My Own Little Impotent Rant

[+New England n00b]

Good morning everyone. I have a little rant I'm hoping that you can help me with.

 

Here's my problem:

 

I use a palm pilot with pocket queries. On there rare times I can go geocaching, it is usually spontaneous, between obligations.

 

My problem is that if I go to look up a cache in Cachemate, I'll find a multicache. Then I read the description, and it is really a puzzle cache of some variation or other. This drives me NUTS. I spend more time trying to find a nice straightforward cache than I have time to go FIND the dang thing. Same holds for traditional caches as well. I read the description and viola! Search for x on the internet... or go some such thing.

 

How can I filter out caches that are NOT just simply "point-n-shoot"?!?!?

 

*sigh* end of rant. Please help... Thanks.

 

Edit: Norm

Edited September 30, 2004 by New England n00b

[+ZackJones]

Tweak your Pocket Queries to only include traditional or multi-caches. This should leave out mystery caches.

 

Zack

[+Runaround]

That doesn't always work. On a recent business trip I came across two caches that were classified as traditionals that required the finder to solve a puzzle. I'm guessing the local approver missed it.

[+New England n00b]

This is precisely my problem. I HAVE... It's incredibly frustrating when cahce hiders don't properly label their caches. I gotta figure out a way to filter them out in some other way.

 

Maybe I'll start reporting caches as mislabeled. I winder if volunteer reviewers would be sympathetic to catgory changing...

[CoyoteRed]

IIRC, puzzle caches used to be labeled as multis. The reasoning was you go to a place and use the information found at that spot to solve it.

 

Then a while back, and with little logic in my mind, puzzles became "mystery/unknown." I think for caches that had the "the above coords are bogus" tag. But now it seems folks are wanting to say if you gotta think it's a mystery cache.

 

Somebody want to clue me in on this logic?

[+New England n00b]

If I understand your question correctly, my answer is simple.

 

I like to go hiking, pure and simple. When I don't have the time to plan (ie caching in between stuff I have to do), I don't want to go to a place, then find out I have to drive 10+ miles to some other spot, which *if* I followed the clue correctly, then the maybe I'll find the cache. But I don't happen to have the time to drive 10 miles to cache for a hike of unknown length.

 

If I were able to plan ahead, I'd ratehr enjoy it. But when I cannot differentiate puzzle caches from 'dumb' caches, it becomes a frustrating experience trying to figure out which caches are good for a short 1 hour outing or whatever.

 

It isn't the thinking involved in the cache, it's the time allotted me. I'm not really sure why that is a hard concept to get for some hiders.

 

[+Mopar]

IIRC, puzzle caches used to be labeled as multis.  The reasoning was you go to a place and use the information found at that spot to solve it.

 

Then a while back, and with little logic in my mind, puzzles became "mystery/unknown."  I think for caches that had the "the above coords are bogus" tag.  But now it seems folks are wanting to say if you gotta think it's a mystery cache.

 

Somebody want to clue me in on this logic?

cache types:

Mystery or puzzle caches

The “catch-all” of cache types, this form of cache can involve complicated puzzles you will first need to solve to determine the coordinates. The only commonality of this cache type is that the coordinates listed are not of the actual cache location but a general reference point, such as a nearby parking location. Due to the increasing creativity of geocaching this becomes the staging ground for new and unique challenges. 

If the posted coords dont take you to the source of the coords for the next stage (be it a micro, or numbers on a monument, or whatever) then it's a puzzle/mystery cache.

Edited September 30, 2004 by Mopar

[+GreyingJay]

The subject of this thread led me to believe I would be reading about something different...

 

Ah well.

 

You know, I read a lot of threads in the past few days about how "it's all about the hike" and "your real intention is to bring us to someplace cool" and I'm relating this to the caches hidden locally. Maybe I haven't found all the good ones yet (20 finds; 750+ to go) but I'm finding that a lot of the caches in my area are puzzles and mysteries. Some require a lot of work to solve. (I was reading one yesterday where the cache coordinates are at the 5,346,322th digit of pi, or something like that), others require you to do circle bisections and other math on your GPSr. Some local cachers have developed a reputation for putting out the "ultimate puzzle caches" and it becomes a status symbol to be able to solve them. I can think of a number of cachers locally who have a reputation, not because of the spectacular places they place their caches, but because of the devious ways they tend to hide things.

 

I like the mystery ones, myself, though since I'm still new I want to stick with simple traditionals before moving on to the tougher ones.

[AJK]

Noob, I feel your pain - maybe it's a local thing to New England, but there are a lot of mislabeled ones around here.

 

I have found that if you email the local reviewer - gpsfun, I believe, he(or she) will switch them.

 

In my immediate area it's mostly puzzles mislabeled as multis (or even two identified as trads)

[+The Jester]

Maybe I'll start reporting caches as mislabeled. I winder if volunteer reviewers would be sympathetic to catgory changing...

