Lonely caches

[+MNTA]

Today I'm quite proud to say I found a just over 8.5 years lonely cache. A record for me for sure. It was the oldest last found cache in my 30 mile radius and has been a goal of mine for a few months now.

 

It was an adventure to find today and my fourth trip to the area to find an old forest road that got close to the GZ not on the apps trail maps. Part of the adventure fording the cold swift river sitting between me and the cache. I definitely took a picture showing the previous signing on 9/2/2013. Previous attempts met with snow, and blocked forest roads. Required researching satellite maps to find a road in and it looked like the road led to a bridge that Mother Nature removed about 10 years ago in a huge storm.

 

I needed to share my experience thanks.

 

Anyone want to share a lonely cache memory?

 

[+lee737]

That is a cool story.... I think we've done one around the 3 year mark, that was cool enough - 8 is awesome..... great log too.....

[+frostengel]

35 minutes ago, MNTA said:

I needed to share my experience thanks.

 

You did by writing a great log: https://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=4be28384-5b7b-4652-9ce0-8b943c310faa

There's no better place for your story.

 

I can't imagine a D1 T2 cache be unfound for such a long time in my area. Or is the rating much too low?

 

Jochen

[+barefootjeff]

Great work! My loneliest find was just shy of three years after the previous finder. It's a 5/5 and with good reason, since first you have to locate four TBs which give the coordinates of four waypoints, then at each of those locations (one requiring boats and another swimming) you have to assemble a large enough group to satisfy a flash-mob website which then gives a component of the final's coordinates. Our group started on it in early 2020, visiting the first waypoint near Wollongong, but then COVID intervened and it was May 2021 when we completed the other waypoints. But that wasn't the end of it, GZ turned out to be inside a construction site, with temporary fencing preventing access, and the lengthy COVID lockdown that began in late June delayed the completion of that work. Finally in November the site reopened so I ventured there by train and ferry, only to find that the cache's hiding place had been rebuilt and landscaped during the construction work and the cache was no longer there. Fortunately the CO was able to organise a replacement so I was able to return and make the find a couple of weeks later.

 

Some of my own hides are becoming rather lonely, with one not having been found since October 2019 and another two last found in 2020. But one of my friends created an EarthCache in 2017 that's still only had one finder.

[+baer2006]

11 hours ago, MNTA said:

Today I'm quite proud to say I found a just over 8.5 years lonely cache. A record for me for sure. It was the oldest last found cache in my 30 mile radius and has been a goal of mine for a few months now.

 

It was an adventure to find today and my fourth trip to the area to find an old forest road that got close to the GZ not on the apps trail maps. Part of the adventure fording the cold swift river sitting between me and the cache. I definitely took a picture showing the previous signing on 9/2/2013. Previous attempts met with snow, and blocked forest roads. Required researching satellite maps to find a road in and it looked like the road led to a bridge that Mother Nature removed about 10 years ago in a huge storm.

 

I needed to share my experience thanks.

 

Anyone want to share a lonely cache memory?

 

Great story, thanks for sharing !

 

I looked up the cache (GC1GKHA), and tried to retrace your approach on the map. You have approached GZ from the south, which I found interesting. Looking at the maps (Google, topo and sat), I'd have probably tried it from the north (starting from a road named "Lousignont Rd" on Google Maps).

[+TyroneShoelaces]

Nicely done!

My best is 7 years, 2 months lonely, GCPZ66.  I was surprised it went so long between finds.  Nothing really hard about it, but it is in a remote part of PA, and there was a creek crossing to do.  We lucked out and the water was low when we were there.  

[+Corp Of Discovery]

Longest, but very special circumstances: Last found by others: 10/13/04 Found by me: 5/27/19 Difference: 14Y, 7M, 14D.

 

This one was archived for a few years when I found it: Last found by others: 5/17/12 Found by me: 2/29/20 Difference: 7Y, 9M, 12D.

 

Another special circumstance: Last found by others: 3/15/08 Found by me: 10/03/15 Difference: 7Y, 6M, 18D.

 

Found these 2 consecutively on the same day, my longest on active caches:

Last found by others: 6/28/15* Found by me: 12/18/21 Difference: 6Y, 5M, 20D. *Someone signed the physical log on 4/1/17, but did not log it online. Taking that into account, the date difference would be 4Y, 8M, 17D.

 

Last found by others: 1/20/18* Found by me: 12/18/21 Difference: 3Y, 10M, 28D. *The previous finder did not sign the log, nor may have even seen the container. Taking that into account, the date difference from the last time someone signed the log (1/12/15) would be 6Y, 11M, 6D.

 

I also have several 3+ years and many 2+ years in addition.

[+MNTA]

1 hour ago, Corp Of Discovery said:

Longest, but very special circumstances: Last found by others: 10/13/04 Found by me: 5/27/19 Difference: 14Y, 7M, 14D.

