Archive for December, 2009

Here’s the scenario:

You get the cache container all ready to go. It has a log book, swag, the geocaching disclaimer and the PERFECT camouflage. You hike out to where you’re going to place the cache, going through all manner of pricklies and brambles. You find the PERFECT spot, stash the cache, take a GPS reading (I’ve some tips on just how to do this!) and the scurry home to submit it to geocaching.com.

But, alas! When you submit it for publishing, you get that nasty message that says that it is too close to another cache! All caches need to be .10 miles apart. Geocaching.com says: “Cache containers and physical stages should generally be separated by a minimum of 0.1 miles (528 feet or 161 m).”

Here’s a tip to help you find likely places for your caches BEFORE you get all carried away!

This past summer my family and I were camping and caching near Flagstaff, Arizona. Since I came up a full week after my folks were there, my Dad asked me to research all the caches near Ashurst Lake. Well, that was really easy since by that time, EatStayPlay.com had coordinates for most attractions. All you need to do is visit the attraction page on the website and then click on the link: Find geocaches.

Bingo! A link to geocaching.com with all the caches listed. But, that didn’t really tell me WHERE those caches were located in relationship to the lake.

So, what I did was click on a cache listing. For this example, since now there ARE caches at the lake, we’ll pick “Mud Bug Haven”, the second one down and placed by EatStayPlay & ESP Boss. Scroll down on the cache page until you see the lower map.

And then click on the map which will show you all caches as icons on the page. As you can see from this view, there are only TWO caches near this huge, popular body of water. That means that it is ripe for placing caches just about anywhere there’s a good spot. In fact, when I first placed “Mud Bug Haven” it was the only cache there! But, since I live about two hours away from this cache, I wanted to be REALLY sure before I placed it that I wasn’t going to have to drive back up to the cache to move it!

(Here’s the link to Mud Bug Haven in case you want to see it for yourself!)

Now, what about if an area where there are caches? Principle is the same. In this image, I zeroed on a road here in Prescott near Goldwater Lake, a road that I was pretty sure had nice pull-offs for caches.

And what do I see? I see caches evenly spaced along a road, Cougar Trail. I’m pretty sure that THIS means that in every pull-out there’s already a cache. But, this is an instant where I really can’t tell without driving the road.

So, if I REALLY want to lay a cache along this road, here’s what I do.

• Load the caches into the GPS.
• Find my favorite pull off, one that backs public forest land.
• Then, hike AWAY from the cache, into the forest, for .10 miles to hide the cache. Not at all a park-n-grab, but at least I know that it’s likely to be found. MUCH better than placing a cache only to find out that it is too close to another cache.

Now, here’s a question for all you senior geocachers out there:

How do you find likely places to place a cache?

What techniques do YOU use before you place the cache container to make sure there are no other caches nearby?

Have you ever asked somebody to move their cache so you could place yours?

Do you remember that commercial? That one where the company launches their website on the Internet and the owners are all gathered around a computer in an otherwise empty room. They’re watching the counter.      Nothing.

Watching the counter.      Nothing.

Watching the counter.      Nothing.

And then suddenly, a click, an order. Then another! Then the numbers shoot through the roof and one man turns to the other and says…

I think that might be one of the experiences new geocachers have with placing their first geocache. A few people find it and then WHAMMY! your geocache shoots to be the most popular cache in your area. People are talking about what a great location, what clever clues, fantastic swag. It’s worth driving two hours JUST to find it.

Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration! But, still, when I placed my first geocache, I expected it to be found regularly. And to have comments about it more exhaustive than TFTC SL.

The very first geocache I placed is called High Gear. And it IS in a fantastic location, if I do say so myself. A friend of mine explained the location: a bike frame hanging about 15 feet up a ponderosa tree. Wow! What a neat place. AND, there’s a bike shop in Prescott that happens to be called High Gear — a perfect name.

I spent WEEKS getting ready to place the cache. The friend who knew exactly where the bike was made a trip to the site to take a GPS reading to make sure there wasn’t a cache there. At the time I didn’t know about how I could use geocaching.com to figure out if this was a good location WITHOUT heading up there. (I’ll write an article about how I do that!)

