Why Do People Stop Geocaching?

January 19, 2004

On one hand, it sounds like a stupid question, but we all see logs from users who seem to log no longer, and caches hidden by them what don't maintain no more. We know why people come into the sport, because we 'get it' and enjoy it. But why do people find, say, 20 caches and then just seem to stop? Have you met/do you know people who fit this description? What sorts of reasons do they have?

38.2k · January 19, 2004

Mostly, for the same reasons people stop participating in any sport. I've met many people who tell me "I used to ski", or "I was an avid tennis player at one time". Heck, a few years ago I found out a co-worker was an excellent softball player. He told me he played in 4-5 leagues a year for almost 20 years, but he stopped cold turkey. My team needed a player and he refused...wouldn't even fill in for one game. I couldn't understand it. How could someone just give up a sport that they loved so much at one time?

Sometimes it's boredom. Sometimes a new interest comes along. Sometimes just too many other things in life get in the way. Sometimes they weren't serious about it to begin with and sometimes its burnout.

Edited January 19, 2004 by briansnat

9.4k · January 19, 2004

Sometimes they run out of caches to find

January 19, 2004

Many are abducted by visiting aliens who use them as travel bugs in off-world caches.

seriously though, I think some are intro'd by friends / relatives. They have the intent of getting their own gps, so start their own accounts, and then never follow through after the initial push.

2.7k · January 19, 2004

sometimes just too many other things get in the way

Yeah, I'll second that. :huh:

Perhaps when the weather gets better around here and things open up, I'll be back out there...

*must... win... lottery*

January 19, 2004

I doubt that you'll get a real valid answer, since those who stop also stop visiting here. And those would be the ones to ask. :huh:

1.9k · January 19, 2004

for me it is the following...

1) not really any caches *near* by

2) slight burnout on the drive and bag

3) busy

4) hard time justifying a tank of gas when $ is tight

5) tired of maintaining caches so im pulling some of mine

6) nobody will go with me who *gets it*

7) im not really tired of it, im just tired

January 19, 2004

I think they all start posting on the forums too much and stop geo caching.

My two cents... Then again... I might be crzycrzy !

2.7k · January 19, 2004

I wish I had a nickel for every hobby I've been gung-ho for in the beginning then bought thousands of dollars worth of equipment then quietly let it go to waste.

I have obsolete scuba equipment, climbing equipment, caving equipment, bikes, running shoes, you name it... even got a hang glider lying around somewhere that belongs to me and a buddy that I now only see once a decade.

Sure, I occasionally still do most of these things, but not like I used to.

Partly its age. Partly its the mad hustle-bustle of making a living. Partly its just changing interests and wanting to move on and experience some other thrill.

Caching will probably pass too. At least I'm only out $350 for equipment that I can't use for something else. Quite a bargain all-in-all as hobbies go.

24.7k · January 19, 2004

When I quit, well... I won't be around to tell you why.

But I can say I'm not there yet.

January 19, 2004

There is a time and place

for everything.

Accept it,

We change.

4k · January 19, 2004

Like many others with their hobbies, and some already that I've seen here, I'll burn that bridge when I come to it!

3.5k · January 19, 2004

I've looked back at some of the early logs in our area and have noticed a lot of names that were pretty active once that are just plain gone now. One I know of had some trouble with a couple of their caches being removed by park officials and were frustrated enough to quit. Others had changes in employment that took them away from the game. I know of a few who had health problems that caused them to slow down, too.

I was a little concerned when I first started that I wouldn't last long. I started in January and I figured that the weather would be lousy enough to keep me from maintaining the interest. However, the winter was pretty mild and I also had motivation to make sure my wife knew I was getting my money's worth on the GPS I bought!

Bret

1.1k · January 19, 2004

I wish I had a nickel for every hobby I've been gung-ho for in the beginning then bought thousands of dollars worth of equipment then quietly let it go to waste.

I wish I worked at your local sproting goods store. As a salesman. On commision.

