Crawling with Nano's

Today we have a quick but fun cache design for kids. This plan was brought up in a previous post, but without build details.  This ended up being a prize for a kid at a recent event in my area.

Needed Supplies

• A fake insect
• A nano
• Weatherproof paint
• Weatherproof glue or epoxy
• Drill or dremmel

Once you have the supplies, figure out how you want to place the nano into the insect.  In this example, an Ant was used.  You'll need to drill a hole to fit a nano.  Drill it deep enough to fit the nano but allow room to grip and unscrew the lid.  Using a weatherproof glue or epoxy (something that can handle cold temps and possible moisture), apply a small amount of glue to the inside of the hole.  Then push the bottom of the nano in and get it set in place.  Allow time for the glue to dry.

There you go.  A quick, easy cache build.  Find a good place to put it and enjoy the logs.

TripCyclone

WOW Factor

Time to get back to this blog.  I got burnt out of blogging in the last quarter of 2010.  But I saw a cache that I just had to post about.  And this cache features something I might consider the WOW Factor.  It's not a new concept, but the WOW Factor basically means a cache that makes your jaw drop.  It's cool.  It's creative.  It's something you want to show your friends.  It's the cache you don't forget.  A previously featured cache, Dr. Who is an example of a WOW Factor cache.  So is this one.  By the way, I'm not providing the name or GC Code for this one as I haven't talked with the owner.  But at the moment, it is an archived cache so you'll just have to do with drooling over what you missed.



Now, you might be asking yourself, "Why was THIS archived?" The exact answer hasn't been made public as far as I'm aware, but it wouldn't be hard to guess. The partial burial is partly to blame. If permission was obtained, burial would likely be allowed. This one probably doesn't have the permission of the property owner. At least, that's my guess. There are indications that if that is obtained, it might be unarchived. This one deserves to be seen. It's unfortunate that it got archived, but it's also a good example of why permission should be obtained before placement of a geocache, especially one of this caliber.

TripCyclone

A Nano Chain

For today's post, we are going to look at an interesting way to hide a nano that can totally confuse the finder.  I've mentioned this on Geocaching Podcast before, so I felt it was a good time to present it.

Materials Needed:

• One Nano cache
• One 1/2 inch Quick Link

I'll leave the nano-shopping up to you and focus on the Quick Link, also sometimes called a D-Link.  You can find these in most hardware stores.  Just find the section of the store that carries chains and you'll usually find these next to it.  Outside of caching, they are typically used to connect two chains together, among other connecting uses. Here is one that I've used:

Once you have both supplies, the rest is easy.  If you look carefully at the image above, in the little oval on the right side, you'll see that the Quick Link opens by unscrewing a piece in the center.  Go ahead and get out your new Quick Link and do the same.  Once open, place the nano inside the section you just screwed open, and now screw it shut, sealing the nano inside.  Voila.  You have a camoed nano.

Now you just need to find a place to hide this.  Near chain link fencing can work well, provided you can find a way to conceal it.  I once had one of these hidden at a tennis court.  It was placed right at the base of one of the corner posts, nestled between the post and a piece of metal.  It blended in rather well.  Even better, if you can find a location that has an actual chain with links about the same size, you can attach it to the chain.  That would up the difficulty just a bit (just make sure you have permission for either placement).

If you want, you can try modifying it by painting the Quick Link to match the color of it's surroundings.  Sand it just a bit to roughen up the metal so that the spray paint will flake off slower.  You might find yourself occasionally repainting it.

A quick, easy to make nano cache that will leave finders baffled if they've never found it before.  Oh, and here is a photo of what it looks like:

TripCyclone

Dr. Who

I have been so preoccupied lately that I almost forgot to get in a Creative Cache for August.  Every once in a while, I like to highlight an already established cache for the readers.  A cache that is creative enough that it should be put on everyone's "Must Visit" list.  For that, I'm going to take you out to Portland, OR, where a unique and fun cache exists.  It's called...

Dr. Who

Now I'm going to warn you.  You won't be getting details about how this cache is designed.  It would totally ruin the experience for anyone planning on hitting this one. 

The cache was placed by goblindust on 05/22/2006.  Since then, it has racked up 594 finds and only six DNF's.  That's pretty impressive.  So what's so special about this cache?  Plain and simple and it goes with this site.  It's just plain creative.  It will make you cringe when you first arrive on site to try and figure out where it's hidden.  It will pop a light bulb when that idea comes to mind.  And it will surprise you when you discover how it's hidden.

I found it with my buddy Webscouter. while we were traveling the Pacific Northwest during our Geowoodstock VIII trip.  We had heard the name from several people and had planned on going through Portland anyway so we took the advice and visited it.  We were happy we did.

So anyone traveling to Portland needs to add this to their list.  Trust me.  You'll be happy you stopped for this one.

TripCyclone

Some Creative Supplies

Tonight, we are going to deviate a bit from our usual design post and talk a bit about some basic supplies you can equip yourself with that may become part of your regular cache design kit.  Some of these supplies may be used more than others depending on how you design your caches, but all are useful.  We'll start with supplies for the inside of your cache.

Interior Supplies

1. Baggies - these are wonderful tools for protecting a logsheet from moisture.  Larger kitchen use baggies can be useful when placing a regular size cache, while smaller arts & crafts baggies are great for micro and small caches.  The smaller ones can be found at any arts & crafts store, and usually in arts & crafts departments of stores like Wal-mart and Target.  Just find the section where beads are found and you can find a variety of sizes in 50 and 100 quantity packages, often for $2 or less per set.  A few bucks can supply you with enough baggies for plenty of potential caches.  Carry them around with your regular caching supplies and you can help other cachers protect their logsheets as well, or replace damaged baggies.
2. Writing utensil - not everyone likes to add a writing utensil to their caches, often because of the varying cache designs they might use.  Consider picking up a package of golf pencils.  Since they are smaller, the open up the range of cache sizes you can use them in.  Plus, a writing utensil inside can be useful if a cacher forgets their own pen or pencil.
3. Swag - this may not work for micro caches, but if their is room for swag, consider adding an item or two.  What you use is entirely up to you.  Dollar stores are invaluable resources as you can often by packages of items like toy soldiers, plastic coins, etc.  Crafts stores are also useful, especially if you might be interested in making some personalized FTF swag.  Party stores often care packages of cheap party favors for parents looking to make gift bags for their child's party.  Toys often make great swag for kids.  What should be avoided?  Inappropriate or hazardous items, alcohol, food, liquids (what if something accidently breaks), and sharp objects or weapons, among other potentially bad swag ideas.
4. Stash Notes - you can get these from various geocaching sites.  They break down geocaching into an easy to understand explanation for muggles who might find the cache.

