Cache for Wild Camping

Paul Saunders said:

My brother recently suggested an idea which may have some
practical use, namely burying some food (on a day walk) in
advance of a wild camping trip so that you don't have to
carry any when you go camping there. Each time you go
walking in an area you could "drop off" some extra food at
your cache site. When the time comes for the wild camp you
not only wouldn't have to carry any food but you could
have more appetising food than the usual dried rubbish
waiting for you.

You could also do this to store "emergency" food in a
remote area that you tend to visit a lot.

I was wondering about the practicalities of this. At first
I thought about using a biscuit tin, wrapping all the food
in plastic bags inside, then sealing the tin with tape and
even wrapping the tin in plastic to give it further
protection. This may protect it from water ingress, but
possibly not from burrowing creepy crawly things which
tend to eat through stuff. Anyone know how effective this
would be?

A simpler idea may be to just bury some tinned food. All
you have to take walking or camping then is a tin opener
and a trowel! I guess it would rust through eventually but
should last a while.

But where to bury it and how to remember? Mark it with a
stone? Naturally the GPS aficionados would mark a waypoint,
which would give you the extra advantage of being able to
hide it away from any obvious landmarks where someone else
might come across it by accident, but if left for a long
time the ground would heal over so a waypoint may not be
quite accurate enough if you didn't have a more precise way
of identifying the spot. Maybe a treasure map approach of
walking x paces to the east from the large boulder (located
with the GPS)?

Anyone think this is a good idea?

Paul

If you want to do some real wild camping, then get a
book about edible plants and cook them. You can also
fish on the way. It all depends on how long you are
going to wild camp for

Paul Saunders said:

Anyone think this is a good idea?

I know sea kayakers who've done it. I don't really see
any problems with either the seal in a tin or bury plain
tins options.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

Paul Saunders said:

My brother recently suggested an idea which may have some
practical use, namely burying some food (on a day walk) in
advance of a wild camping trip so that you don't have to
carry any when you go camping there. Each time you go
walking in an area you could "drop off" some extra food at
your cache site. When the time comes for the wild camp you
not only wouldn't have to carry any food but you could
have more appetising food than the usual dried rubbish
waiting for you.

You could also do this to store "emergency" food in a
remote area that you tend to visit a lot.

I was wondering about the practicalities of this. At first
I thought about using a biscuit tin, wrapping all the food
in plastic bags inside, then sealing the tin with tape and
even wrapping the tin in plastic to give it further
protection. This may protect it from water ingress, but
possibly not from burrowing creepy crawly things which
tend to eat through stuff. Anyone know how effective this
would be?

A simpler idea may be to just bury some tinned food. All
you have to take walking or camping then is a tin opener
and a trowel! I guess it would rust through eventually but
should last a while.

But where to bury it and how to remember? Mark it with a
stone? Naturally the GPS aficionados would mark a waypoint,
which would give you the extra advantage of being able to
hide it away from any obvious landmarks where someone else
might come across it by accident, but if left for a long
time the ground would heal over so a waypoint may not be
quite accurate enough if you didn't have a more precise way
of identifying the spot. Maybe a treasure map approach of
walking x paces to the east from the large boulder (located
with the GPS)?

Anyone think this is a good idea?

Paul

We had that basic idea for water, intending to use it in
certain limited cases where it could be dropped off and well
hidden the day before we started. We had a lowish-level
route that crossed some little-frequented minor roads right
next to woods, and the idea was to drive to the crossing
points the day before and cache the water containers just
inside the wood, where they can easily be well hidden and
retrieved.

I think the idea is less attractive on a typical mountain
route and would be more trouble than it's worth to us.

Regards

-- GeoffC

In article <[email hidden]>, Paul
Saunders <[email hidden]> writes

[details of food cache idea snipped.]

Quoted message said:

Anyone think this is a good idea?

I do not think this is a good idea.

Isn't there enough junk in the countryside as it is without
adding to it (buried/hidden from view or not)?

Should we not subscribe to a strict ethic of packing it in
and packing it out - rather than packing it in and leaving
it lying around on a semi-permanent basis?

--

Russ Clare

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My brother recently suggested an idea which may have some
practical use, namely burying some food (on a day walk) in
advance of a wild camping trip so that you don't have to
carry any when you go camping there. Each time you go
walking in an area you could "drop off" some extra food at
your cache site. When the time comes for the wild camp you
not only wouldn't have to carry any food but you could
have more appetising food than the usual dried rubbish
waiting for you.

You could also do this to store "emergency" food in a
remote area that you tend to visit a lot.

