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Bored With Caching


travisl

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In the Northwest Milestones thread, Team Noltex offhandedly asked "Where ya been TravisL?" It's a good question that I've been asking myself a lot lately. In short, I think I've just gotten bored with caching.

 

I haven't looked at my ''nearest caches to home'' page in weeks, and checked my ''nearest caches to work'' page once last week, resulting in my find of ''Because there *is* a CITO in 'procrastination!''', a fairly typical ammo box hide in a suburban greenstrip.

 

I'm not placing blame, and I'm not intending to criticize any particular style of cache hiding, but I can pinpoint the moment that I realized that there were times that caching was starting to feel more like a chore than fun. It was early April. The second cache hunt of a planned 10 cache day was a three stage multi, consisting of three micros in the woods. After spending nearly an hour fruitlessly and frustratingly looking for waypoint 1, I changed my entire caching day's plan on the spot and instead decided to search only for traditional normal-sized caches.

 

Since that day, caching has mostly become something that I've been doing when I've got some time free, instead of something I've been making time to do (with the exception of the Portland Cache Machine event). It may just be me, and it may be due to the saturation of the caches in the area, but the quality of suburban hide locations in the last six months seems to have dropped off considerably.

 

Checking the numbers -- excluding my trips to Portland, Reno, and Madison WI -- I've found a grand total of 13 caches since that day in early April. During that time, one cache had it's coordinates off by 50 feet, three were confirmed missing, one was an incredibly lame side-of-the-road-in-the-grass cache, two were the now common magnetic-micro-in-a-picnic-table (yawn), and one was so not-hidden that I knew it'd be gone soon (it is). Admittedly, I also had a fun no-find trip ("Bloated Festering Head"), two nice greenstrip normals (''Five Mile Hike'' and ''Procrastination'', mentioned above), and a super quality ''other'' (Beadster's ''Rest In Peace'').

 

As good evidence as to how non-interested I've become in caching, there's been two caches (''Dude Where's My Cache'' and '"Dude Where's My Cache II'') within a quarter mile of my first cache hide (''Silly Old Bear'') that I haven't even tried for yet. My brother and cousins are really getting more interested in caching, but I'm not excited to join them (and have found myself apologizing for the neglected quality of many of the caches they've been searching for). And my daughter, a few times, has suggested we go caching, but I've suggested doing other things instead.

 

I didn't spend nearly as much time planning the Portland Cache Machine as I had other CM events; fortunately, it seemed to work out well. I've got the Tri-Cities Cache Machine coming up in late September, and while I've got the pocket query running and mapped, going through the route and planning it out is starting to feel like a chore more than an enjoyable diversion (don't worry -- it's still a go, and it'll be as good as the rest of them have been). During my trip to Madison, I ran out of willpower before I ran out of caches or time.

 

The thrill of finding an Altoids tin on an electrical box is gone. There's a film canister in that grove of trees? So what.

 

So, to answer Team Noltex's question, "Where ya been TravisL?", the only good answer I can come up with is ''Doing nothing.''

 

Wienerdog? Moun10bike? EvergreenHiker? L&R? Anybody? What have you done to keep yourself motivated?

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I know I don't have the numbers of those you asked, but I've found the same thing. There is a series of micros real near my house which I have almost no interest in. It used to be that I would obsessivly "clean" anything within five miles of my house.

 

So I just let them sit. I found my geo-roadtrip kind of reinvigerated me. I went and found hides by cachers that I have never found before. That kind of got me excited about caching again. I still haven't done those micros, but I plan to.

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I'm not really bored with it - I've not been doing it that long - but I'm already getting very flustered with the proliferation of micros in places where, with a little effort, a traditional cache could go very nicely.

 

At first, I thought micros were a pretty cool challenge, but my last few have been more of a an exercise in - "Where could I put an ammo can? Oh, there's the micro." But it seems to me that micros are quickly becoming, in my opinion, a rather cheap, easy, and low-maintenance (OK, lazy) way for a person to place any cache rather than placing a micro because a traditional just wouldn't work there (or som other compelling reason) or placing a traditional that may take some thought and on-going effort.

 

Just my 2/100 of a $

 

HW

 

PS - Sorry - Forgot to qualify my post. I was recently in the Northwest caching with my brother (the reason I "lurk" in this forum) and LOVED the variety of caches, locations, and so on. Lots of new challenges and a compeltely different style of caching required. The micro problem I referred to I have noticed on my home turf (Central Texas), though I suppose it may be happening elsewhere as well.

Edited by kiltedcacher
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What has always fascinated me was how different regions had different styles of geocaches. I've been lucky to have the opportunity to cache in many different regions and that has kept it from getting boring for me. A couple of times when I did get in a rut and "had" to cache in the same region for more than a few times in a row I know I got pretty bored. Especially since the region had one of my least favorite styles of caches.

 

I'd suggest trying someplace new. One place that I just loved that I don't think has been on the Puget Sounders radar is Battleground, WA. They aren't quick but they are in gorgeous spots and require more work than simply following a GPSr arrow.

 

As far as micros in the woods. Ugh! Hate 'em.

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Early on when I joined last year, I noticed folks with big numbers or longevity with the sport got the "been there done that" syndrome and were dropping off in numbers. The big theme I saw in this is they became obssessed with it early on and tried desperately to keep their home area wiped off the face of their pocket queries with as wide a diameter as possible. Couple that with running out of caches in their area, they then go wipe out regions of caches. No offence intended because I think this next is a very unique event allowing geocachers from all over to meet up, but The Cache Machine is a perfect example of this.

 

I decided early on, that I would attempt not to become obssessive with geocaching, instead going after those areas that seem interesting to me both local and afar. Hiking and Camping are my first loves, so melding this sport into those was an easy to do thing. I stated early on that I am a geocacher of opportunity. If the opportunity arises and I can meet that opportunity, I'll go for it... but it isn't always going to be my main focus of recreation.

 

These big hikes for instance, was more than just geocaching for me. It has been a chance to meet new people and nurturing new friendships, as well as a chance to see more of the wild country that enthralls me so much. Finding a geocache makes for a nice break in an all day hike.

