+GeoDanes11 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 This weekend I went Geocaching at our local state park and I’m happy to say we were not the only ones taking advantage of the wonderful Texas weather. We ran into several groups of cachers with most of the groups having several children cachers, a wonderful thing to see. But this is where my frustration also starts. A large group of family and friends I’m guessing with 4+ adults and 5-8 kids hit a cache just before us. As we stood off to the side waiting to sign the log the kids were asked to each take an item of choice, the whole reason for Swag in the first place, and each of the kids did with joy in their eyes. I was excepting the adults to then replenish the Ammo container with their trade swag but amazed they did not!! They simply took what they wanted and left. When we opened the cache to sign the log and move on I was irritated to see they cleaned house not an item of swag left! Now for me I’m not big into the swag and really just want to sign the log and move on but I felt for the rest of the kid cachers we had run into earlier that day that would now find an empty container with nothing for them to trade. I left every swag item i had in my pack that i carry just in case i find someting but that still wasnt very much. We are newbie’s to the Geocaching world just hitting our 100th find this weekend and I don’t have any children of my own but I think you would want to teach your kids about the fun of trading for items rather than just taking? So anyway long story short if you take, leave something of equal or better value if nothing else than for the sake of all GeoKids out there! Quote Link to comment
+Team Dennis Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Boy, that is bad but I'm sad to say I'm not surprised. I was out on the trails on Saturday and had the exact opposite experience. We were caching with a guy and his 6 year old daughter. At every regular sized cache he asked her if she wanted anything but she declined saying she already had enough toys. Then she took something out of his backpack (usually a new McToy or something roughly the same) and placed it in the cache. Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Did you by any chance remind them of the trade even or trade up policy? Quote Link to comment
+GeoDanes11 Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 No, I was so irritated at the moment I was afraid I was going to come across rude and I didn’t what to start an argument that would take away from both of our caching adventures. Quote Link to comment
+possumlips Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I'm the same way, sign log, leave something and move on.Now after a couple months geocaching, i carry a large recyclable TSC swag bag with dollar tree/general/family store items.Walmart just doesn't carry much.FYI, they have a nice LED mini flashlight thats very bright and a digital watch with a large readout for a buck.I got 6 of each.Last time i went geocaching at our lake, someone placed rocks in a cache! Quote Link to comment
Oticus Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I've seen rocks in a couple of caches. I always catch myself about to get frustrated, then realizing how much I played with rocks as a kid and how I thought some were cool. I try to give benefit of the doubt and assume its just a kid who found a 'neat' rock and decided to put it in a cache because they figured someone else would think its 'neat' too. On a sidenote, what are the thoughts on sea shells in caches? Quote Link to comment
+A & J Tooling Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) I always trade for a rock and seashells and leave a toy behind. I'd also say something to the group that just screwed over the next kid that does that cache but I'm a prick, so it's expected. Edited October 18, 2011 by A & J Tooling Quote Link to comment
+danno68 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I have an interesting story regarding a cache my girlfriend and I found just two days ago... This cache was at the end of a peninsula that juts out into the middle of the large river that runs through the city I live in. It was by no means an easy place to get to, and certainly one of those locations that you only go to with the intention of being there (one way in, one way out). Well, once we found the cache we were looking for and popped it open, we discovered something quite interesting written in the logbook. Apparently the last people to find the cache weren't geocachers at all, they were just kids. Now, judging by what they wrote in the logbook, I believe it is safe to say that these weren't young children, but kids of the 11-14 range. What they wrote took up four full pages in the logbook and explained that they had found the container while searching for a birds nest in the short cedars on the edge of the peninsula. They then went on to say that they couldn't help themselves from taking whatever they thought "was cool", because "how could they be expected to leave the treasure behind". Now, this I certainly do not agree with, but I can understand where they were coming from. They were just two kids out for the day when they stumbled upon something neat and interesting. Although I was relatively upset that they said they took whatever they thought was cool, I was also quite surprised that they didn't totally raid the cache. They left the logbook and pencil in its ziplock bag, and there were some trinkets left over that were geared towards girls. I was also surprised to find at first that they had left the cache container in exactly the spot the coordinates had said it would be, meaning they took great care in returning everything to the way they found it. What I suppose I'm saying is that kids, regardless or their age or whatever else, will be kids...and there really isn't anything the geocaching community can do about it. I just hope that others will be more like the kids who found the cache I'm talking about, by at least respecting the game and returning everything back to way they found it. Can't blame them for being muggles, can we? Quote Link to comment
