A large segment of the prepper community recommends a bug-out location for worst case scenarios. Many preppers in this segment also recommend having hidden caches of supplies along your route to your bug-out location.
But where would you put these caches? How would you hide them? What would you use to protect the supplies from the elements or from being buried? What clues would you leave yourself to find it again? Some practice is in order.
One of the best ways to practice is to play. Gamify your task. If you’ve never done anything like this before, you might want to look at a game called geocaching. It could be just the thing for you.
My sister introduced this to me after her oldest son showed it to her. We took an afternoon flitting from one location to the next, stopping at any garage sales we found on the way just for the fun of it. It was a good time reconnecting, enjoying each other’s company, and engaging in an activity that was surprisingly relaxing. This is probably because it was outside the norm of our daily activities, so it brought with it the refreshment of novelty.
With a simple app called Geocaching you can download on your phone, you find small caches that people have hidden all over the world. The app shows you a map with an icon of an area with a cache. Whoever hid the cache will also classify it as easy or difficult, micro sized or larger, and alert you if you have to move anything to get to it. Other players will also leave comments that may clue you in how to find it. Then when you succeed, you add your username or initials on the paper found in the cache, mark that you found it on the app so you get credit, and leave your own comments. Just don’t give away exactly where it is, as that will spoil the fun for others.
This does several things. Aside from getting outdoors and walking around for a little exercise for your body, you have to exercise your mind to figure out clues and hidden locations. In the process you also are gaining ideas for how to hide your own cache, and what kind of containers you can use to protect your supplies. A lot of these caches are so small that it wouldn’t really hold anything other than a prescription pill. Others are large enough that they would hold an MRE or a bottle of water. Either way, you can see what works and what doesn’t.
You will also learn the kinds of places that are more hidden, and which locations are more prone to people finding it and messing with it. On the geocaching app, if you see a note that says the cache was ‘muggled’ it means that someone who is not a geocacher found it and removed it. Take note of these kinds of locations so you will know where to avoid hiding your own caches of supplies.
This August is an excellent time to start geocaching if you’ve never done it before. The 20th of the month is officially World Geocaching Day. https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2022/07/geocaching-world-record-2022/?newsletter=PM&fbclid=IwAR0PyKc1HuXCXsjzrUcVlGbqEQAjCjgKt-e8eqQNFVvE2OIiI5PkphfRfmc
You can join a lot of others in the same pursuit and add to the fun! Who knows, you may even meet someone who can give you pointers and tips to help you out. Download the app today, and get started on learning how to hide and protect your own caches en route to your bug-out location.
If you like this line of thinking, learn more from other articles in my blog found at www.rebekaholsonventures.com. There you can also sign up for a newsletter that will let you know every time a new post comes out. As a special ‘thanks’ for signing up, you’ll receive a copy of my great-grandmother’s favorite cake recipe, which requires an ingredient most people throw out as waste. After all, reducing waste is one thing all preppers need to learn. Sign up today!