What to put on your cache page

Okay now you have hidden a geocache.

Now what the heck do you put on the cache page?

Start at the Hide & Seek a Cache tab and click on the "Fill out our online form"

Cache type is first and is usually self-explanatory except for two categories, mystery and multi. We are not sure if when you have people collect information from historical markers, signs, gravestones, etc, which of these categories it should be categorized as. We select multi as some people shy away from mystery caches. Write a note to the local reviewer in the "Notes to Reviewer" box, asking how best to categorize the cache, but that you would prefer it to be a multi.

Size - pretty easy to pick an appropriate category here.

Nickname - Lots of latitude here. (no not coordinates - choices) Sometimes we select a name that could be a substitute for a hint. It is amazing how many people don’t read the entire cache page before setting out and don’t use the name of a cache as an additional hint. This makes for extra fun when you read the logs. You can also select a name for the area that you hid the cache. This is quite appropriate for historic hides. A catchy name can be used to spark interest. Strongly consider this if you hid a puzzle cache. If you are hiding a series of caches you might want to have each of the caches of the series start with the same name.

Who placed the cache - The default is your caching name, but you can put in whatever you wish. It will still link to your profile.

Yes this cache is active - You might want to UNCHECK this box until you have your geocache page perfected. You will find that once you look at the cache page you may want to make changes. This prevents the page going into the queue for the local reviewer. Just make sure that after you make changes and have the page exactly like you want it to look that you check this box and resubmit the listing.

Date placed - We prefer to use today’s date even if it was hidden a month ago. This way it shows up on the first page for new hides and gets more traffic. If it takes days for you to perfect the cache page you can always change it to the current date.

Background URL - We have never used this option and probably never will as it takes longer for pages to load. If you do choose to do this you can upload a picture to the cache page after you create it. Then you can click on the photo and copy/paste the URL into the Background Image URL box.

Coordinates - Again, self-explanatory, but be careful as it is easy to make a typo. We transposed numbers once and the coordinates were 11 miles off. Luckily we have a great local reviewer that fixed up our mistake after a local geocacher asked us if it might be an error. If you have the coordinates loaded into your GPS you might want to turn the GPS on and read them directly from the GPS screen rather than writing them down as it might eliminate transcription errors.

Location - Select the country and if in the United States you will have to select a state. Be careful here. We know of one local cacher that thought he selected Massachusetts, but instead selected Minnesota and the reviewer from Minnesota had to fix it up and send an email to the reviewer in Massachusetts.

Difficulty/Terrain Ratings -If you are an experienced geocacher you probably have a good idea as to how to rate the cache. If not you might want to click on “try this system” for help. One thing to keep in mind is that a terrain rating of one is for wheelchair access. Very few caches really fall into this category.

HTML - If you want to include pictures or links you need to check the box for HTML. For those of you that do not have any knowledge of HTML we will have a subsequent post on some simple HTML commands.

Short Description - We are not sure as to the exact number of characters available in the short description, but you can only write a short paragraph here. Many geocachers don’t read the entire cache page so put in anything that you feel is important here. If you want to test our theory about how much people read, bury the important info in the long description and have fun reading the logs for the cacher that waded across the river because they didn’t read where to park. :-) If you give directions on how to get to the cache, remember that many of the people that will be going there, are not familiar with the local roads and landmarks. Start your directions from main roads. You might want to mention anything that might harm the environment. We do not think that caches should be hidden in historic New England stone walls and always state “NOT HIDDEN IN THE STONE WALL” if there is one in the general vicinity.

Long Description - Here is where you can pretty much write whatever you wish. Many of our caches are hidden in historic or scenic areas so we try and give details about the history or the scenery the finders can expect to see. You can include info on wildlife that might be seen, if dogs are allowed, or if it is a good place for a picnic. We feel that within reason the more info the better. We think this attracts more finders. This is also where you can post pictures or links to things like trail maps or historical data using HTML. If you received permission from a land owner you should mention this here and if you are proficient with HTML, inlude a link. For example we have placed several caches on Joshua Trust Land and have a link to their site.

Hints - Again lots of choices here, but there are two basic rules you might want to follow. First if you don’t want to give a hint, then don’t. There is a lot of discussion in the forums from frustrated geocachers that decrypted a hint in the field that said something like “no hint at this time” or “you shouldn’t need a hint for this one”. Second rule is keep your hints as short as you can because when the mosquitoes are swarming you really don’t want to decrypt a long hint. A wise cacher said to us once that a clue that seems like it is a dead giveaway for the hider, matches almost everything in the general area of the cache. You might want to remember this when you select your hint.

Notes to the reviewer - This is probably one of the areas most neglected, but crucial to quick approval of your cache. If you got permission to place the cache tell them. If it is a multi you should give them the coordinates for all the stages. If you don’t they will probably come back and ask for them which will delay your approval. Remember that the reviewers are volunteers. Any extra information that you can supply to make their job easier will get your cache approved that much sooner.

Make sure you check the boxes that you read the guidelines for listing a cache and that you have read and agree to the terms of the use agreement. If you don’t your listing will not go through.

Check submit listing and you are done. Well almost. View your listing. Read it carefully. You will probably find something wrong, you'll see typos, or something that you don’t like and will want to change. You should also click on the map on the cache page to make sure that you listed the correct coordinates. You only have to make that mistake once to understand why this is a good practice.

Edit listing to make your changes, resubmit and view your listing again. After you are happy with your cache page, REMEMBER TO EDIT LISTING one last time and CHECK THE "This Cache is Active" box and submit your listing to get into the queue for the reviewer. You should add attributes, add additional waypoints such as parking coordinates, trailhead coordinates etc., and log in travel bugs. We will discuss these topics in future posts.

In a short time your cache will be approved and shortly after that you will find out who is the first finder. Then you can sit back and enjoy the logs of your fellow cachers.