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Things you wish you knew for your first cache


BethDaddyKaty

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44 minutes ago, colleda said:

My cache labels include; cache name, my geocaching name, GC code, and website address.

If the container is large enough, bison tubes and upwards, I'll include a stash note, ("Instructions for finders") something I rarely see in containers these days.

I have a few nanos and I will have, at minimum, the GC code and logo.

I once had a nano go missing. Some months later it was found by a muggle and, using the GC code, he tracked me down and returned my tiny cache.

 

All my caches are labeled on the container (except for a micro where there isn't room) and on the front of the logbook. I generally print out a custom label and then laminate it, like this one:

 

image.png.d09c82dd3ed890de31eb092303f31804.png

 

Some of them have a stash note when I think of it, either in with the logbook or taped to the lid of the container. I'm a bit reluctant to include my phone number and/or email address though, especially on those that are in muggle-prone areas, and really the only ones where I've done that are the ones in national parks where it's a requirement.

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15 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

All my caches are labeled on the container (except for a micro where there isn't room) and on the front of the logbook. I generally print out a custom label and then laminate it,

 I'm a bit reluctant to include my phone number and/or email address though, especially on those that are in muggle-prone areas, and really the only ones where I've done that are the ones in national parks where it's a requirement.

 

We've used the "official" green stickers on most caches. 

Helpful when a number of new folks using the Intro app thought they needed to move our ammo cans to another location.

 - They had no idea how someone was supposed to find them again afterwards...

Because of those labels (and the fact that they were just laying within eyesight from trail), cachers spotted most and returned 'em to us.

 

There's no way I'd put my phone #, or any other personal information on a container.  Our caching name is enough for the site to contact us.

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3 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

There's no way I'd put my phone #, or any other personal information on a container.  Our caching name is enough for the site to contact us.

I put a phone number and an email address on those stickers. And yes, I've been glad to have been contacted about my caches by people without geocaching.com accounts.

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14 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

There's no way I'd put my phone #, or any other personal information on a container.  Our caching name is enough for the site to contact us.

There's are times when muggles, without knowledge of Groundspeak or geocaching,  want/need to contact the CO.  Without the email address I put on my cache, the police would have never found me and returned the cache (mentioned above).  For a while I was placing a geocache 'business' card in caches I found.  One property owner used it to contact me about a cache that renters of part of their land complained about (the funny part - the CO had contact info one bottom of the cache, but it wasn't seen, maybe without my card it would have been found).

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6 hours ago, HunterandSamuel said:

 

 

I took a photo of our bolt hide yesterday.  

 

 

bolthide.jpg

 

I would have spotted that right away, but I've found quite a few fake bolt caches, and it's obvious that there is no reason why that bolt is located where it is.   

 

The best fake bolt cache that I've seen was on a recently built rural bridge over a creek.  The metal  bridge was painted green and the OP found paint that was an exact match.  The bolt was the same size as all the others (very large).   I was the 3rd to find on it.    I met the couple that was FTF.   It was the first cache they ever found and that was after 2-3 DNFs from experienced cachers.  

 

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Interested in the contact info.

 

I do provide an email address and a photo on all my caches (personal thing, I think it's really nice to see the cache owner(s)).

 

However, I live in a gossipy village and most of my caches are around the village. I'm aware it only takes one busybody to decide it's litter and make a fuss for it to become an issue and potentially most of my caches need to be archived to get rid of said miserable sod.

 

I can see the advantage of anonymity, although I appreciate somewhat unconventionally I'd sacrifice it to keep the email. We've never found a cache with a photo of the CO but, caching with young kids, I'd love it if we did.

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6 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

I would have spotted that right away, but I've found quite a few fake bolt caches, and it's obvious that there is no reason why that bolt is located where it is.   

 

I found a fake metal plate cache on the backside of a metal sheet - nothing on the other side, and definitely no room for an outlet or any cables :P I thought that was hilarious, because if you didn't think about it, you probably would bat an eye at it :)

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2 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

:P I thought that was hilarious, because if you didn't think about it, you probably would bat an eye at it :)

I love the ones that blend into the surroundings, but if you think about them a bit, they seem obvious. A pinecone cache in an oak tree can be like that. Or an electrical box at the base of a trailhead signpost, when there is no electrical service for miles.

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6 hours ago, niraD said:

I love the ones that blend into the surroundings, but if you think about them a bit, they seem obvious. A pinecone cache in an oak tree can be like that. Or an electrical box at the base of a trailhead signpost, when there is no electrical service for miles.

