Why sometimes... The container just doesn't matter.

[+Snoogans]

I just came across this at Latitude 47:

 

 

Many cachers have a pet peeve about certain containers or types of hides...

 

I've learned to accept what I can't change. I've found many what some would call "crappy" containers in wonderful locations. I've found guard rail caches with wonderful views etc.

 

Please post your examples of caches and hides that many would ignore or complain about due to personal preferance on container type, size, or type of hide, but none the less turn out to be great for those who don't turn their nose up.

[+Andromeda321]

Lovely pic!

 

There's a film can canister cache in the courtyard of the Louvre in Paris. I also recall quite a few similar micros (film cans, pill bottles, etc) in the Versailles gardens that I was certainly happy to find!

[+GeoBroke]

This is the view from a guardrail cache.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Good good arguments against virtuals. Keep them coming!

[Pup Patrol]

Not as spectacular as the previous examples, but a very pretty location, which we wouldn't have known about if it weren't for the hide-a-key in the guardrail:

 

[+MoonCatKDT & Peanut]

guard rail cache with an excellent view of Paris, ON

[+wimseyguy]

Just two words: View Carre.

Click the gallery link yourselves.

And the container is waaay cool, but not what is scoring all of those fave votes.

[GOF and Bacall]

This one is just your everyday crappy LPC but it has always been one of my favorites. A piece of history in a crappy section of town.

 

GCPEP7 Edward M. Cotter Memorial Micro

[+roziecakes]

These two images are views from a guardrail cache. The cache itself had bad coords and the cache owner is notorious in our area owning hundreds of unmaintained caches, but this still remains one of my favorite stops. So beautiful! We ourselves own a few rather 'boring' micros because they're stops on a really nice historical walking tour of our town, and that was really the only places caches would fit.

 

[+narcissa]

Good good arguments against virtuals. Keep them coming!

 

A nice view wouldn't have passed muster as a virtual geocache under the old guidelines.

 

They're good arguments for cache placements, of any type, that bring people to a nice spot.

[+M 5]

While I'll agree, that all are nice views/spots, why not make it an even better experience with a nice container or unique hide. I would be willing to bet, that I could hide a cache with the same view and make it a better experience with a little creativity.

[GOF and Bacall]

While I'll agree, that all are nice views/spots, why not make it an even better experience with a nice container or unique hide. I would be willing to bet, that I could hide a cache with the same view and make it a better experience with a little creativity.

 

Certainly. But I don't think that is really the point of this thread.

[+M 5]

While I'll agree, that all are nice views/spots, why not make it an even better experience with a nice container or unique hide. I would be willing to bet, that I could hide a cache with the same view and make it a better experience with a little creativity.

 

Certainly. But I don't think that is really the point of this thread.

 

It still matters, just not AS MUCH in a nice location.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Not as spectacular as the previous examples, but a very pretty location, which we wouldn't have known about if it weren't for the hide-a-key in the guardrail:

 

 

There is a very similar view (which is actually better facing upstream) on a kide-a-key cache about 10 miles from me. Although, the size of the container hardly matters because of the view, I found it about a week after it was placed and the log was already pretty wet.

 

If you go to the wikipedia page on geocaching there is an example of a micro. That particular cache is located just outside the Colosseum in Rome. There are not too many place to hide a cache in the area and something more creative would likely be harder to find. Given the amount of muggles in the area, an easy find that can be retrieved with a quick grab helps it survive.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Okay. I have a bridge fetish...

 

 

The Bayonne Bridge. Cache is a medicine bottle.

 

 

The George. Cache is a micro. (Got lots more bridge views!)

 

I also have a crane fetish...

 

 

PNCT from Bayonne. Cache is a bison tube.

[+JL_HSTRE]

There is a great banyan tree tunnel in Stuart (where I live) and another in Hobe Sound (same county). Both have hideakey guardrail caches. I'd probably think more highly of both caches if I hadn't known about both banyan tunnels since before geocaching existed; both are very well known in the area and the geocache would only really draw someone if they were visiting.