Exterior Supplies

1. Camo Tape - there are several varieties of camo tape that you can find, ranging from camo duct-tape to camo felt tape.  They are all usually pretty good.  Take any basic cache design and add camo tape to help reduce the visibility of a cache.  Most stores that sell a variety of duck tape will sell camo tape right there.  Otherwise, check sporting goods stores/departments to find some.
2. Sharpie - this can be used to write something on the outside, like "Official Geocache, Do Not Remove" or a GC code.  
3. Geocache Label - unless you make them yourself, you can buy "Official Geocache" labels to apply to the outside of a geocache.  These can be useful in case a muggle happens to find the cache.  Great when combined with a Stash Note inside.
4. Spray paint - this mostly applies to ammo cans.  Try to have a can of spray paint, preferably a shade of Forest Green, to paint a recently purchase ammo can.  This is done to cover up the military markings which might worry muggles if found.

Each of these items is not necessary, but can be useful ways to add a little extra umph to your next cache.  Are their any other ideas out there?  Post a comment and share your ideas for readers to consider.

TripCyclone

The Pen is Mightier Cache

While caching, you'll eventually run into a cache design that you hadn't thought of before.  This design is exactly one of those caches.  I ran into it a while back while traveling.

Materials Needed:

• A pen with a clear casing
• Logsheet

The most important aspect of this design is having a certain type of pen.  The pen must be designed such that there is a clear casing somewhere in the design.  A clear casing that would allow you to see the inside of the pen.  Well, this isn't a necessity as you could probably design this without such a particular type of pen, but for the purposes of this design, it should be clear.

Open the pen up.  Carefully roll a logsheet around the ink holder and slide the whole setup back into the pen.  Make sure the logsheet is positioned so it is visible through the clear part of the pen casing.  Then seal it back up.

Why leave the ink part inside?  Why not?  You can quite honestly say that you don't need to bring a pen to the cache, even if it is a micro. 

This is a quick, cheap micro cache design.  Make sure you have some spares for future maintenance and have fun as people log their surprise at this different design.

TripCyclone

Pet Caches

Blending caches in with the environment can be tricky and there are a lot of ways to do so.  While camouflage can be very basic, to truly get it just right takes practice.  But there is another fun way to do camouflage that we will look at today, along with several examples of this method.  Because of the various methods used, it will be hard to provide a materials list that covers every possible method.  So we will try to highlight what will be needed for each of the provided examples so you can get an idea about how to approach the method.  And what is the method...

ANIMALS!

Yep, I said animals.  So what exactly does that mean?  Those of you who have found a lot of caches may have seen a cache built like this before.  It a geocache built to look like an animal.  In some cases, the animal part is a prop that has been turned into a geocache.  Other times, it is a geocache that is attached to some kind of animal prop.  And in some cases, the animal actually hides the container.  We will look at one of each of these methods.

MATERIALS
One hard part about the methods we will be looking at is finding the right prop for the design.  There are two easy places to find these items, though they aren't the only locations.  One is a Garden Center.  Many stores that cater to landscaping and gardening will often have some animal related props.  Another location would be Halloween stores.  While these are usually only found in early Fall, with a little bit of looking you can sometimes find stores that sell Halloween related goods year-round. 

ANIMAL IS THE GEOCACHE

Our first example is an animal that has been turned into a geocache.  In this example, the animal is typically a larger prop that is hollow in some form.  Is this always the case...definitely not.  I've seen examples of bison tubes made to look like insects.  But for this post, we will focus on a larger version.  For this example, you will need a few items:

• A fake cat
• Logsheet
• Weather resistant glue
• PVC Plug and respectively sized threaded PVC adaptor

For the PVC Plug and adaptor, you can commonly find something called a PVC Cleanout W/Plug.  This would fit perfectly.  You just need to find a size appropriate for your design.  First, we see the cache itself, held by one of my caching friends:

You can see the cat, along with the black PVC fitting attached to it's belly.  A hole was cut into the belly, cut to the diameter of the bottom of the PVC Cleanout. The cleanout is then glued to the cat.  The PVC Plug then can screw into the cleanout to create a water-tight seal (provided you've properly glued the cat to the PVC).  In this photo, you might also notice a small metal loop in front of the PVC plug.  This loop was used to attach the cat to a tree, as seen here:

To attach this the way it is shown, the person who hid this would have had to drill a small hole into the tree, then take a hook screw a bit larger than the hole and screw that into the tree as well.  This would then provide the hook for the loop you see in the above photo, thereby attaching the cat to the tree as shown.

While this design is pretty cool when you see it in person, this did require putting a screw into a tree, which could cause damage to the tree.  If you like how this is setup (and it was pretty cool when I saw it), I would encourage you to find a location that doesn't require drilling into a tree.  I have seen reviewers archive caches that do this and they are right to do so.  It may not seem like much, but this can cause damage.

As you can see in this image, the design does create an interesting atmosphere for a cache, especially on Halloween. I know I laughed pretty hard upon finding this because my first thought was that we had actually found a cat.  Imagine the logs you would receive with a cache like this.

ANIMALS ATTACHED TO THE GEOCACHE

The next type of animal cache involves attaching animals to a geocache.  One of the first examples of this that I ran into involved a fake rat attached to a 35mm film canister, hidden under a log.  I happened to go after it at night, which made the cache even more fun to find.  These types of hides are rather simple and require nothing more than a geocache and some kind of fake animal to attach to the outside.  Spiders, snakes, and rats are the most common fake animals you'll see used, but insects often work wonderfully as well.

When building a cache like this using a smaller cache size, you typically need nothing more than the geocache itself, the animal to attach, and a method for attaching it.  Weather resistant glue is the most commonly used method.  For larger caches, like ammo cans, some geocachers will use items like snakes and large spiders and just rest them on top of the cache.

Here is an example of a micro attached to an insect.  The photo was taken by rhondapalooza.

