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Why Why Why leave junk people?


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:drama: Sorry folks but I can barely take it anymore! Why do cachers leave junk in caches??? Is it a selfish act because they want something so bad they are willing to leave, even garbage, in a cache! Swag is not that expensive!

 

If you haven't got something worth leaving then don't leave and don't take!

 

I would love to hear any thoughts especially from those who know they have left CRAP for others!

 

Signed,

 

Know your Geo Etiquette

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What?

 

You didn't like the pocket lint necktie I left?

 

 

You're right though, swag doesn't have to be expensive... which is why I always place some from my stash whenever I see a cache in need.

 

I don't get upset over it though, just an expense of the hobby...

 

3 things I plan on doing at a cache:

 

1. Sign the log

2. Maintenance

3. Make sure there is decent swag.

Edited by XopherN71
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That depends on what you call *carp* (yes I spelled it that way on porpoise).

 

Some cachers hate golf balls in caches, and other love 'em. Others hate marbles, but I have a friend that collects them and even has a marble themed cache.

 

If a cache needs to be cleaned, then why not help the owner and do it for them, and put some good swag in while your at it.

 

In the end, I think we should realize we are talking about stuff left in box in the woods. I don't think that should be the make or break point of the caching experience.

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:drama: Sorry folks but I can barely take it anymore! Why do cachers leave junk in caches??? Is it a selfish act because they want something so bad they are willing to leave, even garbage, in a cache! Swag is not that expensive!

 

If you haven't got something worth leaving then don't leave and don't take!

 

I would love to hear any thoughts especially from those who know they have left CRAP for others!

 

Signed,

 

Know your Geo Etiquette

 

No Comment....just read the last few logs on this cache.

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That depends on what you call *carp* (yes I spelled it that way on porpoise).

 

Some cachers hate golf balls in caches, and other love 'em. Others hate marbles, but I have a friend that collects them and even has a marble themed cache.

 

If a cache needs to be cleaned, then why not help the owner and do it for them, and put some good swag in while your at it.

 

In the end, I think we should realize we are talking about stuff left in box in the woods. I don't think that should be the make or break point of the caching experience.

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Sometimes people don't have the money to afford decent swag. And as others have said, one man's trash is indeed another man's treasure.

 

If it is that trashy, take a baggie and take out the actual garbage that is in there and help fix it up that way, rather than barking about it on the forums.

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I guess I should be more specific...

 

I do remove what I consider 'garbage' e.g. a small piece of yarn, an expired iTunes download card, McToys, a business card, need I go on????

 

Marbles and golf balls are acceptable obviously. Surely I don't need to be so specific since I am sure you have run into the same 'trash' I have.

 

Also, when the owner specifically request "quality swag only" what does that mean to you???

 

Good swag can be purchased for pennies if you know where to look. Not to mention a lot of decent swag I have comes from stuff that has been laying around my home.

 

Either you don't get what I am trying to get at or maybe you are guilty of leaving the crap I speak of and are just trying to justify your actions???

 

If you are going to leave worthless junk then do me a favor and take worthless junk. Don't take a geocoin or any quality swag and leave me your worthless garbage!

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:drama: Sorry folks but I can barely take it anymore! Why do cachers leave junk in caches??? Is it a selfish act because they want something so bad they are willing to leave, even garbage, in a cache! Swag is not that expensive!

 

If you haven't got something worth leaving then don't leave and don't take!

 

I would love to hear any thoughts especially from those who know they have left CRAP for others!

 

Signed,

 

Know your Geo Etiquette

 

No Comment....just read the last few logs on this cache.

That's pretty sick. I think the OP will have to rethink what he believes to be crap. :D

Edited by Anonymous'
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Take something/leave something.

 

That's it.

 

Not any deeper, than that.

 

Do I leave junk? I'd like to think not... it's all new dollar store items like balls, games, etc. It's not $5 an item, but it's not a wine cork either.

 

Do people collect wine corks?

 

As much as I'm against ripping on swag there is one time I just shook my head in disbelief.

