Pet Peeves when FINDING geocaches

[+teamhandk]

As someone who does this hobby in spurts I have learned some do's and dont's from reading topics such as this one.

 

I think my biggest peeve is seeing an area get saturated by a single person (many with an ? for size) every few hundred yards along a very busy road with no safe parking or pull off's.

[+Mushroom420]

My biggest peeve is film canisters in the woods.

Actually, I dislike film canisters all together, except 1, which I favorited....but that one was drilled in to a chunk of wood and rehidden in a stump.

 

Its probably due to us finding our 1st cache (on complete accident) which was a 50cal ammo can...which set a pretty high precident I suppose.

 

Phooey on the "excuse" of the COs needing to lug extra gear into the field when they place, therefore not having room for a larger container ...they're not embarking on an all day hike most the time. Its not like its too diffucult to "lug" a largerer container, unless its a 5 gallon bucket or something.

 

I dont know, I put a ton of effort in to my hides as to avoid falling in to the lame CO category. I suppose Im turning in to a GC prude lately

Edited July 5, 2012 by Mushroom420

[+Ranger Roo]

Puzzle caches where the listed coords are in the middle of the countryside but the final ends up on a busy street in the town....Even if the puzzle is great, that's disappointing .

[+MegLegMcGee]

I didn't really have any big pet peeves until an incident a couple weeks ago.

 

I was out looking for a newly published cache hoping to get a FTF. I ran into another group of cachers in town looking for the same one. We were scouring the area when a local city employee (and fellow cacher) came over and informed us that the cache had actually been in place for a while, was not in the location we were searching, and had since disappeared. He said others had found the cache before it vanished, and he is certain that the CO gave the coords to friends so they could get the FTF before it was published. This seems highly unfair and against the whole spirit of the hunt.

 

To boot, this same cacher was also annoyed because the cache we were seeking had been approved despite being less than a block away from one of his own caches.

 

After a string of DNFs, the cache got archived.

 

After this, I heard of a few other instances where people arrived at a cache minutes after it was published only to find the log had already been signed by other people the day before. Is this commonplace behavior?

[+Vater_Araignee]

I didn't really have any big pet peeves until an incident a couple weeks ago.

 

I was out looking for a newly published cache hoping to get a FTF. I ran into another group of cachers in town looking for the same one. We were scouring the area when a local city employee (and fellow cacher) came over and informed us that the cache had actually been in place for a while, was not in the location we were searching, and had since disappeared. He said others had found the cache before it vanished, and he is certain that the CO gave the coords to friends so they could get the FTF before it was published. This seems highly unfair and against the whole spirit of the hunt.

 

To boot, this same cacher was also annoyed because the cache we were seeking had been approved despite being less than a block away from one of his own caches.

 

After a string of DNFs, the cache got archived.

 

After this, I heard of a few other instances where people arrived at a cache minutes after it was published only to find the log had already been signed by other people the day before. Is this commonplace behavior?

I saw a cache being hidden and took the opportunity to FTF it after the CO left.

I also don't see a problem with giving someone the coords to test the cache, they are FTF.

[+popokiiti]

A multi that is no longer a multi, and still has the original starting coords. Down in the logs is the CO note and other coords for the cache. Why not put that somewhere else? The description, maybe? Might save some angst. So would making it a traditional and putting the correct coords in! But maybe it would be too close to another cache? In the backwoods too, about a 3 hour round trip....I was peeved, and so were other cachers!

[+MegLegMcGee]

 

After this, I heard of a few other instances where people arrived at a cache minutes after it was published only to find the log had already been signed by other people the day before. Is this commonplace behavior?

I saw a cache being hidden and took the opportunity to FTF it after the CO left.

I also don't see a problem with giving someone the coords to test the cache, they are FTF.

 

To me it doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment being FTF if you are the only other person besides the CO who has the coords.

[+PattiNH]

Empty caches. Not the fault of the CO, I know, but this is what has largely discouraged my 12 year old son (ASD) from coming out caching with me. I would plan my trips with him to go after the larger caches with swag just so he could be happy and we'd open them and find nothing, or a few silly bandz. Regardless of whether I take something, I leave a Disney pin behind. I want to avoid having other kids go through that.

 

I'd like enough information to know that the cache is not one I want to find. I don't consider drilling a hole in a rock and throwing it in a pile of other rocks a "clever" hide. Give me enough clues int he description and I'll avoid it. I don't like wasting my time (and gas) driving for something that I'm just going to give up on.

 

Caches not checked after a natural disaster. Things happen, I know. Last year we had Hurricane Irene blow through here. I went out after a new series the week after. Out of 40 caches I had 13 DNFs. The CO went out and checked on his caches after a few people commented on the situation. I commend him. However, now we're 10+ months after that and there are some caches that haven't been found since then that the COs never went out to check on. I went after a multi that the first stage seems like it was located on a bridge that washed away. We started a night cache where many trees in the area were down and we couldn't follow the path of the fire-tacks. No one goes back and checks on these....

 

Patti

[+niraD]

To me it doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment being FTF if you are the only other person besides the CO who has the coords.

Not everyone views FTF as an accomplishment. Some view it merely as a statement of fact. And Geocaching.com is just a listing service, so there's nothing preventing the owner from distributing the cache info before listing it here.

 

If you want FTF to be a race starting with the cache's publication on Geocaching.com, then perhaps FTFAP (First To Find After Publication) is the log you want.

[+6NoisyHikers]

Caches that are ziplock bags. Not just in ziplock bags but are ziplock bags. To me they just look like garbage (and they usually quickly turn into garbage outdoors).

[+Vater_Araignee]

 

After this, I heard of a few other instances where people arrived at a cache minutes after it was published only to find the log had already been signed by other people the day before. Is this commonplace behavior?

I saw a cache being hidden and took the opportunity to FTF it after the CO left.

I also don't see a problem with giving someone the coords to test the cache, they are FTF.

 

To me it doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment being FTF if you are the only other person besides the CO who has the coords.

First, what exactly does FTF mean... First To Find, if you are first to find then your are first to find.

Second, being first isn't an accomplishment unless other seekers are in active competition with you.

You may have personal games you play with other seekers, but once broken down into what the game is, its only seeker Vs. CO.

[+1Husky]

Recently did a puzzle cache where you had to gather the info from a very nice monument. Figured it out only to discover that the cache itself was a LPC.

[+RoadRoach58]

Caching in the winter, and finding pill bottles with miniature Popsicles in them that the log is embedded in, and expecting this to be a quick power trail.

 

1. Take container to car.

2. Thaw popsicle out of container.

3. Melt remainder of ice.

4. Finish drying log.

5. Put log in new baggy.

6. Put same pill bottle back on ground under rock, KNOWING it will be the same way in a few days.

7. Log cache as found.

8. Set NM flag because pill bottle is unsuitable container for hide.

9. Take verbal prostate exam from CO about putting NM on the page (isn't that the rule?) instead of doing his cache maintenance for him so he has more time to FIND caches.

10. Point out that 8 of 11 were in this condition.

11. Take second verbal prostate exam for bringing up the subject again, and daring to talk back to a Veteran cacher.

12. Tread VERY lightly around NM flag for rest of caching career.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

 

After this, I heard of a few other instances where people arrived at a cache minutes after it was published only to find the log had already been signed by other people the day before. Is this commonplace behavior?

I saw a cache being hidden and took the opportunity to FTF it after the CO left.

I also don't see a problem with giving someone the coords to test the cache, they are FTF.

 

To me it doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment being FTF if you are the only other person besides the CO who has the coords.

 

Since there are no official rules or guidelines on what constitutes a FTF and no official authority that keeps track of who is FTF on every cache, any cacher that wants to play the FTF game keeps track of their own "accomplishments" in whatever manner they want. Someone use a bookmark list, other keep track using a waypoint manager such as GSAK, others might just create a file and add to it whenever they "claim" a FTF using their personal criteria. If someone else finds a cache before publication and you are the first to find it after it has been published there is nothing stopping you from claiming you are FTF and adding the cache to your "list". But that doesn't seem to be good enough. All the drama about the FTF games seems occur when someone *else* tries to claim FTF on a cache that someone insists is rightfully theirs. Then we get people coming into the forums expecting us to arbitrate the dispute and get that other person to retract their claim.

[+McFlyAway]

This was really annoying. The first time I went to find one cache, I looked everywhere, even this place I was sure it was hiding. Then last month, I found it, and the cache was in THAT EXACT SPOT.

 

So, people who don't put the cache back are my pet peeve.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I saw a cache being hidden and took the opportunity to FTF it after the CO left.

I also don't see a problem with giving someone the coords to test the cache, they are FTF.

 

I tried that once. Guess I shouldn't have logged discovering the geocoin, until after the was published. He took exception to my not finding the three part mystery cache in the expected manner. I said "But my signature is in the log." He tore out the page with my signature, and rehid the mystery cache, before publication.

I deleted the find, and put his caches on my Ignore List.

I would have laughed uproariously! Other people do not share my sense of humor. Oh, well.

[+geomom42]

I don't like opening a cache to find the swag is nothing but torn-up store receipts, old library cards, or stuff that seems more like trash. I am always tempted to clean it out, but being a newbie, I guess that's the type of stuff people leave? My girls & I like to leave little toys or bookmarks (I love to read).

[+Hot Pepper Crew]

I don't like opening a cache to find the swag is nothing but torn-up store receipts, old library cards, or stuff that seems more like trash. I am always tempted to clean it out, but being a newbie, I guess that's the type of stuff people leave? My girls & I like to leave little toys or bookmarks (I love to read).

This is my pet peeve as well. Please! Clean it out. There's no reason for trash to be in a cache. My daughters take great pride in taking all the trash out of caches we find. Our caching bag is usually well stocked with swag and if a bigger cache is nearly empty we'll leave extra stuff to help fill it up, even if our girls don't take anything. Doing our part since we cache with kids who love finding fun stuff in caches. Plus, this way we don't feel guilty if we ever find a cache on a whim and don't have our caching bag and our kids don't have anything to trade. We feel it's okay to occasionally take something without leaving something because we generally stock other people's caches. We also restock our two bigger caches at least once a month.

[+DonB]

Micro's in the woods! COME ON! 2,000 acres of forest and there is a film canister in a tree. At least give me some tupperware..... if you can't find a hiding spot this big, you are not trying hard enough.

It isn't necessarily about finding a hiding space. It isn't necessarily about the cost either. I know people who hide smaller containers in remote locations simply because the don't want to haul an ammo can that far. Instead of a single ammo can, they could carry multiple smaller containers, an extra bottle of water, a couple energy bars, and some emergency supplies. As long as the container is waterproof and big enough to hold a log that can last a few years, they're happy.

If you are a new cacher where it's new and exciting to you, or if caching has just became a numbers game which I think it has to a lot of cachers, I guess pill bottles, film canisters, and a nano on the back of a stop sign will do the job, but personally I'm getting bored with that kind of caching and have cut back considerably this past year. Some of my caching friends feel the same.

[+L0ne.R]

Micro's in the woods! COME ON! 2,000 acres of forest and there is a film canister in a tree. At least give me some tupperware..... if you can't find a hiding spot this big, you are not trying hard enough.

It isn't necessarily about finding a hiding space. It isn't necessarily about the cost either. I know people who hide smaller containers in remote locations simply because the don't want to haul an ammo can that far.

 

I've seen trunk-size well-maintained ammo cans a kilometer out in the woods. Kudos to those COs that make the extra effort.

[+Team Hugs]

After this, I heard of a few other instances where people arrived at a cache minutes after it was published only to find the log had already been signed by other people the day before. Is this commonplace behavior?

 

I've seen one incident of this ... but it's probably the exception that proves the rule.

 

There was a cache locally that was logged a few days before its publication. The CO had placed the cache (it was an LPC, part of a winter-friendly series) several days earlier and submitted the cache for publication. Before it had been published, another local cacher stopped by the exact spot to place his own LPC, only to find that he'd been beaten to the spot. So, he claimed the FTF (he did find it, after all), and we all laughed when we saw the online listing later on.

[schattentanz]

Let´s see...

1. Caches with "Everyone is responsible for themselves", "Go at your own risk", "Don´t call attention to yourself", and so on, just to find that all translated as "Cache is in a forbidden spot".

 

2. Not-buried buried caches.(Shoved into the ground PETlings, other containers that the owner magically found that perfect hole for)

 

3. Attached to bench caches on very busy ways. I really find the line "Excuse me. I have to play around under your butt for a minute" a bad way to meet new people.

 

4. Urban/busy area climbing caches, some of which are in places where it´s more dangerous to go there at night as it is to actually climb for.

 

5. Protected area caches in general.

 

6. Not in an explicitally forbidden place, but still forbidden enough to get the finder in trouble when caught.

 

7. Biggest one: Caches hidden by Alts. Not calling it a sock puppet when it´s not used to flame/spam/harass, but to make a find to pad one´s numbers.

 

Forgot one.

8. Multi/Mystery caches that use bearings with wrong numbers and/or distance.

Edited July 18, 2012 by schattentanz

[+L0ne.R]

 

3. Attached to bench caches on very busy ways. I really find the line "Excuse me. I have to play around under your butt for a minute" a bad way to meet new people.

 

 

[+Straight-Cache-Homey]

 

3. Attached to bench caches on very busy ways. I really find the line "Excuse me. I have to play around under your butt for a minute" a bad way to meet new people.

 

 

Some people might be into that sort of thing

[+Chrysalides]

8. Multi/Mystery caches that use bearings with wrong numbers and/or distance.

Don't understand this one. Can you elaborate?

[schattentanz]

8. Multi/Mystery caches that use bearings with wrong numbers and/or distance.

Don't understand this one. Can you elaborate?

 

as an example go 100 feet at 180°. I go in that direction and find nothing because it´s in reality 185° or 190° and find the cache by chance when looking for things that pass to the hints. It might not sound like much, but over a longer range, it´s quite the ways off.

[+Chrysalides]

8. Multi/Mystery caches that use bearings with wrong numbers and/or distance.

Don't understand this one. Can you elaborate?

 

as an example go 100 feet at 180°. I go in that direction and find nothing because it´s in reality 185° or 190° and find the cache by chance when looking for things that pass to the hints. It might not sound like much, but over a longer range, it´s quite the ways off.

Ah, I see. Yeah, just as irritating as bad coordinates in a traditional hide. And when the hint for that is "bush" in an area filled with bushes...

[+Vater_Araignee]

1. 
    
   
2. ABAR ARRQRQ
   
3. GB RNFL
   
4. Ybbx yrsg
   
5. Purpx guveq oenapu ba frpbaq gerr
   

 

I wouldn't have looked at the hint if that was true.

Ditto.

Which left? Keeping it simple, there are 360 of them.

And now we have a double directional quandary.

[+dprovan]

3. Attached to bench caches on very busy ways. I really find the line "Excuse me. I have to play around under your butt for a minute" a bad way to meet new people.

I disagree entirely. I've used that line twice, and both times it resulted in a nice conversation introducing the cute ladies to geocaching. Although my wife was with me both times...

[+spiritwolf922]

Caches frozen in ice when Geocaching in Michigan during the winter.

 

:laughing:

[+spiritwolf922]

Is it wrong of me to hate it when I seek a cache based on its listed inventory of trackables, only to find they've been long-ago muggled?

 

I have learned my lesson: Before I seek a cache that has an inventory, I look at the last logs of the trackables. If it's within a reasonable time period of when I'm looking, I'll take the chance to search for it. If it's three years out of date, I don't bother planning on finding the trackable.

 

I enjoy the trackable aspect of the caches because I like seeing where things have been and where they're going. I have purchased and released several trackables myself and while I hate seeing them disappear from the game, I am willing to risk it in order to enjoy that aspect of the game.

[+spiritwolf922]

Caches that are hidden in the winter and given no thought for summer brambles and other such growings!

 

But, there can be a good reason for that.

 

An example I have is a cache I hid along a stretch of river in July of last year. When I hid the final, the shrubs and foliage in that spot were lush and green and hid the cache well. I was stunned when I stopped by later in the fall/winter. I thought that someone had come along and pulled all the trees and vegetation out of the ground. There was nothing there any longer to shield the cache. It was barren. I was by there a few days ago and noticed that the shrubs are starting to return, so this spot will be lush and green in the summer but completely open in the fall/winter/spring months.

 

That was a good lesson for me. I'll probably never hide a cache in the woods during the summer. I'll wait until the vegetation has died off and then hide it.

 

I'm thinking of one in particular I had trouble with, where I ended up being hurt.

60/70 feet from any kind of footpath, in the middle of a forest with brambles at waist height, holly bushes, slopes and mini-marshes hidden by wild garlic. I couldn't see the ground with all the ivy, and had no idea if it was safe to put my foot down. Plus, CO admitted co-ords were off. And to top it off, it was listed as easy and kid friendly, and my 3 year old ended up COVERED in scratches on her feet, legs, arms and face, scared to death because she kept falling over <_< <_<

 

If it was placed in winter, none of those things would have been an issue, and I would agree with the listing, but come spring/summer, it's almost impossible.

 

I think caches in woods should stray too far from footpaths anyway, especially if listed as child friendly, because the terrain is so different in the seasons.

 

I had a similar experience this summer seeking a cache that was located "off the trail" at a supposedly "popular" hiking trail. Not only did we not see any other living thing, but the cache seemed to be much farther off the trail than indicated in the directions (there came a point where I just shut off my phone's GPS because of the tree cover plus the fact that I needed both of my hands to fight through the branches and brambles while tapping the ground in front of me with my walking staff in the ground ivy on the non-path to ensure there were no slithery creepers waiting to take a chunk out of my leg if I misstepped. It was a little scary, but my persistence paid off with the large ammo box cache - but only after I studied the hide for several minutes and probed it with the walking staff for those critters that might prefer my hands to my feet for a light afternoon snack. I wound up leaving some swag but no trackables because I felt that it was a dangerous place for summertime caching, the excessive heat for that time period notwithstanding. It is my humble opinion that that particular cache is better suited to being sought in the wintertime.

[+spiritwolf922]

I hate it when I get to the GZ and it turns out to be in a very public place (or at least for ones that I do not expect to be in such a place).

 

For example, there was one I tried recently that was suppose to be along a trail that is fairly secluded. There are multiple caches along the trail, and most of them have plenty of privacy to search for them, but when I got to one in particular it was off the path and in a position where cars (from a very busy road) could easily see you looking for the cache as they drove by. I was very upset with that and gave up without ever really even searching because there were just too many cars driving by.

 

I don't understand why the person couldn't just hide it somewhere else along the trail, in a more secluded area (it was a micro too, so there were easily 4-5 other hiding spots along the trail within a 100 feet either direction of the spot they picked).

 

I've found that there are times when you could have a major highway whizzing by you and no one ever notices you. Almost better than walking around in a little park by yourself at 6:30 am and having to endure being gawked at by the one or two dog walkers who have never seen you in their neighborhood before and look like they're about to call the cops on ya.

[+spiritwolf922]

I agree with several cachers here. I'll add these few items in:

 

Profanity in logs. I've noticed that several in our area has been noted as having such. We've also found some non-kid friendly items in caches before. I will notify the cache owner immediately with a photo of offending items.

