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Swag cheaters


Pippi999

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7 minutes ago, Pippi999 said:

Does it not get under your skin when people leave plain old pocket change instead of trading a trinket of some kind? It's a plague in my area. I'm not talking about cool coins like a buffalo nickel or wheat penny. Just plain, boring change....

Coins are better than other swag I've seen. 

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6 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

Coins are better than other swag I've seen. 

 

Especially if their a foreign currency.  I've dropped in small denomination coins from Cuba, Tanzania, Malaysia, Iceland, Japan, and from several other countries.  Even though they might all be worth less than a US quarter I suspect most geocachers that like to collect swag would find them more interesting.

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I tend to see this with new cachers.   At first they don't quite get the concept of swag.  They come unprepared and think they need to trade something so they leave the only thing they have.   When you think of it this is actually admirable.   They could leave nothing at all.   They're actually trying to uphold the tradition of swapping swag,  just not in way we've come to expect.   Since swag was one of the founding ideas in Geocaching I, as a cache owner, want to continue the practice.   Therefor I have resigned myself to always carry good swag with me to replenish my caches.  My hope is if people see a bunch of good swag in a cache they'll up their game and those who are into the swag game will be able to enjoy trading.

 

Don't get too down on it.  Often it's not as malicious as it looks.           
 

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Are they "trading" with that "Plain old change", or do they see how terribly empty the container is and feel something should be in there, placing what they've got in their pocket ?   Change being better than the acorns n pebbles we see in many.

 

I found a military-issue lensatic compass in a cache once.  Put cash in the container, including some susie b anthonys.

Many long-time cachers here don't trade anymore.  In many these days you're lucky if there's just dollar store stuff.   But we were present to see a few who dumped bills/change because there actually was something they were interested in.  That's a rarity these days... 

 

"Plain old change" may be all someone has on them.  If their kid wants that plush toy, they'll have to put it in, or have a miserable rest of the day.   :D

A lot better than what we've been seeing the last couple years now, folks  just taking,  with no trading at all.

 

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9 hours ago, Pippi999 said:

Does it not get under your skin when people leave plain old pocket change instead of trading a trinket of some kind?

 

Saw you mentioned this issue in another thread as well, assuming it's trade.    I put change in caches if there's little else...

When I hit a cache and it has a few already-scratched lottery tickets, candy wrappers, or broken keys, I remove them.

Might or (most times) not have swag on me, but there's nothing really wrong with the cache besides the carp in it

No swag on me, I'll reach for something in my pocket/wallet, to replace it.    It's not a "trade".      :)

 

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I don’t do swaps in caches. The vast majority I’ve come across have been worthless tat and in a lot of cases, just actual rubbish. I remove the worst of it if I can (sticks, gum, leaves, business cards, religious literature). I’ve put decent trinkets in my own caches when I’ve placed them but most people seem to just take and not replace so I don’t bother now.

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We recently saw a dollar bill (in great condition too!) but left it for someone else.  We did remove a melted chocolate bar, and a tube of toothpaste.  That cache was in a fire zone yesterday, so we'll have to see how well or eve if it survived.  Maybe we should have taken dollar bill as well!

 

I rarely take anything except trackables; I leave little charms or wine corks if there is room but usually don't see anything I've just GOT to have!

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My kiddo loves finding change in caches. It's one of his favorite things to find. So I think it's a YMMV situation. We keep lots of swag with us to swap (or just stock up a depleted cache) when we go caching because it's the primary motivation for most of the kids we've been caching with. But with all the micro caches, a lot of them just don't have room. So we've dropped change in a few caches that were big enough to hold coins but not big enough for any other swag, with the thought that other kids might also prefer to find a quarter rather than finding nothing at all. Again, YMMV.

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1 hour ago, McNeely3 said:

My kiddo loves finding change in caches. It's one of his favorite things to find. So I think it's a YMMV situation.

 

Agreed.  

When my niece was a youngster, she'd often add one to her penny book (many kids first collection)  by heading out with her aunt n uncle to caches.  

Knew if something else fun turned up, we be conned to leave something in trade for that too.  :)

By the end of one odd Summer vacation, she had a handful of '43 steel pennies , and you'd think they were gold.

 

There used to be a cacher here that placed pre-'64  dimes in caches.  Even if he did a repetitive trail, he'd place one dime in each cache.

