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Are you a lazy 1/1 geocacher?


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Call me crazy, but I've noticed that many geocachers have a tendency to only hunt out those caches that are less than 2 terrain. All of the caches in my area that involve a good-sized hill will usually be ignored by local cachers.

 

While I understand that everyone is different and likes different types of caches, I don't understand the mentality of skipping a cache just because it involves a little more work.

 

My concern is that the sport of geocaching will further degenerate into nothing but a bunch of drive-by caches as geocachers get lazier and lazier. Is my concern legitimate or am I just making too much of it?

 

To me, the reason I got into caching was so I could find some interesting hikes away from all the hustle and bustle. I do enjoy the occasional micro-urban cache, but I prefer the caches that require one to break a sweat. Am I alone on this?

 

--CoronaKid

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You're not alone. Many of us enjoy a good hike to the cache. But we are in the minority. Any cache I have that is rated 2.5 stars, or higher for terrain will sit for months between finds, but my 1/1.5's get hit quite frequently.

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

 

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on June 24, 2003 at 03:20 AM.]

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I tend to like caches that have a terrain rating of at least 2 (although when I say that, I'm envisioning a nice steep hill, not a thicket of briars or a nasty bug-infested swamp).

 

I wouldn't say 1/1 cachers are lazy though. We have a lot of new cachers joining all the time (right?) and 1/1's are probably the least intimidating way for them to start. It may be that as they find more caches and become more confident they will move on to tougher terrain and higher difficulty ratings.

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There are also cachers who don't have the physical capabilities to do higher terrain hunts.

 

Another consideration is often time. If I have three hours to cache and would like to hunt for as many caches as possible, then I will probably skip any higher terrain ratings and opt for those that are easier to access.

 

Not hunting higher rated terrains doesn't necessarily mean someone is lazy.

 

Jaimee icon_smile.gif

 

"What a fine thing it is to have an intellect, and room enough in the seat of your breeches to hold it."

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One issue is time. I usually only have about two hours at a time to get my cache fix. Any cache with a significant hike will take me at least a half hour just to get to the trailhead. Ergo, if the cache hunt is going to take more than an hour, I need to have a big block of free time, which doesn't often happen.

 

Another issue is simply lack of long-hike caches. Caches that are more than a half mile from parking are very rare around here.

 

Flat_MiGeo_B88.gif

Well the mountain was so beautiful that this guy built a mall and a pizza shack

Yeah he built an ugly city because he wanted the mountain to love him back -- Dar Williams

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In my short experience with the sport, I've found that the harder ones have nicer caches and aren't as likely to be full of garbage.

 

I introduced some friends to Geocaching last weekend, and we did a bunch of easy ones to get them used to the sport.

 

I couldn't imagine doing 1/1s exclusively, that would be EXTREMELY boring.

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>Are you a lazy 1/1 geocacher?

 

Uhh, no... There's a great quote by Lanarkhighlander about Hillbillies on PCP.

 

'To be honest this is a real man's cache, not one of those big city caches where you can run up in your Birkenstock sandals and sign the log book without even spilling the Perrier water...'

 

Ha hah DOUBLE Hah!

 

I especially like the kinds where you climb mountains or need a boat. On second thought, it's quality. There are some nice 1/1's I guess.

 

[This message was edited by Zartimus on June 23, 2003 at 09:47 AM.]

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Well, one of us has a bad achilles tendon and the other has a bad back, so we only do caches we're reasonably sure won't leave either of us laid up for the rest of the summer. Some 2 terrains we've tried have been pretty challenging. We did do a cache with an 800+ foot climb once, but it was on well-defined trails with a lot of switchbacks so we were okay.

 

I think the more detail about the terrain, the better, so people can tell whether the cache is within their abilities. Ratings can be misleading. 1/1's can be clever and fun, but we do prefer caches with at least a bit of a walk in the woods.