 

The whitewater rafting experience for me was a first, and again all of the above in the previous paragraph.

 

Instead of making geocaching your main focus, turn it into a sideline of something else and keep it fresh that way.

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I, too, have been finding it hard to maintain a certain level of excitement and/or motivation IRT caching.

 

What _does_ motivate me is caching with someone (an adult, not necessarily my kids, altho they are becoming as cache-cynical as I am and it's been a funny process to watch evolve). I can suffer almost anything if someone else is suffering right along with me - and they know how much I like to complain before we head out. If it sucks, I'm guaranteed to complain.

 

Aside from the commonplace, and lack of creativity in the hides the lack of good coordination has been a huge detractor of late. Out of 11 finds I had recently, SIX of them were more than 50' off. One was 1/2 mile off. (Thank God for a beyond-excellent cache description and hint because it was a beautiful walk.)

 

Og's Outfit and I went out one day recently for a few finds - one was a challenge just because we knew, going in, that it was nowhere near where it should be. While the hide sucked, the location bit, and we ended up soaking wet for no reason, to find a cache 300' away from the coordinates was something of a reward. (Again, company company company - and KNOWING that it was going to be a bitch to find helped make that one 'worth it'. There was some 'neener-neener' value in it as well, of course.)

 

Perhaps you need to get out a bit. While I'm sure you have areas up there that are fascinating, take a trip on the wild side and Go West, Young Man. Dipping in the Wynoochee on a hot day may make you want to skim down to your skivvies and do just that. Ring of Fire definitely is. (Bring a bike for the first and last mile or what the hell, just walk.) Mrs. Baumgartner is an interesting spot on the side of the road - bring a token of your appreciation and she may grant your wish. The Secret of Smith Creek was, for me, a fascinating tidbit of our local history back when it was first settled by white people. CurmudgeonlyCache is a wonderful find along a fascinating and beautiful strip of old rail bed that borders the ocean. If you haven't found Damon a Nomad in Ocean Shores, get walking. On a good day you can see forever. On a grey day you may be the only one there to enjoy the serenity of the ocean crashing on the shore - pelicans flying overhead - harbor seals looking for their next meal. If you really want to get your panties in a bunch, Slinger's cache, * rivers and lakes will either make you wonder why you would ever bother with something as tame as an ammo can on a well groomed trail again, or send you running home where you may decide to curl up into the fetal position and rock back and forth for a few days (difficulty is something more along the lines of a 1.5/4.5 instead of the 5/5 listed, but you REALLY have to want to go after that one. Prepare to bruise every inch of your body and bleed from at least a half dozen thin-skinned places. Although, I hear it's a much kinder, gentler cache if it hasn't been raining beforehand. 90 degree weather would be awesome!)

 

I tend to do less now than I had been - or rather, I go out less and pick up more in a day than previously - but 'reward' myself with going to, or finding the incredible spots. We have some superb cache hiders here in our neck of the woods who have no desire to inundate our area with mundane cache. No one is interested in placing a cache just to have more brownie points on their card. The guys continually come up with excellent places for to visit and when we get a puzzle or two tossed in the mix of a few puzzles here... well, we all await each others next cache quite eagerly.

 

I understand the frustration. The disinterest. The discontent.

 

-=-

michelle

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I started caching on a cold rainy day in Feb 2002. With the sheer number of caches in the area you'd think I'd have more finds. I've been unemployed since April you'd think I'd have been out caching every day and really run up the numbers, but I haven't. I just did a quick search and with in 5 miles of my home coordinates there are 50 caches I haven't found.

 

Caching for me is about the people, as many have said. It is also a nice way to explore an area that I'm visiting. That being said most of my finds are not around my home. It is something we plan to to when we travel as a way to explore the area. Caching around home is something we do when life gives us a break and/or the kids want to go find a treasure box. I'm not burnt out by any means, but caching was never something I had to do. It is and always has been something I enjoy doing now and then.

 

This too shall pass. A few quality caches to remind you of why we do this will help.

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Hi Travis,

 

Lucy here. We've wondered also where you have been.

 

I think we all go through periods of being bored with this. I decided early this spring that I was going to do more hikes this summer. The urban stuff can wait for the winter. I think I've been out to the Snoqualmie Pass area at least once a week either caching or placing them. It's made for a great summer so far.

 

A lot of it for Rickie (if I may speak for him) is the stats. He has an Excel chart detailing month by month caching. We hardly ever cache in Jan. and sometimes Feb., too. It's been interseting to watch our caching patterns. Our goal this year was to find the ten oldest still active caches in Wa. We got our 9th Saturday and will probably do the 10th for our 2000th.

 

But above all, it is most definitly the people that keep us doing this. Many times I get that call from Pepper "Let's go play!" and even if I could care less about finding the cache at the time, I want to go have fun with my friends. And what a diverse group of people we are! We've made friends doing this that otherwise we would never know because of different lifestyles, etc. We bitch and moan and laugh like crazy and call it a good day.

 

When you feel like coming out to play, let us know and we'll find a fun walk in the woods to do.

 

When we go through our blah periods, it's always the other cachers that bring us back.

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The big theme I saw in this is they became obssessed with it early on and tried desperately to keep their home area wiped off the face of their pocket queries with as wide a diameter as possible.

Been there done that.

 

im in a cache funk right now also. I only have been finding them lately to do travel bugs. Just trying to mix it up a littlle. I went trough a cache withdrawl for 9months with NO finds or hunts. I think it is close to happeng again.

 

Also hating hiding caches lately since people do not rehide as they found and the ones i put time into don't get found often. MICROS and DRIVE UP caches are the only thing people seem to want to find. If it takes effort they don't seem to want to hunt it.

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I seem to remember a note from (if I recall correctly) Durang00 a few months ago. His complaint about recent caches was something along the lines of "caches used to be beautiful spots that you might never find on your own, but now too many of them are a can dumped in a ditch -- yeah, what fun jump into a ditch!"

