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What makes a good cache?


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for me it's location, location, location. I know that doesn't really help much but I enjoy caches for many different reasons almost always relating to interesting or spectacular locations. I also like caches that have a bit of a puzzle element to them i.e. not just a set of coordinates pointing at a single box.

 

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jeremyp

The second ten million caches were the worst too.

http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching

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I agree with jeremyp about location. For me that's the most important thing - being taken to a place that's worth visiting in its own right. It doesn't have to be spectacular, or of special historical interest, or anything like that, just a very nice place to visit.

 

As to content, for the most part I think that's more important to children. With my own caches I try to include maybe two thirds specifically children's items, toys and so on, and the rest things like perhaps a compass, a keyring, a calculator etc., so that hopefully there's something there for everyone. But of course the contents will soon change when the cache gets visitors.

 

As to difficulty, I prefer longer walks to shorter ones, but I don't think everyone feels the same. Two of my favourites amongst the caches I've done are fair old walks and climbs, and neither of them gets many visitors.

 

With difficulty of finding, I don't want it to be too easy, but nor do I want to spend ages still searching if I've had to resort to the clue!

 

But location is what makes it or breaks it for me.

 

Bill

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Location is the best bit for me. A nice walk or Hike to somewhere I might not of found by myself. A nice view or located near some place of interest that is off the beaten track.

I enjoy the search. But I would like the clue to be helpfull if my gps has not taken me to the exact spot. Ie if the cache is hidden in or near a tree and you are surrounded by trees a clue that says look for the tree is not very good. A clue should say something a bit more helpfull such as look for the sycamore tree if most of the trees in the area are rowan. Then that is a lot more helpfull.

 

Hear about the 2 blondes that walked into a bar?

You would of thought at least one of them would of seen it!!

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For me, it's definitely overall location. I'm not really bothered about what's inside. As said above, being taken to new locations that otherwise you wouldn't have seen is always fun. A puzzle element can be good, although I don't mind just a plain co-ords and box.

 

The bit I don't like is the final scrabbling around hunt. A good clue and even a spoiler photo certainly don't spoil the fun for me. I have a look round first, but the last thing I want is to come away empty-handed when I was right on top of the thing, just because I didn't check one particular thorny bush. I'm afraid I don't find much fun in scrambling around the brambles - it's the overall caching experience and finding the location to within GPS range that I enjoy.

 

--

Seek and ye shall find (tupperware, ammo boxes, bears, free ISP CDs...)

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Well everyone above sound like an 'Estate Agent' icon_smile.gif

 

For us the best cache is a challenge, or puzzle.

Hopefully with some nice walking on the way.

The Kids also like the contents to be interesting, allthough sometimes just a log-book would save arguments.

We are not that concerned with the final location.

 

Tech-no notice

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We have always been firm believers in the Estate Agent idea - Location is key for us. The way we see it a cache should be a sign saying "this is a nice/interesting area that I know about".

 

These days we tend to be seeking out caches that involve a decent walk or can be combined with others to get a days stroll out of it.

 

Bear rescues a speciality!

London & UK Geocaching Resources: http://www.sheps.clara.net

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That seems to be the general consensus and that’s great but doesn’t anyone, apart from Nia, fancy a walk on the wild side occasionally?? Something a bit more challenging that a 2/2 ?? OK… I know a lot of you have families with young(ish) children and for you it’s a ‘family thing’. A pleasant walk in the country, a few trees, a few birds, a rabbit or two is good and a nice, easy to find, Tupperware box at the end of it, then home in time for tea. I’m not knocking that at all. I’ve done quite a few and thoroughly enjoyed them but what about all you people that cache on your own? Wouldn’t you like to tax ‘ze leetle grey cells’ a bit?

