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Novel Cache Containers


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I’m interested in what “novel” ideas everyone has for cache containers. I thought of the plastic composition irrigation control valve boxes that are available at hardware stores and home centers. I saw a really great setup with PVC pipe on another thread too.

 

Weigh in with your great ideas.

 

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What is the price of experience, do men buy it for a song,

Or wisdom for a dance in the street.................

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I have a few ideas I'm kicking around.

 

One idea is to buy a plastic mailbox and attach it to a post. Hide it deep in the woods. Put the flag up.

 

Have you seen those decoy owls in the garden section of any "mart" store? They're hollow.

 

I had some more ideas but they escape me at the moment.

 

"There's no need to be afraid of strange noises in the night. Anything that intends you harm will stalk you silently."

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Another thread somewhere mentioned using those fake rocks that you can hide keys, etc. in and place inconspicuously in your garden.

 

You could hide one of these almost anywhere and they would fit right into the scenery.

 

Not to mention, the finders would probably walk right over it if they didn't know what they were looking for! icon_biggrin.gif

 

icon_wigogeocaching.gif

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Another thread somewhere mentioned using those fake rocks that you can hide keys, etc. in and place inconspicuously in your garden.

 

You could hide one of these almost anywhere and they would fit right into the scenery.

 

Not to mention, the finders would probably walk right over it if they didn't know what they were looking for! icon_biggrin.gif

 

icon_wigogeocaching.gif

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But it might only work in California. I don't know if other states use these.

 

Anyway, in California, because of all of the crops grown here and the hysteria that the mediterranean fruit fly caused some years back, one often sees small brightly colored waxed cardboard or paperboard "tents" hung in trees around town and in rural areas. They are designed to trap flying insects so that local agricultural departments can check what type of critters are passing through.

 

I thought it would be interesting to make some up, paint them bright colors and stencil "geocaching.com" on one side and hang them from a small piece of wire in a tree or shrub. The ends fold up (just like on the official ones) so that smaller, flat items could be placed in a ziplock along with the logbook, etc. for a micro cache.

 

I know, I'm sick and twisted with way too much time on my hands... while driving 100 miles each way to log a cache. I mean, when you're driving around, what do you think about?

 

"...geocaching... ...geocaching... ...geocaching..."

 

Oops, careful... my hormones might be showing.

----------

Lori aka: RedwoodRed

KF6VFI

"I don't get lost, I investigate alternative destinations."

GeoGadgets Team Website

Comics, Video Games and Movie Fansite

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How about using a bird house as a cache? It could be hung in a tree on a low branch. This would probably be more useful for an urban cache. And of course you would have to cover the "door" so it did not end up occupied. And one wall could be a false wall that opens up to display the contents.

 

M-D-M Explorations

MrSki and DogMa

40º 07.874'N

88º 11.647'W

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we recently had a place open called "the container store". Unfortunately they didnt have too many containers good for geocaching untilll.... I saw some hot pepper shakers. you know, the kind you see on the table at the pizza place? It was sloid plastic, had a screwtop lid, and I sealed the holes & the flipm top with hot glue. My big concern is keeping a container sealed, so screw tops rank high on my list of containers. Seems to be pretty decent as a cache container, I'm planning to use them in a new series of hunts I'm placing next month.

 

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Caching with a 5 year old: takes 2x as long, it's 2x as satisifying

**************************

The faster you go, the worse your reception is.

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How about PVC pipe - like you get at sprinkler/plumbing supply stores? I'm thinking of getting some 6" pipe, glueing the cap on one end and leaving the other cap free to be opened. You can paint it any color you want and create it any size you want.

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hey if you buy a tube of tennis balls if you open the tube and take the middle one out cut a hole in it you can put a perfictly dry mini cache as long as you replace the ball it the middle or if you want a bigger cache you can take all the balls out and it stays dry also if your really good with metal you can make one of those flat computer cases watertight it cost quite alot to do that though and you can use plastic tool boxes if it says waterproof or something like that

 

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: But when I became a man, I put away childish things.

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quote:
Originally posted by M-D-M Explorations:

How about using a bird house as a cache? It could be hung in a tree on a low branch. This would probably be more useful for an urban cache. And of course you would have to cover the "door" so it did not end up occupied. And one wall could be a false wall that opens up to display the contents.

 

M-D-M Explorations

MrSki and DogMa

40º 07.874'N

88º 11.647'W


One of the local Metro parks used a modified bluebird house to hide a cache. Normal BB houses are about 10" high, this one is about 24". Two doors, one for the birds house, one for the cache box. They also used one of the underground sprinkler control boxes to hide another. It's flush to the ground, a few leaves on it and it's hidden. The other two are in tree hollows, however, the second, you need to paddle, row or swim to reach it.

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I really like the sprinkler control boxes [see the topic opener] but I was concerned aoubt the "flush" part being against the rules about digging. It's not really "buried" exactly........

 

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What is the price of experience, do men buy it for a song,

Or wisdom for a dance in the street.................

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The tree stump cache looks cool. I have a container that I could make look like a tree stump. I also have a container (ammo box) that I could make look like a lump of dirt or a rock. My wife is artistic, I will let her in on this. Heh, heh, heh...

 

Anyone know of specific instructions for building these (what kind of paint to use, etc)?

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On the page for this cache made by the creators of it, they have a photo showing the stump before it was painted. From the looks of it, I'd say its spray foam on a white plastic bucket. The lid of the bucket forms the bottom of the stump, so you have to flip the stump over to open it. You can probably contact them for more details.

 

The cache page

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It was a two foot plastic statue of the Virgin Marie. Hollow like some Christmas Santas. The bottom was a compression rubber cap, to make it water tight. It really stuck out when you looked under the log for it.

