I don't like looking for caches

[+niraD]

Would you take a devious something billed as an obvious something? For instance a micro hidden in a hedge with Difficulty 1 and "no hint needed"? To me they're the most frustrating.

There's nothing really devious about a "needle in a haystack" hide. They're just mean.

[+Happy Humphrey]

Would you take a devious something billed as an obvious something? For instance a micro hidden in a hedge with Difficulty 1 and "no hint needed"? To me they're the most frustrating.

There's nothing really devious about a "needle in a haystack" hide. They're just mean.

I think that these are often placed like this by people who don't really think about it, so not devious, not mean, just careless. I guess that they feel that because they can see where it's hidden then it must be obvious to anyone.

A flaw is that if the cache is muggled, or replaced incorrectly, you get a really frustrating search with nothing to cut down the options. Another flaw is that the cache may have been muggled but you can't be sure so you waste time - then the CO wastes time as you can't report it missing.

[+narcissa]

Would you take a devious something billed as an obvious something? For instance a micro hidden in a hedge with Difficulty 1 and "no hint needed"? To me they're the most frustrating.

There's nothing really devious about a "needle in a haystack" hide. They're just mean.

 

I don't really see how it's "mean." You're not obligated to search for them.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Would you take a devious something billed as an obvious something? For instance a micro hidden in a hedge with Difficulty 1 and "no hint needed"? To me they're the most frustrating.

There's nothing really devious about a "needle in a haystack" hide. They're just mean.

 

I don't really see how it's "mean." You're not obligated to search for them.

 

Of course, no one is obligated to search for every cache.

 

However, the decision to search for any cache may be based upon the information available in the cache listing. Are the D/T ratings accurate? It's not just about spending time actually searching at GZ. Some may consider it to be a waste of time to travel to GZ only to discover it's a needle in a haystack hide.

 

 

[+lee737]

 

I'd gladly walk a mile to find an ammo can. I can't say the same for a nano cache.

 

 

+1

I'd walk 10 miles for an ammo can, provided it was a nice walk.... can't say the same for my caching buddy (6yo son)....

I'd love to see the micro cache size broken down to micro and nano, so I can exclude nano's altogether.

[+The Rat]

So you're in it for the numbers. Maybe not just the numbers, but you are in it for the numbers.

You don't know The Rat or you wouldn't have written that. If there is anybody who is NOT in it for the numbers, it's The Rat.

fizzymagic knows me well. I'm definitely NOT in it for the numbers. Anyone bothering to look at my profile will see that. I went all of 2010 without a single find.

 

I was not slamming geocaching. I listed in the OP many reasons why I still enjoy geocaching. I went out today with a friend and we had a good time. I gave a favorite point to a difficult cache that took a long time to find. It had very well-crafted camo. The favorite was for the craftsmanship and good placement, dead on accuracy of coordinates, well-written, grammatical cache page, and general all-around fairness since it was in plain view by a marked trail yet virtually invisible. However, while I enjoyed the find, I did not enjoy the hunt. Some might say that I enjoyed the find all the more because of the long search, but I don't think so. I have given fav points to similar caches that I found in seconds. In fact, I'd be more likely to do so because there is something about that type that makes you feel special, like someone with secret knowledge that the rest of the world doesn't have or know, that same feeling I had with my very first geocache in 2002. I can walk right up to something and find it when everyone else just walks on by. It's reassuring to see that there are others who have similar reactions to mine. Obviously there are plenty who don't.

[+geodarts]

I went out today with a friend and we had a good time. I gave a favorite point to a difficult cache that took a long time to find. It had very well-crafted camo. The favorite was for the craftsmanship and good placement, dead on accuracy of coordinates, well-written, grammatical cache page, and general all-around fairness since it was in plain view by a marked trail yet virtually invisible. However, while I enjoyed the find, I did nothing the hunt.

 

This reminds me of my experience with the hides of a (no longer active) local cacher who had expertise in special effects . He crafted some of the best caches I have ever seen. I knew that they would be unique hides. I always enjoyed finding them, but not once did I think about how enjoyable it was to search for them. The only times I enjoyed the search was when it was with others so it became a social event in and of itself. A group of us searching for one of his caches had us all over an urban bus stop. We did not find the container, but it was one of the few times when the search itself was the reason for what we were doing.

 

On the other hand, if the same search had been for a nano stuck in a random location I doubt if I would have participated. That particular search was fun in part because it was done for one of the cacher's hides.

 

As I wrote earlier, I do not cache in order to search, the search is the least interesting part of the game. But that does not mean I do not enjoy the find if there is some reason to look other than to be searching.

[+Tahoe Oldphartz]

Yep. We've changed a lot in our 4 years of enjoying the adventure. Much more discriminating now. Mostly interested in interesting locations & outdoor activity. Now we seldom visit caches of less than T3.5 unless they have large numbers of fav points & INTERESTING LOGS/PIX. Most of the ones that tend to get our fav points are Difficulty 1-3; Terrain 3-5!

[linguistkris]

What an interesting discussion! I'm so glad I am not alone with the dilemma. I would have thought my being uncomfortable with or frustrated by long searches was just about being me a newbie and needing to learn more about good hiding places and how to look unsuspicious while searching, but now I get the impression that that isn't all of it.

I've had a few searches when the searching was a satisfying process and I was glad I had to poke around a good while before finding the cache, but there were a few others that made me uncomfortable or irritated me, even when they were successful (and much more so if they weren't). But having seen this discussion now I feel that it's perfectly legitimate to go caching for other reasons than just the find. It's certainly true I have a lot of learning yet ahead of me, but being led to discover pretty and interesting places and having a few more good walks is good enough in itself.

[TahoeJoe]

I was out yesterday in a remote area bagging a few caches and decided to try and find a micro nearby. After looking for 20 minutes I gave up as I was not having a good time. It reminded me again why I don't like micros or camouflage caches that are almost impossible to find.

[+The Jester]

The hunt doesn't bother me (unless I can't find it...) but the part that I dislike the most is writing the log. Maybe because I flunked spelling/english 12 years in a row... But there are times I can hardly face getting on the computer to write up the hunt. And not just on the longer days, sometimes I've been a couple of weeks behind on a day of 3-5 caches.

[SicilianCyclops]

I know what you're saying. When I get to GZ I want to find the cache within a couple of minutes at most. The whole point is having someone go to a place for scenic or historic reasons, not to trick people with overly-difficult hides.