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What's your philosophy for placing a cache?


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Just curious...WHY do you place a cache? Is it for the hunt, the trade items, or for other reasons?

 

Myself, it's become...I've found an interesting place, and I want others to see it. It's not so much for the cache itself, but I'd like others to find some undiscovered treasure...a historic site, a nice park that few others know about, a scenic view. The cache itself is simply a bonus.

 

I'm just curious on others thoughts!

 

Rick in Indy

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I only hide a cache when I can quickly answer the following question: "Explain why you want to bring people to visit this spot." If I can't come up with a good reason, I don't hide the cache. Most often, that reason will find its way into my cache description. A corollary question, "Is this a place I don't mind returning to, again and again?" means that I won't hide a cache unless I'll enjoy maintaining it.

 

Once I have a spot, then I ask myself "what type of container and style of hide would work best in this location?" If the answer is "a clear plastic lock 'n lock," and I don't have one, then I don't hide the cache until I've visited the store and bought an appropriate container.

 

Then I stock the container with trade items. Before buying an item to put into a cache, I ask myself "would you want to trade for this, if you were a newbie or a family with kids?" Unless I say "yes!" then I don't select that item.

 

A significant percentage of geocaches violate one, two or all three of these personal principles. I will stick to them, however.

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I only hide a cache when I can quickly answer the following question: "Explain why you want to bring people to visit this spot."

 

Once I have a spot, then I ask myself "what type of container and style of hide would work best in this location?"

 

Then I stock the container with trade items. Before buying an item to put into a cache, I ask myself "would you want to trade for this, if you were a newbie or a family with kids?" Unless I say "yes!" then I don't select that item.

 

 

Dude. Awesome. Why am I talking like a stoner? I don't know.

 

But, that's a great way of thinking. Thanks!

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Just curious...WHY do you place a cache? Is it for the hunt, the trade items, or for other reasons?

 

Myself, it's become...I've found an interesting place, and I want others to see it. It's not so much for the cache itself, but I'd like others to find some undiscovered treasure...a historic site, a nice park that few others know about, a scenic view. The cache itself is simply a bonus.

 

I'm just curious on others thoughts!

 

Rick in Indy

I have written much of this before, either in other threads here, or scrawled on the wall of my cell in the maximum-security federal penitentiary for the criminally insane, but I place caches for fun -- that is, the fun of seeing/knowing of others seeking it and then reading their logs -- and as a gift/service to the geo community. I prefer to place caches which are Terrain 5, and with a concomitant high difficulty, although the high Terrain rating, along with some kind of extreme sport aspect, is far more important to me than the Difficulty rating. On a related note to the Terrain matter, I also like taking people -- via my caches -- to interesting places that they would otherwise never get to see, such as:

  • an unremediated EPA-listed toxic waste site
  • an abandoned 1960s nuclear reactor containment building
  • the ceiling beams in the rafters above the second floor of a crumbling and abandoned military building
  • the ironwork substructure under an abandoned railroad bridge over a 160 foot high river gorge in the wilderness
  • the storm drain pipes which drain runoff from old EPA-listed toxic wastes deep in the bowels of the earth under an industrial area of an old city
  • a tiny cave opening halfway down the face of a sheer 78 foot vertical cliff in the wilderness
  • the dark, dank and moldy, debris-filled and graffiti-laden tunnels under a 190-year old abandoned military fort in a badly-neglected city park overrun by feral cats, rats, drug dealers, gay sex cruisers, hookers, pimps and stoned Goth teenagers
  • the concrete apron atop a 100 foot tall stone pier -- a remnant of a bridge from a hundred years ago -- in the middle of a raging river.

That about sums up why I do it...

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My husband and I enjoy caching with a purpose. Any cache that will take us to a pretty view, teach us somthing new, make us laugh, highlights the areas treasures, or has a really interesting container works for us. So when we hide, we like to take the same philosophy.

