Things You'd Do Differently On Your First Hide....

[ScottFla]

I want to put out my first cache this weekend and have some neat ideas for it. I have a good location and what I think is a neat idea for the hide.

 

Is there anything you would have done differently on your first hide that maybe isn't covered in the faq's and hundreds of posts (some of which I have surely missed). Thanks for any advice!

[+briansnat]

I made my first hide after one find and it still stands up well compared to my subsequent caches.

 

I'd say the only "mistake" I made at the time was putting too much detail on the cache page about the route that should be taken and I put some pretty detailed instructions about how to find the cache. I soon learned that it wasn't necessary and that the GPS would get people there just fine.

 

I did eventually replace the containers I used for my first few hides with ammo boxes. I won't say that my containers were mistakes, because they kept things dry, but I soon learned of the advantages of ammo boxes.

 

Another minor mistake that I made was that when winter was approaching I went to each of my caches and wrapped them in garbage bags. It was a bad idea and not necessary. I went back in the spring to remove the bags and found that someone had already taken care of that for me.

Edited August 26, 2005 by briansnat

[+The Leprechauns]

Don't obsess over your cache placement. Yes, planning is good, and please take the time to find a good spot, consider what permission might be necessary, and properly stock your container with a logbook, stashnote and trade goods. But man, I spent 20 hours scouting out my first two hides. That is overkill - hike to the area you have in mind, find a spot, and hide the cache. Also, multiple coordinate readings over several days has, in retrospect, proven to have been a waste of time. Take one good reading on a day with decent satellite conditions, after your GPS has settled, and be done with it.

[+Yamahammer]

Do not, I say again, do not put golf balls or tees in the cache. I did on my first and they're still in there. No props for golf balls in the caching under world.

 

[+Jester2112]

The only thing I would have done would have been to not wait so long before I hid my first. I think I over-thunk the idea more than necessary. I've made my first 6 hides in the last month or so and they've all gone over well. Welcome to our addiction...uhhh...obsession...uhhh hobby..yeah, that's it...hobby!

 

ALL HAIL THE HIDERS!!!

 

Yamahammer said:  No props for golf balls in the caching under world.

 

Ahhh Yamahammer, don't be so quick until you read my post at: A Good Place To Start (GCPV24)

 

Little Boo has Much Love! for the Golf Balls!!!

Edited August 26, 2005 by Jester2112

[+JohnnyVegas]

Read the guide lines so that I would not have to move it 3 times

[+Ed Rad]

NOt bother to hide it... it was awful.

[+Iceburger]

Totally happy with my first hide.... It was my 2nd that I would have done different.... (lazy lazy lazy here...) I would have hid it somewhere that the terrain wasn't a 3.5 rating Other than that, I'm very happy with all my hides so far

[WH]

Things You'd Do Differently On Your First Hide....

 

Nothing.

[+denali7]

my first hide is located on a fairly steep little bit of hillside. it "wandered" easily downwards, sometimes just due to heavy rains. after i found a few caches that were tethered to something, i went back and anchored my container. now i anchor just about all my cache containers, usually with fishing line or that cheap, lightweight, all-purpose camo line. it's a good way to help them get back to their origional hiding spots.

[ScottFla]

NOt bother to hide it... it was awful.

Thanks for the informative post giving me advice so my first hide will be a fun and interesting hide

Seriously, though, thank all of you who took the time to post a reply, it is appreciated

[+VegasCacheHounds]

Well, lets see...my first cache was a huge container, well hidden out in the middle of nowhere, but still an interesting spot with some odd history, and a theme to match. It lasted two years with minimal maintenace needed until it finally dissappeared.

 

So, in short, I'd say I'd change nothing.

 

Of course, I found a few caches before I hid one, and those were all great caches, so I had a good start, plus I'd been reading the forums a ton so I knew what guidelines to follow.

[+reveritt]

My first cache was fairly successful. Although it was in a high traffic area, it was well hidden, and lasted nine or ten months before it was muggled. My initial coordinates were off a bit, because I was using an old GPSr, but I updated them based on coordinates reported by early finders.

