A Muggle Rant

[Ghengis Jon]

This falls under the 'just getting it out of my system' category.

 

A cache I've maintained for the last 15 months has been muggled. It was the first cache I set out in the wild, so it has a special place in my GC'ing heart. 6 or 7 weeks ago, it was logged as wet. As the diligent cache owner, I went out to perform maintenance. Dried it out, replaced the seal, improved the resting place.

 

I'm kind of finicky cacher, I don't care for micro-spew and regularly remove broken McCrap I find in caches. Drop in good swag whenever possible. Half the fun of GC'ing for me is the "Whoa!" factor left for the next finder.

 

So I emptied my newly cleaned container and filled it with the following swag: a roll of 1943 steel pennies, 3 packages new AA batteries, a $100 off coupon on airfare, $10 food vouchers good at any airport, 6 ancient bronze coins - circa AD 350 (my signature item), compass/carabiner combos, a small promotional bottle of Channel No.5 perfume, finger flashlights, hemostats, a can of Deep Woods Off, and a couple of very cool handmade sig items acquired from other caches. I wanted a 'pleasure' cache, one that a cacher of any age would find something to his/her liking.

 

Only a couple of cachers visited since the restocking, but the major cache season is just starting.

 

NOW ITS GONE!!!

 

Grrrrrr.

 

No good deed go unpunished.

[+CheshireFrog]

I wanted a 'pleasure' cache, one that a cacher of any age would find something to his/her liking.

 

Mission accomplished. I want to hunt one of your caches.

 

It sucks, but there's not much you can do as the hider to prevent this sort of thing from happening beyond keeping your caches out of high traffic areas and hiding them well.

 

On the other hand, finders can have a big effect on this. Be discrete when hunting and logging, and be aware of other people in the area. If you act suspicious you will attract unwanted attention to the cache area; people will naturally wonder what was so interesting and will come over to see when you leave.

Edited June 21, 2007 by CheshireFrog

[Luckless]

To me putting out a cache full of great items would depend on where you put it and what the chance of muggles finding it is. I'd probably place one like you describe well out of urban areas with a little bit of a hike off the beaten path (who am I kidding I probably won't ever have one that nice- I'd like to- maybe someday- a milestone cache perhaps) .Because of the muggle factor I prefer the idea of not putting a lot of expensive things in a cache all at once. Maybe trade out or add something(s) nice each time I do maintenance. It's a shame to lose a nice cache like that- sounds like a real good one. Wow factor can also be the cleverness of the contents not the expense.

[+Roland_oso]

Was there no trace what so ever of the cache or it’s contents?

 

Something to consider, the sample bottle of Channel No 5 is what is known as a smellable and could have attracted the attention of an animuggle.

[vtmtnman]

I wanted a 'pleasure' cache, one that a cacher of any age would find something to his/her liking.

 

Mission accomplished. I want to hunt one of your caches.

Umm,basically.That's awsome swag!And a very cool sig item.

[+simplyred]

It seems if we put any great swag around here, the next cachers take all the good stuff and replace junk. I don't mind so much as when they just take one good item for junk, but when they take all the good swag, and replace with junk, that's just wrong, but happens more often than not.

[roy&roz]

I placed my first cache just a few weeks ago. An ammo can, the cache was in honor of my father. I filled it with fishing gear a TB and a coffee cup. One TB was picked up and a few people had traded coins. I hid another micro with the same story line at another location. Today I learned they both had been muggled. I can almost understand someone muggling the ammo can, but the micro? I honestly believe another cacher has taken them for reasons not known yet. but we're workig on it. So early in the game for me to be hit like this. I was planning other caches along this story line but now I'm not so sure. Although it might give us a hint as to why these two were taken.

[+TrailGators]

Love to hear threads about good caches like these! It's too bad the good ones get muggled. Most of the time people don't put them back right or they pull them out in front of muggles. That's why I like hiding mine insafe low muggle areas.

[+Cornerstone4]

Was there no trace what so ever of the cache or it’s contents?

 

Something to consider, the sample bottle of Channel No 5 is what is known as a smellable and could have attracted the attention of an animuggle.

 

That was what I thought as soon as I read that. Maybe a bear walked off with it...assuming you have bears in your area.

[+Mule Ears]

Ghengis, you were very generous and creative in stocking that cache, and it stinks that some thief made off with it.

 

That said, it's probably tempting fate to fill a cache with so much recognizably valuable stuff. It certainly increases the chance of a cache being muggled if accidentally found. And it's probably a good thing that relatively few caches contain much of value, else there'd be more serial cache-maggotry.

