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One of the Sickest Caches in North America, With a Big Cash Prize!


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Didn't I tell you there was more than 1 way (OK - 13 ways, Vinny :( ) to skin the cat....I mean grab the cache? :P DON'T MESS WITH TEAM PSYCHO!!! :laughing:

 

Greg

Charter Member of Team Psycho

I must say that I am very impressed with the rapidity with which the first find was made, and at the immense dedication and commitment shown by Team Psycho, and the great amount of time which all the members of the team put into it. They employed what is likely one of the safest methods to accomplish the find, but it is a method which requires a large amount of evaluation and strategizing, and a large team onsite, plus a lot of (somewhat wet!) onsite time! Their method also required a lot of very delicate and intricate work; I am impressed! :unsure::ph34r: The method I have chosen for all my visits to the pylon has been much faster and easier, but is also much more dangerous. :o

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Local cachers go watch! I gots to know!

 

If I was a local, I'd be sitting on the bank chewing on a sandwich right now.

 

Several of you have requested to have a local spy on Vinny while he does one of his maintenance visits. That is just what I did on Thursday, not because I wanted to see his methods first hand, but because my team (Team Psycho) was going for this cache early Saturday morning and knowing the exact cache placement was highly critical to our endeavors. Below are four photographs of Vinny performing his maintenance run, which I shot from a secret location overlooking the Potomac River and the cache site.

 

I could not figure how to make the images appear in the post so here are the links.

 

Picture 4

 

Picture 7

 

Picture 14

 

Picture 21

 

Enjoy

Edited by vyper4
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WOW! It's NOT just a cache...it's an adventure!!! Now that the cache is safely tucked back on it's lofty perch awaiting the next finder(s) I can reveal a view things both here and in my back dated log entries.

 

Not wanting to give anything away publicly while we strategized we decided to not post any DNF's until we were done.

 

I will say the following for now. I was on the bank the day that Vinny placed the cache :laughing: and watched with glee and much merriment :unsure: as the small helicopter flew overhead. I quickly informed some of the other members of Team Psycho and then later filled the rest in. It was fun watching to see what Vinny posted on the thread and to the forums and see what everyone else was guessing. :ph34r:

 

More to come later......

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Local cachers go watch! I gots to know!

 

If I was a local, I'd be sitting on the bank chewing on a sandwich right now.

 

Several of you have requested to have a local spy on Vinny while he does one of his maintenance visits. That is just what I did on Thursday, not because I wanted to see his methods first hand, but because my team (Team Psycho) was going for this cache early Saturday morning and knowing the exact cache placement was highly critical to our endeavors. Below are four photographs of Vinny performing his maintenance run, which I shot from a secret location overlooking the Potomac River and the cache site.

 

I could not figure how to make the images appear in the post so here are the links.

 

Picture 4

 

Picture 7

 

Picture 14

 

Picture 21

 

Enjoy

David, thanks for the photos! :unsure:B) As you realize, one of the major reasons why I made sure to announce the planned maintenance visit beforehand, and even took the step of temporarily disabling the cache for a few hours, was to give a fair chance to any cachers who wanted to place themselves near the cache and watch! The fotos are neat! BTW, we were not able to get as close to the pylon as in the placement visit, because of some unexpected equipment limitations. The pilots and other staffers at the helicopter facility, along with the owner of the facility, had a lot of fun with this one. B)B)

 

BTW, I find that the easiest way to emplace photos in posts to the forum is to click on the "Link" button above, and then paste the URL for the foto into the window. However, for readers of the post, this method sometimes results in the display of the cryptic message"IBP Image" for a few minutes before the fotos initially load in the browser. Very odd!

 

Thank you! :ph34r: And again, congratulations! You guys worked really hard over two weekends and the intervening week to pull this off! :o Oh, that is, except for LPYankeefan, whom, I hear, napped in his car while all the work was being done! :laughing:B):):(:P

 

(Just kidding, Larry!) :P

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WOW! It's NOT just a cache...it's an adventure!!! Now that the cache is safely tucked back on it's lofty perch awaiting the next finder(s) I can reveal a view things both here and in my back dated log entries.

 

Not wanting to give anything away publicly while we strategized we decided to not post any DNF's until we were done.

 

I will say the following for now. I was on the bank the day that Vinny placed the cache :laughing: and watched with glee and much merriment :ph34r: as the small helicopter flew overhead. I quickly informed some of the other members of Team Psycho and then later filled the rest in. It was fun watching to see what Vinny posted on the thread and to the forums and see what everyone else was guessing. :unsure:

 

More to come later......

