere worth placing them.

 

This!

 

I have 2 metal and 2 plastic ammo cans. I also have 3 other good cache containers. Most of the good real estate in my area is taken.

 

I have 9 ammo cans along with a dozen or so lock n locks in my trunk. But the more I think of it, I'll fill them with swag and return a year later to find them filled with broken toys and junk. I'll also place a 100 page logbook so that every finder can leave a full page of comments, but return and see that everyone simply just signed their nickname. I'll also hide them in a very specific way, but return and find them completely exposed. A few will be placed far in the woods, but nobody will bother to go out there, as geocachers are not really the wilderness types anymore. Could place a few coins in them to travel, but they will all mysteriously disappear... Hmmm.

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I still see quality caches all the time. Some from a cacher tattletales in our area are unbelievable how nice and creative they are. I was hiking out with DragonsWest yesterday and replaced one of our caches with a plastic ammo can filled with toys. Our old container had broken and was full of water but some nice cacher took the time to add another container inside to help it out. DragonsWest's caches have always been cool and well maintained as well when i get a chance to cache his area and find them. I don't see that all good cache owners are becoming extinct and no one is giving back. There might be some bad hides out there but there are also good ones and cache owners who do care and put time and money into there caches.

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I've got 4 ammo cans looking for a good home in the woods, but it is not my goal to place them in 2015. It is my goal to place them when I find somewhere worth placing them.

 

This!

 

I have 2 metal and 2 plastic ammo cans. I also have 3 other good cache containers. Most of the good real estate in my area is taken.

 

I have 9 ammo cans along with a dozen or so lock n locks in my trunk. But the more I think of it, I'll fill them with swag and return a year later to find them filled with broken toys and junk. I'll also place a 100 page logbook so that every finder can leave a full page of comments, but return and see that everyone simply just signed their nickname. I'll also hide them in a very specific way, but return and find them completely exposed. A few will be placed far in the woods, but nobody will bother to go out there, as geocachers are not really the wilderness types anymore. Could place a few coins in them to travel, but they will all mysteriously disappear... Hmmm.

 

Guess its time to throw in the towel and walk away...the whole world has gone to hell. Maybe one could sit on their porch and yell at the kids to stay off the lawn?

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I've got 4 ammo cans looking for a good home in the woods, but it is not my goal to place them in 2015. It is my goal to place them when I find somewhere worth placing them.

 

This!

 

I have 2 metal and 2 plastic ammo cans. I also have 3 other good cache containers. Most of the good real estate in my area is taken.

 

I have 9 ammo cans along with a dozen or so lock n locks in my trunk. But the more I think of it, I'll fill them with swag and return a year later to find them filled with broken toys and junk. I'll also place a 100 page logbook so that every finder can leave a full page of comments, but return and see that everyone simply just signed their nickname. I'll also hide them in a very specific way, but return and find them completely exposed. A few will be placed far in the woods, but nobody will bother to go out there, as geocachers are not really the wilderness types anymore. Could place a few coins in them to travel, but they will all mysteriously disappear... Hmmm.

 

Guess its time to throw in the towel and walk away...the whole world has gone to hell. Maybe one could sit on their porch and yell at the kids to stay off the lawn?

 

No, I keep doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.

 

I also have a dozen rotten eggs and a semi automatic shotgun for those darn kids.

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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I could be completely wrong as i have never really looked into the game at all but isn't Waymarking supposed to fill the gap left by virtuals

It is.

 

Somehow it doesn't.

 

Indeed, it's rather like having a banana split, without the banana, without the ice cream, without the whipped cream and with out the cherry on top. All you have is a dish with the promise of a banana split, which has been unfulfilled.

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If you aren't happy with the way you think things are trending, why not lead by example and hide some quality caches?

 

Far too logical. Much easier to sit back in the weeds and whine about how things were better in the good old days.

 

Far too typical forum post. Don't attempt to offer intelligent thoughts on a serious subject just insult the messenger.