I can relate to What Church Camp Dave said. I have a tendency to be a little compulsive about my hobbies. I'll will get into something and I emerse myself in it. When, in my mind, I have mastered it I move on.

There are exceptions to this. Hiking and camping have been constants in my life since I was a child. Geocaching adds a new layer to activities I already love.

Time will tell. As of right now I'm not sick of you people yet.

1.3k · January 19, 2004

When I start a hobby everything is new. I'm learning a lot. I'm doing something different.

Eventually, I'm not learning much anymore and I'm doing the same old thing. I've already developed three habits that indicate to me this is getting old.

1) I look for the stack of wood if it's a regular cache.

2) I look for the metallic object the micro is attached to (since it's almost always attached with a magnet).

3) I look under the bridge first.

I'm already sure that some other hobby/exercise will come along and take geocaching's place in my life. But in the meantime it's a nice way to spend some time. I've gotten some good walks, some good ideas for a spy novel, learned how to make stamps the letterboxing way, walked on a beaver dam, and generally had a good time. It has been time well spent. And the time I spend doing something else will be time well spent as well.

"They are all perfect blossoms."

1.6k · January 19, 2004

I agree with saxman and just about anyone else who said lack of caches to find.

Right now, there's a lot of caches in my area that I haven't found, but once I found most of them in my close area, I'll probably slow down quite a bit and only cache when there's new caches and/or I'm out of town in a nice cache dense area...

January 19, 2004

when I first started there were caches with alot of great trinkets and the kids had a blast. Seemed there were alot of families with young kids going caching and things were good. Now it seems that all the good items get removed or were never there to start with(?) and all that is left is a few cheap items the kids don't want, and signature items which they don't want either. So the kids don't want to go, which in turn makes it tougher for me to go. I am not really in it so much for the trades as just to get out with the kids. It just seems around KC anyway that things have changed and the families are not as active as they used to be. Alot more single cachers out and about.

at least that's one man's opinion.............

January 19, 2004

Well, we are still comparatively new to the sport (less than 100 fiinds), but I don't see myself letting it go anytime in the foreseeable future. I like the fact that it combines several of my passions: the outdoors, technology, and mental puzzles. I am actually proud of ourselves. We have a tendency to flit from hobby to hobby rather quickly. We've stuck with this for awhile. One nice thing about living in the Atlanta area is that weather is generally not too much of an issue.

20.7k · January 19, 2004

I know of a couple people in the area that were run out of the hobby by a geojerk.

4k · January 19, 2004

I know of a couple people in the area that were run out of the hobby by a geojerk.

That's sad. I haven't had anyone that could drive me out of a hobby, though many have tried. It's a shame first when people try to do that, and second when others allow themselves to be driven out. I mean, really, it's just a game, right?

Out of curiosity, how were they driven out by one "geojerk"? (like that name, BTW)

January 19, 2004

Well how funny. I haven't logged onto the Geocaching site for several months and finally today, decided to see what, if anything was new. Found this topic and felt that it applied to me.

I started caching last summer. I'd like to say that I was hooked from the beginning but to me, that implies that I couldn't stop. Well, I loved the hobby and still enjoy it and really thought that I would cache a lot. However, when push came to shove, I just haven't had enough time to do it. I work full time, am a father, I'm a grad student and I have began to work on a plan to open my own restaurant in the next year or so. Time has really gotten away from me and as such, I have not had time to cache, or even keep up on the latest cache happenings in my area. I fully intend to cache again, hopefully in the near future.

So, maybe this sheds some light on the topic. Then again, maybe not.

20.7k · January 19, 2004

...Out of curiosity, how were they driven out by one "geojerk"?

Some people want to control everything. This particular person bullies people and tells tales about them; continually stirring the pot, as it were.

Edited January 19, 2004 by sbell111

1.1k · January 19, 2004

That's sad. I haven't had anyone that could drive me out of a hobby, though many have tried.

