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Top 10 Cache Owner Resolutions in 2022


Max and 99

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Geocaching Blog Top 10 cache owner resolutions for 2022

 

Some of these are tough!

 

It’s 2022 and hopefully you have already set your geocaching goals. Maybe you vowed to get an FTF (first to find), embark on a yearlong streak, or solve those Mystery Caches on your ‘unsolved puzzles’ List. Most of the geocaching goals that come to mind are about finding caches but don’t worry. Since we announced 2022 as the Year of the Hide, we compiled the top ten resolutions for cache owners.

 

1. Hide a new cache that earns at least ten Favorite points.

2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition.

3. Take action on Needs maintenance logs or a string of DNFs within two weeks.

4. Find at least ten caches with ten or more Favorite points. Then, apply what you loved about those caches to your owned hides.

5. Place a geocache that is accessible to people of all abilities.

6. Reflect on the least favorite cache you’ve hidden. Ask yourself how you would make that cache better if you could do it again.

7. Follow us on Instagram to get inspired for your future hides.

8. Visit your cache owner dashboard frequently to keep up to date on your hides.

9. Pick a geocaching friend who has never placed a cache before and introduce them to the art of hiding.

10. Summon your inner Marie Kondo and declutter your caches. If one no longer sparks joy there is no shame in archiving it and making room for a new cache.

What are your cache owner goals this year? Share in the comments!

Edited by Max and 99
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  1. Hide a new cache that earns at least ten Favorite points. - we're always trying this one!
  2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition. - are you kidding me?
  3. Take action on Needs maintenance logs or a string of DNFs within two weeks. - we do this already.
  4. Find at least ten caches with ten or more Favorite points. Then, apply what you loved about those caches to your owned hides. - we've done this
  5. Place a geocache that is accessible to people of all abilities. - when we can
  6. Reflect on the least favorite cache you’ve hidden. Ask yourself how you would make that cache better if you could do it again. - done this
  7. Follow us on Instagram to get inspired for your future hides. - pass.
  8. Visit your cache owner dashboard frequently to keep up to date on your hides. - I do this a lot
  9. Pick a geocaching friend who has never placed a cache before and introduce them to the art of hiding. - if they asked me to
  10. Summon your inner Marie Kondo and declutter your caches. If one no longer sparks joy there is no shame in archiving it and making room for a new cache. - we've done this before
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1. Hide a new cache that earns at least ten Favorite points.

I may hide a new cache, but I honestly don't think about FP at all when I'm designing the hide.

 

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2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition.

:laughing:

 

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3. Take action on Needs maintenance logs or a string of DNFs within two weeks.

Sure.

 

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4. Find at least ten caches with ten or more Favorite points. Then, apply what you loved about those caches to your owned hides.

Maybe. Maybe not. I occasionally search for caches with more FP, but usually not.

 

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5. Place a geocache that is accessible to people of all abilities.

Sure, if the location is a low-terrain location.

 

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6. Reflect on the least favorite cache you’ve hidden. Ask yourself how you would make that cache better if you could do it again.

Sure.

 

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7. Follow us on Instagram to get inspired for your future hides.

Insta-what?

 

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8. Visit your cache owner dashboard frequently to keep up to date on your hides.

Are email notifications broken again?

 

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9. Pick a geocaching friend who has never placed a cache before and introduce them to the art of hiding.

Yeah, but first I need to make new geocaching friends in our new location.

 

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10. Summon your inner Marie Kondo and declutter your caches. If one no longer sparks joy there is no shame in archiving it and making room for a new cache.

They still spark joy, so...

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5 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition.

Most of ours don't even get found that often.... :)

There is one I check most days, as I walk under it on the way to work.....

 

Seriously - I do try and visit all of ours every 12 months, the new cache owner dashboard does make this much easier than it used to be....

