[pct-l] Caches--good, bad and ugly

[bmclaughlin at bigplanet.com (Brian McLaughlin)]

> Has anyone else used caches successfully? Has anyone had a critter dig up
> their food cache? It is too much of a risk to depend on a food cache in
the
> middle of a 100-mile trip?

I used food/fuel caches on a 200 mile section hike in Oregon.
I used 5-gallon plastic buckets with snap-on lids. I placed
the caches near road-crossings in non-Wilderness lands.
Caching in wilderness areas is generally prohibited.

Rather than bury the caches I placed them in rocky areas
where I could lodge the bucket between two large rocks
and then cover them over with 10 and 20 pound rocks.
I lined the buckets with trash bags and sealed the bags
before putting the lids on to make them as odorless as
I could. The buckets were rodent-proof.

No animals disturbed these caches. It worked fine. Since
I cached near roads, I came back later and picked up the
(mostly) empty buckets on a weekend.

This is not suitable for thru hikers, or even very practical
for most long-section hikers, but it worked well for me.
I'd do it again if the conditions seemed right.