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Announcing GC9FAVE Discovered while geocaching - Locationless Cache


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(This announcement is from today's Geocaching Blog.)

 

“I never would have known about this place if not for geocaching.”

 

The sentiment is voiced so often that it’s almost a cliché in the geocaching community. As the Year of the Hide celebration continues, we’re thrilled to launch GC9FAVE – Discovered while geocaching – Locationless Cache. By logging this cache, you’ll score a rare cache icon and share a favorite local place that you discovered with geocaching!

 

Maybe you’ll choose a place where you hid a cache, or perhaps somewhere you discovered when searching for a cache. This Locationless Cache is available to log August 17, 2022 through December 31, 2023. Once you’ve visited your favorite local spot, follow these steps:

 

Go to the Locationless Cache page:

  • Via the direct link
  • By searching for GC9FAVE on Geocaching.com or in the‎ Geocaching® app.


In order to log a find on the Locationless Cache, you must include one (1) photo of yourself or a personal item at your favorite local place that you discovered while geocaching. (Old photos are not permitted.) Be sure to tell us where the place is located (for example, the city of Prague, or the GC code of a geocache if it does not contain a spoiler).

 

While the cache page is now published, it will not open for logging until August 17, 2022. This gives you some time to think about which favorite local place you would like to revisit.

 

Check out the new episode of the Inside Geocaching HQ podcast to hear more about this Locationless Cache.

 

We can’t wait to see the favorite local places you share with the world!

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Interesting new Locationless - However it does not say on the cache page "Old photos are not permitted" which it mentions above - I can see old photos being used if it isn't specified on the cache page 

"This gives you some time to think about which favorite local place you would like to revisit" - This obviously indicates that you have to go back to a cache location, in order to be able to log this cache - again however this is not how it reads on the cache page 

 

Just going by the cache page - you can add a photo of a place you have visited previously and say why you liked it (though even that last bit isn't specified) 

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Just now, Team DEMP said:

No - that seems to be the new cache. Anyone, anywhere can log a locationless cache. Seems like it has no purpose - even less than the old locationless caches.

 

Yes I agree - it is a new cache as yet unavailable - though if, as it says in the OP above - you have to REVISIT the location you want to highlight and post a NEW photo of you at the location then it comes closer to being a reasonable locationless - however if you read the cache page itself, NONE of that is specified and as you say it would seem - post a photo and you can claim the find. But then the CITO one wasn't too dissimilar - have a photo of you holding a rubbish sack - job done ;-) 

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5 hours ago, Deepdiggingmole said:

Interesting new Locationless - However it does not say on the cache page "Old photos are not permitted" which it mentions above - I can see old photos being used if it isn't specified on the cache page 

"This gives you some time to think about which favorite local place you would like to revisit" - This obviously indicates that you have to go back to a cache location, in order to be able to log this cache - again however this is not how it reads on the cache page 

 

Just going by the cache page - you can add a photo of a place you have visited previously and say why you liked it (though even that last bit isn't specified) 

 

Yes, it'd be nice to have this clarified. During our first COVID lockdown in 2020, our local Facebook caching group ran a "post a photo of your most favourite cache location" and the one I posted was from a cache on Lord Howe Island. Those ones are still amongst my all-time favourites, but going back to get a NEW photo isn't trivial since it's a 600km flight to get there and is generally booked out at least six months ahead.

 

Another one I'd consider high on my favourites is Fortress (GC7B6E4) in the Blue Mountains, but it's a full day hike out to GZ and back and, on my previous visit earlier this year, we stayed in the area the night before so we could make an early start. The same is probably true of most T4 or higher caches, where the time and effort needed to go back and revisit them just for a new photo isn't worth it. Yet, for me at any rate, some of the most awesome places caching has brought me to fall into that category.

 

Edit to add: I see it also says "favourite local place" several times so I guess that rules out anything more than a stone's throw from home anyway. How local is "local"?

Edited by barefootjeff
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No one is going to scroll through the thousands of finds to find a cool spot nearby that they did not know about. Yes it is cool to remember and highlight your personal favorites but useful no. Sorry to be negative on this one. Just like GC8NEAT it is going to shoot to the top of the favorites list and knock off my #10. Will I log it yes. I have my own bookmark list of personal favorites. 

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6 hours ago, MNTA said:

No one is going to scroll through the thousands of finds to find a cool spot nearby that they did not know about. Yes it is cool to remember and highlight your personal favorites but useful no. Sorry to be negative on this one. Just like GC8NEAT it is going to shoot to the top of the favorites list and knock off my #10. Will I log it yes. I have my own bookmark list of personal favorites. 

You said it. Everyone is thinking about what photo to post, no one is saying they can't wait to discover all these cool places other people have found.

