Whats wrong with this?

[SlvrBack]

Uhm 28 finds in 24 hours?

 

A total of 86 cache finds in 5 days?

Is that possible? In a local area we were lucky enough to be able to visit 5 caches in a 10 mile area on the same day.

This is truly amazing!

[chloew]

Looks like a very dedicated and well organized cacher on vacation.

[Walkin Stick]

quote:

---

Originally posted by SlvrBack: A total of 86 cache finds in 5 days? Is that possible?

---

YES, it is.

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by SlvrBack: This is truly amazing!

---

You're right... HE is!!!

 

_____________________________________________________

 

Support your local rescue team.... Get Lost!

_____________________________________________________

[+Rockdoctors]

Have a look at the Indiana State map. The cache density is very high. He went from one to the next. He's also a Chartered member since August 2001. A really dedicated geocacher. Diseased really!!!

[+Markwell]

I have to agree with Walkin Stick on this one. I've had conversations with BruceS before. He is one insanely dedicated Geocacher. He lives in MO, but comes up to the Chicago area so often that he's almost depleted caches in the area of his western suburbs office.

 

I would personally never doubt one of BruceS's cache logs. I envy his time that he can devote to the hobby.

 

He is to the Geocaching Force what SamuelL.Jackson-obi called Annakin: The Chosen One. And to quote Mr. Fishburn in The Matrix, "He's the One."

 

Markwell

Chicago Geocachers

[+DenaliNW]

Yep, I'd say it's possible. We had a thread in the NW forums about who could get the most caches in a day down in the Klamath Falls area where the cache density is extremely high. Insane numbers above 30 were posted. I struggle to do 5 or more in a day.

[solohiker]

We had a guy blow through my area racking up caches. I was a little suspect, but he signed my logbooks.

 

We should not be doubtful of what others have done, but ever aware that we can do better.

[+Team J&K]

He hit several of our caches in the Indianapolis area in the last few days.

He hit our virtual cache & supplied the correct info to verify the cache. I have no doubt as to his numbers.

[+Rusty & Libby]

I think there are a lot of people that obsessed, but only a lucky few can find the time to fulfill their obsessions. My only envy is that he has found the time and I haven't.

 

Rusty...

 

Rusty & Libby's Geocache Page

[enfanta]

Or *logged* on one day?

 

I'm not saying he didn't cause I don't know. What I know is when you go to log a cache, the date default is for the current date.

 

So he might just have logged the past two or three days finds on one day.

 

Or maybe he's SuperCacher.

[+RGS]

I'm from St. Louis and I know Bruce personally and I've gone caching with him. His numbers are accurate and honest. He starts at daybreak and finishes up after dark; we should all be so dedicated. He went on a 4 day trip to the Kansas City area several months ago and logged about 80 on that trip.

 

Rich (RGS)

St. Louis Area Geocachers Assn.

www.geostl.com

[vagabond]

My best a few weeks ago was 17 found 4 not found, and that was in just 11 1/2 hours

so yes it is very possible just takes a little planning and the time and the attitude.

I'm thinking seriously of making a cache attack on the Phoenix area and I think I can do 100 within a week.

 

PS you can back date your logs you do not have to use the date that is there. I have done it many times

 

 

All who look are not lost

 

[This message was edited by vagabond on June 26, 2002 at 06:15 PM.]

[+Barramus]

I've known BruceS since last fall when I met him on trail on the way to a cache. I was with him at Bell Mountain Wilderness to witness and present him his award for 300 finds. We haven't seen much of him since then, we all hike too slow for him. I wish I had 10 % of Bruce's energy. He nearly runs while doing his caches. Hardly any of us at geostl.com can keep up with him while hiking. I don't doubt one of his logs. As far as I'm concerned he is the world's greatest cacher. He has the most number of finds for 1 person.

 

Barry

Eureka, Mo

 

PS, here's the pics for his 300th find.

