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For the first time I took my daughter geocaching. We purchased really nice stuff to replace swag we might take. The junk we found was so pathetic it was not even worth the trouble to find. I have really lost interest in this hobby after the crap we found. People have no pride or class, best way to describe the junk we found.

 

We would have left 2 tickets for the local rotary pancake day. Sealed lithium AA batteries. $5 dollar gift card Dun kin Donuts. Plus plenty of other stuff people would actually use or enjoy. Finding broken mcdonald toys after a hard hike through rough terrain was the last straw.

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For the first time I took my daughter geocaching. We purchased really nice stuff to replace swag we might take. The junk we found was so pathetic it was not even worth the trouble to find. I have really lost interest in this hobby after the crap we found. People have no pride or class, best way to describe the junk we found.

 

We would have left 2 tickets for the local rotary pancake day. Sealed lithium AA batteries. $5 dollar gift card Dun kin Donuts. Plus plenty of other stuff people would actually use or enjoy. Finding broken mcdonald toys after a hard hike through rough terrain was the last straw.

 

Finding treasure out in the woods really isn't the point of this hobby. The enjoyable hike to a neat location is the point of this hobby, or even just discovering a place you never knew about that was surprisingly nearby. Or maybe it's the thrill of the hunt, or the excitement of trying to be the first to find the cache.

 

The items you'd have traded sound really nice, but most people simply don't trade that well. It just isn't realistic to expect that a box full of free stuff out in the woods, unattended, will stay full of great stuff. The great stuff will get taken, broken stuff will get left in its place, and nobody takes the broken stuff, so quality goes down hill pretty quickly.

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For the first time I took my daughter geocaching. We purchased really nice stuff to replace swag we might take. The junk we found was so pathetic it was not even worth the trouble to find. I have really lost interest in this hobby after the crap we found. People have no pride or class, best way to describe the junk we found.

 

We would have left 2 tickets for the local rotary pancake day. Sealed lithium AA batteries. $5 dollar gift card Dun kin Donuts. Plus plenty of other stuff people would actually use or enjoy. Finding broken mcdonald toys after a hard hike through rough terrain was the last straw.

 

Even my kids don't geocache for the swag, never mind us adults. The swag is not what gets us out geocaching.

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For the first time I took my daughter geocaching. We purchased really nice stuff to replace swag we might take. The junk we found was so pathetic it was not even worth the trouble to find. I have really lost interest in this hobby after the crap we found. People have no pride or class, best way to describe the junk we found.

 

We would have left 2 tickets for the local rotary pancake day. Sealed lithium AA batteries. $5 dollar gift card Dun kin Donuts. Plus plenty of other stuff people would actually use or enjoy. Finding broken mcdonald toys after a hard hike through rough terrain was the last straw.

 

Alas, I know it well.

 

I've placed a lot of small and regular caches, loaded up with $$$ worth of goodies. When I go back to visit they are often spare of swag or loaded up with crummy business cards, used golf balls and other debris.

 

But all is not lost. Sometimes I find people have left some really nice items and that restores my faith and I continue to spend $$$ on swag to set an example.

 

A recommendation : Place your own cache, with some good items (not saying you have to spend $20 loading up a fresh cache) to set an example.

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For my wife, the grand daughter, and I, it is about the journey to the find (yes even if it be guard rails and light posts hehehe). Well, to be more exact it is what transpires between us on the journey. We always go at a nice relaxing pace with Aryanna jibber jabbering up a storm the whole time about this that and the other thing. It is relaxing and enjoyable. Sometimes the find does led us to a place we never knew about in basically our back yard. Sometimes there is swag that is kind of nice, but yes most of the time it is junk. Ary does Love to find good swag, BUT, like others have said, it is not about the swag, but the journey. It is a great family activity.

 

I do hope you reconsider about not wanting to cache anymore. But if you do not, have you got a 450 for sale? :)

Edited by TeamPennyFinder
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If it is not about the stuff you find then I have no further interest in this. To me that was the fun part. The hike part to me was the work to find some good stuff. Looks like my Oregon 450 will just be collecting dust.

 

I do sometimes find nicely stocked caches, but it is rare. If that matters to you, you will have to search a lot for them. If that is too much effort then this isn't for you, sorry. :(

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For the first time I took my daughter geocaching. We purchased really nice stuff to replace swag we might take. The junk we found was so pathetic it was not even worth the trouble to find. I have really lost interest in this hobby after the crap we found. People have no pride or class, best way to describe the junk we found.

 

We would have left 2 tickets for the local rotary pancake day. Sealed lithium AA batteries. $5 dollar gift card Dun kin Donuts. Plus plenty of other stuff people would actually use or enjoy. Finding broken mcdonald toys after a hard hike through rough terrain was the last straw.

 

If it is not about the stuff you find then I have no further interest in this. To me that was the fun part. The hike part to me was the work to find some good stuff. Looks like my Oregon 450 will just be collecting dust.

 

That's interesting that someone would buy such a nice gps, take the kids on "rough terrain" hike, find a cache, be disgusted with the contents, and not bother logging the finds. <_<

 

Bet you could sell that Oregon for just about what you paid for it.

 

Sorry, but if you are in this activity for the trinkets, then you're in the wrong activity.

 

I think briansnat has the right idea.

 

But why bother posting on the forums to complain if you're not going to do this any more?

 

Seems like a waste of time and typing to me.

 

 

B.

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We purchased really nice stuff to replace swag we might take. The junk we found was so pathetic it was not even worth the trouble to find.
That is why I describe geocaching as a "scavenger hunt" rather than as a "treasure hunt". The phrase "treasure hunt" gives people the mistaken impression that geocaches are full of valuables. In contrast, the things you look for on a "scavenger hunt" are generally worthless, and the point is the adventure of the hunt.
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We would have left 2 tickets for the local rotary pancake day.

 

I'm not sure anyone in my area would have taken those tickets, and they might sit in a cache so long that they expire. Point being: everyone has a different idea of what good swag is. I have some caches with very good swag still left, but most, by the time there are several finders, don't have much in them.

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I do kind of see the OP's point, though. Even if it's not about the swag, what's the point of even putting a container out if there isn't anything in the container? So just micros in the woods, right? But then, do you really to sign a logbook to enjoy the hike or the area? Why not just post the cords to some random location in the woods if you just want folks to enjoy the view?

 

I don't do this just for the swag, and I realize that every time I go out I'm going to come back (monitarily) in the hole. I still enjoy pawing through swag even if I don't take something. My daughter usually finds something to take - usually something I would consider not worth the effort, but hey, she enjoys it. I console myself with the knowing that if a kid can get enjoyment out of a dirty string of Mardi-gras beads, the next kid will really like the in-the-package hot wheelz car or glass "gem" I left as a swap.

 

I know I'm going to sound like a crusty old guy, but I have noticed a general degradation in swag since I started several years ago. Not just the "over time" thing that happens; when I started, even caches that had been out for a couple of years usually had something "shiny" in them. Now, I do seem to find that soggy business cards and single silly-bandz are over represented. Ah, well.

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If it is not about the stuff you find then I have no further interest in this. To me that was the fun part. The hike part to me was the work to find some good stuff. Looks like my Oregon 450 will just be collecting dust.

 

Sorry you didn't find what you were looking for.

 

I am always happy when I find the songs of the birds, the fragrance of the flowers, an interesting rock formation or waterfall, sometimes a snake, or a deer, or a squirrel, or even a footprint. The box got me out there, but what I found was more personal and elusive than what would fit in the box.

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So just make sure you only trade up yourself. I just spent 18 dollars at the dollar store, and I bet that lasts me 6 months. I will end up with far less than 18 dollars worth of swag, but someone else ( a kid hopefully.. ) will take home something good.

 

And why do people knock mcdonalds toys? Even used, my kids love them.. I am going to have 1000 of them to load into caches when my kids outgrow them. Seriously, they are fine.

 

I have also started trying to leave things people will actually use/need on a geohunt. Pull ties, single use hand wipes, small baggies etc.

 

I paw through cache swag, even if it's trash. I kind of enjoy it. Sorting it back so you can actually close the cache is like a secondary game for me.

 

Shaun

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We as a family are quite new to this caching thing

We often don't trade, but leave a little photo of out avatar as a gesture that we were there

Find geocoins quite rewarding

We have been taken to places we never dreamed of going to

Today for instance I found a cache on the beach and a Sea Lion was going to the sea from the beach

That itself was quite a reward

We stand on 197 and are quite excited to get to 200

We just love this activity

 

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Edited by Martin&Carolyn
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A lot of the time when I go to a regular-sized cache with at least a 3 terrain rating, and at least a four-mile round trip hike, it has surprisingly good swag inside. I've seen some pretty cool stuff (and I certainly don't have anything on me good enough to trade for it). These kinds of caches get few visits and they frequently stay well stocked.

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If it is not about the stuff you find then I have no further interest in this. To me that was the fun part. The hike part to me was the work to find some good stuff. Looks like my Oregon 450 will just be collecting dust.

 

I'm really sorry you feel that way about a nice long hike. My feeling is the journey is the destination. Finding a piece of tupperware at the end of the hike is just bonus points.

 

Also, if you are reading this and would like to sell your GPS receiver then send me a message through the Geocaching.com website. I might be interested in purchasing a new unit.

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You're also going to see a variance in what people see as quality swag. I dont' trade swag often unless I'm caching with my kids, but I recently found a cool little Ivory duck/bird thing that I just had to keep. Probably worth 2 or 3 bucks, but I'll trade way up for something like that.

 

I'm sorry you didn't find what you were looking for in this hobby. Better luck with the next one.

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Sounds like your expectations were a bit high. The better caches have a few new dollar store items in them. it is truly a rare cache when you find things valued at more than $5.

 

Best we can do is to lead by example. Put out caches stocked with nice items and be prepared to restock them frequently. Add nice items to other's caches when there is nothing. Always trade up or trade even when visiting caches. Mention your trades in the online logs. Just keep doing it. If it changes one cacher's experience along the line - i figure it was worth my effort.

 

I look around for good prices on semi-valuable items. I once got around 100 calculators originally priced at $2.99 for 25 cents each. Recently I got a large number of state tourist patches originally marked at $3.50 each - they were closing them out for 10 cents each. I buy bulk on-sale items from Oriental Trading for pennies on the dollar(I have about 200 mini rubber ducks - originally $1.20 - 15 cents each). I found a very cheap dealer for bulk foreign coins. All of that makes it easier to leave a few nice items as I cache.

Edited by StarBrand
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If you want to be going somewhere to get something for something, and you don't want to have to go over rough terrain to get there, there are shops for that. If you want to buy something from the shop and swap it for something else, there are online places for that. If you want to discover somewhere new and enjoy an adventure getting there, there are geocaches for that (but you need to take your own enjoyment with you).

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One time, we found a lady and her daughter in a kayak, lost in a flooded swamp for 3 hours and helped them get out from the trees and back to the car.

Took family. Left nothing. There was no way I was trading up on that! I love my family!

 

Would you please post the link to that log? I'd love to see it :lol: "Took family, left nothing." That is awesome!

 

We helped rescue an injured dog once and that was a wonderful reward.

6NoisyHikers at Mill Too

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If it is not about the stuff you find then I have no further interest in this. To me that was the fun part. The hike part to me was the work to find some good stuff. Looks like my Oregon 450 will just be collecting dust.

 

I was on vacation last week, and as I often do when traveling, went to look for a few geocaches. We had rented bicycles and my 8 year old son and I took a bike ride and I asked him if he wanted to find a geocache. We rode to a pretty little neighborhood and when we got to the published coordinates for a multi cache I told him we had to do a little math to find out where the cache was actually located. "Oh boy, I love math!", he said. We wrote down the number he added/subtracted the numbers to get the final coordinates. Then we hopped back on the bikes and rode a couple of blocks to the next location. The name of the cache was a pretty good indicator for where we should be looking but we searched for 10-15 minutes and I thought it might be missing. Then I grabbed a wooden post and it moved. It was about a 4' high wooden post, which had about 1 foot long section that could be removed to reveal a pill container inside. There was just room enough inside for a log sheet but he thought it was so cool that he said, "We have to show Mommy this!", and a couple of days later we did.

 

The point? Even an 8 year old boy with a fondness for McToys can find some entertainment value from a geocache that has no swag whatsoever.

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One time, we found a lady and her daughter in a kayak, lost in a flooded swamp for 3 hours and helped them get out from the trees and back to the car.

Took family. Left nothing. There was no way I was trading up on that! I love my family!

 

Would you please post the link to that log? I'd love to see it :lol: "Took family, left nothing." That is awesome!

 

We helped rescue an injured dog once and that was a wonderful reward.

6NoisyHikers at Mill Too

 

Haha! Funny thing is, it looks like I actually wrote that in my log

 

And here is Tepee's log.

That was 2004. That little girl is probably pretty grown up now. And years later, I have gone back and paddled that swamp more times than I can count, and have a paddle cache there as well. This particular cache was on dry land.

 

Edit: so you see, for me, it has nothing to do with swag.

Edited by Planet
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For the first time I took my daughter geocaching. We purchased really nice stuff to replace swag we might take. The junk we found was so pathetic it was not even worth the trouble to find. I have really lost interest in this hobby after the crap we found. People have no pride or class, best way to describe the junk we found.

 

We would have left 2 tickets for the local rotary pancake day. Sealed lithium AA batteries. $5 dollar gift card Dun kin Donuts. Plus plenty of other stuff people would actually use or enjoy. Finding broken mcdonald toys after a hard hike through rough terrain was the last straw.

 

Honestly, the point of geocaching isn't for the swag. It is getting some execersize on a nice spring day, having something to do with you familly or freinds, meeting new people, seeing new places, and finding an activity that you can do where the only cost is gas. I love geocaching. It is so much fun and the swag is just a little bonus. If all the caches were micros, I would still be doing it. It is fun finding that lake 5 miles from your house that you have never been to or finding a new trail you never new existed or finding a beautiful little park. I love figuring out where people hide the cache. It lots of fun figuring out where it is and what kinds of cleaver things people use to hide their caches.

 

Addtionally, you should think about the lagistics of leaving great swag. I think the best kind of swag and the kind that I am most excited to see is a Path Tag. But a Path Tag costs 2.05 to have made. My sister and me have visited 179 caches in the last three months that could hold a Path Tag. It would cost almost 400 dollars to leave a Path Tag in each cache. That ends up being a lot of money. Can you blame anyone for buying some cheap items that only cost a few cents or some toys that they no longer need?

 

So like everyone else said, it is that hunt for the cache and it is the journey to the cache that is the fun part, not the contents of the box.

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Oh yeah! I did the help a dog thing too! Well, I helped a man help a dog. I was caching my way alone to FL and this was in North Carolina. Some people are so horrible, and then people like this man come along and renew your faith in humanity.

Log

 

Those are wonderful logs! Thank you for sharing them :D

 

Everyone plays the game their own way, but I'm pretty sure that caching was never meant to be a way to get free stuff.

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>Finding treasure out in the woods really isn't the point of this hobby

 

says who ?

to my small kids this means ALL, it is the whole point of why they love to go with us ..

well offcourse we also try to explain them why a great hike or nice view or a special lake can be fun to look at,

we also look at animals, and other special things we see all the time, I hope they learn alot,

while they get a bit fun time with us and a good excersise to, ok they get tired much faster

and it all go alot slower when they are along.

 

the thread starter is compleetly right,

we should up the quality a bit, and the trash out,

I rather see an empty cache with no trash, over a full of trach cache..

I started to write in my logs what kind of trash I take out,

and why I am a bit sad the previous visitor either put it there,

or did not take it out, I hope this will encurage others to sharpen up a little bit.

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Oh yeah! I did the help a dog thing too! Well, I helped a man help a dog. I was caching my way alone to FL and this was in North Carolina. Some people are so horrible, and then people like this man come along and renew your faith in humanity.

Log

 

Those are wonderful logs! Thank you for sharing them :D

 

Everyone plays the game their own way, but I'm pretty sure that caching was never meant to be a way to get free stuff.

 

I don't believe the cacher said they was looking for free stuff. I believe they wanted to trade up even, and not for garbage.

 

You have to understand that a new geocacher, might get excited by the unknown (whats in the box). Try and place your self in this person's shoes. Instead of criticizing them, lets all next time try to ensure them of all the positive things about geocaching other than whats in the box.

 

Just my thoughts

Edited by GeoLobo
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I just started geocaching, and frankly find the act of purchasing swag to be such a pain, I don't bring any or take any, the real fun is finding the wag, maybe you need to challenge yourself with a less elaborate GPS, so the swag isn't handed to you. it is about finding fun places. I am in need of a regular gps, all I have is one meant for cars. so, you see it is all in the perspective, if your kids are in it for the treasure and not the journey, maybe there is a life lesson to be learned, just saying'.

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It's not free stuff. The OP is obviously trading up, or even. Fair and square.

 

Sorry, it was a poorly worded reply on my end.

 

I think my issue is with the expectation of stuff. Even if there was not the cacher-caused degredation of swag that seems to occur (which is unfortunate), there is still the degredation-by-the-elements that could happen. And what if the cache was full of fishing lures or new batteries or a length of good strong rope? These are all things that adult cachers would probably enjoy, but likely won't be interesting to kids. You can't be sure of what you are going to find (or NOT find at all!) when you get out there so it is never wise to make that the basis of your adventure.

 

The opportunity here is for the OP to teach her daughter a lesson in paying it forward. She could have left the stuff she intended to. Maybe it would have been gobbled up, but just maybe the next cachers would have been a mother and daughter just like them who would have then had a nice caching experience. It has to start somewhere.

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....

So like everyone else said, it is that hunt for the cache and it is the journey to the cache that is the fun part, not the contents of the box.

Try and tell my 6 year old and 10 year old that....

 

See my thoughts in post #28 - we can do better. Just one cache at a time.

 

I go caching in two ways:

 

1) By myself.. I can hit tougher find.. no problem with Micro and nanos. Lots of them chained together.

 

2) With my son I hit one or two good caches that I know will contain items. I have already have found these in the past and saved them off to come back with him.

 

I have also come to the realization he may not remember a lot of these locations. We will hit a cache two or three times in order for him to have a good find.

 

I tried getting him interested in "the find" but it does not hold a candle to treasure. He gives up quickly.

 

I try to take after him.. :)

 

Shaun

Edited by ShaunEM
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I see what everone is saying too. I'm not saying that the swag is unimportant. It is great when I find a great piece of swag. I love the duck call that I found and my path tags are really cool and I where them around my neck. Its just that I have been to quite a few caches and now my expectations aren't that high anymore, but I have realized that I have more fun on the hunt than what I get out of the box. Everyone is so different. How do you find really cool swag that everyone will love and will not break the bank? For me I would be really happy to find a manga, but how many people would actually put them in a cache or even put out something that is worth $10? Not many. So yeah, if the most important part of caching to me was the swag, I doubt I would be caching right now.

 

Importance of things while caching:

1.) The hunt for the cache

2.) The Journey to the cache

3.) The swag

 

But that is just my personal prefrences.

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My two cents...

 

At first I was going for the swag when I started last year. Only found 5 in 2011 as I got bored with the garbage that some people put in there.

 

However, this year I have a little more time on my hands and actually started to get into looking for "anything" that was close to the area I was in at the time. The micros and nanos have become a challenge to find! There is one literally across the street from me that I have been to at least 6 different times over the past year that I cannot find! I have gotten a clue from the owner, but it wasn't a very good one since I've looked two more times since then and still cannot find it!

