Well, there are several important things to consider before you hit that “submit” button and unleash your cache on the geocaching community. 

Remember, your cache is out there in the real world.  It will be exposed to weather and to changing seasons.  It can affect and be affected by the plants and animals that come into contact with it.  And, most importantly, people (sometimes lots of people) will constantly be passing it or gazing out their windows at its hiding spot every day.  Your cache may end up being the first experience a member of the general public has with the world of geocaching, so it’s important to make sure it is a cache that has been hidden with integrity, and one that will stand up to public scrutiny in both its placement and in regard to the hide itself.

With that in mind, here are some things you should keep in mind when hiding your cache:

*Location, location, location!  If the cache is on private property, you must obtain permission.  You should also state on the cache page that the cache is “hidden on private property with permission.”  This will avoid confusion, conflict, and nasty emails or logs from disgruntled cachers.

*Location, location, location!  Yes, it’s THAT important!  Is the cache located in an extremely public spot?  Then maybe you should make it easy for cachers to find.  It is very difficult to search exhaustively in a public area without attracting the attention of nearby business owners, neighbors, passersby, and the occasional law enforcement officer.  If any of those folks find your cache, it will probably be not last very long.

*Location, location, location!  Yeah, one more time…bear with me!  Do not place your cache in sensitive environments (landscaped flower beds, old stone walls, among vegetation, on grave markers, etc.).  If there is something nearby that may be damaged and shouldn’t be touched, say so in the cache description (for example, “no need to search the rock wall”).  If searchers disrupt the area around the cache, it WILL get noticed by non-cachers, and not in a good way!

*Location, location…just kidding!  How about: container, container, container!?  Choose your container wisely.  Do not assume that just because something has a lid it is watertight.  Do not assume that just because your container is under something, it doesn’t need to be watertight.  Do not assume that plastic is watertight.  Gladware is made of plastic, and it is NOT watertight.  Believe me, I know!  Fill the sink with water, put a piece of newspaper inside your container, then submerge it for at least several minutes.  If the paper is wet, the container should not be used.  A Ziplock bag will NOT prevent the log sheet from getting wet if the container leaks.

*Parking coords!  Not everyone who hunts for your cache will know where to park.  You will not solve this problem by telling people to “park near where Old Man Ferguson shot the cow on Independence Day,” because people from out of town probably don’t know where that is.  In fact, they probably don’t even care.  Unless the parking area is very, very, very obvious, post parking coords as an additional waypoint.  People will bless you and telepathically send good karma to you if you do.

*Batteries are your friend!  Do not take coords with low batteries.  Do you function well when you are weak from thirst and hunger?  Neither does your Garmin.  Pop in some new batteries when you take your coords, even if you stick them back in the box to save for later and put the old ones back in for your own cache hunts. 

*Coords should not be taken once.  Or twice.  Or three times.  Walk to your cache from several different spots, and when you arrive at GZ, mark a waypoint each time.  Also, stand still at your cache (or set the GPS down) and mark a waypoint every minute or so for five minutes.  Take about ten or twelve waypoints, then average them (or use the “average waypoints” feature of a more advanced GPS unit).  If you need to, visit the site a second time and do this again, since different satellite configurations will yield slightly different results.  If you have accurate coords, you will receive more of the aforementioned blessings and karma!

*Last but not least…is your cache one YOU would enjoy hunting for?  Would YOU have liked to visit the area?  Would YOU have thought it was a neat hide, that there were cool trade items inside, and that you had fun?  The last thing you should do before you hit that “submit” button is ask yourself if you are proud of your cache, and if YOU would want to find it too.   Now go out and hide something for everyone to find!

By Whistler & Co. (B.Grace)

 Whistler & Co. have been caching since the summer of 2005 in the wilds (and not-so-wild parts too) of Northeast Pennsylvania. Although their first 1000 finds were made with a little yellow Etrex, they have since upgraded to slightly more sophisticated GPSr's. However, they firmly resolve never to go paperless, preferring to cache in the "Amish" style. Whistler & Co. consists of Whistler, who does the dirty work, and his wife, who does all the story writing, picture taking, cache logging, forum kvetching, errand running, etc. Any and all opinions are hers, not his, but he'll agree with them if she bribes him with his favorite supper!

Comments(1):

1. Great article. This should be required reading before hiding your first cache.

   Tuesday, July 14, 2009 Daniel