 

A rock.

From a pile 15 feet away.

Not shiny.

Not engraved.

Just a rock.

From a pile of similar rocks.

Just 15 feet away.

 

:drama:

Edited by XopherN71
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I would cut short your taking of what you deem garbage at McToys. I know lots of kids who get overly excited when they find a cache that contains a new toy they can take.

 

Obviously if the toy is broken, then by all means remove it. But I know some cachers that have kids and the kids get pretty disappointed when there aren't any toys in the cache.

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I guess I should be more specific...

 

I do remove what I consider 'garbage' e.g. a small piece of yarn, an expired iTunes download card, McToys, a business card, need I go on????

Good! Do you put good swag in place of it?

 

Marbles and golf balls are acceptable obviously. Surely I don't need to be so specific since I am sure you have run into the same 'trash' I have.

 

Maybe you do need to be more specific. You seem to have some item in particular in mind.

 

Also, when the owner specifically request "quality swag only" what does that mean to you???

It means that I should leave what I feel is comparable to what I take. For me the would be "quality swag." This is an example of such a cache. It was great until the muggles got it.

Good swag can be purchased for pennies if you know where to look. Not to mention a lot of decent swag I have comes from stuff that has been laying around my home.

You mean things like dollar tree toys that many folks leave, or the iTunes download card that wasn't expired when it was left, or the McToys that some kids loved and decided to use as swag. All those have value to the cacher that left them that you may not see.

 

Either you don't get what I am trying to get at or maybe you are guilty of leaving the crap I speak of and are just trying to justify your actions???

I know exactly what you're talking about, but instead of moaning about it in the forums and letting it spoil my fun when caching, I trade out the bad for the good and get on with my life.

 

If you are going to leave worthless junk then do me a favor and take worthless junk.

I agree, but are you going to let that ruin your fun. If so, you need to reconsider if this is the right hobby for you.

 

Don't take a geocoin or any quality swag and leave me your worthless garbage!

Trackables are not swag. They are treated differently.

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I certainly do not cache for the swag. If I find something I like, I trade even or trade up. If there is garbage, I clean it up. I don't judge people by what they leave. I simply ask that it not be inappropriate or dirty (a used golf ball is OK. A used condom is NOT).

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I'm working on several pathtags myself. With the cost of them they have a good feel, quality weight, and the cost is very minimal in comparison to other things. It's also more personal. Will they get yanked the next cacher out. Most likely. Will that same cacher replace it with something good or junky? Who knows. I'm not the one that has to go to sleep at night knowing I cleaned out my cars floorboard into a cache.

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I guess I should be more specific...

 

I do remove what I consider 'garbage' e.g. a small piece of yarn, an expired iTunes download card, McToys, a business card, need I go on????

 

Marbles and golf balls are acceptable obviously. Surely I don't need to be so specific since I am sure you have run into the same 'trash' I have.

 

Also, when the owner specifically request "quality swag only" what does that mean to you???

 

Good swag can be purchased for pennies if you know where to look. Not to mention a lot of decent swag I have comes from stuff that has been laying around my home.

 

Either you don't get what I am trying to get at or maybe you are guilty of leaving the crap I speak of and are just trying to justify your actions???

 

If you are going to leave worthless junk then do me a favor and take worthless junk. Don't take a geocoin or any quality swag and leave me your worthless garbage!

 

Is the geocoin an activated trackable? If so, think it is free to move on with or without a trade.

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My two cents worth.

I just finished a rant about all the junk we found in caches this weekend in Mississippi.

Squirt and I may be better off than others but it doesn’t take much money to have good swag. Good swag can come from other caches you have visited. Moving good swag is a fine practice in my opinion. That said, we have ordered some compass zipper pulls along with the Louisiana key chain assortment we carry with us. We intend to start cleaning out the broken or “Wet & Nasty” items we come across in the caches we visit.

We very much enjoy the search and occasional hike associated with regular caches.

