Good job. The finished project looks really good.

 

looks good to me.just make sure u have some other way to find it besides just a rock.

 

If your bucket still has the metal handle you could locate it with a cheap metal detector. Of course, someone else could also.

 

Excellent! I probably would have tossed a cheap llama or hipoint 45 in the bucket too.

Az

 

I don't believe in burrying anything....I might not find it and it is alot of work digging it back up.........

 

Looks good.

I would have put the stuff in double layer mylar bags and then inside the bucket. Then, pour oil into the bucket to cover the bags. The oil would keep the bags good and also prevent air from getting near them. The oil could also be useful if you ever need to dig it up.

Currently working on my second real cache. Similar to yours except I had to 'smuggle' all my supplies to the location. Mine is on a bluff that has a cave beneath it, near a river bank. I suppose if a SHTF hit the trails to the area would fall into disrepair but as long as I get to the river I can find the spot easily enough. It took me 5 trips (two weekends) to get all the stuff to the area unnoticed.

The cave doesn't get much traffic even in good times so when the area grows in (its THICK jungle), there'll be a nice cave beside tropical stream and a cache of stuff.

I used a 'compass key' to mark the location of the cache. Stand in a certain spot, line up two distinct geographical features on the compass. I scratched the 'key' discreetly into a nearby rock, so all I have to do is go to the area with a compass, get the numbers, stand on the correct spot and I'll be able to find it again years from now. Someone may find the numbers in the rock, but they'll never know the correct spot to stand to make the numbers useful. Only I know that.

In the cache:

4 weeks of rationed food, mix of canned/dried/mainstay rations.
stainless steel pot
fire steel and bic lighter
tarp
110ft paracord
fresh socks
spare fixed blade knife
compass
map of the area
flashlight, radio and 12 lithium batteries
snare wire
5 rat traps
trowel
soap and shaving kit
zip ties
multi tool
deck screws
pen and pencil and rite in rain notepad
mosquito netting
carton of .22

..

took me three buckets and a while to dig the holes. I didn't do the gravel thing but the area is elevated and drains well.

I also would have partially buried that rock. A rock sitting on the surface looks unnatural, but if 2/3 of it is buried it looks like something to stub a toe on.

 

Looks good.

I would have put the stuff in double layer mylar bags and then inside the bucket. Then, pour oil into the bucket to cover the bags. The oil would keep the bags good and also prevent air from getting near them. The oil could also be useful if you ever need to dig it up.

Currently working on my second real cache. Similar to yours except I had to 'smuggle' all my supplies to the location. Mine is on a bluff that has a cave beneath it, near a river bank. I suppose if a SHTF hit the trails to the area would fall into disrepair but as long as I get to the river I can find the spot easily enough. It took me 5 trips (two weekends) to get all the stuff to the area unnoticed.

The cave doesn't get much traffic even in good times so when the area grows in (its THICK jungle), there'll be a nice cave beside tropical stream and a cache of stuff.

I used a 'compass key' to mark the location of the cache. Stand in a certain spot, line up two distinct geographical features on the compass. I scratched the 'key' discreetly into a nearby rock, so all I have to do is go to the area with a compass, get the numbers, stand on the correct spot and I'll be able to find it again years from now. Someone may find the numbers in the rock, but they'll never know the correct spot to stand to make the numbers useful. Only I know that.

In the cache:

4 weeks of rationed food, mix of canned/dried/mainstay rations.
stainless steel pot
fire steel and bic lighter
tarp
110ft paracord
fresh socks
spare fixed blade knife
compass
map of the area
flashlight, radio and 12 lithium batteries
snare wire
5 rat traps
trowel
soap and shaving kit
zip ties
multi tool
deck screws
pen and pencil and rite in rain notepad
mosquito netting
carton of .22

..

took me three buckets and a while to dig the holes. I didn't do the gravel thing but the area is elevated and drains well.

I also would have partially buried that rock. A rock sitting on the surface looks unnatural, but if 2/3 of it is buried it looks like something to stub a toe on.

you do know that magnetic north is continually moveing about 40 miles per year toward russia.your readings will proabably be ok for about 5 years or so but 10 or 15 years from now your compass will read magnetic north in a different place.unless we have alot more earthquakes that might shift it even further/faster.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...iencetech/article-1344899/Shift-magnetic-north-pole-affects--Tampa-airport.html


side note: as the forrest floor builds up it will begin to bury the rock. in about 3 years it will be partially buried

 

Nice job. Congrats for seeing it through to the end.