I

I've brought this for my next cache. If you're not in the UK, there are hundreds of these on doors in city centres in the UK.

 

Hopefully with some magnets and ingenuity I've found a place for a small cache rather than the normal plastic bag or nano you get with these.

350-million-lie.jpg

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Putting a 'FIRE EXIT' sign where there is actually no official fire exit seems a doubtful, or possibly even a dangerous thing to do.

Make sure to get very specific permission for that exact 'container' from the building owner, and make it available to your reviewer when you submit it for publication.

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2 hours ago, BethDaddyKaty said:

I

I've brought this for my next cache. If you're not in the UK, there are hundreds of these on doors in city centres in the UK.

 

Hopefully with some magnets and ingenuity I've found a place for a small cache rather than the normal plastic bag or nano you get with these.

350-million-lie.jpg


Similar style (but less controversial), one of my favourite finds:

 

BB229EE3-F8BD-408A-A39E-7DF4F3466AEA.thumb.jpeg.22c1573e6ca07967a56faf37f5e47b74.jpeg

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21 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

I would have spotted that right away, but I've found quite a few fake bolt caches, and it's obvious that there is no reason why that bolt is located where it is.   

 

This is true. lol  The idea location would be between the two top bolts so it will then look like it's bolted to the sign but would be impossible to reach. It's a tall sign. A rock is next to it to step on and I noticed recently someone placed a stick there to slide the bolt down. A family found it recently so probably one of the kids used it. Smart kid. Where would you place it? Looking at the sign, I think on the side opposite the second bolt? And then it's better protected from the elements.

bolthide.jpg

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3 hours ago, hal-an-tow said:

Putting a 'FIRE EXIT' sign where there is actually no official fire exit seems a doubtful, or possibly even a dangerous thing to do.

 

Good point. For fun, I would placed it where it's obviously not a fire exit. Like a utility box, a brick wall, or tree. lol  Just to get people looking twice. I thought of placing a faucet geocache in the forest on a tree. lol

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36 minutes ago, HunterandSamuel said:

 

Good point. For fun, I would placed it where it's obviously not a fire exit. Like a utility box, a brick wall, or tree. lol  Just to get people looking twice. I thought of placing a faucet geocache in the forest on a tree. lol

There was a case a few years ago where a cache was hidden in a stump inside a microwave.  They'd even added a fake electric box to plug the microwave into.  Someone spotted it and called the police who blew up the suspicious electrical device!  You never know what people will think about the unusual.

 

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3 minutes ago, The Jester said:

There was a case a few years ago where a cache was hidden in a stump inside a microwave.  They'd even added a fake electric box to plug the microwave into.  Someone spotted it and called the police who blew up the suspicious electrical device!  You never know what people will think about the unusual.

 

 

Whoa!  When we got permission for our first cache hide, the town manager thanked us for calling to get permission because years ago someone came across a "suspicious"  container in the woods and the bomb squad was called in. It was a geocache. Years ago, was Groundspeak more relaxed about getting permission than they are today? 

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22 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

The best fake bolt cache that I've seen was on a recently built rural bridge over a creek.  The metal  bridge was painted green and the OP found paint that was an exact match.  The bolt was the same size as all the others (very large).   I was the 3rd to find on it.    I met the couple that was FTF.   It was the first cache they ever found and that was after 2-3 DNFs from experienced cachers.  

 

When looking for a micro cache on a guardrail or fence, we try to move all the bolts hoping it's the cache. 

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1 hour ago, HunterandSamuel said:

 

Whoa!  When we got permission for our first cache hide, the town manager thanked us for calling to get permission because years ago someone came across a "suspicious"  container in the woods and the bomb squad was called in. It was a geocache. Years ago, was Groundspeak more relaxed about getting permission than they are today? 

 

Obtaining permission helps, but doesn't guarantee that a cache will be deemed suspicious and suffer a similar fate.   Asking the owner of business or land manager for permission only ensures that one person knows about the cache.  There may be employees of the business, employees of other business, or just someone in the general public that happens to  that notices what they deem to be suspicious behavior when someone searches for the cache.

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2 minutes ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

 

Obtaining permission helps, but doesn't guarantee that a cache will be deemed suspicious and suffer a similar fate.   Asking the owner of business or land manager for permission only ensures that one person knows about the cache.  There may be employees of the business, employees of other business, or just someone in the general public that happens to  that notices what they deem to be suspicious behavior when someone searches for the cache.