Edited by lee737
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This seems to have been written solely with the urban cacher in mind for whom the D/T grid doesn't extend much beyond 2/2. My thoughts, for what they're worth:

 

1. Hide a new cache that earns at least ten Favorite points.

That would require the cache to get at least ten finders and, for anything that isn't truly extraordinary, at least twenty finders. That's a tall order in these parts; of the twelve caches I've hidden in the last two years only two have reached that lofty find count, one of those is an AL bonus cache and the other (GC8RTKC) is the least favourited of all my active hides with just one FP. My latest creation (GC9M6X5), a 3/3.5 multi that's currently awaiting publication, will probably struggle to get ten finders in its (or my) lifetime, let alone ten FPs, but I think those that do make the effort will likely enjoy it, if only for the scenic location and the hiding places I picked for the waypoints and final.

2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition.

Really? If a cache is so poorly made that it needs maintenance every two months, maybe its owner's New Year's resolution should be to archive it. Of my 47 active hides, 34 have had no finds in the last two months and some take at least half a day to do a routine visit, so no thanks, I'll visit them at intervals appropriate to the location or if actual maintenance is needed.

3. Take action on Needs maintenance logs or a string of DNFs within two weeks.

NMs, sure, I'll either dash out and fix it right away or disable it until I can, but DNFs? On one of my hides, GC88K3H, the last two logs were DNFs, one was put off by a spider and the other abandoned their search when it started to rain. Out of curiosity, I did pay it a visit after the spider DNF and said monster was all of a millimetre across; I was able to easily reach the cache without disturbing it too much or risk being eaten by it.

4. Find at least ten caches with ten or more Favorite points. Then, apply what you loved about those caches to your owned hides.

In my almost nine years of caching, I've found 341 caches with ten or more FPs. If I order that list by the number of FPs, right at the top is GC3E, Australia's first cache. Located in Lane Cove National Park, it was originally a traditional until the ranger removed it, at which point its owner changed it to a virtual. The next few on the list are older caches around Sydney Harbour (mostly virtuals and EarthCaches) which are popular with tourists. One of them is an MKH on a guard rail that just happens to overlook the ferry wharves, which is great for tourists I suppose, but it's not something I have any desire to emulate as it probably would require maintenance every two months. One of the most inspiring caches I've found (GC6T5PZ), for the kayaking and hiking needed to complete it and the amazing views at GZ, has only had seven finders in its five years since publication, five of whom have given it FPs. I'll take that one over any number of harbourside MKHs.

5. Place a geocache that is accessible to people of all abilities.

This is a noble goal, of course, and maybe something I should consider if I can find a suitable location that's not a muggle hot-spot. To the best of my knowledge, there are no T1-only cachers in my region but there is an active elderly couple whom I've kept in mind with some of my recent lower-T hides and their logs indicate they appreciate it.

6. Reflect on the least favorite cache you’ve hidden. Ask yourself how you would make that cache better if you could do it again.

Ah, that would be GC8RTKC that I mentioned earlier, with just one FP in the twenty months since I placed it. I don't think it's an especially bad cache, its biggest problem is people not reading the description and trying to take a direct line approach to GZ through thick scrub when there's a much easier route via the recommended reference point.

 

GC8RTKC.thumb.jpg.5953b818e22189318c2466a39c3d9e3a.jpg

 

Aside from that, those who've found it do seem to have enjoyed it, from what they've written in their logs, it's just not sufficiently awesome to get an FP from them. So what would I do to make that cache better? Like most of my hides, it's primarily about the location, in this case a rocky vantage point offering views from Mt Wondabyne across to the sea, but there's not a lot I can do to improve that. A novelty container would be difficult given the confined hiding place under a rock ledge, and it's only a short walk (about 600 metres) from the road with not much that could be worked into a multi, so perhaps it could have been a puzzle cache but the cachers around here seem to have tired of those. Maybe I should just archive it and let it go back to being an empty spot on the map, or maybe, just maybe, there's a place in the game for those more mundane caches that aren't anyone's favourite.

7. Follow us on Instagram to get inspired for your future hides.

I'm not on instagram, but I suspect I wouldn't find much there that would be inspiring for the sorts of caches and locations that interest me.

8. Visit your cache owner dashboard frequently to keep up to date on your hides.

Yes it's a useful tool for seeing a lot of hide stats at a glance, but the owner notification emails are probably better at keeping me up to date.

