Jump to content

Novel Cache Ideas


Kit Fox

Recommended Posts

This thread is an "angst free." :huh:

 

I'm looking for creative ways to hide caches. I'm not interested in creative camo jobs, but more interested in the steps need to derive the coords, in order to find the cache.

 

Examples of neat cache concepts include:

 

The Etch-O-Sketch Night Cache

 

Wait Until Dark

 

Also caches that use electronic devices of some sort. Here is a thread that I have used for inspiration Electronic Caches

 

 

What cool concepts have you found or used to make the caching experience better?

 

I'm not looking for puzzle ciphers, but cool hiding concepts instead.

Edited by Kit Fox
Link to comment
This thread is an "angst free." :huh:

 

I'm looking for creative ways to hide caches.

 

Examples of neat cache concepts include:

 

The Etch-O-Sketch Night Cache

 

Night caches Wait Until Dark

 

Also caches that use electronic devices of some sort. Here is a thread that I have used for inspiration Electronic Caches

 

What cool concepts have you found or used to make the caching experience better?

 

I'm not looking for puzzle ciphers, but cool hiding concepts instead.

No angst here, but try looking about halfway down this page for this 16 page thread on creative caches.

Link to comment

No angst here, but try looking about halfway down this page for this 16 page thread on creative caches.

 

I'm well aware of that thread, and have read it numerous times. I'm more interested in techniques needed to find caches, not the actual containers. I spend enough time with camo paint, spray foam, cement, etc.

 

I'm looking for cool techniques to hunt the caches like following night cache reflectors to create numbers in your gps track. Having to use tools to retrieve caches.

 

Other concepts that I enjoyed include:

 

A cache (with a magnet on the top) hidden within an ABS pipe. You had to lower a rope (with a metal nut) down the pipe to fish the cache out. Abikad, This is nuts!!

 

A cache that led to a metal fence post. Attached to the post was about 100 feet of rope. In order to find the cache, you had to pull the rope taught, and walk in a circle until you found the cache. Hold the Line

 

A cache where you had to pour Dihydrous Monoxide into a a reactor in order to retrieve the cache. Chemical Reaction

Link to comment

How'bout makeing one that is underwater, the cordenates lead to a fishing pole that has the coardenates for the next stage of a multi. when you get there you have to fish the cache out of the water. :huh:

 

 

"pretend that you are an idiot, or, pretend that you are a member of congress. But I repeat myself." Mark Twain.

Edited by Mark Twain impersonater
Link to comment
How'bout makeing one that is underwater, the cordenates lead to a fishing pole that has the coardenates for the next stage of a multi. when you get there you have to fish the cache out of the water. :huh:

 

 

"pretend that you are an idiot, or, pretend that you are a member of congress. But I repeat myself." Mark Twain.

That reminds me of a cache concept someone else came up with here. They wanted to glue magnets all over a decon container, and throw it onto an island. Cachers would have to cast a chunk of metal onto the island to "grab" the container. After logging the cache, they would have to toss the cache back to the island ;) .

Link to comment

I just put out a cache called "Pay it Forward" that I'm waiting for approval on. Here's the desription from the cache listing: What do you think?

 

You find this cache and in return place a “Pay it Forward” cache of your own, easy huh? When somebody finds your cache they do the same, and so on and so on. Maybe you can bring a stocked cache container with you and place it on your way home, maybe you already know of a good location, either way this series has the potential to grow very fast. Once you place your cache simply name it “Pay it Forward” with your team name attached, example----Pay it Forward / Team Joe Smoe.---- I would love to see this series reach the far corners of the earth while giving back to the Geocaching community at the same time. Feel free to cut and paste this description if you decide to participate by placing your own PIF cache. You DO NOT have to place a cache if you don’t want to, but it would be appreciated.

Link to comment

I just set out a new cache, Roll of the Die, that leads the cacher to a "base-cache"...once there, they have to roll a die to determine which of 6 final locations they need to seek.

 

Numbered containers (1-6) within the base-cache contain descriptions, coordinates, and clues for different types of caches including:

* A bushwhack - prepare for rough country

* A hydro-cache - bring swimming stuff and a mask/goggles

* A hard to find micro container

* An offset cache, requiring the use of a compass

* A traditional (your basic vanilla) cache

* A cryptogram leading the solver to a cache

 

It's set in a beautiful spot, and I love the idea of a group of caches all working the same cache, but looking for 6 different containers.