 

http://adobe.shutterfly.com/my/os.jsp?i=67b0de21b31fe9d7050a

 

[This message was edited by Barramus on June 26, 2002 at 06:41 PM.]

[+DutchBoy]

I also know BruceS personally. I met him near St. Louis last fall, when we both arrived at the same cache site, at the same time. I have corresponded with him since then and knew he was coming to Indiana last week. He stopped in and saw me on his way through, as well as found several of my caches. He was expecting to do about 100 caches in a 5 day period. He is one cachin' machine.

[+pater47]

In an area with a high concentration of low difficulty/terrain caches, 28 caches in 24 hours doesn't sound like a big problem for an experienced cacher. There's quite a few places probably where someone could hit 28 caches and never get more than 5 miles from where they started. Unfortunately for me, they ain't near me! With only 35 caches under my belt, my nearest unhit cache is 47 miles away - only 5 left within 100 miles.

 

Ever notice everybody is willing to give THEIR 2 cents worth but only offer a penny for YOUR thoughts?

[Eric O'Connor]

I don't know what BruceS does for a living, but if he's ever in need of a job he should print out this thread and hand it in with his resume.

Nice job Bruce, and I'm not talking about the caches.

 

--

[+Bear and Ting]

....of meeting BruceS personally this last weekend. We were leaving SueBabes New Dam Cache and he was seeking it out. According to him, he plans his business trips with caching in mind and seeks out as many as he can in a very organized fashion. This is alot more than I can say for Ting & I. When we hit an area (like Boca Raton, FL) we have ALOT of caches stored or marked, but we are not organized enough to hit that many in a day. I think we hit 7 (5 found, one not, and one plundered) as our max.

 

BTW, Bruce, if you DO take time out to read the forums, WAY TO GO!!!!

 

Bear & Ting

 

Geocachers don't NEED to ask for directions!

 

[This message was edited by Bear & Ting on June 26, 2002 at 08:32 PM.]

[+konopapw]

I was on the Bell Mountain hunt with Bruce. I tried to keep up with him, but got winded. And this was AFTER we found the cache, on our way back to the cars!

 

First his wife was a bicycle-widow. So what does he go and do? Breaks a leg and arm while riding, then becomes a geocacher. He plans his cache attach list very well.

 

Bruce recently surpassed 900 finds. I think we are planning a retirement party for when he reaches 1000, which will be in, what ... a couple of days?!

[+CarmelCachers]

We live in the Indy area and have been to many of these caches, besides owning a few. I read his logs, and there's no doubt in my mind that he has physically visited them. He noted too many things in his logs that you'd only know if you had been there. This guy deserves an Olympic Medal!

[+Clan Ferguson]

If it's about the hunt and not the end result and this is not a competive sport as we all keep saying, what difference does it make if it's true or not?

 

If it's true, Dang I wish I had that kind of free time!!!

 

if it's not, Dang I wish I had the free time to worring about what some other guy was doing to inflate his ego.

 

Either way, I take Alfred E. Neuman's out look. "What - me worry?"

 

Cache On!!

 

James

"Big Dog"

-Clan Ferguson

[Salvo]

Wow! 909 Caches in the immediate 100 mile area. I wonder where our densest cache area is in the US?

 

It must be very nice when they are that close together!

[+chillas]

I'm going out to visit my sister, who lives north of Philly, in August. I did a search from her home address ... 936 caches within 100 miles!

 

I hope she knows I've planned our time together.

[+Team Tecmage]

Tracy and I have found some of the same caches as BruceS, and if you follow his logs, he stays busy. There are locations where the density is high enough that you can find 20 or 30 in a day.

 

We've Geocached in Kansas City, Mo, and the density is that high. St. Louis, Minneapolis, and some other cities around the country have high densities of caches.

 

I wish we had time to visit a few more.

[+BruceS]

Please forgive my verbosity of my reply.

