+drew82 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Hey... I have been caching a few years now and primarily enjoy night caching.. In town and in the country.. Enjoy using my night gear including my led headlamp and other lights, as well as the feeling of being out in the wild at night.. adds something to the whole experience for me... Have run into the occasional creepy person or people.. and other hazards.. whats everyones views at the moment on night caching? And please share any tips! Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I like it but am really bad at it. Best tip I have is to bring a friend for safety. Hazards at night are much greater. Second tip is to bring multiple flashlights and spare batteries (just in case). The LED flashlights sip power and last longer but the ligh makes objects look a little flat. I have found a regular and an LED make things show up better. Quote Link to comment
+TrailGators Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I like it but am really bad at it. Best tip I have is to bring a friend for safety. Hazards at night are much greater. Second tip is to bring multiple flashlights and spare batteries (just in case). The LED flashlights sip power and last longer but the ligh makes objects look a little flat. I have found a regular and an LED make things show up better. LED headlights are good for walking down trails because they illuminate a wide area. I prefer incandescent flashlights when I look for the cache because they are typically much brighter. But I leave my LED headlight on at the same time. Quote Link to comment
nonaeroterraqueous Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 If you have several thousand dollars lying around you could buy some night vision goggles. If you have a few thousand more handy you could buy me some, too. Actually, I'd be curious to know if you've had any problems looking too suspicious caching in the city with a flashlight, but perhaps you don't do much urban caching. Quote Link to comment
+Airmapper Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I find caching at night with about 30 other cachers makes everything a lot easier. It did last weekend at any rate. Quote Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I am going to assume that you don't mean night caches in particular and mean doing regular caches at night. We have done them and seem to enjoy them. Well my son loves them. My daughter does not. The last one we did really gave us a scare though. We were in a unfamiliar wooded area. The cache was 200+ feet from parking through some woods so we went for it. Obviously people go there. It was not a park. There was trash and clothing littered everywhere. We had 3 LED lights but suddenly they didn't seem like enough. As we were opening the ammo box we all heard definite twig breakage from the darkness. We don't know what it was. Our lights were useless. It was in a highly populated area. It could have been a dog, or a drunk. I am not sure. Needless to say it spooked all of us. I don't think we had ever been in and out of a cache so fast. The next day i put one of those 1,000,000 candle spot lights in the car. We had also planned on getting a lantern. It is so hard to search with a flashlight. So many shadows everywhere! I am hoping that either the spotlight or the lantern will make it a bit easier. Plus the lantern may ease my princesses fears of the woods at night. (Though i doubt it.) I would also recommend if you cant pack heat, at least pack something. Anything. Carry a hiking stick. Of course you should probably do this anyways. Quote Link to comment
+Dawgies Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I luv caching at night! Things are so much easier for me when it's dark. Fewer muggles and distractions. The only down side is you miss alot of the caching reason, and that's the scenery. We've had DNF's at night only to go back during the day and be awed by the view. Tip: Always be honest with the nice people in the uniforms and shiny badges. It does absolutely no good to pretend your GPS is a cell phone when confronted by these folks. Yes, they may think you're strange and they may ask you to leave, but I bet they'll be on-line quick to see what all the fun is about! Then POOF! One less muggle. Quote Link to comment
+Shakedown.dave Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 If you have several thousand dollars lying around you could buy some night vision goggles. If you have a few thousand more handy you could buy me some, too. Actually, I'd be curious to know if you've had any problems looking too suspicious caching in the city with a flashlight, but perhaps you don't do much urban caching. I do most of my urban caches at night. Fewier muggles. As for a flashlight, I don't always need one. Most of the time there is enough streetlight to work. I carry a mini mag light in my bag in case I need a little more light. I also have a larger mag light in my car, if I need more. Quote Link to comment
+Driver Carries Cache Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I luv caching at night! Things are so much easier for me when it's dark. Fewer muggles and distractions. The only down side is you miss alot of the caching reason, and that's the scenery. We've had DNF's at night only to go back during the day and be awed by the view. Tip: Always be honest with the nice people in the uniforms and shiny badges. It does absolutely no good to pretend your GPS is a cell phone when confronted by these folks. Yes, they may think you're strange and they may ask you to leave, but I bet they'll be on-line quick to see what all the fun is about! Then POOF! One less muggle. I will second this one... while I enjoy finding some caches at night (for some reason, some seem easier in the dark!) poking around in the dark with flashlights will attract much more muggle attention (and thereby Law Enforcement attention) than poking in the same places in broad daylight. This is especially true of urban caches as most city parks (at least in our area) have signs that say "Park closed from dusk to 7am" or something to that effect. Have fun! DCC Quote Link to comment