Thanks for this story! I loved hearing it when you revealed to me for the first time yesterday that you had been on the riverbank while we placed the cache. And, of course, much as I mentioned in my post above to David (Vyper4) about the most recent maintenance visit, one of the major reasons why I made sure to announce the planned placement effort beforehand was to give you or any other local cachers a chance to watch! However, we were so busy in the copter that we never noticed you down there on the bank! :o Although, I must say, you sounded a bit stunned when you called me later that evening to claim that you had not been able to make your planned trip down to the rivebank, and thus had missed seeing me place the cache, and I got a bit suspicous at that point, and started to wonder if you had perhaps been there after all!

 

It was fun playing this out on the forums over the past two weeks! I often gave plenty of hints as to how the cache had been placed, but relatively few folks on the forums (national and local) seemed to figure it out for the longest time!

 

Anyway... Thank you and congratulations! You guys worked really hard for this one, and you actually used a method that I had largely dismissed weeks before as just being too much trouble and too fraught with potential problems. So, I am still amazed that you were able to make it all work out!

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By the way, one of the very sickest and saddest :(:P , but most hilarious :unsure::ph34r: episodes of the whole Team Psycho effort was the fact that during the past week, one of the members of Team Psycho -- who had worked at the site all last weekend to help retrieve the cache, and who had therefore actually seen the bright yellow container many times herself from the cliffside balustrade at the Rumsey monument park -- well, she got the devil in her and she somehow managed to convince a local extreme geocacher who is a mutual friend of both of ours that the cache was either:

  • a hoax, i.e., a carefully-crafted tall tale cache, aka a creative writing cache, and that there was no container present atop the plateau!
  • or that there was a secret gimmick to accessing the cache, that I had somehow learned of a secret tunnel leading from the riverbank to the base of the pylon, where it connected to a secret hidden stairwell inside the pylon which leads to the plateau above!

He ended up sending a private email to me in which he revealed his suspicions (listed above), along with a few others, and I was stuck with the hilarious job of trying to convince him that the cache was real and that there were no secret tunnels or stairwells before he spent ten weeks in musty libraries researching old history texts about bridge pylon construction in the 1800s! :laughing::o

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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I think a find requirement should be a photo of the finder, on top of the pylon, with cache in hand. This is far harder than getting the container down to the base for cachers to sign the log.

 

It would be far harder but we don't want to make it that hard! Vinny actually mentioned today that it would be even more extreme if he had attached the cache to the top of the pylon, so you had to get up there to sign it.

 

Sue

 

Vinny & Sue Team

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I think a find requirement should be a photo of the finder, on top of the pylon, with cache in hand. This is far harder than getting the container down to the base for cachers to sign the log.

Yes, I agree that forcing cachers to somehow get on top would raise the bar even further, and, as Sue says, we considered that, and also considered anchoring the cache to the top of the pylon via a chain attached to the tree or to an anchor in the stone, but we ultimately decided that would be just too limiting and would eliminate too many potential fun ways of retrieving the cache from either the air or from a ground. However, we reserve the right to anchor a cache to the top of the pylon for one of our future caches! :huh:

 

BTW, one reason why I refused to anchor the cache to the top was simply the fact that there is an 8 or 10 foot tall tree growing at the north end of the island, and that pretty much ensures that most helicopters cannot land there, and I did not wish to eliminate approaches by finders from the air by anchoring the cache.

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Well, congrats to all who got it. B)

I am still fascinated and amazed that they managed to pull this off successfully. :huh::( While they chose one of the safest methods of retrieval (as opposed to my method of placement, which was very dangerous), the fact remains that they chose a method that is very difficult, time consuming, demands a very large team, and also demands lots of engineering, planning and coordination. In fact, I must admit that I had privately predicted two weeks ago that anyone who attempted to employ such a method was bound to fail. It is a measure of the ability, intelligence, skill and tenacity of Team Psycho that they did manage to pull this off. I am still amazed! :DB)B)

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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For those who may be considering tackling this cache, I will rank several different retrieval methods by safety, difficulty, and price.

