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What should be removed from a cache?


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We are new to geocaching. I have an idea about what's an appropriate trade item to leave in a geocache. But some of the items in the caches we have found seemed inappropriate or wrong in some way. For example, numerous business cards (John Jones, realtor; Bob's Car Wash; Freddy's Tatoo Parlor); cigarettes; crummy little rocks picked up off a road surface; pennies. My neophyte opinion is that such items do not belong in a geocache. But what type of items should be removed from a geocache by one who finds the cache? We left all the business cards, rocks and pennies but removed the cigarettes because they just seemed so wrong.

 

Any advice from experienced geocachers about what should be removed from a cache by one who finds it? Would you remove cigarettes, business cards, crummy rocks, pennies, something else?

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Of the list you named, I'd remove the cigarettes.

 

I'd also remove:

- Expired coupons

- Any food items

- Anything scented

- Liquids, that can make a mess

- Anything dangerous: knives, cigarette lighters, etc.

- Anything not family friendly: condoms, porn, etc.

- Broken stuff: fall leaves, broken toys, etc.

 

Someone once put those glasses you wear in a 3D movie into my cache. I tossed them. I suppose a kid might like them, but my cache doesn't have much space. I also once removed someone's filled-in golf scorecard.

 

Feel free to "trade even or up" on any of the other stuff. Leave a nickel for the penny. Leave a penny for the crummy rock. :laughing:

Edited by TriciaG
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I'd have removed the cigarettes also. After all, children visit these caches.

 

I have removed crayons (because they melt in the summer heat). I think someone was using them as a regular trade item because I found three caches in the same area with crayons in them.

 

When I remove something (like the crayon or a rock), I put something in its place. I always have lots of little trade items with me.

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We are new to geocaching. I have an idea about what's an appropriate trade item to leave in a geocache. But some of the items in the caches we have found seemed inappropriate or wrong in some way. For example, numerous business cards (John Jones, realtor; Bob's Car Wash; Freddy's Tatoo Parlor); cigarettes; crummy little rocks picked up off a road surface; pennies. My neophyte opinion is that such items do not belong in a geocache. But what type of items should be removed from a geocache by one who finds the cache? We left all the business cards, rocks and pennies but removed the cigarettes because they just seemed so wrong.

 

Any advice from experienced geocachers about what should be removed from a cache by one who finds it? Would you remove cigarettes, business cards, crummy rocks, pennies, something else?

 

Cigarettes, for sure. Also matches & lighters. Knives. Condoms. Tampons. (Yes, I have removed all of these.) I also usually remove the crummy little rocks, but leave the business cards, coupons, tracts, unless they are wet. Just my 2¢.

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I don't think it's my job to police the contents of other people's caches. If I see something that is dangerous (broken glass, pins, etc.) or positively inappropriate like porn or food I'll remove it. Useful things like knives and lighters I will trade for. Other than that I will leave it. At one time someone was leaving tampons in many caches around here. I left them because I figured that some day, someone might be thankful to find one.

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...Knives...

What's the problem with knives? I can understand a fixed blade knife that is not sheathed as someone might cut themselves on it. But what is wrong with a folding knife or a knive with the blade sheathed?

It comes down again to one of perception, I believe. The scenario is this - a work crew from a jail comes through, cleaning out the area. A person on that crew finds the cache and takes the knife.

 

It's been a hard mindset to break, especially for old timers like us. When caching started, it was done by outdoorsy people in the woods, in the mountains, and we liked putting survival type stuff in caches. One of our family's favorite things to put in caches were little utility knives.

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It comes down again to one of perception, I believe. The scenario is this - a work crew from a jail comes through, cleaning out the area. A person on that crew finds the cache and takes the knife.

Or children come to the cache, take the knife, and wreak some sort of havoc with it.

 

[Edited for grammar]

Edited by TriciaG
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It comes down again to one of perception, I believe. The scenario is this - a work crew from a jail comes through, cleaning out the area. A person on that crew finds the cache and takes the knife.

Or children come to the cache, take the knife, and wreak some sort of havoc with it.