 

I see you have been caching for about six years and have only five active caches with seven total stages. That's a pretty modest investment by you considering all your finds. Nevertheless, your caches seem to be nice enough so good for you.

 

When I was five years into caching, I had seventy-five active caches with more than two hundred stages and these caches were generally held in high regard by finders some of whom made it a quest to find every single stage. So I think I have some skin in this discussion and know what I am talking about.

 

A person would not invest in building so many elaborate caches, then shut them down for no reason. A man would be a fool to continue patronizing a company with lousy customer relations when there are so many other ways he can spend his time and money. So while the A-Team seems to be making a reasonable suggestion, he may as well ask me to bang my head against the wall again and see if I don't get a headache this time.

 

Based on some comments here, the death of quality may be a regional thing (perhaps impacted by different reviewer behavior) but it is certainly dead in this area. I retired my two hundred-plus stages a few years ago. They were all in nice conservation lands, many in quite unique locations, several completely undiscovered (except for abutters) until I placed a cache there. Since then, as far as I can tell, there has not been so much as one new cache placed in any of those areas, let alone comparable quality caches. And as I said before, all of the other well-known quality cache hiders have also shut down. Maybe you should give some thought as to why that is, rather than just label us as whiners, or as others have done, quitters.

 

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If you aren't happy with the way you think things are trending, why not lead by example and hide some quality caches?

 

Far too logical. Much easier to sit back in the weeds and whine about how things were better in the good old days.

 

Far too typical forum post. Don't attempt to offer intelligent thoughts on a serious subject just insult the messenger.

 

I see you have been caching for about six years and have only five active caches with seven total stages. That's a pretty modest investment by you considering all your finds. Nevertheless, your caches seem to be nice enough so good for you.

 

When I was five years into caching, I had seventy-five active caches with more than two hundred stages and these caches were generally held in high regard by finders some of whom made it a quest to find every single stage. So I think I have some skin in this discussion and know what I am talking about.

 

A person would not invest in building so many elaborate caches, then shut them down for no reason. A man would be a fool to continue patronizing a company with lousy customer relations when there are so many other ways he can spend his time and money. So while the A-Team seems to be making a reasonable suggestion, he may as well ask me to bang my head against the wall again and see if I don't get a headache this time.

 

Based on some comments here, the death of quality may be a regional thing (perhaps impacted by different reviewer behavior) but it is certainly dead in this area. I retired my two hundred-plus stages a few years ago. They were all in nice conservation lands, many in quite unique locations, several completely undiscovered (except for abutters) until I placed a cache there. Since then, as far as I can tell, there has not been so much as one new cache placed in any of those areas, let alone comparable quality caches. And as I said before, all of the other well-known quality cache hiders have also shut down. Maybe you should give some thought as to why that is, rather than just label us as whiners, or as others have done, quitters.

 

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We started a few months after you and cache nation wide and there is truth in what you say. Its not the same game it once was but there are really nice hides out there you just have to work harder to find them or blunder in to them like we do ( I have rarely use the favorite feature but have just started to a bit).

Mostly today it's a numbers game with lots of cache density.

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If you aren't happy with the way you think things are trending, why not lead by example and hide some quality caches?

 

Far too logical. Much easier to sit back in the weeds and whine about how things were better in the good old days.

 

Far too typical forum post. Don't attempt to offer intelligent thoughts on a serious subject just insult the messenger.

 

I see you have been caching for about six years and have only five active caches with seven total stages. That's a pretty modest investment by you considering all your finds. Nevertheless, your caches seem to be nice enough so good for you.

 

When I was five years into caching, I had seventy-five active caches with more than two hundred stages and these caches were generally held in high regard by finders some of whom made it a quest to find every single stage. So I think I have some skin in this discussion and know what I am talking about.

 

A person would not invest in building so many elaborate caches, then shut them down for no reason. A man would be a fool to continue patronizing a company with lousy customer relations when there are so many other ways he can spend his time and money. So while the A-Team seems to be making a reasonable suggestion, he may as well ask me to bang my head against the wall again and see if I don't get a headache this time.