I was wondering about the practicalities of this. At first
I thought about using a biscuit tin, wrapping all the food
in plastic bags inside, then sealing the tin with tape and
even wrapping the tin in plastic to give it further
protection. This may protect it from water ingress, but
possibly not from burrowing creepy crawly things which
tend to eat through stuff. Anyone know how effective this
would be?

The usual way I have done it in the past is to use a couple
of bin bags tied tightly around a few tins or strongish
plastic containers (including water bottles at times). The
way to bury it is to dig a hole, use rocks or slate or
something to cover / protect it from the weight of earth and
digging animals then cover that with earth. Ideally cut
turfs out before you start and when replaced, nobody would
know you had been there.

By the way, it works fine, but I don't really like the idea
of using the tins when they start to get rusty as some do if
you do not seal the water out.

Quoted message said:

But where to bury it and how to remember? Mark it with a
stone? Naturally the GPS aficionados would mark a
waypoint, which would give you the extra advantage of
being able to hide it away from any obvious landmarks
where someone else might come across it by accident, but
if left for a long time the ground would heal over so a
waypoint may not be quite accurate enough if you didn't
have a more precise way of identifying the spot. Maybe a
treasure map approach of walking x paces to the east from
the large boulder (located with the GPS)?

I've had a dozen caches buried before now in one area for a
very specific expectation. Shame was I couldn't get to any
of them (I suspect it was expected we had made food caches)
and I was damn hungry at the time. It's not hard to find
them if you know the area and are careful when you bury them
to note ways of finding them (either paces from a big,
permanent marker or triangulation from the spot are my
favourites, assuming I can write down the paces or bearings
- not easy on E&E exercises).

Have fun, Paul

Knackered and with a few miles to go I've often wished I had
a cached mountain bike!

Remember Batman, whenever his car broke down they always
found the bat-bike behind some bushes!

Lewis

<snip>

Quoted message said:

My brother recently suggested an idea which may have some
practical use, namely burying some food (on a day walk) in
advance of a wild camping trip

I'm planning a week long backpacking trip in the Highlands
in a couple of months and am thinking of placing a food
cache. I'll be putting the cache in place within a month of
the trip so it wouldn't be there for too long.

Quoted message said:

You could also do this to store "emergency" food in a
remote area that you tend to visit a lot.

Too permanent.

Quoted message said:

I was wondering about the practicalities of this.

I'm concerned about any smells attracting badgers, deer,
foexes, etc so I'll probably make a big vacuum pack up so
it's all sealed inside. Any ideas on any smells that would
keep wild animals away?

Quoted message said:

But where to bury it and how to remember?

I'll be stashing mine well off the beaten path. I'll use
GPS, compass bearings and a photograph of the scene to
find it again.

Cheers, Jiffy

The message <[email hidden]>
from "Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

My brother recently suggested an idea which may have some
practical use, namely burying some food (on a day walk) in
advance of a wild camping trip so that you don't have to
carry any when you go camping there. Each time you go
walking in an area you could "drop off" some extra food at
your cache site. When the time comes for the wild camp you
not only wouldn't have to carry any food but you could
have more appetising food than the usual dried rubbish
waiting for you.

Quoted message said:

Anyone think this is a good idea?

Nothing new in the idea of course. Hamish Brown cached food
in the highlands when he did his Munro walk back in 1974.
Some caches were left with local residents. OK back in those
days when there were far fewer of us going about the hills.
Some food was buried. Cans survived OK but anything else was
ripped open by mice/rats. He used grid references and a good
memory to help him find the caches. Only time I have done
anything remotely similar I left raw mince in a stream near
Canmore over night to keep it fresh. The wild cats fighting
over it woke me up in the wee small hours. All that was left
in the morning was the polythene wrapper. Doh!

--
Len Trim [email hidden]

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My brother recently suggested an idea which may have some
practical use, namely burying some food (on a day walk) in
advance of a wild camping trip so that you don't have to
carry any when you go camping there. Each time you go
walking in an area you could "drop off" some extra food at
your cache site. When the time comes for the wild camp you
not only wouldn't have to carry any food but you could
have more appetising food than the usual dried rubbish
waiting for you.

You could also do this to store "emergency" food in a
remote area that you tend to visit a lot.

I was wondering about the practicalities of this. At first
I thought about using a biscuit tin, wrapping all the food
in plastic bags inside, then sealing the tin with tape and
even wrapping the tin in plastic to give it further
protection. This may protect it from water ingress, but
possibly not from burrowing creepy crawly things which
tend to eat through stuff. Anyone know how effective this
would be?

A simpler idea may be to just bury some tinned food. All
you have to take walking or camping then is a tin opener
and a trowel! I guess it would rust through eventually but
should last a while.

