Cache longevity

[+supertbone]

Back in February of this year I found GC238 which happens to be one of the oldest caches in Utah. It was placed on Feb 8, 2001. The odd thing about this cache is that it is a 1 star terrain and difficulty parking lot micro placed by a guy who only hid two caches.

 

To me this goes against conventional logic. Since caches of this type are more likely to be found by muggles and not as maintained since many require little investment from the hider.

 

This cache got me to thinking. What factors should a cacher consider to increase cache longevity?

Edited June 7, 2007 by supertbone

[nobby.nobbs]

normally remoteness and skill of hiding etc. but at the end of the day mainly... LUCK

[+StarBrand]

Few or no muggles typically overlooking the cache site.

 

Placed "way back there".

 

Placed away from trails.

 

Good camo.

 

Easily findable so that search&destroy techniques are not visible in the area by muggles.

 

Good description.

 

Cachers careful to rehide well.

 

Areas that see little change in natural cover from season to season.

 

Luck.

[+Renegade Knight]

Few or no muggles typically overlooking the cache site.

 

Placed "way back there".

 

Placed away from trails.

 

Good camo.

 

Easily findable so that search&destroy techniques are not visible in the area by muggles.

 

Good description.

 

Cachers careful to rehide well.

 

Areas that see little change in natural cover from season to season.

 

Luck.

 

There you go.

[+Corp Of Discovery]

<snip>

Luck.

 

There you go.

 

Fixed.

[Keystone]

My co-owned Pennsylvania DeLorme Challenge cache was discovered last weekend to have been muggled. Nothing left in the ammo box but a Subway sandwich wrapper. $100 worth of swag missing.

 

The cache is many miles of hiking from the nearest road and it's at a random spot 500 feet off the trail.

 

Meanwhile, under my player account I own an urban micro that has never been muggled since I hid it in October 2002, right next to a pedestrian walkway in a tourist area.

 

Go figure. It's luck.

[vtmtnman]

<snip>

Luck.

 

There you go.

 

Fixed.

That's basically it.

[+Snoogans]

<snip>

Luck.

 

There you go.

 

Fixed.

That's basically it.

 

 

There goes my ego. I may never recover.

 

 

Well burst my bubble. I thought it was my skill all these years to have had so few caches muggled. In fact, except for one, the few that have been were more likely maggoted than muggled.

[+Corp Of Discovery]

<snip>

Luck.

 

There you go.

 

Fixed.

That's basically it.

 

 

There goes my ego. I may never recover.

 

 

Well burst my bubble. I thought it was my skill all these years to have had so few caches muggled. In fact, except for one, the few that have been were more likely maggoted than muggled.

 

Blame nobbs- he nailed it in the first reply...

Edited June 7, 2007 by Corp Of Discovery

[+Robespierre]

In my first two years I thought it was being careful and skillful...... but mostly now I lean toward the luck factor - although you can just be plain stupid if you want and remove the luck factor.

[+Isonzo Karst]

Sincerest condolences on the loss of the Pennsylvania DeLorme Challenge cache.

 

Luck, and yes, usually remote location and ease of the find lend themselves to longer lasting caches.

[+eagletrek]

VIAGRA??????

Edited June 7, 2007 by eagletrek

[+supertbone]

VIAGRA??????

 

HAHA!!!

 

LOL!!!

[+Renegade Knight]

...Well burst my bubble. I thought it was my skill all these years to have had so few caches muggled. In fact, except for one, the few that have been were more likely maggoted than muggled.

Skill helps with them being muggled. Not having a personality helps with them being maggoted.

[+Snoogans]

...Well burst my bubble. I thought it was my skill all these years to have had so few caches muggled. In fact, except for one, the few that have been were more likely maggoted than muggled.

Skill helps with them being muggled. Not having a personality helps with them being maggoted.

 

 

I agree 100%.

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

Few or no muggles typically overlooking the cache site.

 

Placed "way back there".

 

Placed away from trails.

 

Good camo.

 

Easily findable so that search&destroy techniques are not visible in the area by muggles.

 

Good description.

 

Cachers careful to rehide well.

 

Areas that see little change in natural cover from season to season.

 

Luck.

And also:

• caches listed as Premium Member Only caches
  
• extreme caches with high Terrain ratings
  

[+briansnat]

I'd say that one of the most important factors contributing to longevity is that searchers are out of view of non geocachers.

[+Knight2000]

My co-owned Pennsylvania DeLorme Challenge cache was discovered last weekend to have been muggled. Nothing left in the ammo box but a Subway sandwich wrapper. $100 worth of swag missing.

 

The cache is many miles of hiking from the nearest road and it's at a random spot 500 feet off the trail.

 

Meanwhile, under my player account I own an urban micro that has never been muggled since I hid it in October 2002, right next to a pedestrian walkway in a tourist area.

 

Go figure. It's luck.

Did the cache page mention the swag? If it did i would wonder if it really was a muggle.

