Aladar123 plays geocaching

As I was already looking at this mega trail for a while it was time to start with it. I had a free weekend in the area and a fellow geocacher was also free we decided to go for it. The section we covered on this trip Let's start with the preparations. First thing was what to take with us for the trip?  We decided that we'll focus on the number of caches collected in the shortest time while we also wanted to enjoy the scenery and the hike, so we went with two cars, parked one at one end while the other at the other end, then walked back to the first car, drive up to the second and parked to the next part. We did the above in two parts a longer and then as it was still daylight we did the next as well. So what else you might need for such an adventure? Most important is a GPS device, to be honest we had multiple phones, and a laptop with GPS as well. We had backup battery, chargers, also the laptop can be used as a charger. You will also need enough water or somethi...

This is one of my own caches I placed somewhere, if you find it you'll realize it anyways, so I won't tell where is it. Concrete spray over a film box. Not much is needed for this, a small film box or any container that is small enough to fit into a hole in an old concrete object and some stone/concrete like spay to cover your container. These pictures I took after the box was out there for over eight months. I was really happy to see how good it is resisting the climate, the geocachers handling it... okay 4 finds so far, but no DNFs, it is not in a paradise  for geocaches, but still it is surviving out there nicely.

Another common hiding spot is between branches of trees. If it is on a power trail expect a petling there. Check it out: PET preform between two branches of a tree If you look at the tree from a distance and you are not an experienced geocacher there is a chance you will even miss it. In summer when everything is green the green petling with the green cap could be hard for an experienced geocacher also. In autumn the leaves falling from the tree could completely cover these hides. In the winter, yes you are right, the show could cover it up. And then if you happen to go in the beginning of the spring this is how you might find it. Experienced geocachers can easily spot it from a distance Once a friend of mine asked how to spot them if they are well hidden, so I told him to go close enough not to miss it, just like below, when you are closer it is more visible. Beginners should go closer ... haha The only small concern about these kind of hides is that sometimes ...

While caching and you are going to improve your statistics, or just want to go for a new record on a day, it is a good idea to go for a power trail. You can find many caches in a short time, but to be more efficient you should know most of the popular lower difficulty hiding technics. On this page I'll show you some of the magnetic PET preform hides out there. Some magnetic petlings on one picture In general it is simple, you take a PET preform (petling) and attach one or more magnets. I prefer using the Neodymium magnets, they are a lot stronger. you can just tape them on the petling or glue them or what I started to do lately is I use the heat shrinking tubes, after that shrinks on the magnet and the petling it is hard to remove. I often see petlings where one or more of the magnets are gone as the glue or the tape used wears over time. Here are the images in full size: Vertical attaching Horizontal attaching Another horizontal When you place them (or ...

One of the off the shelf geocache containers is the fake rock, it was originally a key hiding product for people who needed a key kept as extra outside just in case. See it in the middle, yeah now it is easy it is in the middle. When you first meet this hiding and especially in a wall of stones, you can expect some time spent on looking for it. It is your luck if the stone is fake, as above you can see it is slightly different from the rest, so it is visible (not for the muggles of course). This cache had two hiding technics in one, see below. Ammo box in the fake stone. Of course the ammo box is not the regular size ammo box, it is a tiny one. Mostly in these fake rocks you'll find a pill container or a zip bag with a log. Just to give you a better idea on the size of the container see my lovely wife's hand in the picture.

Where many lizard live or where you can find different shape and size of lizard toys at a reasonable price it is a good enhancement for your cache to make it more fun to find it. Lizard on a small tree PET preforms / petlings are great geocaches, they are waterproof, easy to replace the cap if it breaks and not that hard to get them. Some countries they are the most used hiding method, which is fine, any hide is good to find. ... but (as there is always a but) it is always a lot more fun to see some extra steps done for this great hobby. I also enjoy making caches, and I also love to use animals to make the hide more realistic, and more kids friendly.  While out in the wild I try to make pictures of these hides to see how they age over time, and what ways of securing them to the place seems to be the best. One day I might create a post on ways how to secure the different type of caches. Especially with micros and nanos it is crucial to figure out a way that geocachers afte...

This one of course got a FAVO from me. The geocache ... a half car and it is a micro   When it comes to size you can always find surprises, this one was one of them. It is a micro cache, yes, it could have been some bigger somehow there, but the cache owner chose to use a pill capsule for the log. The pill capsule in the tank. That was all in that big car, ok half car not a full, but still a bit bigger could have fit. This cache we found in the Netherlands, in a small town next to the Maas. It was a really windy day, and we did not search for many caches. The funniest part was that in the same town someone came after us and spotted our travel bug on the back of the car.

It is one of the sneaky hides out there. Can be disappointing for new geocachers, but when you first manage to spot one of these you will be really happy. Hard to spot when inserted If you plan to hide one like this, make sure you do not hurt the tree, they are alive and this game is more peaceful than that. You do not need much to replicate this hide, only a piece of branch, a hole in a tree, a container and a screw. Make sure to use the same type of branch as the tree or else it will be too obvious. The above cache is located in the Netherlands in a small park, it was really nice to walk around there and find this geocache.

This cache gave me some headache, the hint was it is in the middle. Yeah that is trivial if their is only one thing right at the coordinate, and of course there was a bridge, I already laid down, looked under the bridge, all sides all places, then sat down, my daughters were already trying to convince me to move to the next while me sitting on the stairs and thinking... Oh look I can actually reach in under the stairs, oh it could be there, and yes there was the little bat hiding. Bat-cache Tha above cache is another nice example of how to make a small tube more interesting to find. Most of the times if I have available FAVOs I give to caches like this. Since that cache I am more equipped as you do not really want to stick your hands in everywhere without knowing it is safe. I always use a flashlight to check in, then my camera, or phone as a camera, and in tighter places I even use an endoscope that I connect to my phone to look.

When walking on a trail and finding similar caches, like many PET preforms, or film canisters or other micros after a while it can get boring and especially when walking with kids they will loose interest soon. That is why I'm always happy to follow trails where the person or team who put the caches in place put some extra effort to better hide the caches. The below example is from the Netherlands, covering a micro container. Lizard as the guard. It is hidden on the back of a traffic sign at a crossing. The cool part of it is that it could actually be a lizzard there, so it even makes the hide more muggle-safe.

Lookout towers are always nice to stop by, walk up the stairs, many stairs in many cases, and then enjoy the beautiful view. In the Netherlands the weather is not always good, so when it is a bit shiny it calls for geocaching. This cache is not too far, but we still took the car. We were on the way somewhere but that place was closed, so let's detour. This cache was nicely hidden, nothing special about the cache as you see below, but the place for hiding is perfect against muggles. Hiding in the structure, held in place with a magnet. The cache and some view in the background. A panorama view, yeah I know the Netherlands is mostly flat. Some more picture to show you the view: