ArkGeocachers.org

If you check out the treasure chest rollover above, you will find that Arkansas now has over 7,000 geocaches hidden in the State.
Cool huh? Am I behind in finds or what?

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Yeah, but how many of them are interesting caches vs. PNG caches? I got bored one day at work and figured the numbers for Arkansas and it worked out to something like less than 10% of all caches in the state had a terrain OR difficulty over a 3. Even that wouldn't neccisarily mean they are very interesting, just give you better odds for it.

Of course for some people, any cache is a good one if it gives you a smiley. For me 7000 caches in state just means there is that much more chaff to sort through for the few grains of wheat.

If I remember to e-mail the speadsheet home to myself tomorrow I'll post the exact figures.

AK

Of 7000 caches in Arkansas:

Only 8% have a terrain rating of 3 or higher.
Only 10% have a difficulty level of 3 or higher.
Only 2.5% have both a terrain and difficulty of 3 or more.

If you change that to caches with a terrain OVER 3, it becomes 4% on the terrain, 5% on the difficulty, and .8% with both.

85% of all caches in Arkansas have neither a terrain nor difficulty over 2.5 and 75% are 2 or less.

7000 caches in one state may seem like a lot, but when you figure 75% of them probably qualify as PNG's.....

AK

First off I doubt if anyone is going to weigh in on this because of the fear of even admitting to having read anything that is negative, let alone comment on it or add a differing opinion but as far as I‘m concerned I thank you for the observations and for taking the time to work out those stats. I think it is well worth a deeper discussion because if you never examine what you do, how can you determine if you can, or even if you need to, do better!
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How we compare:
Have you also checked out the other States’ yet? Especially our neighboring States to see how we stack up next to them?
Just a thought here but as an example I expect New York City would have mostly all micros or nanos of course with a much higher difficulty level to keep them from disappearing but most would have a much lower average of terrain (maybe the big cities should also add a COPSWAM level “Chances Of Parking Somewhere Within A Mile”). {TERR = 1, DIFF = 5, COPSWAM = 0 }
In the flat lands of Kansas or Arizona or New Mexico, even the high deserts of Oregon they would be at the end of a much longer walk or they would stick out like sore thumbs, and in Colorado, Virginia, West Virginia, etc. the terrain average should be higher because anywhere you look, from where you just climbed to, is higher still?
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What we place:
We place (hopefully) a cache to fit the muggle situation and terrain in the area of the hide, even though each day there are more micros way out in the woods where they could have placed a larger cache, (although that brings our stats up not down) but I’m wondering how our surrounding States or at least the areas that are comparable with our own rural surroundings stack up with our own stats. Having to pay $$ now to place caches in our States’ National Forest should have archived a lot of the great trail caches and somewhat brought our terrain average down some. Also there are so many new cachers entering the sport/game that the levels should drop until they feel more comfortable in placement. Personally I selected the flatlands of SE Arkansas for my placements because no one else wanted to place them in this area because of the lack of wow factors in the landscape making it a caching waste land.
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The Terr./Diff levels of my cache hides as compared to others:
Understandably it is harder to keep the terrain level high in flat areas and the difficulty level low in higher populated areas so I expect these levels to naturally fluctuate from area to area because of that. Personally I try to keep mine a balanced mix to appeal to more taste and/or physical levels and/or ages plus time constraints of the hunters and if the area will allow an ammo can that will hold more swag for the kids or TB’s and such, I at least try to cammo it in an interesting way with painted leaves or figures or stickers glued to them or something other then just another green box of trade items but I in no way will apologize for them having a low difficulty rating, that was the point when I placed it. *Not published until I get the fire ants in the surrounding area killed* but last week I placed 2 caches with a terr. of 1 - 1.5 but a diff. of 4 and this summer they both will go up to 4.5 diff. (Well, until “phone-a-friend” bust them both out or the “bush kickers” wipe out the areas of the hides. ) and 3 more that are easy to find caches along a nature trail, one a coin drop (easy to find), one a letterbox hybrid (not many of those around but still - easy to find), and one a very unique type of cache container that I think both adult and child will enjoy seeing (also easy to find).
I don’t expect anyone to copy the way I hunt (it‘s a personal choice not to kick bushes or use phone-a-friend or extra hints, or bust out someone‘s cache because I didn‘t want to spend the time to use stealth), or to hide the way I hide (it‘s a personal choice to try to balance out the levels but still place as many handicaps for those who need them and as many large toy-boxes as I can for the children), or to think the way I think (I blame parenting for that but I do wish I saw more cache maintenance and more respect and less dishonesty regardless of the ratings levels.
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These are just my own thoughts but I built this site so *every-one* would be able to express their own ideals, thoughts, agreements or disagreements about any and all the many aspects of geocaching plus there is even an Off Topic forum to discuss anything else anyone wants to.

