what to do when you find a destroyed cache?

[+spddrcr]

So im pretty new at this and today was the day my sons and i decided to hit up our local park to find the couple caches hidden there. one was found with ease the second we looked for about an hour even though it was supposed to be an easy one to find. the last person there couldn't find it either so i figured it was gone with all the local transients and gangbangers that hang out in the area. as i was walking away i noticed a log sheet that was in good condition half covered in recently mowed 5 ft tall sticky/thorny weeds. i had to climb under a bridge in order to get to it and i grabbed it and logged it and added a note that i would replace the actual cache with a new metal tin as the original was and replace the logsheet.

 

is this a good thing to do or is this frowned upon? this particular cache is pretty special in where it is placed and it opens peoples eye's to things around them in the world, I would hate to just see it go to waste.

[+brslk]

If the area is a place where transients and gangbangers hang out, why is it such a good place.

Is there a great view or something historic?

 

Not trying to be snarky. Just wondering what makes it a special place.

[+J the Goat]

Before you start replacing containers, post a Need Maintainence log and give the CO a chance to take care of their own cache. They may have a new idea for the hide, or may be inactive, or they may just choose to archive the listing. It's their job, not yours.

[+briansnat]

I wouldn't replace a container without the owner's permission. Even with that you probably don't know exactly where the cache should go, so the best route is to post a Needs Maintenance and let the owner take care of it.

 

If there is no response for about a month, then a Needs Archived log would be the next step

 

If the owner is not an active one (check for last time he logged on to the site) then perhaps I would log a Needs Archived right off the bat.

[Andronicus]

I wouldn't replace a container without the owner's permission. Even with that you probably don't know exactly where the cache should go, so the best route is to post a Needs Maintenance and let the owner take care of it.

 

If there is no response for about a month, then a Needs Archived log would be the next step

 

If the owner is not an active one (check for last time he logged on to the site) then perhaps I would log a Needs Archived right off the bat.

+1

 

Agreed! The Needs Arcived log will notify the reviewer, ad he/she can take the appropriate action.

[+Team Cotati]

I have an idea that might work:

 

Notify the CO via a NM. In a few weeks, if he does nothing, submit a NA.

[+Coopsquared]

So im pretty new at this and today was the day my sons and i decided to hit up our local park to find the couple caches hidden there. one was found with ease the second we looked for about an hour even though it was supposed to be an easy one to find. the last person there couldn't find it either so i figured it was gone with all the local transients and gangbangers that hang out in the area. as i was walking away i noticed a log sheet that was in good condition half covered in recently mowed 5 ft tall sticky/thorny weeds. i had to climb under a bridge in order to get to it and i grabbed it and logged it and added a note that i would replace the actual cache with a new metal tin as the original was and replace the logsheet.

 

is this a good thing to do or is this frowned upon? this particular cache is pretty special in where it is placed and it opens peoples eye's to things around them in the world, I would hate to just see it go to waste.

 

I always bring along a cache repair kit when we go caching. I've replaced a few caches with some of the ready made caches I bring along. I only do so when the cache is in an area not likely to be muggled (ie, the cache was destroyed due to the elements / animal muggles).

 

However, for urban areas, especially like the one you've described, where the cache was destroyed by muggles, I would certainly post a Needs Maintenance log with details, rather than replacing it outright. Sounds like it's more likely to go missing again in such a place.

[+Mosaic55]

I found a destroyed container and log recently. I picked up the pieces because at that point it really was just trash, shredded by a lawnmower. I notified the owner who replaced it in a short time.

[+spddrcr]

so I guess ill try to make myself a little clearer, some didn't quite read the whole post but seems they skimmed over the top. there was no cache, I found a single 1/4 page log discarded in some tall brush with nothing else anywhere around it. do i hold the log or just toss it?

as far as knowing exactly where it goes? not quite rocket science when i have the exact coordinates and pictures of where it was. not to mention i grew up in the area and know this particular park like the back of my hand.

 

I find it pretty amazing that after reading your forum for a couple days quite a few people here come off as elitist or snobish? what give's? I have offered to at least put a container with the original log that is left back where it should be until the owner can get to it and you guys are telling me it's a bad idea?

 

I'm a range officer for my local uspsa shooting club as well as for the local idpa matches and if i treated people the way they get treated on this forum i cant imagine them ever coming back.

 

the deal with this park and spot is that it is located right next to a park for disabled children that was built completely by volunteers including myself. really is a nice park as long as you don't go there at night. the spot the original cache was located at gets more foot traffic then most so i cant imagine anyone ever finding this cache without others seeing them and investigating themselves.

 

sorry i might come off as a jerk but I am calling it as i see it and there seems to be a lack of good ambassadors for your hobbie.

thanks you to those who did take the time to actually read the post and respond.

Edited July 18, 2010 by spddrcr

[+Chokecherry]

Contact the cache owner to determine what to do with the log you have. Log a NM on the cache so that other people don't go out there and try to find it while it's not there.

 

Or what I would do is look and see when the cache owner was last around and if it's been awhile log a NA.

