GeoCacher TurnOver

[+FourRiverRatz]

I'll chime in as a cacher who took a break after multiple years and over 650 finds. (and just in the last week started with 4 finds again)

 

Why did we stop? Hmmmmm..combination of things. Burn out and life went other directions. Add in the turf wars for local caches here...people leaving used condoms in caches, stealing and trashing each others caches etc...it got to the point of being childish and I refused to take the chance of one of my kids opening a cache that had someones used condom in it. That wasn't going to happen..so much for a family activity.

 

Add in lame caches..too many guardrail micros slapped up every quarter mile. No, I didn't have to do them, but the time it took to sort through them seemed to suck the life and fun out of the sport. How about the ones put in gross and disgusting places..like under bridges where there was human fecal matter and used needles. Again..not taking my kids...or even myself to someplace like that for a fun time. Again..I know we don't have tpo do them..but to have to sort through to read logs and find out what type or if it was do-able (by my standards) just didn't make it fun anymore.

 

Add in bad internet connection that kept the site from working for me (finally got other service offered for here)and having to go to the library to really use the site...total PITA..again taking he fun out.

 

Add in one more...TICKS! I HATE THOSE SUCKERS! And findng them on my kids...and having my kids bit by them..is a total turn off. To get back to the car after a find and find a dozen ticks on clothes..go home, strip everyone down, wash clothes, shower..and still have some found on bodies later is gross. Wouldn't put my kids at risk for lymes to play games that are turning into work.

 

I've recently done a few at their away soccer games. Still nnot interested in local ones because I see someone has saturated the area so I'm not going to bother sorting through to find a few good ones..have other things I really need to spend my time on. I'll be happpy doing a few interesting caches here and there and not letting it take over our life.

 

and for me..too many games within the game..too many passports/books/stamps etc. I skip them and just geocache for the old-fashioned fun of geocaching.

[+Mike & Jess]

What is interesting about this thread is how much geocaching has changed from 2002 to now.

 

To add to the OP, most of the more senior cachers left the hobby because they got bored with it. The quality we started caching with has dropped to a level where some of us can't be bothered with any more lamp skirts, or mindless hide.

A lot of the cachers that started geocaching at the same time as I did hit the 175-225 finds level and that was it. We had about 300 caches in the area at that time when we all hit that range.

 

For myself, we got too involved with geocaching and the politics have really hurt my enjoyment of the game.

[Andronicus]

I find it ironic that most of the people who posted in this haven't logged in for years.

 

I just want to know what's up with this guy from post#8?? And people say the forums are angsty today. Phooey. When is the last time someone got a lifetime forum ban around here?

The guy in post 4 also seems to have been banned.

[+ProfessorBenson]

I'm sure I'll slow down at 100 finds. Right now I'm having more fun placing hides.

[+hukilaulau]

I think the answer is a lot less complicated than people are trying to make it. People start stuff and then quit. That's it. It's not about geocaching or Groundspeak. Health clubs count on this. That's why they can keep selling memberships without ever getting crowded. Ever notice how many Bowflex machines are in the want ads? I play chess online and get notices every day about people who have quit and still have unresolved games. I used to play competitive racquetball and there were scores of people who would sign up for a lesson or play in one tournament and then give it up.

If you look at the logs on a lot of great caches placed in 2000, 2001, 2002 you will see people who raved about this great activity they found, and then they found maybe 3 more and dropped out. That wasn't GS or cache saturation. They just moved on. People do that.

I, on the other hand, seem to keep finding reasons to keep going. I guess I'm just too simple-minded or stubborn to see how GS is taking advantage of me. Grrrrr! I oughta smack some sense into me!

[+The_Incredibles_]

Like with alot of hobbies, I think many people just lose interest and move on to other things.

 

As for specific people that I have known that have quit:

 

• Tried to hide caches and got annoyed by proximity bumps and other such things
  
• Family not supportive/interested
  
• Major life change (back to school etc)
  
• Too scared to go out alone (my sister hasn't quit, but really slowed down due to cougars in her area)
  
• Really sucks at finding caches (know a few people who quit because the had a really hard time finding anything!!)
  

[+PseudoHybrid]

I stopped caching for about a year... changed jobs, bought a fixer-uper house, had a young child to keep up with, etc.

 

I knew I'd come back, but just couldn't make time. The only bad part was that I completely forgot about the two trackables stowed in the back of my car.

 

Life happens.

[+Mike & Jess]

I stopped caching for about a year... changed jobs, bought a fixer-uper house, had a young child to keep up with, etc.

 

I knew I'd come back, but just couldn't make time. The only bad part was that I completely forgot about the two trackables stowed in the back of my car.

 

Life happens.

 

Other then the changing job, that is us exactly.

Going to leave the two trackables I've been sitting on for a year or so at the event this weekend.