 

This one was archived for a few years when I found it: Last found by others: 5/17/12 Found by me: 2/29/20 Difference: 7Y, 9M, 12D.

 

Another special circumstance: Last found by others: 3/15/08 Found by me: 10/03/15 Difference: 7Y, 6M, 18D.

 

Found these 2 consecutively on the same day, my longest on active caches:

Last found by others: 6/28/15* Found by me: 12/18/21 Difference: 6Y, 5M, 20D. *Someone signed the physical log on 4/1/17, but did not log it online. Taking that into account, the date difference would be 4Y, 8M, 17D.

 

Last found by others: 1/20/18* Found by me: 12/18/21 Difference: 3Y, 10M, 28D. *The previous finder did not sign the log, nor may have even seen the container. Taking that into account, the date difference from the last time someone signed the log (1/12/15) would be 6Y, 11M, 6D.

 

I also have several 3+ years and many 2+ years in addition.

Nice! 

[+thebruce0]

My best lonely cache find was also an FTF, placed 10 years prior!  Out in a remote part of Ontario, and this was the adventure!  Fantastic.

[+AlmondEyes]

I love going after them but they tend to be no more than 3 years lonely here.  I still haven’t found an easy way to locate only them.  I wish I could do it via the app; I don’t have a computer, so doing a pocket query and selecting only the oldest to download to my GPS is not doable for me.  

 

I haven’t kept a list of lonely caches; I just find them and am happy for that time and then move on.  Do you guys actually write down in a notebook the details of these?  Or is there a place on the website to list them?  How long since found do you even consider a cache to be lonely; 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, more than 5 years???

[+ChriBli]

40 minutes ago, AlmondEyes said:

Or is there a place on the website to list them?

There are tools on project-gc.com to list them. Both in the order of days since last found and according to some kind of loneliness score. Here is an example from your area.

 

[+ChriBli]

I keep a public list of my lonely cache finds: https://coord.info/BM3T5CQ. There's currently 45 entries in the list, and to qualify a cache most be unfound for at least one year and not archived. Two caches tie the lead at 1953 days, or five years, four months. They were logged on the same day, and there are actually two more in the same series still left to find. They have now been unfound for another three years, some day I will go after them. One is on the bottom of a lake though, so it may be a bit tricky to find now.

[+Smitherington]

I appreciate you who go for the lonely ones.  I don't climb, canoe or scuba otherwise I would join you.

[+Gill & Tony]

4 hours ago, Smitherington said:

I appreciate you who go for the lonely ones.  I don't climb, canoe or scuba otherwise I would join you.

I don't do any of those things either and, in addition, I am not able to do long hikes.

 

That hasn't stopped me getting 97 caches with more than 183 days (6 months) unfound time, totalling just under 80 years.  You can see the list here

 

 I have a GSAK database with local caches and I periodically check to see what hasn't been found for a while.  There's one unfound since 22 Sept 2019 and I'm hoping to tackle that one after Easter, if it is still unfound.

 

My longest is just 958 days and that was a wierd case.  You had to solve two mysteries and each container contained half the coordinates for that one. I solved them both and found one.  Unfortunately, the other one had gone missing and the CO was no longer active.   Fortunately I knew a previous finder of mystery #2 

[+dprovan]

10 hours ago, Smitherington said:

I appreciate you who go for the lonely ones.  I don't climb, canoe or scuba otherwise I would join you.

I rarely go after lonely caches intentionally, but I still find them regularly enough without scuba gear. Sometimes, it's because I go on a hike on a trail that, just by chance, no geocachers have hiked lately even though it's not a long hike. More often it's because I solve a puzzle cache that no one's solved lately. Only a few have been because I hiked out beyond where people hike very often, and even those hikes were only a few miles.

[+Isonzo Karst]

16 hours ago, Smitherington said:

I appreciate you who go for the lonely ones.  I don't climb, canoe or scuba otherwise I would join you.

 

A couple of the oddest 3+ years lonelies I have would have been well within your ability. Two ammo can caches, with parking coords in a strip mall on US 19, walk through gate (no climbing)   marked trails to caches, under a half mile. D/T ratings put them into the intro app.  Why no takers? no idea.

Sat there for 3+ years unfound.  Found regularly thru 2014, once in 2016, and not again until 2020.  Once a couple of us went and found them, they've stayed in play. There weren't DNFs on these either.  GC2A910  GC2A8KC  Just inexplicable.

[+JL_HSTRE]

17 hours ago, Smitherington said:

I appreciate you who go for the lonely ones.  I don't climb, canoe or scuba otherwise I would join you.

 

You would be surprised how many lonely caches don't require any of those three things.

[+lee737]

On 3/27/2022 at 2:30 AM, thebruce0 said:

My best lonely cache find was also an FTF, placed 10 years prior!  Out in a remote part of Ontario, and this was the adventure!  Fantastic.