 

Incentive to get off our butts and exercise is one reason we cache, but my tendon injury is FROM geocaching -- a year ago I climbed a steep canyon ascent too aggressively when I wasn't in shape for it. I know my limits better now, and in the local canyonlands it's a rare 3 that I could realistically complete. Difficult-terrain caches will inevitably be visited less than really easy ones, but around here I know plenty of locals who thrive on them.

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I think classifying everyone who sticks to 1 terrain caches as lazy is offensive. For someone with physical limitations (and I don't just mean being in a wheelchair--very little cartlidge left in the knees makes for rough going on hills), a 2 terrain can be a big challange...and lazy has nothing to do with it. And people with small children can't be scaling too many cliffs. By classifying these people as lazy, you are forgetting that geocachers come in all ages and with varying physical abiltities that have nothing to do with laziness...and not everyone is in it to run a marathon, even if they could. Geocaching can be an enjoyble stroll in the woods or a massive challange...each person has their own agenda for why they are in this sport. Don't critcize people whose reasons and abilities are not the same as yours.

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First of all - I Love Everybody! (Except for the people that make Cell Phone plans)

 

The question is "Are you a Lazy 1/1 Geocacher". If you are Handicap and can only go after 1/1 caches, answer "No". If you have small kids and need it to be easy for them answer "No". If you only care about numbers so get the easy caches even though you could do harder ones, answer "Yes".

 

Asking "Are you a Lazy 1/1 Geocacher" is the same as asking "Are you a Fat American?" - Not everbody who is an American is Fat but I am sure there are Fat Americans.

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quote:
Originally posted by CoronaKid:

My concern is that the sport of geocaching will further degenerate into nothing but a bunch of drive-by caches as geocachers get lazier and lazier. Is my concern legitimate or am I just making too much of it?


At any rate, I don't think the concern is legitimate. I doubt people who are going after and placing 4 and 5 star terrain caches are likely to "get lazier and lazier". Except for the gradual ravages of age, an avid hiker isn't likely to just give it up. More likely, geocaching will make better hikers out of people who didn't hike much before.

 

Unless people are actually saying "I really want to put this cache on top of Mt St Helens, but that's so hard, I think I'll just make it a quarter mile hike", I don't think you have to worry about the game becoming all terrains of 2 or less.

 

It's possible the ratio of easy terrain-to-hard terrain caches will increase, but the actual number of hard terrain caches is not going to decrease due to "laziness".

 

Flat_MiGeo_B88.gif

Well the mountain was so beautiful that this guy built a mall and a pizza shack

Yeah he built an ugly city because he wanted the mountain to love him back -- Dar Williams

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They are not lazy, they are so busy chasing 1/1's just to keep busy raising their counts.

Or they are just physically unable to go after the tough ones, and we should not think the disabled are lazy. But strive to make caches that they can enjoy!!

 

But some of us like quality over quantity, and I prefer to plant than find. I also have planted some 1/1's for the kids and the disabled.

 

My 4/4's are usually found by the die hard cacher who wants a good hike with a mental challenge thrown in for good measure.

 

Tahosa - Dweller of Mountain Tops.

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You need to remember that there many geocachers and probably as many reasons for why they like this activity. It had been stated in these forums before that geocaching is made from two words: geo + caching. Some like the geo part - getting to the cache which may involve a good hike and navigation skills. Others are more interested in finding the cache once they get to the spot. Its unfair to call someone lazy just because they prefer caches they can drive to.

 

By the way, I too prefer caches with higher terrains. I have a pocket query that give me all the caches with a terrain of 3 or more within 50 miles of my zip code. Thats big enough to get a little overlap with CoronaKids area. I notice that he has done a few 1/1 or 2/1 caches (like me) so even the extreme hikers can have fun with an easy to get to cache once and a while

 

東西南北

-- I found it in the last place I looked.

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You come to Arizona and do a 3.5+ terrain cache in 118 degree weather and then we'll talk about lazy caching. Around here you hit x/1 caches much of the year, or...

