Hiding my first cache?

[palmettoporsche]

I will be hiding my first cache sometime this spring. I live on a lake in the summer and plan to hide a cache on one of the islands. My questions are:

 

1. Do I need to tell people in the clues that they will need a boat?

2. What would I rate it?

3. One of the islands I am considering has an old 1700's graveyard on it. It's a neat place to visit, but have some reservations about putting a cache there.

 

Thanks

[+briansnat]

There is an attribute for boat required. You would use that. A boat is also considered special equipment so you would rate it 5 stars for terrain. The difficulty rating would depend on how hard it is to find when you get there.

 

As far as hiding a cache in or near a cemetery, here is an excellent thread to read that has a variety of opinions on the subject. Many geocachers love them, as they are fascinating places, full of history and perfect for geocaching, while others think that they are inappropriate. This thread has some good arguments on both sides. I really like Flask's two posts in that thread. (link and link) Those say it all for me.

Edited January 26, 2009 by briansnat

[+Trucker Lee]

It would probably be a good idea to give warning if a boat is needed, some may not have one handy and not swim well. The exception would be if the water was only a couple feet deep and not far to the island. Of course, the need for a boat would raise the difficulty level to a point many may not try.

 

Why not a multi? Perhaps, stage one takes a person to a locker where the digits of the coords serve to open a lock (and a game camera discretely take cacher's photo). After removing two life jackets, one could see the coords to stage two, where a canoe is hidden and obtained with a key attached to one of the jackets. Now, the cacher can get to the hide, and you know who was seeking. To keep the difficulty level high, don't provide any paddles. LOL

 

 

edit spelling

Edited January 26, 2009 by Trucker Lee

[+StarBrand]

Special equipment like a boat should almost always be mentioned in the description. Then give it a 5 for terrain rating.

 

Only exception would be if it were intended to be a very difficult puzzle cache and the boat thing was revealed as part of the puzzle.

[CLV3]

I will be hiding my first cache sometime this spring. I live on a lake in the summer and plan to hide a cache on one of the islands. My questions are:

 

1. Do I need to tell people in the clues that they will need a boat?

2. What would I rate it?

3. One of the islands I am considering has an old 1700's graveyard on it. It's a neat place to visit, but have some reservations about putting a cache there.

 

Thanks

 

Is there a public ferry that people can take to get there?

[+Pat in Louisiana]

It would be nice to mention that it is a "Hydro" cache but not absolutely necessary.

Anyone who looks at the cache page should see it is out in a lake.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Guess it depends if you want people to curse you out or not.

There is an attribute for 'boat needed", and usually that gets a 5 Terrain Rating. For most, it is also mentioned on the cache page. Sometimes, you can walk over the ice, if you are brave, but...

Went looking for a cache Saturday, listed as being a very pretty location. "Four flights up" according to the hint. Cache owner hunted caches for a few months last summer. Found five or six, and hid this one. Hasn't been heard from since. What he neglected to mention is that the rooftop garden is not open on weekends during the winter. Not necessary to mention that, but it would have been nice. And we did curse him out!!! From the logs, it will probably not last until spring. The Altoids container is rusting, and the log is wet. Plastic bags in Altoid containers is usually necessary. Oh, well.

[polskikrol]

Excellent choice for a first cache hide. My first cache hide was an urban usual hide a key in a parking lot which required solving a puzzle. I look back on those type of hides and wish I had started carrying caches with me earlier on my hikes of nearby state parks and forests. I like those type of caches better - those requiring a nice hike through a forest. However, I like water accessible caches as well. Please let me know when you hide this one as I have two kayaks

[+Pat in Louisiana]

polskikrol,

Can I watch you paddle both of your kayaks?

I might be able to sell tickets :-)

[CLV3]

I will be hiding my first cache sometime this spring. I live on a lake in the summer and plan to hide a cache on one of the islands. My questions are:

 

1. Do I need to tell people in the clues that they will need a boat?

2. What would I rate it?

3. One of the islands I am considering has an old 1700's graveyard on it. It's a neat place to visit, but have some reservations about putting a cache there.

 

Thanks

 

I have 2 island caches that I had placed. I did not give it a high difficulty rating due to the fact that there is a public ferry but I did include a link to the website of the ferries so people can view the schedules at their own convenience.

[+J-Way]

I will be hiding my first cache sometime this spring. I live on a lake in the summer and plan to hide a cache on one of the islands. My questions are:

1. Do I need to tell people in the clues that they will need a boat?

2. What would I rate it?

3. One of the islands I am considering has an old 1700's graveyard on it. It's a neat place to visit, but have some reservations about putting a cache there.

If it's a traditional cache then the fact that the icon is out in the middle of the lake plus a 5-star terrain should get the point across. Using the "Boat Required" attribute would also help.

 

But question 1) implies that this is a puzzle where the cache is not at the listed coordinates. So yeah, I'd recommend mentioning a boat in the clues/description.

[+PeachyPA]

And make sure you have the island owner's permission to place the cache there.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

polskikrol,

Can I watch you paddle both of your kayaks?

I might be able to sell tickets :-)

 

I have actually done this. I have taken some training classes a couple of times which involved a few balance exercises that were partially for fun but also forced you to try things that required a lot of balance. The paddling two kayaks required to kayakers, one sat just behind the cockpit with one foot each cockpit to hold the boats together while the other paddled both kayaks...while standing with one foot in each boat. I've paddled facing sideways, facing backwards, and even upside down for a short distance.

[+Pat in Louisiana]

NYPaddleCacher

What type of training was it? Sound interesting.

[+Cedar Grove Seekers]

Personally I wouldn't mind if you didn't mention that a boat was needed. If I didn't figure it out on my own beforehand, then I'd either find a way to get to it, or come back another day. Sometimes a twist is fun, and too much information can detract from the challenge.

[+PeachyPA]

I had a cache where, if you looked at the old TopoZone map, it appeared that you needed a boat to collect it as it was "in the middle of the reservoir". But, in reality, the dam for the reservoir was compromised decades ago, and the cache was hidden in a tree that grew on the side of the creek that once fed the lake. So, from the map, it looked like a difficulty 5, but the cache was rated 1.5. Some folks were still hesitant to go for it as it looked like one needed "special equipment".

[CLV3]

And make sure you have the island owner's permission to place the cache there.

 

If its a private Island. Most Islands here in Maine are public property with a couple of exceptions.