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18 hours ago, CAVinoGal said:

We recently saw a dollar bill (in great condition too!) but left it for someone else.  We did remove a melted chocolate bar, and a tube of toothpaste.  That cache was in a fire zone yesterday, so we'll have to see how well or eve if it survived.  Maybe we should have taken dollar bill as well!

 

I rarely take anything except trackables; I leave little charms or wine corks if there is room but usually don't see anything I've just GOT to have!

Someone who gives but doesn't take....  My kind of cacher;)

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On ‎9‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 3:45 AM, hzoi said:

Dollar bills used to be trackable.  But I haven't seen a Where's George? bill in ages.

I like that idea. Of course a "real" bill will vanish. But a play dollar bill  that looks almost realistic may work if laminated. Ok. My idea brain cells are working overtime  now,

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1 hour ago, GEO COWBOYS said:
On 9/13/2018 at 3:45 AM, hzoi said:

Dollar bills used to be trackable.  But I haven't seen a Where's George? bill in ages.

I like that idea. Of course a "real" bill will vanish. But a play dollar bill  that looks almost realistic may work if laminated. Ok. My idea brain cells are working overtime  now,

Actually, hzoi was referring to https://www.wheresgeorge.com/ which does indeed use real dollar bills.

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18 hours ago, niraD said:

Actually, hzoi was referring to https://www.wheresgeorge.com/ which does indeed use real dollar bills.

 

Back when I first came across a dollar bill with a "Where's George" stamp, I thought it was very cool - YEARS before I ever heard of geocaching.

 

I went to log a bill and they wanted all sorts of personal info. I got the impression that WG was obviously a data-grab marketing scam and NOT a fun activity thing to get a kick out of weeing where your money goes, which was the come-on.

 

I closed the browser window. Now, GC Trackables are way cooler.

 

BTW, there's a REALLY interesting note about Geocaching on the "Where's George" Wikipedia.org page.

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24 minutes ago, 31BMSG said:

I'm glad I opened this up, I sent out a couple bills 20 years ago and would be interested in where they've traveled, probably better than my trackables. I sent a request to see if they could recover my account but I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

The average lifespan of a dollar bill is about 6 years. So would be pretty cool if it was still circulating around. I personally have not seen one of these for quite some time. I thought is was silly at the time. Now about once a month I click on my maps for my trackables. One of mine just made the jump from Mississippi to New Zealand. Love it.

 

Back to the OP. Originally I was a fan of swag. My folks carried a bag of tradeables and the grandkids loved it. Fast forward five years or so. The swag I see today is 90% junk. Broken toys, dirty toys, messed up stickers. You name it. Some is good obviously but that is now the exception in my opinion. It makes the cache just look like more litter.

 

Worst swag is candy. Come on folks no parent in their right mind is going to let them take candy left in a cache. Specially if moldy/smelly/slimy. All it does is attract ants. 

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2 hours ago, MNTA said:

 

The average lifespan of a dollar bill is about 6 years. So would be pretty cool if it was still circulating around. I personally have not seen one of these for quite some time. I thought is was silly at the time. Now about once a month I click on my maps for my trackables. One of mine just made the jump from Mississippi to New Zealand. Love it.

 

Back to the OP. Originally I was a fan of swag. My folks carried a bag of tradeables and the grandkids loved it. Fast forward five years or so. The swag I see today is 90% junk. Broken toys, dirty toys, messed up stickers. You name it. Some is good obviously but that is now the exception in my opinion. It makes the cache just look like more litter.

 

Worst swag is candy. Come on folks no parent in their right mind is going to let them take candy left in a cache. Specially if moldy/smelly/slimy. All it does is attract ants. 

CO's with caches that has swag really should keep an eye on their caches regularly. Mine, for example is checked one a week. Take out trash. so far no trash in my caches yet. Add new swag when needed, change logbooks if getting full. check the container to make sure it's still in good condition or need replacing. Pick up litter around GZ. However, one of my cache spots really needs a CITO event. 

My granddaughter is part of my team. She loves to trade swag for swag. Hates micros and empty boxes. So That is why all my caches are child friendly. Safe to get at and has swag.

 

I understand that some CO's has put out swag containers back in say 2000 when Geocaching first started. Their age or health may give them trouble and keeping them from maintaining their caches today. I try to help those COs out by adding new swag, logbooks ect.  

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On 9/14/2018 at 7:25 PM, GEO COWBOYS said:

I like that idea. Of course a "real" bill will vanish. But a play dollar bill  that looks almost realistic may work if laminated. Ok. My idea brain cells are working overtime  now,

I had some fake Million Dollar bills that I used to drop into caches occasionally, accompanied by a log such as "took golf ball, left a million dollars".

