Geocaching Australia

Just wondering if there's an official rule about logging of archived GC geocaches. I had a look thru their 'rules' but I couldn't see anything definitive about it.

I assume the normal rules of 'find it, sign the log' apply. Just want to know what GC think about it.

"I assume the normal rules of 'find it, sign the log' apply."

If I find it, I sign it.

Some archived caches are locked, and can't be signed.
Anything else is fair game, and in some circles, highly prized.
The older they are the better.
Little lost souls in the wilderness, looking for some love.

Speaking or archived caches, we regularly have discussions on how many caches you have within 10km.
My GSAK database tells me that within 10 km I have 216 archived caches, only 2 of which are mine, and one of those lives on as a multi instead instead of a trad.
Most of these caches would be gone of course, if not all.

The reason I ask is that a local geocacher has deleted the find log on an archived cache they own as according to them, 'you cannot log it since it's archived'.

I've logged archived caches before and had no issues ... so that's why I'm trying to track down something more official than just assuming it can be done. As yet I've not found anything in black and white.

"Little lost souls in the wilderness, looking for some love."

Love it!

I guess some people archive their caches because they no longer want people going to that spot and logging the cache - for whatever reason they might have. So if it's their cache to archive, I guess they also have the right to refuse to let you log it.

Although I feel that if a cache is archived, it should also be physically removed. Otherwise caching is adding to litter and pollution.

Removing the cache is the way to stop people being able to log archived caches. If the owner doesn't remove it, then I think it is 'rich' of them to complain when someone does log it. They can't be bothered to remove the old cache and instead leave it there as litter, but they can be bothered to remove a log .

Just a cacher wrote:... if a cache is archived, it should also be physically removed. Otherwise caching is adding to litter and pollution.

Hear, hear!

... and what Goldenwattle says as well!

There are bookmark lists of archived, but possibly still available, caches.

If the CO can't be bothered removing the cache it's a fair find in my opinion, FWIW.

I have found several old caches still in place this year.
GC4HPG2
GC4HHNQ
GC16A9P I found this magnetic keyholder puzzle cache close to S 35° 17.480 E 149° 07.030. It's had several other finders too.

I was also surprised to find a lot of old logs from several archived caches in the shearing shed at Mulligan's Flat.

They are lonely!

If I moved I would not archive my old caches until they had problems. While they are good, I don't understand why owner's archive them.

Hard to generalise about this topic.
Sometimes owners think caches are gone, but cache creep has just made them harder to find.
I have one at the moment which I couldn't find, but others are finding it.
I need to go back and look harder.

Just a cacher wrote: Although I feel that if a cache is archived, it should also be physically removed. Otherwise caching is adding to litter and pollution.

Could not agree more. I get that there are people that think "nope, i've had enough of geocaching, i'm going to archive all of it" but, just leaving it there just turns it into litter.

gmj3191 wrote:Some archived caches are locked, and can't be signed.
Anything else is fair game, and in some circles, highly prized.
The older they are the better.
Little lost souls in the wilderness, looking for some love.

Agreed. A couple of our archived caches were archived as they we extremely remote and the mining had taken over the area making it very hard for the regular tourist to access. The boxes where reasonalby large, full of goodies and over the years hadn't deteriorated so we had left them in place. We didn't want them to stay live as we didn't want the average person (if you get what I mean) to go wandering around trying to find them, as I said they are very reemote and require a big degree of dedication to reach and more recently even harder because of the mining. Hence they have only been logged a handful of times since they we're hidden back in 2003/4. Since archival they have provided entertainment of a couple of our geocaches who live in the Pilbara and we have been delighted to receive logs and photos of these almost inaccessible caches and happy to have been able to provided them with hours of fun too.

As for city archives I have to agree that once archived they should be removed, my feeling is that most are only mint tins anyway and do contribute to the litter. I have to agree that sometimes geocachers just give up the game and don't remove their unwanted caches. So many reasons these days as to why caches stay after archival as geocaching has been around for so long, some people even get sick and put holds on their caches then don't ever get well enough to activate them again. Hmmm... Getting morbid here, unfortunately over the years I have heard of and known a few geocachers who have gone to geocaching heaven.

Moving along........ Rumbled enough for this post.