Strangest thing found while geocaching

[+Max and 99]

Two weeks ago I found a wedding band in a jewelry box. 

[+KACOE]

I got swarmed by a hoard of squirrels recently... does that count?

[+Mn-treker]

Not long ago I encountered a Sasquatch hunter. Abe Del rio I think. So I decided to hide a string of geocaches deep in the woods Sasquatch hunter day 1 through 6. Then while hiking out I heard some campers not far away. I had fun with them. I started grunting and howling like a Sasquatch. ????

You should have heard them campers.

???????.

Edited September 29, 2018 by Mn-treker

[+Florist_fire]

Last week I was geocaching in a cemetery and found a starving cat right by GZ under a bench! I tried calling to her but she was so weak she couldn't walk... So I cut my geocaching day short and took her home. I've been trying to get some meat on her bones again. I named her Leah, because the geocache I was searching for was in memory of a young lady with that name.

 

This summer I went on a hike outside of Henderson, KY to go geocaching. One there was called Kentucky Deer Stand. GZ was at a leaning tree in the woods with a folding lawn chair tied down onto it. You had to climb past the chair up the tree to get to the cache. Of course I had to make the climb twice because I ended up dropping my pen!! 

[+Max and 99]

4 hours ago, Florist_fire said:

Last week I was geocaching in a cemetery and found a starving cat right by GZ under a bench! I tried calling to her but she was so weak she couldn't walk... So I cut my geocaching day short and took her home. I've been trying to get some meat on her bones again. I named her Leah, because the geocache I was searching for was in memory of a young lady with that name.

 

This summer I went on a hike outside of Henderson, KY to go geocaching. One there was called Kentucky Deer Stand. GZ was at a leaning tree in the woods with a folding lawn chair tied down onto it. You had to climb past the chair up the tree to get to the cache. Of course I had to make the climb twice because I ended up dropping my pen!! 

 

Will you please send me updates on the kitty? My heart aches thinking about her! ?

[+Florist_fire]

On 10/11/2018 at 6:02 PM, Max and 99 said:

 

Will you please send me updates on the kitty? My heart aches thinking about her! ?

 

She is doing so much better than when I found her! She's up and walking and very vocal! She scared me because I couldn't find her one morning. Then as I passed by the kitchen I heard her meow. She was in the trashcan! She must've jumped in there to get the chicken scraps we tossed!

My phone isn't letting me upload the picture I took of her in there!!

[+DrPossum]

Once a dead hawk was guarding the cache. 

Smelt horrible

[+microvision]

I found a broken into lock box and a bunch of clothing lying around in the woods up in Vermont years ago.  The clothing was all wet from recent rain, like someone stole it and dropped what they didn't need (shoes, jeans, etc.).  That made me a bit worried about who I might run into so I was on high alert as I continued toward the cache.  I then spotted a homeless tent camp nearby.  Must have been about 8 to 10 tents.  I didn't see any people so I headed away from there as quietly as possible.  Was able to cross a river and circle around to the cache from another direction and find it.  Of course after all that there was no pen or pencil in the cache and I happened to not have one in my pack (now I carry at least 3).  I certainly didn't want to come back so I looked through my pack and realized that I had some wooden matches.  Lite one, let it burn for a few seconds, blew it out and then I had a little pencil.  Good enough to sign and date the log.

Edited March 21, 2019 by microvision
added photo

[CABass]

This afternoon, while out geocaching with my granddaughter (who has just gotten bit by the caching bug within the past two weeks), we were about 40' from ground zero when she found a red container with a white lid by one of the bushes. It was NOT the cache.  But before I'd gotten to her she'd picked it up and shook it, saying she'd found the cache.  I took it from her before she tried to open it.  When I turned it over, I saw the label indicating it contained used sharps and had a Biohazard icon on it.

 

Needless to say, I took it back to my vehicle for proper disposal tomorrow as I do NOT want some other kid to think they found the cache (and CITO, you know), and we both washed our hands with hand sanitizer.

