What do you do with your Caches When you Move Away

[+learn2mine]

I have recently hid string of Caches. I was wondering what exactly would happen if you move away and you may not come back very often... Is there a way you can post your abandoned Caches and other people can adopt them or do you have to find a dedicated individual yourself...

[+learn2mine]

I guess alternatives would be archive or abandon!

[+TriciaG]

If you have a local Facebook group, you could post on there (before archiving! Caches cannot be adopted after they're archived).

 

Or one could go to an event, or even host an event, and ask around there to see if anyone would be willing to adopt them.

 

Or just archive them. Do NOT just abandon them and leave the litter out there!

[+Max and 99]

You might start by posting a note on the cache page.

[+learn2mine]

Ya geocaching should make a special forum or function on their website for this...

[+learn2mine]

49 minutes ago, TriciaG said:

If you have a local Facebook group, you could post on there (before archiving! Caches cannot be adopted after they're archived).

 

Or one could go to an event, or even host an event, and ask around there to see if anyone would be willing to adopt them.

 

Or just archive them. Do NOT just abandon them and leave the litter out there!

I agree about the leaving them for junk!

[+cerberus1]

1 hour ago, learn2mine said:

I have recently hid string of Caches. I was wondering what exactly would happen if you move away and you may not come back very often... Is there a way you can post your abandoned Caches and other people can adopt them or do you have to find a dedicated individual yourself...

 

Facebook, events, even a note on the cache page are sound ways to get people to notice your offer to adopt them out.  

Once someone interested emails you, you're the one who has to start the adoption process.

Unless the caches are in awesome areas and have many favorite points, I feel it's simpler to just pick 'em up and archive them.

[+cerberus1]

1 minute ago, learn2mine said:

Ya geocaching should make a special forum or function on their website for this...

 

I'd rather they didn't.  

Can't tell you how many times folks have posted "will someone adopt my caches?" , to find most have needed maintenance of some sort long before they "offered" them to others. 

On a couple they've been asked why they didn't pick them up and archive them before they got a warning by a Reviewer.  Sheesh...

[+Goldenwattle]

I would see if anyone was interested in adopting any, and make sure those caches were in good order before handing them over. Those that didn't get adopted, I would archive any problematic ones, but leave the rest. If the log book is big enough it could go on for years, especially if it's in an out of the way place with few visitors. Then if the cache disappears I would archive it. If the cache needed maintenance, I would make a note on the cache page to ask the next person to please remove it after they log it, so I could archive it. I myself have picked up the broken remains of caches that are not being maintained. Not an odious task. However, especially if the cache is a bit off the beaten track, as is common in Australia, someone is likely to remove the old cache and replace it. I too have done that, as in some places it might be the only cache for a considerable distance. (People from cache rich places will now likely argue against doing this.) I would be very unlikely to do this for an urban cache (although there's urban and urban, say a remote settlement, a hundred kms from the next remote settlement, which may or may not have a cache).

It saddens me when someone moves away and archives good caches. They may  have removed the caches, but often not. Many people might be too busy with the move to traipse around the countryside picking up caches. It would be better if they did what I suggested above. Archive if a cache disappears, and with damaged/deteriorating caches, ask the next person to please remove it, with archiving in mind after that is done. Doing this, might mean less caches just abandoned.

Edited September 3, 2018 by Goldenwattle

[+Max and 99]

14 minutes ago, Goldenwattle said:

 

It saddens me when someone moves away and archives good caches. They may  have removed the caches, but often not. Many people might be too busy with the move to traipse around the countryside picking up caches. It would be better if they did what I suggested above. Archive if a cache disappears, and with damaged/deteriorating caches, ask the next person to please remove it, with archiving in mind after that is done. Doing this, might mean less caches just abandoned.

I wouldn't count on there BEING a next person if the cache is reported to be in really bad condition.

[+learn2mine]

I would love to keep them around because we don't have that many around our area.... And there carefully laid out.... How can you tell they live close around tho... And that they will keep them up. Some people lay Caches like a chicken lays eggs... And they don't keep them up...

