Tough cache to get to.

[+freelies]

I've been caching a little while now and getting more addicted as we go - especially as my 6 yr old daughter is just as addicted as me! It's a great adventure to do together...

 

Quick question though, we went on a walk not long ago and found a cache but it was about 20-30ft up in a tree in the top branches - took a while before we found it and my daughter saw the package first so you can imagine how excited she was! I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down, and she wasn't going to climb that high because she could clearly hurt herself. So what would you do in this instance?

[Pup Patrol]

I've been caching a little while now and getting more addicted as we go - especially as my 6 yr old daughter is just as addicted as me! It's a great adventure to do together...

 

Quick question though, we went on a walk not long ago and found a cache but it was about 20-30ft up in a tree in the top branches - took a while before we found it and my daughter saw the package first so you can imagine how excited she was! I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down, and she wasn't going to climb that high because she could clearly hurt herself. So what would you do in this instance?

 

It's pretty simple...

 

if I didn't climb the tree, retrieve the cache and sign the log, I would post a "write note" log explaining the reason why I didn't log it as "found". Actually, I probably wouldn't even bother with a "write note" log at all. The cache page probably told me that there was not much chance of us getting the cache.

 

Not all caches are for all people. I know tree-climbing or rock-climbing caches with high difficulty ratings are not for us, so I don't bother attempting them. I would enjoy the location or the view, but I would not worry myself about not finding and logging the cache.

 

And I certainly would never, ever log a cache as found just because I was in the area or saw the container.

 

 

B.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Pup Patrol

[+T.D.M.22]

I wouldn't get it. It doesn't matter why you didn't get to it, it matters that you didn't get to it. To log a find you have to have your signature in the logbook. Getting up th tree is the point of putting it in a tree. You don't say you went to a football game if you just sat n the parking lot. So why would you claim you found the cache that's on top of the tree is you just stood at the bottom? If you do, then I could claim a find on every cache in the USA since I can't go there.

 

Yes there are people who cheat- dosnt mean you should, and doesn't mean you should teach your kid to cheat. You teach your kid that the rules are you have to sign the log to get the find.

 

Come to think of it, you really don't know it's the cache until you open it. It could be there to throw you off, or even not the cache at all.

[+L0ne.R]

What Pup said.

 

If they didn't warn people via the Tree Climbing attribute, high terrain rating (4-5), and a warning in the description, I'd still log a Note or a DNF and write that I filter out tree climbs (using the tree-climbing-no attribute) and high terrain so would have skipped it had I known.

[+luvvinbird]

Don't forget to check the attributes on the cache page. There's one for "tree climbing required". As long as the CO shows it, that would be a cache for the very young (and us older dudes!) to avoid. *Submitted post not realizing another was saying the same thing...sorry

Edited December 19, 2014 by luvvinbird

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

I've been caching a little while now and getting more addicted as we go - especially as my 6 yr old daughter is just as addicted as me! It's a great adventure to do together...

 

Quick question though, we went on a walk not long ago and found a cache but it was about 20-30ft up in a tree in the top branches - took a while before we found it and my daughter saw the package first so you can imagine how excited she was! I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down, and she wasn't going to climb that high because she could clearly hurt herself. So what would you do in this instance?

 

Bring someone willing to climb a tree! That's what I do! When I had stepkids they were GREAT for that! So maybe when your daughter gets a little older she'll be scaling those trees like a monkey. :D

[+freelies]

Lol my daughter is pretty good at climbing trees already, but this was a little TOO high!

 

I don't take Geocaching too seriously (sorry ) but don't log a find until I do actually find the cache. We normally decide where to go for a walk, go, then look to see if there is a cache nearby - in this instance the description did detail the cache being up a tree.

 

In the end, to get the cache I managed to find a very long dead branch on the floor and knock the cache down, signed it, then climbed the tree as far as I could without damaging it and put the cache back myself only not quite as high but just as well hidden.

 

I see this as using initiative, rather than just giving up but I'm not sure how the rest of you may see it!

[Pup Patrol]

Lol my daughter is pretty good at climbing trees already, but this was a little TOO high!

 

I don't take Geocaching too seriously (sorry ) but don't log a find until I do actually find the cache. We normally decide where to go for a walk, go, then look to see if there is a cache nearby - in this instance the description did detail the cache being up a tree.

 

In the end, to get the cache I managed to find a very long dead branch on the floor and knock the cache down, signed it, then climbed the tree as far as I could without damaging it and put the cache back myself only not quite as high but just as well hidden.

 

I see this as using initiative, rather than just giving up but I'm not sure how the rest of you may see it!

 

You effectively changed the Difficulty/Terrain rating of the cache then.

