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How important is your "Find" count?


Geo Leo

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I've noticed a number of posts referring to find counts. Some cachers seem to accumulate extremely high counts. Others minimize the significance of find counts. I though it might be interesting to see a poll of how everyone feels about them. icon_smile.gif

 

[This message was edited by Geo Leo on March 19, 2002 at 12:08 PM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by worldtraveler:

Sorry, but my choice is not on your list. I like the find count, but I see it more as a record of personal accomplishment than as a competitive score.

 

Worldtraveler


 

I have to agree with this. I got into this to get my big "self" out of the house and away from computer games. I need the exercise and I love toys. What a way to combine the two! icon_biggrin.gif

 

inceptor

the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys

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Well, I'm really new to this, but thus far I haven't looked at it as a competition, but rather an adventure. It's fun, and something my wife and I enjoy doing, plus it gets us out of the house. My kids have had fun with it too.

 

ummmm....not sure what to say here....so ummm, well errrr, uhhhh, well I guess that's it.

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quote:
Originally posted by Pote:

Geo Leo,

 

I voted for the middle one, but it's not exactly the way I feel - it's the closest, however. I enjoy the hunt and the find. The total count is a measure of my personal successes and an indication of my effort and for that reason, I enjoy seeing it go up. There may be a small element of competition (one day I will have a count that rivals CCCooper or Stayfloppy), but over all the # is for me to measure myself, not for others.


 

I voted for the middle one also for almost the exact same reasons. Find counts are a bit subjective and reflect both how many caches are available to you and what you personally choose to count as a find. Results may vary.

 

Rusty...

 

Rusty & Libby's Geocache Page

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quote:
Originally posted by Pote:

Geo Leo,

 

I voted for the middle one, but it's not exactly the way I feel - it's the closest, however. I enjoy the hunt and the find. The total count is a measure of my personal successes and an indication of my effort and for that reason, I enjoy seeing it go up. There may be a small element of competition (one day I will have a count that rivals CCCooper or Stayfloppy), but over all the # is for me to measure myself, not for others.


 

Excellent point. I slightly modified the middle option to say "competing with myself and/or other cachers." I hesitated to modify the choices, but that seemed to be a reasonable and necessary modification, as well as being consistent with the posts by those who chose this option.

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You know the count really doesn't matter ... other than to me, and not that much at all ... I have more fun being "a geo-hog" as someone labeled it. I have a friendly competition with Triffid on first finds ... but I enjoy him finding it first as much as me finding it first. There's something a bit challenging about being the one to iron out the bugs in some cases ... the cache is as the cacher hider left it ... there's not much in the way of sign ... of other searchers ... a cleaner ... sometimes harder hunt.

The "number" that I watch is not getting skunked ... so far. But once I do ... that won't be important either.

 

I love finding Jerry & Kathie's (EL Diablo ... my name for him)caches first ... he's got a very creative slant to his caches ... If I know he's got one going up ... I bug him till he finally posts it. Then I hit it the minute it shows up and the sun breaks the horizon! Tried the night thing ... batteries failed and I had to walk out in the dark through briars!

 

My personal notebook I've been keeping has another rating that is only for me ... and that is the number of "thumbs up" caches verses the "thumbs down" cache I've found. Caches that fall in between ... are OK ... but I'd not waste gas to revisit. It's just a measurement of the caches I enjoyed, were OK .. and the others ... I'm sure everyone's found them ... the kind you never hope to encounter if you're taking someone on their first hunt and want to show them how much fun caching can be. icon_biggrin.gif

 

348_1002.gif

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I am very new to this, less than two weeks as a matter of fact. I am having a ball finding caches daily now and hope that I don't run out of them in my area. The hunt is the fun part and the find count is the record of that, so yes it's important to me. The find count is only a competition with myself, but it bugs me if I can't locate a cache so I go back until i finally find it. I have two that are really getting to me right now. The GPS unit has something to do with it as well, I borrowed one from a relative until mine came in the mail, and what a difference WAAS makes! Later,

TikimanHS

 

Later,

Hunter

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i guess i could be called a geo-virgin stalker! the only time i get competitive is to be the first cacher there. its cool to find it as the hider left it. i'll get all worked up and head out asap.

 

the night thing is cool. i prefer the night hunts since they add a new facet to the "where the F*** am i factor". dead batteries got you down? get an led flashlight! i have several and they are the bomb!

