A cache gets lonely if it does not get found for a while...
Some roadside caches get found every week (happy caches)
but some of the more remote caches don't get found for long periods
of time. Sometimes a cache will sit for years between being found.
This challenge will prompt cachers to hunt for the lonely caches
that don’t get many visitors.
It is also intended to keep alive some of the oldies that attracted me to Geocaching when I began this game. For those who accept this challenge, I would encourage you to carry maintenance supplies in case these older caches need a little TLC.
Here's how the CT Lonely Cache Challenge works.
1. You must find caches that have been lonely for a period equivalent to 4 years, using one of the following options (but you may NOT mix and match options). Either:
Option A. Find 1 cache that hasn't been found in the last 4 years. (When I wrote this, there are 11 caches in CT that had been more than 4 years since it was found.)
or
Option B. Find 2 caches that haven't been found in the last 2 years. (When I wrote this, there were 50+ caches in CT that had been more than 2 years since it was found.)
or
Option C. Find 4 caches that haven't been found in the last year. (When I wrote this, there were 458 caches in CT that had been more than a year since it was found.)
or
Option D. Find 8 caches that haven't been found in the last 6 months. (When I wrote this, there were too many to count caches in CT that had been more than 6 months since they were found.)
2. Generally accepted rules, guidelines and conditions for logging a cache find apply. These must be bona fide caches listed on Geocaching.com that you have personally (physically) found and logged. (For obvious reasons, EarthCaches, Virtual and Event caches do NOT count.) If a cache has been found in the last 6 months, it is considered a Happy cache.
3. Group cachers may claim a lonely cache find IF they actually cached and hunted together (it’s safer to hike with a friend). But only names in your group on the same day can claim it as a lonely cache. If another geocacher or group finds this same lonely cache on the same day and logs it, I will allow this as this challenge is to find and seek all the lonely caches and get them back into action again.
4. In your online log for each lonely cache you find, please mention the CT Lonely Cache Challenge.
5. After completing the challenge, post in your log stating which option you chose and a list of the lonely caches you found with the GC# and cache name. Also include the date you found it and the date the previous finder found it. Then go ahead and search this cache for your smiley :). Online posts not meeting the requirement will be deleted.
WHAT IF you hunt a lonely cache, but when you find it, someone else has signed the logbook but didn't log their find online??? If their online log is not there, then it's first come, first served. After all, as far as GeoCaching.com cares, it must be logged in the book AND logged on their site to count as a find. (Please make a note of such occurrences in your log.)
This challenge is meant to be fun, If you have any questions, feel free to post them online or send me an email.
Special rules:
- No whining.
- Have FUN!
- Some of these caches will be on difficult terrain. Hunt at your own risk.
- Some of these caches are "in the middle of nowhere". That is the point of the game.
- No whining.
I have the right to delete unqualified logs. Good luck! Please remember to bring dry logs, pencils, repair kits to help these lonely caches. I put the terrain and difficulty rating a little higher as some caches you will find are out in places less traveled. The actual cache is difficulty 2/terrain 1.5.