Looking for geo-trail ideas!

[+Matekarlo]

Hello!
I have a plan with one friend to make another  geo-trail. We have quite a lot of space for this near our hometown. Of course, we will coordinate everything with the forester so that there are no problems.
I am writing with a request.
We are looking for interesting geocaches examples. Interested in everything. Also, if there are any interesting things to buy online - you can share the websites.

 

Thank you!

 

The area where are we planning this geo-trail:

 

Edited September 11, 2021 by Matekarlo

[+Shawna426]

I'm planning a hiking geo-trail near my house, and want it to be family/kid-friendly, so I'm going to use various toys and fun things from the thrift store as cache containers.  Will use pill bottles, nano containers, and larger ones as applicable for the item I'm using as "camouflage."  I'm hoping to come up with cutesy names for each cache based on its item.

[+4heberts]

Looks like you have space for geo-art.

[Darwin473]

Some random thoughts:

 

Keep in mind the FTF'ers. If I was going to publish a series, I'd submit them over a period of time so that multiple people get the chance at an FTF. In some areas there are some hardcore people that swoop in within minutes to every single new cache, other places it isn't much of an issue. You may want to adjust the release cycle accordingly. If you do stagger them, I suggest physically placing the next cache after the previous one is found. Some people may be able to guess where the next one in a series will be.

 

Because humans are humans, assume that all caches will be taken / destroyed at at some stage. I like to make my containers the best I can, at the least cost, for the least effort. I try and also have a spare on hand. Though I live in Australia, so bushfires are a constant hazard and I'm used to caches going up in smoke. If you put a lot of effort into making a complex and unique cache, it can be disheartening when someone comes along and messes with it.

 

Steel lasts a long time. If you can weld or know someone who can, you could make interesting little things to act as camouflage or holders for caches, with the basic container hidden inside. Getting a hold of scrap steel may be the easy or the hard part depending on where you live, but it can be a good source of material without having to go out and buy new steel.

 

If you place a container (like an ammo box or tupperware) inside something else, that means you could decorate the container at will - even in bright colors! If your trail has a theme, you could decorate the containers to match the theme without worrying about the bright colors giving it away.

 

Thrift stores can be great places to find chunky / large-ish kids toys which can be converted to cache containers without having to buy new. Or they used to be, there have been slim pickings around here due to covid restrictions and staff needing to clean everything ten times a day.

 

You can make all sorts of interesting shapes with PMF - Poor Man's Fibreglass. It's essentially any non-water based glue and fabric instead of glass cloth and resin, so it behaves in much the same way and can be used to turn something like a simple plastic jar into a forest mushroom, old branch / log, or in some other way blend it in to the environment. Some cloth can easily be had (an old white bedsheet from the thrift store will give a large sheet of blank material for cheap), there are various glues available at the hardware store and a bit of leftover exterior house paint can be used to seal it all up. It's not as robust as proper fibreglass, but is much cheaper and can be an "easy" (though sometimes messy) way of making a more interesting / devious / easier to hide container.