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Scouting New Cache Spots Yesterday

BigWhiteTruck
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BigWhiteTruck

+BigWhiteTruck

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Some geocaching friends of mine from south carolina were in town for their own wedding (they grew up here and then came back for their wedding because of where family was located). We had a great time this weekend, and on Sunday my wife and I went out with the newlyweds to scout a very special potential cache spot. When it is placed, it will be a 5-star terrain for real.

 

Getting set up.

This is one of two anchors we used at the top of the cliff

100_7573.jpg

 

Rigging the gear.

First rule of climbing: Double and triple-check everything. Out of hundreds of times doing this, I once found an error on the double check. That's when I started doing the triple check.

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Going over the edge.

For some reason, this is always the scariest part of the whole thing.

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Onlookers

We aquire an audience from a strange family who didn't stay long. You can also see the waterfalls in the background. Personally, my kids would never be that close to the edge without harnesses!

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Cache spots?

Checking out the various cracks and crevices. A lot of these would easily hide an ammo can.

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Continuing down to another possible placement.

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Fooling around

I can never resist doing this! Some people think it looks dangerous, but this particular harness is very secure.

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As you can see, this is a very cache-worthy spot!

This place is called Carpenter Falls and is on the western side of Skaneateles Lake in NY.

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Thought I would stir the 1.5/1.5 pot that is central New York!

 

Would you hunt this one?

What if I offered my services as a guide by teaching you how to use the equipment and letting you use mine with me there (I would totally let you look in the wrong spot with a smile), would you try it then?

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Melen

+Melen

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Posted

Would you hunt this one?

What if I offered my services as a guide by teaching you how to use the equipment and letting you use mine with me there (I would totally let you look in the wrong spot with a smile), would you try it then?

 

Wow... If I was in better shape, I would definately attempt a cache like this after learning any safety requirements involved. Looks very cool, I'm envious.

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Wheelygood

+Wheelygood

Posted
Posted

 

Would you hunt this one?

What if I offered my services as a guide by teaching you how to use the equipment and letting you use mine with me there (I would totally let you look in the wrong spot with a smile), would you try it then?

 

I sure would hunt for this one, of course I would need the training/guide service before and during the hunt.

 

That would be fun, I'd even log it as a Found it.

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Vinny & Sue Team

+Vinny & Sue Team

Posted
Posted (edited)

Some geocaching friends of mine from south carolina were in town for their own wedding (they grew up here and then came back for their wedding because of where family was located). We had a great time this weekend, and on Sunday my wife and I went out with the newlyweds to scout a very special potential cache spot. When it is placed, it will be a 5-star terrain for real.

 

Getting set up.

This is one of two anchors we used at the top of the cliff

100_7573.jpg

As you can see, this is a very cache-worthy spot!

This place is called Carpenter Falls and is on the western side of Skaneateles Lake in NY.

100_7604.jpg

 

Thought I would stir the 1.5/1.5 pot that is central New York!

 

Would you hunt this one?

 

This sounds like a great cache! And yes, if and when I am in your area, I will be happy to go after this one! We live in Western Maryland, but I fly into the Albany/New Paltz NY area sometimes for a few days at a time, and if your cache is located anywhere near there, well then, I might have a go at it! We tend to specialize in placing and finding extreme caches. Thanks for the pics and the story!

 

And yes, I do have all the needful (I love that term; everyone in India uses it constantly!) climbing gear for the task!

 

BTW, I thought initially that it was just me and my browser, but I cannot load those images; it is a very non-standard type of image link which you provided, and I realize that other folks are having troubles with them too!

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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BigWhiteTruck

+BigWhiteTruck

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"For some reason" ??!!? Dude! You're going over a cliff!

Yeah but the going over part is scarier than the going down once you are over the edge. I don't know why.

 

why can't i see the pix ?

Only if I could see pictures first.

I can't see the pics either...no matter what I do.

Sorry, there seems to be a problem with the datacenter that my web server is located in. This is the second time this has happened in a year. I am expecting things to be back to normal soon. And then I will likely change providers :ph34r:

 

I sure would hunt for this one, of course I would need the training/guide service before and during the hunt.

