Found a cache!

[lucky13pkc]

I had never heard of geocache until I accidentally found one last week. It had a note inside explaining how things work. So I went to the website and created an account. I even found a different cache close to my house and logged the find. I'd like to log the find of the cache I accidentally found, but I can't seem to locate it on the website. There's no GC number with it, only the placement date. Since I can't find it online, does that mean it's a "premium user". I'm just a regular user, so I guess I don't have visibility to the premium ones.

 

thanks

[+Glimmereyes]

It could be a Premium Member Only cache, it could also be the final to a Puzzle/Multi cache since those would not be listed as being at the coordinates you found. If you care to share the publish date and some of the found dates we can try and track down the cache.

 

It's also possible that the cache has been archived but the container was never retrieved, or that you stumbled upon a cache that hasn't been published but those are less common occurances.

[+T.D.M.22]

I could be a premium Member cache, it could have been archived(No longer in play) but not removed, it could be part of a puzzle(Which would not show on the map where it really is) part of a multi cache(Same thing) or even a cache that was placed and not accepted(all caches get reviewed to make sure they follow the guidelines) or not published yet(submitted for review but not appear on the website yet.) No way to know for sure. Maybe if you have the co-ords someone here has found it before, or someone may live near you and be able to help you. Geocaching is global, with over 2 million geocaches, so some specifics are needed.

[+niraD]

I once accidentally found a cache (while researching potential hide locations for one of my own caches). I was able to identify it by noting some of the names and dates in the log, and then examining the caches found on those dates by the people who signed the log. It turned out that the cache I found had been archived because the owner thought it was missing, but the same basic approach can be used to identify multi-caches, mystery/puzzle caches, premium member caches, and so on.

[+wmpastor]

It turned out that the cache I found had been archived because the owner thought it was missing.

Um, did the CO forget where he hid his own cache?? That's when you know you own too many caches!

[lucky13pkc]

thanks for the help! This is such a cool site and I know I have a lot to learn.

 

Without giving away too much info, the approx location is 41 degrees 42 minutes North, 86 degrees 18.6 minutes West. The theme is probably something military.

 

thanks again

[lucky13pkc]

...oops, meant to add that it was placed in April 2013. According to the logs inside the cache, it was found in July and again in October.

[+Chief301]

It turned out that the cache I found had been archived because the owner thought it was missing.

Um, did the CO forget where he hid his own cache?? That's when you know you own too many caches!

 

As we all know caches can migrate over time. If finders don't put it back exactly where they found it, especially in locations with numerous places to hide it, it can end up a surprising distance from its original spot.....sometimes and enough that the owner can't even find it.

 

I found a guardrail cache recently that I walked away a short distance to my truck to sign it. When I put it back I wasn't really entirely sure I put it behind the same beam where I found it....so I may have inadvertently "migrated" it one direction or the other. Multiply these little errors by a hundred finders and the distance can be significant.

[+The_Incredibles_]

It turned out that the cache I found had been archived because the owner thought it was missing.

Um, did the CO forget where he hid his own cache?? That's when you know you own too many caches!

 

I've had a hard time finding a few of my caches. Vegetation can look dramatically different from one season to the next and things grow over time. I've found ivy hides to be particularly troublesome. Also I have a really bad memory. Doesn't mean I have too many caches, just that I need to be liberal with the flagging tape.

[+niraD]

It turned out that the cache I found had been archived because the owner thought it was missing.

Um, did the CO forget where he hid his own cache?? That's when you know you own too many caches!

As we all know caches can migrate over time. If finders don't put it back exactly where they found it, especially in locations with numerous places to hide it, it can end up a surprising distance from its original spot.....sometimes and enough that the owner can't even find it.

Yep. It was a simple case of cache migration. In this case, it migrated only a couple feet, but someone hiding it "better than found" turned a simple "in plain sight" cache into an abandoned archived cache.

[+WarNinjas]

It turned out that the cache I found had been archived because the owner thought it was missing.

Um, did the CO forget where he hid his own cache?? That's when you know you own too many caches!

We have a few caches out that have 2 containers now and from us. We do a quick look and if we don't see it and it has a few DNF's we place a new one. Then someone finds the old one. Heck we even have one special one that has 3 out. We have no idea how some are finding the original as we have searched and can't find it and our new ones are very easy to find. How they pass those ones up and find the original is beyond me.

[+wmpastor]

It turned out that the cache I found had been archived because the owner thought it was missing.

Um, did the CO forget where he hid his own cache?? That's when you know you own too many caches!

 

As we all know caches can migrate over time. If finders don't put it back exactly where they found it, especially in locations with numerous places to hide it, it can end up a surprising distance from its original spot.....sometimes and enough that the owner can't even find it.

 

I found a guardrail cache recently that I walked away a short distance to my truck to sign it. When I put it back I wasn't really entirely sure I put it behind the same beam where I found it....so I may have inadvertently "migrated" it one direction or the other. Multiply these little errors by a hundred finders and the distance can be significant.

You're right, cache migration would explain it. Sometimes the errors cancel each other, sometimes they add up. I also saw one log by a n00b that said they "hid it in a better place."

[+wmpastor]

What irony! Everyone's finding caches they AREN'T looking for, and I can't even find the ones I AM looking for....

Edited October 20, 2013 by wmpastor