What goals should I set?

[+Sunmill]

I'm heading out soon on a road trip that would give me the opportunity to visit 9 provinces/states in a week, perhaps even 3-4 in one day. What are some challenges/goals I can aim for or souvenirs to be earned?

Edited April 28, 2015 by Sunmill

[+redsox_mark]

Well every state and province has a souvenier.. they also will show on your map.

 

There are probably challenge caches for finding X number of states in a day etc.. though they aren't easy to search for.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Well every state and province has a souvenier.. they also will show on your map.

 

There are probably challenge caches for finding X number of states in a day etc.. though they aren't easy to search for.

 

There are also challenge caches for acquiring X number of souvenirs. Another one I recently discovered are Reviewer challenges. Find N caches, each published by a different reviewer. Although some reviewers cover areas crossing state borders visiting 9 states/provinces would likely result in finding caches published by quite a few. The most difficult Reviewer challenge I found was one to find 50 caches published by different reviewers. There's a project-gc challenge checker and I ran it out of curiosity and discovered that I've found caches from 60 different reviewers. Unfortunately, the nearest reviewer challenges is about a 7 hour round trip drive from where I live.

[+Sunmill]

Thanks!

I see that there are a few tristates on my route that I can take advantage of too, lots to think on here

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

1) Have Fun.

 

2) At least one cache per state/province. Don't feel like you have to do dozens and dozens of caches. Try to find caches with history, great views, clever hides, etc.

 

3) Eat & drink at great local restaurants/pubs.

 

4) Try to meet the locals. Post in local forums or FB groups of your plans. Look for local events.

 

5) Have Fun (even if that means skipping 2, 3 or and/or 4)

[cezanne]

What are some challenges/goals I can aim for?

 

What about: Find as many places of interest (subjective depending on your interest) along your route as conventiently fit into your travel schedule?

Too old fashioned?

[+narcissa]

I always try to hit virtuals and webcams because they are rare.

[cezanne]

There's a project-gc challenge checker and I ran it out of curiosity and discovered that I've found caches from 60 different reviewers. Unfortunately, the nearest reviewer challenges is about a 7 hour round trip drive from where I live.

 

Why unfortunately? Somehow you really seem to be someone for whom achievement badges might be a good idea.

 

I think a person who (just an example) travelled to 20 countries and found caches there but has no suitable challemnge cache nearby is much more fortunate than someone who has such a cache nearby but cannot afford to travel abroad at all.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

There's a project-gc challenge checker and I ran it out of curiosity and discovered that I've found caches from 60 different reviewers. Unfortunately, the nearest reviewer challenges is about a 7 hour round trip drive from where I live.

 

Why unfortunately? Somehow you really seem to be someone for whom achievement badges might be a good idea.

 

"Unfortunately", because if I wanted to play the challenge cache game it is difficult, not because I don't qualify for some challenges, but because the challenge cache craze hasn't caught on in my area. You're right though. The idea of achievement badges idea would be good for someone like me (i.e. someone that lives in an area which has very few challenge caches).

 

 

I think a person who (just an example) travelled to 20 countries and found caches there but has no suitable challemnge cache nearby is much more fortunate than someone who has such a cache nearby but cannot afford to travel abroad at all.

 

This thread about setting goals (and specifically about setting goals related to challenges). Whether or not someone can afford to travel abroad has absolutely nothing to do with it. Sure, it may be unfortunate for someone that would like to travel abroad but can't afford do so, but that really doesn't have anything to do with setting challenge goals or even geocaching.

 

 

[cezanne]

"Unfortunately", because if I wanted to play the challenge cache game it is difficult, not because I don't qualify for some challenges, but because the challenge cache craze hasn't caught on in my area. You're right though. The idea of achievement badges idea would be good for someone like me (i.e. someone that lives in an area which has very few challenge caches).

 

My view on challenge caches is different. I do not see them as a way to collect personal achievements and that's why I wondered about the "unfortunately". Your unfortunately statement btw is also not related to the topic of this thread and I just dared to comment on what you have written. The travel example was just an arbitrary example.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

"Unfortunately", because if I wanted to play the challenge cache game it is difficult, not because I don't qualify for some challenges, but because the challenge cache craze hasn't caught on in my area. You're right though. The idea of achievement badges idea would be good for someone like me (i.e. someone that lives in an area which has very few challenge caches).

 

My view on challenge caches is different. I do not see them as a way to collect personal achievements and that's why I wondered about the "unfortunately". Your unfortunately statement btw is also not related to the topic of this thread and I just dared to comment on what you have written.

 

If we're still talking achieving goals, the how can they not be described as personal achievement. Signing the log on the challenge *cache*, then posting a found it log, is the current mechanism for getting credit for achieving the goal, thus it's unfortunate when one can achieve a goal but the mechanism for recognizing the achievement is tied to a cache that would require a full tank of gas and over seven hours of driving to log.

