I am extremely frustrated at what seems to be a growing trend of "lazy" hides of geocaches.

I am currently on vacation and submit the following - GCKW8F - hidden in a Wal-Mart parking lot along a busy local highway in Central Florida. There is a similar hide in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Huntington Beach, California.

I am very irked that I probably have to eliminate 20-33% of my potential searches (regardless of whether I am in Florida, Ohio, California or anywhere else) because the caches appear to me (and some of my fellow geocachers) that someone drove into a parking lot, walked a whole 10 steps and stuck an Altoids tin with a magnet underneath a commercial sign on the corner of a busy strip mall, Del Burger/McTaco fast food drive thru, office park or commercial complex.

I fail to see how this is a hidden gem, a unique view, an historical site or an unknown/secret location.

I am hard-pressed to call it anything other than lazy. In most cases, these are micros, seldom themed and always in a high-traffic/high Muggle area.

I think these hides are ruining our hobby.

Sincerely,

Mike Hatz