 

We have a local facebook group of for photos taken while caching. If I post a photo there, people will actually look at it. Same with the photo thread on this forum. But no one is going to look at my photo when it's hidden among with 30k other logs and you need to click on each photo to open in.

 

11 hours ago, Team DEMP said:

I don't have the Geocaching HQ Block Party cache. Can HQ create GC9Party for logging yourself with a picture at any party? 

I would also like project ape, HQ, benchmark and the months for jasmer that aren't available outside the US, please. Lost&found and cactus, as well as the removed negative attributes (no skis required etc.) would be nice too.

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The nearest cool place that I found while geocaching, that I would not have known about had I not been caching, is several hundred Km from home.  

 

On the other hand, there are a few cool places locally where I have placed caches because they are cool.  One of those will do me.

 

If we find this cache on 20th of this month does it count towards the world record?

Edited by Gill & Tony
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3 hours ago, Gill & Tony said:

If we find this cache on 20th of this month does it count towards the world record?


In another group, this topic came up. We were a bit surprised they didn't enable the cache 3 days later on the 20th so everyone that runs to log it contributes to the "world record" planned for that day. 
 

Edited by Team DEMP
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1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

To be more accurate to the original, including coordinates of the location would have been much better. Then at least there could be a map of the logs to actually SEE (and browse) visually where these great locations are.

 

Yep.  This one (again...) ain't it.   Adding the coordinates to "your favorite local place" would have made it close...

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3 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

To be more accurate to the original, including coordinates of the location would have been much better. Then at least there could be a map of the logs to actually SEE (and browse) visually where these great locations are.

 

The logging flow no longer allows additional coordinates to be added. So, our choice was to either not pursue the project, or accept that it won't be exactly like the original Locationless Cache listings but people can still have fun with the general concept.

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21 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

 

Yes, it'd be nice to have this clarified. During our first COVID lockdown in 2020, our local Facebook caching group ran a "post a photo of your most favourite cache location" and the one I posted was from a cache on Lord Howe Island. Those ones are still amongst my all-time favourites, but going back to get a NEW photo isn't trivial since it's a 600km flight to get there and is generally booked out at least six months ahead.

 

Another one I'd consider high on my favourites is Fortress (GC7B6E4) in the Blue Mountains, but it's a full day hike out to GZ and back and, on my previous visit earlier this year, we stayed in the area the night before so we could make an early start. The same is probably true of most T4 or higher caches, where the time and effort needed to go back and revisit them just for a new photo isn't worth it. Yet, for me at any rate, some of the most awesome places caching has brought me to fall into that category.

 

Edit to add: I see it also says "favourite local place" several times so I guess that rules out anything more than a stone's throw from home anyway. How local is "local"?

I agree - many of our favourite places were on a trip 12,000 miles away when we toured round NZ for nearly 4 months 

However it does say Favourite 'Local' places - which begs another question - how are they going to monitor whether the place you are 'favouriting' is in fact local to you as there is no means that the cache can prevent you posting anything other than a local place 

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23 hours ago, PlantAKiss said:

Pardon my stupidity, but...does this mean you revisit an actual specific cache that was cool... or just an area or object a cache brought you to or near to that you liked or saw something interesting? (I'm thinking of an *area* I discovered due to 15 caches placed there. 

The area seems to be sufficient though if a specific cache is relevant then add those detals 

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13 hours ago, mustakorppi said:

I would also like project ape, HQ, benchmark and the months for jasmer that aren't available outside the US, please. Lost&found and cactus, as well as the removed negative attributes (no skis required etc.) would be nice too

I am hoping to complete my Jasmer WITHOUT visitng the ole US of A - only one to go - just saying ;-) 

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2 hours ago, Rock Chalk said:

 

The logging flow no longer allows additional coordinates to be added. So, our choice was to either not pursue the project, or accept that it won't be exactly like the original Locationless Cache listings but people can still have fun with the general concept.

Which is a shame as that is what made the original locationless what they were - anyhow  - @Rock Chalk can you answer the points about the fact that REVISITING the location and NO OLDS PHOTOS not being on the cache page as these are two important factors to most people not revisiting and using old photos - thus armchair logging 

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2 hours ago, Rock Chalk said:

The logging flow no longer allows additional coordinates to be added. So, our choice was to either not pursue the project, or accept that it won't be exactly like the original Locationless Cache listings but people can still have fun with the general concept.

 

I expect people will have fun with it :D  But I do hope will actually have fun with it. Participate in the spirit of the listing!  Will the logs be audited for false posts, like GC8FR0G? That's bound to be even more fun :)

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3 hours ago, Rock Chalk said:

The logging flow no longer allows additional coordinates to be added. So, our choice was to either not pursue the project, or accept that it won't be exactly like the original Locationless Cache listings but people can still have fun with the general concept.

 

It might be nice to, in the instructions, suggest including exact coordinates (in addition to a city/town/GC#, which is what the instructions currently request.)