9. Pick a geocaching friend who has never placed a cache before and introduce them to the art of hiding.

Most of my caching friends are already placing pretty awesome hides. We all have different interests which is what gives the game so much variety; a map full of BFJ-like hides would be pretty dull.

10. Summon your inner Marie Kondo and declutter your caches. If one no longer sparks joy there is no shame in archiving it and making room for a new cache.

This has come up a few times before and I suspect in this Year of the Hide it won't be the last time that suggestion is made, so all I can say is to reiterate that an old cache is still a fresh experience for new players and visitors to an area and, in a region like mine that's far from being saturated with caches, archiving one doesn't make room for a new cache, it just leaves another empty spot on the map. Of the eight caches of mine I've archived over the years, none have had a new cache appear within 161 metres of it. According to my Cache Owner Dashboard, four of my hides have had no finds in the last twelve months and one of those (GC6FQN8) was last found in 2019. The attractions at those locations (waterfalls and scenic views) are still there awaiting new players and visitors to the area, but they're all T3+ hikes to get to so those who've previously made the effort probably wouldn't be too keen to go there again just for another smiley. For someone who's only after smileys, there are much easier ways to get them, and for those like me who are looking for new experiences in awesome locations, a new cache in an old spot doesn't cut it.

 

So if this is what we can expect in the Year of the Hide, maybe I should just pass and instead enjoy the caches placed by those who are inspired by it.

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6 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

Geocaching Blog Top 10 cache owner resolutions for 2022

 

Some of these are tough!

 

It’s 2022 and hopefully you have already set your geocaching goals. Maybe you vowed to get an FTF (first to find), embark on a yearlong streak, or solve those Mystery Caches on your ‘unsolved puzzles’ List. Most of the geocaching goals that come to mind are about finding caches but don’t worry. Since we announced 2022 as the Year of the Hide, we compiled the top ten resolutions for cache owners.

 

1. Hide a new cache that earns at least ten Favorite points. The more the merrier!.

2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition. I go out for a check as soon as I read a log that makes me take notice. No point in going out to replace swag every two months, because it honestly is a losing battle. If there are no NM logs or other signs the cache is in distress, I let it ride because I can get to any of my current hides in an hour or so if needed.

3. Take action on Needs maintenance logs or a string of DNFs within two weeks. But of course...

4. Find at least ten caches with ten or more Favorite points. Then, apply what you loved about those caches to your owned hides. Meh. I'm in it for the Hiding. When I do hunt, it is for high FP containers however.

5. Place a geocache that is accessible to people of all abilities. I have a plan, just have to get the camo figured out.

6. Reflect on the least favorite cache you’ve hidden. Ask yourself how you would make that cache better if you could do it again. That peanut butter jar I placed near a middle school soccer field that was my first Hide in 2006? I'm thinking I could not do it again, so the point is moot. :lol:

7. Follow us on Instagram to get inspired for your future hides. Hard, hard pass.

8. Visit your cache owner dashboard frequently to keep up to date on your hides. Handy site improvement. I use it.

9. Pick a geocaching friend who has never placed a cache before and introduce them to the art of hiding. I try to share my ideas/strategies on the Forums.

10. Summon your inner Marie Kondo and declutter your caches. If one no longer sparks joy there is no shame in archiving it and making room for a new cache. This seems to be the theme of the 'Year Of The Cache' message; asking players to retire caches to open space for new hides. It's a sticky wicket.

What are your cache owner goals this year? Share in the comments! More Hides. :)

 

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7 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

Geocaching Blog Top 10 cache owner resolutions for 2022

 

Some of these are tough!

 

It’s 2022 and hopefully you have already set your geocaching goals. Maybe you vowed to get an FTF (first to find), embark on a yearlong streak, or solve those Mystery Caches on your ‘unsolved puzzles’ List. Most of the geocaching goals that come to mind are about finding caches but don’t worry. Since we announced 2022 as the Year of the Hide, we compiled the top ten resolutions for cache owners...

