"Go, go, go! Hurry and get in! The next cache is .3
miles away and if you punch it right now, we can make the light!" Here is
another common scenario: "I ran this macro in GSAK and if we follow it and
don't fool around, we can get all the caches in this geotour in less than 3
hours! We won't have to spend a dime and can be home by 5pm!" One more: "I got 50 geocaches
yesterday!" "Did you see anything interesting other than the
caches?" "What? Well, we ate at Subway..."
I remember finding my first 100 or so geocaches and what an
adventure and how exciting each and every one was. I can still read about them
in my profile and describe everything. Sure, we all have total recall on
caches, but we do it now at hyper speed. We speed eat and chain smoke our
caches, for lack of stating it properly. We have become more focused on our
wake than on the pursuit of the adventure. Sure numbers matter, but honestly,
is filling in your grid or calendar the 3rd time to qualify for a challenge
actually important in the scheme of things? What about the 4th time, because
its on the horizon.
 |
| Amberita13 & HoustonControl |
At one point do we actually take time to savor the game
rather than seeing how much we can cram down our throat to get a daily full
stomach? Do we really need a power trail to get us excited, or make a run with
friends on 59 LPC's taking turns signing the log? I have contended for some
time that burdening ourselves with a daily find streak is nothing more than
placing a curse on us and takes away from the fun of the game. Why put yourself
under something like that? Why not
return to your kindergarten days and just have fun finding caches? Sorry, but
your streak means very little to anyone but you and sooner or later, you will
fall into failure.
If you think like I do, you set a target of say 500, 750, or
1000 caches a year. If you make it, great. If you don't, well, maybe next year.
Seriously, other than numbers, what is the difference if you have 5300 caches
and 7100? Or 18000 and 22000? Does it impress anyone to the point that they
lose their breath and fan themselves when you arrive? Do you get free 14
ingredient pseudo coffee when you walk into Starbucks because of this amazing
accomplishment? Is there shekinah glory surrounding you when you make your
appearance at an event with accompanying fireworks and a 5 jet flyover with
F-16's?
Make no mistake, I recognize these folks as senior
geocachers, but guess what? They have
trouble finding the same caches I do most of the time and the LPC's are
just as easy. Truth be told, they far surpass me in experience, so finding lots
of caches is a plus, but often people cache in groups and if you phone a friend
(PAF), they will confess someone else in the group found it and they can't help
you.
A geocacher I admire is skunkonthefog. He only searches for
geocaches that interest him. When he finds one, his log reflects the first
thing that comes to mind when he puts a pen to it and this is often quite
humorous. Another couple is 2katz and KeyResults and they are serious about the
game and work it whenever they can into their busy schedules. Both of these
geocachers don't have giant numbers, but love the game and play it for the long
run. These 3 and many others embody what this game is about and I'm not taking
away from those who run the power trails.
What I am saying is, are you on the hamster wheel of
caching? If you are, you will never get enough caches to get off it. Never. You
are like the billionaire trying to get more money, or the hamster with its
cheeks so full of food and trying to stuff in more. The numbers will never
satisfy you. The numbers game is addictive and illusionary. It is not the game.
The game is fun and savory and log worthy. Remember when you wrote logs?
Remember when they weren't rubber stamp copies? Remember when logging your
caches was actually fun or logging trackables was specific to the TB or
geocoin? I can't either.
"Discovered at blah, blah, event," has become the
norm and doesn't say anything about an interaction with you or the TB or coin
or your knowledge of its mission. Why? Because we are in a big hurry, that's
why. We are on the geocaching hamster wheel, where speed is more important than
content. I'm not pointing fingers because I feel it too. Why can't I log 80
caches in a day, or even 40? Its because I am repairing, or replacing the logs
to keep the game going. I want the cache to succeed. I want newbies to feel the
fire. I want to see the spark.
I'm ready to get off the geocaching hamster wheel and start
enjoying this game the way I did when I had 10 caches under my geoname. Who
will join me?
.