If not we would just chase down the thousands of micros under the light pole skirts. :drama:

 

PS: TRAVEL BUGS ARE COOL! KEEP THEM MOVING.

Edited by Pat in Louisiana
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I'm working on several pathtags myself. With the cost of them they have a good feel, quality weight, and the cost is very minimal in comparison to other things. It's also more personal. Will they get yanked the next cacher out. Most likely. Will that same cacher replace it with something good or junky? Who knows. I'm not the one that has to go to sleep at night knowing I cleaned out my cars floorboard into a cache.

 

Squirt and I found several "PathTags" in Tennessee this week but I can't quite figure out what to do with them.

We created an account and added them to our collection. Now what?

If we drop them in a cache somewhere do they stay in our collection?

Does the next finder also add it to thier collection?

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Either you don't get what I am trying to get at or maybe you are guilty of leaving the crap I speak of and are just trying to justify your actions???

 

I think we can agree that leaving actual 'rectal refuse' would be considered bad form, but beyond that, can you please define 'crap' for us so everyone can be on the same page....

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:drama: Sorry folks but I can barely take it anymore! Why do cachers leave junk in caches??? Is it a selfish act because they want something so bad they are willing to leave, even garbage, in a cache! Swag is not that expensive!

 

If you haven't got something worth leaving then don't leave and don't take!

 

I would love to hear any thoughts especially from those who know they have left CRAP for others!

 

Signed,

 

Know your Geo Etiquette

Well, I hope that you know that you are preaching to the choir when you complain about the junk on a forum such as this one! The reality is that the children who leave junk (and who are allowed to leave junk by their parents), and the parents who allow such behaviors, and the few mentally defective adults who also engage in such idiotic behaviors, by and large do not hang out in the forums, and even if one percent of them did so, they would, when they stumbled upon a thread such as this, have NO idea that it is them and their behavior that we are talking about, because they have NO CLUE! They are suffering from majorly damage!

 

Sorry to give you such a harsh reality check, but that is just the way it is. If you REALLY wish to prevent junk being left in your caches, or at least reduce the incidence of such idiocy by 94.100% to 98.223%, all you need to do is emplace only high-difficulty, high-terrain rated caches located well away from roads and from civilization, and then list them as Premium member-only caches. Those two measures have been proven again and again to be highly effective prophylactic measures against these idiotic and uncivil behaviors (see footnote 1).

 

footnote #1: As most of you already know from having viewed my late-night TV infomercials, if I were elected President of the USA, I would immediately pass a law prescribing the death penalty, to be administered immediately upon capture by firing squad, for anyone who trades down or almost as bad, who takes swag and leaves nothing at all and the law would even apply to minors down to one year of age, with no exceptions. Period!

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3 things I plan on doing at a cache:

 

1. Sign the log

2. Maintenance

3. Make sure there is decent swag.

 

3 things I plan on doing at a cache:

 

1. Sign the log

2. Maintenance

3. Re-hide the cache

 

Frankly, swag is a concept I never quite understood other than a way for people to clean out a junk drawer in their house. If you are in it for the swag, you will need to learn to live with frequent disappointment.

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Personally, hubby and I don't care about the swag ~ we go geocaching for the opportunity to get outdoors with the family and also to enjoy new places we've never been. However, the kiddos (one is 3, the other 5) LIVE for the swag. However big or small, they want to find 'treasure'. They appreciate anything people can leave, assuming it's in good taste and condition. And in return, they like to leave their own 'treasure' for the next person. In your terms, their "McToys" are crap, but we won't stop leaving them, as I know other small children appreciate them as well. Just my 2 cents :drama:

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I used to leave a small ziploc baggie of foreign coins but I've run out (note to self - take another trip). Now what I've been doing is bringing a small bag of Golden US Dollar Coins (get them at the bank). If I do take anything I leave the equal or greater value in "gold coin" in a small baggie.

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Sometimes people don't have the money to afford decent swag. And as others have said, one man's trash is indeed another man's treasure.

