DeLorme Challenge gets little love these days?

[gotta run]

When we started caching, it was something to do with the family and a chance to get out and explore new places.

Well now that we’ve seen those places and like them, we go back for other reasons. We camp, fish, bike, etc. We simply find it more enjoyable to do other stuff in the outdoors than geocaching.

Not that it’s boring, but the excitement has gone, and that’s a difference. None of the challenges do anything to spice that up.

On the Left Side of the Road...

[kc9gbo]

Got to agree with Gotta Run that seems to be my trend.

[Team Honeybunnies]

I’ll have to agree that something of the tone of the game has changed. For us it has (almost) always been about exploration and what’s around the next corner. The DeLorme has of course suited me perfectly in that respect, though we do have yet to complete the Part Deux (bought the atlas though).

I think perhaps the classic challenges have suffered a bit as less demanding challenges offer seemingly the same rewards. Still a smiley, still a question mark, still an interesting combination for those who like to fill their grids, and certainly not requiring multiple road trips to areas that for many would never be considered destinations.

The journey IS the destination though, and I hope people aren’t missing out on some of the wonders out there by staying close to home. One less dinner out equals one more tank of gas. There are waterfalls, wild rivers, towering cliffs and sweeping vistas to be found in that next county, next DeLorme page and next Fizzy grid!

Like others have said, those challenges have led to discoveries and we continue to visit some of the remarkable places they have taken us, even in other states.

[BeccaDay]

@Team Honeybunnies wrote:

The journey IS the destination though, and I hope people aren’t missing out on some of the wonders out there by staying close to home. One less dinner out equals one more tank of gas. There are waterfalls, wild rivers, towering cliffs and sweeping vistas to be found in that next county, next DeLorme page and next Fizzy grid! .

How very poetic! 😀

Not all who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkien

[RSplash40]

@beccaday wrote:

@Team Honeybunnies wrote:

The journey IS the destination though, and I hope people aren’t missing out on some of the wonders out there by staying close to home. One less dinner out equals one more tank of gas. There are waterfalls, wild rivers, towering cliffs and sweeping vistas to be found in that next county, next DeLorme page and next Fizzy grid! .

How very poetic! 😀

And exactly why someone should do these challenges, no need to race, take time, smell the roses, just like I wrote on the delorme cache page.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Splash, I loved your comments on the page, they reflected a lot of our own musings. We weren’t in any hurry, either, and enjoyed returning to various parts of the states to experience them at different times or in more depth. There might be a page or two where we only got one to qualify, but I know we’ve returned to those places since that time and found the waterfalls, cliffs or rivers we’d only spied the first time around. For example, we keep finding ourselves on the Lake Michigan shoreline, which we’d barely explored before these challenges. It couldn’t be more different than where we live and there are places all along there we keep discovering.

Honestly, we still find challenges like this one way more satisfying because of where they have taken us. A person can do park and grabs to meet the requirements and that’s fine. We threatened to do that with the Part Deux, but….we just couldn’t. There is so much to discover out there and the back roads are always more fun than the big highways. For us, that’s the whole enjoyment of this game, anyway. Clearing our map, getting lots, those things just don’t matter to us anymore. Exploring, stopping to see something that has no caches at all but intrigues us, finding a neat little local restaurant for lunch….that’s what we do now and a challenge like the DeLorme suits that intent so nicely.

[ruff54]

Funny you mention this topic, T&B. The polish cutie and I JUST qualified for the Badger State Challenge, and are now 1 page*** away from finishing the original Delorme, which I consider the Holy Grail of WI challenges. Many of our spring and summer trips in the state have been a great way to really see our state and explore many of the natural features that it has to offer. It’s also been a great way for us to bond, through the good and bad mind you.

I can’t imagine my disappointment level if the challenge was actually archived. I mean…I’ve probably been seriously working on this challenge since the spring of 2010. I know, you’re thinking, “If he was ACTUALLY working at it, he would have finished a year or 2 ago.” Well, it was after a conversation with Team Honneybunnies, that I decided that I was going to do it RIGHT and not just make 2-3 huge roadtrips finding all the easiest, quickest caches I could. (not that I didn’t find any quick, easy caches while I’ve been working) Instead, we’ve tried to slow it down and find some of the BEST caches we could in some of the coolest spots we could.

Caches like the original Delorme are what really keep me going. Just my 2 cents.

***If not for my blunder on one of our trips, we would have finished the Delorme this trip…and at Timm’s Hill at that.

[BeccaDay]

I just finished up the WI Playlands Challenge, now it’s time to pick another to work on.

