Urban geocaching is an enjoyable enterprise any time of the year, but especially so in the fourth season when our favorite hiking trails are snowed over, or the weather is such that we don’t want to venture far from our warm and dry automobiles. Caches placed in the city are also exceptionally suitable for children, whose limited attention span can be extended with a quick stop for some manner of treat in a nearby shop. Urban geocaches also tend to be more accessible to those restricted to wheelchairs or someone who has other more temporary infirmities. Most enticing, though, is the excitement of the high cache density that helps one gain valuable geocaching experience points in a very short span of time.
When hunting a geocache in a municipal setting, one should be careful not to attract undue attention from non-players. Likewise, one should be aware of one’s surroundings and not be so overly focused so that they are in danger from automobile traffic or street hooligans. Many of these caches are of the unknown or mystery variety. Finders of these types should exercise discretion in their online logging to avoid spoiling the fun for the next finder. Such logs are likely to be deleted with extreme prejudice by the cache hider. Fair warning. The following are some geocache hiding hints for the urban environment:
1. Select a Location: Like all geocaches, the location is of utmost importance. In wilderness caches, this usually involves a view of some sort, like a peak, waterfall, or likely animal mating spot. In the urban environment, the placement may well have some of these same features, but might also be a location that is considered noteworthy in some other manner, unlike this cache. One should avoid placing a cache merely to place a cache. In other words, don’t place a geocache in a spot simply because you can; try to find a location that is remarkable for some reason. Common sense is very impOrtant in this type of environment as well. Do not place a geocache in the street or anywhere else a car versus pedestrian confrontation may occur. It is, of course, assumed that one is fully-versed in the most current guidelines for hiding geocaches as well.
2. The Container: Conventional wisdom says that it is necessary for most urban geocaches to be micro-sized or smaller. This paradigm is pure nonsense. Most urban geocaches are diminutive only because the hider has used little (if any) imagination or ingenuity. The cityscape is rife with potential camouflage ideas if one looks carefully enough. I prefer not to simply cite examples, but will instead suggest that the potential hider of a geocache in the urban enVironment employ some ‘outside the box’ thinking or possibly even borrow ideas from other urban geocaches the hider has enjoyed in the past. Many inner-city geocaches will require some method of securing the container and often a locking mechanism of some sort is used. To enable the finder to open it, a key can be released as a travel bug or the necessary special tool can be hidden within the body of the text. At any rate, the hider should test his or her geocache for functionality and practicality with understanding of the container’s idiosyncrasies.
3. Coordinates: Getting accurate coordinates is sometimes as difficult in the city as it is in the deep forest. It is nonetheless imperative that the hider of an inner-city geocache get the most accurate coordinates possible. Go back as many times as you need to, even eight or NINE times if necessary, and use the best set.
4. Hints: Hints fall into two distinct categories: the hinTs contained in the body of the cache information and the hints that are encrypted in the designated section below them. The tips we find in the text may be mildly obscure or outright ambiguous. There are, in fact, many clues to this cache contained herein. The similarities between the urban geocache and other types part company in the area of the encrypted hints. The wilderness hide usually contains clues and sometimes even photographs that reveal the precise location of the cache to prevent the necessitation of repeating what is likely to be an arduous trek. The seeker of these high-terrain difficulty caches will likely visit the cache location only once, regardless of their success or failure at discovering the container. In the metropolitan geocache, however, the huntsman may be motivated to visit the cache location as many times as necessary.
5. Quality: Lastly, we must be sure that the caches we hide are memorabLe to the finder and worth their time and expense. Gasoline, parking, and food are just three of the expenses a finder must bear. Remember, every time you hide a geocache, you build on your reputation, so you need to decide what kind of character you want to have in the community. When you hide a cache, what do people think? “Wow, another cache, it must be a good one!” or, “Wow, another cache, he must have terrific breath!”
It was a good idea to look here for additional clues, but everything you need is in regular type on the page.
Sorry! Under no circumstances do you need to disturb ANY of the businesses in the area, regardless of who they are. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT knock on ANY doors, ring any bells, buzz any buzzers, or toot any toot-toodlers before, during, or after your search.
I would like to thank Criminal for allowing me to use his lesson from a previous cache (GC10GW1). I would also like to thank Bruce and Goblindust for assisting with the container.