 

Although I've purchased about 16 ammo cans, as well as assorted other containers (including Bison capsures) I have yet to place anything. I have scouted several locations, but two things keep me from placing. First I have to get around to cleaning and re-painting the ammo cans. Getting rid of the ammo details. We don't need to involve another bomb squad, do we? Of course, that might lend some excitement to the sport. :o The other issue has to do with Durang00's comment. Yeah, this is a "good" hiding place, but why should I bring someone out here?

 

Take, for instance, the recent Hamlin Hobbit Hole cache. I think that Wienerdog pointed out that this is now the fourth cache in this park. Granted it is a large park, but does it need four (or more) caches?

 

Well, I suppose if you go in and "just get the cache" then more caches will help you see more of the park.

 

You know, I really liked the old Coulon Cache (GC8100), which is now archived. I had seen the park on the map, but had never been into it. This multi-cache seemed to take me all over the park, and it is a fantastic park! It looks like a really fun place to take the kids, and you can picnic on the water!

 

However I also like thematic caches. WD's BOOM series, of which I've found 1. :o

 

On the other hand, perhaps I am different from most cachers. (Actually, I've always been told that I'm different.) I haven't really gone after numbers of caches found. My focus, as k7-wave so aptly put it, is on Travel Bug finds. For me the major motivation for finding a new cache has been the presence of a TB. Yes, lately I've been on a brief cache-finding binge, but that was only because I have to ship my GPSr/cell phone back to California, and I won't have a unit.

 

What's the attraction of TBs? I guess it was kind of a coincindence, but the first cache I found (Bug Hunt - Victory!) had a TB in it, and it's goal was to get to Deception Pass State Park. I took my kids up there (I had never been) and left the TB.

 

Except for the Motel 9 3/4 Travel Bug Motel, an ammo can looks like an ammo can. The TBs, on the other hand, are quite varied. I've taken photographs of nearly every TB I've found, but I haven't yet posted most of those.

 

Anyway. Enough rambling for now.

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I agree with everything travisl said. For me the "burn out" began about a year and a half ago. It just didn't seem like fun any more. Maybe because TPTB started to add more and new restrictions about that time. Maybe because you can only find a can in the woods so many times before it gets redundant, even on the rare occasions when the location is great. Who knows?

 

I've slowly been drifting away from caching. Geez, I haven't even attempted a cache in four months. I haven't looked at my closest cache page in at least that long. I'm sorry to say that my own caches are starting to become neglected, but I don't even have the ambition to check on them. I wouldn't even be in the forums if I could find something better to do at work. I imagine a day in the not too distant future when someone will mention geocaching and I'll reply with "yeah, I used to do that."

 

What's wrong with me? No, scratch that... what's wrong with caching? I guess the easy answer would be that they legislated all the fun out of it. But that's a whole other can of worms.

Edited by Gloom
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I would say that the drop off happened for me awhile ago. I think I am still under 200 finds, and have been caching since 2/01. What I eventually I stumbled upon was the almighty event cache. :o The meetings, pizza parties, bowling, ghost hunts.

These simple meet and greets are fun, seeing a face attached to the name.

 

What has become really fun are the extravagant event caches in the PDX and surrounding areas. Attending one of these, or spending months setting one up is awesome. It has allowed a sense of creativity I felt was lost in the typical cache hide. Plus, there is nothing like the feeling of having all your caching friends appreciate your efforts. :o

 

Now, the extravagant events are spreading, and more people are becoming willing to put the time and effort into an extravagant event. This will be a very positive direction.

 

In short, the extravagant event it has kept my interest intact. That and the occasional Anarchy cache.

Edited by soup
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It's nice to see I'm not alone in my bored state, and those of you who've mentioned events, road trips, and backwoods hikes are right on.

 

Events are almost always a lot of fun, in spite of the fact that I'm generally not that big into social events. I wish I had this Saturday open, what with the Colonel Bob hike, the Win A Moun10Bike Coin event, and the O Oregone Where Art Thou event all happening on August 7. I'm almost certainly going to be at the potluck in Chehalis on the 22nd, and could certainly make a motivating hike on Saturday the 21st. I'm looking forward to it.

 

But, as a symptom of how bad it's gotten, with the wife and kid on a trip out of state that Thursday through Tuesday, you'd think I'd already have my work evenings and weekend planned out by now, but instead I'm almost -- dare I say it? -- dreading the feeling that I'm obligated to go caching on Thursday, Friday, and Monday night. I know I don't have to, but I really should. Kind of like I know I don't have to mow the lawn, but I should. It almost feels like a chore.

 

I'd mentioned my road trip to Reno (20 hunts, 17 finds, and a fascinating discussion with the groundskeeper of the fossil beds in Fossil, OR), which was the most fun I've had caching solo in, like, ever, but I also mentioned my trip to Madison (five hunts and three finds before I said 'fuggedabout it, I'm bored' and hung out at the airport eating a nasty tuna croissant and playing Need For Speed on my laptop for a few hours instead).

 

The suggestion of caching in different places has, in part, kept me motivated this long. In the past two years, I've explored Victoria, Portland, Yakima, Vancouver, Bremerton, Reno, Madison, Denver, Baltimore, and (ha!) Forks. The CM events are a blast for me mainly because I get to go to places I haven't been before, and see things that most visitors (and locals) don't. Bored though I am, I couldn't imagine going on my next business trip without running a pocket query for the area.

 

But jumping on the next film canister hidden in Federal Way? Yeah, I'll probably get it, next time I don't have anything else to do at lunch. But it's not gonna get me excited.

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Funny, I just posted on the EVC forum today about the same thing. It seems that people are just hiding micros everywhere because that's where it fell when the car door opened. I was wishing there was a way that you could filter your finds on your "closest to home" list that could exclude these. I am so tired of heading out to find a cache only to see when I get there that of the tens of acres that it could be hidden in, it's an altoids tin attached to the stop sign with magnets. Why not put a full-sized cache somewhere on that trail that starts near the stop sign.

