What to take?

[Willowpop]

Hi geocachers!

I'm planning to take my daughter on our 1st geocaching trip next week...I have a (potentially silly) question...I've been reading the website and it seems that some caches have items in that you can take as long as you replace it with something similar. My daughter would LOVE to be able to 'claim' some treasure - she is only 7!

What sort of things should I take with me to replace into the box if one that we find does contain 'treasure', please?

Thanks in advance

 

Willow

[+Team Bostradamus]

I just went to the local dollar store and found some toys to place in caches for kids to find, enough to place something in about 30 caches cost me 5 bucks... every find with goodies is exciting, so it doesn't require anything expensive... an emergency rain poncho is a good one to use, they cost about a dollar.. just anything small, family friendly, and fun or useful

[+J Grouchy]

Yeah...that's how I got my daughter (6 years old) interested, by calling it a "treasure hunt". I warned her not everything has something in it to take and she volunteered a number of her trinkets to trade for when she found something she likes/wants to keep. It's the larger ones with stuff like that inside that she takes an interest in. Usually when we just find a micro with only a log inside, she starts complaining about being bored.

 

~sigh~

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Yeah, drop the 'Treasure' term. If you are truly expecting to find treasure, you will most certainly be disappointed -- at least, you are in for a reality check.

 

I know, many use the term, even geocaching.com uses it in their opening page description.

 

What it truly is... is an opportunity to teach a young'un responsibility and the concept of trading, rather than just taking (which history has shown that is what people do with treasure). There is value in the 'hunt' or the 'find', probably not in what is found within the cache.

Indeed, as geocaching has progressed, more and more micro-caches exist. They only contain a rolled-up piece of paper (size limitations) for a log sheet. Nothing more. Your child will be extremely disappointed if the majority of caches near you are nothing other than micros. Seen and heard of it many, many times.

 

There is joy on a youngsters' face when you actually do find a cache that is of a size to have trade items (SWAG) within. No doubt about that. Sadly though, many of those cache-types are mostly empty because (it seems) so many people have forgotten the trading aspect of geocaching.

 

Hopefully you will find lots of larger caches. The items you take along for trade is entirely up to you. Toys, trinkets and things such as that. Do Not use foodstuffs or candy, or (heaven forbid) liquids of any kind -- the containers are doomed to fail at some point in time.

 

That said... go forth and enjoy the hunt and the challenge of making the find. You may well spot the cache first, but let your young'un "make the find".

[+StarBrand]

Don't expect much. I tend to leave much better than I find but sometimes the caches surprise you.

 

Currently I carry:

• Deck of playing cards
  
• matchbox cars
  
• US State patchs
  
• mini calculators
  
• small screwdrivers
  
• small packets of foriegn coins (I buy in bulk)
  
• bouncy balls
  
• small beanie type stuffed critters
  
• dollar coins
  
• rubber ducks
  
• golf pencils
  
• fancy scented pencils
  

 

Think Oriental Trading - I also carry a $25 Timex outdoorsman watch for the very rare occasion I find something really nice. In 11+ years of caching - I am on my 5th watch.

[+J Grouchy]

Yeah, drop the 'Treasure' term. If you are truly expecting to find treasure, you will most certainly be disappointed -- at least, you are in for a reality check.

 

I can call it a "treasure" if I like. I've often done "treasure hunts" at home, hiding one of her stuffed animals or some other toy and drawing a map for her to follow in order to find it. "Treasure" is just a goal to work towards. She's great about giving up her stuff for trade, so I have no problem referring to it that way. I'm just happy she seems to enjoy the hunt. It's when we find it and the contents are just a log sheet that she loses interest. To me, the goal IS the hunt, so I have no problem with that. The internet community and online cache counts are really just for the benefit of those with an online presence...

[+fbingha]

While the dollar store stuff is what you will be lucky to find in a cache, you should plan on that rare opportunity to take something better. Bring a few "better" items with you just in case. Not just the $1 value stuff but the $5 - $10 stuff. You won't get much chance to trade them but you will be happy to have them if the chance arises.

