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Little Bugger Moved My Cache!


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Hi guys...

 

So I have a hide in a park nearby, and some little ___________ decided that it was too easy to find and then moved it to a "better" location. I know this because his friend e-mailed me to tell me so and he wanted me to go back and put it in the right spot so he could find it (can you imagine the nerve?). One of the more accomplished locals went looking for it and DNF'ed it. I know there's no real recourse (there isn't, right?) but I just wanted to vent here a bit to some sympathetic ears.

 

Why do people think they have the right to eff around with a cache placement? It was put the way it was specifically so that it was really really really difficult in one direction, but a piece of cake if you changed your approach to it (the changing approach part is the fun part). Now I have to go find the cache from where this idiot moved it to and re-place it where it belongs. When I placed it, I knew how to find it. This idiot just hid it "better."

 

I swear, I just...

 

UGH.

 

Happened to you guys before?

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It happens, and I wish it didn't. Several times I have almost archived or replaced caches of mine, only to spot the rehidden container at the last minute. It is frustrating, indeed. And if it happens several times in sucession, your cache can end up quite a distance away from where you hid it.

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And if it happens several times in sucession, your cache can end up quite a distance away from where you hid it.

Yes. Once it's been moved from its original location, new finders have no idea where it's supposed to be and so the cache can't self-correct.

 

I was having a problem with this with one of my caches, so I finally took a good photo of the hide, photoshopped it with circles and arrows, laminated it and put it in the cache - along with a note asking people to please re-hide it as shown if they found it in a different spot.

 

Problem has been completely solved! It never strays for more than a cacher or two now.

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I had that happen twice - both moved by the same cacher. What ticked me off was it was a cacher with only a couple of finds and they actually buried one of them.

 

Honestly I don't think any seasoned cacher would ever do this. My guess is your "helper" was fairly new (didn't check so it's just a guess on my part)

 

I'm not bashing new players, we all started that way, but I wish "the rules" were read, reread and read again before anyone goes out.

 

I love talking to someone just starting out - brings back the excitement and motivates me to get busy.

 

It's not just geocaching, it's lots of places that people bringing in experience from other places think they can make it better - think about someone new at a job, who doesn't get tired of them saying "we always did it this way" and then try to get everyone to go along with "this way"

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Jesus ... Some people must be really bored ... I haven´t had this kind of problem, but another thing that annoyes me is, when people place objects like branches or piles of stones on or around the hideout ... What do they think? Go out and hide your own ...

 

What brings me to an idea. Maybe every member should be "forced" to hide at least one cache themselfs after a particular number of finds. Just to get to know, how it feels as a cacheowner ... Maybe this would cause a little bit more appreciation by one or another ...

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Maybe every member should be "forced" to hide at least one cache themselfs after a particular number of finds. Just to get to know, how it feels as a cacheowner ... Maybe this would cause a little bit more appreciation by one or another ...

Some schools have effectively forced their students to hide caches as class projects.

 

It doesn't conclude the way you would like it to.

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Jesus ... Some people must be really bored ... I haven´t had this kind of problem, but another thing that annoyes me is, when people place objects like branches or piles of stones on or around the hideout ... What do they think? Go out and hide your own ...

 

What brings me to an idea. Maybe every member should be "forced" to hide at least one cache themselfs after a particular number of finds. Just to get to know, how it feels as a cacheowner ... Maybe this would cause a little bit more appreciation by one or another ...

IMO this isn't simply and issue of inexperience, it sounds like inexperience combined with lack of common sense.

Most newbies would be able to figure out that this move would be a bad idea without having had something similar happen to themselves.

"hmm, how did I find the cahce? I went to the co-ordinates and looked there. So if I moved the cache from the co-ordinates, people would have trouble finding it." A simple equation most would figure out regardless of how many caches they have found or owned.

 

The thing with common sense, it's not necessarily common.

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Jesus ... Some people must be really bored ... I haven´t had this kind of problem, but another thing that annoyes me is, when people place objects like branches or piles of stones on or around the hideout ... What do they think? Go out and hide your own ...

 

What brings me to an idea. Maybe every member should be "forced" to hide at least one cache themselfs after a particular number of finds. Just to get to know, how it feels as a cacheowner ... Maybe this would cause a little bit more appreciation by one or another ...

IMO this isn't simply and issue of inexperience, it sounds like inexperience combined with lack of common sense.

Most newbies would be able to figure out that this move would be a bad idea without having had something similar happen to themselves.

"hmm, how did I find the cahce? I went to the co-ordinates and looked there. So if I moved the cache from the co-ordinates, people would have trouble finding it." A simple equation most would figure out regardless of how many caches they have found or owned.