 

aside from virgin caches (as in unfound, not a box full of young ladies!) i dont get very competitve. every now and then i will head out with somefriends and seek whatever cache gets our attention.

 

URBO

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quote:
Originally posted by Pote:

Geo Leo,

 

I voted for the middle one, but it's not exactly the way I feel - it's the closest, however. I enjoy the hunt and the find. The total count is a measure of my personal successes and an indication of my effort and for that reason, I enjoy seeing it go up. There may be a small element of competition (one day I will have a count that rivals CCCooper or Stayfloppy), but over all the # is for me to measure myself, not for others.


 

Basically how I feel as well, it's like knowing how many miles you've hiked, or mountain biked, the same type of thing.

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quote:
Originally posted by Geo Leo:

I've noticed a number of posts referring to find counts. Some cachers seem to accumulate extremely high counts. Others minimize the significance of find counts. I though it might be interesting to see a poll of how everyone feels about them. icon_smile.gif

 

[This message was edited by Geo Leo on March 19, 2002 at 12:08 PM.]


 

Over all the count doesn't really matter, but I have a couple of friends in the area and we're quite competitive. More in the FTF aspect than the total count. But total count matters too. I would never go up to a new cacher or even a veteran cacher and start comparing cache counts. It's just between friends. I've recently given up dense cache areas to go to a remote part of the state that only had a few caches in the whole area because I was looking for this specific cache item. My friend took advantage of this and he's increased his lead quite a bit. Bit I still want that one cache item (missed it twice now... couldn't find the access road), and I'll go back, count be damned.

 

george

 

george

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Well, I voted for the last... count doesn't matter at all. It's not exactly true, but it's getting closer all the time. When I first started caching I kinda watched the counts of a few other active cachers in the area and noticed how I compared. Got a little tickled to pull ahead of them. But even then there was never so much as a "ha ha, passed you up again" banter. It was all in my mind and not mentioned except between my caching partner and me.

 

Well, that attitude went away and I became more interested in finding the type of caches that entertain me. I still enjoy getting a full day's caching in and having several logs to write that evening, but I don't say "WOW! Got 8 of 9 today!"

 

My remaining count hang-ups are as follows:

1) For some reason I can't stand to sit at "x9" found. I'd rather show 30 than 29. But it's still all for me. Could care less what others think of my count.

2) We are planning to try to make the 100th find something especially enjoyable. Just because it seems like we should for us. No fanfare, maybe not even a mention in the cache logs.

 

It's my silly little accomplishment and needs only be measured against me, and not even against my previous caching experiences.

 

So there, I'm rambling again, and I'll stop now...

 

T-storm

 

http://www.cordianet.com/geocaching

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I think this is an awesome question. It made me realize that I rush too much even though I hunt mainly for the the enjoyment of the area. I feel that most cachers want to show off their favorite places. I'm very competitive and like the numbers but I think they are more goals than trying to beat out someone. Some of you guys I'll never catch. My goal is to find 100 in my first year. I'm thinking on concentrating on being 1ST finder and travel bugs. My favorite find was a cache that had a bug in it and I wanted it. I thought if I didn't get it that day someone else would. When I got into the area I found footprints in the fresh snow and my heart sunk. I lucked out though and got what I wanted. This was an awesome area too. I found a spot there that actually gave me a rush.

This is what caching is all about.

Bob

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I agree with my amigo Hawk-eye and YES I am a Geo-Hog! I like the chase and I like the first find; but I like the people the best. The stats are ok but the game and the people are the best! I would like to get my 100th find in my first year, but as long as I beat Hawk who cares icon_biggrin.gif This has been the best hobby I've ever had.....Triffid

 

348_2302.gif

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Voted #3 - I'm in it for the outdoors and the hiking mostly. I hunted all the local caches because, well, I do love finding these things, but as for how many I find...couldnt care less.

 

I would think for the 400+ find cachers, they must absolutely love doing this. Even if you were strictly in this for the numbers, after 600 caches found, the thrill of simply having the best stats has got to have worn off.

 

I think at the end of the day most of us do this for the enjoyment, and the stats are just a secondary characteristic.

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I found my 50th cache

I found my 100th cache

I broke into the top 100 cachers on the geocaching stats site

 

...but that's not what it's all about.

 

If it was all about the numbers, caching would get boring very quickly.