 

We were recently asked by our local cachers (from surrounding towns) to hide some easier hides in our little town. Most of the local hides are hard puzzles (thanks to all the scientist type cachers from the National Lab in town) or at the end of a 5+ mile hike. It was a hard concept for us as we're a hiking and snowshoeing family and since we're trying to build our kids up to overnight hiking, we tend to the longer stretches. But, we could see how the current caches didn't leave much variety for other types of cachers. Our town is small, and we thought a series would help it get some more geotraffic.

 

So we just released a series of 19 caches (the only caches we've hidden). The series covers a little of everything for everyone. We have sizes from nanos to a 5 gallon bucket. One is a puzzle (easy), one is a multi, some are short hikes, some are park and grabs. All are in good containers (we think) and some have pretty clever camo. Some are handicap accessible and some aren't. Most have a lovely view or a fun place to rest. All have a purpose and it is written boldly in the caching description.

 

We try to container, swag, and label everything well. As time goes on, we will check our caches and refill to keep the swag up to par. We also try to make sure our descriptions are as accurate and as complete as we can make them so people have a better idea what to expect and how to prepare. ALL of our caches are, and always will be kid friendly as we won't go to a cache that our kids can't come along with us. And finally, we are more than happy to help anyone who needs it, and are willing to run out at the first opportunity to fix anything that is wrong. We wouldn't place a cache if we weren't.....that's why we won't place too many.

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The location is the most important thing. I try to place most of my caches in spots where there is something of interest. Could be scenic, historic, geological or something offbeat or otherwise unique. Failing that, I try to make sure that it's at least a nice walk to the cache. Once in a while I'll place one where there nothing really special about the cache site, but the challenge is in getting there.

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For almost all my caches, its all about location. I am trying to show off some spot. Something interesting, scenic, historic, little known, out of the way or some spot with a bit of a story even if it seems a bit plain right now. Most are small or regular sized. Some are found after hikes, some are park-n-grabs, some are a bit seasonal, several are just an excuse to stop the car for a few minutes to learn something.

Edited by StarBrand
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I started hiding caches because there were few cachers in my area and I wanted to give them something to find at an interesting place to pay back for their caches. Then I got interested in themed caches--everything in cache is related, i.e. key rings, balls, magnets, etc. Then I moved on to doing "exotic" cache containers, i.e. mice, lizards, etc. Next were historic markers in the area. Finally I got interested in ghost towns and I researched the counties around my home and did caches at ghost towns. Usually if they were along a cache empty road, I would put some out at scenic spots so that the cachers would have more than one cache to find along that stretch of road to justify the usage of gas/time . Basically, my caches have been to bring people to an interesting/scenic spot, to provide fun caches for families, and to bring a smile to the seekers' faces. Currently the only caches I am planning are more ghost towns-amazing how many there are out in west Texas.

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It's the location for me, as well. Either pretty, historical, interesting, etc. It's never about the container or the cleverness.

 

I enjoy finding interesting containers (as long as they're not too difficult to find), and may place something like that in the future, but it's not a high priority to me (I've owned one in the past, but it was just a happy coincidence to work with the natural area). I don't like things that are hard to find, or puzzles.

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Just curious...WHY do you place a cache? Is it for the hunt, the trade items, or for other reasons?

 

Myself, it's become...I've found an interesting place, and I want others to see it. It's not so much for the cache itself, but I'd like others to find some undiscovered treasure...a historic site, a nice park that few others know about, a scenic view. The cache itself is simply a bonus.

 

I'm just curious on others thoughts!

 

Rick in Indy

 

What a great question!

 

I hide caches simply to give a little back to those who have placed the caches I find.

 

As for placement, I'm in a fairly urban area so there are very few areas that stand out as a place to lure visitors. Instead, I just try and provide fun for my peers.

 

I have place a few that are in scenic areas where loggers have appreciated the area but nothing like some of the others I have visited.

 

Thanks to all of you that have gone out of your way to bring such places to out attention.

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For me it is about location first. If the area is not enjoyable, I see little point in taking a person there.