 

Yes, I know this.  Keep on asking permission and keep on caching is all we can do. 

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2 hours ago, HunterandSamuel said:

 

Good point. For fun, I would placed it where it's obviously not a fire exit. Like a utility box, a brick wall, or tree. lol  Just to get people looking twice. I thought of placing a faucet geocache in the forest on a tree. lol

 

I have a picture of a tree in Tanzania with a electrical outlet screwed onto the tree.  The wires don't go anywhere and even though I knew there wasn't a cache within 50 miles I though about checking the outlet to see if there was a cache in it.  

 

There was a cache that I found a few years ago that was behind a No Trespassing sign.  The top of it was stapled to a wood board that had a trail map on it.  The CO drilled a hole in the wood board to hold a bison tube.  Not only did it violate the no defacement guideline but, permission was almost certainly not obtained because the trail map was for publicly accessible trails in the area that the CO had marked with a no trespassing sign.  

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5 hours ago, The Jester said:

There was a case a few years ago where a cache was hidden in a stump inside a microwave.  They'd even added a fake electric box to plug the microwave into.  Someone spotted it and called the police who blew up the suspicious electrical device!  You never know what people will think about the unusual.

 

I want to bury a camoed microwave (with the electronics removed) into the ground in a forest. Only camoed control panel visible. Then post it as "Forest floor micro", cache type "large". To access the cache you have to spot the control panel and open the door, which is otherwise covered in leaf litter. I've got a test microwave and modded the mechanism so it can't rust/seize up.

 

Then see whether cachers pay attention to the cache size and realise they're looking for a microwave rather than a micro container.

 

I even thought of doing it as a puzzle cache with the co-ordinates the ready meal cooking times for different foods.

 

Hopefully with it being buried it's less likely to end up blown up. I just need to check the rules around burying the shell of the microwave. It would just be metal, so not harmful, but I'm not sure if it's still restricted.

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45 minutes ago, CAVinoGal said:

From the guidelines:
 

Do not bury

Do not bury geocaches, either partially or completely. You must not create a hole in the ground to place or find a geocache.

There used to be a cache on the Stuart Hwy (SA I think) that was fully buried. You had to walk/jump around the area to set off a bell. I wondered how that got published. Anyway, I couldn't get it to work. Either that or the highway noise was too loud to hear it. And I didn't feel like clearing large areas of sand to find it. DNF.

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12 minutes ago, Goldenwattle said:

I wondered how that got published.

 

Well, the guidelines do say a little more about that:

 

Quote

Do not bury

 

Do not bury geocaches, either partially or completely. You must not create a hole in the ground to place or find a geocache.

 

The only exception is if a property owner gives explicit permission to create a hole to place the cache, which you must provide to the reviewer and state on the cache page. A cache cannot require the finder to dig to reach the cache. See the Regional Geocaching Policies Wiki for details in your region.

 

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1 hour ago, Goldenwattle said:

There used to be a cache on the Stuart Hwy (SA I think) that was fully buried. You had to walk/jump around the area to set off a bell. I wondered how that got published. Anyway, I couldn't get it to work. Either that or the highway noise was too loud to hear it. And I didn't feel like clearing large areas of sand to find it. DNF.

Mostly likely the CO did not describe the way it was hidden when submitted for review. Also, its possible they saw another like it somewhere and thought it was OK to copy. MSMD again.

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To avail oneself of the (fairly recently) added exception for caches "buried with permission," you'll be asked to document explicit permission to the satisfaction of your reviewer (or Appeals).  Saying "I own the land, this is in my front yard" works OK.  Forwarding your reviewer an email from the Director of the Parks Department, giving permission for a cache that's described in great detail, works grreat.  Saying "the town lets me hide geocaches" doesn't work.

 

In any event, the esoterics of the narrow exception to the "no buried caches" guideline are beyond the scope of things one needs to know for their first cache hunt, right?  One can enjoy their first cache hunts in neighborhood parks before learning that the "caches are buried" story was what got geocaching banned in US National Parks for many years.

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16 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

Not only did it violate the no defacement guideline but, permission was almost certainly not obtained because the trail map was for publicly accessible trails in the area that the CO had marked with a no trespassing sign.  

 

 

That is so bad and not fair to the public and trails available to them. It should be reported to the town or removed. Very inconsiderate.

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