Plan retrieval by timing how long each cache takes to find, dig up and repack, and keep a shallow grab cache of 15-20 cm for emergencies that can be scraped out in seconds. Rehearse in daylight and then at night, and never open a cache while you are being observed, because a compromised cache draws attention to the whole supply network.
Part of Hidden Food Caches
Retrieval under pressure is the skill of reaching a cache quickly in darkness, while pursued or while injured, and a design of caches that makes it possible.
A Cache Is Only Worth What You Can Get Out In Time
The parent article’s list for retrieval is short. Practise retrieval by visiting each cache in daylight and then finding it at night using only landmarks and pacing. Time yourself: know how long it takes to dig up and repack each cache, since you may not have 20 minutes to dig. Keep shallow grab caches, small ones buried only 15-20 cm deep that can be scraped out in seconds and that hold minimal supplies (a fire kit, a knife, 2 days of food) for true emergencies. And never access a cache while being observed; if you suspect surveillance, abort and return another time.
The tension is that the properties that protect a cache, depth, weight and distance, are the same ones that slow you down. A 45-90 cm hole with a sealed bucket is safe from casual finders and takes minutes to open. A 15-20 cm grab cache is quick and easy to dig up by anyone who stumbles on it. A network (see Cache Network Planning) therefore needs both kinds, with the grab cache holding only what you can afford to lose.
What You Need
- A timed record for each cache, from practice runs
- A light you can shield for the walk in; see Light Discipline
- A digging tool kept where you can reach it without opening the cache
- A bag sized to what you can carry, and a plan for what you will leave behind
- A route in and out from Escape Route Planning
Method: Rehearse, Time, Decide, Abort
Step 1: Walk it by day. Go from the reference points to the cache, dig, open, close, replace and leave, with a watch. Write down the time.
Step 2: Walk it at night with the shielded light off where you can, using bearings and paces. Write down that time too; it will be longer.
Step 3: Repeat in poor conditions. Rain, mud and cold slow digging; try a dry run with gloves on.
Step 4: Decide the order. Which cache do you go to first when time is short? Usually the nearest, then the route cache; not the one that holds the most.
Step 5: Decide the abort rules. Anyone watching, any sign that the site has been disturbed, a dog or a light nearby, or a retrieval that is taking longer than your planned time: you stop. See the parent article’s rule.
Step 6: Practise the carry. Pack what you would take, lift it, and walk with it. A full bucket is too heavy to run with.
Step 7: Leave it closed. If time allows, reseal and restore the site so the cache is still concealed.
Worked Example: How Long Is The Dig?
Time depends on the volume of soil you must move and your digging rate, which only practice gives. For the 5-gallon bucket hole in Buried Caches, the hole is about 129 L and the bucket itself takes up about 24 L of it, so the soil to move to free the bucket is 129 - 24 = 105 L.
- Suppose your timed practice moves 10 L of loose soil per minute. Then 105 ÷ 10 = 10.5 minutes to dig out, plus time to lift, open and repack.
- A grab cache hole 20 cm deep and, say, 30 cm across has a volume of π × (0.15 m)² × 0.20 m = 3.1416 × 0.0225 × 0.20 = 0.0141 m³ = 14 L (ignoring the small container). At the same rate, 14 ÷ 10 = 1.4 minutes.
The 10 L per minute is an assumption chosen for the example, not a measurement; measure your own rate with a stopwatch. At that rate even the grab cache takes about a minute and a half, so the parent article’s “seconds” needs a smaller or looser cache than this one. The ratio is the point: the grab cache is about 105 ÷ 14 = 7.5 times less soil to move, which is why the parent keeps true emergencies for it and planned retrievals for the full cache.
Common Mistakes
- Practising only once, in daylight. You are slower at night, cold, hurt or afraid.
- Leaving the shovel inside the cache. You must first dig to get the tool you need to dig.
- Taking too much. Time and weight spent at the cache are time and weight on the run.
- Going to a cache with someone following. You lead them to it.
- Not resealing after a practice run. Moisture and animals find an open or half-closed container.
Safety
Fast digging and night walking injure people
Digging against the clock in the dark risks back and hand injuries, a slipped spade and a fall into the hole you are digging. Night approaches to a cache across rough ground risk twisted ankles and cuts; keep the route simple and walk it by day first. Do not enter a deep hole, keep children out of the area, and do not work in a hole whose sides can collapse. If you think you are being pursued or watched, do not lead anyone to the cache: it is better to lose the time than the whole network. Treat any bulging or foul-smelling container as lethal; see Food Safety.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Inventory and Rotation — how often to visit when nothing is wrong
- Combine with: Go-Bag Contents — what the grab cache and the bag should share