Geocaching Confessions

[+hamsterdude10]

Ever DNF’d a cache you know you looked right at? Signed the log but forgot to log online? Tell your geocaching sins—we won't judge!

 

[+hamsterdude10]

Alright, it's time to confess.

 

We’ve all had those moments we probably shouldn’t admit to, but let’s be honest—we’ve all been there. This is a safe space. What’s your geocaching confession?

 

Signed the log but never logged it online?

 

DNF’d a cache, came back the next day, and it was exactly where you looked?

 

Claimed a find... but never actually found the container?

 

Took a cool swag item and forgot to trade?

 

 

Let’s hear your geocaching “sins,” funny fails, or near misses. No judgment—just laughs and solidarity!

[+niraD]

I have been known to trip over a regular size cache that was sitting out in the open.

 

Context: I was with a group of 8 or 10 people, and we were using the "Huckle Buckle Beanstalk" method so everyone had a chance to spot the cache before anyone else spoiled the hide. We were searching for a regular size cache with a low difficulty rating, and I was the last one to spot the cache. The others had started giving "warmer" and "colder" hints to direct me towards the cache location. I found the container by tripping over it. It was painted in a camo pattern, but sitting out in the open.

[+barefootjeff]

Back in January, I was trying to fish a cache out of a pipe using a magnet and line but didn't succeed. It was only while driving home that I realised I'd left the keeper plate on my magnet so it would have been effectively non-magnetic. It took another three attempts, though, before I finally got that one.

[+GeoElmo6000]

On 5/17/2025 at 8:52 AM, hamsterdude10 said:

Ever DNF’d a cache you know you looked right at? Signed the log but forgot to log online? Tell your geocaching sins—we won't judge!

 

 

Those aren't geocaching sins.  Logging online and not signing the log is a geocaching sin, however.

[+Goldenwattle]

On 5/18/2025 at 2:57 AM, niraD said:

I have been known to trip over a regular size cache that was sitting out in the open.

I found one by treading on it. It wasn't in it's hide and was some distance away. I walked on it out in the open on my way to GZ. Exclaimed, "Found it!"

 

[+DarkZen_EvilCowPie]

We try to be very consciences cachers so haven't racked up a lot of sins. I always make every possible effort to sign the physical log. Without a marking stick, I've signed logs with wood I've charred. I've even signed in blood. I've drawn. But every once in a while, when I open a blinkie and the log is jammed in there beyond tight, and it's damp, I just put the cap back on and call it done. 

Edited May 20 by DarkZen_EvilCowPie
Speeling

[+Max and 99]

I once claimed FTF on a geocache that a muggle had to tell me where it was. He saw someone put it there the night before and came over to show us where it was. Knowing that he was really the FTF but I claimed the honor keeps me up at night. 

[+Smitherington]

32 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

I once claimed FTF on a geocache that a muggle had to tell me where it was. He saw someone put it there the night before and came over to show us where it was. Knowing that he was really the FTF but I claimed the honor keeps me up at night. 

Oh the guilt. It must weigh heavily on you. But you gave him the FTF prize didn’t you?  That should ease your burden. 

[+GeoElmo6000]

1 hour ago, Max and 99 said:

I once claimed FTF on a geocache that a muggle had to tell me where it was. He saw someone put it there the night before and came over to show us where it was. Knowing that he was really the FTF but I claimed the honor keeps me up at night. 

 

I was once FTF on a cache because the CO liked to reuse locations, so when I got the notification that he archived a cache, I went by the next day and found a new cache there.  I signed the log and after the cache was published I logged it on the date that I signed it.  

[+baer2006]

1 hour ago, GeoElmo6000 said:

I was once FTF on a cache because the CO liked to reuse locations, so when I got the notification that he archived a cache, I went by the next day and found a new cache there.  I signed the log and after the cache was published I logged it on the date that I signed it.  

I found caches before publish several times, for various reasons. In almost all cases, the first finder after publish claimed "FTF", saying that finds before publish never count as FTF (to which I disagree ).

 

As for the topic of geocaching "sins" ... well, of my many finds, only a handful in the somewhat distant past are of a kind which I would no longer log as a find. Someone else entered my name in the log, when I was not at the location, and I still claimed the find, because I was more or less deeply involved. Usually solving the difficult puzzle; in two cases doing a long challenging multi in a team but not finding the final because it was missing - after owner maintenance, only one team member made the trip to the final, and entered all participants.

 

One "sin", which I rectified many years ago was armchair-logging of a few virtuals. As a newbie, I really thought that virtuals can be logged when answering the questions, no matter how you arrived at the answers. I soon learned, that this was not how virtuals are supposed to work. Several years later, I deleted most of my armchair logs (except a few, where the listing had been locked).

[+Goldenwattle]

10 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

I once claimed FTF on a geocache that a muggle had to tell me where it was. He saw someone put it there the night before and came over to show us where it was. Knowing that he was really the FTF but I claimed the honor keeps me up at night. 

I claimed FTF on a long distance several thousand km multicache. Took me more than one trip and months. Someone claimed it before me by working it out and making phone calls from their armchair. After being the first to drive the maybe 12,000kms return and visit every WP that pissed me off (that's a huge effort), and also very likely the CO. Planned to be driven, not ring and bother roadhouses etc along the route. So I claimed FTF the cache and visit the WPs. The CO has never corrected me.

