Geocache Fanatic » geocache containers

How to find a Geocache: The Classic Ammo Box

lucy — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:44:54 +0000

When you don’t know what you are looking for, the idea of finding “something somewhere” can be a little intimidating….but once you get the hang of a few types of geocache hides and geocache containers, then it becomes much easier. We call this getting you “geosense” (could we be as brash as to call it the 7th sense?). This geocache blog post goes into more detail about a classic hide.

One of the classic geocache hides is in a pile of rocks. We are fortunate enough that there are many piles of rocks from little stones to large boulders out there, and if you know what a rock looks like then you are off to a good start.

The container that is used in these rock piles differ based on the size of the rock pile, the amount of swag the geocacher has to hide, and what container they actually have. A common container in larger hiding areas is the ammo box (a 0.5 Gallon metal container used by the military)

The ammo box is filled with stuff and a log book that allows people to write they found the geocache. Then it is hidden in the pile of rocks. Here is a photo of a local geocache hide GC226Q9 The Lost Element. that you will need to solve a puzzle to find….

If you are really excited and and want to hide your own ammo box hide, here is a link to buying an ammo box from Amazon.

A new year – a new geocacher name

lucy — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:14:56 +0000

A new year and a new geocacher name – Bangers&Mash

We wanted to update our geocacher handle to one we use in adventure racing events and we often call ourselves, but when we checked the name had already been taken.

I corresponded with the owner – and not only met a fellow Brit – but also learnt a heartwarming story of 2 additional Family members “Nigel & Shannon”. So the remainder of this geocache blog post is a story about Nigel and his life.

NIGEL

(Baldwin’s Spice)

1996 – 2008

The Life of Nigel

Nigel was born in England, the son of working gun dogs. He lived most of his life in the village of Emsworth, immigrating to America at the age of 8. Nigel had the solid, stocky build of a traditional English Labrador Retriever bloodline. But Nigel’s story is much more than just his heritage – Nigel’s legacy lies within his heart and doggy soul.

Nigel approached everything like a typical lab – with a tail thumping, tongue-out, panting enthusiasm. He barreled through life, knocking over knick knacks and personal barriers, absolutely certain that everyone loved him – or would, if given the opportunity. Few were able to resist his sloppy charms for long.

Pathetic at retrieving and useless as a guard dog, Nigel’s strength lay in his ability to brighten the lives of those around him. One of the greatest bonds he shared was with ‘his boys’, Paul and Mark Duncan. The dog-less boys and the boy-less dog grew together; playing, hiking, walking and hanging out. In his mind, Nigel had two homes – ours and the Duncans.

As a registered therapy dog, Nigel worked with school children and seniors in nursing homes. With children, Nigel was a wonderful doggie role model, visiting classrooms and working with children who were fearful or unused to dogs. He loved visiting Emsworth’s Community Day Center, going from table to table, greeting seniors and enjoying a pat and a biscuit.

As Nigel’s therapy handler, one amazing incident that stands out in my mind. During a nursing home visit, Nigel and I approached a silent couple in a room. When asked, the husband wearily waved us in; the wife, seated in a chair, stared ahead, saying nothing. Nigel looked, quietly went up to the woman, licked her hands and gently placed his huge head in her lap. The woman dragged her gaze downward. “How lovely,” she murmured, slowly petting Nigel. Her husband gasped, leaped up and raced out of the room. Dog and human looked at each other. What had we done? Doctors, nurses and husband raced in, shouting and laughing. The woman – who had been unresponsive, silent and unmoving since her stroke 6 months earlier – was finally alert again … thanks to a gentle brown dog.

As a stud dog, Nigel produced numerous litters of show-quality chocolate Labradors. His bloodline lives on in his children and grandchildren, who reside in both England and America.

What was Nigel like? Nigel loved children, swimming, eating, walking, carrying sticks and logs, playing with ‘his’ boys, eating and his Mr. Blankie. He was afraid of cats, thunder and bath water. In his senior years Nigel found comfort lying in the sun, by a fire or under the computer table – but always within reach of his humans.

Nigel was a constant in our lives, joyfully greeting us each morning and end of day, eager to share his happiness with us. He honored us with a steady, fierce, pure love throughout his life.

We will remember our beloved Nigel and hope we too, can learn to love life as he did.

This is a Geocache Hide? The Fence Pole Hide

lucy — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:48:03 +0000

This geocache blog post adds to the series of revealing the mysteries of geocache hides. Others include the lamp post geocache hide and the sprinkler.

Love to showcase some of the common geocache hides that are used by geocachers but that a geocache muggle would never think that there is a secret treasure to be found.

This is called a fence pole hide…

On a hike and often those fence poles have a cap that twists off. If you do it, you might just find a geocache hide there….

If you want to read about some unusual or unique geocache hides, you might be interested in the Saguaro Cactus or the Lamp Post or the Tucson Rock.

