"Swag" was practically garbage

[+Quite]

Hi,

 

A quick trip into the neighbouring park revealed our 9th cache. A nice large container, painted a dark green. I guess our expectations were raised so, when we open it and found dirty items which included a Popsicle stick, a bandaid, and (my daughter claims) a Q-tip, we were pretty put off. I left two nice kid items and didn't remove anything. My daughter didn't want to touch anything in there and she is usually keen to grab a souvenir.

 

If it wasn't getting dark and our fingers were freezing I would have removed the worst of the items. I'm tempted to go back within a week and wipe out the container.

 

Luckily the log book, though slightly damp, is in fairly good shape.

 

Is it pretty common to find something like this in a cache?

[+Walts Hunting]

That is about average for a cache that has been around for more than a couple of months

[+BCandMsKitty]

Sadly, many caches are like that. Happily, though. there are a lot of cache owners that make an effort to keep their caches stocked.

I always carry some disposable rubber gloves (mainly for getting caches in poison ivy,etc.) and I'm not shy about removing garbage from a cache. It's almost like CITO. You're making the environment better.

[+T.D.M.22]

That's not SWAG- that's just trash. Feel free to throw it out. And it's great that you left something nice as well. That's the main reason I don't stock most caches.

[+L0ne.R]

Hi,

 

A quick trip into the neighbouring park revealed our 9th cache. A nice large container, painted a dark green. I guess our expectations were raised so, when we open it and found dirty items which included a Popsicle stick, a bandaid, and (my daughter claims) a Q-tip, we were pretty put off. I left two nice kid items and didn't remove anything. My daughter didn't want to touch anything in there and she is usually keen to grab a souvenir.

 

If it wasn't getting dark and our fingers were freezing I would have removed the worst of the items. I'm tempted to go back within a week and wipe out the container.

 

Luckily the log book, though slightly damp, is in fairly good shape.

 

Is it pretty common to find something like this in a cache?

 

As a cache owner I appreciate knowing if the cache is in rough shape. We use water tight containers, so I expect the contents to stay relatively clean for awhile, but sometimes stuff happens - like someone puts bubble liquid bottles in the cache and one bursts. There have been occasions when I visit one of our caches to find a moldy log and messy contents, yet know one said anything in the logs. My advice, say something in the log about the condition of the cache. A photo of the contents also reinforces the need for a clean-up.

Edited March 26, 2014 by L0ne.R

[+The_Incredibles_]

It's common to find garbage like this, however, most caches here will have something of interest. They won't be totally filled with dirty trash. That would be pretty rare to find a cache like that.

 

Bottom line, though, if you're caching for the swag, you won't be caching long. It's not really about the stuff you get, but the adventure you had.

 

As for the kids, I have kids too and trading is a big thing for them. What I do is bring a bunch of stuff in my pocket. If there's nothing good in the cache, I let the kids pick something from the swag I brought. With really young kids, it even works to quickly open the cache, toss your swag in there, they don't even notice where it came from.

[+briansnat]

There are two kinds of swag caches. Those that started stocked with garbage and stay filled with garbage their entire life and those that are stocked with all kinds of nice stuff and degrade into garbage over time.

[+Yorkshire Yellow]

If my kids go out with me I tend to try and take them to relatively new caches which haven't had too many finds yet. Around here at least (southern England), that usually means we find caches in good condition with some decent swag in them.

My 6.5yo daughter picked up some water balloons (water bombs), a couple of handmade bead bracelets and some other stuff at the weekend. We dropped off some London 2012 Olympic mascot keyrings I picked up at a toy shop closing down sale a while back.

[+L0ne.R]

If my kids go out with me I tend to try and take them to relatively new caches which haven't had too many finds yet. Around here at least (southern England), that usually means we find caches in good condition with some decent swag in them.