 

My interests have never been to rush out and get a FTF, but there are some people in my area who have taken that to such extremes, that one member of a family will go hide the cache and the other will get the FTF and compliment each other in the logs about the great hiding spot.

 

Even worse, is a few of my caches were stolen lately. The logbooks have been left and signed "Took everything, left nothing."

 

Not to be all scrooged or anything, but the only caches around here I can get excited about anymore are those hidden by Chubby Forest Monkey or Odder. Unfortunately, until the tendons and ligaments in my ankle heal, I have to stick with the predictable - "oh look another hollowed out white birch log stuck under a douglas fir, I wonder if that's where the cache could be."

 

I have a couple in the works that will not be cache and dashes by any stretch of the imagination. Of course, they are in cooperation with Chubby Forest Monkey and Odder.

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Early on when I joined last year, I noticed folks with big numbers or longevity with the sport got the "been there done that" syndrome and were dropping off in numbers. The big theme I saw in this is they became obssessed with it early on and tried desperately to keep their home area wiped off the face of their pocket queries with as wide a diameter as possible. Couple that with running out of caches in their area, they then go wipe out regions of caches. No offence intended because I think this next is a very unique event allowing geocachers from all over to meet up, but The Cache Machine is a perfect example of this.

 

I decided early on, that I would attempt not to become obssessive with geocaching, instead going after those areas that seem interesting to me both local and afar. Hiking and Camping are my first loves, so melding this sport into those was an easy to do thing. I stated early on that I am a geocacher of opportunity. If the opportunity arises and I can meet that opportunity, I'll go for it... but it isn't always going to be my main focus of recreation.

 

These big hikes for instance, was more than just geocaching for me. It has been a chance to meet new people and nurturing new friendships, as well as a chance to see more of the wild country that enthralls me so much. Finding a geocache makes for a nice break in an all day hike.

 

The whitewater rafting experience for me was a first, and again all of the above in the previous paragraph.

 

Instead of making geocaching your main focus, turn it into a sideline of something else and keep it fresh that way.

Couldn't have said it better than TL. The only thing I want to add is: This thread should be pinned.

Wanderlost, could you take care of that?

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...instead I'm almost -- dare I say it? -- dreading the feeling that I'm obligated to go caching on Thursday, Friday, and Monday night. I know I don't have to, but I really should. Kind of like I know I don't have to mow the lawn, but I should. It almost feels like a chore.

 

Yikes. That sounds like your problem, there. Who do you feel this obligation to, local cache owners? Your stats? The caching community at large?

 

Fortunately, I have more hobbies and interests than I can count on my fingers and toes, and I take up new hobbies or interests at whim whenever they come to mind. Ask RomulusNR. I probably drive him nuts, but I never really get bored with anything that way. I suppose that's why my cache count isn't higher, but it's also why I'm never burned out. :o

 

Maybe putting geocaching on the backburner for a while and only finding a cache when you feel like it would be a good idea. Sure, you've got caches to maintain, but considering how well-hidden yours are, I doubt they get plundered as often as some.

 

It's a hobby, not a job or an obligation. It should be fun! If you don't enjoy it, then it's not really much of a hobby anymore. I'm not suggesting you quit caching altogether -- a lot of people would be sad if you did, and not just because you put together awesome PDF files for the cache machines :o -- but if you're tired of it, nobody will resent you for sitting things out until caching is fun again.

 

Or... you could throw together an event cache page for those nights and call it "Travis is obligated to go caching and everybody in the area is obligated to join in!" :o

 

(Edited to reduce the population of ninja smileys to one.)

Edited by NomadRaven
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...instead I'm almost -- dare I say it? -- dreading the feeling that I'm obligated to go caching on Thursday, Friday, and Monday night. I know I don't have to, but I really should. Kind of like I know I don't have to mow the lawn, but I should. It almost feels like a chore.

 

Yikes. That sounds like your problem, there. Who do you feel this obligation to, local cache owners? Your stats? The caching community at large?

Definitely none of the above. It's that on Thursday, when work's over and I've got no reason to head home, I know that if I do go home and vegitate in front of the computer all night, I'll have this constant nagging feeling that I really should be taking this great opportunity to go caching.

 

Remember when you were a kid, and your parents would make you turn off the TV and go outside, but you hated it because Gilligan's Island was just about to come on and even though you'd seen that episode four times already, it's the one where the Mars capsule crash lands on the island and Gilligan looks so goofy in the feathers? But now, as an adult, you know that going outside is the right thing to do?

 

It's that kind of feeling of obligation. The ''I really should be doing something'' feeling.

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In short, I think I've just gotten bored with caching.

 

Anybody? What have you done to keep yourself motivated?

I have tried getting a new GPS, Staying ahead of the local competition, going for milestones and more. All of those aspects were OK, but I find its the caches themselves that bore me to sleep.

Any hunt I went on was a boring repitition of "Well in this area it has to be either hide # 47 or a modified #66 and that was just the trads, if you can find any anymore.

The real eyes glazing over factor was the 90% micros there are now. I put out some myself thinking with so many out there, they must be popular. I was wrong. The art of being sneaky has gone away and the microdot caches now require magnifying glasses and a doctors probe.

The final straw was looking for my 6th or 8th micro hidden in a locomotive.

I had a revelation.

I was sick to death of crawling around stupid contraptions getting dirty rusty and greasy, looking for some breathstrip gizmo and even sicker since they were mostly all in very public places.

I started not caring if a muggle found it or not just as long as I did, reasoning how could they find it if I knew what I was looking for and they didnt.

I started not even logging the ones I found online anymore. I didnt feel bad as I heard Oregone was late logging caches too. Now I havent the heart to log them since a team has been trying to catch us for a long time has gotten close. I can barely remember what caches the last 80 were. No use in popping anyones bubble since I'm to lazy to do it right.

This is the first time I have been here for a while too and I see Ambrosia has gone from low double diget posts to close to a billion! Whats with that??? :o

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Hmmm... I thought I'd seen every episode of Gilligan's Island in existence, but somehow I missed that one. Either that or that segment of my brain was overwritten with something equally useful. :o

 

Yeah, I think I know the feeling though. Surely there's something else that those evenings would give you a great opportunity to do that you'd find more interesting, though!

