My First Hide(s) And The 528 Rule

[+PlasteredDragon]

I got hooked on geocaching last fall... I'm no expert (only about 20 finds) but I'm having fun and I am happy with my progress.

 

So having been at it for awhile now, I would like to hide some caches in a park not far from my house. It's a wooded park with a pond and trails maintained by the city park division--it's a pretty place, and my town's best kept secret.

 

The area is about a half-mile by a half-mile plus, hilly, and mostly woodland. I met with the city Park Board tonight and got approval to hide caches in the park.

 

I have some great ideas for where to hide them, and they would all be somewhere between .1 and .2 miles apart as the crow flies, but because of the pond and the lay of the land, realistically they would be much farther apart by foot.

 

But they are all in the same parkland so any visitor who shows up to find one will surely want to hit them all, and since there's parking available, the car can be left wherever you parked it while you pick them each off.

 

I really don't want to make them into a multicache, but I'm wondering if people think I would have trouble getting them approved as traditional caches?

[+webscouter.]

I don't think you would have a problem making them individual caches as long as they meet the .1 mile requirement.

[Keystone]

You also need to pay attention to the rest of the Cache Saturation Guideline. It's not just a 528 foot rule! That guideline goes on to say:

 

On the same note, don't go cache crazy and hide a cache every 600 feet just because you can. If you want to create a series of caches, the reviewer may require you to create a multi-cache, if the waypoints are close together.

 

So, if you set out 25 caches that are each 528 feet apart, you can reasonably expect to be asked by the reviewer why you're not making a multicache. Be prepared with answers. One of the best answers is that you've got express permission for each of the caches! Good job on that. Also, if the caches make sense... they stand on their own merits, taking the finder to interesting spots in the park, rather than just being every 600 feet along a single trail... then you ought to be able to demonstrate for the reviewer that they should be listed separately.

 

If, on the other hand, you're talking about 3 caches that are at least 528 feet apart, then this normally shouldn't be an issue at all.

[+Renegade Knight]

You should be fine. You got permission and the entire purpose for the unclear and much debated because it's arbitrary "cache saturation rule" is to prevent problems with permission.

 

Also if you have to walk around a pond then there is some flexability on the 0.1 mile rule. Of course Kestone is an approver so he's got the inside track.

[+PlasteredDragon]

Thanks for your responses everyone! I'm very excited about these caches. I even bought a button making kit and made a handful of special buttons for each cache that has the cache name and some artwork on it... I figure the FTF folks would probably appreciate the opportunity to have something special for getting in early.

 

On the matter of permission, it took awhile to get into one of the Park Board's meetings... and every town is different. One cacher friend of mine hasn't made any hides in his town yet and he figures he probably won't be able to in his favorite parks because another cacher warned him "don't ask that park board for permission to do anything unless you want the answer no".

 

I thought that hiding a cache in a park or conservation area without express permission was strictly forbidden by geocaching.com. Is that not the case?

Edited May 4, 2005 by PlasteredDragon

[+welch]

I thought that hiding a cache in a park or conservation area without express permission was strictly forbidden by geocaching.com. Is that not the case?

The guidelines (one of the things you agree to know,understand, and be following when you check those two boxes at the bottom of the cache submission form) say 'adequate'. As in "By submitting a cache listing, you assure us that you have adequate permission to hide your cache in the selected location." The reviwers only double check (like holding a listing if it is not specially stated) for permission on the caches that in parks with known policies, not on every submission.

[+briansnat]

I thought that hiding a cache in a park or conservation area without express permission was strictly forbidden by geocaching.com. Is that not the case?

 

The guidelines call for "adequate permission". That means in places that require permission, you need it. In places that don't require it, you don't.

 

Many park officials know about geocaching, but have a sort of "don't ask, don't tell" attitude. They don't want to know about it, because if they do they have to get lawyers and bureaucrats involved. Therefore, they let it go on with a wink.

Edited May 4, 2005 by briansnat

[+PlasteredDragon]

I wrote an article on my weblog about the new caches I'm working on. This is quite an adventure for me since I've never hidden a cache before.

 

If anyone wants to read it, here it is.

[+the hermit crabs]

I wrote an article on my weblog about the new caches I'm working on.  This is quite an adventure for me since I've never hidden a cache before. 

 

If anyone wants to read it, here it is.

