Digging, Burying

[gerboa]

I understand that one cannot bury a cache, how about digging/enlarging a hole and covering it safely?

[adrianjohn]

If you need to dig or use a tool to make a hole to hide a cache, that is not allowed by the guidelines.

You may use an existing hole, but again you should not enlarge it.

Also check that any hole you do use is not a animal hole in use or an animal run, disturbing the habitat of wildlife should be avoided for the sake of animals and cachers.

[+briansnat]

You have to understand the reason for the rule. Geocachers learned pretty quickly that land managers would not tolerate our sport if they found that we were digging holes to bury caches. That's why ban came about.

 

Here are two scenarios. In the first you dig a hole and sink a cache in up to its lid, but keep the lid exposed. In the second, you place the cache in a depression in the ground and cover it with leaves and duff. Technically the cache is not buried in the first case and is buried in the second case. Yet the first cache would not be published while the second is OK. Why? Because digging was involved in hiding the first cache and not in the second.

 

So to answer your question, if you have to dig it is against the rules.

[+pacatak]

From the Guidelines

 

Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

 

So if you have to dig with a tool, its a no no. But i have a question. I want to place a cache in some sand dunes. I wonder if it would be ok to place it under the sand a foot or two, because you do not need a tool to bury it or to find it. I think it would be a fun cache to have to go diggin up the sand. People go and play in the dunes all the time, burying friends and all that fun stuff.

[+res2100]

I have always wondered if fake sprinkler caches are ok. Technically you just push it into the ground, but since you are making the hole with the cache itself, it does sort of sound like digging. I am sure we have all seen the fake sprinklers, some of which have their tops flush with the ground.

 

A couple years ago we found a cache where someone had dug a hole to fit an ammo box, lined the hole with sheet metal, placed the ammo can in the hole and covered it with a large flat rock. It looked very natural. We thought it was an excellent cache and hide, but of course the first thing that came to mind was, how it got approved.

[+Renegade Knight]

I have always wondered if fake sprinkler caches are ok. Technically you just push it into the ground, but since you are making the hole with the cache itself, it does sort of sound like digging. I am sure we have all seen the fake sprinklers, some of which have their tops flush with the ground.

 

A couple years ago we found a cache where someone had dug a hole to fit an ammo box, lined the hole with sheet metal, placed the ammo can in the hole and covered it with a large flat rock. It looked very natural. We thought it was an excellent cache and hide, but of course the first thing that came to mind was, how it got approved.

 

I have seen a fake sprinkler control box. It was placed with permission of the property owner. Permission does change things.

[+The Leprechauns]

A couple years ago we found a cache where someone had dug a hole to fit an ammo box, lined the hole with sheet metal, placed the ammo can in the hole and covered it with a large flat rock. It looked very natural. We thought it was an excellent cache and hide, but of course the first thing that came to mind was, how it got approved.

We just had this same discussion a few days back. Did the cache page say that the cache was buried? If not, how would you expect the volunteer cache reviewer to know about the issue at the time of publication? Physical cache locations are not verified prior to listing.

[+Criminal]

From the Guidelines

 

Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

 

So if you have to dig with a tool, its a no no. But i have a question. I want to place a cache in some sand dunes. I wonder if it would be ok to place it under the sand a foot or two, because you do not need a tool to bury it or to find it. I think it would be a fun cache to have to go diggin up the sand. People go and play in the dunes all the time, burying friends and all that fun stuff.

I recall the guidelines used to address this. It was OK as long as you didn't need a pointy object to dig the hole.

[+res2100]

A couple years ago we found a cache where someone had dug a hole to fit an ammo box, lined the hole with sheet metal, placed the ammo can in the hole and covered it with a large flat rock. It looked very natural. We thought it was an excellent cache and hide, but of course the first thing that came to mind was, how it got approved.

We just had this same discussion a few days back. Did the cache page say that the cache was buried? If not, how would you expect the volunteer cache reviewer to know about the issue at the time of publication? Physical cache locations are not verified prior to listing.

 

I was just giving an example of our experience about a cache we found that obviously involved digging. Of course I know that physical cache locations are not verified prior to listing. I am sure we all have come across dozens of caches that do not meet the guidelines, but people just leave out "certain" information when they submit a cache.

 

As for the idea of hiding a cache in a foot or two of sand as another poster is asking, where you don't need to use a tool to find it, although it's an interesting idea, I don't think I would enjoy moving all that sand around, especially with the possibility of the coords easily being out 5 or 10 meters...that would be an aweful lot of sand to move. It's a good question though.

Edited May 1, 2006 by res2100

[+briansnat]

From the Guidelines

 

Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

 

So if you have to dig with a tool, its a no no. But i have a question. I want to place a cache in some sand dunes. I wonder if it would be ok to place it under the sand a foot or two, because you do not need a tool to bury it or to find it. I think it would be a fun cache to have to go diggin up the sand. People go and play in the dunes all the time, burying friends and all that fun stuff.

I recall the guidelines used to address this. It was OK as long as you didn't need a pointy object to dig the hole.

 

I think the sand dune hide was a reason for the tool provision in the guidelines. Still burying is a bad idea in general. First, digging in sand dunes in many places is illegal, as they are protected. Second, with any buried cache its inevitible that some newbie comes along, sees it and thinks its a grand idea. Instead of burying his cache in the sand however, he buries it in woods in a state park.

[+budd-rdc]

From the Guidelines

 

Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

 

So if you have to dig with a tool, its a no no. But i have a question. I want to place a cache in some sand dunes. I wonder if it would be ok to place it under the sand a foot or two, because you do not need a tool to bury it or to find it. I think it would be a fun cache to have to go diggin up the sand. People go and play in the dunes all the time, burying friends and all that fun stuff.

