Poll: How many waypoints is too many in a multi?

[Aushiker]

Hi

A discussion has come up in the WA fourm about multis and being too complicated, too many waypoints etc. Hence interested to know what folks consider as the maximum number of waypoints for a multi before you start to loose interest.

I know, lots of variables, but just really looking for a rule of thumb You can assume some walking involved say 3 km or more.

Andrew

[Chwiliwr]

I was going to vote for 6 as too many in most circumstances but hit the 5 by mistake. Having just done Eastern Jewelery (10) and of course I have my own multi of 7 there are some circumstances where more is OK also.

Eastern Jewelery's 10 must visit waypoints are reasonably close together and the total distance is dependant on how well, (and how lucky you may be) in planning them. My multi is meant for cycling so the circumstances are different.

[Papa Bear_Left]

Tough call...

Three bad waypoints is three too many, ten great ones is a great caching experience.

Two of our recommendations in ChCh have more than 6 waypoints (I forget exactly how many) but they were FUN ones!
I've also trudged around a local cache with endlessly repeated waypoints that only existed to make the loop longer.

If there's lots of waypoints, then they need to be either simple ones that just take you along a path and don't detract from the walk, or intrinsically interesting ones that might make caches in their own right.

Unless they're very simple, you should avoid repetition in the waypoints because repeating the same thing over and over in a repetitive way without changing anything so that you get the same experience over and over again gets quite repetitive and, if repeated over and over again too often, gets tautologous (which means repetitive) and can become quite annoying if repeated too often.

[team_diesel]

Tough call...

Three bad waypoints is three too many, ten great ones is a great caching experience.

Two of our recommendations in ChCh have more than 6 waypoints (I forget exactly how many) but they were FUN ones!
I've also trudged around a local cache with endlessly repeated waypoints that only existed to make the loop longer.

If there's lots of waypoints, then they need to be either simple ones that just take you along a path and don't detract from the walk, or intrinsically interesting ones that might make caches in their own right.

Unless they're very simple, you should avoid repetition in the waypoints because repeating the same thing over and over in a repetitive way without changing anything so that you get the same experience over and over again gets quite repetitive and, if repeated over and over again too often, gets tautologous (which means repetitive) and can become quite annoying if repeated too often.

What the bear said

[riblit]

With my cacher hat firmly in place, less is best if its a gc.com cache as you have to add them to that PITA of a waypoint form.<br />
Try it for a few waypoints and see.

[Aushiker]

With my cacher hat firmly in place, less is best if its a gc.com cache as you have to add them to that PITA of a waypoint form.<br />
Try it for a few waypoints and see.

Oh I have for John Henry and yep it was pain.

Regards
Andrew

[Rabbitto]

I believe Multi caches have two good purposes.

The first is if the hider wants to show you a monument / historical area / point of interest etc but is unable to hide a cache at that point and uses some math / clues etc to take you to a nearby spot where the cache is hidden, preferably a short walk.

The second is where the hider wants to take you on a walk or ride along a path, a cycle track or around a park and the waypoints take you to the points of interest on the way. There are also some that cover a fair distance but take you along a national highway between two cities.

I also believe that a poor use of the multi, is where the hider takes you to a number of unrelated areas and involve a combination of drive / walk and are merely a multi for the sake of being a multi.

My rule of thumb would be -

Instead of laying a (number) waypoint multi, is it possible to lay out (same number) traditional caches? If so that is the preferable option.

There is then also less chance of a new player going to all the trouble of planning their cache only to find that they get it rejected because someone has laid out a multi that starts 10km away and has plopped a waypoint in that spot for no related reason.

[Damo.]

A couple of my caches could be Traditionals but I chose to make them offsets to make them a bit more interesting.
Multis with many waypoints are fine if they are well thought out and have a good purpose such as taking you on an interesting journey. Not to everyones taste though.
I couldn't vote in the poll because it just depends on the particular cache. The most I have completed is four.

[Cached]

Be wary too, it is vary easy to lay a long multi around all the historical sites in a town, thus removing each and every one of them as possible traditionals. for others to plant.

Edit: Not sure if that made any sense - brain running in overload with uni exam prep today. But I think you know what I meant.

[GEK]

I voted 10 but only because there was no option for unlimited. Some of my greatest caching experiences have been on multis with more than 7 waypoints (Pilatus and Dopey spring to mind).

I believe any number of waypoints could be justified, but generally speaking I think 3 or 4 is sufficient in most instances.

The only thing I really object to is not knowing how many waypoints to expect.

GEK

[Freddo]

Down by Law had 20 waypoints. This cache recieved 7 visitors before being archived.

Maintaining the waypoints was the problem...

[TeamAstro]

I believe Multi caches have two good purposes.

The first is if the hider wants to show you a monument / historical area / point of interest etc but is unable to hide a cache at that point and uses some math / clues etc to take you to a nearby spot where the cache is hidden, preferably a short walk.

The second is where the hider wants to take you on a walk or ride along a path, a cycle track or around a park and the waypoints take you to the points of interest on the way. There are also some that cover a fair distance but take you along a national highway between two cities.

I also believe that a poor use of the multi, is where the hider takes you to a number of unrelated areas and involve a combination of drive / walk and are merely a multi for the sake of being a multi.

My rule of thumb would be -

Instead of laying a (number) waypoint multi, is it possible to lay out (same number) traditional caches? If so that is the preferable option.

There is then also less chance of a new player going to all the trouble of planning their cache only to find that they get it rejected because someone has laid out a multi that starts 10km away and has plopped a waypoint in that spot for no related reason.

Saved me writing something. Spot on. Ditto.

clear skies, Astro.

[xf king]

If properly maintained and an interesting place and or if some history is involved I would do ten usually with a bike or with a few hours to spare. But if its out in just a normal bushland I would go back down to 4 or 5.

Also it depends on how far apart the waypoints are, if the cache leads me more than 10km I would most likely skip it. And if the area is full of muggles, such as to many playgrounds I would skip it too. Also caches that lead in circles really gives me the irrates..

[C.A.S.]

Down by Law had 20 waypoints. This cache recieved 7 visitors before being archived.

Maintaining the waypoints was the problem...

And I throughly enjoyed it too! Took us 1/2 a days driving to all the points, we knew in advance how many points there were and their locations. With this information we knew what we were getting ourselves into before starting out and we were able to plan our trip with (then) 3 children!

I also spent several hours (5 I think?) hiking in a state forest in Qld doing Iniduoh. Again forewarned that it would involve quite a lot of hiking, it was very rewarding.

It really depends on the cache but one should be warned on top of the difficulty and terrain indicators (a) how long it should take (b) how many points are involved and (c) how far they are expected to travel BUT without spoiling the fun and surprise of the hunt itself.

Nice to do the "feeling unloved" caches!

TimTam

[Cached]

If they're long, I'm much more amiable (sp?) to them if they come with a loc file of the points.