How to Successfully Hide a Geocaching Container

Geocaching is a GPS-based sport that combines technology with outdoor sports in fun and interesting ways. Geocachers will hide a container, containing a notebook known as a "logbook" and maybe little items meant for trade known as "swag", in an area. The Geocachers will mark the coordinates of the container's location using a handheld GPS receiver and then upload those coordinates, and several clues and descriptions about the hidden container, to the Geocaching.com website. Other Geocachers will then download those coordinates to their handheld GPS receivers and follow those coordinates to the container's location to find it, sign the logbook, then add their names to that Geocaching container's page on Geocaching.com. Readers can find many sources and introduction articles for Geocaching here on Associated Content to learn more about getting started.

For those who have been Geocaching and are ready to place their first hidden container, there are concerns and risks. The first concern is gaining permission to place the container in the location the Geocacher wants. The Geocacher must do research to find the owners of the property and gain their permission. The Geocacher might have to educate those people about Geocaching and they might have to give up hope of hiding in that spot if the owners refuse to allow it. Some municipal jurisdictions do not have restrictions on Geocaching so permission is not an issue in parks or public areas in a place that has no ordinances or laws pertaining to the sport.

The next concern is visibility. Is this location a high-traffic area, meaning a lot of people travel through the area each day? Geocaching has a level to the sport called "stealth" that allows containers to be more difficult to find because they are in high-traffic areas. This is a specific challenge that can be very fun for Geocachers to attempt to find a container among so many people who aren't playing the game without being noticed. Unfortunately, this is also a great way to have a Geocaching container detonated by the local law enforcement bomb squad because someone who wasn't playing mistook Geocachers finding the container as suspicious and destructive behavior. It has happened numerous times and even though the bomb squad can often identify a Geocaching container when they see it, they still have to follow protocol and detonate the container. Since Geocachers can do nothing about the paranoia and lack of common sense of people who call bomb scares on Geocaching containers, they can help prevent this from happening by hiding containers in areas with lower traffic.

Identification is mandatory in a Geocaching container's survival. There are stickers available from the Groundspeak, Inc.'s store and there are free print-out information available on Geocachers-U.com that can be included in and on a Geocaching container. Information should include: a brief explanation of Geocaching, a procedure of what to do if the Geocaching container should be moved, the name of the Geocaching game piece, the GC code of the Geocaching container as provided on the website, a name or trail name of the Geocacher or Geocachers responsible for the container, and an email address or phone number where the Geocacher can be reached concerning the container. While it is true that any individual will destroy what they wish to destroy, an ordinary prudent person who only wants to know why the container is there and what the container is will likely place the container back in its spot. Providing this information can quench the curiosity of children, who may be tempted to empty the container of its interesting contents or take the entire container home with them. Providing this information may also bring new people into the sport of Geocaching. Most important of all these reasons, providing this information will allow a method of contact from officials who may want more information about the sport from a local player, which may open a dialogue that may help welcome Geocaching into the community and prevent misunderstandings from restricting play.

Even with identification, some areas are routinely maintained by landscaping crews. These individuals aren't paid to discern between foreign containers that should stay in a tree or bush and ones that shouldn't. Everything that doesn't naturally belong in the area will be thrown away. This individuals are doing their jobs and we expect no less. When choosing a location, consider how often landscaping maintenance is done in the area, if any at all, and place in a way that will not disrupt the maintenance or be noticeable by the landscapers.

Sometimes the threat to a Geocaching container is not human, it's animal or environmental. Squirrels or raccoons may think they have hit the jackpot when they find a Geocaching container that has dog treats, beef jerky, or items that are scented like food. Keep all swag in resealable plastic bags to prevent the Geocaching container from being mistaken as a lunchbox. Keeping the swag and logbook in resealable bags will also protect the important contents of the Geocaching container from wind, rain, snow and other elements that can destroy it. The container itself should be water tight but if an animal pops or chews it open, or if another Geocacher unintentionally fails to close the container properly, the contents will be safe and the hide can be restored with a repaired or new container.

It is a very rare threat in the Geocaching community but there are people in the world who hate Geocaching. They can be bitter former players who seek revenge on everyone because they had a bad experience, mean-spirited people who just want to destroy and cause upset, or environmental types who think destroying Geocaching containers saves the environment. Most of these individuals can be warded off by purchasing a Premium Membership from Geocaching.com. With a Premium Membership, a lot of advanced and convenient features for playing the game will become available and players have the option of only having the coordinates for a Geocaching container viewable by other Premium Members. The logic is that someone who is determined to destroy Geocaching will not give his/her money to Geocaching.com for a Premium Membership. Geocaching hides that are restricted to Premium Members will also have a roster to show the owner of that container which members are viewing the webpage. If there is an individual who destroys the container, the username would be on this list and Geocaching.com would be able to investigate the abuse. Fortunately, these individuals, known within the Geocaching community as "cache maggots", are very rare so the vast majority of Geocaching can still be enjoyed with free memberships without any worry.

As always, follow the local laws of the area and the guidelines to hiding a Geocaching container as detailed on Geocaching.com. Reviewers will help however they can to answer questions and provide feedback about hiding the containers in the local area and how the Geocaching.com guidelines apply.

Happy Caching!