What's your geocaching target for 2017 - How to make it better than 2016?

Question

We are about to enter 2017, and since I completed my last geocaching goal for 2016 as listed on http://project-gc.com/qa/?qa=8366/whats-your-geocaching-target-for-2016&show=8367#a8367 today, I started thinking about how I want to change my geocaching next year to make it better and more fun than last year. Last year I had a couple of goals that required me to continously make finds of certain types or quantities each month. This got tiring, so I won't do anything like that this year.

I started working on two local challenges last year that I want to finish:

• Complete a challenge that requires five finds on each calendar date. I need to add finds to 40 dates, at most two on each day. [2017-04-23: Done]
• Try to complete a challenge that requires five finds of each D/T combination. The problem here is mostly that not all the needed caches are available locally.

Apart from that, I've come up with a couple of other goals that I'll try to reach:

• Log all active caches in my region that were active when I started geocaching. Since I started geocaching way back in 2004 there are not that many left that I haven't already found but there are a couple of dozen. On the other hand, they are pretty well spread over the region.
• Publish another cache that has at least 50% FP at the end of the year (I currently own 5, but 3 of them are adopted). [2017-08-16: A wherigo I published in April is currently at 56%, so looking good]
• Publish another wherigo cache (I've only published one which is very simple). [2017-04-10: Done]

What do you want to do during to 2017 to make it a better year than 2016?

Comments

This year, I want to find more earthcaches. I really like well done earthcaches. And, of course, I have to end the matrix ;).

---

moved to answer

---

This year I will improve my tree and climbing attributs. My goal is to log even more challenges.

---

We have already found almost twice as many caches this year, over 3100.
We are working on finishing our Jasmer and DT matrix.
We are working towards getting the next shade of green for our daily caches (11 or more /day) This will take a full year from now at least.
We are currently on a 530 day streak.
Not too bad for only 2 years caching. I guess we are obsessed!!

Answer 1

Actually, I have spent the last two years working on goals - completing my calendar, then getting it up to three per day, finding an FTF per month, diamond badges. For December I am actually hoping no new caches get released, so my FTF streak dies, and so my 2017 goal will be...

To not have a goal!

No need to go and get a cache because it fits a particular number. No need to go out today because it fits a particular calendar goal. Nope, I am going to go caching when I want to. Me. Not BadgeGen. 

Should be a good year! 

Comments

Well that's the way I prefer caching, too. If it fits my badges, then it is fine.
I can count the days on one hand, when I was really out to get some of the goals that I had for this year.
One day I made a trip of app. 300km, to get some of the rare older caches (older than 2004) and to fill some of my matrix holes. But mostly i don't think of my "goals", when i plan a trip.

So my "goals" are not too high, so i hopefully can fulfill them more or less "en passant". And as I wrote: Some goals are about to reach in the next years..

---

Best way for geocaching :-)

Answer 2

Well for me the year had some changes in the bag. I moved to one city, been there for three months and then moved into another city, back near to my first hometown. That second move was the most unexpected turn. But some of my goals for 2006 i could reach. I wanted to reach 3000 caches. Now i am at 3253 and want to try to get 3300 before the end of the year. I won't give me a target number for 2017

Then i was able to fill some gaps in the hidden month stats: only 2000 and 2001 still are completely missing, i filled all gaps in 2004 and 2003 and filled 2 holes in 2002, still having 5 left. So there is something to work on in the next year(s).

The hidden dates stats have three gaps left. So i got 50% of the holes filled. Hopefully i will get those in 2017.

For 2017 i want to fill my D/T matrix, four tricky combinations are open, and there are not too much caches around, so i will have to travel a bit for them to get.

Then i want to attend three Mega Events, one of it in a foreign country.

And yet, i have to place some new caches here.

And i want to help to answer questions here, if i can.

Comments

My goal for this year is to reach 1000 Church Micro Finds and would like to fill my D/T grid which just has the one gap unfilled

Answer 3

2017 - I don't want to look every day to my statistik and want to enjoy more Caches in the mountains.
Also I want to make a few Lostplace tours.

Comments

Trying to cache every day can be a grind sometimes, can't it?

Answer 4

I would like to find in the average 100 caches a month.

Answer 5

Thank you for this subject which shows structured objestifs to which we would not have thought!
For my part, I hope to find in 2017 as much motivation as in 2016.
- participate in the challenges of local geocacher associations to play as a team
- participate in other megacities
- complete other badges hoping that there are new propopsés
- I would like to learn how to get challenge checkers to create a mysterious challenge ...
And if I come to all this, I should be
Geoamically

traduit par google du francais :

merci de ce sujet qui montre des objestifs structurés auxquels nous n'aurions pas pensé ! 

pour ma part, j'espére trouvé en 2017 autant de motivation qu'en 2016 .

- participer aux défi des associations de géocacheurs locaux pour jouer en équipe

- participer a d'autres mégaeven

- completer d'autres badges en espérant qu'il y en est de nouveaux propopsés

- j'aimerais apprendre a obtenir des vérificateurs de challenge pour creer un circuit de mysteries challenge ... 

et si j'arrive à tout cela, je serais comblé

géoamicalement

Answer 6

Well, this last year went quite smooth and I accomplished my goals pretty much.

