Question about Micros

[+Fruitbasket1]

Hello, As you see I have not been caching for a long time, but I have put one cache out and I am thinking about a second.

 

Only Problem would be that I would mostly put out Micros (I don't have a car.. and I live in a Suburb.. Other wise I would be setting out ammo cans) and The only problem with me putting out Micros is I know some people hate finding them.

 

So basically in a nutshell, What could I do too spice up my Micros? And examples out there?

[+simpjkee]

You can hide bigger caches, you just have to use some creativity and find better spots (within your neighborhood).

 

If you insist on hiding a micro, I'd find a tall tree, climb up in it, and place the cache up there. That will spice it up.

[+Chokecherry]

I don't mind the occasional micro (and even nano) if it brings me someplace worth being and is interesting. I don't need another fake pine cone in my life, or tube hanging in a the far reaches of a pine tree and I really don't need another magnet stuck to a train.

 

But really if it's some place interesting with something to look at it, something to learn or something to experience and it's creatively placed I'm cool with them.

[+9Key]

Be creative! Come up with an odd container (plastic rabbit, fake bird, etc), or paint a traditional container a non-traditional color (purple, pink, orange, etc), or make the log book unusual (gold paper maybe), or all of these things together! Try and knock your fellow cachers' socks off instead of tossing out another humdrum 35mm film can LPC.

[+wimseyguy]

Just hide them in someplace interesting and not in a parking lot.

Find some odd local history that even locals may not know about.

Be creative with your camo and containers.

 

Micros are fine, all sized caches have their place in the game.

What many people do not like, at least according the the noise in here, are mindless, poorly thought out micro hides that exist merely so one can grind up their find count. But many other people, most of whom are not as vocal in here, do like finding those kinds of caches.

[+Fruitbasket1]

You can hide bigger caches, you just have to use some creativity and find better spots (within your neighborhood).

 

If you insist on hiding a micro, I'd find a tall tree, climb up in it, and place the cache up there. That will spice it up.

 

Talking about climbing, what about on the top of a baseball diamond? Or some structure? Or should I stick with trees...

 

Otherwise I have thought about doing a theme or such, to spice it up in a different way.

[+Coldgears]

I really don't need another magnet stuck to a train.

 

 

Not many trains here, I'd love that!

 

What I would do to spice up micro's is to make them creative. Anyone can buy a crappy little micro for .30$ online. Making a micro yourself is a different story. The best kind of micro's are ones that everyone who doesn't geocache notices, but only geocaches realize that it is a geocache. For example I noticed a geocache in my area that is attached to a stop sign, it is actually a red reflector, someone driving by the stop sign would assume it was meant to be there. Someone who was looking for the geocache would realize what it was.

 

If you must use a .30$ one then you should find a spot that very few people have used before, meaning don't put it in a lamp post. You could also make it a puzzle! That way half the fun has to do with solving the puzzle and not finding it. A really creative one I've seen in my area is 15 micro's hidden within 35 miles of each other. Each one has a little piece of a coordinate, when you find them all you can go to one of the biggest ammo boxes ever seen. To make it better, the people who hid the micro's were the best micro hiders in the respective areas! Sadly, two of them are archived, meaning that it's impossible for me ever to see the huge ammo box. You could do something like that, except have them all be your hides. Leading to one of your most creative micro's, or assuming there is at least ONE spot to put an ammo box, an ammo box.

[+simpjkee]

You can hide bigger caches, you just have to use some creativity and find better spots (within your neighborhood).

 

If you insist on hiding a micro, I'd find a tall tree, climb up in it, and place the cache up there. That will spice it up.

 

Talking about climbing, what about on the top of a baseball diamond? Or some structure? Or should I stick with trees...

 

Otherwise I have thought about doing a theme or such, to spice it up in a different way.

 

By baseball structure, I assume you mean the chain link backstop. I wouldn't do it there. That would most likely cause a lot of damage. They aren't made for Tens or hundreds of 200 pound dudes to climb up them.

[+Coldgears]

You can hide bigger caches, you just have to use some creativity and find better spots (within your neighborhood).

 

If you insist on hiding a micro, I'd find a tall tree, climb up in it, and place the cache up there. That will spice it up.

 

Talking about climbing, what about on the top of a baseball diamond? Or some structure? Or should I stick with trees...

 

Otherwise I have thought about doing a theme or such, to spice it up in a different way.

 

By baseball structure, I assume you mean the chain link backstop. I wouldn't do it there. That would most likely cause a lot of damage. They aren't made for Tens or hundreds of 200 pound dudes to climb up them.

 

Not all at the same time at least.

[+goodwrench00]

My theory is that if someone hates micros, don't look for them. Where I am it's micros or nothing.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

You can hide bigger caches, you just have to use some creativity and find better spots (within your neighborhood).

 

If you insist on hiding a micro, I'd find a tall tree, climb up in it, and place the cache up there. That will spice it up.

 

Talking about climbing, what about on the top of a baseball diamond? Or some structure? Or should I stick with trees...

 

Otherwise I have thought about doing a theme or such, to spice it up in a different way.

 

By baseball structure, I assume you mean the chain link backstop. I wouldn't do it there. That would most likely cause a lot of damage. They aren't made for Tens or hundreds of 200 pound dudes to climb up them.

 

I have one that I adopted that is at the top of a football stadium. No climbing (except stairs) involved. The view from the top is really nice and nobody has complained that it's a micro.

