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Finding good hidey spots?


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Ok, so I need advice on finding good hidey spots to place (regular sized) caches. I have many good ideas (at least, I think they are) for puzzle caches, multis, and regular ones too, but the problem is there really aren't that many good places to put caches in my area. Unfortunately, this isn't really a scenic area. The few parks and trails that we do have are already full of crappy micros (no offense to anyone that placed them of course), in areas that could easily sustain larger caches... but since they're already there, that prevents me from being able to place larger caches there. And before you go check, yes all my hides so far are micros, but all in urban settings. Well, ok, with the exeption of one, but that was one of my first hides before I knew better, and I am seriously thinking about changing that one out. Anyway, I don't want to put out more micros, I want to place some cool caches, as we don't really have that many around here. It's really frustrating when you have ideas and would like to share/enhance the caching community but can't. I'm just so tired of finding micros and nanos stuck to electrical boxes in the middle of town and I'm sure everyone else is too. So, any advice on finding good spots? I have already checked out local state/county/city websites for parks and public areas. The ones that don't already have a micro stuck in a tree somewhere are in bad neighborhoods. (I have found a couple parks that don't have a cache already, so those are possibilities, but the containers would still have to be fairly small.) And I don't know any land owners that would be willing to let me place one on their property... but even if I could, there would really be no reason to bring anyone there, ya know? Any advice is appreciated!

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Explore. Some of the most interesting caches that I've found are in strange little parks that no one knows about! Some of my best hides are in places that I've explored before taking up geocaching. We hae a loal cacher who spends more time wandering about in the wilderness than finding caches. He finds many fantastic places to bring me! And, of course, imagination. Even some rather mundane places, but great hides.

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but even if I could, there would really be no reason to bring anyone there, ya know?

 

Who needs a reason?

 

The cache is the reason. The hunt is the reason..... This is geocaching, not try to please everyone caching.

 

Everything else is EXTRA, but not required.

 

If you can hide a cache and list it on this site within the the guidelines, you've done your part.

 

Some folks may not hunt your cache because it doesn't meet some internal criteria or because of some lack of ability, but don't hide a cache to please anyone, but yourself.

 

Any advice is appreciated!

 

I used the google earth satellite imagry to find a spot for my latest cache.... There's an idea....

 

Decide on what kind of hider you want to be. Easy caches require more maintenance and go missing more often. Hard caches tend to get less visits and thus need less maintenance, but also seem to get bookmarked and have better logs.

 

For me, my easy caches are pretty close to home. My remote caches have needed little maintenance, but I tryyy to visit each one every other year or so...

 

Mostly, hide caches to please yourself.... If YOU like them others are sure to enjoy them. :)

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Explore. Some of the most interesting caches that I've found are in strange little parks that no one knows about! Some of my best hides are in places that I've explored before taking up geocaching. We hae a loal cacher who spends more time wandering about in the wilderness than finding caches. He finds many fantastic places to bring me! And, of course, imagination. Even some rather mundane places, but great hides.

 

Exploring is the key! Find out about little known parks. Read newspapers, road maps and topo maps, tourism guides, look at sat photos. I bet there are many more great places for hiding geocaches than you realize.

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Thanks everyone for your responses. Snoogans, you are right about the cache being the reason to bring someone there. I agree with that. But I have read so many times folks complaining about a cache being hidden in an area of little or no value, and I can see that side too. I guess I would just like to place a quality cache in a quality place, unlike some local cachers who stick them behind garbage dumpsters. :)

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Thanks everyone for your responses. Snoogans, you are right about the cache being the reason to bring someone there. I agree with that. But I have read so many times folks complaining about a cache being hidden in an area of little or no value, and I can see that side too. I guess I would just like to place a quality cache in a quality place, unlike some local cachers who stick them behind garbage dumpsters. :(

 

That's why I qualified my statement:

 

Decide on what kind of hider you want to be.

 

Mostly, hide caches to please yourself.... If YOU like them others are sure to enjoy them. :P

 

I can't imagine I would like a cache of my own around a dumpster, but if I chose to find a dumpster hide I'd still say TFTC. :P

 

But I have read so many times folks complaining about a cache being hidden in an area of little or no value, and I can see that side too.

 

unlike some local cachers who stick them behind garbage dumpsters. :(

 

To folks who feel entitled enough to complain about a cache they found I give this:

 

A gift horse they can look right in the mouth.