 

nfa-jamie

Edited by NFA
Link to comment

I found a fun one -

 

I did not like that it was in a parking lot but it was a shopping basket rack - there was an upright post about 6' tall - rusted screw/nut at top - pull to eject cache -

 

cache was a slim tube to fit pipe - screw attached to thin model airplane cable attached to piece of broom stick that pops the cache up.

 

------------

 

I had a cache where you had to fish a magnet out of a tank with a washer. The tool (washer) was attached to the tank with a magnet. Worked great until someone decided they needed the two magnets more than I did.

 

I have several caches where the clue is on a thin (business card type) magnet. Two were heated and curved to fit a pipe nicely - then painted to match.

 

I also have a cache where you have to retrieve the cache on a closeline mechanism.

 

cc\

Edited by CompuCash
Link to comment

Not winter-friendly, but for about $20 you can get a wireless doorbell unit. Place the buttons in one container far enough away from the final that the bell doesn't work, and have the seekers walk around pressing the button until the chimes go off.

 

There are many inexpensive electronic gadgets out there right now that can be taken apart and have the trigger mechanism rewired to a momentary contact swith (about $2 from Radio Shack) so that opening the container sets them off. Try to pick gadgets that use a timeout timer so that they don't use up too much battery juice (and be sure that your containers are waterproof. Also be prepared for more cache maintenance than usual because the batteries will still run out)

Link to comment
Not winter-friendly, but for about $20 you can get a wireless doorbell unit. Place the buttons in one container far enough away from the final that the bell doesn't work, and have the seekers walk around pressing the button until the chimes go off.

 

There are many inexpensive electronic gadgets out there right now that can be taken apart and have the trigger mechanism rewired to a momentary contact swith (about $2 from Radio Shack) so that opening the container sets them off. Try to pick gadgets that use a timeout timer so that they don't use up too much battery juice (and be sure that your containers are waterproof. Also be prepared for more cache maintenance than usual because the batteries will still run out)

There are many inexpensive electronic gadgets out there right now that can be taken apart and have the trigger mechanism rewired to a momentary contact swith (about $2 from Radio Shack) so that opening the container sets them off. Try to pick gadgets that use a timeout timer so that they don't use up too much battery juice (and be sure that your containers are waterproof. Also be prepared for more cache maintenance than usual because the batteries will still run out)

 

Great ideas.

 

I have been thinking of a subterranean cache that had a switch (thanks to you I know what they are called) that when opened emitted a blood curdling scream. The problem is, I'm afraid I might give one of the retired cachers in my area a heart attack :huh: .

Link to comment

I've posted this a few times. It's one I hid last year bt had to archive due to repeated mugglings.

N 42...Something Something Something

At each stage, you would find a photo of a track on my GPS. You needed to interpret the track to figure out where I had come from and find the next stage. For one of the stages, there was a break in the track; a clever hunter would realize it happened about where there's a covered bridge, and the small loop where it started again suggested I circled under the bridge.

Edited by Dinoprophet
Link to comment

This cache Alum Floc Perimeter is pretty nifty. The coordinates take you to the start of a boardwalk that completely encircles a lively lake - as the cache description says, there are THREE places that meet the cache description. I cleverly dropped the cache in the water, after being so careful not to draw attention to myself in the first place, then had to lay full out on the board walk and stretch and reach as far as I could to recover it.

Link to comment

My first hidden cache uses Google Earth to find the clues.

 

Ex: At this grid DD.MM.SS.dd, you will find this _________ in what year was it erected? Answer has __ letters.

 

You need to answer all clues and calculate the final grid with the answers.

 

So you need to download Google Earth and do a little searching on google to find the answers. It can all be done at home.

 

I was amazed by the number of people who were'nt aware of Google earth. They discovered the software with my cache.

 

Evil Homer

Link to comment

I just found 2 caches where you had to use triangulation to find the park where the cache was hidden. at the park you were given a compass bearing from the cache to a landmark in the park.

 

In SomewhereInAPark-All the Angles you were given coordinates to 3 locations in town. You then had to use the features described to solve a math problem to figure bearings from the park to the 3 locations you were first given.

 

SomewhereInAPark-Go the distance was similar except you figured out the distance from the three locations to the park.

Link to comment

If you are ever in the (San Francisco) Bay Area and have a few hours to spare, you MUST try this cache. However, you do need to find someone with the required 'key' first (or you could brute force the 'key', I suppose). You also need to make sure you have all the required equipment. This is one of the most creative caches we've ever found.

