For newbies (and even some vets), do's and don'ts

38.2k · January 14, 2003

There has been a recent surge in the number of new geocachers. Apparently a lot of people have been itching to start geocaching and just received received GPSr's for Christmas.

This is a good thing. But with all the neophytes, you start seeing a lot of inappropriate things in and about the caches, so I thought I'd start a list of do not's and do's.

Do not:

Do not mark the location of the cache with stones, flagging tape, arrows, cairns, etc... You found it without the extra help, so can everyone else.

Do not leave the cache exposed, unless you are absolutely sure that is the way the owner wants it.

Do not leave food in the caches. This includes dog biscuts, gum, Pez and cans of soda. It doesn't matter how well sealed the food item is. Just don't do it.

Do not leave heavily scented items like soap, candles, incense, pot-pourri, etc... The scents may be as interesting to animals as food.

Do not turn over, or move every rock and down tree in the area during your search. When you leave the area, it should not look like a cyclone went through. Besides, it isn't necessary and may tick off land managers.

Do not log it as a find if you didn't find it. It will confuse the cache owner and subsequent searchers.

Do's:

Do re-hide the cache well. Use the difficulty rating as a guide if you are unsure how well to hide it.

Do make sure you re-seal the lid. Many caches are ruined because someone failed to close the lid properly.

Do log your find on this website. It's a courtesy to the cache owner. It lets them know the cache has been found and their effort is appreciated.

Do let the owner know of any problems with the cache. You can do this via your log.

Do log a "not found", if you didn't find it, no matter what the reason. It alerts the owner and other cachers that there could be a problem. A "not found" is nothing to be ashamed of. We all have our share.

Do try to leave the area around the cache as undisturbed as possible.

Do follow the trail where possible. Often a trail will turn away from the cache, then loop back in its direction. Resist the urge to bushwack. It won't save you much time and more often than not, you'll just run into the trail again.

Do try to make sure you aren't being watched. In high traffic areas, its a good idea to take the cache and move to another spot to make your trade and log in. Then return the cache to its hiding place when you are sure nobody's looking.

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on January 14, 2003 at 07:03 PM.]

2.3k · January 14, 2003

A lot of wise things in that post.

Anders

8.9k · January 14, 2003

Those are great. There's also a thread called Mistakes I've made that started quite a long time ago (May 04, 2001), that had some great suggestions.

If this thread does not get locked to the top, I may ask Brian if I can incorporate this into the FAQ under "Got any tips?"

Markwell

Chicago Geocaching

2.7k · January 14, 2003

There are allready enough rules. Why come up with another do this and not that thing!!

Tahosa - Dweller of the Mountain Tops.

6.4k · January 14, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Tahosa:
There are allready enough rules. Why come up with another do this and not that thing!!

Tahosa - Dweller of the Mountain Tops.

Oh come on! These aren't more rules, these are basic things that sometimes newbies don't think of right away. How would you feel if someone left a 3ft arrow made of rocks pointed to your cache, left a fish fillet as a trade item, and then left it totally exposed. Sounds silly, but these are all things that have really happened. What Brian posted are some great guidelines to follow so the cache you find today wont be plundered by people or destroyed by animals tomorrow.

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

January 14, 2003

If you see someone on the trails with a Geocaching hat or a car in the parking lot with GPS on it's bumper or Geocaching on its window and you see the occupant then say "Hello fellow Geocacher, I'm ..."

It is great to bump into fellow cachers.

I have bumped into Stayfloppy (twice), Skully & Mulder and TrackerBB out on the hunt or in the parking lot. Enjoyed chatting with them all.

Or try to attend a local Event cache.

January 14, 2003

As a card carrying newbie, I appreciate a post like Brian's. I don't see it as more rules to live by, just a guide to help keep the mistakes I will/have made to a minimum. Most of what he said seems like common sense to me(I'm a smart feller ) but I often read things here(like Brian's do' and dont's) and see things I didn't think of.

Sam

38.2k · January 14, 2003

quote:
There are allready enough rules. Why come up with another do this and not that thing!!

