Enough with the micro caches! Am I right, folks?

[stokstad]

To clarify a bit the DVDs I place in a cache are usually just $5 movies from wally world. I don’t expect someone to trade something equal to them. I put them in there as kind of a prize for the FTF or STF or anyone who finds it. I have read about many caches that had FTF prizes so that why I did it. I guess I need to clarify that on my cache page and maybe drop a note in the cache itself. I bet if I put a $5 bill in there it would be gone in a heartbeat and more than likely not have anything worth $5 to replace it. Oh well not a big deal not like its going to go bad.

The other thing is that value of certain things is subjective. Like the old saying goes one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. So what think is an even or up trade may not be to someone else.

What are the rules in Geocaching?

Geocaching is a relatively new phenomenon. Therefore, the rules are very simple:

Take something from the cache
Leave something in the cache
Write about it in the logbook

The rules of the game state nothing of trade even or up. That is a common courtesy given by most geocachers. That doesn’t mean its a rule. I see so many forum posts about people complaining about that. I’m side tracking this post so I will quit . I just wanted to state that.

As far as Gsak goes I have downloaded it and played with it a bit. It seems like a great tool for planning out your Geocaching experience. I mainly got it to order the lonely cache list so I could see easier whats close to me. Worked good for that.

I am very glad I came across this game and enjoy playing it very much. That’s all that matters.

[-cheeto-]

Ask -cheeto-‘s kid what his top 5 favorite caches are and I GUARANTEE none of them are ammo boxes.

What a good idea. So I “surveyed” Matt (age 10) and here’s the scoop:

#1 – GCVDYE – gilligan’s island – a regular. not an ammo can. this is his favorite cache because you have to cross a creek to find it.
FYI – we logged this in August of last year.

#2 – GC1CT2N – PUC | Grubby little fingers – Small. not an ammo can. No real “swag” at all in this cache. An obvious kid favorite.

#3 – GC1DC1G – Camelback Cinema | The passings of Mr Pink – “Other” but it’s a micro with no swag essentially. He loved this one for the container.

#4 – GCPDBP – My best friend… Where is she? – Not chosen. No swag in this one. He said this was the funniest cache he’s found.

#5 – GC1519Z – Houdini Caching Tour – Small – Not much swag though we traded travel bugs when we logged it. He liked this one because he had fun running around downtown appleton and learned a lot about Harry Houdini.

You’re right. None of them were ammo can’s full of swag. We have found our share of these type of caches together…

If you’ve done any or all of these caches you will get the idea that what makes a “kid friendly” cache, at least for a 10 yr old boy is not at all what I expected. He never gave “finding lot’s of cool stuff” or “the cache had lot’s of travel bugs” as a reason for his favorite choices.

Food for thought.

-cheeto-

[gotta run]

My daughter (9) loves finding micros. And she’s good to have along because I am old and blind and cannot find them even if you dangle them in front of my eyes.

On the Left Side of the Road...

[seldom|seen]

@-cheeto- wrote:

Ask -cheeto-‘s kid what his top 5 favorite caches are and I GUARANTEE none of them are ammo boxes.

If you’ve done any or all of these caches you will get the idea that what makes a “kid friendly” cache, at least for a 10 yr old boy is not at all what I expected. He never gave “finding lot’s of cool stuff” or “the cache had lot’s of travel bugs” as a reason for his favorite choices.

-cheeto-

Now, that’s a thread starter or a poll question… (thanks, -cheeto-, for backing me up. I could tell from logs that a couple of mine were in his top 5, and I had an inkling about the rest.)

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

@DCexplorer wrote:

Before you think this is purely a rant, I invite those who are frequent hiders of micros to explain to me what the appeal of hiding micros is. Why do you enjoy hiding micros? Is there a reason you prefer placing micros instead of full sized caches? I really want to know.

I guess because folks in my area seem to love them. If they didn’t they wouldn’t continue to search for them, and they surely wouldn’t keep asking me to hide more.

