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Items I found recently in a cache...


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Hey all of you out there,

 

I was recently out doing a few geocaches in rural areas of Central Iowa and I found some questionable items in caches. First off, I found a pocket knife in a cache. I know there are specific rules against leaving an item like this there and for someone to do that just really pisses me off. At four other caches I found unsmoked cigarettes and BIC lighters. I'm sorry, but this is terrible. Don't people understand that children visit these caches? Are people just so inconsiderate that they have to leave items like this in a cache? I'm sure I could go back and match names on logs, but there's no point in doing that. I just felt like venting. Have any of you come across this before while out there?

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Have any of you come across this before while out there?
Yes. Every time, it's been a heavily muggled cache -- a community toy box for the locals. In some extremely bad ones, I've found beer cans, garbage, and pages of obscene "log entries". One time there was a cigarette with a note. My most notable find was an empty acne cream tube inside an empty snack bag with a bow on it, and the hand-written inscription "From Alex". Sure, it's nasty to see, but since it seems more to do with a localized area than with which cachers visit, it's VERY likely caused by immature neighbor kids. Your disgust is misdirected.

 

Why not do a "Needs Maintenance" on such caches? I've sometimes also cleaned them up a little. But NEVER put a Travel Bug or a Geocoin in one of those community toyboxes. It's probably good to rescue any Traveler that gets placed there. At least make an online note about what you saw in the container! It would be good if COs took care of this themselves, but that obviously ain't happening. So read those logs, to decide which ones you want to hunt.

 

I did find a pocket knife once, which was probably left by an actual cacher. But it was a half-mile hike into the wilderness, not a kid-friendly trail.

Edited by kunarion
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Hey all of you out there,

 

I was recently out doing a few geocaches in rural areas of Central Iowa and I found some questionable items in caches. First off, I found a pocket knife in a cache. I know there are specific rules against leaving an item like this there and for someone to do that just really pisses me off. At four other caches I found unsmoked cigarettes and BIC lighters. I'm sorry, but this is terrible. Don't people understand that children visit these caches? Are people just so inconsiderate that they have to leave items like this in a cache? I'm sure I could go back and match names on logs, but there's no point in doing that. I just felt like venting. Have any of you come across this before while out there?

 

 

As with all of the other issues people have about caching, you can choose to get upset or choose to move on.

 

Life is short.

 

I've often found items that weren't supposed to be there. Generally I clean them out.

 

It's not necessarily people being inconsiderate, but most likely just ignorant.

 

Maybe the guy who left the cigarettes was leaving what he thought was the greatest gift on earth for the next guy. You never know.

 

I just clean out the items that shouldnt' be there and move on.

 

Hope your rant made you feel better about it.

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Just remove the inappropriate items. Trade them out for something else if you can. If you don't trade them, don't mention that in the log- avoid the drama.

 

EDIT: Some people feel that there's no impact on the hobby if they leave live ammo, knives, alcohol or other controlled items. These people will defend their "right" to put whatever they want to in the cache regardless of the multitude of reasons to not do it.

Edited by Castle Mischief
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I'm a firm believer that a lot of the worst examples (cigarette butts, uh...personal items) are left by muggles who stumbled upon the cache.

 

Improper things I've found have included rum (in a LPC of all things) and some food items. I remove the inappropriate items and move on to the next cache.

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I found mints and cigarretts in a cache near Santa Fe, N.M. I CITO'd 'em.

 

I found a Penthouse centerfold of a really hot Asian girl and I um, cito'd that too. Yeah, that's my story. It's not in my collection of interesting cache swag and sig items. Nope. Sure isn't. :D

 

I didn't make mention of the items in my logs either.

 

I'm sure I could go back and match names on logs, but there's no point in doing that. I just felt like venting. Have any of you come across this before while out there?

 

That makes the a**umption that the perp actually signed the log. Some folks don't. Especially ones that might place a provocative item(s) behind. :D

Edited by Snoogans
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I would think that most "inappropriate" items were left by muggles I found a bullet in a cache once and was the log entry made by a hunter who found the cache. He stated he left behind the bullet thinking it was a good idea. I took it with me and gave it to some one who could use it. Not a huge deal no harm no foul, the guy didn't know it was inappropriate. Its nothing to give yourself agida over :D

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I know a guy whose cache was muggled by local teens. They were actually hiding their weed and marijuana pipes (and logging it -- geniuses). He archived it immediately.

