FatCat2
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Posts posted by FatCat2
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I just started caching a few months ago and have been disappointed that people don't put a bit more thought into their swag. While it is about the journey not the destination, part of the fun is seeing all the weird stuff people have added. Those who leave their pocket lint in a cache are missing the point.
Said what I meant better than I said it. Good channeling! (Although historical sights and markers are my favorite caches.) Thanks for affirming my greatly-maligned enjoyment of the swag aspect of geocaching.
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A lot of swag just doesn't stand up to the elements. It wasn't necessarily garbage when it went into the cache, but it turns into garbage over time.
I understand why it's a little disappointing to find a cache without much in it, but I really don't think it's worth the wailing and gnashing of teeth. The game has so much more to recommend it.
And if you're *genuinely* upset to find a cache without anything "good" in it, maybe you need to ask yourself if you're part of the problem.
I think everyone would agree with you Narcissa-- and definitely with Gitchee Gumee too-- but I think you misunderstand the thread. (Perhaps I misunderstand you too-- that happens on email.) I don't think that's an issue for anyone here. Face it this thread is idle chatter. (Like "How about those Mets?" ) The only people here are those procrastinating on their work and too tired to anything more interesting. (Guilty myself.). I wouldn't read too much angst into the discussion. I heard no gnashing of teeth.
I don't think people are obsessing with "treasure" there's better stuff at garage sales and on ebay than found in geocaches, but it can be cool to to sort through a cache with fun and interesting stuff even if one rarely takes anything... (Guilty again..) I enjoy signature items even if they're not personalized. It isn't any sillier than finding a plastic nut jar under a tree and thinking that's fun. I think this is a fun thread because if you carry maintenance kits and clean, repair almost every cache, remove trash, add more swag than you take in order to improve the experience for others it's fun to chat with kindred spirits.
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ooooh Uncle Uncle.
Gotcha. The barb that is. And my apologies for the inexplicably lazy question.
Truly, I thought I had edited that to ask a specific question about quality and aesthetics. (Hmmm. I guess that explains why my post is uncharacteristically pithy...) I'm a very recent aficionado of wooden nickels only because I have found two that seem to be of unexpected and uncommon quality. I thought I had asked about that. Note to self: double check posts...Truth is I should stick to my original plan and ask the sig item owners who will be flattered by my noob-nickiel question and moreover will know what I am talking about. It may have little to do with manufacturers for all I know.
Back to our regular programming... cheers, fatcat2 the dumb nickel cacher
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Seeds should be placed in ziplocks-- but yes, great swag idea.
Since most cachers are adults I purge my home of small household items that are clean, unbroken and usable that I no longer need would otherwise take to a thrift store. Examples: deck of cards, small picture frames, jasmine soap from Chinatown (in ziplock), lettuce/veggie seeds (in ziplock), small disney pins (from ebay), set of coasters, set of ceramic chinese soup spoons, cheese slicer, (really!) lots and lots of necklaces/bracelets ( i notice they are appreciated). Smashed/souvenir pennies, Foster grant sunglasses (in ziplock to protect), rubber duckies, Prepackaged lens cleaners, small unused/new with tags wallet/cell phone holder, some metal toy cars, metal toy construction equipment (both coveted by adults also) Lamest item was an plastic shoe horn, but hey, I didn't need a second one and someone who doesn't want to buy one could use it. In my opinion the key is clean, unbroken, and protected from damage in the cache.
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No worries- most cachers are adults. So, come on out and join us!
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I noticed between 80% to 90% of trackables in inventory are missing. But to be fair few cachers will alert the bug/cache owners that it's missing. When you find a missing bug please note it on the bug page AND in your cache log, then the inventory is more likely to be corrected, the owner can try to track it down, and the next cacher won't be too disappointed.
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Still having this problem, the map is completely jumbled and random--not simply backwards. Is there something the TB owners need to do to recalibrate this? Thanks.
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Yeah, it's the norm.
One out of four regular and large caches are decent. There only a few excellent caches in my area which I know by name and I always let other cachers with kids know about them. Ironically I found some HUGE caches on our road trip last weekend (huge caches are rare) and they were full. Chock full. All junk. At least there wasn't any garbage in any of them for a change.. To my surprise one "regular" ammo can had lots of beanie babies, and other new useful items. I didn't take anything but I appreciate a cache that is treated with thought and respect. On another note we didn't find any geocoins on our trip. The only TBs were in hotels and there were no coins in any of the caches. I always empty every cache I find, wipe out dirt and moisture, remove the trash, bag up stickers/cloth/papers items, then put something nice in it to improve the game for everyone, but other than lead by example I don't know what more we can do for the game in general.