[sodagirl4321]

sounds like cola been out tearin up cashes agin. im so sorry. i whooped him good last time i caught him.

[+J the Goat]

so I guess ill try to make myself a little clearer, some didn't quite read the whole post but seems they skimmed over the top. there was no cache, I found a single 1/4 page log discarded in some tall brush with nothing else anywhere around it. do i hold the log or just toss it?

as far as knowing exactly where it goes? not quite rocket science when i have the exact coordinates and pictures of where it was. not to mention i grew up in the area and know this particular park like the back of my hand.

 

I find it pretty amazing that after reading your forum for a couple days quite a few people here come off as elitist or snobish? what give's? I have offered to at least put a container with the original log that is left back where it should be until the owner can get to it and you guys are telling me it's a bad idea?

 

I'm a range officer for my local uspsa shooting club as well as for the local idpa matches and if i treated people the way they get treated on this forum i cant imagine them ever coming back.

 

the deal with this park and spot is that it is located right next to a park for disabled children that was built completely by volunteers including myself. really is a nice park as long as you don't go there at night. the spot the original cache was located at gets more foot traffic then most so i cant imagine anyone ever finding this cache without others seeing them and investigating themselves.

 

sorry i might come off as a jerk but I am calling it as i see it and there seems to be a lack of good ambassadors for your hobbie.

thanks you to those who did take the time to actually read the post and respond.

 

I've read and re-read all the responses you got on this particular thread. There have been no "elitist or snobish" responses. None. You asked a question, and got a few different answers. All those answers were given in a polite fashion, all with reasoning behind them. I'm sorry you disagree with some of them, but that's the way things go when you ask a group of people a question.

 

If your statement had nothing to do with this thread, then yes, you are correct. Sometimes it gets a little rough in here. Only a little though...

[+briansnat]

I find it pretty amazing that after reading your forum for a couple days quite a few people here come off as elitist or snobish? what give's? I have offered to at least put a container with the original log that is left back where it should be until the owner can get to it and you guys are telling me it's a bad idea?

 

At the risk of sounding like an elitist snob, yes it can be a bad idea. Check with the owner before you replace it. If he gives you the OK then go for it.

Edited July 18, 2010 by briansnat

[knowschad]

 

sorry i might come off as a jerk but I am calling it as i see it and there seems to be a lack of good ambassadors for your hobbie.

thanks you to those who did take the time to actually read the post and respond.

 

I've read and re-read all the responses you got on this particular thread. There have been no "elitist or snobish" responses. None. You asked a question, and got a few different answers. All those answers were given in a polite fashion, all with reasoning behind them. I'm sorry you disagree with some of them, but that's the way things go when you ask a group of people a question.

 

If your statement had nothing to do with this thread, then yes, you are correct. Sometimes it gets a little rough in here. Only a little though...

I have to agree. I did the same thing... went back and re-read all of the replies, and fail to see what you were offended by. All I see is answers to your question!

[+roziecakes]

 

sorry i might come off as a jerk but I am calling it as i see it and there seems to be a lack of good ambassadors for your hobbie.

thanks you to those who did take the time to actually read the post and respond.

 

I've read and re-read all the responses you got on this particular thread. There have been no "elitist or snobish" responses. None. You asked a question, and got a few different answers. All those answers were given in a polite fashion, all with reasoning behind them. I'm sorry you disagree with some of them, but that's the way things go when you ask a group of people a question.

 

If your statement had nothing to do with this thread, then yes, you are correct. Sometimes it gets a little rough in here. Only a little though...

I have to agree. I did the same thing... went back and re-read all of the replies, and fail to see what you were offended by. All I see is answers to your question!

 

That's all I see as well... Folks here are telling you not to just automatically replace the container because most cache owners would rather replace their own, and it's considered courteous in the geocaching community to contact them first. That's all... we just want to help you avoid a bad situation with a cache owner.

 

Best of luck with your situation.

[+GeoGeeBee]

there was no cache, I found a single 1/4 page log discarded in some tall brush with nothing else anywhere around it. do i hold the log or just toss it?

 

I don't want to come off sounding snobbish or rude, but you didn't find the cache. That piece of paper may have come from the cache, it's a pretty good clue that the cache may have been destroyed, but the only person who can know for sure is the person who placed the cache, or perhaps one of the previous finders of the cache.

 

Just because you have the "exact coordinates" and you know the park really well doesn't mean that the cache was where you think it should have been. You may be right, or it may be trickier than you think. We see a lot of newbies posting "I went right to where the GPS led me and the cache isn't there, so it must be gone." They are almost always wrong.

[+mekk]

This happened to us about a month ago. It was supposed to be a 35mm in a tree. Four of us searched the tree over and there was no cache. Finally found a tattered, soaked and slightly eaten by bugs log on the ground at the base of the tree with some garbage. Contacted the cache owner as well as left a needs maintenance notification. CO has not replaced or temp disabled the cache and has logged on as recently as today. Hopefully it is either replaced or archived soon. Liked the series of area caches this was part of.