There aren’t too many really difficult caches out there and in my part of the country difficult terrain is relatively hard to come by so difficulty has to ‘built in’. The trouble is, if you set a cache like that (D& P’s Burial Mound, for instance) very few people bother to attempt it. And before anyone points out that I haven’t done it either… yes, I know but it's getting depressingly close to the top of my ‘To Do’ list. The first cache I set I made quite difficult. It’s been in place almost five months and so far just five people have logged it. The time it took to complete ranged from 2 hours to 2 days.

I have an idea for another cache that I would love to place (and probably will, in due course) but it will be time consuming and require a bit more than a pair of wellies and an E-trex to complete. Is anyone really prepared to spend a whole day, maybe more, doing just one cache that the odds are against them finding anyway? It does seem, despite cries to the contrary, that numbers matter so why do one hard one when you can do three or four easy ones? With more and more caches being placed each week, there’s plenty of choice. I’m as guilty as the next person in that respect but now I’m getting just a bit bored with a muddy footpath to the top of a hill, even if it is a different hill each time. Surely I’m not in a minority of just two, am I?

 

John

 

Age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

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Pharisee makes a fair point.

 

I don't think I've ever attempted a truly hideously difficult cache. In fact, I'm inclined to give up fairly readily when failure first looms its tempting head.

 

That said, I wouldn't be uninterested in approaching a real challenge once in a while. As I am often strapped for time that I can spend on hunts, it would only be an occasional thing, but I think I would welcome a real original idea. For this reason, the Fox Hunt was fantastic (and I look forward to the next), so while ending up in a unique location is real nice, a new way of getting us there would be fun too.

 

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An it harm none, do what ye will

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Agreed, location is the most imortant point for us. A pleasant walk with not too much of a hill to climb and an attractive endpoint within .75 or so of a mile from the parking place. OK, I know the hill and the distance bits are because we are old fogies and not as fit as we need to be. Peace and quiet and a sunny day with a nice grasy bank to sit on and read the log book are a welcome bonus.

 

Having said that we also enjoy the puzzles. Wildcat was a particular favourite of ours with an extremely enjoyable "endgame".

 

quote:
Originally posted by Pharisee:

... doesn’t anyone, apart from Nia, fancy a walk on the wild side occasionally??


 

Now, as I understand it "A walk on the wild side" has something to do with transvestites. I don't believe this of Nia. icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

 

Mind you, I'm not surprised that nobody has admitted to "taking a walk on the wild side". icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

 

Sorry John, I know what you really meant, just could not resist it.

 

Tim & June (Winchester)

 

See June, I told you that sign which said 'Unsuitable for Motor Vehicles' was wrong ! icon_smile.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Tim & June:

 

quote:
Originally posted by Pharisee:

... doesn’t anyone, apart from Nia, fancy a walk on the wild side occasionally??


 

Now, as I understand it "A walk on the wild side" has something to do with transvestites. I don't believe this of Nia. icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

 

Sorry John, I know what you really meant, just could not resist it.

 

Tim & June (Winchester)


 

Well there you go... I had no idea that there were dubious second meanings to a simple phrase like that. You learn something every day. Today I've learned that our erstwhile moderators are perhaps not as shining white as they would have us believe. icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

 

John

 

Age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

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quote:
Originally posted by Pharisee:

quote:
Originally posted by Tim & June:

 

Now, as I understand it "A walk on the wild side" has something to do with transvestites. I don't believe this of Nia. icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

 

Sorry John, I know what you really meant, just could not resist it.

 

Tim & June (Winchester)


 

Well there you go... I had no idea that there were dubious second meanings to a simple phrase like that. You learn something every day. Today I've learned that our erstwhile moderators are perhaps not as shining white as they would have us believe. icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

 


 

Nope, they just know a bit about the last track on side 1 of "Transformer" by Lou Reed. (track 5 on the CD for the young'uns).

 

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jeremyp

The second ten million caches were the worst too.

http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching

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It's nice to have a good location as this makes for a good walk and possibly a good picnic.

But for us it's about being together as family, no telly is gr8. I hear you all saying ahhhh but it's true.

