[Az-Geocaching] forwarded forum post about micro/urban caches.. from Daniel J. Karam

[Roping The Wind]

>>Microcaches - The Death of Creative Geocaching By Daniel J. Caram
aka jmarac

My son Paul has been geocaching half of his life. He was probably one of the 
few two year olds in the country that could say the word "Geocaching". I 
have pictures of him bouncing along in my backpack, patiently enduring the 
prickers, heat, and mud. One such quest took us a couple of hours up the 
side of a mountain and ended up with me having my boots literally sucked off 
of my feet! Eventually it became an understanding between us, that Paul's 
reward was to be able to choose his prize from the spoils when we actually 
found the green box. But recently a whole slew of microcaches have flooded 
our area, prompting the now 4 year old Paul to inquire - Where is the green 
box? Although I have other reasons for asking it - it is a good question - 
Where have all the green boxes gone?

We all remember the first time we went geocaching. I became fascinated in 
the sport after reading a lengthy article in the local Erie Times News. Soon 
afterwards, I purchased a Garmin Etrex from Amazon.com which I still refer 
to as the best $100.00 I ever spent. My first few caches were found at 
Presque Isle State Park. I have lived in Erie, Pennsylvania all of my life 
and had been to this beautiful area of forests and beaches more times than I 
could count, but I discovered my first cache in an area of the park to which 
I had never ventured. "Wow, I never knew this place existed!" I exclaimed. I 
found myself making that statement repeatedly as the geocaching bug bit me, 
taking me to beautiful overlooks, pastures, and state game lands all around 
my hometown.

Not only was I impressed by the locations, but also by the creativity of the 
individuals who had placed them. One cacher did a series based on Tolkien's 
"Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Another fellow had devised a couple of caches 
where the green ammo box was to be found high in a tree, only to be accessed 
by finding a rope that would lower the cache from a pulley system! Yet 
another had stashed a multi-cache based on Star Wars; one stage involved 
finding a hidden set of binoculars and then using them to read clues of a 
sign posted far away Little mini adventures! I applauded this thinking that 
was "outside the box" (no pun intended). I appreciated the time and energy 
that was invested into making them clever. Geocaching provided a great way 
to spend a pleasant afternoon, seeking a diversion away from the city on a 
little hidden scavenger hunt adventure.

But slowly, this escapism and creativity has been fading away with the 
inordinate number of microcaches that have been flooding the geocaching 
landscape. Instead of a green ammo box or substantive container cunningly 
squirreled away in a beautiful area, there are little Altoids tins or 
magnetic keyholders or tiny green cylinders hastily stuffed right smack dab 
in the middle of a bustling public area. Many of the cache descriptions have 
the following disclaimer - "be discreet while retrieving this" or "this is a 
high traffic area so beware of muggles", or "use stealth when obtaining this 
one". Why!? Why should I have to act like a petty criminal up to no good 
when I'm trying to obtain a cache? I like fresh air and scenic overlooks - 
not wondering what that whole row of houses across the street thinks of me 
poking along their fence trying to find a tic-tac container. I do not enjoy 
sneaking around trying to look nonchalant in a public place!

One microcache in our area was actually hidden right on the base of a 
rock-climbing wall in a family sports park. This place is usually teeming 
with people so I went early in the morning to try to get it, only to have a 
police cruiser slow down and observe me. I finally found it but had to admit 
to myself- "I really didn't enjoy that". I'm into geocaching for the 
challenge and the scenery, but I want to do all this without having to act 
suspiciously. Is that too much to ask? A fellow geocacher, who lives about 
30 miles from me, said that in his area, microcaches are showing up in 
laundromats, parking lots, and newspaper boxes. "Geocaching," he lamented, 
"is becoming organized littering".

Why do geocachers place these little microcaches? Two reasons: Because 
generally, they are a fast and cheap way to rack up more numbers next to 
your name. 1) Fast - because they do not involve much planning or 
creativity. You don't need to put any real time or energy in the creative 
process putting a little magnetic holder on a bridge post. 2) Cheap - You 
can procure a dozen little containers for a couple of bucks. A green ammo 
box is at least $5.00, plus you want to stock it well (another $10) so 
probably about $15 for an average cache. As I write this, the number next to 
my name is a measly 82. That works out to be about one cache a week. I was 
never into geocaching for the numbers and I never will be. I would rather 
find one thoughtful, creative or scenically placed cache, than ten hastily 
dropped and ultimately annoying microcaches. I have some great memories and 
experiences while geocaching - almost none of them involve microcaches.

There are exceptions, of course, to all of this.Creativity and microcaches 
do not have to be mutually exclusive. Micros aren't always horrible and ammo 
boxes are not always creative. While I was on business in Pittsburgh, 
geocaching brought me to a spectacular overlook of the city that could only 
have accomplished with a microcache. Conversely, I have seen people just 
drop an ammo box in the midst of some poison ivy infested area behind the 
rest room of a state park.

Of course, if you live in a strictly urban setting like New York City, you 
are probably resigned to microcaches, but for the majority of us with many 
parks and acres of forests around, we don't have an excuse. I steadfastly 
reject the argument that we are running out of places to hide caches. I used 
to look forward to my weekly email from Geocaching.com heralding the new 
caches in my area - now this list, replete with just more and more 
microcaches, inspires a disappointed yawn.

I write this article not to be critical, but because I love geocaching and 
want to see it survive. Perhaps I'm not as annoyed with the microcache 
containers themselves as I am with the complacency and lack of originality 
they seem to engender. Next time you place a cache, tap into your hidden 
reserves of creativity and let's get back to what made us want to go 
geocaching in the first place. Oh and by the way, if you're caching out in 
the Erie, Pennsylvania area - put a toy in the green box for Paul. <<

Scott
Team Ropingthewind

_________________________________________________________________
Don’t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! 
http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/