Is There a Correlation Between Caching during the Covid19 Pandemic and RIsk Seeking Behavior?

[+Clancy's Crew]

Perhaps this topic would be a good one for a math major bachelor degree final project.  Is there a way to mine the Geocaching data base to determine whether the people who are caching now, in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic, have a risk seeking characteristic in their personality?  A lay-person view of attempting to define a possible correlation:

 

1) Compare the average previous year Terrain rating of a cohort of cachers who have a significant number of finds in the past 3 weeks (after the pandemic became worldwide) with those who also cached in the previous year but have no caches in the past 3 weeks.

2) Figure out a process to correlate average Terrain ratings of a geocacher to degree of risk seeking behavior for that person.

 

Again, I'm not a math or statistics expert, but it does seem intuitive that people who have a high Terrain average for their caching experience enjoy hanging off cliffs, (and kayaking rapids and generally climbing every tree in sight) are risk seeking in nature.  I'd hesitate to call them adrenaline junkies, but they (we) probably are.  So, does that translate into a behavior that drives them to geocache now, in the midst of the pandemic?

 

After reviewing 7 pages of an adjacent topic on caching during the pandemic, it is obvious that there are strong feelings of folks on this topic.

 

Be Safe.

[+Max and 99]

11 minutes ago, Clancy's Crew said:

Perhaps this topic would be a good one for a math major bachelor degree final project.  Is there a way to mine the Geocaching data base to determine whether the people who are caching now, in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic, have a risk seeking characteristic in their personality?  A lay-person view of attempting to define a possible correlation:

 

1) Compare the average previous year Terrain rating of a cohort of cachers who have a significant number of finds in the past 3 weeks (after the pandemic became worldwide) with those who also cached in the previous year but have no caches in the past 3 weeks.

2) Figure out a process to correlate average Terrain ratings of a geocacher to degree of risk seeking behavior for that person.

 

Again, I'm not a math or statistics expert, but it does seem intuitive that people who have a high Terrain average for their caching experience enjoy hanging off cliffs, (and kayaking rapids and generally climbing every tree in sight) are risk seeking in nature.  I'd hesitate to call them adrenaline junkies, but they (we) probably are.  So, does that translate into a behavior that drives them to geocache now, in the midst of the pandemic?

 

After reviewing 7 pages of an adjacent topic on caching during the pandemic, it is obvious that there are strong feelings of folks on this topic.

 

Be Safe.

Here you can find very high T ratings on skirt lifters. The study would be useless. 

[+CAVinoGal]

1 hour ago, Clancy's Crew said:

Is there a way to mine the Geocaching data base to determine whether the people who are caching now, in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic, have a risk seeking characteristic in their personality? 

 

I don't consider myself to be a high risk taker, but I am doing some geocaching here and there.  We walk local trails, new caches are being placed and published (we've published a couple ourselves), we've done cache maintenance, and really haven't changed our caching habits except there are no events to attend.  We do try to combine caching activity with other errands, and go to where the newer caches are published.  We'll scope out new cache locations, do our maintenance checks on nearby caches of ours if needed, find a cache or two, and get our groceries in one trip instead of dedicated trips for each outing, or separate runs (noramlly hubby would do the maintenance while I'm out grocery shopping; now we hang out together a lot more!!)

 

A lot of the ones we are finding are not high D/T either, they are on fairly level ground, walking/bike trails through neighborhoods.  We're in a fairly urban neighborhood with rural areas close to us.  Our stats are not going to tell you much is different than before the pandemic.  In 2018 into 2019 we were on a "streak" to find at least a cache a day; we ended it at 404 days in February 2019.  Since then we have slowed our caching considerably, we may even be doing more now than after we initially ended our streak a year ago.  Risk taking?  Hiking with my husband in the woods or behind homes along a creek, where we might see a couple of folks walking their dogs - even being the FTF on a couple of new hides recently, we wash hands, we sanitize, and we hope those following us do the same!  Interesting that people seem to bee spacing the finds on the new caches too - they get found about 3 days apart fromt he previous finder...

