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Cache Maintenance?


somegeek

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How much work is it to maintain a cache? I live near some wooded areas with lots of trails. Would be cool to put a cache in up there but curious how much work they are to maintain?

 

Just purchased a GPS so looking forward to caching and like the idea of contributing to the collective. :anicute:

 

Thanks,

somegeek

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How much work is it to maintain a cache? I live near some wooded areas with lots of trails. Would be cool to put a cache in up there but curious how much work they are to maintain?

 

Just purchased a GPS so looking forward to caching and like the idea of contributing to the collective. :anicute:

 

Thanks,

somegeek

Welcome to the addiction but don't worry about placing one yet...find about 100 first then decide.

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How much work is it to maintain a cache? I live near some wooded areas with lots of trails. Would be cool to put a cache in up there but curious how much work they are to maintain?

 

Just purchased a GPS so looking forward to caching and like the idea of contributing to the collective. :anicute:

 

Thanks,

somegeek

Welcome to the addiction but don't worry about placing one yet...find about 100 first then decide.

 

 

All depends upon how often they are found (or not) and how well you construct and hide them. Leaving an ammo can in the middle of the sidewalk will undoubtably require constant maint, but a blinky in your local state park may require none, ever (because nobody can find it, even though you know it's still where you left it, inside that huge log overhanging the waterfall.) You're mileage will be somewhere in between.

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From one point of view cache is only as hard to maintain as you make it difficult to reach. From another it is easier to maintain if it is hard to get to. In the first case you can get to it easy anytime it needs attention if you didn't make it hard to get to. In the second it is less likely to need work at all.

 

Not that it is a big deal but you may want to find some before you start putting stuff in the wild. Get a feel for what you like and what you think you can handle. No matter when you hide your first cache take the time to study the guidelines so that you fully understand them. Most of the problems first time hiders encounter are a result of not fully understanding the guidelines. Ask questions. Some of them can be confusing if you don't understand why the guideline exists. Like the 150 foot exclusion area on either side of railroad tracks. That isn't for safety, but rather a trespassing issue. That is why sometimes there are exceptions to the rule. Like a park that is closer to the tracks may have an acceptable place for a hide. Just one example.

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My first hide required a lot of maintenance, and I learned a lot about what makes a hide robust by trying to maintain that one. My two current hides require hardly any maintenance, although I do visit them every now and then (every few months or so, when it's convenient).

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How much work is it to maintain a cache? I live near some wooded areas with lots of trails. Would be cool to put a cache in up there but curious how much work they are to maintain?

 

Just purchased a GPS so looking forward to caching and like the idea of contributing to the collective. :anicute:

 

Thanks,

somegeek

 

I agree with the "wait for awhile" advice. Wait to see if you still feel the same about geocaching 3 months from now after a few cache finds. Give yourself some time to see if you are really ready to invest in this activity as a cache hider (both your time and money).

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Depends on a lot of things. Use a quality container and hide it well and maintenance can be minimal. Use a lousy container and you can be out there every few weeks.

 

I have some caches that I haven't visited in a year or two , but they seem to be OK according to the logs.

 

It's more important to get out there reasonably quickly to address problems than it is to have some sort of

regular maintenance schedule.

 

I disagree with the people who tell you to wait. If you have a good idea, go for it.

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If you think cache maintenance is going to be an issue for you, do not hide one.

 

The last thing we need is more geotrash.

Uh... thanks for the kind words? :anicute:

 

There's an area I make it out to now about every two months or so to hike or bike. Maintaining a cache would give me one more reason to get out there. ;)

 

Thanks for the replies. Food for thought on this. :(

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Though I enjoy that people want to hide a cache, please take a few minutes to consider all possibilities of your hide.

 

My first hide was a miserable failure, for placement reasons.

 

You have to take many things into consideration such as:

muggle potential

permission issues

container type that will withstand a full year of elemental exposure

swag (if applicable)

 

Those are just the beginnings.

Some containers to avoid if you are worried about maintenance on the container are anything that is not an ammo can. Of course ammo cans have the greater chance of getting stolen.

 

I have put out containers that, hopefully, will withstand the elements. If they don't then I will replace them. So far, my caches are holding up well and my only ammo can will likely never be stolen unless someone really wants to carry out 90 pounds of concrete in a can. Things like that will help keep you from having to do much maintenance.

 

Enjoy the sport but please don't become a source of geo-angst with crappy containers and/or poor maintenance.

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My first needed constant maintenance.

People where stepping on the containers busting them.

Then a freeze destroyed a LnL.

In six months I replaced the container 4 times and couldn't find a container that would let me keep the hid as is without getting destroyed.

 

My second hide so far in 14 months, has only needed to be moved back into position a couple times. It is still the same hid at its core but 2 feet reduces the terrain rating.

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