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Puzzles, Hikes, Scenery Or Searches


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I have included various components in geocaches, including complex puzzles on the cache page, long hikes in rough terrain, beautiful vistas from the cache site, and difficult searches. Now that I've been doing this awhile, I've had it with puzzles and get ticked off if after hiking two miles a cache is hidden in a manner that makes it nearly impossible to find. I've ended up enjoying this sport most when there is a decent hike in a really nice natural area, with a cache hidden so that muggles cannot find it, but geocachers can find with no more than 15 minutes of searching. How do you feel about these aspects of geocaching?

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I have included various components in geocaches, including complex puzzles on the cache page, long hikes in rough terrain, beautiful vistas from the cache site, and difficult searches. Now that I've been doing this awhile, I've had it with puzzles and get ticked off if after hiking two miles a cache is hidden in a manner that makes it nearly impossible to find. I've ended up enjoying this sport most when there is a decent hike in a really nice natural area, with a cache hidden so that muggles cannot find it, but geocachers can find with no more than 15 minutes of searching. How do you feel about these aspects of geocaching?

 

I 100% agree with you. If I'm going to spend an hour or two hiking through the woods, I want a nice big ammo can tucked under a very obvious fallen tree or stump. The challenge for this type of cache should be in getting there, not finding it.

Edited by geojeeper74
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I like lots of different kinds, as long as the diffiulty/terrain rating is appropriate -- short walks, longer hikes, difficult puzzles, multis, straightforward traditionals -- I think that the only type I'm not too crazy about are micros hidden in the woods where there's plenty of room for a larger sized cache instead. Oh yeah, and caches hidden in places that are full of trash -- I don't like those either.

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Another type that I am not crazy about is the urban micro hidden in a place where many muggles are around -- we have a greater percentage of these every month. Typically there is nothing special about them -- just another gas station or mini mart with a magnetic key holder hidden somewhere nearby.

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I'll admit to liking a clever hide, but I do object to an impossible one. If I'm out there over an hour, I get snarly and "who-gives-a-darn".

 

Micros in the woods are just dumb, unless they are coords that lead you somewhere else and are not too dificult to find. I have happy memories of several of this sort, being led around an area, enjoying the sights and smells of the woods....And then finding the full-sized cache.

 

Micros in areas too muggle-ridden are just primed to be exposed and the cachers that do this had best just suck up the eventual cache-theft.

 

Puzzles are okay, if not too unwieldly. I haven't seen too many ciphers, tho' I know they are out there.

 

One of the most difficult to find caches in my area had wording in it as though you were going to the final location when it was another micro with the coords in it. ;) That one gave me fits until another cacher told me it was a micro and I walked to it in under two minutes, where I had spent literally HOURS searching for a full-sized cache.

 

Don't like trash-filled caches. Don't like wet caches. Don't like cachers with a zillion caches who don't take care of their caches after several cachers have logged issues they should have addressed.

 

I love beauty spots, walks in the woods, history tidbits and thoughtful layouts.

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. I've ended up enjoying this sport most when there is a decent hike in a really nice natural area, with a cache hidden so that muggles cannot find it, but geocachers can find with no more than 15 minutes of searching. How do you feel about these aspects of geocaching?

 

My favorite kind of cache.

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I like hiking caches, but I like caches with a difficult search involved better. I have done some where I had to come back five or six times. All the better feeling when I do find it.

 

But yes, when its a long hike, a scenic area, or whenever possible....please, please, please make it a large cache. Micros dont have substanance, although they do present challenging finds, I like to find a hearty ammo can now and again.

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Some weeks ago, I was sitting and contemplating a series of new cache hides in the area of my new home. While thinking over what I liked and didn't like, or wanted and didn't want in local caches I came up with three guidlines.

 

1) Place nice easy caches in beautiful places. This encourages discovery of a beautiful place without the distraction, frustration, or time expenditure of hunting a difficult cache when the beauty and novelty of the area is the focus of the excursion. And, a fun easy hunt can help motivate the kids to keep moving.

 

2) Place hard or complex caches in easy access areas. These can provide for a fun and challenging afternoon, especially for locals that have already found all the easier ones near by and can work on the cache over more than one visit if need be.

 

3) Always try and hide the biggest cache with the most swag possible in every case. Awsome creative little hides may only have room for a micro, and that is just fine, but always try and hide full sized caches if the location can accomidate one.

 

So, these are my personal preferences and now my personal hiding guidlines. Now I just have to get my caches hidden.

 

P.S. I just started carying a film canister cache and a full sized cache around in my car, ready to deploy, in case I find a wondeful spot wanting. I'm sure I'll comment more on this strategy if it ends up working for me.

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I like traditional caches located in scenic or interesting areas (like lost places) far away from the town. 1 or 2 miles of hike are ok and if the landscape is beautiful or interesting it can be more.