 

I've come across used needles while caching, though not in a cache, you could definitely stick yourself if you were looking in the leaves. The cache was a magnetic micro on the fence, so I doubt the hider even knew about the needles. It ended up getting archived, but not for that reason -- another cache in the series caused a (needless) bomb scare, and the entire series disappeared overnight.

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Items in a cache is one of those guideline things I refuse to get worked up over. Once we place a cache, we lose any control over who pokes around inside it. People are a strange lot, and sometimes they do peculiar things. Personally, I believe that most of the questionable items found in caches were put there by muggles, as I have a tough time believing a cacher would do so. A hunter, stumbling across an ammo box in the woods, reading the stash note, might believe that leaving a bullet is a good idea. A smoker might feel the same way about leaving a cigarette. It's tough to apply our standards, which were developed over time, mostly resulting from negative consequences, to someone who is a stranger to this game. We can't simply say "It's common sense", because it's not. As experienced cachers, we know why leaving a pocket knife in a cache could be a bad thing, but Joe Public doesn't have our intimate background in the game.

 

Rather than get angry, just follow these simple steps:

 

1 ) Find and open cache.

2 ) See swag.

3 ) Decide that certain items don't belong in a cache.

4 ) Trade up or trade even.

5 ) Repeat as needed.

6 ) Abide.

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I think that people leave pocket knives because they think somebody else will like them, so I don't think you should be too hard on them for it. Just trade them out.

 

As others have said, cigarettes are a different beast, and usually placed by nasty muggles. If you think a cache has been compromised like that, let the owner know.

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I found a cigarette at a Jim Henson dinosaur train cache. If there was any cache designed for kids, its that cache. I couldnt believe it.

 

And it was a cheap parliament.

 

I found a lighter once. Its still in my backpack for a back up lighter. Still not cool.

 

 

them parliament smokes are top dollar, no seriously :D

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I think that people leave pocket knives because they think somebody else will like them, so I don't think you should be too hard on them for it. Just trade them out.

 

Yup.

 

My opinion is if the kids are too young to have a pocket knife, then they will be caching with their parents who can make sure they don't take it. If they are old enough to cache alone, then they are old enough to have a pocket knife.

 

The worst swag I found in a cache was urine. CITOed as much of it as I could hold in my cupped hands.

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Personally, I'd love to see a "pocket knife only" cache. I love looking at pocket knives and it would be a great way to collect them.

 

If it hasn't been archived there was STILL a grandfathered Knives Only cache somewhere in California last time I checked which was quite awhile ago.

 

Can anyone post a waypoint or a link? :D

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I know where a knife cache is. The guy makes them himself. I haven't made it there yet, but am looking forward to it. I agree with a previous poster about pocket knives. While I understand groundspeaks stance on them, I think they are great swag. What has happend to this world that a kid has to be "sheltered" from pocket knives? If the kid is mature enough to cache alone, he is probably mature enough to own one. If he is not, then the parent shouldn't let him trade for it. It's not an open blade that can be dangerous to unsuspecting grabbing hands.

Edited by M 5
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I agree with a previous poster about pocket knives. While I understand groundspeaks stance on them, I think they are great swag. What has happend to this world that a kid has to be "sheltered" from pocket knives? If the kid is mature enough to cache alone, he is probably mature enough to own one. If he is not, then the parent shouldn't let him trade for it. It's not an open blade that can be dangerous to unsuspecting grabbing hands.

 

My thoughts similarly. Shielding the kid from real life will leave it poorly prepared for the real world. Is that knife any worse than the cliff, or the bear, or the fallen tree? I actually found a pocket knife in a cache recently. Considering the logo, I suspect that the CO left it there six years ago. Is it any more dangerous than the golf tees? Oh, well. GC is doing a great job making Geocaching a 'family friendly sport/hobby', but you cannot protect the kids from everything.

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Personally, I'd love to see a "pocket knife only" cache. I love looking at pocket knives and it would be a great way to collect them.

