Dissappointed in cachers

[+cz-5]

We began geocaching last year in my local area and after enjoying our first twenty finds I decided it was our turn give back to the community and place some caches myself.

 

I set out to make one cache for each of us and went to Walmart and Dollar General to fill them with goodies. I'm sure I spent about $20 on each one filling it with $1 toys, tools, camp stuff, etc...

 

Not even 6 months later I had to move one of the caches due to some construction in the area. And to my surprize all the "good stuff" was gone and in it's place was crap. And I mean junk; broken toys, a broken cheap flashlight, some worn out McDonalds toys, stuff I would throw in the garbage.

 

Now I know some of you will say " but it's the thrill of the hunt...", but when you've got kids involved it's often the thrill of discovery. I mean after the kids hike the trails and search the fields there needs to be some reward.

 

How cheap can geocachers be? One time I found a cache that had a pair of chopsticks from a chinese restruant. Geez, you cheap SOBs; go to the Dollar General and buy some new items. They cost a DOLLAR!

Or at least put something cool inside!

 

Needless to say- I don't think We'll be placing anymore caches in the future.

[+Tungas]

You're so right man, of course that if one is in the hunt just for the thrill, then take nothing and leave nothing, otherwise don't fill the cache only with garbage.

[+Ike 13]

And coming to the forums and calling people who most likely had nothing to do with your cache degradation "SO*'s" will help how?

 

It's a fact (sure a sad fact) that swag will get worse over time. The most common culprit....kids. Kids don't have the best handle on value and equality. Those chopsticks could have been very prized to some kid. That toy could have been their favorite.

 

The real reward in placing caches is getting good comments from those in your community and giving back to them. Yes you may have to spend some money to keep your swag up to date or decide to leave it bare, but there is a lesson in that. It's not about the reward in the cache at the end of the day, but the adventures and fun you had on the way.

[+BlueDeuce]

We began geocaching last year in my local area and after enjoying our first twenty finds I decided it was our turn give back to the community and place some caches myself.

 

I set out to make one cache for each of us and went to Walmart and Dollar General to fill them with goodies. I'm sure I spent about $20 on each one filling it with $1 toys, tools, camp stuff, etc...

 

Not even 6 months later I had to move one of the caches due to some construction in the area. And to my surprize all the "good stuff" was gone and in it's place was crap. And I mean junk; broken toys, a broken cheap flashlight, some worn out McDonalds toys, stuff I would throw in the garbage.

 

Now I know some of you will say " but it's the thrill of the hunt...", but when you've got kids involved it's often the thrill of discovery. I mean after the kids hike the trails and search the fields there needs to be some reward.

 

How cheap can geocachers be? One time I found a cache that had a pair of chopsticks from a chinese restruant. Geez, you cheap SOBs; go to the Dollar General and buy some new items. They cost a DOLLAR!

Or at least put something cool inside!

 

Needless to say- I don't think We'll be placing anymore caches in the future.

 

Yep.

 

Do this. Keep placing caches. Expect that the swag will degrade. Leave stuff for the kids in both the caches you place and the caches you visit. Expect that people will complain that people don't leave swag for adults - keep leaving swag for kids. Restock.

 

Rinse and repeat

 

That's how I keep my pride.

[+yakimacacher]

i tend to find, actual garbage in some cache, ie, cash register receits, wadded up gum wrappers, old movie ticket stubbs, i usually take it out and cito the cache and move on.

[+t4e]

And coming to the forums and calling people who most likely had nothing to do with your cache degradation "SO*'s" will help how?

 

you're misinterpreting that comment, it was not directed at the people here, just a general comment

 

i don't see anywhere in the OP where he accused the people here of anything

 

It's a fact (sure a sad fact) that swag will get worse over time. The most common culprit....kids. Kids don't have the best handle on value and equality. Those chopsticks could have been very prized to some kid. That toy could have been their favorite.

 

hmm kids go caching accompanied by parents, or so i hope, the parents should provide them with the "handle on value and equality" and be prepared with nice swag for the very likely possibility that the kids will want to trade

Edited June 27, 2010 by t4e

[+BlueDeuce]

And coming to the forums and calling people who most likely had nothing to do with your cache degradation "SO*'s" will help how?