Thank you for the topic! :)

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3 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

 

Okay, here's my well-meaning suggestions for cache-owner resolutions: Well-meaning responses: :)

  1. Take heed of briansnat's quote in the Guidelines: "When you go to hide a geocache, think of the reason you are bringing people to that spot. If the only reason is for the geocache, then find a better spot." I have nothing but admiration for briansnat's work for the community - heck, I probably don't know the half of what he does, but this bit of advice has never registered for me. I try to build fun containers, so yes, the 'reason is for the geocache' when I place a Hide is just that - the container. I try to place them on family-friendly trails in scenic spots.
  2. Try to design your caches so that they'll never need maintenance, with a logbook big enough to hold all the likely finds it'll get, a container that's fit for purpose in its location and a concealment appropriate to the area's muggle density. There's no one-size-fits-all, but for every location there's are cache designs that work and some that don't. Boom.
  3. Double, triple and quadruple-check your coordinates, preferably on multiple days. Don't just stand at GZ and take the reading, as some devices will stop looking at the satellites if they think you're not moving, instead approach GZ from several different directions (if possible) and make sure they all converge. Boom again. This guy is good. :lol:
  4. Accept that there's a place in the game for good mundane caches that aren't anybody's favourites. We all need to find nine non-favourite caches for every FP we give out so we need those mundane caches along the way. Caching isn't a competition and, no matter how good the caches are, we can still only give FPs to a tenth of them. Stop telling people to archive caches that aren't getting lots of FPs, as that's just a downward spiral towards an empty map. Agree wholeheartedly.

 

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2 hours ago, Rock Chalk said:

Forum regulars mocking (and/or ascribing sinister intentions to) well-meaning suggestions of a light-hearted blog post without offering any well-meaning suggestions of their own

 

You would have to agree though, the bit about checking caches every 2 months - I think this one is worthy of a friendly mock between friends... 

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1 hour ago, Rock Chalk said:

Three certainties in life:

  1. Death
  2. Taxes
  3. Forum regulars mocking (and/or ascribing sinister intentions to) well-meaning suggestions of a light-hearted blog post without offering any well-meaning suggestions of their own

 

I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. So true!  Same responses. 

 

Keep up the good work and trying to keep this hobby of mine going and improving. If some had their way we would still be printing out cache pages and using the good ol GPSr.  

 

Though I do have no interest in Facebook or Instagram but I suspect at least half of the new caches may enjoy or regularly use those platforms as for the rest I'll continue to do my best.

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3 minutes ago, MNTA said:

If some had their way we would still be printing out cache pages and using the good ol GPSr.

 

I always print out the relevant parts of the cache page for multis, ECs and virtuals, so I can write my answers and do any waypoint calculations right where the questions/formulae are. Not only that, my new multi that's awaiting publication strongly suggests those attempting it print out one of the images and take a notebook with them (the paper variety, not one of those new-fangled portable computer notebook things), as trying to do it with just a phone would likely bump the D rating up a couple of notches. Maybe the reviewer will knock it back on that account, it wouldn't surprise me, then the headland can just stay an empty spot on the map.

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1 hour ago, barefootjeff said:

 

  1. Take heed of briansnat's quote in the Guidelines: "When you go to hide a geocache, think of the reason you are bringing people to that spot. If the only reason is for the geocache, then find a better spot."

 

I'm not sure why this quote bothers me. Not everyone is privileged to have wonderful spots to hide caches close to their home. If they exist most are already taken, many by inactive COs. I believe ease of caching, and getting outside is a decent reason  so yes sometime it is just to place a cache.

 

I am fortunate to be in an area with 1001 hides within my 10 mile bubble. I have hidden 3 of them and it is sometime a challenge to find decent spots specially with hidden locations. My last desire to hide a cache was in the small unremarkable pocket park outside my window in hopes of catching a cacher or two searching for it but that was not available. My hides are as follows:

1 - GRC for a challenge cache

2 - In a cool Chestnut tree (we don't have many of these here) that previously had a climbing cache that my daughter enjoyed, alas I was not given permission to climb the tree so folks now have to keep their feet on the ground.

3 - On a power line tower along a linear park. Nothing exciting except got to use my fake bolt container. 

4 - Magnet on the bottom of a statue ~40% FP% Wish I had thought of it but keeping it going. Also a pocket park nothing special.