 

Then and there, I had a chat with her and told her that from now on she stays with me and does not pick up any more caches but may only point them out when she finds them.  Unfortunately this will dampen some of her enthusiasm for geocaching (she's 10 years old), but I shudder to think what could have happened if she had opened this container.

 

Oh, we did go back in and find the actual cache.

 

Edited April 11, 2019 by CABass

[+DerDiedler]

@CABass how about buing her a pair of "Geocaching Gloves" to approach caches. You could even stitch her nickname or a Travelbug Code to the gloves. Pretty sure a 10 yo. would like it.

[CABass]

22 minutes ago, DerDiedler said:

@CABass how about buing her a pair of "Geocaching Gloves" to approach caches. You could even stitch her nickname or a Travelbug Code to the gloves. Pretty sure a 10 yo. would like it.

EXCELLENT IDEA!!! Thank you!

[+Goldenwattle]

Someone's large polystyrene box full of fresh fruit hidden under vegetation near a quarantine border. I guess they had just bought the fruit and needed to go through the border, where it would be taken from them. So they hid it. Unfortunately they hid it almost under a cache, so any geocacher would have likely uncovered it in their search. Luckily I wasn't a thief and re-covered the box with the branches and leaves, and left it for the owner's return. I was tempted though to leave a cheeky note "Found It", but didn't, as this might have worried them.

Edited April 11, 2019 by Goldenwattle

[+Goldenwattle]

Sad abandoned toys. All found in various places while looking for a nearby cache.

[+kunarion]

2 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

Sad abandoned toys. All found in various places while looking for a nearby cache.

 

That's when I find the best stuff!

I found a filthy beanie-baby-size koala in a trash pile, and threw him in the washing machine.  He cleaned up great, I attached a trackable tag, and he's traveled for 3 years.

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2019 by kunarion

[+Goldenwattle]

3 minutes ago, kunarion said:

 

That's when I find the best stuff!

I found a filthy beanie-baby-size koala in a trash pile, and threw him in the washing machine.  He cleaned up great, I attached a trackable tag, and he's traveled for 3 years.

 

 

 

Yes, the koala washed up well.

I was sorry later I didn't pick up the bear I photographed. I found it amazing that it was there, as it was a remote place in Central Australia. I can only imagine it would be another geocacher who went there, and maybe they dropped the bear. And not long before my visit either, as that is a fresh footprint.

[+cerberus1]

2 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

Sad abandoned toys. All found in various places while looking for a nearby cache.

 

 

We did a night-cache once with doll parts like this scattered all over the woods.  

Wrapped into/hanging from trees & vines, parts on the ground and such.  

You don't expect to shine a light on faces in the woods.      

[+The Jester]

I was searching for a cache just off a trailhead parking lot.  There was a large pile of boulders there that attracted the eyes.  In the middle of the pile I found two 18 packs of beer but no cache (no it wasn't because of the beer that I missed the find ).  I was somewhat tempted to take the "swag" I found, but I don't drink - I really should have called the park rangers, though.

[+Viajero Perdido]

I found a secret ski cabin in a very remote place, just before reaching a cache.  I took off my boots and looked around, very nicely set up, and (I'm guessing) utterly illegal so ssssshh.  It's not on the map (and I didn't add it, nor did I mention it in the cache log), and the internet doesn't seem to know about it either.  Somebody's labor of love. 

[+*GeoPunx*]

The day before yesterday(I believe), I found a heavily used crack pipe about 4 foot from a nano cache in a guardrail. This was way out in the boonies; so I'm thinking someone got stopped by the popo and stashed it there to pick up later. It was hidden in a manner where you could tell someone was going to claim it. Did I leave it there? Did I crush it up and throw it away? Or did I take it for personal use? Hint: It wasn't the 3rd option.

[+Harry Dolphin]

The cache coords took me to a spot in the forest with hundreds of discarded tires.  "Why did you take me here?" was my log.  Old pot hung up in a tree.