 

Safety * Not Safe, ***** Safe

Difficulty * Very Hard, ***** Easy

Price * Expensive, ***** Cheap

 

Helicopter

Safety **

Difficulty *****

Price **

 

Rope Assisted Climb

Safety *****

Difficulty ****

Price *

 

Free Climb

Safety *

Difficulty ***

Price *****

 

Our Engineering Method

Safety *****

Difficulty **

Price ****

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Seeing the retrieval played out was really amazing.

 

And being Spotter #2, I had a perfect view of the engagement area.

 

The pre-planning that went into this was incredible, and the lessons learned from their previous DNF certainly contributed to the success.

 

The total time took a little over 2 hours. It would have been much soon except for an equipment limitation, but thankfully the team had planned for that and brought extras just in case.

 

Thanks all for a great adventure!

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I want to thank Vinny & Sue for placing this awesome challenge. Your dedication to detail, dialect and danger are unsurpassed.

 

The Team work to achieve this was just as awesome. I salute the whole Team.

 

To correct one misconception, a large team is not rquired for the method we used. Two of eight were spotters. Two more were kayak river pilots, ferrying Psychos, supplies and doohickeys. The remaining four got drunk and feel asleep on the far side of the pylon. No scratch that. Those four manned the pylon and did a super job of engineering.

Edited by BJ&Snurt101
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Vyper4, you forgot the monkey, eagle, parachute, and hot air balloon methods :huh:

 

And going back to not wanting to make the cache ever harder with a photo on top of pylon requirement or cache attached to top of pylon: that would take a lot of fun out of it too due to restricting retrieval methods! It's fun to see how different people log it, and we are eagerly waiting to see different methods used. FTF climb, FTF helicopter, FTF monkey....

 

Sue

 

Vinny & Sue Team

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Seeing the retrieval played out was really amazing.

 

And being Spotter #2, I had a perfect view of the engagement area.

 

The pre-planning that went into this was incredible, and the lessons learned from their previous DNF certainly contributed to the success.

 

The total time took a little over 2 hours. It would have been much soon except for an equipment limitation, but thankfully the team had planned for that and brought extras just in case.

 

Thanks all for a great adventure!

And thank you all from me too, as it was very much fun for Sue and me to witness all of this! B) And... I am still amazed, because, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I had privately predicted two weeks ago that anyone who attempted to employ this particular type of ground-based method was bound to fail. So, it is only a measure of the ability, intelligence, skill and tenacity of Team Psycho that they did manage to pull this off successfully! B) I am still rather stunned, but very happy! :huh:B):D

 

And, it was a great pleasure to hand the envelopes containing the FTF and the 2TF prizes to the Team Psycho members on Saturday! I was so tickled that as I left Shepherdstown that day for the drive home, I even forgot to stop at the bakery and purchase tons of my favorite addiction, apple struedel. :(

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For those who may be considering tackling this cache, I will rank several different retrieval methods by safety, difficulty, and price.

 

Safety * Not Safe, ***** Safe

Difficulty * Very Hard, ***** Easy

Price * Expensive, ***** Cheap

 

Helicopter

Safety **

Difficulty *****

Price **

 

Rope Assisted Climb

Safety *****

Difficulty ****

Price *

 

Free Climb

Safety *

Difficulty ***

Price *****

 

Our Engineering Method

Safety *****

Difficulty **

Price ****

David, thanks for your analysis. And, thanks again for your great photos! A few comments on your ratings follow:

 

Speaking as a pilot, I would personally change the safety rating on the helicopter method from 2 stars to one star (least safe). My pilots and I all agreed during the several visits to the cache site that we were skating right on the edges of the limits of acceptable risk, and I know many other skilled helicopter pilots who simply feel that such a mission is just too dangerous, and they would never attempt such a thing. On the other hand, the method is very speedy, and was a lot of fun for everyone involved! :huh:

 

And now, a comment on price: if we are rating the price as price per mission, then I would suspect that the price score for helicopter versus the Team Psycho engineering method to be about equal, with maybe the engineering method costing a bit more than a single helicopter visit. But, if you rank price as price per finder (i.e., price per person on the team ), then I supect that the price score for the engineering method employed by Team Psycho would fall to the least expensive category, since a number of Team Psycho members shared not only the expense but also the find.

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if you rank price as price per finder (i.e., price per person on the team ), then I supect that the price score for the engineering method employed by Team Psycho would fall to the least expensive category, since a number of Team Psycho members shared not only the expense but also the find.

 

Correct, I was looking at the cost from a team perspective.

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I think a find requirement should be a photo of the finder, on top of the pylon, with cache in hand. This is far harder than getting the container down to the base for cachers to sign the log.