Yes, they are. At least around here they like/want it. I've reported a couple of them, and they were changed.

 

Also, be aware of the date the cache was placed. Many of the older ones were placed before new catagories were in place. And the cache hider can't change the type of cache, it takes reviewer.

[+fly46]

How about instead of PQs you just download the cords from the site like any of us can do? You do a zip search or something and then click the boxes for the cords you want. If you're just talking about where you live/work that shouldn't be hard to do and you can get just the cords you want.

[+CompuCash]

IIRC, puzzle caches used to be labeled as multis.  The reasoning was you go to a place and use the information found at that spot to solve it.

 

Then a while back, and with little logic in my mind, puzzles became "mystery/unknown."  I think for caches that had the "the above coords are bogus" tag.  But now it seems folks are wanting to say if you gotta think it's a mystery cache.

 

Somebody want to clue me in on this logic?

cache types:

Mystery or puzzle caches

The “catch-all” of cache types, this form of cache can involve complicated puzzles you will first need to solve to determine the coordinates. The only commonality of this cache type is that the coordinates listed are not of the actual cache location but a general reference point, such as a nearby parking location. Due to the increasing creativity of geocaching this becomes the staging ground for new and unique challenges. 

If the posted coords dont take you to the source of the coords for the next stage (be it a micro, or numbers on a monument, or whatever) then it's a puzzle/mystery cache.

 

OK - so what would you call a cache where the posted coords take you to a place that is the start of a multi -- but you have to do some 'puzzle' work once you get there - find a date or bus route number and use that to find your next stop - is it a puzzle, a multi or a multi-puzzle or puzzle-multi?

[+Team Perks]

How about instead of PQs you just download the cords from the site like any of us can do? You do a zip search or something and then click the boxes for the cords you want. If you're just talking about where you live/work that shouldn't be hard to do and you can get just the cords you want.

The coordinates still won't guarantee you that the cache is actually AT the coordinates. I've gone to more than one set of posted coordinates for a TRADITIONAL cache, only to find that the cache was actually someplace else.

 

N00B, I'm with you on this. It irritates me to end when that happens.

[+Mopar]

OK - so what would you call a cache where the posted coords take you to a place that is the start of a multi -- but you have to do some 'puzzle' work once you get there - find a date or bus route number and use that to find your next stop - is it a puzzle, a multi or a multi-puzzle or puzzle-multi?

Multi-Cache (offset Cache)

A multi-cache ("multiple") involves two or more locations, the final location being a physical container. There are many variations, but most multi-caches have a hint to find the second cache, and the second cache has hints to the third, and so on. An offset cache (where you go to a location and get hints to the actual cache) is considered a multi-cache.

If you can find the first stage of the cache using the coords posted at the top of the page, it's a multi. Doesn't really matter if that first stage is a micro or a date on a sign.

If the posted cache coords do NOT take you to the first stage (Like if the coords just take you to the parking lot, or the middle of the lake), then it's a mystery/puzzle.

[+radioscout]

This topic was discussed in one of the european forums some weeks ago.

Some cache owners hope got get more logs if they label their multis as traditional caches. They think that traditionals are more attractive so they cheat with the cache label.

 

So why do they place a multi if they think that a traditional is more attractive?

 

Others stated that a multi with only one or two stations and less than 0.5 mile to walk is not really a multi.

 

Why don't they place a traditional if there is nothing that is interesting enough for a multi? If there is something to show close to the cache location just give the coordinates of that object.

 

I suggest that the reviwers check if a cache is labeled correctly and ask the owner to correct the cache type bevore they approve the cache.

[+Square Bear]

I don't know if this will help or not but might be worth a try. It all depends on if the difficulty was rated correctly or not. Try making your settings traditional caches and then set the difficulty to one or less or even maybe two or less. It just might help weed out the ones that require the extra steps. One of the things I do is go through with GSAK and look through the caches and then delete the ones I don't want to do before I down load to the GPSr.

Edited September 30, 2004 by Ray&Rose

[+Muirwoody]

I had to think about this problem when I set out this cache:

 

Think Like A Vegan II

 

It is at the listed coordinates, but the cacher needs to translate something from the page first, or they won't be able to unlock the cache box.

 

Using a pda myself, I have been burned on a few caches that required me to do something first, so I know the pain. I put the requirement very early in the description so that they could see it and avoid it if needed. But they still do need to at least read the description before going to the coordinates.

[+ChileHead]

When you come across mislabeled caches, please let the owner know. I'm sure in most cases people didn't know any better and would be happy to change it. I would be.

[+The Jester]

You can let the owner know, but they can't do anything about it. It takes a reviewer (or higher) to change cache types. This prevents someone from putting in a trad cache, "lose" the container, and make it a virtual.

[+Anonymous']

I had a problem once with this kind of thing. The cache had been a full size multi and was changed to a micro.