making a cache int he woods for

[Delboy]

I have to agree with Smojo about the difficulty in retrieving stuff from the bottom of barrels - above ground you can simply tip it out, but if it's buried getting stuff out of the bottom could prove downright dangerous - a while back I got trapped in a waterbutt! It was not funny.

http://gardeningboots.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/das-butt/

That is hilarious, at the time I imagine it was frustrating, but looking back you must see the funny side....

 

[Joonsy]

I have to agree with Smojo about the difficulty in retrieving stuff from the bottom of barrels - above ground you can simply tip it out, but if it's buried getting stuff out of the bottom could prove downright dangerous - a while back I got trapped in a waterbutt! It was not funny.

There was a true case of a man who suffocated while looking down a rabbit hole, this is not as daft as it sounds. What can happen if the hole is the right size (meaning wrong size!) and if you are facing head down as well is that your arms can become pinned against your sides and you will not be able to use them to extricate yourself, without the use of your arms your body weight will keep you firmly wedged in the hole, if you are on your own this can be very dangerous as that fellow found out.

link to man who suffocated looking down a rabbit hole http://metro.co.uk/2010/10/15/lone-hunter-suffocates-in-rabbit-hole-in-zimbabwe-556907/

 

[santaman2000]

In the early days of the American West, during the day of the trapper, caches were used as temporary storage "dumps," although I use the word dump just to mean a place to accumulate things, not to discard them.

The central part of the United States is relatively barren grassland or steppes, or was at one time. The accepted practice was merely to dig a large hole.....

.....The main problem was apparently concealment, both from people and also from animals. I suppose that's still the main problem. ......

I don't know how true it is but I've also seen movies where the wagon train masters and pilots would do the same. Apparently they simply put a grave marker on the buried cache to both discourage theft and to make it easier to find on the next trip.

I suppose a modern way to do that (since we no longerbury people in random places, LOL) would be to put a smaller marker over the buried cache with a short inscription such as. "Fido - My Beloved Lab."

 

[Blundstoned Love]

Sorry I know you said it wasn't funny, but it did bring a big grin to my face reading that

It was one of those things that was pretty hairy at the time, but became funny quite soon after.

Along with treading on a rake and standing on a ricketty table (which collapsed) to prune an apple tree, it's one of my garden episodes that was comedic but potentially very dangerous at the same time.

 

[tiger stacker]

In the book/film The Road, the boy is introduced to cokea cola, by his father as a treat. Although the cache is their lifesaver, they abandon it due to fear of it being too exposed.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Rations for a 5 week stay in the wood. As Fraxinus suggests, a heavy duty bin liner makes it possible to haul the contents out when you need to. In this case the top layer (ready use) is hiding the bag underneath.

Do you have any issues with rodents trying to chew their way into the cache?

Julia

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Had a recent thread about camo for containers on a geocaching forum, there is a paint designed for plastics by Krylon, it's supposed to be very weather resistant and stick to plastics very well. It's US made, but available in the UK from survival aids. The suggested technicque is to use a base coat of the light colour (tan), then when dry, mash off areas, and spray on another colour (brown), then when dry, mask that off plus some of the tan, and spray on some green to build up a crude dpm like effect. I'm hoping to try this when I have the money on some geocache containers. Will let people know how it gets on if interested.

Julia

 

[wicca]

"Do you have any issues with rodents trying to chew their way into the cache?"

No, none at all Julia. I simply unpack the ration boxes or lay the Wayfarer meals in the drum which has a black 'builders rubble sack' inside.

The drum rim is maybe 5cm above the soil surface to stop water ingress. I don't use the metal securing band either, simply put the plastic lid on and re-lay the piece of plywood you see in the earlier photo propped up with my Hawk, and then replace the leaf/ground cover.

Perhaps regular daily visits to the drum by me over a 5 week period discouraged Mickey and his gang.