As any geocacher worth their salt will tell you, there is little in this world than can usurp the unbridled joy that washes over you when you reach a GZ to find the next few minutes, hours, or even days will be spent searching for a little container - often no larger than your little finger - which, despite its metallic composition, blends effortlessly into its surroundings.
"But it's gotta be here somewhere!"
Some benevolent COs often provide that little bit of extra hedonism by placing them in trees, a practice that I, for one, never fail to appreciate.
But which came first; the geocache or the bison tube?
Legend has it that a company called Bison Designed, based in Longmont, Colorado in the US, originated the bison tube concept.
Apparently back in 2001, the people at Bison Designs created a product known as a "Bison Capsule". It was designed to carry and keep safe different types of heart medicine. It looks very much like the bison tubes of today with a key ring attachment hooked to a cap, an O-ring for a seal and a screw-able base. They probably never foresaw it's primary client base being anything but patients with cardiac-related conditions.
But it seems the ingenuity of a geocacher that realized that it would make a fine container for a geocache that really brought it to the spotlight in popularity. It's reported that when the orders started piling in for the bison tube Bison Designs decided to increase the product line with different available sizes.
So here is our tribute to the humble bison tube geocache.
Usual caveats re. GPS and tree cover apply
As seasoned bison tube finders will know, getting the log out and back into the container can be a bit of a bother. This one is no different, so please do take care so as to not damage the cache. Thanks