I'd settle for just driving you out of the forums. Maybe then I'd have a chance to catch up with your post count.

On a serious note, I don't see how any person or even a group could drive me away from something I enjoy. You'll get my GPSr when you pry it from my cold, dead hand or whenever I get bored and find something else to do.

3.8k · January 19, 2004

On Hobbies and time

A hobby, by definition, is “an occupation or interest to which one devotes spare time.”

It’s the “spare” part that seems to dictate the amount of devotion applied to geocaching. I doubt that many people quit geocaching because they’re mad, or they just don’t like the game/hobby. And I doubt that many just move on, or “graduate” into better, more interesting hobbies.

Geocaching has integrated a lot of life styles with a common denominator; geocaching invariably involves the outdoors. As we navigate our various paths in life, geocaching will wax and wane, and every time we go outdoors we will be caching, at least virtually.

I doubt that many people really quit geocaching.

1.2k · January 19, 2004

Because they have found them all?

January 19, 2004

because they die..

January 19, 2004

It's too dadgum cold to cache? Yea like that'll happen,wind chills of 20 below don't keep me in!

January 20, 2004

It's funny to think that some would quite cuz theres no more caches near by. I see people in my neighbourhood who can obly be described as "HIGHLY MOTIVATED" (read as "obsessed?"). I quite enjoy listening to their antics but hardly see myself running out of caches any time in the forseeable future.... My first find was June 7th 2003.

7.3k · January 20, 2004

I'm not convinced about quiting because there are not enough caches nearby, either. When I started caching almost two years ago, there were maybe two or three caches within thirteen miles of home. One cache was made by someone passing through, who has not been heard of since. Another was made by someone who caches a few times a year. The few friends and I who all got introduced to the sport at the same time were all babes in the woods. Now, there are around sixty caches caches in that same thirteen mile radius, and that is not counting the numerous (numerous) caches within driving distance. There are also at least 20-40 caching groups in the area now. So if we could start out with only two or three caches, and still manage to cache a lot in the next year (one of our later converts now has gone to over 500 caches), how can anyone ever say they have run out caches? On the other hand, the only way that we had caches, was because we made them for each other. The only problem is that we could only make so many. But then, as people slacked off in their caching, we had less and less to go to. Poor Patudles (the cacher with over 500 caches), she has gone to every one of them in our area, and then some. So, I guess you could say that maybe those cachers have run out of caches in this area.

I really think it comes down to this: when you first get really excited about geocaching, it takes ahold of you. You live and breathe it. You can't imagine your life before it, and you can't imagine your future without it. This honeymoon phase lasts for a certain amount of time; more for some, less for others. For me, it lasted for about a year. But then, certain things start piercing through your euphoria: your job is starting to suffer, your kids need attention, people keep chiding you for always talking about geocaching, especially at inappropriate moments, your spouse keeps getting jealous, and on and on. Slowly, slowly, over time, you do it less and less, until one day, you can't remember when the last time you went to a cache. Ah, such is life. You always have time to do what is important to you. This is true.

Edited January 20, 2004 by Ambrosia

9.4k · January 20, 2004

I'm not convinced about quiting because there are not enough caches nearby, either. <snip>

When there are very few unfound caches left in your area (and most several miles away or with high terrain ratings) you tend to cache less. It can get to the point where someone just stops checking for nearby caches and "quits". That's like someone who doesn't want to make the 2-hour drive just to go skiing anymore.The ski resort hasn't moved, but they don't want to spend the time or the money doing it anymore.

2.7k · January 20, 2004

I still have a lot of caches within easy driving distance, but I've slowed down because they are mostly around Indy and I just don't think of Indy as a place to go to walk in woods. I am sure there are a LOT of places in Indy I haven't seen that are well worth seeing, but I just tend more toward the country.

My biggest frustration is the lack of places to PLACE caches. I have some pretty cool ideas (most of which are probably too complicated and expensive to actually DO..), but the biggest drawback to my grandiose ideas is finding a cool place to put them. We are pretty close to saturation on all the places I'm familiar with. I reckon that means I gotta go explorin'- and try to find a cool spot 2Jo's don't know about. (THAT is a tough one!)