 

BTW, I voted for option 2.

 

rdw

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I don't know about my find count - I'm new to the sport and I've only done a handful of easy caches. There aren't many difficult caches near me, but I'm thinking I'll derive more satisfaction from completing a few really hard caches that require lots of time and preperation and thought then hundreds of easy ones.

 

I suppose I probably think of each cache as an individual game with its own intrinsic rewards.

 

- Kit

(Team KITandSHAE)

 

"We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane." --Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

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quote:
Originally posted by Hiker Kit:

I'm thinking I'll derive more satisfaction from completing a few really hard caches that require lots of time and preperation and thought then hundreds of easy ones.

 

I suppose I probably think of each cache as an individual game with its own intrinsic rewards.


 

This is exactly how I feel. icon_smile.gif My most memorable caches are the ones that took the most time and had the biggest challenges. The satisfaction I got from such caches is the thing that continues to motivate me to play.

 

When we were first getting started in this game, we did every cache we could. At the time, just finding a cache was an accomplishment in itself. After a while, we realized that finding a cache was not that hard and what we really enjoyed were the tougher caches, both in terrain and difficulty. (At least tougher for Dallas/Fort Worth, which frankly ain't that tough.) In other words, we wanted to be challenged. 1/1's, 2/2's, and even some 3/3's just don't challenge us much anymore. I scan for 3+ on cache listings now just so I know there will be at least some challenge involved. If the cache is much lower than that, I'm not very likely to do it, even though 75% of the caches around here fall into that category. We have done a few of these lower rated caches recently, but we went sans GPSr just to add in some artificial difficulty. That definitely helped, and we will continue to do some in this manner just to get us out of the house.

 

To answer the original question, my find count is a record of my accomplishments and is important only to me. I mostly could care less about others counts, but do mentally keep track of some of the local cachers because it helps me know what they've been doing. (It let's me know if I need to read about their latest adventures or not.)

 

I don't consider this a competition anymore, although I suppose I did somewhat when I started. At first, I guess I thought I had to do "x" many caches so I'd be one of the "pros". I think that I had mentally chosen 15 or 20, but at the time, the most anyone had around here was about 35, so it made sense. I gave up on that idea partly when I realized that it's way too easy to "fake" logs, and partly when I realized that some folks around here would always have more caches than me, and some folks would always have less.

 

Bottom line, I’m content at this point to just enjoy the sport and not worry about find counts.

 

Scott / Brokenwing

http://www.cordianet.com/geocaching

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quote:
Originally posted by Hiker Kit:

I'm thinking I'll derive more satisfaction from completing a few really hard caches that require lots of time and preperation and thought then hundreds of easy ones.


 

It's true. It's the challenging ones that provide the greatest satisfaction and best memories. It is grossly unfair, however, to insinuate that because an individual has acquired a high number of finds that they only do easy caches. (I know this was not the intent of the quoted author; it's something I've noticed several times in various threads.) It's simply not true.

 

quote:
Originally posted by Scott Thomason:

 

This is exactly how I feel. icon_smile.gif My most memorable caches are the ones that took the most time and had the biggest challenges. The satisfaction I got from such caches is the thing that continues to motivate me to play.


 

Yes, I agree with that.

 

quote:
Originally posted by Scott Thomason:

 

... In other words, we wanted to be challenged. 1/1's, 2/2's, and even some 3/3's just don't challenge us much anymore. I scan for 3+ on cache listings now just so I know there will be at least some challenge involved.


 

I notice that many caches are overrated in terms of difficulty. Has that also been your experience?

 

quote:
Originally posted by Scott Thomason:

To answer the original question, my find count is a record of my accomplishments and is important only to me. ... At first, I guess I thought I had to do "x" many caches so I'd be one of the "pros". ... I gave up on that idea partly when I realized that it's way too easy to "fake" logs ...


 

Everybody knows that 100 is the number of finds needed to attain "geocaching respectability." icon_wink.gif That's what someone told me when I had approximately 60 finds.

 

What is disturbing about the quoted passage is the last sentence. Do you actually believe it is the people with high find counts who are most likely to "fake" logs?

 

I would think it's those cachers with a competitive streak who have amassed few finds, probably against a considerable number of misses. (Many of these are the same folk who won't post "couldn't find" logs. Some people just don't deal well with failure.)

