Operation "NO MORE KIDDY CACHES"

[+Rross1973]

I used to trade cheesy items when I first started. Now I only deal with coins and travel bugs. Unless there is something I could use I leave everything behind. I think we need a lot more travel bugs and coins to go into caches. The plastic toys and candy bars need to stay at home. At the very bare minimum leave a signature item.

[+nards656]

Rule 1 - Somebody will be unhappy no matter WHAT I do at a cache.

Rule 2 - See Rule 1.

[+mchaos]

I think that some people go out thinking they aren't going to trade up swag, or they are caching on a whim and have nothing with them.

 

So when they get to the cache and see something they want, they trade whatever they have to trade.

 

you shouldn't trade anything if you don't have something to trade.

[+Count Fartula]

I have a surplus of Natty Boh buttons i've been dropping in smaller ones. I received a deck of cards that have "how to" magic tricks on them so I have left some of those around.

I'm new to this and am already sick of happy meal toys and such.

[+hudsonfam]

Great topic. We're still new at this and very excited about any cache find - micro or not, swag or not, etc. but we do really enjoy finding *something* that we can take back as a memento of finding that cache. Some of the things we have chosen are a couple of chess pieces, a wooden coin, and a tiny green army man. We don't want anything big and don't require anything we can actually use or the kids can play with - we are just collecting our mementos and have a special shelf for them. It's a tangible reward for finding the cache, but real "swag" isn't what we're looking for - although we do enjoy trading up and try to leave behind something fun for someone else.

 

I was, however, disappointed when we found an ammo can cleverly hidden in a beautiful public garden only to discover a couple of broken toys and a very dirty package containing some stickers and a bunch of business cards and other scraps of paper. The original cache left by the CO was quite nice and very extensive - geocachers obviously haven't been trading up or trading at all.

[Clan Riffster]

Is mjordan14 a puppet?

That account has found 5 caches, one of which does not have that name in the logbook.

Of those 5 finds, he's left a watch from a claw machine and a rock.

Wazzup wit dat?

[+JohnE5]

I recently recieved my order of 36 personalized D-Clips. I plan on using them at every cache that can hold one. Great for keychains or hiking!

[+uktim]

Yeah, sure the excitement of GeoCaching is finding the cache itself, but when you open it up and find really cool items to cache out, it just makes the experience that much better.

 

Whatever happened to the cool items? like..

 

-Arrowheads

-Foreign or Collectible coins

-Those nifty LED key-chain lights

-mineral rocks (crystals/fools gold/etc)

-glow sticks

-free unexpired coupons, or drink tokens

-Geo-pins

-carribiners

 

but instead, of come across some real junk-

 

-miss matched AA batteries that are torn up/smashed and DEAD.

-hair bands

-toys you get out of the claw machine that bore even the 2 year old the item was designed for.

-cellphone batteries???

-paperclips & staples???

-more lame toys- mostly pink

-Pokemon cards

 

Sure this is a sport for all ages, but some of these things just disappoint me when i come across them.

to try and set an example, and break the cycle for my area, lately Ive been leaving cool items rather than taking any items that i find could help the cache out, and recently making my own cache with real treasures in them.

 

But of course, this leaves honesty as a policy for the cachers to not take more than one item, and leave something of equal or greater value

 

In my thought, if one person could help out a cache, one of theirs, or one close by and place maybe a couple more interesting items in it, it could really help the condition and fun in finding a hidden cache.

 

OPERATION NO MORE KIDDY CACHES IN FULL EFFECT!

 

-

 

It's about perception. Personally I think 4 out of your list of cool items are junk and another two are just plain boring. OTOH at least 3 of your junk items would thrill our 3 year old.

 

It's all in the eye of the beholder, lighten up and enjoy the hunt

[+mohrunits2]

How about leaving an old GPS, with caches loaded into it...

[+WeeWillie]

My son, who is now in college, is giving up his Matchbox car collection. Most of his cars are in very good to excellent condition. I use them for swag in locations that are likely to attract families with kids. Like any hobby or advocation, you need new members and to do that you need to get kids involved.

 

Then again, I wouldn't put a Matchbox car in a cache that was in the woods.

[Dangermouse79]

This all proves a good point, all the caches I have found have kiddie-junk in them. I think I will create a cache stating "cool stuff only"... the laptop idea was pretty nifty as are the arrowheads. I used to carry lot of foreign coins and currency, now its usually just me and my GPS that are out and about.

[+dleel]

one man's trash is another's...... We haven't gotten kid's meals in a long time, but had some "toys" from way back. To me they are neat finds for kids--tops, bratz doll, disney figures, ty beanies. Are kids in need of video games now? sheesh. Screen cleaners, new batteries (in package), coins, pewter figures, pencils, note pads, post-its (packaged) are among some of the swag I leave. When its my cache, the quality goes up. Just putting them out, but will have packaged camo hat, books, notebooks, book light, etc.

 

I almost never take anything, almost always leave at least one adult thing and one kid thing. If there's only trash in a cache, I clean it up and put extra stuff in.

 

Why sweat the small stuff? It's all about the hunt, and finding a really neat item is just a bonus once in awhile.

 

My biggest complaint is trying to find a cache in the midst of an obvious dump off place for the ignoramuses out there.