 

Someone smart with API access might then be able to regex coordinates out of logs and make a cool map. B)

 

14 hours ago, mustakorppi said:

I would also like project ape, HQ, benchmark and the months for jasmer that aren't available outside the US, please. Lost&found and cactus, as well as the removed negative attributes (no skis required etc.) would be nice too.

 

While we're at it, create GCCHARTER which grants Charter member status! :bad:

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9 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

To be more accurate to the original, including coordinates of the location would have been much better. Then at least there could be a map of the logs to actually SEE (and browse) visually where these great locations are.

 

Yes, there are some missed opportunities here with no way to display those fave places to encourage others to visit them or, with inclusion of a GC code optional, even for COs to know if their cache has been nominated.

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On 8/10/2022 at 12:13 PM, Deepdiggingmole said:

Which is a shame as that is what made the original locationless what they were - anyhow  - @Rock Chalk can you answer the points about the fact that REVISITING the location and NO OLDS PHOTOS not being on the cache page as these are two important factors to most people not revisiting and using old photos - thus armchair logging 

 

We've made it clear on the cache page that finders are supposed to make a new visit to a local place they discovered while caching. Inevitably, some people will armchair the cache. It's unfortunate, but we're not going to waste much time trying to catch the very small percentage of people who do that.

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42 minutes ago, Rock Chalk said:

 

We've made it clear on the cache page that finders are supposed to make a new visit to a local place they discovered while caching. Inevitably, some people will armchair the cache. It's unfortunate, but we're not going to waste much time trying to catch the very small percentage of people who do that.

 

Sorry, but I'm struggling to see where on the cache page that's made clear:

 

 

This cache is not at the posted coordinates!

Geocaching often introduces us to new places we may never have found otherwise. In conjunction with the Year of the Hide celebration in 2022, this HQ-owned cache offers an opportunity for you to share a favorite local place that you discovered while geocaching!

Logging task:

  1. Include one (1) photo of yourself or a personal item at your favorite local place that you discovered while geocaching. At least one photo is required to log this cache.
  2. Tell us where the place is located (for example, the city of Prague, or the GC code of a geocache if it does not contain a spoiler).

Bonus points for including a Geocaching logo in your photo(s)!

This Locationless Cache is available to log August 17, 2022 through December 31, 2023. The cache page will be archived and locked on January 1, 2024.

 

 

Nowhere in there does it say anything about it being a revisit or that it must be a new photo.

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18 hours ago, Rock Chalk said:

We've made it clear on the cache page that finders are supposed to make a new visit to a local place they discovered while caching. Inevitably, some people will armchair the cache. It's unfortunate, but we're not going to waste much time trying to catch the very small percentage of people who do that.

NO, YOU HAVEN'T

 

Please advise where on the cache page any of this is mentioned ??? see below as that is exactly what it says 

The whole point of this post is - what was said in the OP is completely different to what is stated on the cache page - which basically reads 'recall a place you liked and post a photo of it and tell us where it was' 

IT DOES NOT say you have to make a revisit nor does it say you can't use an old photo - and based on how the cache page currently reads you will find the majority of loggers will 'armchair log ' this one 

 

Fave.jpg

Edited by Deepdiggingmole
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Rock Chalk said " finders are supposed to make a new visit to a local place they discovered while caching"  

 

Like many people I will find this impossible to do.

 

I have lived in my local area for 30 years and have been caching for 10.  There is no local place which I did not know about before caching.  No local cache has taken me to a place I did not previously know.  I cannot fulfil the task required by these conditions.

 

The nearest (vaguely) interesting place I discovered due to geocaching is more than 3 hours each way by car.  That doesn't fit any definition of local I have ever known.

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24 minutes ago, Gill & Tony said:

The nearest (vaguely) interesting place I discovered due to geocaching is more than 3 hours each way by car.  That doesn't fit any definition of local I have ever known.

 

How big is your LGA (local government area) and is it inside that? At any rate, it'll be within the Local Group, I'm sure:

 

LocalGroup.jpg.c5e52b069dead3acd0f969ac81b7b1a6.jpg

 

I have two spots in mind, both places I was drawn to by a now-archived cache and which I enjoyed enough to subsequently place a cache of my own there. One's at a waterfall 23km from home but I'm not sure whether that's close enough to home to be considered "local". At any rate, the almost constant rain this year has made the track down very boggy and slippery so it's probably not a good one to revisit right now, particularly as I'm recovering from a sprained ankle acquired while geocaching at another scenic spot. My other choice is the headland at Phegans Bay near Woy Woy, which is just 3km from home and a pretty easy one for me to get back out to. I just need a sunny day that's not too windy so I can stand near the edge holding the A3 geocaching logo I printed out for use at events.

