It’s All About The Numbers
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS ABOUT THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF NUMBERS
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Around the start of the year I posted a few items called Caching Way of Life. I said that caching was not simply about going out and finding caches. I said that caching can take over your life and I listed a number of positive aspects of caching which keep us busy, active and mentally fit.:
*Making new friends
*Events
*Travel
*Spending the day caching with friends
*Meeting cachers in far away places (UK, USA, Other provinces)
*Caching adventures
*Hiking & Biking
*Discovering back roads and new places
*Entertaining the grandsons
*Solving puzzles
*Learning and using new software and hardware.
*Reading interesting logs
*Corresponding with cachers about puzzles, etc
*Moving TB’s and coins
*Reading forums and other caching sites
*Writing in forums and on CacheupNB
*Learning and sharing techniques for hides, camo etc.
*Enjoying & Marvelling at some of the wonderful intrigung caches.
*ETC ETC.
All the above are positive aspects. You will note that I did not mention numbers. When many cachers refer to numbers it is often used as a negative part of geocaching. When you hear IT’S ALL ABOUT THE NUMBERS, it is generally a knock against some practice that the person does not like.
Before going on, I have to say that we all cache in our own way. I have no problem with individuals who cache differently than us and claim differently than us. I also do not think that caches that were mishandled were necessarily as a result of the number game.
Here are a few of the negative references we may have heard:
*Going after long series of guard rail caches
*In a hurry to get numbers and not closing containers properly
*Logging simply: TFTC or a happy face, especially with a smartphone
*Putting a throw down in order to get credit for a find without looking properly
*Going with a group and not bothering to sign, or not even seeing the cache being claimed
*Getting the puzzle coordinates from someone other than the owner
*Claiming a puzzle while caching with a group, but not solving the puzzle.
*Cachers do streaks so they can brag
*Cachers get high one day numbers so they can brag
*Cachers with high totals just want to brag.
*ETC ETC
As I said, I do not agree with these comments, but that is not what I want to talk about. I feel that numbers are an important positive part of caching. Here are some of my opinions about numbers and some examples of positive aspects and examples that contradict some of the above points.
*We use numbers as an incentive to go out and challenge ourselves, not to compete or brag.
*Cachers get high numbers because they are retired, or do not have childeren, or have a spouse or partner who also caches. It is not because of talent.
*We are on a streak right now of over 250 days. It is not to brag, it is just a challenge to see what we can do, and it gives us a plan for each day and something to do each day. We know that streaks are a problem for those who work or who have most of the caches in an area, but we have the time, so we have done well, and managed to continue the streak through our trips to PA and CA and UK. Our streak will end at the end of the year because we will be at sea on a cruise. Our grandson Jake was thinking of having geocaching events on the ship, to help continue our streak. LOL
*We love numbers. Just look at our ML puzzles
*We love numbers. Did you know that on 11/11/11, our cache total was 11011 and that yesterday we grabbed cache 11111.
*Geocaching is not a competitive sport. We use our stats to compete against ourself and to try and better our previous personal records. We do not use them to compete against others. I dont know anyone who tries to compete against others.
*We look at the numbers on our stats page often to give ourself challenges. I know many do the same. It makes caching more interesting.
*Using the Stats page, you can aim to fill your year. Right now we have about a dozen dates to fill, all in December, January & February. We plan on filling them but we want to grab more than one cache on those empty days and then the rest of the year we want to grab a cache on any day that we only have one find. So we will eventually have more than one cache for each day of the year. Its no big deal, it is simply a challenge we are giving ourselves. We got the idea from Team CCSM from QC, whom we met at the event in Riverview in November.
*When we returned from UK at the end of September, the Stats page showed our count for the year at around 1400. This was far behind our year 2010 total of 2506, and was even behind our year 2009 total. In order to better year 2010, we would need 1100 caches by the end of December. It seemed like an impossible goal but we kept it in the back of our mind. Well, the weather in October & November was cooperative so had a few trips to PEI to do the CT caches and surprisingly we beat last year’s record before the end of November.
*Related to the previous item is the fact that we were very pleased to hit 10000 a few days after returning from UK in late September. We never would have guessed that we would hit 11000 less than 2 months later.
*Chignecto Duo (Mr) and Belladan joined us for two days on PEI and we got 182 cachess in one day on the CT. We were extremely pleased. But it is really no big deal and nothing to brag about. There were four of us on bicycles. Any other other group of four could do as well, if not better.
*The stats page also told us that November 2011 was our best month of caching. We were surprised that we beat our numbers for the month of April 2010 when it took us more than 3 weeks to drive to Ottawa because of geocaching stops.
*We are not competitive and our ranking does not mean anything to us. We therefore found it interesting that our son and his girlfriend, who are not geocachers, were really impressed when they found out that we were in the top 400 in the world. We didnt think it was a big deal.
*Cachers at the top of the lists are great people. They get their numbers because they love caching and have the time or make the time to go caching. These cachers love to share their knowledge and expertise with others. I recall Opus Terra, the #1 in Canada, giving a GSAK session at the Quebec Mega.
