› Forums › Geocaching in Wisconsin › General › Ol’ lady …. standing still

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  • 01/06/2007 at 12:41 pm #1724062
    marc_54140

      How is your memory?

      Only a few short years ago Lil Otter was at an awe inspiring 3000 caches, while the rest of us were struggling to make the First Millenium.

      Now, with the explosion of caches and cachers, her achievement is slowly sinking from sight, and memory. Zuma and Team Honeybunnies recently passed her by, pushing her down to #8 on the state list. In the coming year it is likely several more cachers will also pass her by.

      Perhaps it is time to create a mini history of Wisconsin geo-caching, while the memories are still fresh.

      01/06/2007 at 2:46 pm #1768021
      zuma

        Hey Marc

        It is comparing apples to oranges to say that finding 3000 caches in recent years is comparable to what the Lil Otter accomplished in the early years of geocaches. The Lil Otter will always be Wisconsin’s First Lady of Geocaching, and numbers do not have a heck of a lot to do with it.

        It has more to do with the example she set for people who came after her, found her caches, and enjoyed them because they were placed in interesting places. She is Wisconsin’s First Lady of Geocaching because she knew that a cache should take you to some place worth going, whether it be scenic, or historical, or amusing, or just weird, her caches take you places. Many geocachers have followed her example, which is one of the main reasons that geocaching is as strong in Wisconsin as it is.

        People tend to place caches modeled on the ones that they enjoyed that they have found. I didn’t do it consciously, but after looking back on it, I realize that I modeled the geocaches that I have placed on Bobcat’s. Bobcat, in turn (whether he knows it or not), modeled his placements on the caches left by the Lil Otter, so in that sense, The Lil Otter is my geo-grandmother. I suspect that she is the geo mother, grandmother, or even great grandmother to many Wisconsin geocachers, whether they know it or not.

        As far as calling her an “Old Lady,” I am not so sure about that. I think she could kick your a** geocaching up any hill or through any brush or any marsh in this state. I know that she could kick mine. Anyway, I prefer to think of her as Wisconsin’s First Lady of Geocaching, rather than “the Ol Lady.”

        zuma

        01/06/2007 at 4:34 pm #1768022
        Cheesehead Dave

          And I bet she had her 3000th find before Wisconsin even had its 500th hide, meaning she had to do quite a bit of traveling to grab them all. I’d love to have her load up her stats into my site just so I could see the area she has covered across the country.

          01/06/2007 at 5:15 pm #1768023
          brkster

            It’s not about numbers, but even as it is, her numbers are incredibly impressive considering that the bulk of it was done in a time frame when caches were much fewer and farther in between. To measure what Lil Otter has meant to Wisconsin geocaching is beyond description. In terms of the quality of her caches, both hides and finds, and the impact she has had on others, she is truly a legend.

            01/06/2007 at 5:56 pm #1768024
            bnb

              Zuma said it better than I could have so I’ll just add that I agree with him. I know that my hides were influenced by my LO finds. But perhaps, more importantly, her absolute enthusiasm for the sport and its participants has been contagious. She strongly encouraged me to come down to Devil’s Lake to help with temp hides for the picnic there many years ago. She even provided overnight accommodations for my son and I (and for my whole family a couple of weeks later before the picnic). While my hides were less than spectacular (I had never hidden a cache before) the experience made me want to be even more involved in the sport. From her I realized what a great opportunity this sport provides for meeting some really great people.

              Ruth

              01/06/2007 at 8:05 pm #1768025
              Team Hemisphere Dancer

                I have done a half dozen or so Lil Otter caches and they all seem to be on the top of my list. I coulld sit here and say that there aren’t any good area’s in my feasable maintainence area for me to place. But, hers are all over the state and seem to be well maintained. What she has done for the states geocaching future should be recognized. How about setting up the WI Geocaching Hall of Fame and inducting her in first.

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