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Trash in caches


ben-socha

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When you go for geo-hunting, what do you expect to find inside a small or regular size cache box? When I started my geocaching adventure I was hoping to discover some interesting items for trade, but sadly, I was quickly disillusioned. What I usually find inside the boxes - apart of logbook, pencil and trackables - turn out to be nothing more than pieces of garbage. I found f.e.: old leaking batteries on many occasions, dirty and sometimes rotting pieces of paper, dirty and broken toys, tiny "bits & bobs" without any charm, beauty or usefulness - simply something you wouldn't want to exchange, or even call "the items for trade", let alone "the treasure hunt"... Shame :(

 

Have you got similar experience? I am sure you have... So let me finish by using this common wisdom: Do not leave anything you would abhor to find.

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I appreciate a swag size water tight cache container with trinkets that are in reasonably good shape. I don't expect much in terms of swag. Mostly dollar store stuff but occasionally I have found some fun items. I'm especially partial to handmade or signature items. Here are some of the things I've collected from caches:

 

img_1837.jpg?w=150&h=131blue-dog-crocheted-finger-puppet.jpg?w=128&h=150hemp-bracelet.jpg?w=287img02193.jpg?w=300&h=215sig-pen.jpg

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When you go for geo-hunting, what do you expect to find inside a small or regular size cache box?

I expect to find NOTHING (except a log and pen/pencil), therefore I am surprised at what I do find. Sometimes the swag is "neat" stuff, sometimes it is junk, but in all cases it is a surprise to me that there is anything at all. :)

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It's all about the adventure and the journey

It's about getting out of the house to enjoy some time with friends and/or the dog..

It's about getting away from other responsibilities for a few hours.

It's never been about finding cool treasures in hidden containers.

It's been that way for me for over 10 years.

 

I will concede that there does seem to be more swag degradation in recent years. But except for the few times I took my younger nieces and nephews out on a caching adventure it was never about the contents for me.

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It's all about the adventure and the journey

It's about getting out of the house to enjoy some time with friends and/or the dog..

It's about getting away from other responsibilities for a few hours.

It's never been about finding cool treasures in hidden containers.

It's been that way for me for over 10 years.

 

I will concede that there does seem to be more swag degradation in recent years. But except for the few times I took my younger nieces and nephews out on a caching adventure it was never about the contents for me.

 

This

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yeah, I don't remember anyone ever telling me this was a treasure hunt. If I had that impression, I'd be disappointed too.

 

I pay little mind to swag except when I drop the cache and have to pick up all the swag and put it back in, and when placing my own caches. I always start my own out with some above average swag.

 

If you're looking for better swag, I'd suggest finding newer large caches that are not often found. Something along a nice hiking trail for example.

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People in my area are generally pretty good, the worst I've found is a pile of soggy mouldy calling cards, and a used condom. I kid you not, there was a used condom in the cache. But that was in the city. Most of the caches I find are trash free, but none of the swag is really appealing, just toy animals, I've started to make paracord bracelets to leave in caches just to make at least one peice of swag interesting. The best I've found would have to be a handmade bracelet.

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We've noticed that the further out you go, it seems the containers and swag inside appear in better shape that those closer to parking.

We went to one a couple months ago that was only a four mile walk, but was found only three times the previous year.

Contents were dry and swag was better-than-average in quality. Go figure.

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Broken bits that were once a part of a larger (possibly useful) item.

Broken larger items that would have been pretty cool had they actually been functional.

 

Most annoyingly:

 

ROCKS

 

Not cool polished stones.

Not exotic samples from faraway lands.

Just plain rocks like any that can be found three feet from the cache. :angry:

 

I assume these are put in the cache by very young children who want to participate, but don't understand the concept of 'trading'. You would think this would be the perfect time for the parents to step in and provide a little parental instruction, but apparently not. <_<

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C:GEO has been known to magically turn good stuff into mush (just kidding) :)

 

You're doing everything right, mate. Finding some interesting caches, writing good notes, having fun. On both sides of the pond the game seems to have gotten away from the trading aspect. Just bring a few nice things along with you to trade when you do find something you like. Otherwise just sign the log and be happy if it was an interesting spot. Don't get discouraged, you're the lot we need in the game!

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When I go for a hike and have a couple or more geocaches in mind I always hope that the staff inside these containers isn't TOO bad. Not because I wish to take something from geocaches (I lost any hope long ago) but because I usually have limited number of souvenirs to replace garbage that I used to CITO.

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It's hit or miss in my area. I too have found the remote caches to be a bit cleaner and un-rummaged than the urban ones. But, it seems that the majority of hides any more are micros, nanos, or very small smalls. This might be a reaction to what's happening in our hobby. People don't respect a good cache and either take without trading, kidnap travelers, or leave junk and business cards in a decent cache. Hence the proliferation of micros. That's just a personal theory though.

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Thanks guys for all the replies :) I have been caching not long enough anyway, but I LOVE it and some "trash in the caches" is not going to spoil my day or scare me away :) I am still evolving into what you are now - my fellow experienced geocachers :) Cheers!