 

I was lamenting over my injuries from my latest rollerblading accident, and a friend of mine suggested I take up hula hooping instead... she said that it looks really cool if you get the kind you can set on fire. You could try that! :o (I suspect she was mocking my clumsiness, but she insisted that people really do that.)

 

At least it'd be more exciting than looking for a film canister in the woods with 120 ft. accuracy!

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BORED? Try sitting around with your broken foot up in the air for 6 weeks, and you can't do anything much because everytime you put your foot down it swells up inside the cache(oops fruedian slip there) cast.

 

BORED? Gees! don't say that word around my wife!!

 

BORED? "It's that kind of feeling of obligation. The ''I really should be doing something'' feeling." YUP! I know that feeling all too well!

 

And please, don't pin this thread! I never read the pinned things.

 

OK, so you got this problem. I've been through something like it before. More than once. Been out there to some cache or other and said to myself "What the hockey-sticks am I doing here?? This ain't fun!"

 

1) My numbers are toast. So what. I look for many caches just because they are in an area I'm already passing through. Much of the time I don't stop anyway.

 

2) The caches I do on purpose are ones that intrigue me somehow. I'll travel many miles for those, and I'll hit two or three others in the area while I'm at it. Some times these caches are real winners and they will re=inspire me.

 

3) I will on occasion take a caching trip to a totally different area (eastern Washington) and hit caches in a big loop. These are always fun.

 

4) Creativity is the big motivator for me. I love putting caches together. Sometimes I do better than other times. But it is always fun. I always inspire and kick myself afterwards with "you know, I could have made that even better if I'd taken the time to do this or that".

 

5) I purposely avoid some caches I feel are lame, and walk away from some even though I know I could find it easily, just because it's not what I'm after, so why waste anymore time on it and sour my taste for the sport.

 

6) Hunt benchmarks every now and then, (but log them on the survey recovery site so they mean something).

 

So I guess, only do the good ones, is the best way to say it. There still are some really good ones out there. Maybe look at peoples favorites lists and work your way through those, but mostly pick out the types that you like best. For me that means caches out in the wide open spaces, or unique places. EMF, Damon the nomad, Pipeline, Canyon Crest.

 

My big problem is lack of motivation these days. Working up the energy to hit some of the good ones that have been around awhile that I haven't hit yet.

 

The best caches are Place, Unique surprise, the Hidden in plain site but it takes insight to see it, a truely intriguing problem or puzzle, education and history. The problem is to outdo the lastest creative trend. Been there done that don't work anymore. Taking it up a notch might, but taking a turn will.

 

It's kinda like...Where do you take rock and roll from here when louder-noiser don't work anymore?

 

ok I just filled up 30 mins...HHhhh...

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Funny, I had a thread up in the general section, similar, about a year ago. I pretty much hunt the cool hike ones now, and anything that is within my lunch hour window. I don't try as hard for micros any more. The company you're with has a lot to do with how exciting the day will be.

 

If you didn't catch my editorial in the mag, here it is:

 

Sometimes I want to go back

Back to the beginning when it was new and new to me.

Way way back, before, when a new cache brought excitement

and anticipation

Do you remember?

I remember

Back when it was all just harmony and lyrics

Before it became rock and roll and big business

Before the background noise masked the laughter

Geocachers had interesting places to hide their treasures

and we marveled at the views

When one cache in a day was sufficient, and three was exhausting

Previous to that film canister secreted in the rubble of a shattered building

Before an unexceptional tree on an equally nondescript half-acre lot

was the objective

Once upon a time, when 100 finds made you remarkable

and 500 made you a fanatic

In those days when there was more community and less schism

 

Remember:

You discovered a park right there in your town

The stunning vista atop a mountain you had little reason to ever climb before

Sitting in the cool damp forest in front of an unopened cache box, enthralled

Slogging down the beach, the cold wind enraged,

and icy rain on the back of your neck

Sunshine on your face as you reemerged from the park’s tree line

Another hard earned notch in your belt

Did you wear a knowing grin while others wondered what you were doing?

Those days, you know?

When common sense was the primary guidance

When I didn’t have to second-guess

Or be second-guessed

When fun wasn’t complicated

When we were equals to our children in the passion of our sense of wonder

 

Are those days gone, is it all rock and roll now?

Has the hobby become the bottom line?

And does the bottom line need protecting at any cost?

Is mirth still part of the hunt, or is there no time for such frivolities?

The quantity fanatics cry for easier and easier ways

to call themselves geocachers

“Change it”

“No, no, this way is better”

“Make it safe, proper, and uniform”

The plants have more rights to the trails than you or me, in the eyes of some

Agonize over the choice of container, swag, and placement

Don’t do this because someone might do that

Let blunt reaction replace common sense

Someone is eating all the nuts and chips, telling us to be happy

with just the vanilla

The jagged edge is smoother now, less dangerous, and less adventurous

 

I remember

Geocaching will change but the geocacher will not

A game is a game and a game is to be played

I’ll hunt the easies on my lunch hour, and the toughies on the weekends

I’ll find some appeal in all caches regardless of the rating

Even if the hider was unaware of any such charm

I remember, you see?

I know what it was

I will not forget that a game that isn’t fun today shouldn’t be played

until tomorrow

And never by those who cannot allow themselves merriment

They will not change me

I will flirt with the sharp edge of the tenet with awareness

and acceptance of the risk

I will place adventure above anodyne and diversity over mediocrity

I will remember that the death of my sense of wonder

will mark the day I become “old”

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Not that I can add to Criminal's post, but a thought occurred to me.

 

Most of you, I'm sure, are aware of Amazon.com, right? It has this unique feature that lets user rate the books they read. I guess this is similar to E-Bay's user ratings. Maybe geocaching.com could implement something similar.

 

Hmm... Not sure quite how it would work, though. We could rate hide on a difficulty level, cleverness of the puzzle, beauty (or lack thereof) of the site,

etc...