 

To your first point, if you can't afford decent swag, then don't trade swag. Or trade swag equal to what swag you can afford.

 

As for your second point... that's rationalization. I think we all know what this thread is about, and it is not about treasuring "one man's trash". There is a real problem out there with people taking something of value and leaving something that nobody in their right mind would want.

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Frankly, swag is a concept I never quite understood other than a way for people to clean out a junk drawer in their house. If you are in it for the swag, you will need to learn to live with frequent disappointment.

 

If you're referring to the original swag in a cache, I would have to disagree. Most new caches I've seen are well stocked with new, if inexpensive, items. If you're referring to the traded out items, well, that is what this thread is all about.

 

I do not trade swag myself, but I am tired of checking up on caches wthat I've put out with $20-$40 worth of swag in, only to see a wooden clothespin, a dirty golfball, a nickle, and a birthday candle in the cache.

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I'm working on several pathtags myself. With the cost of them they have a good feel, quality weight, and the cost is very minimal in comparison to other things. It's also more personal. Will they get yanked the next cacher out. Most likely. Will that same cacher replace it with something good or junky? Who knows. I'm not the one that has to go to sleep at night knowing I cleaned out my cars floorboard into a cache.

 

Squirt and I found several "PathTags" in Tennessee this week but I can't quite figure out what to do with them.

We created an account and added them to our collection. Now what?

If we drop them in a cache somewhere do they stay in our collection?

Does the next finder also add it to thier collection?

 

Yes, they stay in your collection forever and ever, unless you physically go in there and delete them.

Yes, the next finder adds it to their collection as well (if they want).

You can choose to keep them as neat little collectible sig items, or move them on to caches, it's up to you. :drama:

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I guess I should be more specific...

 

I do remove what I consider 'garbage' e.g. a small piece of yarn, an expired iTunes download card, McToys, a business card, need I go on????

 

 

What are you talking about, my kids favorite swag are the McToys! And it saves me the expense of buying all those nuggets that they never eat! :drama:

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I guess I should be more specific...

 

I do remove what I consider 'garbage' e.g. a small piece of yarn, an expired iTunes download card, McToys, a business card, need I go on????

 

Marbles and golf balls are acceptable obviously. Surely I don't need to be so specific since I am sure you have run into the same 'trash' I have.

 

Also, when the owner specifically request "quality swag only" what does that mean to you???

 

Good swag can be purchased for pennies if you know where to look. Not to mention a lot of decent swag I have comes from stuff that has been laying around my home.

 

Either you don't get what I am trying to get at or maybe you are guilty of leaving the crap I speak of and are just trying to justify your actions???

 

If you are going to leave worthless junk then do me a favor and take worthless junk. Don't take a geocoin or any quality swag and leave me your worthless garbage!

 

Hey now, My kid absolutely LOVES the McToys. He'd be happy to take every one of them. You may be depriving a child cacher of what he wants to find.

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I guess I should be more specific...

 

I do remove what I consider 'garbage' e.g. a small piece of yarn, an expired iTunes download card, McToys, a business card, need I go on????

 

Marbles and golf balls are acceptable obviously. Surely I don't need to be so specific since I am sure you have run into the same 'trash' I have.

 

Also, when the owner specifically request "quality swag only" what does that mean to you???

 

Good swag can be purchased for pennies if you know where to look. Not to mention a lot of decent swag I have comes from stuff that has been laying around my home.

 

Either you don't get what I am trying to get at or maybe you are guilty of leaving the crap I speak of and are just trying to justify your actions???

 

If you are going to leave worthless junk then do me a favor and take worthless junk. Don't take a geocoin or any quality swag and leave me your worthless garbage!

Hold it right there buddy.... geocoins are NOT trade items.

 

Also, "quality" is subjective and what may be worthless to you can be a collectible to somebody else.

 

Frankly, I'm getting tired of seeing these greed threads start up. If you're in this sport for the swag, go find another game to get involved with or get used to being disappointed.

