Don't you hate it when you can't log a find!

[+u.rusty]

Found this cache yesterday, but can't log it because I forgot a pen! Darn it! Oh well, I can visit it again later.

[+lamoracke]

have gone back to the car and got one myself before. Was it too far a walk back? I remember doing so after a 1/2 mile in the snow. I was annoyed but I would have been more annoyed not going back and getting it.

[sabrefan7]

I just did that my self. On the walk back to the Geomobile I stopped to take some pics and found a Letterbox. Some day I need to get a Letterboxing stamp

[+mobywv]

I learned pretty early on that I should always take a pen with me while out caching. Pen snatchers are very common around here. Indeed, most of my cache maintenance has simply involved replacing pens that have gone missing.

[+u.rusty]

[...] Was it too far a walk back? I remember doing so after a 1/2 mile in the snow.[...]

 

It was too far for me. About 2.5 miles with a couple stream crossings that required removing your boots if you want to keep them dry. As it was I got back to the trail head right at sunset, so there really wasn't time. But, you live and you learn they say. I'll be sure to bring something to write with next time. It is a beautiful spot, with more caches further down the trail from my turn around point...I'll be back. It was just that feeling when I found the cache, then realized I couldn't sign it!

Edited April 12, 2011 by u.rusty

[+Navi-Gatr]

I once signed a log with a thorn and blackberry juice when I forgot my pen - very messy. I haven't forgotten a pen since!

[+Chokecherry]

I'd hurry back and sign in as those containers are not very waterproof. I've signed with a small twig and mud at one point.

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

I have a habit of checking my pocket for a pen before walking out the door. Actually got to a site once and realized we left the hand-held at home...had a pen though!

[+briansnat]

I've been to caches where there was no pen and I had none with me. I've signed my initials with the ashes from the end of a cigar, a stick dipped in mud, a stick tipped with a leaf and a piece of soft rock like shale. In several cases where the log was so wet that it was impossible to sign I snapped a photo like yours and used it as proof of my find.

 

Only the most anal cache owners would deny such a find.

[+TerraViators]

 

A cacher signed a log on my cache in needlepoint. He forgot his pen, it was night and in the woods.

Edited April 12, 2011 by TerraViators

[GOF and Bacall]

If I can't sign it I won't log a find. But there is nothing to prevent me from logging a note. In the end I had the experience of finding that cache. That is all I need.

[LordShamrock]

I always have a pen, marker, and pencil. I figure at least one of them has to work if the other 2 fail.

[+popokiiti]

Mud and a thumbprint. We usually carry 2 or 3 pens, one of which is a four-in-one....but we have been caught out.

[hoosier guy]

One of those cool pens on a lanyard work real well

[Andronicus]

I always have several golf pencils in my pack. Pens seem to freez up in the winter around here.

 

Anyway, I am not quite so much of a puritan. In January, while away on buisness, I found a cache whose lid was frozen in place. I did however manage to open one side slightly. I slipped in a signature wooden nickle. Good enough for me.

[+StarBrand]

Always carry a pen. Uniball Powertank RT - red ink is my favorite.

 

Always carry a 2nd pen.

 

Always carry a mini pencil as backup to above pens.

 

Use mud, leaf rubbing, ashes, rock mark, blood - whatever to show you were there. Take a photo - something, anything as final backup to forgotten pens and pencil.

[+Crow-T-Robot]

I'm sure the uber-puritan would disagree, but I would log that as a find without returning. You experienced the cache the way the owner intended. A signed log is just proof that you found the cache. You have a picture of the cache and that should be proof enough.

[+The_Incredibles_]

I'm sure the uber-puritan would disagree, but I would log that as a find without returning. You experienced the cache the way the owner intended. A signed log is just proof that you found the cache. You have a picture of the cache and that should be proof enough.

 

I agree. I have about 1/2 dozen pens in my caching backpack, but on the rare occasion when there's no writing utensil in the cache and I have none, I would still log the find but note that I didn't sign and the reason why. "log wet" "forgot pen, sorry" etc. I think most cache owners won't care, I know I wouldn't. I'd rather that than someone dirtying-up the logbook.