 

It is with great hesitation that I am responding. If the topic were How does a person do this? Instead of What is wrong with this? My response would have been more forthcoming. If someone looks at my caching history they would find that I have several days with over 20 finds. Also they would find that in recent months most of my finds have been concentrated in 3 to 5 day “assaults” on an area. This is because I have exhausted most caches within 150 miles of my home thus if I am going to drive several hundred miles I am going to find few. (Currently there are 292 caches listed within 100 miles of my home coordinates and I have found all but about 20)

 

How do I do it?

To start with I am 44 married with four children ranging in ages 11-20 and live in the St. Louis area. I work as a project manager and travel for business usually 3 weeks out of every month. Thus I have “normal” family and work obligations.

 

Specifically how I do it:

I pick a general geographical area. I down load all caches for that area and all that might be along routes to and from that area (often several hundred caches in multiple states). I then upload all points to routing and mapping software (I use MapPoint). I start breaking cache groupings down to likely days worth of caches (20-30 usually). I then look for campgrounds near where I might end up for the day. I have MapPoint optimize the order of my stops and then route my driving. I then look at the routes and insure that MapPoint has not put me on the wrong sides of rivers etc. (sometimes it does). I then start looking at cache descriptions and remove any caches that don’t fit my criteria. I remove webcam , locationless, or multi caches that look like they may take several hours and I eliminate any that show several no finds in a row recently. I pay no attention to difficulty or terrain ratings except if they require special equipment… canoes, boats, etc. Wading streams and long hikes are no deterrent, in fact are preferred. I usually end up with a plan to do about 95% of all caches in an area. On a multi-day trip I plan on having a mix of urban, semi urban, and rural/remote caches. This country boy can only do about 2 days worth of urban/semi urban caching without getting back into the country. I then print out all cache sheets out in a reduced format. For rural/remote caches I will also print out topo maps from LostOutdoors.com. I make a file folder for each day with caches arranged in the order I plan on searching for them. I do this planning over several days prior to the trip. The day prior to the trip I check for any new caches along my routes or if there has been a status change of any of my planned caches, make any needed changes to my routes. I then print driving direction sheets for each day and file them with the cache sheets for each day. I upload all cache waypoints including parking locations and needed maps to my Vista.

 

On a typical caching day I get up between 5 and 5:30 and try to be on the road before 6 after a quick breakfast except for the first day of the trip when I want to be at first cache site by 6 or so. Thus last Thursday I got up at 3:45 and was on the road by 4:15. My first cache was 124 driving miles away and I got there a little after 6. This cache ended up being a no find. As some people have mentioned I walk a little faster than most people usually 4-5 mph. When I get bored with walking I will jog or run a bit. Things that slow me down are wildflowers and wildlife. I always stop to watch small animals, weasels, otters, and raccoons are the worst, I will watch them until they don’t want to be watched. In small towns I sometimes get slowed down when I stop and talk with the old guys sitting in their rocking chairs, I enjoy listening to them tell me about the local history and their life stories. The other thing that sometimes slows me down is when the rod I have in my leg gets to hurting but I usually just ignore that. (On my latest trip I got slowed down by other events see my logs http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=20680 and http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=411 ) I usually don’t eat during the day when I am caching but usually drink a lot of water and juices through out the day. I adjust my route as needed throughout the day, I always bring my laptop with me in my car. I usually do the last couple caches of the day using a flash light. Usually my caching ends between 8:30 and 9:30. I drive to where I am camping for the night, call my wife and check in for the day. I set up my tent if I need to usually in the dark and then make my dinner. I usually crawl into my sleeping bag somewhere around 11 so that I can do it all over again the next day. By this time I am tired but feeling great. At the end of 4 or 5 days I am usually pretty tired, legs and arms scratched up and feet blistered but I feel enriched with all the sights and sounds I have experienced in the previous days.

