goldfishy Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Recently I found a cache that I had been searching for on numerous visits. On a whim, I picked up a branch and tried tapping and poking holes that were clearly out of my immediate reach. One area looked suspicious, but I was not in a position nor did I feel safe to climb to this spot, so I stepped up so I could scoot/sit on the nearby fallen tree and at least be a little higher to investigate the spot. I stuck a stick in the side of a hidey hole, and the cache popped out the end?! I was sooooo excited that it was the cache...but terrified because I didn't know how I would get the cache back. I tried several different techniques, and finally thought it best to tuck the cache in a similar, next closest hole, just below the cache location. When I got home, I immediatly let the cache owner what happened, so they could perhaps check it. Mind you, many others have found this cache on the ground, which makes one wonder how it got there...several times. The cache owner did not see things the same way, and yelled at me, asking 'how could I possibly get the cache out, but not back in?!' I felt TERRIBLE! What is the proper etiquette in a situation like this? I really would like to hear how others have handle stuff like this? What do you do when you can't replace a cache as found? Do you say anything? Do you leave the cache on the ground? Do you take it home? I thought I handled it as best I could. One would think a cache owner would be happy I would put in so many efforts to try to find their cache, and not just pass it off after one DNF? Also, I have one cache where a similar thing happens from time to time, I believe due to the elements, and finders tell me they put it in a nearby likely spot (which is never actually it)...but I am grateful they let me know so I can fix it. Quote Link to comment
jd-mitchell Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 FWIW, I would contact the CO & let him/her know what happened & see if you can get some guidance there. Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 You did fine. Stuff happens and if the CO can't understand that there isn't much you can do about it. The important thing is that you give it a good honest try and then fess up when there is a problem. Anybody that can't understand this is just plain grumpy. Quote Link to comment
+Ecylram Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Based on your description of events it sounds like you did just fine. You notified the CO of a possible problem with the cache and tried to provide the best temporary solution you could. Quote Link to comment
Pup Patrol Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) FWIW, I would contact the CO & let him/her know what happened & see if you can get some guidance there. Um, he/she did.... When I got home, I immediatly let the cache owner what happened, so they could perhaps check it. Mind you, many others have found this cache on the ground, which makes one wonder how it got there...several times. The cache owner did not see things the same way, and yelled at me, asking 'how could I possibly get the cache out, but not back in?!' I felt TERRIBLE! You did the best thing you could do in that situation. It's not your fault the CO is a cranky-pants. Edited February 20, 2011 by Pup Patrol Quote Link to comment
+captnemo Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 You did exactly what you should have done. If the CO didn't like it, then that's his/her problem. I guess you could have posted a needs maintince log, which would have most likely caused the CO to explode. Just remember, don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. Quote Link to comment
+MoonCatKDT & Peanut Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 That is exactly what I would do. You wouldn't want to leave it on the ground in case of animals or muggles spotting it and walking off, and taking it home spoils the experience for any others wanting to look for it. I think you did the best thing possible hiding it in the same spot but more reachable and then letting the CO know. Like it's put above, it's not your fault he's a crankypants. Quote Link to comment
ao318 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) I just found a micro on the ground recently on one of my outings. It had a small wire on it so I figured it must have been attached to something. Not knowing where it should be, I placed it in a small pipe and used the wire to secure it from falling in. I then emailed the CO to let them know where I put it because I had no idea where it was originally and he emailed me back a one sentence reply of, "it's supposed to be in the tree." I just had one where the finder logged that the cache as, wasn't where they expected. I went out to check on it and the area had been changed and I was unable to find my own cache. I emailed the last finder to give me a clue to where it might be. Should I log a DNF[]. Edited for spelling, using my iPhone Edited February 21, 2011 by ao318 Quote Link to comment
