Why Tell What You Left At A Site

[verloren1]

I have noticed that many people note (in the web log) what they found and what they left at a chache site. To me, part of the fun in finding the site is being surprised by what I find. I am new to this and only have two finds, so maybe my feelings will change with time. What do some of the "old timers" think?

[+Renegade Knight]

Some people like to know what happened to the stuff they left. Cache owenrs sometimes like to know what's being traded.

 

Some seekers like to know an item of particular interest may be in the cache.

 

Even if you think you know what will be in the cache it will never match exactly to any list. A lot of people don't log their trades.

Edited January 3, 2005 by Renegade Knight

[+LthrWrk]

I like to note what I took if anything.. and certainly when I leave a sig item. Since I have a great assortment of different mounts on my sig items. Maybe someone wants to try and collect a series of em. Thinking if you get 5 different mounts on my key fobs.. you might get a prize.

[+Anonymous']

Ditto on what they said.

[+wolves shepherd]

After 20 some finds, I lonly log if I/we trade for something besides McToys. Otherwise I don't bother keeping track of which kid traded which widget for which whatsit. I just regulate to make sure all trades are fair and the cache comes out eve, if not ahead.

 

Now, if I find something I want, I usually will log what I took and what I left in it's place.

 

That's just the way I play.

[+Kealia]

Some people like to know what happened to the stuff they left. Cache owenrs sometimes like to know what's being traded.

 

Some seekers like to know an item of particular interest may be in the cache.

 

Even if you think you know what will be in the cache it will never match exactly to any list. A lot of people don't log their trades.

yep.

[+Subterranean]

To me, part of the fun in finding the site is being surprised by what I find. 

I agree with you there. I never mention my trades (I actually rarely trade, anyway) in my online logs, but always mention them in the logbook. Another consideration is that "pirates" or "cache maggots," as they have been called, might just be enticed to raid a cache after reading an online log that mentions a nice trade item.

[+Mud Puppy]

I like seeing what has been left in my caches so I know if I need to make a special trip to re-stock it.

 

While it's true that posting about a juicy swag item may entice raiders, I make a oint of leaving nice items in tough caches and posting what they are to entice people to make the extra effort to go get them.

[+Snoogans]

Some people like to know what happened to the stuff they left. Cache owners sometimes like to know what's being traded.

 

I will write what I traded if I have nothing better to say or if it was an exceptional item that I traded for.

 

As for people wanting to know what happened to the stuff they traded, it's a source of frequent heartburn and I just don't get it.

 

If you're going to GIVE something nice to the game then GIVE IT. If you feel that you HAVE to get props for what you trade, then ask yourself why you are putting an item in play in the first place.

 

Even if you think you know what will be in the cache it will never match exactly to any list.  A lot of people don't log their trades.

 

Again, a frequent complaint that I don't get. Allot of geocachers must be accountants and auditors.

Edited January 3, 2005 by Snoogans

[+Katydid & Miles Stone]

I could go either way on this one. When my son found out some baseball cards were recently left at a cache, he was the eager beaver to get there. Seeing what people take or leave can serve as a barometer as to what to bring or take out when I re-stock my caches. On the other hand, it is nice to be surprised. MS

[+briansnat]

I have noticed that many people note (in the web log) what they found and what they left at a chache site. To me, part of the fun in finding the site is being surprised by what I find. I am new to this and only have two finds, so maybe my feelings will change with time. What do some of the "old timers" think?

I usually note what I leave and take, because as a cache owner I appreciated it when others do it. It helps give me an idea as to what's left in the cache and I know if I have to head out to re-stock.

[+ValleyRat & TillyMouse]

Since we started leaving our "We Brake for Geocaching" bumper stickers, and always logging that we did so, we've seen more finds logged.

 

When there's room, we usually leave more than one.

 

The bumper sticker is always the first item taken.

[+the hermit crabs]

We list what we take because sometimes people like to know what became of the things they left behind.

 

And since we list what we take, we also list what we left because we don't want people to think we're taking stuff without leaving anything behind.

[+JMBella]

Take it...'cause ya can't leave it!

[+BigHank]

To me it is just another part of the 'caching experience that deserves to be written about in the logs, so I do it because writing log entries is part of the fun I get from 'caching.

[+Two Geeks and a GPS]

Maybe the tradition started as a way to "keep people honest." Do you really want to write, "Took rare expensive collectors coin, Left broken McToy." If you have to tell (or think you do) you're less likely to do the above and instead trade fair or up.

Edited January 3, 2005 by Two Geeks and a GPS

[+Ambrosia]

When we first started in the spring of '02, we had the strong impression that the reason that we logged what we took and left was so that there would be this cool, perfect account of what exactly had been in the each cache. And then if you were really interested, you could track which items went to other caches. Because when I started, I thought that basically the first cache that you went to, you brought a trade item, but then from then on, you only kept trading items that you found in caches. I guess so that all the same items would be perpetually wandering around from cache to cache, unless you REALLY liked something and wanted to keep it. I don't know where I got these ideas from.

 

Now, I only trade when I have something I want for myself, so of course I trade it with something I bought at the store. I always write in the logbook what I took and left, cause it's right on my mind, and I can remember. Usually, especially if I did a lot of caches that day, I forget by the time I get back to the computer. The first year of caching I kept a notebook in my caching bag, and had a page for every cache I went to, including what I traded, and that way I could remember when I logged online, and also for memories. But I have long since given that up.

 

On an interesting note, I had a little pink plastic cricket from my childhood that I put in a cache. A while later, in a town a bit of a distance away, I found it again in a cache. I kept it this time, figured it was meant to stay with me.

[+Jeeping Family]

Look at this:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...01-8482d147292a

 

That is why I like people to tell what they left.

[+Team Neos]

I trade when something in the cache appeals to me...and later I look to see if anyone choses my trade item from the cache. I want to know if the trade items I am leaving behind are desirable trade items, and it helps me to learn that if folks log what they pick up.

Of course, logging items put into a cache doesn't always spoil the surprise. For a long time I had some really nice biner clips that were also a compass and a flashlight --but I just logged them in as "a biner".

[+ShadowAce]

Cache : Picacho Peak http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=gcc5d6

 

Our Left/Took entry:

We took the coveted TDP backpack and left a ceramic Buddah in the cache.

 

Response from another cacher:

Removed granola bars , took buddha (thanks, I collect them), left batteries.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...07-34908911e96f

 

I, and my son who also made the hike, were really excited to read this.. It made me go to my boss and ask him to bring more back from China the next time he went that direction.

 

So for us, it is about letting people know and for us to keep track via past logs.