[+cerberus1]

8 minutes ago, learn2mine said:

I would love to keep them around because we don't have that many around our area.... And there carefully laid out.... How can you tell they live close around tho... And that they will keep them up. Some people lay Caches like a chicken lays eggs... And they don't keep them up...

 

When someone honest shows up to say maintenance isn't really done. 

The CO says "all fixed and good to go", and the next person writes that he left a new log to replace the soaked one two days later. 

The carp caches usually get sorted out and archived by a Reviewer if folks in the area are using the action logs given them.

 

ETA  That "CO" also probably has a Reviewer or two watching future projects if caught fibbing. 

Edited September 3, 2018 by cerberus1

[+learn2mine]

I would love to keep them around because we don't have that many around our area.... And there carefully laid out.... How can you tell they live close around tho... And that they will keep them up. Some people lay Caches like a chicken lays eggs... An

24 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

 

When someone honest shows up to say maintenance isn't really done. 

The CO says "all fixed and good to go", and the next person writes that he left a new log to replace the soaked one two days later. 

The carp caches usually get sorted out and archived by a Reviewer if folks in the area are using the action logs given them.

 

ETA  That "CO" also probably has a Reviewer or two watching future projects if caught fibbing.

Ya... Even just someone who leaves a trail of Caches can't keep near all of them up. Even a newbie like me knows that ?.

[+Goldenwattle]

1 hour ago, Max and 99 said:

I wouldn't count on there BEING a next person if the cache is reported to be in really bad condition.

I watch many caches, and even those reported in bad condition have finders. That doesn't appear to stop people from finding them.

[+learn2mine]

4 minutes ago, Goldenwattle said:

I watch many caches, and even those reported in bad condition have finders. That doesn't appear to stop people from finding them.

Yes I agree.... I also think we need to do our part. Maybe replace a container of it is damaged etc.

[+Goldenwattle]

17 minutes ago, learn2mine said:

Yes I agree.... I also think we need to do our part. Maybe replace a container of it is damaged etc.

I do that for caches here in Australia in remote areas, as it's often a LONG way to the next cache, and few new caches are allowed in remote areas now, because a geocacher must live here, and few do. Many travellers maintain remote area caches. If this wasn't done, there would be no caches to find for hundreds of kms. However, I will rarely replace  caches in an urban area, as the CO can do that. I often report caches in areas where there are many caches as needing maintenance, and if that's ignored, I don't hesitate to log a needs archived. I would rarely do this for remote area caches, instead I would help keep that one going by performing maintenance. In fact when I check what caches I will have the chance to visit in the outback, I read the condition and make sure I have enough caches. However I might be beaten to the maintenance by others.

Edited September 3, 2018 by Goldenwattle

[+Max and 99]

3 hours ago, learn2mine said:

I have recently hid string of Caches. I was wondering what exactly would happen if you move away and you may not come back very often... Is there a way you can post your abandoned Caches and other people can adopt them or do you have to find a dedicated individual yourself...

COs shouldn't abandon caches. 

I had to archive one last week and I am not looking forward to the trek to retrieve the damaged container and scattered contents. Abandoning it would be irresponsible.

[+learn2mine]

5 hours ago, learn2mine said:

Ya geocaching should make a special forum or function on their website for this...

Someone's should make a thread for something like this even for ones that people find that are abandoned it need regular maintenance

[+Max and 99]

35 minutes ago, learn2mine said:

Someone's should make a thread for something like this even for ones that people find that are abandoned it need regular maintenance

 

I disagree. I  think that would give the impression that regular maintenance is not something the CO has to worry about.

 

 

[+IceColdUK]

3 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

 

3 hours ago, learn2mine said:

Someone's should make a thread for something like this even for ones that people find that are abandoned it need regular maintenance

 

I disagree. I  think that would give the impression that regular maintenance is not something the CO has to worry about.

 

 

Apart from which, I think it would be a market place without any buyers.

[+learn2mine]

8 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

 

I disagree. I  think that would give the impression that regular maintenance is not something the CO has to worry about.

