Night cache - tips for a first timer

[+Carbon Hunter]

I am planning on placing a night cache in Arabia. There are none here - and I have never done one. But I've ordered some tacks.

 

Please give me some tips and tricks (Do's and Don't's) to make it more enjoyable for those hunting.

 

Thanks

[+Rockin Roddy]

Make the stages so that some need to be found by following the GPS and some by following the tacks, this will make it more of a caching experience and not just a spot the tack adventure! We used tacks to lead the finders to a set of coords which then led to more tack, then more coords...rinse and repeat as needed!

 

Make the hike safer by choosing trails which are somewhat clear of debris and hazards, these are harder to see these in the dark, you don't want people getting hurt, right??

 

We made our final a bit tricky, not just a simple to find box in the woods...creativity is a good thing!

[+usyoopers]

Make sure you go back and try it at night to be sure it works, you might find out that you need more tacks!

[+bflentje]

I know this is probably a stupid question, but what are you going to push the tacks into? How many trees are in Arabia? I suppose along the coast there may be more options, but inland?

[jholly]

I know this is probably a stupid question, but what are you going to push the tacks into? How many trees are in Arabia? I suppose along the coast there may be more options, but inland?

 

The picture on his profile page does show trees in the background. But most of the pictures I've seen of the area seem to be a bit top heavy on sand.

 

The few night caches I've done had varying amounts of separation between the tacks. As long as you can see the next stage from the present stage, or at least spot the next one shortly after leaving the present one it seems to work out fine. If your going to do a turn you need to space the tacks closer so folks can pick up the turn quickly, or indicate a turn with double tacks. One variation I saw and was a real nice touch going in they were white and going out they were red, i.e., tacks were on both sides of the tree.

 

Jim

Edited May 14, 2009 by jholly

[Clan Riffster]

Night caches are my absolute favorite hunts, hands down. I currently own three, which get rave reviews. A few things I incorporated into mine:

 

1 ) Do not make the start of your reflective trail visible from the parking area. Geocachers are not the only kooks who like to play after dark.

If a muggle sees the start of your reflector trail, chances are curiosity will get the best of him, and he'll follow it.

 

2 ) Do not place your cache at the end of your reflector trail. Remember the aforementioned muggles?

Even if your trail isn't visible from the parking area, eventually some schmoo is gonna stumble across it, and wanna know where it goes.

Instead, hide a match container with the coords to your final.

 

3 ) Use an ammo can. Because it's gonna be perceived as requiring more effort to find than a park & grab, your cache won't see nearly as many visitors.

A quality container, proven to stand the test of time, should be mandatory.`

 

4 ) Size matters. I did one night cache where the entire trail couldn't have been more than a hundred feet long. Yawn!

Try and make your trail at least a mile long. This will get folks deep enough into the woods to raise their adventurous spirits.

 

5 ) Unlike Roddy, I would argue against utilizing existing trails. All three of my night caches are pure bushwhacking, and folks love them.

Night caching is, for me, all about the journey. Any schmoo can walk down a sterile trail at night. Yawn!

One thing I refuse to consider is deliberately making one of my hides less adventuresome, simply because of concerns that someone "might" get hurt.

I believe that most folks are able to judge for themselves if they are able to hunt for a particular cache.

They don't need me placing bubble wrap around every root, stump and rock, so they don't scrape their knees.

 

Good luck!

 

-Sean

[+Carbon Hunter]

Thanks guys.

 

Trees - yep - although not many in the desert - I'm thinking of a cache on the fringe of an urban area where there are plenty of palm tree.

 

The profile pic is actiually standing on the equator with a cache in Uganda - too far away! Night caching there would be dangerous (crocodiles, snakes and other creepy crawlies)

[+CapeDoc]

Hi CH

I just published SA's first night cache (ie a cache you HAVE to do at night) also using tacks.

SA is challenging from the safety perspective, so I did and urban night cache (The forestry dept denied a permit for night caches and Cape Forests close at 18h00). As much as I wanted to get cachers to walk through a forest at night, I couldn't find a spot that was suitable and safe.

To find my cache you can stay in the car and collect clues by shining your torch out the window. The tacks are in groups and represent the numbers of the cache coordinates. You could incorporate the idea by having some trees with more than 1 tack along the trail. Collect the numbers for the final as you go along.