 

Rule of thumb: The closer to populated areas, the less valuable swag a cache should contain. If that's not the case when the cache is placed, it soon will be, once the down-trading occurs. In my humble opinion, ideal cache swag has near-zero monetary value, but is just quirky, cool, interesting, theme-appropriate, etc.

[+Kit Fox]

Ghengis Jon,

 

Did it ever occur to you that it might not ahve been a muggle who took your cache? It could have been a maggot with a GPS.

 

In one area where I live, a large number of caches "went missing." All were hidden by different cachers. The only possible explanation was that someone stopped and grabbed everyone of the caches in the area, and split. The likelihood of muggles accidentally discovering these caches is just too remote.

[+pater47]

Judging by your description of the cache , I'm really surprised it lasted as long as it did.

[+Team GeoBlast]

Judging by your description of the cache , I'm really surprised it lasted as long as it did.

 

First of all, hats off to you for your well thought out swag you left in your cache. The game simply cannot have enough people like you. The problem is that the game has a lot of people playing that aren't like you. I have to agree with the above poster about your cache description and making it public that you stock the cache with rare coins. This something that is probably going to attract a maggot eventually. I hope that you will someday find it within yourself to put nice things in your caches again but it's best to do this quietly.

[CoyoteRed]

NOW ITS GONE!!!

Before writing this cache off go back and increase your search area. We had a cache we thought was gone, but someone had moved it. I'm talking about the hiding spot was fairly obvious and where it was put was 50' away. It would be hard to confuse where it was found with where it was re-hidden. It was obvious the move was deliberate.

 

Don't despair just yet. We were ready to archive our cache when someone posted a find on it. I emailed them and they described where they found it.

Edited June 21, 2007 by CoyoteRed

[Ghengis Jon]

Yeah, I went out on the way home from work and checked out the area. To no avail. :::sigh:::

 

Holly is a small village (four traffic lights). The cache is/was actually well hidden, its concealment area invisible behind a wall of trees and vegetation. You can literally stand right next to it and not see any indications. On land or on sea, one cannot spot the locale without knowing what to look for. 15 months in a well kept but largely unused small park and nary a problem.

 

I drop fully identified and tagged ancient coins into caches I visit. (I get to combine two of my hobbies into one.) I actually have had more than one GC'er email me and tell me not to identify my sig item because 'cache-stalkers' (!?!?) will follow me around, and then snatch them up before anyone else gets a chance. Well, thats a possibility I never thought of! These coins aren't terribly valuable, they just don't make the cut for my collection. The ooo-aah factor I get to bestow on others is what its all about for me.

 

I will NOT be deterred by a maggot. I don't know whether or not to retire the cache or not. I suspect the thief will return to the scene of the crime in hopes of another one, so I may put a container out there with an explanation of what s/he has done, why it is wrong, what an <expletive deleted> they are, and a sincere wish that I read about them in seven months being awarded (posthumously) a 2007 Darwin Award for a particularly spectacular exit from the gene pool.

 

The cache was the first one in town, I just placed a micro as the second (no, not a lamp skirt or film cannister), and someone else finally put out a third. I will not bow down to evildoers. But I may replace the cache later and fill it with broken McCrap. Then perhaps once in a while go drop something really cool in it for a finder. Who knows. I will also continue to leave signature coins in caches I visit. As a side note, of the 50 or so coins I've dropped, only a small handful are reported in logs as being picked up by subseqent finders. I wonder why that is. Another thread I guess.

Edited June 21, 2007 by Ghengis Jon

[+Thrak]

NOW ITS GONE!!!

Before writing this cache off go back and increase your search area. We had a cache we thought was gone, but someone had moved it. I'm talking about the hiding spot was fairly obvious and where it was put was 50' away. It would be hard to confuse where it was found with where it was re-hidden. It was obvious the move was deliberate.

 

Don't despair just yet. We were ready to archive our cache when someone posted a find on it. I emailed them and they described where they found it.

 

Sadly, sometimes folks who find the cache aren't stealthy or don't re-hide it well. However, it doesn't always work out badly.

 

A pair of muggles accidentally found the final stage of my Scrooge's Strongbox series. It's a .50 cal ammo can fitted with a 4 digit combination lock. They were intrigued by their find so they logged onto gc.com and made accounts. They then proceeded to find the first 5 stages of the series. Having done that, they were then equipped with the combination to open the cache they had originally stumbled upon. They have since gone on to find a number of other local caches. Sometimes a muggle is really a geocacher who just doesn't know it yet!

[+Coal7]

Have you checked with your local parks department to see if they took your cache?

