Come Out and Archive
First off I want to say that I am a fan of archiving certain caches and series when the time is up or there is a good reason to archive and replace them.
If we never archived caches then many would just sit there waiting for the new cachers to come along and find a dirty, old, full log, wet and possibly moldy cache. Many series of caches are put out for a good old numbers run or a contest/coin challenge and once the contest or coins are all gone the caches just kinda sit there and get the odd finds. I think that most of the serious local cachers really like, and for some, need these contest, not just for the fun and a chance to win a prize or bragging rights, they need them so they can keep going out to find caches. We also have a few cachers that love to hide and the only way to feed the habit is to archive their own to make room, I do it twice a year in Riverview and we need to entice people out on the ice in February.
Not all caches should be archived, we need those good old standards out there, keep some of the old names alive and they are in classic spots. Who doesn’t like finding a ten year old cache or one that has only a few finds, I know I do but there is the call of the irrelevant FTF for others so the new ones are always welcome.
Here is a link to a post from a few years ago talking about the need for archiving. https://www.cacheupnb.com/shakespeare-and-rev-slipperys-view-on-archiving/
What do you think about it?
Archiving after the container has been removed, otherwise you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Agreed. Too many times people archive a cache and just leave the container (or what is left of it) in the woods.
Another option is one I saw someone do, and have adopted myself. If I know I can’t make it out anytime soon, I put a note asking very politely for the next cacher to remove the cache so that I can archive it. I think it could be turned into bragging rights much like a FTF, except you call it a LTF (Last to Find).
When I first started caching, I saw some people use the LTF acronym. In fact, I did this as well.
I think the problem that happens is that a lot of people who go out and find these caches don’t pay much attention to the logs and don’t see those messages.
I have taken out caches when people asked for them to be removed. I think it’s a great way to keep the crap out of the woods.
i really dig the LTF idea.
Catchy headline
My rule of thumb is that if I have to do maintenance on a cache more than 3 times I archive it. Open the space up for someone else or put out a new cache in the area.