In my opinion, these two scenarios are so contrived they aren't even worth considering. Knives are important and essential tools that most everyone, even children, need to know how to properly handle. I have no qualms whatsoever with knives used as trade items.

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It comes down again to one of perception, I believe. The scenario is this - a work crew from a jail comes through, cleaning out the area. A person on that crew finds the cache and takes the knife.

Or children come to the cache, take the knife, and wreak some sort of havoc with it.

In my opinion, these two scenarios are so contrived they aren't even worth considering. Knives are important and essential tools that most everyone, even children, need to know how to properly handle. I have no qualms whatsoever with knives used as trade items.

Here they would be entirely inappropriate in most cases. Tiny, tiny ones perhaps, but the chance of a bunch of kids finding it and then the hobby getting a bad name as a result (all it takes is one high profile media report...).

 

Knives in caches are a seriously bad idea IMO.

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From Geocaching 101: Are There Rules?

2. If you take a trinket from the geocache, leave something family-friendly of equal or greater value. Avoid placing food or scented items as these attract animals.

 

Most people will consider a knife, of any type or size, to NOT be family-friendly. Tobacco products are in the same category.

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Any advice from experienced geocachers about what should be removed from a cache by one who finds it? Would you remove cigarettes, business cards, crummy rocks, pennies, something else?

I have no problem with you considering any of those things to be zero value, so feel free to take them if you want. But it's not your responsibility to adjust the contents of caches to suit your tastes. I have removed all of those things from caches occasionally because the items struck me as wasted space, but I don't do it religiously. I would always take a cigarette as long as I thought I could throw it out quickly, although not for any "children might find it" reason, but rather because I know it will foul the container the first time there's a little moisture. And I normally take business cards since, after all, isn't that what the person that put the business card in the cache wanted me to do?

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Really? Nobody has linked to the guidelines yet?

 

Contents are family-friendly.

Explosives, fireworks, ammunition, lighters, knives (including pocket knives and multi-tools), drugs, alcohol and any illicit material should not be placed in a cache. Geocaching is a family-friendly activity and cache contents should be suitable for all ages.

If someone other than you places an inappropriate item in a cache that you own and this is reported, the cache may be temporarily disabled. As the cache owner, you may be asked to remove the questionable item before the cache listing is re-enabled.

 

Contents are appropriate for outdoor life.

Food items or scented items are inappropriate and disallowed. Animals have a keen sense of smell and have been known to destroy containers to get to these items. Items that may melt in the heat, such as crayons or lip balm, or expand in the cold, such as liquids, should also be excluded from caches.
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From Geocaching 101: Are There Rules?

2. If you take a trinket from the geocache, leave something family-friendly of equal or greater value. Avoid placing food or scented items as these attract animals.

 

Most people will consider a knife, of any type or size, to NOT be family-friendly. Tobacco products are in the same category.

They must dont have knifes in their kitchen. :blink:

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From Geocaching 101: Are There Rules?

2. If you take a trinket from the geocache, leave something family-friendly of equal or greater value. Avoid placing food or scented items as these attract animals.

 

Most people will consider a knife, of any type or size, to NOT be family-friendly. Tobacco products are in the same category.

 

Most people? Most kids I grew up with carried pocket knives, usually given to them by a parent or grandparent. I was one.

Edited by briansnat
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I trade for rocks, pennies, ticket stubs, beat up golf balls, condoms, cigarettes, paper clips, dirty erasers, and even business cards.

 

I leave something better in their places. Perhaps an assortment of foreign currency, a brooch, a small toy better than McDonald's variety, an interesting keychain, and so on. I find very few caches on average so I can afford to work this way.

 

Of course, I throw the items I traded for away.

Edited by fbingha
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I've removed bullets. Why someone would leave ammo is a mystery to me. But, I do have a nifty large caliber bullet casing that I'm working on turning into a cache. That was a good trade item!

 

Oh here we go again.

 

I never see anything bigger than .22 bullets. I see them all the time and they are generally safe. It doesnt bother me.

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I've removed bullets. Why someone would leave ammo is a mystery to me. But, I do have a nifty large caliber bullet casing that I'm working on turning into a cache. That was a good trade item!