[Luckless]

You could email the last finders and explain to them the cache has gone missing. This can be touchy. You don't want to sound like you're accusing them of taking or losing it, but see if you can get them to describe where they rehid it on the chance it got put back in a different spot than you intended. Sometimes cachers don't always rehide a cache exactly where they found it. It's a possibility.

[+halffast]

It always sucks when a cache is muggled.I alway replace it with good swag and hope it doesnt go MIA again.If it does then I move it at least 100 feet to a new hiding spot.The next time it gets Archived.

[+Rockin Roddy]

First...THANKS Ghengis for the GREAT sig item I found a few days ago...a bronze Licinius 1 AD323 coin...WOW! I hope I left enough as trade, but somehow think the 5 dollars in gold coins and change was a bit low! Didn't realize what I had until getting back to the Jeep and was able to really look at it (muggles, darkness and skeeters).

 

Second....I WILL be out after a few of your caches, sounds like a great place to visit (and would be a fun "treasure hunt")...I'll be sure to bring good swag! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!! Don't let a bad incident bring you down!

 

My hat's off to you!

Edited June 22, 2007 by Rockin Roddy

[Ghengis Jon]

Thanks and you're very welcome. I only maintain 2, er 1 cache and the operational one is too small for swag. I may put a near empty container out at the ravished cache site to see its revisited, but more likely I'll find a new spot in the immediate area and update the coordinates.

 

<Putting on my deerslayer hat> Maybe I'll look on FleaBay and see if they're being offered up for auction....

[+LaTuFu]

A pair of muggles accidentally found the final stage of my Scrooge's Strongbox series. It's a .50 cal ammo can fitted with a 4 digit combination lock. They were intrigued by their find so they logged onto gc.com and made accounts. They then proceeded to find the first 5 stages of the series. Having done that, they were then equipped with the combination to open the cache they had originally stumbled upon. They have since gone on to find a number of other local caches. Sometimes a muggle is really a geocacher who just doesn't know it yet!

 

Thats how I finally got into this more regularly. I first heard about it from a friend in 2003 or 2004, he had a GPSr and had been out several times with his son. We went out once or twice, I thought it was great, it combined my love of gadgets, hiking, and the outdoors. My son was too young at the time to "get" what it was all about, time is an issue as a single parent, etc, and we soon forgot about it.

 

Fast forward to 2 months ago, and we're out on a day hike with my son's Cub Scout group and we stumble on this cache while we're there. One of the other Dads actually found it, he had no idea what it was. When he started describing it, I knew exactly what it was and told him to open it and sign the cache. We came home and ordered our GPSr that week, and two of the other parents in our group did also.

 

Sometimes there are more than one cachers waiting to be born...

 

(and now I gotta get back up there so I can sign the log and claim a find!) If you're ever in Virginia, I highly recommend this hunt, its a beautiful hike.

[+Knight2000]

I am sorry about your cache being stolen/missing.

 

IMO the problem with filling a cache with too nice of swag is kind of inviting trouble. Unless the items are gifts then realistically few will actually trade even. And even if they do, there is a good chance that a cacher that is dishonest will just take it all.

 

I think its possible that it was muggled. Depending on the hide though, it is also possible that another cacher just took it. We would hate to think like that, but everyone plays the game differently. Some may just be too tempted.

[+CheshireFrog]

I am sorry about your cache being stolen/missing.

 

IMO the problem with filling a cache with too nice of swag is kind of inviting trouble. Unless the items are gifts then realistically few will actually trade even. And even if they do, there is a good chance that a cacher that is dishonest will just take it all.

 

I think its possible that it was muggled. Depending on the hide though, it is also possible that another cacher just took it. We would hate to think like that, but everyone plays the game differently. Some may just be too tempted.

 

I reject the first part of that post and choose not to believe the second.

 

I hope that (the few) people who still populate caches with interesting and high quality swag will not stop doing so because it will invite trouble. Honestly, I don't put nice stuff into caches in the hopes of going back and finding even nicer stuff that people have traded up, so people who take quality swag and leave crap don't bother me all that much anyway.

 

I suppose it's possible that a cacher took the whole thing, but I doubt it. Trading without trading even or up, yes. Taking without trading at all, yes. But the whole cache? A muggle might do this, but I doubt very many cachers would.

[Ghengis Jon]

I had/have no expectation of people trading up. I'm only hopeful for even trades. I expect that 99% will be traded down. I'm not into the game for the thought of receiving high value items. With the cache gone, I'm sorriest about losing the log.

 

I take my kids (age 6 and 11) geocaching with me and would like them to find something other than broken McCrap and candy bar wrappers. Lead by example and all else be damned.