Mutli-Cache guidelines

[Greg&Christy]

I need some guidelines for hiding multi-caches. I searched the FAQ and the forum but I really didin't see what I was looking for. If there are some somewhere could you tell me where to look? If not, I'd like to hear some different ways people do this. Is it usually several micros leading to a regular? How far apart are they placed? Is there a min or max distance? What is the average amount of steps in one? Thanks

[+IV_Warrior]

Not sure about "official" guidelines, but there are all sorts out there. Some are a series of micros where each stage has coordinates to the next stage. Some give you partial coordinates in the cache page for the final stage, and coordinates to each stage where you find info to solve a puzzle for the rest of the coordinates for the actual cache. Some multis have stages only a few hundred yards apart, others require driving between stages. Basically it's up to the cache hider and how he/she wants to do it.

 

Nothing to see here, move along.

[+bazzle]

Really the best way to answer thiese questions is to do more caches. There are many, many ways to do almost all types of caching. The advice I usually give new cachers it to hold off on placing your first until you have found enough to be confident in your own ideas. I was over 50 finds before I placed my first cache. Experience is a valuable teacher...

 

My mind not only wanders...

Sometimes it leaves completely...

 

**Namaste**

[Greg&Christy]

Well I guess I was asking if there are "official guidelines" out there somewhere. I realize that experience is the best teacher however if I waited until I had found 50+ caches before I placed one I would have to find all the caches in a 60 mile radius of my home, none that are multi. The nearest multi's are 80 miles away or more in another state so I have to rely on the "wisdom of the forums" for information. I believe I found a great place to put a multi this summer but I didn't know if there were rules on distance apart and things like that.

[+Renegade Knight]

My only advice is give people a hint what they are in for.

 

I've got two multi's I'll never get back too.

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.

[+BigJon]

I have a great idea for a multiy cache. I have never found one but kinda understand the jist. The cache will take you to places less traveled and will have several find along a really neat place. Any other wisdom that these boards can give would be greatly appericated.

 

[+Newenglandah]

Be Creative...

 

Do you get funny looks from co-workers -when you say your going into the woods with a 200$ gadet to find kids toys?

See You In the Woods!!!

Natureboy1376

[+The Leprechauns]

Here are some random thoughts from someone who loves hiding and finding multicaches more than any other type:

 

1. If it's more than 3 or 4 stages, you may scare off all but the most hard-core cache finders... especially if it's the first multi in your area. Start small, get some other finders hooked on multi's, then place a grander one.

 

2. Don't just drop off a micro container for the sake of making it a stage in the multi. Try to take the finder to different cool points of interest within the same park or general area.

 

3. Consider using virtual clues to cut down on the number of containers, and cache maintenance chores. For example, if there's a historic plaque at stage two, use dates and other numbers found on the plaque to construct the coordinates for the next stage.

 

4. DISCLOSE the type of multicache to the potential seeker. I have multi's that are just a nice walk around a big park, and others that involve hikes or bike rides of 4 to 7 miles.

 

5. Remember that EACH stage of your multi needs to comply with the site's cache placement guidelines. Don't be surprised if the cache approver asks for the coordinates of all the stages of your multicache.

 

6. TYPICALLY, multicaches consist of a series of microcaches or virtual clues, which contain information that leads the finder to the ultimate cache, which will be a traditional ammo box or other container with trade items and a log book. But there are LOTS of variations! I recently did one where the trading took place at stage 3 but the logbook was at stage 4.

 

Have fun placing the first multi in Mountain Home, and thanks for being a trailblazer!

 

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Some mornings, it just doesn't pay to chew through the leather straps. - Emo Phillips

[+Uplink]

One of the things I like to do on complicated multis like this one is organize the waypoints in tables. I think it makes the task seem a bit less formidable to the hunters. It can be tricky to fit the html in under the 5000 character limit though!

[+erik88l-r]

quote:

---

I have a great idea for a multiy cache. I have never found one but kinda understand the jist.

---

 

I would suggest e-mailing one of the cache approvers about your idea before submitting. I had to archive 21 submissions recently because they consisted solely of microcaches in the same park containing coords to another microcache. Find all 21 and you'd then get to the final, larger, cache.

This was a case were it was appropriate to combine the 22 onto one cache page.

 

As a rule of thumb a multistage consists of either sequencial stages leading to a final cache or a series of independent caches with clues leading to a final cache. If the independent caches are in the same park and have minimal content it's appropriate to post them on a single multistage cache page. On the other hand if the independent caches are fairly far apart and are worthy of being caches in their own right then I'd post them seperately and have a final "bonus cache" found using the clues in the others. It's sometimes hard to determine which is appropriate, but as Jeremy says on the guidelines page

quote:

---

... don't go cache crazy and hide 10 caches because you can. If you want to create a series of caches, create a multicache. Why hide two caches when one will do?

---

 

erik - geocaching.com admin

[+SceneryGuy]

I would definitely listen to ~erik~ since he has approved all of mine, but I have seen a wide variety of multi-caches.

 

Here are a few examples:

Right now I am in the middle of Fergie le Frog's Rainbow's Pot of Gold cache.

I really like it, because each cache is different and with a different theme (hatpin cache, key chain cache, where's george cache) AND they are well placed caches that take you to interesting places around town. So it is worth finding each of the clue caches on it's own merit.

 

I have a multi-cache, Scooby's Howl Creek Mystery, and I put out four travel bugs, each with a part of the coords, and as clearly as I could both on the cache page and each TB page stated that they shouldn't be placed more than X miles from a certain point. The coords take you to a location where you then find the coords for the final location about 0.2 miles (walking distance) away.

 

The good thing is that I didn't have to find a bunch of new cache locations, and it kept people on their toes, hitting all the other local caches (we have a plethora of caches in Florida) before the TB's moved again.

The bad thing is, as I found out in short order is, the TB's may go MIA, or people just hold on to them for awhile, and everybody starts whining and sending you e-mails like they can't continue with their life because they can't find all the clues.

 

The Bird was sort of famous here for awhile, but he has since seemed to have dropped out of geocaching. But, he did several multi-s. One was a time-challenge of micro-caches, a couple were puzzle type caches where you had to solve a puzzle (that was usually quite informative) to get the coords, and one, you had to visit different locations that were not caches to get information to solve the puzzle.

 

Or, you could just place a few caches and not even do a multi. Maybe later, you could go back and tie them together with clues.

 

However you do it, do it well, and you will be appreciated for it.

 

"I would give my right arm to be ambidextrous!"

[+briansnat]

One hint to make maintenance easier. Use the interim stages to bring the seeker to interesting spots along the way, but place the actual cache closer to a road, or your suggested parking area. I do most of my multis this way. They are just big loops.

 

This makes it much easier to maintain your cache. If course you may have to check on each stage on occassion, but you'll want to check up on the actual cache more frequently and this is a way to make doing so simple.

 

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" -Abraham Lincoln

[+erik88l-r]

quote:

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One hint to make maintenance easier. Use the interim stages to bring the seeker to interesting spots along the way, but place the actual cache closer to a road, or your suggested parking area. I do most of my multis this way. They are just big loops.

---

 

That's an excellent point. My first mult find was just the opposite of that - had to hike about three miles in killer heat to finally get to the cache, then realized I now had to hike all the way back to the car. In that regard multis that you hike to are best for a loop type trail. A multi that makes you backtrack to get to the next clue then makes you go forward again is pretty hateful. Almost as bad as a day without geocaching.

 

For what it's worth I did a driving multi last week that consisted of about twelve miles of driving and six or eight stops. I was glad too that it ended up near where it started.

 

~erik~