First hide stolen before it got published.

[+kcreek88]

I feel so down. I was excited to do my first ever hide which hid at a local park less than 1km from where I live, I had even bought an unactivated FTF nano coin that I put in the cache.. With it being Christmas/ December I had been caught up with certain activities that took me away from returning to cache soon to double check my co-ordinates for the listing so the reviewer could publish it. So I went down there today to do it and the cache was gone. No sign of it. It had been stolen even though it was clearly labelled and had a cache note in it.  I am not ready to replace the cache and I am second-guessing my hide so I achieved the cache. 

I am too nervous about hiding a new cache. I wanted to have a very easy hide for geo-kids and geo-families to find as there aren't many around my city that's one of the reasons I chose that park plus there was a gap in the map around where I live. The fact it was also so close was another factor. I had another park that most don't know of that is close by in the other direction that is hidden down a laneway but I am even more nervous now after what just happened with the first cache. 

Any tips for first-time hiders? I just know I need to be more creative with my hides. I think it was too easy and too exposed (the hide that was stolen was hidden behind a retaining wall behind the playground in the park which you could easily access. 

[+Jayeffel]

It maybe that was too open and someone figured it to be litter. I think it best to hide from easy view. Maybe covering with some natural item that will be blown away or removed as rubbish or such. Did you get permission from the park?

[+barefootjeff]

1 hour ago, kcreek88 said:

Any tips for first-time hiders? I just know I need to be more creative with my hides. I think it was too easy and too exposed (the hide that was stolen was hidden behind a retaining wall behind the playground in the park which you could easily access.

 

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with your first hide. Perhaps close to a playground is problematic as there are likely to be lots of kids in the vicinity poking around in whatever nooks and crannies they can get their fingers into. A good idea is to try to make the cache blend into its surroundings as much as possible, so for example if the hiding place is amongst rocks a fake rock might work well. Also a placement that's above or below eye level can help make it less obvious to the casual observer.

 

I see most of your finds are around the Newcastle area so I'm guessing that's where you were placing it. lee7347 and his son Samuel737 have had good success placing well-camouflaged caches in high muggle areas around there so they might be able to offer some suggestions.

[+Bear and Ragged]

One way to test a hide is to leave an empty container in place before it's published.

If it goes missing, it's not such a big loss. (Leave a log book in, just in case a cacher finds it!) Or if it's found by a muggle, they may leave a written note for you.

 

Don't let this time put you off. Good Luck for the next attempt.

Edited December 23, 2023 by Bear and Ragged

[+kunarion]

21 hours ago, kcreek88 said:

Any tips for first-time hiders? I just know I need to be more creative with my hides. I think it was too easy and too exposed (the hide that was stolen was hidden behind a retaining wall behind the playground in the park which you could easily access. 

 

Go to a meet & greet style Geocaching Event and talk to local Geocachers.  Often I've discovered a great available cache spot, and the reason there's no cache is, nobody could keep one there.  

 

Sometimes just moving a container to a slightly more secluded spot makes all the difference.  Even just a few feet.  Most important, it should be trivial for a finder to hide it in its spot.  It can be easy for kids, while not obvious to non-cachers.

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by kunarion

[+niraD]

44 minutes ago, kunarion said:

Go to a meet & greet style Geocaching Event and talk to local Geocachers.  Often I've discovered a great available cache spot, and the reason there's no cache is, nobody could keep one there.  

One pattern I've seen over and over is that a new CO hides a cache in an urban/suburban park, the cache goes missing and is archived, another new CO hides a cache in the same park, that cache goes missing and is archived, etc., etc., etc. Eventually, someone might hide a micro/nano (or a puzzle micro/nano) and that is what survives.

 

Then people complain that the only caches around are micro/nano caches, as if there were some conspiracy among COs to deny them the opportunity to find larger caches.

[+Mudfrog]

Labeling a geocache does sometimes help. We've had non geocachers sign when they accidently found caches before. But on the whole, if not hidden somewhat, many, if not most, get stolen, labeled or not. 

 

Placing behind a wall that's easily approached in a popular park usually doesn't work out well. Best bet is to camouflage it a bit. Paint to blend in with its surroundings, placing under a natural covering like leaves and/or small branches, or pick other spots not normally visited by muggles. Geocachers, especially those who have been around a while, will figure out where the cache is when hidden in these manner. No digging to bury and no defacing or making holes in anything already in place.

 

Kcreek, this happens at times but it doesn't take long to figure what works and what doesn't. Don't give up! 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Mudfrog
Fixed a mistake

[+kunarion]

3 hours ago, niraD said:

One pattern I've seen over and over is that a new CO hides a cache in an urban/suburban park, the cache goes missing and is archived, another new CO hides a cache in the same park, that cache goes missing and is archived, etc., etc., etc. Eventually, someone might hide a micro/nano (or a puzzle micro/nano) and that is what survives.

