2022 virtual caches

[+GrateBear]

What is the deadline for placing the awarded 2022 virtual caches?  I thought I saw it was March 2023, but can’t find the info now. Thanks. 

[+barefootjeff]

6 minutes ago, GrateBear said:

What is the deadline for placing the awarded 2022 virtual caches?  I thought I saw it was March 2023, but can’t find the info now. Thanks. 

 

Yes, it's the 1st of March 2023. From the blog announcing it:

 

Quote

• From all applicants, Geocaching HQ will randomly select up to 4,000 geocachers (with geographic distribution) on March 1, 2022 to receive one Virtual Cache.
• Approximately 30 new community volunteers are receiving a Virtual Reward, as a thanks for giving their time to support the geocaching community.
• Winners will have one year to create their Virtual Cache. The caches must comply with specific guidelines.

 

It's a bit sad to see that, to date, only 2752 of the 4000 have been published. Maybe there'll be a mad rush of them in the remaining weeks, but on present figures it looks like about a third will end up unused.

[+Goldenwattle]

My Virtual page was started by March 2022, but not published until July, as I had to get to the remote town (over 3,600kms to) where I wanted to put it. I would have loved more I could have put in remote towns and places, where there are few to no caches. but I could only have one. I would have enjoyed spreading this game further.

GC9P6QB

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Goldenwattle

[+GrateBear]

23 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

 

Yes, it's the 1st of March 2023. From the blog announcing it:

 

 

It's a bit sad to see that, to date, only 2752 of the 4000 have been published. Maybe there'll be a mad rush of them in the remaining weeks, but on present figures it looks like about a third will end up unused.

Yes, that is sad to see. I was awarded one the last time and put a lot of thought into it before setting it up. Too bad the unused ones can’t be re-rewarded. Such a great opportunity to pass up. Thanks for the info. 

[+geodarts]

It’s sad to see them unused.  I have always enjoyed virtuals for extending the game into areas where traditionals aren’t allowed or not appropriate, but have never had the chance to place one.  Since the more recent opportunities required people to opt-in it’s frustrating  that so many remain unused.  

[+Goldenwattle]

58 minutes ago, geodarts said:

I have always enjoyed virtuals for extending the game into areas where traditionals aren’t allowed or not appropriate

That's why I never applied for a virtual until I could place it in a remote place with few caches, as I wanted to 'extend' geocaching, and not waste it in a place crowded with caches. I placed my Virtual in Normanton in far north Queensland in Australia. Only one other cache in town and the next closest over 70 kms away, and other caches, much further than that. (I got to add it to the SideTracked series too.)

I would like to see the next offer of virtuals to people who can place them in remote places with none, or only one or two caches. I don't mean in almost impossible places to get to. Normanton is remote, but not impossible to get to, with sealed roads to it. Just a long drive for most people.

 

 

Sealed road, although almost nothing for almost 400kms from the turnoff from the highway of almost nothing too.

 

My Virtual cache. Only four caches, including mine, in all that area.

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Goldenwattle

[+barefootjeff]

2 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

I would like to see the next offer of virtuals to people who can place them in remote places with none, or only one or two caches. I don't mean in almost impossible places to get to. Normanton is remote, but not impossible to get to, with sealed roads to it. Just a long drive for most people.

 

The Central Coast only has four virtuals, three of them terrain 1.0 or 1.5 and the other a T5 water access one, and all of which came from the Rewards 2.0 release. Had I received one in the 3.0 release, I would have placed it in Brisbane Water National Park at a spot where I was refused permission to put a physical cache. But, as far as I know, no-one in New South Wales living north of Sydney got a 3.0 virtual and, so far, the only one placed north of Sydney (owned by someone in the south of the state) is in Barrington Tops National Park but road access remains closed following last year's torrential rain and it so far has no finds. There's only one 3.0 virtual I've done, that being on Sydney Harbour near Mrs Macquarie's Point, but apart from a couple of others in southern Sydney, the rest are much further south or south-west and out of range of a day trip for anyone from north of the Hawkesbury. They might as well all have been put in Normanton as far as this half of the state is concerned.

 

I'd like to see the virtuals have a good spread of D/T ratings and geographical placement. You need some that are easy to get to and do for the majority of cachers but you also need some that are more challenging and remote. Variety is the spice of caching.

[+CCFwasG]

Does anyone know if there will be another set released? I can't see any news after searching the blog, here, etc. If there are over a THOUSAND applied for but not used, I would hope they'd do it again. I sadly missed the application deadline (didn't know) or would absolutely have applied. Really sad so many people bother applying and then flake out. :-( 

[+barefootjeff]

37 minutes ago, CCFwasG said:

Does anyone know if there will be another set released? I can't see any news after searching the blog, here, etc.

 

The three rewards offers were made in August 2017, June 2019 and March 2022, so I imagine it'll be at least another year or two before any more offers are made.

[+CCFwasG]

On 1/21/2023 at 11:42 PM, barefootjeff said:

 

The three rewards offers were made in August 2017, June 2019 and March 2022, so I imagine it'll be at least another year or two before any more offers are made.

That's sad considering so many from the last were not taken up. Increasingly sad I missed the window to apply!

[+Jayeffel]

How can we find out how many of the 4000 are in place now? Mine is.

[+Hügh]

3 hours ago, Jayeffel said:

How can we find out how many of the 4000 are in place now? Mine is.

https://www.geocaching.com/play/results/?ct=4&ho=1&pad=2022-03-01&asc=true&sort=distance

[+CheekyBrit]

4 hours ago, Hügh said:

https://www.geocaching.com/play/results/?ct=4&ho=1&pad=2022-03-01&asc=true&sort=distance

This shows as 1912 results as of right now.

[+barefootjeff]

18 minutes ago, CheekyBrit said:

This shows as 1912 results as of right now.

 

If I change the placed date back one day to the 28th of February, I get 2876. Searching for placed dates after the 1st of March excludes those with a placed date of the 1st of March.

Edited February 9, 2023 by barefootjeff

[+barefootjeff]

There are also four Rewards 3.0 caches with placed dates during February 2022 (the earliest being the 6th), bringing the total to 2880. This is still well short of the 4000 that were offered.

[+CheekyBrit]

35 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

...bringing the total to 2880. This is still well short of the 4000 that were offered.

How exciting for the ones we have left to come out. I'm an impatient fool who wants things now but as an optimist, I'll wager the vast majority will come to light, just not quite yet.

[Blue Square Thing]

On 2/9/2023 at 9:18 PM, barefootjeff said:

There are also four Rewards 3.0 caches with placed dates during February 2022 (the earliest being the 6th), bringing the total to 2880. This is still well short of the 4000 that were offered.

I get 2,963 as of now - which includes five that have been archived (!!) and 11 that are disabled. 8 with hidden dates of February 2022 - all published in Feb 2023 because people made an error with the year... (none from January afaict)

 

Iirc last time there was a big old rush at the end. It's difficult to tell because people seem to have not changed the hidden date at all in a number of cases, but there are 252 virtuals with a hidden date of December 2022 (the last month of VR 2.0), but at least one of the ones I found from VR 2 has its original hidden date (2019-06-04) but was published on 30 December 2022...