What If I Don’t Have Anything To Sign The Log?

You will often see the initialism BYOP or Bring Your Own Pen/Pencil in the description of aDSC_0101 Geocache.  This usually means that the container is too small to hold a writing instrument.

So, what do you do if you don’t have a pen or pencil with you when you find the cache?

You have a few options:

  • Since you found the container, contact the Cache Owner (CO) to log the cache online with their permission
  • Go back to the car and look under your seat for a pen, pencil, or crayon
  • Find something creative nearby to sign the log.  Bark, leaves, etc.
  • Return to the cache another day when you have a pen and sign it

It is not a tragedy to not sign the log, after all there will be other instances when you can’t sign the log:

  • The log is too wet to sign
  • There is no room on the log to sign without overwriting someone else’s entry
  • The log is missing

Rule #2 of Geocaching: Write about your find in the cache logbook. Rule #3: Log your experience online.  You generally can’t log online (Rule #3) unless you have signed the physical log (Rule #2). There are some exceptions so to be sure, contact the CO.

There will be times when you have to take the general guidelines for finding a cache and make your own call.

Remember, Geocaching is based primarily on the honor system and all cachers know that sometimes circumstances dictate using some common sense with the rules.