dont You hate Lamp post hides

[Clan Riffster]

They also make good finals for puzzle caches. If the puzzle is difficult, the find should be relatively easy, I think. LPCs fit the bill.

 

I'm speechless. I can't tell if your are joking or not.

I'm really hoping s/he's joking. After I crunch my way through a nice puzzle, it would be disheartening to find a film can.

Talk about a damper: Fun, fun, fun, fun.... bleh.

[GOF and Bacall]

Probably a good place to ask some things I have often wondered. The answers are not going to change my life in any way but you know how it is when you get curious about something really unimportant and google won't come to the rescue

 

1. What are the 'skirts' for? Are they to cover the bolts to stop folk tripping over them?

 

2. Are the skirts as heavy as they look in photos I have seen? They look like cast iron.

 

3. If they are as heavy as they look, is it common to trap a finger or two as you drop them back in place? Or do they have handles of some kind?

 

4. Once you have lifted them and can see the cache, do they stay up on their own or do you have to hold them up with one hand and grab the cache with the other?

 

5. Do all lamp posts in the USA have this skirt design, or only ones in parking lots, or only specific states?

 

Thanks to anyone who can cure my curiosity

 

This is the most common style of lamp post skirt. It is sheet metal and covers the bolts. I think it is mostly about the aesthetics as they don't really protect much. Either that or they are designed to give wasps someplace to nest.

[Clan Riffster]

Probably a good place to ask some things I have often wondered. The answers are not going to change my life in any way but you know how it is when you get curious about something really unimportant and google won't come to the rescue

 

1. What are the 'skirts' for? Are they to cover the bolts to stop folk tripping over them?

My guess is strictly aesthetics, though they may offer some degree of weather protection for the bolts.

 

2. Are the skirts as heavy as they look in photos I have seen? They look like cast iron.

The ones I've found were all light grade sheet metal or plastic. Less than a kilo.

 

3. If they are as heavy as they look, is it common to trap a finger or two as you drop them back in place? Or do they have handles of some kind?

See # 2.

 

4. Once you have lifted them and can see the cache, do they stay up on their own or do you have to hold them up with one hand and grab the cache with the other?

Generally, you gotta hold them up.

 

5. Do all lamp posts in the USA have this skirt design, or only ones in parking lots, or only specific states?

Geographically speaking, most lamp posts have kilts on them. I can't speak for other regions.

 

Thanks to anyone who can cure my curiosity

No worries!

[+briansnat]

Probably a good place to ask some things I have often wondered. The answers are not going to change my life in any way but you know how it is when you get curious about something really unimportant and google won't come to the rescue

 

1. What are the 'skirts' for? Are they to cover the bolts to stop folk tripping over them?

 

2. Are the skirts as heavy as they look in photos I have seen? They look like cast iron.

 

3. If they are as heavy as they look, is it common to trap a finger or two as you drop them back in place? Or do they have handles of some kind?

 

4. Once you have lifted them and can see the cache, do they stay up on their own or do you have to hold them up with one hand and grab the cache with the other?

 

5. Do all lamp posts in the USA have this skirt design, or only ones in parking lots, or only specific states?

 

Thanks to anyone who can cure my curiosity

 

1 They cover the bolts to pretty things up. Folks are unlikely to trip over them because they are usually mounted on a concrete base that is about 3 ft high

 

2. They are flimsy metal and very light

 

3. See 3

 

4. Sometimes friction allows them to stay up. Sometimes you have to hold them up. Depends on how tightly they fit the pole

 

5. I rarely see these kinds of lamp posts outside parking lots and I rarely see any other style in a parking lot.

Edited December 1, 2010 by briansnat

[Clan Riffster]

Don't hate. (Repeating others here...)

• Nice to get after a string of DNF's
  
• Something to grab in bad weather
  
• Something to grab at night
  
• Something to do while waiting for the wife to finish shopping
  
• They are great for those JUST starting out
  
• They are something you can do when you only have a few extra minutes
  
• I can always choose to not do them
  

If I run this list through my own highly biased filter, it changes quite a bit.