 

In the rare chance I find something nice, I resist the urge to trade in a bunch of cheap stuff to take one nice item.

[+Chief301]

Make sure to do some planning before you go out and identify the sizes of the caches you plan to seek. Smalls and Regulars (and Large too, if you're so fortunate) are big enough to contain trade items. Micros generally only have enough space for a log sheet. With a 7 year old the "treasure" part is the big draw. But don't exclude Micros entirely...emphasize the fun of searching for and finding something hidden. Sort of like an Easter egg hunt. Must kids could care less about the egg, it's the excitement of the find.

 

Check the Difficulty and Terrain ratings too....caches with high Difficulty ratings may be fiendishly hard to find and lead to frustration. Likewise, a very high Terrain rating may be too difficult for a small child. Stick to 1-2 D/T ratings to start out.

 

Also, it's helpful to check the recent logs of caches before you go for them. If a cache has a long string of "Easy find" and "Quick park & grab" type logs then all of a sudden a string of DNF's, it may have gone missing.

 

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

[+L0ne.R]

Here are a couple of photos that will give you an idea of what you might find:

 

 

[Willowpop]

Thanks so much everyone..Ok, so 'treasure' was a misleading choice of words that I used...my daughter will be happy enough hunting the actual geocaches regardless of what they contain...I was just wondering about what to take as on the occasion we come across a cache with a 'souvenir' in it (not treasure) that she is able to take home I wanted to make sure we had something to replace it with that was suitable. I didn't want the first time we ever found a treasure/souvenir/loot/goodie to have to say to my 7 year old..'if we had brought something with us we could have taken the item that's in here and swapped it for our item'. Equally I didn't want to take what was there and not put something back in!

 

Thanks for all the thoughts, the list and the photos are awesome...really gave me a great idea as to what to take with me...I genuinely had no idea at all what sort of thing I could expect to find. I will make a little geocaching bag up and take it with us on out treasure hunt.

[+KoosKoos]

Thanks so much everyone..Ok, so 'treasure' was a misleading choice of words that I used...my daughter will be happy enough hunting the actual geocaches regardless of what they contain...I was just wondering about what to take as on the occasion we come across a cache with a 'souvenir' in it (not treasure) that she is able to take home I wanted to make sure we had something to replace it with that was suitable. I didn't want the first time we ever found a treasure/souvenir/loot/goodie to have to say to my 7 year old..'if we had brought something with us we could have taken the item that's in here and swapped it for our item'. Equally I didn't want to take what was there and not put something back in!

 

Thanks for all the thoughts, the list and the photos are awesome...really gave me a great idea as to what to take with me...I genuinely had no idea at all what sort of thing I could expect to find. I will make a little geocaching bag up and take it with us on out treasure hunt.

 

Personally, I wouldn't worry about calling it treasure. Some of my 6 yo daughter's favorite "treasure" to find is little rubber dinosaurs or frogs. They can't cost more than 25 cents, but she gets excited to find them every time! No, you'll probably never find "treasure", but there are lots of fun things for kids to find and yes, you can teach them about trading fairly (and BETTER) for the items they're taking.

 

And I've been known to drop a dollar or two into a cache when a kiddo found something they just couldn't imagine passing up and we didn't have any other trade items.

[+The_Incredibles_]

I like to get our swag from our local thrift store. They sell bags of little cars, little plastic animals, that sort of thing. It's cheaper and I like that we're giving the toys a new life.

 

I find for most caches, the smaller swag is best, so that's usually what I carry in my backpack.

[+ShaunEM]

Having learned this from experience, make sure she knows that she isn't to put ANYTHING in her mouth, or even really handle things much until you can wash/clean them after retrieval.

 

I curse people who put candy/gum/whistles/balloons in caches... Gross!