If possible take GPS data of the location (not cell phone gps) and also take some measurements with string and triangulate the spot with several points from large solid trees with some bright colored string, granted it not a logging forest. Take a polaroid photo of that and keep it in your BOB. You can retriangulate your position with paracord or improvised coradage.

Best to keep redundancy with all aids to help you find your cache. You might be tired, hungry, and cold when try to find it, plus if there in 6" of snow you will not find your rock, which could also move from heavy rain fall and wind.

In the future you may want to consider a PVC pipe cache as it may be more deterioration resistant to UV light and the elements.
Adding some hiking style dehydrated meals might be a great alternative to canned food for your next cache. As if you need to carry them along with you and their expiration dates will often be longer than canned goods. Also some batteries and some fire starting tools ie storm matches & lighter would be a nice addition of basics.

 

If you mark the spot with GPS whats the odds those signals are dead after a real bad shtf.

Just wondering, also, how about a pole reversal, wouldnt that screw up compass readings too?

 

it's amazingly simple to find obscure points using a good compass and natural landmarks as your only guide. just be sure to keep a written record of what you used to find it, or else you really might be screwed. a picture or drawing of a natural feature in the immediate vicinity of the cache can be especially helpful, depending on how accurate you can shoot your azimuths.

 

Good job. However, as others have said either GPS or compass the exact location or you might never find it again. Everytime I dig up my septic tank cover I have to consult my map.....and it's right in my own backyard!

 

Good Job......
the fact that you made the cache is 90% of it.......Hopefully you'll never need it and it will be there for ever. Commit the location to memory and visit the area occasionally. I've often debated the including of a weapon in a cache but I think an extra pair of boots and some socks would be worth more. Perhaps a little something to barter with.
If your forced to dig up your cache to stay alive then your weapons are probably already with you or you wouldn't have made this far.
Thanks for the pics

 

Boots and socks are a good addition. A cheap plastic poncho might be good too. Upon thinking about it further, a water filter/straws/tabs etc would probably be a good addition as well.

I mainly mentioned the weapon because he had the ammo in there already. Might as well toss in a cheapo pistol that uses that ammo. Even if he arrives and doesn't need it, he can rebury for another time, or arm someone else that came with him that might be unarmed.

Saying that your weapons are with you if you made it that far is not really the best logic. You could have lost everything and that's why you're digging up the cache. I put weapons pretty high on the list of "things that will be taken away from us at the first possible opportunity" so I tend to prefer a lot of redundancy with weapons.

 

You should probably check your cache for frost heave during the winter, and again in the spring to make sure that water pressure from the surrounding soil hasn't lifted it out of the ground.

 

Great job on a cache!

I'll just add my chime to the ones suggesting multiple ways to find it. You didn't say, so you might have done that.

My preference is to use 3 methods: logic word, gps and compass keys.

The location I need to start from is the logic word. Those get laminated and tucked into the lining of my pack. Compass keys once at the starting point. A good GPS point to keep handy so I can check on things with time.

Great job getting started!

 

Im old school, "go to the big tree and take a left."

That reminds me~~~~

Dont forget, nobody hardly looks up, hide things in trees.

 

Can opener?

 

I wondered that too. Hoping there was one on the multi tool listed.

Also, is there any chance of the canned goods freezing and/or rupturing? I'm not nit picking here, just wanting you to make sure you don't dig it up and find a mess. The bucket didn't look buried below frost line.

I also second the notion of half burying the rock. Somebody could come along and decide to make a campfire nearby and move that rock for their fire or whatever. Just saying.

 

Good job on the project...

here's a little somethign to assist on your next one...

might as well learn from the best...

SF Caching Techniques..

 

ask a local plumber, or contractor, he knows how far down he has to bury pipe.

 

You forgot to pack the can opener. LOL

 

Some good ideas here ...

Really just committing the spot to memory is important. Keep the directions in your pocket and glance at it from time to time. Eventually it'll be in your long-term memory and you won't forget it.

Its probably a good idea to go to the area where your cache is, camping or whatever.

