Question just for fun...

This is just for fun, this is not really happening. Positive and fun posts only! :)

Here's the scenario. Gc.com has taken my advice and limited every account to one cache hide. This will be your only cache hide for the next 365 days. At the end of the 365 days if you have maintained your cache you will be allowed to place another.

You may either keep one of your existing cache hides or place one new cache.

Which one of your caches will you keep, or will you place a new one, and why?

Edit: This thread has wandered off-topic; feel free to read on and reply here or in the Article of the same topic, The one cache you would keep?

I'd keep my "CACHZILLA" cache. It's too damn big to carry back out!

WhereIGo Bangor mini adventure cache. It's cool to have almost unique cache in whole Maine :) My second would be Pot of Gold. I like the puzzle and the cache theme. (Well until Ekidokai decided to empty clean it)

I had to think about this for a minute, but I think for the same reason cano posted - because of it's uniqueness - I'd have to go with my You Sank My Battleship cache. The location is not as spectacular as some of my other caches but it still gets some fun logs. I think the fact there are 20 people watching it means something, too.

Would keep Bennett/Wilson, GC1XX37. It's a nice area, some interesting sights to see and ponder. Interesting question, Dave. I like it.

I would want to keep the Rockland Breakwater cache, because people that go there always have good things to say about the location and many might not have found the area if they weren't looking for the cache. One per year would be an interesting idea though. The places that the caches would be placed would most likely be very special places..........

This is a tough one for me.... having SOOOO many hides.... and for all you wise-asses out there, no I wouldn't keep any of my Star Wars series...

I would keep GC21NKNP DIre Straights: Tribute to The Death Squad.... read the logs. But a close second, or maybe a co-favorite would be GC1W2DF Quarry of Serenity...

The sad part about this question is that if this was the case, we'd only have maybe 35 caches in all of Maine for the first year! It seems that the same old cachers are the ones placing and maintaining all the hides...

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Originally Posted by CARoperPhotography

The sad part about this question is that if this was the case, we'd only have maybe 35 caches in all of Maine for the first year! It seems that the same old cachers are the ones placing and maintaining all the hides...

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And the sad part is? Sounds good to me!

I'm not sure where you are getting your numbers from but the fact is it would be much more than 35 caches. There are currently 976 unique cache hiders in Maine, and that is not counting new and existing cachers with no hides that would be able to place one as well.

There are many cache hiders who hide one nice cache that go unnoticed behind those that hide so many. That is the sad part. But let's not let this thread be about that (but it gives me an idea for another thread).

Back to the topic at hand - who's next?

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Originally Posted by brdad

I'm not sure where you are getting your numbers from but the fact is it would be much more than 35 caches. There are currently 976 unique cache hiders in Maine, and that is not counting new and existing cachers with no hides that would be able to place one as well.
?

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And there are 2,114 members of GeocachingMaine.org alone. And I've mentioned before that a lot of cachers who log our caches who are not members of GCM.org. :D:D

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Originally Posted by brdad

Which one of your caches will you keep, or will you place a new one, and why?

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We'd definitely keep our "Got Moxie?" cache. It's probably the most scenic waterfall in Maine, and the walk to the cache is really representative of the Maine woods. :D:D

I would have to keep Deathwish. It doesn't get a lot of logs but the ones that do it really like it.

And how many of those unique cache huders are
actually active in Geoaching after finding a handful of caches and placing one or two that they don't bother to maintain, and ed
up costing all of us countless DNFs every caching trip and it takes a Papal Decree to get MainePubliher to archive? Ha ha

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Originally Posted by CARoperPhotography

And how many of those unique cache huders are
actually active in Geoaching after finding a handful of caches and placing one or two that they don't bother to maintain, and ed
up costing all of us countless DNFs every caching trip and it takes a Papal Decree to get MainePubliher to archive? Ha ha

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If a cache has 2 consecutive DNF's, we don't even bother with it. :D:D

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Originally Posted by WhereRWe?

If a cache has 2 consecutive DNF's, we don't even bother with it. :D:D

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We're just as apt to go give one a try even if there have been more than two, depending on circumstances. There's no guideline we use but if we're in the area anyway we might give it a try. Perfect example was Webber Pond. There were 4 DNF's before we gave it a shot. We got a general hint from RCWhit because he had found it earlier but it still took about 20 minutes before it was uncovered. It's still there, I believe, even though it's been DNF'ed again. The reason we did this one was simply because we like the caches placed by Mapachi (intentional incorrect coordinates and all) so we figured we'd give it a try in hopes of finding it so he wouldn't have to trundle on down there before his bum foot/leg was ready.

