Dear moderator it is so sad that geocaching has became a fill your quota game

[+ringling]

Dear moderator it is so sad that geocaching has become a fill your quota game. When Geocaching started it was quite a challenge and a great exploring adventure a wonderful way to be outdoors. Since its conception in 2000 it sadly has become a joke. The throw a used pill bottle out every 10th of a mile is a disgrace to the geocaching world as we knew it.  Kevin Brewer

 

Edited January 27 by Rock Chalk
Shortened subject line

[+Smitherington]

You must have missed mine. Not pill bottles every 1/10 of a mile. 

 

Lots of other good ones - waterfront in Iceland, castle wall in Spain, unique castle in Idaho, the gadget caches in WV & ND, library on US/Canada border in VT, the list goes on and on.

 

Don’t do the ones you dislike. Do the good ones. And place good ones yourself. 
 

Still loving it after 20+ yrs

[+geodarts]

Several years ago a friend noted a new cache that was placed in a parking lot simply because there was not another cache there.  He wrote that the game as we know it was over.

 

I can’t argue but I try to avoid those that you describe.  In my profile I ask, “Am I the only one who thinks there are around 3 million containers too many and that repetitive trails are . . . . . repetitive rather than being powerful.”  Yet here we are.  Some of the caches listed on my profile gives a reason why.

 

We are no longer in the days when I looked forward to new caches because they would almost always take me to places that were worth exploring.  They are still there but a pocket query might not find them.

Edited January 26 by geodarts

[Keystone]

Hi, I'm a Moderator, so I guess this question is addressed to me?  I've been geocaching since 2002 and I still enjoy finding "old school" types of caches the most.  I'll also find easier caches, especially when traveling in a new area where my time is limited.

 

Yesterday I went for a hike in a park near my home, to introduce a muggle friend to the park's great trail system.  I never would have known about the park if it weren't for geocaching.  The average D/T rating of the caches in the park is 3.5/3.0.  Finding those caches meant crossing streams, retrieving caches hidden high up in trees, hiking up and down steep hills, and solving for multi-cache locations.

 

There are 123 caches rated 1.5/1.5 or lower that are closer to my home than this park is.  It was easy for me to drive past them.  I use filters and other search tools to locate the kinds of caches I'd like to find, and I don't need to worry about the ones I don't care to find.  A good search technique begins with looking for big green spaces on the map that have cache icons far from the nearest road - parks, forests, nature centers, etc.

 

I'm not sure what the OP is asking me to do as a Forum Moderator or as a Community Volunteer Reviewer.  The website publishes all caches that meet the Geocache Hiding Guidelines.  I don't have a quota to fill.

[+lee737]

There are plenty of great caches, and reasonable caches too. Old and new. Just look for them. It is OK to ignore the road litter.....

These are images from two caches we found in metropolitan Sydney yesterday....

 

[+lee737]

and.... check out the little track around the cliff - 600' of this, after descending a slippery rocky gully above, then climbing up to a slippery ledge, then climbing a homemade wooden ladder for 15' onto the ledge....

 

[+barefootjeff]

4 hours ago, ringling said:

When Geocaching started it was quite a challenge and a great exploring adventure a wonderful way to be outdoors.

 

For me it still is. I'm not as adventurous as lee737, but these are a few of the places geocaching took me to last year:

 

 

I don't have any quotas to fill and often go on long trips away just for one or two caches that catch my attention. It's taken almost 12 years to get close to 2000 finds and for that milestone, now imminent with my find count reaching 1997 after yesterday's Sydney Geoquest Block Party, I'm planning to reattempt a cache on Big Nellie Mountain that I DNFed in 2023 when our group took a wrong turn and I couldn't scale the almost vertical rock face.

 

 

The drive to the parking waypoint will take the best part of four hours, with a stop-off at Bulahdelah to do a new multi there and check on my own cache on Alum Mountain (GC9ZM7G), so it'll be a full day adventure for just a couple of smileys. I still enjoy the 1.5/1.5 traditionals as they're often in interesting places, but it's the more challenging ones like these that are the lifeblood of the game for me.