 

Based on some comments here, the death of quality may be a regional thing (perhaps impacted by different reviewer behavior) but it is certainly dead in this area. I retired my two hundred-plus stages a few years ago. They were all in nice conservation lands, many in quite unique locations, several completely undiscovered (except for abutters) until I placed a cache there. Since then, as far as I can tell, there has not been so much as one new cache placed in any of those areas, let alone comparable quality caches. And as I said before, all of the other well-known quality cache hiders have also shut down. Maybe you should give some thought as to why that is, rather than just label us as whiners, or as others have done, quitters.

 

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Well, I've always thought it would be better for the game for cache owners to only place as many caches as they could reasonably maintain. If that number is zero, then it should remain zero until a cacher feels able to place and maintain a cache. I could certainly place more caches myself and maintain them but I feel as though any cache I now place has to be something I'd be proud of, not something to bump up an arbitrary number on a website. At the moment, I'm not ready to place another cache, so I don't.

 

I also do not understand your stance on Groundspeak and their customer service. I have no idea what went down between the two of you, nor do I care to know but I've never once felt in my years of "modest" cache ownership that I was beholden to Groundspeak in any way or that they were beholden to me. I placed a cache and used their website to list it. That's it and that's basically all it's ever been for me. A place to make my geocache(s) available to the public. Perhaps if I had wanted/demanded that they bow to something unreasonable or felt they didn't care about my ideas or were trying to suppress creativity just so that more micros could be splattershot around the vicinity, I might feel differently but I've had no issues publishing the caches I've wanted published and I don't feel as though GS is encouraging micros. People hide them because they're cheap, easy to replace and can be hidden just about anywhere. Groundspeak trumpets the number of active caches and cachers as a way to drive revenue (as they should) but it is the hiders that determine how good (or bad) each geocache is.

 

I do apologize for insinuating that you're a whiner but I also feel that if you're going to archive your caches, whether you're totally justified in your reasoning to do so or not, and then come to the forums to complain about the lack of quality caches, you should be able to take some criticism as well. You don't want to bang your head against the wall...well, neither do I. Nor does anyone. But, you're asking others to change the caching landscape to fit your criteria of quality and if they don't, they're the ones dragging the game down and at the same time, you're not willing to do anything beyond complaining about others not doing anything. I don't like the numbers game that geocaching has become, either. But, I can still go out and hike all day and find a cache now and then and completely ignore those caches that don't interest me. Would I much rather find some well crafted, creative geocaches that aren't shotgunned into the nearest bush? Of course I would. That's not always the reality, so when I do find a cache like that, I give credit where it's due. I didn't look at your profile but I'll take you at your word that you owned high quality caches that people enjoyed finding and ones I would've enjoyed finding if I was in your area at the time. So, you're decision to pull up stakes on those caches is sad to me and I wish you'd have a change of heart and try again but I certainly understand if you don't/won't.

 

Finally, the death of quality certainly isn't regional. If you look at a caching map of just about any modest sized city in the US, the number of caches in and around the "metro" area of those cities is astounding and many of those are urban micros. A few miles away from the city and that number drops like a rock (and usually the quality/size goes up). It is sad that geocaching used to be about getting you away from the city and now it seems like it doesn't want you to leave it.

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"As to the continued stance on Virtuals, it's really a shame because many public lands managers would love Virtuals - particularly as physical caches aren't going to be allowed, and not everything can be stated in Geological terms no matter how people stretch Earthcaches.

 

I hope HQ finds their footing with enabling the game this year, rather than finding more ways to limit and control it."

 

Totally agree with Dragons West especially the bit about challenges and Virtuals. I've done 6 Virtuals in the last week and all of them have taken me to interesting sometimes educational but definitely all worthwhile places.

 

Challenges also must have a separate icon, it's getting to stage now where half the unknowns are at the location and the other half aren't. It's so obvious really.