Edited April 12, 2011 by The_Incredibles_

[+wolfslady]

If I'd walked that far I'd have signed it in blood. LOL I stopped at one on the way to my brothers house when I was helping to get his house ready to rent while he was out of the country. It was the only cache I had a chance to find in Dec and even though it wasn't much of a walk I got there and discovered that I didn't have a pen. I was in his car and it didn't have anything in it at all. I didn't try to sign it with mud because I was sure I'd get back by. Did I mention his house needed a ton of work and the job I thought would take a few days to a week took over a month of full time work. I never got back by. Didn't even find time to visit some family and friends I only get to see once a year. Next time I sign in mud or whatever is handy, I was searching for a cache one time and I didn't have a pen if I'd needed to I was prepared to sign with mustard. OK so I don't know that I would actually have done that but the thought did cross my mind. Since you have a pic I don't think it would be out of line to ask the CO if you can log it.

[Dj Storm]

I found some very cheap pens (~$ 0.10 each), they worked at -26°C (-15°F) and carry a few of them with me. I also have a pen cut in half in my camera bag.

 

Once I found myself without a pen at a cache, went back to town, bought one, returned to sign the log, and since then I always carry a writing utensil.

Found a logbook where a cacher used a stapler to "staple" his name in!

[+GeoGeeBee]

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. . . Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

I've said before that I don't log a cache unless I sign the log. I'm about to contradict that: In the case described by the OP, I would claim a find.

 

This isn't a case where you couldn't open the puzzle box, or climb the tree, or whatever. You found the cache. You opened the cache. You had the log in your hand. If the only reason you didn't log it was because you didn't have a pen/pencil, you have accomplished the task the cache owner set for you.

 

What if you had remembered to bring a pen, but it was out of ink when you tried to sign the log?

[+docsigma]

The only time I didn't sign the log was this time where the cache had no pen, BOTH of my pens had run out of ink, the nearby convenience store DIDN'T SELL PENS, and I wasn't going to be back in the area possibly ever again. I snapped pictures of the cache for the owner and he allowed me to log the find - especially since my find, and the pictures, were verification that the cache was still present after about six months of DNFs (that actually felt really good!).

[+M 5]

I'm not so big a slave to the smiley that I would log a find on a cache I didn't sign the log. A dnf or a note would work for me.

[+GeoGeeBee]

I'm not so big a slave to the smiley that I would log a find on a cache I didn't sign the log. A dnf or a note would work for me.

I understand the note, but a dnf? Why on earth would you log a dnf on a cache that you found?

 

(Again, please note that we are talking about a cache where you had the actual logbook in your hand, and only failed to sign it because of the lack of a pen.)

 

Logging a DNF in this case would be very misleading to future seekers.

[+M 5]

I'm not so big a slave to the smiley that I would log a find on a cache I didn't sign the log. A dnf or a note would work for me.

I understand the note, but a dnf? Why on earth would you log a dnf on a cache that you found?

 

(Again, please note that we are talking about a cache where you had the actual logbook in your hand, and only failed to sign it because of the lack of a pen.)

 

Logging a DNF in this case would be very misleading to future seekers.

 

Not going to get into that again, but how would be misleading if they actully read the log entry? I suppose they could be using GSAK or something similar, but I would never count on them to give me accurate info on the last few logs.

[knowschad]

the nearby convenience store DIDN'T SELL PENS

 

You just didn't offer enough. They may not have had pens on display for sale, but I promise you they had pens behind the counter or in the office.

 

I do everything I can to sign, but I have on occasion forgotten my pen and wasn't able to find any way to do a makeshift signature, yet claimed the find. We pretty much trust each other around here, and knowledge of who tries to buck the system spreads pretty quickly, as well. Of course, I'm talking about traditional caches, not something where there is a challenge involved in signing. There, if I can't meet the challenge, I'm not going to take a find.

[+ZSandmann]

You smoke? Burn the end of a stick and you have a charcoal pencil.

Are there thorns, finger prick and you have ink.

Are there green leaves? crush one up a bit, lay it on the log and scratch your name on it with a stick, you should get decent carbon paper, or make ink from grass or leaves.

Are there berries nearby?

Mud?

Bird droppings?

In fact one time I rubbed a newpaper on my finger till it was black with ink and then crudely wrote my name in smudge.

 

all of these may not be "sanitary" but I've seen it done or done every one of them. Most of this was early on in my geocaching career, it still happens rarely, but normally I go nowhere without several Sharpie Pens in tow.

[+docsigma]

the nearby convenience store DIDN'T SELL PENS

 

You just didn't offer enough. They may not have had pens on display for sale, but I promise you they had pens behind the counter or in the office.

 

 

After looking for longer than it took to find the cache, I finally realized what an idiot I was and just asked the clerk if they sold any pens, pencils, or other writing implements. She said no. I said "...really?" She said "No, sorry." In hindsight, I probably could have... offered... something... to get a pen out of them somehow! I just never thought that far! AAH! Now I may have to go back and sign the thing just because! Feelings of guilt!