[+MartyBartfast]

I just had a look at the map around the OPs own cache hide and this is what it looks like, definitely pretty saturated with micros every 1/10 mile by the look of it.
I think the OP just needs to be more selective in their choice of targets and go for those single isolated caches.

[+JL_HSTRE]

Geocaching is a poster child of what happens when you don't gatekeep a hobby and instead run it as a business. First it's rare, then it's common, then it's cheap. Nothing gold can stay.

 

As someone who grew up with the internet in the 1990s, the body of the post also being in the title of the post, and the post being signed with the geocachers name certainly makes this feel like an internet post from 2000. Which really fits the "kids these days need to get off my lawn" tone.

[+GeoElmo6000]

2 hours ago, MartyBartfast said:

I just had a look at the map around the OPs own cache hide and this is what it looks like, definitely pretty saturated with micros every 1/10 mile by the look of it.

 

My lemonade from lemons take: if I ever wanted to start a daily streak, this would be a great place to start one

[+MartyBartfast]

2 minutes ago, GeoElmo6000 said:

 

My lemonade from lemons take: if I ever wanted to start a daily streak, this would be a great place to start one

True, for me I would use it for my 150 in a day target, which I will do on foot, finding and signing every log myself. In the UK the shortest route I've found so far is about a 27 mile hike.

[+igator210]

8 hours ago, MartyBartfast said:

I just had a look at the map around the OPs own cache hide and this is what it looks like, definitely pretty saturated with micros every 1/10 mile by the look of it.
I think the OP just needs to be more selective in their choice of targets and go for those single isolated caches.
 

Desert caches present their own unique challenges.

 

First, the sun is brutal on any container. Plastics rarely last more than a year. You don't really have to worry about waterproofness, so buying high quality containers turns into a money issue. Even ammo cans get beat up by the sun.

 

Second, there isn't a lot of great hiding spot for anything larger than a pill bottle. Lots of flat land and nothing but scrub for miles. 

 

I'm not a big fan of power trails, but I understand why they pop up in the desert. At least the power trails give the area something to hunt. Otherwise you might not get anything in some of those areas.

[RuideAlmeida]

Ohhhh!... only if a cache quality depended mostly upon the owners... 

[+cerberus1]

On 1/26/2025 at 11:08 AM, ringling said:

Dear moderator it is so sad that geocaching has become a fill your quota game. When Geocaching started it was quite a challenge and a great exploring adventure a wonderful way to be outdoors. Since its conception in 2000 it sadly has become a joke. The throw a used pill bottle out every 10th of a mile is a disgrace to the geocaching world as we knew it. 

When I ask someone whether they ever heard of geocaching, they sometimes do say it's similar to what you suggest.

Most my interaction are nurses lately, and they're fascinated that there's cache locations other-than 1.5/1.5. 

I explain that when we joined it was called the 'Language of Location", and that's how we choose to play.  

I skip by the hundreds of 'place 'em because there's room' caches to go where I enjoy.   

A cliff drop, rock/tree rope climb, awesome views, unique areas, and a decent walk is what I like to do.

So it may be a game for some, but it's a fun hobby for me, and I'm getting antsy to get back out...  

[+Mastifflover]

I'll play devil's advocate here. I used to love the miles long hikes and challenging placements. I have recently had a leg amputated and have a prosthetic. Just can't handle those anymore. I am glad that there are still easier ones to find so that I can still play.

[+MNTA]

So I am the CO of 5 active caches.

 

1 - virtual 300 miles away from my home and requires 4x4 to access a dry lakebed. One of my favorite spots in the whole area. The purpose was to bring folks there and experience the freedom of being out in the middle of nowhere. Oh and to drive as fast as you want to or in my case till the governor stops you from going faster 

 

2 & 3 are on forest roads which is my favorite type of cache to go for. Don't get many finders but a few. One is near a 2001 cache and I give better access information to avoid road closures.  It is overlooking a reservoir dam. The other is off a back country trail but has an amazing view. So my goal is to share what I like and bring folks there. 

 

4 & 5 are challenge caches down the road from where I used to live. Dumb pill bottle and a nano. But I believe challenges should not occupy good locations as most folks do not qualify for them. They are PNG. The challenges all encourage travel to multiple states and counties. What I enjoy doing.

