Growth in Utah

June 3, 2001

Was just playing around with some data, and did a little graph of the number of caches in Utah. It looks strikingly like the graph of the growth of the sport world wide. The main difference is that we were essentially dead all through the winter, which will likely be the case this winter, as well. But you never know...

Through Feb., March., and April we had about a 45 degree line on the chart, which is great increase. Starting in May, however, we have been on more like a 60 degree line, which is VERY exciting. What is even more impressive is that as I look at the owners of these new caches, most of them are just starting. Most have fewer than 10 finds, and are already seeing the fun to be had on both sides - hiding and seeking. If this keeps up through the coming month, I may have to require reservations to attend the Rendezvous next month. Take it as it comes.

Cache On!!

-BunkerDave

June 4, 2001

I was just about to start a thread about the growth in Utah. At the rate it is going, we will have over two hundred in a matter of two or three weeks. Maybe the summer heat will slow it down? I am still getting things together for my first few hides. They will be at obscure, but interesting, locations in Millard county.

Huaso

June 4, 2001

bunkerdave,

how about sharing that chart, i would really like to see it. post it here or email it to me.

thanks.

June 5, 2001

Leap - I will try and send it your way tonight. It is a Works spreadsheet, so it should convert to Excel. I need to get a webpage set up so I can post these sorts of things on it for all to use. No copyright, of course.

June 5, 2001

Leap - I will try and send it your way tonight. It is a Works spreadsheet, so it should convert to Excel. I need to get a webpage set up so I can post these sorts of things on it for all to use. No copyright, of course.

June 5, 2001

Top Cache Placers in Utah ? June 5, 2001

These are based on names listed as the cacher. Some of the names, like ?Tom? and ?Dave? were so general that I couldn?t be sure it was the same person, but counted them as if they were.

Also, some of the caches were placed by more than one person. In such a case I gave credit to whoever?s name was first.

So here they are as of June 5, 2001:

Leaper64 ? 11

The first cache in Utah was placed at Potter Ponds by Leaper64 on August 27, 2000.

Happy Hunting,

WJJagFan

[This message has been edited by WJJagfan (edited 05 June 2001).]

June 5, 2001

Top Cache Placers in Utah ? June 5, 2001

These are based on names listed as the cacher. Some of the names, like ?Tom? and ?Dave? were so general that I couldn?t be sure it was the same person, but counted them as if they were.

Also, some of the caches were placed by more than one person. In such a case I gave credit to whoever?s name was first.

So here they are as of June 5, 2001:

Leaper64 ? 11

The first cache in Utah was placed at Potter Ponds by Leaper64 on August 27, 2000.

Happy Hunting,

WJJagFan

[This message has been edited by WJJagfan (edited 05 June 2001).]

June 6, 2001

Nice Post, Jag. I hadn't even thought of doing that one. (Or I'd have done it ) You are quite right.

I gotta say, the caches I placed really didn't seem like that big a deal. I just spent one evening, went to Kmart and the Dollar store, got a few containers, and loaded them in my car until I got somewhere I wanted to place them. That's all it takes. You'd be amazed how many places you go that you will want to place a cache, when you already have the cache with you. Then it's just a matter of placing and posting. Still got two waiting for their homes.

Still waiting for someone to find my "Valley of the Gods" caches - Any takers?

June 6, 2001

Nice Post, Jag. I hadn't even thought of doing that one. (Or I'd have done it ) You are quite right.

I gotta say, the caches I placed really didn't seem like that big a deal. I just spent one evening, went to Kmart and the Dollar store, got a few containers, and loaded them in my car until I got somewhere I wanted to place them. That's all it takes. You'd be amazed how many places you go that you will want to place a cache, when you already have the cache with you. Then it's just a matter of placing and posting. Still got two waiting for their homes.

Still waiting for someone to find my "Valley of the Gods" caches - Any takers?

June 6, 2001

quote:
Originally posted by bunkerdave:
I just spent one evening, went to Kmart and the Dollar store, got a few containers, and loaded them in my car until I got somewhere I wanted to place them. That's all it takes. You'd be amazed how many places you go that you will want to place a cache, when you already have the cache with you.

