I found the cache but didnt log...is that a found or DNF?

[+20xxguy]

So i found a nano cache but couldnt get it out cause of a lack of tweezers and a lack of time, does that count as a find cause...i found it?

[+Jayeffel]

2 hours ago, 20xxguy said:

So i found a nano cache but couldnt get it out cause of a lack of tweezers and a lack of time, does that count as a find cause...i found it?

Well, if you are a stickler for legality and doing all things correctly, then no. And some cachers will say that is the case. This happens often.

I see a few options. 1)  log is as a DNF with a description of what occurred at the cache site , then get proper tool and return for find; 2)  Do nothing with a log and return with a tool and claim find; 3) take a picture of something that will identify the cache other than the cache itself, enter that in the log and make an appropriate entry in the log and claim find PENDING CO approval (which you may or may not receive a response).

 

I carry a tool with my all the time that would work, available from the  Geocaching store , a small bison tube with tweezers inside. 

 

Thanks for attempting to take the proper action. It all depends on location of which I would do. If in close proximity to me probably the second choice. 

 

I am sure more readers will offer their opinion of proper action. Enjoy caching.

 

Technically it is only a find to log as such when you locate the cache container, and log it with your cache name and date or such. 

Edited April 16, 2022 by Jayeffel

[+Wadcutter]

Or you could log a "note" and write that you were unable to remove the log sheet and plan to return.

[+Max and 99]

5 minutes ago, Wadcutter said:

Or you could log a "note" and write that you were unable to remove the log sheet and plan to return.

👍

[+HoochDog]

I had a cacher friend who refuses to sign those tiny magnetic nano caches because the log is such a pain to unroll and then roll back up. He just takes a photo and claims them as found. If the co deletes the log so be it. 

He even writes that openly in his log “found but do not sign these types of containers”

 

I used to think he was weird but when it takes 1 minute to find the cache and 5 minutes to put the log back, something is not right. 

Edited April 16, 2022 by HoochDog
.

[+JL_HSTRE]

5 hours ago, 20xxguy said:

So i found a nano cache but couldnt get it out cause of a lack of tweezers and a lack of time, does that count as a find cause...i found it?

 

I would log it as a find, just as I would log a find on a cache with a soggy logbook.

 

Some others here would not.

[+BirdSearcher]

There is a particular type of container popular in my area that I find almost impossible to open (simultaneous push & twist lid like a pill bottle but worse) So in those cases when I can’t open the container I take a photo & send it to the CO, then log the cache as found with an explanation in the log.

[+kunarion]

7 hours ago, 20xxguy said:

So i found a nano cache but couldnt get it out cause of a lack of tweezers and a lack of time, does that count as a find cause...i found it?

 

In the case of a Traditional, Multi, or Mystery cache, I don't log a Find if I have not signed the log.  I don't log it online as a Find due to merely seeing something (if then turns out to be a throwdown, logging it as a Find creates issues).  I dry a wet log sheet enough to sign it, and make appropriate logs so that the next cachers don't need to be surprised by a wet log.  I bring tweezers, or return with the necessary tool -- part of Geocaching is not always knowing you may need a particular tool, so be ready.  And I go to places where I will enjoy returning later.  There's no hurry.

 

Find the container.

Sign the cache log.

Log it online.

 

If I miss a step, I won't log a Find.

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by kunarion

[+cerberus1]

7 hours ago, 20xxguy said:

So i found a nano cache but couldnt get it out cause of a lack of tweezers and a lack of time, does that count as a find cause...i found it?

 

Some COs are nonchalant about checking logs, or keeping track of people who cheat.  Why someone would cheat in a hobby isn't clear...

But part of Owner Maintenance is monitoring activity on logs and visiting the cache once in a while for issues.

Some COs check each cache log with online.  Some don't.

Sometimes word gets out about a "cacher" that's logging multiple finds, and has no signatures in anyone's logs.

Not signing the log, yet still claiming it as a find means you should be okay with the fact that your "Found it" may be deleted if the CO notices.

[+Lostboy1966]

I came across one that I couldn't sign because I didn't have tweezers with me. It was a FTF, so I contacted the CO to clarify permission for logging it, and was approved. It was also a micro/nano listed as 'Small'. Size your hides properly before publishing, folks! 🤞

[+barefootjeff]

15 hours ago, 20xxguy said:

So i found a nano cache but couldnt get it out cause of a lack of tweezers and a lack of time, does that count as a find cause...i found it?

 

For myself, I set the threshold for an online find log as having my name (or a group name if I was with a group) in the log and, if I didn't sign it myself, to have been close enough to the logbook to have done so had I wanted to. If I find myself short of a pen, I'll either put the cache back, go off to buy one and return, or, if it's out in the bush with no pen shops within cooee, I'll use a twig, gumnut or whatever I can find as a substitute. The only exception I've made was on one cache where the log was such a sodden lump of pulp that none of my assortment of writing implements would leave an identifiable mark on it (in that case I logged the find and an NM with a photo of the lump).