 

I have followed this routine on several caching trips including southern Illinois area, Kansas City area, southern Kentucky to Nashville area, southern Missouri and northern Arkansas area, northwestern Missouri and Omaha/Lincoln areas, and most recently southwestern Indiana and Indianapolis area. I have also found several caches in the Chicago area during business trips (usually there 2 or 3 trips a month). I have also found caches in Arizona, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Wisconsin on various other trips. I have put 23,000 miles on my vehicle since October.

 

Hope this explains how I do it. I don’t encourage others to do the same. It requires a certain type of personality and a very accepting and understanding spouse . One of the great things about geocaching is that an individual can do it how they want to fulfill their own needs and desires. As my title says I am an ATM. (a cash …oops a cache machine)

[enfanta]

Now *that's* dedication.

 

I'm sure I'll be geocaching the rest of my life but I can only hope I'll reach 900+ finds.

 

Way to go!

[+CYBret]

Simply amazing Bruce . . . I plan on printing your story out and carrying it with me for those times when my wife says I'm just a tad too obsessed.

 

"I'm not nearly that bad, honey. Look, this guy is an average cacher."

 

Also, I think your login name is very appropriate.

 

"Hello, I'm BruceS, and I am a Cache-aholic."

 

Bret

 

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again."

Mt. 13:44

[+Bear and Ting]

.....can we tag him as a travel bug????

 

Bear & Ting

 

Geocachers don't NEED to ask for directions!

[+Island-Dave]

Bruce is an awesome cacher and a nice guy.

 

Everyone of his caches is legit and he only logs traditonal caches - not locationless caches as some of the other high number folks do.

 

I hope to be there when he scores his 1000th.

[+St. Louis Area Geocachers Assn.]

Caching Machine...

 

I know Bruce and have tried to cache with him on a number of trips. Bell Mtn being one of them. He IS the most organized cacher i have ever seen. He can easily out walk me 3 to 1. On bell mtn I am sure he walk 3 time further than the rest of us as he would zip ahead to scout out the trail then hike back to us to let the slow pokes know what was ahead. He moves way too fast for me. :-)

 

Glenn

St. Louis, Mo

www.GeoStl.com

[+sbell111]

I also have had the pleasure to meet Bruce. He is one of the good guys.

[+Team StitchesOnQuilts]

Bruce, thanks so much for the detailed notes on your method. Hubby and I have been trying to streamline our caching trips a bit (4 in a day is a lot for us!) and your information is very helpful.

 

Congratulations on your success!

 

Shannah

[+alienpuppy]

Bruce,

 

I was going to post a reply asking you how

you do it... The past three times I've gone

on vacation, I've hit none of the caches I'd

wanted to... mostly because of poor planning.

 

So, it was helpful to hear your explanation.

 

One question: Do you print all the pages

manually? I find this very tedious, and the

website doesn't allow off-line subscriptions

because it blocks 'bots.

 

What I try to do is download the webpages for

each cache in a given area, but because I have

to do this manually, my coverage is usually

lacking.

 

Just curious.

 

Thanks,

Alienpuppy

[+BruceS]

quote:

---

Originally posted by alienpuppy:

 

One question: Do you print all the pages

manually? I find this very tedious, and the

website doesn't allow off-line subscriptions

because it blocks 'bots.

 

---

 

Yes I print them manually. I used to copy and paste into word and delete all the extraneous stuff but now I use Cache Simplifier by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy to cleanup cache pages before I print them. http://216.202.195.127/cachesimple.zip . This utility saves me hours of time. I usually print only the first 2 pages of a cache (unless it has a very long description) and I print two pages to a sheet. The printing and reviewing of cache sheets is still a long process, usually a few hours for a long weekend trip.

 

Bruce

[azog]

Gee, I feel a little ashamed to call myself a geocacher. I still consider myself a newbie, and always will be a newbie. There will always be others more experienced. Keeping that in mind keeps pride down.

 

Anyways. I'm 36, no children, and have been out of work for literally a year. I last worked July 13 2001 (a friday), and have not been able to secure employment yet. Times are rough here in NJ. They've extended unemployment benefits *twice*, which is almost unheard of.