 

If it's http://coord.info/GC3KZVB Ivy Monkey, the cache owner should either go out and replace the cache to its correct location, and secure it in some way that people can't keep moving it around (and so he/she can find it again), or the cache owner should change the D/T rating.

 

Part of the difficulty of finding a cache is to return it to its proper location. Knocking it down is "easy". That was probably not the intention of the cache owner, and is a likely cause as to its history of moving locations. And why the owner had problems finding it in the past.

 

Putting it back where it is supposed to be, and rates the higher D/T rating, is the next step in playing the game so that others have the same experience. Earning that higher D/T rating legitimately is the goal for some folks.

 

 

B.

[Pup Patrol]

I've been caching a little while now and getting more addicted as we go - especially as my 6 yr old daughter is just as addicted as me! It's a great adventure to do together...

 

Quick question though, we went on a walk not long ago and found a cache but it was about 20-30ft up in a tree in the top branches - took a while before we found it and my daughter saw the package first so you can imagine how excited she was! I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down, and she wasn't going to climb that high because she could clearly hurt herself. So what would you do in this instance?

 

Bring someone willing to climb a tree! That's what I do! When I had stepkids they were GREAT for that! So maybe when your daughter gets a little older she'll be scaling those trees like a monkey. :D

 

I was climbing trees by the time I was 6. It was only later in life that my fear of heights kicked in and the tree climbing stopped.

 

 

B.

[Mr.Yuck]

I've been caching a little while now and getting more addicted as we go - especially as my 6 yr old daughter is just as addicted as me! It's a great adventure to do together...

 

Quick question though, we went on a walk not long ago and found a cache but it was about 20-30ft up in a tree in the top branches - took a while before we found it and my daughter saw the package first so you can imagine how excited she was! I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down, and she wasn't going to climb that high because she could clearly hurt herself. So what would you do in this instance?

 

Bring someone willing to climb a tree! That's what I do! When I had stepkids they were GREAT for that! So maybe when your daughter gets a little older she'll be scaling those trees like a monkey. :D

 

I was climbing trees by the time I was 6. It was only later in life that my fear of heights kicked in and the tree climbing stopped.

 

B.

 

Probably climbing by age 5 here. But the fear of heights didn't kick in. Arthritis did.

[+freelies]

Lol my daughter is pretty good at climbing trees already, but this was a little TOO high!

 

I don't take Geocaching too seriously (sorry ) but don't log a find until I do actually find the cache. We normally decide where to go for a walk, go, then look to see if there is a cache nearby - in this instance the description did detail the cache being up a tree.

 

In the end, to get the cache I managed to find a very long dead branch on the floor and knock the cache down, signed it, then climbed the tree as far as I could without damaging it and put the cache back myself only not quite as high but just as well hidden.

 

I see this as using initiative, rather than just giving up but I'm not sure how the rest of you may see it!

 

You effectively changed the Difficulty/Terrain rating of the cache then.

 

If it's http://coord.info/GC3KZVB Ivy Monkey, the cache owner should either go out and replace the cache to its correct location, and secure it in some way that people can't keep moving it around (and so he/she can find it again), or the cache owner should change the D/T rating.

 

Part of the difficulty of finding a cache is to return it to its proper location. Knocking it down is "easy". That was probably not the intention of the cache owner, and is a likely cause as to its history of moving locations. And why the owner had problems finding it in the past.

 

Putting it back where it is supposed to be, and rates the higher D/T rating, is the next step in playing the game so that others have the same experience. Earning that higher D/T rating legitimately is the goal for some folks.

 

 

B.

 

Lol, this is what I mean by not taking it too seriously! I don't think you can comment on if I've changed the difficulty without seeing it yourself so don't go jumping the gun... it was put back only a bit lower than where it had been. Thanks for your opinion though.

 

My 6 yr old did climb to the top of a high fir tree in a friends garden not long ago, then got scared and took a lot of coaxing to get down again! I wasn't surprised though, we had storm winds at the time - I was amazed (and proud)she got so high in the first place. Hasn't put her completely off it though...

[+MartyBartfast]

 

My 6 yr old did climb to the top of a high fir tree in a friends garden not long ago, then got scared and took a lot of coaxing to get down again!

 

The trick is to stick a bowl of tuna at the bottom of the tree, then go away and let her come down on her own when she gets hungry - no wait a minute that's for cats ;-)

[+freelies]

 

My 6 yr old did climb to the top of a high fir tree in a friends garden not long ago, then got scared and took a lot of coaxing to get down again!

