Need Advice Hiding First Geocache ASAP

[DaisyGrrl]

Hi! I am new to geocaching, so please forgive me my ignorance! My mom and sister love to geocache, so for Christmas, my husband & I are giving them some trekking poles and other hiking gear... As part of this overall gift, we would really love to hide a geocache and make sure they will be the first to find it. I have read the rules/guidelines on this website, but I am not clear on all the terminology (such as waypoints). I have not selected a location yet, but we live in the Dayton, OH area, and I am open to suggestions! (I am an avid hiker, so I am quite familiar with most local parks.) I have accompanied my mom and sister on 3 or 4 different geocaches, so I feel like I get the basic idea, just not sure how to hide one.

 

I have purchased a 4x6" waterproof box, and inside it, I have placed 2 mechanical pencils, a little notepad, and a disposable camera. My plan is that my husband and I will take a picture of ourselves just before hiding it, then everyone who finds it will take a picture of themselves and put their names/dates in the notepad. I'd like to make my geocache an official webpage so that after the camera is out of film, I will retrieve it and scan the pictures onto the website. (Also, I already checked, it's ok for the camera to be out in freezing weather.)

 

Do I need an official geocache label or can I print a label myself and affix it to the underside of the lid? (The box is transparent. I just don't want to put it on the outside of the box in case of rain.)

 

I think my mom and sister will think this is really cool...but only if I do it right. So again, any advice is welcome!! Thanks in advance for your help!!

Edited December 11, 2012 by DaisyGrrl

[DaisyGrrl]

Also, my mom and sister use a handheld GPS, but my husband and I will be using our iPhones. Is there a certain app that is best for this? Thanks again!

[+The Blorenges]

You can print off a suitable label and stick it inside the lid, or many people just use some sort of indelible marker pen to put the details on the cache lid.

 

It would also be good to add a cache stash note inside with the contents so that anyone who finds the box accidentally can read what it is. You can print off cache notes from this page: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/

 

I had a quick look at the geocaching.com map for Dayton, Ohio - There are a lot of caches aroud your area and your mission is to find a good location that nobody else has found yet, one which is at least 528ft from any other cache (or any other physical part of a cache series). This can be tricky because although a spot may look empty there may be the a hidden final of a mystery/puzzle cache already in place.

 

As for making sure your mom and sister are the first to find it... well, there are a lot of opinions and sometimes quite heated discussions about FTFs on these forums. Do you want to hand them a FTF "on a plate", by giving them the co-ords before the cache has been published on this site? It's hardly a FTF if they're the only cachers who know of it - but sometimes that's the way it's done. If you don't give them details in advance and they wait until they see your cache is officially published then there's no guarantee that they'll get to it first but if they do then at least they'll have taken part in a real FTF race and will have really earned that FTF golden glow!

 

Good luck with it anyway.

 

MrsB

[+rhodesisland]

DITTO everything MrsB says. Perfect answer, nothing more need be said.

[+L0ne.R]

You'll need good coordinates. I have a Garmin 62s and an iPhone 4s. I have the Coordinates Conversion gps app on my iPhone (.99cents). It does a sufficient job but you should take multiple readings and average them. I recommend taking readings on different days then do the averaging.

 

Providing a good hint is nice. That way people aren't hard on the local environment (turning over every rock and log or stepping on a lot of vegetation to find the cache).

 

Cache owners are expected to respond to any issues with the cache or the listing in a timely fashion. And the cache is expected to be active for at least 3 months. From the guidelines: "Cachers will expect your cache to remain in place for a realistic and extended period of time. Therefore....temporary caches (caches hidden for less than 3 months or for one-time events) will not be published."

 

Once you submit your cache listing, it may take 3 days (or longer) before it is posted, assuming that there are no issues with the listing.

 

Kudos on planting a water tight swag size container. I hope it works out well for you.

[Keystone]

You also need to be aware of the land manager policies for geocaching in your area. If you see a large area with no geocaches in it, one reason for this might be because geocaching is not allowed there. Examples include State Wildlife Areas, State Natural Areas and all Miami County Park District properties. Five Rivers MetroParks allows caches under a tightly controlled permit allocation system. Beavercreek and Centerville-Washington Park District are examples of local park systems that have permission requirements in place. State Parks allow caches after you clear the location with the ranger or other geocaching coordinator.

 

(This is not a complete list, just some prominent examples from the Dayton area.)

[DaisyGrrl]

Wow, thanks everyone! I didn't realize people race to be the first to find geocaches, but it makes sense! So in that case, I don't need them to be the winners, I just want them to get to it before the camera is out of film! Also, I didn't realize it could take a few days to get it posted, so I really appreciate the heads up! Quick question, if the camera is full before three months, do I need to keep replacing it with other cameras so my geocache is legit? I want it to be published! Thanks again for all the quick responses!

[Keystone]

Cameras are entirely optional. All you need to record visitors to your cache is a paper logbook or logsheet. It is up to you whether you want to replace the camera once it's full.

[+Maingray]

Nice idea. The logbook makes the cache legit, not a camera. A full camera is not going to make the cache obsolete.

 

With regard to the placement, you can always make a cache listing, submit and ask your local Reviewer to check the location but not actually publish it until you are ready to do so. Assuming the location checks out OK, let your folks find it, then enable and ask the Reviewer to publish. Be aware that you might get some local FTF hounds complain about that, as Mrs B alluded to. I'd just ask to get it publish, wait until the FTFers find, then tell your folks to log it... or just ignore the local FTFers

[+Panther&Pine]

Hi, welcome to geocaching.

I notice that you're very new.

I also notice that you haven't logged any finds on the site.

It's great that you want to hide a cache, but often you end up with better hides if you spend some time finding a variety of caches over a little bit of time to see what works for your area.

 

Hiding a temporary cache (not listed on the site) is a great thing to do for your family.

[Andronicus]

Personaly, for something like this, I would make a listing, ask the reviewer to review it for proximity issues, but don't submit it for final review yet. Print off the draft cache web page, and put that in the gift's card. Once your family has found it, then maybe have them touch up the cache page (them being more experienced), checking for accuriate coordinates, attribute icons etc. then submit if for final review.

 

If you do this, it would be a nice thing to mention on the cache page that FTF was already made. This will save the FTF hounds some dissapointment when they fnd the cache log book already has a find logged. It will save everyone some drama.

[+briansnat]

Personaly, for something like this, I would make a listing, ask the reviewer to review it for proximity issues, but don't submit it for final review yet. Print off the draft cache web page, and put that in the gift's card. Once your family has found it, then maybe have them touch up the cache page (them being more experienced), checking for accuriate coordinates, attribute icons etc. then submit if for final review.

 

If you do this, it would be a nice thing to mention on the cache page that FTF was already made. This will save the FTF hounds some dissapointment when they fnd the cache log book already has a find logged. It will save everyone some drama.

 

That is pretty much what I was going to suggest.