Besides the obvious of having allies along the way home where I can stow items (or borrow things I might need but didn't realize until the time came), I tried thinking how one would go about stashing boodle here and there without the likelihood someone else might take it. There are a couple "wilderness" zones along the way I could bury some items, but it occurred to me that might not be practical for everyone. First, what criteria would make for a good urban cache? Inconspicuous and accessible were the first two that came to mind. Sheltered from the elements would be preferable I suppose, but not a priority.

My first idea for an urban cache seems pretty obvious. An airtight container strung from the grate of a storm sewer along a curb ought to be inconspicuous enough, yet remain relatively accessible. I've never seen anyone doing maintenance on storm sewer grates, so it seems that is one decent location.

Anyone got any other great ideas?

Okay, my scheming little mind came up with another interesting idea. You might have to go to some trouble, but how about casting a concrete curb section and putting a cache inside it. Then replacing a curb in a parking lot with the one you made, marking it, and who would know any better?

I don't think I would go either of those routes. There has to be maintenance done on the storm drains, even if it's only to clear a clog. One guy sees your stuff and it's gone.

As to the concrete curb section - In my driveway maybe, in a relative's driveway, maybe. Anyplace else, nope. It's going to be inherently weak, as it's hollow.

As you are in AK, burying is not an option (snow, frozen ground) so it has to be someplace above ground. Is a storage rental unit viable?

My question is why do you want to split the stuff up here and there? Store it in one safe spot, either at home or on your property.

Benjammin
I have a permanent gym locker with gear stored in it. Locker at work, rent a closet from a friend of ours who can use the small amount each month. I have my own digital lock on it. And an ex girlfriend let's me store two long range packs and firearms in her basement.

jbmat

Remember the old adage about not putting all your eggs in one basket. when an emergency happens you may not be able to return home. Or it may be in the area of your home and you will not be allowed in by the authorities.

JMHO

Archaeologists of the future will really appreciate buried caches. Perhaps you have been following the story of the anonymous couple in the Sierra Nevada, who chanced across a rusty can on their property and acquired the gold coins therein, worth a cool ten million.......

Stashing caches around town seems too risky to me, unless it consists of items you won't mind parting with if it's discovered by someone else. Maybe I am just not thinking creatively enough, but everything I've thought of would stick out like the proverbial thumb, be subject to being discovered by city or other maintenance workers, or being discovered by someone else. I think your best bet is having your allies along the way home where you can stash stuff (although in a real SHTF scenario don't be surprised if your cache gets claimed and used by said allies). I would look at ways to expand that. Maybe start frequenting a few business establishments along the way where you can stash some stuff. Otherwise, maybe you could try some of your ideas with some expendable stuff and see how it goes.

Since Benjamin is in Alaska we can probably assume that there are empty spaces (interstitial wilderness) within reach of urban/suburban Anchorage. Other than ensuring the cache can be sealed to prevent water intrusion, this should be doable. That said, I wouldn't be using anything that appears to be owned by the city or anyone else; maintenance is done, just not often. Pick a big rock off the beaten path as a marker (GPS is your friend) and stash your cache.

There is also the matter of having the property owner's permission. Isn't there an issue with stashing a cache on someone's property without their permission (i.e. trespassing)? Or removing/modifying city property or a business's property without their permission or knowledge (as in replacing the city or business's parking block with the other one)? I would think a property owner wouldn't be happy to discover you "snooping" (for lack of a better word) around on their property. I would think a city LEO would be less than understanding to discover you removing city property (assuming the parking block is in a city parking area). Likewise with a security guard for a business if it happens to be a business's parking lot.

I may be misunderstanding exactly what you have in mind or how you plan to do it. I certainly don't want to take this into forbidden territory, so I would definitely suggest having the property owner's permission to stash a cache or make mods to their property to conceal the stash.

a 24hour gym that gives members a key might be an option to store a few things in a locker

To dig your Cache hole in plain sight beside the road, you will probably need a few buddies (probably around 4 or 5 folks) dressed in High Vis Jackets and Hard Hats etc.

One to dig the hole with the pick and shovel.
One with a Clip Board with a pencil behind the ear.
One directing the first one with the pick and shovel where to dig.
One sitting in the driving seat in vehicle beside the hole having a nap.
One sitting in the passenger seat with a hot flask.

Take around 6 weeks to dig the hole, anything less will arouse suspicion,

Hope this helps.

I don't think they dig with pick and shovel anymore, the shovel is usually to lean on while they watch the backhoe

Anything you put anywhere in civilization you run the risk of it being found during maintenance. Anything you rent you run the risk of it not being accessible in times of need due to possibilities such as power out, the building/business closed, etc.

Some possibilities I have seen are networking with others then I store a box for you and you a box for me. Another is getting permission to geocache on public land and place 6 caches to be found and one to not.

LOL!!

Yes, always permission.

Around here, our storm drains are maintained by raccoons. You drive by at night and there are half a dozen sets of eyeballs staring out at you. Kind of creepy the way they reflect the car headlights. Anything you put down there better be encased in inch thick steel. Those raccoons can get into anything. On the other hand, I guess you could consider the raccoons to be your urban food cache! You don't even have to stash them in the sewers ahead of time. They just appear there on their own. You could fashion a spear to get them.

Hmmm, another idea would the migrating geese in the parks in the area. There are enough of those messy things to feed the whole town. You can walk up to about ten feet from them. So a bola made out of paracord and rocks would be all you'd need. Never thought of the raccoons and geese as being an "urban cache", but I guess they are.

Hey, can you eat coyotes too???!!! We've got those all over, but you'd need a rifle to get them. Not a technical problem, except for the pesky "no shooting" laws in town.

Purchase and hollow out three volumes of poetry by Ralph Greenleaf Whittier. Stash desired supplies within.Take to the public library. Shelve the cache books in the poetry section, or really, any section except new fiction or juveniles. Cache will remain untouched for centuries.

For greater volume, do the same with a complete set of "The Great Books" or a 30 year old set of encyclopedias.

Unfortunately, while I have plenty of storage space at work (several cabinet and option for a locker), some of the things I would like to cache are forbidden on the property. Ie, firearms, probably any ammo, pyrotechnics, pepper spray ... might be able to have a baton or something like that, and probably could get away with a backpack. But really, no point, since I have to drive to get to work, and my truck has a fair amount of stuff in it.

Never hurts to have a back up somewhere.

I thought you were talking about geocaching for a second...

In any case, make sure YOUR cache doesn't look like a geocache (which are sometimes in used ammo cans!) and seem to be hidden everywhere. You might inadvertantly put your safety cache in an area beside a geocache and be found accidentally. Just saying...

Secondly, locations such bridges, utilities, schools, etc. are also not good places lest someone find it and think it was a bomb and then call out the squad. That happens all the time in the geocaching world.

That's the most robust and the cheapest. But, short of complete PAW/TEOTWAWKI/WROL/The Big One/societal collapse...
www.storagewest.com
www.publicstorage.com
www.uhaul.com
www.selfstorage.org
&c.

Do I need to elaborate? Storage rates for a small (5x5x8) closet start at about $35/month, and you can store a whole lot more gear in one then a couple of 17 gallon food storage containers hanging from a sewer grate. It's even cheaper if you split the space and rent with a trusted friend. Just keep up on your payments if you want your cache to stay off of TruTV or A&E.