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6 hours ago, Deepdiggingmole said:
On 8/12/2022 at 2:24 PM, Rock Chalk said:

We've made it clear on the cache page that finders are supposed to make a new visit to a local place they discovered while caching. Inevitably, some people will armchair the cache. It's unfortunate, but we're not going to waste much time trying to catch the very small percentage of people who do that.

NO, YOU HAVEN'T

 

Please advise where on the cache page any of this is mentioned ??? see below as that is exactly what it says 

The whole point of this post is - what was said in the OP is completely different to what is stated on the cache page - which basically reads 'recall a place you liked and post a photo of it and tell us where it was' 

IT DOES NOT say you have to make a revisit nor does it say you can't use an old photo - and based on how the cache page currently reads you will find the majority of loggers will 'armchair log ' this one 

 

Yep, you only have to look at the comments on the blog and the Facebook post to see how much confusion there is over the logging requirements.

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Jumping on the bandwagon here, but not only does the cache page not say you must make a new visit, it doesn't even suggest you should make a new visit.

Can I suggest adding wording along the lines of:

 

Quote

Between  August 17th 2022 and December 31st 2023 revisit a favourite location you have discovered while geocaching, take a photo, and post it with your log to claim this locationless cache.

 

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6 hours ago, MartyBartfast said:

Between  August 17th 2022 and December 31st 2023 revisit a favourite location you have discovered while geocaching, take a photo, and post it with your log to claim this locationless cache.


Or to be even more specific: 

Between  August 17th 2022 and December 31st 2023 revisit a favourite location you have discovered while geocaching, take a photo, and post your newly taken photo with your log to claim this locationless cache.

 

 

 

Edited by Team DEMP
replaced "new" with "newly taken" to prevent "new to me posting it" from being considered..
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6 hours ago, KRON family said:

a, It's on the Geocaching blog.

b, This is not authoritative. What is in the listing is authoritative.

 

Yes, I would have thought that the logging requirements stated on the cache page would be the authoritative version. Would a challenge cache be acceptable if the owner was enforcing additional requirements that weren't stated on the cache page but instead were posted in a blog somewhere?

 

At any rate, it's probably a moot point since uploading a photo strips off all the EXIF data so there's no way to easily tell whether a photo is new or old. It's just irksome that, not only has the inconsistency not been fixed, it's even being denied, and the minority who have read the fine print in the blog, revisited their local favourite site and taken a new photo will wonder why did I bother?

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On 8/10/2022 at 1:26 AM, mustakorppi said:

I would also like project ape, HQ, benchmark and the months for jasmer that aren't available outside the US, please.

 

I'm happy to be of some assistance for this request.

 

First, there is an A.P.E. cache in Brazil.

 

Second, my quick scan of 2000 and 2001 (part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4) bookmark lists showed at least one cache hidden in each month of those years outside the US. While I did not check lists for 2002 onward, I am confident that at least one hide per month is outside the USA from 2002 onward.

 

Third, while geocaching.com supports only some benchmarks in the USGS database, benchmarks of any origin can of course be logged on Waymarking.

 

As for HQ, sadly, it's true that the HQ cache is only available in the US. Perhaps, if Groundspeak grows enough to need a second headquarters, a second location could be chosen outside the United States. (My money would be on HQ2 going to Germany.) But for now, it seems that only one HQ is needed.

Edited by geoawareUSA9
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12 minutes ago, geoawareUSA9 said:

I'm happy to be of some assistance for this request.

 

Second, my quick scan of 2000 and 2001 (part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4) bookmark lists showed at least one cache hidden in each month of those years outside the US. While I did not check lists for 2002 onward, I am confident that at least one hide per month is outside the USA from 2002 onward.

I must admit I had no idea Australia has so many caches from 2000. Probably never going to log those either but thank you :)

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22 hours ago, Rock Chalk said:

After re-reading the cache page for about the hundredth time, I finally had the "doh!" moment and realized what needed to be changed/updated. My bad for it not getting through my thick skull previously.

 

The cache description is now updated to include the word "revisit" and "Old photos are not permitted."

Thank you 

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On 8/9/2022 at 9:58 AM, Team DEMP said:

This is a cache that can be logged by anyone, anywhere in the world, as long as they upload a picture? 

IMO, that's what it appears to be, with the incentive being awarded a cache type icon on your stats for a discontinued cache type.

 

And, it's debatable as to whether or not this cache fits the description of a location-less cache. I came into this hobby after this type of cache was removed, but I thought there were two basic requirements for logging a location-less cache.

  • There was a theme item that had to be recorded (bridge, dam, courthouse, library, etc.), and
  • A particular location could only be logged once.

So, I am on the fence about doing this cache. My OCD half is telling me that I 'gotta find them all', while the other half is telling me that I wouldn't really have earned the cache type, so why bother. Well, at least I have a fair amount of time to wrestle this one back and forth in my head.

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