 

you're misinterpreting that comment, it was not directed at the people here, just a general comment

 

i don't see anywhere in the OP where he accused the people here of anything

 

Geocachers must be the cheapest people I know.

 

Seems general enough to me.

[+Knight2000]

One time I found a cache that had a pair of chopsticks from a chinese restruant.

First off welcome to caching.

 

Secondly, I understand your frustration but it sounds like you have two separate things mixed up. If they were new chop sticks then that is a great item to leave! Why? Because kids will like them. They are interesting!

 

Your concern seems to be that folks are not trading evenly. One pair of chop sticks for a $1 item is not a fair trade.

 

It has nothing to do with geocachers. This is people in general. He will do what is to his advantage. Some couldn't care less while others err on the side of caution and trade up. Fortunately in our area we don't ever have to re-stock because few people take things and the ones who do trade. Sweet.

 

When we first started I left a NIP LED flashlight. Shortly after a seasoned caching couple came and traded for it. They left their signature lucky penny. I guess they figured the luck made the penny so much more valuable!

[+scarhill]

I would take my nieces and nephews when they were younger, they always said "Auntie Anne, your stuff is so much nicer than what is in there, can we trade for that?" I still always bring something I think a kid would like and always leave something. In five years of caching I've probably 'traded' for less than 10 things (they were cool tho! I'm packing my swag bag for vacation with patriotic things and bandannas. In the spring I put flower and vegetable seeds in caches and it's sometimes the first time kids have planted radishes or pumpkins or marigolds. Keep putting in swag, it's good for the kids and kids in all of us! Happy Caching. Anne

[Difficult Run]

CZ-5,

What you've described is known as the Tragedy of the Commons.

 

~ Mitch ~

[+rkylem]

I would take my nieces and nephews when they were younger, they always said "Auntie Anne, your stuff is so much nicer than what is in there, can we trade for that?" I still always bring something I think a kid would like and always leave something. In five years of caching I've probably 'traded' for less than 10 things (they were cool tho! I'm packing my swag bag for vacation with patriotic things and bandannas. In the spring I put flower and vegetable seeds in caches and it's sometimes the first time kids have planted radishes or pumpkins or marigolds. Keep putting in swag, it's good for the kids and kids in all of us! Happy Caching. Anne

 

What a fun idea. I hadn't thought of putting seeds in before.

 

I tend to not trade items, but I carry a few items (new, in packaging) in my car/pocket just in case there is a bug or coin I want to take for a ride.

[+bittsen]

I am a geocacher and I resent you calling ME cheap.

 

I have traded fair and in many cases added something of value to a cache just for the heck of it.

 

How am I being cheap? Tell me, please. I would really like to know.

[+thulsavondoom]

Im still pretty new to the whole thing but i have seen some nice caches and have been out all day and run out of things even small worthless things are nice. Its a peek into someone else who has been there. I dont mind filling a cache if i have stuff or ill put some quarters but dont knock people for it its not about whos better

[+fenrisTwolf]

Dear cz-5,

As a team, we rarely take anything from a cache, but on one occasion we took a small blue car, it was a much played toy, battered with paint chipped off it and mud stuck in between the wheels. We took it bacasue it was the thing that said the most to us that day. Not that people had cared about being thought of as the cheapest people known, but that someone had taken time to think about what the little car meant to them, and sacrificed it for others enjoyment.

 

And I have found that most Cachers dont get hung up on the material value of anything - This is the wrong pastime for that - We (and I hope I speak for most) get the kick from finding and hiding, not the value of the find itself. (thats not to say we dont enjoy getting FTF coins etc..)

 

I personally enjoy that moment of opening the cache, when the lid pops and you hold your breath for a second, and then theres the wait after placing something into a cache, waiting for someone to find it and log it. What a smile when someone says "great find".

 

Perhaps calling Geocachers cheap is a way of compensating for the dissapointment of having enough money to spend on nice things.

 

If I might offer this question: "why do I feel that others offerings are less important than mine, especially when I go to all the trouble of buying them in a shop, instead of parting with a treasured item?"