 

Then people complain that the only caches around are micro/nano caches, as if there were some conspiracy among COs to deny them the opportunity to find larger caches.

 

I placed one where previous caches could never be.  It's in a wooded area, next to a soccer field, so the area becomes inundated with bored kids at times.  It looked like a great spot while nobody's around.

 

So I began to wonder what it would take to place a cache here.  And what if it was not just another Nano?  One day, I decided I'd place a LARGE, a 50 Cal ammo can, painted bright yellow.  A lot of plans needed to come together.  Distance, location, size, placement, and camo.  Plus D/T.  Determine where in that place the bored kids hang out and where they explore, and especially, where they don't.  For 5 years, I kind of knocked ideas around, and eventually invented some killer camo, and placed it.  It's been doing great for the past 4 years.  There was even a recent disturbance (parts were kind of out of position), yet it was still just as quiet as always.

 

Some of my other hides were at great spots where historically caches could not live.  One day I think of something new to try and go for it.  It can wait til it's just right (and it can sit inactive for months, just in case).  It's not like any new cache would be placed there in the meantime...

 

But I'm also kind of attentive to my caches, even if I'm sure they're always fine.

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by kunarion

[+briansnat]

On 12/22/2023 at 6:46 PM, kcreek88 said:

I feel so down. I was excited to do my first ever hide which hid at a local park less than 1km from where I live, I had even bought an unactivated FTF nano coin that I put in the cache.. With it being Christmas/ December I had been caught up with certain activities that took me away from returning to cache soon to double check my co-ordinates for the listing so the reviewer could publish it. So I went down there today to do it and the cache was gone. No sign of it. It had been stolen even though it was clearly labelled and had a cache note in it.  I am not ready to replace the cache and I am second-guessing my hide so I achieved the cache. 

I am too nervous about hiding a new cache. I wanted to have a very easy hide for geo-kids and geo-families to find as there aren't many around my city that's one of the reasons I chose that park plus there was a gap in the map around where I live. The fact it was also so close was another factor. I had another park that most don't know of that is close by in the other direction that is hidden down a laneway but I am even more nervous now after what just happened with the first cache. 

Any tips for first-time hiders? I just know I need to be more creative with my hides. I think it was too easy and too exposed (the hide that was stolen was hidden behind a retaining wall behind the playground in the park which you could easily access. 

Some possibilities
1 Someone saw you hide it, got curious, found it and took it
2 It wasn't hidden very well or hidden in a high traffic area.and easily discovered by non geocachers
3 It wasn't secured well and moved thanks to wind or water
4 It was hidden somewhere where geocaches aren't allowed or a permit is required and someone actually monitors the area for non compliant caches

Tips
1 Hide your cache well off the beaten path where non geocachers are unlikely to venture
2 Camoflage your cache. Whether a good camo  duct tape or  a flat spray-paint that matches the area or even gluing leaves, twigs etc. to the cache
3 Use a container appropriate for the area.  In high traffic areas a small, a micro or nano should be the best choice.  Further off the beaten track you can use a larger container
4 Hide it well, in as natural looking  manner as possible.  Unnatural looking  piles of rocks or sticks actually may entice non geocachers to investigate 
5 Make sure nobody sees you hide it

[+kunarion]

1 hour ago, briansnat said:

Some possibilities
1 Someone saw you hide it, got curious, found it and took it
2 It wasn't hidden very well or hidden in a high traffic area.and easily discovered by non geocachers
3 It wasn't secured well and moved thanks to wind or water
4 It was hidden somewhere where geocaches aren't allowed or a permit is required and someone actually monitors the area for non compliant caches

Tips
1 Hide your cache well off the beaten path where non geocachers are unlikely to venture
2 Camoflage your cache. Whether a good camo  duct tape or  a flat spray-paint that matches the area or even gluing leaves, twigs etc. to the cache
3 Use a container appropriate for the area.  In high traffic areas a small, a micro or nano should be the best choice.  Further off the beaten track you can use a larger container
4 Hide it well, in as natural looking  manner as possible.  Unnatural looking  piles of rocks or sticks actually may entice non geocachers to investigate 
5 Make sure nobody sees you hide it

 

+1

 

My caches, placed with land owner permission, and clearly marked as Geocaches, still sometimes get discarded by the landscapers.  Or they chop down the tree or mow down the bush it was hiding in.  Cache permission does not equate to cache protection.

 

And if it's easy to find, it's easy for persons who don't really know how Geocaching works.  Some people believe the idea is to take the box and hide it somewhere else.

[+JL_HSTRE]

On 12/22/2023 at 6:46 PM, kcreek88 said:

the hide that was stolen was hidden behind a retaining wall behind the playground in the park which you could easily access. 