 

 

How would It give that impression

[+TriciaG]

5 minutes ago, learn2mine said:

How would It give that impression

"I don't have to regularly maintain my caches. I can just place them and forget them, and someone will post them on the forum so others can volunteer to take care of them."
 

Cache maintenance is the responsibility of the cache owner, not of the community at large. (See the help center article and CO listing guidelines.) Mechanisms for community maintenance should not be encouraged, in many cachers' opinions.

[+niraD]

16 hours ago, learn2mine said:

I guess alternatives would be archive or abandon!

I've seen owners archive their caches before moving out of the area. I've seen owners abandon their caches when they moved out of the area. But those aren't the only options.

 

I've also seen owners adopt out their caches before moving out of the area. In some cases, they have posted to local forums and/or to local FB groups, and have asked people to contact them if they were interested in adopting a particular cache. Another approach is to contact individuals who might have special regard for the cache, and ask them if they would be interested in adopting it. For example, the FTF might want to adopt it, or if the cache was a significant milestone (first cache found, or 500th cache found, or whatever) for someone, then that person might want to adopt it.

 

I've also seen owners keep their caches, but arrange with locals to perform maintenance as needed. This works best if the CO is going to return to the area every now and then, so the owner can do major maintenance when needed. The locals just need to do relatively minor maintenance.

[+learn2mine]

41 minutes ago, niraD said:

I've seen owners archive their caches before moving out of the area. I've seen owners abandon their caches when they moved out of the area. But those aren't the only options.

 

I've also seen owners adopt out their caches before moving out of the area. In some cases, they have posted to local forums and/or to local FB groups, and have asked people to contact them if they were interested in adopting a particular cache. Another approach is to contact individuals who might have special regard for the cache, and ask them if they would be interested in adopting it. For example, the FTF might want to adopt it, or if the cache was a significant milestone (first cache found, or 500th cache found, or whatever) for someone, then that person might want to adopt it.

 

I've also seen owners keep their caches, but arrange with locals to perform maintenance as needed. This works best if the CO is going to return to the area every now and then, so the owner can do major maintenance when needed. The locals just need to do relatively minor maintenance.

Ya I never thought of contacting people with important milestones

[+hzoi]

We've lived in seven different locations since we started geocaching in 2007, so we've had to move six times.  I like to keep "credit" for the caches we've hidden, so I have never explored adopting out a cache.

 

The first two times we moved, from Germany to Virginia and from Virginia to Alabama, I left some in place and made an arrangement with the local reviewer and a couple local cachers who were interested in adopting the location.  I left the containers in place and disabled them; they replaced the logs; and the local reviewer archived my cache listing at the same time they published the new listing in the same location.  (I left a few active with maintenance agreements, but since I didn't think we'd return, I eventually archived my listings and made the same arrangement to let the local maintainer publish a new listing in its place.)

 

As we keep moving, we've realized how cumbersome the above is for reviewers, and we've become less emotionally invested in keeping our listings going, so we've stopped looking for folks to publish new listings and stopped asking for local maintainers to keep our caches alive, and we just pick up our containers and archived the listings before leaving.  (This way we don't have to keep buying new containers, too.)

 

These days, if we want to keep an enduring cache in a location after we leave it, we try to get one or more earthcaches published, and leave it at that.

[+Bundyrumandcoke]

On ‎4‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 1:24 AM, TriciaG said:

"I don't have to regularly maintain my caches. I can just place them and forget them, and someone will post them on the forum so others can volunteer to take care of them."
 

Cache maintenance is the responsibility of the cache owner, not of the community at large. (See the help center article and CO listing guidelines.) Mechanisms for community maintenance should not be encouraged, in many cachers' opinions.

But not all cachers opinions. 