Wow, looks like you've really done your homework, PlasteredDragon. I'm really looking forward to finding your caches when they come out -- they'll be just a few towns away from us. (And I bet that after the similar experiences we both had at "Castle in the Trees", your coordinates will be dead-on. too. ) Great work!

[+PlasteredDragon]

Wow! That was fast!

 

I submitted my first caches this morning, three of them, and then went to hide them. By the time I got back, they were approved!

 

My New "Dragon" Caches

 

Yayyy! And thanks, gpsfun, for the speedy approval!

[+PlasteredDragon]

Regarding coordinate accuracy, HermitCrabs, all my caches are under treecover in a hilly area. There is definitely drift to contend with. But I took 3 different readings on 2 different days and averaged them. Hopefully that will get you close.

 

But if you do visit these caches please upload your own coordinates. More data points means a more accurate location.

[Keystone]

Congrats on getting your caches listed! And now you've learned a good lesson: either have your cache *in place* when you submit it, or leave a "note to reviewer" saying that you will place it once you hear that there are no issues, but to please hold off until then. 90-something percent of all caches are in place and we assume this unless told otherwise. There have been plenty of unfortunate situations where eager FTF hunters have seen a new cache listed, but the owner hadn't hidden the container yet, figuring that they would have a couple of days to do so before the cache got listed.

[+PlasteredDragon]

Congrats on getting your caches listed!  And now you've learned a good lesson:  either have your cache *in place* when you submit it, or leave a "note to reviewer" saying that you will place it once you hear that there are no issues, but to please hold off until then.  90-something percent of all caches are in place and we assume this unless told otherwise.  There have been plenty of unfortunate situations where eager FTF hunters have seen a new cache listed, but the owner hadn't hidden the container yet, figuring that they would have a couple of days to do so before the cache got listed.

That's interesting! According to the cache rules, and printed on the front of the "official" geocaching logbooks, you are supposed to write the "waypoint code" (as in, GCNW3W for example).

 

But in order to get the code, I have to submit the cache. Right? I just wanted the waypoint codes so I could finish putting documentation on the caches.

 

So I can ask the reviewer to contact me and let me know if the cache is acceptable, and to old off with the actual approval until they hear from me that the box is in place? Cool! That's very helpful advice, thanks

 

Anyway... I hid them immediately after submitting them. I doubt anyone would have gotten to the hiding place before me. But, if some cacher went looking for them in the first 20 minutes, I have two things to say to them (1) I sincerely apologize for any consternation I caused and (2) WOW, you are HARD CORE!!!

[+Alan2]

Wow! That was fast!

 

I submitted my first caches this morning, three of them, and then went to hide them. By the time I got back, they were approved!

 

My New "Dragon" Caches

 

Yayyy! And thanks, gpsfun, for the speedy approval!

Good luck. Have a question. How do you file a new cache and then go hide it after approval? How do you know the coordinates?

[+Team Benhamtroll]

I would assume that he gathered the coordinates, went home to submit them and then took his boxes out to hide . . .

[+PlasteredDragon]

I would assume that he gathered the coordinates, went home to submit them and then took his boxes out to hide . . .

Basically yes. I scouted the area on several trips, and monitored my potential hiding places to see if they got a lot of traffic, or if they got disturbed. I also took gps fixes on multiple visits to average together and make sure I had good coords. Essentially, I researched my cache locations before I put the caches there. By the time it came to hide them, I knew exactly where they were going to go, and how I was going to camouflage them, etc.

 

But I needed the waypoint code to write on the box and logbook, and I didn't want to place the box without those, and then go find it again and add them on the off chance that someone might find it by accident in the meantime.

[+Team Perks]

But I needed the waypoint code to write on the box and logbook, and I didn't want to place the box without those, and then go find it again and add them on the off chance that someone might find it by accident in the meantime.

The best way to do this is to draft the cache page, then uncheck the "this cache is currently active" box before you submit it. Once you hide the cache, then you edit your cache page, punch in the final coordinates, and then check the box.

 

That way you'll have the waypoint number, and if you have a quick approver, you won't have people beating you to the cache in their quest to be FTF.

 

Trust me, you don't want to find out he hard way that you didn't get there fast enough...

[+PlasteredDragon]

The best way to do this is to draft the cache page, then uncheck the "this cache is currently active" box before you submit it. Once you hide the cache, then you edit your cache page, punch in the final coordinates, and then check the box.

Now that is terrific advice! Thanks!