+The Spokes Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 I feel that the cache descriptions are sometimes a little too descriptive. Park at ‘A’ get out of your car on the left hand side to avoid puddle. Go down the track to your right cross second bridge…………. I am waiting for someone to paint white arrows from the car parking spot and a big cross to show where the cache is. LOL. But seriously I have a GPS and although sometimes it is helpful to put where to park if parking is difficult. Finding a place to park is in the fun of things. If I want a guided walk then there are hundreds of books in the shops. I started caching because I like the feeling of exploration. Please don’t spoil it by giving away too much. Leave the guided walk out of the description please. If there is an interesting something nearby, yes inform us on the cache page, give its coordinates, in case we might miss it. Please don’t make it too easy to get to the cache site. I paid a few quid to get this GPS and I want to make full use of it. Don’t forget you can encrypt parking and track info if you feel it necessary so that those who need it or wish it can decrypt it. Anyone who has done any orienteering will tell you part of the fun is planning your own route. Most of the fun would be gone if you were told which way you had got to go. Thank you. Keith (The Spokes) Quote Link to comment
+John Stead Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 I agree with Keith on this one. Yes sometimes it is a good thing to have some guidance on parking or hazards but don't make it too easy. Its quite fun really to find you are 100 yards from a cache but on the wrong side of a river with the nearest bridge 3 miles away, because you didn't do your homework properly. On the other hand properly encrypted spoilers can save the day if one really has got thoroughly frustrated for one reason or another and has travelled a long distance or is short of time. Quote Link to comment
+Rocky Balboa Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 I don't mind either way. Sometimes I really enjoy a hard challenge (I suppose a challenge is always hard or maybe it isnt!?! ) But sometimes its great to be guided to the exact spot. The variety of caches I have done is just great and while we have a little of what everyone likes the world of caching is good for everyone in my opinion Its just a hunt for a lunch box, why be so serious!?! Dan Wilson - www.Buckscaching.co.uk Quote Link to comment
+Rocky Balboa Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 Sorry, a little/lot off topic I know but I have always wondered what is going on in your picture Keith? Is that a shoe on your head or am I just being dumb again Its just a hunt for a lunch box, why be so serious!?! Dan Wilson - www.Buckscaching.co.uk Quote Link to comment
Morseman Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by jstead:On the other hand properly encrypted spoilers can save the day if one really has got thoroughly frustrated for one reason or another and has travelled a long distance or is short of time. Some of the encrypted clues are amongst my pet hates. For example, you are stood in a forest or woodland, with the GPS display bouncing you about from 1 metre away to 30 metres away and you have looked at the base, in the branches and any hollow tree trunk in a 100 metre area. Then you decode the clue to find thjat the cache is "hidden beneath a tree". Well well, I think, who would have thought of that? Then there are the ones that really rub salt in the wound by saying that the exact tree is in the picture. Now, ladies and gentlemen, consider that there's no way of printing off a picture without looking at it, if only to ensure it printed, which then spoils the fun of at least trying to find the cache without the clue! So, please describe something about the tree if that's where you decided to hide the cache. Thanks. --... ...-- Morseman Quote Link to comment
+Chris n Maria Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 We are big fans of Parking Coordinates especially if they are not in the closest possible place to the cache but are positioned to give an interesting walk to the cache. Our pet hate is decrypting a clue to find it reads This is so easy it dosn't need a clue Bear rescues a speciality! London & UK Geocaching Resources: http://www.sheps.clara.net Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 On the subject of clues... The cache sheet calls it 'Additional Hints'. Do you expect it to be a 'hint', cryptic or otherwise, or do you want detailed intructions on exactly how to find the box? John Age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability. Quote Link to comment
+Pooter Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 I give car park references and route guidelines on some caches for two reasons. Firstly, if the direct GPS route to the cache could take you across private land where the landowner would get upset eg. farmland, golf courses, closed trails, grouse shooting areas, fields with young animals in etc.. There’s nothing more disconcerting to arrive at what you think is the best place to start your walk to the cache only to be not certain whether you’re “allowed” to go on the land. Secondly, my most memorable cache finds are where I’ve been taken to spectacular places that I’ve never known existed. I’m quite keen that visitors to my caches don’t miss out on the best bits of the walk by following the direct GPS.route. There’re a variety of caches available now – I guess you pay your money and makes your choice. Quote Link to comment