What I recommend for your particular cache is to warn people outright at the very top of your cache page to be prepared to trade and to trade up for good stuff. I think sometimes people are not prepared to trade (being genuinely surprised to find anything but damaged stickers and broken plastic junk in a cache.) Spell it out: nothing broken or damaged. Then place a laminated card with instructions in the cache to remind them. I suspect most people will be prepared and respect your wishes if you ask them.
I know you're thinking they should already know that. Well, sorta. But, remember most people are focusing on smileys and numbers-- not swag. That's an afterthought.
PS you can buy terrific kid swag on ebay for pennies. Hello Kitty, Disney, Dora the Explorer items, good quality enamel charms etc. Most cachers are adults though...
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Where can I buy custom wooden nickels?
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When I dropped a hanging cache inside a metal fence pole I returned the next day to retrieve and return it becasue even though this cache had a design flaw I felt it was my responsibility to do everything possible. But, if the rescue mission hadn't worked then I would have contacted the CO --just like youknowwho did-- to fess up and figure out how I could make it right. (Fortunately I didn't have to. Whew!!) I was the second of three butterfingers out of the first 15 cachers who made the same mistake-- so after #3 couldn't retrieve it the CO redesigned the hide. Point: There was shared responsibility between the finder the CO and that applies to your situation too. I'm seeing some all-or-nothing/ black& white thinking. Some of the discussion on this board seems to obsess about who is right or wrong than on problem solving or gaining perspective.
After perusing the logs, it's clear the cacher did the very, very best he could. In fact, made an extraordinary effort and was honest and prompt and considerate in letting you know about the problem. He took as much responsibility as was able and I'm sure he wanted to do more as he felt so terrible. Sometimes "stuff" happens. (I presume I can't use the other word on the forums.) He made a mistake, perhaps a couple, but there are things you could have done differently too. While momentarily irritating, they're all fairly minor mistakes in the grand scheme of things. Nothing to warrant the anger and insult you leveled at him.
No, as CO you can't clean up after every rushed and lazy cacher, but that does not appear to be the case. I'm sure you are inconvenienced and annoyed and I bet the embarrassed cacher understands that as much as I do. Nonetheless, I do hate to be harsh, but your response was breathtakingly rude. The situation is completely different than how you outlined it in this thread. (Juan Durrer nails it correctly) Anyway, why not focus on problem solving? Why not ask how much he was willing and able to do to help you out and come up a plan? As a CO you do bear some responsibility in fixing the inevitable "oops" on a challenging hide even if it's a bummer sometimes. Do you plan to excoriate everyone who has a bad experience? Wow.
You missed a great opportunity to make a friend and work together to solve the problem. There is so much rigid inflexible thinking here and laser-like focus on placing blame I have to shake my head. To what end?
Purely unsolicited advice on my part (which means probably annoying) but here goes: While you're not a mommy, it is to your direct benefit to let people how they should "prepare" on your cache page. That's not blaming you-- it's a pragmatic observation that makes everyone's life easier. If you can prevent a prioblem you don't have to fix it or worry about who's "wrong! " The logs indicate the cache page was insufficient.
With due respect, I'm sure you are a reasonable person but could have done things differently here. Consider this 1) a lesson learned about best practices in being a CO and 2) apologizing to GiT for your part in this. Judging by his log entry I would not be surprised if he was gracious and understanding.
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What bugs me about the golf balls is they are filthy so they damage other items in the cache and make the cache an unappealing pile of junk. It's really lazy and disrespectful to put filthy stuff in the cache. It doesn't seem the golf ball swaggers are mindful of breaking other items in the cache before placing.
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I have been impressed with cache containers made from cammoed screw-top cosmetic containers so far. I've only seen three, but they are good quality heavy plastic, and are always bone dry inside even in the El Nino rains. Mind you these are not common containers, I mean the good quality ones that probably held expensive product.
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Drat. I missed my chance to say dirty, damaged golfballs!
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Why would you want to log a cache that you haven't visited???? I hope I don't sound unkind, but I am completely baffled.
Isn't the point of a virtual cache to share a site so cool that it doesn't need a tupperware box full of toys to merit a fun visit ?? At times a virtual cache often something that is experienced-- not read about (Thinking of "Gravity Hill" virtual cache.)
Here is my silly question, going beyond virtual caches, does it really hurt anyone if someone wants to log caches they didn't really visit? It's absurd and mystifying, but who wants to do this and why are people so concerned about this.
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When will the coin be available? Don't take this wrong, but I am interested in purchasing from the second minting for a market (lower) price and without pre-ordering. You mentioned earlier this would be possible eventually.
First of all thank you for your interest. I am in the process of getting my samples for this coin at the moment. I am trying to collect funds by selling my Mystery Heart Coins so I have enough to place an order for this coin. As soon I sell out all of my Mystery Hearts I will have an order placed for Celtic Treasure coins. Please, let me know what price range you are looking for so that I have an idea and I will definitely work with on that.
