Lost cache but now found

In more cases than not, after looking around for a while, behold! You find an old, olive-drab ammo can tucked behind some rocks. Congratulations, you found your first geocache! Now what?
 Savor the moment. There’s definitely a sense of accomplishment when you find a cache and a little bit of childlike wonder as you open up the container to see what types of treasures are inside.

• Sign the logbook. Write down the date, a few sentences about your experiences finding the cache, what you took and/or added, and your geocaching alias. Some people who are really into geocaching have custom business cards or stickers made up for placing in the cache log.
• Read the logbook. It’s fun to read about other cachers’ adventures and when they discovered the cache.
  
• Exxchange treasures. If you take something from the cache, leave something. If you forgot your goodies, just sign the logbook. Quite a few geocachers are more into the hunt for the cache than for the loot inside.
• Trading up means leaving something in the cache that’s better than what you take. There’s always been a considerable amount of discussion in the geocaching community about how caches start out with cool stuff but soon end up filled with junk (broken toys, beat-up golf balls, cheap party favors, and so on). Some geocachers even take it upon themselves to remove anything from a cache that doesn’t meet their personal quality bar. If you can, trade up to make the finds more interesting for everyone.
• Cover your tracks. Seal the cache container up and put it back where you found it, making sure that it’s hidden just as well as it was before you found it.
• Go home. Use the track-back feature of your GPS receiver to follow your exact path back to your car. Better yet, activate the waypoint that you set for your car (but see some different sights by taking a new route back to where you started).
•  Share your experiences. When you get back to your computer (if you’re a member of Geocaching.com), log your find on the Web site so the whole world knows you found the cache. Go to the cache description page and click the Log Your Visit link at the top of the page. (This is completely optional. Some geocachers prefer operating under a low profile, keeping their discoveries and adventures to themselves.)
• Do it again (and again, and . . .). After you have your first cache find under your belt, you’re ready to venture out into the brave new world of geocaching and find even more caches. As your experience with a GPS receiver grows and your skills in navigation and cache finding improve, you’ll likely want to start challenging yourself more by going after caches that are more difficult to find and reach.