 

But I suppose that's a pretty good argument in favor of verification questions for virtual caches and having cache owners periodically compare their logbooks against the 'finds' claimed on the page.

 

[This message was edited by BassoonPilot on March 20, 2002 at 03:53 PM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

I notice that many caches are overrated in terms of difficulty. Has that also been your experience?


 

Yes, at this point anyway. Things might have been more accurate for me back when I started, but now that I've gained some experience at this, a cache has got to be pretty difficult to be challenging. My perception of “average” has definitely changed over time. I think one reason this may be true is that relatively inexperienced cachers place a fair amount of the available caches and they really don't have a sufficient base with which to judge this very effectively.

 

I have also noticed that at least for me, most terrain is underrated. I suspect this has something to do with the need by some to feel more capable than they really are. (If they rate a 3 as a 2, they seem more “macho”.) That or I'm just more out of shape than I thought!

 

quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

What is disturbing about the quoted passage is the last sentence. Do you actually believe it is the people with high find counts who are most likely to "fake" logs?


 

I didn't mean to infer that at all. I don’t have any idea who is more or less likely to do this. I don’t really know if it’s even very common. It was just an observation on my part early on in the game that since we are on the honesty system here, I can't reliably count on found logs as a totally accurate record. I figured that unless we were all playing by the same rules, comparisons were moot.

 

Thanks.

 

Scott / Brokenwing

http://www.cordianet.com/geocaching

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I voted for the second choice, but is really somewhere between the second and third.

 

_ __ ____________________________________________________________ __ _

On my first day of school, my parents dropped me off at the wrong nursery -- there I was, surrounded by trees and shrubs.....

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quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

 

__Everybody __ knows that 100 is the number of finds needed to attain "geocaching respectability." icon_wink.gif That's what someone told me when I had approximately 60 finds.

 

[This message was edited by BassoonPilot on March 20, 2002 at 03:53 PM.]


 

I thought _everybody_ knew that it was your 'posts' count that mattered. icon_biggrin.gif

 

_ __ ____________________________________________________________ __ _

On my first day of school, my parents dropped me off at the wrong nursery -- there I was, surrounded by trees and shrubs.....

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quote:
Originally posted by Geo Leo:

I've noticed a number of posts referring to find counts. Some cachers seem to accumulate extremely high counts. Others minimize the significance of find counts.


 

I seems to me that many geocachers are more interested in accumulating high find counts rather than going to good caches. Many of the best caches require more time and effort to get to. For example, I posted this cache about two months ago, and so far it has had only one finder:

 

(1) http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=13825

 

On the other hand, this cache, which is very easy to get to, has had 114 finders in less than 11 months:

 

(2) http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=2237

 

In my opinion, a cache like (1) is a better cache than (2). However, if you did nothing but caches like (1), it would take a long time for you to accumulate a high find count. Therefore, most geocache seekers opt for the easier caches in order to increase their find counts.

 

Personally, I like to visit all caches, but I am particularly interested in visiting the more difficult ones that require some hiking to get to.

 

icon_razz.gifHighpointer icon_biggrin.gif

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Bassoon Pilot sez:

It is grossly unfair, however, to insinuate that because an individual has acquired a high number of finds that they only do easy caches.

 

Yes indeed. I really agree with that. From the reading and from my own (very tiny) experience in the game, it seems to me that all that kinda runs counter to the spirit of the whole thing anyway. It's not really an inherently competitive sport, as far as I can tell.

 

Besides, people should take into account the fact that most players will go after all the caches that are close to their location - and if they are in a place like me (Indiana), they've only got a few difficult caches to choose from.

 

I certainly hope people aren't out there looking at my profile, and judging me by my cache count (Especially since the account I post from is only for discussion, my girlfriend and I Geocache together, so we post our finds from a shared account). I certainly wouldn't think to do that to someone else.

 

That strikes me as... no fun! The thing I like about Geocaching is connecting with all those people who came before and after me, and linking them to an interesting location in my mind.

 

"We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane." --Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

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Here's my thought... since nobody asked.

 

The magnitude of my find count is unimportant to me, but the accuracy is. That is, I don't fret whether I have 10 or 20 or 30 finds, or that I have more or less finds than other local goecachers. What's important to me is that each of my finds is legitimate according to my own standards.