 

1. You die of heat stroke.

2. You simply don't cache.

 

I have a 2/3.5 cache. I'm very healthy and able-bodied. But I went to do maintenance recently and almost passed out. I had 140oz water (70oz CamelBak with an extra 70oz bladder) and still ran out half way.

 

I really don't think you thought much about your comment before making it.

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I love getting hard terrain ones, but the issue for me is time.

Generally, I have about an hour of daylight or so during summer week nights to cache. That kind of rules out a 3000 foot climb.

I try to grab the hard terrain ones when I can.

 

Insert pretentious quote or saying here.

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Ummmm. OK, you asked for it. You're crazy.

 

I hope newbies will not feel bad about doing easier-rated caches.

 

As a new Geocacher, I just started out doing caches that are close to me or on my way to or returning from somewhere else. Lazy? by your definition, probably yeah. by my definition--- naw. it's just convenient and time-effective, as well as trying to build up my geo-caching chops... believe it or not, I don't pay that much attention to what the rating is. If it sounds interesting I'll give it a shot. It's all fun to me! and I'm in it for the fun! (ok, and The Hunt) Once I get more experience, I'm sure I'll try for some of the more challenging ones, whether they are on top of a mountain or downtown.

 

also, The General made a good point about Arizona Geocaching. Sometimes it just isn't the best idea to be out there!

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quote:
Originally posted by CoronaKid:

Call me crazy, but I've noticed that many geocachers have a tendency to only hunt out those caches that are less than 2 terrain. All of the caches in my area that involve a good-sized hill will usually be ignored by local cachers.

 

While I understand that everyone is different and likes different types of caches, I don't understand the mentality of skipping a cache just because it involves a little more work.

 

My concern is that the sport of geocaching will further degenerate into nothing but a bunch of drive-by caches as geocachers get lazier and lazier. Is my concern legitimate or am I just making too much of it?

 

To me, the reason I got into caching was so I could find some interesting hikes away from all the hustle and bustle. I do enjoy the occasional micro-urban cache, but I prefer the caches that require one to break a sweat. Am I alone on this?

 

--CoronaKid


 

After looking at your caches found page I really don't understand your rationale for starting this topic.

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So basically, to do this sport to your standards, you must not have any physical or mental handicaps, you must have tons of free time and no other hobbies. I am thinking that when the concept of geocaching was born it was not about just one person's likes or dislikes, abilities or inabilities. We've found 1 so far, yep, just 1 and it was an easy one (sorry Philaduck). Does it mean we are lazy? I guess if you call working 10-12 hours a day 5 days a week with soccer, volleyball, and other activities thrown in lazy, we are. Do I wish I could go out more often? Yes. Will I get to anytime soon other than my vacation (watching 11 in the NE area)? Probably not.

 

Not all of us are ready for the really difficult caches. Some of us need to rack up more gear before we do. I am not going to head to REI and buy out the hiking/camping dept (it would be nice though) because I feel the need to be viewed as an 'active' (opposite of lazy) geocacher. Part of me was thinking that this thread was angled to start some heat and I should not even answer it, but the other part of me beat up the sane part so here's my reply.

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quote:
Originally posted by CoronaKid:

 

While I understand that everyone is different and likes different types of caches, I don't understand the mentality of skipping a cache just because it involves a little more work.

 

--CoronaKid


 

I have sat here for 5 minutes thinking about this before I respond and still I find that I don't understand the mentality of some one that would make a statement like this. How can one person be such a mindless twit to even make such a statement. There are those of us who cache who can only do 1/1's and at that the first time I tried this cache Engineers Tollgate (read my log of March 26) I ended up in the hospital. In order to preserver the sport, Sir, would you rather I resign so that I no longer pollute the quality of the cacher gene pool??

Bloody twit!

 

Lapaglia icon_cool.gif

Muga Muchu (forget yourself, focus)

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We typically do not go for the 2.5 and higher because of the small children we have. Caching is a great activity that allows our entire family to participate even though we have diverse age groups. I plan on doing some more advanced cache searches with my oldest son this summer. I think you will find that a lot of families are limited by terrain.