That's a GREAT idea! I'm sure other's have thought of it too, but I sure hadn't. I'm gonna put together two caches tonight for my car, and we'll just see where they wind up, but I'll try to make them:

A. Challenging

B. Interesting

C. Fun, or

D. All of the above.

I'm starting to think that we have plenty of local (Salt Lake valley) caches, and unless I see someplace begging to be discovered, I'll probably try to find a place a bit more remote. We'll see ...

Thanks DB

WJJagFan

[This message has been edited by WJJagfan (edited 06 June 2001).]

June 6, 2001

I agree re: SLC caches. I certainly would never want to say anything to discourage anyone from placing. If you know a great spot, cache it! I am fortunate in that I was one of the first that I know of to take up the game in my part of the state (along with Knightmare) and very few caches have still been placed down here. The west desert has long been quite popular, as well. Some well-placed, very challenging caches out there, too. Bring water.

[This message has been edited by bunkerdave (edited 06 June 2001).]

June 13, 2001

Let's see if I got this right.

Five new Utah caches are posted - in the middle of the week, just as a major storm system moves across the state.
Apparently within minutes three of the five are visited.
One of the caches receives over four visitors, each risking life and limb as the storm rages about them, who need traffic control to avoid bumping into each other!

Is this a symptom of phenomenal growth or what? Maybe we are all just nuts! Wish I'd have been there!

Huaso

June 13, 2001

Re: previous post

Not the first time this has happened, certain not to be the last.

Re: My addiction

My wife came in this morning and said she thinks she "understands it"...glad someone does .

Those "Zeus" caches look interesting. Who will get there first?

Brownbag:

Will you send me the link for the "Clover Springs Cache?" I can't get it to come up on my search. I've tried everything I can think of.

BunkerDave

dwallent34@yahoo.com

[This message has been edited by bunkerdave (edited 13 June 2001).]

June 13, 2001

Re: previous post

Not the first time this has happened, certain not to be the last.

Re: My addiction

My wife came in this morning and said she thinks she "understands it"...glad someone does .

Those "Zeus" caches look interesting. Who will get there first?

Brownbag:

Will you send me the link for the "Clover Springs Cache?" I can't get it to come up on my search. I've tried everything I can think of.

BunkerDave

dwallent34@yahoo.com

[This message has been edited by bunkerdave (edited 13 June 2001).]

June 13, 2001

here is the link for clover springs

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=155

i had this one on my watch list. i hate to see another one go into early retirement.

i wrote a note to jeremy asking if he would consider adding a feature to the website which would allow us to query "archived" caches. i hope he sees some benefit to it as it sure would help me keep my gps list fresh. what do you all think?

[This message has been edited by leaper64 (edited 13 June 2001).]

June 18, 2001

Wow. I guess you could say the word is out about GeoCaching in Utah. 23 caches this week. I used to think I might be able to visit them all, I mean, I used to find them faster than they were placed, but at this rate, not a chance. The number of caches has about doubled since I found my first cache on April 26, and in that time, I have only managed to track down 65. So much for getting them all. It was a fun delusion while it lasted. The upside (was that a downside) is that with all the new caches, the variety is terrific. There are caches in city parks, on top of mountains, in sand dunes, under sagebrush, near old mining sites (be careful) and in many other places too numerous to name. The point is, there is something for everyone. So many of the new caches were the first placed by that individual or group, which is especially exciting. A week ago I counted about 70 entities (individuals or groups) that had placed at least one cache. I thought I would be able to keep up the e-mail list, but I am not even going to try. You will all just have to use this forum, or you can e-mail me and I will put you on the list I have. Anyway, I think it's cool. Watch out California. That WOULD be sick.

June 18, 2001

Wow. I guess you could say the word is out about GeoCaching in Utah. 23 caches this week. I used to think I might be able to visit them all, I mean, I used to find them faster than they were placed, but at this rate, not a chance. The number of caches has about doubled since I found my first cache on April 26, and in that time, I have only managed to track down 65. So much for getting them all. It was a fun delusion while it lasted. The upside (was that a downside) is that with all the new caches, the variety is terrific. There are caches in city parks, on top of mountains, in sand dunes, under sagebrush, near old mining sites (be careful) and in many other places too numerous to name. The point is, there is something for everyone. So many of the new caches were the first placed by that individual or group, which is especially exciting. A week ago I counted about 70 entities (individuals or groups) that had placed at least one cache. I thought I would be able to keep up the e-mail list, but I am not even going to try. You will all just have to use this forum, or you can e-mail me and I will put you on the list I have. Anyway, I think it's cool. Watch out California. That WOULD be sick.

