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+3 votes
2.1k views
Hello,

i have a question regarding the APE Badge. You can reach Diamond when you find 3 of the APE Caches.

But i only know 2 active APE Caches:

Mission 4: Southern Bowl (https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCC67)

Mission 9: Tunnel of Light (https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1169)

But where is the 3rd one?
in Miscellaneous by tobi08091990 (360 points)

4 Answers

0 votes
There are only two active ones. There were about ten originally published. The person who has logged the most has logged five.
by pinkunicorn (Moderator) (194k points)
Hmmm, yes but the person who has found 5 would have Diamond as well, if you could reach Diamond with finding the two available APE-Caches.
The thing is that 3 APE-Caches are impossible to get for the most Cachers!
Another point is, that it is very hard to get this two APE Caches for a Cacher from Europe. You have to do two big journeys to USA and Brazil.
In my oppinion it would be better to set the Diamond Badge to only find these two, cause this is possible to get. To get 3 is impossible for the most Cacher. thus most cachers are excluded. and that's just not okay!
but surely with there only being 2 active (and has been only that for several years) finding 2 to make diamond level and any additional ones as an add-on (like the loop)  would be more favourable
In addition only 44 cachers worldwide have found 3 or more and this is unlikely to change ever.
Only 368 have reached 2 found.
Having 2 as the diamond level is a more favourable target for all other cachers and those with more get the revered bonus add-ons (if possible)
As I said in another topic, I think it would be better if there was no Badge for the APE-cache (I have one now for finding 1, so I would lose that Badge too)... You can't make a Badge for only 2 active caches imo... If there would be a Diamond Badge for finding 2 APE-caches then why not make one for finding HQ, or attending the Community Celebration Events, or for HQ 20 yrs event, ... Since there are addons now, cache-types like this would better be rewarded through that system instead of giving full Badges for them I think.
APE Badge is still under discussion.

Regarding APEs being hard for Europeans. Reaching D on long distance might also be hard, reaching D on Low Altitude is hard for everybody not travelling to the Dead Sea, a high badge in Travelling Cacher is hard for e.g. cachers from the middle of the US, whereas it's far more easy for Europeans.
Some badges hare hard to complete. Geocaching is a global game, and not everyone has the prerequisites. But we can't change that.

Currently APE Badge can be reached up to Emerald, as said before, it is still under review.

We consider making them AddOns, but we have to sort how many we need and how many slots we have. It will be either all or none.
I agree, either remove Ape badge, make it max out at 2 or make it an addon to log an ape cache.

Having an impossible badge really subtracts a lot from the system, and really annoys people to have an 80% completed badge on their profile that can never reach 100%.

All of the other badges might be hard or unrealistic to get for many, but at least they are possible, and can be a goal or dream to get, the third ape cache is impossible.

This is from someone who most likely will never get the one in Brazil, but I will always know I have the option to get it, and that makes the difference for me.
0 votes
Don't forget that PG's BadgeGen rewards for past finds. 1 person has 5 Project APE cache finds, 44 people have 3 or more.
by the Seagnoid (Expert) (46.3k points)
how many cachers already have this diamond badge?
How many more can get this diamond badge?
And for how many is it just not possible to get this diamond badge at all?
compare the numbers and think again if it makes sense to give the diamond only from 3
And so only 44 have got diamond - but that wont change - it is therefore not a challenge that anyone else can work towards
I am constantly looking at my badges and seeing how many more I need to get from sapphine to emerald or emerald to diamond - but that one from this point onwards (and in fact for several years) will never be reached by anyone else other than those who managed to get there over a decade ago
–2 votes

Adapting the rules to the current situation is also not okay. What if tomorrow the tunnel is closed or the jungle in Brazil is cut down? Do we change the rules then again ? It is simply bad luck that you were not active at that time. I wish I have landed on the moon, too. wink

greetings smiley

by zoRRo-CE (670 points)
Some badges lower the diamond level, although this is very simple. And for the only one who is simply not feasible, is that not possible? It is just extremely uncool and excludes the majority of active cachers. I think most cachers would like the awards here to be ALL possible. And don't say that the cacher with the most APE finds has 5. This cacher still has diamond when diamond is reached from 2!
I agree with you, that the APE badge is an extreme example.
But I don't like the idea of changing the guidelines only to have them complete.
But it is not achivable for the most active cachers because there are only 2 active ape caches. It is the only one which is Not achivable At All. Here people are excluded from being able to achieve something. Everywhere there is talk about being open to change and not excluding anyone from anything. Another view is probably taken here. I think that's really very bad. And you should also pay money for that. I will not continue to do that.
–2 votes

I would wait. Maybe Groundspeak reincarnates another APE cache wink

by Lomnice (910 points)
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