 

As Goldenwattle pointed out, here in Australia, there are places where it can be hundreds of KM between caches. We don't all have the luxury of having cache densities measured in the 10s or 100s per square mile. In places over here, cache density can be measured in the, caches per hundreds of square miles,  so we tend to guard our remote caches jealously, and do everything as a community to keep them going. Its VERY common over here for cachers to maintain caches apart from their own, even ones where cache owners no longer play the game, or have moved to another area. Most experienced cachers over here carry spares of varying degrees for such a purpose. Personally, up to about 3 1/2 years ago, my nearest unfound cache for quite a while was about a 4 hr drive away, that's 4 hrs EACH WAY. 

 

Lets not start on the fact its an American game, played by American rules. Local rules do exist, that's why we have local reviewers to deal with local intricacies. Proximity to active railway corridors is one prime example, the rules on placement vary hugely between Oz and USA. Its enough that we have to deal with incorrect spelling in the game. And its a problem when we have our local reviewers go on an extended holiday, of quite a few months, and the local reviewing duties are farmed out to someone from overseas, who then starts a campaign to make themselves look good in Groundspeaks eyes, by following the rules in the USA, to the letter, and archiving perfectly good, maintained caches, all because the original owner has left the game, and not responded by putting a Owner Maintenance log on the page. A situation that is overlooked by the locals, unless a real problem develops with the placement. Personally, I have a few caches that are located around where I used to live, a few hundred KM away. These are still up and running quite successfully, and have been so for over 3 1/2 years, and are largely being maintained by finders. If a problem does come up that is too big to fix, then its going to be an archive from me, otherwise, if a NM log comes up, and a finder does do maintenance, then a OM log from me. That's perfectly acceptable according to the rules, but if the owner of a cache that I maintained doesn't post an OM log, then it all turns to poo. 

 

 

 

 

[+MNTA]

Why not replace the existing abandoned cache with a new cache that is owned by an active cacher or you. Then the folks in the area have a new find to make on their long trips. And while you are at it drop another one nearby, assuming a good place exists.  I agree remoteness does lead to a different set of rules to followed such as for frequency of maintenance or even who does it. Though I disagree with the premise that once a cache becomes abandoned what to do with it. I recently spent hours solving a puzzle, only to find the cache missing and pointing to private property behind a barb wire fence, after confirming with two previous finders not the CO which has not been active for years it was later archived, I plan to hide one close to that location soon though legally.

 

So if I visit you guys again, spent three fabulous weeks going from Sydney to Cairns many years ago before I started caching, and have time for one cache and it is (maybe) missing or I simply can't find it do I replace it? That would be frowned upon here though some do do it with and without permission. Having a common set of "rules" or practices is one way to avoid problems and get along better. 

 

My point is look at the opportunities that change may provide you and your fellow cachers. I also suspect that as time goes by even the accepted US, European, or Australian  rules will change with time. There always seems to be a lot of resistance to change of any form.  

[+Bundyrumandcoke]

The one cache that I recently replaced, and Goldenwattle will know of the angst and discussion on another forum about the subject in general, was too far from home for me to maintain, so placing a replacement wasn't an option. Besides, as there was an active cache at the location, the proximity rule would apply. This particular location, whilst certainly not remote, was deserving of a cache, and there had been a string of DNFs. No chance that it was just unfindable, given the DT rating.  So I replaced the container, log book, ect from my maintenance supplies. 

 

I then get an email from our stand in reviewer, who is based in the USA I have been told, advising me that, even though there is certainly now a cache insitu, unless he gets a OM log from the cache owner, he intends to disable (now done) and archive it. So much for helping your caching mates out. Money of mine down the drain, and a piece of litter in place, instead of an active cache. And guess what, for all practical purposes, nothing has changed, there is still a container with log book at the location, except, once archived, only cachers keen on finding such caches will bother looking for it. Sorry, it doesn't make sense to this little black duck. 

[+TriciaG]

10 hours ago, Bundyrumandcoke said:

But not all cachers opinions. 

Correct. I carefully worded that part of my post to not make a blanket statement.

 

One doesn't have to be long on the forum to understand that Australia is the exception.

[+SN67]

On 3/9/2018 at 1:57 AM, Max and 99 said:

You might start by posting a note on the cache page.