5 - Micro in a park - nothing special

6 - Out on a fence overlooking a reservoir and a dam. That one to me was this place is cool Though the miles of logging roads and middle of no where makes the number of finders limited, it is a few miles from GC194 hidden in 2001 which is the real draw.

 

Most of my finders besides the regular active crews are just out in their community with their families have a little quality time, they may have 10 finds some maybe 100. 

 

The great thing about this game is you can play it your way let others play it their way. If you don't want to search for a specific cache put it on your ignore list, I have 100s on mine. Oh and I 'll continue to enjoy finding GRCs LPCs and any other cache folks want to place.Some of these places I've been to are amazing some not so much. 

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40 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

I always print out the relevant parts of the cache page for multis, ECs and virtuals, so I can write my answers and do any waypoint calculations right where the questions/formulae are.

And I always like doing multis with Jeff - as he is much more organised than me and my notebook.... :D

I do remember before my son and I set off on our first multi-day caching road trip, I printed out heaps of EC's to write answers on, now we just record movies of our thought-bubbles to write out later on.....

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21 minutes ago, lee737 said:

And I always like doing multis with Jeff - as he is much more organised than me and my notebook.... :D

I do remember before my son and I set off on our first multi-day caching road trip, I printed out heaps of EC's to write answers on, now we just record movies of our thought-bubbles to write out later on.....

 

I can't believe I never thought of doing that. 

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47 minutes ago, MNTA said:

 

I'm not sure why this quote bothers me. Not everyone is privileged to have wonderful spots to hide caches close to their home. If they exist most are already taken, many by inactive COs. I believe ease of caching, and getting outside is a decent reason  so yes sometime it is just to place a cache.

 

Yeah, perhaps that briansnat quote has outlived its usefulness in many places, although for me it's usually an intesting location that inspires the cache and not the other way around. Over the years I've done caches in some pretty uninspiring locations, one I'm sure was once a toxic waste dump judging from the smell, and have sometimes been left wondering why did you bring me all that way for this?

 

52 minutes ago, MNTA said:

The great thing about this game is you can play it your way let others play it their way. If you don't want to search for a specific cache put it on your ignore list, I have 100s on mine. Oh and I 'll continue to enjoy finding GRCs LPCs and any other cache folks want to place.Some of these places I've been to are amazing some not so much. 

 

I really don't have much choice, if I want to do any caching I have to take what's on offer or go without. Almost all my caching now involves at least an hour's driving each way to Newcastle or Sydney, and if all that's available when I get there is a GRC along a nondescript road in the middle of nowhere that's fine, it's better than nothing. That's why it always irks me to see these blog posts about striving for caches that get lots of finds or lots of FPs and encouraging owners of less popular hides to archive them. Around here we lose enough caches annually through natural attrition without encouraging more to go. I've now become the most prolific hider in my region, not because I've been hiding lots of caches but because everyone else has stopped.

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2 hours ago, MNTA said:

If some had their way we would still be printing out cache pages and using the good ol GPSr.  

 

You say that like it's a bad thing... :P

 

On a more serious note:

 

2 hours ago, MNTA said:

I'm not sure why this quote bothers me. Not everyone is privileged to have wonderful spots to hide caches close to their home. If they exist most are already taken, many by inactive COs. I believe ease of caching, and getting outside is a decent reason  so yes sometime it is just to place a cache.

 

Would it help to rephrase the suggestion like this?

 

"When you go to hide a geocache, think of the reason you are bringing people to that spot. If the only reason is for the +1, then find a better reason."

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7 hours ago, Rock Chalk said:

Three certainties in life:

  1. Death
  2. Taxes
  3. Forum regulars mocking (and/or ascribing sinister intentions to) well-meaning suggestions of a light-hearted blog post without offering any well-meaning suggestions of their own

Please consider hiring a community manager. The way this reads is that you (Groundspeak) have given up on your own forums. It's not some law of nature that a discussion forum needs to be dominated by jaded regulars.

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13 hours ago, barefootjeff said:
  • Try to design your caches so that they'll never need maintenance, with a logbook big enough to hold all the likely finds it'll get, a container that's fit for purpose in its location and a concealment appropriate to the area's muggle density. There's no one-size-fits-all, but for every location there's are cache designs that work and some that don't.