 

The thing with common sense, it's not necessarily common.

 

Agreed - I'd never consider moving a cache unless it was something obvious like a magnetic had fallen onto the ground and I reattached it above onto metal.

 

I could imagine some novice thinking they're doing the right thing when not realizing that their GPS GZ may be wrong. If they think "wow, the hider was 20' off", perhaps someone might think to correct the CO's mistake not realizing that they might be the ones at fault. Hopefully they learn in time.

 

I read a cache log from an irate CO once. Apparantly, someone moved their cache 60 feet downhill "to make it easier to find". The CO put it back with a stern note in his cache page. :)

Edited by Redfist
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It hasn't happened to me yet, but I tend to create camouflage that is very specific to a location. But I've seen it happen to others, and I've had to tell cache owners where I found their caches a few times because the caches had migrated and where I found them was not where the owners had hid them.

 

When I introduce new people to geocaching, I make a point of telling them to replace the geocache where they found it, hidden the way they found it. A lot of new people seem to assume that you're supposed to re-hide the cache somewhere else.

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I have one cache next to a parking lot overlooking a lake, well hidden in a space beneath a boulder. Every time I've checked on it the cache was out of its hiding place, about 3 feet away sitting behind a rock but visible to anyone who looks behind the rock. I move it back and someone moves it back out. This has been going on for 6 years.

 

Then not long ago I get an email from a finder telling me that he was concerned that the cache won't last long in its current spot because its visible from a certain angle, but he noticed a great spot nearby under a boulder for it and suggested I move it there. :rolleyes:

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I have one cache next to a parking lot overlooking a lake, well hidden in a space beneath a boulder. Every time I've checked on it the cache was out of its hiding place, about 3 feet away sitting behind a rock but visible to anyone who looks behind the rock. I move it back and someone moves it back out. This has been going on for 6 years.

Try the photo trick!

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Not all cachers rehide them as found, and if they did they are only relying on the previous chain of finders to have done so. the cache may have migrated so that it was visible to anyone, and a new cacher thought they were doing the right thing by rehiding it better.

 

However the chances of that are slim, but I'm just trying to imagine a scenario where I don't think the worst of the situation..

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Not all cachers rehide them as found, and if they did they are only relying on the previous chain of finders to have done so. the cache may have migrated so that it was visible to anyone, and a new cacher thought they were doing the right thing by rehiding it better.

 

However the chances of that are slim, but I'm just trying to imagine a scenario where I don't think the worst of the situation..

Maybe, but not here. His friend ratted him out.

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I have one cache next to a parking lot overlooking a lake, well hidden in a space beneath a boulder. Every time I've checked on it the cache was out of its hiding place, about 3 feet away sitting behind a rock but visible to anyone who looks behind the rock. I move it back and someone moves it back out. This has been going on for 6 years.

 

Then not long ago I get an email from a finder telling me that he was concerned that the cache won't last long in its current spot because its visible from a certain angle, but he noticed a great spot nearby under a boulder for it and suggested I move it there. :rolleyes:

Maybe you should take a spray can of surveyor orange paint out there and paint a circle around the opening beneath the boulder that you want the cache replaced in? :ph34r:

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I have one cache next to a parking lot overlooking a lake, well hidden in a space beneath a boulder. Every time I've checked on it the cache was out of its hiding place, about 3 feet away sitting behind a rock but visible to anyone who looks behind the rock. I move it back and someone moves it back out. This has been going on for 6 years.

 

Then not long ago I get an email from a finder telling me that he was concerned that the cache won't last long in its current spot because its visible from a certain angle, but he noticed a great spot nearby under a boulder for it and suggested I move it there. :rolleyes:

Maybe you should take a spray can of surveyor orange paint out there and paint a circle around the opening beneath the boulder that you want the cache replaced in? :ph34r:

 

The hint says exactly where the cache is. I do note on the cache page that if there is some confusion as to where it should be re-hidden, see the hint.

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I have one cache next to a parking lot overlooking a lake, well hidden in a space beneath a boulder. Every time I've checked on it the cache was out of its hiding place, about 3 feet away sitting behind a rock but visible to anyone who looks behind the rock. I move it back and someone moves it back out. This has been going on for 6 years.

 

Then not long ago I get an email from a finder telling me that he was concerned that the cache won't last long in its current spot because its visible from a certain angle, but he noticed a great spot nearby under a boulder for it and suggested I move it there. :rolleyes:

Maybe you should take a spray can of surveyor orange paint out there and paint a circle around the opening beneath the boulder that you want the cache replaced in? :ph34r:

 

The hint says exactly where the cache is. I do note on the cache page that if there is some confusion as to where it should be re-hidden, see the hint. Unfortunately that hasn't helped.

