What have you lost?

[+frex3wv]

While geocaching late yesterday afternoon I lost a knife I carry with me. No sentimental value or anything - so really no big deal - but its bothering me enough that I may have to try the cache again to see if I find what I lost. I am glad it wasn't my wallet, keys, cam, gps, or my way back to my car.

 

My question is - what sorts of things have others lost while geocaching?

[+StarBrand]

My little blue etrex legend has been left behind at about 10 caches. Always was able to go back and find it again. Of my 5 GPS units - that is the only one I have managed to leave at cache sites - weird....

 

I have found sunglasses, wallets, PDAs, swag bags, GPS units and cache printout sheets at various caches over the years - was able to track down the owner in most cases (except for the paper )

[+admo1972]

Nothing yet (knock on wood). But I think I've come quite close a few times. One of the last caches was a multi had me seatching around. It was about a 30 minute search, which as various points I put my gps down on one tree, my palm on another, and my bag on a third, and even my gloves at one point on a fourth. What felt like I kept looking in a small area, I looked up at one point and nothing seemed familiar, and had a moment of panic that I wouldn't find all the stuff I left laying around!

[+Mule Ears]

I lose a kerchief about every third outing. I use 'em to wipe sweat off my face, and hang them to dry in a D-ring on my pack strap. Rascally thorn bushes love to pull that kerchief loose and keep it for themselves. Sometimes I find 'em on the way back.

 

Also once lost my wife's yellow Etrex by (I think) leaving it on top of the car and driving off. She forgave me. Eventually.

[+TheBeanTeam]

My Magellan GPSr on a well traveled riverside walk. We traced our steps back down the trail after getting back to the car but it was never recovered.

[+Mudfrog]

We had hiked for miles, hid a couple of caches, but didn't lose our GPSMAP 76s until getting back to the truck. Laid it on the side rail of the pickup and drove off. We retraced our route within 30 minutes of taking off but never saw it again!

[+dew cache]

The worst I have lost is the pen for my Palm although I once set my GPS on the top of the car after a day of caching and opened the back door to put my backpack in it closed the door and drove off about a 1/2 mile down the road I kept hearing this nose outside the car and decided to check so I pulled over to check it out and it was my 76 Csx on my rear door window with the strap caught between the door and frame I do not know how long it would have held but I was real lucky.

[+Renegade Knight]

I keep leaving my GPS on the cab of my rig. It's only taken a spill once and I got to watch it skidding down the road. But it's still working. No other losses that I'm aware of.

[+tozainamboku]

62 pairs of sunglasses.

[+Miragee]

When I was a new cacher, I lost my "swag bag." I set it down while taking some pictures of a neat, Spanish Style building in a park. In my "photographer mode" I forgot what I needed in my "Geocacher mode" and didn't realize I left it behind for a couple of days . . . I also dropped the stylus for my Palm one time without noticing it and never saw it again. Then, a couple of months later, I dropped the replacement stylus in a rockpile where I couldn't retrieve it.

 

I left my GPSr behind once, but realized that after only walking 100' or so. Wheeeuu. That was a close one . . .

[+CYBret]

I've lost a few pair of sunglasses (some of which were recovered by later cachers).

 

I've also lost a Palm folding keyboard which--for some dumb reason--I was carrying in my jacket pocket while doing a night cache.

 

I've also lost a few pounds and several layers of skin.

 

Bret

[+flask]

good judgement?

[+Stunod]

A MeriPlat and blood.

Oh, and my assumed immunity from poison ivy.

[+CYBret]

Oh, and my assumed immunity from poison ivy.

 

They got you too, huh?

[+lele2]

2 pairs of magnetic prescription sunglasses - a pair this weekend!

[+boda]

Almost lost my cell phone once. Four of us were in another city for a hot air ballon ride - and wine tasting - and caching - and did i mention wine tasting.

 

Just before full darkness set in I was hugging a tree, replacing a cache when the sprinklers went on. I leapt back quickly and evidently snagged my belt-mounted cell phone. We walked out about a quarter mile or so along the pathway to the cars while it became fully dark. When reaching the car I discovered the empty belt clip and thought back to that leap from the tree.

 

I went back to look with little hope of finding it, but after arriving at the location and pondering a moment, I heard a quiet ringing. My wife and friends were on the other end of course. They didn't care if I found the phone, they just wanted to discuss where we were going to eat.

