Old missing Geocaches

[+Darkstyrm]

I am new to Geocaching, so I have been hitting caches in my area quite a bit. I have learned that many of the caches are 10 years+ old in my area, and quite a few of them are missing where there has been construction, etc. I am wanting to "cleanup" some caches in my area so I can deploy some new ones since we are limited to how close they can be to each other and all of them around here are XS with just logs. I want to get some real caches out there and clean up the old ones that don't exist anymore.

 

How can I report ones that don't exist that the cache owner does not respond to anymore? There are quite a few out here.

[+Manville Possum]

I am new to Geocaching, so I have been hitting caches in my area quite a bit. I have learned that many of the caches are 10 years+ old in my area, and quite a few of them are missing where there has been construction, etc. I am wanting to "cleanup" some caches in my area so I can deploy some new ones since we are limited to how close they can be to each other and all of them around here are XS with just logs. I want to get some real caches out there and clean up the old ones that don't exist anymore.

 

How can I report ones that don't exist that the cache owner does not respond to anymore? There are quite a few out here.

 

Post a Needs Archived and it will alert the local geocache reviewer.

[+kunarion]

I am new to Geocaching, so I have been hitting caches in my area quite a bit. I have learned that many of the caches are 10 years+ old in my area, and quite a few of them are missing where there has been construction, etc. I am wanting to "cleanup" some caches in my area so I can deploy some new ones since we are limited to how close they can be to each other and all of them around here are XS with just logs. I want to get some real caches out there and clean up the old ones that don't exist anymore.

 

How can I report ones that don't exist that the cache owner does not respond to anymore? There are quite a few out here.

Did you log a DNF on each those caches when you were unable to find them? Are there a lot of DNFs, or especially are there NA (Needs Archived) logs?

 

Be sure you read and understand the cache hiding guidelines: https://www.geocaching.com/about/hiding.aspx

If caches are gone due to construction, it may be no good to place others there.

[+NanCycle]

all of them around here are XS with just logs. I want to get some real caches out there

 

"XS" aka "Micro" caches are "real' caches. If they are still there, they are still caches.

[Keystone]

Depending on how you define "old," are you sure the caches are missing? Is it just that you couldn't find them, or is there a long string of prior "Did Not Find" or "Needs Maintenance" logs that haven't been addressed by the cache owner?

 

Out of curiosity I did a quick check of caches within 50 miles of your first cache find, and which were hidden prior to 2004. I was very happy to see that there were only a half dozen with unaddressed maintenance issues (in my opinion as a Reviewer with experience in looking for such issues). I was even happier to see that some of the "giants of the game" who started up geocaching in your area are still active, and still maintaining their caches. (Daggy, Deermark, Turtle, ShowMeTheCache)

[+cerberus1]

all of them around here are XS with just logs. I want to get some real caches out there

 

"XS" aka "Micro" caches are "real' caches. If they are still there, they are still caches.

Yep.

 

A bit OT, but I thought Groundspeak was gonna fix the size difference between the app and site.

- That apparently didn't happen if micros ( called such since the beginning...) are still being called "extra small" on that app...

[+niraD]

I am wanting to "cleanup" some caches in my area so I can deploy some new ones since we are limited to how close they can be to each other and all of them around here are XS with just logs. I want to get some real caches out there and clean up the old ones that don't exist anymore.

Around here, micro-caches (what Groundspeak's app calls "XS" for some reason) are common because that's what survives. I've seen the same pattern in a number of suburban parks: There is a series of short-lived non-micro caches, each getting muggled quickly. Eventually someone hides a micro-cache (perhaps even a puzzle micro-cache) and that survives. The pattern repeats, and the suburban geocaching landscape becomes dominated with micro-caches.

 

If you want to find small or regular (or even large) caches, then you'll need to get to some more remote locations.

 

And it isn't just about the hide itself. A non-micro cache can be perfectly hidden, so that muggles would never discover it on their own, but if geocachers can't retrieve it and replace it discreetly, then they're going to draw undesired attention to it every time they find it.