You're right Tahosa. What was I thinking? New geocachers, please ignore my post. Go ahead and tear up the cache site, put Snickers bars in caches and leave the cache out for all to see.

"Paternalism is the greatist despotism" - Emmanual Kant

January 14, 2003

What do you guys think about the idea of taking the cache a bit away from the hiding spot to open it and go through it (if possible). Since I frequently take my kids along - moving 100 ft away allows them to trounce around while exploring the cache contents while not making it totally obvious to the next searcher (by following the herd of wild children tracks).

Also helps discourage any passers by who may see you while logging your visit from easily finding it. (especially in very public locations). Obviously - return the cache to the original location when rehiding it....

Figured I'd ask what folks thought.....

- HartClimbs

6.4k · January 14, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by hartclimbs:
What do you guys think about the idea of taking the cache a bit away from the hiding spot to open it and go through it (if possible). Since I frequently take my kids along - moving 100 ft away allows them to trounce around while exploring the cache contents while not making it totally obvious to the next searcher (by following the herd of wild children tracks).

Also helps discourage any passers by who may see you while logging your visit from easily finding it. (especially in very public locations). Obviously - return the cache to the original location when rehiding it....

Figured I'd ask what folks thought.....

- HartClimbs

Great point, and it's been discussed before, but would be a good thing to add to Brian's list.

We usually carry the cache away from the hiding spot. This way, if someone happens to come along and see us we haven't given away the hiding spot. This works for both noncachers and other geocachers. Once we came upon another cacher at a hiding spot. He had done just as you suggested, so after chatting with him for a few minutes, we turned our backs while he returned the cache to the hiding spot. This way we still had the fun of searching for it.

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

January 14, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by hartclimbs:
What do you guys think about the idea of taking the cache a bit away from the hiding spot to open it and go through it (if possible). Since I frequently take my kids along - moving 100 ft away allows them to trounce around while exploring the cache contents while not making it totally obvious to the next searcher (by following the herd of wild children tracks).

Also helps discourage any passers by who may see you while logging your visit from easily finding it. (especially in very public locations). Obviously - return the cache to the original location when rehiding it....

Figured I'd ask what folks thought.....

- HartClimbs

We always take the cache to a convient location (picnic table or such) if there's one nearby. I also try to minimize our impact, so if it appears that the last five geocachers all sat on that moss-covered rock or whatever, I'll avoid doing the same so that the area can recover a bit.

Anything to make it equally challenging for those who come after...

Ron/yumitori

January 14, 2003

Living in the rarefied air of the Colorado hilltops has surely rendered him senseless.

January 14, 2003

I think the comments were great and the additional comments were good too. I couldn't have said it better. Well, not a lot better. Well maybe quite a bit better. Well, maybe a lot better. But I didn't. So thanks for the help for the newbies. I would have benefited from some of those common sense comments when I started out.

January 14, 2003

One thing to mention about moving the cache a bit while logging your find: unless you're completely sure that you'll remember the exact spot, mark the hiding spot with something that you can easily remove after returning the cache. I remember past discussions about this, and several people saying that when they take the cache away to log their find, they forget where exactly it had been hidden (quite understandable in some environments.)

----

When in doubt, poke it with a stick.

January 14, 2003

It's always nice to see someone who cares and If I were a new Geocacher, I would really appreciate post's like this. Good Job BrianSnat.

________________________________________________________________________

Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, you'll be a mile from them, and you'll have their shoes.

January 14, 2003

I also agree with everyone here that these are nice guidelines to follow.

One thing I like to do is return the cache "contents" back in better condition than I found them. For example, if the cache had a printout describing what geocaching is, and it has been "buried" under all the geoswag, I place it back on top so if a non-geocacher finds the cache, its the first thing they see (instead of all the way cool stuff in the cache). Wow, that was a long run-on sentence... My elementary school english teacher would be very upset... I would hope this would help deter thefts of our caches.