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I have 9 ammo cans along with a dozen or so lock n locks in my trunk. But the more I think of it, I'll fill them with swag and return a year later to find them filled with broken toys and junk. I'll also place a 100 page logbook so that every finder can leave a full page of comments, but return and see that everyone simply just signed their nickname. I'll also hide them in a very specific way, but return and find them completely exposed. A few will be placed far in the woods, but nobody will bother to go out there, as geocachers are not really the wilderness types anymore. Could place a few coins in them to travel, but they will all mysteriously disappear... Hmmm.

 

I don't care what happens to the swag. It is disappointing that there are takers and people who don't come close to trading even, but what can you do? Some cachers don't play right and sometimes a muggle gets lucky. I only get upset when the whole container gets taken.

 

I leave a decent sized paragraph when I log the cache online. Why write the same thing twice? Also, unless I am very deep in the woods, I am always worried that someone is going to come by, so I drop of TBs, trade swag, SL, and get the cache hidden ASAP.

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I leave a decent sized paragraph when I log the cache online. Why write the same thing twice? Also, unless I am very deep in the woods, I am always worried that someone is going to come by, so I drop of TBs, trade swag, SL, and get the cache hidden ASAP.

 

The logbooks in the older caches is was what I enjoyed reading. Todays geocaching logbooks are rather boring, compared to the logbooks left in state park cabins and hiking shelters. Ironically the only time a geocaching logbook becomes interesting today, is if muggles constantly find it but manage to treat the cache properly, which I've noticed happen more than a few times.

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I have 9 ammo cans along with a dozen or so lock n locks in my trunk. But the more I think of it, I'll fill them with swag and return a year later to find them filled with broken toys and junk. I'll also place a 100 page logbook so that every finder can leave a full page of comments, but return and see that everyone simply just signed their nickname. I'll also hide them in a very specific way, but return and find them completely exposed. A few will be placed far in the woods, but nobody will bother to go out there, as geocachers are not really the wilderness types anymore. Could place a few coins in them to travel, but they will all mysteriously disappear... Hmmm.

 

I don't care what happens to the swag. It is disappointing that there are takers and people who don't come close to trading even, but what can you do? Some cachers don't play right and sometimes a muggle gets lucky. I only get upset when the whole container gets taken.

 

I leave a decent sized paragraph when I log the cache online. Why write the same thing twice?

 

Just an fyi....in the old days it was rare that the log in the paper exactly matched the log the finder composed when they got to their computer. When people are experiencing their first reactions at the location they write something different then when they go home and think back to the experience at the cache.

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Just an fyi....in the old days it was rare that the log in the paper exactly matched the log the finder composed when they got to their computer. When people are experiencing their first reactions at the location they write something different then when they go home and think back to the experience at the cache.

 

I see your point. If I found a dozen caches and then logged them later it would be hard enough to remember which was which let alone compose a decent log. I love being able to key my log as I walk back to the car or while heading to the next cache on the trail.

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Just an fyi....in the old days it was rare that the log in the paper exactly matched the log the finder composed when they got to their computer. When people are experiencing their first reactions at the location they write something different then when they go home and think back to the experience at the cache.

 

I see your point. If I found a dozen caches and then logged them later it would be hard enough to remember which was which let alone compose a decent log. I love being able to key my log as I walk back to the car or while heading to the next cache on the trail.

 

Exactly.

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Just an fyi....in the old days it was rare that the log in the paper exactly matched the log the finder composed when they got to their computer. When people are experiencing their first reactions at the location they write something different then when they go home and think back to the experience at the cache.

 

I see your point. If I found a dozen caches and then logged them later it would be hard enough to remember which was which let alone compose a decent log. I love being able to key my log as I walk back to the car or while heading to the next cache on the trail.

 

In the "old days" finding a dozen caches in a day was a lot so people would bring a note book and write down things about the cache they wanted to remember. Personally, I think if someone is finding more caches than they can remember, a viable solution is to find fewer caches rather than use it as an excuse for not composing decent logs.

 

I was thinking about logging in the field the other day and wondered if a useful feature for the mobile apps would be a easy to find "voice log" that would save short audio snippet as you're walking to the next cache. When you get home, just listen to the voice logs to help compose a decent online log.