[+cerberus1]

We know some fragile folks who are finally venturing out.  If they didn't care for staying home before this thing, it's making them bonkers now.

I have relatives who never "walked" anywhere.  They're now getting outside just for something to do...     

 - My sister asked if "I" remembered what her password here is.   

I've had health issues, and just found my second cache of the year a week ago, simply because the doc told me it's okay to get my (now) fat can out and walk.

A lot of new distant, woods caches have come out near me.  Most by people who rarely see a 3T or better.

Reviewers in our state (and yours...) are only publishing caches with higher terrain right now,  simply because they're "in the woods"  or large parks .

Heavily populated towns/cities,  and business areas, are where most of the "hotspots" of this virus are,  so caches there aren't getting published for now.   "Social distancing", and FTF in heavily-populated areas an issue too.

People are going back to caching as we knew it, placing woods trails caches during this virus.

I personally feel that's an improvement...    

 

It seems (to me) that most "strong feelings" here in the forums are because some areas have a different approach to this virus than others.

I'm seeing people with high-terrain hides and finds upset that people are going out now, so I don't feel it's a "terrain rating" thing.

The last time I looked at my "terrain rating"  was because someone in these forums brought it up...

I've cached by myself for over 2 years now.  The other 2/3rds giving up the hobby after her last find was 400' off (but still found it).

 -  I've only hit a handful of caches since that were less than 2T.

Because the other 2/3rds was a FTF monster, where cache n dashes gain the same "point" as a technical rope climb, I figure it'll be at least another year before my "terrain rating" finally hits 2.  

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by cerberus1

[+Clancy's Crew]

2 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

Here you can find very high T ratings on skirt lifters. The study would be useless. 

That is a sad commentary on how people apply the guidelines.  Surprised I haven't heard more about this in the forums.

 

Very few real life databases are pristine, but perhaps the Geocaching database is diverse enough and large enough to offset anomalies such as the one you pointed out.

[+dprovan]

If you found such a correlation, I think it would be because high terrain caches are out of the way, and so people that favor such caches are more likely to continue caching as usual because there are no people where they normally cache. I don't think the causal relation would be "risk seeking". People seeking caches today aren't doing it because it's risky: they''re seeking caches because they don't think caching is a significant risk for virus dissemination.

[+Max and 99]

9 minutes ago, Clancy's Crew said:

Surprised I haven't heard more about this in the forums.

It's there if you know where to look. ?

I've seen a CO do this "to help people fill their D/T grid" and other reasons. 

 

 

[+on4bam]

58 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

 - My sister asked if "I" remembered what her password here is.   

 

 

Off-topic: If you do, it's a bad password

I've just got 1 password........ to open my password manager filled with  v5hfd'"('54hjkhk9è(  like passwords

 

[+bflentje]

4 hours ago, Clancy's Crew said:

Perhaps this topic would be a good one for a math major bachelor degree final project.  Is there a way to mine the Geocaching data base to determine whether the people who are caching now, in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic, have a risk seeking characteristic in their personality?  A lay-person view of attempting to define a possible correlation:

 

1) Compare the average previous year Terrain rating of a cohort of cachers who have a significant number of finds in the past 3 weeks (after the pandemic became worldwide) with those who also cached in the previous year but have no caches in the past 3 weeks.

2) Figure out a process to correlate average Terrain ratings of a geocacher to degree of risk seeking behavior for that person.

 

Again, I'm not a math or statistics expert, but it does seem intuitive that people who have a high Terrain average for their caching experience enjoy hanging off cliffs, (and kayaking rapids and generally climbing every tree in sight) are risk seeking in nature.  I'd hesitate to call them adrenaline junkies, but they (we) probably are.  So, does that translate into a behavior that drives them to geocache now, in the midst of the pandemic?

 

After reviewing 7 pages of an adjacent topic on caching during the pandemic, it is obvious that there are strong feelings of folks on this topic.

