Geocaching Swag

[le Voyageur 72]

 

I'll soon be putting out my first geocache. These will be places that will not only be a challenge to locate, but require above average outdoor skills to get to.

Now the question, what would you considered to be the appropriate swag for the amount of effort that will be required to tag these caches?

[83Eagle 11]

Most people who have been caching for a while don't care about the swag and high D/T caches tend to attract experienced cachers looking for the challenge of the hunt rather than what they find in the box.

 

Instead, I would consider some personally crafted memento for finders, and perhaps an unactivated geocoin for the first finders.

 

Most important, get your proposed spot checked by your local cache reviewer so you don't have to go back out there to move it, and br sure you choose a container that is weatherproof and well secured.

[le Voyageur 72]

 

"local cache reviewer"???? No such animal in these woods..and if there was. I doubt they would consider spending up to half a day or more getting into the area by canoe, than finding their way back out....trust me, these caches won't be easy...

[qwazse 4369]

Some practical stuff for the terrain is never a bad idea:

bungee cords/tie downs of some kind,

ponchos or survival blankets,

flint/steel and tinder kit,

directions to your favorite campsite location (something that might not be on the regular map).

little compasses.

fishing line/spare hooks

your favorite lure (ask that they post a picture of the next fish they catch with it)

 

 

Some personalized stuff is great. If you are in a club, see if they have a tokens of some kind (pin's, coins, laminated cards). I had a kid pick one up a coin this weekend, it wasn't a geocoin, but a nice momento none-the-less.

 

If you want to go over the top, you could buy some geotags and attach them to mini wooden paddles, or toy canoes. Then you can see how many migrate over the globe!

 

Most important: make sure you have a durable log book and a half dozen pens/pencils. I love to stamp logbooks!

 

As soon as you submit it, it will get reviewed, at least on paper! Chances are there is a reviewer for your area of interest. If no caches have been put there before, he might be excited to help you with advice.

[83Eagle 11]

"local cache reviewer"???? No such animal in these woods.

 

Yes there is although he or she might not be truly local. Every cache goes through a review process before it is published at geocaching.com. (If you are using another cache-listing site, that will be different.)

 

From geocaching.com, search for caches nearest to your location. Look at the logs on the caches and find the very first one which will read simply "Published." That log will have a geocaching ID associated with it. Click on that ID to find contact information.

 

Trust me, particularly if your cache is remote and hard to fix once you have it out there, submitting the approximate coordinates to the reviewer ahead of time will save you a lot of headaches. Chances are if it is remote and on public land it will be OK but it's well worth the extra effort before paddling out.

 

Just my 2 cents from someone who has put out a fair number of T5 kayak caches....