Edited by ben-socha
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I usually take money, toy cars, necklaces, little rubber wristbands, keychains, etc. Stuff thats in good shape that I have and place it in. I recently placed in a hand made chainlink bracelet.

 

For adults I leave coffee coupons and free lunch coupons etc. I know I get hungry when out all day and I want to share what I have found with others.

 

What I hate is:

 

Food- it attracts ants and animals

Batteries- they leak and ruin the cache

Rocks- no its not fair trade..its a rock.

Shells- When near a beach cache this is also not a fair trade, maybe in the midwest...not florida.

Broken toys and just plain broken anything, I can understand if its used but try and think of who is picking things up

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When you go for geo-hunting, what do you expect to find inside a small or regular size cache box?

I expect to find NOTHING (except a log and pen/pencil), therefore I am surprised at what I do find. Sometimes the swag is "neat" stuff, sometimes it is junk, but in all cases it is a surprise to me that there is anything at all. :)

 

What bothers me is when I'm FTF on a cache and it is full of junk, obviously "SWAG" that was pulled out of other older caches whose contents had degarded. I would rather find an ammo can or large LnL that had nothing but a log in it as opposed to a few that I have seen.

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This bothers me too, one of the caches I logged was so crammed with swag that I couldn't open it by hand. When I got a pen out to pry it open, the contents went everywhere, which included: cigarette butts, a few pieces of chewed chewing gum, a reel of tangled fishing line, and various other plastic bits and bobs.

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Broken bits that were once a part of a larger (possibly useful) item.

Broken larger items that would have been pretty cool had they actually been functional.

 

Most annoyingly:

 

ROCKS

 

Not cool polished stones.

Not exotic samples from faraway lands.

Just plain rocks like any that can be found three feet from the cache. :angry:

 

I assume these are put in the cache by very young children who want to participate, but don't understand the concept of 'trading'. You would think this would be the perfect time for the parents to step in and provide a little parental instruction, but apparently not. <_<

 

Poor Charlie Brown That's all he ever got for Halloween is ROCKS :sad:

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Well, we've also noticed the swag in caches has gotten worse or non-existent in the seven years we've been caching.

 

The other problem I've noticed in the last couple of years is that caches are often left out in the open, or the top isn't put back on correctly. The big change I think that's affecting the sport now is that everybody with a smart phone can "be a geocacher." Maybe they've heard about caching from a friend or read something on line, and when they go out and find a cache they know nothing about "cache etiquette." They don't know they should trade for swag, rather than take everything in the container. They find a geocoin or TB - "hey now it's mine!" They don't understand that the cache owner put a lot of effort into placing it there. They don't stop to think leaving the cache exposed may result in it being stolen. They don't bother to log their finds; maybe they don't even know about geocaching.com. Using the phone to find a cache is just a little diversion, maybe a chance to find a cool keychain or a coupon to McD's. It's all about having fun, not being responsible or caring about fellow cachers.

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Broken bits that were once a part of a larger (possibly useful) item.

Broken larger items that would have been pretty cool had they actually been functional.

 

Most annoyingly:

 

ROCKS

 

Not cool polished stones.

Not exotic samples from faraway lands.

Just plain rocks like any that can be found three feet from the cache. :angry:

 

I assume these are put in the cache by very young children who want to participate, but don't understand the concept of 'trading'. You would think this would be the perfect time for the parents to step in and provide a little parental instruction, but apparently not. <_<

 

I have no problem by removing whatever I find by trading equally. Being optimistic I think of cache degradation as going from a dime to ten pennies and someone complaining about only finding pennies. I think it's left to those who are willing to trade up or equal. If you don't, you have nothing to complain about.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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Well, we've also noticed the swag in caches has gotten worse or non-existent in the seven years we've been caching.

 

The other problem I've noticed in the last couple of years is that caches are often left out in the open, or the top isn't put back on correctly. The big change I think that's affecting the sport now is that everybody with a smart phone can "be a geocacher." Maybe they've heard about caching from a friend or read something on line, and when they go out and find a cache they know nothing about "cache etiquette." They don't know they should trade for swag, rather than take everything in the container. They find a geocoin or TB - "hey now it's mine!" They don't understand that the cache owner put a lot of effort into placing it there. They don't stop to think leaving the cache exposed may result in it being stolen. They don't bother to log their finds; maybe they don't even know about geocaching.com. Using the phone to find a cache is just a little diversion, maybe a chance to find a cool keychain or a coupon to McD's. It's all about having fun, not being responsible or caring about fellow cachers.

 

well then, I'm the exception to the rule. I cache with an iPhone , but I also carry extra swag and add one or two more things if the cache is lacking ( and dry inside, lol) I replace baggies, wipe out the insides if damp, and ALL of my swag is inside individual tiny ( or not so tiny) plastic baggies. plus I have a lot of different handmade things to leave .

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Well, we've also noticed the swag in caches has gotten worse or non-existent in the seven years we've been caching.