 

My 6.5yo daughter picked up some water balloons (water bombs), a couple of handmade bead bracelets and some other stuff at the weekend. We dropped off some London 2012 Olympic mascot keyrings I picked up at a toy shop closing down sale a while back.

 

I often find interesting stuff in caches. That's why I like swag size caches so much, the anticipation that there will be something unique and interesting in the cache (including geocoins and trackables).

[+Fugads]

With really young kids, it even works to quickly open the cache, toss your swag in there, they don't even notice where it came from.

 

Ha! I do the same thing! And another funny thing with young kids: we were out on a family hike and decided to revisit a cache we had found over a year ago. What did the kids want to trade for? The stuff we had left in the cache the previous year! And this despite there being other cool stuff in the cache that IMO was more interesting. A kids mind works in wonderful ways.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Fugads

[+geodarts]

Sadly, many caches are like that. Happily, though. there are a lot of cache owners that make an effort to keep their caches stocked.

 

When my daughter was younger she liked to look at items in caches - and we often brought something so we could trade up or even. In those days, caches sometimes listed the original contents of a cache, so we knew what was once there, but by and large caches depleted rather quickly. She soon lost interest in that part of the game.

 

When I placed caches, I stocked them with items that either of us might like to find. Many of my hides were ammo cans and had lots of room for things. Some were thematic items, like those I bought at a local pirate supply store. But I quickly realized that as an owner, I could make an effort to ensure that my caches started out full, but after that it was the finders responsibility to trade evenly - not mine to continue stocking caches. It was not just the money ($20-$100) or time, but a basic principle to me.

 

So now if I need to replace an entire container, I will put a few items in it. If I am simply checking on a cache, I will remove the garbage that was left there. But I feel no responsibility to keep my caches stocked.

[+The_Incredibles_]

With really young kids, it even works to quickly open the cache, toss your swag in there, they don't even notice where it came from.

 

Ha! I do the same thing! And another funny thing with young kids: we were out on a family hike and decided to revisit a cache we had found over a year ago. What did the kids want to trade for? The stuff we had left in the cache the previous year! And this despite there being other cool stuff in the cache that IMO was more interesting. A kids mind works in wonderful ways.

 

LOL, kids are fun. Mine do something similar in that, after fighting with each other at GZ over a particular item, whoever 'won' throws it on the floor of the van, only to be forgotten. I then gather it up and put it back in the swag bag to be recycled next time we go out. You get the idea. The one thing that I've consistently noticed is that for them it's more about the thrill of the find than getting something they're actually going to play with.

[+TheHarleyRebel]

If it is a good conatiner, and well maintained it should be fine, most I have found are ok!

[+L0ne.R]

Hi,

 

A quick trip into the neighbouring park revealed our 9th cache. A nice large container, painted a dark green. I guess our expectations were raised so, when we open it and found dirty items which included a Popsicle stick, a bandaid, and (my daughter claims) a Q-tip, we were pretty put off. I left two nice kid items and didn't remove anything. My daughter didn't want to touch anything in there and she is usually keen to grab a souvenir.

 

If it wasn't getting dark and our fingers were freezing I would have removed the worst of the items. I'm tempted to go back within a week and wipe out the container.

 

Luckily the log book, though slightly damp, is in fairly good shape.

 

Is it pretty common to find something like this in a cache?

 

I had a quick look at the gallery of photos. Back in 2011 it started off quite well:

 

 

Maybe it just needs a little TLC - a wipe down, a fresh logbook and a few clean inexpensive trinkets.

If this were my cache, based on the logs, I would assume everything was in good shape.

Edited March 27, 2014 by L0ne.R

[+Quite]

Hi,

 

Lots of snow down now, but when it melts I will go and clean out that cache. It would be a shame to leave it that way it currently is.

 

I/We do geocaching to get the kids outdoors and swag is a big deal to them. I focus on searching for "kid friendly" or larger caches. Is it me or are those micro/nano caches the "work of the devil" :-)

[+Bear and Ragged]

My advice, say something in the log about the condition of the cache. A photo of the contents also reinforces the need for a clean-up.

