Outside of bear country, how do you place food and water stashes for a long hike?

Here's the deal: I'm hiking a fairly long trail in winter, when I'm heavier and bulkier. I'd like to divide food up into stashes, a couple of which I'll either mail to myself or get my sister to bring to me at a given trailhead. But there are a couple spots where neither option is really feasible.

I'd like to pack them in five gallon buckets with a sealed lid, which I would place right before my hike and remove quickly after. I think raccoons and possums are the worst I'd expect, and I doubt I'd run into ant problems in February, even down here. Then if I could hide the bucket out of sight and mark the spot on my map, I doubt anyone would mess with it (and I can leave a note, too).

But I want to hear from you before I just go off and do that.