Earthcaches: Find ’em / Hide ’em / Skip ’em

This article was originally published on Cache Up NB. It has been mirrored here for archive purposes only.

I was out and about last night doing some geocaching while on the road for work. I snagged a webcam cache and a virtual and then spotted a nearby Earthcache. I don’t do a lot of them but thought it might be nice to go check it out.

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Turns out the cache itself was not too terribly difficult to do but at first glance, I opted to skip it and go for supper. It got me to thinking.

How many times have you spotted an EC and snagged it? Do you always go for them? Or do you find them worth the while?

I’ve had EC’s as part of my stock pocket queries for a long time but by far and large I stopped doing them once they removed the ability to claim them with a photo to show you were there. Some of the EC’s are relatively easy to get answers for, but many of them require a lot of work.

One of the nice things about caches that have no physical container is that they typically bring you to a pretty interesting location. The virtual just up the street from there was quite a sight to be seen.

It seems that they real point behind EC’s is to promote geology and to make you learn something unique and interesting about that particular spot. It makes me wonder why this specific subject was chosen to be worthy of it’s own cache type.

I’ve also never “hide” an EC. I’ve heard the submission process can be quite heavy with a lot of information being required in order to have it approved. I’d love to add one to my list of hides but it seems the presence of possible new EC’s in my area is few and far between.

What is your experience with Earthcaches? Do you like them? Do you skip them? What do you think if them?