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+20 votes
3.5k views

Sometimes I´m angry or sad about my very late start of doing Geocaching.

Before starting to play the game in 2015 I was at different nice places and in different beautiful countries all over the world.

I was there and now I haven´t any Country-Badges or Founds from there. And I love statistics. ^^

You know what I mean?

Do you have the same "problems"? laugh

in Miscellaneous by Kodo-Jano (2.4k points)
Just started in 2016 and this is not still a problem for me, yet!
Yes! I believe we all have the same problem!
But this should not be a major regret compared to the day we have decided to become a Geocacher.

33 Answers

+9 votes
 
Best answer
We started  at the beginning of 2015 too, and like you, we appreciate statistics, but the future is there to shape new stats for us. So we are always looking at what we can do next, not what might have been.

In 2016 we completed all days found, and then set about completing all days hidden. We haven't completed our D/T grid yet (17 squares to go) so we are gradually chipping away at that. We love challenge caches so we are always on the lookout for what we have already qualified for, and what we can work towards.

And if you are planning a holiday, why not look to see what you can achieve in various places - an enjoyable trip to Israel this year saw us achieve the lowest caches on earth at -400m, and as a bonus it also got us a lot of our highest caches too at nearly +800m.

Good luck with your future caching! Don't look back!
by GCZ Team (22.0k points)
selected by Kodo-Jano
"Don´t look back"
That is a good idea! ;)
+5 votes
I'm sorry I missed the types of caches I will not go to, for example Lost and found.
by nimir (2.1k points)
+3 votes

I also started in 2015 and I do not regret anything because I look ahead and satisfied me with what I have done ... always wanting more or better is too complicated for me

traduit du francais par google:

j'ai aussi commencé en 2015 et je ne regrette rien car je regarde devant et me satisfait de ce que j'ai fait ... toujours vouloir plus ou mieux est trop compliqué pour moi

by Chup'a (11.2k points)
+3 votes
Yes, this is never ending question. Personally I'm always sad that during years 2007-2009, when I travel around almost half world I was "tired" or better said I have no lust for geocaching and nowadays I regret it.
by drobec (4.5k points)
+3 votes
Just look at is an excuse to go back and visit those countries again!
by Optimist on the run (Expert) (20.1k points)
+2 votes
I started in 2006. But I did not travel a lot then (or now). So I don't regret any missing country badges.

I look forward, as Chup'a said. There are so many caches out there, there is no reason to regret anything.

Just as a challenge, I try to get some caches from the time before I started geocaching.

Time goes by and you can't change the past. So get out and evolve and enjoy your future geocaching adventures..
by NoobNader (Expert) (15.9k points)
+2 votes
i feel your pain!!! Literally a month before we got our first find we went on a tour across canada!!! Could have got a lot of caches plus some JASMEER ones in the states.

Just means we have to plan return trips
by NSCR (4.5k points)
Oh that´s a pity...
+2 votes
Oh yes... 10 days before start i was in London and failed to log some great cache like the webcam in abbey road... :(
by DaneteYaourth (3.1k points)
+2 votes
Actually I know what you mean. We also started in jan 2015 (during our anual holiday bzw) and "missed" some nice badges. But hey, what is it you are really missing vor what do you regret? Hopefully you (also) Bad a great time those days and enjoyed it. So what? Sure you are missing the country badge. But what would be better having this badge? You may probably qualify to log what? One vor two challenges more right now? Otherwise there are probably more badges missing I guess ;)

So what about turning this "missing" into "todo".

As far as we are concerned, we take it as a motvation to go out and see these beautiful places again. Don't know if we see places like Sri Lanca ever again. But there are indeed enough other beautiful places in earth. And you may see it also this way: Geocaching is for most ppl a game they play for a certain timeframe in their life. So with the later start you now will get more badges in the future from now than you probably would have earned with an earlier start - if you know what I mean ;)

PS: sorry for any typing mistakes -- my german autocorrection changes nearly every 2nd word #&+*&#@
by Team Just-T (2.2k points)
+2 votes
Back in 2005 I went on a holiday to New Zealand, before I went I bought a GPSr, a little Garmin Geko. I loved getting coords for places we were going and navigating to them, and marking WPs everywhere (they are still in it). But at the time did not hear about geocaching. Took me another 9 years to do so..... :(
by lee737 (2.4k points)
+2 votes
I only started caching in late 2014, so I've missed out on caching on plenty of holidays because I didn't have an account at the time.

I'm just glad that I'm still not missing out on the caching experience.
by Potatonator (11.3k points)
edited by Potatonator
+2 votes
I know exactly what you mean... It's the same for me...

I also love statistics and even though I started caching in 2010 and have cached in 13 countries already, I could have at least 6 or 7 more country badges if I had started earlier (some of the countries beeing far away)... Now we have children and thus travelling is not that easy anymore. But we will visit some more countries when the kids are a bit older...
by tadaima (12.5k points)
+2 votes
While I am sad that we didn't start earlier, we are having a blast with the many new friends we have found.
I became a member in 2008, but didn't start caching until 2015. In 2008 I was still working and traveling around the world for business. The caches I could have logged!!
Now, retired and mainly traveling the United States, have been having a lot of fun.
by Blues Crew (2.5k points)
+2 votes
We started in 2011 and had sometimes the feeling that we have missed something. One of us heard about geocaching very early in 2001 but did not follow this idea. Too bad from todays point of view.
by willi&trine (2.2k points)
+2 votes

Though we started in 2004 we have been working during that time and though, when we have gone on holiday, we have loved using 'cache maps'  as our 'tour guides' because we have ended up in many werid and wonderful places that the usual 'tourist' probably wouldn't go to - this was restricted as this has only been on family holidays etc. 
For us however that will change as we are both due to retire very soon and plan to do a lot of travelling in many different parts of the world. So for us sad, no - as we have a lot to look forward to smiley

by Deepdiggingmole (13.8k points)
+2 votes
I do not really worry about places we have been before we started caching. It would have been nice to have those country badges but it is not really that important even though we enjoy the statistics.

I just wish we had started when we were younger
by ChrisDen (4.1k points)
+2 votes
+1 regret. The sad thing is, that a collegue told me about it back in 2005, when I was more into travelling than today...
by tzweeeen (1.1k points)
Nearly the same with me. In 2004 a collegue told me about it. But it was not interesting for me. I think he told me to less about it. ;)
+2 votes
Same problem, I've started the Geocaching in summer 2014 I found 14 caches and after I totally forgot the Geocaching. I started geocaching again for about a year so I missed many opportunities to activate new countries.
by Paquitovic (840 points)
+2 votes
We all have the same feelings I'm sure!

Just a week before we found our first cache together my partner came back from a month in Canada. If only we knew about caching them!!!

Just look forward to new adventures :-D
by NSCR (4.5k points)
+2 votes
I may have lost interest in geocaching, had I started earlier. Geocaching came at the right time for me to really get into it and keep it as a continuing hobby.
by Potatonator (11.3k points)
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