• Nice to get after a string of DNF's Nope
  
• Something to grab in bad weather Nope
  
• Something to grab at night Nope
  
• Something to do while waiting for the wife to finish shopping Nope
  
• They are great for those JUST starting out Nope
  
• They are something you can do when you only have a few extra minutes Nope
  

These get tossed aside, as finding caches that are lame, to me, doesn't become more enjoyable after I've failed to locate several caches of the type I do enjoy. A lame cache in the rain is still a lame cache, as is one after sunset. If my wife doesn't bring me into the store with her, I can find many things to do that interest me more than lifting kilts in search of film cans. I remember my first LPC. It was fairly early in my career, and I had unwittingly developed a rather niave belief, based on what I had found up to that point, that all caches led to kewl spots with interesting hides. (Yes, it was entitlement) Finding such a crappy hide, that was listed on this website, was a big let down for me. If I had found that these were a significant part of the game when I was just starting out, I probably would have looked for a different hobby. As to needing something to do to fill a few extra minutes, I believe my time on this little blue marble is finite, and I would hate to think I would spend those precious minutes searching for something I don't like, in a place I don't want to be.

 

I think my Pro LPC list would look like this:

• If you are with friends and/or loved ones, you can have fun hunting for even the crappiest hides
  
• I can always choose to not do them
  

[+FireRef]

I like them as part of the mix. Some days I only have time for quick finds.

 

My sentiments exactly - if you don't like them, don't hunt them. I don't expect people to get rid of the 5/5 hides near me because I don't plan to hunt them or don't want to go get scuba or climbing gear. Don't begrudge people who want to hunt simple ones that ability.

 

PS - I'll hunt anything that looks interesting to me, including LPC's.

Edited December 1, 2010 by FireRef

[+Lovejoy and Tinker]

Thanks guys for answering my LPC questions. I can now join in the fun by accurately imagining in my mind what it must be like to arrive in a parking lot, locate the right lamp post then lift a bit of metal to find the cache.

 

<imagine, imagine, imagine>

 

Nope, think I'd get bored with those pretty quickly.

[+Ecylram]

Probably a good place to ask some things I have often wondered. The answers are not going to change my life in any way but you know how it is when you get curious about something really unimportant and google won't come to the rescue

 

1. What are the 'skirts' for? Are they to cover the bolts to stop folk tripping over them?

 

2. Are the skirts as heavy as they look in photos I have seen? They look like cast iron.

 

3. If they are as heavy as they look, is it common to trap a finger or two as you drop them back in place? Or do they have handles of some kind?

 

4. Once you have lifted them and can see the cache, do they stay up on their own or do you have to hold them up with one hand and grab the cache with the other?

 

5. Do all lamp posts in the USA have this skirt design, or only ones in parking lots, or only specific states?

 

Thanks to anyone who can cure my curiosity

I can't believe the three most annoying 'features' of LPC's weren't described yet:

 

1. The metal skirts grate against the pole making a loud unnatural noise that draws attention.

 

2. Some CO's feel they are making the game more interesting by placing the cache in muggle-rich locations such as drive-thru's, parking lot entrances, store entrances. (see #1).

 

3. Many CO's will use a non-weatherproof container or one that doesn't easily fit under the skirt.

[+Lovejoy and Tinker]

1. The metal skirts grate against the pole making a loud unnatural noise that draws attention.

Like chalk on a blackboard? Arghh

2. Some CO's feel they are making the game more interesting by placing the cache in muggle-rich locations such as drive-thru's, parking lot entrances, store entrances. (see #1).

I guess if you had a hard hat, a high vis jacket and a clipboard you could make as much noise as you wanted and lift as many as you wanted. Bet no one would take a blind bit of notice.

 

But then, erm, why would you?

[+Ecylram]

Like chalk on a blackboard? Arghh

Yep, just like that.

 

I guess if you had a hard hat, a high vis jacket and a clipboard you could make as much noise as you wanted and lift as many as you wanted. Bet no one would take a blind bit of notice.

Sounds like some people will do that. IMO that would just draw more attention.

 

My technique is to park in front of the pole (if possible) in such a way to block the view from the most muggles. Then I wait in the car until the coast is clear. When clear, I retrieve the cache as casually as possible, sign and return quickly. Then move on.

 

The caches are generally as lame as you hear but a few cachers do have some fun with it. We have one cacher here who uses very unique rubber ducks for the container. (They glue a tube into the duck.) Each one is different and the title of the cache fits with the theme. Others try to find a way to be original as well in the choice of container.