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Not all cachers rehide them as found, and if they did they are only relying on the previous chain of finders to have done so. the cache may have migrated so that it was visible to anyone, and a new cacher thought they were doing the right thing by rehiding it better.

 

However the chances of that are slim, but I'm just trying to imagine a scenario where I don't think the worst of the situation..

Maybe, but not here. His friend ratted him out.

Thats what friends are for...

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There really are very few excuses (other than pure ignorance) for not replacing a cache the way you found it.

Just about the only one I can think of is if I found the container open and lying out in plain sight. Obviously that isn't right, so I re-hide it as best I can and notify the owner.

Unfortunately (as the number of new players increases) there will be some that don't understand that the cache should be put back where it was found...and even those who don't know they shouldn't take the whole thing home with them. :o

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There really are very few excuses (other than pure ignorance) for not replacing a cache the way you found it.

Just about the only one I can think of is if I found the container open and lying out in plain sight. Obviously that isn't right, so I re-hide it as best I can and notify the owner.

Unfortunately (as the number of new players increases) there will be some that don't understand that the cache should be put back where it was found...and even those who don't know they shouldn't take the whole thing home with them. :o

 

I won't make that mistake again.. I promise.

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I am kinda tired of people who dont find your cache and decide it is missing.

So they drop their own container and log a smiley 'thinking' they are doing me

a favor. I used that term (thinking) with extreme exaggeration.

Why wouldnt they just log a DNF or email first? This has happened alot lately

and usually by experienced cachers (1000+) finds. Kinda makes me wonder if they

really did make all those finds they right way.

 

Having 2 or in one instance 3 containers at one of my hides really causes

alot of confusion and problems. Plus then I have to go and retrieve extraneous

containers.

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I am kinda tired of people who dont find your cache and decide it is missing.

So they drop their own container and log a smiley 'thinking' they are doing me

a favor. I used that term (thinking) with extreme exaggeration.

Why wouldnt they just log a DNF or email first? This has happened alot lately

and usually by experienced cachers (1000+) finds. Kinda makes me wonder if they

really did make all those finds they right way.

 

Having 2 or in one instance 3 containers at one of my hides really causes

alot of confusion and problems. Plus then I have to go and retrieve extraneous

containers.

I have quite a supply of 35mm film canisters. I'll have to remember to bring some along next time I look for one of your hides. :smile:

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I was having a problem with this with one of my caches, so I finally took a good photo of the hide, photoshopped it with circles and arrows, laminated it and put it in the cache - along with a note asking people to please re-hide it as shown if they found it in a different spot.

 

Problem has been completely solved! It never strays for more than a cacher or two now.

 

methinks this is a super idea...i'm gonna use it on one of my MIA caches this week...thanks for the answer...

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There is a guy in KC who frequently does the drop cache trick when he can't find it. We generally refer to those caches as having been 739'd, since those numbers are part of his name. The fact that he logs a smiley on his drop and has been wrong more often then right is both sad and funny at the same time.

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There is a guy in KC who frequently does the drop cache trick when he can't find it. We generally refer to those caches as having been 739'd, since those numbers are part of his name. The fact that he logs a smiley on his drop and has been wrong more often then right is both sad and funny at the same time.

 

Yes we have one too.. a log from a couple days ago.....

 

"Did not see it, but since there was so many no finds we replaced the cache while we were there."

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Question - what if the cache is literally out in the open with no cover at all? I've run across 2 like that. One was lieing about 3' from the base of a tree in a 4' wide barrier space between the sidewalk & the street. The space is covered in 2-4" sized gravel. The cache was a small tube about the size of a blood sample tube. I was afraid it would get picked up as trash so I moved it to the base of the tree, put a couple of rocks on it & left a little of it exposed so that you could see it if you were looking. The other was in a more wooded area; with that one, I left it where it was but put some leaves & pinestraw over it, again leaving enough exposed so that you could see it if you were looking for it.

 

Was I wrong in either case?

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Question - what if the cache is literally out in the open with no cover at all? I've run across 2 like that. One was lieing about 3' from the base of a tree in a 4' wide barrier space between the sidewalk & the street. The space is covered in 2-4" sized gravel. The cache was a small tube about the size of a blood sample tube. I was afraid it would get picked up as trash so I moved it to the base of the tree, put a couple of rocks on it & left a little of it exposed so that you could see it if you were looking. The other was in a more wooded area; with that one, I left it where it was but put some leaves & pinestraw over it, again leaving enough exposed so that you could see it if you were looking for it.

 

Was I wrong in either case?

 

I think you did the best that could be expected under the conditions, in both cases.