So, I'm slowing down at least due to saturation (and laziness).

3.8k · January 20, 2004

ChurchCampDave wrote:

...My biggest frustration is the lack of places to PLACE caches...

You're still doing just fine!

2.7k · January 20, 2004

ChurchCampDave wrote:
...My biggest frustration is the lack of places to PLACE caches...

You're still doing just fine!

Well, are you gonna go back and FIND the darn thing? I went and checked on it just for you.

January 20, 2004

This is terrible.

I've only begun this hobby and now I find people planning their demise. You have all been saying this is addictive!

I don't want to be in no stinking hobby if it isn't addictive.

Now I have to go get my antidepressants.

By the way, when you quit caching will you please send me your GPSr's as I would like to use them as swag.

January 20, 2004

My biggest frustration is the lack of places to PLACE caches.

We have seen this dynamic here in the Wenatchee area.

We few planted all the caches, we found them all and now we have cache density but none we can find ourselves. I and others are now archiving most of them so we can use our parks and viewpoints in new and diffrent ways.

At the point where its hard to put more caches and yet you have found them all, you are forced to clean house or give up.

Having tons of caches only visitors to the area havent found puts a damper on active cachers interest levels.

That said, I have seen every type of reason to stop caching. Some unmentionable.

Some people were interested as long as the competitive aspect with their friends was close, but when their friends left them in the dust they kind of gave up.

Never under estimate the value of find counts as a factor in the fun or interest level in caching.

Other people have quit in favor of other interests or hobbies.

January 20, 2004

I'm finding the entire 'running out of places to hide caches' argument a little confusing. Granted, everyone has their own preferences as to the difficulty and type of caches they like to place, but there seems to still be room available out there...

Ish-n-Isha's comment is especially puzzling, given that the entire Wenatchee National Forest is close by, and there's next to no caches hidden there according the geocaching.com maps. Is Wenatchee NF policies that much different from the Forests in Montana, where anything outside of wilderness areas and a few other protected areas is fair game?

ChurchCampDave seems to have a bit stronger case, but even there options exist. What about the various small towns in the area? Any parks that could hold a micro or even an ammo can? What about private property? It appears you are in farm country, correct? Any woodlots or the like that a friendly farmer would allow well-behaved visitors access to?

I am one of the blessed ones, living surrounded by more public land than we could ever fill, but I've seen enough caches in other areas to know that there's still plenty of possibilities even in the most urban of areas.

24.7k · January 20, 2004

Geocaching dovetails well with other things I'm interested in. I may slow down but I doubt I'll quit entirely.

The other day while my father in law visited a friend who had fallen and gotten hurt pretty badly, I kept busy caching. My presence wasn't needed and caching was a good way to do something until he was done visiting.

January 20, 2004

My answer is fairly simple. I borrowed someone's GPS over the holiday to see if I would enjoy the game. I was able to get 17 finds durring my two weeks and until I either borrow the GPS again or buy one of my own, my numbers won't be getting any higer. But one of those two things will happen. <_<

January 20, 2004

I've only begun this hobby and now I find people planning their demise.

Not planning anything (except a cache hide soon) - just wondering why people seem to come and go. For example, in my close-to-home area I see the same group of people logging new caches. That makes sense, but on the occasions when I visit older caches I see many logs from people who just "don't exist" anymore. I am wondering, semi-idly, what's up with that? Slowing down I could understand. Time demands or lack of caches might reduce someone to a weekend a month here or there. Instead, last years logs contain names that aren't active at all.

January 20, 2004

I'm finding the entire 'running out of places to hide caches' argument a little confusing. Granted, everyone has their own preferences as to the difficulty and type of caches they like to place, but there seems to still be room available out there...