I go to mine a couple times a year, but usually just the cave below it. Have to remember to check on the batteries in a few years.

The contents are really just enough to establish a 'basecamp' in an emergency. I think I'll include a machete and saw into my next one. I also forgot to add there is some minor fishing tackle in the one I've done, since its near a tropical stream. There are some fish and eels in there.

Are there any really unique geographical features near you?

I'd hate to just walk into a forest and put the cache in the middle of nowhere. Would probably forget where it was right after putting it there.

I should also add some money and a secondary barter currency to the next one as well. Maybe something like 50 bic lighters. I am told that in a long-term emergency, bic lighters are like gold.

 

Some good ideas here ...

Really just committing the spot to memory is important. Keep the directions in your pocket and glance at it from time to time. Eventually it'll be in your long-term memory and you won't forget it.

Its probably a good idea to go to the area where your cache is, camping or whatever.

I go to mine a couple times a year, but usually just the cave below it. Have to remember to check on the batteries in a few years.

I have a visual memory (not photographic) so I remember how to get to something by visual clues along the route. Going to the cache periodically would engrain it in my mind (some roads I used to travel a lot, I can tell you where a curve in the road is even though I haven't been there in years).

The problem is when things change, and even in a forest stuff changes. Limbs and trees fall down, things look different during the winter and summer, and stuff grows up. Things especially look different at night time. So going to the cache periodically in a variety of seasons and lighting conditions is a good idea IMO.

I know some people say to bury it and don't go near it unless you need it, but I think that periodically checking it and going there is a good thing - just don't dig it up unless you need it.

 

just a thought.

Place a "No Tresspassing" sign right on top of it. No one will suspect its anything but a sign telling them not to tresspass. but to you...its a marker.

 

Marking the location on a topographical map would have been a good idea. That way you can find it with a simple compass.......well if the pole shifts like others here are suggesting then there are other things to worry about least of which would be a burried cache.

 

I've wanted to do some caches but I wondered about condensation. Would it get damp inside?

 

 

Been there, done that... learned the hard way (no yeti/sasquatch though) :

That was back in the Y2K era...

The water table has to be very low, or a well drained area, otherwise your bucket/barrel may float to the surface. (depending on what's in it)

Your stuff has to go in a thick plastic sealed bag first (or better 2 seperate bags), -amazing how much moisture get's into those buckets and ruins everything, even though there is a gasket seal. If you bury guns, they MUST be oiled, in plastic bags with a moisture absorber.

Locating them underground at the concealed site - I had a long hank of paracord that I could stretch between 2 big trees that I knew would be there for a lonnnng time. All along this paracord there were knots. Right under each knot is where a bucket was buried. Never a problem finding them again. I always kept the paracord "finder" in my BOB along with a folding shovel/pick combo.

I don't use 5 gallon buckets anymore for anything... I went to 55 gallon drums with lids and locking rims. For burial, you coat them with 2 layers of tar and use a stainless steel bolt in the locking ring.

If you bury them in an area that freezes solid, put a 4' x 4' x 2" piece of styro insulation board right on top of the lid and don't put more than 4" of dirt on top. That way you can bust the frozen ground away and expose the top of the drum and open it in the winter.

My experience, anyway... it worked.

 

How do you plan on opening that bucket after you recover it? With all that silcone and polyeurethane it's gonna be a mother f**er to get that thing open with a pocketknife.

 

I think you should go check on them in 6 months to a year and see how much rust you have on those cans.

 

I've planted a bunch of caches over the years and here's a simple method for making them easier to disguise.

Take a tarp and lay it out next to where you're going to dig the hole. Carefully remove the sod/groundcover or whatever the surface is and lay it out in the far corner of the tarp in the same orientation that you removed it. This allows you to put it back, jigsaw puzzle fashion. Dig out some of the topsoil and set it aside also.

Then dig out the dirt and put it into the main part of the tarp. After you plant the cache, bury it with this dirt. Then replace the topsoil and sod/groundcover in the same orientation. This makes it look a lot more natural. Any excess dirt can be carried off in the tarp by simply gathering the corners in. This leaves the ground around the hole clean, so there's no sign of the dirt from digging.

 

I would drop the GPS idea as GPS satellites may not be up. I would use good ol' compass and some markings on trees and rocks.