 

Don't hide a geocache near a playground, even if it's technically far enough for the Guidelines (Reviewer could also not realize there's a playground nearby). Not only does it increase the chances of curious kids finding the container and taking it, but parents will get scared of strangers without children "loitering" nearby leading to unpleasant encounters.

[+cerberus1]

On 12/22/2023 at 6:46 PM, kcreek88 said:

I feel so down. I was excited to do my first ever hide which hid at a local park less than 1km from where I live, I had even bought an unactivated FTF nano coin that I put in the cache.. With it being Christmas/ December I had been caught up with certain activities that took me away from returning to cache soon to double check my co-ordinates for the listing so the reviewer could publish it. So I went down there today to do it and the cache was gone. No sign of it. It had been stolen even though it was clearly labelled and had a cache note in it.  I am not ready to replace the cache and I am second-guessing my hide so I achieved the cache. 
I am too nervous about hiding a new cache. I wanted to have a very easy hide for geo-kids and geo-families to find as there aren't many around my city that's one of the reasons I chose that park plus there was a gap in the map around where I live. The fact it was also so close was another factor. I had another park that most don't know of that is close by in the other direction that is hidden down a laneway but I am even more nervous now after what just happened with the first cache. 
Any tips for first-time hiders? I just know I need to be more creative with my hides. I think it was too easy and too exposed (the hide that was stolen was hidden behind a retaining wall behind the playground in the park which you could easily access. 

 

Sure it was "stolen"?  Noticed you didn't mention that you got permission to hide it...  Possible the Landowner took it?

When you sign over to the Reviewer you state that you got adequate permission.

One cache sorta near me had an event search for it afterwards, and it was gone already.  The cemetery owner took it.  No permission...

"Gaps" with no caches may have a reason.  "Missing" often, or the park won't give permission.  Ask other cachers in the area at an event.

Possible that the area you thought an easy find was easier than thought.  Kids are inquisitive. Mothers are protective (with good reason).

It could turn up missing easily if some grizzled old fart like me is seen hanging outside a playground.    

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by cerberus1
spllelling

[+barefootjeff]

6 hours ago, JL_HSTRE said:

 

Don't hide a geocache near a playground, even if it's technically far enough for the Guidelines (Reviewer could also not realize there's a playground nearby). Not only does it increase the chances of curious kids finding the container and taking it, but parents will get scared of strangers without children "loitering" nearby leading to unpleasant encounters.

 

A lot of the playgrounds here these days are part of multi-function sport and recreation areas, such as the local Peninsula Recreation Precinct which, in addition to the enclosed kiddies playground, has a cafe, picnic tables, bike paths, skateboard rink, BMX track, basketball court, flying fox, climbing wall, several rugby/soccer/cricket fields and tennis courts.

 

 

With the cafe, bike paths and adjacent surf beach, there's no issue with unaccompanied adults being there, indeed I cycle through there each day to get my morning coffee and often grab a snack from the cafe after going swimming. There have been a few caches placed around there over the years, plus a couple of events I've hosted there. The caches either eventually got muggled or, in the case of my multi which had virtual waypoints scattered around the precinct and the final in bushland beside the creek in the south-west corner, I had to archive it when the activity signs I'd based the field puzzle on were either vandalised or just faded away to unreadability. But anything hidden in the more popular areas of the park would need to be very well camoflaged if it's to last more than a few months.

 

As for permissions, in general explicit permission isn't needed for caches in council-managed public spaces in this part of the world (NSW, Australia), where the OP appears to live. I vaguely recall seeing something about Geocaching NSW making representations to the Local Government Association to that effect in the early days of caching. The Regional Wiki lists those places where either caches aren't allowed or explicit permission is needed

[+kcreek88]

Thanks for the tips. I was in the middle of the review process but part of the issue was I didn't get to go back to double-check my co-ordinates as part of the review process much longer than I planned to because for a week I was caught up doing Christmas ice show final rehearsals and performances when the review asked me to clarify some information. 

1. I think I didn't camouflage it enough. But I had labelled it enough with a cache label and note 

2. It's hard to explain the GZ but, it was very accessible for many people from multiple ways. it was right near the playground so many people could access it Especially kids.

3. @barefootjeff From what I read I was coming up with a similar conclusion about council-managed public spaces which my chosen GZ was. 

4 If I were to use that park again, I would have to make it smaller and move places in the park. 
5. I had a different park in mind before but I do have doubts about it so I went with this one instead. 

6. I am presuming about the stolen thing just because it can be high traffic at times. 
7. I am going to an event on Boxing Day, my first ever one so I can talk to some others. From what I know Team737 are going to it. 

But I do want to go back to the drawing board about my first hide. 
 

[+Clancy's Crew]

Great comments from the veterans of the cache owners group.  Glad to hear what your forward plan is; most of all, please do not give up.  We need new people with different ideas to keep the sport going!