Then, I actually went to Wal-mart and spent a small fortune on a cache container. And on perfect bike swag. And on camouflage patterned duct tape. And then, I visited the High Gear Bike store to get my FTF prize: a $15 gift certificate.

When the bike store heard what I was doing, they actually gave me some swag and the gift card for FREE. Funny thing, the owner had NO idea what geocaching even was — just liked the idea that I was going to call a bike in a tree “High Gear”.

On the day of placing the cache, we had a picnic and then headed up the trail. And up. And up. Since I had never been up the trail before, I didn’t realize how long it was, about a mile. And it was a good trail but covered in loose rocks so I had to be careful in the climbing. And a pretty steep elevation gain.

So, cache perfectly placed, I headed home to nurse my blisters and aching legs. And to post it on geocaching.com.

And then I waited for somebody to find it. And waited some more. The FTF was by a die-hard cacher in the area nearly FIVE DAYS after the cache was published. In my area, that’s unheard of! FTF can happen in as little as 5 HOURS.

And two weeks later the cache was found again. Then no finds for 5 months.

Needless to say, I wondered what I had done wrong in placing the cache. I mean, yeah, it was a hike, but not a crazy hike. It wasn’t like hiking all that way to find a micro. I had good swag in there! And, it was well hid from muggles, but kinda obvious to anybody who plays the game.

What gives?

Then I realized something: it was the only cache on that trail. There had been one about half way up, but it had been muggled and removed. It was just too much of a hike for anybody but a serious cacher to go after.

Then, something really neat happened: four OTHER caches were placed along the same trail, all leading up to High Gear. Suddenly people WERE making the trek up and down the mountain to find MY cache. Apparently, in my area at least, four caches with a 2 mile hike (since you have to hike up and down!) made it a worthwhile trail.

Here’s the moral of the story:

Caches along a trail get found!

Most people like PNG caches, but it’s nice to get out of the car and stretch your legs a bit. It’s even better when there are plenty of geocaches along the way.

So tell me, what’s your experience in your neck of the woods. How far will people hike for a solitary cache? Do caches along a trail see more action?

By the way, High Gear has now been found a grand total of 9 times in the last 9 months. Not going to win any most-visited-cache awards, but I still think the swag is cool!

My favorite part of the whole geocaching process is not finding the cache, signing the log, or even trading swag. My FAVORITE part is actually reading the log. I love reading the history of the cache, noting when items were placed for trade and when they moved on.

The best logs have a little “snippet” in them; the story of the find, the drive, the hike, etc. I love reading the antidotes. This is one of my favorites! It was one of the first caches we ever found. It’s near Williams, Arizona, above Kaibab Lake. Kaibab Lake actually has a TON of geocaches nearby but this is the only one I’ve found personally: GC86B4

But, of course, like anybody, I was puzzled by some of the things said in a log. What, for instance does:

TFTC TN SL mean??

Is this short hand for:

This Find Took Climbing. Tired Now. Sleep Later. ?

Well, it took me a long time, but I think I finally have most of the cache signing jargon figured out. These are the most common abbreviations I’ve seen.

Common Geocaching Abbreviations:

ATCF – As The Crow Flies. Point to point mileage, irrespective of roads or barriers. Note that it’s not a true point-to-point distance, as the distance calculated by a GPS is actually measured following a mathematical model of the curvature of the earth.

BYOP – Bring Your Own Pen/Pencil. An acronym often used by cache owners to communicate to other geocachers that you will need to bring your writing utensil in order to sign the cache logbook.

CITO – Cache In Trash Out. On your way to find the geocache, pick up trash and clean up the area. CITO is an ongoing environmental initiative supported by the worldwide geocaching community. Since 2002, geocachers have been dedicated to cleaning up parks and other cache-friendly places around the world. Learn more at www.geocaching.com/cito.

CO – Cache Owner.