ANIMALS HIDING GEOCACHES

The last example involves using an animal to hide the geocache.  Now the above example of the cat might seem like it fits here to but there is a difference.  With the cat, the cat was turned into the geocache.  The PVC parts merely provided an easy method to open and close the container, but the cat's body was the geocache itself.  For this last method, the fake animal isn't the geocache itself, it's merely the camouflage designed to hide the geocache.  Here, let's see an example of this:

In this example, the bird is the camo.  If you look closely, you can see the red, rounded edge of the geocache sticking out the back end of the bird.  It is hard to tell from this view, but the bird is actually carved from a lightweight wood, carefully painted to look like a real bird.  Using a drill, a hole was created for the bison tube.  A perch was created and tied to the tree on which the bird is attached.  Look carefully and you can see a triangular piece on the back end of the perch which helps prevent the bison tube from falling out accidentally.  To retrieve this cache, the bird rotated forward just a bit.  This was achieved by making the feet loop around the perch, but with a little bit of looseness to allow the rotation.  Rotate the bird forward, pull out the bison tube, and sign the logsheet.

Birds are definitely the most commonly used animal for this method, at least from what I've experienced.  Here is another example of a bird geocache (which happens to be an exact replica to two bird caches I have seen) as taken by Wrapped In Piano Strings, who we should welcome to the geocaching world as this is a picture of their very first find:

Once, I saw a large GINORMOUS Bison using this method up in St. Joseph, MO.  Always good for a laugh when taking someone to find it.

So there you have it.  Three ways to turn a simple geocache into a creative geocache using animals.  Have you seen an example of this before?  Post a GC code in the comments.

TripCyclone

P.S. I am waiting for permission from a few people to display their photos on the site.  I will update the post with photos as permissions arrive.  For now, I've merely linked to the photos I am awaiting permission from.

An Electrical Plate

Some of you may have seen this design before.  It isn't anything new.  But it is easy to build and it makes a great example of creativity.  Before we begin, let's look at what materials you'll need.

Materials:

• Electrical Wall Plate
• 2 magnets
• Metal Epoxy
• Small baggie
• Logsheet

Most of the materials can be found in a hardware store.  However, most magnets you would find in a hardware store are larger and thicker than what is best to use.  For my magnets, I rely on Grainger due to the variety of different styles and sizes.  The only problem is that they usually require an account for most products they sell, especially magnets.  They are considered hazardous materials.

When you go to buy the wall plate, make sure that whatever you buy is the style of a wall cover with two holes for the screws.  For hiding outdoors, the metal variety will blend in better than plastic.  For magnets, I used a nickel plated, neodymium magnet that is .375 mm wide and .100 mm thick.  For a glue, I used a Metal Epoxy to better grip the metal between the two objects.  It is also fast drying and holds up to weather a lot better than normal super glue.  You will need a small baggie for this design.  Look in the bead section of any arts & crafts department/store to find cheap bags (50-100 for less than $2.00).

Here is an example of the Wall Plate alongside the magnets.  Notice one magnet covering the left hole.

With this image, you can easily see how everything will fit together. The magnets cover the holes on the backside of the plate.  All you need to do is glue them down.

Metal Epoxy works by mixing two substances.  One is a hardener and one is a resin.  This typically comes in a special container that looks like two syringes fused together.  Make sure you have a disposable container handy and something small and disposable for mixing the materials.  Open the container and carefully squeeze a small amount of both materials into the disposable container.  One of the materials will move rather slow.  I used my mixer to scrape the glob off the tip of the syringe.

Once you have the two materials in your container, you only have about five minutes to work before it becomes hardened enough that you can't easily apply it.  Quickly mix them until they have a uniform color and consistancy (about 30 seconds of stirring should be minimum).  Then, carefully begin applying the epoxy.  Use a little bit on the front side of the hole to seal that up, evening it flat with the rest of the plate.  Apply more to the back side, this time to the gap between the magnet and the plate.  Apply it a big thicker so that it can drip fully into the gap.  Apply it around the entire magnet and once you feel satisfied, you're done.

Here is what it should look like on the backside when you are done:

Now I recommend that you only do one magnet at a time. In the amount of time it takes to mix and apply the epoxy to one magnet, the rest of the epoxy will have dried out too much for easy application to the second magnet.  Once you are completely finished preparing the cache, allow at least one hours before handling it.  For the best strength, allow a full 24 hours before use.

This cache, as you might already be able to tell, works best in locations where an electrical face plate would seem likely (and not dangerous to the cacher who goes after it).  Since the epoxy dries a different color, you might look into a metal looking spray paint to blend the in the front side.  If placing this in a location with a different color than the face paint, definitely consider spray paint.

Once you have the location picked out, place a logsheet into one of the small baggies and place the baggie between the two magnets on the backside.  You will have to rely on the object you are attaching too to hold the baggie in place with the above design.  However, you can always consider modifying the design to hold the baggie into place.

A rather simple design, but also a devious design.  Even experienced cachers can overlook this one at first.  So find a good spot to hide it and enjoy the logs.

TripCyclone

PS: Watch your fingers handling the wall plate.  The edges are sharp.  I accidentally cut my thumb while trying to clean off some excess epoxy because I didn't have a good grip.

Jolly Green Giant

Today's post is going to feature an interesting cache design already out in the field.  The cache is called Jolly Green Giant.  It was placed by Lacomo on February 5th, 2009.  It's location is Lebanon, MO.  Why is it unique?  The size.

I remember being on the local Kansas/Missouri forums when Lacomo first started inquiring about large caches in Missouri.  He was trying to find out what the largest size was in the state.  Then, as time rolled on, we started to find out what his idea was, even seeing a few photos.  Finally, his cache was released to the public and within only a few hours the FTF was made...in the middle of the night!  It seems people really wanted to see what all the hype was about.  So what was so cool about this cache?  This shot was taken when I visited it just over a month later.

You can see a travel bug hanging off the top, and just above it is the Garmin eTrex Legend I was using at the time.  This homemade ammo can is large enough that a kid could likely crouch inside and not be seen.  Now it looks like it is in the woods.  Really it's in a small grove of trees on the back end of some property.  The property is owned by the cache owner's nephew.

Okay, time for some details.  When I asked Lacomo how he built this, he gave me some interesting details.  First of all, the body of the cache is actually a metal filing cabinet turned onto it's back.  Inside is some wooden platform about 1/3rd of the way up from the bottom.  This is where the containers for swag, trackables, and the logbook are resting.  It was done this way so that people didn't have to reach all the way to the bottom, and in case any water got inside.  Some framework was added to help hold it up.  The lid was the most expensive and time consuming piece.  Lacomo paid a local machine shop $50 for the material and the labor to bend the lid.  He did his own welding.  Due to how the sides of the lid slip over the sides of the container, it's actually surprisingly waterproof.  A local sign shop made the Geocaching label for the side. 

