Found it, but could.....

[+wapahani]

While out hunting the other evening we came across the first situation like this for us.

The cache we had spied up was buried in POISON IVY and OAK.

The cache had been logged just days before but no sign that anyone had trekked through the ivy to get it.

 

While discussing this with a fellow cacher, he told me about the wipes for poison ivy, which the wife knew about.

 

Since the weather is humid and in the 90's, wearing pants isn't an option I or the wife want.

 

So, even though we couldn't actually place our hand on the log, is it ok to log it as a find? I don't really want to since I didn't actually handle it.

I don't want to make a habit of it, but I really don't want to trek through the Ivy for it. I've notified the owner in the meantime.

I plan on either going back later in the year, or waiting til its moved.

 

There are several local caches that will be in the same situation I am sure. We found another one the other evening at dusk that was buried and we didn't bother. We will probably go back this weekend and take a better look and see if we can get to it.

 

So are their situations where you have done this?

 

I know of one cache in which the owner actually put in the file that "if you can't open it, don't, just log it as your find". After finding the cache, I can see why he wrote this. I thought it to be a rare case however.

Edited June 12, 2008 by wapahani

[+ZSandmann]

It is always up to the cache owner to decide, but in my opinion this is not a find. Write a note and tell you story and come back later in the year when it dies back. I am in the lucky position that I am not allergic to poison ivy, I could roll in it with no ill affect. In fact I found one this past weekend that was quite literally in a cluster of PI in a forest of poisons oak. I would also disagree with moving the cache, it is just another part of the challenge.

 

Here is an idea I will share though. Get yourself a pair of convertable pants. I love these things for hiking. Where the legs in to grab the cache, and when you are out just unzip and whall ah, shorts!

 

Hope you give it another shot. And happy hunting.

[knowschad]

It is always up to the cache owner to decide, but in my opinion this is not a find. Write a note and tell you story and come back later in the year when it dies back. I am in the lucky position that I am not allergic to poison ivy, I could roll in it with no ill affect. In fact I found one this past weekend that was quite literally in a cluster of PI in a forest of poisons oak. I would also disagree with moving the cache, it is just another part of the challenge.

 

Here is an idea I will share though. Get yourself a pair of convertable pants. I love these things for hiking. Where the legs in to grab the cache, and when you are out just unzip and whall ah, shorts!

 

Hope you give it another shot. And happy hunting.

 

Long pants won't help. Its the oils in poison ivy that causes the rash, and that oil will rub off on pants, only to cause problems at a later date.

 

As for logging the find or not, that's first a matter of your own judgement, and then a matter for the cache owner. Nobody here can answer that question for you (although many will try)!

[+Keruso]

for me, i seem to be immune to PI, but there was one cache i have been physically unable to place in my hands. the cache was/is 7ft up a tree. whats the problem? im 5' 8". check over in the Found=Didnt find it for my log on that cachd

[+9Key]

I agree with the Sandmann - its not a find. Be prepared for poison plants anytime you cache. There are pre-treatments that you can apply to your skin before caching that work well, then always use the post-exposure wash.

 

Keep in mind that many caches are placed during the fall or winter when the poison ivy has died back. A cache owner can't predict what plants will grow around his or her cache in the spring.

[+Morning Dew]

The way I play the game, this is not a find.

 

However, the best possible advice I can give you is don't post this question to the boards. At least not in the manner you worded it.

 

You asked "Is it OK to log this as a find?"

 

The correct answer to this is YES.

 

See, there are very few HARD rules in geocaching. GS doesn't even define the term FIND. let alone have a guideline for what a find may or may not be. Play the game how you want to play it.

 

On the other hand, if you asked for opinions on wether or not this was a find, I think you will find that most people would not consider this a find and would not log it as such. But, none of those posters are God. Unfortunately, God is not a cacher and GS has no cacing police, so you are entitled to play how you wish.

 

For it to be a find in my world, I need to sign the log book. I do make an exception, if the log is too wet to sign, I rip off a piece of paper from my personal book, sign it and stuff it in there and count it as a find. Others may agree or disagree. So far this is the only exception I've made but I'm leaving MY rule book open to other exceptions that I might or might not discover down the road.

 

On a side note, I personally feel that caches in place in Poison Ivy or Oak should be explicitly stated in the rules as illegal. Just like buried caches. However, I'm betting I'm in the minority on this one.

 

And one last thing, long pants do nothing for preventing poison ivy. As noted in a previous post, the oil stick to your pants, you touch the oil and it's 6 weeks of pure joy from there.