 

And just in case I need verification too, I have just ordered silver ingots of 1 gram and 5 gram, 100 pewter charms to wear on necklaces or bracelets, 100 angel coins, 16 retail geocoins, 10 limited edition tarot tokens from Las Vegas, a special custom stamp for stamping log books and other assorted coins and tokens for putting into caches - and what do I require back?

 

Nothing but the knowledge that they will bring smiles to other peoples faces - I dont need verification of my dedication, just the idea that people will enjoy what I leave.

 

Relax, enjoy, socialise, and try to leave your hang ups at the door.

 

Regards

 

FenrisTwolf (The Goonies)

[+Harry Dolphin]

Well, we shall reserver our opinon of Blitzen. She's a bit of an enigma.

But, she is correct: Calling all geocachers 'cheap' is an insult to all geocachers. 22% are cheap? 61.5% are cheap? But 'geocachers are cheap'???? Get real.

[+BlueDeuce]

Well, we shall reserver our opinon of Blitzen. She's a bit of an enigma.

But, she is correct: Calling all geocachers 'cheap' is an insult to all geocachers. 22% are cheap? 61.5% are cheap? But 'geocachers are cheap'???? Get real.

 

I'm disappointed in a lot of things, would you like me to rant about it and then say 'Oh well, except for you nice people'.

 

Go back and search the start of this forum and read about swag degradation. It's been there a long time.

 

You think the rest of us haven't figured it out by now?

[+thulsavondoom]

I went to blue job state forest in NH today . The best swag I got was a couple of zip loc bags

So we could collect wild blueberries . That's all that matters to me we put in princess temp tattoos the kids loved it

[+cz-5]

Your ALL right. And no, I wasn't directing it toward everyone. But I did get your attention-didn't I?

 

I do enjoy the small "thoughtful" tokens. Once I recovered what appears to be a hand carved wooden polar bear. It was rather rough but it is still treasured. And I should apoligize to everyone that has put a little thought into their exchanges.

 

I guess I expected more from people. Perhaps, I should view it as "giving to the less fortunate", but if I do that I'd rather give it to someone that can't afford a GPS.

 

In any case, I should just be thankful that no one has stolen the whole cache.

 

This degradation of caches explains why there are so many micros out there.

 

Good luck to everyone,

[DannyCaffeine]

We all know the honor system does not work, its a life lesson we have understood as soon as we reach adulthood. As soon as someone can get away with someone they will. Color me jaded but it's true. There is only one person you can control and that is you. So just be happy you are doing your best and are not contributing to the problem.

 

(bad spellling ficksed)

Edited June 28, 2010 by DannyCaffeine

[+Shannon440]

I guess I expected more from people. Perhaps, I should view it as "giving to the less fortunate", but if I do that I'd rather give it to someone that can't afford a GPS.

 

In any case, I should just be thankful that no one has stolen the whole cache.

 

This degradation of caches explains why there are so many micros out there.

 

Good luck to everyone,

 

If you think so poorly of other cachers why do you choose this as your hobby. You need to depend on others to place and maintain a cache in order for you to participate.

 

My family is one of those "less fortunate" you are choosing to degrade because we can't possibly be near our debt to income ratio if we happen to have a $129 GPS... Our electric bill is more then that most months!

 

As for micros sometimes that's the best container for the area. Sometimes that's all the owner has in his/her pack when they encountered a wonderful spot that needed to be shared... there are so many scenarios... bottom line... if your in it for the swag and the size of the cache... LEAVE NOW it's clear by your attitude you are not an asset to the caching community at large!

[+CathyGo]

Would an evaporative neck cooler be appropriate? Dehydrated they can roll into a pretty small package(1 x 2 inches) and I'm living in desert states.

[7rxc]

 

What a fun idea. I hadn't thought of putting seeds in before.

 

I tend to not trade items, but I carry a few items (new, in packaging) in my car/pocket just in case there is a bug or coin I want to take for a ride.

 

Not to spoil the fun, but seeds might be considered food items to something...

As for TB's and Coins... they are NOT trade goods... and are free to move without obligation to exchange.

