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Should I archive unpopular caches?


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I have a few caches out there, some of which haven't been found for several months. Should I recover them and place them in more popular areas, or leave them and be elated when they are found?

 

I was just on vacation and I found a cache in which the last log entry was 11 months ago! I thought that was pretty cool.

 

Perhaps I just talked myself out of it, but I am curious to others' thoughts.

 

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burnout.gif Go! And don't be afraid to get a little wet!

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I agree - leave them there. Last week I found a cache where the previous find was over 11 months ago. Went home, logged it on line, and later that day learned that another cacher found it two hours after I did! What are the odds of that? It was cool.

 

Unless there's another reason to remove them, I'd leave them alone. Who knows - someone could be planning to go look for them at this very moment.

 

That said, I'm assuming you're sure they're still there and in good shape. A long period with no visitors sometimes means the cache is gone, and unsuccessful seekers decided not to post a DNF. Also, some seekers avoid caches like this just in case it's missing.

 

I'd say if you haven't visited them lately a maintenance visit might be in order. If you they're fine, post a note so cachers know the caches are still there. If you've done all that, then just wait and somebody will eventually hunt them down.

 

SylvrStorm

 

*** Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry, and they laugh at you. ***

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I have one or two that are just basic go find caches and have thought about archiving. Got to thinking, what the heck, they are out and in good shape so leave them for now. Not being found in awhile has nothing to do with it most likely. Its slowed down here and there are alot of caches that havnt been found in months.

 

Like others, finding that cache that hasnt been logged in a long time is mighty fun. We found one last year that hadnt been found in over a year, was so cool finding it and seeing how good a shape it was in! icon_cool.gif

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I disagree, mostly because of the lack of details. If the caches in question are simple box-in-the-woods type caches, and they are being ignored, it may be more economical to go ahead and pull them. It’s great to have a bunch of caches hidden, but there’s work involved in the maintenance of them and the initial expense of the container and contents to consider as well.

 

It’s your cache, if you think there would be more interest in another cache in a better location, pull it. The geocache community will survive.

 

I have one that involves a bit of a messy climb up a crumbling hillside to get at, it needs some attention and I’m having a hard time blocking out the time required to climb up there and fix it. Now that I’ve admitted it though, I guess I’ll have to do the right thing and go get it. I will probably pull it as it really adds nothing to the local cache situation.

 

http://fp1.centurytel.net/Criminal_Page/

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quote:
Originally posted by VentureForth:

I have a few caches out there, some of which haven't been found for several months. Should I recover them and place them in more popular areas, or leave them and be elated when they are found?

 

I was just on vacation and I found a cache in which the last log entry was 11 months ago! I thought that was pretty cool.

 

Perhaps I just talked myself out of it, but I am curious to others' thoughts.

 

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http://www.scubaboard.com/images/smilies/burnout.gif Go! And don't be afraid to get a little wet!


 

be elated when they are found. Unpopular doesn't mean they are a bad cache.

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Most of my best caches are my least popular ones, chiefly because they take a little work to get to. After the local die-hards found them, most go 3-4 months between finds and some have gone unfound for close to a year.

 

They were good caches when I placed them and still are. The few that do find them really enjoy them, so I leave them.

 

I can go to an urban area, find a litter strewn lot and toss a Gladware container under a sheet of rotting plywood and get a multiple hits each week, but I'm not into that.

 

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry

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I agree with several of the postings, especially BrianSnat. My traditional type caches are placed in out of the way hard to reach places on purpose. Most you need a 4 wheel drive vehicle to get to so you are not going to get scads of geocachers rushing right out to find them. They are serving their purpose and are checked on regularly. As long as they are in good shape I'll leave them there, regardless of how long it is between "finds".

 

If they ever become a problem, I'll then consider archiving.

 

texasgeocaching_sm.gif

"Trade up, trade even, or don't trade!!!" My philosophy of life.

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When I read the subject on this thread I assumed you were talking about archiving caches which were unpopular among those who actually FOUND it. ;D

 

I've been rethinking some of the early caches I placed in my zeal as a beginner. At least two of them bug me. They're not really bad caches -- but they're not really special either.

 

I'm thinking of acrhving them and replacing them with caches I've put a little more time and thought into.

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

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

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Hey, Ventureforth, haven't heard from you for awhile! No, don't archive them. Having been to most of your caches, we know that yours are very good. The more recent logs still reflect that, too. You are right, it is fun to find an old cache. Unfortunately, the density of cachers in your area is pretty low. With all of the new caches appearing out to the northeast of the metroplex (there are now scads of them around Lake Lavon) that may change. Actually, maybe more caches, not less, is the answer. That would bring more cachers into the sport in your area and also entice more of the DFW cachers out your way. Hang in there. Great to hear from you again!! icon_smile.gif

 

Alchemist2000

 

texasgeocaching_sm.gif

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when you said unpopular i thought you meant that people found it, or searched at least, and hated it! Those you need to make your own decision on. I've removed some of mine that were this kind of unpopular, but id' not remove a cache just because it hasn't been found in a while. In fact, some of my caches are placed in order to be rarely found! When i'm jonesing for some hits, i'll place an easy one

 

King Pellinore

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I have to agree as well. My wife and I just did this one http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?pf=&ID=3025 which had been placed over two years ago. Having the 'first find' was a thrill but after it being a sleeper for that long made it that much more special. As someone else pointed out, you never know who may be planning a trip as we speak. I would have been disappointed had the owner pulled it before I had a chance to get to it.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyone can go to a Tupperware party but it takes a special skill to hunt plastic containers in the wild.

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I would say definitely NOT to archive a cache just because it doesn't get found very often. We found this cache for our 200th find:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=4188

I would have to say it is one of the best caches out there. And, it hasn't been found in 13 months (since we found it).

Also, we found this cache recently for our 300th find:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=27311

This one had been there for over a year, and we were the first finders. Again, this was one of the best caches we have done. Just because they don't get hit often doesn't mean they are not top quality caches. I say leave them out there.

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I like going for the ones that are not found as much. In fact the good hiking caches usually don't get as much traffic. The fact that it hasn't been visited makes it a challenge. Also if someone with 20 or less cache finds logs a DNF. Then I gotta get out there to prove them wrong.

Yesterday I did four that were having little traffic. Great hiking area. Two of a three cache series were not being searched for. Probably 'cause they were two more miles up the trail.

The fourth was getting a lot of DNFs. Even though it was a 1/1 cache right off the highway. It had very bad coordinates and was 40 feet off trail. Definitely not a 1/1.

For some shameless self promotion. A friend and I were the first finders at Hadley falls. Which went a year without a find.

 

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Pepper playing nice!

Mokita!

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