A False Log

[+toma351]

We have a series of water caches. There's a chain of them, and you can get in a kayak and paddle from cache to cache, logging several in one trip. Lots of fun on a warm summer day. (Not so fun in late November)

They are not accessible by land.

 

So today I got a log saying "Having breakfast across the street and decided to go for this one. It's just where it should be and in good condition." Obviously this person did not find this cache. I don't want to go out in the cold weather to paddle to confirm that the logbook is signed. What would you do?

[+T.D.M.22]

We have a series of water caches. There's a chain of them, and you can get in a kayak and paddle from cache to cache, logging several in one trip. Lots of fun on a warm summer day. (Not so fun in late November)

They are not accessible by land.

 

So today I got a log saying "Having breakfast across the street and decided to go for this one. It's just where it should be and in good condition." Obviously this person did not find this cache. I don't want to go out in the cold weather to paddle to confirm that the logbook is signed. What would you do?

 

Maybe the did find a cache, and noted the GC number. When the person went to log it they put the wrong number in. You could email the cacher.

[+Backwards Charlie from Austin]

T.D.M.22 is right. Contact the person and let them know that you think they keyed in the wrong GCcode. I had a similar case where I contacted the person and told them I thought they miskeyed the GCcode. I also told them if they are sure the entered the right code, then they should be able to tell me something about the cache that only a person that has been there would know. And if I did not hear back from them in a few days then I would delete their log.

[4wheelin_fool]

I have a series of 25 paddle tos which started receiving finds last January. The finder walked on ice and even managed to fall in the freezing water. It's entirely possible that yours might be accessible without a boat, or they logged the wrong one of course.

[+captnemo]

We have a series of water caches. There's a chain of them, and you can get in a kayak and paddle from cache to cache, logging several in one trip. Lots of fun on a warm summer day. (Not so fun in late November)

They are not accessible by land.

 

So today I got a log saying "Having breakfast across the street and decided to go for this one. It's just where it should be and in good condition." Obviously this person did not find this cache. I don't want to go out in the cold weather to paddle to confirm that the logbook is signed. What would you do?

 

Maybe the did find a cache, and noted the GC number. When the person went to log it they put the wrong number in. You could email the cacher.

+1. If there is no answer to the Email you can always delete a false log latter on when the weather improves enough to paddle out to the cache.

 

If you do delete the log I would email them something like "Deleting entry made in error as there is no signature in the log book".

[+BlueMoth]

I am the person who wrote that log, and yes, it was a mistake. So sorry to upset the co. No, I wasn't trying to sneak in a false find. I was using my app, on the run out of the rain back to the car, and meant to log a note (not a find) for this challenge cache across the street from where I was having breakfast: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC49MAX_the-double-alphanumeric-cache-name-challenge?guid=1ae59bfa-03c6-44b5-8a81-4c295c3fbd25.

 

I suppose the co's cache was next on the nearby queue list for my app. I'm not sure why it popped up as it did, or why I didn't notice it as I was logging it. However, I realized my mistake right away, deleted the found log (before I went home), and logged the challenge cache correctly (before I went home) as a note. I see now that I should have sat in the car, and written out an apology to the co as soon as I deleted the found log. So, I'm sorry again.

 

However, a glance at the cache page would have clued the co in that the log was no longer there, because surely by the time they had gotten the email of my "find", that log was already deleted, by me.

 

If they hadn't looked at the cache page, a friendly note asking if I had made a mistake would have been nice.

 

Instead I got this email today.

 

"We're glad someone logged our cache (Not the B. factory) yesterday, however we would like to confirm that you actually had a boat and traveled the slough to get this one. It is not accessible by foot (unless the water level has suddenly dropped so much), and your log does not indicate any information about your watercraft. In addition, we have a whole chain of caches along this stretch of the slough, so nobody has found just one. They always do the whole chain, from the put-in to the pull-out.

 

Please reply with more details describing where exactly you found it and/or how you managed to get to it. Otherwise we will delete your log."