*Cachers with high numbers love caching. Nozzletime from Ontario was the tops in Canada a few years ago. He is far down the list now, but is still out there geocaching. Many other cachers have been passed by others but they are still out there caching. LIke I said, cachers cache because they love it, not to get numbers.
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Being very new to geocaching my numbers are still low. I try to get out as often as possible but it is sometimes hard to find as much time as I would like.
I see my numbers as a personal goal and I have targets I’d like to reach but you said it right… geocaching is not a competition. ( good thing because I wouldn’t be winning)
Thanks for posting this.. I enjoyed reading it.
Great write-up, Pa!
The way I see it, every geocacher has a number, and they all know their number (or have a pretty darn good idea where they’re at). That number is sort of like experience points in a video game. It’s a reflection of where each cacher is at in their lifelong journey of geocaching, similar to how our age, to a certain extent, reflects our experience in life, or how mileage on a car indicates how far it’s gone.
When someone asks me how many caches I’ve found, I don’t feel like they’re “sizing me up” or whatever… There is, of course, a sense of admiration from those that have found less than me. And there is, of course, that non-verbal “Yep, I’ve been there…” moment from those that have found more than me as they reminisce a bit on where they were in their lives and geocaching “careers” when they were at my number.
I do sense there are certain unspoken milestones that define where one is at in their geocaching lives… 0 to 99 – just casual, trying it out. 100 to 999 – liking it, keeping at it. 1000 finds is sort of a rite of passage, and it’s special in that if you pass 1000, you’re not going to lose interest, quit or whatever. You’re a lifer! And 10,000 – well, if you make it that far, it’s like you got a doctorate degree, you’re a master geocacher, everyone looks up to you, you’re the wise person at the top of the hill and you always have a great story to tell.
It’s all in good fun, it’s a journey, and to expand upon what you said, people that work, work extended hours, have a business, have kids, have a health condition, don’t have a lot of disposable income for gas, have other hobbies, don’t like going out in cold or wet weather, etc. are going to grow their numbers more slowly than those in your situation.
HeavyMetals
458 finds and growing (slowly) 🙂
Well I yak and yak and take an eternity to try to make a point. HeavyMetals says it better and in much fewer words in his last paragraph:
“It’s all in good fun, it’s a journey, and to expand upon what you said, people that work, work extended hours, have a business, have kids, have a health condition, don’t have a lot of disposable income for gas, have other hobbies, don’t like going out in cold or wet weather, etc. are going to grow their numbers more slowly than those in your situation.”
However, he missed one important point. The biggest thing driving up our numbers ( and those of a lot of other people) is obsession. We have an addiction like the one described by Chatelaine in the newbie post, two items above this one. We have goals for ourselves, and these goals keep us fit and healthy and happy. As Gwen of milosheart said some time ago: Caching has changed our life. We cannot envision what retirement would be without geocaching and our geocaching friends.
Numbers are definitely a personal thing. Bu I do compare in a good-natured, ribbing way with some of my closest caching friends. For example, treehugger21 and I started caching around the same time, and I’ve known her the longest of anyone in the caching community. When we’ve hit big milestones (1,000, 2,000, etc.), there is some joking back and forth, or sometimes a race to see who can there first when we get close.
Despite the personal responsibilities of a family (three daughters, one only 12 weeks old), my wife pursuing a PhD, and some tragic circumstances in the past two years (two job losses, and the loss of my father and father in-law in less than an 8 month stretch), I recorded my 2500th find on December 2nd. I have only been caching since September 2007. Credit goes to my wife who gives me the freedom to pursue this wonderful hobby, and friends who have given me a boost and push when needed. It is all about time and making the most of it.
In addition, I have lost 30 pounds since I started caching. That is a number that I am prouder of than any cache statistic.
Great post forestfauna.
I started this item to show that numbers arent a bad thing and it has turned into another post where people are telling us how great caching is, and how much it has done for them. A number of the items posted here over the last while have done that exact same thing.
It is wonderful to hear all those stories
So how many finds do you have now Mark?
PS – i found my 2500th in november. beat you by 3 days 😉
Yes, you did. I was planning to get to 2500 before year’s end, but had to ramp it up a notch in order to keep pace. You still have a slight edge on me.
haha. Glad i could provide some motivation 😉
I’m back on top again. There is an advantage to being an unemployed bum who spends his wife’s scholarship money on gas. 🙂
Today we got a log by heathtree on our 100 day challenge cache
http://coord.info/GC2YD1N
The log goes along with our idea that numbers are not a bad thing. Here is his great log.
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Well I can’t believe I made it. 100 consecutive days of caching today. It was a lot harder than I expected, what with me having pneumonia for 4 weeks of it. I started in mid-September and finish just before Christmas. I decided I had to make the drive to sign the log on day 100.
I like this cache for a lot of reasons. It have me a reason to get outdoors, even on days I was feeling sluggish. It got me lots f fresh air and exercise. It ensured I spent time with friends. It encouraged me to hide several caches of my own, and I improve the quality of my hides. And it helped reintroduce me to a hobby that I love.
My streak is not going to end at 100 days. I’m going to keep going until Mother Nature says I can’t. Thanks a bunch for this challenge and the months of happiness it has given me.
Discussion about numbers for 2011
http://forum.atlanticgeocaching.com/index.php?topic=8105.0