This topic contains 10 replies, has 9 voices, and was last updated by 
bartrod 7 years ago.
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At Audubon last night, I had an interesting conversation with one of the other members. He was giving me a hard time about geocaching in a joking sort of way. I explained we really have cut back, though we’re heading to Copper Harbor for a long weekend to cache. His comment was….”I’ll bet they aren’t a bunch of micros, either.” I told him that in general, when we’re caching up north, the caches are bigger and placed with an eye to location, which is one of the reasons we like caching up north. He had tried caching around here (LaCrosse area) and found it frustrating, as they were all tiny things and not placed to get him much exercise. (Must not have tried any of ours, LOL) There’s nothing wrong with a few leg stretchers along the way, but it is interesting that the game seems to have changed from one of “I want to share this amazing spot/hike/bit of local lore” to “I want to help you get to your 50,000th find.” So….I guess my question here is this…..are the folks who are coming into the game nowadays people from the tech/gaming world who enjoy the competitive aspect? Or are we still getting folks who are officers of the local Sierra Club looking to add to their enjoyment of exploring nature? A side question might be…..does your location have an impact on who comes to play? Highly urban areas might encourage more of the techie types, for instance?
Just hoping to get a little conversation going around here.
I would venture to say that anyone interested in geocaching for the “seeing great places” aspect of it looks at geocaching these days and decides it is not for them. With social media, smart phones, and the way GC is promoting the activity now, those who enjoy nice hikes in great spots will gravitate to those special places without needing coordinates taking them there.
As for us, we answered a question quite a while ago that we are outdoors people who got into geocaching, not techie people who got into geocaching. Would we still start geocaching if we just heard about it now? Not sure. We live in a rural area that has some great hides and hikes, and that’s why we stuck with it when we started almost eight years ago. We still don’t have a smart phone, and we have passed up more traditional micros on signposts than we can count, especially when traveling to locations that may have nice hikes and/or solid puzzles to solve, so if that was the majority of what we saw when we started, we might have lost interest early on. But we still go out on a regular basis, and our numbers still increase, although the only competition we look at is ourselves. And that is just us, not anyone else, veteran or newbie.
As for our own hides, we can say unequivocally that our short and quick hides get hit on much more than our harder hides, even if there is no puzzle solving involved. 😉 And where a cache is pretty much in a location by itself, it may sit there for a loooong time before anyone goes for it. A “wow” caching location used to mean scenery, for the most part. Now it means lots of caches to find, or at least gadget hides, or maybe something requiring group activity to make it “fun”.
People like the numbers, pure and simple.
I just had a chat with someone yesterday about this topic.
Yeah, Vanilla ice cream is awesome but eventually I like sprinkles or chocolate on our ice cream.
When I started this fun diversion, I was a “city” boy and had no interest or idea about heading out into the woods where lions, tigers and bears were waiting to devour me. That’s changed as I explored all the interesting corners of the geoworld. I also had an interest in the technical toys of the game which helped draw me into caching.
While many people may not ever wish to do further than the sign posts, I bet a bunch of us like to stretch our horizons and see what else there is.
I’m going to keep hoping that the stop sign and guardrail are the gateway caches to the LCG game, puzzles and the great hikes.
If I don’t keep hoping and working to the positive future then what do I have to keep me growing as a Hider and a Finder?
The more I meet the more I realize there are way too many people out there to categorize one way like I used to. When I first started I thought the average player was near 60 and retired because that if who I met while I was out caching during the work week. I was right but also very wrong.
Following the signals from space.
That is one thing about this game that is encouraging. It crosses age lines freely. There are just not that many hobbies that draw from the very young to the ahem, older, and that’s a good thing. As an advocate of outdoor exploration, I’d hope the “gateway” signposts encourage going into new territory.
When I was a newbie, I was neither outdoorsy nor techie. I still can hardly call myself either. I was all about the find, the solve, the a-ha moment. It is still a big part of the game for me. But along the way I discovered the joys of finding hidden places I would never have known about, and the social aspect, both in person and online. I enjoy a cool container, a creative puzzle, and the journey to the cache. And how fun to get all of that in one cache! But I also appreciate a quick no-brainer to boost my numbers and/or my ego. A power trail is great exercise and big numbers on the same day. If I try to find something to like about every cache, I usually can. That’s why I try to make note of something of interest in my log. My cache isn’t found very often, but when it is, a few words about the place, the people caching with, or even the weather is appreciated. Since I am not up on the latest technology, I wouldn’t be using it if I entered caching today. Still, it serves the purpose perfectly fine, and I think it comes down to consideration of others and the environment, and keeping everything in perspective.
Personally, I am still in an area where there are many caches to find and the geography out here means I can head in and still find over 100 caches within a city/park locale or head into the real wild west where there are caches unfound for years due to remoteness. My students are amazed at where I have taken my Volt, and that I’m not armed when I head out into the boonies (not for protection from the animals, protection from the people). I can go on a binge in town when I want to (ok, when my wife lets me) or take long walks/drives into amazing scenery. I’m still trying to get to GCHJXP to see the petroglyphs there.
For my hides, I’ve learned that the locals are interested in numbers. The older cachers (including a charter member) don’t want to take on the high T ratings. The newer ones can still feast on the ones in town. I’ve had one of the FTF hounds tell me I need to stop hiding caches “out there” because no one ever gets to them! In more polite words, I told him that was his problem, not mine. I managed to get a multi, several puzzle, earth and letterbox hidden alongside several traditional caches in my little town. If you don’t want to drive 30 miles from town to get a variety of types and sizes, along with great Mexican food, then stay in town! 🙂
The other hiders out here run a gamut from a couple very clever gadget guys, one creative and evil guy, and then several others that fill in the gaps. All are appreciated by me. I do miss Spike007 hides!
