CacheMania » Camouflage

10 Benefits of Winter Caching

teamvoyagr — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 01:28:12 +0000

Here in the Northern latitudes many people choose to stay indoors during the winter. I encourage those folks that would rather stay warm and cozy indoors to get outside and enjoy some winter caching. Here 10 things I think are benefits of winter geocaching:

Footprints in the snow.
Foliage has turned brown but camouflage stays green.
Swamps and creeks freeze over.
No Mosquitoes!
Wear layers and you won’t overheat.
Fewer people attempting first to find.
You can slide down hills.
Leaves are off the trees making it easier to spot hanging caches (except if they are in evergreens)
Fewer muggles milling about.
Work off your holiday excesses.

Feel free to add your own.

No Joy in Brute Force Caching

No Joy in Brute Force Caching

teamvoyagr — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:22:20 +0000

A couple of times this summer I tried doing noseeum, a micro cache near Huntsville. The cache is rated 5 as it is quite hard to find. This cache is typically found via brute force. You spend a few hours on your hands and knees looking for the cache. This was okay the first time but after a third hour on my knees I’d had enough. The CO was kind enough to send me a picture of the hide to satisfy my curiosity. It is a neat hide but with new growth on the ground the cache is nearly impossible to ‘see’.

I went out today to do a cache that is rated a 3. The cache is in a pile of rocks 3m X 20m. Three cachers logged finds in the first two days and the last 4 cachers have all logged DNF’s. Some other cachers did a nearby cache but I don’t see them logging this one so maybe they didn’t try it. Now that the rock pile is well disturbed you are never sure if you are in the right area. A cache rated 3 is supposed to be hard. I like hard, what I don’t like is brute force.

I thought about it some today when walking back to my car. Why don’t I find these kinds of caches fun? That’s when it dawned on me that I don’t like the brute force approach. That’s not why I cache. I cache so I can get outside and maybe see some interesting places. Piles of rocks or on my hands and knees does nothing for me. This is just my personal opinion. I’m sure there are people out there that like this kind of challenge.

Hiding a Micro Cache

teamvoyagr — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:21:24 +0000

If you live in an urban area chances are you are going to be looking for micro caches at some point. This is a size cache container that is gaining in popularity even in more remote areas where there is lots of room for larger caches.

I’m making a concerted effort to create larger caches but from time-to-time I get the idea for a smaller cache. In some caches it’s a neat container that gives me inspiration. That was the case with my For Whom The Bell Tolls cache. This cache needed the right kind of location to make it work.

I am very pleased with the results of the camouflage for this cache. It seems many finders are also happy with the cache. Here’s a couple of comments form the logs:

“Great hunt! This is what caching is about!”

“Nice hide – very creative”

“Loved the hiding spot!”

If you are going to hide a micro cache do it creatively. Make the hunt fun. I suppose it doesn’t matter what size the container is we should always strive to make it a fun search.

A Natural Hide

teamvoyagr — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:50:59 +0000

Do you notice that I used my flashlight as a fill light?

Ammo Can Geocache

teamvoyagr — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:56:22 +0000

I recently made a series of geocaches from various containers I had lying around the house. I was trying to decided what is the best container for a geocache. I used a round lock-n-lock and a square lock-n-lock. I painted both using camouflage paint. I looked at the cost of these containers, about $3ea when you buy brand name and about $2ea when you buy the dollar store variety. I’d never used an ammo can before so I went hunting for one of those as well.

The ammo can was a bit more expensive at about $7ea but I could tell right away that the ammo can was far more robust than the plastic containers.

One complaint about ammo can goecahes is that they can be hard to open. This is certainly true but you can make it easier to open using a simple technique. Open the ammo can. Find the biggest adjustable wrench you have and close it down until it slips over the lip of the ammo can lid. Gently bend the lip away from the ammo can. Be careful not to go too crazy with this. You just need it a little looser.

The ammo can comes in the typical army green but I like to spray on a bit of a camouflage pattern using camouflage paint. I recommend you use camouflage paint as it produces a mat finish. Put the ammo can geocache in a shady part of the forest and it will be very hard to see, unless you have good coordinates.

An ammo can geocache is also larger than your typical plastic container. This means it can hold more swag. The swag helps keep the kids excited. It’s still a treasure hunt for them. It’s for this reason that I’ll be trying to place more ammo can geocaches.

Ammo Can Geocache with some swag