 

Oh here we go again.

 

I never see anything bigger than .22 bullets. I see them all the time and they are generally safe. It doesnt bother me.

Here we go where? The question was what we've removed. That's what I've removed. And we don't generally use .22 pea shooters out here in the wild, wild west.

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It comes down again to one of perception, I believe. The scenario is this - a work crew from a jail comes through, cleaning out the area. A person on that crew finds the cache and takes the knife.

Or children come to the cache, take the knife, and wreak some sort of havoc with it.

In my opinion, these two scenarios are so contrived they aren't even worth considering. Knives are important and essential tools that most everyone, even children, need to know how to properly handle. I have no qualms whatsoever with knives used as trade items.

Yet both are true stories. An entire county park system in Ohio banned geocaching on its properties years ago after a small pocket knife was found in a cache there. The jail work crew scenario actually occurred - both in California (reported, 2002) and Oregon (reported, 2003). Pocket knives were added to the "Cache Contents" listing guideline in 2003 in reaction to land manager concerns, specifically including the inmate work crew concern. Inmate work crews are often used for cleaning up public parks.

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From Geocaching 101: Are There Rules?

2. If you take a trinket from the geocache, leave something family-friendly of equal or greater value. Avoid placing food or scented items as these attract animals.

 

Most people will consider a knife, of any type or size, to NOT be family-friendly. Tobacco products are in the same category.

 

Most people? Most kids I grew up with carried pocket knives, usually given to them by a parent or grandparent. I was one.

 

I don't think knives should be given to kids. We were at a summer camp last year and a kid threw a knife at my kid. Not saying every kid is going to do that, but I just think, in general, it's a bad idea.

 

On topic, I remove garbage from caches regularly. Anything that was picked off the ground (rocks, sticks), garbage like expired coupons. Anything that's rusted or leaking or in bad shape.

 

Pennies I would leave in.

Edited by The_Incredibles_
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I have and will continue to remove the following items:

 

1) Food: no one should eat anything they found in a cache.

2) Cigarettes: no one should smoke anything they found in a cache.

3) Condoms: using a condom you found in a cache, no one should.

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From Geocaching 101: Are There Rules?

2. If you take a trinket from the geocache, leave something family-friendly of equal or greater value. Avoid placing food or scented items as these attract animals.

 

Most people will consider a knife, of any type or size, to NOT be family-friendly. Tobacco products are in the same category.

 

Most people? Most kids I grew up with carried pocket knives, usually given to them by a parent or grandparent. I was one.

 

I don't think knives should be given to kids. We were at a summer camp last year and a kid threw a knife at my kid. Not saying every kid is going to do that, but I just think, in general, it's a bad idea.

 

On topic, I remove garbage from caches regularly. Anything that was picked off the ground (rocks, sticks), garbage like expired coupons. Anything that's rusted or leaking or in bad shape.

 

Pennies I would leave in.

I was given a knife at the age of 8 and I never misuse it. Removing/banning weapon from kids doesn't solve the problem, teaching and train your kids does. However, knifes dont belong in summer camp anyway.

 

To roll it back on topic.

I had removed stuffs because it was way too full. I just drop them off at another bigger container. Super full cache container is really a pet peeve of mines. If there is room for only a log sheet, no need to add anything more! :ph34r:

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I have and will continue to remove the following items:

 

1) Food: no one should eat anything they found in a cache.

2) Cigarettes: no one should smoke anything they found in a cache.

3) Condoms: using a condom you found in a cache, no one should.

 

I agree with the condoms, while it would be alot of fun, I've seen what happens to balloons when left in caches. :huh:

 

Food, not necessarily a good idea, although I did eat a chocolate bar I found in a cache once and survived.

 

As for smoking stuff, yep, not really a good idea, but I was tempted once when I found an illegal stash, but that's a story for another thread...

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I was given a knife at the age of 8 and I never misuse it. Removing/banning weapon from kids doesn't solve the problem, teaching and train your kids does.

