"The Good 'Cache Hiding' Guide"

For all your general chit chat, caching or not.
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totalube
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"The Good 'Cache Hiding' Guide"

Post by totalube » 25 January 09 9:26 pm

Recently there have been a couple of threads expressing concern about the quality of hides.<P>

http://forum.geocaching.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=11637<P>

http://forum.geocaching.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=10965<P>

So I thought a new thread on hints on creating a good hide might be useful for both new and old cachers.<P>

Different people will think that different things make a good hide, so;<BR>
If we could keep this on a positive note without turning into criticisms, or an anti micro/suburban/etc hide thread.<P>

If people could add suggestions and discuss hiding issues with relation to keeping the quality of hides high.<P>

I know that there are FAQs, etc, but we might be able to get some more detail into the art of hiding.<P>

A basic thing to start with, water proofing so at least the log stays dry.<P>
Last edited by totalube on 25 January 09 10:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

OMY130
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Post by OMY130 » 25 January 09 9:37 pm

For all of those who are pro micro, in your cache notes explain why the cache is here eg. First kiss, scenery, tough mother of a hide. It may make the finder more appreciative of your cache hide. I am not a micro lover but if you can make me believe in the caches' value, it will make me write something nice instead of nothing.<BR>... Geoff ...

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Post by OMY130 » 25 January 09 9:51 pm

Do not wrap your cache in a rubbish/plastic bag ... PERIOD .... <P>No ifs, no buts about it. If the cache isn't waterproof without out, it won't be with it either. The bag collects moisture, spiders & the like & the unwaterproof cache becomes damp. I actively remove ALL bags I come across. If you're a cache owner & wondered where it went, yes it was me.

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SamCarter
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Post by SamCarter » 25 January 09 10:03 pm

Great idea for a thread, but is it possible to rename it as I misconstrued its meaning (I was trying to work out why anyone would actually want to hide their hints)?! Perhaps, Hints for Creating Good Hides?

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totalube
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Post by totalube » 25 January 09 10:05 pm

SamCarter wrote:Great idea for a thread, but is it possible to rename it as I misconstrued its meaning (I was trying to work out why anyone would actually want to hide their hints)?! Perhaps, Hints for Creating Good Hides?
How do I rename the thread?

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totalube
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Post by totalube » 25 January 09 10:09 pm

totalube wrote:
SamCarter wrote:Great idea for a thread, but is it possible to rename it as I misconstrued its meaning (I was trying to work out why anyone would actually want to hide their hints)?! Perhaps, Hints for Creating Good Hides?
How do I rename the thread?
Never mind, I figured it out. Hope the new name is better.

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Post by OMY130 » 25 January 09 10:17 pm

As finders, we too are responsible for the caching demise. Why do people thank others for a cache that is of poor quality. I've found the most dank, damp, small piece of crap cache which has been placed by the hider in the poorest of fashion in the worst of places & other finders have thanked them!!!!! WHY!!!!<P>If we thank them for poor caches, they will hide more of the same<p>
I have tried to advise some of our newer hiders on their hiding techniques & have been told that if I don't like them, don't do them. So I don't. There's still thousands to find up here anyway so no loss

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Studit
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Post by Studit » 25 January 09 10:59 pm

I might be a bit stupid, but specific hints would be nice...

If a cache is hidden in the bush the hint should be specific. 2 of the caches I have attempted to find recently have been in the bush and the clues have been fairly ambiguous.

I would like to nominat the hints left, but that would give the owners up. I am 100% sure that they have the best of intentions.

I felt really bad about trampling a lot of scrub and gave up because of the damage I was doing.

I also note that a cache I found some time ago was removed due to damage cased to its surrounds as the result of the dry weather we have been having. Good move on that one.

I enjoy a challenge, but not the damage.

Studit.

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Post by caughtatwork » 25 January 09 11:03 pm

Great idea.

Let's not lose any good thoughts though. Maybe someone can update the wiki as we go along.
http://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/Hiding_a_cache

That would ensure that all of the great information is kept together and made useful for all and sundry.

If you want a wiki account, just contact Cached who is the entry guard for the wiki.

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totalube
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Post by totalube » 25 January 09 11:10 pm

caughtatwork wrote:Great idea.

Let's not lose any good thoughts though. Maybe someone can update the wiki as we go along.
http://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/Hiding_a_cache

That would ensure that all of the great information is kept together and made useful for all and sundry.

If you want a wiki account, just contact Cached who is the entry guard for the wiki.
Well I was hoping to summarise the info into this thread as we go, but I guess it would be better to update the wiki.

I will contact Cached about getting a wiki account.

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Post by caughtatwork » 25 January 09 11:30 pm

Either as you go or at the end.
My point was to capture all the great things we know so we don't lose them over time.
Thanks for the great idea. It's this sort of thing that makes the community stronger and the game greater.

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Post by Papa Bear_Left » 26 January 09 1:01 am

Be prepared to spend a little money on your cache. A lunchbox with almost no swaps will a) not be waterproof and b) disappoint the kids who are looking forward to the 'treasure' It also helps you to avoid the temptation of placing a whole string of caches where one or two good ones might serve your reputation better.