Once, it did actually get wet.  There had been heavy rain in the area and a small flood happened at the cache site.  It actually picked it up and floated it down a small drainage ditch before getting caught up in some trees.  Surprising that it would float consider the size of the container.

Total cost was about $75.00.  But Lacomo said it was entirely worth it considering the enjoyment people have had finding it.  And just how many people have found it?  Since it's publication, 183 people have found it as of the date I am writing this.

This isn't the only version of this I've seen.  I have seen pictures from a few other giant ammo cans around the world.  I've also seen other LARGE cache designs.  What about you?

TripCyclone

Geocaching...from your computer?

I am trying to stick to a bi-weekly posting on this site.  Last weekend found me away from home from Saturday through Tuesday, and I forgot.  So here is a quick post featuring an online friend of mine, ErikaJean.  Erika has put together a rather interesting blog that combines several of her various interests, including geocaching.  It's obvious to anyone reading her blog that the keyboard loves her.  But today, we focus on a YouTube video she put together that definitely fits into the Creative Caches site. It's called Interactive Geocaching, but there's just one problem.  There's no actual cache to find.

If you are a fan of computer games, you've probably played a game inspired by Myst.  Myst was an graphic adventure game released in 1993, most notable for it's "Choose Your Own Adventure" like method of story telling.  You were in control of how you played the game, with the ability to explore at your own free will.  You clicked on a spot in the game and it would either move you in that direction, or you interacted with something in the game world.

Erika has created a YouTube video that plays out just like Myst.  The collection of videos give you the opportunity to try and find a geocache from the comfort of your computer.  Now while none of our readers will be able to claim a find from the video, I have an idea for how to turn this into an actual cache. 

Required Materials

• A micro or small geocache, ready to go
• A video camera
• A computer

Find a decent location to place a geocache.  For this cache, a good location will have a variety of possible hiding spots nearby.  If the spot you choose has a limited amount of spots to look for that size container, you should probably choose another location.  This is important for the overall design of this cache.  Once you've hidden the container, step back a bit and survey your surroundings.  Find a good spot to start and mark that location, both in your mind and on your GPSr.  We'll call it Waypoint A.  It might be a good idea to physically mark the site with something so you remember where you started.

Now, pick a collection of different items within your view: bushes, trees, man-made structures, etc.  You want a good collection of a least 10 different items.  Try to make the items viable hiding locations for your container (this works best if you are using a micro or small container).  Shoot a short introduction video of the scene with you speaking in the background.  If your camera has the option, make sure to stop each time you shoot a scene so you have easy reference points for later editing.

Once you've shot the intro, begin shooting video of you walking towards the various objects you noted earlier.  If your hand comes into view as you move things about in a fake search for a cache container then don't worry about it.  Play it up a bit.  Add commentary as you film.  After you film the various objects, pick a couple of random points that may seem like obviously unlike locations, but film them anyway.  It will provide more options for viewers.

Once you're done filming, and you have both the starting coords for the video and the final location's coords, head on home and go through the process of editing.  You'll need a collection of short videos encompassing all of the random points people might choose, including the correct location.  Edit them however you want, but in the clip that leads to the actual cache, post the coordinates for Waypoint A into the end of the video.  This way, when people find the correct location in the video, they will get the coordinates for the video's starting location.  Once they arrive on scene, they should see a view just like the video.  They already know where the final is located at, so the find will be easy from that point on.

Now all you need to do is upload the videos.  YouTube provides an easy, free option for doing so.  Once they are uploaded, you'll need to add linked notes to the video.  YouTube calls them "annotations" and they can be added by going to "My Videos" after logging in, finding the starting video, and clicking on "Annotations".  When you do this, make sure you have a second tab open so you can get the URL's for each video.  Pick the point in the starting video where you want to give people the option to pick their choices.  Pause the video there and add a notation.  Spread the annotation out over one of the areas people can choose, switch it to the "Notes" type (you can use "Speech Bubble" or "Spotlight" if you want), then click on the chain link icon to create an Annotation Link.  This is where you paste the URL for the video that explores that particular spot.  You'll have to be organized at this point so that all of the annotations link to the proper videos.  Once done, you'll have a video much like Erika's.

Yes, it's an easy find for anyone who completes the video.  But it will also be a fun find.  Due to the nature of the design, it should probably be listed as a puzzle cache.  This means that even cachers who don't like puzzles would be hard pressed to complain about this.  And if they automatically ignore puzzles without even looking at them, this is a shining example of why that practice can backfire.  This is also a kid friendly cache design that any geocachers with kids in your area will enjoy.

Enjoy,
TripCyclone

PS: And a thanks to ErikaJean for letting me highlight her video.  The starting video is below:

Decorating the Logbook

Not every creative cache has to be only about the container.  Sometimes it's about the presentation of the cache.  Telling a good story.  Taking the cacher on a hike through the story.  Making the cache fit the story.  It's all about the presentation.  Cache of the Lost Sunglasses is an example of such a cache.  It told the story of a geocaching family, the father of which lost his sunglasses on the trail.  The cache took you on a lengthy hike through a park, visiting different stages along the trail where the family encountered different situations during their hike.  Over the course of the hike, if you read the story that went with it, you gained clues for finding the stages.  The stages weren't spectacular, the hides weren't elaborate.  It was the story, the mood, that set the level of fun for that cache.  Unfortunately, it was archived in 2008.

Designing a good story is not something you can really tell someone how to do so we won't focus on that.  One thing we will focus on is the logbook.  Now the logbook might seem like an unlikely part of the overall cache to focus.  Yet with the right cache, it can be a valuable part of telling the story.  Decorating a logbook works best with caches where the log has a book form to it, be it a pocket notebook for a small cache or larger book in an ammo can.  So today, we are going to look at one of my own caches, Necronomicron Ex-Mortis.  In particular, how the logbook fits into the design.

If you've seen The Evil Dead movies, you might recognize the name of the cache.  It was the evil Book of the Dead in the movies, the cause of all the horrors that occurred.  Bound in the human flesh and written in the blood of souls tortured by a group of Dark Ones.  An interesting example of B-horror films that has developed a cult status among horror movie fans.