 

one-million-dollar-bill-USA.jpg

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3 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

I had some fake Million Dollar bills that I used to drop into caches occasionally, accompanied by a log such as "took golf ball, left a million dollars".

 

That looks great!  I've been looking at a lot of designs, and I keep coming back to the same one for some reason. :P

c3b89e7d-e2f5-4952-8ee8-e340d1d0e1e4_1_ab87fbbbc81e601a6aa3b6b4697dd713.jpg

 

You can buy those online at "Walmart"!  But with extra research, and especially if buying in bulk, you can get better deals.  I'd have to figure out a way to protect paper million dollar bills for placement in a cache.

 

The trick with Swag is placing the least expensive items that others think are pretty cool.  Maybe they don't cost a lot to you, but they are valuable to finders.

 

 

Edited by kunarion
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7 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

I had some fake Million Dollar bills that I used to drop into caches occasionally, accompanied by a log such as "took golf ball, left a million dollars".

:D

We used to see "look real" folded twenties that when opened , showed star trek characters in the center. 

You can't help but give it a "wow !"  , then open it up to see now you're the gag.  :)

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On 9/15/2018 at 6:40 PM, GEO COWBOYS said:

CO's with caches that has swag really should keep an eye on their caches regularly. Mine, for example is checked one a week. Take out trash. so far no trash in my caches yet. Add new swag when needed, change logbooks if getting full. check the container to make sure it's still in good condition or need replacing. Pick up litter around GZ. However, one of my cache spots really needs a CITO event. 

My granddaughter is part of my team. She loves to trade swag for swag. Hates micros and empty boxes. So That is why all my caches are child friendly. Safe to get at and has swag.

 

I understand that some CO's has put out swag containers back in say 2000 when Geocaching first started. Their age or health may give them trouble and keeping them from maintaining their caches today. I try to help those COs out by adding new swag, logbooks ect.  

I disagree that caches should be monitored regularly just because they have swag. Not all COs have caches in their front yard or very close by.

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1 minute ago, Max and 99 said:

I disagree that caches should be monitored regularly just because they have swag. Not all COs have caches in their front yard or very close by.

 

Agreed.   I monitor my caches for needing maintenance (and act on found it logs rather than wait for a NM).

Swag seems to be more of a kid thing here, and few bring their kids to terrain over 2 ...

Most times (because of the terrain), that swag stays the same for years in ours simply because few who do those hides trade.

We finally told folks interested in heading to them to swipe all the led flashlights they'd like.

 - Figured the batteries would be shot long-before just a couple are traded out.    :)

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On ‎9‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 7:40 PM, GEO COWBOYS said:

I understand that some CO's has put out swag containers back in say 2000 when Geocaching first started. Their age or health may give them trouble and keeping them from maintaining their caches today. I try to help those COs out by adding new swag, logbooks ect.  

 

Do you email them first ?  We know a few who don't cache at all anymore, but do keep up their caches and/or trackables when they see an action log.

We were fine if someone simply wanted to add swag to our now-archived regular sized hides.  They'd  just be empty soon again anyway.

 - Logbooks and "etc" are maintenance though, and I'll be real ticked to have another "helping" me with maintenance.

 

I hunted a newer cacher once when he thought that "old" logbook should be replaced when full.  "Helping" ...   well, pages have two sides... 

That knucklehead replaced my hard-cover logbook with a paper strip in a baggy.   Did eventually get it back.

 Sheesh...      

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2 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

 

Do you email them first ?  We know a few who don't cache at all anymore, but do keep up their caches and/or trackables when they see an action log.

We were fine if someone simply wanted to add swag to our now-archived regular sized hides.  They'd  just be empty soon again anyway.

 - Logbooks and "etc" are maintenance though, and I'll be real ticked to have another "helping" me with maintenance.

 

I hunted a newer cacher once when he thought that "old" logbook should be replaced when full.  "Helping" ...   well, pages have two sides... 

That knucklehead replaced my hard-cover logbook with a paper strip in a baggy.   Did eventually get it back.

 Sheesh...      

Yes I do let the COs know. I never remove a full or destroyed log when I add a new log. If it's a is a full notebook or a full yellow Geocaching logbook, I don't add anything but let the COs know it needs replacing. 

 

I didn't realize being a good Geocacher while helping other Geocachers would offend them.  