The best containers have a positive seal, either a Lock'n'Lock type (or the poor but adequate cousin, the Sistema) or an ammo box or a PVC pipe with a screw-on lid. If there's not a rubber seal, just the shape of the plastic moulding, then moisture will get in as the air goes in and out with temperature variations, even if the container's not directly exposed to rain, run-off, etc.


Try to think about the fact that YOU know exactly where your cache is, but finders will only have a rough idea. There's ways to hide a cache that are obvious to a cacher while remaining unlikely to be noticed by muggles. Suspicious piles of rocks, sticks, bark, etc. shine out like beacons to the experienced cacher's eye while looking natural enough to anyone else.
Even well-meaning cachers can do a lot of unsightly damage to the local environment while looking for an overly well-hidden container. If you want to make it a clever hide, you need to consider the effects and minimise the chance of this damage.


Avoid places where kids are likely to spend idle time. They look under things and inside things and are all too likely to walk off with your cache if they discover it. Sometimes they'll bring it back, but that's the exception not the rule.
If you want to highlight a scenic lookout, for example, place it along the track to it, not right at the site. Bored kids will be poking around while Mum and Dad take photos, but they're unlikely to be pausing for long on the way there or back. Caches on playground equipment have short lifetimes, typically.


If you're likely to place a cache on the spur of the moment, take the time to prepare a good one and keep it in the car. Takeaway containers with KFC towelettes for swaps won't impress your finders, regardless of how nice the location you chanced across is!


An easy and hard-wearing way to camo a plastic box is to cover it with black gaffa tape. The tough cloth type will help protect your cache from UV degradation as well as making it less obvious in its hidey-hole. It's also good for some protection against abrasion for caches hidden with rocks on top of them (although an ammo can is best for those if you can fit one...)
You can also get camo tape in a few colours and patterns (although bear in mind that the green tape that blends so well in winter might stand out like the proverbial amongst the dried out stalks of summer in dry climates!)

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Post by SamCarter » 26 January 09 7:14 am

Think about what a finder is going to look like while they are searching for your cache. Will the finder look suspicious? (This is why playground hides need to be carefully thought out.) Will the finder be there too long trying to find the cache and thus make your cache vulnerable to someone who wonders what that strange person was doing "over there"?

A cache description that includes something about what the cacher can expect (e.g., "this multi will take you on a 2km walk but you can access the points by car") gives the finder an idea of what to expect, how much time to allow, and whether it fits their capabilities. It can be very frustrating to rock up to do a cache and find the terrain or time factor is too much for you.

Think about the POINT of your cache. If it's about the location, highlight this in the description; and an easy-to-find hide is probably going to be appreciated. Of course, I don't mind exceptions to this advice, so long as people have done it well. If it's about the cache itself (e.g., a cunning hide) then you still have to choose the location carefully so that a finder doesn't mind or worry about spending a bit of time there.

Think carefully about just how cunning your hides are and where you've placed them. I have encountered a few quite official looking hides which I have been a bit worried about touching because I haven't been sure if it's the cache or the real official thing. I'm not saying don't do this, but just think it through so that finders aren't likely to do something wrong in the finding of it. (One of my more bizarre experiences of "Is that real or a cache?" was encountering a very still blue-tongue lizard under a bush, and having to wait until it blinked before I was sure it wasn't a garden ornament used as a cache!!)

If you're doing a micro, I reckon it's better to try to create a log "book" that ISN'T folded if it's at all possible. The folding and re-folding of the paper will eventually cause the log to disintegrate.

I love it when it is obvious the hider has gone to an effort: on the description, on the container, on the location, on the contents of the cache, on the hide itself, and on maintainenance afterwards.

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Post by SamCarter » 26 January 09 7:35 am

And another thing about the "point": hiding something somewhere under an extensive expanse of rocks because you know that will make it really hard to find is a point NOT appreciated by too many cachers. For a finder, trying thousands of hiding places is tedious and time-consuming, and I don't reckon it's a huge amount of fun. (YMMV). This rule can probably be broken, but be creative and fun about how to do it!!!! (And, of course, I'm perfectly happy to for you to hide it in rocks if you can make it "muggle invisible, cacher obvious"!)

DON'T put important information in the hint. The hint is meant to be something the finder can CHOOSE to use if he/she gets stuck. I once went two different "long way"s up a mountain, only to discover, when I got home, that the hint had actually told me the best way of approaching the top. I reckon that information should have been in the cache description.

Before putting out your first hide, it really is worth making sure you've found a few caches, preferably placed by different people, and perhaps in a few different areas (e.g., country vs suburbs). If you've got an idea then it might be worth running it past one of the "gurus" available from this site, or another caching friend. This may help you get a sense of it will "work" and be enjoyed by others.

Advice about best ways to access the hide area can be appreciated in the cache description (e.g., "there is a track 100m north of the Smith St/Brown Rd intersection"). Not everyone has mapping software, and in country areas the quality of the paper maps a person may be carrying may not be enough to help them find the best way there.

If you've had to take care packing things into the cache (e.g., the log book is a tight fit), all your finders will have to do so too (and probably won't be as careful, just by the way!), and so those things are almost certain to get damaged (or your cache will). Sometimes tight fits are unavoidable, but if you can do something about it (e.g., trim the log book, give some advice in the cache description about (for instance) how to roll up the log and get it back in cache) then this will help.

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Post by Team Rubik » 26 January 09 8:55 am

Splel chick you're cash discripshin!!<br>

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