[Keystone]

My co-owned Pennsylvania DeLorme Challenge cache was discovered last weekend to have been muggled. Nothing left in the ammo box but a Subway sandwich wrapper. $100 worth of swag missing.

 

The cache is many miles of hiking from the nearest road and it's at a random spot 500 feet off the trail.

 

Meanwhile, under my player account I own an urban micro that has never been muggled since I hid it in October 2002, right next to a pedestrian walkway in a tourist area.

 

Go figure. It's luck.

Did the cache page mention the swag? If it did i would wonder if it really was a muggle.

Ummm, yes, the initial cache contents were listed in a note on the cache page. But you should study up on how a DeLorme Challenge works. Then you'll agree that the cache was looted either by a prior finder, a friend of a prior finder, or a muggle. My vote's with the muggle.

[+Knight2000]

Ummm, yes, the initial cache contents were listed in a note on the cache page. But you should study up on how a DeLorme Challenge works. Then you'll agree that the cache was looted either by a prior finder, a friend of a prior finder, or a muggle. My vote's with the muggle.

Oops. My bad. I thought the format was a little different.

 

I sure hope it was a muggle.

[Trinity's Crew]

<snip>

GC238 which happens to be one of the oldest caches in Utah. It was placed on Feb 8, 2001. The odd thing about this cache is that it is a 1 star terrain and difficulty parking lot micro

This is not possible. Old caches were only hidden in unique or historic places. They were filled with gold and jewels and you had to hike for days to find them.

[+Team Perks]

I recently had an ammo can hidden in a completely random spot in the forest disappear within two weeks of my hiding it. On the other hand, this cache of mine is nothing more than a painted Altoids tin, and it's hidden in plain sight, literally inches from where hundreds (if not thousands) of muggle hands touch every single day. I'm amazed it's only disappeared once in two years.

 

Yep. Luck. That's about all there is to it.

Edited June 9, 2007 by Team Perks

[+Renegade Knight]

I think a lot of cachers underestimate where muggles go.

 

Night Stalker hid a cache in an out of the way spot. You had to hike up past a waterfall and once you made that vertical hike wadner off a small bit into the woods for the cache. A hunter found it by sitting on the log it was hidden under.

 

Turns out that once you make that verticial hike and you look for a comfy spot to sit and rest for a bit, that one log stands out. 45' over...and the muggle would not have found it. In this case he signed the log and life was good.

[+Kit Fox]

<snip>

GC238 which happens to be one of the oldest caches in Utah. It was placed on Feb 8, 2001. The odd thing about this cache is that it is a 1 star terrain and difficulty parking lot micro

This is not possible. Old caches were only hidden in unique or historic places. They were filled with gold and jewels and you had to hike for days to find them.

 

From the looks of the pictures the area is unique. I don't know what type of precious jewels it contained though .

 

I've had remote caches "get up and walk away," and the only explanation that I could make was someone purposely used their GPS to find then remove them, for unknown reasons.

Edited June 9, 2007 by Kit Fox

[+supertbone]

<snip>

GC238 which happens to be one of the oldest caches in Utah. It was placed on Feb 8, 2001. The odd thing about this cache is that it is a 1 star terrain and difficulty parking lot micro

This is not possible. Old caches were only hidden in unique or historic places. They were filled with gold and jewels and you had to hike for days to find them.

 

From the looks of the pictures the area is unique. I don't know what type of precious jewels it contained though .

 

 

I've had remote caches "get up and walk away," and the only explanation that I could make was someone purposely used their GPS to find then remove them, for unknown reasons.

 

The area is unique. It is in the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. It has quite a close view of the canyon walls and of some of the local flora. It is very pretty. The cache is hidden in the post of that sign in that picture (which also happens to be an earthcache).

 

I found it during a light snow fall and the area was swarming with skiers getting off the buses coming back from the ski slopes.

[+flask]

we have a very old cache here in vt that's frequently found by outsiders. it's in a high traffic area. i forget whether it's orange or yellow or red, but it's not exactly camo.

 

i think a durable container helps some. also kind of an aura of permanence. i'm not sure how to confer this quality on a cache, but caches that have this elusive attribute seem to live forever.

 

there are a number of older caches by now inactive owners that have no adoption and seem to be maintained by cachers at large.

[+Renegade Knight]

...also kind of an aura of permanence. i'm not sure how to confer this quality on a cache, but caches that have this elusive attribute seem to live forever....

 

My daugher was into orgami. She made a balizzion cranes. I stuck them in a racquetball container and wondered what to do with them. Then I decided to place Chubbuck's first cache so I grabbed the container walked up to one of the only tree's in the park which was a Juniper and just stuffed it into the tree. Instant theme cache. A year or two later I decided that the cache had lived it's life and read the log. It seems this thing was found by muggles quite a bit. The wind would blow it out of the tree, they would pick it up, read the note, sign the log and think "cool". Then with no clue it belinged in the tree they would stick it back in the tree. That cache was charmed. Some muggles even folded up their own orgami.

Edited June 9, 2007 by Renegade Knight