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5 hours ago, GEO COWBOYS said:

I didn't realize being a good Geocacher while helping other Geocachers would offend them.  

OT, but...

Because we're good geocachers, we have little need of "help" from others, as we're fixing issues as they're mentioned in found it logs.  :)

 

A throwdowner couldn't find a 30cal ammo can, and left us a taped pill bottle as "help for now".   

 - Instead of just leaving a DNF, I still had to go out there to check, but now to pick up his trash too.

Others have left  film cans for custom containers they can't find.   Head out to pick up their trash, see the cache still there.

A "wet log" was just damp, and being rite in rain paper, just needed a wipe to be back to new again. 

 - It was replaced with a torn piece of paper from a car dealer, and  was the "service/parts" part of the form.

 

We've yet to have a single logbook full, but have had quite a few logs saying so.   A page has two sides.  Not sure why that's difficult to understand ...

 

There's enough similar to start another thread.   I  just say no thanks, and know many are the same.  ;)

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On 9/13/2018 at 6:45 AM, hzoi said:

Dollar bills used to be trackable.  But I haven't seen a Where's George? bill in ages.

 

That's a fun game, and a "Where's George?" bill is better swag than a regular bill.  Seeing the travel history online is like looking up a TB journey. That said, I can count on one hand the number of those bills I've ever gotten.

 

Perhaps you can send some into play - check the website.

 

My only other comment about swag is that if there's too much money in caches, word gets around to muggles...and muggles don't swap up!

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On 9/12/2018 at 6:37 PM, BugLuv said:

We found a dollar. I chose a very tiny tea cup instead. I like the odd,worthless swag-I have a quite a collection. 

 

Ive left coins from other countries. I’d like this, so figure someone else might also.

Us, too!  I like the dorky little things, especially the odd "kid-made" bracelet or trinket.  Coins from other countries would be great, but I think the OP is talking about the (frankly, rude) people who "trade" a current penny for swag.

 

Yep, it gets disheartening to put in relatively good stuff and see nothing but sticks, gum, pennies, and rubbish.

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On 18/09/2018 at 5:00 AM, cerberus1 said:

 

Because we're good geocachers, we have little need of "help" from others, as we're fixing issues as they're mentioned in found it logs.  :)

When posting my finds I will mention issues such as very damp logs, rubbish in the container, caches that have not been hidden properly by previous finders, broken locks etc.  I often read the 2 or 3 logs posted before mine which may only be a day or two old but make no mention of such issues which must have existed when they found the cache.  I have had "thank yous" from COs for drawing their attention to such issues.  None of us should complain publicly about the state or quality of caches if we don't help with the maintenance in this way.  It is not my responsibility to physically maintain them but as part of the caching community I support COs who cannot be expected to check umpteen caches every few days by posting reports.

 

I recently found 3 in a row which had the same name signed from just the previous day & found them easily because they had not been fully concealed as requested in the cache description.  When you spot a blue or orange plastic box lid from 5 paces just sitting at the base of a tree with a couple of twigs or a rock on top it is fairly certain you have the cache.  Seems to me that for some people it is simply grab the cache, chuck it back down at GZ & move on quickly.  If it is all about numbers then no wonder that in 300+ finds I have not found a single item of swag worth my taking & perhaps less than 10 items that might be fun finds for kids.

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9 hours ago, grimpil said:

When posting my finds I will mention issues such as very damp logs, rubbish in the container, caches that have not been hidden properly by previous finders, broken locks etc.  I often read the 2 or 3 logs posted before mine which may only be a day or two old but make no mention of such issues which must have existed when they found the cache.  I have had "thank yous" from COs for drawing their attention to such issues. 

Veering OT, but...

Yep.    As an example,  by Found It logs recently,  our simplest cache suddenly became tough for folks to find by the hint. 

Looked and found the park changed things up a bit,  the hint now possible on a couple things,  yet still within an "accurate" area.

Fixed the hint and thanked all in email and the cache page for the "heads up".    

If they didn't say something in their Found It,  we wouldn't have known until an action log was posted, who knows when.     :)

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Where's George treats geocaching like a disease. Bills that pass through a geocache are no longer eligible for top ten/twenty lists on their site, and some Georgers think they "should" be excluded from side games, like being found in a new county or state. Once in a cache, forever tainted.