 

If it hasn't been archived there was STILL a grandfathered Knives Only cache somewhere in California last time I checked which was quite awhile ago.

 

Can anyone post a waypoint or a link? :D

 

It was Archived about 6 years ago. I'm not sure it's a great idea to advertise it though :D

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What has happend to this world that a kid has to be "sheltered" from pocket knives?

I don't thing Groundspeaks stance on pocket knives was designed to protect children.

As I understand it, it was added in to pacify some flighty property managers who were worried about them.

 

I never said Groundspeak is sheltering children. I said I understand groundspeaks stance. The sheltering comment was directed towards those that have expressed that they are not appropriate swag items. In this thread and many others in the past, sometimes rather harshly. exhibit A:

 

"First off, I found a pocket knife in a cache. I know there are specific rules against leaving an item like this there and for someone to do that just really pisses me off."

 

I like finding them, but it is probably best not to have them because of all the alarmists out there.

Edited by M 5
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My 2 cents....

 

I agree with the logs questioning the "inappropriateness" of pocket knives as swag. Never did understand that taboo. If placed in remote hides, chances are pretty slim that unchaperoned children are going to get their hands on them. Not many parents would turn their kid loose with a gps and say "see ya later" - at least, not at an age where a pocketknife would be a hazard to their safety.

 

As to a pocketknife being considered dangerous or threatening, where does that logic end? How about a corkscrew? Nail file? Swizzle sticks? Screwdriver? I've left all of those. Not many items that could not theoretically cause injury.....

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Items in a cache is one of those guideline things I refuse to get worked up over. Once we place a cache, we lose any control over who pokes around inside it. People are a strange lot, and sometimes they do peculiar things. Personally, I believe that most of the questionable items found in caches were put there by muggles, as I have a tough time believing a cacher would do so. A hunter, stumbling across an ammo box in the woods, reading the stash note, might believe that leaving a bullet is a good idea. A smoker might feel the same way about leaving a cigarette. It's tough to apply our standards, which were developed over time, mostly resulting from negative consequences, to someone who is a stranger to this game. We can't simply say "It's common sense", because it's not. As experienced cachers, we know why leaving a pocket knife in a cache could be a bad thing, but Joe Public doesn't have our intimate background in the game.

 

Rather than get angry, just follow these simple steps:

 

1 ) Find and open cache.

2 ) See swag.

3 ) Decide that certain items don't belong in a cache.

4 ) Trade up or trade even.

5 ) Repeat as needed.

6 ) Abide.

 

I wasn't really all that upset about this to begin with, but I did want to know how common it was to find items like knives, cigs, bullets, etc. in a cache. I like pocket knives as well, but I really don't think it's appropriate to place them in a cache, especially if it is meant for children to find.

 

One of the cigarette-filled caches that I found was placed for a kid's birthday. It had to have been a cacher because there is no way a muggle could have stumbled on it accidentally due to it's location.

 

I did remove the smokes and lighters from the caches and replaced them with more kid-friendly tradable items. I also contacted the cache's owner and she thanked me for removing those other items.

 

I love caching and I just want people of all ages to enjoy it and feel safe while doing it. It's over and done with and I've moved on.

 

Happy caching, everyone!

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Hey all of you out there,

 

I was recently out doing a few geocaches in rural areas of Central Iowa and I found some questionable items in caches. First off, I found a pocket knife in a cache. I know there are specific rules against leaving an item like this there and for someone to do that just really pisses me off. At four other caches I found unsmoked cigarettes and BIC lighters. I'm sorry, but this is terrible. Don't people understand that children visit these caches? Are people just so inconsiderate that they have to leave items like this in a cache? I'm sure I could go back and match names on logs, but there's no point in doing that. I just felt like venting. Have any of you come across this before while out there?

I found a loaded handgun. hows that for inappropriate? :D

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I found a fat joint's worth of marijuana in the bottom of a cache on along the Feather River in northern California. I'm not a prude, by any stretch, but really? It was sort of funny since two of us in the group knew what it was and the third guy on the jaunt had literally never seen the stuff before and was really sort of fascinated. No seeds in the stuff, so I felt fine crushing it up a throwing it down the hill.