[+funkymunkyzone]

oops

Edited April 15, 2019 by funkymunkyzone

[+RocTheCacheBox]

While doing a cache in a cemetery this weekend I came across the grave of someone I worked with about 15 years ago. Had no idea they were there. However the strangest was a few years ago. We found a travel bug called "traveling granny" that was a sealed tube containing someones granny's ashes. The listing said she had always wanted to travel the world but never got a chance!

[+ecanderson]

Doing some caching up in the mountains last summer, and found not only the cache we wanted, but also discovered a 'real' cache:   a 5 gallon gas can (full) and some other provisions in various containers, all buried under a bunch of leaves and a very thin later of dirt.

 

[+funkymunkyzone]

1 hour ago, ecanderson said:

Doing some caching up in the mountains last summer, and found not only the cache we wanted, but also discovered a 'real' cache:   a 5 gallon gas can (full) and some other provisions in various containers, all buried under a bunch of leaves and a very thin later of dirt.

 

And why were you digging to find a cache? LOL

[+Goldenwattle]

Does this count. I found a way to photograph what was inside. One had a coffin, but the other, weirdly, as it had someone's name on it, was empty.

[+ecanderson]

21 hours ago, funkymunkyzone said:

And why were you digging to find a cache? LOL

Yeah, just kickin' the leaves around, and scraped something hard.  Have always wondered why someone thought they needed to stash this stuff out there rather than bring it along with them.

[+Ralfcoder]

I've found a couple of weird things:

 

- The body of a deer, with the head cleanly cut off.  Someone wanted the head for a trophy, I guess, but didn't want the meat.

 

- 3-4 syringes, and the damaged remains of the box they came in.  They looked similar to those used by a diabetic.  They were within a few feet of where a cache was supposed to be, so I bundled everything up and hauled it out for disposal.

 

- a 2nd cache container, about 3 feet from the original.  The log showed a DNF, so the owner apparently dropped a new container without looking for the old one.  I signed both logs, just to be safe. 

[Ageleni]

"The Seven Gates of Hell" was a legend that made our teenaged selves shudder with fear back in the day.  I don't even remember what the legend was--some secret portal that some people had walked through and never returned from or something--but those five words chilled us to the core.  Several decades later, I am back here and find a series of caches, each at the "entrance" of the Gates of Hell.  Making the Gates into geocaches eliminated the fear for me--it's just legends and places, nothing scary.

 

But at one place...

 

Right next to the STOP sign where the cache was stuck, I found a dead raccoon.  Not terribly unusual; it was a country road in a remote area.  I laughed a little at the thought of this poor creature dying RIGHT next to one of the Gates of Hell.  Oooh, creepy.  But when I took a closer look, I saw something unusual.  The dead raccoon had been carefully laid on top of an empty beer can.

 

And THAT'S when I got the hell out.  I wasn't afraid of the Gates of Hell, but rednecks terrify me.

[+K13]

1 hour ago, Ageleni said:

"The Seven Gates of Hell" was a legend that made our teenaged selves shudder with fear back in the day.  I don't even remember what the legend was--some secret portal that some people had walked through and never returned from or something--but those five words chilled us to the core.  Several decades later, I am back here and find a series of caches, each at the "entrance" of the Gates of Hell.  Making the Gates into geocaches eliminated the fear for me--it's just legends and places, nothing scary.

 

But at one place...

 

Right next to the STOP sign where the cache was stuck, I found a dead raccoon.  Not terribly unusual; it was a country road in a remote area.  I laughed a little at the thought of this poor creature dying RIGHT next to one of the Gates of Hell.  Oooh, creepy.  But when I took a closer look, I saw something unusual.  The dead raccoon had been carefully laid on top of an empty beer can.

 

And THAT'S when I got the hell out.  I wasn't afraid of the Gates of Hell, but rednecks terrify me.

Darn racoon should have stayed out of my beer!