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I think my answers have been covered by others, but I will sum them up for purpose of a vote:

 

1) I cache during my lunch break or on the way home quite often. For these quick hunts, I avoid anything higher than 2/2

 

2) I search for harder ones on weekends, but then I go with my kids, so we're looking more at <= 3.5/3.5

 

3) There are a few higher rated caches in my area that, in all probability, I ain't looking for until fall or winter due to heat, bugs, and thick undergrowth.

 

So, all in all, I like them all (although I won't be looking for any 5/5's anytime soon - I'm not in *that* good of shape, but I'm getting better).

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quote:
Originally posted by CoronaKid:

Call me crazy, but I've noticed that many geocachers have a tendency to only hunt out those caches that are less than 2 terrain. All of the caches in my area that involve a good-sized hill will usually be ignored by local cachers.

 

While I understand that everyone is different and likes different types of caches, I don't understand the mentality of skipping a cache just because it involves a little more work.

 

My concern is that the sport of geocaching will further degenerate into nothing but a bunch of drive-by caches as geocachers get lazier and lazier. Is my concern legitimate or am I just making too much of it?

 

To me, the reason I got into caching was so I could find some interesting hikes away from all the hustle and bustle. I do enjoy the occasional micro-urban cache, but I prefer the caches that require one to break a sweat. Am I alone on this?


 

Apparently you have not taken into account that there are those of us who take our kids caching. I take my sons (now 5 and 7) and they would have difficulty hunting anything with terrain more than 2 (sometimes 1.5, depending on the cache). Yesterday I took them to hunt a cache with terrain of 3 and it proved to be downright dangerous for them -- practically cliff climbing -- so we aborted the attempt.

 

There are also people who have medical conditions, such as lung problems (this is also the case with my 7-year-old, who has cystic fibrosis) that do not permit them to go on a strenuous hike or climb.

 

Then, leaving all of this aside, there's the point that this sport is for everyone... And if people want to just hunt the easy ones, who cares? You do what you want and let them do what they want. Because, after all, it's not supposed to be about the numbers, but about the sport and the fun we have doing it.

 

I could say more but I would guess you get my point by now.

 

-------------------------------------

Becky Davis

San Jose, CA

Buy Tupperware for cache containers.

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Interesting thread.

 

There’s part of me that’s getting really annoyed with a certain nerdy attitude, that is evidenced by the combination of two viewpoints. I’m not saying anyone on this thread has expressed such an attitude, but it goes something like this:

 

1: Doing just terrain 1 is lazy. Not what caching is all about.

 

2: Puzzle caches are rediculous. Why go through all that effort just to find a terrain 1 cache.

 

So... apparently, caches which require physical effort are just fine. But caches that require a mental effort are worth ridicule.

 

People who argue such elitism are as annoying to me as the Star Trek nerds who ridicule you if you don’t know the name of every captain of the Enterprise.

 

To me it’t the same level of nerdiness - it’s just physical nerdiness, not mental nerdiness.

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It depends on the situation.

 

If I have my kids with me, we mostly do easier caches.

 

If I'm traveling, and I'm not in the area specifically to geocache, but want to grab a few as long as I'm in the neighborhood, I usually do easier ones.

 

Sometimes I travel just to geocache. I usually do a mix of cache difficulties on these trips, depending on what caches are available.

 

As far as caches near my home, I hunt 'em all eventually. I usually put off the more difficult caches for a day when the weather is nicer and I have plenty of time, but I eventually get to all of them.

 

web-lingbutton.gif ntga_button.gif

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If you think I'm lazy, then YOU try taking 3 kids under 7 on geocaching trips. We try to do more than one a day, so we look for 'easy' caches grouped in the same general area. The kids love using the 4x4 to get some place neat. They don't mind hiking up to a mile. I just can't take them too far to find a cache or they won't be having fun, and neither will I.