 

Doug 7rxc

[+Twigs]

I was out caching yesterday and rarely trade for items, mainly because I've seen the degradation of swag in the caches. I always have a few nice trade items in my pocket just in case I find something I want to swap for, but more often than not the cache just gets my signature. I wouldn't call all cachers cheap, but it does get expensive and disappointing to set up well-stocked caches and then watch the swag become wet and moldy business cards, and broken toys.

[+Pork King]

 

As for micros sometimes that's the best container for the area. Sometimes that's all the owner has in his/her pack when they encountered a wonderful spot that needed to be shared...

 

THAT's what disappoints me about cachers... If they find a wonderful spot that needs to be shared, mark it with the GPS then come out later and place a container. Don't just carry a micro around "just in case" unless you also carry around a small/regular container for the same purpose...

 

Besides, checking the spot over then going back to set a container lets you customize the container camo for the area. Not just a generic matchsafe wrapped in camo duct tape.

 

Alright, that said, just let me smoke my last cigarette before y'all start firing.

[+J the Goat]

 

As for micros sometimes that's the best container for the area. Sometimes that's all the owner has in his/her pack when they encountered a wonderful spot that needed to be shared...

 

THAT's what disappoints me about cachers... If they find a wonderful spot that needs to be shared, mark it with the GPS then come out later and place a container. Don't just carry a micro around "just in case" unless you also carry around a small/regular container for the same purpose...

 

Besides, checking the spot over then going back to set a container lets you customize the container camo for the area. Not just a generic matchsafe wrapped in camo duct tape.

 

Alright, that said, just let me smoke my last cigarette before y'all start firing.

 

Smoking is bad for you.

 

I cache with people who carry small/regular containers in their caching packs just in case. I don't yet, but once I am able to spend a bit more time on the trail it's something I plan on doing.

 

So there

[+chasclifton]

This afternoon I found a beer bottle cap in a small cache container. And the person who left it said in the log that he had done so. I wonder if he just picked it up where he parked his car in order to "leave something."

[+Chokecherry]

For the most part I enjoy greatly going through the swag in caches whether or not it is worth something. I find it very interesting to see what people leave behind in caches and I have a little rubbermaid on my desk of my geo-treasures that I've found. Some of them have next to no monetary value.

 

So then I think about when I was out caching with a couple of kids once and we found all these small caches that could only hold coins and oh my goodness when those kids found a nickle in a cache it was like they had struck the mother load of gold (traded up with a quarter). Or I think about when I went to one of our state park caches where I paid to enter the park all so I could get a trading card with an animal on it (and I'm well into adulthood).

 

I read a log entry of someone after me that found a couple of my bracelets that I buy in bulk (and are worthless for the most part) in a cache and it made me happy.

 

The doodads I put in caches probably have little monetary value but I put a lot of thought into picking them out so I could trade for swag in caches. They do have some meaning (even if I buy them in bulk). Then I also think about the glass pebble thing I put into another cache which had a story attached to it (got some from Slovenia with the explicit instructions to use them to spread good will). Meaningless from the outside.

 

And then last weekend my mom's greatest find was some agates in a cache which were likely free for the person who dropped them off to find and over all worthless.

 

Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

[+VO2WW]

It's not about the swag in the cache at the end of the day,

but about the adventures and fun you had along the way.

[chai_latte]

Well, we shall reserver our opinon of Blitzen. She's a bit of an enigma.

But, she is correct: Calling all geocachers 'cheap' is an insult to all geocachers. 22% are cheap? 61.5% are cheap? But 'geocachers are cheap'???? Get real.

 

I'm disappointed in a lot of things, would you like me to rant about it and then say 'Oh well, except for you nice people'.

 

Go back and search the start of this forum and read about swag degradation. It's been there a long time.

 

You think the rest of us haven't figured it out by now?

I wanna jump in here in deuces comment cause hes from my state.