 

It would be far harder but we don't want to make it that hard! Vinny actually mentioned today that it would be even more extreme if he had attached the cache to the top of the pylon, so you had to get up there to sign it.

 

Sue

 

Vinny & Sue Team

Then he would of had to find another way to place it :lol:

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I think a find requirement should be a photo of the finder, on top of the pylon, with cache in hand. This is far harder than getting the container down to the base for cachers to sign the log.

 

It would be far harder but we don't want to make it that hard! Vinny actually mentioned today that it would be even more extreme if he had attached the cache to the top of the pylon, so you had to get up there to sign it.

 

Sue

 

Vinny & Sue Team

Then he would of had to find another way to place it :lol:

 

Exactly. Some say the 'copter can land, under ideal conditions [eek]. In that case, Vinny would duck out and back again. I just make Vinny tell me where he's hidden his secret stash of cash before each trip, in case he doesn't return. :lol:

 

Sue

 

Vinny & Sue Team

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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I want to thank Vinny & Sue for placing this awesome challenge. Your dedication to detail, dialect and danger are unsurpassed.

 

The Team work to achieve this was just as awesome. I salute the whole Team.

 

To correct one misconception, a large team is not rquired for the method we used. Two of eight were spotters. Two more were kayak river pilots, ferrying Psychos, supplies and doohickeys. The remaining four got drunk and feel asleep on the far side of the pylon. No scratch that. Those four manned the pylon and did a super job of engineering.

I agree about the incredible teamwork on the part of the find team -- I salute the entire team, even Larry (LPYankeefan), who sat in his car napping and drinking cheap beer the entire time! :lol::huh::D:P

 

:P:lol::lol: (Larry, why do I feel this sadistic need to pick on you all the time?) :D

 

Oh, and by "large team", I meant about eight persons, so we are both in the same ballpark. :huh:

 

Thank you for all the fun!

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For those who may be considering tackling this cache, I will rank several different retrieval methods by safety, difficulty, and price.

 

Safety * Not Safe, ***** Safe

Difficulty * Very Hard, ***** Easy

Price * Expensive, ***** Cheap

 

Helicopter

Safety **

Difficulty *****

Price **

 

Rope Assisted Climb

Safety *****

Difficulty ****

Price *

 

Free Climb

Safety *

Difficulty ***

Price *****

 

Our Engineering Method

Safety *****

Difficulty **

Price ****

David, thanks for your analysis. And, thanks again for your great photos! A few comments on your ratings follow:

 

Speaking as a pilot, I would personally change the safety rating on the helicopter method from 2 stars to one star (least safe). My pilots and I all agreed during the several visits to the cache site that we were skating right on the edges of the limits of acceptable risk, and I know many other skilled helicopter pilots who simply feel that such a mission is just too dangerous, and they would never attempt such a thing. On the other hand, the method is very speedy, and was a lot of fun for everyone involved! :)

 

And now, a comment on price: if we are rating the price as price per mission, then I would suspect that the price score for helicopter versus the Team Psycho engineering method to be about equal, with maybe the engineering method costing a bit more than a single helicopter visit. But, if you rank price as price per finder (i.e., price per person on the team ), then I supect that the price score for the engineering method employed by Team Psycho would fall to the least expensive category, since a number of Team Psycho members shared not only the expense but also the find.

 

 

 

I have quite a bit of aviation experiance working for the US Forest Service as a Helirappeler (wildland fire fighter that rappels out of helicopter into remote areas). If you have a good pilot, the helicopter can be a very safe method (not to call into question your pilot.) Most commercial helicopter pilots never have to do extended hovers, or work with longlines of any sort. If you get fire helicopter pilots, I would think retrevial would be fairly easy and safe.

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David, thanks for your analysis. And, thanks again for your great photos! A few comments on your ratings follow:

 

Speaking as a pilot, I would personally change the safety rating on the helicopter method from 2 stars to one star (least safe). My pilots and I all agreed during the several visits to the cache site that we were skating right on the edges of the limits of acceptable risk, and I know many other skilled helicopter pilots who simply feel that such a mission is just too dangerous, and they would never attempt such a thing. On the other hand, the method is very speedy, and was a lot of fun for everyone involved!...