 

I also have taken to being creative with containers, so sometimes I need to adjust my location a bit to fit that. For example, hid one awhile back that demanded certain things for the container to work. I also had a park I liked in mind for it. But I ended up not putting it in my first choice location in that park because of how I had to hide it.

 

Anyway, I aim for something interesting about the cache, whether it be location, the container or both. I would rather have a few interesting caches than many mundane ones.

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It looks like we are much the same. I have only 8 hid at this point but I only started a couple months ago. I put there in places that I want to share with like minded people. Those that like nature and don't mind a little hike to find them. I hide them but do not feel my aim should be to make a hunter ever to go away without finding it. I want them to enjoy the cashe.

 

Personally I never swap items. I really have no interest in it. I am new and that might change but when I hide them I throw in a silver half dollar I have found metal detecting and a few trinkets. That is just me though.

 

Since I have been hunting I have gone to a few cashes that made me wonder what in the world made the people hide them where they did. Maybe just because they are easy.

 

I have a real problem with cashes that are not maintained. I mean when several people leave messages on the web site, over several months time that the dang cashe is missing it seems that the owner would deal with it. I don't know. Seems rude to me. It takes effort to hunt these things and then to find you were hunting something that isn't there is irritating.

 

I especially do not like hunting for a cashe that makes you sneak around like a thief. I looked for one reciently that was on private land. The property was posted NO TRESSPASSING. There was no way I was gonna hunt that cashe and when I looked again at the listing it said it was on private property. Makes no difference to me if permission was given or not. I ain't tresspassing for a cashe. Too many open pleces to hide them around here.

 

I was down state reciently and did a little casheing . I went to one that looked like it was a hobo village. What a filthy place. I didn't even bother with that one.

 

I like to hide them in special places. Places that I have run onto in my hikes that I would like to share with people.

 

That is just MY opinion though

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The majority of our caches are set out in places with a pretty view. Some are urban micros, but the view is spectacular. Weehawken View, for example. Some are interesting places. On the other hand, some are evil mystery caches, but usually in a very pretty place. Our QC department has final approval. This could be why we only have 20 active caches. But, for eighteen of them, you will definitely enjoy your visit!

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The short answer: to make you smile.

 

The long answer: sometimes I hope you smile because I took you to an unknown trail, park, or location. Sometimes I hope you smile because I provided a little historical lesson about the location. Sometimes I hope you smile because there is a nice view. Sometimes I hope you smile because it was a fun hide/search/find. Sometimes I hope you smile after you have that 'aha headslap moment' before you can find one of my evil ones. If you aren't smiling when you have found my cache, I have failed you. Please don't log the find. :lol:

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I hide caches that I'd enjoy finding. Usually that means a nice location, like a vista or at some historical place, but sometimes the hide itself is the reason for the fun. For example, the most recent hide I worked on is a night cache. The area itself isn't anything spectacular, just game lands. But, when you're hiking 2 miles back in the woods at night with a friend or two seeking out a cache, even plain old woods turn into an adventure. Add to that a couple creative containers and you've got the makings for 2 hours of fun.

 

Not every cache can take us to some super-special location, but those that don't should have some other purpose (besides providing a piece of paper to write our names on). The fun might be in figuring out how to get into a location, or how to solve a puzzle, or something... but FUN should definitely be part of it.

 

I've got 2 hides in the works that aren't yet ready for publication. One of them will (if all goes as planned) showcase a couple waterfalls and a scenic vista or two. The other will highlight a little known piece of history that's been (for the most part) lost on top of a mountain for 60 years. I sure hope people will enjoy them. As long as they come away with a smile on their face, I've succeeded.

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Just curious...WHY do you place a cache? Is it for the hunt, the trade items, or for other reasons?

 

Myself, it's become...I've found an interesting place, and I want others to see it. It's not so much for the cache itself, but I'd like others to find some undiscovered treasure...a historic site, a nice park that few others know about, a scenic view. The cache itself is simply a bonus.