+WalruZ Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 poking around in the dark with flashlights will attract much more muggle attention (and thereby Law Enforcement attention) than poking in the same places in broad daylight. so true. The biggest hazard in night caching is calling attention to yourself. More light is not necessarily better. A dim led light that shows you the trail and a brighter led headlamp for searching (to keep your hands free) is best. My best tip here is to watch where you park. Don't park in a park lot just because the cache is in the park - find some nearby street parking and walk a little further. Quote Link to comment
+007BigD Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Just found 17 caches the other night on the FULL MOON! Great LED replacement I might add! My new best friend as far as lights go is the NEW 3 WATT LED MiniMag...That thing is so bright at 3 watts and boy does it ever "Sip" the batteries! They make em in 2AA and 3AA and its just a bit longer than the standard for the 2 cell!...Trust me...Youll LOVE IT! But if its just a short walk to the cache in the woods a Spot light wouldnt be bad for spottin what may or may not be out there!...Just peace of mind~And lets see a drunk find his way to you with that thing shining in his eyes!!! I have been looking for a High power Led headlamp that doesnt have an external pack, but found my standard headlamp with my new 3Watt MiniMag is absolutley great! Small and very effective! OH one more tip!... Keep track of everything!!! Much harder to go back and look for misplaced things at night, or loose somethin and not even know where the heck it is! Quote Link to comment
+drew82 Posted August 1, 2007 Author Share Posted August 1, 2007 Didn't put any tips in my original post.. but i carry an energizer led head light ( wonderful!) .. a very sharp 4 inch buck knife.. and a 6 d maglight.. the maglight has a very bright beam which can get out there when a sound is heard and it doubles as a good weapon in your hand given its length and club like features:) And as far as the view goes, I disagree about missing the view at night.. I have seen some of the most beautiful scenes (that i can still see in my head when i think about them) while night caching.. like the lightning in the distance over a lake... and not to mention the night air and ambiance...LOVE IT ...And it helps to have some of the cache pages printed off to show authoritys if your stopped... Quote Link to comment
+Evil Chicken Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 If you are night caching in the woods, wear a hat and carry a stick in front of you! REASON: Spiderwebs! They don't always catch the light and it's no fun to walk into a face full of web (especially if you are arachnaphobic.) Quote Link to comment
+badazzamc Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Night Caching is a lot of fun. I always carry at least two lights with me,when I know I will be in the woods Quote Link to comment
+awhsom Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 I enjoy night caching in the woods more than in urban settings, but when walking in the woods at night watch where you step. I once came within a whisker of stepping on a Copperhead while night caching along a lakeshore... Quote Link to comment
+Kiwi Nomad Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 When we were doing night exercises with a youth group we would sit everyone down outside there tents with no lights on untill it was dark so that they had 'good' night vision. You need to be carefull where you point your torchs, head lamps extra as it can take the human eye a while to readjust to the darkness. Have heard someone say (depending on how bright the light) it could be anything up to half an hour. Have only done one night cache used car headlights and the light on the end of my cellphone. Quote Link to comment
+J-Way Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 I'm not a huge fan of night caching in wooded area for reasons already mentioned, plus the wooded areas around here tend to have steep drop-offs and large holes. But I love urban night caching, especially on a college campus! No crowds, usually plenty of light (plus a small 3-AAA LED flashlight I can flick on for close-up searching), and usually plenty of security. I'd much rather tell Mr. LEO all about geocaching than fight my way through a gang of car-jackers or rowdy teenage wanna-be thugs. Quote Link to comment
+simpjkee Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I love night caching. I am a night owl as it is so I find that caching at night fits my schedule. I just take my gps and my mini mag, but I only cache for urban micros at night. The streets are a lot less crowded at night to so its easier to navigate in an urban setting while night caching. Quote Link to comment
+dark_onyx1982 Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I am nocturnal so I prefer night caching. Luckily I have not had any problems. On top of my normal caching gear I always have a mag light, LED light, pepper spray, gun, and my dog. The creepiness adds to the fun factor. JMO Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.