[+NanCycle]

And it isn't just about the hide itself. A non-micro cache can be perfectly hidden, so that muggles would never discover it on their own, but if geocachers can't retrieve it and replace it discreetly, then they're going to draw undesired attention to it every time they find it.

 

In reference to geocachers retrieving and replacing caches, I was on a maintenance run the other day and found that one of my caches that was supposed to be in a UPR--surrounded and hidden by rocks--was sitting on top of the pile of rocks. Come on!

[+edexter]

In my experience the average life span of an XS or micro cache (typically a bison tube or tiny flip to test tube) is about a year before the log becomes papier mache. Folks who find the soaked log typically replace it repeatedly in order to log. I used to add a dry log to these myself as a "temporarily fix" but no longer do since the owner so seldom bothered to fix the cracked or o-ringless container.

edexter

[+Darkstyrm]

I get what you guys are saying, but these are caches that have had a dnf a year ago and no activity since and I cannot find them either. There is a park in particular that I go to at least twice a week and about half the caches are dnf for the last two to three players. Thanks for the archive info. I will look into that.

Edited June 12, 2017 by Darkstyrm

[+fuzziebear3]

Start by logging your DNF's. If you really really think it is missing, you can log a needs maintenance or a needs archived. Do remember that extra small can be tiny and tricky, and you might not yet have a sense of what it is you are looking for or how it may be hidden.

[+TeamRabbitRun]

Slow down, buddy.

 

You have five finds. Before you rush off to clean the crap outta your area, making it safe for REAL geocaches, I'd suggest you just hang out and learn.

 

I'm not criticizing, but my advice is to go find more caches. A LOT more caches, of different types, styles, sizes and difficulties.

 

You just might learn why some of those local hides don't get much traffic, or why (gasp!) you might not be able to find them as someone new to the hobby. The fact that you didn't find something doesn't mean it isn't there. They're supposed to be hidden!!!!

 

As for the DNFs, were they from newer players, too?

 

Even if they were veterans, don't be in such a rush to police Geocaching. Learn what kind of cache you want to hide by learning what kind of cache you like to find, and with 'five', you don't know yet.

 

You don't have to 'clean out' old caches, even if they ARE junk. You're not responsible for that. There's a mechanism in the hobby for that, and it'll get done by others, or by you, later, with more perspective. Remember, SOMEBODY owns those other caches, even if they don't treat them as well as you think you would.

 

No room in your favorite park? I'd bet there is. Be more creative (meaning 'get more experience') or widen your area.

 

So, welcome to the hobby. Attend some 'events'. Get to know folks in your local caching community.

 

EVENTUALLY, hide something and see how it goes.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I get what you guys are saying, but these are caches that have had a dnf a year ago and no activity since and I cannot find them either. There is a park in particular that I go to at least twice a week and about half the caches are dnf for the last two to three players. Thanks for the archive info. I will look into that.

 

And I found a cache last weekend that had two DNFs from two years ago, and was last found more than three years ago. Took me a while to find it, but it was there!

[+cerberus1]

I get what you guys are saying, but these are caches that have had a dnf a year ago and no activity since and I cannot find them either. There is a park in particular that I go to at least twice a week and about half the caches are dnf for the last two to three players. Thanks for the archive info. I will look into that.

 

And I found a cache last weekend that had two DNFs from two years ago, and was last found more than three years ago. Took me a while to find it, but it was there!

+1

We sometimes cache with a family that prefers lonely caches.

Some are out in the boonies, but many are the difficulty level too.

Finding one years later, after a couple DNFs earlier, is normal for them.

[+eljay]

I've been on a very low key mission to clean out some old caches that haven't been found in years, generally with a DNF or two... and I'm discovering about a third of the time the cache is just fine. It's just that the DNF discouraged others to even go looking for it. And I've noticed that after I posted the "found it" that other people are also finding them just fine.

 

One was simply a light post cache and the DNF'er who looked all over, in every possible location, etc. etc. etc. just didn't know there was such a thing.

 

So you really just never know until you go out there and give it an honest effort, and even then if you don't find it all you can do is DNF, and then use your judgement as to if a NM or NA is in order and let the CO and/or reviewer deal with it.