June 19, 2001

It's a good thing to realize that nailing all the caches is not a truly worthy goal. There will always be new ones to get. It's the journey that counts. Personally, I hate to see someone trying to get to a place like Island Lake without taking a full day to do it. It is just too beautiful an area not to take some food, sit down and relax for a while with family or friends. If you have a dog that loves water, it is a great place.

OK, I'll nab a bunch of the caches in fields and urban areas just to hike the numbers a bit, but the real joy is taking time to smell the roses (or desert air) going somewhere you might not have gone otherwise.

I suspect that you will always be the one to catch, but then that assumes that I want to catch anyone.

See you at the campout.

June 23, 2001

Hey Brownbag, can I just follow you around in these forums and say ditto to all your posts?

WJJagFan

June 24, 2001

Thanks for the compliment. Hopefully, I'll see you at the campout next month.

June 29, 2001

Howdy Geo-nuts,

I would like to make the rendezvous but the closer it gets, the more it looks like my boss won't cooperate. Being a postal letter carrier, I work saturdays. If I can't get any time off, I would still like to at least make a showing. Do you think the shindig will continue into sunday? I can head up after work on saturday but don't want to get there only to have to say goodbye to all the departing cachers.

Magnum gave me a tip when I met him at the paperback exchange. Cheaperthandirt.com sells ammo cans for 3.97 each. They compute shipping charges according to dollars spent, not item weight. I guess if you bought an expensive item that is small, you could end up getting hosed but heavy items like cans make this policy great. The cans are excellent and with shipping end up being around five bucks each. I have 30 of them in my garage just waiting their chance to do their duty.

One more thing. I was wondering if any of you would be interesting in getting together to place a MEGA cache. If some of us got together and donated our effort and some really nice items, we could place a cache in a difficult area that would be worth the work for some of the new cachers that are serious about caching. Kings Peak comes to mind as one idea of a cache location.

Happy hunting,

Kevin

June 30, 2001

Kevin -

Count me in. This weekend I am making a push to get to 100 finds, but after that, I am going to take a much more leisurely pace, which means I am going to be more active in placing some really top-notch caches around the state. I wouldn't want something like this to go down without me, so I hope you'll let me know.

Regarding the Rendezvous, I have pretty much decided to go up Thursday after work and stay until Saturday - hopefully late. I am never in any rush to come back down from the mountains. It's a shame you can't work it out with the boss. It is possible I will still be up there, but I can't be sure about the others. We have about a dozen who have said they are planning on it, and some have said they will be there friday and stay over, while others have said they will just make it for saturday. A couple have said they wanted to come down saturday and stay until sunday, so they would be there. If you think you might be there fairly early on saturday, (before 3-4 pm, I would definitely wait around to visit with you.

------------------

David Wallentine

dwallent34@yahoo.com

June 30, 2001

quote:
Originally posted by hunt4elk:
...I was wondering if any of you would be interesting in getting together to place a MEGA cache.

I'm interested! Put me on your list and let me know when!

June 30, 2001

will have to leave then because of other committments Sunday evening.

It sounds like Kevin may have some extra ammo cans to sell

Smith and Edwards sells the smaller ammo cans for $2.98 and the large ones for $4.98. They had dozens of them last time I was there. I bought a few extra for people down here. It is not that hard for someone to do a run there and pick them up. They also have great goodies to place in caches for dirt cheap prices. The place is worth a stop and there are some caches just off the freeway on the way up as well.

--Rod

June 30, 2001

will have to leave then because of other committments Sunday evening.

It sounds like Kevin may have some extra ammo cans to sell

Smith and Edwards sells the smaller ammo cans for $2.98 and the large ones for $4.98. They had dozens of them last time I was there. I bought a few extra for people down here. It is not that hard for someone to do a run there and pick them up. They also have great goodies to place in caches for dirt cheap prices. The place is worth a stop and there are some caches just off the freeway on the way up as well.

