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The Fickle Geocaching Gods


Ecylram

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We all know how fickle the geocaching gods can be. A cache with great camo gets placed with in a secluded spot and the cache comes up missing. Other caches that appear to be muggle-bait never seem to disappear.

 

Shortly after we started caching, we found a cache in a tree that was hidden in such a way that I actually wrote in the log that the cache was very safe from muggles...I was the last one to log the cache before it disappeared and was archived. There's another cache that's an uncamouflaged bucket under a tree in a small, urban open space. It's resides only a few feet from a path. It has sat there unmolested for over two years. Even the CO has commented on his surprise that the cache has lasted as long as it has.

 

Have you come across any caches whose survivability seems to defy all logic? Is it the fickle hand of the geocaching gods or do you have another theory why some 'obvious' caches seem impervious to muggles?

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I once saw a camo taped plastic baggie for a cache. I was like 4th to find. I commented in the online log that I didn't think it would last long as it was tucked into a hole in a log right next to the trailhead.

 

About 4 years later I was nearby for another cache and walked back to it. Looked a bit sunfaded but the logsheet with my sig showed no signs of water damage and it was rather obvious in the much rotted remains of the log - but the hole itself was still intact and a bit downward facing to keep it somewhat dry.

 

Amazing - very busy trail.

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We all know how fickle the geocaching gods can be. A cache with great camo gets placed with in a secluded spot and the cache comes up missing. Other caches that appear to be muggle-bait never seem to disappear.

 

Shortly after we started caching, we found a cache in a tree that was hidden in such a way that I actually wrote in the log that the cache was very safe from muggles...I was the last one to log the cache before it disappeared and was archived. There's another cache that's an uncamouflaged bucket under a tree in a small, urban open space. It's resides only a few feet from a path. It has sat there unmolested for over two years. Even the CO has commented on his surprise that the cache has lasted as long as it has.

 

Have you come across any caches whose survivability seems to defy all logic? Is it the fickle hand of the geocaching gods or do you have another theory why some 'obvious' caches seem impervious to muggles?

 

We found one similar to yours, a three gallon bucket in a very small semi urban park. There is really no goo place to hide it, it just sits in a small brushy area in plain view (when it hasn't been left in the middle of the hiking path). It has been there for going on two years and it's been close to a year since the CO has logged in to the site. I can see why it hasn't been stolen, there's really no attraction to the container, what I don't get is why it hasn't been thrown in the trash because that's sure what it looks like. Maybe the muggles are afraid to touch it?

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There's a really huge Rubbermaid tub in a large park in Tacoma.

When I found it I was surprised it was still there. It just sits in among some bushes, but not really hidden.

Tons of people use this park every weekend. It's a really busy park with races (foot and bike), a lake, a dog run, lots of open space for kites, and lots of trails for hiking or wandering through. Thousands take advantage of this nice popular park every weekend. And there this large Rubbermaid tub sits right off a trail, just in and around some bushes, not hidden really at all.

It's been there since 2008. Only 1 DNF out of 287 finds, so I don't think it's ever been muggled.

Still there today. Amazing.

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I once found a small tupperware in the crotch of an oak, in a community park, across a walking trail from the kiddy playground stuff. I emailed a geo-buddy, "do it quick, it won't last". 4 years later, she removed it when she left the area...:laughing:

There's a 5 gallon bucket on a walking trail in Wickham park FL. This is the oldest cache in the county. Hidden? not... it was lost to fire once, but has never been muggled.

 

Conversely, a ammo can lowered into the hollow of a tree, well out into the swamp, a tough bushwhack from any direction, disa-freaking-peared. Amazing. Even when you were there, seeing the thing was tough.

 

Ammo cans get taken when found by adults, they're inherently valuable. Used plastic containers, dirty from being out, no.

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Yep, I 've seen this, too. One cache hidden in a popular city park, barely out of sight and in an area where lots of kids play. It's an ammo can that you know has to have been found by some of the muggle kids before, yet it remains in place. I don't think it's ever been replaced.

On another trip last year with a group of caching friends, we made a very exhausting journey following a stream through the forest where several caches are placed off-trail. One of them was a good 2 miles off the trail, in an area that we had quite a bit of difficulty bushwhacking into. It was a very swampy spot with soft and muddy ground a good 200-300 feet in every direction from the cache. Right in the middle of absolutely nowhere. The cache was gone. Someone had been stringing fishing line between some of the trees where we found the cache.

That's not the only time I have seen this, either. I have a preference for hunting caches like this and occasionally will find one missing. I'm talking about caches that might get 4 or 5 finds a year and they get muggled anyway.

People can be quite curious and I'm starting to believe there may not be too many places on this earth where at least one human foot has not tread.

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A nearby city park playground has a small, simple cannon (barrel, axle, wheels) in the middle of an oversized sand lot. This playground can be very busy through most of the year. The cache is a hide-a-key placed within easy reach of the numerous mugglets that tend to swarm over the cannon. It is actually hidden in a way that it shouldn't last more than 5 minutes! It has survived 41 finds with only one muggling since May, 2010...go figure.

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I'm still amazed that the Tunnel of Light A.P.E. cache hasn't vanished, given its size and its proximity to a popular trail.