 

As a CO, though, I'm a lot more lenient, and as long as someone can satisfy me that they were at GZ and had the cache in their hand, then I'm happy enough to let their online log stand. I put pencils in all my caches to try to avert "forgot my pen" logs but occasionally that doesn't work (some penless cacher didn't bother opening the container because he knew he wouldn't be able to sign the log, even though there were two pencils waiting inside it). Even if I've satisfied myself that the log shouldn't stand, I give the finder every chance to defend their case through both Message Centre and email, with log deletion being a last resort.

 

So in answer to your question, it's really comes down to a value call by you and the CO (preferably in collaboration). By not signing the log you don't meet the gold standard for claiming a find, but there's wriggle room for a compromise if your conscience and the CO are okay with it.

Edited April 17, 2022 by barefootjeff

[+TeamRabbitRun]

On 4/16/2022 at 10:35 AM, HoochDog said:

I had a cacher friend who refuses to sign those tiny magnetic nano caches because the log is such a pain to unroll and then roll back up. He just takes a photo and claims them as found. If the co deletes the log so be it. 

He even writes that openly in his log “found but do not sign these types of containers”

 

I used to think he was weird but when it takes 1 minute to find the cache and 5 minutes to put the log back, something is not right. 

 

You can call me harsh, and that's OK.

 

It's one thing if you CAN'T get the log out, or don't have a pen, or the log's soggy goo, and if you ask the CO for permission to claim the Find, then I'm all on board with it.

 

To me, it's a completely different thing if you simply petulantly REFUSE to sign the log because "I don't do those types".

 

Sorry, as a CO part of my cache design involves the container and the log, and that's the task I set for you to claim it.

 

It's no different than saying "I don't do tree climbs, but I'm claiming this one it because I'm standing at the base of the tree."

 

Sorry, denied. I don't care if you think it takes to long; that's the game. Got someplace better to be than at my cache? If so, then put it back and go there.

 

[+HoochDog]

1 hour ago, TeamRabbitRun said:

 

It's no different than saying "I don't do tree climbs, but I'm claiming this one it because I'm standing at the base of the tree."

 

I was on board until you said that. 
It’s entirely different.   One has the log in hand with a photo, the other does not. 

The CO might delete the log either way, but to equate the two as equal is a bridge too far. 
 

Edited April 17, 2022 by HoochDog

[+TeamRabbitRun]

52 minutes ago, HoochDog said:

I was on board until you said that. 
It’s entirely different.   One has the log in hand with a photo, the other does not. 

The CO might delete the log either way, but to equate the two as equal is a bridge too far. 
 

 

Respectfully disagree.

 

They don't have the log in hand, they have the CONTAINER in hand, and just don't want to wrestle with the log.
Ok, maybe they're not exactly the same, but my point was that in my opinion, for my caches you can't just decide to not fulfil a part of the 'mission' for a reason that I don't consider good enough. 

Slug-covered container (to quote another thread today), sure, but "I don't want to because it takes too long"; sorry.

At least (again, in my opinion) be respectful enough to ASK the CO. To just claim it, throwing it back in the CO's face and not caring if it gets deleted is disdainful of the CO and rude.

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by TeamRabbitRun

[+colleda]

On 4/17/2022 at 12:35 AM, HoochDog said:

I used to think he was weird but when it takes 1 minute to find the cache and 5 minutes to put the log back, something is not right. 

In my experience it's the other way round. Logs like that only take a minute to roll but 5, 10 or more minutes to find the cache.

[+colleda]

On 4/16/2022 at 7:54 PM, 20xxguy said:

So i found a nano cache but couldnt get it out cause of a lack of tweezers and a lack of time, does that count as a find cause...i found it?

For me, if I can't get the log out to sign, it's not a find. If practical, I'll come back another time armed with tweezers or whatever I need to extract the log. If the log is unsignable, e.g. soaked or too torn, I'll claim the find and log a NM with explanation.

[+barefootjeff]

6 hours ago, TeamRabbitRun said:

Ok, maybe they're not exactly the same, but my point was that in my opinion, for my caches you can't just decide to not fulfil a part of the 'mission' for a reason that I don't consider good enough. 

 

Yep. Every cache has a series of obstacles the CO (and sometimes the environment) has placed in the way of a finder getting their name in the log. First they have to get to GZ, then locate the container, extract it from its hiding place, open it, remove the log and finally sign it. Getting part way there doesn't, or shouldn't, constitute a find. Either come back better prepared or choose to ignore it, but either way it's not really a find until your name's in the log.

[+K13]

Removing it from the blinkie is not necessary. I use a sharpie and mark the part of the log I can see. .