This topic seems to come up every few months, and the replies are always the same. What it comes down to is a matter of taste. If you don’t like micro’s, don’t hunt them. 🙂

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

@DCexplorer wrote:

@cheezehead wrote:

He’s a thought too. If ya don’t like micros, don’t go find them. There ain’t no one forcing ya to look for them!

However, they are also hurting Geocaching for the newcomers.

I dunno about that. If it wasn’t for the challenging micros this sport provides, I most likely would have gotten bored and given up quite quickly. I’ve also had many newcomers get their first finds on many of my micros. They’re all still with us.

[zuma]

@seldom|seen wrote:

@-cheeto- wrote:

Ask -cheeto-‘s kid what his top 5 favorite caches are and I GUARANTEE none of them are ammo boxes.

If you’ve done any or all of these caches you will get the idea that what makes a “kid friendly” cache, at least for a 10 yr old boy is not at all what I expected. He never gave “finding lot’s of cool stuff” or “the cache had lot’s of travel bugs” as a reason for his favorite choices.

-cheeto-

Now, that’s a thread starter or a poll question… (thanks, -cheeto-, for backing me up. I could tell from logs that a couple of mine were in his top 5, and I had an inkling about the rest.)

Yeah, interesting side topic.

Dark Raider (Robin’s 6 year old) does like to find swag, and it is one of his main objectives. Unexpectedly, he also likes cemetery caches and looking at the stones. He also likes caches where he gets to climb a tree. He hasnt gotten a chance to do any real cool containers yet, so maybe next time I head to the Fox River Valley, he will have to ride along. (I am quite sure he would have loved Hoist That Rag, a very cool Fox Valley cache that I visited yesterday.)

zuma

[stokstad]

I just wanted to say that there is a huge difference in what appeals to a 9-10yr old as compared to a 4yr old. I also never said they all had to be ammo cans. My sons favorite piece of swag that he found was a cheapo magnifying glass that was small and could have fit into just about anything. He loved that thing.

I think caches of all sizes have their place and we need all sizes and types just to keep things interesting. I can see why a previous poster worries about micros turning newbies away as micros can be very frustrating because of the fact that they are small and if you don’t have geosense like veteran cachers do you could very easily get frustrated and quit. My most frustrating day caching involved almost all micros. I have since found all but one(damn park is too busy all the time) and found one was actually missing, and one I had the coordinates off. But I didn’t give up and will keep on caching.

I do worry about this general attitude with people saying there always nothing but junk so I don’t bother trading, or I don’t make larger caches because people just leave junk. If everyone adopts this attitude then geocaching will cease to exist as it will just be find the pill bottle in the tree game. I really wish I was around at the beginning of this game. Back when people weren’t chasing smileys and milestones. Back when it was about finding the cache in a nice or interesting area. I like this game because it does get me out to new places I probably never would have seen otherwise. Yes micros can do that just as well as ammo boxes but its nice to feel like I’ve found a “treasure” out there where you would never expect. Which will be countered with the treasure is in the journey. Which I will agree with but if that’s all I wanted I would just do waymarking. 😉

If I am ever up in the Appleton area with my son I will make sure to check out those caches as they do seem interesting. I’m sure he would love them.

[Team Honeybunnies]

“zuma wrote:

(I am quite sure he would have loved Hoist That Rag, a very cool Fox Valley cache that I visited yesterday.)

zuma

I wish I could have been there to see the final on that one… 😯 . Hope you liked it Ralph, I thought it was a ton of fun.

[zuma]

@Team Honeybunnies wrote:

“zuma wrote:

(I am quite sure he would have loved Hoist That Rag, a very cool Fox Valley cache that I visited yesterday.)

zuma

The view would not have been that interesting, even to the most needy of Chicagoland guys parked in cars facing out.

zuma

I wish I could have been there to see the final on that one… 😯 . Hope you liked it Ralph, I thought it was a ton of fun.

