Creative Cache Lifecycle

 With overnight temps occasionally dipping below 90 degrees, it's time to get out and do my annual visitation to my geocaches, assuming they don't get consumed by one of our many forest fires first. This year, I have a number of caches on my list that I'm considering for archival.

I removed Shave & a Haircut. While the log was easily accessible, the inner container (which was a play on the title) was stuck in the water bottle when the bottle shrunk due to the Arizona heat. This one lasted 33 months, but wasn't one of my better ideas.

Surf's Up had a good run, lasting 48 months before I decided to remove it. Since it was a puzzle cache, it didn't get as much traffic and the majority of people that did find it struggled to get it open which suggests they didn't get the SharkBite brand reference (push-on plumbing fittings) for the container. The idea for this one developed from a cache in Flagstaff that utilized a SharkBite(tm) fitting.

Pegleg's Black Gold was a nice idea but lived a very hard life. This was the original, before it was placed. It leveraged a worn out shoe and the leg off a worn out pair of blue jeans. Even though it was cabled in place, the original got stolen (or the pack rats ate the cable as well as everything else!) This was one of a set of three that were placed at the same time. Capt. Kidd's Treasure lasted less than 18 months. This cache lasted a total of 56 months but was rebuilt a couple times. 

When I rebuilt it, I used a heavier boot which stood up to the pack rats although they did seem to appreciate the laces and the hooks. The blue jean portion was replaced at least three times but the caches has gotten to the place that the pack rats appreciate it more than the cachers. With one little shred of jean left, it's time to archive this one. The third one of the set (Lost Dutchman) remains in play. It's container looks like it could survive a year yet.

At one time, I had two bone caches. Both used sundried calf bones that we spotted when we were out caching one day. Online naysayers said you couldn't use a bone, but turns out they weren't right. This one, Dust to Dust, lasted 53 months, using a bison tube for the log container inside the hollow bone. It's time to free up the spot for something else, whatever that might be.

Button, Button, like it's Now What? siblings, was constructed of wood. Unlike the others which are still in play, I've never been totally happy with this one since I couldn't get a consistent fit with the dowels. Most often, it would fall apart when you picked it up. No fun having a field puzzle that solved itself! 'Sides that, ground cover was no longer adequate, but it did survive for 4 1/2 years. The ammo can will likely be used again someday for something different.

The cache description was the key to this one. It was placed fairly early in my geocaching experience and has done much better than I had any reason to expect. Once again, an oddball container with a "punnish" description worked, but now it's time to open up some space for something different. Shooting in the Desert had a good run - 57 months.

It hasn't all been archiving. I did find a place for Signal's Travel Planner. It's a gadget cache based on some concepts from the June Gadgettalk podcast. I'm hoping folks enjoy it.

More Silver Subie mods

After the June trip, I had a couple more mods that I wanted to add to the Silver Subie outfitting. It needed more ventilation, shade, and a spot to sit while logging geocaches or doing research for upcoming trip waypoints. A shelf assembly could help while reducing the amount of slope on the bed.

While I was making stuff in the shop, I fabricated some magnetic strips. My first attempt with screens for the windows had used flexible magnet strips but they didn't work well at all. This time I made them from 1/4" plywood with rare earth magnets epoxied in place and covered with a layer of fiberglass.

The shelf assembly was designed so that it could stay in place even when the back seat is up in the "normal" (at least for most people) position. It still has 10 inches remaining when you get to the black stripe. It works well to hold the computer and I can sit in a folding chair without banging my knees against the always dirty bumper.

The next trick was some shade. I consulted with the smart one in the family about building a shade / netting structure for the back of the Subie but by the time we were done penciling it out, the material, zippers, and other accoutrements were approaching the cost of a ready-built option.

It's MUCH bigger (8x8 would be a better match) than I would prefer and the height makes it a bit challenging to put the rainfly on by myself, but it does provide much improved ventilation. It also vastly improves the glare on the computer screen. A side benefit is that it can stay in place to reserve the spot if I'm basing from one location for more than one day.

There's one more significant addition in progress, but I just discovered a couple torn CV boots that put the additions on hold while the Subie get a pair of spanking new axles.

Meanwhile, I finally got permission to place the last of a set of five field puzzle caches that I built a couple months ago. Not to worry, there's a newer one in the shop that's also waiting for property owner permission.

More Challenging

Temps in the Phoenix area have been their typical summer 110+ which meant it was time to look for more elevation. I spotted a set of six challenge caches just west of Flagstaff that looked interesting, and with elevations above 8000 feet, the weather should be somewhat cooler. I was part way done with the latest set of mods for the Subie, so it seemed a three day trip was in order.

I drove as far as the signage would let me and then started up the hill. The first portion of the trail was clearly a road, but also clearly signed such that motor vehicles weren't allowed. There had been a fire through here years ago, but the forest of pine trees was developing nicely.

There were five challenges that surrounded the rim of an old volcano, with a sixth one down in the crater.

These caches varied in age from 7 to 10 years old, but don't get much traffic.

I started with the 5th of the series and then worked clockwise around the rim while keeping an eye on the dark clouds gathering over Humphreys Peak. Between the second and third cache that I did, it opened up to good views of the lake / mudhole in the crater.

The elevation was high enough that there were still some spring flowers in the shadows.

By the time I'd finished the five caches on the rim, I was debating about the last cache in the crater, but the low point in the rim was in line with where I'd parked the Subie and the last cache didn't get visited much with only 24 finds in 10 years.

As usual, online maps aren't current. It sure looks like a road to the bottom of the crater, but the nearest legal parking is just about where that road exits the lower edge of the picture.

By the time I was getting close to the car, the black clouds over Humphreys had moved and it was starting to rain, hard!

It wasn't long and the chuck holes had turned to mud puddles and water was running down the ruts in the road. I departed the forest and headed to Williams for my boondock location. Even though I was still over 6000 feet that evening, it was toasty warm after the rain quit.

The next morning, early, I headed to Kingman for the final qualifier for another challenge cache. Kingman is way too low for a summer overnight so after the event I turned around and headed to Prescott where there are a bunch of new challenges. I didn't get them all, but I did get one for my 7,000th find (excluding lab caches.) Camp that night on Mingus Mountain put me over 8,000 feet.

Time to head home - more projects for the Subie.