 

It's the thrill of the game! I put together my strategy before leaving on my walk/hike/adventure. I'll look at the online map, since it's much bigger than my phone app, and I decide where I want to go. I would probably say 75% of the hides are micros, but every now and then I'll look for an area that has some small or regular size containers to trade stuff.

 

I've visited areas that I never would have before just so I can find that little 35mm container (or smaller) and log my name saying I was successful at finding this little bugger!! I've been to areas that I will definitely visit again because it was such a nice place, and I've visited areas that I was afraid I was going to get attacked by something in the bushes! LOL.

 

Don't do it for the swag, that's just a benefit every now and then. Do it to learn more about different places and get some exercise and fresh air on your journey to hitting personal goals! Enjoy!

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MOST geocachers are NOT in it for the swag... but c'mon people... SOME people really DO get into swag. Some like trading cards, some like path tags, some just like random STUFF... but NONE of us really care to find the JUNK (bottle caps, leaves, rocks, trash and BROKEN anything) and it's just rude that people leave that kind of thing. But... cachers ARE just people, and ... some of them are rude. Or selfish. Maybe even most... I don't know. I know for MYSELF I like to SEE the swag, but I rarely trade unless I have my granddaughter with me. Now SHE thinks swag is VERY important! And honestly, I think MOST of the KIDS do! I carry a LOT of swag with me and I LIKE putting in neat little things that young children will enjoy! I put things IN caches MUCH more often than I take things out... mainly because I agree that most of the caches I find are "pitiful" in the swag detail. I'm sure NONE of them started that way ... it's just what they become. But I don't think it's fair to condemn someone for being disappointed with the swag. I WOULD suggest to the mother that she find caches on her own, and then take her daughter BACK to find the caches that have good swag. Perhaps even PLANT some good swag to take her back to! That's what I usually do with my granddaughter. Kids LIKE swag. And even a 7 year old knows trash from treasure!

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I'm making time for geocaching for the exercise. I get bored hiking the same dang trail, so this gives me a fresh destination. I like playing swag fairy and bring a pocketful of fresh goodies to plant here and there. After reading this forum, I'm going to start bringing a trash bag too and pull the icky crap out of the caches.

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I'm making time for geocaching for the exercise. I get bored hiking the same dang trail, so this gives me a fresh destination. I like playing swag fairy and bring a pocketful of fresh goodies to plant here and there. After reading this forum, I'm going to start bringing a trash bag too and pull the icky crap out of the caches.

 

Yes, part of my cache pack is a CITO container -- a plastic grocery bag stuffed into a film canister. Whenever I am on the trail, I pull that out and pick up the trash on my journey (cans, plastic and glass bottles, etc). Sure, I could even pull yuck from the cache and put it in the bag. I pretty much fill a bag on every outing.

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To date: 153 finds

 

Number of caches with cool swag: Maybe 2, or 3, mostly TBs (which aren't swag)

 

Number of caches that took me to cool places I'd never have gone: 153

 

Now that is cool! Unfortunately, out of 153 caches around us,, maybe 10 would take us to a cool area. The rest are in parking lots, on guardrails, and the such.

 

As far as hunting because of the swag we might find, Gave that up a long time ago. You'll very rarely find swag in a cache that's worth a hoot. Well, except maybe to your kids.

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I have really lost interest in this hobby after the crap we found. People have no pride or class, best way to describe the junk we found.

Not every finder is Geocaching. Many arrive with the intention to take.

 

Last week, I saw a frazzled mother stand by as her four teenage boys climbed to a canyon wall to scratch their names into it. At a State Park, with signs "stay on the trail", with a park ranger right there having to tell them to get back on the trail. All I could think was "I hope these kids don't find the Geocache here". Because they will remove anything/everything and leave nothing (if we're lucky). It's easy to imagine the whole issue is caused by those kinds of kids (of all ages).

Edited by kunarion
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