 

I should be taking the time to hunt like he does. At best, I'll do one cache per weekday, and maybe several on saturdays, and sunday is church.

[+CoronaKid]

Wow Bruce! Your wife lets you go off for five day trips by yourself?? Hold on to that one, she's a keeper.

 

I just don't understand how you have time for your family obligations considering that you also do extensive business travel. My wife would demand every second of me if I did that much business travel.

 

Do you sleep?

 

--CoronaKid

[+evergreenhiker!]

Yes, it's possible! We just recently had a Bremerton Cache Machine in which some of our local cachers bagged 37 in one day!!! Personally, my best is 13 in one day, but I plan to change that pretty soon...going back to Bremerton to hit a bunch...probably start out at Kingston and work my way down.

[+Planet]

I know I am, but I wouldn't question the integrity of some of our finer cachers. Stayfloopy for one is quite prolific in our area and I have seen his logs in the cache logbook. I feel kind of good when I get to a cache and see I got there before him, not that I'm racing but that I know how many he's done, so there are so many more places for me to see. Can you se my logic? if I've found it (68 finds) and if he (1000+ finds) hasn't found it yet, the number of finds he's found, oh forget it, figure it out....

 

My point is walk in someone else's shoes.

 

Cache you later,

Planet

 

"To err is human, to forgive....$5.00"

[Cholo]

quote:

---

Originally posted by BruceS:

Please forgive my verbosity of my reply.

---

What's the matter Bruce, benchmarks too hard for ya?

 

Note: For those who may reply to this, if you've never seen a facetious reply, this is it. The man is truly amazing, and he knows what the 'show me' reference is.

[+ProStreet]

Bruce is the real deal!!! I came across Bruce on the way out of the B.A. Baracus cache. It took me about 90 minutes to find that cache. After we talked for about 5 minutes I was on my way to the next cache Murdock. I was at the cache site for maybe 5 minutes and who come walking up the path? You guessed it, it was Bruce! We both looked around for 10 minutes before being joined by CheeseHead Dave. Another 10 minutes of looking and we decided it had been plundered. We all started walking out at the same time, Bruce was out of sight in no time!! When he says he walks faster than the normal person, he's not joking!!! I had to go home due to lack of sleep, but Dave and Bruce were both on there way to the same cache from there, Shoop's Lake View. Bruce was there and gone before Dave even got there. I would have to say Bruce is the guru of geocaching!!!

 

[This message was edited by ProStreet on January 16, 2003 at 09:35 AM.]

[+BruceS]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cholo:

[What's the matter Bruce, benchmarks too hard for ya?

 

Note: For those who may reply to this, if you've never seen a facetious reply, this is it. The man is truly amazing, and he knows what the 'show me' reference is.

---

 

Actually I have stumbled upon several benchmarks while caching and now that I have a digital camera maybe I will have to start logging them when I find them. One of the 2 or 3 locationless caches I have logged is the bench mark cache (it was listed before benchmarks was a separate area and before locationless caches were called locationless caches)

 

Not being a Missouri native but rather a transplanted Minnesotan I don't need to be shown everything... just most things.

 

Bruce

[Cholo]

quote:

---

Originally posted by BruceS:

 

 

Actually I have stumbled upon several benchmarks while caching and now that I have a digital camera maybe I will have to start logging them when I find them. One of the 2 or 3 locationless caches I have logged is the bench mark cache (it was listed before benchmarks was a separate area and before locationless caches were called locationless caches)

 

Not being a Missouri native but rather a transplanted Minnesotan I don't need to be shown everything... just most things.

 

Bruce

---

 

Be careful, you might get hooked on benchmarks. Oops, my mistake, even tho you're from Minnesota it appears you had no problem kicking the "ice fishing" habit.

[+kbraband]

After BruceS stormed through Wisconsin this past fall, we featured him in an article in our WGA website. You can read it here: http://wi-geocaching.com/article.html