 

Sounds like a lot of work. Never mind. :o

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Not that I can add to Criminal's post, but a thought occurred to me.

 

Most of you, I'm sure, are aware of Amazon.com, right? It has this unique feature that lets user rate the books they read. I guess this is similar to E-Bay's user ratings. Maybe geocaching.com could implement something similar.

 

Hmm... Not sure quite how it would work, though. We could rate hide on a difficulty level, cleverness of the puzzle, beauty (or lack thereof) of the site,

etc...

 

Sounds like a lot of work. Never mind. :o

That's been suggested before. I think you'd just tick some people off. No need to do that. Besides, what I like you may not. For instance, I don't mind micros, most people do. I don't like stuff in a box, most people do. I prefer a box and a log book, and that's all.

 

Besides that. often it is not the cache that makes it, but what happens to you at the cache site. My experience in a find will differ from yours. Some of my favorites are so simply due to a unique caching experience.

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Where has geocaching taken me in the last year?

 

To the end of a USFS road in northern California, on a late June day so hot the air was shimmering -- looking way, way down to a deep blue-green Lake Shasta at my feet.

 

To the top of a steep, rocky scramble in western Washington -- a place I had driven past millions of times without realizing what a breathtaking view awaited me at the summit, and always assumed I wasn't physically fit enough to haul myself up there anyway. I still smile when I think of my victorious solo climb that day, and remember how incredibly good that first sip of cold water tasted at the summit....

 

Through waist-deep snow, rounding a corner of the trail to be greeted by Mount Baker in all its splendour on an early morning, and discovering fresh cougar tracks in the snow on the way back down the trail.

 

Sitting on a deserted beach looking up at the clouds and a sky so blue it almost hurt, with my dog happily chewing on a stick at my feet.

 

Spending a day with a great friend trying to solve a wonderful puzzle cache together.

 

Changing my idea of a "good" camping trip from a good book by the campfire to how many fun new adventures I can pack into one day before it's time for bed.

 

Sitting outside at a seacoast cafe's patio in the afternoon sunshine with a caching friend and his family, enjoying a leisurely lunch and swapping tales of caching adventures.

 

Standing on a streetcorner in Illinois where Lincoln and Douglas held one of their first debates.

 

Wading through mud on a rainy spring day in a northern Wisconsin cornfield to reach a cache located at N45 00.000 W90 00.000

 

Getting my dusty kayak out of the garage to attempt (and succeed) at a long solo paddle across a bay to be a FTF.

 

Discovering that my knees don't hurt anymore, that I can climb hills with ease that would have stopped me a year ago, that I now look forward to pushing myself to do a little more every day.

 

Exploring all the nooks and crannies of my own backyard to find fun places to share with the geocaching community.

 

I hope I never lose the sense of adventure, the thrill in conquering another physically challenging cache, and the joy in the friendships I've made through this amazingly complex and adaptable sport. I don't feel like I have to do every cache, and not all caches appeal to me, but my life has become infinitely richer in the year since I found my first cache -- a magnetic micro on the back of a "no parking" sign....

 

Bored? Not me...

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I gotta jump in here.

 

One big ditto to most everything posted. More then likely, we all go through someups and downs about everything in life. Myself, I just flipped the calander on the big "5 old" and wonder where things will go from here?

 

But as for cacheing, We also like the event caches a lot more now then before.

And I have found I look forwards to teaching a newbie how to use the gpsr and what caching is all about. Yes, I skip all those lame micros, drive by in the park, look under the choochoo (again) and take them out into the puckerbrush to show them the REAL geocaching game.

 

Red and I are starting to wonder why about a lot of caches - and cachers as a matter of fact but that is a different thread - and why the cache is there. I do not want to go to the local park. I do not want to go to the local bridge over the river. I do not want to go to yadayadayadayada any more. Big flipping deal. You stuck a altoids tin inside a streetlamp. Aint you special. Go away. Your bothering me.

 

I want those little backwater areas that mean something to someone as what the consider a "special place".

 

You want to show me a vista? Okay, but only if it is a place you would want to sit and watch the sun set or rise on your last day on Earth. You want to show me a waterfall? Cool. Is it in a roadside guide for the tourist? If it is, I'll pass but thanks for asking.

 

You want to show me a pass on a mountain trail where you can set and watch Elk wallow at first light? I'll buy gas and we can take my rig. You want to sit my butt on a rock outcropping where Eagles fly below my feet dangling 1500 feet in the air? Lead on.

 

You want to know where there are a bunch of Balancing Rocks? I can show you. You want to see where artesian rivers come from? I can show you. You want to know where the only member of the Lewis and Clark party is buried in Oregon? I can show you. You want to see a mountain of Obsidian? I can show you. You want to see a lava tube choked with ice? I can show you.

 

"You GOTTA go see..." should be a key phrase.

 

I send you an open offer travisl, eraseek, criminal, CurmudgeonlyGal, and anyone else bored to tears. Come on down to the campout - GCJKPT- on August 20,21,22 on Paulina Peak. I will take you on a tour of some local areas you just might enjoy. And if you can’t make it then, send me an e-mail when your going to be in town and I will work something up.

 

Here is a thread about the campout:

http://www.oregongeocaching.org/phpBB2/vie...php?p=1266#1266

 

And the event is : http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...fa-d8c5c76cf2f0

 

Sorry about taking up all your space and time.

 

RANT<off>

 

logscaler.

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We keep getting bored, wandering off to our other hobbies, remembering we have no other hobbies, and coming back to geocaching in some sort of "morphed" way.

 

First, it was all about the logs.

After a while, it was all about finding the coolest swag ever to leave in a cache box.

Then it was all about the logs again.

Then we introduced other people to caching and for a while, wouldn't go out unless they wanted to play with us.

For a while, we were on a mission to clean McToys out of caches and replace with interesting stuff. Only we couldn't exactly land on what was considered "interesting" to other cachers.

CITO was big for a while.

We've just been sitting around reading the forums for months now. A business trip this week to the other end of the state has spurred our interest, at least temporarily. That, and we only have to find 16 more caches to break 200 and while it ain't about the numbers... uh... it seems to be about the numbers, for the moment.

