Most newspapers, when describing geocaching to their readership, refer to geocaching as “modern day treasure hunting”. In many ways they are correct, and I’ve met geocachers who thought at least partly, that they were Indiana Jones in search of a lost relic. After hearing this from several geocachers I began to think about creating a puzzle geocache that included a treasure map of sorts, including a big ole “X” marking the spot of the final location.

But how would I get the map to look like a real treasure map? I didn’t want something that looked like it had just been printed. I wanted the map to look authentic in hopes of adding a little “coolness” factor to the cache. After doing some research online I found a process called “antiquing” which takes a fresh sheet of paper and makes it look old and weathered. The process is very easy and I was very happy with the end result.

Supplies You’ll Need

1. Create your map in it’s entirety BEFORE starting this process.
2. An oven
3. Instant coffee
4. Paper towels
5. Cookie sheet pan
6. Lighter

Process

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees (F).
2. Place a sheet of paper on a cookie sheet.
3. Mix up some instant coffee and pour over the paper and cookie sheet. You’ll want both sides to be covered.
4. If you want some really dark spots on the paper, rub some instant coffee directly into the paper.
5. Place the cookie sheet into the oven for about 6 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and lift paper from cookie sheet and onto some paper towels you’ve laid out. NOTE: the paper will be hot!
7. Once dried, I used the lighter to burn some of the edges of the map. Just light and quickly tap out.

Further Steps

Mine smelled like coffee pretty bad after this. So I put it in a shoe box with some moth balls and that removed the smell.
After I was happy with the end result I laminated the map. You don’t have to do this, but since I was putting it out in a geocache I wanted to give it a little more protection against the elements.

Of course you don’t need to get this fancy with your geocaches, but the devil is in the details and we’ve always noticed that when we take the time to go the extra mile people notice and really respond well to the caches.

Do you have any additional hints for making interesting geocaches? Leave us a message on our Facebook Wall or leave a comment below. Thanks and cache on!

Ej and I are pleased to announce the winner of the “Name The Mad Cacher” contest. Sue Sandar aka Agassiz Angel, submitted the winning story.

Sue is a frequent contributor to our Facebook page and I highly recommend reading her ideas on how to handle muggle’s in the field. Sue has won a Mad Cacher T-Shirt. Without further fanfar we would like to share the story of how The Mad Cacher got his name.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am not sure where I should begin with what I have to tell you so I will start where I came in.

My name is unimportant as it is not I that you need to know; it is Macher (pronounced MaSHer). I have worked as an assistant to the great scientist, Macher, for the last three years. In that time I have noticed that he is spending more and more time muttering and mumbling to himself than he ever did before. He no longer cares about his appearance, his hair is a mess, his lab coat is fraying and his pants are threadbare in places and are too short. As you know, the great Macher takes pride in his appearance and this is very out of character for him.

That is not my main concern though, my main concern is the number of small packages he is receiving daily and the amount of time he is spending behind closed doors with the contents of the packages. I managed to read a couple of the labels on the boxes but I do not understand why he would want UV monofilament, fire tacks, invisible ink and something called a preform!

I am writing to you because I have heard of other scientists acting this way before they had a melt down and I do not want to see Macher hurting himself or anyone else.

I know he is up to something because he is locking himself away and shouting out numbers and letters and then screaming ‘No! No! No! That isn’t going to work!’ Then he throws something across the room and starts over again.

Lately he has been carrying around a GPS and pressing buttons and then chuckles, looks around to make sure no one has seen him and then mumbles something about, “them never figuring this one out when I am done!”

I am very concerned about this; remember he is famous for making the ‘Night Cache Trap’ that had geocachers walking around in circles for days. I am sure that the Ministry of Defense would not find the humor in his antics a second time around.

Macher has just come out of his lab with an evil grin on his face carrying a box like object with wires and tubes connected to it. His evil laughing is getting louder and louder.

“They think they know everything about puzzles! HA! I have made the ultimate puzzle that they will never figure out and never win the FTF on this cache!” Macher muttered and then broke out into the evil laughter that he has been doing a lot of lately.

I think he is going to hide it somewhere right now! As he was walking past me I saw a faint glow of numbers in the tubes sticking out of the box, I am not sure what they are for but it can not be good.

Please help as I am not sure where or what he is up to. All I know is that he is acting very strange and the last time this happened he started the ‘Travel Bug’ epidemic which swept through the geocaching community and caused mass chaos!