DNF – Did Not Find. An acronym used by geocachers to state that they did not find a cache. This is also a type of online log on Geocaching.com and is useful for alerting cache owners of potential issues. Cache owners who repeatedly receive “Did Not Find” logs should check to see that there cache has not been removed.

FTF – First to Find. An acronym written by geocachers in physical cache logbooks or online when logging cache finds to denote being the first to find a new geocache.

GCxxxx – Abbreviation for a cache identifier used on geocaching.com. Also known as GC code.

GPSr – Global Position Satellite Receiver. Slang for a GPS device.

GZ – “Ground Zero. The point where the coordinates displayed on your GPS exactly match the coordinates given for a cache. Can also mean the location where the cache is hidden, does not necessarily mean on the ground since many caches are hidden above or below the ground.

L: - Left. Means that they left a trade item. Usually logged like this: L: Keychain

LEO – Law Enforcement Officer.

LN – Left Nothing.

LPC – Lamp Post Cache. A very common hiding place for micro caches, this exploits the fact that the shroud (or “skirt”) on lamp posts that cover the anchor bolts are usually not secured, and can be lifted up to provide a hiding place.

MEFF – Most Esteemed First Finder. (I’ve never personally seen this one but I could see how it might exist!)

MKH – Magnetic Key Holder. The hide-a-key box, usually intended to conceal a car or house key, can be utilized as a ready-made micro container. Since they are usually not water tight, logs need to be within small zip-lock baggies, if the container is going to be out in the elements.

MOC – Members Only Cache. A Members Only Cache is one that’s reserved for Premium Members of geocaching.com. MOC caches are designated with a icon. Only Premium Members can display a MOC cache page, and consequently, only Premium Members can log a MOC.

NIAH – Needle In A Haystack. A small cache placed in an area where there are a great number of possible hiding locations.

P & G – Park and Grab. A easy-to-find cache that you can get very close to by car. Sometimes written as “P-n-G” or “PNG”.

PAF – Phone A Friend. Usually done in the field, via cellphone. This may take one of two forms. If the cacher is hunting a cache without the cache page information, he or she may call someone who will look up the cache page and relay the description and hint. In other cases, the cacher may phone someone who has already found the cache, in hopes of getting additional information about its location.

PI – Poison Ivy. Meaning that poison ivy (or sumac) might be in the area and finders beware!

R.O.W. – Right Of Way. Often, the area between a street and the sidewalk.

SBA – Should Be Archived. Log type indicating that there is a severe problem with a cache (missing, destroyed, inaccessible, or on private property without permission). When a SBA log is made to a cache, a copy of it is automatically sent to the geocaching.com administration, who then route it to a local reviewer. The official log type is Needs Archived but the term Should Be Archived came first, and has stuck.

SL – Signed Log. Every geocache item should have a paper log near it and geocachers will sign the log to show they found it. They typically sign their geocaching.com username instead of their real name.

STF – Second To Find. The Silver medal winner in the race to find a cache first.

SWAG – An acronym often referred to as standing for ‘Stuff We All Get.” It includes the trade items left in caches by geocachers.

T: – Took. Usual short hand is something like this: T: Keychain L: Golf Ball

TB – Travel Bug. This is a blanket term for any trackable including a geocoin.

TFTC – Thanks For The Cache. An acronym written by geocachers in physical cache logbooks or online when logging cache finds. Occasionally written as T4TC.

TFTH – Thanks For The Hide. (or Hunt). Occasionally written as T4TH.

TN – Took Nothing.

TNLN -     Took Nothing. Left Nothing. The cacher did not exchange an item from the cache contents.

TNLNSL – Took Nothing, Left Nothing, Signed Log. Similar to TNLN above, but also indicating that they signed the cache’s logbook.

TNSL – Took Nothing. Signed Logbook.

TNX4GC – Thanks For The Geocache. Similar to TFTC.

TOTT – Tool Of The Trade. This generally indicates that some type of tool or instrument may be required to retrieve or gain access to a cache. The nature of the tool is usually not specified, but there may be hints within the cache page. It could be an actual tool, such as a screwdriver, or something as simple as a long stick to retrieve a cache from a high perch.

