Logging repeat finds

[+ON-THE-LOOSE]

My adult son and I have been caching for about six months now, so we're still very much newbies. We've taken a few of our Girl Scouts caching a couple of times. Today we hit 21 "old" caches (plus one more because we just couldn't stand not to look for at least one for ourselves). We do see logs that say people have looked up this cache they found long ago. It doesn't feel right to log them as finds - because you can only truly find each cache once. However, does the cache owner want to know we liked their cache well enough to revisit it? I think I'd like to know that if it were mine. The caches don't need mantenance, so that is not the right choice. How do we log these visits? Or do we at all? Oviously, our Girl Scouts will all be signing the log when they find it, and we plan to open an account as a troop. Thanks for any help!

 

Abw On The Loose - mom half of Team Barn Owls

[+fehrgo]

How do we log these visits?

 

Logging the visit as a "note" rather than "Found" is generally the go for me. That way, you can say anything that you could have said in a found log, without impacting the number of "found" logs for the cache.

[+The Blorenges]

Yes, a note on the cache is always nice for the owner to read.

 

Can I just mention a note of caution, too?

Be careful about taking your troup of Girl Scouts around caches which are in their own local area. I'm sure they're a lovely bunch who will be under your supervision but what sometimes happens is that they go home and tell their siblings/friends about this cool game where there are hidden boxes with interesting stuff in them... Then next time they're in the park they show them where it is... Then the friends tell their friends... and then the owner discovers that their cache has been trashed.

 

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, geocaching is a great pastime for youngsters to involved with, but I do feel it's better to do it with Scout groups when they're away on camp somewhere, rather than use local caches.

 

MrsB

[+niraD]

Can I just mention a note of caution, too?

Be careful about taking your troup of Girl Scouts around caches which are in their own local area. I'm sure they're a lovely bunch who will be under your supervision but what sometimes happens is that they go home and tell their siblings/friends about this cool game where there are hidden boxes with interesting stuff in them... Then next time they're in the park they show them where it is... Then the friends tell their friends... and then the owner discovers that their cache has been trashed.

 

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, geocaching is a great pastime for youngsters to involved with, but I do feel it's better to do it with Scout groups when they're away on camp somewhere, rather than use local caches.

+1

When I teach kids from church about geocaching, I make a point of either using temporary caches that I've hidden myself on church property, or taking the kids on a hike in a park that is a good distance away from the church. I do not take them to the local neighborhood caches. As The Blorenges wrote, even if you trust the kids completely (which isn't always the case), their friends and the friends of their friends (etc.) may not be as trustworthy.