I just wanna add that im fairly new to geocaching and bit of poor folk. So i come up with some cleaver things to leave behind -

little .5 bottles of hand sanitizer from the hospital

draw string garbage bags folded neatly in a small ziplock_ and marked as such. (for those who CITO)

and i thought it would be nifty if i made signature coins so i went to hobby lobby and spent $8 on wooden nickles and spent 4 days making than decided to make Large wooden ones where i used my dremel and bored holes in it and glued in gems so they wouldnt fall out. Now my first meet and greet with other cachers in the area i found that many of them gave me pathtags and i traded with my cheapo wooden id coins - but i really dont think they saw it that way because that night almost every one who attended the meet and greet visited my cache. So i really think it boils down to what YOU feel is significant and that may not be the same as the next person. & Coming in here and saying so-lol your just asking for it

[+Spyder49]

I too have had the disappointment of finding for lack of a better term garbage in a cache. I was somewhat PO'd in the beginning. I have been geocaching since 2003 and there were not a lot of caches in this area at the time. Few if any micros and most of the sawg was "reasonable". As others have said the swag as degraded even for the kids.

 

I do carry some stuff with me, but generally don't trade as it is now more about finding the cache, visiting an interesting place, fresh etc, etc.

 

If cachers want to purchase new stuff that is great, if the kids want to place a well used toy that's great too, but as mentioned in other posts there is no need for garbage. I have found loose cigarettes, bottle caps as mentioned in a previous post, business cards, rocks (from the cache area). I am sure most cachers could add to the list.

 

You don't have to be invest a lot of money to trade, usually nothing, I would think just about everyone has some stuff they don't really need or use that is suitable for trading, or just don't trade.

 

I guess the real point is that if a person is going to invest the time, effort and money to get to a cache then they should at least adhere to the basic principle of fair trade. As a cacher before mentioned trading wooden coins he made himself for geotags. I think personal time and effort at least equals if not trumps money spent.

[+Ecylram]

...I guess the real point is that if a person is going to invest the time, effort and money to get to a cache then they should at least adhere to the basic principle of fair trade. As a cacher before mentioned trading wooden coins he made himself for geotags. I think personal time and effort at least equals if not trumps money spent.

 

My favorite item I saw in a cache this holiday weekend was a wooden tongue depressor that some grade schooler had taken the time to decorate. They even invented a cartoon character and gave it a name. I thought it was adorable and if I had something of equivalent value with me I would have traded for it.

 

(Least favorite item was a toothbrush.)

[+TEAM HARTSOCK]

Read through about half of the responses, then skimmed through the next portion and just skipped over the last 2 altogether...so if I have missed this I am sorry, but I don't think I did.

 

OP is correct in saying things degrade over time. you'll have new cachers who don't understand what they are doing, you'll have ones who do and just don't care, and you'll have others who treat it correctly. Swag does not make a geocache a good geocache. The hunt, the creativity, the pleasure in finding...swag is a little extra bonus. I love it myself, got most of mine on display and it drives my wife crazy there, but I would still cache even if it was just the normal crap I find at times in a cache...HOWEVER...

 

What concerns me with all of this is that the OP makes these accusations against cachers in general but how about a cache owner that hasn't been to his cache in 6 months to do any maintence? The way it reads if it hadn't been for the construction there wouldn't have been anything done then to discover the condition of his cache. I think we as cache owners need to make an effort to ensure that the trash (even those business cards that build up over time) is removed on a regular basis (and I do realize that there are caches that would be impossible to do much, but in general I believe we can get to our caches and care for them in a timely manner).

 

You put out a cache, you take on a responsibilty. Buying swag at Walmart and Dollar General is not the end of responsibility when being a cache owner.

[+kevinz23]

The alternative would be to create a cache where you ask people to bring their broken down toys. I've seen a couple that actually encourage people to trade down. These cache are cool to look through because you never know what you'll find. Everyone knows the old saying.....one man's garbage is another man's treasure.

[+kniezgoda]

Yes this is true, we have found "junk" in a few of our caches, I put $1.00 scratch off lottery tickets in mine. I also do the dollar store stuff and I make Jewelry and put in some of the things I make rings, bracelets earrings etc. Happy caching

[+titanuld]

Dear cz-5,

As a team, we rarely take anything from a cache, but on one occasion we took a small blue car, it was a much played toy, battered with paint chipped off it and mud stuck in between the wheels. We took it bacasue it was the thing that said the most to us that day. Not that people had cared about being thought of as the cheapest people known, but that someone had taken time to think about what the little car meant to them, and sacrificed it for others enjoyment.

