N00b question - stumbled on a messed up cache

[+david_and_h]

I've never looked for a geocache before but I just got a GPS for Christmas and plan to give it a try, which is why I've joined. But enough for the introductions...

 

A couple days ago, I stumbled upon a plastic container with stuff spilling out of it on the banks of Latah creek. I checked it out, thinking someone might have accidentally left some stuff there (one of the items looked like a wallet). When I looked closer, I could tell by the contents that it was a geocache. But there was no lid for the container and I had no idea where it was "supposed" to be stashed, so I just wedged it into as dry a spot as I could right where I found it. I can see that there's a cache listed on this site in the area I found the broken cache. What should I do to positively identify the cache so I can contact the owner to let him/her know that it need maintenance? How likely is it that it's a cache listed on another site? Is there something in the cache, like a log, that tells me who's cache it is and where it's listed? It's a pretty serious slog to hike back to where I found the cache but I'd be willing to go back to it if I need to. If I had my GPS with me, I would have marked a waypoint but I didn't.

[+Brooklyn51]

We once had a cache that was washed out of its hiding spot after a very heavy rain and into a nearby creek. It was found some distance away from its original spot, but the finders were able to identify it by matching some of the names in the log with the online logs of the likely candidates of caches in the area (another good reason to sign the log )and contacted us. Short of going back to where you stashed the cache, you could try to contact the owner of the cache that's listed on the nearby site and see if you can get a match that way. It's possible the CO already knows it's missing but may not know where it went -or- the cache might simply be a remnant of an archived cache from days gone by.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

If there is no other nearby cache listed in that area (try the mapping option) then it's a fairly good bet that it is that cache.

 

NOTE: There are other caching websites, just so you are aware and some of those caches are cross-listed, some are not.

 

If it does appear that no others are in the vicinity, you should log it with

1) a "found it" log ("iffy" in that you did not sign the in-cache log -- if there was no logbook, no problem);

2) a "Needs Maintenance" log.

 

The cache owner receives an email for each one of those logs. The NM log also "flags" the cache as needing repairs.

 

Returning to the cache of course, would be the best course of action. Normally, there is identifying tags, sheets or at least a logbook. Some just might let it slide if it is really an arduous hike. Your choice on that action.

[hoosier guy]

Email the owner & explain what you found. They may want to check it.

[+david_and_h]

Thanks for the tips. It's too high to have been washed downstream, so it probably hasn't moved far. It's about 4 miles round-trip from my house and 400 ft down (and back up!) but I think I'll go back in a couple days and get coordinates and look a little more closely at the cache. That is, if it doesn't get blown-away by the 60mph wind gusts that are predicted for the next day or so.

[+niraD]

When I found a cache container like that, I was able to identify it (and its owner) by making out a few of the names and dates in the log. Then I viewed the caches found by those people on those dates, and was able to identify the archived listing for the cache I found. From the cache listing, I found the owner. I contacted the owner, and he retrieved the container.

[+david_and_h]

If there is no other nearby cache listed in that area (try the mapping option) then it's a fairly good bet that it is that cache.

 

NOTE: There are other caching websites, just so you are aware and some of those caches are cross-listed, some are not.

 

If it does appear that no others are in the vicinity, you should log it with

1) a "found it" log ("iffy" in that you did not sign the in-cache log -- if there was no logbook, no problem);

2) a "Needs Maintenance" log.

 

The cache owner receives an email for each one of those logs. The NM log also "flags" the cache as needing repairs.

 

Returning to the cache of course, would be the best course of action. Normally, there is identifying tags, sheets or at least a logbook. Some just might let it slide if it is really an arduous hike. Your choice on that action.

I went back to the cache with my GPSr. It was GZ for "Sonny Dayz," as I suspected. The log book was intact and had the name of the cache, so I did as suggested above (plus signed the log, of course).

[+The A-Team]

I went back to the cache with my GPSr. It was GZ for "Sonny Dayz," as I suspected. The log book was intact and had the name of the cache, so I did as suggested above (plus signed the log, of course).

It's good to hear you were able to identify the cache and notify the owner of the problem.

And congratulations on making your first and second finds!