 

Shaun

[+J Grouchy]

Thanks so much everyone..Ok, so 'treasure' was a misleading choice of words that I used...my daughter will be happy enough hunting the actual geocaches regardless of what they contain...I was just wondering about what to take as on the occasion we come across a cache with a 'souvenir' in it (not treasure) that she is able to take home I wanted to make sure we had something to replace it with that was suitable. I didn't want the first time we ever found a treasure/souvenir/loot/goodie to have to say to my 7 year old..'if we had brought something with us we could have taken the item that's in here and swapped it for our item'. Equally I didn't want to take what was there and not put something back in!

 

Thanks for all the thoughts, the list and the photos are awesome...really gave me a great idea as to what to take with me...I genuinely had no idea at all what sort of thing I could expect to find. I will make a little geocaching bag up and take it with us on out treasure hunt.

 

Personally, I wouldn't worry about calling it treasure. Some of my 6 yo daughter's favorite "treasure" to find is little rubber dinosaurs or frogs. They can't cost more than 25 cents, but she gets excited to find them every time! No, you'll probably never find "treasure", but there are lots of fun things for kids to find and yes, you can teach them about trading fairly (and BETTER) for the items they're taking.

 

And I've been known to drop a dollar or two into a cache when a kiddo found something they just couldn't imagine passing up and we didn't have any other trade items.

 

Same here! There's one king and queen themed series near my office that ends with a 'treasure chest' that has a bunch of fake coins and gems for the taking that the owner refills regularly. It's a terrific idea and I wish it were close to home so I could take my daughter.

[+The_Incredibles_]

Having learned this from experience, make sure she knows that she isn't to put ANYTHING in her mouth, or even really handle things much until you can wash/clean them after retrieval.

 

I curse people who put candy/gum/whistles/balloons in caches... Gross!

 

Shaun

 

We used to think balloons were great swag, now we know better. I found balloons in one of my caches today and took them out. They were dirty and getting stiff. Just not good for swag.

 

While we're on the topic of bad swag, don't put stuffies or anything made of paper or fabric because it's just going to get mildewy. OK, at least in our area.

[+Renegade Knight]

Yeah, drop the 'Treasure' term. If you are truly expecting to find treasure, you will most certainly be disappointed -- at least, you are in for a reality check.

 

I can call it a "treasure" if I like.......

You can call it Smurgraffing as well. If you like. The point they were making is that you are creating an expectation and caches don't always live up to the treasure expectation. But you know your kid and no doubt manage expectations well. Finding something nice is a pleasant surprise. It's not the norm.

 

That said (and everyone else said it better and first...) it's not that hard to leave treasure without breaking the bank and kids love that too. I leave foreign coins and normally take nothing. I even have a stack of ancient mew cards that used to be my signature item that I need to start leaving again.

 

Good luck.

[+GeoLobo]

Yeah, drop the 'Treasure' term. If you are truly expecting to find treasure, you will most certainly be disappointed -- at least, you are in for a reality check.

 

I can call it a "treasure" if I like.......

You can call it Smurgraffing as well. If you like. The point they were making is that you are creating an expectation and caches don't always live up to the treasure expectation. But you know your kid and no doubt manage expectations well. Finding something nice is a pleasant surprise. It's not the norm.

 

That said (and everyone else said it better and first...) it's not that hard to leave treasure without breaking the bank and kids love that too. I leave foreign coins and normally take nothing. I even have a stack of ancient mew cards that used to be my signature item that I need to start leaving again.

 

Good luck.

 

I leave trading cards (check them out on my facebook page in my signature)

[+NanCycle]

I like to get our swag from our local thrift store. They sell bags of little cars, little plastic animals, that sort of thing. It's cheaper and I like that we're giving the toys a new life.

 

I find for most caches, the smaller swag is best, so that's usually what I carry in my backpack.

 

Yes, thrift stores are a great source of small items that are suitable for trading or for attaching to Travel Bugs.

[Willowpop]

Well, Thursday is looking like our first trip out geocaching...so fingers crossed that the weather holds for us.

I will head to the shops later and get a few bits of 'treasure' that we can leave if we find a suitable cache...besides, if we don't find one with 'treasure' on our first trip, the little trinkets we get won't go off so we can keep them for the future.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone, you've all been really helpful.