 

Do tell cachers to hold the torch at eye level, do put the tacks on the side of the tree it can be seen on both in and out journeys, do hide the tacks well so that they can only be seen at night (otherwise people may attempt it during the day).

 

Don't put them too far apart.

[+bflentje]

5 ) Unlike Roddy, I would argue against utilizing existing trails. All three of my night caches are pure bushwhacking, and folks love them.

Night caching is, for me, all about the journey. Any schmoo can walk down a sterile trail at night. Yawn!

One thing I refuse to consider is deliberately making one of my hides less adventuresome, simply because of concerns that someone "might" get hurt.

I believe that most folks are able to judge for themselves if they are able to hunt for a particular cache.

They don't need me placing bubble wrap around every root, stump and rock, so they don't scrape their knees.

 

Good luck!

 

-Sean

 

Ok, I love this style and sounds like my kind of cache. But I hope I don't find you participating in any threads about hurting our beautful mother's fragile forest floor..

[+Carbon Hunter]

Good ideas CapeDoc

 

Thanks - trying hard to find a place where there is more than a single line of trees (no brainer) - or a place where it will not be out of the ordinary for cachers to wander around at night with torches.

[+Carbon Hunter]

Thanks for the help

[+headshot119]

Team Marziapn from North Wales Uk have a great night cache that we did at an event in a large group.

 

To find the cache you have to follow the tacks on each is a number for the coordinates. Once gathered you can find the cache.

 

To make it even more fun there are many forks in the path.

 

To make it even funner do a really crazy cache hide, like his first cache which is a cake box suspended about 15 Feet above your head, then you hunt down the fishing wire to release the cache.

 

I can think of plenty of ideas for caching hanging in trees including ones where four wires must be released to get to the cache, and decoys that simply send down a micro with a message saying wrong wire.

[+geodarts]

A friend taught me that night caches can be found in the day by paying close attention, but he says that brownish tacks make it difficult. At least with the trees we have out here.

 

I am considering doing one with the right color of tacks, but would stick to a trail in part to limit damage caused by people trampling into things they cannot see.

Edited June 2, 2009 by Erickson

[+Carbon Hunter]

Good ideas

Thanks

[+Rockin Roddy]

 

5 ) Unlike Roddy, I would argue against utilizing existing trails. All three of my night caches are pure bushwhacking, and folks love them.

Night caching is, for me, all about the journey. Any schmoo can walk down a sterile trail at night. Yawn!

One thing I refuse to consider is deliberately making one of my hides less adventuresome, simply because of concerns that someone "might" get hurt.

I believe that most folks are able to judge for themselves if they are able to hunt for a particular cache.

They don't need me placing bubble wrap around every root, stump and rock, so they don't scrape their knees.

 

Good luck!

 

-Sean

 

Can they now? When there are multiple trails with intersections that could take you in two "wrong" directions and the one right direction....did I mention the reflectors were spaced just right so you couldn't see the next from the last? 3 stages have coords to find (not even a reflector attached), all three lead you to an intersection where you must choose the direction to travel. Depending on the choice you make, the trip could be looong (it's already a couple miles lol). And then there's the fnal....LOLOL Oh, and just because I said use the trails, that doesn't mean I set it on a paved trail and never ventured off it! As for the taks, we used both tacks and bread-tie reflectors, you'd be surprised where some of those ties went (let's just say they aren't all neatly lined up nor at eye level)

 

Also, less adventuresome? I doubt anyone thinks I "dumbed down" my night cache, I did however make it less dangerous by marking any large holes where ankles or legs could be broken. Of course, if you have less than a good imagination and creativity, then bushwacking would likely make the hide more difficult! Me, I want my friends able to cache the next day and not worry someone is still trying to crawl that last mile out of the woods!