 

In general I don't go out of my way to get a LPC but I check for caches when I park someplace new and if one is nearby I'll grab it. Still haven't found that ammo can under a skirt.

[+Scubasonic]

Do you hate how easy lamp post hides are?

 

No I Don't........... some are easy some are hard just take it in stride.

 

Scubasonic

[+geodarts]

Love or hate are too strong emotions for something that is so nondescript. I have to say that the first one that I did took me totally by surprise -- those things actually lift up? -- and I thought the hider was a genius. But now I see them more as trend. The type of cache where the description states that there was a lack of caches in that particular area so that omission resolved with a lamp post hide. If it had not been a lamp post it would have been a container thrown into a bush in the same parking lot.

 

The trend has less to do with the fact that lamp post skirts can make an easy hiding spot than with people assuming that just because you can be in a parking lot on private property for a particular purpose, you can leave a container wherever you feel like without asking permission. If Groundspeak took the permission requirement more seriously (similar to how earthcaches are handled) then I suspect that lamp posts would be much more of a rarity.

[Mr.Yuck]

They also make good finals for puzzle caches. If the puzzle is difficult, the find should be relatively easy, I think. LPCs fit the bill.

 

I'm speechless. I can't tell if your are joking or not.

I'm really hoping s/he's joking. After I crunch my way through a nice puzzle, it would be disheartening to find a film can.

Talk about a damper: Fun, fun, fun, fun.... bleh.

 

I'm sure Kimgh is not kidding. I'd have to find the thread, or you guys can just trust me. It wasn't more than 2 months ago. The subject of the final caches for puzzles being LPC's in store parking lots came up. And there were several people who came out of the closet publicly and said they do this with their own puzzles. And several more who have seen this practice, and agree with it. Most advocates were citing a "why take up a good cache spot with a puzzle container" explanation.

 

Personally, this has been done in my area several times. And if I see the puzzle ends in a micro, and I suspect it's going to be at Wally World, Target, or some other Soccer Mom infested blacktop paradise, I will actually send the local puzzle expert a "store parking lot or not?" email, and ignore it if it is in one.

[+FunnyNose]

Lamp posts can KILL

[+sbell111]

3. Many CO's will use a non-weatherproof container or one that doesn't easily fit under the skirt.

I've yet to find a wet log under a lamp skirt. I'm thinking that the skirt itself gives even the crappiest container acceptable protection from the weather.

Lamp posts can KILL

Must be a pretty tall dog to pee on one of the lamp posts that are being discussed in this thread, since they typically sit a few feet off the ground on a concrete pier.

[+narcissa]

 

1. The metal skirts grate against the pole making a loud unnatural noise that draws attention.

 

2. Some CO's feel they are making the game more interesting by placing the cache in muggle-rich locations such as drive-thru's, parking lot entrances, store entrances. (see #1).

 

3. Many CO's will use a non-weatherproof container or one that doesn't easily fit under the skirt.

 

1. That's the *best* thing about LPCs! SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH. 10 point for every muggle who looks over.

 

2. Definitely ARGH.

 

3. Even more ARGH. The translucent film canisters with the lids that pop in - GRRR.

[Clan Riffster]

I've yet to find a wet log under a lamp skirt.

Weird. I've yet to find a dry one.

 

Even more ARGH. The translucent film canisters with the lids that pop in - GRRR.

I would love to see a regional comparison on this.

Here in the sunshine humidity state, the translucent ones seem to stay a lot drier than the black & grey ones.

[+briansnat]

Thanks guys for answering my LPC questions. I can now join in the fun by accurately imagining in my mind what it must be like to arrive in a parking lot, locate the right lamp post then lift a bit of metal to find the cache.

 

<imagine, imagine, imagine>

 

Nope, think I'd get bored with those pretty quickly.

 

And try repeating it 20 times in a day.

[+narcissa]

 

I would love to see a regional comparison on this.

Here in the sunshine humidity state, the translucent ones seem to stay a lot drier than the black & grey ones.

 

That's interesting! We have extremely humid summers and very cold winters. I think it's the winter that does them in. Taoiseach's theory is that the temperature changes make the lid pop out as the plastic contracts and expands (feel free to disregard this theory if you believe that plastic is inert and unchanging, kthnx).

[+lil_cav_wings]

In debate about clear vs black film cans (can't believe Clan Riffster would even allow this discussion to occur), clear plastic produces more humidity inside a trapped container in the sunshine if there is already water inside the container.