 

Amen! I visited my first cache every week or two, trying to keep it going. In retrospect, it was a bad location. The local skateboarders had turned it into an unofficial skateboard park, and the location took too much physical abuse for the cache to survive. (Actually, the wooden steps where it was hidden didn't even survive.)

 

But I learned from that experience, and my other caches have been able to go months without visits. And I'm firmly in the camp that believes that there is something wrong with a cache that needs a maintenance visit every two months.

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18 hours ago, Rock Chalk said:

Three certainties in life:

  1. Death
  2. Taxes
  3. Forum regulars mocking (and/or ascribing sinister intentions to) well-meaning suggestions of a light-hearted blog post without offering any well-meaning suggestions of their own

I think you're overreacting to a little light-hearted ribbing.

 

To avoid being accused of not offering any well-meaning suggestions:

 

I'd eliminate 2 and replace it with "Use containers that won't fail every 2 months. Hide your caches where they won't be muggled every 2 months."

 

And I'd reword 3 to something more along the lines of "Watch for and appreciate reports of problems and use them to keep your cache in good working order."

 

I'd also add another bullet: "When faced with criticism, focus on whether the point is valid without being distracted when it's expressed poorly."

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Ah, now I see what the problem is; I should have looked at the Newsletter email before I read Max and 99's reposting of the Blog article:

 

image.png.1cba81999e8aa0ceb30d06088ddc21c4.png

I don't want to be the best CO, there are plenty who are far better COs than I'll ever be, I just want to be a CO whose caches those who want to take them on enjoy doing for a bit of fun and a challenge. Maybe that's why I don't care about how many finders or FPs my caches get. I took up caching to get away from competitiveness.

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On 1/18/2022 at 4:05 PM, Rock Chalk said:

Three certainties in life:

  1. Death
  2. Taxes
  3. Forum regulars mocking (and/or ascribing sinister intentions to) well-meaning suggestions of a light-hearted blog post without offering any well-meaning suggestions of their own

 

Do you think the tone of the blog post was lighthearted?

 

Really?

 

Really?

 

Very reminiscent of Sunday School teachers from my childhood giving "light-hearted" lessons telling us to obey our parents, be perfect angels, etc., etc.

 

Didn't fool any 7-year-olds then.  I'm surprised GC would think it would fool any adults now.

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On 1/18/2022 at 6:05 PM, Rock Chalk said:

Three certainties in life:

  1. Death
  2. Taxes
  3. Forum regulars mocking (and/or ascribing sinister intentions to) well-meaning suggestions of a light-hearted blog post without offering any well-meaning suggestions of their own

 

THIS. The reason why I only check in every couple of months now. Same old folks saying the same old things.

 

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1. Hide a new cache that earns at least ten Favorite points. -> No thank you. I hold very little interest in favourite points and frankly, I care more about peoples experiences than a "point".

2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition. -> I can do this during a lockdown like the one my state is currently in...but under normal circumstances, this is not necessary unless I have a reason to visit a cache or indication it needs my assistance.

3. Take action on Needs maintenance logs or a string of DNFs within two weeks. -> I adressed my point above for this point. I'll do my best, but if I'm busy with work or something else I'll disable the cache....and get to it when I can.

4. Find at least ten caches with ten or more Favorite points. Then, apply what you loved about those caches to your owned hides. -> Respectfully I disagree. I find favourite points can be given for sporadic reasons not necessarily for the creativity of the hide. Not all the time, but sometimes. 

5. Place a geocache that is accessible to people of all abilities.  -> This is a goal I can do this year, no problem.

6. Reflect on the least favorite cache you’ve hidden. Ask yourself how you would make that cache better if you could do it again. -> I've doen this already. And I archived said geocache.

7. Follow us on Instagram to get inspired for your future hides. -> No thank you.

8. Visit your cache owner dashboard frequently to keep up to date on your hides. -> I don't really need to when I received e-mails, but the dashboard is still useful.

9. Pick a geocaching friend who has never placed a cache before and introduce them to the art of hiding. -> I've spoken with a friend online....so maybe I'm working on this without realizing it. But, I'm not introduing them per-se...they intend on hiding it.

