This topic contains 11 replies, has 10 voices, and was last updated by 
Lacknothing 11 years, 2 months ago.
-
Posts
-
Seeing the newest FTP stats in the Thread Stealers forum made me wonder whatever happened to some of those cachers. Obviously life circumstances and priorities change. I thought maybe one or two who still post here might have an interesting story to share of whatever happened to a particular cacher.
Or maybe whatever happened to a really great cache? Obviously it was archived, but is there a good story to go with it?
Also I thought I would use this thread for whatever happened to other things related to caching. I have heard several answers to this question I had posed: Whatever happened to virtuals? as in why aren’t they allowed anymore?
So if anyone has an answer to my virtual question, or whatever happened to someone or something related to caching, here is the place to ask and answer it.
There’s your answer, amita: No one is left in the forums to do any posting.
I have seen some former posters who now post on Facebook, while others I know have basically left caching, though none that have said totally, “I quit!” I don’t have permission to tell any good stories even if I knew of any.
Now about caches… I used to check on what was in the area quite frequently, but then there got to be too many caches to keep up with, and then every so often I would wonder, “What about that cache?”, and I would look and find that it was now archived. Or I would be checking on caches to find when planning to visit a certain location, and think that this would be the time to look for that cache, and it would be archived. I can’t give you any reasons, just that some caches always seemed to be there, but then we forgot about them, and when we thought of them again, they were gone.
So I have no answers, but I have just increased my posting count by one. 😉
Hey I’m still around but been very busy.Daughter #1 just graduated high school,then the party,then a vacation,and now all the college stuff is going on.That’s a little overwhelming with all the stuff you have to do.So not a lot of time to spread useless stuff around.But still keep up on the banter from time to time.
Timberline Echoes are still around but I only check the forums about once a month. Do most my connections on facebook. We haven’t been caching as much but have held to our goal of at least one a month for over 10 years now. We have also been busy with our two most recent books “We’re Gonna Find a Geocache” and “Timmy Turtle’s Triolgy” plus other life things like grandchildren, kids camp, art projects etc.
Mrs. T. E.Well, think of your own activities. Have you stayed very active in the same ones for a decade? Or do you find new hobbies or activities after a few years?
Not all who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkien
Some people who pursue a hobby too intensely may burn out. Those who went out caching with great gusto at the start may have found all of the caches close to them, may have met all the challenges that interested them, and may no longer enjoy looking for plastic in the woods (or on sign posts).
I still crochet, knit, garden, and do photography after many, many years. My husband still loves to fish, bow hunt, and ride his bicycle. So far, after almost seven years, we still enjoy geocaching… but we have taken it at our own pace and do it in a way that gives us the most pleasure.
Maybe geocaching as it is now will be a fad that will at some point have run its course as many people move on to the next thing, leaving the hobby as it was originally for those of us who are in it for the long term.
@sandlanders wrote:
Some people who pursue a hobby too intensely may burn out. Those who went out caching with great gusto at the start may have found all of the caches close to them, may have met all the challenges that interested them, and may no longer enjoy looking for plastic in the woods (or on sign posts).
I still crochet, knit, garden, and do photography after many, many years. My husband still loves to fish, bow hunt, and ride his bicycle. So far, after almost seven years, we still enjoy geocaching… but we have taken it at our own pace and do it in a way that gives us the most pleasure.
Maybe geocaching as it is now will be a fad that will at some point have run its course as many people move on to the next thing, leaving the hobby as it was originally for those of us who are in it for the long term.
Wow, Pat, very wise words. Especially that first sentence. We’re in it for the long term (as far as we can tell) – it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Well I think part of it is that geocaching is a hobby that people often do combine with other interests. If you like to hike anyway, you’re going to do it while caching. Same with kayaking, photography or even bring crafty with containers or swag. So people may eventually remember that they’ve found all the caches on their favorite hiking trail or snowshoeing area and decide to just do their hiking without the added hobby of geocaching.
I like the marathon/sprint metaphor. This is why I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty when I just drive past the thousands of PNGs around me.
Not all who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkien
Some folks who have a lot of gusto may develop other constraints to give them pause. We have made very intentional efforts the last couple years to remember what we truly enjoy about geocaching and do that stuff. One of us still has moments when there’s a “need” for something, but overall, we’ve been picky and as Becca says, many times we go out and do those things that drew us in the first place….without finding a cache. Gas costs are a concern. For me personally, so is driving all over in search of smileys. That’s a lot of fossil fuel and carbon footprint in pursuit of finds. We’ve been trying to cache closer to home or if there’s another reason to travel, include the ones that look interesting in those plans. Though we’re retired, we’re supporting our sons in their efforts to be single parent dads and that pretty much takes out Monday to Friday for travel.
The main appeal for us has been the sense of discovery. We’ve been discovering other things close to home….winery tours, music venues, local paddling streams, art fairs. We have several areas where we’ve placed caches that don’t get visited very often and love heading to those spots with out-of-town cachers. We get to hike and enjoy watching them discover these spots.
The other thing that’s happened for me is once a person retires, you may find you want to be part of something bigger. Geocaching by and large is an “all about me” thing. With the exception of one CITO where we hauled stoves and stuff like that out of a wildlife area and another event that raised money to help pay a family’s medical bills, it’s a game about whatever self-defined bragging thing a team chooses. Total finds, percent of non-traditionals, etc. Yes, we have our own “thing” we like, but that doesn’t define my life. Participating in the Dragon Boat races yesterday was fun, but watching the survivor heat and then the paddle salute for all those folks, knowing that my participation (and money) helps raise funds to allow so many to survive….well, being a person who does those kind of things is how I want others to think of me, not how many finds we’ve made in the woods.
We found 20 caches yesterday, but the highlight of the day was the picnic lunch with froggerz and Hack 1 of 2 at Harrington Beach. If anyone ever wants to meet us for a picnic and some caching let us know, but remember the picnic takes priority. The caches will always be there, but a perfect day in a park with friends not so much.
I decided yesterday, before reading this forum, that after I finish filling my calendar, the WI County Challenge and the WI Delorme Part Deux Challenge, that I would only cache to find interesting places when we travel. That has been the best part of caching for me.
Then just a few minutes ago, I answered my own question in the TS forum about the original WI Delorme Challenge after rereading the Part Deux page. Guess I will add that to the “maybe” pile with the WRR Challenge. Not in any hurry to finish that one because I want to travel all of them.
@chatauqua560 wrote:
I decided yesterday, before reading this forum, that after I finish filling my calendar, the WI County Challenge and the WI Delorme Part Deux Challenge, that I would only cache to find interesting places when we travel. That has been the best part of caching for me.
Then just a few minutes ago, I answered my own question in the TS forum about the original WI Delorme Challenge after rereading the Part Deux page. Guess I will add that to the “maybe” pile with the WRR Challenge. Not in any hurry to finish that one because I want to travel all of them.
I have a couple of challenges I have been working on for about five years now – eventually, I will complete them!
The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.