Whether you’re getting ready to find your fifth cache or your 500th, it’s never a bad time to brush up on the best practices for finding and logging caches. Follow these tips to keep the cache in good condition, show gratitude to owners, and model good caching for newbies. Read on and get ready to be a geocaching etiquette rockstar.

Sign the physical logbook and log the cache in the app or website
Logging is a two-step process. After you find a geocache (and after you do your celebratory “Found it!” dance) make sure to sign the physical logbook in the cache container and also post a log in the app or on the website. In your online log, describe your experience of making the find and feel free to get creative. Be sure to avoid spoilers in the writeup and any photos that you include in the log.

Practice your CITO skills
Technically a Cache In Trash Out® (CITO) Event is an Event where geocachers improve outdoor environments and preserve cache-friendly spaces, but it’s also a state of mind. Everytime you go caching make sure that you leave cache locations as good as, or better than you found them. Planet earth is our game board, so it’s to our benefit to keep it beautiful.

Replace the cache container in the exact location where you found it
This tip may seem obvious, but it’s very important. When you find the cache make a mental note of its hiding spot. Replacing the cache in that spot at its exact coordinates ensures that future searchers will be able to find it. If you’re geocaching in a group, the person who found the cache should replace it, since they know exactly where the cache was located.

Treat trackables well
If you find a geocache that has trackables in it and you want to help move those trackables along, there are a few important steps to follow. First, confirm that you can help the trackable with its particular mission or destination. This information is available on the trackable page. Try to move the trackable to a new cache as soon as you can. Trackables are meant to move and trackable owners love to see their trackable get closer to its goal.

For a deeper dive on all the do’s and don’ts, check out this blog post which goes into detail on best etiquette for cache finders.