The average life of a cache

[Radman Forever]

Caches get archived for various reasons all the time. From plundering to members who are no longer interested in caching, caches can't live forever. What do you think is (or can be) the average life of a cache.

 

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[+Markwell]

I think that this could mirror the average life span figure. That is, the statistic is something like 74 year, but if a person makes it past the critical first year of life, their average life span is greatly increased.

 

The same could be said for caches for about 3 months for a critical period. If a cache makes it longer than 3 months, its chances of being a LONG duration cache is probably pretty good.

 

Other than that, I'd say well-placed caches have years for lifetimes.

 

Markwell

Chicago Geocaching

[+Ramness]

Well currently the oldest cache is 2 years and 6 months old.

 

Out of my 17 caches, my oldest has sat almost trouble free for 2 years and 1 month (someone decided to relocate it for me at one point), the youngest is just over a month old. I had one cache stolen after less than a month, it was archived, and another stolen just over a year. A kind cacher in the area replaced that one though. The rest have been sitting pretty.

 

This Isn't rocket science...

[+sbell111]

I think it also depends on type of cache.

 

Traditional cache will have a longer average life span than micro caches, for example. This is because the bulk of traditional caches are in the woods, off the beaten path.

 

Micros, on the other hand, tend to be placed in a location that allows for more accidental finds.

 

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

[+briansnat]

I just lost one of my oldest yesterday. I found it with the lid off and the contents frozen in a block of ice (it's a 2 gallon container, so it was a pretty big block of ice). Everything was trashed, so I archived it. It was the last of my Tupperware caches. Everything now is in either ammo boxes or dcon boxes. They, esp the ammo boxes, should last pretty much indefinitely. They are for the most part, well hidden and off the beaten path.

 

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" - Abraham Lincoln