Ish-n-Isha's comment is especially puzzling, given that the entire Wenatchee National Forest is close by, and there's next to no caches hidden there according the geocaching.com maps. Is Wenatchee NF policies that much different from the Forests in Montana, where anything outside of wilderness areas and a few other protected areas is fair game?

How many of those caches can you get to in the 3 months of winter and 1+ months of spring when they are covered by 4+ feet of snow in Montana? Same here.

We have already gotten all the ones in the surrounding area except 2-3 that snuck in at the end of the year. A effecient cacher gets the ones with seasonal restrictions first and then whats left over the winter/spring? Nothing. That is why more year around accessable caches are important. Thats why rotating out the old caches is important around here.

Check the logs for recent finds in a 10 mile radius around say.... Old Blewett Pass cache http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...4-30916289A989} for recent log entries. you'll find maybe 1-2 entries made in late Oct or the first Nov. and those are right off the highway.

We ski at mission ridge till early April so thats what.....nearly 5-5 1/2 months depending on the year and snowpack?

If we all lived in Seattle we could pack them in 500' apart and cache all year long.

edit=sp

Edited January 20, 2004 by Ish-n-Isha

January 21, 2004

It's just not the same as it used to be.

1.9k · January 21, 2004

yes, i really am burned out on caching... i will still go and hunt them from time to time to see if it is gettng fun again. but mostly I will be becoming a benchmark hunting fool. when that burns out ill be back here again.

1.6k · January 21, 2004

I'm finding the entire 'running out of places to hide caches' argument a little confusing. Granted, everyone has their own preferences as to the difficulty and type of caches they like to place, but there seems to still be room available out there...

Ish-n-Isha's comment is especially puzzling, given that the entire Wenatchee National Forest is close by, and there's next to no caches hidden there according the geocaching.com maps. Is Wenatchee NF policies that much different from the Forests in Montana, where anything outside of wilderness areas and a few other protected areas is fair game?

How many of those caches can you get to in the 3 months of winter and 1+ months of spring when they are covered by 4+ feet of snow in Montana? Same here.

We have already gotten all the ones in the surrounding area except 2-3 that snuck in at the end of the year. A effecient cacher gets the ones with seasonal restrictions first and then whats left over the winter/spring? Nothing. That is why more year around accessable caches are important. Thats why rotating out the old caches is important around here.

Check the logs for recent finds in a 10 mile radius around say.... Old Blewett Pass cache http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...4-30916289A989} for recent log entries. you'll find maybe 1-2 entries made in late Oct or the first Nov. and those are right off the highway.

We ski at mission ridge till early April so thats what.....nearly 5-5 1/2 months depending on the year and snowpack?

If we all lived in Seattle we could pack them in 500' apart and cache all year long.

edit=sp

Two good points there. The National Forest/Park/Wildlife refuge lands are for the most part off limits. If you live in a part of the country that has a large DOI presence, there may not be many geocaches to get.

Many urban areas have far more than others. The Puget sound has geocaches like carpet, where my state has large clusters around the cities, and large areas where caches are few and far between. The 75 mile rule and the no vacation cache rule has squeezed cache placers into their own neighborhoods and while this is not all bad, it does mean that two of our local players with over 800 finds between them are basically banned from putting caches in any part of the state west of Columbus, NE and these guys have come up with some of our best caches. The rural areas are thus squeezed for caches and squeezed for good caches. If I were out west, the caches I found would be largely mine. That would get old soon.

2.7k · January 21, 2004

I'm finding the entire 'running out of places to hide caches' argument a little confusing. Granted, everyone has their own preferences as to the difficulty and type of caches they like to place, but there seems to still be room available out there...

Ish-n-Isha's comment is especially puzzling, given that the entire Wenatchee National Forest is close by, and there's next to no caches hidden there according the geocaching.com maps. Is Wenatchee NF policies that much different from the Forests in Montana, where anything outside of wilderness areas and a few other protected areas is fair game?

