Purposely Overrating Your Cache

[+Snoogans]

How many times (in the forums and at events) have you heard someone complain about terrain and difficulty being underrated? Ever notice you don't hear the opposite argument nearly as much?

 

On several of my most remote caches, I tend to puff them up a bit. (.5 to 1.5 in both categories) I do this so fewer people will visit my caches in these areas and it works.

 

#1 I/My family have to do less maintenance.

 

#2 The impact is almost unnoticeable to the area.

 

#3 Since these are remote/not easily accessible areas, people who do decide to hunt my caches come more prepared. There IS an element of danger for the unprepared on most of the caches I'm speaking of.

 

I asked a couple of finders about one particular cache I hid last year. They agreed that the cache wasn't EXACTLY as hard as I described, but stated that the rating should remain the same, because it wasn't too overvalued and it might deter someone who is NOT up to the task.

 

Does anyone else do this?

 

[+wimseyguy]

I have heard rumors of some caches being rated very hard when in fact they are not. I have never done this with any of my own caches. In fact I have been accused of underrating the difficulty of some of my newer hides. I guess it's like beuaty-all in the eye of the beholder. Translation-after two years and a few hundred finds maybe I don't think it's that hard a hide but someone just starting might not agree.

[Pto]

I use the auto generated ratings- and notice they seem a bit high.

The ones Ive hidden(4), I dont always agree with the ratings, but

as you say - if it might discourage someone who's not up quite to the task from trying-

it might be a good thing.

So, I guess I dont argue the rating even tho I may feel its overrated- SO I guess I Do "intentionally" overrate mine.

 

Nobody has ever mentioned the ratings being too high or low, so I kinda forgot about it.

 

[edit to try to clarify]

Edited August 11, 2004 by Pto

[+art begotti]

in my (only) hide, i actually underrated it. (it was a puzzle i started at 4.5... it was tougher than i thought!) i bumped it from 4.5 to 5 after a week of no finds.

 

another local cacher has some micros out that he severely underrates... then again, he has had many hides and finds, so what he puts out is probably chump change to him.

Edited August 11, 2004 by artbegotti

[+Kealia]

I tend to rate my hides higher on terrain than they may be becuase I'm in fairly good shape. At 33, and actively still competing in roller hockey and beach volleyball, I think I underestimate how hard some hikes are, so I try to beef them up a bit.

 

I hadn't hought about upping the ratings to dissuade others from finding them. Seems a bit counter-productive to me, but I understand your logic of wanting people to be prepared.

[+bigredmed]

We have caches that are underrated for terrain by the clayjar system here in Neb. Many of us have had to bump up the ratings we get from the cache evaluation software.

[+Team Perks]

I've only intentionally overrated the difficulty of one cache, just to see how many people read the description far enough to read the part that said the cache was easy. Didn't seem to make too much of a difference compared to other, easier caches nearby...

 

I do try to rate the terrain harder than *I* think it is, though...My teammate and I are younger, in reasonable shape, and don't have to tote kids around--so I can never trust my impression of the terrain as being accurate.

[+fly46]

If I'm in doubt about a rating, I go for the higher choice I was thinking of. I'd rather discover a cache is easier than it says it was than get out and discover that someone had underestimated it's rating.

[lowracer]

Overrating is OK. It's underrating that chaps my hide. If you have to scale a fifteen foot vertical rock wall set back one foot from the traffic lane of a screaming 65mph highway, and once up on top, shimmy out over the edge of a cliff to snatch a tupperware that is perched 500 feet above the lake below, that's not a level 2 terrain. There's one out this way that's posted like that. You see little Jimmy and Grandma flattened up against the base of the wall with their GPS to keep out of the way of the passing trucks, scratching their heads, clutching the paper and wondering what's level 2 about this?

[SandLizard]

Artbegotti, Cowboy Bebop, I never knew. That is a good idea though snoogan.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

I use Clayjar's rating system, but it always seems to under-rate the cache by half a start or so

[+Renegade Knight]

I use Clayjar's rating system, but it always seems to under-rate the cache by half a start or so

I've found it needs a tweak or two to make it line up with the descriptions for each star. The only complains I've had are when people think I've over rated a cache. I'd love to stick them in a wheelchair let them try first hand to test their own personal assessment of the terrain. The hide difficulty is a bit harder to nail down.

[Tahosa and Sons]

I usually kick them up a notch or two from the Clayjar System, just because of the altitude of the area I place them in. The difficulty level raises some questions in my mind. On a Mtn near hear I have several caches and each one is a little farther up so if you start out with a level 4 terrain, what would the 3rd. cache be.

Should it be a 4.75

[+flask]

i have a hide on the fringe of my regular caching area. finders from over THERE keep insisting it's gone, and that the difficulty should be bumped up because it took them a really long time. finders from the epicenter of my hiding area find it in about three minutes.

 

i'm still calling it a 1.5, since by MY area's standards, an experienced cacher would find it in a few minutes.

 

people from that OTHER place tend to assume it's a virt and claim it as found. "what?" they always say. "we didn't think to look for a container."

[AC Student]

I've noticed that some local cachers complain if they see a poison oak plant anywhere in the area of a cache. So, when I hid a cache in an area with PO I set the terrain difficulty high and included a note in the cache description to explain why. The cache isn't in PO, I just wanted to give fair warning and not get a lot of complaints.

[+JoGPS]

I have intentionally overrated the difficulty of a cache but never under rated one, if you ask why , its because I can , just to see who does not hunt it and complain with “ that’s to hard for me to do“ or “those take to long“ ………… JOE

[+Snoogans]

I have intentionally overrated the difficulty of a cache but never under rated one, if you ask why , its because I can , just to see who does not hunt it and complain with “ that’s to hard for me to do“ or “those take to long“ ………… JOE

One of my good GeoBuddies told everyone at my CITO event that he came because one of the incentives (to pick up trash) I gave, was the proper coords for all of my nearby caches.

 

He said to everyone there, "There's 2 kinds of caches I won't hunt, Geowyz caches AND SNOOGANS' caches."

 

I took it as a compliment. That's great company. I can't figure out/have skills for most of Geowyz's caches.

[+ZackJones]

I agree with others that overrating is better than under rating. The only problem I see with overrating is you're setting up your caches to not be hunted. I have all of my PQ's set up to only include caches rated 3/3 or less. I do this for a couple of reasons: 1 - if we're caching as a family I know the others aren't interested in hiking 2 or 3 miles just to get to one cache. 2 - I am not adequately prepared to conquer some of the high difficulty caches because I don't have the special equipment needed or the skills needed to get to the cache.

 

Zack

[koz]

I tend to rate my hides higher on terrain than they may be becuase I'm in fairly good shape. At 33, and actively still competing in roller hockey and beach volleyball, I think I underestimate how hard some hikes are, so I try to beef them up a bit.

 

I hadn't hought about upping the ratings to dissuade others from finding them. Seems a bit counter-productive to me, but I understand your logic of wanting people to be prepared.

gee...you look kinda old and outta shape in your avatar

[FlamingoFriend]

I have given caches a higher rating in difficulty because of chances of mugglers

But, then gotten bashed in the loggs about what did I give it the rating

EVEN THOUGH...I put right at the top of the page "DIFFICULTY RATING DUE TO MUGGLERS"

So what say you to that heir chairman?