But whist we are having our family time it's the hunt we enjoy and the supprise of what we are going to find. Being new to caching it's still the thrill of going to find a cache.

Maybee this will change in time, but I hope not. It's also about seeing our boys face lightup when he can choose something to takeaway with him.

 

As for the hardness of the cache, we have young children so not finding a cache would be disasterious and would probably produce tears for our eldest.

All the caches we have visited have had good contents something for the youngest and eldest of the cachers, this is gr8. icon_smile.gificon_rolleyes.gificon_smile.gif

 

Kids Caches and Mayhem what a day in the celtic tribal city.

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My ideal cache takes the best part of a day to complete, takes me to an interesting location (there's that word again), involves lots of challenging puzzles I have to solve, and provides plenty of opportunity for entertaining misadventures. I find the cache and make it home alive, but only just.

 

I agree with Pharisee - there should be more hard caches. Easy ones are too, er, easy.

 

SimonG.org

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We started caching because it took us to other peoples' favourite places. It's that feeling of having a personal guide to those places which didn't make it into a guidebook and are visited by just a few people; this is great for holidays and we really enjoyed caching in the US.

 

Our kids ask to go caching; they're not yet old enough to walk a long way but managed a mile each way at Cadbury Castle last weekend. It's a great way to get them away from the TV and of course they like finding the contents of the cache. If there's nothing for them in the cache then they get the pick of the cache bag.

 

Although our favourites usually involve a view or place of interest, we recently discovered puzzle caches when we did Wildcat. This was great and others are now planned.

 

The only caches we don't like are in the middle of a forest with no redeeming features (yes Alex,we know we should buy a Magellan).

 

Dave

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Not having found many caches I don't think I can speak with a dregree of authority, however we spent two weekends on Treasure Island and are having to call in favours to get the boat needed to finish it, so I guess we like a challenge.

 

Having said that a nice location with a good walk makes the time seem well spent.

 

There is a case to be made for caches close to the major roads and car parks.... travel bugs would move much quicker but overall it's the excuse to get out into the countryside that I enjoy the most.

 

On the subject of TB's is there a TB drop box in a motorway service station?

 

Regards

EAP

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I think that the more caches we do, the more we learn to like the ones that offer a challenge or are in an out-of-the-way location.

 

Visiting somewhere that we never knew existed is part of the charm, especially if there’s something to explore when we finally get there – something like a ruined castle, a cave or abandoned building.

 

Micros are not really our thing. We don’t mind walking a few miles to find a cache but if we get there and can’t find the box, it’s not so appealing. I think that if you are planning a longer distance cache you should balance it by giving decent clues as to the location.

 

I like multis, but prefer the use of ‘static’ clues rather than micros to lead on to the final location.

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quote:
Originally posted by The Targett Family:

What are your views on what makes a good cache?.


 

I like a variety of caches: one with a nice walk is nice, even better if to a nice place.

 

I also like a good puzzle... as long as it's not rediculously difficult.

 

Yes, multicaches too.

 

As for "time taken to do"... again, a mix is good, although I'm not all that keen on some of the "cache & dash" ones unless there is something else to redeem it, like a good view.

 

I've just been up to Long Sutton (north of Peterborough) which is a rather barren area cache-wise. So I took a "new cache kit" with me.... but I can now understand why there ARE so few caches up there.... its flat, full of large flat fields, with ditches & "drains" around.... and almost NOWHERE to hide a cache!

 

I mean, I'm from Hampshire, and am used to finding a patch of trees SOMEWHERE within walking distance of whereever you happen to be.... but had trouble finding ANY trees up there!!

 

I was tempted to place a "cache & dash" but decided that, apart from the cache, there was nothing SPECIAL about the place (compared to the same area, a couple of miles away!) to justify placing it.

 

Maybe someone knows the area better, and can find somewhere?

 

Paul Blitz

 

Noone in their right mind would place a cache THERE....

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I agree with Pharisee on this one. I will now look for caches that seem harder as the harder ones I have done are a challenge.