For this cache, we need a few supplies:

• Liquid Latex
• Hot Glue Gun
• Hot Glue Sticks
• A logbook (preferably a hardbound notebook)
• Fake Blood
• Q-tips
• Paint (or stage makeup...preferably skin tones)
• Brushes/makeup sponges
• Spray Adhesive

The Liquid Latex and Fake Blood will probably be the hardest items to get your hands on.  Sometimes, you'll find stores that will sell them year round.  If not, you either have to wait until Halloween supplies hit the stores or order them online.  For the paint, I happened to use stage makeup.  It sticks well, easy to apply, but a applying it takes a bit longer.  Use of a make-up sponge really helps with this.

The logbook is something else.  A basic notebook might work fine but for selling the cache you might have to splurge a bit and get a nicer notebook that is hardbound.  When you get a notebook, think about the fact that you are applying hot glue to the cover when you pick one out.

Once you have your supplies, it's time to let your imagination run wild.  It's best to do one side of the cover at a time.  The basic steps to follow:

1. Plan out a pattern for the cover to be laid out with hot glue.
2. Apply the hot glue...carefully...in the pattern you choose.  Pay attention to how thick or thin you apply the glue to best achieve your goal. 
3. Let it dry, then carefully apply a thin layer of liquid latex using the Q-tips.  You can pour a small amount in spots and spread it out if desired.
4. Let the latex dry, then apply a thin later of make-up.  Pick a skin-tone and carefully stipple it onto the cover. For those unfamiliar with that term, stippling involves patting the paint onto the surface as opposed to brushing it or smearing it on.  For stage makeup, this helps create a more natural effect on the book.  The makeup doesn't have to be fully even, opaque layer.
5. Once the paint has dried, repeat steps 3 and 4 once more.  At this stage, begin applying any additional colors you choose to use, or even some fake blood in spots if desired.
6. Let it all dry, then repeat the procedure for the back cover and spine.  
7. Once finished, add a thin coat of spray adhesive.  Remember to not hold it so close that it creates weird bubbles on the cover.

So what does this look like when done?  Here is a shot of my logbook after almost completing the front cover:

 

This was designed to resemble a vision of the book from one of the movies.  You can see the eyes, the nose, an ear near the spine on the left, and the mouth if you look near the bottom center.  Teeth were designed into the mouth, and I later applied white makeup, some darker lines to separate the teeth, and some fake blood coming from the mouth.

Now, for a few steps that I did not have time to get too.  In the movies, the pages of the book are written in blood, containing weird languages, symbols, and drawings.  I had hoped to use the fake blood to design some similar pages inside but never got around to it.

The point of this post is to show how even the logbook can be part of making a creative cache.  Does it have to be a design out of a B-Horror flick?  Not at all.  This design was used for a night cache at my Halloween event last year, hence the horror theme.  This particular design works best with a regular size cache, but even a small cache can have a creative logbook.

If you are looking for something different to do, think about a cache with a story.  Then see how you can fit every aspect of the cache design into the story, including the logbook.

TripCyclone

A Sprinkle of Finds

Yesterday, I was reminded of a cache container that is a classic example of creativeness.  Both the design and placement can confuse many geocachers who haven't seen the design before.  And better yet, it's easy to build.

Here's what you need:

• 1 pop up sprinkler head
• A 35mm film canister
• Logsheet
• A small spade

Optional items:

• Bison tube
• Toothpick, thin Dowel Rod, or popsicle stick
• PVC
  

The best sprinkler head to get is one of those common round black ones you can find in most Gardening or Hardware stores.  For the spade...well that will depend on the location you choose to place it at. We'll discuss that after looking at the build.

The first thing you will need to do is unscrew the top of the sprinkler head, marked in the image to the left.  Once open, look carefully at the guts.  Sometimes there is a hollow piece running the length of the sprinkler that could easily hold a rolled up logsheet.  If not, just pull out everything, leaving the sprinkler casing and lid.

Next, get your logsheet ready.  The simple way is just to get a standard micro logsheet.  You can staple a few sheets together if you want to allow more finds between log refills.  Now if there is a hollow piece inside, you can slide the logsheet into there.  If this is an option, I recommend attaching something at the center of the roll that people can grip to pull the rolled up logsheet out.  A popsicle stick or thin dowel rod works great.

If there is not a hollow piece inside, then grab a micro container like a 35mm film canister, bison tube, etc.  Make sure it will fit inside, then add the logsheet and then toss the container inside the sprinkler head.

Once you have everything inside, just seal it up.  Now you need to find a location for it.  This is where this one can be tricky.  If you pick a spot with mulch, there's a chance the mulch is deep enough that you can just clear out a hole, place the sprinkler inside, and position the mulch around it to fill gaps.  You could also find a small bush, insert the sprinkler head through some branches, and cover the top with a leaf or two.  But sometimes, you might need to dig a small hole.  If you have exhausted other options and decided on digging, make sure you have permission from the landowner if it isn't on your property.  This is especially true at parks.  If a muggle sees you pulling up a spinkler head, they might get suspicious enough to report it.  You'll want the parks department to be aware of it.

To the right is an example of how to hide it to blend in.  Notice that unless you were looking for the cache, and even if you are looking for it, this sprinkler head looks like it blends in rather well.  You might not even realize it's not real unless comparing it to surrounding sprinkler heads (if there are any).

As you can see, this cache is a great example of concealing a cache out in the open.  It has become more common in the last two - three years, and some Geocaching stores will even sell ready to go versions of this.  The downside is blending it in.  Many parks and homes now have these pop-up sprinklers installed.  If you know what location you are aiming to place it, you can try to match the design as closely as possible to better blend it in so it doesn't stand out. Imagine an all black sprinkler head as the real sprinklers, then having the cache in one that has a bright white stripe around the lid.  An observant person might notice that.


Also, if you look at the picture of the cache surrounded by mulch, you'll notice the white base, a piece not seen in the first image.  An additional way to set this into the ground is to use a piece of PVC pipe that snuggly fits the sprinkler head.  Then, when you set up the hole for the cache container, you can place the PVC pipe in the hole.  Now, when the cache is retrieved and then put back, it will quickly slide into place.  No need to make sure dirt or mulch doesn't fall into the hole and force finders to redig them back out.

Now we have one more photo to show you.  In this case, it's an example of a homemade logsheet.  A longer piece of paper, likely from a calculator printer roll, has been rolled up with a small toothpick in the center.  The toothpick is taped to the printer roll.  Just twist to tighten the paper up on the toothpick and then pull down.  The housing is a small plastic sleeve glued inside a small piece of PVC pipe with a Geocaching logo taped to the side.  A rubber plug is at the top end to help seal that side.  And this all fits nicely into the sprinkler head.  Even though the logsheet isn't in a baggie, it has remained quite dry.

