Cache Idea

[jrh312]

Okay, so I've got a big hike coming up this summer on the Baker Trail in western PA. It's 141 miles and I have a few ideas for some caches along its length. I've never hidden a cache before, so I'd like some input on whether or not this is an OK way to go about doing things.

 

The trail itself is 141 miles and I know of a couple caches on it already, but it's far from being saturated. We're doing a thru hike from 6/30 - 7/9 of this year, and I want to hide a multi-stage cache. How does this sound:

 

This trail is dying, unfortunately, because nobody really hikes it in full anymore. So I want this multi to encompass the whole trail to maybe get some more hikers on it. If I hide one cache at the beginning and list its coordinates on here, then that cache will have coords for the second cache and a number for a combination lock. The next cache will have the third's coords and the second lock number, and so on... then the final cache with the combination lock can be hidden at the other end of the trail. Obviously you could only open it if you had already found the first 3 or 4 caches on the trail.

 

Good? Bad? I want some feedback!

[+New England n00b]

I dunno about teh combo locks. Are they gonna survive PA winters? I think the coordinates in each cache should be enough. There is a series like that here (though not on one hike). Each one has a portion of the final coordinates for a bonus (separate) cache.

 

I like the idea, but don't expect a large number of visitors, even though a 141 mile sounds delicious. If I had the time & money...

[jrh312]

The lock was my main concern too...I'm just trying to figure out a way to keep somebody from opening the final cache before they get the others, because that kinda defeats the purpose of trying to get people onto the trail.

 

Although I guess if they didn't have the coords for the last one, they probably wouldn't just stumble across it anyway, huh?

Edited February 22, 2006 by jrh312

[+The Canning Clan]

I would forget about the locks myself and maybe consider a few traditionals along the route. Not too many people willing to hike 141 miles for a smiley I don't think. A few traditionals along the route would go further in promoting the trail than one multi that requires a 141 mile hike.

I'd love to have the time to be able to go on a 10 day hike, I envy you

[Keystone]

Since I will have the honor of working with you as the Geocaching.com volunteer for Western Pennsylvania, let me provide some feedback.

 

1. A 141 mile multicache is quite ambitious for a first cache hide. You would need to demonstrate the ability to maintain all the containers that you hide, and as you get further away from your home coordinates, I look at that more closely. You may wish to consider teaming up with people who live nearby the Baker Trail to help you with this project.

 

2. Very few people will take the time to find a multicache with stages scattered across such a wide area. It's viewed as "too much work" by many, though there are also geocachers who really appreciate special challenges like this would be. If you want your cache to be popular and expose lots of people to the Baker Trail, this may not be the way to do it.

 

3. As an alternative, consider a series of independent caches, each 5 or 10 miles apart along the trail, and placed at locations of scenic, historic or geographic interest. Each cache would stand on its own merit and provide for a nice hike from the nearest trailhead. And some of the caches could be owned and maintained by your teammates (see item 1).

 

4. To meet your goal of challenging people to explore the entire length of the trail, have each container provide one piece of the clues necessary to reach a final "bonus" cache hidden somewhere along the trail. You could only log the bonus cache if you found all of the other caches along the way.

 

Items 3 and 4 are just suggestions. The idea can be published as a single multicache if you demonstrate an acceptable maintenance plan.

[jrh312]

1. A 141 mile multicache is quite ambitious for a first cache hide. You would need to demonstrate the ability to maintain all the containers that you hide, and as you get further away from your home coordinates, I look at that more closely. You may wish to consider teaming up with people who live nearby the Baker Trail to help you with this project.

 

The trail is maintained by the Rachel Carson Trail Conservancy, which I did some relocation work with last year thanks to the big Hurricane Ivan flood in Sept. 2004. This is actually the group I'm doing the hike with this year, and I talked to them about this idea last spring when we were working on the trail. They go out every couple of months to various sections of the trail for regular maintenance, and I'm going to be returning to Armstrong County once I get a teaching job this fall, so I'll be back in the area as well. They all agreed to help me take care of the caches, regardless of how it's set up (multi, individual, etc)

 

2. Very few people will take the time to find a multicache with stages scattered across such a wide area. It's viewed as "too much work" by many, though there are also geocachers who really appreciate special challenges like this would be.

I'm hoping that the hardcore geocachers would appreciate the challenge, but I see what you're saying...which is why I like the idea you proposed below

 

4. To meet your goal of challenging people to explore the entire length of the trail, have each container provide one piece of the clues necessary to reach a final "bonus" cache hidden somewhere along the trail. You could only log the bonus cache if you found all of the other caches along the way.

I like it...

[+StarBrand]

I have a cache hidden with a combination lock on it that has survived 3.5 years and the lock still works perfectly. Cold and snowy winters down to -30 and hot humid summers up to 112. It is made of brass. Just so you know....

[+Semper Questio]

Keystone's suggestions 3 and 4 are VERY good ones. I don't live anywhere near there so it doens't really affect me, but down here we have several "greenbelts" that are very wull populated with great caches. If they had been put together asd mutli's as your original proposal suggested, they would have been visited only be the most sreious hiker/cachers.

 

As they are now, they are visited often by even duffers like me. Sometimes they are hit in series, sometimes not, but still the areas and caches are visited often because most of the caches are within reasonable hiking distance to various trailheads throughut the greenbelts.

[jrh312]

Keystone's suggestions 3 and 4 are VERY good ones. I don't live anywhere near there so it doens't really affect me, but down here we have several "greenbelts" that are very wull populated with great caches. If they had been put together asd mutli's as your original proposal suggested, they would have been visited only be the most sreious hiker/cachers.

 

As they are now, they are visited often by even duffers like me. Sometimes they are hit in series, sometimes not, but still the areas and caches are visited often because most of the caches are within reasonable hiking distance to various trailheads throughut the greenbelts.

 

I just emailed the head of the trail maintenance group to see what she thinks, but she was very enthusiastic about it last year (I was supposed to hike and map the whole trail for them but I ended up starting a new job the day I was to be leaving for the trail, so I never got around to hiding one).

 

The only thing I'm wondering about is that this is a REALLY back woods trail...there aren't many access points like you're talking about. I know that our 2nd and 3rd days are going to be 20 mile days, but other than that we're going to be averaging about 12 per day and stopping at the shelters overnight, so I could maybe just put them nearby? That's a reasonable distance I think, and there are access points near most of the shelters from what I understand

Edited February 22, 2006 by jrh312

[+baloo&bd]

I would forget about the locks myself and maybe consider a few traditionals along the route. Not too many people willing to hike 141 miles for a smiley

 

I'm sorry, I just gotta ask, they'll go the distance for a chance to get a broken McToy?

[+The Canning Clan]

only if it's broken

[k1w1t1m]

Another consideration is the people that walk the trail the reverse way who wouldn't be able to do it.