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All I ask when I find a cache is that it contain at a minimum: Gold bullion, rare books, treasury notes, top-shelf liquor, deeds for real estate, swiss watches, or some combination of the above. My policy is if these things are not present, I do not trade my own valuable and rare swag of equal value.

 

:P

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I guess I should be more specific...

 

I do remove what I consider 'garbage' e.g. a small piece of yarn, an expired iTunes download card, McToys, a business card, need I go on????

 

Marbles and golf balls are acceptable obviously. Surely I don't need to be so specific since I am sure you have run into the same 'trash' I have.

 

Also, when the owner specifically request "quality swag only" what does that mean to you???

 

Good swag can be purchased for pennies if you know where to look. Not to mention a lot of decent swag I have comes from stuff that has been laying around my home.

 

Either you don't get what I am trying to get at or maybe you are guilty of leaving the crap I speak of and are just trying to justify your actions???

 

If you are going to leave worthless junk then do me a favor and take worthless junk. Don't take a geocoin or any quality swag and leave me your worthless garbage!

Hold it right there buddy.... geocoins are NOT trade items.

 

Also, "quality" is subjective and what may be worthless to you can be a collectible to somebody else.

 

Frankly, I'm getting tired of seeing these greed threads start up. If you're in this sport for the swag, go find another game to get involved with or get used to being disappointed.

 

Viking1967 you fit the description of an "elitist cacher." Mctoys are for kids not for selfish complainers like yourself.

 

One of your found it logs:

 

The 2nd cache of the day for our weekend in Vancouver! What a great city and a great park! Took Canadian flag sticker and left Tahoma nose TB (Go Juniors!)TFTCSL

 

Geocoins and travel bugs aren't trade items, it looks like it is you who doesn't "Know your Geo Etiquette."

 

When you start hiding your own caches maybe you can complain about the quality of swag. At the bare minimum, you should be greatful for selfless cachers who take the time, spend the money, and hide caches for other cachers to enjoy..

Edited by Kit Fox
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I guess I should be more specific...

 

I do remove what I consider 'garbage' e.g. a small piece of yarn, an expired iTunes download card, McToys, a business card, need I go on????

 

Marbles and golf balls are acceptable obviously. Surely I don't need to be so specific since I am sure you have run into the same 'trash' I have.

 

Also, when the owner specifically request "quality swag only" what does that mean to you???

 

Good swag can be purchased for pennies if you know where to look. Not to mention a lot of decent swag I have comes from stuff that has been laying around my home.

 

Either you don't get what I am trying to get at or maybe you are guilty of leaving the crap I speak of and are just trying to justify your actions???

 

If you are going to leave worthless junk then do me a favor and take worthless junk. Don't take a geocoin or any quality swag and leave me your worthless garbage!

 

Well Mr. VIK You have made me do something I have never done before in a thread, and that is rip on a new player. But your rant is just plain ignorant and stupid!

 

1) As already stated, Mctoys are loved by some. My three year old sone for one. Some people love Mctoys so much there ARE collector guides for them and some can collect very high prices. N you are not likely to find them in a cache, but you never thought youo could buy a Monet at a Garage Sale either. It has happened.

 

2) Pieces of yarn... have you ever thoought it might have fallen off a nother piece of swag, like a book mark.

 

3) An itunes car.. how long has it been in the cache.

 

Now sir, before you start ranting and telling everyone how to play the game might I request you get a little more time and a few more than 80 cache under your belt and actually see what this sport is all about.

 

I will take a mctoy out of a cache anyday, I am building a mctoy themed cache and am building stock. what do I replace it with, depends on whats in my bag..a lanyard from a tradeshow or a little trinket. A lot depends on what is in the cache. Is there a theme. Right now I am leaving golf pencils I had printed, 2 or 3 in a cache as a personal sig item. Never know when you will need a pencil and a lot of caches collect sig items and I wanted something different. I have left book, flashlights, beanies. MCTOYS :P, TB, coibs pathtags and justabout everything you can think of including a pair of shoes.

 

So Vik as the self proclaimed swag expert, what do you leave at caches?