 

Travel Bugs Going Missing. I hate seeing listings or new logs that people post making a bug drop recently only to find out that whoever took it never checked it out.

 

Caches On Very Busy Highway: Sometimes I scratch my head when you realize a guardrail cache is on a dangerous curve. There are also the caches that require the cacher to park on the shoulder on a busy highway that is traveled by tractor trailers and other vehicles. For these caches, we usually won't try to hide and will leave a note on the cache page warning that it is a dangerous/busy road for out of town people to know.

 

I haven't seen the profanity in logs before, but I did visit a cache that someone thought it was a hoot to put in a condom. I removed it and tossed it in the nearest trash recepticle. Maybe that was wrong of me, but I think that if it's supposed to be kid-friendly, it's not right to put in an item that may cause some awkwardness with little kids asking questions of their parents. I did replace it with some swag.

[+spiritwolf922]

Caches that don't contain a pen or pencil when there is clearly heaps of room!

 

Yep, but you know that there's a reason they keep the pens on chains at the bank... people swipe 'em!

[+spiritwolf922]

Recently did a puzzle cache where you had to gather the info from a very nice monument. Figured it out only to discover that the cache itself was a LPC.

 

Sorry... LPC?

[+L0ne.R]

Recently did a puzzle cache where you had to gather the info from a very nice monument. Figured it out only to discover that the cache itself was a LPC.

 

Sorry... LPC?

 

Lamp Post Cache

[+Armorsmith]

I hate it when caches reference other caches, but don't include a link to the cache. I wanna search for the cache outside with my GPS, not at my computer with my mouse.

 

Case 1: Puzzle cache with prerequisite stages spread out over 10 square miles.

 

Case 2: A non-linear series where the caches are far enough apart that they won't show up on the first or even second page of the search.

 

Please, just put in a link... it's easy. (On longer series, at least give me the link to the first in the series, along with the previous and next cache in the series)

 

On a related note, inappropriately numbered series where you either think that you've missed one, or you load them as waypoints so going "in order" you end up driving a lot further to find them all, see theoretical map below.

 

[jholly]

Recently did a puzzle cache where you had to gather the info from a very nice monument. Figured it out only to discover that the cache itself was a LPC.

 

Sorry... LPC?

 

Lamp Post Cache

where do you find those? All I find are ...

 

[Ameliaonstage]

New cacher, but the inconsistencies with difficulty ratings are a bit of a problem. If something is a 2 I'd assume that I'd need to look for more than 30 seconds. I suppose that's the issue of subjective ratings!

Guilty as charged. Still charged, Seeing as I have only made two!

[+Lacey1961]

As someone who does this hobby in spurts I have learned some do's and dont's from reading topics such as this one.

 

I think my biggest peeve is seeing an area get saturated by a single person (many with an ? for size) every few hundred yards along a very busy road with no safe parking or pull off's.

 

I'm relatively new to this. Only been doing it a month. But but one of my pet peeve's is when CO's don't provide information for parking. Just because it's a city park doesn't mean there's parking. I know of two parks in my area that don't have parking. One I found had no parking because I went to look for caches there. After driving around looking, I simply gave up. Or what if I'm out of town and don't know the area, and I have to hunt for parking? Takes a bit of the fun out of this game.

 

Another pet peeve is when the cache description says "no bushwhacking" but when you get there, you need to bushwhack. Just because you didn't need to bushwhack in 2005 when you hid the cache, doesn't mean that by 2012 the area hasn't become overgrown.

 

Another one is when attributes are selected... kid friendly, dog friendly, but also ticks, thorns, poisonous plants, and/or dangerous animals? Really? I don't want my child or my pet romping in poison ivy. On a similar line is when the area has these things, and they aren't noted.