Not all who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkien

[Lacknothing]

I like the challenges that take time. Working on GC1GVN6 and have been for several years now. There is something fun about planning trips and looking to see if there are caches that will help get us closer to the completed challenge. We have done the Wisconsin Counties Challenge and both DeLorme Challenges. Working on the DeLorme Unique Natural Features Challenge, the Wisconsin Land Lovers Challenge and the Wisconsin Population Challenge. Haven’t looked at the Wisconsin State Parks Bingo Challenge yet. We just logged over 100 earthcaches – qualifying us for several Earthcache challenges. Oh…and working on KFH’s Virtual Challenge. We have six left to complete and I think we are going to grab four on our way to Duluth next week! Fun!

The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board.

[GetMeOutdoors]

I’m still working on the delorme challenge, but some practical limitations have kept me from getting it done. I was pleased with a great adventure several weeks ago as I covered the South West corner of the state on the way back from IL. I think it was 8 pages and 6 counties that we did that day. I also was able to go through IA and see some neat stuff. And I have to say – if it wasn’t for the challenge (Delorme and Counties in this case) I probably would not have had the guts to plan it out and do it.

It was so worth it though. I think I found maybe 30 caches the whole day and drove a total of 11 hours but we (my son and I) saw some memorable stuff and had a great time together. Sure I could have driven the normal 4 1/2 hour trip home and seen the usual boring drive but the time was well spent.

I’ll make it there someday! I totally understand the crave for numbers. I still get that way sometimes. But I’ve gotten to the point where the magic of the numbers has started to wear off and I’m more tuned to the other challenges – like getting my D/T matrix filled out and some of the other long standing challenges. But even moreso I’m more tuned into the fun of the place and the cache itself. And seeing new places. And there are more out there that in time, will outlive the numbers chase and start looking for a different experience. The Delorme is great incentive for that. Thanks for keeping it alive, Splash! 🙂

[hofy67]

We have been working on the original Delorme challenge and hope it does not get archived.

The thing that irks me about Part Deux is that finds before that challenge was created do not count. I have no problem working off either version of the Delorme atlas, but I think any legitimate find should count.

On another note, GSAK users should know that there is a Delorme Challenge Macro that will allow to keep track of multiple challenges including the original Wisconsin one. Plus as an added bonus you can map them out on Google Earth.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

The new Minnesota DeLorme also has a “find after publication” requirement. We may or may not complete it, who knows? Everyone has differing opinions, but we like that aspect, because it makes it a real challenge. We couldn’t just waltz up to find the new Wisconsin because we’d already done the original. It gave us the chance to explore the state once more. Yes, it means more travel and expenses. Some of us can make that choice, others maybe not. There are things we’d love to do as geocachers and cannot for other reasons. The new Wisconsin DeLorme was one we could do, though it took us quite some time to get there. I can see the opinions some have stated about preferring the county challenge over the DeLorme, too. And I can see the opinion some have about not wanting to bother with ANY challenges, but that wasn’t my question. My question simply asked why the DeLormes seem to have faded in popularity. Thanks for an interesting conversation!

[CodeJunkie]

Just my opinion – but it appears that “numbers” are more appealing than “experience / exploration”. The terms are in quotes simply because some people will make the argument that a numbers run is an experience all it’s own (and I would agree to some degree).

Thinking about it a bit, I think a person could burn about the same amount of gas (and wear/tear) by doing a long drive through northern, western, southwestern WI as driving around metro West Bend for a full day. Certainly a metro power run will get you more numbers, but the long drive would allow you to have a conversation, listen to an audiobook, explore other areas, etc along with counties and pages for various challenges. The “trip” would require a little bit of planning also, which could a bit of an influence also.

[hofy67]

To put my two cents in on Trekkin and Birdin’s original question, Yes I do think that the Delorme challenges have faded a bit in popularity. In Wisconsin at least one cause could be the fact we have two different challenges going for two different editions. The other cause could be the high gas prices we have had to deal with the last few years. Also, as others have pointed out, there seems to be a numbers race fetish with some people.

Upto last week I had thought the original Wisconsin Challenge had been archived because of Part Deux. I would think they could have been combined so that you could use either. Once we get one Wisconsin Delorme challenge done we will not be pursuing the other. The County Challenge ,yes.

[Chatauqua560]

I’m working on the WI County Challenge, Part Deux Challenge, Adams County plus the Weird and the Cheesy. The other half isn’t an enthusiastic cacher but if I plan routes that include interesting stops where he can wander and take photos (such as GCTVAQ) we both can visit a new place and see/learn something.

I really enjoyed the Adams County area around Petenwell as we spent a lot of time in the area when we still camped. I still prefer to travel the backroads if time is not an issue. So please don’t archive these challenges that aren’t getting found often. There’s some of us working on it and hopefully future cachers that will find out that the numbers aren’t what matter but that the places you go are.

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