 

 

 

 

 

[+MNTA]

One benefit I found to back county trails. Is to use them for navigation aids. Since in the picture below there is NO cell service, phone maps don't work anyway and if you miss the turn off specially in the dark you could be a long way away before you realize you need to turn around. Note I only found 2 on this power trail. The main one was at the turn off to Three Forks Recreation site and an amazing warm springs. Scary road for my city 4x4.

 

 

I unfortunately DNFed the cache at the campground but may try again another time. I have no desire to do the power trail but used it none the less. Some folks must like them so let them play the game they like I choose to ignore them now.

Edited April 7 by MNTA

[Keystone]

5 hours ago, Mastifflover said:

I'll play devil's advocate here. I used to love the miles long hikes and challenging placements. I have recently had a leg amputated and have a prosthetic. Just can't handle those anymore. I am glad that there are still easier ones to find so that I can still play.

 

Hello, fellow old-timer!  It is nice to see you posting in the Forum again, after a 12 year absence.  I'd like to advise you to look for "gadget caches."  They are often close to parking, but are way more fun than peeking in the end of a guardrail.

[+barefootjeff]

10 hours ago, MNTA said:

4 & 5 are challenge caches down the road from where I used to live. Dumb pill bottle and a nano. But I believe challenges should not occupy good locations as most folks do not qualify for them.

 

But most folks these days don't want to go to good locations for anything, they just want trails of P&Gs so they can get heaps of smileys (and now treasures) whenever they go out caching. One of my more recent traditionals (GCAB2PJ) at a scenic lookout on Kincumba Mountain and just a few kilometres from the centre of Gosford City, was published in July 2023 but has only had 5 finds, the most recent over a year ago. Getting to it is a bit of a steep hike and there's only two other nearby caches, both over a decade old, so it's not very appealing nowadays.

 

The challenge caches that have caused the biggest furore amongst the local community were difficult-to-qualify ones requiring lots of international travel but with urban P&G containers that annoyed those who want to keep their local area clear of unfound caches. My own two challenge caches are themed containers at remote scenic locations a half-day return hike from the nearest parking, where any cache, challenge or not, is likely to be ignored by most players. The most recent two finds on both those were in 2023 and 2022, but I doubt they'd be faring any better if they were just traditionals.

 

Edited April 8 by barefootjeff

[+Mastifflover]

Wow, didn't realize that it had been 12 years. Started in 2003 so I guess that does make me an old timer! Nice to see some familiar names still here. 

 

11 hours ago, Keystone said:

 

Hello, fellow old-timer!  It is nice to see you posting in the Forum again, after a 12 year absence.  I'd like to advise you to look for "gadget caches."  They are often close to parking, but are way more fun than peeking in the end of a guardrail.

 

[+Goldenwattle]

On 1/27/2025 at 8:56 PM, MartyBartfast said:

I just had a look at the map around the OPs own cache hide and this is what it looks like, definitely pretty saturated with micros every 1/10 mile by the look of it.
I think the OP just needs to be more selective in their choice of targets and go for those single isolated caches.

Its those sort of caches that turn me off the game and make me less likely to cache.

[+GeoElmo6000]

On 1/26/2025 at 11:08 AM, ringling said:

Dear moderator it is so sad that geocaching has become a fill your quota game. When Geocaching started it was quite a challenge and a great exploring adventure a wonderful way to be outdoors.

 

One more point: play the game as you want to play it.  Find the caches that interest you and ignore the rest.  Play when you want and take a break when you have other things to do.

 

I'm currently on about a 100 day slump, a word that sounds negative but I just have other things going on in my life now.  I've gotten to a point where I don't really geocache much locally as I've crisscrossed my county a ton over the years since I started geocaching, and I generally only find caches in places I'm visiting.  Over the last two years I spent a lot of time finishing up my Jasmer grid, which included two trips (Atlanta and Buffalo), and now I'm taking a break to focus on other interests.  

[+ecanderson]

On 4/8/2025 at 6:47 AM, GeoElmo6000 said:

 

One more point: play the game as you want to play it.  Find the caches that interest you and ignore the rest. 

Indeed.  To hear some talk, you'd think that there weren't any filtering mechanisms available for developing a caching run that better suits someone's style v.s. "all of the above".