But where to bury it and how to remember? Mark it with a
stone? Naturally the GPS aficionados would mark a
waypoint, which would give you the extra advantage of
being able to hide it away from any obvious landmarks
where someone else might come across it by accident, but
if left for a long time the ground would heal over so a
waypoint may not be quite accurate enough if you didn't
have a more precise way of identifying the spot. Maybe a
treasure map approach of walking x paces to the east from
the large boulder (located with the GPS)?

Anyone think this is a good idea?

You could use a digital camera to take a snap of your
cache's location along with whatever other technique- map,
compass, GPS, X marks the spot map or whatever

simon

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My brother recently suggested an idea which may have some
practical use, namely burying some food (on a day walk) in
advance of a wild camping trip so that you don't have to
carry any when you go camping there. Each time you go
walking in an area you could "drop off" some extra food at
your cache site. When the time comes for the wild camp you
not only wouldn't have to carry any food but you could
have more appetising food than the usual dried rubbish
waiting for you.

You could also do this to store "emergency" food in a
remote area that you tend to visit a lot.

I was wondering about the practicalities of this. At first
I thought about using a biscuit tin, wrapping all the food
in plastic bags inside, then sealing the tin with tape and
even wrapping the tin in plastic to give it further
protection. This may protect it from water ingress, but
possibly not from burrowing creepy crawly things which
tend to eat through stuff. Anyone know how effective this
would be?

A simpler idea may be to just bury some tinned food. All
you have to take walking or camping then is a tin opener
and a trowel! I guess it would rust through eventually but
should last a while.

But where to bury it and how to remember? Mark it with a
stone? Naturally the GPS aficionados would mark a
waypoint, which would give you the extra advantage of
being able to hide it away from any obvious landmarks
where someone else might come across it by accident, but
if left for a long time the ground would heal over so a
waypoint may not be quite accurate enough if you didn't
have a more precise way of identifying the spot. Maybe a
treasure map approach of walking x paces to the east from
the large boulder (located with the GPS)?

Anyone think this is a good idea?

Paul
--
wilderness-wales.co.ukwilderness-wales.co.ukOpen ↗
wildwales.fsnet.co.ukwildwales.fsnet.co.ukOpen ↗
photosig.comuserphotosOpen ↗

Have you though that you're going to have to carry all the
empty tins and

containers OUT ??

Tony

In message <[email hidden]>, RJ Webb
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Paul Saunders said:

RJ Webb said:

> Good plan, but knowing the military, I bet they'd drop
> it in the wrong spot...

No thats bombs... Dont tell them its a bomb.

Ah yes, that's right. They're very good at dropping food
supplies accurately onto the enemy.

Apologies.. I was getting carried away.. These comments
should really be directed at our Overlord's Air Force Any
slight on the RAF is regretted.. Sorry lads.

Why? What's the difference? USAF or RAF?

--
Martin Richardson
239/284 Munros - 15% to go 34/34 'Furths' & 439/439 Nuttalls
- 0% to go
240/89 Donalds - 53% to go 0/? Himalayans - 100% to go
241/1552 Marilyns - 72% to go

In message <[email hidden]>, Paul
Saunders <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Martin Richardson said:

Why? What's the difference? USAF or RAF?

I thought the USAF was *our* air force. I thought the RAF
just did training and air shows in red planes. ;-)

Aren't they those [censored] who buzz you in their very
expensive boy's toys as you are walking on the hills?

--
Martin Richardson
239/284 Munros - 15% to go 34/34 'Furths' & 439/439 Nuttalls
- 0% to go
240/89 Donalds - 53% to go 0/? Himalayans - 100% to go
241/1552 Marilyns - 72% to go

Andrew Gill said:

If you want to do some real wild camping, then get a book
about edible plants and cook them. You can also fish on
the way. It all depends on how long you are going to wild
camp for

No thanks, I think I'll stick with fake wild camping in the
pretend wilderness. I've got edible plant books but I prefer
to spend my time taking photos and playing with my GPS
rather than faffing around hunting and gathering.

Nice idea in principle, but I prefer "hi-tech" wild
camping ;-)

Paul
--
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wildwales.fsnet.co.ukwildwales.fsnet.co.ukOpen ↗
photosig.comuserphotosOpen ↗

Russ Clare said:

I do not think this is a good idea.

Isn't there enough junk in the countryside as it is
without adding to it (buried/hidden from view or not)?

Should we not subscribe to a strict ethic of packing it in
and packing it out - rather than packing it in and leaving
it lying around on a semi-permanent basis?

It wouldn't be semi-permanent. Having paid for the food I'd
certainly go back to retrieve it, and just in case you are
wondering, I would bring all the empty tins back with me. I
am strongly against leaving rubbish in the countryside.

