Placed My First Cache

[+amytincan]

Sorry if this isn't the place to share, but it was neat to place them and then see the people go find them.

 

Could you guys share your experiences with placing caches?

[+joefrog]

it IS a great feeling having it out there, isn't it?

 

You'll hear quickly the opinions about the location -- good or bad. If good, GOOD! If some bad reviews come in, just realize it's not personal and is USUALLY meant in the best interests.

 

Congrats!

[+TeamTeeGee]

We just put out our first four this past weekend and it was great!

 

First, we wrote up all the best places we could think of to place some caches. Next, we scouted out the areas to determine the best hiding places and then took several readings to try and pin down some good coordinates. Then, we got the caches all fixed up and ready to go (two micros and two regular sized) and took them out and hid them.

 

Our approver did an excellent job on getting our caches approved (they were approved within twenty-four hours! Thanks again, Floridacacher!), and within twenty-four hours of them being approved they were all found.

 

Now I'm not so sure which is more fun, hunting for caches or finding places to hide them.

[+amytincan]

it IS a great feeling having it out there, isn't it?

 

You'll hear quickly the opinions about the location -- good or bad. If good, GOOD! If some bad reviews come in, just realize it's not personal and is USUALLY meant in the best interests.

 

Congrats!

so far so good. I was really worried that I would mess up. My 13 yo made up the caches so I hope they will stay intact and not get wet inside.

[+nfa]

Congratulations!

 

Planning and placing caches is one of my favorite things about geocaching.

 

I love picking a special place, putting together the cache, and writing the description and clues for it. I also love getting the feedback from finders about their experiences while hunting.

 

Be prepared for people saying that the coords are off...lots of people forget to allow for the error built-in to the process, and are more willing to criticize a new cache.

 

Enjoy!

 

nfa-jamie

[n0wae]

Looks like a good place to share to me. Speaking of sharing... I put a 20$ bill in one of my caches when I placed it. It was sorta a FTF gift in that I didn't expect an even trade. What happened was kinda cool. The first cacher took the $20 and left a $10. The next cacher took the $10 and left a $5.

[+tirediron]

Nothing like the feeling of contributing to the obession hobby is there?

[+SixDogTeam]

Patrick and I have got it down to a science, now. We make up a bunch of black plastic 35 mm film cans up in advance and keep them on the dashboard of the geotruck. Then when we pass by a cemetery, I slow down and heave one of them out the window, while Patrick notes the general location on the GPSr. The first finder usually says something like this "Found it out in the open, placed it where I thought it belonged". (Darned squirrels, heh heh heh) I then ask them exactly where they placed it, tell them they were right, in an e-mail, so I can add a cache page hint ('In the tree', etc.). Within two or three logs, the finders have complained about the coords being off, state their own coords,and we correct them at the top of the cache page.--So actually,our finders do the work of hiding the cache container and obtaining the coordinates for us!! We do a similar deal for our magnetic guard rail caches, except that only about 25% of them STICK.Next week: --How we trick finders into cache maintenance.

[+Team BigW]

Our 7 year old was just beside himself to hide a cache(treasure). We bought the ammo can and he selected the swag and the location. The only thing we helped him with was creating a bit of a puzzle for it. He has us check every day to see if anyone has found it. Every log just makes his day.

[+briansnat]

I placed my 100th cache a number of weeks ago and the feeling was as neat as the first.

 

Like NFA, I enjoy planning the hide. Trying to find unique and different places in the most densely cached state in the nation is a challenge, so I always have my eye out and get excited when I come up with a new spot.

 

Good luck with your cache!

[adampierson]

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, my feelings would be dashed to bits if my first cache's log consisted only of:

 

FTF! TNSL.

[Bobthearch]

I just placed my first an hour ago and submitted the cache five minutes ago. My hope is that eventually someone may look for it. I left a $10 restraunt certificate for the FTF. They'll be hungry after the walk/climb.

 

Yep, it feels 'neat' but there aren't many cachers around here. Ive been FTF at several caches over the last couple of months - many haven't been logged again.

 

-Bob

[+tls11823]

I haven't even placed my first one yet, and I'm excited. My wife stopped at an army surplus store today and picked up an ammo can. She brought it home and asked me if it would make a good cache container. It's in great condition and is a good size. (I haven't yet had the heart to tell her that she paid WAY too much for it based on some of the on-line prices I've seen.)

 

My six-year-old saw it and got totally excited. He was disappointed that there's an approval process behind it - he just wanted to stick it in the woods and wait for people to come. The place we want to place it is on state land, so I know there's an additional approval process there as well. But we'll head out this weekend and scount out a good location. In the meantime I'm ordering some official stickers and log books (and will beat the wife to the punch by buying some of those cans that cheaperthandirt is selling at 6 for $20 US).

 

So, even though our first hide is still a bit around the corner, the process is exciting. When the thing is actually out there in the woods waiting for other eager idiots like us to find it, the real fun will begin.

[+BadAndy]

I get as much or more pleasure from hiding caches than hunting them in most cases. My first few hides were pretty lame in retrospect. After finding a few very clever hides, I started emulating them, then coming up with some ideas of my own.

 

One of my latest hides is a bit overboard. I ended up investing nearly $100.00 in it, and thats not even counting swag or the ftf prize. It was alot of fun putting together, and was well worth the effort.

[+Snoogans]

Our 7 year old was just beside himself to hide a cache(treasure). He has us check every day to see if anyone has found it. Every log just makes his day.

Gotta love that story.

 

Just one more reason for my soapbox. Many people don't consider who's actually behind a cache when they leave a trash log, because a cache for some reason has failed to enhance their idea of what geocaching is all about.

 

Mom was right; If ya can't say something nice...... (at least say thanks for the find.)

 

I personally get much more out of geocaching as a hider, or an event host, than I do as a finder.

 

Many of my caches share very personal favorite spots that I wouldn't just share with anyone. Some are very labor intensive as well. The payoff is when someone posts an account of their experience that is exactly (or close to) how you hoped the cache would be experienced. Many an online cache log has truly made my day.

 

I've had a few physical log books surprise me as well. One in particular, in a remote spot that I didn't think anyone but me spent time there has over 70% of it's finds from people who aren't geocachers.

[+TeamTeeGee]

^ That's the way I want to geocache!

 

Where's the big "thumbs up smiley"?