As cachers we are all familiar with the term CITO. Four little letters that can mean so much. Cache In, Trash Out. But what about when an archived/missing cache becomes trash?
While walking in a popular area of the UNB Woodlot I happened upon just that. I was out with Gus for our morning walk cleaning up some of the newer caches in the area and happened across a cache that looked to be in quite a state. Half buried in mud, barely any swag and a log that was difficult to read/sign. To add to the situation, it was less then 15m from a cache I had found a week earlier.
Confused I pulled out my smartphone(not my first choice when caching) to load up GDAK and search the area. Sure enough, the “Zombie” cache didn’t exist. Scouting the area I located the active cache I had logged earlier (which did show online as active) just to ensure I wasn’t:
a) losing my mind
b) lost
c) had stepped into a cache vortex and been transported to an alternate caching universe.
So I had a dilemma. Here we have two caches, one active, one not. Question was, where did the non active cache belong, and to whom? I hate removing caches regardless of the state of the container. If the owner has been contacted and does not respond to the maintenance request, that’s one thing, but to remove a cache without knowing the owner, cache name or original location seemed wrong for some reason.
I read over the log and was unable to find a GC code or name or the name of the owner. Not willing to let it go at that, I emailed a few of the cachers on the log sheet (that I could read) and inquired about the cache. I used the location and cache type as a reference and even though it was a long shot, I did receive a reply.
I was directed to another cacher who was know to hide quite a few caches in that area (at the time his caches dominated the Woodlot) and, once again, inquired about the cache with as much info as possible.
After several dead ends I decided it best to remove the “dead cache” But I did hold onto the few things, including the log book, I found inside. As I am a firm believe in the three R’s, I recycled the cache container into a new cache ( Jug-or-Not GC2R3HC
) to give it a new beginning.
We see this quite a bit as cachers, caches left behind, archived but not removed. Either the cache owner moves away and leaves the cache to rot and Zombify or simply stops caching, or the cache actually does go missing and appears somewhere it wasn’t intended either moved by muggles, mother nature, or wildlife.
I think we all have a responsibility to our caches. There are options. If we can’t maintain a cache, for whatever reason, we can request one of our fellow cachers to take it over. This way, the cache stays active, and we ensure a cache doesn’t become trash. Or we can remove it.
There will always be situations when a cache does legitimately go missing that can’t be helped but by keeping the amount of inactive caches (Zombie caches as a friend referrers to them) out of the game can help eliminate something that may become trash and preserve the game we all love.