I think that caching food is quite a different thing to
dumping junk, and it's not something I'd be likely to do
very often. It wasn't even my idea, but it may have some use
in certain circumstances.

Paul
--
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photosig.comuserphotosOpen ↗

GeoffC said:

I think the idea is less attractive on a typical mountain
route and would be more trouble than it's worth to us.

As I said, it would be best done in an area that you tend to
visit a lot. I frequently walk in the Beacons for example,
so I could easily set up a few cache points in advance, near
favourite wild camp locations, dropping off a few items each
time I pass by. This would ease the burden of my famously
overloaded wild camping trips.

Perhaps I could cache a spare camera and a few lenses too?
;-)

Paul
--
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[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

Paul Saunders said:

Anyone think this is a good idea?

I know sea kayakers who've done it. I don't really see any
problems with either the seal in a tin or bury plain tins
options.

I would imagine there'd be some objection from the seal.
Wouldn't it be better to release it into a nearby lake?
--
Fran If you need my email address please ask.

Paul Cummings said:

The usual way I have done it in the past is to use a
couple of bin bags tied tightly around a few tins or
strongish plastic containers (including water bottles at
times). The way to bury it is to dig a hole, use rocks or
slate or something to cover / protect it from the weight
of earth and digging animals then cover that with earth.
Ideally cut turfs out before you start and when replaced,
nobody would know you had been there.

Thanks for the suggestions. Best thing to cut turf and dig
with?

Quoted message said:

By the way, it works fine, but I don't really like the
idea of using the tins when they start to get rusty as
some do if you do not seal the water out.

How long does it take for them to start rusting? Any idea?

Quoted message said:

It's not hard to find them if you know the area and are
careful when you bury them to note ways of finding them
(either paces from a big, permanent marker or
triangulation from the spot are my favourites,

Could that be a possible use for a compass perchance? (the
3m best accuracy of a GPS may not be quite good enough)

Quoted message said:

assuming I can write down the paces or bearings - not easy
on E&E exercises).

E&E?

Paul
--
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wildwales.fsnet.co.ukwildwales.fsnet.co.ukOpen ↗
photosig.comuserphotosOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

You could use a digital camera to take a snap of your
cache's location

along

Quoted message said:

with whatever other technique- map, compass, GPS, X marks
the spot map or whatever

simon

....by which time you may as well carry the food as all the
kit you'll need to find it again!! 😉)

Tony Mc Donnell said:

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My brother recently suggested an idea which may have some
practical use, namely burying some food (on a day walk)
in advance of a wild camping trip so that you don't have
to carry any when you go camping there. Each time you go
walking in an area you could "drop off" some extra food
at your cache site. When the time comes for the wild camp
you not only wouldn't have to carry any food but you
could have more appetising food than the usual dried
rubbish waiting for you.

You could also do this to store "emergency" food in a
remote area that you tend to visit a lot.

I was wondering about the practicalities of this. At
first I thought about using a biscuit tin, wrapping all
the food in plastic bags inside, then sealing the tin
with tape and even wrapping the tin in plastic to give it
further protection. This may protect it from water
ingress, but possibly not from burrowing creepy crawly
things which tend to eat through stuff. Anyone know how
effective this would be?

A simpler idea may be to just bury some tinned food. All
you have to take walking or camping then is a tin opener
and a trowel! I guess it would rust through eventually
but should last a while.

But where to bury it and how to remember? Mark it with a
stone? Naturally the GPS aficionados would mark a
waypoint, which would give you the extra advantage of
being able to hide it away from any obvious landmarks
where someone else might come across it by accident, but
if left for a long time the ground would heal over so a
waypoint may not be quite accurate enough if you didn't
have a more precise way of identifying the spot. Maybe a
treasure map approach of walking x paces to the east from
the large boulder (located with the GPS)?

Anyone think this is a good idea?

Paul
--
wilderness-wales.co.ukwilderness-wales.co.ukOpen ↗
wildwales.fsnet.co.ukwildwales.fsnet.co.ukOpen ↗
photosig.comuserphotosOpen ↗

Have you though that you're going to have to carry all
the empty tins and

containers OUT ??

Tony

An alternative would be to drop off a supply of "goodies"
and your camping coordinates at a local flying club. Then
ask them to make a low level pass dropping off your supplies
enroute.(this could be arranged as a navigation exercise)
The drop could be by home made parachute or in a blue water-
tight dry powder keg. You might even be able to to talk the
RAF into diverting a C130 Hercules under the humanitarian
relief guise. When you have finished camping the keg could
be buried and used for a future cache.

Norman