[+cerberus1]

1 hour ago, Ageleni said:

"The Seven Gates of Hell" was a legend that made our teenaged selves shudder with fear back in the day.  I don't even remember what the legend was--

 

Seven Gates of Hell      Three-headed dog knows Hades.  . 

We have a sig geocoin we put in caches we really liked, on the back is the Five Rivers of Hades. 

[+SwineFlew]

Found some 420 the other week. ?  No, I didnt smoke it!!

[+Alkhalikoi]

30 minutes ago, SwineFlew said:

Found some 420 the other week. ?  No, I didnt smoke it!!

The 6x6" post that holds up the Welcome to Wyoming sign at GC1H2XX (https://coord.info/GC1H2XX), I found a jelly jar full of 420.  I figure some dude from 420-friendly Colorado realized he was heading into 420 not-so-friendly Wyoming and ditched the stash.  I was with my then-8 year old and didn't feel like explaining, so I tucked it back in its hidey-hole.

 

 

[+TheJonesExperiment]

Went to GZ and realized I had walked into somebody's home. It was a small clearing in some trees in a public park and there was a mattress, sleeping bag, and a bunch of other stuff.

[+hzoi]

15 hours ago, TheJonesExperiment said:

Went to GZ and realized I had walked into somebody's home. It was a small clearing in some trees in a public park and there was a mattress, sleeping bag, and a bunch of other stuff.

 

Been there more times than I can even recall.  Turns out that good places to hide a cache are also good places to hide a camp.

[Ageleni]

On 5/18/2019 at 10:45 PM, cerberus1 said:

 

Seven Gates of Hell      Three-headed dog knows Hades.  . 

We have a sig geocoin we put in caches we really liked, on the back is the Five Rivers of Hades. 

Actually, this is the local legend I was talking about:

http://www.huntersoftheunknown.com/the-seven-gates-of-hell.html

 

Gate 7 was where I found the dead raccoon.  Apparently, the cache is on private property, and has since been archived.
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3H2TK_the-7-gates-gate-7?guid=33c3487b-1be4-4983-8958-159922c3f5f2

[+montjuïc]

A couple of months ago: making a route we let a team younger than us advance us, they walked more quickly.

At 20 minutes later we heard a helicopter and saw the other team talking to the police in the way of a cache. They found a car with a person who was committing suicide with the engine gases. The cache box was 2 meters near  the car.

It seems that the other team saved his life

 

[+chasclifton]

I just wanted to say that I have enjoyed reading this thread a lot. One of these days I will find something stranger than "sad, abandoned toys" (yes, met those), and I will post it here.

[+igator210]

Found a lost person and their dog..

They were in town for their son's sporting event. They decided to take a run in the nearby park. They got turn around (they were running the roads and not the trails fortunately) and had lost track of where they park. Gave them a lift to their car, which was a mile away.

[+Rustynails]

This happened a couple years ago on a very hot 95+ summer day on a rural country road. 

 

As we were going down the dirt road we spotted a elderly gentleman standing on the road. He didn't look well so we turned around to check on him. We asked him if he was okay but he didn't respond very well. We then asked where his car was parked and he replied down the road. We got him in the van to find his car. I asked him where he lived and he replied, on a hill. It was obvious he had dementia. He said his car was white. We couldn't find a white car but noticed someone nearby mowing grass. We pulled in the farm to see if they know him. Nope, no idea who he his. I decided to get the man to show me his identification. He had a identification card and his name was Lloyd and we now had his address. We put the address in the gps and it was a 1 1/2 miles away.

 

We get to Lloyd's house and knocked on the door. After a while Lloyd's wife answers the door. We tell her about finding Lloyd and she gets real pissed. She yells, why did you bring him back. You should have left him there. He does this all the time. She was doing some canning and didn't want to be interrupted. She did calm down and we had a short chat. The white car we were searching for only existed in Lloyd's mind.

 

A few days later my caching partner followed up by notifying the local social services to look into Lloyd's welfare.

You never know what you might find geocaching.