That usually doesn't work, as the locals often have found the cache long time ago, and therefore, they most likely do not see the posting. Using facebook is in my experience the best way.

[+cerberus1]

On ‎9‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 7:57 PM, Max and 99 said:

You might start by posting a note on the cache page.

 

We see that often.  

With many of the long-time locals here (though maybe found the hide years ago), if showing some interest in a cache (adding a favorite point is one...) they often have the cache on watch.  

 - A log by the CO "offering" adoption will then be seen in notifications, and they can act on it.

 

Newer cachers will (might...) see it immediately on the cache page, and if interested may ask the CO how to go about it.

 

 

 

[+Max and 99]

1 hour ago, SN67 said:

That usually doesn't work, as the locals often have found the cache long time ago, and therefore, they most likely do not see the posting. Using facebook is in my experience the best way.

I would never see a Facebook notice.

[+learn2mine]

25 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

I would never see a Facebook notice.

I wouldn't at all

[+NYPaddleCacher]

5 hours ago, TriciaG said:

Correct. I carefully worded that part of my post to not make a blanket statement.

 

One doesn't have to be long on the forum to understand that Australia is the exception.

 

There was a frequent poster here that tried to make it well known that Austria was an exception as well.  

 

There's a fairly active FB group in may area, though most of the posters seem to be from an area about 50 miles north of me.  I don't recall ever seeing a "my caches are available for adoption" posted.   In my first year I adopted a handful of cache from a guy that left the area.  I don't recall how he advertised that he had caches up for adoption but he was a popular local geocacher and I had found all of his local caches (mostly puzzle caches) so knew they were worth maintaining.

 

Many larger cities and populated areas do have FB groups but certainly not everywhere, nor do some areas have enough locals to support frequent events so posting a note on a listing might be the best option.  

[+justintim1999]

On ‎9‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 9:15 PM, learn2mine said:

I would love to keep them around because we don't have that many around our area.... And there carefully laid out.... How can you tell they live close around tho... And that they will keep them up. Some people lay Caches like a chicken lays eggs... And they don't keep them up...

Free range Geocaches  

[+learn2mine]

10 hours ago, justintim1999 said:

Free range Geocaches  

Raised without the use of hormones or steroids?

[+L0ne.R]

On 2018-09-05 at 3:46 AM, Bundyrumandcoke said:

Money of mine down the drain, and a piece of litter in place

Go back and pick up the litter you left behind. 

[+Bundyrumandcoke]

8 hours ago, L0ne.R said:

Go back and pick up the litter you left behind. 

Naah, its a 9 hr drive each way. 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

6 hours ago, Bundyrumandcoke said:

Naah, its a 9 hr drive each way. 

Which means it never should have been published in the first place.  How did you manage to get a cache published that was so far away from where you live to the extent  that you can't maintain it.  Groundspeak has a "no vacations caches" guideline specifically for this reason.  They don't want geocaches placed that can't easily be maintained and then left out as litter when there is a problem with it.

[+L0ne.R]

58 minutes ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

Which means it never should have been published in the first place.  How did you manage to get a cache published that was so far away from where you live to the extent  that you can't maintain it.  Groundspeak has a "no vacations caches" guideline specifically for this reason.  They don't want geocaches placed that can't easily be maintained and then left out as litter when there is a problem with it.

 

The second paragraph says he left a throw down on a cache that had been abandoned by the owner, a cache that had an NM (possibly an NA).. The reviewer told him that unless the owner posts an OM the cache will be archived anyway. Since Bundyrumandcoke feels certain that the cache owner will not respond (I take it he did not contact the owner and discuss permission to replace the cache) he blames the USA reviewer for the litter he left behind. 

[+cerberus1]

5 hours ago, L0ne.R said:

The second paragraph says he left a throw down on a cache that had been abandoned by the owner, a cache that had an NM (possibly an NA).. The reviewer told him that unless the owner posts an OM the cache will be archived anyway.

 

Yep.  By upvotes, there's a few who didn't read it fully.  

[+memetrollsXD]

Just archive 'em, take them with you. Replace logbook and make a new geocache