+Clinton Baptiste Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 I've just hidden my 5th, 6th and 7th caches (awaiting approval) and I was wondering what other 'cachers use as their criteria when choosing a location in which to hide a cache. For me personally, my main criteria are that the location should have a feeling of solitude (i.e. unlikely to be disturbed by 'muggles') and give a feeling of discovery (i.e. "wow, never knew this area was here/so nice"). One of the caches that I hid today is less tan a 1/4 mile walk from a fairly busy main road and parking place, and yet fits both of these criteria perfectly (IMO anyway). I also try to stay away from tree cover but sometimes this is overridden by my intention to get people to visit a certain location. I was also wondering what other 'cachers consider makes a 'good' cache? Are people put off by long walks? Two of my caches require fairly lengthy walks and so far only Seasider has visited them (No surprise there tho ) Are the cache contents important? What kind of area do other 'cachers like to find caches in? Do you like caches that are easy to find? My reason for asking is that I intend to hide quite a few more in the future and want to make the 'finding' experience as enjoyable as possible. Finally, if anyone reading this has found any of my caches I would appreciate any feedback as to what you liked and disliked about them. You can be as harsh in your criticism or as sycophantic in your praise as you like Cheers! Al Quote Link to comment
+Mr & Mrs Hedgehog Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 What a tough one to answer. Trouble is that there is no answer to what the 'perfect' cache is. Geocachers come from a wide selection of people and so each is looking for something different. I don't think there is an idea distance. Mr Hedgehog and I are planning a trip up to East Anglia, so we're looking for caches we can do on-route. To break up the car journey, to stretch our legs etc. So we're looking for a few caches close to main roads that have short walks from car to cache. Now if we are staying in a location, then longer walks would be OK.... We are not at that stage of doing Omally's epic caches yet, but some people love the real long tough caches. Nice area are important to us. Like you say, places that you would not normally visit. Worst cache we tried to find was in a lay-by off a main road. There was no nice scenery, loads of muggles and to walk into the trees aroused immediate suspicion as no-one would walk into those trees unless they were up to something, so basically, there was no thought put into that cache at all with regards the enjoyment of the for the finder. Mrs Hedgehog would think that the contents of the cache is important and I would agree to a degree. I think there was other topic on this board about the degradation of cache contents and people not swapping like to like, so I guess that other people think it's important as well. I think the contents are important to caching families more than couples, Something nice for the kids. Things I try to avoid in caches is lack of a suitable parking place, locations that are not obviously public, cache location where you can't see muggles approach eg we had one in a forest where you couldn't see down the path for more than a few feet, so muggles would be right on top of you before you knew it. We were taking a picture at the time Maybe a nice place you can move to away from the cache location whilst doing the swap would be nice. Mrs H. would insist on a seat there as well but I don’t think that’s a priority Hope this helps but it looks like you are thinking about your cache locations and the people that are going to look for it. That's a good start. Happy caching Peter Mr Hedgehog There are 10 kinds of people in this world. Those that understand binary and those that don't. Quote Link to comment
+Lance Ambu Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Hi 5 Balls Seems to me you answered your own question. Caches you like to find are the ones I think you should hide. Folks will differ on what they want to look for from person to person and circumstance. I don't think placeing a cache solely for someone to find is acceptable (see the lay by cache for example) The cache, physical or virtual (oooh contraversial, missus) should be a means to an end. As you describe, it may be the walk, the view, the find, the contents, the solitude, the puzzle - whatever. I think you have the right idea, don't try to pander to the masses, just do it, if it feels right, then it probably is. I do not necessarily agree with anything I have said BUT will defend my right to be wrong, at least some of the time. It's dark and we're wearing sunglasses. Quote Link to comment
+Rocky Balboa Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Like Mr & Mrs Hedgehog said:'Geocachers come from a wide selection of people and so each is looking for something different' I totally agree with this. When I hide a cache I always try to make sure it has 'something', either interesting History, folklore or views. My least favourite type of cache are those which are placed in a random field or wood with no meaning behind them. When it comes to cache contents this doesn't bother me, There are only so many things that you are willing to part with when placing a cache and so when finding them I don't expect to find anything of great desire or importance to be honest, ofcourse the odd find will turn up a treat or two but it's rare, and I don't mind in the slightest. Provided the contents are safe and appropriate theres no need to moan. I'm here to cache, not to be picky. I think its quite obvious when you've planted a good cache, if you don't get that urge to rush home and see who finds it first then you've most probably just planted because you wanted 1 extra for your tally. I look forward to doing any which offer me the chance to see something I might never otherwise see, or give me the chance to explore somewhere wierd. Most of all I like getting the creeps, night caching all the way Its just a hunt for a lunch box, why be so serious!?! © Dan Wilson - www.Buckscaching.co.uk - Stash Notes, forums & Much more... Quote Link to comment