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Without actually cruching the numbers I'd guess we are probably about par for the course.

I'll try to do the numbers eventually, but time is precious right now, even at work most days...

AK

Even at work???? (how embarrassing is That!! ) Thanks!
Weighing data for the purpose of comparison is certainly not my strong suit so without figuring in the land mass, type of terrain or the populations of our neighboring States here are just the placement numbers for simple comparison: [NOV 30, 2009]
TX=35,126 (yep everything is bigger in TX, including 19 active events ) - TN=11,462 - GA=7,961 - AL=7,210 - AR= 7,151 - OK=5,871 - MO=5,160 - LA=4,514 - MS=3,354

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If you would like to find some tough ones, the 4 - 4.5's I spoke of above before the bane of geocaching, Phone-A-friends or angry bush kickers bust them out then go for these in Redfield's Tar Camp before they are ruined or stolen. There are also 3 very easy new ones just published in this same area.
Ain't No Way! [GC21WRR]
Big Red Bridge [GC21WRY]

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Here is the first log on this 4.5 star difficulty hide, "Big Red Bridge" [GC21WRY:
[LOG] Owner: Arky-000 couldn't find Big Red Bridge (Traditional Cache)
Sunday, December 13, 2009 12:46 PM
From:
"Geocaching" <noreply@geocaching.com>
To:
BackpacknJack@yahoo.com
You are receiving this email because you are the owner of this listing.

Location: Arkansas, United States
Arky-000 couldn't find Big Red Bridge (Traditional Cache) at 12/13/2009

Log Date: 12/13/2009
Today was my 2nd try to locate this. both times my Delorne-pn40 found ground zero in the middle of a hoot piece of ground. I can understand hiding caches from Muggles and I can understand trying to make a find a bit difficult. But I find it sad when we loose focus and confuse the fact of what geocaching is all about (1) to be brought to a new area to see a place uncommonly visited (2) to acknowledge a historical marker (3) To locate an event or gathering place to enjoy each other and the sport of geocaching etc.

However the reason may be...We as cachers attempt to hide caches so no-one can find them not even fellow cachers and we think in our own mind it makes for a fun trip. Well fact is it doesn’t. That’s why when I hide a cache and it’s literally impossible to find it. I add pictures and help to make the search more enjoyable. I try to remember I’m hiding the cache from Muggles not Cachers. If I do a good job at my hides and makes it possible for a fellow cacher to find it in a reasonable time frame, I shouldn’t have to phone a friend or get help finding it. When someone feels they have to phone a friend. I don’t feel I did a good job. Please don’t consider this a flame towards you, just a vocal disgust that I rewarded a long drive with a FTF.


Visit this log entry at the below address:
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx ... c84d84d519

Visit Big Red Bridge
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_de ... e51418b3a0

Profile for Arky-000:
http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid ... 5584ca7bff

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But your listing clearly states... if ya don't wanna sweat.. skip this one.

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Q2

And here is the first logs for my new 1.5 difficulty cammoed medium Lock%Lock [GC21WT5] LetterBox hybrid that is hidden in open flat woods between a small log and a dead limb about 40ft off this same trail.
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Log #1. I tore the area up...another DNF.

Log # 2.…….and saw where the area was tore up about like a pig stye…………

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_de ... 5bc16a0174

This trail had been closed about 2 years because the trail bridge, not the (Big Red Bridge), was removed and my large ammo can and my pencil cache had to be archived so once reopened and given a second chance I thought I would try to do a better job of pleasing the most people by placing a 4+ star cache (Big Red Bridge) that you can almost drive up to, a Letter Box cache (Family), a Coin cache (Coin Drop), a fun for children cache (Lovey Dovey) and something, it’s not even a nano, that was easy to get to but very hard to spot (Ain’t No Way!). Plus I’ve also added a huge toy box, handicap accessible cache that you don’t even have to get out of the car to retrieve (It’s Berry Easy) and a typical match box hanging on a limb (Exit #7). I guess not.

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Sounds like sour grapes on the part of the guy that couldn't find the 4.5 difficulty cache. I mean if a cache is rated that high then according the the description of that rating it is:

"Difficult. A real challenge for the experienced cache hunter - may require special skills or knowledge, or in-depth preparation to find. May require multiple days / trips to complete."

And that's only a 4 star description!! Just hidding a cache so muggles don't find it would be a 2 star or less.