I have yet to log a not found and would if I did not find one. Most have been very easy to find and the location on all but three have been gentle terrain. That’s not to say we have not enjoyed the others, but we do not do a lot of caches and do not worry about the numbers game. 26 finds in nearly a year is all we have managed so to get our ton up badge will take us about 4 years and by then that won’t be a big deal anyway. I plan to place a tough one to find, as soon as I find the correct location. For this I won’t give any clues to the cache and hopefully it will be logged as not found more times than found.

I must admit though I have not yet done a cache that we have not found interesting in some way or other. Maybe we are just lucky to have good cache placers and places around here.

Keith

 

It's only a foot.

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As keen walkers we like ones with a bit of a walk and a view and it gets us out in the fresh air on days we might not otherwise bother. If doing a few on the same day it's always nice to get one not to far from the car at the end of the day icon_biggrin.gif.

Basically, as most have said it's location and it's amazing the number of places on our own doorstep we have been to that we didn't know anything about.

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I is amaizing, how other people view the area one lives in.

Iv'e lived in west sussex for 28 years and geocaching has taken me to places in the area I did not know off or has taken further down a trail I've been down before, but never ventured that far.

The hunt has realy revived our love for walking and the countryside.

 

Geocaching has a big thumbs up from The Targett Family

 

Kids Caches and Mayhem what a day in the celtic tribal city.

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I agree with what has been said about location and contents, but from my point of view another important factor is the quality of the hiding place.

 

I've often noticed that long time geocachers talk about being able to spot the 'usual' geocache hiding spots. I'll give an example.

 

There are a lot of caches I have done in woodland that are hidden under logs, usually with various bits of bark, or rock hiding the spot, or alternatively in undergrowth covered over by leaves. This is to the point that usually I can work my way around a cache area looking for disturbed areas around logs, the tell tale out of place bark propped up, the out of place rocks or pile of branches and leaves, that sort of thing.

 

The reason the thought came to me was as a result of a cache I did today in woodland that wasn't hidden in a 'usual' spot. (I can think of only one other I have done that was hidden in a similar way.) Finding it gave me much more of a buzz because it had caused me problems, and because it wasn't where I was expecting. Even more because I had looked around the spot already and missed the cache, and because the actual location was clearly visible from metres away.

 

I actually got an awful lot more enjoyment from it because it wasn't hidden in the obvious place.

 

Richard

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...seeing as I've loved the countryside since I was ooooo, *this* high, Geocaching has given me the perfect excuse to lead folks to places I've known of and loved for ages. It's a buzz when you read back through the logs on your own cache and see all the pictures that cachers have posted!

Perhaps if more folks find out about the countryside instead of sitting in front of the zombie-box of a sunny (or even rainy!) afternoon, less of it will disappear under concrete... of course, this does involve wear and tear on footpaths, but nature is pretty forgiving if treated with consideration.

Good grief, I'm starting to sound like a hippy! Anyone got any trees that need hugging? icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

 

It's a tradition, or an old charter or something...

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Sometimes time is short and we like a fairly quick cache to do, sometimes we like a good long or hilly walk when we have more time to spare. Whichever, it is much nicer if the location is worth going to for its own sake.

 

Also, I agree what someone else said about there being a good clue/spoiler. We recently did a cache on holiday where the tree cover made getting an accurate lock difficult and we spent a very long time searching. We didn't want to give up as we probably wouldn't have a chance to go there again as it was so far from home.

 

Regards,

Lisa

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I have to say I got into geocaching because I like to play with gadgets. My GPSr is very much a toy, and so I like the bit where you use the GPSr. That means the first 95% of the journey. Once you get down to the last 20ft, and the GPSr has done its job, frankly I just want to find the darned thing as fast as possible and start on the next one.

 

Yes the views are a nice part of the hobby. Yes the walking is good for me. But basically Wronskian said it best in his post above.

 

No trees were harmed during the production of this posting, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced....

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