The best sig is no sig.
I think it comes down to consideration of others and the environment, and keeping everything in perspective.
If you want numbers, go for it. If you want the journey, then that is find too. Why do we have to keep up with the “JONES”. Do what you like and be HAPPY.
Enjoy yourself, cause that is what really matters.I stumbled upon this topic while looking to see if the topic I wanted to post was discussed within the last few years. Since the OP was made just two months after I started geocaching, I thought someone might find my answer interesting.
I am definitely not one who got into this as a “nature nut.” If I ever do get to a WGA picnic, I won’t be camping out among the forest creatures afterwards. Give me nature during the day, but a hotel/house at night. I found out about geocaching a couple of years before, on an episode of “Switched At Birth,” but didn’t try it at the time because on the show, they used a smartphone, and I didn’t have one. But it looked interesting, so I kept it in the back of my mind, and when I did get a smartphone, I reconsidered it. So, since I associated smartphones with the game, I guess you could call me a “tech” person.
Despite that, I don’t have what the OP would describe as a “techie” approach to the game. I do have a little bit of a competitive nature – everyone does, some are just more pronounced – but there have only been a couple of times in the last 3 years where numbers have matters. One is, every time I get close to a milestone. With the exception of #100, I’ve tried to make them meaningful in some way. The other are the two times I went for the gusto for daily highs – when I hit 51 finds, and then again with 104, that second one so I could qualify for a challenge cache.
Before geocaching, when I would go out to walk for a couple of miles, the walk would start and end from my house, which got boring after awhile even though I’m within walking distance of the Hank Aaron State Trail. For some reason, I never considered driving to another trail and walking there. By searching for caches, I’ve been on a few great recreation trails, and in some beautiful nature preserves with trails that I never would have known existed otherwise. Heck, I didn’t even know there was a butterfly preserve just a couple of miles from my house, and I love butterflies!
That said, I also love that with urban caches, once I find one, it’s like I’m in on a little secret. How many customers, for example, park right next to the one at American Science & Surplus in Milwaukee, completely clueless that it’s there? Or who use Bluemound Road to get to Miller Park not knowing they pass one on their way to parking? I take Bluemound to downtown for work, and I think about that one almost every day when I pass by it.
With all the similar activities out there, if I were to take up another, it would be the fledgling Letterboxing game. Pokemon isn’t my scene, and I keep resisting someone who wants me to become a Munzee player because I know it’s a numbers game. Letterboxing, as we know from the Hybrid caches, is all about the journey to the treasure. And that’s what I like about geocaching, even if it’s a pill bottle along a country road, and not an ammo can at the top of a mountain.
I stumbled upon this topic while looking to see if the topic I wanted to post was discussed within the last few years. Since the OP was made just two months after I started geocaching, I thought someone might find my answer interesting. I am definitely not one who got into this as a “nature nut.” If I ever do get to a WGA picnic, I won’t be camping out among the forest creatures afterwards. Give me nature during the day, but a hotel/house at night. I found out about geocaching a couple of years before, on an episode of “Switched At Birth,” but didn’t try it at the time because on the show, they used a smartphone, and I didn’t have one. But it looked interesting, so I kept it in the back of my mind, and when I did get a smartphone, I reconsidered it. So, since I associated smartphones with the game, I guess you could call me a “tech” person. Despite that, I don’t have what the OP would describe as a “techie” approach to the game. I do have a little bit of a competitive nature – everyone does, some are just more pronounced – but there have only been a couple of times in the last 3 years where numbers have matters. One is, every time I get close to a milestone. With the exception of #100, I’ve tried to make them meaningful in some way. The other are the two times I went for the gusto for daily highs – when I hit 51 finds, and then again with 104, that second one so I could qualify for a challenge cache. Before geocaching, when I would go out to walk for a couple of miles, the walk would start and end from my house, which got boring after awhile even though I’m within walking distance of the Hank Aaron State Trail. For some reason, I never considered driving to another trail and walking there. By searching for caches, I’ve been on a few great recreation trails, and in some beautiful nature preserves with trails that I never would have known existed otherwise. Heck, I didn’t even know there was a butterfly preserve just a couple of miles from my house, and I love butterflies! That said, I also love that with urban caches, once I find one, it’s like I’m in on a little secret. How many customers, for example, park right next to the one at American Science & Surplus in Milwaukee, completely clueless that it’s there? Or who use Bluemound Road to get to Miller Park not knowing they pass one on their way to parking? I take Bluemound to downtown for work, and I think about that one almost every day when I pass by it. With all the similar activities out there, if I were to take up another, it would be the fledgling Letterboxing game. Pokemon isn’t my scene, and I keep resisting someone who wants me to become a Munzee player because I know it’s a numbers game. Letterboxing, as we know from the Hybrid caches, is all about the journey to the treasure. And that’s what I like about geocaching, even if it’s a pill bottle along a country road, and not an ammo can at the top of a mountain.
You’d like this one if you haven’t found it yet : https://coord.info/GC2WHC5
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau
You’d like this one if you haven’t found it yet : GC2WHC5″>https://coord.info /GC2WHC5
I have not, but with all the caches around it, maybe I should plan a weekend trip to get it! Thanks for the suggestion! In the meantime, with only 2 Letterbox Hybrids to my name, there are plenty nearby or within day trip distance.
Some of my most memorable caches were as a newbie…was in awe of everything, even film cannisters. But time changes things and caching evolves just as containers evolve. I have favorites but that may change again. I’m not partial to p & g’s for the most part but I tolerate them if it involves a nice bike ride down a scenic trail on a perfect fall day. Creative cache types are definitely more fun and I’ll seek those out when possible.
Oconto...the birthplace of western civilization:)
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