Lists are a great way to organise your caching game in all sorts of ways. Years ago, before paperless caching and premium memberships, I’d have to keep a notebook with a list of GC codes in if I was organising a day out or the results of a series of puzzles. Unlike Pocket Queries, which grab large numbers of caches from the results of a search or a route, with lists you can carefully add individual caches and create a bookmark of those you might wish to find quickly in the future. When lists came out, I was slow to realise their potential, but now I use them all the time! Here’s some of the lists I keep and how I use them.
Solved unfound Puzzles
For me, a lover of puzzles, this is a no-brainer. If I’ve spend all afternoon – or longer, solving a really tricky puzzle, I want to be able to remember where it is so that I can go and find the actual cache. My routine upon solving a puzzle is to add brief notes to the ‘Personal Cache Note‘ box, including the co-ordinates, update the solved coordinates field so it appears in the right place on the map and in any GPX files, then finally I add it to my list of solved but unfound puzzles. I also use this list for other solvable cache types, including Multis, Wherigos and some Letterboxes. I tend to delete them from the list when I’ve found them, but I keep the list public in order that other puzzle solvers can see that I know the method and location in case they need a nudge!
Challenge Caches
I love challenge caches and these often feature in my plans for a road trip or visit to a particular area. Are there any nearby? Which ones do I already qualify for? Which ones are within my reach before I make the visit? These can all be identified using the excellent search tools and checkers on Project-GC, but building lists helps me to keep track of the ones that I can find and claim.
Working-towards
Just as with my solved/unfound list, I tend to keep a list of mystery caches that I’ve started but not completed. Just because the method isn’t obvious at first, the penny can drop later, possibly after a good night’s sleep or after a chance conversation with another cacher. I know some players who just add these to their Ignore List if they don’t ‘get’ it at first, which I always think is a shame. I also have a similar list for any challenge caches that I don’t yet qualify for, but have signed anyway, and ones which I’m actively trying to complete. It’s so easy to loose track otherwise!
Must-do caches
Sometimes at an event, or on social media, someone mentions a cache that was just amazing for one reason or another. Perhaps I read about it in a magazine or a blog; perhaps it featured in a podcast. I used to kick myself for not remembering these, but now I just whip out my phone, open up the Geocaching app and add it to the appropriate list.
I also have a couple of must-do caches in certain cities that I visit regularly. The main example of this is my London must-do list, where I note any caches that I plan to focus on next time I visit. I have similar lists for Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester.
Bucket List
Further to my ‘Must Do’ lists, I also have a ‘Bucket List’ which includes all those really special caches around the globe that I’d love to go to if I ever have the chance. These include such landmark caches as Mingo, the oldest surviving geocache on the planet, Geocaching HQ, and the (Un)Original Stash Plaque, as well as the two remaining Project A.P.E. caches. I may never get to visit these, but you never know!
Caches on a Theme
I keep lists of caches on a number of themes which interest me. There are many such public lists of themed caches, such as those in National Series such as Church Micros and Village Halls. There’s also a number of public lists of the caches in the Little Quest series, which make it easy to keep track of progress. Another favourite list for me is the one which includes the 100 oldest caches in the UK, which I keep chipping away at.
But I can also create my own collections of caches related to things which interest me. For example, I have one list which just contains caches in or near disused cold war bunkers, such as former ROC facilities. Another list is what I called the Queen Eleanor Pilgrimage, where I identified the nearest cache to the location of each of the so-called Eleanor Crosses which marked the funeral journey of Queen Eleanor of Castile in 1290. I made this list public and created souvenirs and trackables for this series, even though only two of them were my own hides! (Note-some of these have now been archived so I need to update the list!). I also keep lists of my own events, caches in a series which I’ve placed and a private list of any of my caches which currently need maintenance.
The ability to create and share bookmark lists is one of the most useful features available to Premium Members, certainly one which I’d find it hard to manage without!