[knowschad]

You've received some excellent advice here that I really can't add to, aside from suggesting that you listen to it. When people say that they don't like micros, more often than not, what they are really saying is that they don't like caches placed in meaningless/thoughtless places and/or meaningless/thoughtless ways. Think for yourself, give them something that they haven't seen before, or someplace that they didn't know what there (no, I don't mean the back side of that dumpster! ) and they will love it!

[+ngrrfan]

When people say that they don't like micros, more often than not, what they are really saying is that they don't like caches placed in meaningless/thoughtless places and/or meaningless/thoughtless ways. Think for yourself, give them something that they haven't seen before, or someplace that they didn't know what there (no, I don't mean the back side of that dumpster! ) and they will love it!

Exactly!! I just finished a couple of micro/nano/pico caches and the average time to find for one of them is in excess of 24 hours. What makes them so interesting is that they are in plain view but very well camoed. The CO of these caches is now on my watch list simply because I know that when he puts one out, it is going to be a challenge and that makes it fun.

[+sbell111]

Hello, As you see I have not been caching for a long time, but I have put one cache out and I am thinking about a second.

 

Only Problem would be that I would mostly put out Micros (I don't have a car.. and I live in a Suburb.. Other wise I would be setting out ammo cans) and The only problem with me putting out Micros is I know some people hate finding them.

 

So basically in a nutshell, What could I do too spice up my Micros? And examples out there?

In my opinion, you are over thinking it.

 

Hide a cache that you would like to find. If you do that, plenty of other people will like it, also.

[+briansnat]

Hello, As you see I have not been caching for a long time, but I have put one cache out and I am thinking about a second.

 

Only Problem would be that I would mostly put out Micros (I don't have a car.. and I live in a Suburb.. Other wise I would be setting out ammo cans) and The only problem with me putting out Micros is I know some people hate finding them.

 

So basically in a nutshell, What could I do too spice up my Micros? And examples out there?

 

When you scratch below the surface you'll find that most people who complain about micros don't really dislike micros per se. What they are really complaining about are caches in mundane or unappealing places. It so happens that most of them tend to be micros.

 

So don't worry about the size of the caches you are placing, think about the location. Ask yourself why you are bringing people to that spot. If it's just for the cache, then consider another location. Make it a place that people would enjoy visiting even if the cache wasn't there. Do that and your cache is nearly guaranteed to be well received.

[+Jake340]

As you can see I have not hidden any caches yet but when I do most of them will be micros with a few regular sizes (for some of the same reasons you listed above). When I am going to hide mine, I plan to blend them into the environment. I want the seeker to get to the listed coords and have not a clue where the cache might be. NO I DO NOT want them to be clueless becasue it is a small bison tube in a patch of 50 pine trees but rather becasue of the LACK of hiding places around. I am hiding my caches in a wide open area where someone wouldn't think a cache could exist. Try something like that. Its a lot of fun to think outside the box.

[+nekom]

For my money if you put a cache in a place I would enjoy seeing, I really don't care what size the container is.

[+mountainman38]

Hello, As you see I have not been caching for a long time, but I have put one cache out and I am thinking about a second.

 

Only Problem would be that I would mostly put out Micros (I don't have a car.. and I live in a Suburb.. Other wise I would be setting out ammo cans) and The only problem with me putting out Micros is I know some people hate finding them.

 

So basically in a nutshell, What could I do too spice up my Micros? And examples out there?

I wouldn't worry too much about hiding a micro. If you come up with a creative place to put one, people will appreciate the effort you put into it, and have fun finding it. If you're able to do things like wrap a 35mm film canister in some camo tape, or a bison tube painted a color to blend in, it will make the hide more fun. If you can find clever containers that fit an environment particularly well, it's even more fun.

 

Micros are great for urban environments, as they can be placed in lots of places where the large ammo cans filled with McJunk won't fit.

[+bittsen]

I think the reason people complain about micros is the way they are hidden.

I'm uninspired by LPCs but log them. I don't hate them at all.

What I don't like are micros hidden in foliage that is just a PIA to search through. Ivy is dense and you have to look under every leaf, not fun. Juniper, pine, dough fir, holly, Oregon Grape, etc... I will sometimes just pass them up.

[+Colonial Cats]

Lot's of good advice in this thread. We have two nano caches that, at first glance, seem to be LPCs. They are not. People seem to like them. A little bit of creativity and mis-direction goes a long way.

[+mountainman38]

Lot's of good advice in this thread. We have two nano caches that, at first glance, seem to be LPCs. They are not. People seem to like them. A little bit of creativity and mis-direction goes a long way.

If people around here would start doing something creative like that again, I might start looking at lamp posts with somewhat less loathing.

 

Hmmm....that gives me an idea....

[+J the Goat]

I think the reason people complain about micros is the way they are hidden.

I'm uninspired by LPCs but log them. I don't hate them at all.

What I don't like are micros hidden in foliage that is just a PIA to search through. Ivy is dense and you have to look under every leaf, not fun. Juniper, pine, dough fir, holly, Oregon Grape, etc... I will sometimes just pass them up.

 

I've just started bypassing hides like this if I'm not in the mood. Some of my favorite hides have been micros, and there's one in particular here that keeps beating me. I keep going back though, I'm bent on getting it by myself. Make one like that and you'll have succeeded.