 

Read the previous logs...

If others have mentioned problems in their logs, it's time someone posted a Needs Maintenance.

 

I posted a Needs Maintenance on a cache, and the CO posted a note to say they were not aware of problems until the NM.

 

Cachers had been mentioning the damp, then wet, then soggy/mouldy log in their Found logs for 12 months...

[+niraD]

Is it me or are those micro/nano caches the "work of the devil" :-)

Well, some of them are rather "evil", but in a good way...

[+L0ne.R]

My advice, say something in the log about the condition of the cache. A photo of the contents also reinforces the need for a clean-up.

 

 

Read the previous logs...

If others have mentioned problems in their logs, it's time someone posted a Needs Maintenance.

 

I posted a Needs Maintenance on a cache, and the CO posted a note to say they were not aware of problems until the NM.

 

Cachers had been mentioning the damp, then wet, then soggy/mouldy log in their Found logs for 12 months...

 

Yes, completely agree with the NM log especially when the cache owner is not responding to previous mentions in other logs that there's an issue with the cache.

 

A Needs Maintenance log carries more weight.

 

I had an experience once where someone mentioned a damp log in one of our caches - just a quick mention in their found log. I had recently replaced the old Rubbermaid with a new authentic Lock n Lock so I thought it was rather odd that the logbook would be damp. I figured that the person got their cache finds mixed up. The next 3 logs didn't mention anything about a damp log and damaged contents. But a couple of months later I got an NM that said the logbook was moldy. That got my attention. In my experience when someone posts an NM they are serious about the problem and are not mixing up their cache finds. Turned out it was in really rough shape. Likely a tab hadn't been closed and someone put candy in the cache. Then the moisture was locked in for a couple of months resulting in a sticky moldy mess. The NM log to me says there really is a substantial maintenance issue.

 

COs who take pride in their caches will appreciate an NM alert. For those caches where the CO doesn't care, or who has abandoned the cache, well an NM starts the process of archival which opens up the area for someone to hide a new cache. In our area 3 NMs will often get the attention of a reviewer who will post a Reviewer Note.

Edited March 29, 2014 by L0ne.R

[+brutemus1]

Yuck. Ive seen a lot with trashy items. It's disappointing :/

[+WarNinjas]

I just went to change out the log on one of our large caches. I was sad I forgot to bring swagg to fill it up as we have a bunch. There was not much good stuff left in there. I will definitely have to go back after seeing how it is.

[45semi]

I got started in this @ the recommendation of a friend who has kids, and found it was a fun way to get the kids out-of-doors and get exercise.

(of course, my kid(s) had to have their own GPS, spoiled snots lol, so it was Geko 201's at first!)

 

The point being, that if your cache is anything but a micro (aka film can) its best to consider that a kid will be opening it one day, and that a LARGE part of the fun for the kids is swag.

 

All the caches I have put out have swag for kids. I always carry a bag of swag to replace anything taken,

and it varies in value from $1.75 carabiners from Lowes Hardware dept. to some of the cooler things that niteize.com sells....in an attempt to replace swag with equal-value items.

 

And I don't hesitate to drop a carabiner or two in an empty cache that I believe a kid will visit some day.

Edited April 1, 2014 by 45semi

[+ShaunEM]

I did a check on several of my caches late last fall. I took a bunch of smaller items to put back in these caches. I was surprised what was left in them by previous finders.

 

A HUGE bag of marbles, a tie, 3 extra log books (from other caches...), and many many crud pens (I leave at least two golf pencils in each cache, they were still there and sharp).

 

I had to take more than I brought in order just to get them to close properly. These are fairly easy caches to get to.. but to carry a huge bag of marbles? Crazy!

 

It was interesting to go read the logs from the caches that had their logbooks taken. I am working on returning the ones I can.

 

Shaun