 

Be Safe.

 

When it comes down to it, some things just do not need to be studied. This is one of those things, in my opinion.

[+niraD]

1 hour ago, Max and 99 said:

I've seen a CO do this "to help people fill their D/T grid" and other reasons.

At one point, there was a numbers trail of 81 fungible film canisters, with (meaningless) D-T ratings that filled the grid.

[+Max and 99]

4 minutes ago, niraD said:

At one point, there was a numbers trail of 81 fungible film canisters, with (meaningless) D-T ratings that filled the grid.

Oh!! Wow, that sure would help fill a grid fast!

[+Viajero Perdido]

I don't think it's valid to assume high terrain = risk seeking, sorry.

 

I think there's a high correlation between high terrain and exercise, such as a walk in the woods.  I also think hitting the trails offers negative risk because of all the health benefits of exercise: less risk of heart attack, of obesity and all the problems that come with it, etc.  (COVID, BTW, seems to be disproportionately hitting the obese, with their typically high inflammation markers.)

 

I love high-terrain hides (except trees) - but consider myself risk-averse.

 

High terrain = health.

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by Viajero Perdido
Add linky

[+barefootjeff]

7 hours ago, Clancy's Crew said:

1) Compare the average previous year Terrain rating of a cohort of cachers who have a significant number of finds in the past 3 weeks (after the pandemic became worldwide) with those who also cached in the previous year but have no caches in the past 3 weeks.

2) Figure out a process to correlate average Terrain ratings of a geocacher to degree of risk seeking behavior for that person.

 

Again, I'm not a math or statistics expert, but it does seem intuitive that people who have a high Terrain average for their caching experience enjoy hanging off cliffs, (and kayaking rapids and generally climbing every tree in sight) are risk seeking in nature.  I'd hesitate to call them adrenaline junkies, but they (we) probably are.  So, does that translate into a behavior that drives them to geocache now, in the midst of the pandemic?

 

I consider myself to be fairly risk-averse, particularly as I have a damaged sense of balance in one ear, but I still prefer the higher terrain caches as my D/T grid shows:

Many of the higher terrain caches I've done got their rating from the length and/or steepness of the hike. The T5s I've done just required a boat, in my case a little sit-on-top kayak, and with the waterways around here all salt-water estuaries, the closest thing to rapids is the incoming or outgoing tide. For those T4 and T4.5 caches that were in what I would consider rather precarious positions, I've used a ladder to get to them safely.

 

 

The same goes for my own hides. My two T5s are a bit of a kayak paddle around enclosed tidal waterways, and my T3s and T4s are mostly long hikes with some steep sections, rock-hopping or maybe thick scrub to negotiate. None require vertical ascents or dangling off cliffs and those that are near cliffs are well back from the edge. They are not high-risk caches, just ones that require a fair bit of physical effort to reach.

 

I haven't found any caches since mid March, but that's mainly due to the travel restrictions now in force and the lack of any unfound caches in my local area. In the course of my permitted exercise along the walking trails in the local parks and reserves (which remain open), I've looked in on a few of my caches that were close to where I was walking. One of those is an EarthCache, so nothing to touch, and the others hadn't been found or disturbed since before the pandemic, but nonetheless I thoroughly wash my hands afterwards. As others have said, handling a cache is no different to handling stuff in the supermarket, and as long as you don't touch your face until after cleaning up, there's no risk.

 

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

3 hours ago, niraD said:

At one point, there was a numbers trail of 81 fungible film canisters, with (meaningless) D-T ratings that filled the grid.

 

Perhaps there should be a study on people that will knowingly claim to have filled the grid based on finding 81 caches with intentionally incorrect ratings.  

[+colleda]

Rather than risk taking, I sometimes wonder if some cachers are now deliberately targeting caches where the COs have threatened to delete finds just to spite or provoke them. It does sound tempting in a way if one has a rebellious  or mischievous spirit.