 

Another cache I found recently is a guardrail film can placed across a small street from a botanical garden. The cache is clearly there to make people aware the botanical garden exists. However, the guardrail is there because of a large canal. The canal itself is worth seeing because the canal banks are made of large quantities of small stones placed in tiers and held in place by chicken wire - something I had never seen anything like before.

 

I don't think the locations I mention are an argument against Virtuals because IMO while all three are worth seeing none of them are special enough (dare I saw "Wow Factor"?) to be a Virtual cache. If "scenic view" was an acceptable Virtual category, I think they all really stretch the limit.

 

If anything they demonstrate very good use of a guardrail cache because the guardrail is a convenient hiding place for something worth seeing, therefore meeting one of my personal qualifications for a "good geocache" (creative hide/container and/or location worth visiting). If more guardrail caches were at locations like this rather than behind a random grocery store or used for a power trail they would be more loved.

[+geodarts]

I just looked at my favorites and realized that I did not have any listed that involved a cleverly done camo (or even a needle in the haystack) that entailed a long search. There are some unique hides, although generally they are at least the size of an ammo can and made me laugh. But take an ordinary container, stick it behind a rock, and put it on top of this peak and it becomes a favorite:

 

 

[+BuckeyeClan]

We found a cache in a 3-sided horse shelter built of stone. The cache was a dreaded black-and-gray film can, tucked into a niche in one wall about 2 feet off the ground. It wasn't visible to an adult standing, and even when you got low enough to see it, the gray lid blended well with the rock. I thought it was a good use of a "bad" container.

[Clan Riffster]

Not quite on topic...

The world is chock full of really kewl spots.

Some of these spots have caches near them.

A crappy container won't make a kewl spot unkewl.

But a good container can add to a positive experience.

 

Imagine a heaping bowl of your favorite ice cream.

Pretty yummy, right? You could eat it just like that and be happy.

Or, you could add your favorite toppings and make it even better.

 

Finding a kewl spot does not justify using an inferior container.

At least, not for my hides.

[+fantasticspeller]

These two images are views from a guardrail cache. The cache itself had bad coords and the cache owner is notorious in our area owning hundreds of unmaintained caches, but this still remains one of my favorite stops. So beautiful! We ourselves own a few rather 'boring' micros because they're stops on a really nice historical walking tour of our town, and that was really the only places caches would fit.

 

 

Is that in NC by any chance? I could swear that I have fished from that bridge once, and then never could find it again! Sure would be great to know there's a cache nearby.

[+Castle Mischief]

Not quite on topic...

The world is chock full of really kewl spots.

Some of these spots have caches near them.

A crappy container won't make a kewl spot unkewl.

But a good container can add to a positive experience.

 

Imagine a heaping bowl of your favorite ice cream.

Pretty yummy, right? You could eat it just like that and be happy.

Or, you could add your favorite toppings and make it even better.

 

Finding a kewl spot does not justify using an inferior container.

At least, not for my hides.

 

I'll take it another direction...

 

I don't mind finding a smaller cache at a really cool spot. I don't mind finding a micro at a really cool spot. If the cool spot was the reason I was going to be here any way then finding a cache of any size is just a small bonus (and often how I hunt anyway). If the cache is the only reason that I find a cool spot then that's the best kind of cache ever.

 

However, if your cache is a soggy dripping wad of paper in a leaky container full of gray water, then I'll still be exciting/pleased to find or be at the cool location, but the cache will have sucked regardless. I can separate the two events- the being at the cool place and the finding the cache. The one need not elevate the other or detract from the other.

[+Q10]

Film canister in the wall

 

[+JBnW]

I also have a crane fetish...

 

 

Oh, c'mon! That's a swan!

Edited January 20, 2011 by JBnW

[+The 4 Coles]

I have no pictures to add, but wanted to say thanks for the point. I never really considered the view when visiting or considering placing a cache. It gives much more food for thought to the whole process.

 

Again, much thanks.

Edited January 20, 2011 by The 4 Coles

[+Ike 13]

There's a difference in a well maintained micro (in a place that would only support a micro) in a nice to amazing spot, and a poorly maintained cache no matter the spot.