+paul.blitz Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 quote:Its quite fun really to find you are 100 yards from a cache but on the wrong side of a river with the nearest bridge 3 miles away, because you didn't do your homework properly. Yes, agree there.... recently tried to attack a cache from a different direction (well, it was "only 500 or so metres" from the other cache I had just done. How was I to know that the ground that way was so boggy, and that I was gonna get wet up to my knees? (would have been even more if it hadn't been for a kindly passing tree) Paul Noone in their right mind would place a cache THERE.... Quote Link to comment
+John Stead Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Is that your nightcap, Paul, or have you some Christmas photos left over? Quote Link to comment
Seifer Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by jstead: Is that your nightcap, Paul, or have you some Christmas photos left over? Neither, it's my april fools day joke part II! Mike Remember....you're not a salmon Quote Link to comment
+Bill D (wwh) Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 I usually give parking co-ords because I like to be given them myself, even though I don't always use them. And I give more details if I think there are things that it's best people should be aware of, like non-obvious rights of way or hazards. But I can understand that some people would prefer to do it the hard way. Perhaps the best way of doing that would be never to read the cache page, just use the search facility. The listings on the search results pages give you all the basic info, like type of cache, difficulty, date it was last found, and so on. Then you just download the co-ords... Has anyone tried doing it like that? Bill Quote Link to comment
+Travers Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 I sort of agree...we don't usually look at the parking co-ords (that's mainly disorganisation on my part) but often find that they are the place we've parked at anyway. I assume like most people, we try to get as close to the cache as possible but much of the fun is driving around the lanes trying to ascertain where the best start point is. I think that if I had all the bells and whistles (i.e. the maps and routes downloaded) that the whole game would lose it's shine for me. I'm very easily bored. We like the experience of finding things on our own merit, not being guided to the exact points. Quote Link to comment
MCL Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Dan Wilson:Sorry, a little/lot off topic I know but I have always wondered what is going on in your picture Keith? Is that a shoe on your head or am I just being dumb again Funny you should mention avatars... Have younoticed, Dan, how yours has two light bits of hair sticking up either side of your forehead that look like devils horns from a distance? Couple that with those glowing eyes... No trees were harmed during the production of this posting, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.... Quote Link to comment
+Rocky Balboa Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 ah darn it MCl you got me! Its just a hunt for a lunch box, why be so serious!?! Dan Wilson - www.Buckscaching.co.uk Quote Link to comment
+jeremyp Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 To return to the topic I think the encrypted clue should make it virtually certain that the cache would be found. e.g. you drive 90 miles and then do a three mile walk with two children who would be most upset not to find the cache - you *need* to find it. ------- jeremyp The second ten million caches were the worst too. http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching Quote Link to comment
AuntieMary Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 As one who has spent numerous hours driving past caches 0.5 miles in a direction the road doesn't go, I'm a huge fan of parking directions. I consider them essential and I'm unlikely to even attempt a cache that doesn't have them. Once I'm parked, then I'd rather figure out my own way to the actual cache location unless there are access problems and the route absolutely has to be circuitous. I like to have the hints, but I'm glad they are encoded as I rarely need them. Points of interest are nice to have but not by any means essential. I'll get me coat Quote Link to comment
+Travers Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 The parking co-ordinates may have come in handy for the Final Sheep Cache though, don't you think??? We did the same...except we 'had' been to the first three! Did you get stuck in the quicksand too? Quote Link to comment
+Lance Ambu Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 quote:I am waiting for someone to paint white arrows from the car parking spot and a big cross to show where the cache is. LOL. ... Keith (The Spokes) You have the power! I did the very cache you foretold at the weekend and must admit the lack of challenge was disappointing. But it was still an outing and a new spot I hadn't visited before. Perhaps it was another example of people planting caches before sampling others. Personally I do like parking co-ords and to be honest if they are mentioned and not required, its not as if they have to be used. There was great debate on this in the US forums with a request for an optional field in the cache submission page. In terms of hints, I'm not sure if they should be explicit, or cryptic or just a gentle hint. I do use them most of the time. So all things considered, I must come down firmly on the fence on this issue (2 feet to the left of the second post from the gate in a north easterly direction) Lance It's dark and we're wearing sunglasses. Quote Link to comment
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