 

And I have found that most Cachers dont get hung up on the material value of anything - This is the wrong pastime for that - We (and I hope I speak for most) get the kick from finding and hiding, not the value of the find itself. (thats not to say we dont enjoy getting FTF coins etc..)

 

I personally enjoy that moment of opening the cache, when the lid pops and you hold your breath for a second, and then theres the wait after placing something into a cache, waiting for someone to find it and log it. What a smile when someone says "great find".

 

Perhaps calling Geocachers cheap is a way of compensating for the dissapointment of having enough money to spend on nice things.

 

If I might offer this question: "why do I feel that others offerings are less important than mine, especially when I go to all the trouble of buying them in a shop, instead of parting with a treasured item?"

 

And just in case I need verification too, I have just ordered silver ingots of 1 gram and 5 gram, 100 pewter charms to wear on necklaces or bracelets, 100 angel coins, 16 retail geocoins, 10 limited edition tarot tokens from Las Vegas, a special custom stamp for stamping log books and other assorted coins and tokens for putting into caches - and what do I require back?

 

Nothing but the knowledge that they will bring smiles to other peoples faces - I dont need verification of my dedication, just the idea that people will enjoy what I leave.

 

Relax, enjoy, socialise, and try to leave your hang ups at the door.

 

Regards

 

FenrisTwolf (The Goonies)

 

Couldn't agree more. This is what geocaching is about for me.

[+Zwack_&_Irish_Eyes]

Couldn't agree more. This is what geocaching is about for me.

 

And you should have seen the smile on my face when I saw your icon... "MORPH!" That brings back memories of Tony Hart (and tangentially Johnny Ball)...

 

Anyway back on topic.

 

I try and always trade up if I am going to trade. Sometimes I put things in and take nothing, sometimes I put multiple (cheaper) items in and take a single item out. I try and leave each cache in at least as good a condition as I found it. Probably the most expensive item I've placed in a cache was a vintage pocket watch fob. I don't use that style and it came with a watch I bought. I took a travel bug from that cache... nothing I needed to trade for.

 

My wife has started collecting pathtags from caches and she keeps a box of "treasures" to remind her of the good times we've had. The cost that one person put into swag is not a gauge of how much that is worth. One of her favourites is a "geo pet rock" which someone had varnished, added eyes to, and placed in a ziplock bag with a card. It was hand made, probably low cost, but it is a truly unique item.

 

Anyway, we can't make others act the way we think they should. What we can do is act the way we think we should. Improve yourself, and those caches you find/maintain and all caches will get better on average.

 

Z.

[+Frank AZ]

We have definatly seen our fare share of "geo junk" in caches - sometimes we will remove the trash if it is completly torn up/etc.

 

Normally for us these days, it is TNLN SL - but - we do have a large bag of dollar store type items (disney hackey sacks - all new of course) which we will sometimes leave.

 

Of course - as far as removing items - we actuallly found bullet casings in a cache last week (which were promptly removed) and have found a lot of pocket knives and matches lately.

[YAYALEC]

We have definatly seen our fare share of "geo junk" in caches - sometimes we will remove the trash if it is completly torn up/etc.

 

Normally for us these days, it is TNLN SL - but - we do have a large bag of dollar store type items (disney hackey sacks - all new of course) which we will sometimes leave.

 

Of course - as far as removing items - we actuallly found bullet casings in a cache last week (which were promptly removed) and have found a lot of pocket knives and matches lately.

 

If it was not live ammo there isnt a problem with leaving them.

[Kpack10]

Brand new to all this, we are getting ready to go on our first hunt, with our 8 kids and the discontinued GPS that belongs to my brother (serving in afghanistan) I appreciate the remarks and comments on this blog, insight on what to do, not do, look for and teach my kiddos about this sport. Thank you all.

