GLOSSARY & INFO

I have been trashing caches for a few years now. When I first started I had no GPS and to be honest, I prefer it that way. Something to do with the thought of being confused with a "real" geocacher. For more info on what geocaching is, and for a scary sight, visit http://www.brillig.com/geocaching/united_kingdom.shtml

Why I trash geocaches

• I find the hunt exciting and interesting, and the game takes me to places I perhaps wouldn't otherwise know about. This is the same reason given as geocachers as to why they take part in the traditional geocaching game (I refuse to call it a sport).
• Most geocaches are hidden boxes of shite, often placed in areas which are either beautiful, popular for tourism, or interesting for some other reason.
• Most geocaches I have found have been damaged in some way, either by wild animals chewing part of it, or by the elements; sometimes there will be leaky batteries, rusting metal objects, soggy notebooks, disgusting scraps of tat.
• I resent the arrogance of these people who think that it's popular therefore it's right.
• People encourage their children to find these things... There are more rewarding ways to enjoy the countryside than having a goal at the end that encourages greed, negative competition and selfishness.
• I want to keep geocachers busy, both but wasting their time in seeking a cache, and also wasting the time of the cache owners who have to fret over what happened and then often decide to give the benefit of the doubt and replace with another cache, only this time I know the hiding place already. Go on, do it again. Hey - move it, make it interesting.
• I want to make more people aware of the alternative game.
• My aim - to make all geocaches "virtual". There is no reason why the countryside has to be filled with rubbish to encourage people out of doors.

Principles of geotrashing

1. Use the same armory as Geotrashers. Websites, forums etc. and scan previous logs carefully for helpful hints especially photos.
2. Use http://www.multimap.com/uk where you have no OS map. Enter the code in the format XX111111 this will require you to delete the spaces and extra digits provided on http://www.geocaching.com.
3. Learn to THINK like a geocacher. They like to hide caches where normal people can't see them... if the cache is sited at an interesting place, e.g. a monument, it won't be placed right there... it'll be a short distance away, preferably in a position that allows a visit out of the gaze of other mortals.
4. Extra satisfaction can be gained by collecting Travel Bugs or Geocoins. This really pisses them off.

Glossary

• micro cache = usually a 35mm film canister
• travel bug = a "dog tag" style trophy usually attached to an particular piece of tat, in order to distiguish it from the other normal pieces of tat found in a cache.