[+sbell111]

I'm sure the uber-puritan would disagree, but I would log that as a find without returning. You experienced the cache the way the owner intended. A signed log is just proof that you found the cache. You have a picture of the cache and that should be proof enough.

I agree. This one is a no-brainer, in my opinion. The cache was 'found' and proof can be provided to the cache owner if he desires it.

[+t4e]

Found this cache yesterday, but can't log it because I forgot a pen! Darn it! Oh well, I can visit it again later.

 

 

seriously?...what happened to "A picture is worth a thousand words"?

 

i may forget my pen but i never forget my camera, so in the few occasions when i had no pen to sign the log i took a picture of it and logged a find

 

same deal for frozen containers or unusable log books

tbh there is no better proof that you have actually been at the cache than a picture

[+A & J Tooling]

A pen, pencil and a marker. Just in case.

[+bflentje]

I see grass in the picture, make a green grass stain. Make a mark somewhere on the log with some (non-bodily) substance and as a cache owner, I'd let your find stand. Heck, if you hadn't said anything, I never would have known.

[+the4dirtydogs]

I had to use a burnt stick to make my mark this weekend. There is always a way to leave your mark and explain that in your log. I would have used the grass in the picture too.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

I had to use a burnt stick to make my mark this weekend. There is always a way to leave your mark and explain that in your log. I would have used the grass in the picture too.

 

In the early years I thought if I read one more log where someone had charred wood with a lighter and signed a log I would through up. Sure enough about a year ago I found myself without a pen for the first time. I laughed and reminded my wife about all the lighter stories when looking down I saw a piece of charred wood......signed the log and left.

[+u.rusty]

I thought about what I could use to sign the log, but didn't really have anything handy. I really didn't want to sign with charcoal or blood, although there was a little blood available later in the hike. I scraped my hand on a dried out branch on the way back drawing a little blood, nothing serious though.

 

OK, now I feel really stupid! After reading the creative methods that have been employed to sign cache logs, I just thought of something. There was a cache about a half mile up the trail with a pencil that I could have borrowed. Duh! Oh well. I would have had to finish the hike after sunset if I went back to the other cache to borrow the pencil, but I did have a good flashlight, so it was a possibility. I'll be stocking pencils in my pack from now on.

 

As far as using a photograph, yes it is proof that I found the cache. But it isn't signing the log. Geocaching is a game, all games have rules, one primary rule that I like to follow is that I must sign the log in order to log the find. I'm no Geocaching puritan, it's just how I like to play the game. Heck, there have been times that I enjoyed the hike so much that I completely skipped the Geocaches, and other times that caches brought me to very cool places that I would probably never have gone to otherwise. Like any game, you learn as you go...today's lesson (for me) always bring something to write with!

[+FloridaFour]

Yep. A few days ago I went out and found a cache. Other cachers with me handed me the log and I signed, without really looking at it. Got home and found out from the logs that it was actually a letterbox, which happened to be 30 feet from the cache.

So I had to change mt smilie to a frownie and that cache is 35 miles away. Probably won't be back for a while!!!

[+FloridaFour]

As for my caches, I also am not super picky. if someone can send me a picture, describe exactly what they saw or have another good reason, I will go with it. I've gotten some of my most detailed, interesting logs that way. Now if I see that same person repeatedly not signing logs, or if I suspect armchair logging, I will call them on it. Mainly, I prefer to be nice and not make a big deal about it.

[littlegreenman1]

I found a newly placed cache just because i was in the area, but didn't have a pen with me. I remembered another nearby larger cache I had found before that had a pen and pencil in it, so I went and "borrowed" a pencil from that cache, so I could sign the new one, then returned the pencil back to the original cache.

[+WRASTRO]

I thought about what I could use to sign the log, but didn't really have anything handy. I really didn't want to sign with charcoal or blood, although there was a little blood available later in the hike. I scraped my hand on a dried out branch on the way back drawing a little blood, nothing serious though.

 

OK, now I feel really stupid! After reading the creative methods that have been employed to sign cache logs, I just thought of something. There was a cache about a half mile up the trail with a pencil that I could have borrowed. Duh! Oh well. I would have had to finish the hike after sunset if I went back to the other cache to borrow the pencil, but I did have a good flashlight, so it was a possibility. I'll be stocking pencils in my pack from now on.