10. Summon your inner Marie Kondo and declutter your caches. If one no longer sparks joy there is no shame in archiving it and making room for a new cache. -> I have a plan in mind. I'll probably archive two hides this year...perhaps more. But really...the lockdowns and restrictions have limited movements in my region....many people aren't caching as much as they would.

 

I appreciate the effort made in these ten points, but I think I've kept a lot of these ideas in mind already. My main concern this year is continuing with my already set forth plans to review a few of my oldest finds and archive them based partly on their location (and well, the thousands of people movign in to my area). My area is becoming more urban in some ways, and that means some caches will have a tougher time staying hidden, or closer to balconies and windows of new buildings going up. I archived my 4th hidden cache due to this exact reason. 2 new apartment buildings opened up adjacent to the park where my cache was and the hiding spot I had was filled in with concrete.

 

I have a few caches close to this rapidly growing area, and I forsee some archival logs coming in the next two years. 

 

Edited by DreamMachine74
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2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition.

 

Yesterday I ventured south of the Hawkesbury River into northern Sydney to try to find a puzzle cache I'd solved a few weeks ago. While in the vicinity, I went out for a hike along the Great North Walk to check on my own puzzle cache GC9JDPF which I placed in mid November, so only just slightly overdue for it's two-monthly maintenance. This is what I found:

 

20220121_122258.jpg.bb7a3d55340449e14f42b5d3609bd6b7.jpg

 

To my surprise, neither the container nor its bovine "camo" have fallen apart or turned to dust. Its 160-page logbook isn't quite full yet, with the cache's four finders only having taken up a little over half the first page. I suppose I should have replaced it anyway, or added some scrap paper, just in case it gets a sudden surge of finders before my next scheduled visit in March.

 

It wouldn't be so bad if this cache were just a short walk from home but sadly it's not. My bad, I know, but somehow the cache's theme of A Cow named Anne really only works if the cache is actually in the township of Cowan. While the cache page informs me that it's less than 15km from home, by road it's almost 50km:

 

image.png.341796673b6d8fc0662996de97f5276c.png

 

Luckily there's a good fish-and-chip shop at Brooklyn where I can grab some sustenance on the way back, otherwise Anne might find herself stuffed into a bun with some tomato, lettuce and fries. But as she only has two FPs from her four finds instead of the requisite ten, she should probably be ear-marked (terrible cow joke, I know) for archival anyway.

 

On 1/19/2022 at 11:05 AM, Rock Chalk said:

Forum regulars mocking (and/or ascribing sinister intentions to) well-meaning suggestions of a light-hearted blog post

 

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether a blog post is being light-hearted or whether there really is a belief within HQ that COs should be visiting their caches every two months or that caches not raking in the FPs should be archived, as this isn't the first time these ideas have been floated in the blog. Somehow I can't shake off the feeling that this Year of the Hide is going to be just as much about getting rid of underperforming older hides and COs as encouraging new ones. In this modern game of phone apps, fast smileys and instant gratification, there probably isn't much room any more for cows like Anne.

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34 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

 

20220121_122258.jpg.bb7a3d55340449e14f42b5d3609bd6b7.jpg

 

To my surprise, neither the container nor its bovine "camo" have fallen apart or turned to dust. Its 160-page logbook isn't quite full yet, with the cache's four finders only having taken up a little over half the first page. I suppose I should have replaced it anyway, or added some scrap paper, just in case it gets a sudden surge of finders before my next scheduled visit in March.

Funny. Come on, you slacker, get out there and add some extra pages and swag! :grin: Also, the perspective on the photo is confusing. For a second I thought "How did he hike that giant cow into a cave? :huh:

Edited by Lostboy1966
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35 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

While the cache page informs me that it's less than 15km from home, by road it's almost 50km:

 

image.png.341796673b6d8fc0662996de97f5276c.png

 

 

Welcome to Southern Connecticut and the Long Island Sound! Here's what I get as a 20 mile (32km) radius from my area. I'd have to drive past the Manhattan skyline to get these 'close' Hides. ;)

capture.jpg

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On 1/19/2022 at 4:00 AM, Max and 99 said:

2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition.