Unusual Geocache Hides – The Rock Geocache Hide

lucy — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:41:33 +0000

It’s hard to get used to that geosense needed when you start geocaching – I often said comments like ‘what, there is a geocache there!?’ and taking nearly 1 hour to search for an ‘easy’ rated geocache. So I like to help other geocachers out in and show some of those unusual cache hides out there. This geocache blog post focuses on “The Rock Geocache hide”.

I have seen this style several times. Sometimes it is a real rock and sometimes it is a plastic rock that just seems to look out of place with the others in a pile. This one was a little different…see if you could have found it.

Can you see the rock next to the cactus where the geocache hide is?

How about now?

Here it is – very clever, isn’t is! The unusual geocache was actually in a real rock where a hole had been drilled into the rock and then hidden.

If you want to read about some unusual or unique geocache hides, you might be interested in the Saguaro Cactus or the Lamp Post

Unusual Geocache Hide – A Saguaro Cactus or a Cell Phone Tower?

lucy — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:06:46 +0000

This geocache blog post adds to the series of revealing the mysteries of geocache hides and showcasing the more unusual or surprising geocache hides.

There is a geocache at this photo location – but the unusual aspect is the reason for the hide – this large Saguaro cactus is actually a cell phone tower. I had never realized that the phone companies are becoming more respectful of their locations and blending into the environment. I have also seen a Palm Tree version in San Diego as well….and another geocache is located there to signify that unusual tower.

Links for more information:

Geocache that uses this theme: GC1T0ZJ and Series GC8785

Article in Arizona Star about Tucson’s ‘Talking Trees’

If you want to read about some unusual or unique geocache hides, you might be interested in the Lamp Post or the Tucson Rock or Sea Monkey Central.

The Dreaded Geocache Hide – “The Nano”

lucy — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:45:50 +0000

uuurgh, I do love geocaching, but the smallest hide of all “the nano“ is my nightmare. this geocache blog entry shows what is looks like (if you can see it!)
It is always really hard to find (check out the size of this thing in the photo…it’s the little black dot at the edge of the lamppost).

And when you find it, the joy of looking in a geocache hide is not there. It takes forever to get out the log (if you can get it out) and even longer to get it back in.
I have just stopped trying to write the log anymore and save my update for the online file at www.Geocaching.com

well that is the rant for the day. please do not hide these nano geocaches out in the field, there are so many more types that are more enjoyable to hide and find!

Woo-Hoo – 600 Geocaches Found!

lucy — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:13:16 +0000

Woo-hoo – 600 Caches found. Thought I’d run an update on caches – what I’ve found, where, and type.

I thought I had found a few 4+ difficulties….looks like I still have a way to go to fill in those squares!

Stat Summary

Caching Milestones

Maps

Charts and Graphs

A Typical Geocache Hide – “The Post”

lucy — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 01:45:19 +0000

When I started geocaching I did not have “geosense” – which is the understanding of how and the types of hides that people do with their geocaches.

So I would often walk by somewhere and go “it’s not here!” and then find that it really was. After I started getting my “geosense” I could start to think how these things are hidden…and that’s when I became a true geocacher!

This geocache blog post is here to show an example of a typical geocache hide that I call “The Post”. You’ll be walking up to the coordinates and you’ll see a post….but where is the cache?

This picture is a close up….does it give it away? Can you see the fishing wire? That is a clue that something is IN the Post!

And if you pull at the fishing wire, you won’t find a fish (like I did in my previous blog write up!!!!) but you will find a geocache! Hooray!

Other common geocache hides include the lamp post geocache hide and the Ammo Box.

The Biggest Geocache Ever???

lucy — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:00:37 +0000

There are many different sizes of geocaches out there and having found hundreds, I have seen many types. This geocache blog post though may just be about the Biggest geocache ever…in the world….yes that is a bold statement, so you tell me if you agree or not….

I was out on a geocache hike in San Diego and saw the geocache name “45 Gallon” on my Garmin and thought “interesting”. I read the full log description and the clue was in the title, 45 gallons was the actual size of the geocache. So it surely must be easy to find? I have to say it was very cleverly hidden and unless you know you were looking, it would be easy to miss. Guess that’s why it has not been muggled yet.

After finding it, Bangers & Mash joked about it being so big that you could fit a person in it, so I of course took the challenge and got in the geocache hide.

You might be wondering what was in the geocache hide….of course it was the biggest geocache logbook I have ever seen as well.

What is the biggest geocache hide you have ever found?

Keep your eye out for geocaches!

lucy — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:54:28 +0000

A geocache might be there right in front of your eyes and you might not know. This geocache blog post shows an example of one you might have missed…

I love finding geocaches that are unusual. I walked past this one several times before I worked it out, and now I see it a lot.

Can you see the geocache in this picture?

Let’s get a bit closer….this will give it away.

Yep, it’s the sprinkler unit! I suppose the fact that I was in a nature reserve area should have told me that there would not be any sprinklers!

So keep your eye out for geocaches – they are everywhere around us!

If you liked this one, you might also like the very common lamp post geocache hide and the Ammo Box hide.