 

--Marky.

Link to comment

Find a spot that matches a discritpion found in literature. The cache finder needs to determine the source, and use the source to discern the actual location of the cache. An example of one of these is here. You can view the other two in the growing series to see variations on this theme. The series has been very well receieved.

Link to comment

Here in Seattle, there is a series of caches placed by Dayspring all using a tube. The set of caches are Totally Tubular!, Totally Tubular II, Totally Tubular III, and Totally Tubular IV. These four caches routinely top most people's favorite Seattle caches. Each of them involves a black PVC tube about 12-18 inches long secured to a fence post. The trick is to figure out how to obtain the bison capsule inside. I won't give away the goods on these in the forums but if you are interested you may email me and I'll tell you about them.

 

peace, fishiam

Link to comment
Here is an idea I have been playing with. There is a type a sprinkler that is motion activated to keep dogs and cats out of yards. My thought is a cache is close enought to one of these sprnklers to set it off as cachers get to the cache. :laughing:  :laughing:

That sounds like fun, if you had a good water source.

 

I read here on the forums where cacher's deliberately hid caches next to a business. The key to finding, and logging a find was to find it during business hours without getting caught. People had to resort to elaborate disguises, and create diversions, in order to log the cache without being seen by the business owners.

 

I have created a photogrammetry cache where cachers had to use pictures as reference to find the cache.

 

I can't remember who posted it here, but someone had a similar cache where they took a picture of a spot, and the cache was missing. The finder's job was to figure out what was missing from the reference photo.

Edited by Kit Fox
Link to comment
Not winter-friendly, but for about $20 you can get a wireless doorbell unit. Place the buttons in one container far enough away from the final that the bell doesn't work, and have the seekers walk around pressing the button until the chimes go off.

 

There are many inexpensive electronic gadgets out there right now that can be taken apart and have the trigger mechanism rewired to a momentary contact swith (about $2 from Radio Shack) so that opening the container sets them off. Try to pick gadgets that use a timeout timer so that they don't use up too much battery juice (and be sure that your containers are waterproof. Also be prepared for more cache maintenance than usual because the batteries will still run out)

That is a good idea! :laughing::laughing: Mabye I'll try it.

Link to comment

Another idea I've had (and I'll quit geocaching if this hasn't been done by someone already) is a video game which you need to beat to get the coordinates (or the coordinates are somewhere in the game). You'd want it to be platform-independant, so something Web-based would probably be easiest. I've seen a lot of online puzzles, but I'm talking about a FPS or RPG or even a just a text adventure.

Edited by Dinoprophet
Link to comment

I read about one that used unlabled spices. You had to properly identify the spice by smell to get the next clue. I thought THAT was cool. :D

 

The PC GeoBible Thumpers started a fuss about it as I recall. B) I also recall that it was still approved and rightly so. B)

 

Anyone remember that discussion from years back? B)

Link to comment

Trying to come up with new ideas on how to hide them can be difficult but that is what makes the hide fun. And after they have found them the logs will tell you if your concept was good or not. If you look at my profile I have a list of my traditional hides, some which are easy and some which are for those that like a challenge in life.

 

I may hide one next week and this is what the cache might look like.

In order to find this cache you will need to do some map work before you go into the field.

Knowledge of how to triangulate on a map is important.

Your Starting Coordinate S is given and the sum of its digits is X9 + 1 + 4 + 3 = 17

 

You will need to read a TOPO map and find three other X's A & B & C and obtain coordinates of the X's

Maptech.com is a good place to get online maps.

 

A: X__ + __ + __ + __ = _28_

B: X__ + __ + __ + __ + __ = _12_

C: X__ + __ + __ + __ = _24_

Once you have figured out what the coordinates are input them into your GPS

Look at a map and do your Triangulations, and find the Cache.

 

OK now you are standing near the cache and the T bearings to the X's are as follows:

 

To A: 47.06° .78 mi.

To B: 157.35° 1.07 mi.

To C: 208.07° .96 mi.

7fc7b48e-7a8c-435b-97dc-b895f10793a7.jpg

Link to comment
Another idea I've had (and I'll quit geocaching if this hasn't been done by someone already) is a video game which you need to beat to get the coordinates (or the coordinates are somewhere in the game).  You'd want it to be platform-independant, so something Web-based would probably be easiest.  I've seen a lot of online puzzles, but I'm talking about a FPS or RPG or even a just a text adventure.