TPTB – The Powers That Be. Refers to the upper echelon of the geocaching.com administrative hierarchy.

UPS – Unnatural Pile of Sticks. A common telltale sign of a hidden cache.

UPR – Unnatural Pile of Rocks. Refers to common practice of stack rocks on top of the cache to hide its location. The resulting pile often stands out to natural formations.

URP – Unnatural Rock Pile.

XNSL – Exchanged Nothing, Signed Log. A variation on TNLNSL (see above).

YAPIDKA – Yet Another Park I Didn’t Know About. Refers to the fact that some caches bring people to parts of town they know little about.

This is a GREAT log: plenty of abbreviations and a fantastic story of the experince.

If you want to read the original log post, it’s available at:
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=fdc38372-3707-4423-9f6a-4458f81f1156

Now, here’s a question for all you senior cachers out there:

Is it more common to use the abbreviations in the written logs in the cache or in the digital logs on Geocaching.com?

And, in doing my research, there are a TON of abbreviations I’ve never seen before. Is that just me or are they rare?

I’m always very interested in the best cache camouflage that’s out there in the “wild”. Like in the animal kingdom, camo can make or break a cache. If it lacks camouflage it’s just too easy. Of course, too hard of a hide isn’t always fun either! In my opinion, there’s a big difference between camouflage and unique hides. Camouflage is designed to be that thing that you look at and look at and you’re not sure that the cache is there and then you get an “a-ha!” moment when you find it.

Unique hides are for location or whimsy. They’re usually evident that the cache HAS to be there.

Here are some examples from my favorite caches. I’m purposefully leaving the GC codes out (the codes provided by geocaching.com that give the name and coordinates of the caches) so there won’t be any spoilers.

Whimsy Caches:

This metal javalina is on the side of the road, nearly in somebody’s front yard. A park-and-grab style cache that gets serious props for it’s whimsy.

Now, this man is in the middle of nowhere. And NO, before you ask, it wasn’t built to hide the cache! The person who hid this cache actually says that he found it out hunting in the late 1970′s or early 1980′s — that’s long before the creation of geocaching. Of course, this stone man in Northern Arizona gets my whimsy vote since it was the ONLY place the cache could be hidden. Plus, the cache container was hidden in the man’s chest. He is a geocacher at heart!

Excellent Camouflage:

Ah, a stick. Under a tree. With LOTS of rusty tin cans lying around. Now, the photos just don’t do it justice. Since this stick was under a palo verde tree. In a basin full of OTHER palo verde trees and the clue was something like: “Stick”.

You can see in the background all the palo verde trees as well as the multitudes of “sticks” on the ground. Not very helpful!

This pill bottle was painted grey and then clipped into a carved hole in the stick. The clip is a hose clamp. The whole thing is VERY clever. In fact, the Queen Mother actually moved the stick with the end of her walking pole before me, the ever brave Outdoor Princess, actually flipped the stick over. Of course, being in Arizona, there could have been any number of poisonous creepy crawlies in residence under the stick. There were evidence of biting spiders but no actual spiders in residence at the time.

And then of course, there are the caches that fall somewhere between whimsy and excellent camouflage.

Best of Both Worlds:

This is a favorite cache of mine in Tucson, Arizona. Not so much that it was hard to find, in that there were so many great PLACES to look! This is the type of place that you just need to visit. My first trip was Thanksgiving 2008 but I was back for Thanksgiving 2009 to enjoy the garden in the daylight. (The light was failing on my first visit.)

This could be excellent camo except that the bolt was a bit out of place in the welcome sign. It was a bit TOO easy to find since it was the only bolt of it’s kind. Full props for camouflage, it’s just the context of the hide could have been more exciting.

I’m sure that sign posts all over the geocaching Universe have micros like this one. But this was the first time I’d ever seen it and I was impressed. A little obvious for the next time I go looking for one like this (whimsy) but for the size and coloring (excellent camouflage!)

What are your favorite camo hides? What about the whimsy hides? Let me know what YOU think!

Don’t forget: You can find caches near your favorite attractions on EatStayPlay.com!