PS. Great job Brian. It's nice to see people interested in keeping this growing sport fun for everyone.

Brad

January 14, 2003

Nice idea for the 'Getting Started' forum, BrianSnat!

But, we've also seen an increase in the number of new cachers who are hiding a cache for the first time (some of whom haven't found any yet). How about another Do's & Don'ts list for newbies who are planning to HIDE a geocache?

January 14, 2003

If this goes to the top, another reminder would be to NOT post Travel bug ID numbers within log entries. I've noticed several of these since the new year in my watch lists emails.

As for reminding people of the already established rules, thank you for bringing them back up. This should be a annual forum event -- it might even warrant being included in the initial new account email confirmation notice.

"All of us are standing in the mud, but some of us are looking at the stars." Oscar Wilde

5.9k · January 14, 2003

Should I mention the concept of trading up or even? Do I need to mention that the crap you get free, that’s commonly available to everyone free, is not a viable trade for a rare coin or SOG tool? (AOL discs, plastic utensils, and the like.)

January 14, 2003

I know some very experienced geocachers who ignore the simple rule of not trespassing and some of them even brag about it in their posts. Please add "do not trespass on private property" to the list. Doing so is not only illegal but puts the cache at risk when the land owner investigates what someone is doing entering their property.

January 14, 2003

Great Post Brian, Newbies like me who haven't gained the confidence to venture out in the cold need all the help they can get for this pastime. I've been reading posts in different categories in order to learn what I need in the way of supplies and the etiquette of the game. I think I'll venture out tomorrow, there are two caches close by, one virtual and one hidden.

Take Care, Michael

3k · January 14, 2003

Only one thing to add and I skimmed through this thread, so it might have been mentioned: Mark the waypoint to the car.

Cache you later,

Planet

"To err is human, to forgive....$5.00"

January 15, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Tahosa:
There are allready enough rules. Why come up with another do this and not that thing!!

Tahosa - Dweller of the Mountain Tops.

It's quite obvious you did not read Brian's post.

Mike

Gsdvr

Huntsville

2.6k · January 15, 2003

Don't write a useless hint.

There are few things worse than finally breaking down to use the hint and reading

"This cache is too easy for a hint"

Either leave a hint or leave it blank.

george

Pedal until your legs cramp up and then pedal some more.

January 15, 2003

Great tips.

Many were common sense, but some of them were things you don't think of until it's too late.

Also being a card carrying newbie, I appreciate this thread.

'A good traveler has no specific destination, and isn't intent on arriving.'-take pleasure in the journey

January 16, 2003

quote:
When in doubt, poke it with a stick.

Why enter a thread with Advice, if you don't plan to consider it?

January 16, 2003

Lately I've noticed a lot of hints on newbie caches that contain VALUABLE information that isn't a hint. For instance, you decode the hint and it says;"Keep the kids away from the open well that is about 40 feet north of the cache".

Sometimes I see something like: "This is one of the most popular parks in the county".

WELL THANKS! I just drove 130 miles to look for this cache, spent an hour crawling around in the poison ivy and your hint tells me the park is popular!

Hey! we all were newbies once!

Unknown objects are operating under intelligent control... It is imperative that we learn where UFO's come from and what their purpose is... - -Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter Director, Central Intelligence Agency 1947-1950

38.2k · January 29, 2003

bump

"Paternalism is the greatist despotism" - Emmanual Kant

4.4k · January 29, 2003

Proper Etiqette is always a must.We all have to set the examples if we want to be leaders.

When all else fails Geotry again.

January 29, 2003

Heres a link to a cache rating system. IT helped me out, It may help you!www.clayjar.com/gcrs

See you in the woods!

Natureboy1376

January 31, 2003

Hello to all,

This weekend will be my first venture into geocaching. I am looking forward to it. I don't watch TV and I like being outdoors. I hope to meet some of you out there sometime. Thank you to all who posted tips for us "newbies" to have. It helps to have people lend their experience to those of us just starting.

Kind Regards

For newbies (and even some vets), do's and don'ts

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