Yup, spring is in the air and the critters are coming out of the woodwork. Having done this for a couple years I’m well braced for the annual maintenance checks on caches that have become subject to nature’s fickle sense of humor. So, when I see cache logs that suggest critters have been at my cachers or wet logs needs replacing, I am nonplussed. Unless those critters are muggles and the reason they destroyed my cache is because they found it when they shouldn’t have.

I don’t fault teenagers who come across a cache by accident and take to melting my 35mm container for a little molten plastic “zit-zit-zit” fun, they are after all teenagers, and when they feel like they haven’t been invited to your party, they will tend to let you know it. I do get worked up a little, on the other hand, when certain actions by cache finders precipitate these random acts of vandalism. It’s difficult to know the circumstances behind ANY muggling incident, but certain patterns emerge.

When caches of mine are found “semi-hidden” you can bet they haven’t been re-hidden well, if at all. The fundamental nature of this sport seems so rudimentary, but is apparently worth repeating. Hide it so others have to work to find it. If you find one of mine and you didn’t have to work for it. Something is not right. At this point you should do one of two things. A. Attempt to re-hide it in a fashion that makes the cache invisible from muggles, or B. Pull the cache from the field. To date, 9.9 times out 10 when I have had to replace a cache it is due to the previous finders leaving it in a vulnerable condition. With as many caches as I have its hard to “check on it” in a timely fashion and a few days may go by before I can. Ample time for muggles to discover and destroy.

I learned long ago that I would loose far fewer caches by placing keyholders and matchstick containers rather than custom-fashioned ones, but this has also hampered my creativity on hides. So, just a reminder – hide them better than you find them and most owners will thank you!