 

The trick is to stick a bowl of tuna at the bottom of the tree, then go away and let her come down on her own when she gets hungry - no wait a minute that's for cats ;-)

 

[+terratin]

I would actually log a DNF. Yes, you found it, but didn't retrieve it to sign the log. Usually, we log a note or forget about it if we're still far away from the cache but give up (on an island you can only walk to during low tide, road closed, poor weather...), and a DNF if we cannot find a cache or cannot retrieve it. Usually we also tell a nice story with it, and why we gave up. DNF is part of our caching history, and nothing to be ashamed of. See our profile

[Rock Chalk]

I can't speak for all COs of "high" caches, of course, but I can tell you that it can be frustrating when the container isn't returned to its intended position. I detail that in my cache descriptions, but it doesn't stop many folks from knocking the container down and returning it to where they think is a suitable location. (The exact verbiage I use is: "Please don't attempt to retrieve the cache if you're not sure you can return it to its original hiding place.")

 

I checked on one of my tree hides after a recent windstorm and couldn't find it. Assumed it had blown away. Installed a new container. Came back a few weeks later (after another windstorm) and saw the replacement had held up. And then I saw the original, several feet lower in a different part of the tree.

[+The_Incredibles_]

I've ran into a couple caches like this. Rather than kill myself in the attempt, what I do is log a note. I try to make it interesting.

[+AKACRider]

I've been caching a little while now and getting more addicted as we go - especially as my 6 yr old daughter is just as addicted as me! It's a great adventure to do together...

 

Quick question though, we went on a walk not long ago and found a cache but it was about 20-30ft up in a tree in the top branches - took a while before we found it and my daughter saw the package first so you can imagine how excited she was! I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down, and she wasn't going to climb that high because she could clearly hurt herself. So what would you do in this instance?

 

Ive got one about 50 feet up a white birch, you can see over the spruce treeline, but its a substantial tree. Bat back to your topic, id say if you fear getting hurt, dont bother with it.

[+L0ne.R]

I've been caching a little while now and getting more addicted as we go - especially as my 6 yr old daughter is just as addicted as me! It's a great adventure to do together...

 

Quick question though, we went on a walk not long ago and found a cache but it was about 20-30ft up in a tree in the top branches - took a while before we found it and my daughter saw the package first so you can imagine how excited she was! I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down, and she wasn't going to climb that high because she could clearly hurt herself. So what would you do in this instance?

 

Bring someone willing to climb a tree! That's what I do! When I had stepkids they were GREAT for that! So maybe when your daughter gets a little older she'll be scaling those trees like a monkey. :D

 

I was climbing trees by the time I was 6. It was only later in life that my fear of heights kicked in and the tree climbing stopped.

 

B.

 

I fell out of a tree when I was about 11 years old. Hit the ground hard. Couldn't breath. Probably the most panic stricken experience of my life. I don't want to do that again, especially in my advancing years. When checking through the photo galleries of tree climbing caches I'm amazed to see women my age halfway up a tall tree, I am in awe of their confidence.

[+Traditional Bill]

Lol my daughter is pretty good at climbing trees already, but this was a little TOO high!

 

I don't take Geocaching too seriously (sorry ) but don't log a find until I do actually find the cache. We normally decide where to go for a walk, go, then look to see if there is a cache nearby - in this instance the description did detail the cache being up a tree.

 

In the end, to get the cache I managed to find a very long dead branch on the floor and knock the cache down, signed it, then climbed the tree as far as I could without damaging it and put the cache back myself only not quite as high but just as well hidden.

 

I see this as using initiative, rather than just giving up but I'm not sure how the rest of you may see it!

 

You effectively changed the Difficulty/Terrain rating of the cache then.

 

If it's http://coord.info/GC3KZVB Ivy Monkey, the cache owner should either go out and replace the cache to its correct location, and secure it in some way that people can't keep moving it around (and so he/she can find it again), or the cache owner should change the D/T rating.

 

Part of the difficulty of finding a cache is to return it to its proper location. Knocking it down is "easy". That was probably not the intention of the cache owner, and is a likely cause as to its history of moving locations. And why the owner had problems finding it in the past.

 

Putting it back where it is supposed to be, and rates the higher D/T rating, is the next step in playing the game so that others have the same experience. Earning that higher D/T rating legitimately is the goal for some folks.

 

 

B.

 

Lol, this is what I mean by not taking it too seriously! I don't think you can comment on if I've changed the difficulty without seeing it yourself so don't go jumping the gun... it was put back only a bit lower than where it had been. Thanks for your opinion though.

 

My 6 yr old did climb to the top of a high fir tree in a friends garden not long ago, then got scared and took a lot of coaxing to get down again! I wasn't surprised though, we had storm winds at the time - I was amazed (and proud)she got so high in the first place. Hasn't put her completely off it though...