Like I said, a rather simple hide to build, not to bad to place, and great for concealment in plain view.  And this design works with any type of cache: traditional, multi, or puzzle.

TripCyclone

The Black Beast of AAAaaarrrgh

I've been busy since my last post dealing with business for The Great TB Race.  It's time to get to some more cache designs.  A cacher in West Virginia named WVangler sent me some ideas that he has used.  They are going into my list of ideas to talk about, but I thought I would feature one of his designs today.  If you recognize the name of this post, then you're obviously a fan of Monty Python.

Supplies:

• Ammo Can
• Weatherproof glue (Gorilla Glue is good)
• Spray Paint (color is your choice)
  
• Fake eyes
• Regular cache items (logbook, swag)

This is a rather simple design to make and will get a good laugh from many, Monty Python fans or not.  For the glue, Gorilla Glue works well, but any glue that will survive outdoors is good.  For the fake eyes, you can use whatever you want.  You could go for those toy eyes that have the black dot that moves around when shaken.  You could use a collection of doll eyes.  Just make sure you have a lot of them.  For the color, WVangler used black, but it's your choice what to use.  Oh, and depending on the glue you use, plan on taking some time to put it together as described.

First things first, take the ammo can outside with the spray paint.  Coat it in a layer of paint, let it dry, then check for any spots needing a second coat.  Once you are happy with the paint job, and it is fully dry, let's go back inside.

Set the ammo can down, preferably with newspaper underneath to avoid glue stains.  Start gluing the eyes to the ammo can, covering as much free space as you can cover.  The more eyes, the better.  When you are done, the ammo can should be completely covered with eyes, mimicing the appearance of the Black Beast of AAAaaarrrgh.  For those of you who aren't versed in the Monty Python Universe, watch the following video:



Once the ammo can is finished, find a good spot to place it. Somewhere near a rockface with a mini-cave would awesome to help replicate the movie scence. Otherwise, a good wooded area will work well.

Check out WVangler's version of The Black Beast of AAAaaarrrgh to see his cache page or read the logs.  It's a great example of incorporating movies into interesting cache designs.  This design would work well no matter what the desired cache type is.  This would be an interesting design to follow a puzzle about Monty Python movies.

TripCyclone

Ant Hill Cache

Here at Creative Caches & Containers, we are not impartial to creativeness from outside sources.  We encourage you to let us know about your ideas so that we may help spread that creative nature to interested geocachers.  It is in that nature that we present this next idea straight from HeadHardHat (HHH), host of the geocaching video series known as GeoSnippits and the author of the GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed...Right? blog.  With his permission, we provide you with this video on how to design an Ant Hill Cache:

Let's quickly look at what is needed for this design:

• Bondo
• Bondo Hardener
• A small bucket or cup
• Latex or vinyl disposable gloves
• Something to stir with (and disposable)
• Spray Paint (textured, and roughly the color of ant hill sand)
• Plastic 35mm film canister

Bondo is, simply put, a putty. But it's not like the Silly Putty that most people play with as a kid.  Bondo is a two-part putty.  This is because Bondo alone is okay.  But once you add the hardener, it hardens FAST.  And the more hardener you apply, the faster it will harden.  This is why you want the gloves.  It will harden to anything and you don't want it under your fingertips when it does.  Bondo was originally designed for automotive use and is commonly used in automotive repair.  But there are many other uses. Just looking it up I came across pictures of people who have used it to design creative outsides for their Wii, making hand holds for rock climbing walls, making a ceiling fan look like helicopter blades (complete with helicopter hanging below), and even for making buttons on a Guitar Hero controller that light up when you push the buttons.  There are likely limitless ideas for its use, so it's no surprise that it can be useful for making geocaches.

The video pretty much sums up how to make it, so I'm not going to go over that.  When I first saw this, I commented to HHH that most ant hills I've seen don't look so vertically tall.  Guess the North Carolinian ants are bigger. :P  But all kidding aside, you don't want to create an ant hill that doesn't look like the ant hills commonly seen in the area you want to hide the cache.  I've seen ant hills that look like his but half the size.  I've seen ant hills that are small in height but are wide and circular.  What we are going to look at now is how to modify the design to blend this cache in with the ant hills in your area.

First, you'll want to go out and find some ant hills as examples to see how you want yours to look in the end.  Part of why his is taller is because of the position of the 35mm film canister.  That's going to be hard to position any different.  You could use something smaller, but I have another thought that will help in making a smaller ant hill while not necessarily reducing the size of the container.

If you want to make one of these that doesn't stand up as tall, then don't build it around the cache itself, but around a cache holder.  Let's first look at some additional supplies that are needed.  First, you need to know what size container you are going to use.  Avoid anything larger than a 35mm film canister.  Try to aim for something thinner. The goal is to lay the cache on it's side inside the fake ant hill to reduce the height, but still allow geocachers to open the container.  Bison tubes, Advantex film canisters (more oval shaped than the 35mm kind), nanos, and other small containers will work well for this.

Once you have the size picked out, make a thin plastic sleeve that fit snuggly around the container.  If using a nano, you can also just get a magnet the same width as a nano.  You want this sleeve to fit snuggly to help hold the container in place, but still be able to remove it from the sleeve as needed.  If need be, you can try to hunt down some moldable plastic.  It's been a while since I've seen it in stores, but there is a product out there that can be heated up in boiling water so that it is moldable.  Take it out of the water, and within a few minutes it will harden into whatever shape you position it in.  I'll try to look for in the future, but if you know what I'm talking about, send me the info.  Once you have this mold made, you then just snap the container into the sleeve and you have a cache holder. When you apply the Bondo, this will take the place of the 35mm in the video.

For added measure, we're going to design a cover to go over the cache to help ensure it doesn't fall out by accident.  To do this right, you'll need to design this part first, before you make the ant hill.  Figure out roughly what size you want the base of the ant hill to be (width wise) and about how tall you want it to be.  Get some hard plastic and cut it out to be about that width of the base.  Then get a screw that will be a bit smaller than the planned height of the ant hill.  Put the screw through one end of the plastic piece.  Have this with you when you apply the Bondo.