328897.jpg

 

Geocaching is a volunteer sport. It takes up a hider's free, quality time to hide and maintain a cache for us to find in our free, quality time.

 

It's OUR RESPONSIBILITY to spend our own quality time wisely and to blame a hider for wasting the time that we freely spent is childish.

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Thanks everyone for your responses. Snoogans, you are right about the cache being the reason to bring someone there. I agree with that. But I have read so many times folks complaining about a cache being hidden in an area of little or no value, and I can see that side too. I guess I would just like to place a quality cache in a quality place, unlike some local cachers who stick them behind garbage dumpsters. :(

 

That's why I qualified my statement:

 

Decide on what kind of hider you want to be.

 

Mostly, hide caches to please yourself.... If YOU like them others are sure to enjoy them. :P

 

I can't imagine I would like a cache of my own around a dumpster, but if I chose to find a dumpster hide I'd still say TFTC. :P

 

But I have read so many times folks complaining about a cache being hidden in an area of little or no value, and I can see that side too.

 

unlike some local cachers who stick them behind garbage dumpsters. :(

 

To folks who feel entitled enough to complain about a cache they found I give this:

 

A gift horse they can look right in the mouth.

328897.jpg

 

Geocaching is a volunteer sport. It takes up a hider's free, quality time to hide and maintain a cache for us to find in our free, quality time.

 

It's OUR RESPONSIBILITY to spend our own quality time wisely and to blame a hider for wasting the time that we freely spent is childish.

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It's easy to hide micros, which might explain why there are so many of them. But some hiding spots, of various sizes, might include:

 

- Under a picnic table, a magnetized cache could hold onto the metal support bar.

- In a culvert (those cement tubes that a stream runs through), hidden in a crack between tubes.

- Underwater in a stream (of course requires a waterproof case and weight to hold it down).

- In a pile of brush or rocks (I see a few of these).

- In an out of the way place.

- In a hollow stump or log (one of mine is like this). One cache I found was in a hollow dead tree, 7 feet above the ground. You couldn't see it unless you were looking for it. We basically had to use a branch to knock it down, then toss it back up there.

- One cache I found was in a swampy area, off the path, hidden by weeds (in summer), and chained to a log.

- Another cache I found was in a wooden fence post hole. There was just enough room in there for a mint tin. It eventually got muggled.

- Roads and highways have these metal wavy beams held up by thick wooden posts. Between the wood post and metal beam there is enough room for a decon box.

- Other caches I found are hidden under the "portable" cement curbs in parking lots. Each curb has 2 areas under it big enough to hold a mint tin or something thin.

Edited by chuckr30
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My favorites are plain-sight hides. Some of the ones I like the best:

 

 

-- A 'this fence erected by' sign that flipped down to reveal the 'logbook'. The sign was from a fence company in Kingman, AZ. The fence was in Chicago. After looking for the cache for an hour, I stopped by the fence to think things over. I noticed the sign and wondered what an Arizona fence company was doing putting up fences in Chicago. It was a classic "Wait a minute!" moment.

 

 

-- A fake electrical plate high up on a children's play structure. It was out of reach of the kiddies, but within easy reach of an adult. You'd never notice it, unless you were looking very carefully.

 

 

-- A log on the backside of a 5" x 7" magnetic sheet on the back of a pay phone. Looked exactly like a patch job.

 

 

What they all had in common was that, if you looked carefully, the cache piece was ever-so-slightly out of place.

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A PQ of 31763, Leesburg GA EXCLUDING Unknown and Micro containers nets 500 caches within 79 miles, the nearest being 2.9 miles from your Post Office.

 

Is it really that hard to find a place to hide an ammo box? 500 caches won't get me 8 miles from my house, the same number spread over 79 miles leaves an awful lot of room for caches!

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A PQ of 31763, Leesburg GA EXCLUDING Unknown and Micro containers nets 500 caches within 79 miles, the nearest being 2.9 miles from your Post Office.

 

Is it really that hard to find a place to hide an ammo box? 500 caches won't get me 8 miles from my house, the same number spread over 79 miles leaves an awful lot of room for caches!

 

Yes, it is... anywhere 'legal' that's not on private property and not in a place that already has micros. That is my dilemma, all the micros in the parks/public areas around here.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice. :rolleyes:

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