Maintenance Question

[wrongwayshorty]

Hi everyone! I'm still relatively new to this, but I've managed to sucker a few friends into going with me lately I really don't want to teach them bad geocaching habbits, so I'm curious about something.

If a log is in horrible shape (soaked, slimey, "felt like it burned my friend's hand" and is just generally a gross, unsignable, mess) is it proper caching etiquette to discard and replace the log if you can and place a note on the online log, or leave it as is, leave a note online, and come back if you can? I'm thinking common sense is to replace it if you can, but I don't want to offend anyone by throwing away their logs. Any help here would be greatly appreciated

[+BlueDeuce]

uh-huh. Try contacting the owner.

[+Max and 99]

When I'm in that situation I replace the log in the cache, then email the cache owner to ask if he'd like me to mail him/her the gross, wet, moldy, stinky old log. I'm usually told to throw it in the trash!

[+BlueDeuce]

I think I have a new thread for the off-topic forum.

[+briansnat]

If the cache is large enough to add a dry log, some people will say it's OK to do it. But you still haven't addressed the problem of a leaky container. I think a needs maintenance is the better route.

 

If you need to remove the old log to add a new one, I think it's always better to log a Needs Maintenance and let the owner take care of it. Some might not appreciate you removing their log. I know I wouldn't.

Edited September 12, 2011 by briansnat

[hoosier guy]

When I'm in that situation I replace the log in the cache, then email the cache owner to ask if he'd like me to mail him/her the gross, wet, moldy, stinky old log. I'm usually told to throw it in the trash!

 

+1

[+L0ne.R]

If the cache is large enough to add a dry log, some people will say it's OK to do it. But you still haven't addressed the problem of a leaky container. I think a needs maintenance is the better route.

 

If you need to remove the old log to add a new one, I think it's always better to log a Needs Maintenance and let the owner take care of it. Some might not appreciate you removing their log. I know I wouldn't.

 

+1

[+L0ne.R]

When I'm in that situation I replace the log in the cache, then email the cache owner to ask if he'd like me to mail him/her the gross, wet, moldy, stinky old log. I'm usually told to throw it in the trash!

 

+1

 

Needs a new container. The replacement log will become a gross, wet, moldy stinky old log in a few weeks.

[hoosier guy]

When I'm in that situation I replace the log in the cache, then email the cache owner to ask if he'd like me to mail him/her the gross, wet, moldy, stinky old log. I'm usually told to throw it in the trash!

 

+1

 

Needs a new container. The replacement log will become a gross, wet, moldy stinky old log in a few weeks.

 

But not if I put in in a ziploc wich I also carry in my geobag

[+6NoisyHikers]

We always carry a variety of ziplocks with us (you can pick them up really cheaply in the craft section of the dollar store). If the log is soaked, that goes in a bag. If the container is compromised and the rest of the contents are soaked, we dry them off as much as possible and they go in a second bag. Then we sign and place a few loose pages in a third bag as a temporary log that other cachers can use until the CO can get out to do maintenance.

 

When we get home we log the find and then a separate maintenance log explaining what we did.

[simeonrun]

what about in instances where there is no log present at all in a cache? i recently found my first cache and it was a micro, room for a log only. there was no log at all, so i came back and logged it as needing maintenance. somebody else actually told me that i should have just replaced the log instead of what i did. i feel kind of dumb now.

[+briansnat]

what about in instances where there is no log present at all in a cache? i recently found my first cache and it was a micro, room for a log only. there was no log at all, so i came back and logged it as needing maintenance. somebody else actually told me that i should have just replaced the log instead of what i did. i feel kind of dumb now.

 

It depends on how much of a pedant you want to be. Some geocachers are strict "you must sign the log" adherents and would not log a find in this case because there was no log to sign.

 

If it were me I'd try to provide some sort of evidence of my find. That evidence could be a photo of the container in my online log, or leaving a business card or slip of paper with my name on it.

 

I think most geocachers would do what I would do.

 

Unless you have a proper log book with you to place in the cache, logging a Needs Maintenance is also appropriate.

[wrongwayshorty]

Thank you all so much for your responses. They have all been so helpful to me! I was actually curious where to get the tiny ziplock bags, so even that was answered before I had thought to ask