[+imajeep]

My Palm Z22, which popped off my belt when a tree snagged it. Fortunately, I noticed almost immediately. Plus, three Powerex 2700 rechargeables (not cheap!), which fell out when the bottom catch on my digital camera failed. No GPS yet!

[+CacheCow_Queen]

While geocaching late yesterday afternoon I lost a knife I carry with me. No sentimental value or anything - so really no big deal - but its bothering me enough that I may have to try the cache again to see if I find what I lost. I am glad it wasn't my wallet, keys, cam, gps, or my way back to my car.

 

My question is - what sorts of things have others lost while geocaching?

I am horrible about leaving things. I usually find them again though. When I first began caching, I documented my finds by photgraphing a little plush cow. I love that cow! I realized he was missing and felt like I had lost a beloved pet. We made a mad dash to the last cache we had found and sure enough. I had shoved him into the cache by mistake!

 

I also must admit... I am notorious for accidently swiping the pens from caches. ( Im thinking of making a pen exchange cache with all the pens that have turned up in my caching bag!)

[+Airmapper]

Besides my mind?

 

So far I don't think I have lost anything, I'm particular when it comes to keeping track of my stuff, and if has any value to me whatsoever it is locked onto my belt or in a pocket, and I frequently check to see if it is all there. (Now watch me loose something tomorrow.)

 

I do have this knife I've lost about 2-3 times while cacheing, but I always find it in the seat of the truck, where the clip slips off my belt when I sit down. Now it goes in my pocket instead of on my belt.

[+Driver Carries Cache]

Other than my mind, sanity and a bit of pride (on the DNF's) nothing major yet.

 

DCC

[57chevy]

A gazillion ink pens, never fails, get back to the car.... where the... @#$%& pen! I think I have some kind of geocaching disorder where I MUST leave a pen in the cache whether on purpose or not. Maybe that will be my next signature item.

[Shiraz-mataz]

I've lost my cell phone - TWICE! I was fortunate to get it back both times, found by a friend one time, and a mountain biker the other.

 

I recently FOUND a nice pair of sunglasses next to a cache, was able to locate the owner and mailed them back to him.

[+Sevilon]

My son lost a shoe once.

We were at a cache near a stream, and my then 6 year old stepped into some sort of deep hole next to the stream and got his foot stuck. He was twisting his foot and trying to get his leg unstuck (while his brother was asking helpful questions like "are we just going to have to leave him here, mom? Will we have to cut his leg off?" ) when his shoe came off. We couldn't reach it in the hole or see it with a flashlight, so we drove home and got a shovel, went back to the spot, and tried to dig at it. Turned out there was a burrow of some sort under there, and when we dug down a bit, we saw a tunnel going straight down. We didn't want to keep digging as we had no idea what might be in that tunnel!

So we drove to the store and bought him a new pair of tennis shoes instead. And then we went BACK to the area and found the cache.

Edited July 2, 2007 by Sevilon

[+CurmudgeonlyGal]

good judgement?

 

you too, huh?

 

 

 

m

[+Sioneva]

60 pounds!

 

Also my driver's license, my car keys, my brother in law's cell phone (but I found it again), my balance (splash!), and my sense of direction (which way through the higher-then-head-height grass is the bike trail? I dunno!)

 

Some people would say I lost my mind, but they don't realize that I never had it to begin with.

[+CurmudgeonlyGal]

 

...

 

My question is - what sorts of things have others lost while geocaching?

 

I tend to lose my phone A lot.

 

 

michelle

[+CrkrJim]

I don't have to worry about that (good judgement, that is).........got to have it to lose it!

Edited July 2, 2007 by CrkrJim

[+Shakedown.dave]

I have left my keys at a few, but have always been able to find them again. I lost the ability to wear a nice wool cap that I liked, when I got caught in a rain storm. Shrank so much, I had to give it to one of my smaller headed friends. I miss that hat.

[+Walt Jabsco]

My patience, my bearings, a tshirt (not really lost, but torn to shreds scaling a fence, only to realize there was an open gate a couple hundreds yards away around a corner - midnight caching), lots of sleep (from prefering to find caches in the middle of the night), and a few pens.

