Aka WE4NCS
The three rules of geocaching, "Take something, Leave something and Write in the log book", are only the beginning points of safe and responsible geocaching.
Consider the following points before you head out on your next cache hunt:
- Know where you're going before you go. It's not cheating to use a map. Maps will show you likely trailheads, possible dangers, and will keep you from going across private property. If you were driving from NC to Florida it wouldn't make much sense to just get in the car and start driving on random roads. At a bare minimum you would need to know what direction was south, and you'd probably do even better if you knew what the major interstate roads are. You don't have to plot out every detail of the trail you intend to hike, but a little knowledge in advance can save you lots of hassles later on. Topographical maps can also give you critical details about the cache location.
Print out the cache description before you go or download the cache description into your PDA. Coordinates are sometimes not enough. There is often important information in the clues, which is not a spoiler, but is required to find the cache. Go ahead and print out the spoilers too; you may decide you need them once you get in the area of the cache.Take a waypoint at your car or the trailhead. Read the cache description before you leave - there may be some critical information you need before you leave or there may be some parking coordinates or even some log entries that contain critical information.
Take a waypoint at your car or the trailhead. It makes it easier to find your way back if you get disoriented wandering around. You've got the GPS; why not use it to help you out?
Take the appropriate gear, water, map, compass, spare batteries, bug spray, cell phone, etc. Cache hunts can often take more time than you expect. Do you have a flashlight if it gets dark? Will you be prepared if it starts to rain? Do you have enough water on hot days? Can you find your way back if your batteries die? Does someone know where you are and when you will be back?
Don't 'bee line' straight from a trailhead to the cache unless you know what the terrain, undergrowth or soil conditions are like.If the trail curves away from the direction your GPS receiver indicates, be patient, it is likely to curve back. Stay on the trail. Most caches are typically close to an established trail. In most locations you're only going to take more time and suffer more scratches by trying to take the straight-line approach. In locations where off trail hiking is clearly prohibited you're likely to anger land management officials and give geocaching a bad public image, not to mention the increased chances for more serious personal injuries or destruction of "environmentally sensitive" areas. Consider making the "Leave No Trace" principles part of your approach to outdoor activities.
Pay attention to your surroundings and not just to the screen of your GPS or you might end up hopelessly lost. Enjoy your hike. Smell the roses.
Take bearings and note possible cache locations before heading off trail. Some geocachers take a compass to use as an aid in finding the cache.
If the trail curves away from the direction your GPS receiver indicates, be patient, it is likely to curve back.
If you've been moving quickly along the trail, allow your GPS receiver to settle down by standing still before bushwhacking out into the woods. The coordinates will often stabilize pointing to a slightly different direction than when you were moving. You may save yourself the trouble of searching the wrong side of the trail for 20 minutes.
Don't blaze a new trail to the cache. This makes the cache more vulnerable to vandalism or theft and will anger the land managers.
Avoid vandalizing the area by turning over every rock and log. Try to think like the cache hider and look for man-made cairns or natural hiding places. Geocaches are very rarely buried. Don't even think about digging unless the clue says the cache is buried - caches aren't supposed to buried under dirt but may be under leaves, limbs, rocks, bark - and then make sure you've got the right spot before you start moving any covering.
Try not to trample the vegetation or root in animal burrows. It's not likely that the cache is in the center of an impenetrable bramble patch. The person who hid the cache likely took a fairly easy path to the hiding spot. You should try to find that path before you start snapping tree limbs.
Pay attention to the accuracy your GPS receiver is showing and don't follow it mindlessly around trying to get to the exact location of the coordinates.Don't litter. This should be a no-brainer... Even in the best circumstances coordinates can vary easily within 40' or so. Save yourself and the cache area some stress and start cache hunting once you get close.
Don't litter. This should be a no-brainer but trash has been found that was obviously left by a geocacher. Very bad. Programs such as Groundspeak’s "Cache In - Trash Out" encourage geocachers to carry trash bags with them and pack out trash they find on the trails. Consider leaving the area in better condition than you found it.
Pay attention to how the cache was concealed before you pull it out of it's hiding spot, and then...
Leave the cache covered or hidden just like you found it. The person who placed the cache picked what they thought was a good spot and hid it to the degree they thought appropriate. Just because you had a hard time finding it doesn't mean that the next person will also. The right thing to do is to never leave a cache more exposed than you found it. The cache is safer the more it is concealed. Nothing is more frustrating than finding the contents of a cache vandalized or stolen because the person before you decided to make the cache more visible.
Try not to sit at the cache location to log your find if you are likely to be seen by other people. Rooting around with a hidden box of goodies makes you look suspicious or interesting to others who might drop by the spot to see what you were looking at and decide to steal or vandalize the cache.
Don't devalue the cache. Sure that $10 bill would be a nice way to pay for lunch after you're done caching, just don't leave a 30 cent trinket in its place. Even if it's fairly subjective, at least try to match value for value as much as is possible with whatever random objects may be there or in your own pocket. Don't be afraid to leave something without taking something either. Make sure the treasure stays something worth finding.
If possible, try to find out if geocaching is prohibited in the cache area. Many caches have been hidden without the knowledge of the officials responsible for overseeing the land. Because geocaching is a relatively new activity, Rangers and other park officials are often uncertain of how to respond to cachers. Some have been enthusiastic participants; some have given tickets to geocachers for littering, abandoning property, or failing to observe posted signs (by going off trail). Knowing how local officials are treating the activity could save you a fine. (It may also do nothing more than 'stir the kettle' and bring the sport to the attention of an individual unfamiliar with or perhaps even hostile to geocaching who finds it easier to prohibit the activity than to understand it and develop guidelines for it. How to approach this issue is still very much debated by geocachers.)
Keep the cache contents legal and family friendly. Remember that teenagers or even small children may find the cache. No alcohol, tobacco, "adult" materials, explosives, drugs, etc.
Keep the cache contents animal friendly. Food attracts wild animals that may destroy the cache.It is inappropriate to log the cache that you hide as a “find...” Even small hard candies create enough odor to entice animals to drag a cache out of its hiding place and turn it into shredded garbage.
It is inappropriate to log the cache that you hide as a “find” – just post a note if you need to convey information to other geocachers or if you visit your own cache. Logging your geocache as a "find" makes you look silly and is a sure indication of a rookie geocacher!
Other logging mistakes include logging a geocache find more than once unless it a geocache that allows multiple logs. Only log a find on a multi when you actually find the last stage. Log a "find" for an event only after the event occurs - post a note if plan to attend. Cache owners can log a "find" for an event they list if they attend.
Don't use someone else's cache to proselytize or advertise. Try to keep the activity fun for everyone. There's no need to be moralistic or to commercialize a cache that someone else went to the effort of placing.
Avoid being overly critical in your comments in the written or the online log entries. It makes you look like a whiner or complainer and does nothing for other geocachers or the owners of the cache. If you have a critical comment or concern about a cache, privately send an e-mail to the cache owner. Bragging about your personal life or cache finding achievements in your logs doesn’t do much for anyone either.