 

Imagine my dumbfounded surprise in getting that the day after I corrected everything.

 

In the interest of fairness, this was my reply this afternoon:

 

"Hello,

You sent me a letter threatening to delete my log on your Coat Factory slough cache:

I don't have a found log on that cache.

Feel free to delete the nonexistant one though.

BlueMoth"

 

Anyway, next summer, when it is really hot and the water is low, I guess I know now that if I ever get my caching friends to go along with me and we find an alternative way into that part of the slough, and ever find just that one cache, and not the rest of them along the way, I'll be sure to take a photo to prove that I was there, and since that would be quite the adventure, I'll make sure my log is really long and descriptive too.

[+WarNinjas]

Yikes! This one got out of hand quickly. I can see both sides. Maybe the finder could have posted a note saying Sorry I had logged the wrong cache. Or the CO could have sent a message saying I just wanted to confirm you actually found it.

I had something similar happen to one of our kayak caches. It was a DNF. They said they looked but it appeared to be missing. There was no info on there kayaking there or anything and I didn't want to kayak out on the bay for no reason. I sent a nice "I was just checking that you actually kayaked out there and couldn't find it?" They said wow! We didn't kayak anywhere it must have been a mistake please delete our DNF.

I think this could have been handled more like that. Oh well it is all solved and I hope no hard feeling between finder and hider as I am sure if you are in the same area there will be more finding and hiding going on.

[+Mn-treker]

Some times you get the cheaters who think that the CO won't check on things.

I have a Rum River series in Minnesota A Cacher (newbie) logged some on the east side and the west side.

The east can be walked to, I did find they signed the paper log. Then on the west side they said they forgot a pen.

One big problem though I did find that they signed the logs on the east side of the river. That means that they did have a pen.

I sent them an e-mail and got back a nasty response. Pretty good chance that they lied about getting there.

You need a boat to get to the west side or walk the river ice. When they did it the river was not frozen.

I will wait till January to check, if I find no signed log at those on the west I will delete them.

That is the only way to handle it.

[+wearn3]

Well, is it really that important to complain about whether or not someone found a container with a piece of paper in? I mean I'm sure this tops the civil unrest in Missouri or the Ebola outbreak in Western Africa to the extent that a forum topic needed to be created about it.

[+BlueMoth]

I have no hard feelings towards the op and co of the cache in question.

 

Mistakes can happen.

No need to let it sour community relations.

 

I also hope they can find as much amusement in this whole drama as I am starting to.

 

I meant what I said about finding the co's cache though. My friends and I will try for it bank side next summer since we don't own kayaks or canoes. I'm actually looking forward to it.

[+TriciaG]

Well, is it really that important to complain about whether or not someone found a container with a piece of paper in? I mean I'm sure this tops the civil unrest in Missouri or the Ebola outbreak in Western Africa to the extent that a forum topic needed to be created about it.

To some of us, it's the principle of the thing. If they lie about this, society is the lesser because there's one more liar in it. Yes, this is just a hobby.

 

If you don't care about signatures in the logs, maybe I'll armchair log your caches.

 

ETA: The OP was asking what to do about it. That's a valid reason to start a forum topic.

Edited November 30, 2014 by TriciaG

[+toma351]

Thank you. Rather than assume the cacher is trying to log a bogus find, I'll just contact him/her.

[+dprovan]

I would assume it's a mistake that will be quickly corrected when I point it out, but I would phrase my mail in a way that shows how impressed I am that they overcame the obvious difficulties, although while also expressing confusion and asking for clarification about how they could possibly have been having breakfast across the street. I would try to not be sarcastic, although I can't say for sure whether I'd be successful.

 

But, of course, I'd be prepared for the possibility that I'd hear nothing back, in which case I'd delete the log while assuming it was someone trying to pull a fast one. And in that case, I wouldn't expect to hear anything more about it.

[4wheelin_fool]

Thank you. Rather than assume the cacher is trying to log a bogus find, I'll just contact him/her.

