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I was browsing the new caches listings, and realized there were quite a few for October. Turns out to be 380 (trads, multis, puzzles).
This seems to be a high month for the state, but there are a couple of big sets published: Battleship, Mascoutin Valley Trail, etc…..
Current number of active caches is 13,148.
That does not seems like a lot, but consider where they are. Mainly metro areas, so just like people, the density is quite high.
Will cache saturation become an issue?
This is an interesting thread given the density of WSQ caches in your average Fox Valley Cemetery! That is not a critcism, just an observation.
What would be the issue (problem?) that you are asking about? On the part of cachers, the part of municipalities, other?
On the Left Side of the Road...I see: room for more!
Funny, i’ve been thinking about this lately too. Coming from a numbers guy, this is not a easy thing to say.
YES! Cache saturation is a problem in many areas. I think it lends itself to caches that don’t last very long which creates problems for everyone GR mentioned.
I agree with RSplash40, I see alot of bad hides that disappear and don’t get repaired or replaced. Alot of disabled caches in our future.
Get’em while you can…here today, gone tomorrow 😀
Oconto...the birthplace of western civilization:)
So what’s your point Marc? 😛
I just saw a similar post in the Iowa forums. The poster there discovered just under 8000 active caches in the state.
So it would appear Iowa is less saturated. Must be because they only have river borders, no Great Lakes! 🙄
I was told (can’t remember from whom) that within 2 years, caches will be able to be placed 300 feet from each other due to advancements in gps’r ability to get to within 0-10 feet from the cache. Tami
I say, “bring it on.”Cache saturation is great… it allows me to walk to the caches instead of driving.
@nohandsgps wrote:
Cache saturation is great… it allows me to walk to the caches instead of driving.
I wish my area looked more like West Bend or Appleton….I’d surely then have over 3,000 finds by now.
It would be interesting to compare how many nonowned caches were within 5 miles of your home coordinates.
For us, there are 3 caches w/in 5 miles of our home coordinates. 60 within 10.
On the Left Side of the Road...@miata wrote:
So what’s your point Marc? 😛
What? You can’t read my mind?
……….
As I cache throughout Wisconsin (and IL, MN, etc), meeting different addicts from all over, I have been hearing more and more about cache saturation. And specifically, puzzle caches.
Not wanting to solve them, or go hunt for them, is one issue. I am hearing from more and more cachers who specifically state they will not do puzzles. Look at the number of finders for them. Look at the number of puzzles some cachers have found. The numbers are not promising.
But another, more important point is how these caches are tying up otherwise good locations for other, and future, caches.
Yes, each cacher has a right to place a cache. But when an area becomes saturated with puzzles, it can have a negative effect.
The primary purpose of geocaching for to hide caches for people to go out and find. When some (or too many) caches are barricaded behind complicated hoops and barrels that frustrate the majority of cachers, it defeats that intent.
Caches are meant to be found.
Puzzle saturation can affect the future of caching. Consider this: How are new cachers to begin to figure out where to place a new cache, when there are so many hidden ‘bombs’ out there?
Is it time to place some restrictions? Or should individuals begin to restrain themselves? Would they?
Now that post from the former king is just dripping irony…
So are we talking about general saturation, or puzzle saturation? The number of all types of caches are growing, not just puzzles. In fact, in the very heart of Sellzup, traditional, single-stage caches still comprise over 60% of the caches there.
Complaints about puzzles are not new. Puzzles are frustrating. So are 5/5 caches. So are tricky urban hides. So are micros in the woods. People will always find something to B&M about.
I have confidence in the creativity of players to find ways to refine and reinvent the game without more rules and restrictions, and for caches to hit 2 million, 3 million, or more worldwide and keep growing as long as the interest in the game itself continues.
On the Left Side of the Road...While I enjoy simple puzzles, I do see far too many in certain areas which has the effect of overwhelming me to the point of just ignoring all of them….I can’t tell which one will take me hours to solve and which ones are easy without reading all the pages and I just don’t have the time to do it. So in the end they are all ignored (the good ones, the bad ones, the fun and irratating ones alike). I look for the pool of other caches left in the area…in Appleton that means at this point I’m likely ignoring about 25% of all the caches (I’ve found a few hundred of the others there)…This kinda sux cuz there is so much more land there which I could be finding caches on but end up missing out on….
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