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Hey all of you out there,

 

I was recently out doing a few geocaches in rural areas of Central Iowa and I found some questionable items in caches. First off, I found a pocket knife in a cache. I know there are specific rules against leaving an item like this there and for someone to do that just really pisses me off. At four other caches I found unsmoked cigarettes and BIC lighters. I'm sorry, but this is terrible. Don't people understand that children visit these caches? Are people just so inconsiderate that they have to leave items like this in a cache? I'm sure I could go back and match names on logs, but there's no point in doing that. I just felt like venting. Have any of you come across this before while out there?

 

Just trade them out. Mention it in the cache log if you want but I doubt it'll do much good.

 

Trading up won't be too much trouble or effort.

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We found one with a fairly corroded live shotgun shell in it. I took it and disposed of it properly (and carefully, it was REALLY corroded). Not really a big issue except I noticed a few logs on the same cache mentioning the same thing.

As far as pocket knives are concerned, I've been carrying one since I was a wee small lad. I don't understand why anyone would object to them but then there a lot of things that people object to that don't make sense to me.

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My 2 cents....

 

I agree with the logs questioning the "inappropriateness" of pocket knives as swag. Never did understand that taboo. If placed in remote hides, chances are pretty slim that unchaperoned children are going to get their hands on them. Not many parents would turn their kid loose with a gps and say "see ya later" - at least, not at an age where a pocketknife would be a hazard to their safety.

 

As to a pocketknife being considered dangerous or threatening, where does that logic end? How about a corkscrew? Nail file? Swizzle sticks? Screwdriver? I've left all of those. Not many items that could not theoretically cause injury.....

 

It's about land manager perceptions. They've been known to overreact. One county park system banned geocaching because a logbook mentioned that someone left a pocket knife in a cache. The knife was no longer in the cache but the mere mention that there had been one in the cache was enough for the park system to ban geocaching because "weapons" were being placed in them.

 

I think it was shortly after that incident that knives were added to the banned list. Unfortunately right about that time I found some name brand (Wenger) Swiss Army knives on a closeout sale for $5 each and bought a dozen to use as cache swag. I had placed about half of them in caches when knives were added to the banned items list.

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Hey all of you out there,

 

I was recently out doing a few geocaches in rural areas of Central Iowa and I found some questionable items in caches. First off, I found a pocket knife in a cache. I know there are specific rules against leaving an item like this there and for someone to do that just really pisses me off. At four other caches I found unsmoked cigarettes and BIC lighters. I'm sorry, but this is terrible. Don't people understand that children visit these caches? Are people just so inconsiderate that they have to leave items like this in a cache? I'm sure I could go back and match names on logs, but there's no point in doing that. I just felt like venting. Have any of you come across this before while out there?

 

Pocket knives and knives are great swag. For some reason some folks feel that a knife in a cache (never mind they are in your kitchen where the children have access) is somehow worse than a knife anywhere else and may be used to go rob a liquor store or worse be pressed into service to rape the next person who walks by. So they got a bad rap by the "perception' of a park manager and we catchers being the nice folks we are honoring this bogus rule.

 

As for the cigarettes. throw them away. The Bic is another "cause we are nice folks" ban. When you took it out of the cache all was right in the world.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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Terrible???? Not even close.

 

I always carry a pocket knife when hiking/caching and I keep a lighter in my day pack (I don't smoke) for emergency use.

 

I'd venture to say that pocket knifes and lighters have probably benefited way more people than they have ever hurt.

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I used to have jack-knives as a kid. It was no big deal back then. I freely brought them to school. On the days of our Den Meetings, we wore our scout uniforms to school. We all carried knifes. The biggest trouble some of us (not me :anibad: ) got into was carving our names in the desk tops.

 

Today, they would be a problem for a very different reason than mentioned so far. If a kid were caught with a knife in this day and age, he/she would be expelled from school and taken into protective custody, or criminal custody. Heck, this could happen if all they did is DRAW a picture of a knife, or pretend to use an imaginary knife! This is perhaps the best reason not to put a knife in a cache today.

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My 2 cents....