I have quite a bit of aviation experiance working for the US Forest Service as a Helirappeler (wildland fire fighter that rappels out of helicopter into remote areas). If you have a good pilot, the helicopter can be a very safe method (not to call into question your pilot.) Most commercial helicopter pilots never have to do extended hovers, or work with longlines of any sort. If you get fire helicopter pilots, I would think retrevial would be fairly easy and safe.

Well, there are a couple of factors here that may account for the opinion of local pilots. First, many of them have never had to do much hovering inhe air above the ground effect height; hovering is quite easy when done close enough to the ground that ground effect aids the hover by adding lift, but much harder above that level. However, the big problem with using a helicopter to access this particular cache is that any approach would be rather dangerous, due to two factors, as follows:

The first factor is the terrain: the pylon is surrounded by nearby terrain features, both natural and manmade, which are higher than it is. These terrain features include two high bridges (one only 460 feet to the SE, the other about 1,000 feet to the NW), two nearby tall pylons, and the trees on the two sloping riverbanks which tower higher than the top of the pylon -- this makes maneuvering very difficult and dangerous.

 

The second factor is perhaps the worst, from a helicopter pilot's point of view, and that is the fact that working in the vicinity of the top of the pylon involves operating a helicopter in what is known informally among pilots as the "Dead Man's Curve". This term refers to what is more accurately known as operating well below the limits of the Height/Velocity Curve, wherein the helicopter is operated below the safe limits of height and forward velocity needed to maintain safe operation of the aircraft in the event of an engine failure. What this means in practical terms is that if the engine or transmission developed problems or failed outright during the extended hover above the pylon, the craft would drop like a rock into the water and/or rocks below, and there would be zero chance of performing an autorotation maneuver to allow a safe and soft cushioned landing. That is what Dead Man's Curve is all about. Of course, if the hover were done at a higher elevation above surrounding terrain, perhaps an elevation of 450 feet, then the craft would be above the lower limits proscribed by the Height/Velocity Curve, and such a mission could be performed with a much greater degree of safety.

 

Because of these factors, many helicopter pilots will give venues such as this one wide berth.

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the pylon is surrounded by nearby terrain features, both natural and manmade, which are higher than it is.

Maybe use a really long rope? :antenna:

Ouch! You are talking about long line work! They tend to call it a long line when the drop line is much over about 30 feet long. That is perhaps one of the most difficult things for a helicopter pilot to learn, if not the most difficult. I read an article the other day in a helicopter trade industry magazine by a pilot who related how he learned to do long line placements, and he reported that the training was excruciating -- even reading the story was excruciatingly painful! Among other things, the line tends to want to swing like a pendulum... :antenna:

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I want to thank Vinny & Sue for placing this awesome challenge. Your dedication to detail, dialect and danger are unsurpassed.

 

The Team work to achieve this was just as awesome. I salute the whole Team.

 

To correct one misconception, a large team is not rquired for the method we used. Two of eight were spotters. Two more were kayak river pilots, ferrying Psychos, supplies and doohickeys. The remaining four got drunk and feel asleep on the far side of the pylon. No scratch that. Those four manned the pylon and did a super job of engineering.

I agree about the incredible teamwork on the part of the find team -- I salute the entire team, even Larry (LPYankeefan), who sat in his car napping and drinking cheap beer the entire time! :):):bad::bad:

 

:P:D:) (Larry, why do I feel this sadistic need to pick on you all the time?) :P

 

Oh, and by "large team", I meant about eight persons, so we are both in the same ballpark. :)

 

Thank you for all the fun!

 

Hey Vinny! It WASN'T cheap beer! It was Mad Dog 20/20! They had a special on it at the local store! A buck a bottle! But with the FTF money that I got out of the cache I can move up to a box of cheap wine!

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I agree about the incredible teamwork on the part of the find team -- I salute the entire team, even Larry (LPYankeefan), who sat in his car napping and drinking cheap beer the entire time! :):P

 

:)B) (Larry, why do I feel this sadistic need to pick on you all the time?) :) . . .

 

Thank you for all the fun!

Hey Vinny! It WASN'T cheap beer! It was Mad Dog 20/20! They had a special on it at the local store! A buck a bottle! But with the FTF money that I got out of the cache I can move up to a box of cheap wine!