There's an event cache happening close to our hotel on Saturday. We're trying to decide whether to crash it. Our latest "geomorph": we bought the Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching and have a goal of obtaining autographs in the book from every cacher we meet with 1000 finds.

I know. We're mental.

 

*edit* - sorry, read that after I posted and realized I used naughty language AND underestimated caches needed to reach 200. Two strikes in a single forum post!

Edited by Leapin' Lizards
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Thanks Half-Canadian for reminding us why! And Logscaler for the emphisis on quality experiences. All so true.

 

Boredom does happen, as does getting fed up every now and then. Hey, that's life. Bend a sympathetic ear, and get back on track. Someone evidentally took a wiz in one of my ammo boxes. Hey thanks. I can't get to it for a month to fix things. But that's life. Jerks and good people. Ups and downs. Aimlessness followed by a reminder of "whys" and purpose.

 

Time for some of us to go find a cache at the break of dawn :o Silly as it may sound, that's what I look for in Geocaching; spiritual renewal.

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I send you an open offer travisl, eraseek, criminal, CurmudgeonlyGal, and anyone else bored to tears.

I didn't claim to be bored. I hunt the ones I like and ignore the rest. I mean really, I have like 160 finds since Aug 2001, I really ain't trying too hard.

 

Poor Travis might be still trying to clear that first nearest caches page. I don't think that's the best way to geocache.

 

Last year Moun10Bike took me up to Gem Lake. Hikes like that were something I had always wanted to do, but was unsure of my ability. I made it, I was sore as hell for a week, and by the weekend I was ready to do it again. Now I'm running 5 miles four to five times a week, in less than 50 minutes. (Best time for 5 miles is 45:15, just 00:15 from a nine minute mile.) Down 18 Lbs. It's all about what you want. I want those types of caches, the ones that are more than just a box in the woods. If they don't interest you, don't hunt them. If micros don't interest you, don't hunt them.

 

Bottom line: Hunt what you like to hunt!

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Poor Travis might be still trying to clear that first nearest caches page. I don't think that's the best way to geocache.

 

Kinda all depends on what you're looking for. I swear by clearing the nearest caches page! I know, that sounds silly, but I only moved to King County a couple of years ago and find it infinitely complex and fascinating. Fascinating enough to keep me busy exploring until I've explored it all up! Then, I'll go back and explore it again, because construction will have changed the whole thing. :o

 

Seriously, though, there's some parts of Federal Way I'd never have thought to explore otherwise. It's worked out pretty well. We've all got different goals. :o

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Thanks Half-Canadian for reminding us why! And Logscaler for the emphisis on quality experiences. All so true.

 

Boredom does happen, as does getting fed up every now and then. Hey, that's life. Bend a sympathetic ear, and get back on track. Someone evidentally took a wiz in one of my ammo boxes. Hey thanks. I can't get to it for a month to fix things. But that's life. Jerks and good people. Ups and downs. Aimlessness followed by a reminder of "whys" and purpose.

 

Time for some of us to go find a cache at the break of dawn :o Silly as it may sound, that's what I look for in Geocaching; spiritual renewal.

If I knew which for your caches needs maintenance, I would be proud to help a fellow cacher laid up with a bum leg.

 

Personally this over 50 "kid" doesn't allow the B word in my vocabulary. No matter how bad the hide may seem, there is always something worth seeing or somebody to chat with along the way.

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We got tired of "city park" caches long ago. To us, the fun is the drive over Forest Service roads, or in the "boonies." The true gems of caching are the places that you would never find by yourself, often someplace that very few people bother to go to. That spectacular hike in The Gorge, or that drive through the country with amazing views of the mountains and hillsides, that gorgeous hidden canyon or waterfall. Those caches keep us hungry for more. We have had SO many grand adventures! We have done hikes and other feats that we would have never tried had it not been for caching. Caching has broadened our horizons: opened our eyes to things we never thought we were capable of, seen the most amazing places and things.

 

We don't hunt micros very often. There are some outstanding ones, but many have been disappointing. If there's a micro in the forest, we'll most likely skip it.

 

We have had the same caches on our closest list for a LONG time. Just 'cause they're close doesn't mean we have to find them. When a new cache pops up nearby and it sounds interesting, we'll find it. If it doesn't interest us, we won't.

 

Caching is not a contest. There's no need to push yourself until you "break." It's all about fun and adventure. It doesn't have to be an every week thing, or even an every month thing. Just do it whenever you feel like it. And if geocaching doesn't interest you any more, that's ok. Interests in life come and go. Just go with the flow, do what feels good; who cares what other people might think!

--laurak

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My two-cents...

 

Travis and I started pretty much at the same time, before the cache machines happened. Excluding CM's after the original BCM (which I attended, and enjoyed a lot), our profiles are pretty much the same if you back out his later CM finds.

 

For me, Travis's past stated formula of "see lots of cool places" applies for me, as does the basic idea that 'excellence deserves a visit'. It's hard to remember that now and then. One Buffy+Company hike with perfect coords down a nice trail at GRCC is better for me than 40 easy park Tupperwares or the like...

 

Two+ years ago when I got started, there were lots of cool new caches to hit in interesting new places to explore for me (ie, Galloping Gertie). Even battling traffic was intriguig enough to say 'what the heck, go for it'. for some in places I haven't gone to before, nor since. Saturation occurred, now you see 'evil micros' imitating what was once a creative new paradigm (ie, MicroStop 2+3) but that eventually wound up with far too many imitators that were a bit too evil for my tastes.

 

I got really burned out by the original BCM (which was great fun, just far too fast for me). Didn't really cache for a couple months until work-related travel to Europe, Wash DC, a personal trip to PA, etc. gave me the chance to explore caching in other areas.

 

One I really enjoyed was a light-rail to heavy-rail to subway to 1 km hike in downtown Frankfurt. A wonderful chance to explore a city on my first trip abroad, even if it was to the obligatory film canister in a tree. The cache didn't matter, the road-trip did. On a trip back home, I took one brother on a cache in southeast PA and got him hooked. We were out there in a vacant wooded park/forest listening to the birds and looking at the deer rather than stressing around the house.