 

And finally, CO's that don't maintain their caches. There is one local (to me) CO who's caches I don't even bother to look for, because of that. It makes the CO look bad, takes the fun out of it for new cachers, and is probably quite annoying to more experienced cachers. If I look for 30 minutes or more, and can't find it because I'm new and really don't know what I'm doing, that's one thing, but if I'm wasting my time because it's gone missing (and the cache owner hasn't bothered to check/replace), that aggravates me.

[+redwoodkestrel]

Caches hidden in poison oak. I realize that sometimes the cache is hidden in winter when the PO is less obvious, but any good west coast geocacher should be able to recognize it both when it is leafing out in the summer AND when it is leafless in winter... since it's just as toxic in both forms.

 

Then there are the folks that hide their caches in the summer IN the poison oak... why? I don't know. To make it harder for the rest of us? To keep the muggles away? Because the CO isn't allergic to PO and/or doesn't recognize it?

 

I totally understand that there may be poison oak on the trail out to the cache, or nearby the cache - I expect that, caching in California. I just don't know why you'd chose to hide a cache IN the PO.

 

I just grabbed a FTF in a local state park this past weekend- hidden less than a week before I found it, a puzzle cache, and at least a 4-mile round trip from any trail head. Plenty of good hiding spots around - in fact, I was ignoring where my GPSr was pointing me since it was deep in PO, and figured the cache MUST be somewhere else nearby in one of the PO-free zones. After a thorough search, I decided to look more closely at the PO zone... and sure enough, saw the telltale stick pile under a tree in the middle of all that poison oak.

 

Luckily I always carry Technu, so I did a complete Technu-ing after replacing the cache, another Technu dose when I got home, and then a shower! But I still don't understand the reasoning of purposely hiding a cache deep in poison oak, especially when there are plenty of other available locations.

Edited September 25, 2012 by redwoodkestrel

[+niraD]

Then there are the folks that hide their caches in the summer IN the poison oak... why? I don't know. To make it harder for the rest of us? To keep the muggles away? Because the CO isn't allergic to PO and/or doesn't recognize it?

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by ignorance."

 

I've seen cases where the CO was surprised to discover that the beautiful green plants around the cache location were that "poison oak" that people complain about.

 

Some people learn to identify PO because others have told them how bad it is, and they never want to experience it themselves. Others learn to identify PO because they experience it, and don't want to repeat the experience. Some aren't sensitive to it, and never learn to identify it.

[+Ma & Pa]

Then there are the folks that hide their caches in the summer IN the poison oak... why? I don't know. To make it harder for the rest of us? To keep the muggles away? Because the CO isn't allergic to PO and/or doesn't recognize it?

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by ignorance."

 

I've seen cases where the CO was surprised to discover that the beautiful green plants around the cache location were that "poison oak" that people complain about.

 

Some people learn to identify PO because others have told them how bad it is, and they never want to experience it themselves. Others learn to identify PO because they experience it, and don't want to repeat the experience. Some aren't sensitive to it, and never learn to identify it.

 

And there is stupid me.

 

We go visit our son every year in California, and do a lot of caching and I get a bad dose of PO every year. I will never learn

[Ameliaonstage]

Then there are the folks that hide their caches in the summer IN the poison oak... why? I don't know. To make it harder for the rest of us? To keep the muggles away? Because the CO isn't allergic to PO and/or doesn't recognize it?

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by ignorance."

 

I've seen cases where the CO was surprised to discover that the beautiful green plants around the cache location were that "poison oak" that people complain about.

 

Some people learn to identify PO because others have told them how bad it is, and they never want to experience it themselves. Others learn to identify PO because they experience it, and don't want to repeat the experience. Some aren't sensitive to it, and never learn to identify it.

 

And there is stupid me.

 

We go visit our son every year in California, and do a lot of caching and I get a bad dose of PO every year. I will never learn

 

I quite literally LOLed

[+niraD]

We go visit our son every year in California, and do a lot of caching and I get a bad dose of PO every year. I will never learn

I can relate. I'm familiar with PO in it's various forms, but on a recent trip to Massachusetts, I encountered poison ivy for the first time. It's a good thing I was with a local who knew how to recognize the stuff, because we encountered it several times.

