Oh No - I've forgotten my Pen....

[+Birdman-of-liskatraz]

I'm an expert at thinking - Oh it's only 400 feet away, I don't need my rusac, only to discover it's 400 feet down a flight of horrible windy steep stairs. I can't be bothered to climb back up to the car to grab a pen, so I sign as BIRD using a wet twig dipped in mud! This weekend I discovered I wasn't the only cacher to do this, but they'd managed to sign in green - How?

 

What do you do if your pen/pencil/writing implement less?

 

Any useful hints or tips? Apart from "Remember a pen"

[+drsolly]

I'm an expert at thinking - Oh it's only 400 feet away, I don't need my rusac, only to discover it's 400 feet down a flight of horrible windy steep stairs. I can't be bothered to climb back up to the car to grab a pen, so I sign as BIRD using a wet twig dipped in mud! This weekend I discovered I wasn't the only cacher to do this, but they'd managed to sign in green - How?

 

Ichor

 

[quote}

What do you do if your pen/pencil/writing implement less?

 

Any useful hints or tips? Apart from "Remember a pen"

 

Always carry a small pencil.

[+The Blorenges]

We did have someone say in the online log of a one of our caches they'd signed the paper log in blood as they had no pen....... Never actually went to check I recall!

Of course if you have someone else with you, then you could use their blood instead....

 

Chris

[+scottpa100]

I've done the same for a cache - where we'd come down the mountain heading on the home straight back towards the car and we thought that we'd get one last cache. We then realised that we had left the pen at the top of the mountain! Doh! So snapped off a little twig of heather, muddied up some dirt with some water from a puddle to make an opaque inky type muddy sauce and wrote, nope, scribed in the log book. Took a photo of the final evidence.

 

Necessity IS the Mother of invention.

[+PopUpPirate]

I'll normally tear a tiny corner off a page as way of "signing" / proof.

[+davy boy]

Just talk to Stuey,he's got it down to a fine art without a pen!!!!!

[+Bear and Ragged]

Green -leaf or grass pulped.

 

Usually carry pen, spare pen, spare spare pen...

 

Now watch me be without, next time I cache!

[+Alibags]

The stick dipped in the mud technique certainly has pedigree, I think many of us have used it from time to time. Here's an example of when myself and JollyJax did so, and also cut a distinctive hole in the page of the logbook. That said, remembering to bring a pen gets my vote!

 

[+Amberel]

... muddied up some dirt with some water from a puddle to make an opaque inky type muddy sauce and wrote, nope, scribed in the log book.

I went for an FTF a few months ago, and when I got there I appeared to have made it. However, the log book was muddy and torn. I thought the setters had been very careless, though it was out of character. Then, when I got home, I found it had already been logged by someone who had forgotten their pen and had made a (not wonderfully successful) attempt to find a substitute

 

Rgds, Andy

[+Stuey]

Just talk to Stuey,he's got it down to a fine art without a pen!!!!!

 

Hey, you're not wrong, lol. I've probably had to use my muddy thumb print method a dozen times when people set caches and can't be bothered to put a pen in there. The argument has been "then take a pen with you", but I'll still maintain that one should be provided.

 

I've also had to stab the log sheet with my PDA stylus where no mud was available. All I do is add in my online log that if the next visitor can write my name across it, all is well in the world again

 

I have bought a geocoin to try to remind me: "Don't forget your pencil" geocoin

Edited June 23, 2008 by Stuey

[SlytherinAlex]

dirty fingerprint.

[+Geo.Kitten]

I went to do my FIRST cache alone and it was fairly easy parked close by went into a bunch of trees found the cache and then realised no pen in the cache and O NO I didnt bring one! so I go back to my car and sit there thinking what now then start ripping my bag apart looking for a pen and searching my car up and down eventually and I dont know why I open my boot and for some reason lift the carpeting bit and there was a PEN!! a really broken cracked pen I managed to take the pen/ink bit out and sign the lo!

 

Now I always remember to keep a pen in my car bag and on me when caching

[+maxkim]

Have used the mud / twig to good effect more than once... usually on a moor top or similar. Not keen on the blood idea... possible bio hazzard??? I must agree that pencils should be included in caches where possible.. still trying to find one that fits a magnetic nano though....LOL Cheers MaxKim.

[+Skate and Jane]

Happened to me on Dartmoor once but I managed to find one of the numerous letterboxes nearby and it had a pen in it.

[+TheWhoUK]

I've done this on numurous occations. I usually take a picture from my phone of me with cache container. and add it to online log.

 

TheWhoUK

[+The Cache Hoppers]

I'll normally tear a tiny corner off a page as way of "signing" / proof.

 

.... photo the logbook with cache container:)

 

woops just noticed someone else does that too

Edited June 24, 2008 by The Cache Hoppers

[+Wadders]

Had to do it in blood twice now

Forgot pen/pencil, found thorn bush or gorse, quick stab of the finger then use pda stylus to sign.

 

Now bought myself pda stylus with inbuilt pen...............still forget pda/stylus, one or the other though.

[markandlynn]

Small pen on chain on both sets of keys, packs of 10 in asda for £1.50

 

Note check pen still works before you set out.

[+Alboy]

I once pulped a nearby wild berry and used my stylus to sign a log.

[+The Mars Bars]

I'll normally tear a tiny corner off a page as way of "signing" / proof.

 

This is a typical PuP trick, this is..

 

Knowing his mentallity he will now claim all caches with torn log pages as a find!

 

If people will kindly email him the waypoit code of any torn log books....

[Moss Trooper]

I print out loads of mini stickers.. put them in anything I wear/use to go cacheing.. If there aint a pen it gets stickered.. can always find one hanging about my person

 

No blood/mud/sweat or tears.. well for signing the log anyways

 

Moss T

Edited June 24, 2008 by Moss Trooper

[+TheMightyFinn]

Sort of had this problem when out caching in Box Hill - there was a pen, but it didn't work! After wondering what to do, House of Boo gave us a great tip... Sign the log with the pen, leaving an impression of your name, then lick/wet a finger and dab in dry mud or earth, then rub your finger over the imprint. Works really well! Also means the log book doesn't get too wet or covered in mud. If no pen, this method works well with a twig, stylus or other make shift writing implements!

[+rhelt100]

Sort of had this problem when out caching in Box Hill - there was a pen, but it didn't work! After wondering what to do, House of Boo gave us a great tip... Sign the log with the pen, leaving an impression of your name, then lick/wet a finger and dab in dry mud or earth, then rub your finger over the imprint. Works really well! Also means the log book doesn't get too wet or covered in mud. If no pen, this method works well with a twig, stylus or other make shift writing implements!

 

 

I've only ever not had a pen at one cache so far, believe it or not. In that case, I took a nickel out of my pocket and "wrote" my name on the page very hard. A little mud smeared on the page and cleaned off and the lines I scribed were very clear.

[+currykev]

No-one's gonna check anyway....except me!

[+molfrew-mosstoad]

We "mushed up" some grass to get a green thumbprint on a cache recently worked quite well

[+Pieman]

I've used mud and blackberry juice (very effective) on different occasions. The only time I left blood on the logbook was when I tripped over and cut myself a few feet from the end of a 15 mile multi and then dripped it on the paper!