Other caches with DNF's we might try just to see if we can get luckier than those who preceeded us. Sometimes we do, others we DNF ourselves. Some we give a real try to find, others we just give the area a cursory glance. It's all part of the game, in our estimation, including how you decide which caches you try to find.

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Originally Posted by brdad

And the sad part is? Sounds good to me!

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Then why don't you move to Haiti or st Lucia? They both have just two geocaches in whole country. You would love geocaching there :P I have been geocaching in both and it sucks.

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Originally Posted by cano

Then why don't you move to Haiti or st Lucia? They both have just two geocaches in whole country. You would love geocaching there :P I have been geocaching in both and it sucks.

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I have a theory (based on no known facts) that if people hid a smaller number of caches that other cachers would be more likely to hide a few. I think it is intimidating to some to hide one cache when someone next door is placing tens or hundreds. I also think if the number of hides were limited, more thought would be put into those hides and they would represent the hider better. So, I have no interest in moving to Haiti, but I'd have no problem dropping back to 700+ good quality, solid caches for one year. I am guessing in as little as 4 or 5 years we would be back to our present number of caches, but they would be done with much more imagination than many present caches.

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Originally Posted by brdad

I have a theory (based on no known facts) that if people hid a smaller number of caches that other cachers would be more likely to hide a few. I think it is intimidating to some to hide one cache when someone next door is placing tens or hundreds.

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Pam and I have each hidden one cache - the listing says both of us but I own one and she owns one. They're both in places of some little bit of historical value. The two other types of caches we may consider placing would be in a place we consider significant because of the beauty of the area or of something nearby and we may place one in a spot of no significance at all but the cache itself we're hoping would be the draw. Not in the sense of more numbers either as a cache hider or for the general cacher out looking but for what the cache contains.

We don't place caches based on how many we can get out there (obviously since we've only placed 2) and we don't seek out caches based on seeing how fast we can get to milestones like 500, 1000 and so on. If either of those things work for an individual cacher, great for them. If we happen on a cache that's along our route for the day and we stop to log it we might not put as much effort into what we say on the online log if there is no significance to it's placement. That's already been mentioned by others as well. Personally, what I get out of geocaching is kind of twofold. I enjoy the hunt but I far more enjoy the hunt with my wife along with me. Neither one of us (with the exception of the first one RCWhit too Pam too) has looked for and logged a cache without the other one along for the trip. Pam occasionally hangs back while I get a hard to get to cache because of her knee but she's at least nearby.

All that being said, I can envision a person being intimidated by a power cacher enough that they decide against placing caches because of that. It's just not us. :)

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Originally Posted by brdad

I have a theory (based on no known facts) that if people hid a smaller number of caches that other cachers would be more likely to hide a few. I think it is intimidating to some to hide one cache when someone next door is placing tens or hundreds. I also think if the number of hides were limited, more thought would be put into those hides and they would represent the hider better. So, I have no interest in moving to Haiti, but I'd have no problem dropping back to 700+ good quality, solid caches for one year. I am guessing in as little as 4 or 5 years we would be back to our present number of caches, but they would be done with much more imagination than many present caches.

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I also have a theory based on know facts... besides the obvious.

Fact one, not many hides in the first few years. I keep wishing I had started this obsession back when it all started. Then I think about how quick it would have gotten old after finding the few caches within a reasonable distance and then having nothing to look forward to except long trips resulting in killing polar bears and getting eaten by far off bugs. If I'm going to get eaten, it's going to be by the neighborhood population. It would get boring quick. Just look at how many people that started back in 2000 or even just five years ago. Not many of them still around. After you find the ones close it doesn't matter how much thought, represention of the hider, solid or imagination went into the hides, the sport would die without the interest from the participants. I know I would have gotten bored quick.