Sigh. . .! Why is it that you are the ONLY local geocacher whom I know who seems to be every bit as immature and insane as me? :bad: It is very sad... :) ...tragic

 

:D:D:D

 

By the way, getting back on topic for a moment... I did some math last nite, based largely upon some numbers which were reported to us by some of the members of Team Psycho. Counting the time which your team spent in evaluating the site, strategizing, purchasing and organizing gear, making one long (5 hour) unsucessful initial attempt the previous weekend, and finally, the successful attempt on Saturday (9/23), I estimate that each of the eight team members of your team spent at least 13 hours apiece on this effort. That is 13 hours multiplied by eight persons, and that yields a grand total of about 104 hours which your team spent to pull off a nearly-impossible engineering task; please bear in mind that this is the same method which I had dismissed two weeks earlier as too difficult and too prone to failure and too prone to loss of the cache container during the operation. :bad::PB) BTW, the reason why I have employed the math which I did here is that the engineering feat which Team Psycho accomplished required at least seven or eight persons working at it full-time to make it happen; it could not have been pulled off with significantly fewer team members -- although I still cannot see why the team needed you sitting in your car drinking Mad Dog 20/20 and listening to tragic Country & Western ballads on the car audio system (with the 800 watt bass cranked to maximum) while they did all the work out there in the river. . . B) To me, this investment of 104 hours by a team of 8 persons is amazing! :D It must surely count as one of the most intensive efforts ever made by a cache finder (or find team) to recover a Terrain 5 cache! :D

 

Note: Late edit to correct emoticon abuse; forum server had advised me that this post was abusing innocent emoticons.

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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I agree about the incredible teamwork on the part of the find team -- I salute the entire team, even Larry (LPYankeefan), who sat in his car napping and drinking cheap beer the entire time! :D:D

 

:D:D (Larry, why do I feel this sadistic need to pick on you all the time?) :D . . .

 

Thank you for all the fun!

Hey Vinny! It WASN'T cheap beer! It was Mad Dog 20/20! They had a special on it at the local store! A buck a bottle! But with the FTF money that I got out of the cache I can move up to a box of cheap wine!

Sigh. . .! Why is it that you are the ONLY local geocacher whom I know who seems to be every bit as immature and insane as me? :D It is very sad... :D ...tragic

 

:D:D:D

 

By the way, getting back on topic for a moment... I did some math last nite, based largely upon some numbers which were reported to us by some of the members of Team Psycho. Counting the time which your team spent in evaluating the site, strategizing, purchasing and organizing gear, making one long (5 hour) unsucessful initial attempt the previous weekend, and finally, the successful attempt on Saturday (9/23), I estimate that each of the eight team members of your team spent at least 13 hours apiece on this effort. That is 13 hours multiplied by eight persons, and that yields a grand total of about 104 hours which your team spent to pull off a nearly-impossible engineering task; please bear in mind that this is the same method which I had dismissed two weeks earlier as too difficult and too prone to failure and too prone to loss of the cache container during the operation. :D:D:D BTW, the reason why I have employed the math which I did here is that the engineering feat which Team Psycho accomplished required at least seven or eight persons working at it full-time to make it happen; it could not have been pulled off with significantly fewer team members -- although I still cannot see why the team needed you sitting in your car drinking Mad Dog 20/20 and listening to tragic Country & Western ballads on the car audio system (with the 800 watt bass cranked to maximum) while they did all the work out there in the river. . . :D To me, this investment of 104 hours by a team of 8 persons is amazing! :) It must surely count as one of the most intensive efforts ever made by a cache finder (or find team) to recover a Terrain 5 cache! :)

 

Note: Late edit to correct emoticon abuse; forum server had advised me that this post was abusing innocent emoticons.

 

We only let you think that it took us that long! If you add up the number of hours spent fishing for breakfast, growing our own potatos, starting the fire, frying it all up and then taking a nap afterwards you might be close. We didn't want to hurt your feelings, it REALLY only took us about 15 minutes from start to finish.

 

You can clean the dishes if you want! BTW if you hear about any serious attempts, let me know. I think I'd like to watch from the Rumsey Overllok this time! :)

Edited by lpyankeefan
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it REALLY only took us about 15 minutes from start to finish.