 

Tell that to my kid who almost lost an eye. Unless the kid's 100% reliable, I would wait until they get older and have a brain. It's just not worth it.

 

To roll it back on topic.

I had removed stuffs because it was way too full. I just drop them off at another bigger container. Super full cache container is really a pet peeve of mines. If there is room for only a log sheet, no need to add anything more! :ph34r:

 

This is a good idea. I have done the same. Golfballs seem to be the worst offender. The last thing you want is the lid not closing and the cache getting wet.

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I was given a knife at the age of 8 and I never misuse it. Removing/banning weapon from kids doesn't solve the problem, teaching and train your kids does.

 

Tell that to my kid who almost lost an eye. Unless the kid's 100% reliable, I would wait until they get older and have a brain. It's just not worth it.

Growing up I saw more fights with pencils then knives, and more wounds from them. When I reached my twenties, I had five scars from pencils and one scar from a knife. Oh, and don't get started on sticks! You know how many kids get hurt from sticks? Keep them out of their hands.

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I was given a knife at the age of 8 and I never misuse it. Removing/banning weapon from kids doesn't solve the problem, teaching and train your kids does.

 

Tell that to my kid who almost lost an eye. Unless the kid's 100% reliable, I would wait until they get older and have a brain. It's just not worth it.

Growing up I saw more fights with pencils then knives, and more wounds from them. When I reached my twenties, I had five scars from pencils and one scar from a knife. Oh, and don't get started on sticks! You know how many kids get hurt from sticks? Keep them out of their hands.

Growing up, we threw apples at each other... black walnut as well! <_< Oh hell, they hurt like hell and sticking sticks in each other bicycle wheels. :unsure:

 

I never took a knife to a fight.

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I was given a knife at the age of 8 and I never misuse it. Removing/banning weapon from kids doesn't solve the problem, teaching and train your kids does.

 

Tell that to my kid who almost lost an eye. Unless the kid's 100% reliable, I would wait until they get older and have a brain. It's just not worth it.

 

To roll it back on topic.

I had removed stuffs because it was way too full. I just drop them off at another bigger container. Super full cache container is really a pet peeve of mines. If there is room for only a log sheet, no need to add anything more! :ph34r:

This is a good idea. I have done the same. Golfballs seem to be the worst offender. The last thing you want is the lid not closing and the cache getting wet.

 

and dont forget those business cards!!! and super size plastic bags!! :ph34r:

 

If the plastic baggie is too big, I will throw it away. Be smart and get something smaller! <_<

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From Geocaching 101: Are There Rules?

2. If you take a trinket from the geocache, leave something family-friendly of equal or greater value. Avoid placing food or scented items as these attract animals.

 

Most people will consider a knife, of any type or size, to NOT be family-friendly. Tobacco products are in the same category.

 

Most people? Most kids I grew up with carried pocket knives, usually given to them by a parent or grandparent. I was one.

 

I don't think knives should be given to kids. We were at a summer camp last year and a kid threw a knife at my kid. Not saying every kid is going to do that, but I just think, in general, it's a bad idea.

 

My son went to a summer camp a couple of years ago called "Primitive Pursuits". They spent all day out in the woods and among other things carved some sticks with a whittling knive. My son wanted one so we got one form him. The next day he came home with a band aid on his leg. He still may have a small scar from that.

 

I'm sure that there are lots of people that think knives should be given to kids. There are also a lot of parents that might feel that they're child is not yet ready to have a knife. You can make parenting decisions for your kids. Don't make parenting decisions by placing a knife in a cache for anyone else.

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You can make parenting decisions for your kids. Don't make parenting decisions by placing a knife in a cache for anyone else.

 

I do not place any trading items in caches, but I do not think that placing a knife in a cache is a parenting decision for anyone else as it is the responsibility of the parents to take care that their

children do not take a knife out of a cache if they should not have a knife.

 

I also do not buy the argument about playing children that could find a cache by chance. They can come across a knife or other tools very easily in many other situations as well which are much more likely to arise than finding a cache by chance without adults being around.

 

 

Cezanne

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I've removed bullets. Why someone would leave ammo is a mystery to me.