ChurchCampDave seems to have a bit stronger case, but even there options exist. What about the various small towns in the area? Any parks that could hold a micro or even an ammo can? What about private property? It appears you are in farm country, correct? Any woodlots or the like that a friendly farmer would allow well-behaved visitors access to?

I am one of the blessed ones, living surrounded by more public land than we could ever fill, but I've seen enough caches in other areas to know that there's still plenty of possibilities even in the most urban of areas.

Options DO exist and I am placing caches. But the parks that I am familiar with AND are reasonably close by already have caches in them. There is room for more in a few of them, but most (other than the state parks) are rather small and the .1 mile rule makes them useless for expansion.

I just placed one called "cool sycamore #1" which I intend to make a series as I locate suitable places. I found the spot while looking for another cache in the park. The previous cache was recently archived and that opened up the spot for me. It still barely fits- .16 mile to the next nearest.

I do consider private land, but I am hesitant to approach people I don't know because I am afraid they might have a bad experience with a cacher. I PREFER public land and I don't ask permission (on public land) unless it is evident that there could be a potential problem. (I have permission for 2 out of 15)

I believe another poster nailed it. The locals have to go further and further away to find anything new. I would add that removing the old and placing new in the same places would only be a partial solution. It is a little unsatisfactory because MUCH of the thrill, at least for me, is going to places I did not know existed.

Between 2jo's, Indy Diver, and Winningham Boys, I'v gotten a heck of a tour of my state in the last year (Not intended to denigrate the efforts of the other fine cachers whose caches I have found, just that these are the PROLIFIC cache hiders in my area)

Cache HIDERS make the sport.

For people to stay active and interested, people need to hide a lot of well thought out and interesting caches in a lot of unusual places.

January 21, 2004

I believe another poster nailed it. The locals have to go further and further away to find anything new. I would add that removing the old and placing new in the same places would only be a partial solution. It is a little unsatisfactory because MUCH of the thrill, at least for me, is going to places I did not know existed.

The "Locals" pretty much know all the local areas, thats what makes them local. When you place new caches in old territory the hook changes. Diffrent puzzle, diffrent theme, diffrent offset ect.

New places are cool and we do like that aspect but not all places are cool. We go quite a while these days without finding a cache as unique as when we were wide eyed newbies, but thats to be expected.

We are always looking for ways to keep it fresh and fun but these days it seems like everythings going micros and the needle in the haystack hide. Boreing, tedious and unimaginitive. Even the imaginitive can be Boreing and tedious since they are getting harder and harder.

January 21, 2004

Two good points there. The National Forest/Park/Wildlife refuge lands are for the most part off limits. If you live in a part of the country that has a large DOI presence, there may not be many geocaches to get.

National Forests are not off-limits to geocaching. The Park Service and the Forest Service do not even report to the same Federal Department.

Unless the Ranger on your local National Forest has made additional rules for the land he manages, you can hide all the goecaches you can maintain...

March 29, 2015

Saw several posters refer to geocaching as a "sport". Really? Always thought of it as more of a hobby than a sport.

Edited March 29, 2015 by 8yaz

March 29, 2015

Saw several posters refer to geocaching as a "sport". Really?

Not every cache is in a parking lot...some of the ways one can arrive at GZ: running, jogging, biking, powerhiking, swimming, rafting, kayaking, rowing, canoeing, technical climbing, scuba or snorkeling, backpacking, sking, snowshoeing, dog sled, and many others (I am sure others will chime in)...

13.8k · March 29, 2015

Saw several posters refer to geocaching as a "sport". Really?

Off topic, but yeah, some do.

One of the many definitions is "an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature".

I could see kayaking, scuba, tree climbing, and all rope-use caches as a sport.

- And gotta admit, the numbers craze has kinda turned what I deem a hobby into a game.

4.5k · March 29, 2015

Oh oh, i got one! I betcha that a few stop because they get tired gs making all the unnecessary and many times, less user friendly changes to the website.

Why Do People Stop Geocaching?

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