Edited April 14, 2020 by colleda
spelling

[+31BMSG]

1 hour ago, colleda said:

Rather than risk taking, I sometimes wonder if some cachers are now deliberately targeting caches where the COs have threatened to delete finds just to spite or provoke them. It does sound tempting in a way if one has a rebellious  or mischievous spirit.

Well said, Sir.

[+NLBokkie]

Here in the Netherlands, almost all caches on or over water are T5-caches. You can usually find them just by boat or swimming and they are mostly in very calm water. Now would you consider that "risky" in a country that has plenty of water surfaces (as in "they're unavoidable"), where almost anybody can swim as they learn to from early childhood, and water sports are very common?

 

Besides that, I object to the notion that geocaching is automatically considered "risky" due to the Corona virus being around. What is the correlation between those two? Not wanting to start another discussion about that though, but please trust and allow people to make smart decisions for themselves (and others to an extent).

Edited April 15, 2020 by NLBokkie

[+MNTA]

20 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

I don't think it's valid to assume high terrain = risk seeking, sorry.

 

I think there's a high correlation between high terrain and exercise, such as a walk in the woods.  I also think hitting the trails offers negative risk because of all the health benefits of exercise: less risk of heart attack, of obesity and all the problems that come with it, etc.  (COVID, BTW, seems to be disproportionately hitting the obese, with their typically high inflammation markers.)

 

I love high-terrain hides (except trees) - but consider myself risk-averse.

 

High terrain = health.

 

 

I have an example to support. But I agree the higher terrain usually means the longer the hike until it comes to the need for a boat or climbing a tree. 

 

We had a prolific hider in the area and he had a multi series (which I really enjoyed) that had around 10-25 avid finders of. He used the terrain rating (right or wrong) to indicate the distance effort required between multi stages. Typically it was a two stage multi and a T5 would have around 500-1000 miles of driving required I even got a FTF on one of them. I was fortunate that one stage was close to my parents place and got on a visit. Two weeks later my father came down and we went for the final at the beach we had a blast. You learned quickly to gather the local info for the first waypoints and then group them on weekend cacheing excursions as you criss crossed the town and state. 

[+brodiebunch]

My D/T levels are 1.63 and 1.74, I am generally risk averse and am not sure if my D/T levels are low, average or better than. 

I have been geocaching during the pandemic, finding over a 100 in the last month. Its not for risk seeking, its for my mental health, especially in light of the economic devastation this has played in my industry. I have found county parks, city parks and forests in that my state has not reached its tentacles into, that is where I am going as they provide ample opportunity for social distancing.  I am not going to sit at home and worry about when/if I am going to catch the virus (I know some people stressing over that) Nor am I going to sit at home, learn yoga, hone my cooking skills, clean my closets, watching idiocy on Netflix or read one of the great novels. 

As for the virus, everyone and everything is contaminated. 

 

 

[+JL_HSTRE]

I am not a thrillseeker and not much of a risk taker. I would be out caching during the pandemic because I cache almost entirely in parks and preserves. I would encounter few people and easily social distance, while getting exercise. I usually end up caching solo even without a pandemic. On the contrary, many times that I have tried to walk or bike in or near my apartment complex it is hard to social distance properly because of too many muggles walking their dogs or exercising. 

 

However, I am not doing so because my county has closed all such property and my state has closed all state parks. There's very few places I could go caching. On top if that, Florida is unseasonably warm. It's been above 80 during daylight hours almost every day for the last two weeks, sometimes hitting 90, and occasionally the heat index got to close to 100. That's not my idea of caching weather without a pandemic, much less with one.

[+K13]

On 4/14/2020 at 1:06 PM, Max and 99 said:

Oh!! Wow, that sure would help fill a grid fast!

Look a couple hundred miles, across the river to your south. There were trails placed for the recent Woodstock that had people bragging about completing 2 loops during their time at the event. One person I talked to at the late-night event told me they completed an entire loop on Saturday, after the mega-group photo that morning.  I just smiled and let them feel good about that 'accomplishment'.