Don't tell them how easy it was, now everyone will come looking for this cache. :D:D:D:D

Funny you should say that -- your words are prophetic! I spent a good part of my day today in Shepherdstown; the time was largely spent in caving and taking some fotos of the strange cave that I have been exploring for the past few days in Shepherdstown. As I headed out for my drive home, I stopped by Rumsey Monument Park for a quick peek at the pylon and the cache. Well, even though it was a Thursday afternoon, the pylon and the park were like a circus! Apparently word had spread that the cache find had really taken Team Psycho only 15 minutes, and so there were several large parties at the pylon, each with spotters stationed up at the cliffside balustrade near the Rumsey monument. If my memory serves me correctly, there was a high school physical education class from a secondary school in Frederick County there, with about 24 kids swarming over the pylon (all without gear), and also a group of thirteen grandmotherly older women who told me that they are an "outdoorsy" branch of a Red Hat club from Baltimore (in fact, they were in the process of signing the logbook as I spoke with them in the park). And lastly, there was an elderly kindergarten teacher there with 34 kindergarten kids; they were resting up for the drive back to Philadelphia, as the kids had all found the cache and signed the log a half-hour earlier. So, now that Larry has let the cat out of the bag about how easy this cache is, it seems that everyone and their uncle is logging it!

 

 

 

 

I think. . .

 

 

 

 

 

:D:D:D:D:D

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We only let you think that it took us that long! If you add up the number of hours spent fishing for breakfast, growing our own potatos, starting the fire, frying it all up and then taking a nap afterwards you might be close. We didn't want to hurt your feelings, it REALLY only took us about 15 minutes from start to finish.

 

You can clean the dishes if you want! BTW if you hear about any serious attempts, let me know. I think I'd like to watch from the Rumsey Overllok this time! :D

Larry, I will definitely let you know if I hear of any serious upcoming attempts! Unfortunately, I often hear of attempts (usually DNFs) only after the cacher or team has made an attempt and failed, and then they often give me a quick phone call in the aftermath, to tell me that they will be back.

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If you get fire helicopter pilots, I would think retrevial would be fairly easy and safe.

 

Or a Marine Corps helo pilot - especially a Phrog pilot, in my experience.

:laughing::P I kinda enjoy the mental image of a C46 Sea Knight helicopter or any large utility copter hovering just above that pylon -- the pylon and the plateau atop it would look puny in comparison! Even the nearby railroad bridge would look tiny by comparison!

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Just a minor update, since some folks keep asking me if I know anything about any upcoming attempts on this cache, and so, here goes:

 

To my best knowlege, Fergus (a well-known local extreme geocacher) and a small team of climbers plan to tackle the cache on October 14, 2006. There are several other folks and/or teams who have advised either Sue or me that they plan to tackle this cache by climbing within the next two months, but none of them have disclosed any firm dates for their attempts. One such team will likely be led by Indy-MD, a well-known geogacher and rock-climber in Maryland.

 

I have heard nothing further from the Ohio-area cacher who had driven out with a buddy about a week after the listing appeared and who reported one failed attempt using a chartered helicopter (chartered from a Virginia facility near Dulles airport, I believe) to try to find the cache. He did say that he would try again, this time using a helicopter from a different charter facility (I made a suggestion here...!), but I have heard nothing further. My only suggestion to him had been to come up with a tighter, cleaner and clearer plan of action, along with appropriate equipment, for retrieving and replacing the cache container; his plans seemed to have beed a bit vague in this realm!

 

I have heard nothing further from the two geocachers (a female and a male) from Western NY (and/or Western PA) who came down to scout out the site on Saturday, Sept. 23. They had at first held back when they arrived onsite and realized that another team (which was to be the FTF team) was in the midst of an ongoing effort, but then they later apparently hit problems with their kayak, with their vehicle, and finally with weather (it rained on Sunday), and so they apparently made no real attempt.

 

One fun piece of gossip: I have learned that one local team approached every RC (radio-control) helicopter flying club in the area, hoping to find someone that they could bribe to help them with a retrieval (and eventual replacement) of the cache by RC helicopter, but apparently none of the experienced RC helicopter operators were particularly enthused with the prospect of using any of their rather expensive helicopters for the mission -- they seemed to feel that there was way too much chance of crashing the helicopter.

 

I have received some reports from Team Psycho that the cache container (a yellow Otterbox) may have come unlatched during its initital placement on the plateau, thus alllowing the logbook/bag to fall out during their subsequent retrieval effort. I was a bit skeptical initially that the box could have come unlatched, as I was never able to witness such an event (i.e., the latch opening) during my placement simulations/drops here, and also because the cache container appeared to be firmly closed during all my post-placement checks on it. However, I have since discovered that if the box does become unlatched, it does not spring open, and instead, it will (at least 98% of the time) sit in what looks like a closed position, albeit unlatched. So, this can fully explain how the container may have indeed come unlatched during its initial placement, but still appeared to be securely closed during all subsequent inspections. In any case, thanks to Team Psycho and their excellent return of the cache to its hide spot, the container now sits tightly closed and latched on the plateau!