 

That would be fun, I'd even log it as a Found it.

I would be honored to have a "Found it" log from you. :ph34r:

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PeachyPA

+PeachyPA

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Posted

This sounds like a great cache! And yes, if and when I am in your area, I will be happy to go after this one! We live in Western Maryland, but I fly into the Albany/New Paltz NY area sometimes for a few days at a time, and if your cache is located anywhere near there, well then, I might have a go at it! We tend to specialize in placing and finding extreme caches. Thanks for the pics and the story!

 

And yes, I do have all the needful (I love that term; everyone in India uses it constantly!) climbing gear for the task!

 

BTW, I thought initially that it was just me and my browser, but I cannot load those images; it is a very non-standard type of image link which you provided, and I realize that other folks are having troubles with them too!

Skaneateles Lake is southwest of Syracuse, NY.

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BigWhiteTruck

+BigWhiteTruck

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Hmmm, I'd drive up from Florida for that! Any good vacation type things to do in the area that my wife would like? B)

 

Tons! Besides the plethora of caches in the area, there is a lot of wine tasting and shopping going on. Farmer's markets, sidewalk sales, etc. Lots of beautiful country to see and historic places to visit. Lots of places to kayak also! Here is more stuff than I can think of.

 

Oh wow, if I'm ever going to be even remotely in the area, I'll go after that cache! I'll even bring all my own gear and ropes!

 

Yeah, I was waiting for your response! B):P

Don't forget to email me when you are going! -_-

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Vinny & Sue Team

+Vinny & Sue Team

Posted
Posted

This sounds like a great cache! And yes, if and when I am in your area, I will be happy to go after this one! We live in Western Maryland, but I fly into the Albany/New Paltz NY area sometimes for a few days at a time, and if your cache is located anywhere near there, well then, I might have a go at it! We tend to specialize in placing and finding extreme caches. Thanks for the pics and the story!. . .

Skaneateles Lake is southwest of Syracuse, NY.

 

Yes, thanks! I knew the rough area, as I useta go spelunking in that area. What I need to do sometime is look at a map and figure out how far that is from the Albany airport (or from the New Paltz area.)

 

By the way, I notice that you are located in Punxy. I have been in Punxy a number of times. I did grad school at IUP, and useta pass thru Punxy when traveling north to visit some Amish farmer friends; I also had a girlfriend at that time who lived in Brookville near Rte. 80, and again, useta pass thru Punxy on the drive up Rte. 119 from Indiana to her farm to visit her and her donkey (very cute donkey, by the way.) One of my profs at IUP useta got to Punxy every year for the groundhog thing; he is now retired and I travel back there to WPA to have dinner with him once in a while.

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BigWhiteTruck

+BigWhiteTruck

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[Yes, thanks! I knew the rough area, as I useta go spelunking in that area. What I need to do sometime is look at a map and figure out how far that is from the Albany airport (or from the New Paltz area.)

 

You are looking at around a 2.5 hour drive from albany to here.

 

Where did you go spelunking around here?

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darwinmay

darwinmay

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Posted

 

(snip)

 

Would you hunt this one?

What if I offered my services as a guide by teaching you how to use the equipment and letting you use mine with me there (I would totally let you look in the wrong spot with a smile), would you try it then?

 

If I had a guide? Sure! I'd love to do something like this and learn how to use climbing gear.

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BigWhiteTruck

+BigWhiteTruck

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:unsure: I'm just wondering is this public land?? Do you need liability insurance? These are some of the questions we are being asked when placing caches in a public park.

 

It is public land, but not a park.

It used to be private land, owned by someone who lives about 30 miles away. It was filled with trails and un-posted. The public enjoyed it frequently.

About a year ago, it went up for sale and was promptly snatched up by a public land trust, who donated it to the public so that it wouldn't be cleared and used as a setting for a trophy home. It will remain public land, and there are no plans that I know of to turn it into a park. I imagine it will be deemed "State Reforestation Land" like most of the public land around here.

 

"I don't have liability insurance, and I have no idea how that person wound up splatted on the rocks directly below my geocache, wearing a harness that I bought from EMS 1 year ago, with burn marks in their hands the exact diameter of a rope that I allegedly own, even though said rope is nowhere to be found. . .