 

I'm just curious on others thoughts!

 

Rick in Indy

 

As for my hides, I try to provide all the ingredients of a quality and memorable experience. This means bringing people to places that they might not have visited.... and to entertain them if possible.

 

Thankfully this is the norm we've got some great caches. The "a cache is just a cache" philosophy has not caught on here and nobody hides with the sole purpose of providing a smiley.

 

I love caching in Hawaii!!

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Just curious...WHY do you place a cache? Is it for the hunt, the trade items, or for other reasons?

 

Myself, it's become...I've found an interesting place, and I want others to see it. It's not so much for the cache itself, but I'd like others to find some undiscovered treasure...a historic site, a nice park that few others know about, a scenic view. The cache itself is simply a bonus.

 

I'm just curious on others thoughts!

 

Rick in Indy

 

As for my hides, I try to provide all the ingredients of a quality and memorable experience. This means bringing people to places that they might not have visited.... and to entertain them if possible.

 

Thankfully this is the norm we've got some great caches. The "a cache is just a cache" philosophy has not caught on here and nobody hides with the sole purpose of providing a smiley.

 

I love caching in Hawaii!!

 

 

I bet I would love caching in Hawaii!! :lol:
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The short answer: to make you smile.

 

The long answer: sometimes I hope you smile because I took you to an unknown trail, park, or location. Sometimes I hope you smile because I provided a little historical lesson about the location. Sometimes I hope you smile because there is a nice view. Sometimes I hope you smile because it was a fun hide/search/find. Sometimes I hope you smile after you have that 'aha headslap moment' before you can find one of my evil ones. If you aren't smiling when you have found my cache, I have failed you. Please don't log the find. :lol:

 

That says it all for me! Some of my caches are more about the place, some are more about the cache, but all are planned, and not just random. I have come up with container ideas first, and then gone looking for the right place to put them, and I have found places first and come up with containers to fit them. I have found places that were all about the hike, and so put simple ammo boxes or lock & lock hides as a quick reward. For me, its about entertainment.

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When I hide caches I look for the mundane kinds of spots that people see every day. Strip malls, gas stations, Home Depot parking lots and street corners, but what I really like to do is bring people to dumpsters and feces strewn homeless encampments.

 

Now why is it that when this kind of thread is started, we don't see posts like the preceeding? Everybody in this thread (and previous similar threads) obviously puts a lot of thought into their caches. Yet SOMEBODY is hiding all those traches. Do these people just not visit the forums, or are they simply ashamed of their trache spew and not willing to mention it here?

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SOMEBODY is hiding all those traches. Do these people just not visit the forums, or are they simply ashamed of their trache spew and not willing to mention it here?

Are you kidding? If they don't have enough time to place a decent cache, what makes you think they have enough time to read forum topics??

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Do these people just not visit the forums, or are they simply ashamed of their trache spew and not willing to mention it here?

 

No, I'm not ashamed of my trash spew. It takes a fine mind to spew trash the way I do. Everyone mentions location as being a key element, but you also have to consider the cammo. If you're going to hide a cache in a filthy back alley, then you have to make it look like what's already there. Dress it up a little. Make it look like a piece of trash or a discarded lemon rind.

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It takes a fine mind to spew trash the way I do...Make it look like a piece of trash or a discarded lemon rind.

Oh, so that's the lemon rind I saw from Highway 94??? How on earth did you get that published with it being so close to the highway and all? You MUST have had a helper toss it out the window for you! And what wonderful coords!! I'll bet the numbers clicked up there pretty quickly as you whizzed by. Did you drive by twice more to verify them or just once?

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Just curious...WHY do you place a cache? Is it for the hunt, the trade items, or for other reasons?

 

All of the above. Out of 32 caches here are a few examples and reasons:

 

1) A themed cache filled with super hero items in a hilly regional park.

Reason: I know that a lot of families with kids struggle to get up this particular steep trail and now there is a cool reward at the top - the icing on the cake.