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I have heard alot of people complain about poor trading, people trading down, crap in caches, but no many suggestions about what I should be putting in a cache.

 

If life was perfect my two sons 3 and 5 and husband would love going caching with me everytime we go somewhere new.

As it is my sons love all the things in caches that I don't, things that aren't usefull just clutter. Then again I can't get them to stop picking up bottle tops of the ground and treating them like priceless treasure.

 

As a stay at home mom about the only shop I visit is the supermarket!

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you have to realize that there are 60,272 account holders and only 309,673 registered members on the boards........................ ok, so i did that wrong, but that's only so many people out there doing the right thing

 

This is a big part of it. Those who frequent the forums have a pretty good grip on what the general consensus is in regards to the ethics. This is not to say that those who don't read the forums are not following a good ethic, just that they haven't been exposed to what others think of it.

 

People who geocache are just a cross-section of the population in general, containing excellent people, people who don't really know what they're doing, families with children, and even unfortunately a few downright jerks. The only thing we can do is make sure we do it right ourselves and maybe others will notice the example. Trade up, trade even or don't trade. But then, you all already knew that :(

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<gets on soapbox>

Dude you really need to get a life. My kids love the Mac toys. But they also put something in there a kid would like. We do monitor what our kids put in caches and they do trade equal or up. Sometimes they get mad because there is nothing to trade for.

Also I found a Lance Armstrong bracelet in a cache and I have always wanted one but never went out a bought one. I took it and left 3 hot wheels and 2 small die cast planes. Now I know they were worth more than the bracelet but that was all I had in my swag at the time and if the cache was bigger I would have ran to my car and put more in it. I still have the bracelet and wouldn't give it up for anything. That was a great treasure.

So get off your high horse and look at the big picture and see what could have happened why the piece of yarn is there. If someone did put it in there for swag shame on them. My one daughter wants to make friendship bracelets to put on caches, but I will tell her now not to do it since someone like you will think it is trash.

<gets off soapbox>

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My one daughter wants to make friendship bracelets to put on caches, but I will tell her now not to do it since someone like you will think it is trash.

I hope you don't mean it -- that's a great idea for your daughter to do. If she just drops them in a ache, they might end up looking like a random piece of string in the bottom of the container after a while. But if you can find some of the mini-ziplocks sold at craft stores or walmart, she could put each bracelet in one and put a sticker on the front that says "Handmade especially for you by Little Bear TC" or something like that -- they'd probably become a sought-after sig item.

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My one daughter wants to make friendship bracelets to put on caches, but I will tell her now not to do it since someone like you will think it is trash.

I hope you don't mean it -- that's a great idea for your daughter to do. If she just drops them in a ache, they might end up looking like a random piece of string in the bottom of the container after a while. But if you can find some of the mini-ziplocks sold at craft stores or walmart, she could put each bracelet in one and put a sticker on the front that says "Handmade especially for you by Little Bear TC" or something like that -- they'd probably become a sought-after sig item.

Thanks HC I was thinking about the little zip lock bags for her. It is just some people take the fun out of it for the kids when they say junk is in the cache like little toys. My kids will remove the broken toys and put good ones in for another finder.

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I don't cache for the swag. I do like to help "upgrade" a cache in need. I occasionally trade for something cool. :)

 

We found a muddy golfball left as swag. It had clumps of dirt all over it. I don't mind clean golfballs. People can use those. The cache that I found the ball in had gotten damp and the ball caused the inside of the cache to get muddy. :(;) Someone else left an acorn. This cache is in the middle of the woods surrounded by acorns come on... Luckly it was easy to clean.

Edited by MarshMonsters
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Dam Dude! Now look what you've done. ;)

 

There's an angry Bear lose in the threads. :)B)

 

 

 

Hi, Sweetie. :D

Oh, he hasn't gotten me angry yet. But if you keep it up your going to get a smack with my big paw right up side your head. :D:(

 

 

 

But I still :D ya

Edited by Big Bear TC
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