...

What do you mean my fingerprints are on the harness buckles? I wiped them. . . I mean. . . that's strange!"

 

Kidding! Actually, there are laws which remove liability for all parties involved when someone is willfully participating in a known dangerous activity such as rock climbing, sky diving, etc.

Edited by BigWhiteTruck
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BigWhiteTruck

+BigWhiteTruck

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You don't use a helmet, huh?

 

Gee, and here I thought that I was the only one who may have noticed that omission! Personally, that is one of the few things I would have done differently about the setup I saw rigged in those photos!

 

I know, I know :)

 

I was actually worrying about criticism (it's all good, don't get me wrong) when I posted the pics, and wished that I had a picture of my secondary anchor, but I never thought about the helmet disclaimer. It's a solid limestone shelf, the smallest thing that could fall on my head was was a 3-ton stone. I'll have helmets available for any cachers that take me up on my offers.

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Vinny & Sue Team

+Vinny & Sue Team

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*bump*

 

Come and get it:

 

BWT's Phobia Series - Acrophobia

 

:rolleyes:

Looks good! Have fun with this one! I am adding it to our public bookmark list of recommended extreme caches, and may go after it sometime if and when I am anywhere near that part of NY state!

 

[A technical P.S. note: Tried to insert smilies in the text of my post above, but Javascript is not cooperating today, and so no smilies!]

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Clan Riffster

Clan Riffster

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I learned rappelling at the Frank D. Merrill U.S. Army Ranger training base in Dahlonega Ga., when I was in Boy Scouts. Our Scoutmaster decided that we should turn our hand made scout ropes into harnesses, rather than use the nylon supplied by the Rangers. We started out on the 30' training wall. No sweat. By the time we worked our way up to the BAC, (Big a** Cliff), we were feeling pretty confident. This cliff has a stream or spring above it, which results in a steady stream of water flowing across the staging area and down the cliff. After I crossed the threshold, I went down about 20', when My Scoutmaster told me to brake for a photo. I tucked the line under my butt as instructed, but my "brakes" failed due to a wet rope. I slid down the entire face. Fortunately, my descent speed was slow.

 

My next attempt at rappelling was several years later, when I went to work at Epcot. One of the jobs my crew did was cleaning the exterior of Spaceship Earth. We would start at the top with pressure cleaners, (machinery on the ground/hoses & guns brought up), and rappel down the sides using seats and mechanical brakes. We quit at the halfway point, and finished up with a 180' highlift. Obviously, we had to be certified to use the equipment, and they sent me to class. The classroom was the roof of a 5 story building, with a swinging boom. They showed me the mechanical brake, which was some kind of tension device. You open it, wind the rope around inside, (# of winds determined by weight), then close it. You sit in the seat and squeeze the brake to start your descent, and release it to stop. Sorry to sound vague, but that was decades ago, and I don't know chit about climbing equipment. I told the instructor my weight, and he applied the maximum amount of winds. I learned later that the brake he used was not sufficient for my weight. I sat in the seat, and they swung the boom over the side, telling me "Give it a light squeeze, then let go". I did as instructed, and plummeted 5 stories. Fortunately, this descent was also fairly slow.

 

Even after all that, I'd still make an attempt at your cache, if I lived near you. Looks like fun!

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Vinny & Sue Team

+Vinny & Sue Team

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Big White Truck (aka BWT), I am glad to see that someone scored the FTF on this one, and it sounds neat that you went along and offered some support to the finder! :D I just want to thank you for mentioning this great cache in the first place in the "Geocaching Topics" section of the forum, rather than the Northeast section, where your thread would have attracted far less notice. While some folks have argued in the past that new and unusual hides should usually be featured in the regional forum for the appropriate region, I personally feel that a cache so extreme and of such high caliber as your new cache is of general interest to folks all over the world, and I am very glad that you chose to start this thread in this part of the forum, where it was able to get the attention it deserved. And there is a very good chance that over time you will see folks from all parts of the country and/or world showing up to tackle this one! I will definitely tackle this cache myself next time I am in that part of NY state with my climbing gear! :D:D

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