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#Post#: 6149--------------------------------------------------
Your worst caching experience?
By: Griff Grof Date: October 31, 2013, 1:25 pm
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GRRR I just had a pretty bad one - caching-wise!
So we took Fizz the puppy out on a walk to find her first
Geocache - she had a brilliant time, jumping around in a stream,
meeting another dog, and seeing a new area! But she didn't get
to see her first cache: it was getting dark and so we decided to
turn back, as it was a quite a way to the car. That was all
good, but what was bad about it was: there wasn't anywhere to
park, there were grumpy residents who weren't happy to see us
walking down the footpath, and, I'm not sure if people agree,
but in principle those sole standing caches are always a bit
annoying - of course there are exceptions - but this was one of
those "are we on the right path, or is it the parallel one way
over there?" - this is why I enjoy circular walks more :)
HOWEVER, I wouldn't say that was my WORST caching experience,
just a slightly unpleasant one for the reasons above... I would
say that my worst caching experience was - urgh, it makes me
laugh now thinking about it - was when we were hunting for a
'large' cache, with plenty of favourite points, for my 500th...
It was an unknown cache: you had to work out the puzzle to two
more caches, and each of them contained half of the coordinates
to the grande large finale. Found the first and noted the
Westings fine, but then the northings...
It was one of those
hanging-over-the-edge-of-a-railway-bridge-next-to-busy-road
caches >:( I found the cache, but there were no coordinates
inside :o - just a riddle - and, you guessed it, it was one of
THOSE riddles that you can't get your head around. So we left GZ
thinking we'd be able to find the cache with just the North
coordinates, anyway, it would be a great 500th after all... So I
turned to common sense: the cache had to be somewhere in the
area. I had studied the cache gallery in the days leading up to
the hunt, and so I identified several locations on the map (and
even by shouting STOP as we were driving) which looked remotely
like the photos.
We ended up walking across a golf course, many fields, along
many roads, through a couple of forests (trying to match the
north coordinates) all in the hope that we'd find the cache. Of
course, there were several "I FOUND IT!!!" moments, nope, just a
turned over dustbin or large bucket each time (it was a large
cache, after all). We just got too frustrated and gave up. We
had wasted a day, and driven 40 miles for this cache >:(
So, on the way home, in the pitch black, I decided we could find
Starman for my 500th... On the way home and under the stars
themselves and in blistering winds up on those hill tops we
tried to find the cache but decided to call it a day in the
end.
Returned the next day where I could enjoy the views and find the
cache, a most worthy 500th - no silly riddles, no silly puzzles,
no busy roads - just a good cache in a stunning picturesque
spot. ;D
So that's my worst caching experience - what's yours?? Could get
some good stories on here (I hope I haven't made a fool of
myself with mine! :D )
#Post#: 6152--------------------------------------------------
Re: Your worst caching experience?
By: SangueG Date: November 1, 2013, 9:28 am
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I feel for you. I have done the "looking for a cache when you
only have part of the coords" thing, and wasted much time doing
too, but not one I had travelled that distance for.
My worst caching experience was not at all down to the CO of the
caches I was looking for, but for the way I went about looking
for them.
Not long after I had started caching, when it was all about the
numbers, I set out to do the Etchilhampton Hill series near
Devizes, with xJ. We decided to attack the series in the
quickest possibly way we could think of, and my idea was to use
bikes. This series is not designed for bikes, but that didn't
stop us. It rained that day, hard. The mud was deep in places.
Sticky, sludgy, squelchy mud. Some of the route we managed
reasonably quickly, but when we hit the main part of the hill
things went bad...
The rain turned to a storm, rumbles of thunder could be heard
approaching. The path up through the fields to the top of the
hill had the stickiest mud of all. Part way going up my front
wheel got stuck in and locked up with mud and I went over the
handlebars in to it. As soon as we did hit the peak the storm
was pretty much on top of us and so being at the highest point
for quite some distance we had to make our way hastily down
again so that we didn't get fried by lightening.
It was a good series for those looking for numbers though. We
found all but one. What it is more though, is a jolly good walk
with good views. It is not a jolly good cycle ride. I think we
would of done just as quickly, if not quicker if we had walked.
It was a day of learning :)
#Post#: 6156--------------------------------------------------
Re: Your worst caching experience?
By: Griff Grof Date: November 1, 2013, 1:23 pm
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I completely understand! One of my other bad experiences was
when we tackled a famous large series by bike, again not
designed for it, it was a nightmare riding through plowed
fields! Plus, it wasn't a very nice area so we quit when we got
to #30 and rode back down the hill, through the busy town to the
car :D PLUS, there were stiles at the end of EVERY field
boundary, to lift THREE bikes over each time - the CO had said
it was bike-able :o >:(
We've done the Etchilhampton Hill series, on New Years Eve 2010.