[+Viajero Perdido]

14 minutes ago, rustynails. said:

we spotted a elderly gentleman standing on the road.

 

When people, for example in the country, object to the extra strange traffic brought by our game (say when a new power trail shows up), I like to point out, we're the "good eyes" keeping a friendly watch on things.

 

What a wonderful example of that.  ?  Bravo!

[+papu66]

The second strangest thing I found (or rather observed) was a few years ago. I wasn't precisely caching at that day, just visiting a local cache as I do from time to time to train the geodog. It was by the sea  and standing next to the cache I noticed something floating, submerged. I stepped to the shore and saw a huge naval mine slowly going past with the tidal current. Then it was gone. It was eerie thing to see in the mist of the morning, like watching some WWII movie. I wish I had my camera because even I find it hard to believe what I saw.

[+HunterandSamuel]

On 9/26/2016 at 11:22 PM, Mn-treker said:

What is the strangest thing that you have found while looking for a geocache?

Once I found a butcher knife stuck in a T shirt in a stump in the woods. This weekend I found a wicker basket hanging in a tree.

In the basket were a pair of galoshes.

These where a few miles back in the woods.

Strange indeed. It gave me an idea to name a geocache. A Basket of Galoshes.

Maybe I will go hang them deep in the woods again.?

This isn't really a strange thing found when geocaching but one time caching in a forest which is also a park for picnicking, etc we came across a gazebo being decorated for an engagement proposal. You can see on the ground the rose pedals and some decorations inside the gazebo. We have been in this forest many times but never knew this was here! The cache is hidden nearby. But...we were asked to leave by the people setting up for the proposal. lol I told them we'll  hide in the bushes so we can watch. 

[+HunterandSamuel]

Speaking of strange, a cacher friend sent me this photo of a very strange cache he found. The CO admitted to getting carried away with the duct tape. lol Scary!

[+HunterandSamuel]

We came across this in the same forest looking for a cache. I found it a bit creepy, lol, reminded me of the Blair Witch Project. Maybe it's just a work of art but the cache we were looking had a warning of King Philip..."at night you can feel the presence of his spirit rustling in the trees."

[+HunterandSamuel]

Another strange thing we found while geocaching was a huge pile of rocks near the cache hide. There were dried up snake skins all over the rocks. A photo taken by another cacher (if this is against the forum's guidelines, I'll delete it). eek! Thankfully we didn't see any snakes that day, just their skins. 

Edited December 21, 2019 by HunterandSamuel

[+ParrotRobAndCeCe]

On 11/15/2016 at 9:24 PM, wimseyguy said:

An exceptionally large chocolate colored sex toy. Even more odd was that it had silver duct tape wrapped around the midsection. Just think about why.

 

I originally read this as "chocolate FLAVORED".  I didn't want to ask how you knew.

 

[+ParrotRobAndCeCe]

On 3/5/2017 at 12:59 AM, Mn-treker said:

A few days ago I encountered some hunters in Blaine, MN. Now you might think that is not unusual.

But Hunting is not allowed there, except deer by archery and turkey. Both by special permit only.

...

 

I've hunted deer by archery, but never by turkey.  :-D

[+HunterandSamuel]

On 6/5/2019 at 9:38 PM, rustynails. said:

 

 

A few days later my caching partner followed up by notifying the local social services to look into Lloyd's welfare.

You never know what you might find geocaching.

A good idea, calling social services. Weird response from the wife! 

[+HunterandSamuel]

On 12/26/2019 at 2:56 PM, ParrotRobAndCeCe said:

 

I originally read this as "chocolate FLAVORED".  I didn't want to ask how you knew.

 

LOL I'm still wondering why the duct tape wrapped around the midsection. 

[+G0ldNugget]

Found in the Nevada desert, an old, graffiti-decorated plane parked at a closed brothel named 'Angels Ladies'. The cache still there and active if you're ever headed down Route 66 through the American southwest.

GC3XVZ3

Edited December 30, 2019 by G0ldNugget