I think that's exactly why it has lasted. No one wants to carry that monster out of there. :lol:

 

though unfortunately folks, potentially cachers, have stolen the lid...perhaps due to the new coins that were on there.

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do you have another theory why some 'obvious' caches seem impervious to muggles?

It's got to be more than just detectability and ease of access. Maybe it takes a particular mindset to steal a cache container. So it's just a matter of whether or not said persons discover the location.

 

I placed a container in the middle of a popular picnic area in a park. Left it there for 5 months before activating it, expecting it could never last even the first weekend. Masses of kids are all over that spot. I truly cannot figure out how it has remained unmuggled. I designed it to maybe be too "uninteresting" to mess with, but that's just a small part of the equation.

Edited by kunarion
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I have a small plastic trash can that I attached a hinged piece of plywood to the top.I tuned it upside down and painted it light green all over. Then used a lable maker to add "Donot touch ....Fiberoptic Cable" on the sides. It is placed in full view next to a bus stop in town.....Been sitting there for 5 years, with lots of finds, go figure

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I'm still amazed that the Tunnel of Light A.P.E. cache hasn't vanished, given its size and its proximity to a popular trail.

 

The Maryland A.P.E. cache amazed me when I found it. That huge ammo can sitting under a pile of brush near a popular trail. The brush pile practically screamed "come check me out and see what I'm hiding". It was there for years though. Alas it was eventually stolen. I think it's sheer size contributed to its longevity. Who wants to haul that monstrosity out of the woods?

 

I've seen quite a few that survived a long time despite my feeling that they wouldn't last. I remember finding an ammo box on its side in a shallow hole right next to a walkway in a popular park. It had a few sticks on it but you could still see it was an ammo box. Next time I went by the ammo box was laying there completely exposed with people riding bikes, walking and pushing strollers in plain sight of it. The owner was MIA so the cache was archived and and a local cacher grabbed the ammo box before it really did go away, or worse yet, result in the bomb squad getting called out (it still had the military markings). I was amazed it survived several years covered by a few twigs within 10 feet of the trail and in full view of probably thousands over the years.

 

Then there is one I own. Placed back in 2002 it's an ammo box suspended from a tree branch by bungee cords. It's about chest high, so we're not talking concealed high in the tree, its just hanging there and clearly visible from 200 feet away. Granted it's in mosquito infested swamp where no normal person would venture without a good reason, but ATVers and hunters are back there regularly and had to have seen it.In fact one finder mentioned ATV tracks in the mud going right past it. Another mentioned footprints in the snow walking up to it, but no signature in the logbook. The area also floods for weeks at a time and I'm sure paddlers come through.

But it has lasted all these years to my surprise. I'm thinking of archiving it before its luck wears out but the idea of going back into that swamp isn't very appealing.

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i am hidding a cache in my front yard how long do you think it will last

I'm still amazed that the Tunnel of Light A.P.E. cache hasn't vanished, given its size and its proximity to a popular trail.

 

The Maryland A.P.E. cache amazed me when I found it. That huge ammo can sitting under a pile of brush near a popular trail. The brush pile practically screamed "come check me out and see what I'm hiding". It was there for years though. Alas it was eventually stolen. I think it's sheer size contributed to its longevity. Who wants to haul that monstrosity out of the woods?

 

I've seen quite a few that survived a long time despite my feeling that they wouldn't last. I remember finding an ammo box on its side in a shallow hole right next to a walkway in a popular park. It had a few sticks on it but you could still see it was an ammo box. Next time I went by the ammo box was laying there completely exposed with people riding bikes, walking and pushing strollers in plain sight of it. The owner was MIA so the cache was archived and and a local cacher grabbed the ammo box before it really did go away, or worse yet, result in the bomb squad getting called out (it still had the military markings). I was amazed it survived several years covered by a few twigs within 10 feet of the trail and in full view of probably thousands over the years.

 

Then there is one I own. Placed back in 2002 it's an ammo box suspended from a tree branch by bungee cords. It's about chest high, so we're not talking concealed high in the tree, its just hanging there and clearly visible from 200 feet away. Granted it's in mosquito infested swamp where no normal person would venture without a good reason, but ATVers and hunters are back there regularly and had to have seen it.In fact one finder mentioned ATV tracks in the mud going right past it. Another mentioned footprints in the snow walking up to it, but no signature in the logbook. The area also floods for weeks at a time and I'm sure paddlers come through.

But it has lasted all these years to my surprise. I'm thinking of archiving it before its luck wears out but the idea of going back into that swamp isn't very appealing.

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I think it is all about perception. I think some caches just scream to muggles "hey come check me out!" and others just sit there like a bump on a log and scores of muggles could go walking right past it without ever batting an eye. I think that experienced cachers get an eye for how their cache presents itself to the public and how the public would react to it if seen.

 

I have a pretty good track record with my caches. Very few times have I had a cache that dissappeared or was "muggled" as we say. Theres little doubt in my mind that my psychology degree and other training in sociology and human behavior have played a big part in how I place caches and why they don't get muggled.

 

I guess I could just chalk it up to geo-god, but I'm not the religious type.

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