[+Snake & Rooster]

A Garmin 60CSx, twice. First time on a fence post--drove about 5 miles to the next cache site before I realized it. Second time was on top of a rather steep mountain--realized I'd left it when I got to the bottom--of course

 

Also lost a pair of prescription sunglasses. Those I never did find.

[+Thrak]

3 pairs of glasses - the 3 for $20 kind from Costco. My hiking stick which was found and returned to me by another cacher. My GPSMAP 76CSx which I spent about 45 minutes looking for when I managed to set it down and walk off. About 1/4 of my big toe nail. Various patches of skin. A fair amount of blood - both to scratches and mosquitoes. Some of my hair must have been lost due to frustration trying to find easy caches that I just couldn't spot. My pride.

[+pjcow]

While geocaching late yesterday afternoon I lost a knife I carry with me. No sentimental value or anything - so really no big deal - but its bothering me enough that I may have to try the cache again to see if I find what I lost. I am glad it wasn't my wallet, keys, cam, gps, or my way back to my car.

 

My question is - what sorts of things have others lost while geocaching?

 

I join the ranks of those who have lost weight geocaching - over 100lbs so far!

 

I have also lost skin....

 

I have lost (in a way) a nice pair of nylons and good shoes while catching at lunchtime. Didn't have grungies to change into and didn't want to pass up a possible FTF! Let the thorns tear the nylons to shreds and the shoes where ruined as well. Finished off the day bare legged in icky shoes. (this would be the day the boss suggested that running off into the woods alone during my lunch hour probably wasn't a safe course of action).

[+Sioneva]

Oh... I forgot. I lost the seat of my pants, once. Mooned a (mostly) empty road for about a quarter of a mile.

[ExtremeSteve]

While geocaching late yesterday afternoon I lost a knife I carry with me. No sentimental value or anything - so really no big deal - but its bothering me enough that I may have to try the cache again to see if I find what I lost. I am glad it wasn't my wallet, keys, cam, gps, or my way back to my car.

 

My question is - what sorts of things have others lost while geocaching?

i didnt lose anything but i once found a drivers license. was able to mail it to the address. person wrote back to say they had lost it the year before!

[+The Last Airbender]

1. GPS - Left it on the roof of the car after a cache.

2. My sanity.

3. The wife if im not careful!!

[+edscott]

Left a Compass on a rock near a cache once. The next finder figured it was mine, contacted me, and mailed it back.

[+Jedi Cacher]

I lost a bag of Belgian coins from my swag bag. I must have pulled the smaller bag of coins out of the larger bag and just set it aside and spaced it off. When I arrived at the next cache I noticed it was missing but ran out of time to go back. I then posted a note on the cache page stating that who ever finds it can keep it.

I went back a week later and never found it, nor do I know if anybody else did.

[+team moxiepup]

I had a close call losing something last week.

 

I was attempting a FTF on a disused railway bridge that crossed a river 30 feet below. At one point I heard a "cah-thunk". I casually looked around me. I hadn't noticed anything on the bridge that would have made such a cah-thunk, and was mildly curious as to what it could have been.

It was then that I saw it. There... about a foot and a half down, on a strip of metal only two inches wide, lying on it's side, was my cell phone! That 2 inches of metal saved my cell phone from careening down into the river, never to be seen again. I don't think that I could have had the cell phone land there on purpose if I had tried, throwing it 100 times! I was extremely careful in retrieving it. That would have been the ultimate kicker... to fumble on the retrieval and drop it into the river after that!

[+ADKcachers]

I lost my wife. Geocaching was one of the many things that we did not have in common.

[+TeamBarstool]

a garmin GPS 12 . I think I know where... I've just got to get back there and look

[woolsox]

Other then a little blood to biting insects, I have lost only two items. Spare battery because I forgot to zip the front pocket on my bag and the second Travel Bug I ever found. The battery was no big deal, but the travel bug I felt bad about losing it. I was only the second person the grab it. I had planned to take on our trip to Scotland it 2001 and had not realized it was missing until I got home to log that I had it. We were leaving the next day and I could not go look for it until we returned. I went back to the area and looked without success. I did mange to track down the owner and tell them I lost it and that their may wish to send it to the travel bug graveyard. That was in 2001 and so far nothing else.