Please send help ASAP.
From the desk of Dr. Macher MD in GC, HP, CP

Dr. L.N Lock
Dr. Machers’ assistant

The next day, Dr. Macher was found at the edge of Finders Volcano, a volcano that has been dead for over a thousand years. In his hands he held a pad of paper and his GPS. On the paper he had written several different coordinates, none of them were for the location where he was standing though.

“Everything will be revealed when you do the puzzle for my new geocache. It is called ‘Mad Cacher Strikes Again!’ It is kind of catchy don’t you think?” Macher laughed and walked down the path leaving everyone staring at him and shaking their heads! He really was a Mad Cacher!

Geocaching is a wonderful hobby, but for some of us, we find ourselves thrust into an epic battle of attrition with mother nature, who 9 out of 10 times will win the battle and the war. She is a dirty fighter that mother nature and with several weapons in her arsenal, many of us don’t stand a chance. One weapon of mass destruction that has plagued myself and other geocacher’s time and again is poison ivy – nature’s evil henchman.

Poison ivy and I have had a tumultuous relationship over the years, placing me in the doctors office more times than I care to admit. One could say, “Aren’t you sort of thick in the head to get it so many times?” and you would be right, however growing up in the backwoods of Maine, I had my fair share of opportunities to encounter the devilish little plant.

Poison ivy, for the uninitiated, is a poisonous North American plant that produces a substance called Urushiol, the key ingredient of my discontent. Poison Ivy is identified by it’s signature three leaf arrangement or, with what we have here in VA, a large vine with a shaggy haired appearance. Wikipedia tells me that the vine variety is the older meaner brother of the plant I encountered in Maine and I must avoid it at all cost.

Urushiol is transmitted from the plant to the skin and can take up to a week for symptoms to raise their ugly head. Symptoms include nasty blisters and severe itching that can make even the strongest man scream to the heavens for a wire brush and some alcohol. There has been more than one occasion where I contemplated the necessity of having skin, it can be that bad. Poison Ivy takes no prisoners. The Urushiol can be transmitted through your pets fur, handles of tools and even be effective years after the plant itself has died.

You may be thinking, “Alright Kurt, I have some poison ivy in the back yard and all this gas, why don’t I just burn the lot of it and be done?” To that I would say, “Think again”. Poison ivy would laugh at your shenanigans and then do some real damage. When burned, the toxin is carried in the smoke and when breathed, can cause a rash on the inside of the lungs. This.. you do not want.

So what is a Geocacher to do? Throw in the towel and let mother nature and her evil henchman have their way? Awe Heey’ell NO! But, we do have to be smart. Long sleeves, pant’s and wearing gloves when working are usually pretty good deterrents. It is wise to shower immediately when home and place your clothes in the wash – remember the oil can get onto just about everything. Theresa Zablotski Nevills posted some great advice on our Facebook Page about carrying baby wipes in your geocaching kit. It can never hurt to wipe down after you think you have come into contact. Other members proposed Technu, which I support, and poison ivy pills which I have never tried other than doctor prescribed Prednisone.

One of the best deterrents for poison ivy is identification and abstinence. If you know what to look for you can usually avoid the horrid plant and it’s cousins altogether. If it weren’t so hot I would geocache in a plastic bubble, just to be safe.

I’ve included some links below for identification of poisonous woodland evil-doers as well as some products that can help ease the pain and suffering from coming into contact with mother nature’s finest. If you have some age-old remedies or advice for our readers please write a comment below! Thanks, and happy caching.

Identification Links
www.poison-ivy.org
www.Wikipedia.org
http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view

Helpful Products
Technu
Burt’s Bee’s Poison Ivy Soap
Roundup Poison Ivy Killer
Scotts Ortho Business Grp Ortho Max Poison Ivy Killer

Our favorite part of geocaching is that it gets you outdoors and brings you to places you wouldn’t normally find. Unfortunately the outdoors, while amazing and beautiful, can also carry safety risks. Several of our readers have commented on tics, temperature extremes and even snakes! Snakes can be lethal so you must be careful to avoid them. A bit of a disclaimer here, Kurt and I both grew up in Maine and our knowledge of snakes came much later in life. So if you have any tips or suggestions for others, PLEASE make a comment below to help everyone out!