Another thing is the quality of the hides that people keep talking about. What criteria are you using for quality? If you have absolutely no imagination and wonder in your life I can see where you might need someone else to provide this stimulus. I find a level of excitement in each cache. Someone hid a secret stash of some kind that only a few other special people know about. Only a few of the people that know about this stash can find it and fewer more can do this without being seen and having the stash discovered and destroyed by muggles. In the middle of town or at the top of the mountain, it is the excitement of finding the hidden treasure, searching for clues and solving riddles. If its just about going to locations that are interesting go to a tourism sight. If it's just about the trees, water, and animals, go out in the yard, look at the trees, spray some water in a bucket and let the bugs eat you. Put a 5 gal pal out there with a bunch of pictures and tokens in it and each time you cut the lawn it will be like a new find for you. A tree is a tree, a pond is a pond, an animal is an animal to some. A quality hide can be a GRC or an ammo can at the edge of a great vista if you choose it to be. I choose not to limit my enjoyment to such a strict boring criteria.

I'm not so sure we need more people hiding caches. Using GSAK I see many many caches that have been put out, quality or not that need attention and the hider is long gone and the cache is trash.

I'm not sure I can see anything reflecting the persona of anyone by placing an ammo can on top of some old mountain, or placing an ammo can under a rock at the edge of some old pond. Big whoop. Can't believe I'm going to say this... put a nano in a statue in a park with all the history surrounding you. Put a micro in a tree along a great dirt road in the woods take brings you out to an area that you might never go and each time you stop you get to see something different. Now thats interesting, intriguing, fun and adventurous.

Nature, bah!

Really, quality is subjective. I see quality and adventure in each cache. I just wish everyone could enjoy this sport as much as I do.

I agree with your perspective, Ekodokai, to some extent. If I didn't, we wouldn't stop for those caches along the route we took on any given day. I think the best way to put it would be, if they were all just GRC's in ever guardrail along a road that I'd been down for other reasons I probably wouldn't continue caching. We're preparing for a trip to gather in a few caches this coming Tuesday that we'll combine with a little fishing, a lot of site seeing on a new road that we wouldn't be on if it weren't for geocaching and having a nice picnic lunch somewhere along the way. If there were just one cache along the route in a significant area because of the scenario brdad outlined in this thread we would probably still go and simply enjoy the day. Maybe we'd spend more time fishing. Maybe we'd spend more time eating the picnic lunch in a scenic area. Who knows? I'm just thankful there are other cachers out there who enjoy the sport as well so that it has the opportunity to keep going and growing. I agree with you on the point you made about those who have moved along and now their caches are beginning to show their age. It would be nice if they'd offer them for adoption or remove them so that others can place something in the general area or what ever. In the mean time, as we find caches that are wet, we try to replace logs if we can. We remove offensive items or items that are inappropriate. We try to leave the area nicer than when we came if possible. And, we just go on enjoying life.

By quality, I was referring to unique, well thought out, and well maintained. I don't think that just because a hider is limited to one cache that all roadside, grc, and lpc caches would be gone, nor should they be.

As far as getting bored, if you started in 2001 maybe you would have gotten bored and left. Many did. I started in June of 2002 and there were 145 active caches. I cached my ass off and never got bored. They were not all in the woods. Oddly enough, the percentage of D/T ratings were very similar to today's caches. Some caches were great, some were less so, but it was still great to get out. And I never got my unfound Maine caches down to less than 80. At that point I thought I might be able to get them all. But the caches started coming in 2003 so quick no one could have kept up with it. While 2 or 3 cachers might cache the state dry, I'd bet if we started at 7-800 (as this thread's topic suggests) and increased accordingly, most cachers would always have caches to find. Maybe they would not be able to run out and drive .3 miles from home and get one, and maybe they would not get more than 25 or so in a day, but I think there would be plenty of caches to keep the majority occupied.

I do think caches can show a hiders persona. Laughing Terry has many fun and clever hides. Cano loves his puzzles. Groleau loves the physical challenge. Hollora, Cameo, and Becket showed their compassion with the Maine Rose Series. EmsDaniel loves his little critters. Northwoods Explorer loves Geology. And the list goes on. I'm sure not everyone sees any value in this aspect of a cache, but Lee and myself both like it when a cache reflects on the hider.

Di and I did one of the St. Lucia caches. Pretty island but they need more caches!

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Originally Posted by cano

Then why don't you move to Haiti or st Lucia? They both have just two geocaches in whole country. You would love geocaching there :P I have been geocaching in both and it sucks.

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It would have to be our 3 Mile Pond Hike, Kayak or Whatever Cache. It's the only 5.0 terrain we've put out so far but the most fun is that it's located about 70 feet from the chair I'm sitting in so we can watch cachers struggle to figure it out.:)

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Originally Posted by dubord207

It would have to be our 3 Mile Pond Hike, Kayak or Whatever Cache. It's the only 5.0 terrain we've put out so far but the most fun is that it's located about 70 feet from the chair I'm sitting in so we can watch cachers struggle to figure it out.:)

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Lee got the ok from her doc to kayak, so we're hoping to get out and do some kayak caches in the near future. We have a lot of non-caching duties on the upcoming calendar, however. :(

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Originally Posted by brdad

I'm sure not everyone sees any value in this aspect of a cache, but Lee and myself both like it when a cache reflects on the hider.

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Sheesh! Am I supposed to be embarrassed by the fact that all our caches are "BIG"? LOL! :p:p

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Originally Posted by brdad

By quality, I was referring to unique, well thought out, and well maintained. I don't think that just because a hider is limited to one cache that all roadside, grc, and lpc caches would be gone, nor should they be.

As far as getting bored, if you started in 2001 maybe you would have gotten bored and left. Many did. I started in June of 2002 and there were 145 active caches. I cached my ass off and never got bored. They were not all in the woods. Oddly enough, the percentage of D/T ratings were very similar to today's caches. Some caches were great, some were less so, but it was still great to get out. And I never got my unfound Maine caches down to less than 80. At that point I thought I might be able to get them all. But the caches started coming in 2003 so quick no one could have kept up with it. While 2 or 3 cachers might cache the state dry, I'd bet if we started at 7-800 (as this thread's topic suggests) and increased accordingly, most cachers would always have caches to find. Maybe they would not be able to run out and drive .3 miles from home and get one, and maybe they would not get more than 25 or so in a day, but I think there would be plenty of caches to keep the majority occupied.

I do think caches can show a hiders persona. Laughing Terry has many fun and clever hides. Cano loves his puzzles. Groleau loves the physical challenge. Hollora, Cameo, and Becket showed their compassion with the Maine Rose Series. EmsDaniel loves his little critters. Northwoods Explorer loves Geology. And the list goes on. I'm sure not everyone sees any value in this aspect of a cache, but Lee and myself both like it when a cache reflects on the hider.

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Noticed that Brdad did get some of my hides when he was down here, but for some reason limited to the hides that by his definition were not quality hides. I have some very HIGH quality hides that he totally ignored....very odd don't you think?

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Originally Posted by WhereRWe?

Sheesh! Am I supposed to be embarrassed by the fact that all our caches are "BIG"? LOL! :p:p

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Are you trying to make up for some other "personal" short coming?

This cache is one of my favorites. As I was admiring the view of the back cove area in Portland from Sheridan Street, I decided to place a guardrail cache from a spot that gave a great view. As I was averaging the coordinates, I heard voices coming from above and behind me. I turned and saw two women leaning against a fence straight up a steep hill about 45 feet higher.

I grabbed the cache and drove up to North Street and found a delightful park with spectacular views of Portland. I had lived in the area more than 20 years and had no idea this park existed. The logs indicate taht I am not the only local who was unaware of this park! I am so glad those women spoke loudly that day!:)

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache...2-998a50e7306f

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Originally Posted by dubord207

It would have to be our 3 Mile Pond Hike, Kayak or Whatever Cache. It's the only 5.0 terrain we've put out so far but the most fun is that it's located about 70 feet from the chair I'm sitting in so we can watch cachers struggle to figure it out.:)

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This one was a blast! Liked it so much I brought the kids back the next day so Joey could make the find. :D

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Originally Posted by Ekidokai

. I choose not to limit my enjoyment to such a strict boring criteria.

I'm not so sure we need more people hiding caches. Using GSAK I see many many caches that have been put out, quality or not that need attention and the hider is long gone and the cache is trash.

I'm not sure I can see anything reflecting the persona of anyone by placing an ammo can on top of some old mountain, or placing an ammo can under a rock at the edge of some old pond. Big whoop. Can't believe I'm going to say this... put a nano in a statue in a park with all the history surrounding you. Put a micro in a tree along a great dirt road in the woods take brings you out to an area that you might never go and each time you stop you get to see something different. Now thats interesting, intriguing, fun and adventurous.

Nature, bah!