 

You may not take the hobby that seriously, but what about the cache owner of the cache that you found? If you can't replace the cache as you've found it, you shouldn't attempt to retrieve it. It's not very fair to the cache owner, although that cache owner should more securely attach the container so it can't be knocked out of the tree like that. You may not have changed the difficulty of the find, but have certainly changed the terrain rating.

 

I had this problem with a climbing cache I placed earlier in my geocaching life. GC3Q1NT (PMO alert). Newer cachers would get it down and not put it back in the right position regularly. It was increasingly irritating as I take the terrain rating of my caches quite seriously.

 

Anyway, in your situation, if I knew I couldn't climb to where the cache was, I wouldn't attempt it. Please keep the owner in mind when you're finding their caches and replace as found or better. Not worse

 

*edited for typo

Edited December 19, 2014 by Traditional Bill

[+DadOf6Furrballs]

I pretty much avoid tree hides, not that I don't like them, but because the wife and I have some certain limitations on what we can do, and how high. We did get one a few months ago where I stood with my back up against a pole that just happened to be next to the tree, she climbed part way up, and then backed up and sat on my head. Not the shoulders, but squarely right on top of my head. At that height she was able to reach the branch with a TOTT, pull it down, hold the container with one hand while unscrewing the cap and retrieving the log out of the bison tube with the other, sign it, thread it all back together, then let it all snap back into position... all without breaking my neck.

 

Teamwork. Good thing there weren't any cameras nearby, else someone would have posted it on YouTube.

[+Manville Possum]

I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down

 

Could it have been one of those tree bending caches?

[+dprovan]

The important thing is to make sure your daughter understands that being unable to get a cache for whatever reason is just part of the fun, not some kind of failure that takes value away from the adventure.

[+T.D.M.22]

 

Anyway, in your situation, if I knew I couldn't climb to where the cache was, I wouldn't attempt it. Please keep the owner in mind when you're finding their caches and replace as found or better. Not worse

 

*edited for typo

 

No. Just no. Replace as found, not better. First off better is different depending on who you ask. Is harder better? Is easier better? neither is better. I place my cache where I want it. If I want a 1/1 hide in plain sight it makes it worse if you decide to hide it better, even a few feet away. If I want it hidden the middle of a rosebush it makes it worse to put it back hinging on the outer branches.

 

So again Do replace it better chances are you're not.

[+MartyBartfast]

Please keep the owner in mind when you're finding their caches and replace as found or better. Not worse

 

 

But reading the logs on this particular cache, two finds back someone found it at eye level (from the ground), so maybe the last finder replaced it "better", i.e. higher, and the OP replaced it a bit lower than she found it and may well have replaced it where it was originally meant to be.

 

TBH the CO should have attached the cache to the tree, having one that can be knocked down with a branch is just asking for it to be blown out of the tree.

[+The A-Team]

Replace as found, not better.

Well, yes and no. There are always exception to this rule. For example, if the hint says that a cache is hidden under a stump, and I find the cache sitting exposed on top of the stump, I'm not going to leave it on top and walk away. As long as the cache will be safe when I leave, I'll replace it as found. Otherwise, I'll do whatever's necessary to make sure the cache will still be there for the next person and will mention in my log (or a PM to the CO if there are spoilers) what apparent anomalies I observed with the hiding spot.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I've been caching a little while now and getting more addicted as we go - especially as my 6 yr old daughter is just as addicted as me! It's a great adventure to do together...

 

Quick question though, we went on a walk not long ago and found a cache but it was about 20-30ft up in a tree in the top branches - took a while before we found it and my daughter saw the package first so you can imagine how excited she was! I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down, and she wasn't going to climb that high because she could clearly hurt herself. So what would you do in this instance?

 

Bring someone willing to climb a tree! That's what I do! When I had stepkids they were GREAT for that! So maybe when your daughter gets a little older she'll be scaling those trees like a monkey. :D

 

I was climbing trees by the time I was 6. It was only later in life that my fear of heights kicked in and the tree climbing stopped.

 

 

B.

 

I'm not afraid of heights but given my age I'm just not as physically capable of climbing some trees and realize that attempting to do so could result in significant injury. There is a tree cache in a small neighborhood park downtown that was placed just before a local event. On the day of the event there were about a dozen found it logs, most mentioning one cacher that made the climb and either tossed down that container so everyone could have their name in the log. I went to the park a couple of weeks later and tried to climb up to the first horizontal branch and physically could not do it. As I rarely do any caching locally anymore and probably over 98% of my finds were done solo, finding someone that can climb the tree would be very rare for me so I just don't bother with tree climbing caches and I'm okay with that. Meanwhile there are a lot of "woo hoo, found it!" logs on some of tree climbing caches from people that never got up into the tree.