 

Of course its entirely possible that they deleted the log even before you started this thread.

[JASTA 11]

We had a paddle cache located under a long, wooden bridge. Not only was a boat required, but it was still pretty tricky to reach. It had gone a while without any finds until this log was posted:

 

The bridge is closed so have to walk it. Lots of muggles around, but still able to use stealth and geterdone! Thanks for the smiley!

 

We were amazed that someone could have found it by walking to it, so we queried the finder:

 

Hi There,

 

We're wondering how you managed to find our 'Powder Point' cache on foot.

 

Considering that everyone else has had to use a boat to get to it, finding it without using one would be a great story for the cache page.

 

Please let us know!

 

JASTA 11

 

The log was deleted without a response from the 'finder'.

 

So much for "geterdone".

[+wearn3]

Well, is it really that important to complain about whether or not someone found a container with a piece of paper in? I mean I'm sure this tops the civil unrest in Missouri or the Ebola outbreak in Western Africa to the extent that a forum topic needed to be created about it.

To some of us, it's the principle of the thing. If they lie about this, society is the lesser because there's one more liar in it. Yes, this is just a hobby.

 

If you don't care about signatures in the logs, maybe I'll armchair log your caches.

 

ETA: The OP was asking what to do about it. That's a valid reason to start a forum topic.

[+wearn3]

It was out of jest what I was saying and it kind of proves my point. But if makes you happy to armchair my caches, knock yourself out. I've got one that I think is an armchair cache, and it's less than a quarter mile from where I live. But it's not that important to me.

[+wearn3]

Thank you. Rather than assume the cacher is trying to log a bogus find, I'll just contact him/her.

 

Of course its entirely possible that they deleted the log even before you started this thread.

 

BlueMoth is my friend and caching partner in crime. She did delete it right after she logged a note and not a find. Her log says she will have to see if she qualifies when she gets home. That tells me she meant to click on the challenge cache she was trying to do. And I told her not to do that person's challenge anymore because they are stupid. And see where we wind up.

[+BlueMoth]

Humm, well yes. Maybe I will avoid trying to log notes on challenge caches from now on.

 

This is rapidly turning into the theater of the absurd.

I came home again tonight after a day of caching to find this note from the slough cache co in my inbox:

 

"Hi--I think that it's possible you mis-keyed in the GC numbers for a different cache that you found, and didn't notice it was posting the note on my cache. (I see it was a note, not a find)."

 

My log was deleted. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

 

Next time, look at your cache page.

 

Edit to add another sorry.

Edited December 1, 2014 by BlueMoth

[+frinklabs]

Humm, well yes. Maybe I will avoid trying to log notes on challenge caches from now on.

 

An opportunity for me to point out that implementation of the Challenge Stars feature would negate this sort of misunderstanding.

[+WarNinjas]

I have no hard feelings towards the op and co of the cache in question.

 

Mistakes can happen.

No need to let it sour community relations.

 

I also hope they can find as much amusement in this whole drama as I am starting to.

 

I meant what I said about finding the co's cache though. My friends and I will try for it bank side next summer since we don't own kayaks or canoes. I'm actually looking forward to it.

Perfect attitude! Glad to see it!

[+NYPaddleCacher]

We have a series of water caches. There's a chain of them, and you can get in a kayak and paddle from cache to cache, logging several in one trip. Lots of fun on a warm summer day. (Not so fun in late November)

They are not accessible by land.

 

So today I got a log saying "Having breakfast across the street and decided to go for this one. It's just where it should be and in good condition." Obviously this person did not find this cache. I don't want to go out in the cold weather to paddle to confirm that the logbook is signed. What would you do?

 

If you don't want to go out in winter to maintain your caches I'd suggest disabling them over winter. Personally, I would do that if only to discourage people from paddling to those cache during a time when it could be life threatening if someone capsized while trying to find them.

[+bflentje]

nevermind

Edited December 1, 2014 by bflentje