 

Take the theory of a greenhouse, if there is already moisture inside (like a slightly dampish log left that way by a finder during a drizzly day of caching), the sun will warm and maintain the condensation inside.

 

This is the same theory that makes a solar water still for survival training work.

 

As far as clear vs black film cans under lamp posts? If the log is completely dry and the inside of the can stays moisture-free, and the can itself remains in a cool dark environment, both cans should stay dry. I'm more apt to favor the clear cans because the top is a little more robust, when it's put back on properly...

 

... which never happens.

Edited December 1, 2010 by lil_cav_wings

[+sbell111]

Even more ARGH. The translucent film canisters with the lids that pop in - GRRR.

I would love to see a regional comparison on this.

Here in the sunshine humidity state, the translucent ones seem to stay a lot drier than the black & grey ones.

Exactly. The ones where the lid pops into the can are the GOOD film cans.

 

Of course, any film can hidden beneath a lamp post skirt is going to keep the log dry.

[+sbell111]

I've yet to find a wet log under a lamp skirt.

Weird. I've yet to find a dry one.

You must have never searched for a LPC, then. Otherwise, you are almost certainly being disingenuous when you state that you have NEVER seen a dry log in a cache hidden beneath a lamp post skirt.

[+sbell111]

In debate about clear vs black film cans (can't believe Clan Riffster would even allow this discussion to occur), clear plastic produces more humidity inside a trapped container in the sunshine if there is already water inside the container.

Humidity isn't produced by the color of the plastic. It's produced by water which gets into the can either via a faulty seal or rain during signing the log.

Take the theory of a greenhouse, if there is already moisture inside (like a slightly dampish log left that way by a finder during a drizzly day of caching), the sun will warm and maintain the condensation inside.

Greenhouses are clear to allow more sun in, the clearness of the plastic or glass does not effect the amount of moisture inside a greenhouse. That is introduced by the farmer.

This is the same theory that makes a solar water still for survival training work.

Solar water stills will work regardless of whether the plastic used is clear or black. Edited December 1, 2010 by sbell111

[+hairball45]

No

[+lil_cav_wings]

In debate about clear vs black film cans (can't believe Clan Riffster would even allow this discussion to occur), clear plastic produces more humidity inside a trapped container in the sunshine if there is already water inside the container.

Humidity isn't produced by the color of the plastic. It's produced by water which gets into the can either via a faulty seal or rain during signing the log.

 

Yeah, that's what I said. "If there is already water inside the container"

 

Clear plastic does make a difference. Black will attract more heat but that also means that condensation won't form properly on the back edge of a solar still's plastic until it gets dark.

Edited December 1, 2010 by lil_cav_wings

[Clan Riffster]

You must have never searched for a LPC, then.

Like Brian, if my GPSr points at a parking lot, I'll generally move on. Those are not the kind of places I like to play in. However, there are exceptions. My wife is one of those kooky tolerant people who enjoy any and all caches. Since I enjoy her company, I will follow her anywhere, in search of the most mundane hide, and still have a good time. Likewise, when I'm out with a group of friends, the company is what makes the journey worthwhile, and even the lamest, (to me), cache can be fun.

 

Hence, I've found my share of LPCs. Here in Florida, the kilt only offers a modest degree of protection, as the humidity creeps in to every nook and cranny. (which begs the question, if you seal up all but one of the nooks and crannys, is the remaining egress point a nook, or a cranny? ) I have not found a translucent film can under a kilt, but I've found several black and grey ones, a couple Altoids tins, several hide-a-keys, and one of those woefully misnamed waterproof beach tubes, tucked under kilts. Granted, none of them were new hides, as I'm not much into the FTF thing, but without exception, every one showed some signs of moisture intrusion.

[+Ecylram]

I would love to see a regional comparison on this.

Here in the sunshine humidity state, the translucent ones seem to stay a lot drier than the black & grey ones.

I live in a dry area and we get moist wet logs in film canisters under a skirt. Just now, on my lunch hour, I grabbed an LPC on my way back to the office. The log was in a solid baggie that was in a sealed film canister that was under a skirt - it was moist and a previous logger stated it was wet, but dried it some.

 

One thing I'll never figure out is a bison tube I found under a skirt that had actual water inside of it. The log was ruined. My only guess is that a sprinkler head must hit that spot *just so*.

