I don't really need a cache to get to my first camp area - it is only about 30 miles away, but I will take your suggestions to heart when placing my "first camp" cache. The cache will be buried a foot down in an unlikely-to-be-disturbed location

I am occasionally doing orienteering but hadn't thought about seeing if there is any geocaching in my area; good idea.

As I see it my biggest challenge is that my foothill "retreat" is going to be on public land on a very rocky river canyon wall. I just cannot think of any other location within reasonable reach by foot within a week or so that has food and water sources on which I can rely.

If things go south for more than a couple months, I am going to become at least an occasional nomadic forager with all the diminished chances for survival that goes with it. That eventuality was the start of my resource mapping: at least I could start with some definite targets.