--Rod

June 30, 2001

Most of you in Utah got this already, but for those who did not, here it is. This is an e-mail I got from one of our group, he has this idea, which I think has some merit. Obviously, only one person could win the "Grand Prize" but then we could either keep the cache as a multicache, or it could become several traditonal caches. I can think of half a dozen of you who I anticipate will have strong interest in this. I figure about 15-20 dollars per person should cover an Etrex, depending on how many want to help place it. We are going to need several, since no one person will be able to cover the whole state - although I have tried.

Hi Dave,

I have been meaning to contact you for a while. I saw the super cache thread and thought I would see what you guys thought of my idea for a super cache. I propose doing a multi Cache with the final cache having a Garmin Etrex in it. The twist is the Caches would be hundreds of miles apart (all in Utah). The caches would show case some of the best locations in Utah. I was also thinking a minimum of a mile hike to each location. I think it would take a team to pull this off as well as splitting up the cost of the Garmin. My rough plan was on a week end each team member would head to a general predetermined cache location. Next they would find a cache site and record coordinates. That night they would phone a captain who would record all the cache locations and coordinates. The captain could then call each member back and tell them what coordinates to put in their cache to direct the finder to the next one. This is just a rough plan that probably could be improved on with input from other cachers. Imagine some ones surprise if the first cache is at Antelope Island and the next Cache is at Bryce Canyon. I don't have the other guys Email so please forward this to them if you think it has merit.

Please let me know what you think.

Utahbill

[This message has been edited by bunkerdave (edited 30 June 2001).]

June 30, 2001

Most of you in Utah got this already, but for those who did not, here it is. This is an e-mail I got from one of our group, he has this idea, which I think has some merit. Obviously, only one person could win the "Grand Prize" but then we could either keep the cache as a multicache, or it could become several traditonal caches. I can think of half a dozen of you who I anticipate will have strong interest in this. I figure about 15-20 dollars per person should cover an Etrex, depending on how many want to help place it. We are going to need several, since no one person will be able to cover the whole state - although I have tried.

Hi Dave,

I have been meaning to contact you for a while. I saw the super cache thread and thought I would see what you guys thought of my idea for a super cache. I propose doing a multi Cache with the final cache having a Garmin Etrex in it. The twist is the Caches would be hundreds of miles apart (all in Utah). The caches would show case some of the best locations in Utah. I was also thinking a minimum of a mile hike to each location. I think it would take a team to pull this off as well as splitting up the cost of the Garmin. My rough plan was on a week end each team member would head to a general predetermined cache location. Next they would find a cache site and record coordinates. That night they would phone a captain who would record all the cache locations and coordinates. The captain could then call each member back and tell them what coordinates to put in their cache to direct the finder to the next one. This is just a rough plan that probably could be improved on with input from other cachers. Imagine some ones surprise if the first cache is at Antelope Island and the next Cache is at Bryce Canyon. I don't have the other guys Email so please forward this to them if you think it has merit.

Please let me know what you think.

Utahbill

[This message has been edited by bunkerdave (edited 30 June 2001).]

July 29, 2001

I have updated my little graph, and unfortunately, I still can't figure out how to paste it here for all to view. Just some "gee whiz" things for all of you to ponder:

1. The last time we had a single-digit cache placement week was the week of May 20th.

2. We have placed 20 or more caches in a week FIVE times.

3. Since the last time there were NO caches placed in a week, (the first week of February) we have averaged 11.16 caches per week.

4. The week of July 8 - 15 (Rendezvous Week) there were 30 caches placed. No small thanks to Junkyard Dog, who I know placed at least 4 nice ones that week.

5. It took us 8 months to break the 100 barrier, then 6 weeks to get to 200. If we stay on pace, we will hit 300 by next weekend, and that will have taken 5 weeks.

6. There are 286 caches in Utah as of this writing on 7/28/01.

7. We are SMOKING everyone with one cache per every 7,808 people in our state. The next closest is Oregon with one cache per 16,292 people.

8. We have a 15% average weekly growth rate since the first cache was placed in Utah by Leaper64 last September.

9. The curve is looking strikingly similar to a bacteria population chart, that is, it appears to be exponential, kind of. Let's hope it tapers off somewhere along the way, or we'll be tripping over each other's caches.

10. If I had to pick a number, 20 seems to be the typical week for us. I think that on my BEST week hunting, I only managed to bag 18, so I don't think I will try to find all the Utah caches.

Anyway, there is the data, FWIW.

July 29, 2001