 

As for black or clear...in our dry area I've seen no clear advantage of one over the other. The clear seems more sturdy but the lip on the black container (when upright) seems to keep the contents drier. However, when the container is on it's side or upside down it'll have more water issues. Clear containers that sit in the sun cause the paper to 'age' and yellow more than if the log was in a black container.

 

IMO, in our area the biggest cause of water in film canisters is due to the canister being overstuffed. Ironically, the major cause of this is baggies that are too big for the container. The baggies get caught in the lid when it closes and prevent a tight seal. I've also seen swag attempts & too-large logs (often a replacement by a helpful cacher) stuffed into the canister that also makes it hard to close the lid.

 

Then there was film canister I saw the other day, not in a LPC but out in the open, that had camo tape wrapped around the lid of the clear canister so that it was tucked into the canister. It did NOT have a good seal as a result. This was done by an experienced cacher.

[+Viajero Perdido]

1. What are the 'skirts' for? Are they to cover the bolts to stop folk tripping over them?

I think their purpose is, bolts are unsightly. Nobody wants to look at them.

 

Everything else in society has already been taken care of. It's just the finishing touches now.

[+northernpenguin]

Nobody is mentioning my favourite aspect of LPC caches.

 

I'll only hunt them in winter.

 

Why?

 

Ever lifted a lamp skirt to find a bunch of ticked off yellow jackets (wasps, bees, etc), curious to know why the roof just left the hive?

 

Believe me. Anyone who thinks Penguins don't fly hasn't been around me when I've lifted one of those.

Won't go near a LPC in the warmer months. No way, no how.

[+hzoi]

...I've also found a few of these

 

If they all looked like those, I would change my mind about them. Those are awesome.

[+MontyFam]

northernpenguin I am just north of you and have found 10 or 15 LPCs but have not had a run in with the jacket wearing yellow beasts yet - knock on wood I guess! I'll be down your way next lacrosse season (June/July) So I'll take this as a warning to either wear protection or avoid these caches in those months - thanks!

 

While on the LPC topic I have been considering the LPC roulette game - there are a few lots around town with multiple LPs and I want to do a fun little mystery (to those who are not anti-LPC) cache. If you haven't read it before it's where you drop the co-ords in the middle of the lot and tell people to pick a pole LOL and when they find it they can leave it in any of the applicable poles. I was also thinking I could put dummy film cans in 3 or 4 poles and the real one (done up with little army dudes protecting it) in another pole... kicking around the idea and as always it will be a cache that is not for everyone - just like pretty much EVERY cache out there and I hope the people that do go after it enjoy it! If they don't go after it, no worries - have a nice day!

[+Lovejoy and Tinker]

1. What are the 'skirts' for? Are they to cover the bolts to stop folk tripping over them?

I think their purpose is, bolts are unsightly. Nobody wants to look at them.

 

Everything else in society has already been taken care of. It's just the finishing touches now.

Thank you, that made me laugh a lot

Very droll.

[+Harry Dolphin]

A ) I did DNF a lamp post cache once!

B ) I hide one under a lamp post that had no skirt. I thought it was quite humorous and satirical. You could see it from the car! Absolutely no one got the humor. After four years, they finally put skirts on the lamp posts. So, I archived the cache. Oh,well.

[+rawkhopper]

Not sure why people hate them so. Have you ever been tricked into getting one when you didn't want to? Were you ever fooled thinking it was a nice ammo can in the woods? If you don't like them don't get them.

 

The only thing I have in mind with them is that they should yield to more elaborate caches if they are in the same area. Meaning if asked to archive it so another bigger more thought out cache could go in then they should yield.

 

I however haven't seen a place to put a nice cache that was taken by an LPC so maybe it happens more than I think.

 

I would be more inclined to think guardrail caches take spots that could be otherwise given to a larger more planned cache.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I however haven't seen a place to put a nice cache that was taken by an LPC so maybe it happens more than I think.

 

I would be more inclined to think guardrail caches take spots that could be otherwise given to a larger more planned cache.

 

Okay. It's not a LPC. But it could have been. It's an MKH in a supermarket carriage return structure.

