Why Do You Like Urban Micros?

[+geomaineiacs]

I'm sure it has been discussed before, though I didn't immediately see a direct reference when I did a search. Why do people like urban micros? (Urban meaning in densely developed areas with a high muggle factor). From what I read, they are becoming very popular, especially down south. I am in Maine and most of our caches are in the woods, parks, seashore, or mountains. That is why I like geocaching--to see these neat natural places. I have no interest in Walmart parking lots or busy downtowns for geocaching. I am not criticizing those who like urban micros, since they may think a hike in the woods is no fun, but I am curious to hear about their attraction.

[+joefrog]

I'm sure it has been discussed before, though I didn't immediately see a direct reference when I did a search.  Why do people like urban micros?  (Urban meaning in densely developed areas with a high muggle factor).  From what I read, they are becoming very popular, especially down south.  I am in Maine and most of our caches are in the woods, parks, seashore, or mountains.  That is why I like geocaching--to see these neat natural places.  I have no interest in Walmart parking lots or busy downtowns for geocaching.  I am not criticizing those who like urban micros, since they may think a hike in the woods is no fun, but I am curious to hear about their attraction.

When I think of an urban micro, I don't immediately think of the infamous "light pole hides." I think of a micro in a very public location, where you'd have to be at your sneakiest to nab it, sign it and put it back.

 

For me, it's a thrill and a challenge, and I get a kick out of hiding them. I have several public hides. One of them is at an obvious cop hangout, another is outside a Police precinct house, and yet another is at one of Birmingham's biggest tourist attraction, right in the middle of where everyone will stand and look at the view. Just thinking about the person breaking out in a cold sweat while searching for it and "trying not to look suspicious" gives me the giggles.

Edited June 16, 2004 by joefrog

[+cacheKidds]

I like urban micros and ones in small parks. I cannot say the same for micros hidden deep in the woods.

[+CYBret]

For me, it's a thrill and a challenge, and I get a kick out of hiding them. I have several public hides. One of them is at an obvious cop hangout, another is outside a Police precinct house, and yet another is at one of Birmingham's biggest tourist attraction, right in the middle of where everyone will stand and look at the view. Just thinking about the person breaking out in a cold sweat while searching for it and "trying not to look suspicious" gives me the giggles.

Ditto. It's a whole different kind of challenge. I prefer the walk in the woods, but these are a nice diversion too.

 

Bret

[+Doggiewoggie]

I have mixed feelings about urban micros. In theory, I think they could be great--there's lots of great and unexpected places within cities, that I would love to go visit. The fact is, though, that people tend to hide them in the lamest places ever--places I can't imagine anyone in their right mind would want me to go see. So I'm very suspicious of urban micros, and try to comb the logs to see if one of them is worthwhile... that's usually not too helpful, because people try to be positive, logging: "neat place!" or "wild!" about dumpsters and newspaper boxes.

[+horsegeeks]

Variety is the spice of life. I don't always have time to get the woods gear on and take a hike. The urban micros are good at lunch hour and when you have just a little while to look. You can come back again, and again, and again... to find them and usually not get dirty (other than looks) and then right back to work. They are good when your joints hurt or other body problems. Plus we find them just a lot of fun and usually quite challenge as least around here with some of the hiders that have a dark sense of humor, no names mentioned.

[+clearpath]

Urban Micro are great because some of them (not the Walmart light pole) are hidden were hundreds of people walk by everyday and no one even knows its there. Usually these are hidden very well and like others have said, its a challenge to find. Also, you have to be sneaky in order to preserve the hiding spot. Micros in urban parks are good because traditional ammo containers would probably be muggled more often.

[+joefrog]

I have mixed feelings about urban micros.  In theory, I think they could be great--there's lots of great and unexpected places within cities, that I would love to go visit.  The fact is, though, that people tend to hide them in the lamest places ever--places I can't imagine anyone in their right mind would want me to go see.

EXACTLY what I strive for. I want a hide to be worth someone's time to find. It's got to be at a minimum, one or more of these:

 

1. Interesting spot

2. Unique to the local area

3. clever hide

4. make me laugh (wording, description or location)

 

And of course, the above list is subject to change! Some of my hides are more about the location than the hide itself -- places that a non-local may or may not know about without the game. After all, isn't that part of what it's about?

Edited June 16, 2004 by joefrog

[mortonfox]

Urban micros can be quick pickups between other caches or they can be done as night caches. It's only the searching for them that I don't like because those are usually in very public/busy areas.

Edited June 16, 2004 by stayfloopy

[+Team Perks]

BECAUSE EVERYONE KNOWS IT'S ALL ABOUT THE NUMBERS!!!!!!!

 

[+Cherokeecacher]

We have enjoyed “most” of the urban micros we have done. The majority of them were in Knoxville, TN. A few days ago, while we were on a road trip from Houston, Texas to Dover, Delaware we were staying with a friend and had an extra day, so we spent 8 hours caching in town. These particular “urban micros” gave us a great tour of some very neat places in town, and a few historical places”, that we would not have known about without these caches being placed there.