 

That's why I prefer to use AMMO cans...so that someone will drop off some ammo. But noone ever does :(

This goes counter to what I said, but maybe if you leave a .22, someone will trade up for a .40...... B)

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I've removed bullets. Why someone would leave ammo is a mystery to me.

 

That's why I prefer to use AMMO cans...so that someone will drop off some ammo. But noone ever does :(

This goes counter to what I said, but maybe if you leave a .22, someone will trade up for a .40...... B)

That wont happen... more likely a .20! :laughing:

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From Geocaching 101: Are There Rules?

2. If you take a trinket from the geocache, leave something family-friendly of equal or greater value. Avoid placing food or scented items as these attract animals.

 

Most people will consider a knife, of any type or size, to NOT be family-friendly. Tobacco products are in the same category.

 

Most people? Most kids I grew up with carried pocket knives, usually given to them by a parent or grandparent. I was one.

 

I don't think knives should be given to kids. We were at a summer camp last year and a kid threw a knife at my kid. Not saying every kid is going to do that, but I just think, in general, it's a bad idea.

 

My son went to a summer camp a couple of years ago called "Primitive Pursuits". They spent all day out in the woods and among other things carved some sticks with a whittling knive. My son wanted one so we got one form him. The next day he came home with a band aid on his leg. He still may have a small scar from that.

 

I'm sure that there are lots of people that think knives should be given to kids. There are also a lot of parents that might feel that they're child is not yet ready to have a knife. You can make parenting decisions for your kids. Don't make parenting decisions by placing a knife in a cache for anyone else.

 

Seriously, if there are kids out there who are too young to handle a pocket knife hunting geocaches then the parenting decisions are probably suspect from the beginning. I certainly hope parents aren't giving 9 year olds GPS units and sending them outdoors after geocaches unsupervised.

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From Geocaching 101: Are There Rules?

2. If you take a trinket from the geocache, leave something family-friendly of equal or greater value. Avoid placing food or scented items as these attract animals.

 

Most people will consider a knife, of any type or size, to NOT be family-friendly. Tobacco products are in the same category.

 

Most people? Most kids I grew up with carried pocket knives, usually given to them by a parent or grandparent. I was one.

 

I don't think knives should be given to kids. We were at a summer camp last year and a kid threw a knife at my kid. Not saying every kid is going to do that, but I just think, in general, it's a bad idea.

 

My son went to a summer camp a couple of years ago called "Primitive Pursuits". They spent all day out in the woods and among other things carved some sticks with a whittling knive. My son wanted one so we got one form him. The next day he came home with a band aid on his leg. He still may have a small scar from that.

 

I'm sure that there are lots of people that think knives should be given to kids. There are also a lot of parents that might feel that they're child is not yet ready to have a knife. You can make parenting decisions for your kids. Don't make parenting decisions by placing a knife in a cache for anyone else.

 

Seriously, if there are kids out there who are too young to handle a pocket knife hunting geocaches then the parenting decisions are probably suspect from the beginning. I certainly hope parents aren't giving 9 year olds GPS units and sending them outdoors after geocaches unsupervised.

 

I misplaced my pocket knife a few weeks ago. So, I went to Home Depot to get a new one. (That's where I had bought the last one.) New Jersey now considers a pocket knife to be a weapon, and there is a lot more paperwork (showing ID &c). So, Home Depot no longer sells them in NJ. Couldn't find any at WalMart either! So, I guess they are a weapon! New Jersey said so! Fortunately, I found my knife. Or, I'd have to go to Pennsylvania to buy a new one. (I mostly use it as a staple puller at work...)

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I've removed bullets. Why someone would leave ammo is a mystery to me.

 

That's why I prefer to use AMMO cans...so that someone will drop off some ammo. But noone ever does :(

This goes counter to what I said, but maybe if you leave a .22, someone will trade up for a .40...... B)

That wont happen... more likely a .20! :laughing:

Excellent point!

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From Geocaching 101: Are There Rules?

2. If you take a trinket from the geocache, leave something family-friendly of equal or greater value. Avoid placing food or scented items as these attract animals.