[djwini]

mostly i don’t hunt micros anymore either, because generally they are not in interresting places, and it seems like more hiders don’t want the caches to be found. like ha-ha i’m a better hider than you are a finder.
but really, how many people look at the difficulty and terrain ratings of a cache? i download the PQ, install it to the GPS and go. paperless means i don’t always check it out ahead of time so i am not knowing if it is a 1/4 or a 3.5/2 and even if i did check, how many people rate them correctly?

[gotta run]

@djwini wrote:

but really, how many people look at the difficulty and terrain ratings of a cache? i download the PQ, install it to the GPS and go. paperless means i don’t always check it out ahead of time so i am not knowing if it is a 1/4 or a 3.5/2

We do…the DT ratings are part of the waypoint info popup on the GPS screen, along with cache name, type, and size. So we know most of what we need to know about the size, difficulty, and terrain before we decide to hunt it.

And then, for a final check before we head out, we look at cachemate on the Palm for all the details, which for us is also part of paperless caching.

On the Left Side of the Road...

[-cheeto-]

micros….

When I first started Geocaching, my first attempts were down in Georgia beleive it or not. When I was a newbie then I started with Regulars the first few days. THen I tried finding a few micros. One supposedly in some bushes near an icecream shop, one in a parking lot of a gym, you get the idea. I dnf’ed on them all.

Fast forward to today…

Micro’s, just like ammo can’s have common hide techniques. Once you get those down, it’s not really that much harder than finding those ammo cans under stick piles in the woods.

As for urban placements, I consider this part of the fun of geocaching. Riding by cache hides that I know are “right there” and not many do. I have a micro that’s literally 100 feet from my parking spot at work (it’s not on a light pole in a parking lot…). I bet 100 people walk by it daily on the sidewalk and can actually see it but don’t see it. If you don’t like geocaching in urban areas, than you don’t have to do it. Some like it.

Not everyone thinks about cache placement enough when they hide these micros, but that’s true with any other size as well. I hid a micro in “the woods” near a trail and that cache continues to get great logs because it’s about the experience of finding the item, not the size or the swag. We are playing “hide and seek” at the root level of the game. Not hoarding treasure.

All cache sizes are great and for you cache hiders out there, don’t let a thread like this stop you from placing that next great micro hide in a good spot.

-cheeto-

[DCexplorer]

Good discussion;
I suppose the proper title should have been “Enough with the LAME micro caches!”

[rogheff]

The majority of my cache placements have been micro caches. This discussion has caused me to examine my cache placement size reasons.

The first caches that I placed where in the 1-2 gallon water coolers that I got from the Goodwill store (about $3). Then I’d add swag items (around $15 worth) then the logbook (yeah, I used a book back then) and writing instruments ($3) then I’d add a camera (another $4). When all was said and done, I’d have $20-25 invested in the geocache. After checking on the cache a month later, it was filled with garbage and the camera was gone (I’ve only recovered one camera and it had “naughty” pictures on it).

I thought to myself, ” this is an expensive hobby!”

Turning to microcaches, I found that I could get by with about a $5 cache container (complete with typical Rogheff decoration) and a log book.

I got tired of personally providing the world with shiny new geoswag only to get rocks, business cards, bottlecaps and pinecones in return.

Initially, the reason was about money I suppose. Over time it was about the effort required to develop an interesting cache. It’s easy to dream up a unique micro or small cache. It’s difficult to properly camo an ammo can.

I live in an urban area, so finding an open area to place a larger cache was getting increasingly difficult. It’s easier to find a hiding spot for a micro than it is a regular cache.

I like finding all different sizes and types of caches, so I like to hide all different types and sizes of caches. My preference in finding (and hiding) is for a very devilishly difficult micro, so………..

I don’t quite understand the complaints about micros. Some of my very favorite caches have been micros hidden in the woods. I realize that many people don’t like those types. But you’re not being forced to go hunt those stashes. Stay away from them.

I personally dislike the ammo can, piled with branches, with wet garbage inside. I would never assume that it’s my duty to whine about these types of hides. I take it for what it is, then move on to the next.

[Author]

Posts