That was fun to watch - I can imagine the feeling of finding that ammo tin under the litter.... thankfully it wasn't some junky plastic container!

And - it didn't look very T2 to me!

 

Edited March 27, 2022 by lee737

[+thebruce0]

On 3/27/2022 at 4:23 PM, lee737 said:

it didn't look very T2 to me!

 

hah, good old oldies!   And don't you love those remote wilderness caches that are 1/1 only because they were placed before modern ratings? heh. It was a great adventure. Sadly, another similar effort for an old unfound cache left with a DNF - but also an excellent memorable adventure.  That's why geocaching's so great, the adventures!

[+lee737]

12 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

Sadly, another similar effort for an old unfound cache left with a DNF - but also an excellent memorable adventure.

I had a root canal once - that was pretty memorable too!

[+colleda]

On 3/29/2022 at 9:00 AM, lee737 said:

I had a root canal once - that was pretty memorable too!

Same here but for, perhaps, a different reason. I was so relaxed during the procedure I almost nodded off. I have a great dentist. However, an endoscope for a kidney problem I can relate to.

[+barefootjeff]

On 3/27/2022 at 2:30 AM, thebruce0 said:

My best lonely cache find was also an FTF, placed 10 years prior!  Out in a remote part of Ontario, and this was the adventure!  Fantastic.

 

I finally got around to watching it, that's awesome!

[+barefootjeff]

One of my lonelier caches, GC752YF (the Slow Cooked Aussie Challenge), with its last find in September 2020, got a new find yesterday. Someone attending a "nearby" event made the 3km each way detour on foot to do it, five years after they put it on their must-do list.

[+lee737]

4 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

One of my lonelier caches, GC752YF (the Slow Cooked Aussie Challenge), with its last find in September 2020, got a new find yesterday. Someone attending a "nearby" event made the 3km each way detour on foot to do it, five years after they put it on their must-do list.

I was surprised he caught up with us, given we basically had a 5km head start!

[+Team Canary]

12 minutes ago, lee737 said:

I was surprised he caught up with us, given we basically had a 5km head start!

 

He's feeling it today!?!

[+lee737]

1 hour ago, Team Canary said:

 

He's feeling it today!?!

I'm not surprised!

[+Ragnemalm]

In my area we have 13 caches with more than 2000 days (5 1/2 years) since last find, and 47 with more than 1000. 151 are not logged for more than a year. Is that a lot, do you think?

[+Gill & Tony]

15 hours ago, Ragnemalm said:

In my area we have 13 caches with more than 2000 days (5 1/2 years) since last find, and 47 with more than 1000. 151 are not logged for more than a year. Is that a lot, do you think?

My Local unfound database covers the NSW Coast from Helensburgh (South of Sydney) to the Victorian border.  It contained 2557 caches as at the last rebuild.

 

309 (12.1%) are unfound for at least 183 days

141 (5.5%) unfound for at least 366 days

31 unfound for 2 years

and two not found since 5 July 2018

[+JL_HSTRE]

Florida has over 38,000 active geocaches. Of those, over 4000 haven't been found in at least a year (over 10%).

[+Corfman Clan]

On 3/20/2022 at 2:49 PM, MNTA said:

Today I'm quite proud to say I found a just over 8.5 years lonely cache. A record for me for sure. It was the oldest last found cache in my 30 mile radius and has been a goal of mine for a few months now.

Congratulations, that's a great accomplishment!

 

Now to plan your next adventure chasing down a lonely cache in Oregon, this may help: Longest Time Alone Geocaches Oregon

[+MNTA]

11 hours ago, Corfman Clan said:

Congratulations, that's a great accomplishment!

 

Now to plan your next adventure chasing down a lonely cache in Oregon, this may help: Longest Time Alone Geocaches Oregon

 

Thanks for the link.

 

Enjoyed looking for my next adventures and reminding me of the many local puzzle caches that are on my ignore list. With the CO no longer helping and no checker, going to skip them.  I do try to solve GC7E02P every once in awhile. Also all the finds that qualified.

Last weekend tried for two on your link #74 & 75 as a FTF. One unfortunately had a tree down blocking the road. The other I hit snow and while backing down the way I came in slid off into the ditch. Fortunately a few evergreen branches provided enough traction to get back on the road. That was the longest reverse I can remember going an inch or two at a time downhill. That was not smart and needed to change my shorts.  I did get a FTF on a 3rd cache by the same hider. 

 

[+TheLimeCat]

The loneliest I've found was 7 years, 2 months lonely. On a cliff above the banks of the Spokane River. I guess that it was probably so lonely because the nearest access is so distant, a motorized watercraft is almost a requirement. I suppose not many cachers would tow a large craft to a remote launch in an unpopulated part of the state just to attempt a single traditional cache. For my part, I was just tagging along with a few friends on vacation and saw the opportunity.