 

 

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I was thinking about logging in the field the other day and wondered if a useful feature for the mobile apps would be a easy to find "voice log" that would save short audio snippet as you're walking to the next cache. When you get home, just listen to the voice logs to help compose a decent online log.

Oooo, I like that! One could do it on one's own using a separate voice note-taking app, but to tie it to the cache would be nice.

 

EDIT: It also would lessen the chance of tripping on a root along the trail while trying to type in the field notes. :anicute:

Edited by TriciaG
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I was thinking about logging in the field the other day and wondered if a useful feature for the mobile apps would be a easy to find "voice log" that would save short audio snippet as you're walking to the next cache. When you get home, just listen to the voice logs to help compose a decent online log.

 

My Samsung S4 can convert my speech into words and as long as I have a cell signal, I can post it within minutes. The downside is having to change "cash" to "cache" every time. My wife has an Iphone and it doesn't get our Balimore accents at all. :(

 

Sometimes I will write a few things in a log and then later go home and edit it. The downside there is the CO may read the first draft and not notice the update.

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I was thinking about logging in the field the other day and wondered if a useful feature for the mobile apps would be a easy to find "voice log" that would save short audio snippet as you're walking to the next cache. When you get home, just listen to the voice logs to help compose a decent online log.

 

My Samsung S4 can convert my speech into words and as long as I have a cell signal, I can post it within minutes. The downside is having to change "cash" to "cache" every time. My wife has an Iphone and it doesn't get our Balimore accents at all. :(

 

Sometimes I will write a few things in a log and then later go home and edit it. The downside there is the CO may read the first draft and not notice the update.

 

I know that many phones have the ability to create voice memos. I was thinking of something linked directly to each cache. In the iPhone version of the app, after selecting a cache there is a prominent "Found it" menu. Selecting the down arrow to the right of the button brings up a "Write Note" link. Adding a "Voice Note" which captured some audio and sent it to the site sight that it was accessible from the web site would allow one to capture your thoughts while at GZ and use that information to construct the online line. I would rather not see such a feature as a means for logging the cache while in the field, but as a field note that could be used to write complete, grammatically correct sentences. I also was not thinking of something that would convert voice to text. The audio could be played just to remind you of something you might want to mention in the online log.

 

For example, after finding a cache, click the voice note button and say, "LPC. wet log. NM" then when you get home you can use that information to write something more verbose and post both a found it and NM log. You can use whatever code words you want and in any language or accent. Whatever it takes to remember the experience.

 

 

 

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Just an fyi....in the old days it was rare that the log in the paper exactly matched the log the finder composed when they got to their computer. When people are experiencing their first reactions at the location they write something different then when they go home and think back to the experience at the cache.

 

I see your point. If I found a dozen caches and then logged them later it would be hard enough to remember which was which let alone compose a decent log. I love being able to key my log as I walk back to the car or while heading to the next cache on the trail.

 

In the "old days" finding a dozen caches in a day was a lot so people would bring a note book and write down things about the cache they wanted to remember. Personally, I think if someone is finding more caches than they can remember, a viable solution is to find fewer caches rather than use it as an excuse for not composing decent logs.

 

 

Believe it or not, I am NOT going to go all total old school here, and rant that logging from phones in the field is the spawn of Satan. :lol: I will say though, other than 45 caches on a rails to trails power trail and a 13 mile round trip bike ride, I've never had a problem remembering the speciific caches, and composing a detailed unique log for each one. I'm going to say in the "old days", I found 20-25 caches in a day 3 or 4 times, and 10-20 caches in a day dozens of times. And I am "selective", and still cache like it's the old days. In November 2014, I found 16 caches in a day. Same general area from one parking spot, but definitely not a power trail type situation. Still no problem remembering. I will say though that in that case, or in the past when I might have been a little fuzzy on one, a quick glance at the Geocaching.com Google cache maps, and my memory was refreshed. :)

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Just an fyi....in the old days it was rare that the log in the paper exactly matched the log the finder composed when they got to their computer. When people are experiencing their first reactions at the location they write something different then when they go home and think back to the experience at the cache.