 

I got rejuvenated last summer on two business trips to Iowa where I spent several nights there learning what a nice park system Cedar Rapids has. Got a coworker totally addicted to caching along the way. He got his wife interested in it. Back here, in the magnificently done category, Nellie at Green Lake really got me thinking a lot, got me walking (too much, doh!), and got me re-energized quite a bit. Excellence will do that, it was tough, but not 'evil' so to speak. Great fun, still my favorite to date on many levels.

 

Last fall, I got on the 'drive for 400' and a business trip to Vancouver BC let me score a dozen along the way, in areas I wouldn't ever go to otherwise...but it was again too many too fast (dadgum stats) and toasted me a bit as a result.

 

I did another business trip this winter to northern Germany and got to see some amazing things (check out 'Valentin' for one) and had a wonderful cache find on a 12-part multi through Bremen, which made me explore a 1000 year old city. Amazing stuff. I saw swans in a field, windmills, a huge stork in a massive nest, 600 year old memorials to Middle Ages battles and knights. Also got a half-dozen co-workers addicted, one on a 2.5 mile no-find (Bremen Drop Tower). Their energy helped me get re-energized.

 

I later did a mini-personal cache machine in Olympia on a goal to hit 500 which wasn't as rewarding as I thought, even though I had 19 finds in a day playing hooky from work and succeeded. When will I ever learn...it was fun, but I should'a played golf.

 

Last week I had another trip, this time to Portland for the first time in years. I did about 20 between Sunday and Friday to/in/from Portland. There were a couple that were great (BB-3 and For the Little People), one (Urban Art) taught me the locale near Portland State, and of course hitting the Un-original and the Stash tribute plaque was a must, something akin to a once in a lifetime trip to geo-Mecca for me. The others were pretty boring in comparison, but I still saw some peaceful parks I wouldn't have visited otherwise. I also learned that I don't like finding 'I Hate I-5' caches that much really, I'm not a rest-stop fan it appears. So it goes.

 

Again, "TROT" (the rule of Travis) applies .. grab the chance to see cool places you wouldn't have reason or opportunity to see otherwise.

 

This weekend I'll be in Boston for vacation, first thing I did was cook up a GSAK custom query to see what I can get to via public transit as we go to play history buff before going to baseball Mecca (Fenway) for a game. Don't know how much caching we'll do, I suspect I'll do at least a couple to put another state on my list depending on what historical coolness is nearby, but it's not why we're going, I'm sure anal-retentiveness will force us to do 'one' at least, but that might be all, we'll see...

 

But I have to agree that the thrill is largely gone down in the FederalWay/Tacoma area for me too, there are 'lots' very nearby that I have not done, and will not do, one under 1/4 mile from home.

- Micros of unknown shape/size in waste-strewn fields of waist-high grass

- unrecognizable puzzles with no clues or guidance

- caches with hints that aren't hints

- urban caches in places that don't look interesting to visit

- anything professing to be 'evil'

- and any caches in anybody's front yard.

 

I guess I'd suggest a few things:

- Look for stuff that rocks you (people, places, history, culture, hikes, whatever)

- Avoid things that don't rock you. Custom GSAK filters are your friend.

- read a couple logbooks from your old caches, you'll get re-energized by their energy...

 

Nothing wrong with taking a breather. When caching feels like work, do what you do when 'work feels like work', find something re-energizing to do, or take a vacation from it...

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Gosh, this thread really got cruising fast! Of course, I got bored after reading the first few posts and skimmed down to the bottom. :o

 

As you know, I'm about to hit the three-year mark. That makes me one of the 'old guys' in the area. (I think that Moun10Bike, EraSeek, and Jester are some of the few active geocachers that predate me.)

 

I did slow down some time ago. I found my 500th in April of 2003 and am just now closing in on my 600th. I still enjoy hunting them but at a more relaxed pace. I've intentionally avoided 'cache machines' as you know. Finding geocaches with Adrian (my son) or friends can make a hunt more fun. Sometimes, though, I like the solitary hunt.

 

Now, here is your temporary solution, Travis. Mark your calendar for August 29th. This is when I am having my next event. It is also when I launch my next Mission: Impossible geocache. Please come to the event and participate in the Mission: Impossible hunt and let me know if it bores you! If it does, I'll buy you dinner. :o

 

Seth!

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Well dang it all Travisl… sorry that to hear that you are in a Geoslump. For me (Mr WD) the fun is a combination of Fox and Hound, competition and the ubiquitous ‘if it hadn’t been for geocaching I would never have seen this…’ log entry. And it’s true. We have gone places and seen things that we would never have enjoyed without the stimulus of a cache reward at the end of the trail. As for clearing out the local area or ‘lame’ caches it is the Fox and Hound. Someone took the time and trouble to hide a cache and we are going to take the time and make an effort to find it. Most of the time the Hound wins but the Fox is always ahead just enough to keep it interesting. Oh… did I mention fun? One of the most interesting aspects of Geocaching is the social interaction with other folks at caching events and the Cache Machines that you invented and put together! So thank you for many fun times Travisl and we hope you break out of your slump soon. I could ramble on longer but this is enough.

 

-30-

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Here's another open invite for anyone that wants.  Come to my event next weekend Cache Bash and I guarantee you will not be bored.  <_<

 

End shameless plug

Didn't see it on the page, how far is the hike to the campground?

Depending on where you park, 0 to 300 feet. Paved road all the way to the campground so that people coming up for one day can drive their cars.

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Maybe admin needs to start asking the question WHY? before approving a cache.

Good. Then we can not only have people griping about their virts not getting approved but their micros as well. <_<

 

I see where you're coming from, though. Last weekend I wanted to distribute some TBs that I picked up on my roadtrip and out of the gobs of caches within 30 minutes of my house that I hadn't found they were almost all micros. I ended up having to stick the bugs in caches I had already logged.

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