 

It's all about the fun, and if it isn't fun, why do it? 8^)

[+TeamGeoDweebs]

Some things I have given as swag (bought at hiking stores or at Dollar Tree):

 

-Portable first aid kits

-Hand held, battery powered fans

-Screwdriver kits

-LED lights

-Battery testers

-Hand held video games (poker, sudoku, kids games)

-Combination locks

-Mini flashlights

-Fossils from other states (such as a horn coral fossil)

 

Although I have never really gotten anything of note out of a cache, I still enjoy putting something pretty cool in there. I like to think that the next person will enjoy taking home something useful after a really great hike. When I place my own caches, I stock them full of cool things. Some toys, some household things and some hiking stuff so that there is a variety.

 

Caches do seem to collect a lot of junk and they go downhill really fast. I will be out there at least once a year cleaning out the junk and re-stocking the cache. I think it is something that a responsible CO would do. If they went to the trouble of placing it, they should also probably go through the trouble of maintaining it. It is a shame that geocachers weren't more conscious. I think i would rather someone just take something and not replace it, then take something and put something junky in there. One man's junk is another man's treasure...except if it is an old rubber band or a bent paper clip. Keep it in your pocket and throw it out at home!

[+aud_world]

one man's trash is another's...... We haven't gotten kid's meals in a long time, but had some "toys" from way back. To me they are neat finds for kids--tops, bratz doll, disney figures, ty beanies. Are kids in need of video games now? sheesh. Screen cleaners, new batteries (in package), coins, pewter figures, pencils, note pads, post-its (packaged) are among some of the swag I leave. When its my cache, the quality goes up. Just putting them out, but will have packaged camo hat, books, notebooks, book light, etc.

 

I almost never take anything, almost always leave at least one adult thing and one kid thing. If there's only trash in a cache, I clean it up and put extra stuff in.

Why sweat the small stuff? It's all about the hunt, and finding a really neat item is just a bonus once in awhile.

 

My biggest complaint is trying to find a cache in the midst of an obvious dump off place for the ignoramuses out there.

 

It's all about the fun, and if it isn't fun, why do it? 8^)

 

This was just what I was going to ask about...why not take out the junk and leave some good stuff. And even if you can't put something in is there something wrong with taking trash out so the next person donesn't have to deal with it? When I say trash I mean the things you can obviously see are broken, rotten, not worth anything to anyone. Don't complain about it. Do something about it. I'm new but I'm pretty sure there will always be trash in some caches. CITO!!! Why not practice this in every area of Caching not just on the trail. Clean the cache up and make it enjoyable for the next person to come along. Just think, if we as a whole did this there would pretty much not be an issue with finding mega trash out there.

[+aud_world]

one man's trash is another's...... We haven't gotten kid's meals in a long time, but had some "toys" from way back. To me they are neat finds for kids--tops, bratz doll, disney figures, ty beanies. Are kids in need of video games now? sheesh. Screen cleaners, new batteries (in package), coins, pewter figures, pencils, note pads, post-its (packaged) are among some of the swag I leave. When its my cache, the quality goes up. Just putting them out, but will have packaged camo hat, books, notebooks, book light, etc.

 

I almost never take anything, almost always leave at least one adult thing and one kid thing. If there's only trash in a cache, I clean it up and put extra stuff in.

Why sweat the small stuff? It's all about the hunt, and finding a really neat item is just a bonus once in awhile.

 

My biggest complaint is trying to find a cache in the midst of an obvious dump off place for the ignoramuses out there.

 

It's all about the fun, and if it isn't fun, why do it? 8^)

 

This was just what I was going to ask about...why not take out the junk and leave some good stuff. And even if you can't put something in is there something wrong with taking trash out so the next person donesn't have to deal with it? When I say trash I mean the things you can obviously see are broken, rotten, not worth anything to anyone. Don't complain about it. Do something about it. I'm new but I'm pretty sure there will always be trash in some caches. CITO!!! Why not practice this in every area of Caching not just on the trail. Clean the cache up and make it enjoyable for the next person to come along. Just think, if we as a whole did this there would pretty much not be an issue with finding mega trash out there.

[Skippermark]

When we hide caches, we try to put a mix of stuff in there, some good for kids and some for adults.

 

I like to put in a "ready to go" matchstick holder with logbook and pencil. Carbiners are always good, plus I'll throw in some bug wipes, alcohol wipes, a couple rain ponchos from a department store. They're relatively cheap but always good to keep in your pack in case it starts raining on you. Glow sticks. They're good for kids and adults. We'll usually try to find some other camping/outdoor type things to throw in there too. Within a month, most of it's gone and the containers are filled with junk.

[+jmoores]

I've been doing about 1/2 to 3/4 of my geocaching with my granddaughters, and believe me one person's junk is anothers treasure.

 

One of my granddaughters LOVES McD toys. Another loves any coin regardless of type/source. Another granddaughter loves anything shiny (they are all under 7 years old).

 

I've left (in my granddaughters trades) small picture frames that fit the small school pics, toy cowboys/indians, dice and polished rocks. Most of the stuff that I leave my granddaughters think isn't worth anything...

 

I do try to always trade up but worth is in the eyes of the beholder... especially when you're under 7 years old.

 

Jim

[+paleolith]

I tend to have more of a problem finding caches stuffed to the gills with swag, a lot of which has obviously been there for years. I often do the cache a favor and free up some space. With high terrain caches, you often see the situation that people want to bring gifts to offer to the cache but aren't interested in carrying any away.

 

Edward