[+DudleyGrunt]

I dropped my phone at a cache, but was able to retreive it the next morning. Came back with a borrowed phone prepared to have to call it (hoping the battery was good), but it was laying right in the middle of the path. I was lucky that even though the cache is just in a small wooded area behind a shopping center that has a trail running from the sidewalk through the woods to the parking lot, no one had stumbled upon it and decided to keep it. And that it hadn't rained that night.

 

I'm not even sure if I lost them on trail or not, but I had a Garmin cap and collapsable gopher that has dissappeard somewhere. I could understand if I set the gopher down at a cache site, but I don't think I would have taken my hat off and just left it laying around. Odd.

 

Dave

[+usyoopers]

We lost our Etrex Legend just a few weeks ago. We had come back from a cache outing and had decided to go out and place a cache we had been thinking about doing, loaded up the ammo box, loaded up the jeep....no GPSr! Wow, was I ever bummed! Had a gift certificate from the kids for Cabela's, got on line and ordered up a replacement real quick!.....anyone out in the Paradise, Michigan area the last cache we were at is "THe Secret Beach (A cache for VictoryMike)" then we camped in the River Mouth State Park Campground....its gotta be there somewhere!

[Ghengis Jon]

My glasses once. Took them off to sign the log and left them behind. (I refuse to get tri-focals, so I can see w/o my goggles in some instances.) Went back to retrieve them and discovered I had firmly implanted a size 12 boot print on the left half. So much for wearing 'frameless' glasses.

[+Mule Ears]

I had a close call losing something last week.

 

I was attempting a FTF on a disused railway bridge that crossed a river 30 feet below. At one point I heard a "cah-thunk". I casually looked around me. I hadn't noticed anything on the bridge that would have made such a cah-thunk, and was mildly curious as to what it could have been.

It was then that I saw it. There... about a foot and a half down, on a strip of metal only two inches wide, lying on it's side, was my cell phone! That 2 inches of metal saved my cell phone from careening down into the river, never to be seen again. I don't think that I could have had the cell phone land there on purpose if I had tried, throwing it 100 times! I was extremely careful in retrieving it. That would have been the ultimate kicker... to fumble on the retrieval and drop it into the river after that!

 

This incident reminds me--I once lost the cache itself. The container was the new-fangled Folgers coffee canister, a large plastic cylinder. I was standing atop a steep, rocky ridge when the canister slipped out of my hands, bounced and rolled downhill. I held my breath. If it continued, I'd have a long, steep hike to reach it. But just 20 feet down it wedged tightly in a narrow crack between rocks.

 

I was glad not to have an audience for the awkward gymnastics required to retrieve it.

[+TotemLake]

good judgement?

I can go along with that and here I was thinking of more simplistic things like the fear of being out there on my own.

[+2Wheel'in]

"Of all the things I've ever lost.....I miss my mind the most"

 

Author unknown - however, to stay on thread - I lost 2 cell phones: 1 out of its holster; and the other off the roof of the Jeep.

 

Bill

[+Kiwi Nomad]

My little blue etrex legend has been left behind at about 10 caches. Always was able to go back and find it again. Of my 5 GPS units - that is the only one I have managed to leave at cache sites - weird....

 

Yep we have the same gps and I have left it behind at a cache as well.

Put it down to return the cache to its spot and then got up and walked off.

Drove a couple of miles home, hung the washing out, pit stop for 2 year old then went to get back in car to find next cache and found or should that be didn't find the gps and had to return to the last cache we had found.

[+Lakeshore Geocachers]

went caching in the snow last winter..during a lunch break during work, had a key to one of the company vehicles in my pocket...yup. you guessed it, got back to work and no key...luck for me dispatch had two more sets so it wasn't really missed. The thing is we were told NOT TO TAKE THE KEYS WITH US just the week before...wonder why?

[+piscatore]

This cache included a hundred yard wade up a creek. I had stripped off my boots and socks, waded to the cache, waded back, dried my feet and tied my bootlaces when I realized my money clip with abot $80 was gone. Off come the boots, socks, wade, find the money clip, wade, dry, reboot. Alls well that ends well.

 

May 17, 2006 by piscatore (218 found)

Found this one, hiked back to the car, discovered I had dropped my money clip someplace so back I went. Found it right at the cache. Do I get 2 smileys. TN, L-Joke, SL, Thanks for the wade.