[Az-Geocaching] Re: Food for Thought

[Scott Sparks]

>From: AZcachemeister <azcachemeister at getnet.com>
>
>So what is the real problem? The fact that they were stolen, or the fact 
>that they were stolen before you got there? 

I think you hit the nail on the head, Steve. (Just kidding, Scott, even though I know it is at least partly true.  ;-) )

I can relate to your frustration, though.  It seems some caches are gone before I even have the chance to print out the paperwork.  I think it's part of the nature of the game and comes with the territory.  I try not to dwell too much on the ones that went AWOL before I had a chance to hunt them because they are greatly outnumbered by the ones that are out there long enough for me to find.  There have been over 60 new caches placed in Arizona in the past 10 days alone.  I don't think we're going to run out of caches to hunt anytime soon. 



>I think many of these caches were hidden by newcomers who are learning 
>some valuable (and painful) lessons. I figure that if a cache doesn't 
>last long enough for me to find it, I probably wouldn't have been so 
>thrilled to make the find anyway. 


I look at them much the same way.  If it only lasted a few days (or hours, in some cases) I'd rather it was muggled right away and archived than gone missing the day before I tried to look for it.  That just saves me a wasted trip.

>Many's the time I have had to stop 
>myself from including some sort of derogatory comment in my logs about 
>the way some caches have been 'hidden'. I try to imagine that Dad 
>decided to let Little Suzie pick the location, and that she is going to 
>read my log about the cache. 

More words of wisdom, Steve. I always try to keep the following mantra in mind whether I'm geocaching or just interacting with others throughout the course of a normal day:

''Every person is different and has a different way of looking at things.''

Something I learned long ago that has kept me out of many arguments and saved me from pulling my hair out in frustration.

<the following is directed at no one in particular>

As for ''stealth'' I know that many people enjoy the aspect of finding a micro cache right under the noses of a couple dozen park revelers.  I enjoy it myself, on occasion.  More often than not, though, all those people are just a nuisance to me.  There have been many instances where I have bypassed a cache, even though I could see it or knew where it was hidden, simply because there were too many people around.  There are way more caches out there to be found and, although it can be frustrating to have to skip a cache, I know for every one like it, there are a dozen or more that I can walk up to and find  without incident.  Stealth comes in many forms, too.  Sometimes it's just a question of going back to that busy park at another time when it's not so busy.  As a general rule, I try to avoid parks during the day on weekends and in the late afternoon on weekdays. A park that is grand central station on a sunny Sunday afternoon or after school on a weekday, can be a virtual sanctuary of solitude early in the morning on Saturday or Sunday, or in the middle of a weekday. Late at night is a good time too, provided you aren't flailing about with a high-powered flashlight or making lots of noise. That's assuming you're not in the park when it is ''officially'' closed.

Bottom line is this: there are currently 2967 active caches in Arizona. If you don't like the placement of one, pick a another one.

-- Sprocket




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