+DsrtMtnRox Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 This weekend I went Geocaching at our local state park and I’m happy to say we were not the only ones taking advantage of the wonderful Texas weather. We ran into several groups of cachers with most of the groups having several children cachers, a wonderful thing to see. But this is where my frustration also starts. A large group of family and friends I’m guessing with 4+ adults and 5-8 kids hit a cache just before us. As we stood off to the side waiting to sign the log the kids were asked to each take an item of choice, the whole reason for Swag in the first place, and each of the kids did with joy in their eyes. I was excepting the adults to then replenish the Ammo container with their trade swag but amazed they did not!! They simply took what they wanted and left. When we opened the cache to sign the log and move on I was irritated to see they cleaned house not an item of swag left! Now for me I’m not big into the swag and really just want to sign the log and move on but I felt for the rest of the kid cachers we had run into earlier that day that would now find an empty container with nothing for them to trade. I left every swag item i had in my pack that i carry just in case i find someting but that still wasnt very much. We are newbie’s to the Geocaching world just hitting our 100th find this weekend and I don’t have any children of my own but I think you would want to teach your kids about the fun of trading for items rather than just taking? So anyway long story short if you take, leave something of equal or better value if nothing else than for the sake of all GeoKids out there! We will never be able to control what others do or don't do, unfortunately.... This is exactly why when I am out Geocaching, weather I have my son with me or not, I always try to leave AT LEAST one thing for the cachers that come after me. Unless of course the cache isn't big enough. No matter what, there will always be people that take something and don't leave something. I just try to be the opposite. Hopefully for every person that takes something and doesn't care enough about the next guy, there will be just as many of us that do leave something without taking something to even things out. I hope. Quote Link to comment
+Kneel More Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I keep finding marbles and those clear little stones that are used in table centerpieces. I find them in micro caches and that is a bit irritating because it makes it hard to get the log back in the container. Some of the swag isn't worth putting in there. I am a find the cache and sign the log kind of person. I am new and have been examining the swag. I plan on getting a small back pack to carry some essentials in and getting a small stash of good swag to drop off in the appropriate sized containers. Quote Link to comment
+Team Chevitanondr Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 I think if I had seen someone not trading appropriately I might check the log book in the cache and if I could find them on the site send them a quick friendly reminder when I got home. (And I'm not being sarcastic with the word friendly.) I wouldn't want to take the chance of causing any type of confrontation at the cache site, especially with kids being involved.. but a polite note may just let them know that when they leave the cache empty another group of kids might not get to enjoy the cache the way their kids did. I know swag is not the point of geocaching but it is a fun bonus and I make a point of adding swag even if we didn't take any. If I find an empty cache that is big enough to hold swag I make sure to add several items so that if the next finder has a few kids no one is disappointed. We are having so much fun as newer cachers that I would hate for anyone else not to have just as much fun. Quote Link to comment
+popokiiti Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 That is a shame that the adults didn't do the right thing here. I'm trying to think they were new to the game and made a mistake. It isn't the kids' fault, so I agree a very friendly note linking to the "trade even" aspect should be sent. Wait a day or two so you can calm down! Quote Link to comment
+Fianccetto Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 I've seen similar things happen, and I don't understand the adults who do this. The swap system is a great way for kids to learn self control (a very hard concept to instil and model these days) and kindness, paying forward or at the very least playing fair and paying for what you get. The time when children will take these lessons on board in these easy ways runs out all too soon. Who wants to be the parent of the teenager who stole things from a shop/store 'because they really wanted it and they didn't have any money on them' or who who are fined for littering, found to be cheating on tests ('I didn't think it would matter - doesn't everybody do that?') or gets satisfaction out of making fun out of others' difficulties and disadvantages. If adults are encouraging taking with no giving, they can blame themselves when those children make constant bad choices when left to their own devices when they get older, imo! I know it is supposed to take a village to bring up a child, but it's not supposed to take a village to bring up the parents too! </rant> Quote Link to comment
+W4G_SOTAGoat Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 I think a lot of the "trade up" rule is subjective. One man's junk is another man's treasure. When I trade, I usually leave a cloth patch from the 2009 GA State Sporting Clays Championships in the cache. Junk to some, but a rarity to people who collect patches (and there are a LOT of people who do). If it's a really cool cache, I'll also leave a commemorative pin. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 I've seen rocks in a couple of caches. I always catch myself about to get frustrated, then realizing how much I played with rocks as a kid and how I thought some were cool. I try to give benefit of the doubt and assume its just a kid who found a 'neat' rock and decided to put it in a cache because they figured someone else would think its 'neat' too. On a sidenote, what are the thoughts on sea shells in caches? A seashell might be a great trade item in Kansas or Montana. Probably not so great on Cape Cod or the Outer Banks. Quote Link to comment
+The Ravens Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I've seen rocks in a couple of caches. I always catch myself about to get frustrated, then realizing how much I played with rocks as a kid and how I thought some were cool. I try to give benefit of the doubt and assume its just a kid who found a 'neat' rock and decided to put it in a cache because they figured someone else would think its 'neat' too. On a sidenote, what are the thoughts on sea shells in caches? A seashell might be a great trade item in Kansas or Montana. Probably not so great on Cape Cod or the Outer Banks. I'm from Kansas and shell ARE cool! So are rocks... I think I'll break out my sons old rock tumbler and make some swag!! When I cache without my kids I'm one to just sign the log and move on. My girls like to trade and we ALWAYS leave sometime behind. Most of the time it is fobs I make with para-cord or friendship bracelets the girls make. If I think what they take is better than what we have to offer I'll leave several. We also leave pathtags at times in trade. Quote Link to comment
+W4G_SOTAGoat Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I found a "feminine hygiene product" in a cache I found yesterday. Removed it and tossed in the circular filing cabinet. UGH. Quote Link to comment
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