Am I Wrong???

Am I wrong about being upset about the way people hide caches? So many times I come across a cache that is hidden by sticks uniformly stacked in a pile with an ammo box sticking out of it. Don't people step back and say to themselves, "yeup if I was walking by this I wouldn't think that there was an ammo box under there I can kick all over the place."
And another thing since I'm in a venting mood right now.... I understand that a lot of caches are kid oriented, but why is it that most caches I come across have things in there that not even a kid would want? I've been to a few caches recently where (approximately) the last 20 people signed TNLN or TN Left *some garbage I found in the parking lot* As responsible geocachers (especially premium members) Shouldn't we make an effort to not only CITO but to also CITOOfTheCaches?
And another thing that bothers me is people that trade for a good item like a flashlight, or a compass, or a Jeep TB, and leave a marble or a band aid (I've was at a cache last week somebody left an individual stick of chewing gum!)
So anyways... those are the things that bother me for now, what do you think about them?

I think that if these things upset you that bad than maybe caching is not for you. I went through this tangent myself not to long ago. Then I realized that leaving something in the cache was not for me. I simple go to the cache and sign the log. I don't let it bother me anymore. Caching is a great activity that doesn't require trading to be fun, Beleive me I understand your frustration. I left a twenty dollar multitool in a cache once and just took the garbage out. I think that i traded wisely. All to often caches get depleted of good stuff to get replace by geojunk. I leave nothing in caches and take garbage out now.


Please, coming from a guy that posted something very similar to this once before, just roll with it and do the best you can to replace the garbage and hope that the next guy does the same thing. And remember, it's about the journey and the friends. The group of us that do caches togeather alot realize that the friends you meet along the way are worth so much more.

I hope your feeling better
Dave

Yes Dave I do agree with you, don't get me wrong though, I love geocaching mostly for the reason that it takes me to places in Maine that I never knew existed before ( and there are some very nice ones ) The part that bothers me is that other people don't always have the same kind of respect for things, such as the caches that are put in nice spots to attract people to them, but they are also very popular spots full of muggles, and people hide the cache under a leaf in plain site. Maybe I'm just being anal but that kinda stuff is just... well, wrong?

Not only is it wrong but it doesn't make finding the cache that hard either, usually you find it from twenty feet away. It sounds like you might enjoy some of the multis in greater bangor area. EX. dyselexia nitemare, Stacked on Stillwater, Battleship and there are many more, and maybe the best multi if found and most educational Brewer by the Numbers


A few neat hides are Secret fishing hole in old town by petes cabin, old 470 by brdad, Allagash tramway, Some of these are ones that will take you awhile but are worth it. Then you can always Do my cache into Gulf Hagus, That is maybe a two or three cache day but for mine you will walk 4.5 miles just for one.

I'm pretty new to geocaching, (I've found 10 so far) but I quickly learned that the majority of the caches have lots of junk in them. I've made the rules for myself very simple..if it has nothing I think is interesting, I just don't take anything. If it does, then I leave something that I hope is a fair trade. I may be wrong about travel bugs though..I don't feel that they are really "trade" items...I take them if I think I can move them on to reach their goal, but don't necessarily leave something in their place. I also love collecting signature items, and I DO leave my own signature item. I'm not sure what is more fun..the excitement of the find, or the goodies, or just the beautiful places I have seen...probably a combination of all of those things. One thing I know for sure is that this has been more fun than a barrel of monkey's!!!

I'm not a big fan of the "pile of parallel sticks" either, but that is what the difficulty rating is all about. I would expect it to be a relatively easy find if it is a 2 or less, especially if the cache has been in place for a while and there is a path beaten to it. I think the "cache path" effect should be taken into account when placing a cache to protect the local environment and also make it less noticable to muggles. If possible, try locating the cache where a groove won't be worn in the ground getting to it.

I have the same opinion as most on geolitter, and am not overly bothered by it. What bothers me the most is the use of Gladware disposable containers as cache boxes. They just don't work!

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Originally Posted by Mainelyroses

I may be wrong about travel bugs though..I don't feel that they are really "trade" items...I take them if I think I can move them on to reach their goal, but don't necessarily leave something in their place.

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No, you are not wrong. Travel bugs do not belong to the cache owner and are just visiting. If a tb's goal is to move and a cache owner's rule is to only take a tb if you leave a tb, then I always honor the wishes of the tb owner.

When 'Today's Cacher' touts the Dollar store and yard sales for the good swag, it only makes sense that stuff in the cache is actually worthless trash. I have put a good deal of effort into a signiture item and spend my time collecting other members signiture items. My current favorite is Brdad's photo marble. I'm trying to find one with a scene of a place I recognise here locally. I also have a bag of stuff for trading when there is actually decent stuff. I keep aware of nice things to trade to keep it stocked. I actually remove advertizing (like business cards) from caches unless there is a genuine free giveaway. I don't need a free tire inspection, thanks. I did play a round of mini golf with my kid at Pirate's Cove.

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Originally Posted by Team Nirvana

When 'Today's Cacher' touts the Dollar store and yard sales for the good swag, it only makes sense that stuff in the cache is actually worthless trash. I have put a good deal of effort into a signiture item and spend my time collecting other members signiture items. My current favorite is Brdad's photo marble. I'm trying to find one with a scene of a place I recognise here locally. I also have a bag of stuff for trading when there is actually decent stuff. I keep aware of nice things to trade to keep it stocked. I actually remove advertizing (like business cards) from caches unless there is a genuine free giveaway. I don't need a free tire inspection, thanks. I did play a round of mini golf with my kid at Pirate's Cove.

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I like Brdad's photo marble too. I have one showing Paul Bunyan in Bangor :D

We made up snack size baggies with a card and marbles to leave in every cache we visit. The marbles were for the kids, card is just our geocaching avatar and geocache email address. Figured if newer caches want to email to learn more about caching (and get pointed to here) that's great. This isn't a "trade" item but just something extra to leave. If we do trade, we try for something geo related. Our best one was a good quality vinyl sticker for the car window with a geo logo. Unfortunately when we went to reorder, there is no trace of the company and they don't answer phone or email calls. Disappointing but might look for another source such as the main gc site.

Hadn't thought about cleaning out the junk in caches since we figured the cache owner had that responsibility. I do have quite a collection of small rubber amphibians in a dish on my kitchen sink. Try explaining that to visitors!

Anne