 

I agree with the logs questioning the "inappropriateness" of pocket knives as swag. Never did understand that taboo. If placed in remote hides, chances are pretty slim that unchaperoned children are going to get their hands on them. Not many parents would turn their kid loose with a gps and say "see ya later" - at least, not at an age where a pocketknife would be a hazard to their safety.

 

As to a pocketknife being considered dangerous or threatening, where does that logic end? How about a corkscrew? Nail file? Swizzle sticks? Screwdriver? I've left all of those. Not many items that could not theoretically cause injury.....

 

It's about land manager perceptions. They've been known to overreact. One county park system banned geocaching because a logbook mentioned that someone left a pocket knife in a cache. The knife was no longer in the cache but the mere mention that there had been one in the cache was enough for the park system to ban geocaching because "weapons" were being placed in them.

 

I think it was shortly after that incident that knives were added to the banned list. Unfortunately right about that time I found some name brand (Wenger) Swiss Army knives on a closeout sale for $5 each and bought a dozen to use as cache swag. I had placed about half of them in caches when knives were added to the banned items list.

 

Hey - thanks for the history lesson. I never was aware of that - guess it comes down to the perception of pocketknives as weapons vs pocketknives as tools.

 

Bummer about the SA knives - what great swag! Beats the heck out of McToys....

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For some reason...

For most cachers, I suspect they are simply acknowledging the guidelines regarding what items should not be in a cache. While I'm certain there are a few ninnies who tremble at the mere thought of a folding knife inside an ammo box, way back in the woods, I think they are part of the minority. If I find a pocket knife in a cache, my first thought is to consider where the cache is. Of the three land managers I work with on a regular basis, only one of them worries about knives. If I am somewhere, way back in the woods, in a place where I know there are no land managers who get all atwitter over such things, I'll treat it as any other swag. If I'm in a place where a knife may become a concern, I swap it out... again, like any other swag.

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the worst thing I ever found caching...aside from nasty, dirty q-tips and easter candy (in october) was a box that had been placed where the cache should be...when i opened it up it reeked of marijuana and was filled with plastic baggies. i posted a warning on the cache log, but this was just terrible.

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Hey all of you out there,

 

I was recently out doing a few geocaches in rural areas of Central Iowa and I found some questionable items in caches. First off, I found a pocket knife in a cache. I know there are specific rules against leaving an item like this there and for someone to do that just really pisses me off. At four other caches I found unsmoked cigarettes and BIC lighters. I'm sorry, but this is terrible. Don't people understand that children visit these caches? Are people just so inconsiderate that they have to leave items like this in a cache? I'm sure I could go back and match names on logs, but there's no point in doing that. I just felt like venting. Have any of you come across this before while out there?

 

For me, I consider this unfortunate, but not terrible.

 

Terrible would be rusty razor blades, used female sanitation materials, used birth control, or other fun party items.

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It's about land manager perceptions. They've been known to overreact. One county park system banned geocaching because a logbook mentioned that someone left a pocket knife in a cache. The knife was no longer in the cache but the mere mention that there had been one in the cache was enough for the park system to ban geocaching because "weapons" were being placed in them.
If memory serves, there was an additional layer of drama added to that issue as the park had work crews from the local prison working in it.
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I originally started this log over a year ago and now that I've done quite a bit of caching since then I have a few more experiences to share about "items" that I've discovered in a cache. First off, just this afternoon a came across a "Minneapolis-Style" (some of you know these as lamp post caches, we call them Minneapolis-Style caches here) that had a USED CONDOM in it. That's about as gross as it gets. I decided to ditch the entire cache and place a new keyhider and fresh log sheet in there because I'd hate to have another cacher come across this one... just curious to know how many cachers found this before me and just left it in there. The "cigarettes and lighters" issue has been a non-issue as I haven't found much of that recently. It must have been an isolated event. I still feel quite strongly about the pocket knife issue, especially if there are younger children involved. However, responsible parents should be watching there kids while out caching and informing them about the dangers that they may run across. With the negatives there have been many positive finds as well. I discovered a trackable that had been missing for two+ years in a cache recently. I also found a University of Northern Iowa full-sized felt pennant rolled up in a cache and still in great shape. So, there will be good and bad and as one other poster said... there's no such thing as a muggle-free cache!

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