 

As far as using a photograph, yes it is proof that I found the cache. But it isn't signing the log. Geocaching is a game, all games have rules, one primary rule that I like to follow is that I must sign the log in order to log the find. I'm no Geocaching puritan, it's just how I like to play the game. Heck, there have been times that I enjoyed the hike so much that I completely skipped the Geocaches, and other times that caches brought me to very cool places that I would probably never have gone to otherwise. Like any game, you learn as you go...today's lesson (for me) always bring something to write with!

You found the cache and documented the find. You have every right to claim the smiley if you choose to. I would think only a "purist" would pass up this smiley.

[+M 5]

If it's logged and there is a dispute, will Groundspeak accept a photo to rule in favor of the "finder"?

[+WRASTRO]

If it's logged and there is a dispute, will Groundspeak accept a photo to rule in favor of the "finder"?

In this example, based upon the evidence already provided, I would expect GS would rule in favor of the finder.

[AZcachemeister]

BYOP

Bring several...

Bring a couple of pencils just in case.

Bring a spare log in a baggie, just in case the one in the cache is to soggy to write on.

 

Etc, etc, etc.

[Clan Riffster]

Don't you hate it when you can't log a find?

Not particularly. I'm up to about 4 or 5 dozen finds that I will never log due to general suckiness. One more won't hurt.

[+elrojo14]

Ever since I was in high school I would always have a pen on me. Even when I don't have my pocket knife, my Surefire back up flashlight, or my Glock 27 on me, I always have at least a red and a black pen on me. Always. I am a teacher so I am constantly writing. I always have a pen on me.

 

The only time I got caught without a pen on me was when I bicycled down to a cache early one morning by the skydiving place. I actually went over to their tables and searched until I found one and then went back to sign the log. After that all of my bicycle bags now have a pen in them on the bicycle.

 

My Camelback has extra pens in it. The cars have extra pens in them.

 

Just get in the habbit of carrying a pen everywhere you go.

[+hzoi]

I've used sticks and mud on a couple occasions. I like the needlepoint one above.

 

I absolutely hate being caught without a pen. It's basically Army doctrine to have a pen and a pad of paper with you at all times, so I always have a couple pens in my sleeve and a pocket notebook in the shoulder pocket on my uniform. For the rest of the time, I have a non-folding wallet ("tall" wallet? can't remember what it's called). Length and width of a checkbook. It has a pen pocket, so I stuck a pen in there. (I also keep one of our geocoins in there, just in case.)

[+M 5]

If it's logged and there is a dispute, will Groundspeak accept a photo to rule in favor of the "finder"?

In this example, based upon the evidence already provided, I would expect GS would rule in favor of the finder.

 

I don't think so, but I've never experienced it. I think they would rule in favor of the CO, but say is it worth the fight. Although it takes two to fight.

[+Chewy_06]

I have a trick... i got myself one of the plastic clip on mini pencils for golf scorecards (they're quite slender). Snapped the clip portion off leaving myself a ~2.5mm diameter x 3.5cm long pencil. I keep it in my wallet - tucked in one of the ends where cash would go, should i ever have any for any length of time! LOL

[+bearsandme]

I'm fairly new, but that's one lesson I'm learning the hard way Even had my bag of goodies with me yesterday (knowing I had a pen in there the day before) Get to the cache, go to retrieve my pen and YEP I had taken it out of my goodie bag and left it in the car..It was a beautiful sunny day (haven't had to many of them yet) so I walked back to the car, got the pen and went back and signed the log..

[+roziecakes]

I'm sure the uber-puritan would disagree, but I would log that as a find without returning. You experienced the cache the way the owner intended. A signed log is just proof that you found the cache. You have a picture of the cache and that should be proof enough.

 

+1 You took a picture of the actual cache, I would definitely think that's enough proof for the cache owner. I do that with soggy logbooks; I take pictures of them, and I mention in my logs that the CO can have a copy of the picture if they question my find.

[Andronicus]

I'm sure the uber-puritan would disagree, but I would log that as a find without returning. You experienced the cache the way the owner intended. A signed log is just proof that you found the cache. You have a picture of the cache and that should be proof enough.

 

+1 You took a picture of the actual cache, I would definitely think that's enough proof for the cache owner. I do that with soggy logbooks; I take pictures of them, and I mention in my logs that the CO can have a copy of the picture if they question my find.

I would add a caviate to that. "You took a picture of the actual cache after having met the challange set out by the CO" A pic of a cache up in a tree, or on top of a cliff would not qualify in my rules book.