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The Dreaded Micro!

By greywolf1242   Sun, Jul 20, 2008

Micro-treasure!

Whenever you find a number of cachers grouped together, whether on the trail or at an event of one kind or another, it seems the topic of microcaches always brings on a heated discussion. Some have the opinion that microcaches should only be hidden when it is the only choice for a cache in a particular location. And some cachers won’t even attempt to find a microcache since there isn’t the possibility of finding something to trade for. So, it seems, the microcache has gotten a bad rap.

Southern Idaho is made up of small towns, farm land, mountains and lots and lots and lots of desert. Other than in the towns, near farms and in the mountains, trees are kind of scarce. So, for country caching, that leaves sage and cheatgrass-covered desert, rocky canyons, and extinct volcanoes in which to hide caches; all favorite places of mine to hike and explore; just to give you a little background.

In my experience, which is limited to only 900 caches found, it has been a rare occasion that I couldn’t find an ammo can-sized cache within a matter of minutes. In such instances I have rapidly signed the log, briefly scanned the contests of dollar-store items and rushed on to the next cache; usually, missing out on something in the area of the cache that caused the person to hide a cache in that location.

However, when I’ve had to spend a little time searching for a micro, sometimes even in a city setting, I’ve had to take a little more time to view my surroundings and, sometimes, see the reason why the cacher brought me to that particular location. That’s not to say I haven’t found some ammo cans in beautiful settings or places with historical significance.

When I first started hiding caches I mixed it up quite a bit with micro, small and ammo can-type caches. And, unfortunately, some of those were in some pretty lame places in order just to hide a cache. But, the more I evolved in geocaching the more I started looking for places of interest, either historical or scenic, and the more I leaned toward the micro cache as my choice of container. Reason being, to get people to spend a little more time taking in their surroundings and appreciate the area in which the cache was hidden.

The microcache also cuts down on the amount of maintenance a person has to do and lessens the disappointment of seeing quality items replaced with cheap plastic gizmos obtained at the dollar store at four for a dollar. I do still hide the larger caches, usually stocked with quality items, but they are in more remote areas that require a little bit of hiking to get to.

If a person is in it strictly for what they can trade at a cache site or in it just for the numbers, then the micro cache will most likely be avoided. But, if a person is in it just for the thrill of finding a cache and the places caching takes them, then the size of the cache won’t make a difference. And finding a micro in a desert rock -pile or amongst the sage is truly an accomplishment to be proud of.

By greywolf1242

My geocaching name is greywolf1242. I have been a premium member since 1-16-06. At the moment I have 900 caches found, 237 caches hidden, 15 caches adopted out and 405 benchmarks found. I am retired and cutting back my active participation in geocaching due to the high cost of gas!

 
greywolf1242
Dennis Frisby