The Cuthberts Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 Don't mind long walks as long as there are things to see/hear along the way. We love solitude, weird things, trees and animals/birds..... and possibly a decent recommendation for post-cache refreshment. We are newbies and none of the caches we have found, or gone looking for, have raised our eyebrows and wished we were elsewhere. Your logs will tell all. Hope this helps. Andy and Dawn (Wiltshire's contribution to the chaos theory) Quote Link to comment
+stu_and_sarah Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 quote:Originally posted by 5 Balls & Tammy:For me personally, my main criteria are that the location should have a feeling of solitude (i.e. unlikely to be disturbed by 'muggles') and give a feeling of discovery (i.e. "wow, never knew this area was here/so nice"). Sounds perfect to me. Stu Quote Link to comment
+John Stead Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 As has been said, we're all different in our likes and dislikes and sometimes our own objectives are different. I like a good walk when I know I have time for it, multiparts are great for this; but sometimes if travelling it is good to have a short break and to know one can find a cache in say 10 minutes is useful. So it is helpful if as the start of the description some indication is given of the sort of cache it is - e.g. a quickie easily reached from a place to park the car, or an envigorating 3 or 10 mile walk. Happy to be member of GAGB and grateful user of GeocacheUK Quote Link to comment
+Cave Troll and Eeyore Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 Variety is the spice of life as they say , so I don,t have any real preferance on cache types. I do however go more for ones where I am given good parking co ordinates. Quote Link to comment
+Clinton Baptiste Posted October 30, 2003 Author Share Posted October 30, 2003 I did 2 caches yesterday (one of them DNF) that were hidden in bushes/trees of busy public parks. I REALLY don't enjoy these kind of locations Quote Link to comment
+Capt Slog Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 Like others have said, we like the way the cache takes us to somewhere we wouldn't normally go. We've only just started, but we tend to pick ones which are possible to do with the kids; there's no fun in dragging them on a route march. I can see that some want those long walks, just not for us yet. I also agree that seclusion is nice, I want time to read a bit of log when I'm there. I went to Waterfalls Spectacular (GC1873)on Tuesday, panted up the hill to the cache, and the turned around to see the view from the site. WOW! Glad I started this. Quote Link to comment
+Travers Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 quote:Originally posted by 5 Balls & Tammy:I did 2 caches yesterday (one of them DNF) that were hidden in bushes/trees of busy public parks. I REALLY don't enjoy these kind of locations They aren't my favourite either, but some people only have access to public transport, so they're perfectly valid. We even have one multi in a huge public park...but the final stage isn't in a bush or tree, and the park is huge and not that busy when you get to the physical cache. You really have to set caches that you would like to do yourself. I thought that some of our caches involved a reasonably long walk at 2-3 miles round trip, but I'm not sure we'd attempt an 8 miler! Quote Link to comment
+Clinton Baptiste Posted October 30, 2003 Author Share Posted October 30, 2003 quote: I thought that some of our caches involved a reasonably long walk at 2-3 miles round trip, but I'm not sure we'd attempt an 8 miler! I walked a 13 mile round trip to hide my 'Malcom in the Middle' cache (got lost a few times). I'm dreading the day that someone logs it as having gone missing (Assuming that someone other than Seasider accepts the challenge and visits it ) Quote Link to comment
crr003 Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 ...... I walked a 13 mile round trip to hide my 'Malcom in the Middle' cache (got lost a few times). I'm dreading the day that someone logs it as having gone missing (Assuming that someone other than Seasider accepts the challenge and visits it ) Went there on Wednesday! - only saw one person in several hours (and an owl!) I doubt this will be found accidently. Nil Satis Nisi Optimum Quote Link to comment
+Seasider Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 quote:Originally posted by 5 Balls & Tammy:I did 2 caches yesterday (one of them DNF) that were hidden in bushes/trees of busy public parks. I REALLY don't enjoy these kind of locations If you thought my FCS caches had lots of muggles to content with then try these :- Shropshire Union Canal Steps in the Wall Day Rover #7 - Slaithwaite and of course Britain's most visited cache... St Etheldreda's where I got nabbed by the priest whilst retrieving the cache! Cheers! Seasider We are not retreating - we are advancing in another Direction! Quote Link to comment
+Seasider Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Also worthy of a mention are two which are now sadly archived:- Clue Demon's cache in a Sainsbury's car park next to traffic lights!! Active Cache and DodgyDaved's cache in the doorway of the local crown green bowling club!! Bakewell Microcache Cheers! Seasider We are not retreating - we are advancing in another Direction! Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 You should try and get this one with out being spotted. It's on a busy round-a-bout in the middle of Luton. John And should you ask, am I at ease there? I'd answer "Yes. Oh yes indeed". For my heart it dwells in lonely places, where springs leap down, where ravens feed. Quote Link to comment
SlytherinAlex Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Or "Sunninghistory 8 The Home Stretch" where you have to try to avoid the strange little bearded bloke that seems to spend most of his time skulking in the shrubbery. Alex. A member of Team Slytherin - geocachers extraordinare. http://www.geocaching.com/profile/default.aspx?A=19781 Quote Link to comment
+Clinton Baptiste Posted November 4, 2003 Author Share Posted November 4, 2003 I think I'm just spoilt as I have such easy access to the countryside Quote Link to comment
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