Sand dunes drift, so there's a good chance a hide will get buried deeper than anticipated. If it's near a slope, it might move more than anticipated so the coordinates will be no good. Unless there's vegetation or man-made structures to prop it up, I recommend against it.

[+Criminal]

From the Guidelines

 

Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

 

So if you have to dig with a tool, its a no no. But i have a question. I want to place a cache in some sand dunes. I wonder if it would be ok to place it under the sand a foot or two, because you do not need a tool to bury it or to find it. I think it would be a fun cache to have to go diggin up the sand. People go and play in the dunes all the time, burying friends and all that fun stuff.

I recall the guidelines used to address this. It was OK as long as you didn't need a pointy object to dig the hole.

 

I think the sand dune hide was a reason for the tool provision in the guidelines. Still burying is a bad idea in general. First, digging in sand dunes in many places is illegal, as they are protected. Second, with any buried cache its inevitible that some newbie comes along, sees it and thinks its a grand idea. Instead of burying his cache in the sand however, he buries it in woods in a state park.

 

This is where common sense comes in. As for someone new getting the wrong idea, I don’t really care. I’m never going to dumb down my game because of what someone else might do.

[+HartMan-CatWoman Team]

I just received a note from a reviewer stating that one of my caches has been disabled as it was buried. The object is a small stone glued to a 1 inch diameter pipe that fits into a slightly larger pipe. A mico is retrieved by lifting up the rock and the purpose of the pipe is to keep the rock in place. I just pushed the pipe into the ground, which in this case, is a bed of similar stones. I have appealed this de-activation and explained in detail how this cache was placed. I also have placed some fake sprinklers, again they are just pressed into the soft soil, but I wonder if they will be deactivated too!

[+Night Stalker]

In Idaho there is no question. We do not have soft soil. You cannot push anything into our soil. You need a hammer and a chissel. We have hard clay. I can water and the water will sit on top of the ground. Anything buried here definately needed a tool and is not legal.

[+Bill & Tammy]

In Idaho there is no question. We do not have soft soil. You cannot push anything into our soil. You need a hammer and a chissel. We have hard clay. I can water and the water will sit on top of the ground. Anything buried here definately needed a tool and is not legal.

 

One from the dumb question guy: how do you get to all the potatoes then?

[+Bill & Tammy]

From the Guidelines

 

Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

 

So if you have to dig with a tool, its a no no. But i have a question. I want to place a cache in some sand dunes. I wonder if it would be ok to place it under the sand a foot or two, because you do not need a tool to bury it or to find it. I think it would be a fun cache to have to go diggin up the sand. People go and play in the dunes all the time, burying friends and all that fun stuff.

I recall the guidelines used to address this. It was OK as long as you didn't need a pointy object to dig the hole.

 

Dynamite doesn't have a pointy end. OK, better stop while I'm ahead.

[The Harlequin]

I just received a note from a reviewer stating that one of my caches has been disabled as it was buried. The object is a small stone glued to a 1 inch diameter pipe that fits into a slightly larger pipe. A mico is retrieved by lifting up the rock and the purpose of the pipe is to keep the rock in place. I just pushed the pipe into the ground, which in this case, is a bed of similar stones. I have appealed this de-activation and explained in detail how this cache was placed. I also have placed some fake sprinklers, again they are just pressed into the soft soil, but I wonder if they will be deactivated too!

 

You and I think alike, But why not just find a pipe already in the ground and use it? I have a cache that's in about as open a spot as there could be one. I used a metal detector to find a pipe and put a cache down inside it. It takes a long time to hunt for a buried pipe by the way.

[+Criminal]

I just received a note from a reviewer stating that one of my caches has been disabled as it was buried. The object is a small stone glued to a 1 inch diameter pipe that fits into a slightly larger pipe. A mico is retrieved by lifting up the rock and the purpose of the pipe is to keep the rock in place. I just pushed the pipe into the ground, which in this case, is a bed of similar stones. I have appealed this de-activation and explained in detail how this cache was placed. I also have placed some fake sprinklers, again they are just pressed into the soft soil, but I wonder if they will be deactivated too!

That's totally Fudged up. The reviewer should be fired. They should write and ask you if you used a pointy object to dig before they ASSUME you did so. Wrong Wrong Wrong

[+pacatak]

In Idaho there is no question. We do not have soft soil. You cannot push anything into our soil. You need a hammer and a chissel. We have hard clay. I can water and the water will sit on top of the ground. Anything buried here definately needed a tool and is not legal.

 

 

There are two areas i am considering for this cache, both in idaho, and both containing blowsand. I like the areas because the sand blows often and would cover up any tracks to the site rather quickly. I realize that some people might not like having to dig a little to find this cache, but i don't consider this a bad thing, I would have a great ftf prize. The rules seem to state that as long as no pointy tool is required it is ok. So i think I'll go ahead with this idea.

[+HartMan-CatWoman Team]

My reviewer rejected my plea, so I just modified a number of caches where I had "penetrated" the ground. Oh well, I'm off to planning other clever hides above ground. It was not too difficile to redo the caches, but it sure takes away from the "cool hide" factor!

[+ReadyOrNot]

My reviewer rejected my plea, so I just modified a number of caches where I had "penetrated" the ground. Oh well, I'm off to planning other clever hides above ground. It was not too difficile to redo the caches, but it sure takes away from the "cool hide" factor!

 

We get these types approved all the time over yonder. My reviewer could kick your reviewers butt!