 

I enjoy any well thought out cache in a nice location. I do not enjoy poorly maintained caches regardless of location. I do not enjoy a cache (no matter how awesome) in a trashy location.

[+GeoGeeBee]

 

Is that in NC by any chance? I could swear that I have fished from that bridge once, and then never could find it again! Sure would be great to know there's a cache nearby.

 

You might find this cache to be of interest:

http://coord.info/GC1P44Y

[+Team GPSaxophone]

I also have a crane fetish...

 

 

Oh, c'mon! That's a swan!

Came here to say this.

[+briansnat]

If I recall correctly, this was a key holder in a guardrail of strip mall parking lot.

 

 

This one was in a container that makes Gladware seem like an ammo box. Neon green, chintzy plastic that had a horrible seal and was poorly hidden. Somehow it lasted a number of years at this popular overlook and stayed reasonably dry.

 

Edited January 20, 2011 by briansnat

[+Viajero Perdido]

One memorable cache took me to the top of a cliff overlooking a deserted beach.

 

The container was ridiculous.

 

Not that it mattered.

[GOF and Bacall]

Not quite on topic...

The world is chock full of really kewl spots.

Some of these spots have caches near them.

A crappy container won't make a kewl spot unkewl.

But a good container can add to a positive experience.

 

Imagine a heaping bowl of your favorite ice cream.

Pretty yummy, right? You could eat it just like that and be happy.

Or, you could add your favorite toppings and make it even better.

 

Finding a kewl spot does not justify using an inferior container.

At least, not for my hides.

 

Yup. They could all be better with better containers. But they are still cool cache sites.

[+StarBrand]

Take me somewhere [scenic, historic, little known, with a good story, somewhat forgotten, off the beaten path, special] then let me know just why you brought me there. Most of the time - any cache I find there is a bonus. However, I must admit that a dry logbook and a few trades just add to the bonus!

[+NCDaywalker]

These two images are views from a guardrail cache. The cache itself had bad coords and the cache owner is notorious in our area owning hundreds of unmaintained caches, but this still remains one of my favorite stops. So beautiful! We ourselves own a few rather 'boring' micros because they're stops on a really nice historical walking tour of our town, and that was really the only places caches would fit.

 

 

This looks a lot like Four Bridges in Montgomery County, NC, roughly located in a triangle formed by Mt Gilead, NC, Candor, NC and Ellerbe, NC. It probably isn't the same location but looks a lot like it.

Is that in NC by any chance? I could swear that I have fished from that bridge once, and then never could find it again! Sure would be great to know there's a cache nearby.

[+rickjill]

guard rail cache with an excellent view of Paris, ON

It is so beautiful that the present owner replaced a previous cache that was archived. I found this cache twice and was not concerned about the container. It is indeed a magnificent view. There is no other hiding spot as there is a dropoff here with a busy road behind the area.

[Clan Riffster]

I don't mind finding a smaller cache at a really cool spot.

Couldn't agree more. For my rather quirky preferences, size is not a measure of quality.

I was referring strictly to those way kewl spots, with really crappy containers, of any size.

A wet, moldy log, wadded up in a film can won't make a kewl spot crappy.

But the same size cache, using a quality container, could improve the overall experience.

[I!]

Please post your examples of caches and hides that many would ignore or complain about due to personal preferance on container type, size, or type of hide, but none the less turn out to be great for those who don't turn their nose up.

I find bad hides more depressing at great locations than at mediocre ones. What an opportunity missed to really make the cache a top experience! Nature's done the hard work for you; the least you could do is spend a little extra time and effort on the container.

 

The one with this view was, until recently, a bad hide owing to long-term lack of maintenance of a damaged container. It's fixed now and is (actually already was) one of my favourites:

[+J the Goat]

I'm not at my computer, so I don't have a picture to upload at the moment, but just North of Santa Cruz CA, I found a hide-a-key tucked under a bench that overlooked one of the most beautiful ocean views I've seen to date. I'll look for that picture soon....