 

The other problem I've noticed in the last couple of years is that caches are often left out in the open, or the top isn't put back on correctly. The big change I think that's affecting the sport now is that everybody with a smart phone can "be a geocacher." Maybe they've heard about caching from a friend or read something on line, and when they go out and find a cache they know nothing about "cache etiquette." They don't know they should trade for swag, rather than take everything in the container. They find a geocoin or TB - "hey now it's mine!" They don't understand that the cache owner put a lot of effort into placing it there. They don't stop to think leaving the cache exposed may result in it being stolen. They don't bother to log their finds; maybe they don't even know about geocaching.com. Using the phone to find a cache is just a little diversion, maybe a chance to find a cool keychain or a coupon to McD's. It's all about having fun, not being responsible or caring about fellow cachers.

 

well then, I'm the exception to the rule. I cache with an iPhone , but I also carry extra swag and add one or two more things if the cache is lacking ( and dry inside, lol) I replace baggies, wipe out the insides if damp, and ALL of my swag is inside individual tiny ( or not so tiny) plastic baggies. plus I have a lot of different handmade things to leave .

Link to comment

When you go for geo-hunting, what do you expect to find inside a small or regular size cache box? When I started my geocaching adventure I was hoping to discover some interesting items for trade, but sadly, I was quickly disillusioned. What I usually find inside the boxes - apart of logbook, pencil and trackables - turn out to be nothing more than pieces of garbage. I found f.e.: old leaking batteries on many occasions, dirty and sometimes rotting pieces of paper, dirty and broken toys, tiny "bits & bobs" without any charm, beauty or usefulness - simply something you wouldn't want to exchange, or even call "the items for trade", let alone "the treasure hunt"... Shame :(

 

Have you got similar experience? I am sure you have... So let me finish by using this common wisdom: Do not leave anything you would abhor to find.

 

we always drop off something in the cache and we usual find some interesting things like a bill from a country i cant even pronounce

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Well, we've also noticed the swag in caches has gotten worse or non-existent in the seven years we've been caching.

 

The other problem I've noticed in the last couple of years is that caches are often left out in the open, or the top isn't put back on correctly. The big change I think that's affecting the sport now is that everybody with a smart phone can "be a geocacher." Maybe they've heard about caching from a friend or read something on line, and when they go out and find a cache they know nothing about "cache etiquette." They don't know they should trade for swag, rather than take everything in the container. They find a geocoin or TB - "hey now it's mine!" They don't understand that the cache owner put a lot of effort into placing it there. They don't stop to think leaving the cache exposed may result in it being stolen. They don't bother to log their finds; maybe they don't even know about geocaching.com. Using the phone to find a cache is just a little diversion, maybe a chance to find a cool keychain or a coupon to McD's. It's all about having fun, not being responsible or caring about fellow cachers.

 

well then, I'm the exception to the rule. I cache with an iPhone , but I also carry extra swag and add one or two more things if the cache is lacking ( and dry inside, lol) I replace baggies, wipe out the insides if damp, and ALL of my swag is inside individual tiny ( or not so tiny) plastic baggies. plus I have a lot of different handmade things to leave .

Link to comment

Well, we've also noticed the swag in caches has gotten worse or non-existent in the seven years we've been caching.

 

The other problem I've noticed in the last couple of years is that caches are often left out in the open, or the top isn't put back on correctly. The big change I think that's affecting the sport now is that everybody with a smart phone can "be a geocacher." Maybe they've heard about caching from a friend or read something on line, and when they go out and find a cache they know nothing about "cache etiquette." They don't know they should trade for swag, rather than take everything in the container. They find a geocoin or TB - "hey now it's mine!" They don't understand that the cache owner put a lot of effort into placing it there. They don't stop to think leaving the cache exposed may result in it being stolen. They don't bother to log their finds; maybe they don't even know about geocaching.com. Using the phone to find a cache is just a little diversion, maybe a chance to find a cool keychain or a coupon to McD's. It's all about having fun, not being responsible or caring about fellow cachers.

 

well then, I'm the exception to the rule. I cache with an iPhone , but I also carry extra swag and add one or two more things if the cache is lacking ( and dry inside, lol) I replace baggies, wipe out the insides if damp, and ALL of my swag is inside individual tiny ( or not so tiny) plastic baggies. plus I have a lot of different handmade things to leave .

 

You are a geocacher. The problem is that there are quite a few people running around finding caches with there smartphones who aren't.

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It's all about the adventure and the journey

It's about getting out of the house to enjoy some time with friends and/or the dog..

It's about getting away from other responsibilities for a few hours.

It's never been about finding cool treasures in hidden containers.

It's been that way for me for over 10 years.

 

I will concede that there does seem to be more swag degradation in recent years. But except for the few times I took my younger nieces and nephews out on a caching adventure it was never about the contents for me.

 

This

 

+1 (except the amount of years) haha

Edited by Condorito
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IMO* everything inside a cache is rubbish excluding the logbook, hence why I love micros :laughing: so the majority of the contents are ignored, but any item that may not be appropriate, ie food or items which may be unsuitible for young cachers will be removed and disposed of.

 

When I do occasionally hide a large cache (anything bigger than a micro) and add additional items it's purely in order to fill the empty space

 

*YOMV

Edited by Ant89
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