 

I see your point. If I found a dozen caches and then logged them later it would be hard enough to remember which was which let alone compose a decent log. I love being able to key my log as I walk back to the car or while heading to the next cache on the trail.

 

In the "old days" finding a dozen caches in a day was a lot so people would bring a note book and write down things about the cache they wanted to remember. Personally, I think if someone is finding more caches than they can remember, a viable solution is to find fewer caches rather than use it as an excuse for not composing decent logs.

 

 

Believe it or not, I am NOT going to go all total old school here, and rant that logging from phones in the field is the spawn of Satan. :lol: I will say though, other than 45 caches on a rails to trails power trail and a 13 mile round trip bike ride, I've never had a problem remembering the speciific caches, and composing a detailed unique log for each one. I'm going to say in the "old days", I found 20-25 caches in a day 3 or 4 times, and 10-20 caches in a day dozens of times.

 

That pretty much echos my cache finding history. When I knew I was going to be caching for most of the the day I'd bring a note pad to keep track of what I find. I just don't buy the excuse that I found too many caches so I can't remember details about every one of them. I don't think finding as many caches as possible should take precedence over properly thanking those that provide caches for us to find...and I certainly hope that common courtesy isn't considered to be "old school".

Edited by NYPaddleCacher
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...When I knew I was going to be caching for most of the the day I'd bring a note pad to keep track of what I find. I just don't buy the excuse that I found too many caches so I can't remember details about every one of them. I don't think finding as many caches as possible should take precedence over properly thanking those that provide caches for us to find...and I certainly hope that common courtesy isn't considered to be "old school".

+1

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...When I knew I was going to be caching for most of the the day I'd bring a note pad to keep track of what I find. I just don't buy the excuse that I found too many caches so I can't remember details about every one of them. I don't think finding as many caches as possible should take precedence over properly thanking those that provide caches for us to find...and I certainly hope that common courtesy isn't considered to be "old school".

+1

Even when paperless caching with my Oregon, it's really pretty easy to put a couple or words in the comment field in the GPS to assist with writing a custom log for each and every cache hunt when I get to a full keyboard. At 7800+ finds and counting, my average log length is right at 100 words with nary a copy and paste string of cache logs in the batch.

Edited by Ladybug Kids
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Whether it is 5 out of 26 or 11 out of 33.. I don't see a problem with people not having goals to set caches. Cachers can contribute to the game in other ways, and cache ownership isn't for everyone. And at least in my area, there is no shortage of caches being hidden.

 

I agree quality is an issue. I've only cached since 2008, so I can't compare before that. There are certainly more caches, and more series of caches rather than a single cache. So in terms of the percentage of caches which are those special, one of a kind caches - that number is probably smaller.

 

Now while I don't like "crappy" caches, I like all sorts of caches. I like doing a multi stage cache which takes most of the day to do one cache (but a memorable one). I also like a nice walk with 20 "good but ordinary" caches which takes the same amount of time to do.

 

It is evident to me that numbers do drive most cachers to an extent. Around my area, a loop of 20-30 traditionals (a nice walk in the countryside) will get LOTS of finds. Put a single, multi-stage cache in the same place, it will have very few.

 

My own cache which I think is best has 8 finds in 18 months. At the same time I hid some traditional caches in the same area. I did this as a sort of reward or "bait" to tempt people to do my multi-stage puzzle cache. When you do the multi/puzzle, you can find these en-route. 64 cachers have found them. If I made the loop a set of 20 caches, they would have a couple hundred finds by now.

 

I'm not saying that is good or bad, just the way it is. When word gets out of a "special" cache, cachers will seek it out. But the "ordinary" but gives you numbers series will still get many more finds.

 

So I'm kind of at a crossroads what to set next. My most recent cache has only been found once in nearly 2 months. Should I hide more series of traditional caches so I get more finds? I guess I'll stick with hiding what would like to find, even if nobody looks for them.