Edited May 22 by Goldenwattle

[+barefootjeff]

29 minutes ago, Goldenwattle said:

I claimed FTF on a long distance several thousand km multicache. Took me more than one trip and months. Someone claimed it before me by working it out and making phone calls from his armchair. After being the first to drive the maybe 12,000kms return and visit every WP that pissed me off (that's a huge effort), and I strongly suspect the CO. So I claimed FTF the cache and visit the WPs. The CO has never corrected me.

 

This pales into insignificance compared to yours, but in 2016 I did a multi on Lord Howe Island for my 500th find milestone. At the start I got confused by the signage and ended up trying to access WP1 from the wrong side of the island, but there was a sign where I was that provided the information I needed for that waypoint. There was no easy access to WP2 from there, though, but one of the WP2 questions was multi-choice with three alternatives and the other wanted the elevation off the sign at the lookout and the map I had from my accommodation showed that, so I proceeded directly to WP3 and then WP4, which gave me all the longitude digits. That, and the latitude digits I had, pretty much narrowed the cache down to one spot along the Mt Eliza trail so I headed there and, after a short search, made the find. I felt a bit guilty about not visiting WP1 and WP2 so the next day I did the walk along to those, noting that the elevation on the sign at WP2 was slightly different to that shown on my map, so I'd been lucky to find the cache with the information I had. It certainly turned into a memorable find for the milestone!

[+gapeachforever]

I’ve signed challenge logs and not logged them, but I put a note that I was signing it. I do this for especially hard challenges that are in an area I’m working on and I’ve traveled a long way. I don’t see anything wrong with it.

[+ecanderson]

On 5/21/2025 at 1:16 PM, baer2006 said:

I found caches before publish several times, for various reasons. In almost all cases, the first finder after publish claimed "FTF", saying that finds before publish never count as FTF (to which I disagree ).

I'd guess the majority won't be with you on this one.  It's the moral equivalent of insider trading (Insiderhandel to you) if one FTFs a cache based upon info from the CO or whomever prior to publication.

 

[+Weber_and_Sons]

(Years before I started geocaching when I was a muggle.) I was playing a game and saw an ammo can right out in the open, it said do not disturb and since I didn't really know about geocaching I thought it was an explosive (I was 10) so I throw it far into a thick forest, fast forwards to me becoming a geocacher I remembered it and found the archived cache page and it said the cache went missing so they archived it and to this day I play in that forrest thinking where did that ammo can go, if I found It could I keep It and rehide?

[+baer2006]

5 hours ago, ecanderson said:

I'd guess the majority won't be with you on this one.  It's the moral equivalent of insider trading (Insiderhandel to you) if one FTFs a cache based upon info from the CO or whomever prior to publication.

For all my pre-publish FTFs, I had absolutely no insider information from the CO whatsoever. Because as you correctly say, with such info it wouldn't be a proper FTF.

 

So how did I do it then? Some examples:

• CO hides a trail, #1 to #n, but one number (#x) is missing. When walking the trail, I keep my eyes open between x-1 and x+1. I find the unpublished cache, which is published a few days later. For whatever reason (maybe the CO just forget to submit that one listing), the publish was delayed.
• I get a cache publish notification, and download the listing for offline use in my favorite geocaching app. A few minutes later, the reviewer retracts the listing (for whatever reason). But I have it offline, the cache happens to be not far away, so I go for it and find it. A few hours, or one day later, the listing is published for good.
• The cache is published "elsewhere" (on a platform known to all, and free for all, but ignored by most). I find the cache and log it as the first finder. After some time, the CO decides to move the listing to geocaching.com, but doesn't change the container or logbook in any way. I date my find to the day I actually found it, and claim FTF.

In all these cases, the pre-publish information I used was in principle available to everyone.

 

Where I live, finding a cache with info from the CO before publish is usually called a "beta test". It's considered bad form, even rude, if such a beta tester claims FTF for their find.

[+Gill & Tony]

8 hours ago, ecanderson said:

I'd guess the majority won't be with you on this one.  It's the moral equivalent of insider trading (Insiderhandel to you) if one FTFs a cache based upon info from the CO or whomever prior to publication.

 

There was an event a couple of years ago where one player  said that he was putting out a mini power trail.  No more than that, no location or anything else.

 

One attendee went home, studied a local map, made a guess where the trail was going to be and headed out.  He managed to FTF every one of the trail a week before publication.

The local FTF-hounds were not happy.

[+barefootjeff]

15 hours ago, gapeachforever said:

I’ve signed challenge logs and not logged them, but I put a note that I was signing it. I do this for especially hard challenges that are in an area I’m working on and I’ve traveled a long way. I don’t see anything wrong with it.

 

There's nothing wrong with that, it's actually what the Help Centre says you should do:

 

[+baer2006]

8 hours ago, Gill & Tony said:

There was an event a couple of years ago where one player  said that he was putting out a mini power trail.  No more than that, no location or anything else.

 

One attendee went home, studied a local map, made a guess where the trail was going to be and headed out.  He managed to FTF every one of the trail a week before publication.

The local FTF-hounds were not happy.

I think I would regard this as the kind of "insider information", which @ecanderson mentioned above. Because the information was available only to a very limited number of people - you had to be at the event, and you had to listen to the CO when he was talking about his plans. During my time as an "FTF hound" , I wouldn't have been too happy, either.