Eureka!
It’s been said that there is nothing to learn from reading the Groundspeak fora. All that there is to say about caching has already been said in one of the previous million posts. Generally, I agree with that sentiment. Yet, I still read. Maybe not as closely as I once did. Perhaps not as passionately. But I read, I suspect for the same reason folks slow down for the auto wrecks on the highway.
Today, I read something that explains geocaching for me unlike any post I have read previously. It comes from a newbie and someone I do not recognize: nonaeroterraqueous. In Snoogans’ meaningless thread, I found meaning. Who would have thunk it?
Seems like if anyone does something long enough they invariably start taking themselves too seriously. That hidden box has to meet higher and higher standards to evoke the same excitement, until nothing is good enough.
Indeed! The cache doesn’t evoke the same excitement any longer (I’ll avoid the shot about taking oneself too seriously). Where once I was blind, now I now see. I used to hike miles to caches; now I park next to them. Some of that is because of the plethora of spew. Some of it is that I am better at negotiating my way to the site. The result is that the find is not as magical as it once was.
The experience requires more today to provide the same level of excitement. This sounds very much like an addict, I know. That is why much of the time I purposely hunt blind now: just a set of coordinates. No reconnaissance. No map work. Just coordinates and go. That has helped, but not completely satisfied the urge. In the end, most caches are just nothing located nowhere. Few new areas are discovered. To me, it has always been the location, not the swag, that has been thrilling.
This probably explains my infactuation with shutterspots. There is the excitement of finding the location. The research has replaced caching’s map work. There’s a sense of mystery to the entire game. Am I in the correct spot? Are my coordinates good enough? What angle do I need? Where I once longed for caches to appear on the map, I now long for spots.
My drug of choice is changing, but the high is still as good.
Also blogged on this date . . .
- Here's Chuckie - 2009
- Boat or Hike Friendly at Constable Bridge - 2002
- Pink Surprise - 2002
- 5 Little Bridges - 2002
- Constable Bridge(s) - 2002
By Robert Owens
on 29 November 2009 @ 20:29
Interestingly, tonight on 60 Minutes there was a piece on Bob Ballard (another note of interest, it was Bob Ballard who handcuffed me to a locker at Wildwood Catholic). Ballard is the man who found the Titanic. He recently found a shipwreck that has been preserved for 1500 years. Being that it is a wooden ship, it is quite impressive.
At the end of the piece, Ballard explained that when asked what his greatest find is, he remarks it is the one he is about to make. Geocachers understand that sentiment.