 

For the most part, I don't think virtual caches are the equivilant to traditional caches, so I don't log them as finds. Same as locationless caches. I find the concept of both locationless and virtual caches to be useful, but not as a find. When I look at my find count, I don't look at the number per se, but I know that each individual find represents a search for a box.

 

Jamie

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The answer I would give wasn't listed. I find I get a lot more pleasure out of hiding caches then seeking them. First off, I suck at the seeking part. icon_biggrin.gif Second, finding a great spot isn't always easy, considering that you (well maybe not you but I at least) should try to find a spot that a) is a challenge (or is at least interesting and :D isn't too close to anyone else's cache.

 

I just found out one of my favorite cache hides was piflered. icon_mad.gif What made it so cool was that it rested inside a hollowed out tree on a piece of the tree that was loose from the tree husk (so to speak). I can't lay claim to the name, but it was refered to as the rube goldberg geocaching machine, because if you knocked the wooden piece the cache rolled out of the tree. One guy got so scared he jumped back. icon_biggrin.gif That is what I enjoy. Finding a good spot & sharing it with someone.

 

I cache mainly because either a) it's real close and is therefore relatively easy, :D its near where I'm hiding something or c) to keep my find total above my hide total. to let it go under would seem cheesy i think.

 

I'm quite sure I am in the minority here, as most people enjoy the seeking. I am getting better the more I do, but I honestly don't have the time to spend 2 hrs seeking a level 4 difficulty cache, not would my wife & 3 yr old son wish to join me on such a trek. icon_rolleyes.gif Oh well...

 

Team Gwho

 

WUHOO TEAMGWHO!

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When I started I went to all the close cache sights. Getting used to my GPS and the game. Did not take long to get tired of Pocket Parks, and Virtual caches. No challenge. The planning and execution of the trip are as much work as the hardest cache sights. I have spent more time trying to find the parking area 50 miles from home than I have hiking. I look for difficulty in the puzzle and terrain, how long since a cache has been found, or is it new. Some folks log in and say it took them 3 trys to find a cache, with a smiley face? I log my losers, makes me more determined. WD

 

Let's win this war and get the hell out. George Armstrong Custer

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I enjoy the new views, parks, trailes and getting out but when I don't find the cache and walk away feeling like a "dummy", my cache count reminds me I must be doing something right. Also, my count of caches hid makes me feel good as I really get a kick out of people finding my caches and "seeing" the delight in their eyes from their on-line logs. Also, the caches I hid doubled the number where I live in an area with a population of over 2 million. That also makes me feel good as I spread the enjoyment around and make it easier for others to cache in my area.

 

Alan

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I love the hunt most of all but to compet with my self too, I have been trying to get to a 100 as fast as I can as a personal goal but I admit I would like to hide more than any one in D/FW I do love to hide things.

 

I would follow my GPS to the gates of hell if it pointed that way.

vampirebob@attbi.com

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quote:
Originally posted by Geo-Vamp:

I love the hunt most of all but to compete with my self too, I have been trying to get to a 100 as fast as I can as a personal goal but I admit I would like to hide more than any one in D/FW I do love to hide things.

 

I would follow my GPS to the gates of hell if it pointed that way.


 

Please do hide more. I'm tired of having hidden the most. The more you hide, the more I get to go look for!

 

25021_1200.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Geo-Vamp:

I love the hunt most of all but to compet with my self too, I have been trying to get to a 100 as fast as I can as a personal goal but I admit I would like to hide more than any one in D/FW I do love to hide things.

 

I would follow my GPS to the gates of hell if it pointed that way.

http://vampirebob@attbi.com


 

Well I found the ONE that was hidden by another cacher on my island. All the others were hidden by me. The next closest cache is over 70 miles away on the main land. It would have to be a weekend trip for me because of the ferry. So Ig uess you can say I have found 100% of the caches in my area. As far as reaching 100 caches, it's not going to happen while I'm living in Sicily.

 

The only other find I have is from when I was in Germany for a few days.

 

- Lone Rangers

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quote:
Originally posted by Lone Rangers:

... So Ig uess you can say I have found 100% of the caches in my area. As far as reaching 100 caches, it's not going to happen while I'm living in Sicily.


 

Sounds like you're in the same boat as the young man from Gander, NF. He has no finds, and has placed the two caches in his area. In time, perhaps a friend or two will join in, and then a friend or two of theirs . . . and before you know it, you'll be participating in the "How close is too close?" thread. icon_smile.gif

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