Before apply the Bondo, have newspaper down like in the video.  Take that plastic sleeve that you'll use to hold the cache and place it on top of the plastic piece with the screw.  Make sure it's not right up against the screw.  Then place a small piece of newspaper between both plastic pieces, covering up the bottom piece, but with the screw poking through the paper.  You are doing this because you want the Bondo applied to both the sleeve and the screw, but not the plastic piece that is attached to the screw.  Now apply the Bondo.

When finished applying the Bondo, and once it's hardened, remove the small piece of newspaper that you placed between the two plastic pieces.  If designed right, this will create a plastic cover that can be rotated open to expose the cache inside, and rotated closed to help protect the container from falling out.  This won't protect against the elements, so make sure that the inner container can be sealed.  If the shape isn't quite what you want, sand any undesirable parts away.

Now all that's left is to apply the spray paint.  As HHH mentions, use a textured spray paint.  Try to find one that closely matches the color of the ant hills in your area.  Paint it, let it dry, and there's a modified Ant Hill Cache.

Thanks to HeadHardHat for making this video.  It really shows how some creativity can produce interesting cache designs.  Keep up with his blog for some great general geocaching tips.

Halloween Series - The Skull

Yesterday, we looked at The Rat as a Halloween themed cache.  Today, we are going to look at how to build a Skull Cache.  And this one definitely has some variety to it depending on what you use for the skull.

Required supplies:

• Logbook
• Micro Cache Container
• Fake Skull

Optional supplies:

• Power drill
• Screweye
• Fishing line/rope
  

Let's start with the skull itself.  There are a variety of skull products out there.  Hard plastic, soft plastic, foam, hollow, solid, and everything in between.  This will probably be the most important decision you make with this design.  What skull you use will define how to build the cache and how to hide it.  If you use hollow, all you need to do is open it up to hide the cache.  If you use a solid skull, you will have to drill.  That's where the power drill will come in.  If you use foam, you better be prepared to buy a lot of spares as the weather will ruin it.  Better yet, just stay away from foam.

Let's look at the container.  Again, a matchstick container works best but a 35mm can be used as well, just like with the rat cache.

Now for the hide.  The skull can provide some interesting ways to get creative with the hide itself.  You can use some of the common "in the woods" methods such as covering it with brush or finding a hole in a tree.  A more creative way involves hanging from something like a tree. Attach a screweye (for those unfamiliar with that, it's the screw that has the round loop at the top) to the top of the skull and then tie a line to that.  Attach the other end of the line to whatever object you are hanging it from and you now have a hanging skull cache.

In the end, it's a rather basic setup.  The key thing to consider is what kind of skull you want to hide.  That will help define how to build the cache.

TripCyclone

Halloween Series - The Rat

Wow, didn't realize it had been THAT long since my last article.  Well, I've been pretty busy between work and...well work.  But, I thought that as we approach Halloween in five days, I would do a series of quick articles on Halloween themed caches.  Most of these will be short articles and very similar to each other, but with slightly different props.  We'll start with a classic - THE RAT.

Building a rat cache is rather simple.  Here are the needed supplies:

• Rubber rat
• Micro Cache container
• Logsheet

An optional supply would be some sort of adhesive.  That depends on the final design.  In the simplest sense, you will be attaching the container to the rat.  How you attach it will depend on the container used.  35mm film canisters work well, but waterproof matchstick container (easy to find among camping gear in stores) is better.  Mainly because the screw top and O-ring provide a more durable waterproof container (imagine that...a waterproof matchstick container being waterproof!) than a film canister, which can easily get smashed, broken, chewed on or have the lid pop off.

I've seen the attachment go several ways.  If you purchase a rat that is hollow, you can cut a hole on the belly and insert the container inside the rat.  If it isn't hollow, look to see if there is a space between the paws where you can slip the container (this might be where an adhesive would be valuable).  Unless it is a bigger rat, a micro is the best size for a container.

For hiding spots, try to find a good hole at the base of something, be it natural or manmade.  Up in a tree just seems less natural than on the ground.  Most of the time, the rats will be black or brown but I've seen white and gray ones before.  The darker ones will be easier to blend in, and if found in the dark, are more likely to startle someone.  The first time I saw a rat cache, it made me hesitate before reaching for because I was looking at night.

There you have it.  A simple halloween cache.  Next up...the skull cache.

TripCyclone

A Magnetic Micro

Magnets.

They can be so much fun to play with on a rainy day. That is, until you hold one up to something that can be damaged by a good magnet.

They can also be very useful for geocaches. Today, we will be building a simple micro cache. The nice thing about this design is that it is reusable in a variety of ways, which we will look at in the future as well. Today, we will examine building the design.

Most of the supplies for this design are simple and could probably be easily found. One piece is not something you will find readily available at the nearest Wal-mart. Let's take a look:

* Superglue
* Magnets
* Logsheet
* Micro speciman container

It's the last one that is hardest to find. The ones I have actually came from a cache that was full of them for people to grab and place as a new cache. I believe it is a type of speciman container, used in science to collect and store samples. This is what it looks like:

If you look carefully at the log sheet, you can see that this container is quite small. Just barely big enough to roll up a single micro log sheet and slid it inside. Now, look at the front end of this. See the impression? Before you get a magnet, you need to make sure you know the width and depth of this impression. This way, when you acquire the magnet for this cache, you get the right size.

Getting the right magnets is important. I've mentioned it before, but we'll quickly refresh. Look for some kind of neo-dymium magnet. They are quite strong for their size and are inexpensive too. Hardware stores are your best bet, and even through them you are likely to have to order them. Grainger Industrial Supply is the store I went through, and I was able to buy 20 magnets for $10. The downside for many is that they will require you to have an account with them before selling these magnets as they are considered hazardous.

Once you have the magnets and the cache container, all you need is some superglue. Get the supplies together and let's begin.

First, decide which side you want the magnet on. The design of my container requires me to use the impression in the lid. The bottom of the container doesn't provide enough surface to attach the magnet.

Next, apply a small amount of superglue where you want to attach the magnet.

Last, attach the magnet and let it dry. It should look like this:

If you look carefully at this image, you'll notice that the magnet doesn't quite fill the width of the lid. There is a small gap. To help reinforce the magnet, I applied a tad bit more superglue into that gap. You have to be careful that you don't put too much glue. I was just barely squeezing the tube as I circled the magnet. This little bit extra glue helps secure the magnet just a bit more.

There, now you have a container that can be used in a variety of ways. Now we'll come back to this design in the future with some other ideas, but lets look at a simple way to hide that will confuse a lot of people when they first approach the cache site.