 

The only thing I would do differently is use a larger and better quality container. You cannot beat an army surplus ammo box, IMHO.

[+Jeep_Dog]

Like WH and rev, there is nothing I would do differently. It remains one of my best caches and best received. I used an ammo can, made it a multi to ensure the best approach to the cache would be taken and keep cachers within park boundaries (and get them to the parking lot, to boot), and did not spend too much time once I scouted the area (that is scenic and has a purpose for going there) and then just placed the cache.

 

Perhaps there is just as much to be learned from first caches that owners and cachers are pleased with?

 

Check it out.

[+the hermit crabs]

Our first cache (North Vaughn Hill) is just over a year old. We didn't want to do anything too complicated for our first one, so it's very basic and straightforward: just a typical ammo can hidden in a typical spot in a typical conservation area. We obsessed for days over everything: the location, the coordinates, the wording on the cache page, parking directions, the container, etc. I hadn't been back there since last October, but today I had a TB that wanted its picture taken at just the type of location that the cache was in, so I brought it there.

 

I had been thinking recently that this hide might be too basic and boring, and maybe we should archive it and do something more interesting there, but today's visit changed my mind. I really really like the location, and from reading the logs, lots of other people do too. One of the nicer things about it is that the conservation area is one of those ones that are tucked away, that people drive past all the time without having any idea that it's there. The cache has a sturdy container; there are multiple possible trails, and interesting things to see along the way. It seems to be well-received by both novice cachers and experienced ones, and still gets found regularly, so now I think we'll leave it just as it is.

 

(I'm feeling a bit guilty that I let this cache's one-year birthday slip by unnoticed. We shoulda had cake or something.)

[+Harry Dolphin]

Ah. Our first hide. Approaching its first birthday, August 28th. It has had four finds in almost a year.

Legally, a hiking permit is required by the NWCDC (Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Commission <is that an oxymoron, or what?>)

The cache has a great view! It's a nice, and fairly easy hike. Would I not have placed it realizing that only four people would find it in almost a year? Naw! It's a great cache! I'm just sorry that more people do not buy the $8 hiking permits to enjoy the great hiking available in the NWCDC.

On the other hand, my rest stop micro on I-80 has had fifty one logs in almost a year.

If push came to shove, which one would I keep? No question about it.

[+briansnat]

Ah.  Our first hide.  Approaching its first birthday, August 28th.  It has had four finds in almost a year. 

Legally, a hiking permit is required by the NWCDC (Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Commission <is that an oxymoron, or what?>) 

The cache has a great view!  It's a nice, and fairly easy hike.  Would I not have placed it realizing that only four people would find it in almost a year?  Naw!  It's a great cache!  I'm just sorry that more people do not buy the $8 hiking permits to enjoy the great hiking available in the NWCDC. 

On the other hand, my rest stop micro on I-80 has had fifty one logs in almost a year. 

If push came to shove, which one would I keep?  No question about it.

 

I'm one of the four and it is an excellent cache! Better than 9 out of 10 out there. Beautiful view, solid, well stocked container, dry contents and an easy, but very pleasant hike. Amazing how caches like this one get overlooked, but hide a leaky film canister behind the 7-Eleven dumpster and people flock to it.

Edited August 27, 2005 by briansnat

[+halffast]

I would have done a simple regular cache and not a multi-cache.Ive had nothing but problems with that one.

[CacheNCarryMA]

I think I gave too many hints on my first hide. I was afraid EVERYONE wouldn't find it easily. In retrospect, I should have waited for feedback and added hints if necessary.

[+CompuCash]

my first hide is still there -

 

this was/is one of my best hides -

 

cc\

[+tands]

Like others have said, Ammo Box beats Tupperware. That's the only change we've made to our first hide. As you do more you might find yourself learning html and going back and redoing the pages also. Good luck on your hides!

 

- T of TandS

[+Renegade Knight]

My first cache was in an area with muggle traffic hidden where kids would look. The cache is still there but it was stolen the first time. What I changed was to allow for the fact that muggles will look only so far and geocachers a bit farther.

 

The original container was gladware. Yuck.

 

AFter it was replaced with a better container its held up well ever since.