How can I make an Enjoyable Nightcache?

[+Weber_and_Sons]

I have never gotten the opportunity to find a night cache cause I live in a small town and the nearest one is 200km away because of that I want to give my community the experience I never got but cause I've never done one I need help on how to design it.

 

[+cerberus1]

The toughest part (I feel) for night caches is permission, and any affect it has on locals.

A buncha 500 -1000-lumenflashlights in a "small town" park could produce a call for the local police.

I've had game wardens stop me at parking for simply night hunting, now that developments are near many.

Simple Fire Tacks, Bright Eyes, etc (I feel) work best, you can place them high (bring a two-step ladder) so not grabbed by others.

 - Nothing worse than being in the middle of the woods at night, and a few tacks are missing...

After heading to your required GPS GZ, follow the tacks to the cache (do both sides of the tree...) is the easiest.

[+niraD]

1 hour ago, Weber_and_Sons said:

I have never gotten the opportunity to find a night cache cause I live in a small town and the nearest one is 200km away because of that I want to give my community the experience I never got but cause I've never done one I need help on how to design it.

My favorite night cache was a multi-stage puzzle night cache. One stage used reflective tacks, another provided one piece of a physical puzzle, another used UV flashlights to read coordinates written in fluorescent paint, another provided another piece of the physical puzzle, another had an elevated reflective container and we had to find the mechanism to lower it, another provided the third piece of the physical puzzle, and so on. It took more than an hour to complete all the stages, and the county park closed at 10pm, which made it much harder to complete during daylight saving time, because you couldn't start the first stage until it was dark (about half an hour after sunset). But it might be better if you found a few multi-stage puzzle caches before you tried to create something like that.

[+JL_HSTRE]

Permission is difficult because much public land closes at sunset.

 

Don't make the reflectors visible at the trailhead or muggles may investigate. Start a little ways down the trail. Much like blazes, when standing by a reflector you should be able to see the next one.

 

If using reflective tacks, be mindful of what kind of tree you're putting then into. A mature oak or pine has reasonably thick bark so the tack shouldn't cause harm. Some other species, and most saplings, are thinner skinned.

[+TeamRabbitRun]

Also, PLEASE remember that the people that seek your nightcache will, presumably, want to get the heck out of there!

 

If the way out isn't clear (like, you can see the parking lot lights...) remember to lead them back to civilization.

[+hzoi]

I've set out one night cache so far; it was a trail of fire tacks.

 

I've done some more creative ones, but they were in Germany, where there is a public right to roam on farm fields and in forests, and so permission isn't an issue.

 

One of them had a post with a small container hidden at the base; the laser pointer in the container pointed to the final.

 

Another had a reactive stage, where flashlights would power a photoelectric cell just enough to make an LED flash, revealing the stage.

 

I don't know that I'd be able to duplicate these in Texas without buying a rural tract.

[+MtnGoat50]

I like night caches that combine GPS use and flashlight use for the whole hunt. The first night cache I did was set up like a multicache.  For the first stage you navigate over a mile using your GPS (no tacks) to a clearing. Shining a flashlight around in a 360 degree circle reveals a bison with reflector tape that has coordinates to the next stage about a half mile away. That leads to a third stage that has coordinates to the final, 50 cal. ammo can found solely using the GPS (no reflectors). 

 

I also have a night cache with six waypoints (found with the GPS) that uses reflectors, set up as brail numbers that give cachers the coords to the final. At the final there is a Halloween prop skull that is motion activated. When people reach for the container it's eyes flash and it makes scary comments. 

 

The vast majority of night caches I've done have been simple fire tack trails but I'm not a fan. Go to the start, turn the GPS off (assuming you needed it all) and use a flashlight to follow the trail of tacks. It may be fun but to me it isn't really geocaching. 

[+Ringrat]

On 11/27/2024 at 12:50 PM, Weber_and_Sons said:

I have never gotten the opportunity to find a night cache cause I live in a small town and the nearest one is 200km away because of that I want to give my community the experience I never got but cause I've never done one I need help on how to design it.

 

Workin' on one for our little town! Stay tuned...