• As I finished first round of calendar (Found dates), I started the second round with filling other gaps and if everything will work fine, I will finish it next year
• I would like to hide at least one more nice and original cache around here.
• And same as last year, I would like to post more photos to the logs, since most of the time I carry camera or at least phone to record nice places and moments.
• Also I would like to continue helping to make Project-GC better by helping with translations, improvements of web browser extension, creating challenge checkers and helping in the Q&A here to the beginners.

It is not about the numbers!

Answer 7

It would, of course, be nice to get a full calender by the end of the next year. Being more realistic, the goals for next year:

• Diamond badge - UK regions
• Emerald badge - Letterboxes
• Platinum badge - Wherigos
• Gold badge - Calender
• 3,000 Geocaches found, and hopefully no more than 50% micros!

Answer 8

My goal to make 2017 better than 2016 is to find more caches, add a couple (2-4) of states to my finds list, and find caches to complete my Jasmer Challenge (only 10 left)!!  I have a lot of smaller goals as well, but they are too many and too cumbersome to list here, besides boring others.  I have enjoyed my experiences and adventures exploring the great outdoors through geocaching and want to promote this hobby/activity wherever I go.

Answer 9

Participate in more events !

Answer 10

I met my two goals for 2016, filling my D/T grid and my Jasmer grid. My goal for 2017 is to fill my dates found grid. Might be a bit of a challenge, but with 8 left this year I'll "only" have 55 days to fill next year. Still got some work to do!

Answer 11

2017 probably will be. the year with QUALITY before QUANTITY. There are several long hiking multis in the mountains around my larger homezone - so if timetable and weather allowas, I do want to complete some of them instead of running after powertrails. Then there is the Geocaching GrandTour of Switzerland - a project started in 2016 - and I like to visit some spots on that tour -. maybe on a long e-bike tour...

..And last but not  least, I have some ideas for at least two new caches. At the moment I am still looking for a good spot so that the box can be built customized. Let's see

Happy New Year to all of you - and PLEASE respect nature when geocaching. I find it annoying when you do not need your GPS once a cache in the forrest is older than one week and you can already see a clear cacher - higway to ground zero...

Answer 12

Trying to finish my last D/T box, complete the Washington Fizzy (more restrictive), and get to 100 large caches and 100 earthcaches. Found over 3000 this year, so numbers aren't as important.

Answer 13

I pretty much fulfilled my goals of this year (do a long day, complete more than 100 caches each month, and add a few countries) and actually was even busier than I thought as I will be above 2100 caches at the end of the year. Still there are some things I could think about for 2017:

• complete my calendar (a few days in Jan & Feb missing)
• complete my D/T matrix (only one missing)
• publish some more caches and organise some events
• work down the to-do list of solved mysteries before they get archived :-|
• continue to being guided to nice and interesting places!

I would also have to mention that one of my relatives complained I was caching too much and indeed I spent a lot of time outside this year but hey, this is what it is for...

All of you good luck for 2017, happy caching!

Comments

Finding nearly 2000 caches this year, my goal for 2017 is to have more time for my friends.It´s time for a new setting of the priorities and so i´m gonna look out for more quality caches.

Answer 14

Unfortunately last year my best friend and geocaching mentor died :o(

So my goal this year is to get all his caches and do the first 5 caches of the 9 summits of austria series. that was, what we had planned this year and i surely try to fullfill that, just to honor him

Answer 15

• Complete the Found and Hidden calendars.
• 500 unknown caches (and get better at solving them myself... )
• Arrange event at the 7 significant hikes tops that the local tourist association proposes for 2017 (together with another cacher, we managed this in 2016 and it was good fun)
• Diamond badge for Norway
• Complete GC521A7

Also I want to help my boyfriend to:

• 1000 unknown caches
• Diamond badge for Sweden 

Answer 16

This year my target was to log mor than 1000 caches. Fo a lot of you that is now problem and you will lought, for me it is a real task ! But, I almost got it ... only 16 caches left... I guess I will manage it easyly in the last days of the year ....

In 2017 I plan to rise my "Head-In-The-Clouds Award"-badge to smaragd. In the summer we will do a mountain trip again, and this year we want to "crack" the 3500 m hight... I hope we have good wether to climb that high :-)

But I already know my geocaching target for 2018: I found a cache 9258 km away from home, in 2018 i will get the 10000km mark to get the diamond badge :-)

Have fun :-)

Answer 17

Wir möchten wieder mehr Zeit in diesem Hobby haben und noch mehr gute Caches auslegen wie unser Cache Pipeline.

Minos2003

Answer 18

To unlock at least 30 badge awards. I currently have 16, but I think I have worked out how to unlock a further 14 in 2017.

Answer 19

I'd like to maintain a 25% non-traditional percentage.

I'd also like to work toward an FTF on each calendar day.  I currently have 247.

Finally, I'd like to work toward qualifying for more challenge caches.

Comments

Wow, 247 FTFs and trying to get one each calender day??? I only managed one single FTF so far so this is far beyond my imagination. Good luck then!

Answer 20

*  Enjoy my first full year of retirement

*  Cache my way to Alaska from Utah

*  Hold a monthly Event

*  Complete a minimum of 5 loops on my Date Found Calendar

*  Earn a Gemstone for Earth Caches

*  Finish my 365 day caching streak