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We found a film canister cache laying out in the open on the side of a trail. the ground was sloped so we figured it rolled downhill in a rainstorm or some such thing. We signed the log (of course!), set the cache against the tree it was next to and covered it with a bit of moss. When we logged it online, we made sure to mention exactly how we found it and left it. At least then the CO can find it and move it back to where it was supposed to be!

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There is a guy in KC who frequently does the drop cache trick when he can't find it. We generally refer to those caches as having been 739'd, since those numbers are part of his name. The fact that he logs a smiley on his drop and has been wrong more often then right is both sad and funny at the same time.

 

That's hilarious! :laughing:

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I am kinda tired of people who dont find your cache and decide it is missing.

So they drop their own container and log a smiley 'thinking' they are doing me

a favor. I used that term (thinking) with extreme exaggeration.

Why wouldnt they just log a DNF or email first? This has happened alot lately

and usually by experienced cachers (1000+) finds. Kinda makes me wonder if they

really did make all those finds they right way.

 

Having 2 or in one instance 3 containers at one of my hides really causes

alot of confusion and problems. Plus then I have to go and retrieve extraneous

containers.

Egad! I hope this doesn't spread to any of my hides. :blink:

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Technically, in my relatively short time Geocaching I have "moved" or "re-hid" two cache containers. However the circumstances were a little unusual.

 

Case 1:

I found what appeared to be an empty geocache container lying on the ground in the general vicinity of GZ. The area that the log should have been was empty and the cap was gone. (This was not your typical geocache container, and to this date I have no clue where the CO got it from.) I moved it to a spot where I could hide it and tried to mark the spot without making it obvious to muggles. When I got home I sent the CO an e-mail telling him what I found and where I put it. It turned out I'd found the cache's original container which had been missing for a while. CO gave me the option to log a find, but I decided instead to come back and find the current container. (He gave me a big hint via e-mail.)

 

Case 2:

On the second try for the same cache as above, I found the container near it's hiding spot but lying on the ground in the open. As I had a good hint, I was able to put the cache back where I was 99.9% sure it belonged. In a spot that seemed to have been made just for it. (I mentioned that in the log as well.)

 

I would not move a cache that was hidden to another hiding spot and re-hide it though. Unless it was mine or the CO wanted me to do that. :)

 

Now as far as that person who moved a cache and left a note saying the cache was "re-hid," maybe that wasn't a real Geocacher but a muggle who found the container and misunderstood how Geocaching works. For example, thinking that those who find it were supposed to re-hide it somewhere else for the next person to find and re-hide.

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Now as far as that person who moved a cache and left a note saying the cache was "re-hid," maybe that wasn't a real Geocacher but a muggle who found the container and misunderstood how Geocaching works. For example, thinking that those who find it were supposed to re-hide it somewhere else for the next person to find and re-hide.

I'm thinking this has a pretty good chance of being true.

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I am kinda tired of people who dont find your cache and decide it is missing.

So they drop their own container and log a smiley 'thinking' they are doing me

a favor. I used that term (thinking) with extreme exaggeration.

Why wouldnt they just log a DNF or email first? This has happened alot lately

and usually by experienced cachers (1000+) finds. Kinda makes me wonder if they

really did make all those finds they right way.

 

Having 2 or in one instance 3 containers at one of my hides really causes

alot of confusion and problems. Plus then I have to go and retrieve extraneous

containers.

I have a hard one this happens to all the time.

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I've rehid two caches:

 

1. Found cache container out in the open, rehid it in a hollow at the base of a tree that it was lying closest to and placed some pieces of bark over the hollow so it wasn't so obvious then stated what I'd done in my 'found it' post.

 

2. Cache was placed above the high water mark in a ravine where a CCC camp used to be. We've had so much rain this year that the reservoir was three feet above flood stage flooding the ravine. When we found the cache it was now six inches above the water line and more rain was predicted, so we moved the cache ten feet up the hill, covered it with slate rock and in my 'found it' post I explained what I'd done. I also e-mailed the owners with the new coords - which were a guessimate since my GPS was bouncing so much.

Edited by Notmykl
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There is a guy in KC who frequently does the drop cache trick when he can't find it. We generally refer to those caches as having been 739'd, since those numbers are part of his name. The fact that he logs a smiley on his drop and has been wrong more often then right is both sad and funny at the same time.

 

Wow. I never thought of that! So..if I can't find the darn cache...just place a micro where MY GPS insists it MUST be...sign my log and claim a smiley! Doggone it...My DNF list would be so much shorter if I'd have just been a little more crafty. B)

 

Sometimes you just have to wonder about who jumped into the gene pool these days.

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