[+tallglenn]

I was really surprised to learn how many folks hate plastic baggies. I usually don't see the point to them but replace as found out of habit. If the baggie is worn, torn and holey I wrap the log tightly but don't bother zipping it shut. I carry spare baggies but rarely replace them, because they aren't really necessary. If the log is wet, I'd be sealing in the moisture. A lot of times the log in a baggie is damp but the inside of the container is dry. But they never became a pet peeve; just whatever.

 

Anyways I guess I read the whole thread looking for my pet peeve but didn't see it - wrapping the log up so it takes the next finder a couple minutes to find the correct chronological spot to sign! Please replace the log with your date and signature visible, so the next finder knows quickly where to sign! For a couple years I have been folding over the typical 4-5 log sheets to the current page (as the cache container allows), making it quick and easy for the next finder to see where to sign. I hope the next cachers appreciate it. On one power-run, it got so tedious I gave up and started doing someone else's pet peeve - signing the log anywhere I saw an exposed blank spot. Sometimes I would swear the last finder was purposely trying to hide his/her signature from me.

 

I also added a pad of small post-it notes to my cache kit to begin marking the current page in larger notebooks. I hope these small acts please COs and finders. We have a friendly group of all ages and walks of life and if I can make someone else's visit a little more pleasant, it's my pleasure.

[+Ma & Pa]

I was really surprised to learn how many folks hate plastic baggies. I usually don't see the point to them but replace as found out of habit. If the baggie is worn, torn and holey I wrap the log tightly but don't bother zipping it shut. I carry spare baggies but rarely replace them, because they aren't really necessary. If the log is wet, I'd be sealing in the moisture. A lot of times the log in a baggie is damp but the inside of the container is dry. But they never became a pet peeve; just whatever.

 

Anyways I guess I read the whole thread looking for my pet peeve but didn't see it - wrapping the log up so it takes the next finder a couple minutes to find the correct chronological spot to sign! Please replace the log with your date and signature visible, so the next finder knows quickly where to sign! For a couple years I have been folding over the typical 4-5 log sheets to the current page (as the cache container allows), making it quick and easy for the next finder to see where to sign. I hope the next cachers appreciate it. On one power-run, it got so tedious I gave up and started doing someone else's pet peeve - signing the log anywhere I saw an exposed blank spot. Sometimes I would swear the last finder was purposely trying to hide his/her signature from me.

 

I also added a pad of small post-it notes to my cache kit to begin marking the current page in larger notebooks. I hope these small acts please COs and finders. We have a friendly group of all ages and walks of life and if I can make someone else's visit a little more pleasant, it's my pleasure.

 

Finding the correct place to sign in a micro with a number of pages stapled together and then rolled up is also a pet peeve of mine. It is always difficult to figure out what page goes on top when I start to unroll it. When I have the correct top page, it doesnt always help because the place to sign is often somewhere on the third page. And why do we have to unroll and sign from the top of the page, Wouldnt it be easier to sign from the other end. I have always preferred folding to rolling and will try to fold the log after I sign in such a way that our signature appears on top.

 

With regards to baggies, I rarely seal hrm, I place the log in the baggieand fold it shut but I do not seal it. Someone told me it helps dry the moist log sheet

[+niraD]

Anyways I guess I read the whole thread looking for my pet peeve but didn't see it - wrapping the log up so it takes the next finder a couple minutes to find the correct chronological spot to sign! Please replace the log with your date and signature visible, so the next finder knows quickly where to sign!

On the flip side, if a non-geocacher finds the cache, it can be helpful if the cache note (the explanation of what geocaching is and what the cache is doing there) is on top where the non-geocacher will spot it right away. I make a point of replacing caches with the cache note on top where it's easy for non-geocachers to find.

[DannyCaffeine]

Mushy log books and forgetting my pencil.