The first thing about snakes is that you should do some research if you are geocaching in an area that you are unfamiliar with. For example if you’re from the northeast and are traveling and think you might do some geocaching while visiting family in Louisiana, you should take some time to talk to locals about what types of snakes are in the area. You may also want to review some literature about what snakes live there so you can get a visual reference on what you might encounter. Knowledge and awareness are your number one tools to avoid snakebite.

Not all snakes have rattles or will announce their presence and they tend to be under things or hiding. Beyond knowing WHAT snakes are in the area you should also know where they live. Snakes, like any reptile are cold blooded, which means they can’t regulate their body temperature. This means that they either need to layout in the sun to warm up or to hide in the shade or water to cool down. Know where the snakes live and you can put yourself on alert when entering those areas.

Here are our snake safety tips to remember:

• Wear the correct clothing! Long sleeves and pants with thick boots that cover the ankle will protect you in the event of a bite.
• Snakes can strike at a distance of roughly half their length. Keep your distance if you do encounter one, and back away slowly.
• Never risk it! If you see a snake consider it to be venomous and treat it as such. Most snake bites come not from someone being surprised, but from people that try to move or even play with snakes.
• Be careful where you step! A snake can look like a stick or might be lying in the sun trying to stay warm. You need to stay alert and watch every step you take when in snake country to avoid surprising a snake.
• Be careful where you put your hands! A long time friend of mine told me that most snakebites on golf courses come from players, who like myself, spend more time in the rough than on the fairway. They see their ball and reach down to grab it not realizing that right next the ball was a snake. The same holds true for us as geocachers. Don’t let the triumph of finally finding that hidden cache override your common sense or alertness to dangers.
• If you are walking your dog while geocaching in an area where there might be snakes, keep them on a leash to avoid a chance encounter.

Snake Safety Tools and Resources

• Snake Bite Kit
• Sawyer Extractor Pump Kit
• Snake Bite Proof Chaps
• The Atlas of Snakes

All this stated we must remember to be good stewards of the environment when geocaching. This means having an appreciation for all aspects of nature, which includes snakes. Snakes play a critical role in local ecosystems by keeping rodent populations in check. The outdoors is plenty big enough for snakes and humans!

Do you have a snake safety tip that we didn’t share? Please leave a comment below so we can build this as a resource for others!

Geocachers are opportunists at heart. Whether that means sneaking out during a lunch break to find a cache or repurposing of old containers for new caches to hide. While an old ammo can or pill bottle makes an excellent waterproof container to hide a logbook and some swag in, they often aren’t camouflaged very well in their original format. This means that we as cachers have to get creative through tape, glue or paint to hide the reused container. Unfortunately while I applaud this ingenuity I see a lot of containers with pealing paint where the geocache owner didn’t know how to properly paint the cache container. I spent a lot of my early life working on boats where proper painting technique is critical to properly maintaining everything. If you’re interested in creating a painted cache container that will hold the efforts you put into it, read on for our tips.

And of course remember: you want to paint your cache container so that it is hard to find. Camouflage is the name of the game here.

Painting Metal and Plastic

Ammo cans, used food tins, Tupperware and other metal or plastic containers are popular selections when hiding a cache. What some people might not know is that some paints like latex will not stick directly to the metal if it is not properly prepped. But that is no reason to avoid using them; painting cache containers is easy if you just follow these easy steps.

1. Before you start your work or even buy your supplies you should read all labels on your primer and paint. This is important to not only make sure that your paint is suitable for metal or plastic but so that you know important things like dry time and safety considerations. When painting you need to make sure you always do it in a well-ventilated area to avoid the accumulation of toxic fumes.
2. Before painting you need to make sure that the surface is free of dirt, grime, rust, grease or other blemishes. The surface should be wiped clean with a rag or solvents as needed. This is a critical step to ensure that the primer adheres to the surface properly.
3. Once you have the surface cleaned you’re ready for the next step, which is to gently sand the metal or plastic. Once you’ve sanded the area you’ll want to wipe it down again to remove any dust that was generated during the sanding. This sanding is critical to make sure that the primer adheres to the container properly.
4. If the area you are painting over is rusted it’s important that you use a zinc-based primer, which will stop the rust from spreading. Regardless of the primer you use you should apply two coats allowing for proper dry time between coats.
5. Once your primer dries you’re ready to paint! Paint it camo, green, brown whatever to your hearts content.

Need a free logbook for that new cache? Download and print one here!

We hope that you’ve found this helpful in creating your latest hide. If you have any suggestions or comments please leave them below, place them on our Facebook wall, or write to us through our contact page.