Really, quality is subjective. I see quality and adventure in each cache. I just wish everyone could enjoy this sport as much as I do.

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I agree Mike! Its a good thing BRDad isn't running the show :)

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Originally Posted by CARoperPhotography

Are you trying to make up for some other "personal" short coming?

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Sheesh! I don't know. Perhaps. :p:p

What "personal shortcoming" are you trying to make up for by being so confrontational? :confused::confused:

Excuse me!!!! Didn't I do a micro cache today you put out? Since when does a film canister qualify as "big?" Hope you're not trying to trick your fellow cachers!;)

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Originally Posted by WhereRWe?

Sheesh! Am I supposed to be embarrassed by the fact that all our caches are "BIG"? LOL! :p:p

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Originally Posted by EvilHomer

I agree Mike! Its a good thing BRDad isn't running the show :)

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While I don't think this one idea of mine would be detrimental to the sport, if everything was the way I would have it, I agree the game would probably fade out fast! Of course, many of my thoughts are based on experience, some things I thought were important early on are not that important and some of the things I thought were not important are. What I would have proposed for rules when I started is not necessarily the case now!

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Originally Posted by brdad

While I don't think this one idea of mine would be detrimental to the sport, if everything was the way I would have it, I agree the game would probably fade out fast!

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I disagree. You need to get up to this area. It would renew your faith in continuance geocaching! LOL! :D:D

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Originally Posted by lexmano

This cache is one of my favorites. As I was admiring the view of the back cove area in Portland from Sheridan Street, I decided to place a guardrail cache from a spot that gave a great view. As I was averaging the coordinates, I heard voices coming from above and behind me. I turned and saw two women leaning against a fence straight up a steep hill about 45 feet higher.

I grabbed the cache and drove up to North Street and found a delightful park with spectacular views of Portland. I had lived in the area more than 20 years and had no idea this park existed. The logs indicate taht I am not the only local who was unaware of this park! I am so glad those women spoke loudly that day!:)

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache...2-998a50e7306f

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If you look at my official Geocaching profile, you will see that I listed this cache as one of my favorites! The vista from the park is similar to my favorite view of Seattle, WA from the Queen Anne neighborhood inside the city limits.... probably the most iconic views of Seattle. Thanks for this cache Lex! It is a great spot unknown to most of us, and one I would never have found except by caching!

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Originally Posted by WhereRWe?

Sheesh! I don't know. Perhaps. :p:p

What "personal shortcoming" are you trying to make up for by being so confrontational? :confused::confused:

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Nah, thats the reason I have my Jeep...not why I am so confrontational. I am so confrontational because I have balls unlike a lot of others here on the forum who either won't say a thing or will but toe the party line and are afraid to really speak up....

This thread has veered off in 8 directions so I have created an article titled
The one cache you would keep? to display the originally intended data. Thee are some interesting thoughts going on here nonetheless, so we'll keep this open. If you'd still like to add your favorite hide to the list in the article, feel free to post here or in the article comments.

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Originally Posted by WhereRWe?

I disagree. You need to get up to this area. It would renew your faith in continuance geocaching! LOL! :D:D

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See, this is where I think the difference is, correct me if I am wrong. I am guessing most of these caches stand on their own. If you were to do only one of them, you would be satisfied. If LT were allowed to hide only one of these a year, you'd be happy to do them anyway.

I know there are some cachers out there that cannot be satisfied unless they have found 25 or more in a day, and there are some caches out there that would be less than interesting for most unless you find 25 or more of them in a day.

Some caches are simply not designed to stand alone. I'm guessing most of the Star Wars series are like that. If I was to drive from Bangor to find only one, I'd probably be dissatisfied. It's obvious they were not placed to be found alone. There is nothing wrong with that, but for me I prefer caches that can stand alone, even if I get 25 of them in a day.

It sounds like the auto series might have stepped it up a notch and LT's may have stepped it up another notch. Someday I'll do a few of many or all of the series and know better.

Sheesh, this thread is like the chat some nights - 10 topics going on at once!

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Originally Posted by brdad

See, this is where I think the difference is, correct me if I am wrong. I am guessing most of these caches stand on their own. If you were to do only one of them, you would be satisfied. If LT were allowed to hide only one of these a year, you'd be happy to do them anyway.

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Sheesh! Anyone who has done more than one of LT's caches knows that they definitely stand alone! LOL! :D:D