I didn't take a picture. I figured if I posted the pic it would spoil the suprise.

 

Preperation, the first law to survival.

39197_400.jpg

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I once used a stuffed squirrel. I took the stuffing out, made a little zipper access panel in the hind quarters, and removed the stuffing and replaced it with a long plastic screw-top cylyndrical container (like a small tea jar.)

 

Once the cache was put in the squirrel, I tied him standing up to a tree limb just about head high (deep in a forest where nobody but geocachers would venture, of course.)

 

I was afraid no one would be able to find this well-camafloged cache, so I dressed him in a little sky-blue leisure suit (that I got from a 14 inch Ken doll produced in the late seventies.)

 

I had trouble finding a second pair of white shoes to match, so I faked it and just used the single silver glitter glove (my apologies to the Michael Jackson doll I stol it from.)

 

All in all, it was too much trouble, and no one ever found this cache.

 

Probably to well camafloged even with the leisure suit... oh well...

 

maj-gps.gif

majicman

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By the way I love that bush one above.

 

This cache is currently awaiting approval. Two cache tubes fixed into two garbage can lids(free from Home Depot!) pop-rivited together and the whole mess filled with "Great STuff" expanding foam to keep everything snug. A few bells and whistles. Non-toxic Chrome like spray paint. Stuck it in a cave-like crevice because it sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

25462_400.JPG

 

[This message was edited by Zartimus on June 12, 2002 at 11:56 AM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by bigredmed:

 

You know, I have just been given preliminary approval for a cache in our local botanical garden. Something like this or the tree stump would be PERFECT! Do you mind if I copy the idea?


 

I can just see the hoards of geocachers ripping up every plant in a botanical garden looking for the one containg the cache. icon_biggrin.gif

 

... Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by, ...

 

unclerojelio

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quote:
Originally posted by bigredmed:

 

You know, I have just been given preliminary approval for a cache in our local botanical garden. Something like this or the tree stump would be PERFECT! Do you mind if I copy the idea?


 

I can just see the hoards of geocachers ripping up every plant in a botanical garden looking for the one containg the cache. icon_biggrin.gif

 

... Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by, ...

 

unclerojelio

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Rip up the vegetation? Maniacal Geocaching? I must have been doing it wrong all these years……..

 

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

What is the price of experience, do men buy it for a song,

Or wisdom for a dance in the street.................

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quote:

i like using m&m mini containers


 

I have used a mint skittles container. (You know, the new plastic ones) I like using perscription medicine bottles, they are in an abundant supply and are quite waterproof. I have seen a cache (I forget which one) that consists of a flashlight with the batteries removed, and the goodies are put inside the flashlight.

 

It's an inside joke [:D]

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quote:

i like using m&m mini containers


 

I have used a mint skittles container. (You know, the new plastic ones) I like using perscription medicine bottles, they are in an abundant supply and are quite waterproof. I have seen a cache (I forget which one) that consists of a flashlight with the batteries removed, and the goodies are put inside the flashlight.

 

It's an inside joke [icon_wink.gif]

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quote:
Originally posted by bigredmed:

http://www.armysurplusoutlet.com/noname12.html Thanks for the idea. I have stashed a cache in a watery locale and this has turned out to be very useful. Shipping costs are a little steep (about doubled the price to about $18 for 2).


 

One thing I noticed about these tubes, when you get them they may be a bit dirty since they are used. I removed the rubber gasket and washed everything with soap and water, including the gasket. Then I put some vaseline on a paper towel and spread a thin coat on the gasket, this will help keep it water tight, I'm hoping. When you screw the top on, you must do it tightly, you will feel it click into place. If you don't feel the click, then it's not sealed. A geocacher might not know to do this, so I drew a mark on each piece with directions to align the marks for a tight seal. I doubt very much that even a drop will get in if closed properly. I've got four ready to go, but I must choose their hiding place carefully since we have plunderers in the area.

 

[This message was edited by cachew nut on June 17, 2002 at 07:22 PM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by Attila:

How about PVC pipe - like you get at sprinkler/plumbing supply stores? I'm thinking of getting some 6" pipe, glueing the cap on one end and leaving the other cap free to be opened. You can paint it any color you want and create it any size you want.


 

I thought about this too, but there is a big problem- this cache would look WAY TOO SIMILAR to a PIPE BOMB. icon_redface.gificon_redface.gificon_redface.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Attila:

How about PVC pipe - like you get at sprinkler/plumbing supply stores? I'm thinking of getting some 6" pipe, glueing the cap on one end and leaving the other cap free to be opened. You can paint it any color you want and create it any size you want.


 

I thought about this too, but there is a big problem- this cache would look WAY TOO SIMILAR to a PIPE BOMB. icon_redface.gificon_redface.gificon_redface.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by leatherman:

It was a two foot plastic statue of the Virgin Marie. Hollow like some Christmas Santas. The bottom was a compression rubber cap, to make it water tight. It really stuck out when you looked under the log for it.

I didn't take a picture. I figured if I posted the pic it would spoil the suprise.

 

_Preperation, the first law to survival._

http://img.Groundspeak.com/user/39197_400.jpg


 

Now if someone could lug that AND a bathtub into the woods, it would be perfect! Kitschy!!! icon_smile.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by leatherman:

It was a two foot plastic statue of the Virgin Marie. Hollow like some Christmas Santas. The bottom was a compression rubber cap, to make it water tight. It really stuck out when you looked under the log for it.

I didn't take a picture. I figured if I posted the pic it would spoil the suprise.

 

_Preperation, the first law to survival._

http://img.Groundspeak.com/user/39197_400.jpg


 

Now if someone could lug that AND a bathtub into the woods, it would be perfect! Kitschy!!! icon_smile.gif

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