 

Took sun from sky, left world in eternal darkness bandbass.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Natureboy1376:

hehehehehehhehe the funny thing for us is, give us a 5/5 and we walk to it and trip over it, give us a 1/1 and it some how turns into a whole day affair????

 

Natureboy1376


 

and how come some rated 5/5 are a leisurely stroll in the woods and some 1/1's require death-defying wilderness gymnastics?

 

I ignore the ratings. For the most part they are useless. All they mean is what the cache owner thinks it is, not what the seeker thinks it is.

 

===========================================================

"The time has come" the Walrus said "to speak of many things; of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and Kings".

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I'm pretty new at this, 12 caches so far, but until I read this thread I never really looked at the ratings. My caches were all selected because they were convienent to my location, either at home or places I was going to be. Just for fun I averaged the ratings of the caches I've found and it turns out I'm a 1.58/1.46, guess I'm just a little past a lazy geocacher, maybe semi-lazy or lazy-plus?

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CoronaKids has four placed caches, two of which are rated under 2 in difficulty. Encouraging the laziness, maybe?

 

A quote from one of his hidden caches: "This is a 1/3 mile hike uphill that will give you a nice workout. I wouldn't recommend this hike for children under 5. It is a steep hill."

 

So, if you skip that one because you have small children along, are you still lazy??

 

Rhetorical question there..no answer expected! icon_biggrin.gif

 

Jaimee

 

"What a fine thing it is to have an intellect, and room enough in the seat of your breeches to hold it."

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quote:
Originally posted by General Bracket:

You come to Arizona and do a 3.5+ terrain cache in 118 degree weather and then we'll talk about lazy caching. Around here you hit x/1 caches much of the year, or...

 

1. You die of heat stroke.

2. You simply don't cache.

 

I have a 2/3.5 cache. I'm very healthy and able-bodied. But I went to do maintenance recently and almost passed out. I had 140oz water (70oz CamelBak with an extra 70oz bladder) and still ran out half way.

 

I really don't think you thought much about your comment before making it.


 

How far was the hike? What kind of elevation gain? A gallon of water is not an unreasonable load. Do you carry mineral tablets?

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quote:
Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=2919.

 

http://geocachingwa.org

 

Hey Moun10Bike. I read your log for the cache "above the clouds" and I'm a little confused. Did either of you actually find the cache or was it confirmed missing? I bet that was a real experience. I hope to do a cache like that one day.

 

_________________________________________________________

On the other hand, you have different fingers.

15777_2200.gif

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What if you do 15 1/1's in a day? Sluggard or geo-warrior? When I'm on a cache binge I consciously avoid complicated multis just for the sake of time. On the other hand, I found three in the pouring rain yesterday that each involved a significant hike - I think my dog now has pneumonia icon_wink.gif. What drove you to post this? Frustrated at somebody outcaching you in the rankings by skipping *worthy* caches in pursuit of higher numbers? I just don't understand why anyone would care enough to label somebody as lazy for hunting *easy* caches, able bodied and childless or not.

 

There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary numbers, and those who don't.

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quote:
Originally posted by BrownMule:

 

Hey Moun10Bike. I read your log for the cache "above the clouds" and I'm a little confused. Did either of you actually find the cache or was it confirmed missing? I bet that was a real experience. I hope to do a cache like that one day.


 

EraSeek confirmed it as missing, but had come prepared for that possibility and replaced it for me. The old cache had just been a logbook inside 3 Ziplock bags, and possibly failed to survive the winter. The new one is a sturdy plastic tube that should survive anything short of plundering.

 

It really was a great experience. The average quality of EraSeek's geocaches is notches above the overall average. His caches are all about the experience and the location.

 

icon_geocachingwa.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by solohiker:

How far was the hike? What kind of elevation gain? A gallon of water is not an unreasonable load. Do you carry mineral tablets?


 

I have to guess you mean my cache? It's 1.5 miles round trip and about 700 feet of elevation gain. I drank all my water after about .8 miles. I didn't really mean is was a heavy load, just that I drank it all half way through the trip.

