Author Topic: Your worst caching experience?  (Read 228 times)

Offline Griff Grof

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Your worst caching experience?
« on: October 31, 2013, 06:25:11 pm »
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 )
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Offline Gackt

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Re: Your worst caching experience?
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2013, 02:28:52 pm »
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 :)

Offline Griff Grof

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Re: Your worst caching experience?
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2013, 06:23:54 pm »
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!
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Offline L8HNB

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Re: Your worst caching experience?
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2013, 06:47:32 pm »
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!

Offline L8HNB

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Re: Your worst caching experience?
« Reply #4 on: November 11, 2013, 06:21:52 pm »
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.

Offline Griff Grof

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Re: Your worst caching experience?
« Reply #5 on: November 11, 2013, 06:58:15 pm »
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  :(
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Offline Airborne6MM

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Re: Your worst caching experience?
« Reply #6 on: November 12, 2013, 12:56:47 am »
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!

Offline Griff Grof

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Re: Your worst caching experience?
« Reply #7 on: November 12, 2013, 08:06:33 am »
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
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Offline L8HNB

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Re: Your worst caching experience?
« Reply #8 on: November 12, 2013, 08:44:18 pm »
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.

Offline bambam897

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Re: Your worst caching experience?
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2013, 03:26:37 pm »
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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