There Is An Art to Good Cache Placement And just like great art, it's those indescribable qualities—that combination of form, design, function and technique—that inspire and delight us and cause us to say, "I don't know if it's art, but I know what I like!" Well, maybe that's going a bit too far. But like great art, you know a great cache when you see it and when you experience it. You know you've hidden one by the comments in your logs and the number of people who have it on their watch lists. You know you've touched a chord with someone and they've appreciated your efforts. What pulls a great cache together? What separates them from the rest? Perhaps like art it's something that has to be caught rather than taught, but there are certain principles and methods that seem to be almost universal. In this section of Geocacher University we will explore and expand on these principles and methods and hopefully the patrons of our caches will benefit all the more from our efforts. |
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Written by Bret Hammond
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As geocaching has grown, the challenge of the game has changed in many ways. Increased awareness has brought more regulations and restrictions for caches hidden in State Parks and other managed areas. These developments can lead to frustration in cache placement and lower the level of difficulty involved in the game. While everyone enjoys logging a  Smiley and the occasional roadside micro can be refreshing, too many caches with too little challenge can lead some to ask, "Where's the challenge in this game?" |
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Written by Bret Hammond
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| There's no better way to reinvigorate your local cachers than putting together a CITO event in the spring. The season is perfect-you've got a good shot at some great weather—and cachers are ready to get going again after a long winter's hibernation.  Saturday April 14th has been recognized as International Cache In Trash Out Day. It's a day when cachers all around the world are encouraged to help clean up parks and other cache-friendly areas. In 2003, geocachers around the world organized 67 cleanup events in 5 countries and 28 States. The results were seen not only in the many logs and photos posted, but in the reactions from park officials and private individuals as they saw the landscapes transformed by conscientious cachers. One day of effort went a long way to solidify relationships between land managers and cachers and it also went a long way towards building teamwork among even the most competitive among us.
As CITO Day 2007 approaches, it's time to get busy planning this year's events. Here are a few tips as you start looking for opportunities in your area. | |
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Written by Bret Hammond
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Elements of Style in Geocaching The "Elements of Style" in writing are those rules that remind you when a comma is appropriate, how to use quotation marks, and what is that semicolon for anyway!?!? Many a student has dog-eared copy after copy of Strunk and White or The Chicago Manual of Style, memorizing page after page of writing rules in order to score an "A" for style on their term paper. The elements of style can be frustrating and annoying, but they are still essential for clear communication. As I was putting together an article on placing caches, I came to realize what I was really describing was the "Elements of Style in Geocaching." Just as the English language has a proper place for a period and rules for formatting endnotes and footnotes, there are proper places for micro-caches and considerations that need to be made for multi-caches if they are to be properly communicated.  However, far from being hard and fast rules, these are simply suggestions to help clarify what your vision for your cache is all about. The various elements of location, challenge and containers cause us to look at each cache differently. This article simply draws attention to certain norms within caches and attempts to categorize them. You especially might find the grid towards the end of the article helpful in determining what kind of container your cache deserves.
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Geocaching 201 
