Geo community response to group (community league or city) placing caches

[Marjie-UK]

The community league I am a board member of is thinking about setting out a few caches in the neighbourhood to get people out and active in the area parks/paths. I had a few question for those with experience of putting out caches:

 

• Do other cachers like the idea of community leagues/cities organizing caches?

• If you like the idea, what kind of caches would you like to see? A mixture of sizes? Mixture of difficulty?

• What do you think a good number of caches would be for a group to put out? I was thinking of 5 to start...too modest? Too ambitious?

• What kind of swag would be cool for an organization to put out? Do you think trackers with league logo would be nice or tacky?

 

I am brand new to this and really like the idea of getting area people hooked on this rather obsessive game. I also LOVE the idea that it gets the whole family out and doing something together which all levels can participate in.

[hoosier guy]

Several parks deparments and tourism boards around ghe country have done this. Place decent caches, take me to cool places and the effort will be a winner.

[+Max and 99]

I'd be wary of placing "a few caches in the neighborhood." Many of us do not like hunting for caches near someone's house, especially if that person is not on board with the hide! It can cause for some very unpleasant and scary circumstances.

 

Other than that, just place good, creative hides or bring cachers to a cool place.

 

Good luck!

[Marjie-UK]

I'd be wary of placing "a few caches in the neighborhood." Many of us do not like hunting for caches near someone's house, especially if that person is not on board with the hide! It can cause for some very unpleasant and scary circumstances.

 

Other than that, just place good, creative hides or bring cachers to a cool place.

 

Good luck!

 

That is good advice. I am doing some heavy reading on here and looking at site locations to get a sense of what is a good place and not a good place. Beyond what is accepted by rules and want input from the reviewer prior to placing the caches so that it flies in that sense also.

 

Our neighbourhood is really lucky in that we have a system of lovely paths that are quite spacious and far enough away from the houses that you'd need binoculars to really see what people are doing. One place that I was thinking of is fairly frequented but it would be a great place to place a nano making it an amusing challenge for GCs to find it and be discreet (it also has one of the best views in the area so it isn't just a place to go to a cache but a place to actually go to). Was thinking of using a hanging one in a wooded area - have decided that I want to camo that one with green and brown spray paint (hanging as in on a bungie-like cord so as not to damage a tree) and then maybe switch the box in the winter to winter camo it in grey, white and black. I think with the amount of work involved 5 is pretty ambitious - especially if we want the caches to be clever.

 

Looking for all the comments I can get as beyond reading the threads it gives me a real direct sense of what people in the community are up for.

[+Lady Loki]

We have a bunch of caches placed by our state wildlife association (I think? I know it's something state-related) that I'm planning a camping trip around. I love the idea.

[+6NoisyHikers]

One of our local towns has made geocaching a tourism draw. Check out their website and maybe even give them a call and ask how they are faring. When we went through town and picked up a few of their caches, the containers were easy to find and very well maintained.

 

Pemberton Valley

 

[+The Blorenges]

Hi

 

There's nothing wrong with your community group placing caches along the walks, but just a couple more things to consider:

 

I note that you've only found two caches so far. If there are a few active geocachers in your town there's a good chance they may have placed caches on some of the routes already so any new caches that you place will need to be at least 528ft from any established caches.

 

Think about the maintenance of the caches in advance, make sure that you'll be able to check on them easily if you get a few DNFs (Did Not Find logs), get a few helpers on board.

 

A mix of cache sizes/containers is nice. Please try and make at least one in each group large enough to take trackable items (travel bugs or geocoins). Such a container needs to be particularly well hidden, away from potential muggle eyes, to protect the little travellers.

 

Good luck with the project.

 

MrsB

[Marjie-UK]

One of our local towns has made geocaching a tourism draw. Check out their website and maybe even give them a call and ask how they are faring. When we went through town and picked up a few of their caches, the containers were easy to find and very well maintained.

 

Pemberton Valley

 

 

Must say I was intrigued by this post and had a look. Seven caches for such a big area makes me think 3 or 4 will be a better number for my area. This is all great advise.

[+6NoisyHikers]

One of our local towns has made geocaching a tourism draw. Check out their website and maybe even give them a call and ask how they are faring. When we went through town and picked up a few of their caches, the containers were easy to find and very well maintained.

 

Pemberton Valley

 

Must say I was intrigued by this post and had a look. Seven caches for such a big area makes me think 3 or 4 will be a better number for my area. This is all great advise.

 

It's about how many you can realistically maintain. If they are well thought out and not too far away then maintenance should be minimal, but someone needs to be designated to do it and handle cache "emergencies" right away. The rest of us amatures can get away with disabling a cache and getting around to it later. But if an organization is involved, the caches should really be "professional".

 

Again, I think it would be a good idea to contact other groups like Pemberton and ask how they manage it, what the tips and tricks and tribulations are, so you don't have to learn the hard way

[Marjie-UK]

One of our local towns has made geocaching a tourism draw. Check out their website and maybe even give them a call and ask how they are faring. When we went through town and picked up a few of their caches, the containers were easy to find and very well maintained.

 

Pemberton Valley

 

Must say I was intrigued by this post and had a look. Seven caches for such a big area makes me think 3 or 4 will be a better number for my area. This is all great advise.

 

It's about how many you can realistically maintain. If they are well thought out and not too far away then maintenance should be minimal, but someone needs to be designated to do it and handle cache "emergencies" right away. The rest of us amatures can get away with disabling a cache and getting around to it later. But if an organization is involved, the caches should really be "professional".

 

Again, I think it would be a good idea to contact other groups like Pemberton and ask how they manage it, what the tips and tricks and tribulations are, so you don't have to learn the hard way

 

Sound advise. Thanks.

[+Sol seaker]

I generally recommend finding more caches in order to learn about placing them, but this may not be feasible for an organization.

You might try running a pocket query and find the best rated caches in your area, see who is placing highly rated caches with a lot of favorite points, and asking them to consult with you on this.

You need a premium membership to run a query. Not sure if you've got one, but if not, they're cheap.

[+fuzziebear3]

• Do other cachers like the idea of community leagues/cities organizing caches?

Yes, absolutely. I like that the city knows and accepts what I am doing.

• If you like the idea, what kind of caches would you like to see? A mixture of sizes? Mixture of difficulty?

A mixture is nice. Mostly smalls and regulars. You might attract new players, out for an evening with the family, so make it successful for them.

• What do you think a good number of caches would be for a group to put out? I was thinking of 5 to start...too modest? Too ambitious?

Depends on the amount of space. Our city did one in every neighborhood park, for a total of 48.

• What kind of swag would be cool for an organization to put out? Do you think trackers with league logo would be nice or tacky?

I think city giveaways like magnets,pencils and stuff would be perfect. Trackables might be a bit much for new players.

[+NicknPapa]

The community league I am a board member of is thinking about setting out a few caches in the neighbourhood to get people out and active in the area parks/paths. I had a few question for those with experience of putting out caches:

 

• Do other cachers like the idea of community leagues/cities organizing caches?

• If you like the idea, what kind of caches would you like to see? A mixture of sizes? Mixture of difficulty?

• What do you think a good number of caches would be for a group to put out? I was thinking of 5 to start...too modest? Too ambitious?

• What kind of swag would be cool for an organization to put out? Do you think trackers with league logo would be nice or tacky?

 

I am brand new to this and really like the idea of getting area people hooked on this rather obsessive game. I also LOVE the idea that it gets the whole family out and doing something together which all levels can participate in.

 

There is quite a bit of good advice here already. I would add one fairly important thing though.

Since you are talking about your community league putting the caches out I would suggest making sure there is a plan in place to make sure there is continuity in cache maintenance as your league changes over time. I've seen too many cases where similar organizations have started some project or the other and as membership changed the project got forgotten.

[Marjie-UK]

The community league I am a board member of is thinking about setting out a few caches in the neighbourhood to get people out and active in the area parks/paths. I had a few question for those with experience of putting out caches:

 

• Do other cachers like the idea of community leagues/cities organizing caches?

• If you like the idea, what kind of caches would you like to see? A mixture of sizes? Mixture of difficulty?

• What do you think a good number of caches would be for a group to put out? I was thinking of 5 to start...too modest? Too ambitious?

• What kind of swag would be cool for an organization to put out? Do you think trackers with league logo would be nice or tacky?

 

I am brand new to this and really like the idea of getting area people hooked on this rather obsessive game. I also LOVE the idea that it gets the whole family out and doing something together which all levels can participate in.

 

There is quite a bit of good advice here already. I would add one fairly important thing though.

Since you are talking about your community league putting the caches out I would suggest making sure there is a plan in place to make sure there is continuity in cache maintenance as your league changes over time. I've seen too many cases where similar organizations have started some project or the other and as membership changed the project got forgotten.

 

Thanks NicknPapa,

 

Took this last bit of advice on board and am putting it forward as part of the proposal. Don't think we should do it otherwise as it would be unfair to put them out and then never look after them.

 

Thanks again to all who have replied. Very much appreciated!