Unhiding a Cache?

[cejs]

I placed my first cache back in April, the coordinates were very good, but the cache was hidden really well. Some people commented that they nearly gave up, or "good hide." Recently they started saying stuff like "thanks for the easy find."

 

I was in the area today and visited it. Not only was it moved about 5 feet, but it was sitting out in plain site, not hidden at all. This is an area that it would be very unlikely for a muggle to find it.

 

Isn't the "cacher's code" to hide it as well or better? Grrr... I don't mind maintaining the cache, but I don't want to have to baby sit it either.

[+Coldgears]

I placed my first cache back in April, the coordinates were very good, but the cache was hidden really well. Some people commented that they nearly gave up, or "good hide." Recently they started saying stuff like "thanks for the easy find."

 

I was in the area today and visited it. Not only was it moved about 5 feet, but it was sitting out in plain site, not hidden at all. This is an area that it would be very unlikely for a muggle to find it.

 

Isn't the "cacher's code" to hide it as well or better? Grrr... I don't mind maintaining the cache, but I don't want to have to baby sit it either.

 

Some people do this to help out the next cacher! I've had a few people in my area attach little pieces of strings to the tree that the cache is hidden under... It sucks, but people do it.

[+dorqie]

I have had this problem before too.

Some people just don't seem to get the fun of a difficult search.

I have had some people react angrily to my camo jobs. (because it was TOO well camoed)

Some people think they are doing the next cacher a favor by not hiding it as well.

 

But you also have to consider that on the off chance a muggle may have discovered it, and left it out in the open thinking they were doing you a favor, so you would be able to find your "lost tupperwear tub of toys" if you ever came back to look for it.

[+simpjkee]

Over time, caches tend to move. I don't think it is any one cachers fault its just the action of it being found and hidden again over and over that it just gradually moves. When a cacher finds the cache, picks it up, maybe passes it around to other people in a group, etc.....it is inevitable that it is not going to be hidden back as found.

 

I prevent it by finding a spot where the cache can't really move (like between two boulders). Cachers can find it but always use the two boulders as a marker and place it back there. Or I use securing devices like zipties. Then the cachers can't move it.

[+DarkZen]

It happens. Don't let it get to you. I've had caches migrate as much as 40 feet. It's a true mystery to me how this could happen but it does.

[+hukilaulau]

I found a bunch of caches in the desert near Las Vegas awhile back. Several of them had a rock conspicuously placed on top of the rock the cache was under, either in an open field or after a significant climb. Different hiders, same last finder before me. Guess he thought he was the only one skillful enough to actually find the cache without help.

[+bittsen]

Though I always return caches as well as I find them I do understand why people make it "easier" for the next cacher to find the cache.

 

This "game" started by having coordinates and going to find a piece of paper to sign (along with swag) but some people think the goal is to make things "hard" to find even with GPS coordinates. What the heck is up with making things difficult?

Heck, if I wanted to spend my afternoon looking for ONE thing it would be gold or something, not a piece of paper to sign.

 

Seriously, I don't enjoy "difficult" caches very much. Well hidden is one thing but those PIA caches get me to move on to the next one.

[+simpjkee]

The idea of caches migrating/moving is much more the result of subconscious human behavior and not so much the result of cachers purposely making them easier to find.

 

edit: I meant subconscious not unconscious.

Edited May 24, 2010 by simpjkee

[4wheelin_fool]

A cache is best to have a defined hiding place, rather than a general area and it will be less likely to migrate.

 

Some cachers will always rehide a cache the same way every time, such as to let a little bit show, or they may hide back as how they think is appropriate. The original reason for difficult hides was to just keep the caches away from muggles(not cachers) but that doesn't mean that they ought to leave them out in the open. It only takes one person to break the "hide back as found" chain.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Ubergenii notwithstanding, cache finders should respect the wishes of the cache owner. Unfortunately, it only takes one cacher to rehide it wrong. Most will rehide it as found. Did cache maintenance on a cache that hadn't found found in a year-and-a-half. (Hey. We needs to check them every so often!) It was on top of the rocks, instead of under them. Not a very muggle-prone area. But, goodness gracious, hide it back under the rocks!

[+Walts Hunting]

Isn't the "cacher's code" to hide it as well or better?

 

Code, there's no code!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

The biggest problem is that we allow humans to participate in this hobby and as long as we do that we have to live with the results.

 

Once again I find the best solution is two Margaritas

[+briansnat]

It happens. There is a segment of cachers who think they are "helping" the rest of us by making caches easier to find. I've heard of arrows pointing to the cache made of sticks or rocks and flagging tape being used. Last week I made a maint trip to one of my caches where someone built a cairn over the hiding place. I guess they think the rest of us are too stupid to find the cache.

[+atmospherium]

Unfortunately, it only takes one cacher to rehide it wrong. Most will rehide it as found.

 

Just to add my two pence to the mix: I recently found a cache that nobody had looked for in a year. It was lying upside down in the open on the side of a steep hill. Clearly it was supposed to be tucked among the tree roots beneath the overhang about 5 feet above where it was. That's where I put it anyways, rather than back in the open where it would surely continue its gravity-assisted migration down the hill.