 

I don't carry mineral tabs.

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My favorite caches are those that are either (1) a nice walk/hike; (2) take me to a new place, or (3) are hard to find. Usually, those are not 1/1 caches, but sometimes they have been. With that said, most of my caches found are 1/1 partly because that is just the nature of it in good old flat and easy Nebraska and partly because of the time factor involved when I go out caching. There is a 5/5 Nebraska multi-cache that I intend to go for with gusto when the Platte river goes down some! icon_biggrin.gif

 

The two physical caches I have placed have been harder and I tried to meet what I like in a cache. And yes, they are not found as often. Regardless, I'm sure I'll still be finding plenty 1/1 caches and enjoying it!

 

pokeanim3.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by CoronaKid:

 

My concern is that the sport of geocaching will further degenerate into nothing but a bunch of drive-by caches as geocachers get lazier and lazier. Is my concern legitimate or am I just making too much of it?

 

--CoronaKid


 

If cachers without finds for caches with high terrain ratings caches are lazy, then are cachers without finds for high difficulty ratings stupid? icon_rolleyes.gif

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No. I just tried a cache that has a six-mile round trip paddle. Unfortunately, heavy rains brought the river up enough to cover the pointer coordinates at the first stage of the multi. Looks like I may to to do it AGAIN.

 

-WR

 

"Besides physical caches, we have VIRTUal and VIRTUeless."

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personally I don't pay any attention to the difficultly/terrain ratings until I actually go cache hunting. I tend to hunt in order of proximity and read the cache reports primarily to verify the cache is still there and has been found in the last 30 days.

 

The only type of cache I have a habit of avoiding are mult-caches with 3 or more stages. It's not a case of being lazy. I just don't enjoy them as much because it's harder to plan your day when there are unknowns involved. I'm saving most of the multicaches locally for a rainy day.

 

Having said that, who cares if one cacher preferws 1/1 caches over the others? Geocaching is fun (in my opinion) because you can make of it what you want.

 

I've logged plenty of 3/3 caches which were horrible (push your way through thorns and stickers to find a box tossed under a bush for example). Some of my all time favorite caches involved .15 miles of walking or less. Not because they were easy but because they were cleverly hidden or led me to a very interesting locale.

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

"Never declare war on a man who buys his ink by the gallon."

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I do this for fun.

 

Fun is not doing something so strenuous that it re-aggrevates my hip/back injury and keeps me in the house on pain meds for 4 weeks. (Which is what happened to me 5 weeks ago, only not geocaching.)

 

I like the mental challenges of urban caches, and the fun and scenery of rural caches. I am physically unable to do difficult terrain caches. Big deal. It is not going to hurt anyone else if I stick with the easier caches. You will still have your more difficult terrain caches. And the rest of us fat, lazy handicapped people can enjoy our little 1-2 star terrain caches.

 

Till a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes

On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated -- so:

"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges --

"Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!"

 

Rudyard Kipling , The Explorer 1898

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CoronaKid - While you dispute the offensive nature of your question, I think you will find that the wording does imply that 1/1 cachers are indeed lazy. Perhaps a better question would be "What leads you to hunt a lower vs higher rated cache?"

 

I will state my reasons for going after certain caches.

1) I like to spend time with my 87 year old Dad. He can only go after 1/1.

2) My knees are shot and my back is iffy on the best of days. I choose higher rated caches carefully.

3) I cache alone most of the time. If I'm going to go after a 4 or 5 I'd definitely want a co-cacher

4) I am new, and don't have the skills to go after most multi caches, difficult finds or tough hides in my area. We have some serious cachers here who think that it just isn't worth it if it's not a 5.

 

So...I'm not lazy, but yes, there are some days where I would like to return home actually enjoying a walk instead of a mountain climb. I am grateful that cachers continue to mix up the ratings and offer a choice.

 

I would close with a question of my own...

 

Why is it that some people don't think it's caching if it's not a 5? icon_wink.gif

 

Step away from the tupperware!

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