Very nicely put, Regan. There seems to be a whole generation of
cachers who think lite pole caches and park bench/playground caches
are the norm nowadays. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jeff
(Team 360) JR (team AJ.JR ) and Dave Ulmer a few years back, and was a
little surprised with Daves take on the sport of geocaching that he
gave birth to. Strangely enough, I remember him saying that he had no
idea that geocaching would have become so big (with the help of
Jeremy) and that he really didn't keep up with the game a whole lot.
At that time he was travelling around the country in his motorhome and
must have driven by a whole plethora of caches everyday. Maybe it was
just my take on what he said, but I got the distinct feeling he wasn't
too receptive of the idea of many of the urban/city caches being
placed at that time. I wonder what his feelings are today? I hear
about cachers with physical limitations, and I'm sure there are quite
a few cachers out there with legitimate physical disabilities, but
there's also a bunch of "lazy" cachers out there who spend way too
much time sitting on their butt playing on the computer, by
choice. Some of those cachers have limitations like being way too fat
(bad knees, etc.) or just totally out of shape from sitting on their
rears. Hands-On Cachers have a cache near Montana Mountain that is
named "Get off the Couch, and Cache" (GC1JQY7) which says it all, as
far as I'm concerned. I think many urban park/parking lot/electrical
boxes/sprinkler head cachers use the excuse that these caches are
hidden for those who just can't do the hiking or off-road caches due
to physical limitations, wrong vehicle, or time constraints. That's
baloney. I feel empathy for those who really are handicapped, but that
group of cachers is a very small minority of the total caching crowd.
For those who have ventured out in the desert or mountains to seek a
hiking/off road cache, my hat's off to you. The feeling of actually
having to put forth some effort to get to one of these caches
is wonderful, and beats doing 25-50 urban caches, hands down. I still
do a few urban caches, if I'm in the mood, but enjoy the caches placed
in the boonies a whole lot more. AZcachemeister and AZgeckogirl, as
well as AJ.JR , TEF, 360, ShadowAce,Desert Rhino, Sprocket 1980,
Roping-the-Wind, Team A.I., Highpointer, Hands-On Cachers, Just Hike
and quite a few others place mostly caches that include some effort to
get to, a scenic location, and a sense of accomplishment. I know the
numbers thing is attractive to quite a few cachers, as we got caught
up in it in the "early" days, but do we need "power trails" such
as Redundant #1 thru #100? There seems to be a rash of cachers placing
caches .10 apart, with little, or no value, other than to pump up the
numbers. Just because you have more finds than somebody else doesn't
mean that you're a better cacher, or that folks respect you more.
Arizona Ranger Team has quite a few less finds than I Do, but
I respect their sense of adventure, and the type of caches they
pursue. Anyway, I hope I haven't stepped on too many toes, and want to
thank all of those cachers who place hides that have some true
value...............
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Regan Smith <mailto:evilfish@cox.net>
*To:* listserv@azgeocaching.com <mailto:listserv@azgeocaching.com>
*Sent:* Saturday, December 27, 2008 11:51 AM
*Subject:* [Az-Geocaching] Why I became a Premium Member
Ya Know I really didn't want to pay for a Premium Membership, as
for the many years prior Geocaching was about the Geo taking the
GPS putting in coordinates and finding a cache outside..
Now as if a bad plague I felt it very necessary for me to pay to
Ignore armchair caching, Have all the good stand alone caching
locations been taken that you have to add sitting infront of the
computer playing math and phone games before going out to enjoy
the outdoors. Has climate change done so much to ruin wanting to
spend time outside????
When Dave Ulmer hid his cache he said come and find it, now how
many take the trip to see that spot??.. Yes times change but the
principle of here is a cache and go find it should not be perverted.
I was told by Alex months ago if you do not like that type of hide
why hide one like it? I so want to hide a more devious cache page
cache so all the minority cachers can bitch and moan at their lack
of understanding my logic but will not pervert the game any more.
but the lock and cable will remain....
Just like giving the challenge to a few other cacher about
stepping up their game I will add now Keep it up.
Thanks ACM for the enlightenment of the Ignore button
____________________________________________________________
Az-Geocaching mailing list listserv@azgeocaching.com
To edit your setting, subscribe or unsubscribe visit:
http://listserv.azgeocaching.com/mailman/listinfo/az-geocaching
Arizona's Geocaching Resource
http://www.azgeocaching.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________________
Az-Geocaching mailing list listserv@azgeocaching.com
To edit your setting, subscribe or unsubscribe visit:
http://listserv.azgeocaching.com/mailman/listinfo/az-geocaching
Arizona's Geocaching Resource
http://www.azgeocaching.com