Elements of Style
In Geocaching
Container
What are they going to find?
The standard mantra of the geocacher is, "It's not about what you find; it's about getting there." More often than not this is true, though there are exceptions. Maybe you've come up with an especially cool container or you're offering some very nice prizes to your finders, but on the average the type of container you choose will hinge upon the type of location and challenge you are taking the finders through. Understanding this from the start will make your hide all the more enjoyable to find.
Before you rush out to the Army Surplus store or host your own Tupperware party, ask yourself a few questions about your hide:
First of all, what kind of container will the environment support? This is a question of location. If you're placing your hide in a remote location, chances are you can use a much larger container than in either a recreational or routine location. Do you really want people to endure a 5-mile hike into the woods, fighting bugs, creeks and signal-dampening tree cover only to find a micro with only a log sheet? Again, there are no rules about these kinds of things, but there are issues that need to be thought through in these situations.
Secondly, does the container properly reflect the effort put into finding it? This is a question of challenge. If the cache is in an obvious urban setting, no one is going to be disappointed to find a 35 mm film canister. However, if it is a much more remote and more difficult to get to setting then the container should reflect the effort that has been put into finding it.
So, while we cannot apply any hard and fast rules to this element of the game (nor should we), we can see that when the three categories of location (remote, recreational and routine) and the three categories of challenge (physical, mental and stealth) are taken into consideration, the type of container you choose is reflected as in the chart below.
Click on the grid above for examples of caches in each catagory
The chart forces us to look carefully at what we're taking a finder to (location) and what we're taking them through (challenge) and calls for the container at the end to reflect both the effort we're calling for and the expectation of the finder. By paying attention to these "Elements of Style" the cache goal becomes clearer and much of the frustration and disappointment that could accompany the search is alleviated.
We've also taken steps to insure the longevity of the hide. Matching the container to the location is an important step in preventing accidental discovery. One thing I've observed about caches that have survived the long-haul: they're either in locations where the average "muggle" isn't going to go, or they're hidden so well that they seem to be a natural part of the environment. The cache placer has either stumbled over principles similar to those outlined in this chart or has carefully considered what container will match the cache setting.
Final Questions
There are a few final questions that cache hiders should take into consideration for themselves.
1. Does this hide benefit the greater geocaching community?
I once spent a single day visiting nearly 20 geocaches searching for one that I could leave a travelbug in. After encountering many micros, decons and small Gladware containers, I finally found one container that was big enough to house the bug. Considering the prevalence of small caches in the area, a few caches big enough to support travelbugs and larger items would be a huge asset to the community.
Take a good look at the caches in the area and ask, "What does this area need?" Does it need some urban micros for those lunch hour grabs? Does it need some caches in small city park settings where it might be easier to take children? Are there good traditional caches in the area that would provide excellent examples for new cachers? Is there an historical area that would make an excellent multi-cache tour? If variety is the spice of life it's at least the condiment of caching.
2. How much maintenance will the hide need?
Fake rocks are never as sturdy as real rocks. Most fake logs I've seen tend to start falling apart fairly quickly. It's incredibly difficult to reproduce the durability of nature and still make a container that's convenient and light enough for most people to use. Make sure your cache is tough enough to stand the test of time.
Urban micros are notorious for turning up missing because some cacher carelessly replaced the container wrong. Even the slightest misalignment can cause a clever urban camo job to stick out like a sore thumb (and even the wind and other elements can cause that). It may just be that your really cool hide is going to need a lot of maintenance runs to insure that it stays hidden correctly.
3. Would you want to find this cache?
Ultimately you have to ask yourself this question. If this was the first cache you ever found would you want to find a second one? Does it present enough of a challenge, enough of an adventure, and enough of a reward that someone might just catch the itch and join you in your obsession? Not every cache has to be stellar, but how much effort would it take to turn a cache into more than just another smiley face?
Finding Your Own Style
Back in college, when I was writing term papers and creative writing assignments, my old copy of "The Elements of Style" became both a friend and a fiend. I found myself constrained by the rules of grammar and composition and freed by them at the same time. However, it wasn't Strunk & White or Kate Turabian that flavored my papers with the writing style that became my own. Rather, they equipped me to release that style and make it more understandable to those who read (and graded) what I wrote.
In the same way, these Elements of Style for Geocaching are simply guidelines to clarify and communicate exactly what that devious hide you have in mind is all about. In the end, the signature in your logbook and the smile on the cache page and the finder's face will be your grade.
Here's hoping for an A!
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