Geocaching Etiquette: Beyond the Three Rules

The first 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 trail heads, possible dangers, and will keep you from going across private property. If you were driving from New York to LA 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 west, 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.
• Print out the full set of instructions before you go. 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 to the site.
• 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, 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?
• Don't 'bee line'  straight from a trailhead to the cache unless you know what the terrain is like. Stay on the trail. Most caches are less than 100' from 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.
• 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.
• Don't vandalize the area by turning over every rock and log. Try to think like the cache hider and look for manmade cairns or natural hiding places. Geocaches are very rarely buried. Don't even think about digging unless the clue says the cache is buried, and then make sure you've got the right spot before you start moving soil.
• Don't 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. Even in the best circumstances coordinates can vary easily within 30' 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 I've found trash that was obviously left by a Geocacher. Very bad. Programs such as "Cache In - Trash Out" and Project CLEAN 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 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. My suggestion 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.
• Don't 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 R10 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. 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 a "find" for a cache that you hide. If you need to convey information to other cachers or visit your own cache, post a "note" instead. Posting a "find" of your own cache is a sure sign of a beginning Cacher.
• Don't log a "find" of a cache more than once unless the cache instructions specifically state that multiple finds are acceptable. "Moving" caches are a prime example.
• Only log a "find" of a MULTI-CACHE when you've found the last stage of the cache.
• Don't log a "find" for an EVENT until you actually attend the event. The owner of an EVENT cache can log a "find" if they attend the event.
• Avoid being overly critical in both your online log and your log in the cache. It makes you look like a whiner or a complainer and does nothing for the cache owner or other cachers. If you have a critical comment about a cache, send a private email to the cache owner.
• Do be proactive in helping maintain caches that you visit. Consider carrying an extra logbook or ziplock bag or two with you. When you see a cache in dire need of help, do what you can to help. Everyone will appreciate the effort. If you can't help during your visit, notify the cache owner in your log or a private email that the cache needs maintenance and what is needed.
• 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.

these Guidelines to Geocaching etiquette were originally written and copyrighted by Rich Carlson.
The original can be seen at: http://www.sharawadgi.com/geocache/etiquette.html.
© copyright 2001 Rich Carlson
Permission given to print copies of this page for personal use. Do not reproduce this article unless you do so in its entirety including the copyright information. All other rights reserved.