Sorry to take so long to respond. I didn't answer because I realized that geocoins are simply out of my budget. It's a beautiful coin- thanks for posting the pix. I hope to see one in a cache someday and be able to move it along its travels. P.S. I agree the reddish color looks good.
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Well, I'm new around here but my initial excitement about geocoins cooled rapidly when I was discovered how expensive they are, how a shocking 80 to 80 percent of the cache inventories are incorrect, and how unlikely the coin is to travel for more than a few months or legs before disappearing. I enjoy picking up geocoins, and moving and logging them responsibly, and wouldn't mind the expense of putting a few out there as my contribution to all of our enjoyment of geocaching but don't want to shell out that much dough $$$$ for someone's swag collection or have it wasted by lazy geocachers who are careless with trackables.
Grit your teeth now... I discovered my first pathtag on Christmas and am excited by creating my own signature item to release in the wild. It's not a small expense but I am looking for ways to contribute to the gc community's fun for less than 8 to 15 bucks a shot.
As a noob, what am I missing? Isn't a pathtag--signature item/tradable/geosway-- very different from a trackable geocoin?
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So, when ou see a vehicle travel bug decal I presume you must record the secret number in order to log it as a find, but how you do you log the location? Does that matter? Or I just mention when I write the log?
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1) It took me a long time, a lot of puzzling, a lot of reading and re-reading to figure out what how trackables work. The info was incomplete and research was very time consuming. I'm still picking up the finer points. It's no wonder people don't know how the system works. Most poeple don't have the time and patience for that. Previous suggestions about tutorials are echoed here.
Like a previous poster I was intimidated by trackables and was afraid to take one if I found it. By the time I found my first trackable -- last week-- I felt somewhat confident taking it, but wasn't sure if it was okay if I didn't release my own travel bug or something...
2) During our six day road trip last week we hit six caches most days, I was shocked, SHOCKED to see almost EVERY trackable listed in cache inventories were missing! And I'm a noob and I know better! Only TWO trackables (less and 25%) of those listed actually resided in their noted caches! Both of those bugs were dropped by the same person in the last 48 hours-- So, this means only ONE cacher who preceded me handled the trackables correctly.
OK. Sorry for the long story-- the point is I was also shocked that no one else (or least very people) spoke up. the sooner you catch the mistake the sooner the bug owners can email other cachers and inquire and the sooner they contact the cache owner to see if there are other cachers on the paper log that didn't log electronically. The most anyone else noted was "inventory seems to be off" -- if anything at all. I made a point of noting what bugs were missing/present in the cache logs and I emailed all the Bug/Coin owners (that was a lot of emails) and let them know their trackable had gone AWOL. The problem was they have been missing so, so long they will be difficult to find. One bug owner started inquiry as a result of my note, I'm sure he would have appreciated a note earllier...
So, excuse my horrible writing today, but the point is something is very wrong if so many bugs are missing.
3) I noticed the tracking number for my bug (the secret one) was on a separate piece of paper and not visible anywhere on the geocoin. Weird. What if they get separated? I performed repairs on the plastic coin sleeve, copied the number in pencil (so it wouldn't run) and laminated the accompanying note to ensure it will travel safely for at least few more caches. I also put a rubber band around the sleeve so the coin wouldn't fall out and a post it note over the sleeve saying "DO NOT take this coin unless you log it and move it to another safe cache." Overkill, I know, but I now have no faith in most cachers ability to handle TBs. Also, the info that comes with the coin is too wordy, confusing and the print is too small.
4) I have never received a newsletter from Groundspeak.
Sorry for the ramble..
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When will the coin be available? Don't take this wrong, but I am interested in purchasing from the second minting for a market (lower) price and without pre-ordering. You mentioned earlier this would be possible eventually.
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As a new geocacher I think it takes some practice to learn how " to look". It's hard to explain.. but experience helps, so go with someone who has already cached for a while-- or at least don't pick ones at the end of long hikes at first.. It took three or four tries to find my first cache, then it just gets easier..
One out of four regular and large caches are decent. There only a few excellent caches in my area which I know by name and I always let other cachers with kids know about them. Ironically I found some HUGE caches on our road trip last weekend (huge caches are rare) and they were full. Chock full. All junk. At least there wasn't any garbage in any of them for a change.. To my surprise one "regular" ammo can had lots of beanie babies, and other new useful items. I didn't take anything but I appreciate a cache that is treated with thought and respect. On another note we didn't find any geocoins on our trip. The only TBs were in hotels and there were no coins in any of the caches.
Fixing a cache that you broke
in General geocaching topics
Posted · Edited by FatCat2
Well, it's certainly awkward and not ideal, but I think that's the core issue here. If he could have returned the cache or put the lid back himself there would have been no problem--just another smiley in the logs and no story. It certainly would have been easier to abandon the cache and walk away, but he took it with him to ensure it was safe until he could get it to the CO. I would have done the same which is why I am intrigued by the comment.