Grandparents were staying and we were going out to lunch at one,
but my friend and I really wanted to find some more caches to
end the year off! We woke up at 6, by the time we got there it
was 7, and we completed the series in just over an hour (maybe
an hour and a half??) anyway, it was one of the quickset loops
I've done, amazing considering the number of caches too - we
were back in time for 11, giving me plenty of time to log the
caches before even thinking of leaving for lunch! :D I see what
you mean about the bikes though, it certainly isn't designed for
that!
#Post#: 6230--------------------------------------------------
Re: Your worst caching experience?
By: L8HNB Date: November 10, 2013, 12:47 pm
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Ours was at a layby with a fixed café on a road that ran around
the side of a loch up in Scotland, sounds idyllic?
Well, not quite! To get to it there was a short scramble down a
bank, that was noticeably smelly, to the cache that was near the
loch shore, rotting vegetation? No, it wasn't until I climbed
back up that we noticed the fractured sewer pipe!
#Post#: 6250--------------------------------------------------
Re: Your worst caching experience?
By: L8HNB Date: November 11, 2013, 12:21 pm
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Posted a "Needs Archiving" log for GC2M3VZ, Hatfield Embankment!
the other day as it's well damp inside the cache and in my view
in a dangerous position on a bend that is a rat run into
Worcester.
It is a completely senseless cache as there isn't any footpath,
its not in a particularly nice location and there isn't really
any safe parking close by to make it a cash and dash. The only
reason I can think of for its placement is that the CO can
introduce visitors to Gabions!
I checked when the CO last visited geocaching.com, which was
21.12.11 so It's unlikely that it'll get sorted. I know a few
folks who visit this site have logged the cache but if you
haven't I'd not bother unless you are desperate for numbers!
There is another cache just down the road with parking nearby so
there's something to get if your passing.
#Post#: 6253--------------------------------------------------
Re: Your worst caching experience?
By: Griff Grof Date: November 11, 2013, 12:58 pm
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I think you did the right thing... The cache is now disabled!
I've looked at the single image in the gallery, and you're
right, it appears to be right past a bend and there's no
pavement to walk on! Plus by M40, as you said, a lot of traffic
must zoom by!
Looking at the CO's profile, seem this is one of those
let's-place-it-for-the-sake-of-it caches :(
#Post#: 6264--------------------------------------------------
Re: Your worst caching experience?
By: Airborne6MM Date: November 11, 2013, 6:56 pm
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I recently tried a power trail in Alabama. It was done by a 16
year old kid who openly stated that he didn't have "time or
money" to conduct basic maintenance. It was a trail of well over
100 caches, all micros. I only found about ten or so of the
caches before I got tired of driving two minutes, hopping out of
the car, hunting the cache, signing the log (if there was one,
and if it was intact), then repeating the process over and over
again. The caches were in generally poor shape, and I usually
don't mind adding a fresh log and new ziplock baggie here and
there, but that was a bit ridiculous. In my opinion, if you're
going to tackle the task of making a power trail, or any type of
cache for that matter, you should be able to conduct regular,
routine maintenance on the cache(s). From what I've come to
learn, a cache that sees regular finds should be checked on at
least a couple times a month, once a week if it's being found
quite regularly. If it's a cache that doesn't get much traffic,
once a month is a generally acceptable timeframe. Of course,
there are those times where you get a string of DNFs. Then you
should take your happy behind out there and find out what the
problem is. OK, rant complete. Sorry!
#Post#: 6267--------------------------------------------------
Re: Your worst caching experience?
By: Griff Grof Date: November 12, 2013, 2:06 am
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That sure does sound like a bad experience! And I see what you
mean in that the CO should check the caches every so often,
especially these sorts of caches. I don't think I could endure a
single cache on a highway power trail :D
#Post#: 6280--------------------------------------------------
Re: Your worst caching experience?
By: L8HNB Date: November 12, 2013, 2:44 pm
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Airborne6MM, I think you are brave to even try a trail like
that! We did 19 as part of a series up in Scotland a few years
ago, lovely scenery and novel caches (which we like) but the
stop starting wore a bit thin after a bit.
#Post#: 6665--------------------------------------------------
Re: Your worst caching experience?
By: bambam897 Date: December 30, 2013, 9:26 am
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Well most of the time when I go caching I tend to really enjoy
myself. However there was the one series which I found
particularly difficult on that front, I wanted to go for a
shortish walk somewhere a few miles from home so having decoded
the 'A series for your torment' caches off I went. Unfortunatly
I seemed to have picked the worse time for a walk and it seemed
that every single muggle dog walker plus lots of families were
out walking. Practically every 200 yards and there was another
group of people, which led to some difficult searching as I
don't like waiting around for people to move! One of them was a
crossroads and there were muggles approaching (slowly) from all
directions. I came away with a tally of 5 out of 11 :( . On the
good side though its nice to see people getting out in the fresh
air for a walk.
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