is it ok to log finds from the past?

[+Gpops]

i have been caching for many many years but had forgotten my first users name as well as not logging under my account. i have always had the kids log the finds. they're older now and i travel a lot without them so i started a new account. i would like your thoughts- is it ok to log finds that you have done in the past, even years past? I'm not so much into the stats but like to be able to see the finds on maps.

[+ZeLonewolf]

i have been caching for many many years but had forgotten my first users name as well as not logging under my account. i have always had the kids log the finds. they're older now and i travel a lot without them so i started a new account. i would like your thoughts- is it ok to log finds that you have done in the past, even years past? I'm not so much into the stats but like to be able to see the finds on maps.

 

If you signed the physical log way back then, I say go for it. Try to log it with the correct date (or at least, as close as you remember it) so as not to confuse anyone. I've definitely done this for example on group caching trips where I realized later that I forgot to log online but was able to figure out from friends' logs what the date was.

[+hukilaulau]

Go ahead and do it! I suggest you explain it in the online log. If a cache owner gives you any grief, just let that one go. This is one of those situations where I wouldn't even care if you signed the log yourself. If you were with your kids and they signed it, that would be good enough for me. If you waited in the car and your kids told you all about the find, well, that's a different story.

[+ZeLonewolf]

If you were with your kids and they signed it, that would be good enough for me.

 

I agree -- did not intend to mean otherwise; let me rephrase: if you were present for the signing of the physical log, I say go for it!

[+addisonbr]

As a CO I'd have absolutely no problems with this.

[+John in Valley Forge]

I see this in logs all the time and have never seen anyone complain.

It seems perfectly reasonable to me.

[+TerraViators]

A local cacher has cached with his sons for years. He recently set up accounts for them and ran into a cacher who would not allow his son's logs. The CO said she doesn't allow finds older than 6 months to be logged. IMO, that is petty...we're talking about an 8 and 10 year-old boys.

Edited October 4, 2010 by TerraViators

[+addisonbr]

A local cacher has cached with his sons for years. He recently set up accounts for them and ran into a cacher who would not allow his son's logs. The CO said she doesn't allow finds older than 6 months to be logged. IMO, that is petty...we're talking about an 8 and 10 year-old boys.

At some point in the future, the local cacher should have his boys log the caches as found with that day's date. A month or so later, just quietly go in and edit the log to read the correct date the the boys actually visited and found the cache. I would guess it's unlikely that the CO would ever notice, especially if some time passes after the initial back-and-forth so that she doesn't immediately recall the relevant usernames.

[+The VanDucks]

We've sometimes had cachers log a find on our caches and say they did it a few weeks ago, or longer, and are just now logging the find. We have no problem with that; it's not like we're standing around the cache watching the people who actually find it. Nor are we compulsive enough to retrieve a log and match the signatures on the paper with the log entries on line for the cache. (But there may be some cache owners who would do that, LOL!)

 

This game operates on the honor system, so you do what you consider honest, and if that means logging a forgotten find a few months after it happened, that's what you do. As someone said above, the cache owner can delete the log if he has a problem with it, but I think most CO's will understand.

[+entogeek]

A local cacher has cached with his sons for years. He recently set up accounts for them and ran into a cacher who would not allow his son's logs. The CO said she doesn't allow finds older than 6 months to be logged. IMO, that is petty...we're talking about an 8 and 10 year-old boys.

 

Find the cache, sign the log.

 

If these boys signed the log, or if they signed as a group, then if the CO deletes their backdated logs, they should appeal to Groundspeak. I don't know of anything in the rules that gives a CO permission to impose artificial logging dates and to delete legitimate Found It logs.

[+SWAK9802]

I would have no problem with it either. Just leave a quick explanation in your online log so that the CO knows you aren't a fresh find, it also helps so that others that are going after the cache won't read your log as a current assessment of the hide.

 

I'm not so much into the stats but like to be able to see the finds on maps.

I enjoy looking at the map with smileys as well. I don't care as much about the stats as seeing the map filled in. It also helps me plan my route for future hunts.

 

Happy Caching

[+TerraViators]

He tried explaining to the CO but she wouldn't budge. He thought about creating a bookmark and adding the caches as 'Caches in which the CO deletes valid logs.'

[+Gpops]

i thank you all for your replies. Gpops

[+briansnat]

He tried explaining to the CO but she wouldn't budge. He thought about creating a bookmark and adding the caches as 'Caches in which the CO deletes valid logs.'

 

Sounds like it could be a illegal ALR and maybe should be reported to Groundspeak.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

A local cacher has cached with his sons for years. He recently set up accounts for them and ran into a cacher who would not allow his son's logs. The CO said she doesn't allow finds older than 6 months to be logged. IMO, that is petty...we're talking about an 8 and 10 year-old boys.

 

Find the cache, sign the log.

 

 

What if it's a virtual cache? There is a virtual located at a site I visited a couple of years ago. I had found a couple of traditionals in the nearby parking lot then went to the site where GZ was located for the virt. I only discovered that there was a virt located there after I got home. I could have answered the 2-3 questions associated with it, and even took a photo of the object one was supposed to see but didn't include my GPS in the photo as was required. The virt was located at Delorme headquarters in Maine. I still haven't logged it as a find since I didn't fully meet the requirements. I've thought about logging it a couple of times but just can't bring myself to do it.

[+ras_oscar]

I was out caching and saw a hide on my PQ that looked familiar. Arrived at GZ and realized I had found it a month before. Logged it online with an explanation that I had neglected to log it a month prior. No worries.

[+DonB]

I can see an argument against letting someone claim an old find. If I wanted to be dishonest I could pick a cache that had been around for a couple of years or so and say that I found it a year and a half ago. I doubt if it could be disputed because the log that existed then would have been filled and gone long ago.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that happened in this case, just bringing up another side of the argument.

[+sbell111]

I can see an argument against letting someone claim an old find. If I wanted to be dishonest I could pick a cache that had been around for a couple of years or so and say that I found it a year and a half ago. I doubt if it could be disputed because the log that existed then would have been filled and gone long ago.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that happened in this case, just bringing up another side of the argument.

I think that thats more of an argument for keeping the old logbooks than it is for not logging old finds.

[+vickyth]

I logged two finds last night that I made in February of this year and forgot to log at that time. I was visiting Nova Scotia and nabbed a few caches here and there, including one virtual and an earthcache. I logged all the caches with physical logbooks when I returned, but didn't log the virtual or earthcache right away as I hadn't dumped the camera, edited the photos required, etc.

 

Last night I was perusing old photos and realized that I hadn't logged those finds. So I posted the photos, logged them for the correct dates (whcih I knew from the other caches I'd found those days), emailed the CO with answers to questions and all was well.

 

If you found it, you can log it. It's not complicated stuff!

 

Vicky

Edited October 5, 2010 by vickyth

[AZcachemeister]

Sure!

People do it ALL the time.

Just be sure to log it on the correct date, and provide an explanation of WHY you are logging it (2-3-4 whatever) years (months, days, whatever) after the actual date you found it.

Most Cache Owners will understand.