(Of course Max and 99 didn't say this!)

 

I wonder if this one has been screwed up in translation - maybe they meant 'check on your cache after 2 months' to check the hide etc (which is entirely fair enough for urban stuff), rather than 'every 2 months'..... because otherwise I'd love to see how often the average lackey routinely checks their hides.... :)

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On 1/18/2022 at 6:37 PM, barefootjeff said:

This seems to have been written solely with the urban cacher in mind for whom the D/T grid doesn't extend much beyond 2/2. My thoughts, for what they're worth:

 

2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition.

Really? If a cache is so poorly made that it needs maintenance every two months, maybe its owner's New Year's resolution should be to archive it. Of my 47 active hides, 34 have had no finds in the last two months and some take at least half a day to do a routine visit, so no thanks, I'll visit them at intervals appropriate to the location or if actual maintenance is needed.

 

 

I did check on my first cache hide after five years.  It was still great.  Now that it has been there seventeen years, it's still in great shape.  Only has 12% favorite points (5 favorites).  But from reading the logs, almost everyone seemed to enjoy it very much.  

If I checked on my caches every two months, I'm not sure I'd have time to do much else.  

Charlottesburg.jpg

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10 hours ago, lee737 said:

I wonder if this one has been screwed up in translation - maybe they meant 'check on your cache after 2 months' to check the hide etc (which is entirely fair enough for urban stuff), rather than 'every 2 months'..... because otherwise I'd love to see how often the average lackey routinely checks their hides.... :)

 

I always pay my new caches a few quick-fire visits in the first couple of months after publication, just to make sure everything's standing up okay in the field. A couple of times I've been caught out when what I thought was a nice dry hiding place under a rock ledge turns into a subterranean watercourse during heavy rain, necessitating a rethink of either the container or the exact hiding spot. But if it can get through those first few months unscathed, and most do, it'll generally keep going without any need for maintenance for many years.

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On 1/21/2022 at 2:14 PM, barefootjeff said:

2. Visit your cache(s) every two months to ensure they’re in good condition.

 

<snip>

 

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether a blog post is being light-hearted or whether there really is a belief within HQ that COs should be visiting their caches every two months or that caches not raking in the FPs should be archived, as this isn't the first time these ideas have been floated in the blog. Somehow I can't shake off the feeling that this Year of the Hide is going to be just as much about getting rid of underperforming older hides and COs as encouraging new ones. In this modern game of phone apps, fast smileys and instant gratification, there probably isn't much room any more for cows like Anne.

 

I have a cache hide that I am planning on visiting for the first time on its 20th anniversary this spring.  An ammo can, reportedly in pristine condition.  Well-hidden caches in good containers do not need to be checked every two months.

 

Which is one of (several) reasons that the original blog did not come off as light-hearted or playful, but rather bureaucratic and nagging.

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On 1/21/2022 at 5:14 PM, barefootjeff said:

<...>

 

It wouldn't be so bad if this cache were just a short walk from home but sadly it's not. My bad, I know, but somehow the cache's theme of A Cow named Anne really only works if the cache is actually in the township of Cowan. While the cache page informs me that it's less than 15km from home, by road it's almost 50km:

 

image.png.341796673b6d8fc0662996de97f5276c.png

 

Luckily there's a good fish-and-chip shop at Brooklyn where I can grab some sustenance on the way back, otherwise Anne might find herself stuffed into a bun with some tomato, lettuce and fries. But as she only has two FPs from her four finds instead of the requisite ten, she should probably be ear-marked (terrible cow joke, I know) for archival anyway.

 

>...>

 

 

 

Jeff, that's a heck of a trek for fish-and-chips.....oh, wait, not MY Brooklyn?

 

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On 1/22/2022 at 12:11 PM, barefootjeff said:

I always pay my new caches a few quick-fire visits in the first couple of months after publication, just to make sure everything's standing up okay in the field.

I normally wait a couple months before publishing my geocache after checking to make sure it's still there and the hide still works. But that's not because I'm such a good CO, it's just because I'm a big procrastinator, so it takes me that long to submit the cache.

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