For this part of the design, you need to find a place where this is a thin, hollow tube. It is preferable if the tube is not too long. About the length of a pen is good. With regards to the thinness, it needs to be wide enough to fit the cache container, but not wide enough for someone to reach into it and grip the container. Ideally, it will be just wide enough to easily slide the container inside. This container is realitively waterproof, so if the tube is vertical, it should be okay. However, if vertical it allows water to fill up the tube and depending on how deep it is, it could float your container to the top so this should be taken into consideration. To avoid this, try to find a tube that is horizontal.

Now, here is the tricky part. You want to insert the cache container into the tube with the magnet facing out, not in. This is critical to the design. The idea is that once the geocacher figures out where the container is at, they now have to figure out how to get it out. The way to do this is to stick something metal into the tube to magnetically "grab" the cache container, and pull it back out. And not just any metal. Some metals are unresponsive to magnets. If the geocacher doesn't have the right metals with them, they won't be able to retrieve the cache.

By now, you're probably thinking "Now THAT's evil!" Yep...and a good example of how to be creative with the cache hide. I have seen this before and it had me stumped for a while. The hint helped, but until I began thinking outside the box, it had me going in a totally wrong direction. This hiding trick is something else that we might revisit in the future, but on a larger scale.

TripCyclone

Building a 35mm Film Cache

I know what you're thinking.  "Why is he talking about building a 35mm Film Cache.  That's so simple and uncreative."  Well you are right...if you are thinking of a traditional film canister hide.  This one is a bit different, and it can be used in a VARIETY of ways and with traditionals, multi's, or puzzles. Uncreative...HA HA HA!

Let's look at the materials needed:

• 35mm film canister
• Micro log sheet
• Tape
• Scissors

Before we deal with how to build this, let's look at that first item.  A 35mm film canister.  Now you're probably thinking of the small plastic container that film comes in.  That's not what I'm talking about.  Instead, you need the metal container that the film is actually housed in.  The piece that would go into the camera itself.  For the young ones out there that don't remember film cameras, it looks like this:

Whether you regularly use film or not, chances are you aren't going to have these sitting around the house.   So how do you get your hands on some?  The best place is a film developing center, or a 1-Hour Photo Processing store.  While getting my hands on some, I went to CVS, Walgreens, and Wal-mart.  Many 1-Hour Photo stores will have some kind of system set up where they can get some money back if they send in boxes of used film canisters and those plastic film containers.  At least it used to be like that.  The CVS and Walgreens I went to seem to throw them away.  Good thing Wal-mart still recycles them.  Way to be green Wal-mart.  If you go to the photo lab and politely ask them for either item, usually they are willing to give you a handful.  If they look at you weird and ask why, you can always tell them what they are for or you can tell them something else.  As a science teacher, I can easily say that I'm using them for class and they don't have any more questions.  You can also tell them they are for an art project, or that you use the plastic containers to store things like tacks and paper clips.  A simple reason will usually suffice.  Just make sure the metal film canister (like the one pictured above) has that small piece of film still sticking out and it isn't damaged.  That's important.  From here on out, when I refer to film canister, I'm referring to the metal item in the pictures.

Now that you have the metal film canisters, let's make sure you have the other supplies.  For tape, any tape will do.  I used packaging tape only because all my scotch tape is back at work.  Lay out your supplies in front of you and grab the log sheet.  Depending on your log sheet, figure out which end is the top and which end is the bottom.  Grab the bottom end and line it up with the small tab of film sticking out of the film canister.  Now you need to tape the log sheet to the piece of film.  It can overlap a bit if you want, or you can do it end to end.  Use a small piece of tape and wrap it completely around to secure the paper to the film canister.  When you're done, it should look like this:

Once you have the log sheet securely fastened, carefully insert the film back into the canister.  You might have to work it just a bit if the tape/logsheet/film part is a bit thick, but you should be able to get it in without damaging the container.  If you look at the above picture, you might be able to see that I overlapped the paper and film, and it still went in.  Once you have the paper sticking in, find the round, notched gear on the side of the film canister (you can see it on the right in the above image).  If you are holding the film canister like you see in the above picture, rotate it counter-clockwise (backwards) until it begins to retract the log sheet.  Keep doing this until you get near the end of the sheet.  Like this:

 

You now have a 35mm film cache. Pull the tab out, sign the log, roll it back up.  You might want to put a small label on the film canister that points to the gear with instructions on how to roll it back up.  But what if a geocacher rolls it too far?  Well, there's a way to help protect against that too.  One thing is to put a label on the end of the log sheet that tells them when to stop rolling.  However, if the geocacher isn't paying attention, that won't help much.  So here's something else you can do. 

Get a small piece of paper, no wider than the logsheet.  You can always cut up a log sheet to about 1/3rd of it's original length. Then carefully fold up BOTH ends towards the middle, making a small thick tab.  Then, slide that over the end of the log sheet that sticks out and tape it down.  You've effectively made a brake for the log sheet.  As it is rolled up, when that hits the thin slit that the paper goes into, it will be too big to go any further, stopping a geocacher from rolling the log sheet up inside the container (which you will not easily get out unless you are familiar with working in a photo lab).  In this next picture, I've highlighted where I installed this "brake" in black:

So how would you use this idea?  Well, you can take any traditional 35mm film canister cache and put one of these inside to make it just a bit different. Those cachers expecting a baggie and a log sheet will be surprised at first.  But that's not all.  How about using it as part of a multi?  You can type up a message with the coordinates to the next stage and build one of these. Pull out the tab, get the coordinates, roll it back up and move on.  Maybe your stages involve answering questions.  This is an easy way to spice up the stages a bit.  One idea, that would seem strangely appropriate, is to use them in a multi with a "spy novel" element to them.  Sort of like finding a microfiche container that contains the secret clue to the mystery.  There are lots of ways you can incorporate this design into a variety of hides.

!!!WARNING!!!

This container is NOT a good stand-alone cache.  The very slip in the container that allows the logsheet to come out will also let in moisture, especially with part of the paper sticking out.  That will absorb the moisture and provide it with an easy path to travel inside the container.  So any use of this design will require another container to put it into.  You can try using Rite-In-Rain paper, but moisture might still be a problem.  Now, I haven't tested this, so it's possible that it does better than I expect.  But then you also have the issue with potential rust.  Hmmm...maybe that's something I should test.  I have plenty of spares.

Any other ideas out there for how to incorporate this into a cache?

TripCyclone