 

We did find one “micro in the lamp post” at a rest stop in Virginia (I think), it did not take us to a spectacular view, historic place, or even an interesting part of a new town, but it did give us a great way to stretch our legs.

 

I spent 4 years in Maine, and I know that the landscape is very different than a few other places. Not all of us are as lucky as you to live in such a beautiful place with plenty of woods and hiking areas. I also have a feeling that if there were some “urban micros” around Old Town Portland, that visiting cachers would love the chance to see some of the historical places the town has to offer. Bath Ironworks would be another neat experience for out of state visitors. Heck, I would even get a kick out of one near the McDonalds in Freeport. I have never seen another McDonalds with “wingback chairs” and tablecloths. At least they did back in the ‘80’s, but just the fact that it was built inside an old historic HOUSE still amazes me.

[+rbvstar]

I will hunt an urban micro if its on my way to another cache, I have never found an urban cache that I would compare to a good 5 star hike in the woods.

[+bitbrain]

I'm not a big fan of most Urban Micros, but NavDog's Urban Micros in Portland, OR are top notch caches. If you happen to be in Portland set aside a day or two for hunting them.

Edited June 16, 2004 by bitbrain

[+geomaineiacs]

Thanks all for your perspectives. Someone made a good point about not having time to get out of town, and I realized that those of us in small towns are "out of town" already. I can imagine if you live in a big metropolitan area that getting out of town takes time and otherwise would cut down on your geocaching time.

 

I have to admit, some of you are sickos, liking the thrill of finding caches in front of the police or trying to avoid dirty looks from the public! Guess I am just a small town guy.

[+rusty_tlc]

There are two things I like.

First they are nice finds on lunch break.

Second they can usually be accessed when snow makes it difficult to get into the hills.

 

One of my finds was a micro in a park I had driven by for years without noticing. There is one parking spot, the park has room for one swing set and one of those little merri go round things. The view of the Truckee river is fantastic.

 

The light pole film canisters hides are not so much fun. But I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water because of them.

[+GeoCyclist]

I ditto what many others have said, I am glad the sport has urban micros as it adds an entirely different aspect to the game.

 

While I love a beautiful walk in the woods here are the reasons I like urban micros:

· More conducive to taking my wife and 5 month old daughter on

· Can catch one while running errands in town when I normally wouldn't be caching

· In the cities most parks already have traditional caches so we are running out of original places to hide. (Most parks already have multiple caches)

· Get to see new areas of the city

[+joefrog]

I have to admit, some of you are sickos, liking the thrill of finding caches in front of the police or trying to avoid dirty looks from the public!

Who, me? I'm not sick... I'm just Glazed and Confused!

[+Cherokeecacher]

I have to admit, some of you are sickos, liking the thrill of finding caches in front of the police or trying to avoid dirty looks from the public!

Who, me? I'm not sick... I'm just Glazed and Confused!

Darn it Joefrog…why did you have to remind me of that one? We just drove through that area on Saturday, June 12, on our way back to Houston, and I wanted to stop and do this one. Michelle over ruled me…and now you got to throw it in my face and reopen the wound.

[+Shasties]

I live in a rural area and most of the caches around here are either of the 'ammo box in the woods' or the 'tupperware container in the park' type. I think a lot of the people who have been cacheing for a while started out of their love of the outdoors, hiking, and nature. Obviously the caches they placed were in areas that were an extention of these activities; backwoods, trails, mountain tops, etc. As caching spread, you start to find more (sub)urban folks becoming involved. Thus the 'City Park' caches. Smaller containers with more unique hiding strategies. It stands to reason that as more cityfolk (those not of the hiking-camping-back to nature background) become involved, the caches they place are in more familiar locations; downtowns, malls, and high density areas. I find that what the city caches lack in quiet hiking and back to nature, they make up for in hiding and stealth techniques needed to hide/find them. Not everyone is going to like every cache. I heard someone recently complaining about a cache located in a swampy area. "Why couldn't they put it in a nice nature area"? I love the variety found in the different types of caches. You're just as apt to find me in the backwoods, a park, downtown, or at the end of a dead end street in a suburban neighborhood. Each one has it's own special challenge.

[CoyoteRed]

While my favorite caches are puzzles (non-math, non-trivia) and hikes with nice views (something lacking in the Lowcountry) I like UMs because of the challenge of finding a well hidden cache with the added challenge of doing it right under the noses of passersby.

 

Another reason is the thought of being "in the know" of something that tons of people walk past everyday and don't have the faintest idea it's there.

[+wimseyguy]

horsegeeks wrote:

Plus we find them just a lot of fun and usually quite challenge as least around here with some of the hiders that have a dark sense of humor, no names mentioned. 

 

Hey, I resemble that remark.

I originally hid the Music City Audition Series caches before the CHB trek to Nashville back in April.

Thought #1 was to guage how close together I could place well thought out urban hides in preparation for the density we expected to see there.

Thought #2 was to give my teammates some experience with that style of cache before our trip.

Thought #3 was let's hide some near work so I can maintain them easily, and maybe even catch someone in the act of looking.

None of them are lame lightpole hides. All of them are in exposed public areas.

I guess I too like to think of others trying to look invisible and nonchalant as they try to find and extract these hides. In some of them I offered a little background/history of the Capital City attractions on the cache page. There might even be an extra hint there.

 

Now that I have returned from Cacheville I have lots of new ideas and plan to deploy even more in the series very soon.

 

I enjoy a long walk in the woods as much as anyone, but sometimes a find is just a find and there isn't time for an all day expedition. I also agree with CR on the kicks and giggles of 'being in the know'.

PS Sometimes it IS about the numbers too.

[+Robespierre]

From what I read, they are becoming very popular, especially down south. I am in Maine and most of our caches are in the woods, parks, seashore, or mountains. That is why I like geocaching--to see these neat natural places.

 

I'll be hitting my first year sometime in August. I'll say I was a "purist" like you until recently. Even thinking about putting out two micros soon - just to get the numbers up...then I asked myself, "Do I enjoy them?" Well, yeah, sometimes. I did one last night, and I was an hour from home and it was already on my gps, and I was goin' right by....and it SALVAGED a trip I made specially for a yellow jeep that wasn't there.

My standard USED to be - there has to be something there worth seeing!! But NOW, inbetween the really special ones, there are the "lesser caches." I'll even go micro.

[+Robespierre]

another thought: My goal, by my anniversary, is 70 caches in the bag. Not a lot!,

but I have to drive an hour just to start cachin'. I don't step out for a couple. If the gas tank gets too low by the weekend, the budget may not let me go. So, city people may have somethin' there. I see groups with a thousand caches! There was a guy in Az., I think, who claimed over 50 in a day. Not MY style, I'd be happier doing 6 good ones, but some like the numbers.

[+Renegade Knight]

They are easy to do at lunch. Besides the first areas to fill are the cool spots. After most of them are gone the UMC's appear.

[+sept1c_tank]

For me, it's a thrill and a challenge, and I get a kick out of hiding them.  I have several public hides.  One of them is at an obvious cop hangout, another is outside a Police precinct house, and yet another is at one of Birmingham's biggest tourist attraction, right in the middle of where everyone will stand and look at the view.  Just thinking about the person breaking out in a cold sweat while searching for it and "trying not to look suspicious" gives me the giggles.

Ditto. It's a whole different kind of challenge. I prefer the walk in the woods, but these are a nice diversion too.

 

Bret

Ditto that ditto.

 

Around here, there are some extremely clever micros. It seems there is a contingent of cachers who keep trying to outdo the others with cleverness. That translates (to me) as a lot of cool caching.

 

Of course, there are some that are not as creative as others, but you take the good with the bad.

 

As far as the lunch hour grabs, I've spent the equivalent of many lunch hours searching for some of the micros in this area. And, as we speak, there are two that I have yet to find.

 

Talk about DNFs!

[+TEAM 360]

Do I really want to hike a couple of miles in this 105+ weather? H*** NO! I will take the easy drive-up urban micros during the hot months...I really enjoy the ones where I only have to roll down the window and snag them without even getting out of the a/c.....

[+E = Mc2]

Why do I like Urban Micros?

 

Two words:

 

NO TICKS!

 

Also, they provide a quick caching fix when I just don't have the time to go trekking through the woods. We discussed this at a CITO event Saturday, and someone brought up the fact that many people aren't physically able to get to where most 'traditional' caches are hidden. Since I rarely trade, I don't care what the container size is. It's the hunt that counts.

[+briansnat]

I don't particularly care for them. Some of them make for nice diversions while travelling in strange cities ; the ones that bring you to interesting places. But I'm generally not into seeing the loading docks behind the local Walmart or the bushes in front of Burger King.

[+chris-mouse]

Two of the very first caches I placed were urban micros. Why would someone want to go find them? Well, both of them are located in city parks that are well worth going to, yet are easily overlooked as you drive by on the road on your way to work.

There's also the challenge of getting to the caches and out again without being seen. One of the hiding spots is pretty obvious, both to the cachers, and to anyone within a couple of hundred metres who might be watching. The other park is smaller, but it's equally crowded, so again, there's the challenge of getting the cache in and out without being seen.

[+rossinator]

Generally, I find them frustrating. I typically feel like i'm sneaking around, and after finding it, there are so many muggles that you can't retrieve it.

[+hedberg]

I prefer urban micros instead of forest micros...

[CoyoteRed]

But what about urban regulars? Huh? What about them?

[dampeoples]

They are a nice break from the woods sometimes, something to do when you have a little time, not all day.

I try to cache by the pages, I start with page 1&2 from my zip coded, and try to get all those first, then on the the 3rd page, etc, keeps me in line, and more of a possibility to find several on one trip