AK

Determining a proper difficulty level:
Finding caches for me is easy and hiding caches for me is easy but what is not easy for me is determining a realistic level for the terrain or difficulty level so the below will be long in explaining where I start and why. You don’t like long post? That’s ok with me and no offence taken but I don‘t like short post on complicated subjects that effect so many people.
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When encountering something new or coming up with some technique I’ve never seen or heard of before I always keep in mind a single log on one of my older caches by a very seasoned cache that said they had never seen this technique used before but after a few finds on this one they expected to see it a lot. I keep that in mind when working on the level of difficulty. What is new today is old stuff tomorrow. Some of my older hides were just wiping cachers out left and right so I had to keep modifying the hide so they could be found by all the new cachers joining the sport but then some of the older cachers thought they were now too easy. “CAN IT BE” fooled an experienced couple that was camping in the area for over a week and they looked for it a couple or more times each day. In the same area a traveling couple with over 21,000 finds could not find LIFE CAN BE TUFF no matter how many times they looked so they emailed me, that with their experience it had to be missing. It was not missing, I figure they had just never seen that technique before or they would have found it. Many of my logs say that after finding some particular cache they were finally able to go back and find the others I had hidden. The hard to find ones teach us to never overlook that possibility again so the old 5’s soon become 3’s or maybe 2’s. On the return trip from Nebraska I found a cache with 21 *logged* DNF’s so you know it probably had 3 - 4 times that many but it was in my hand in about 15 seconds after closing the car door. I don’t know who wrote that GC guideline for choosing the right level of difficulty for your cache and have no clue how many caches they have found or how many techniques they have seen or invented or how long it had been since it was updated but I do know that just because I wrote this does not automatically mean I’m an expert and I know what will fit your special situation so I take their diff guideline just the way it was written, as a guideline not a rule. The cachers who have been working my caches in this area are new cachers so I was trying to warn them with the 4 - 4.5 that these are not like the rest of my hides in the area. Some older more experienced cachers may just walk right up to these and wonder why so may DNF’s on such easy hides. They will be disappointed but I figure better that then like we have seen in the logs posted above, a new cacher gets so frustrated at not being able to find a 2.5 - 3.5 that they trash the area.

I had the ideal for Big Red Bridge back in 2004 and the ideal for AIN’T NO WAY back when I made the caching and balloon ride trip with my brother to ABQ, just never got around to doing them and I like to balance the difficult with the easy, the micro with the large, so after placing all those easy ones it was time to place a challenge or two. (everyone seemed to know these were coming.)

I personally think “AIN’T NO WAY!” is maybe a 3.5 and only because not many will have seen this technique. Maybe it has never been seen by anyone because I just made it up out of meanness but I only say “not many” because I’m sure I have not seen everything ever invented to hide caches or used as containers. I have been all over the country but have never seen this used and it is a very unique container that would be hard to find for most people if they wanted to build a cache out of one. I started the level high and figure on dropping it as time goes on. BIG RED BRIDGE is also a unique hide that I’ve never seen or heard of before but I figure it is maybe a 3.5 in summer and a 2.5 in winter. The logs will tell better then anything else what the true level should be but ya gotta start somewhere so there is where I started.
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According to the guidelines a fake PVC cleanout would qualify as a 4 -5 because you need knowledge about plumbing and you also need to know “Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey” or know how to make a tool out of sticks if it has been tightened too much. “Special tools” and “Special knowledge” and Special skills” are required but these days a fake drain/cleanout is about a 2 diff. at most because they have been used so much and busted out so often.
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We just do the best we can according to our own unique situation and adjust as needed. I would rather err on the side of choosing a level that is too high then one that is too low……but that is just a personal choice to not discourage the new to the game. (and hopefully not get my cache location trashed by a ticked off newbie cacher?)

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I figure "AIN'T NO WAY!" will be found 2 times this weekend if it doesn't rain and 3 times next week and then almost all interest in it will vanish because the PAF's or spoilers in the logs will have taken their toll on the hide or the Bush Kickers will have changed the area to the point I will archive it or have to change the technique used. That is the way it goes and that is why I never gripe about those who don't make anymore effort then to drop a 35MM in the leaves or hang a buff tube on a fence.

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I figured wrong on this one. I was way off and it was never found and with over 15 hrs of admitted searching, the area has been so adversely effected by the efforts that as a responsible geocache owner I needed to archive it.
Well so much for placing a level 5 cache.
Maybe that is why you don't see very many of them. Live and Learn, Right?
Now I'm thinking about adding strobe lights or flashing arrows to all my other caches.

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It looks like there are some that could not find it if you had lights on it. Son DNF but I did not get a chance to find. Thanks again for some of the coolest hides we have seen.