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Caching

Written by Sapper
Last updated on 2002-08-12


What is caching?

Caching is basically taking food, water, weaponry, and other supplies and hiding them in a secret location for use later. It is basically a secret, safe place to store what you don't need right now. This article will explain the basics of caching.

What to cache?

You can cache whatever you want, but I recommend caching the following items:

  • Extra water bottles
  • Extra food (not candy)
  • Extra equipment
  • Side arms (especially cache these!)
  • Extra blasters

Caching

After you have decided what to cache, you must select a place to cache it. Typically, this is a wooded area. But do not burry your cache near trees because the roots will get in your way. But, it should be a place that the enemy would never think of. For instance, I once cached around ten water balloons only a few yards/meters away from the enemy base. I just used stealth, silence, good caching, and did it when they weren't looking. They never found them, and when my team did the surprise attack, those water balloons where still there... and they were very useful, too!

If you are planning to cache bottles or anything such as that, you just need to put two-layers of electric tape over the cap and hide it well. If you are planning to cache sensitive equipment, such as two-way radios, or food, etc. you will have to have a cache container. These can be anything, from official military-surplus ammo cans to butter containers. But, be sure your container is tough enough to handle the amount of time it will be in the ground. Also, if it is metal, get that rust off of there!

Using tough bags for your food (and anything else requiring a bag) is essential. You may even want to go as far as buying a vacuum sealer for your bag if you plan to store food underground for more than a few hours. These help keep the moisture out (i.e. no mold!) and help keep things fresh & preserved. They also compress the bag to take up less space. Because remember, you'll want to use all available space.

Burying the cache

After you have selected a good place to bury your cache, be sure to carefully look at the chosen area. Make note of how everything looks now, so you will be able to make it look just as natural, or terribly close, after you're finished.

Bring a small, old t-shirt or bucket when you go. Make sure it has no holes. It is upon that cloth that you will put all of the dirt you dug out onto so you can haul the extra dirt away when you are finished.

You can use a small, hand-shovel that are used on gardens, or you could use a larger, regular sized shovel depending on how big your cache is. Also, wear gloves when you're digging. To find out how deep you should bury the cache, think of how long it will be there and how fast you will need it when you get there. If you will need it quickly, don't burry it too deep. If it will be there for a short while, don't bury it too deep. In contrast to that, if it's going to be there a while, or you won't need it too badly when you get to it, then burry it no more than three inches (about 7.5 centimeters).

Remembering where the cache is

To help your teammates—or yourself—find where the cache is later on, be sure to write down where it is. To be more specific, I suggest creating a starting point that is common knowledge to all of your teammates, such as your base or a flagpole or some building. Then, start off from there. Be sure to always use direction such as North, East, etc. Never use "left" or "right". You may need to use a compass.


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