 

One of my hides was placed at the bottom of a small tree. Last time I checked on it, it was at the top of the small tree. I put it back at the bottom. No big deal.

 

So, there may be cachers who deliberately replace caches in the wrong spot, but I think most cache movement is due to a slow incremental migration, or muggle and Mother Nature activity.

 

Cache migration is a fascinating phenomona. I may have to apply for a huge government grant and devote my time to some serious field research.

[+Setan Meyacha]

I've had a number of my caches 'migrate'; usually after the same cacher logged them. I then came to find out that the cacher didn't think my coordinates were good enough and moved the cache(s) where that cacher thought they should be. As a rule, there is nothing wrong with the coordinates I post for a cache; as will usually show up in the logs with a comment like, 'coordinates were spot on', or some such affirmation of the accuracy of the coordinates. It just happens that some people will either absent mindedly or intentionally replace a cache in a different spot from where they found it. When I get enough 'blue faces' logged, I will usually go out and make sure the cache is where it is supposed to be. It is, afterall, an excuse to get out of the house and maybe look for another spot to hide a cache.

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

Though I always return caches as well as I find them I do understand why people make it "easier" for the next cacher to find the cache.

 

This "game" started by having coordinates and going to find a piece of paper to sign (along with swag) but some people think the goal is to make things "hard" to find even with GPS coordinates. What the heck is up with making things difficult?

Heck, if I wanted to spend my afternoon looking for ONE thing it would be gold or something, not a piece of paper to sign.

 

Seriously, I don't enjoy "difficult" caches very much. Well hidden is one thing but those PIA caches get me to move on to the next one.

I agree, when I started playing, I thought the idea was to hide things from the muggles, but FOR other Cachers, not FROM us. I've heard some people say it's "All about the hunt" as if they enjoy spending 1-2 hours scouring every metal surface in a bridge. Not my game...If I wanted to look that hard for something, I'd close my eyes and throw my car keys into some ivy. For me it's all about the find, not the searching. That being said, I always try to replace things how I found them.

[+Intemperance Society]

Ugh! I wish this topic had been created a few days ago...

 

My most recent find was a cache placed in a stump, amongst many, about 20 meters off of a nice woodland trail. The stump the cache was placed in had a long thick stick jammed into it, so you knew something was odd from at least 5 meters away. This made the cache so easy to find. Not knowing that people spoil the thrill of the hunt, I jammed the stupid stick back in there, thinking that this was the cache placers idea.

 

I'm suspecting now that it was not.

 

Live and learn, I guess.

[+bittsen]

Though I always return caches as well as I find them I do understand why people make it "easier" for the next cacher to find the cache.

 

This "game" started by having coordinates and going to find a piece of paper to sign (along with swag) but some people think the goal is to make things "hard" to find even with GPS coordinates. What the heck is up with making things difficult?

Heck, if I wanted to spend my afternoon looking for ONE thing it would be gold or something, not a piece of paper to sign.

 

Seriously, I don't enjoy "difficult" caches very much. Well hidden is one thing but those PIA caches get me to move on to the next one.

I agree, when I started playing, I thought the idea was to hide things from the muggles, but FOR other Cachers, not FROM us. I've heard some people say it's "All about the hunt" as if they enjoy spending 1-2 hours scouring every metal surface in a bridge. Not my game...If I wanted to look that hard for something, I'd close my eyes and throw my car keys into some ivy. For me it's all about the find, not the searching. That being said, I always try to replace things how I found them.

 

That's a really good analogy for a lot of cache hides. I went after one today that said it was a bison tube hanging in a tree. It was an evergreen and it was wet. I just said forget it and moved on.

Looking for a film can in ivy, holly, juniper, or an evergreen is as close to your analogy as I can think.

[7rxc]

I placed my first cache back in April, the coordinates were very good, but the cache was hidden really well. Some people commented that they nearly gave up, or "good hide." Recently they started saying stuff like "thanks for the easy find."

 

I was in the area today and visited it. Not only was it moved about 5 feet, but it was sitting out in plain site, not hidden at all. This is an area that it would be very unlikely for a muggle to find it.

 

Isn't the "cacher's code" to hide it as well or better? Grrr... I don't mind maintaining the cache, but I don't want to have to baby sit it either.

 

What I read was 'replace as found' (subject to minor adjustment for cache survivability, with note to COwner.)

 

That said, some people are simply unmindful of those that will follow. I think of one case where a new cacher commented to us (via ham radio) that he had just found his first hide in this area and couldn't wait to place it up near Edmonton a week later... several of us pleaded with him to simply put it back where he got it. It was not malice, just a newbies misunderstanding of the game... but it happens.

 

The ones I hate are the people who take a 1/1 type cache and exercise their right to make it darn near impossible for anyone other than them ( including the owner and maintainers) to ever find again...

 

Both of these are examples of a misconception that it is the finders right to do the rehide, their way.

Both can be dealt with through education along with the occasional 'educational' rap on the fingers.