 

The travel example was just an arbitrary example.

 

So it's just a coincidence that I personally have traveled to 20 countries where I have found a cache?

 

 

[cezanne]

If we're still talking achieving goals, the how can they not be described as personal achievement. Signing the log on the challenge *cache*, then posting a found it log, is the current mechanism for getting credit for achieving the goal, thus it's unfortunate when one can achieve a goal but the mechanism for recognizing the achievement is tied to a cache that would require a full tank of gas and over seven hours of driving to log.

 

It all depends on one's view on challenge caches - I have mentioned that before.

 

If I owned e.g. a challenge which requires say 750 found multi caches, then my main reason would be to encourage more multi cache visits and more hidden multi caches in my local area.

I would not see it as an offer for other cachers to get an award for having found 750 multi caches.

 

I appreciate some challenge caches far from me as they brought new ideas to me what kind of caches could be interesting to look for (e.g. lonely ones).

 

That said it brings me back to my recommendation that the goals to set for the OP will depend on his/her preferences. For someone interested into earth sciences watching out for ECs on the route makes sense - for someone who would visit ECs just for a challenge cache, there certainly exist better goals.

 

As your reviewer challenge example is concerned, I do not even view that as achievement at all. I checked before that I have found caches published by 36 reviewers, but so what? That was never something I focussed on. It just happened. Travelling to other countries is at least something active - the number of involved reviewers is something pretty passive.

 

 

 

So it's just a coincidence that I personally have traveled to 20 countries where I have found a cache?

 

Yes, just a pure coincidence - I had no idea in how many countries you have found a cache and I actually would have guessed your number to be higher. I do not even know how many countries I visited myself (unrelated to geocaching) - I never counted them.

Edited April 28, 2015 by cezanne

[+Sunmill]

I always try to hit virtuals and webcams because they are rare.

 

Excellent suggestion! I have a troop of Jr. cachers with me who love EC's and the effort of Virtuals (not so much multi-caches), this also helps plan some sights to see along our way.

[+BlueMoth]

When I go on a road trip I also look for virtuals and webcams. Another thing I do is sort an area by favorite points. I usually put way too many on my to do list, but it is better to have more than not enough.

You were specifically asking about Challenge caches though. If you have your itinerary, do a radius search of nearest towns along the way for caches with the word Challenge in the title. Make a list of the ones you find interesting/fun. You can usually stop and sign the log and write a note, even if you don't qualify for a find yet.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

If we're still talking achieving goals, the how can they not be described as personal achievement. Signing the log on the challenge *cache*, then posting a found it log, is the current mechanism for getting credit for achieving the goal, thus it's unfortunate when one can achieve a goal but the mechanism for recognizing the achievement is tied to a cache that would require a full tank of gas and over seven hours of driving to log.

 

It all depends on one's view on challenge caches - I have mentioned that before.

 

I'm not surprised. Your view for almost everything related to geocaching is, more often then not, unique.

 

 

If I owned e.g. a challenge which requires say 750 found multi caches, then my main reason would be to encourage more multi cache visits and more hidden multi caches in my local area.

I would not see it as an offer for other cachers to get an award for having found 750 multi caches.

 

Sure, finding 750 multi caches would provide an incentive to find to find more multi caches and a lonely cache challenge could inspire someone to find more caches that are not found very often. However, the CO of a challenge cache find 20 caches starting with letter T probably hasn't created the challenge because they think there aren't enough people finding caches with start with the letter T.

 

I didn't say anything about an "award". Finding a challenge cache, signing the log, then posting a found it log is just the current method of accounting. It's a way to keep track that someone has completed the challenge. Some sort of digital artwork would just be a different method of accounting

 

 

I appreciate some challenge caches far from me as they brought new ideas to me what kind of caches could be interesting to look for (e.g. lonely ones).

 

That said it brings me back to my recommendation that the goals to set for the OP will depend on his/her preferences. For someone interested into earth sciences watching out for ECs on the route makes sense - for someone who would visit ECs just for a challenge cache, there certainly exist better goals.

 

As your reviewer challenge example is concerned, I do not even view that as achievement at all. I checked before that I have found caches published by 36 reviewers, but so what? That was never something I focussed on. It just happened. Travelling to other countries is at least something active - the number of involved reviewers is something pretty passive.

 

Who are you to define what is or isn't an achievement for someone else? Almost anything that involves finding a cache might be considered an achievement. Finding your first, or 100th, or 1000th caches might be achievement. While you might think that finding 100 cachers isn't much of an achievement, for someone that lives in a country with 10 or few cachers finding 100 would be rather significant.

 

The OP came here and asked for suggestions of goals/achievement the they might be able to accomplish while on a trip which involved visited several states and provinces. I thought that a reviewer challenge would be something attainable for someone taking such a trip.

 

So it's just a coincidence that I personally have traveled to 20 countries where I have found a cache?