 

2) An easy cache simply for the sole reason of providing a smiley.

Reason: The cache is at the beginning (or end) of a difficult caching loop. A day of caching here will yield very tough terrain and several really hard signaless caches under redwood trees. It's like caching with a blindfold. After experiencing a frustrating day & multiple DNF's in this signaless canyon I was really wishing for a nice warm fuzzy feel good simple smiley cache to save the day. Voila! Now there is one for future cachers.

 

3) A series of coastal village urban caches (some unusual, some surprising, some handicap accessible) placed in a high foot traffic tourist town.

Reason: Yep, the caches take you on a humorous and historical geotour of a unique picturesque village. But my motivation as a hider also included the fact that to have this kind of a series in a very touristy place the cacher will need creative stealth techniques. The series also challenged me to place entertaining, clever, well camoed caches that will be worth the effort of dealing with the urban extras (parking issues, muggles, etc)

 

4) A Jack in the Box cache container that pops the log out at you when the Jack pops up.

Reason: I wanted to honor a bit of local geocaching history AND make people laugh. The cache replaced two previous tough caches that spanned a 6 year period and both had the name Jack in them. So this cache was placed as the third Jack cache named "Jack is Back". This is still a tough terrain/difficulty cache but at least you get a good laugh at the end.

 

Thanks for the reminder of how much fun it is to hide! :lol:

Edited by private bones
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I started hiding caches because there were few cachers in my area and I wanted to give them something to find at an interesting place to pay back for their caches. Then I got interested in themed caches--everything in cache is related, i.e. key rings, balls, magnets, etc. Then I moved on to doing "exotic" cache containers, i.e. mice, lizards, etc. Next were historic markers in the area. Finally I got interested in ghost towns and I researched the counties around my home and did caches at ghost towns. Usually if they were along a cache empty road, I would put some out at scenic spots so that the cachers would have more than one cache to find along that stretch of road to justify the usage of gas/time . Basically, my caches have been to bring people to an interesting/scenic spot, to provide fun caches for families, and to bring a smile to the seekers' faces. Currently the only caches I am planning are more ghost towns-amazing how many there are out in west Texas.

 

I will make sure I put West Texas on my ghost town tour! :)

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When I hide caches I look for the mundane kinds of spots that people see every day. Strip malls, gas stations, Home Depot parking lots and street corners, but what I really like to do is bring people to dumpsters and feces strewn homeless encampments.

 

Now why is it that when this kind of thread is started, we don't see posts like the preceeding? Everybody in this thread (and previous similar threads) obviously puts a lot of thought into their caches. Yet SOMEBODY is hiding all those traches. Do these people just not visit the forums, or are they simply ashamed of their trache spew and not willing to mention it here?

 

I'm pretty convinced that a distinct division in purpose and philosophy exists. The core of this divide is a long term vision for the game. They ask themselves questions like "if everyone behaved like I do, how would that effect the game?"

 

I'd be willing to bet that everyone that has posted in this thread considers writing a great log, hiding a well thought out cache, or doing something to assist his fellow cachers (like unsolicited maintenance) as a way to build community and they understand the importance of developing habits that will aid others in their own enjoyment of the game. These people are the ones that mostly go to events and are always the ones that are involved in the planning of them. On some level, they consider themselves ambassadors to the game and the area where they live.

 

The reason they are posting in this thread is that they are proud of their actions and their own personal long term vision for the game.

Edited by Team GeoBlast
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As others have said - it's all about the location when I place caches. I find a cool spot, then place a cache to bring others to it.

 

As many have already said it's about location to me too. A good litmus test is to ask yourself if people would enjoy the experience even if the cache were missing.

This is a great statement that I 100% agree with.

 

As far as caching in Hawaii - it doesn't get much better. Most that I've done (Big Island) have taken me to spots that are remote and away from other people. This, on an island that is already slow-paced and not as swarmed with tourists as some of the others can get.

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