Edited by msrubble
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I maintain several themed caches, and I’m really having trouble since we got the influx of newer cachers.  I can’t decide if it’s ignorance or malice (I really don’t think the app gives anyone a great intro to geo-etiquette).  They take swag without leaving anything...they take five cool items and leave a sticker...they take TB’s without logging them or moving them on...they come to my tee shirt cache, take several shirts and leave absolutely nothing.  The (sadly) funny thing is that our pirate-themed cache gets completely pillaged on a regular basis — they clean it out and leave an empty container...they even routinely steal the leather ship’s-log logbook.  They don’t trade; they don’t CITO.  I was on a swing to restock our Lego cache and saw a young couple leave the woods, playing with a whoopee cushion and a minifigure.  I smiled and thought I’d see what their log entry was...I got to the hide site, and there, shoved under the log that conceals the cache, were the wrappers from the whoopee cushion and minifigure.

 

I tried a premium hide, thinking that might help...but since hacking the premium info is so easy, that whole (very cool) container got stolen twice.  It’s really discouraging...we decided a long time ago that we would invest in the caches we maintain to give cachers (especially kids) a fun find...we even put real colonial Spanish coins in the pirate booty bag along with the replica doubloons.  But whether it’s uninformed cachers who don’t trade...or aren’t discreet and reveal a hiding spot to thieving muggles...or new cachers who think they can just take everything they find...

 

There have always been people who leave trash in caches...but the people who leave nothing seem to be increasing.

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1 hour ago, mcwarped4 said:

I maintain several themed caches, and I’m really having trouble since we got the influx of newer cachers.

 

 - snip -

 

I tried a premium hide, thinking that might help...but since hacking the premium info is so easy, that whole (very cool) container got stolen twice.  It’s really discouraging...we decided a long time ago that we would invest in the caches we maintain to give cachers (especially kids) a fun find...we even put real colonial Spanish coins in the pirate booty bag along with the replica doubloons.  But whether it’s uninformed cachers who don’t trade...or aren’t discreet and reveal a hiding spot to thieving muggles...or new cachers who think they can just take everything they find...

 

We've had issues off n on for some time.  Didn't we have an influx of new cachers from '09 or so, on?     

Guess I'm just wondering which influx we're talking about here...    :D

We're seeing take instead of trade, and numerous mistakes with trackables by long-time premium members as well as those folks just learning.

 

Curious, how is "hacking" premium caches so easy?   Options available to bypass the audit require you to be a premium member.

We haven't heard of a method for basic members to access pmo hides, other than being allowed to log a find if they found it with a PM.

Please explain.  Thanks.  :)

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9 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

Curious, how is "hacking" premium caches so easy?   Options available to bypass the audit require you to be a premium member.

We haven't heard of a method for basic members to access pmo hides, other than being allowed to log a find if they found it with a PM.

 

I was wondering the same thing.

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In my opinion, premium cache doesn't change anything to civility of finders...  the only way to protect the caches are turning them multi or mystery, the effort to find a cache hold off 80 % of geocachers. Less people = greater durability and better contents. The worst GCs I have found are always in very easy / visited places. Underground tickets, receipt, beer or wine caps... I rarely trade but I always remove all that rubbish of the caches. I think that busy caches should avoid to be too big enough to contain something else than logbook, regrettably...

Edited by LaNympheEtLeVoleur
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I rarely take anything from a cache, unless it's something useful, such as a notepad. I do sometimes leave things though, such as small trinkets from Christmas bob bons. I have a box of jewellery I have started to drop off, beginning with the cheapest items and working up.

My best find in a cache...$35....Christmas ??.

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11 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

 

We've had issues off n on for some time.  Didn't we have an influx of new cachers from '09 or so, on?     

 

We're seeing take instead of trade, and numerous mistakes with trackables by long-time premium members as well as those folks just learning.

Part of the '11 influx of cachers and proud of it! ?

We've noticed (and been the victim of) TB's disappearing, never to be seen again, usually due to newbies.  We've got a TB on a Hot Wheels car.  Last I checked the TB was still going, but the car had changed.  Twice! (At least it was upgraded to a better car.)

Now, if only some of the long-time members could hold off grabbing TB's from us until we logged them into the correct cache... (long time pet peeve  - drop a TB in a cache, get home 2 hours later and it's already been grabbed from us).

 

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On 9/18/2018 at 12:00 AM, cerberus1 said:
On 9/17/2018 at 6:21 PM, GEO COWBOYS said:

I didn't realize being a good Geocacher while helping other Geocachers would offend them.  

OT, but...

Because we're good geocachers, we have little need of "help" from others, as we're fixing issues as they're mentioned in found it logs.  :)

 

This! ? ?

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