Please excuse my ignorance...

[+WSMx3]

but what is the point of multiple caches placed closely together along a trail? It seems like a very common practice.

[+T.D.M.22]

but what is the point of multiple caches placed closely together along a trail? It seems like a very common practice.

You answered your own question. Lots of caches, close as possible= more finds per hour. Larger trails are called power trails. 100-1000 caches. You really don't even need your gps to find them. Some people like them to get their numbers up, or so they can easily get a cache a day. Others don't care for them. They're usually micro caches, hidden the same way. More caches for less work.

Edited January 28, 2015 by T.D.M.22

[+Shaved Ewok]

but what is the point of multiple caches placed closely together along a trail? It seems like a very common practice.

 

Easy, high numbers for those who like quantity over quality.

[+T.D.M.22]

Or do you mean an actual trail like a hiking trail, with caches placed by different people? Then it's the same as lots of caches in the city- to try and squeeze one more cache in there.

Edited January 28, 2015 by T.D.M.22

[+popokiiti]

Sometimes it is the numbers and sometimes it gives more fun to a walk. There was a series around a lake we did a while back, about 8km, and the caches made the walk even more enjoyable. In fact, we may not have seen this place if it wasn't for the caches...which weren't every 161m apart. The blessing with this hobby/sport is that we can choose which caches to go for.

[4wheelin_fool]

It's so you can appear to be an experienced cacher without doing much at all. Most people will notice your find count, but not notice how you got it.

[+niraD]

but what is the point of multiple caches placed closely together along a trail?

As others indicated, it depends on the situation.

 

Sometimes, it's all about the numbers. If the containers are identical, the listings are virtually identical (except for the 001, 002, 003,... identifier), the hides are easy to spot, and the caches are spaced almost exactly 528ft/161m apart, then it's probably all about the numbers.

 

Sometimes, it's just the result of people trying to hide more and more caches in a popular location. Especially in parks and open spaces that require caches to be within a short distance of an established trail (20ft? 5ft?), the popular trails are going to fill up with caches naturally. When someone wants to hide a new cache, they're going to find an open spot along the trail and fill it. Lather, rinse, repeat, and eventually there isn't any more room for a new cache along the trail. Although in this case, the caches probably aren't consistently spaced exactly 528ft/161m apart, and the containers and listings and hides probably vary from one cache to the next.