[+Colonial Cats]

I've been caching a little while now and getting more addicted as we go - especially as my 6 yr old daughter is just as addicted as me! It's a great adventure to do together...

 

Quick question though, we went on a walk not long ago and found a cache but it was about 20-30ft up in a tree in the top branches - took a while before we found it and my daughter saw the package first so you can imagine how excited she was! I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down, and she wasn't going to climb that high because she could clearly hurt herself. So what would you do in this instance?

Since the cache is in a wimpy tree, I wonder if there is more to it then just climbing a tree to get at it. Are you sure that there wasn't a rope or thin cord attached so that you would have to find the cord ( maybe several yards away) in order to lower the cache down?

[+niraD]

I've used reaching tools to retrieve and replace elevated caches. I've also lowered elevated caches that were suspended by a line of some sort, where part of the challenge was figuring out where the line went, and figuring out how to lower the cache. I've also climbed trees to access caches hidden in them, but it doesn't sound like this is the kind of tree I'd feel comfortable climbing.

[+wmpastor]

I can't speak for all COs of "high" caches, of course, but I can tell you that it can be frustrating when the container isn't returned to its intended position. I detail that in my cache descriptions, but it doesn't stop many folks from knocking the container down and returning it to where they think is a suitable location. (The exact verbiage I use is: "Please don't attempt to retrieve the cache if you're not sure you can return it to its original hiding place.")

 

I checked on one of my tree hides after a recent windstorm and couldn't find it. Assumed it had blown away. Installed a new container. Came back a few weeks later (after another windstorm) and saw the replacement had held up. And then I saw the original, several feet lower in a different part of the tree.

 

Yes. I chose a tree hide because I enjoy "medium difficulty" tree hides. The photos show where the cache is supposed to be. Instead, it was replaced on a very low branch. I got my climb - I replaced it properly, as the CO intended.

 

Here's part of my log:

 

... And at GZ, I discovered that dreaded nemesis of fine caching: >>> cache migration <<<. The difficulty rating, the postings and the photos told me the cache was in the wrong spot. Opened the cache and squeezed my signature onto the extremely crowded log on an open spot near a July, 2012 signature. Then I returned the cache to its proper location, as intended by Geo, the CO. ...

 

Edit: Careful readers will note that my log shold have referred to the *terrain* rating, not the *difficulty* rating.

Edited December 20, 2014 by wmpastor

[+RobDJr]

Even though it may be taking the game too seriously, the cache should always be replaced as found. I enjoy the challenge of high terrain caches, and on more than one occasion I went out to look for a tree climb cache only to be disappointed to find it at eye level or on the ground under a pile of sticks. It's the same feeling I get when I'm watching a good movie on tv and the ending gets preempted by a 'breaking news' announcement, or buying a newspaper and finding that someone thoughtfully 'borrowed' it, did the puzzles, clipped a few things, and put it back on the rack.

 

On the other hand, a cache owner who hides a cache up in a tree like that should secure it so that it cannot be knocked out of the tree. It is not that difficult to create a tether or clamp that will hold a cache in place without damaging the tree. And it helps to hide the cache high enough that a stick isn't going to knock it out of place.

 

When I find a tree cache that is obviously out of place, I try to put it back where it should have been if at all possible. I check cache description and logs for how high, look for pictures, look for obvious clues like a loose tether. Failing that, the cache is liable to end up even higher than the original placement.

 

I got a late start in tree climbing because my Mother was very protective, but to her dismay, once I got into trees I climbed everything I could. I climbed well into my teens, and slowly tapered off from there. I don't climb anymore just for the joy of it. It isn't fear of heights that did me in, but an aversion to gravity.

[+Mn-treker]

I've been caching a little while now and getting more addicted as we go - especially as my 6 yr old daughter is just as addicted as me! It's a great adventure to do together...

 

Quick question though, we went on a walk not long ago and found a cache but it was about 20-30ft up in a tree in the top branches - took a while before we found it and my daughter saw the package first so you can imagine how excited she was! I couldn't climb the tree that high or my weight would bring the tree down, and she wasn't going to climb that high because she could clearly hurt herself. So what would you do in this instance?

 

Bring someone willing to climb a tree! That's what I do! When I had stepkids they were GREAT for that! So maybe when your daughter gets a little older she'll be scaling those trees like a monkey. :D

Bring a 24 foot TOTT. That tree was most likely not climbable to that height.

I have a few that high that no way you going to climb it.