Creating an 'Urban Micro Training Series'

[+imajeep]

One of the biggest surprises to us about geocaching is how much we enjoy urban micros. I know; we're nuts! Anyway, we are thinking about creating a series of urban micro caches in our area, specifically designed to teach the basics of urban micros to new players.

 

Basically, we would do the sorts of hides beginners should learn to look for. The description would be fairly typical for these sorts of hides. But the hints would be out-and-out spoilers--they would tell where to look and why. The object would be no DNFs, unless the cache goes missing. Sort of an anti-evil hide, if you will.

 

We aren't going to start developing these caches until we have a few more under our belts (we want at least 100 before we do any caches), and we want to do more urban micros ourselves before we start this project, but we've begun asking ourselves, what kind of hides should we include in the series?

 

-- Obviously, a couple of 'lame parking lot hides' (lamp post, parking barrier, nano on a stop sign), since so many UMs seem to be of this type.

 

-- Some slightly more creative hides (chain-link fence post, cammoed piece on a waste bin, and so on).

 

But where do we go from here? What sorts of hides do you think a newbie urban micro hunter should learn? And what should they learn from each one? Thanks.

[+lacazg]

I've seen some intresting micro containers online. For example a fake piece of rebar that you put in a concrete parking block and fake electric boxes or fake pinecones. I would like to find ones like that every once in a while.

[+simpjkee]

I've had no problem learning about urban micros without a "training series", but then again, I live in a very large urban area. No way you can forget the micro in a bush surrounded by hundreds of other identical bushes. And then write on the site that your GPS signal was bouncing around a bit.....that'll teach'em about urban micros.

 

Seriously though I think it would be a much better idea to have an "urban regular size cache" training series. In my area there is just way too many urban micros. Some are even in spots where it would have been easy to place a full size cache. It's just me, but I think full size caches are 100x better than micros and if anyone nedds "training" it is the micro placers who throw out micros when full size caches are just as easy and a heckuva lot more fun.......trade items anyone???

[+imajeep]

Good points, and thanks. Maybe this idea isn't worth pursuing. The micros we have enjoyed have all shared something in common: Cleverness of the hide. Usually, a cammoed attachment to something on-site. Once you get past the obvoius lame hides, the best way to learn how to find them is to struggle over a few.

[+JohnnyVegas]

Cleverness of the hide.

This might be an way to go, most urban micro I have seen in my do not involve any Cleverness of any kind. Most of them are cheap lazy hides with no real thought of making them interesting.

 

We have one multi in my area that has examples of 11 types of cache containers, the only problem is that around half of them violate the cache placement guidlines.

[+intolerable]

Cleverness of the hide.

We have one multi in my area that has examples of 11 types of cache containers, the only problem is that around half of them violate the cache placement guidlines.

 

This is a problem I'm having with finding a place to hide an urban cache. I find a spot that I find interesting to hide, but it always seems to violate some rule.

[+Lotho]

Hide a keys are utilised in urban environments, maybe you should include one.

[wheetree]

There are a couple of micros among my faves because the cleverness. The best ones are the ones a muggle would never notice, but stand out shrply for the geocacher seeking that little something that just doesn't look quite right.

[+Miragee]

One guy here purchase the ABS Plastic "cleanout" in the plumbing department at a home improvement store and used that as cammo at a mini-mall where one of his favorite coffee shops is. He also does the "fake flower" cammo and fake electrical boxes. In one place, he even had a fake Telephone Company cover that was more than three-feet tall.

 

His caches are always well-thought out and clever and worth seeking.

[+briansnat]

Don't forget the bushes outside Burger King and the dumpster behind the 7-Eleven or Wawa.

[+TrailGators]

Don't forget the bushes outside Burger King and the dumpster behind the 7-Eleven or Wawa.

Geocaching, the language of location...

[+fauxSteve]

cammoed piece on a waste bin

 

I'll take this opportunity to reiterate that I think trash cans and dumpsters are ALWAYS poor places to hide a cache. While I realize that it's to each there own, do we really need to lower ourselves to literally digging in garbage for a smiley? I cache in urban areas frequently and there is almost always a better hiding spot within 20 feet of a trash can! Yes, the trash can hide is my personal pet peeve. Luckily, where I am the dumpster behind 7-eleven has not caught on (at least that I've noticed). How about a camoed piece on a bench? Nobody's ever questioned me for sitting on a bench looking for a well-crafted micro or waypoint.

 

As for urban micros, I always like the magnetic sheet that blends in with its environment (or even one that says CACHE in big letters). Fake electrical equipment is okay if there is no possible way somebody really looking at it is going to confuse it for a live one and there real ones aren't nearby. I had a fake outlet (magnetically attached to a pole) that sat on an extremely busy intersection in Seattle without the non-cachers paying any attention to it. I only had to archive it when the pole (and the whole corner) was removed.

 

Personally, I've always appreciated caches that are hidden primarily from non-cachers but are instantly recognizable to cachers themselves. That element of being aware of something that everyone else just walks past is still my favorite quality in an urban hide.