 

Most people will consider a knife, of any type or size, to NOT be family-friendly. Tobacco products are in the same category.

 

Most people? Most kids I grew up with carried pocket knives, usually given to them by a parent or grandparent. I was one.

 

I don't think knives should be given to kids. We were at a summer camp last year and a kid threw a knife at my kid. Not saying every kid is going to do that, but I just think, in general, it's a bad idea.

 

My son went to a summer camp a couple of years ago called "Primitive Pursuits". They spent all day out in the woods and among other things carved some sticks with a whittling knive. My son wanted one so we got one form him. The next day he came home with a band aid on his leg. He still may have a small scar from that.

 

I'm sure that there are lots of people that think knives should be given to kids. There are also a lot of parents that might feel that they're child is not yet ready to have a knife. You can make parenting decisions for your kids. Don't make parenting decisions by placing a knife in a cache for anyone else.

 

My first cache find back in early 2002 had me so excited that i left my Old Timer in it. Because of our rural ways and the fact that the cache was out in the woods, it never even occurred to me that it was innappropriate. Since then, i have come to realize that leaving a knife in a cache could cause a problem. There are kids, adults as well, who just aren't ready for the responsibilty of owning/using a knife that they might come across in a cache.

 

As stated above, Groundspeak now has a guideline that says no to knives in caches anyways.

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This has been mentioned before, but I have a pet peeve about swag left in cache containers that is so big the container won't close properly. What are people thinking?? Too many times I've come across a L&L or similar container with a ball or an action figure in it that kept it from sealing. Consequently the cache is full of water. Since I rarely trade swag I generally take the offending item and then drop it off in the next container I find that's big enough.

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We are new to geocaching. I have an idea about what's an appropriate trade item to leave in a geocache. But some of the items in the caches we have found seemed inappropriate or wrong in some way. For example, numerous business cards (John Jones, realtor; Bob's Car Wash; Freddy's Tatoo Parlor); cigarettes; crummy little rocks picked up off a road surface; pennies. My neophyte opinion is that such items do not belong in a geocache. But what type of items should be removed from a geocache by one who finds the cache? We left all the business cards, rocks and pennies but removed the cigarettes because they just seemed so wrong.

 

Any advice from experienced geocachers about what should be removed from a cache by one who finds it? Would you remove cigarettes, business cards, crummy rocks, pennies, something else?

 

Being on Vancouver Island,

I have found Rolling papers and three joints! (Not joking)

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Regarding the side discussion about knives, parental responsibility, etc...

Keep in mind that not every kid that finds a cache is a cacher or was intending to find the cache. I'm sure many of you have found a cache that a muggle kid has stumbled upon and written/drawn/scribbled things in the log. A knife could potentially be problematic in a case like this. However, a container filled just with McToys and other harmless objects is far less likely to be problematic if found by a muggle kid.

polls_think_of_the_children_2111_284019_answer_2_xlarge.jpeg

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It comes down again to one of perception, I believe. The scenario is this - a work crew from a jail comes through, cleaning out the area. A person on that crew finds the cache and takes the knife.

Or children come to the cache, take the knife, and wreak some sort of havoc with it.

In my opinion, these two scenarios are so contrived they aren't even worth considering. Knives are important and essential tools that most everyone, even children, need to know how to properly handle. I have no qualms whatsoever with knives used as trade items.

 

In our state it is illegal to carry a knife unless it is an occupational tool being carried to or from work. There are very few exceptions, e.g. while fishing or hunting.

Edited by colleda
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Yesterday I removed a live 12 Ga shotgun shell from a cache. I knew someone would have problem with it down the road, it was jammed in the cache so tight (a pill bottle) I had to pry it out. Plus it’s against the guidelines. If the swag is destroyed or unusable then I will pack it out to throw away. No sense leaving the problem for the next person.

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A kid could probably be trusted with one years ago, but today's kids are more irresponsible. A toy gun often means expulsion from school, or even a gunlike hand gesture triggers a suspension. I had a cub scout knife at 10 or 11, and never had any problems with it in school. However knives have too much value to be found in any cache today anyway.

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