[+trtltat]

I don't usually comment on the forum but just thought I would put in my 2cents. I understand leaving "treasures" but trash and rocks without an explained history?? Really? I would rather they not leave anything at all. It is a great day when we find temporary tattoos in the cache but it seems a lot of the cache items being deemed as trash could be remedied by simply putting them in a baggie so they appear newish and so they don't get wet/dirty/jumbled around. I purchased a lot of turtle charms from ebay and put them in baggies to leave in the caches so they wouldn't appear as some trinket I found in the mall bathroom and dumped in a cache along the way. As much as my kids would like something, I honestly can't allow it if I don't know where they have been.... if they appear "newish" or cleanable I am a lot more flexible when it comes to allowing the kids to exchange items. We either leave a charm or pathtag and usually don't take anything unless it is a tattoo or pathtag... of course we love moving coins and tb's so those are always game. I am not complaining about anything as it is the memories that are important, but merely suggesting that some ziplock or such for the treasures might avoid a little of the trash disappointment. Thank you everyone for adding a little more joy to our days by the places we would never have noticed without our little hobby.

[+Chokecherry]

We don't have the largest caches around here all the time. And those ziplock bags take up a lot of space in the caches when you're trying to leave a little swag for the next person. I have fought endless battles trying to get all the stuff back into a cache when every little bit of it has its own little ziplock baggy wrapped around it.

 

I leave my swag in the cache for the smaller ones. For the larger ones I leave my swag usually in the existing bags in the cache (if no bags then into the cache it goes). I don't usually place stuff that is going to destroyed by the environment though.

[Wildkitten69]

I am new to Caching and I love this new hobby. I have only found 2. I enjoyed looking at the items others have left. I took nothing with my first one and left stickers for someones child to find. My second find was a micro. I also enoyed the hunt on this. I will say I think I am mostly in this to sign the log books and leave something for someones child. I know they will enjoy the treasures they find. I hope everyone who does this does so because they like a good hike and it is fun to do. I am a single parent and I am one of those hard up people as you put it. I bought my GPS second hand for 50$ with money I had received for my birthday. So just because someone owns a gps does not mean they can afford gold. I would love to find chop sticks in a cache. maybe they came from someones favorite chinese restaurant. I think its more fun to find items that tell a story about someone then to find dollarama stuff really. you can get that stuff at the store. i don't mean to offend anyone I just always have something to say. So enjoy caching and continue to hide them so people like me can find them because we really enjoy the hunt. Even the micros. They are harder to find and create a challenge.

[+SeekerOfTheWay]

More micros=less swag! i like that plan. i actually don't like swag. It creeps me out. i just ignore it. i'd rather find small containers that can't hold swag.

[+SeekerOfTheWay]

i just noticed the seeds suggestion! i like that. Someone said it is considered a food item. Is that true? Would animals smell and try to eat the cache? If not, i may start leaving seeds. It neat and i admit i *am one of those cheap (thrifty) cachers. i don't take or leave anything at the moment. i'd love to find seeds though!

[+GeoLobo]

We don't take items from caches unless they are signature items (which we collect).

 

We leave a copy of all 5 of our personal trading cards in each regular cache container we find.

 

Geolobo (topo map)

 

http://www.bluelinegeocachers.org/images/g..._both_Sides.jpg

 

Bluegirl (topo map)

 

http://www.bluelinegeocachers.org/images/b..._both_Sides.jpg

 

Blueline Geocaachers (green ammo can)

 

http://www.bluelinegeocachers.org/images/b...radingcards.jpg

 

 

1000th geocache (goldena ammo can)

 

http://www.bluelinegeocachers.org/images/G...th_geocache.jpg

 

http://www.bluelinegeocachers.org/images/b...th_geocache.jpg

 

a 2010 in the making now

[+lachupa]

The only thing I've ever taken was a really sweet carabiner. OOh a "real" carabiner and not a keychain one - cool.

 

I've left silver charms, multi sided dice, little squirt guns, plastic animals. I left a flashing running light I got from a race but now that I think about it, that may not have been a good idea because the batteries might have made a mess. It's in the park I run through every day so maybe I should swing by there tomorrow and just peak.

 

I did the wooden nickel thing too. I bought a bag of them at Michael's and make little drawings on them. I've left a few and I like them but as far as art goes I am a mighty fine mathematician so I leave other swag in there too in case people don't so much care for my attempts at art. I really did that because I was heading out on vacation and wanted something that said Charlotte on it somehow. We're not really a tourist town so there is no signature thing that would signify the city so I went with the nickels and sign the back with my userid, name of the thing I drew (in case it isn't obvious), and CLT - NC.