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Just an fyi....in the old days it was rare that the log in the paper exactly matched the log the finder composed when they got to their computer. When people are experiencing their first reactions at the location they write something different then when they go home and think back to the experience at the cache.

 

I see your point. If I found a dozen caches and then logged them later it would be hard enough to remember which was which let alone compose a decent log. I love being able to key my log as I walk back to the car or while heading to the next cache on the trail.

 

In the "old days" finding a dozen caches in a day was a lot so people would bring a note book and write down things about the cache they wanted to remember. Personally, I think if someone is finding more caches than they can remember, a viable solution is to find fewer caches rather than use it as an excuse for not composing decent logs.

 

 

Believe it or not, I am NOT going to go all total old school here, and rant that logging from phones in the field is the spawn of Satan. :lol: I will say though, other than 45 caches on a rails to trails power trail and a 13 mile round trip bike ride, I've never had a problem remembering the speciific caches, and composing a detailed unique log for each one. I'm going to say in the "old days", I found 20-25 caches in a day 3 or 4 times, and 10-20 caches in a day dozens of times. And I am "selective", and still cache like it's the old days. In November 2014, I found 16 caches in a day. Same general area from one parking spot, but definitely not a power trail type situation. Still no problem remembering. I will say though that in that case, or in the past when I might have been a little fuzzy on one, a quick glance at the Geocaching.com Google cache maps, and my memory was refreshed. :)

 

Although I occasionally rush through a geocache (if I'm late getting home, or it's about to rain, etc.), I remember each cache. I max out at around 20 in a full day (morning to dusk). I make notes on my iphone or on paper, and take photos. I stop for coffee and review my notes. I like that part of geocaching quite a bit. I enjoy thinking about what my write-up is going to be starting with the walk to the cache - especially for a nice location and nice cache. I usually spend 10 minutes sometimes more at a cache site taking in the fuller experience - part of the reason I don't group cache or rarely even cache with a friend - I feel too rushed in a group. I agree with the sentiment that if you can't remember your cache finds perhaps it is time to decrease the number of finds to a more manageable size.

 

 

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Ok yeah my memory sucks. If I didn't log from the field, I might forget if the wet mushy log was in the bison tube hanging from the tree or the bison tube magnetically attached to a guard rail. I can find two caches at 4PM and get them confused by 9PM. Boring geocaches blend together and just aren't memorable. Great caches I will remember for sure. Yes I can filter out micro and small caches and I do so on distant trips. When I am near home, I am not ashamed to search for quick C&Ds to get my fix.

 

What I don't get is why people hate logging from the field. Logging a FTF immediately or a TB retrieval may save someone a wasted trip.

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Ok yeah my memory sucks. If I didn't log from the field, I might forget if the wet mushy log was in the bison tube hanging from the tree or the bison tube magnetically attached to a guard rail. I can find two caches at 4PM and get them confused by 9PM. Boring geocaches blend together and just aren't memorable. Great caches I will remember for sure. Yes I can filter out micro and small caches and I do so on distant trips. When I am near home, I am not ashamed to search for quick C&Ds to get my fix.

 

What I don't get is why people hate logging from the field. Logging a FTF immediately or a TB retrieval may save someone a wasted trip.

 

I write up in the field using my iphone most of the time. I don't log in the field for privacy reasons. Plus I write better when I'm home and at a proper keyboard. I have logged in the field when I'm unexpectedly the FTF, because from reading the forums FTFers appreciate knowing that the FTF is gone as soon as it has been found.

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What I don't get is why people hate logging from the field. Logging a FTF immediately or a TB retrieval may save someone a wasted trip.

Tried it. Hated it. As someone who usually leaves a lot more than a sentence or two, got annoying quick.

 

I've never considered STF or failure to grab a trackable a wasted trip.

- The location is what I search for.

Hopefully the hobby hasn't degraded that far...

I'm sure most realize that life goes on even with a 3rd-to-find and no trackable in sight. :)

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