Found one. Wishbringer - The Magick Stone of Dreams GCHNZ7

 

 

Tahosa,

 

Your orienteering caches have really intrigued me. I found someone who works with me, who used to be a survival school teacher. He offered to teach me the "ropes," so I could better understand navigating with a compass. Once I become proficient, I want to hide a cache where the coords lead you to a map. You have to use clues , and navigate using the map, in order to log a find.

 

The door bell idea got me thinking, Instead of a door bell, mayba an FRS radio hooked on to a large battery, then a cacher could just send a ring tone from his FRS radio on a listed chnl. It might give all the cacher that have bought FRS radios for geocaching something to do with them. :D  B)

 

FRS Activated Prototype GCG88H

Edited by Kit Fox
Link to comment
Another idea I've had (and I'll quit geocaching if this hasn't been done by someone already) is a video game which you need to beat to get the coordinates (or the coordinates are somewhere in the game). You'd want it to be platform-independant, so something Web-based would probably be easiest. I've seen a lot of online puzzles, but I'm talking about a FPS or RPG or even a just a text adventure.

Here's another along that theme: The Adventures of 1Geocacher. I've been trying to work up a similar hide out here, but life, as usual, has managed to get in the way and has pushed the work to the side for a while.

Link to comment
Another idea I've had (and I'll quit geocaching if this hasn't been done by someone already) is a video game which you need to beat to get the coordinates (or the coordinates are somewhere in the game).  You'd want it to be platform-independant, so something Web-based would probably be easiest.  I've seen a lot of online puzzles, but I'm talking about a FPS or RPG or even a just a text adventure.

The aforementioned Wishbringer is one example. It uses an existing Infocom text adventure, but Z-Cache: The Adventures of Base Dentura is pretty cool in that a new game was actually written in which you are a cacher trying to find the cache and you get the real coordinates by playing the game. Plus, these are completely platform independent: you can play them on a PC, a Mac, Unix machines, just about anything supporting Java, Palm, Commedore 64, Apple II... There's a bonus cache to boot! I started writing a couple games myself, but haven't had the time to ever finish them... One day...

Link to comment

Here's another along that theme: The Adventures of 1Geocacher. I've been trying to work up a similar hide out here, but life, as usual, has managed to get in the way and has pushed the work to the side for a while.

On 1 Geocacher, when you meet the guy in the Red Jetta with the turtle hood ornament, ummm, that's ME. :ph34r:

 

Sam wrote most of the S.E. Tx. Geocachers into that program. :D

Link to comment

I remember a thread where someone was trying to get a cache like this approved and the reviewers rejected it. They would allow one where the location of the second cache could be selected from a short list of locations, but not anywhere within a given area. I guess it would make it hard to apply the 528 rule.

 

How did you get yours approved? Don't ask, don't tell?

Link to comment

One that I read about in the Creative Cache Containers thread was a submarine. The method (pertinent to THIS thread) was that the submarine is submerged in a pond. The coords lead you to a radio. Use the radio to raise the submarine, sign the log, then resubmerge the submarine. I thought that was cool!

 

The topo map is intriguing. I used to do orienteering years ago with my wife. I'd hide something in the mountains of Colorado and mark it on a map. Then she'd hike out there and find it. She was a hiking fool, and loved the game. One time, I hid her Christmas present and she had to wait until spring to go get it. I'd hide them close to somewhere where I wanted to fish...so while she was hiking, I'd go fishing! Worked out for both of us. Much the same as geocaching but with a map and compass rather than a GPSr. This is a whole lot easier! :lol: But...I think I'm way off track here! Sorry!

 

Anyway, that topo map above, I think I know where it is already. And Colorado isn't too far from Wyoming, so maybe next year... :lol:

Link to comment

Criss Cross Cache in Ames, Iowa is an inventive cache.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=15909

 

To find the cache, you must locate four sites, and then mathmatically solve for the intersection of two lines joining the four sites. While it could be done graphically on a map, the mathmatical solution is more accurate. This coupled with a devilishly difficult final location makes this one one of the more interesting caches I've found.

 

GeoForse

Link to comment

I have a cache that has coordinates for part 2 on an audio CD. The cache page hints at a portable CD player being the special equipment you need.

 

I've also been thinking about making one of those looping flash animations (you know, badger, badger, badger...) and having the coordinates to the cache pop up after about 5 minutes, but only for a short amount of time. If you don't get it right away you could be watching it for half an hour. :cry:

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...