I'd always wondered how the canal got up that hill without a lock. It didn't. The canal made a loop to the south, around the hill. I wanted to hide a cache at the 50-mile spot on the canal, and call it Sal. "I had a mule, and her name was Sal. Fifty miles on the Erie (Morrris) Canal." But, well. It's not a pretty area. Parts of the canal towpath are still there, but it has garbage blowing in from the supermarket, and homeless people live there. And it's not pretty. I thought it historically interesting! But my QC Department would not give approval. "We have our standards!" The MKH in the cart return area is 387' away. So, I've given up all plans for that one. Oh, well.

Rare, perhaps. But it can happen.

[+MontyFam]

MKH=?

[+rawkhopper]

MKH=?

Magnetic Key Holder

[+MontyFam]

Thanks

[+Tatooed Lady]

Do you hate how easy lamp post hides are?

No...I don't. I enjoy easy finds especially when I'm having a hard time finding other "easy" finds.

They are what they are...finds with a 1/1 rating, and I think those are a necessary cache type to have especially for those who are physically unable to hike and find others. Maybe we need more of them?

[+rawkhopper]

One time I went out of town and forgot my GPSr. I was so bummed when I realized it. Anyway I have the geocaching app on my iPod so I went back to the hotel and downloaded some maps of the area surrounding some easy caches. I found like eight caches without my GPS by simply using google maps. That was actually a lot of fun. Only 2 of them were skirt lifters but most of them were something similar.Hardest one was a nano stuck to a metal bench. Lots of area to cover on a fully metal bench.

 

Anyway I would not have been able to have that fun if it weren't for the plethora of LPC's.

 

Now if I had my GPSr I would have been out in the woods on a short little hike like I did the week before.

[Luckless]

Don't really like lampost hides. I will look for them just to add another smiley.

Reaching around under the skirt seemed like a bad idea because of the electrical wires,

but someone in these forums told me that the skirt was just a cover up for the bolts for

aesthetic reasons- no wires. The last one I went looking for I lifted up the skirt and looked underneath-

wires everywhere! I put the skirt back down and left with no intention of reaching under there.

Don't really like lampost hides.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Luckless

[+rawkhopper]

I have not seen any with wires but then again I have only seen a handful of skirt lifters.

 

Although it would be funny to have a speaker under the skirt that made a loud zap sound anytime someone lifted the skirt

[+ssphoto]

Here in Chicago area, there are lots of LPCs; mostly lame, on private property and devoid of any special thought other than the CO wanted to place one. What's so special about a string of Targets, Home Depots, etc? Nope, these almost immediately get 'ignored' by me so I don't have to look at them or take up space on my weekly query. Originally, it was sort of cool, but now, like a previous poster here pointed out, they breed like rabbits and now, it's not special anymore. No, I head for the forest preserves, trails, to really enjoy caching in my own way.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Probably a good place to ask some things I have often wondered. The answers are not going to change my life in any way but you know how it is when you get curious about something really unimportant and google won't come to the rescue

 

1. What are the 'skirts' for? Are they to cover the bolts to stop folk tripping over them?

 

2. Are the skirts as heavy as they look in photos I have seen? They look like cast iron.

 

3. If they are as heavy as they look, is it common to trap a finger or two as you drop them back in place? Or do they have handles of some kind?

 

4. Once you have lifted them and can see the cache, do they stay up on their own or do you have to hold them up with one hand and grab the cache with the other?

 

5. Do all lamp posts in the USA have this skirt design, or only ones in parking lots, or only specific states?

 

Thanks to anyone who can cure my curiosity

They vary, but most are an approximately 24" square block of cement set into the pavement. There is a steel conduit for the wiring to come up from underground through the block. Four threaded rods stick out the top of the block. The metal light post has a flat steel base with holes for the rods and electrical conduit, and nuts above and below the plate hold the post in place. The plate is suspended on the rods about 2" above the block. The electrical conduit extends up through the pole to an inset junction box about 3' up the pole. The electrical wiring so many folks talk about being dangerous is actually inside the conduit... they just haven't paid attention to the fact that you can't touch the wiring! There is no electrical shock hazard.

 

The poles are usually about 6" square. A metal (aluminum or tin) 12" x 6" square box-like cover with a 6" square hole for the post sits on the cement pad and slides up the post to allow access to the plate nuts. The cover weighs less than one pound.

 

Most LPCs are film cans or metallic key-holders set on top of the plate.

