+imajeep Posted June 21, 2007 Posted June 21, 2007 We went 0 for 5 on a set of urban micros last week. We norrmally do in-the-woods caches, but we were in Santa Monica, CA for a few days and decided to try for some urban caches. From the logs, the caches looked fairly easy, but they definitely weren't easy for us. We figure they were probably right under our noses, but we didn't know what we were looking for. So, what kind of tips can you offer a couple of newbie seekers of urban caches? Beyond the obvious (like lamp post bases and the like), how do you go about finding an urban micro, once your GPS has gotten you to the location of the hide? Thanks! Quote
+briansnat Posted June 21, 2007 Posted June 21, 2007 They are often magnetic, so check anything nearby that is metal. Guardrails, newspaper vending boxes, park benches, behind street signs et. al. They may not be in plain sight, so you might have to feel around, behind and beneath with your hands. Hide-a-keys are pretty popular for urban hides, or sometimes a small container attached using a magnet or Velcro. Quote
+NaJoBe Posted June 21, 2007 Posted June 21, 2007 I would venture to say that about 90% of the micros that we have found were magnetic. However, maybe only 2 or 3 of those were hide-a-key containers. The main thing we have up here are magneto bison tubes and those darn nano containers which are about the size of the tip of your pinky magnetic as well. Quote
+angevine Posted June 21, 2007 Posted June 21, 2007 You got it: urban micros are generally more difficult to find, because there are fewer "safe" hiding places (won't get muggled) and a *lot* more people passing by and looking at you curiously. Don't just think film canister. As mentioned, magnetic devices are often used, sometimes as a hide-a-key, sometimes a long strip of magnetic material with the logbook taped to the back. In the woods, you look for something out of place. Good urban caches make you look for something that completely belongs there. So look also for things that may look like handles, or labels, or something like that which if you really think about it *doesn't* need to be there ... just blends in well. My first DNF was a small (and I mean *small* magnet attached to the back of a traffic sign. Look low and high -- people don't generally place them at eye level, yet that's where we tend to look. Good luck! Jeannette Quote
+imajeep Posted June 21, 2007 Author Posted June 21, 2007 Thanks much, folks--the urban game is different and challenging, which makes it fun! We'll use these tips to try and nail down a few of the urban critters... Quote
+StarBrand Posted June 21, 2007 Posted June 21, 2007 Think under, behind and in-between. Most urban hides are not on the ground and not above 5-6 feet. Think magnetic. Think velcro. As always look for something that just isn't quite right. Quote
+Miragee Posted June 21, 2007 Posted June 21, 2007 I don't generally look for urban caches, but yesterday, since I was in a completely different part of the nearby "big city." I accepted the "urban cache" challenge. I found a black-painted Altoids tin, a Magnetic Hide-a-Key, a small plastic container literally under a tree , a "hockey-puck-sized" container, and several cammoed M & M's candy "tubes." I also didnt' find three of the caches I looked for . . . And, even with an auto-routing GPSr, and then a lot of driving around, couldn't find access to another cache . . . I hate it when that happens . . . Paperless caching is a must for urban caches because when you can't find the container, you can read through the Past Logs to see if someone mentioned something that gives you the "Ahah" idea. Quote
+Thrak Posted June 21, 2007 Posted June 21, 2007 They can sometimes be tough. I was out of town for work and stopped to do a quick grab on a cache. The coordinates put me in a shopping center at the back of an out-of-business restaurant. There didn't seem to be any place for a cache at that spot. When I finally found the cache it was an unused doorbell push button at the back door of the restaurant. It looked like it belonged there - perhaps to ring when deliveries were made. It was the same color as the door and wall - like it had been there for years and was painted over along with everything else. However, it was just held in place with magnets. People can be creative with their urban hides. Quote
+Miragee Posted June 21, 2007 Posted June 21, 2007 (edited) Over in Yuma, AZ, where I went for an Event last February, we found some very, very tricky hides. The cache owner will not give out a hint until you have posted your DNF. He will also delete any logs that include a hint . . . One was a brass "bison tube" attached by unseen fishing line and submerged in the water in a small, concrete-lined, landscape-accented pool in a park. That was found only by chance, by moving a stick around in the water. Another was a small piece of driftwood glued to a short piece of PVC pipe in which the cache and log were contained. The piece of driftwood rested on top of the mulch beneath a bush. Without a hint, or a rake , that one would have been impossible to find . . . Another cache we found was an Altoids tin with pea gravel glued all over its top. It was hidden, where else, in a parking lot island full of pea gravel . . . Edited June 21, 2007 by Miragee Quote
+imajeep Posted June 21, 2007 Author Posted June 21, 2007 (edited) Paperless caching is a must for urban caches because when you can't find the container, you can read through the Past Logs to see if someone mentioned something that gives you the "Ahah" idea. After our Santa Monica experience, my wife and I decided to go paperless. Palm Z22 running CacheMate (for cache data) and Splash Photo (for overview aerials from Google Earth). We're pleased with how well it works! Edited June 21, 2007 by imajeep Quote
+imajeep Posted June 21, 2007 Author Posted June 21, 2007 They can sometimes be tough. I was out of town for work and stopped to do a quick grab on a cache. The coordinates put me in a shopping center at the back of an out-of-business restaurant. There didn't seem to be any place for a cache at that spot. When I finally found the cache it was an unused doorbell push button at the back door of the restaurant. It looked like it belonged there - perhaps to ring when deliveries were made. It was the same color as the door and wall - like it had been there for years and was painted over along with everything else. However, it was just held in place with magnets. People can be creative with their urban hides. Placer was definitely the Antichrist! But creative caches like that sound like fun. Quote
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