+slukster Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I found a cache that clearly wasn't in the described spot. "In between and UNDERNEATH the two sections you’ll find the cache."(see pic for correct location)I found it inbetween but on top of the rock pictured and out in the open. I emailed the owner to let them know that I moved it underneath as his hint described since I found it out in the open. I received a nasty email talking about how he cannot understand why people cannot return things the way they found them and was upset that I moved it. I told him to go check it out and it turns out I replaced it where it should have been. I have gotten emails from cachers who have lost or broken a cache of mine. Most offer to buy me a new one. Not the end of the world. I thank them for letting me know and I go out and replace it. I am guilty of having lost a nano cache one time. My Log I emailed the CO apologizing and offering to buy them a new one. They thanked me for letting them know and they replaced it. Things happen so don't get yourself down over it. You did exactly what you should have done. If the CO is upset about it then there is nothing you can do about it. Quote Link to comment
+the4dirtydogs Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I had a cache that was kinda like this. You needed a ladder to get the cache back in its hiding spot. You could easily knock the cache down but you couldn't put the cache back as I intended unless you had something to stand on. Some people just couldn't get the concept of putting the cache back as found. I found the cache on the floor, stuck on the pole, and once someone tossed the cache back in its spot. I ended up archiving the cache because of the problems that other cachers were causing. So I can understand the fustration the CO might of had. A big part of being able to find a cache is to be able to put the container back as you found it. That means coming back with the proper TOTTs to grab and replace the cache as you found it. I've come back to a cache plenty of times so I don't have to contact the CO and tell him I couldn't put their cache back as intended. Quote Link to comment
+cobrac Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 One the best caches I've done was under stuck to the underside of a bridge. So you needed a ladder in the stream or a really long stick-contraption. We ended up using lots of tape, a long stick and cut a plastic bottle in half. Getting the cache was easy but, as the above post mentions, putting it back was the harder bit and was the real challenge. Still, sounds like the co you emailed over reacted! :-) Quote Link to comment
+The VanDucks Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Several of our smaller caches seem to get moved slightly out of position over time. One of them is hidden in plain sight, and cachers often think it should be hidden where it can't be seen! I don't mind replacing them. I think it's the responsibility of the CO to place caches so they can be found and enjoyed. If we noticed that one of ours was always being put back incorrectly, that would just tell me that we need to change the hide to make it user friendly! I'm sorry to hear that some CO's get angry at cachers trying to let them know about a problem with a cache. I have also had to email CO's a few times to let them know about caches left out in sight of muggles, and I always try to re-hide the cache so it won't be muggled. If I have to move it a foot or so away to find a better hiding place, I send an email to the CO (not in the log). We ourselves don't try to get caches that are hidden in such a way that we would have to climb up a tree or dangle from a bridge abutment, because we're in our '60's and don't want to risk our bones to get some of the difficulty 4 or 5 caches! Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 That is exactly what I would do. You wouldn't want to leave it on the ground in case of animals or muggles spotting it and walking off, and taking it home spoils the experience for any others wanting to look for it. I think you did the best thing possible hiding it in the same spot but more reachable and then letting the CO know. Like it's put above, it's not your fault he's a crankypants. +1. 'Crankypants'!!! Okay. I dropped one in the Passaic River in Paterson. I apologized! Two that were beyond reach. Knocked one out with my hiking stick. It took a while with the hiking stick and a plastic bag (TOTT), but I did get it back in place! The other was ten feet up. Knocked it out with a stick. Took quite a bit of effort to get it back, but I did. (Think I had to put my caching companion on my shoulders to get it to work... There's no acounting for crankypants! Then again, there seem to be a lot of people who don't make any effort to rehide the cache properly. Hey! It's behind the rock to keep the bears from chewing on it! (Guess I'm a crankypants too.,) Quote Link to comment
+Michaelcycle Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Recently I found a cache that I had been searching for on numerous visits. On a whim, I picked up a branch and tried tapping and poking holes that were clearly out of my immediate reach. One area looked suspicious, but I was not in a position nor did I feel safe to climb to this spot, so I stepped up so I could scoot/sit on the nearby fallen tree and at least be a little higher to investigate the spot. I stuck a stick in the side of a hidey hole, and the cache popped out the end?! I'll be the perceived curmudgeon here. What were you trying to do with that stick if not retrieve the cache from a place you could not reach and were not willing to climb? I don't think it appropriate to dislodge a cache from a spot that you cannot return it to. Having done that, however, you had another alternative. You point out that you had looked for it before so I'm guessing it is not that far away that you could not have stashed the cache in the temporary spot and returned asap with a ladder or other assist device to get it back were it belonged. Your actions put the onus on the CO to put the cache back in its original place. Quote Link to comment
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