 

You do have to slide the cover up and hold it with one hand while reaching for the cache. The covers are light-weight so the chance of dropping it on your fingers is slim but possible.

 

This type of lamp post is very common and found in all sorts of settings; parking lots, roadside lights, park paths, etc.

Edited December 2, 2010 by TheAlabamaRambler

[+Chief301]

Well, I haven't found one yet. Since I'm just starting out I didn't know about them at first, so I had a couple of DNF's (Really? Those things lift up? ) When I started reading up about LPC's, I realized why I had missed a couple. So the next time I passed by Walmart I eagerly darted behind the store to the site of my earlier DNF (with wife and daughter in tow), jumped out of the truck and confidently lifted the skirt to find...NOTHING!

 

OK, now I'm puzzled. They say these LPC's are so common, and the GPSr put me right on top of it, this has to be it! (there was even a small plastic toy left sitting on top of the concrete base that wasn't here last time I visited). Someone must have muggled it! We shuffled around awhile, feeling a little dejected, and were about to drive off when I thought about the 6 foot chain link fence about 10 feet behind the light pole. Sure enough, cache was under one of the fencepost caps! A good learning experience for this newbie, don't fall for the obvious!

 

So no, I'm actually looking forward to finding a few LPC's

[+DragonsWest]

What I truly dislike is caches hidden under the covers which make a horrible racket when lifted. No point advising stealth when you're pulling into a Rest Stop and theres an LPC right in the middle of things and the skirt emits a 130 db scrape - "HI, I'M OVER HERE WITH A RED FACE, TRYING NOT TO BE NOTICED BY YOU, SO PLEASE LOOK AWAY! THANKS!"

 

Other thing I don't like is the number of spiders under a lot of these - very wary of Black Widows, which could very well be in there. Always carry a stick to knock the thing from its perch.

 

Sometimes traffic is so high in parking lots or along thoroughfares you're going to be seen, no matter what you try. Best have that helmet and orange vest, maybe a CHP or other officer won't pull up and ask you what you're doing.

 

I think people who hide LPC caches are just a teensy bit mean or thoughtless. C'mon, there's got to be a better hide around there, use your head!

[+EscapeFromFlatland]

You gotta mix it up for LPCs.

 

Wear a military uniform in the People's Republic of Portland and try to find an LPC in direct sight of the exit of a Home Depot at 7:00am on a Saturday morning or next to a busy road at 5:15pm on a weekday.

[Mr.Yuck]

You gotta mix it up for LPCs.

 

Wear a military uniform in the People's Republic of Portland and try to find an LPC in direct sight of the exit of a Home Depot at 7:00am on a Saturday morning or next to a busy road at 5:15pm on a weekday.

 

Nope. Doesn't work all the time. I was in full BDU's during my lunch hour on an Army Reserve weekend when I had my worst ever encounter with LEO's, and was detained and interogated by the entire first shift of the Clark, N.J. PD for 15 minutes while Geocaching. It wasn't an LPC, but it was a bad kid hide in the woods near a middle school.

[+DragonsWest]

You gotta mix it up for LPCs.

 

Wear a military uniform in the People's Republic of Portland and try to find an LPC in direct sight of the exit of a Home Depot at 7:00am on a Saturday morning or next to a busy road at 5:15pm on a weekday.

 

Nope. Doesn't work all the time. I was in full BDU's during my lunch hour on an Army Reserve weekend when I had my worst ever encounter with LEO's, and was detained and interogated by the entire first shift of the Clark, N.J. PD for 15 minutes while Geocaching. It wasn't an LPC, but it was a bad kid hide in the woods near a middle school.

 

This can be the same or similar issue, depending on what's been happening in the SF Bay Area - we get our share of whackos who dress in military garb and fancy themselves a survivalist, uber-patriot or anything else, just a bit too off camber. Cops would rather play 21 questions than be the ones who didn't stop the pipe-bomber or child abductor. Too many sad stories in the news, lately.

[+===sgb]

Don't you just hate how easy it is for a frog to eat ice cream?

 

Some people enjoy easy caches. And besides if you have never seen a lamp post hide before (and don't hang out in the forums too much) they can be pretty difficult. Most people don't realize these skirts lift up.

 

I enjoy easy caches.

 

What skirts? Is this a USA thing? I'll check, but I don't think UK lamp posts have these skirts. They all have a little part-cylindrical door to access the electrics.