I hate:

- Multi caches with tasks like: counting poles, reading numbers from signs and so on

- City caches

- Long formulas for calculating the coordinates (have you ever tried to do long calculations on a cold, windy and rainy day?)

 

Edit: spelling

Edited by radioscout
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Now, in my opinion, the above dislikes are some of my likes.

I like just about every type of cache, the only ones that I'm not a big fan of are micros in a muggle rich environment (but I love micros, go figure).

 

However, the most fun caches I've done were multistage ones in cities. The perfect cache in my opinion is a multi cache "tour" of a town or area, one that can either be done on foot or easily by car in an hour or less with a real, full size cache at the end in an area that isn't too hard to be inconspicuous, such as a large park.

A perfect example of this is this cache. It has to be my favorite cache I've done so far.

 

Just my two cents.

 

Shannon

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I love multis and puzzles -- walking multis in particular since I can get my daughter out of and back into the carseat once, have a nice walk while making progress all along, and find something at the end. Yes, it's only one smiley, but it feels like several finds. I prefer reading things on informational markers or micros along the way to counting bolts, but I know the latter can be useful. Puzzles are fun because the prepwork to start them is something to do when I can't get time to go search.

 

I prefer scenery or even just a park that I didn't know about to a parking lot, but hiking....well, it used to be pulling teeth to get me to go out for a dayhike. Now that there's a chance of a find at the end, I'm far more into the idea, but a walk for the sake of a walk isn't necessary for me.

 

Of course, if you ask the other half of KMcC you will get almost opposite answers.

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I love a good hike that ends in a great view. This is what first caught my attention when I stumbled upon this whole "geocaching thing". I was pretty disappointed with my last three searches over the weekend. The caches were located in busy local parks, just off the main walking trails. Nice easy walking but the caches themselves we in the middle of sticker bushes, nearly impossible to get through. After 30 minutes on each one I had to give up and walk away frustrated. I'm not really sure what may have inspired these locations, no view, no hike, not much of anything. I love a challenge but I need some type of reward! At least I am learning what not to do when I decide to start hiding my own!

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I would tend to agree with alot of the above. I don't care much for those caches hidden under tree branches with a bunch of dead leaves thrown over it. A big thing with us is,Originality, and location, location, location. Since the day I blundered into this thing called geocaching, my family and I have seen places a few hours from home that we didn't know existed. If only we could find more time to hunt.

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. I've ended up enjoying this sport most when there is a decent hike in a really nice natural area, with a cache hidden so that muggles cannot find it, but geocachers can find with no more than 15 minutes of searching. How do you feel about these aspects of geocaching?

 

My favorite kind of cache.

I have to agree 100%.

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Caches that involve a nice hike or take me to a place I might not have known about or bothered to visit are best in my view. A good puzzle every once in a while is OK and an ingenious hide is too but not every time.

 

I agree with the poster who mentioned his distaste for the magnetic key holder at another 7-11 (or something like that). There needs to be at least a little more thought put into it.

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It's all about discovering new cool locations and places to see for me.

 

I do not really care if the hike is long or short, as long as I am lead to a place I might not have otherwise discovered.

 

I prefer the cache itself to be of the standard to large variety with something to trade or do for the kids, and not be so difficult to find as to create a great deal of DNF. Just well enough hidden to avoid muggles is well enough for me.

 

I do not care for micros, puzzles, decrypting etc. since if I wanted brain teasers I could get plenty of that from other sources. (I have a couple of good books)

 

These are my preferences, but I respect the idea that there are all kinds of players who enjoy greatly some of these aspects, and great for them. One nice aspect about this whole caching thing is the flexibility to play your own game within the framework of a larger game.

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I am new to this activity, but so far the hike bit has me torn - i am usually with my children, and long hikes in the woods do not suit them well, yet (in a few years maybe) so knowing how far a hike from the parking lot is a handy idea, or how rough the terrain. I got to within 50' of one cache and then had to bushwhack...not great fun with a 3 year old. Poison ivy is a neceassary evil, i am immune to it (i can pull it out like any other weed and never get a rash) but i have to keep a sharp eye out for it as my son has yet to learn to avoid it (no want to see if my immunity was passed on!)

 

I like virtual caches, themes ones too. Like finding places i never knew existed. Might like biking (mountain or road) to some caches next summer as well. Yes, i've about surrendered to winter (already).

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Most of the time, I enjoy the hiking aspect of the sport. I enjoy excercising so being able to find a couple of caches on a nice long hike is awesome. For me, the hiking can be anywhere, I don't care. This summer, I got to hike along the waterfront in San Fran which was very cool. And I've found myself caching in the country and woods of Missouri. So for me, I love the hiking.

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