It can be a bit difficult with so many 'right ways' out there depending on where you are and what your Point of View is. Bending like a willow is a good analogy... but I remember a few willow switches on the back side as well...

 

Doug 7rxc

[+silksmybaby]

I read the "as well as or better than you found it" as the same spot but cover it better or say it has bark on one side to camo it with a tree and it got flipped around, turn it so the bark is facing out once more.

 

As was said, a lot of the time it is mother nature, especially if it is hidden under something where erosion or a storm could easily knock it loose and away.

 

On the other hand, people like to move things to a spot they think would be better and that just irks me. I hide my caches where I want them, not where I want someone else to want them.

 

All I do is hide it better, perhaps throwing some leaves on top of it or pushing it deeper into the tree or covering it with sticks (making them look as natural as possible). But you cannot know if the person before you put it where it was supposed to go.

[+Happy Bubbles]

I've got one that people keep hiding "better," and it drives me nuts. It's in a rock wall. It's not covered by anything; if you stand on a certain rock you can see it, but if you're not at the right spot you can't. I say on the cache page, "You don't have to move any stones" but twice now I have checked it to find that someone else has moved stones to cover it. That means any future finders would have to move stones to find it. I don't want cachers moving the stones. I don't want any over-zealous seekers to damage the wall, so I deliberately made it easy to spot. I'd rather risk it getting muggled than risk damage to the wall. But people keep thinking they have to hide it "better." Sigh.

[+SSO JOAT]

Ditto the last caller. I have one hide in particular that has become very problematic with people replacing it wrong. It's a small container with a magnet that hangs it on the under side of an elevated walkway in a park (hillside terrain). It's painted to exactly match the metal crossbeam it is on and it fits perfectly into a protective nook, but it is clearly visible from below. I don't want it "hidden" any more than it is, but people keep putting it back on the topside of the beams and such where it can't be seen at all.

 

At any rate, my next step is taking a picture of the cache hidden correctly and gluing a lamination of that picture on the inside of the lid so the cachers can see where it is supposed to go. We'll see if that helps. At least it is a cache in an area that I frequent, so doing maint checks is very easy.

 

The other thing to do, which solves 2 problems (replacment and not making the hide so difficult for cachers while keeping it hidden from muggles) is to use the encoded hint field to describe exactly where the cache is.

 

I also hate the NIH nano hides. In the area around my work location, I've found all the normal caches. The only things that remain unfound for me are a couple NIH hides that are typical of a particular CO. I've entered multiple DNF's on some and have simply written off the rest that appear to be of a similar nature. When you couple the "perfect camo" nano with fuzzy coords in a high muggle urban setting, it's not fun anymore.

[+power69]

It happens. There is a segment of cachers who think they are "helping" the rest of us by making caches easier to find. I've heard of arrows pointing to the cache made of sticks or rocks and flagging tape being used. Last week I made a maint trip to one of my caches where someone built a cairn over the hiding place. I guess they think the rest of us are too stupid to find the cache.

how about spraypainting an arrow to the cache, that happened to one of mine and its not even a hard one, its a 1/1

[+power69]

I also hate the NIH nano hides.

ever notice NIH usually have worthless clues

NIH hides aren't fun and go on ignore

[+L0ne.R]

Though I always return caches as well as I find them I do understand why people make it "easier" for the next cacher to find the cache.

 

This "game" started by having coordinates and going to find a piece of paper to sign (along with swag) but some people think the goal is to make things "hard" to find even with GPS coordinates. What the heck is up with making things difficult?

Heck, if I wanted to spend my afternoon looking for ONE thing it would be gold or something, not a piece of paper to sign.

 

Seriously, I don't enjoy "difficult" caches very much. Well hidden is one thing but those PIA caches get me to move on to the next one.

I agree, when I started playing, I thought the idea was to hide things from the muggles, but FOR other Cachers, not FROM us. I've heard some people say it's "All about the hunt" as if they enjoy spending 1-2 hours scouring every metal surface in a bridge. Not my game...If I wanted to look that hard for something, I'd close my eyes and throw my car keys into some ivy. For me it's all about the find, not the searching. That being said, I always try to replace things how I found them.

 

I too prefer caches where the CO wants us to find the cache. I set my PQs to difficulty 2.5 or less.

[+joukkusisu]

I had a cache migrate over a hundred feet! I caught on that something was up when cachers logged complaining that the coords were way off. Using new coords provided by cachers, I was able to find it in a tree some ways off. The log book was signed by three young kids who said they found it by accident. My guess is that they found it, didn't know what to do and moved it. At least they signed the log!

[+Coldgears]

I also hate the NIH nano hides.

ever notice NIH usually have worthless clues

NIH hides aren't fun and go on ignore

 

NIH? Please tell me!

 

Oh, and I have had a similar issue. I hid a silver bison, I intentionally made it easy... I put one or two shavings on it to not be completely obvious... Well, another cacher decided not to put one or two little shavings... But instead to put about 5 pounds making it almost impossible to find. In fact I thought it went missing at first.

[+The Jester]

 

NIH? Please tell me!

 

Needle In Haystack

Edited May 28, 2010 by The Jester