 

If I came across someone else's nickel or a painted rock I would so grab it.

 

The stick I found in one went back on the ground. I've found things that I felt like were just out and out trash. Now though I think I'm going to start taking that stuff and pitching it. Hey if I'm leaving stuff then it's my business if I chose the single baby mitten and if it's mine I can do what I want with it including throwing it away.

 

leave the world a better place than you found it

 

(edited for editing)

Edited August 4, 2010 by lachupa

[Famtiz]

We began geocaching last year in my local area and after enjoying our first twenty finds I decided it was our turn give back to the community and place some caches myself.

 

I set out to make one cache for each of us and went to Walmart and Dollar General to fill them with goodies. I'm sure I spent about $20 on each one filling it with $1 toys, tools, camp stuff, etc...

 

Not even 6 months later I had to move one of the caches due to some construction in the area. And to my surprize all the "good stuff" was gone and in it's place was crap. And I mean junk; broken toys, a broken cheap flashlight, some worn out McDonalds toys, stuff I would throw in the garbage.

 

Now I know some of you will say " but it's the thrill of the hunt...", but when you've got kids involved it's often the thrill of discovery. I mean after the kids hike the trails and search the fields there needs to be some reward.

 

How cheap can geocachers be? One time I found a cache that had a pair of chopsticks from a chinese restruant. Geez, you cheap SOBs; go to the Dollar General and buy some new items. They cost a DOLLAR!

Or at least put something cool inside!

 

Needless to say- I don't think We'll be placing anymore caches in the future.

 

my family and i just started geocaching, and we like finding useless junk, my kids call it "urban treasures" or "lost things" which i guess they got from the tinkerbell movies...

we like to guess at why items could have been special to whoever put them in there, or maybe what kind of person left them... i think its a great way to teach our kids the honor system. What they remember most at the end of the day is the search, the journey, the family time spent together. It made for really interesting conversation over the dinner table, and thats what its all about.

[+CelticBohemian]

For the most part I enjoy greatly going through the swag in caches whether or not it is worth something. I find it very interesting to see what people leave behind in caches and I have a little rubbermaid on my desk of my geo-treasures that I've found. Some of them have next to no monetary value.

 

So then I think about when I was out caching with a couple of kids once and we found all these small caches that could only hold coins and oh my goodness when those kids found a nickle in a cache it was like they had struck the mother load of gold (traded up with a quarter). Or I think about when I went to one of our state park caches where I paid to enter the park all so I could get a trading card with an animal on it (and I'm well into adulthood).

 

I read a log entry of someone after me that found a couple of my bracelets that I buy in bulk (and are worthless for the most part) in a cache and it made me happy.

 

The doodads I put in caches probably have little monetary value but I put a lot of thought into picking them out so I could trade for swag in caches. They do have some meaning (even if I buy them in bulk). Then I also think about the glass pebble thing I put into another cache which had a story attached to it (got some from Slovenia with the explicit instructions to use them to spread good will). Meaningless from the outside.

 

And then last weekend my mom's greatest find was some agates in a cache which were likely free for the person who dropped them off to find and over all worthless.

 

Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

 

THAT is exactly why I just started caching. I could care less about monitary value. I am BRAND new to this and only found my first cache yesterday. I left a handful of pretty glass pebbles and took a little rocking horse charm to remember my first cache by. I personally love the idea of finding a bottle cap or something like that. The cache we found yesterday had a dollar bill and several coins. Meh. I want to treasure the story behind the little "cheap" things in the container.

 

THAT is the story.THAT is the adventure. THAT is the treasure.

[SlayerOfBunnies]

Of course - as far as removing items - we actuallly found bullet casings in a cache last week (which were promptly removed)

 

Why remove those? They aren't dangerous (any more than anything else that be swallowed by a little kid, I guess) and lots of kids (and some adults I can name) think they are kind of cool. That's particularly true if the casing is in some unusual caliber.

[+manicgecko]

Have to agree with most on this log. I try to do my part with the anti-McToy campaign. I will often exchange a McToy to CITO and replace with stuff my kids like to find, marbles, magnets, rubber lizards etc. If I am lucky enough to find a McToy free cache - I just add or keep a continual trade from one cache to another.