 

Here's someone who didn't feel I "dumbed it down":

 

May 28 by TeamRoneyofMi (407 found)

mad props rockin' roddy. you and kaboom should be proud ot this one. went out with geo joe (by the way it was after midnight joe thus the 28th is the proper date) with the intention of making this my 400th, an FTF popped up that i had to go after and made this one 401 but what a memorable 401 this will be. geo joe stopped over and we made it to the sight at 3:35 and set off for the hunt. damp weather made this one particularly good, because it set a fog throughout the journey ecspecially in the deep woods. the cache was set up perfectly and in some cases i wonder how? but it was just perfect. we made the find at 5:35 am. as we were coming out one of the things out there with us headed us off on the way to the car as a hungry opossum wished us well before we ventured off. great cache made better by the elimates and even better by the fact that i brought extra shoes and dry socks and geo joe didn't thanks for a great cache.

[view this log]

 

This one even made a video after his experience:

 

November 1, 2008 by Geoaddict (742 found)

This was my first night cache and I must say that this is definitely going on my list of favorites. It was a real group effort as we worked through the stages of the cache. Looking back at all the glow necklaces, headlamps, and flashlights reminded me of a movie that I saw nearly 30 years ago. I put together a video of this cache hunt. Go to (visit link)

[view this log]

Edited June 3, 2009 by Rockin Roddy

[Clan Riffster]

Can they now?

Yes.

<Deep breaths, Roddy... Deep breaths>

I currently own 3 night caches, each of which take you on a couple miles long bushwhack through nasty swamps.

To date, no one has died.

Not everyone is cut out for these.

After all, someone has to make the fries.

[+Rockin Roddy]

Can they now?

Yes.

<Deep breaths, Roddy... Deep breaths>

I currently own 3 night caches, each of which take you on a couple miles long bushwhack through nasty swamps.

To date, no one has died.

Not everyone is cut out for these.

After all, someone has to make the fries.

 

Oh, you work at McD's? I'll have a Big Mac and fries, please try not to put so much salt on them!

 

I wonder if the guy who lost his shoe in the marsh thought the trail was too easy??

[Clan Riffster]

I wonder if the guy who lost his shoe in the marsh thought the trail was too easy??

Kewl! I rate multiple question marks! (or should that be "marks!!?)

<Deep breaths, Roddy... Deep breaths>

I guess that would depend on what he was used to. If he was a typical P&G junkie, he might think, "Wow! That was hard!".

If he was someone who oft explored swampy places at night, I'd say he was used to it by now.

Kinda like when the point man in a group I was escorting stepped over a fallen palm tree, right onto a wild hog.

Some folks screamed like little girls. Most of us did not.

Experience is really the determining factor here.

If all I had to judge a marshy hike on was one guy losing one shoe, I'd call it pretty tame.

Post script: Just because they happen to rhyme, don't confuse tame with lame. I'm sure your shoe eating hike is, at the very least, an interesting one.

[+Rockin Roddy]

I wonder if the guy who lost his shoe in the marsh thought the trail was too easy??

Kewl! I rate multiple question marks! (or should that be "marks!!?)

<Deep breaths, Roddy... Deep breaths>

I guess that would depend on what he was used to. If he was a typical P&G junkie, he might think, "Wow! That was hard!".

If he was someone who oft explored swampy places at night, I'd say he was used to it by now.

Kinda like when the point man in a group I was escorting stepped over a fallen palm tree, right onto a wild hog.

Some folks screamed like little girls. Most of us did not.

Experience is really the determining factor here.

If all I had to judge a marshy hike on was one guy losing one shoe, I'd call it pretty tame.

Post script: Just because they happen to rhyme, don't confuse tame with lame. I'm sure your shoe eating hike is, at the very least, an interesting one.

 

Wild hog...that'd have been a HOOT! The most you could ask for here would be a coyote, but they're much smarter and timid than those hogs. Maybe a deer or two, we've had our run ins with them! likely though, just the oppossum or the lion as has been mentioned in the logs!!

 

Suffice to say, I didn't dumb down the experience, just worked with what I have!! I do wish we had some nice swamps we could use for this type of adventure, but...oh, wait, I use those hides for my adventure series!! Those can be done day OR night, depending on your adventure level!! I get what you're saying though!

 

btw...those who screamed like girls, if they were in fact girls (of age of course), I'd be the one comforting them as we moved on!

[Clan Riffster]

btw...those who screamed like girls, if they were in fact girls (of age of course), I'd be the one comforting them as we moved on!

To misquote Yoda: "very wise, you are."