[+WRASTRO]

While out hunting the other evening we came across the first situation like this for us.

The cache we had spied up was buried in POISON IVY and OAK.

The cache had been logged just days before but no sign that anyone had trekked through the ivy to get it.

 

While discussing this with a fellow cacher, he told me about the wipes for poison ivy, which the wife knew about.

 

Since the weather is humid and in the 90's, wearing pants isn't an option I or the wife want.

 

So, even though we couldn't actually place our hand on the log, is it ok to log it as a find? I don't really want to since I didn't actually handle it.

I don't want to make a habit of it, but I really don't want to trek through the Ivy for it. I've notified the owner in the meantime.

I plan on either going back later in the year, or waiting til its moved.

 

There are several local caches that will be in the same situation I am sure. We found another one the other evening at dusk that was buried and we didn't bother. We will probably go back this weekend and take a better look and see if we can get to it.

 

So are their situations where you have done this?

 

I know of one cache in which the owner actually put in the file that "if you can't open it, don't, just log it as your find". After finding the cache, I can see why he wrote this. I thought it to be a rare case however.

In my opinion this is not a find, but it will be an easy find when you return properly equipped to retrieve the container and sign the log. I don't log caches as finds when I can see the container but can't or won't retrieve it for some reason. If I can retrieve the container but can't open it for some reason (other than stupidity) I email the owner and explain the situation. That may or may not result in a found it log.

[+Team O-Zone]

Have you tried to send the owner an email about this situtaion? We had one cache location that had a secret compartment in a gazebo. It turns out that the secret compartment was not the cache (but a few previous cachers thought so... some other cacher even placed a blank sheet in it for a "replacement log"), but the cache is somewhere in the gazebo. I emailed the owner what we had found and asked if that was his cache. I was preparing to go back to find the micro. He said that it was not his cache, and he told me to log it as a find even though we really didn't. I did not ask him if I could log it as a find, he was kind enough to give us the find. He figured if we found a secret compartment, then we would have found his cache. I wonder what was that compartment was for???

 

The owner probably had know idea that PI was there, so he may tell you go to back in the fall and log it for real OR he may feel bad about the vegitation in the area and give you the find. Everybody is different. I would send the owner an email before you do anything else.

[+Harry Dolphin]

The way I play the game, this is not a find.

 

However, the best possible advice I can give you is don't post this question to the boards. At least not in the manner you worded it.

 

You asked "Is it OK to log this as a find?"

 

The correct answer to this is YES.

 

Beg to differ. The correct answer is NO. Did not sign the log? Then it's a DNF. How does OP even know that it is the cache without opening it?

 

See, there are very few HARD rules in geocaching. GS doesn't even define the term FIND. let alone have a guideline for what a find may or may not be. Play the game how you want to play it.

 

Ah. By this logic, log every cache you ever thought about finding, or have ever driven near. Attend the same event fifteen times! Oops. There are people who do this. Not sure what game they think they're playing, but it isn't geocaching!

 

Find cache. Sign log. Think I read that in the guidelines somewhere.

Sure. Play whatever game you're playing whatever way that you want. But don't log a find unless you've signed the log. Seems simple.

[+Klatch]

Have you tried to send the owner an email about this situtaion? We had one cache location that had a secret compartment in a gazebo. It turns out that the secret compartment was not the cache (but a few previous cachers thought so... some other cacher even placed a blank sheet in it for a "replacement log"), but the cache is somewhere in the gazebo. I emailed the owner what we had found and asked if that was his cache. I was preparing to go back to find the micro. He said that it was not his cache, and he told me to log it as a find even though we really didn't. I did not ask him if I could log it as a find, he was kind enough to give us the find. He figured if we found a secret compartment, then we would have found his cache. I wonder what was that compartment was for???

 

The owner probably had know idea that PI was there, so he may tell you go to back in the fall and log it for real OR he may feel bad about the vegitation in the area and give you the find. Everybody is different. I would send the owner an email before you do anything else.

I have had these "finds" offered to me several times. For whatever reason, I did not find the cache and did not sign the log. The way I play the game, that is a DNF.

[+-CacheMonkey-]

I agree with the "No Find" posters here. I trekked up to the top of Squak Mountain here for Crazy Monkey Tripod (GCMYJK), knowing full well it was at the top of a 50+ foot radio antenna. I got about 1/2 way up and could see the cache container, but I had to overcome my fear of ladders to go the rest of the way for the find. My kids wanted me to throw it down so they could sign it. They learned the hard way that some caches you just can't "find".