 

Yes, just a pure coincidence - I had no idea in how many countries you have found a cache and I actually would have guessed your number to be higher. I do not even know how many countries I visited myself (unrelated to geocaching) - I never counted them.

 

Why would you think I have found caches is more? Keep in mind, I live on a continent with only 3 countries (and haven't found caches in 2 of them). If I lived in Europe, with it's 51 countries it would be easier to find caches in more than 20, but that's not important.

 

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

If we're still talking achieving goals, the how can they not be described as personal achievement. Signing the log on the challenge *cache*, then posting a found it log, is the current mechanism for getting credit for achieving the goal, thus it's unfortunate when one can achieve a goal but the mechanism for recognizing the achievement is tied to a cache that would require a full tank of gas and over seven hours of driving to log.

 

It all depends on one's view on challenge caches - I have mentioned that before.

 

If I owned e.g. a challenge which requires say 750 found multi caches, then my main reason would be to encourage more multi cache visits and more hidden multi caches in my local area.

I would not see it as an offer for other cachers to get an award for having found 750 multi caches.

 

I appreciate some challenge caches far from me as they brought new ideas to me what kind of caches could be interesting to look for (e.g. lonely ones).

 

That said it brings me back to my recommendation that the goals to set for the OP will depend on his/her preferences. For someone interested into earth sciences watching out for ECs on the route makes sense - for someone who would visit ECs just for a challenge cache, there certainly exist better goals.

 

As your reviewer challenge example is concerned, I do not even view that as achievement at all. I checked before that I have found caches published by 36 reviewers, but so what? That was never something I focussed on. It just happened. Travelling to other countries is at least something active - the number of involved reviewers is something pretty passive.

 

 

 

So it's just a coincidence that I personally have traveled to 20 countries where I have found a cache?

 

Yes, just a pure coincidence - I had no idea in how many countries you have found a cache and I actually would have guessed your number to be higher. I do not even know how many countries I visited myself (unrelated to geocaching) - I never counted them.

[cezanne]

It all depends on one's view on challenge caches - I have mentioned that before.

 

I'm not surprised. Your view for almost everything related to geocaching is, more often then not, unique.7

 

I would not say however that my view on challenge caches is unique.

 

Sure, finding 750 multi caches would provide an incentive to find to find more multi caches and a lonely cache challenge could inspire someone to find more caches that are not found very often. However, the CO of a challenge cache find 20 caches starting with letter T probably hasn't created the challenge because they think there aren't enough people finding caches with start with the letter T.

 

I agree, that's why I came up with the multi and lonely cache examples and not the one with the letter T.

My point was just that challenge caches have aspects that are not fully covered when seen as system to record achievements (or however who might call them). Depending on the cache they might serve completely different purposes.

 

Finding a challenge cache, signing the log, then posting a found it log is just the current method of accounting. It's a way to keep track that someone has completed the challenge. Some sort of digital artwork would just be a different method of accounting

 

Again - due to your view that it is only a view of accounting for the person who logs such a cache, I agree that achievements badges are

an equivalent approach. If you see it from a different angle, then this is not any longer true (not only in the examples I have mentioned from the point of the view of the cache owner).

 

Who are you to define what is or isn't an achievement for someone else?

 

I just wrote that I do not view having found caches reviewed my many reviewers as achievement. I can be a achievement for someone else.

 

While you might think that finding 100 cachers isn't much of an achievement, for someone that lives in a country with 10 or few cachers finding 100 would be rather significant.

 

I do not understand what you mean with finding cachers. Do you mean caches?

My comment about the reviewer challenges was not with respect to quantity. The point I tried to make was just that typically one does not focus on the reviewer who published a cache at all (btw I wonder whether the challenge checker can deal with old caches where there is no published log). For almost all cachers qualifying for a reviewer challenge will happen automatically.

 

The OP came here and asked for suggestions of goals/achievement the they might be able to accomplish while on a trip which involved visited several states and provinces. I thought that a reviewer challenge would be something attainable for someone taking such a trip.

 

Nothing wrong with that. We are again back at the preferences of the OP which are unknown to us.

 

To me setting goals like the ones I mentioned seems more natural. There is no right or wrong way in this respect. It all depends what the OP prefers and it also depends on how to understand challenge (one way is to understand it as challenge caches - I did not understand it that way).

 

Why would you think I have found caches is more? Keep in mind, I live on a continent with only 3 countries (and haven't found caches in 2 of them). If I lived in Europe, with it's 51 countries it would be easier to find caches in more than 20, but that's not important.

 

It was just a vague feeling - no deep thinking involved. You seem to take this much more seriously than I. I do not care about numbers in this respect at all and thus have a bad intuition for it. I could not even have provided you with the precise number that Europe right now has 51 countries even though I live in Europe.

 

Cezanne

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

(It's nice to see a useful thread getting hijacked)