 

Thanks to a great tip from a seeker of this cache who is also a rock climber and caver, I spent part of two days last week exploring a small cave near Shepherdstown, WV (near the cache site.) The cave is quite well-known to locals (and, as the beer cans on the floor showed; it is visited by locals at times!), and so it does not qualify as a pristine unknown cave, and it does not appear to be a bat hibernarium, and so it could likely be a potential site for a cache placement. However, I have no interest myself in placing a cache here, although I understand that Fergus may be interested in doing so. There is, however another, much more extreme, potential cache hide site on a sheer limestone cliff located not far from this cave, and I may eventually place a Psycho cache there if I can figure out permission issues, etc.

 

To all who plan to seek this cache, we wish you the best, and have fun! And, if you do not mind folks watching your attempt, please let us know of your attempt in advance, because a few local cachers (myself included) would love to watch!

 

Lastly, a quick heads-up about what seems like a very nice new extreme terrain cache in NY State, entitled BWT's Phobia Series - Acrophobia (GCYK7H); the cache listing may be found at:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...d2-a8034026c1bf

This is a cache placed halfway down (or halfway up) a sheer limestone overhanging cliff in western central NT State. Check out the pics on the site! I have been following the progress of this cache placement ever since the hider, BigWhiteTruck, first announced his intent to emplace it on the national forums several months ago. I have added 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!

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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Sooo, we were in Hagerstown/Frederick this weekend. We had all of the PUCs in the GPS just so we could see where the others are located (we've done #1 and #2).

 

At one point, we were only three miles from this cache! We have no idea when that will happen again, but seeing as how the only specialized equipment we had was the Gopher grabber from Walmart, I don't think we would have been too successful.

 

We were going to go check it out to at least see the cache, but we ended up heading in the opposite direction.

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Sooo, we were in Hagerstown/Frederick this weekend. We had all of the PUCs in the GPS just so we could see where the others are located (we've done #1 and #2).

 

At one point, we were only three miles from this cache! We have no idea when that will happen again, but seeing as how the only specialized equipment we had was the Gopher grabber from Walmart, I don't think we would have been too successful.

 

We were going to go check it out to at least see the cache, but we ended up heading in the opposite direction.

Glad to hear that you had fun caching in this area again! And no, I am not sure what a Gopher Grabber from Walmart is, but I doubt that it would be useful for grabbing this cache! BTW, if you go do get back to the area and want a look at the pylon and the cahe, a kinda must-see is to go up to the Rumsey Monument Park in Shepherdstown (about 400 feet south of the cache waypoint coordinates) and look out at the pylons from above from the cliffside railing in the park. While the view of the pylons from the river or riverbank is also very impressive, it is kinda neat to be able to stand at the cliffside railing and look down upon the tops of the three one hundred foot tall pylons! And, if you were to put on wings, you could likely glide over to the plateau atop the pylon and log a find on the cache! :laughing:

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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A Gopher Grabber...

 

10200.jpg

 

:D

Very strange looking tool! I won't ask what people use it for -- I just hope that it is not to grab real live gophers! :D:D BTW, I may be placing a new Psycho Urban Cache tomorrow, not far from PUC #13, but not quite as extreme (but extreme enuf... climbing gear will be needed...) The last step was to clear some minor aspects of the matter with the local sheriff's department, and that was done today, and I am now all set to go!

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Very strange looking tool! I won't ask what people use it for -- I just hope that it is not to grab real live gophers! :D

 

Grabber tools are used by the elderly and handicapped (and occasionally the Just Plain Short) to reach items on upper shelves at grocery stores or in cupboards/storage at home.

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BTW, for those near and far who follow the more extreme caches in our Psycho Cache series, I am heading out in a few minutes to place what will hopefully -- assuming that the reviewer publishes it -- become PUC #14. It is not as extreme or dramatic as PUC #13 (which, of course, is what this thread has been about), but finding the cache will involve using rock climbing gear and vertical rope work. In many ways, the cache hide for this new cache is very similar to the extreme cache placed recently in NY State by Big White Truck -- we have been discussing that great cache in another thread on this forum.

 

This is the cache which I mentioned in my post yesterday afternoon; I have received the final okay from the county sheriff's department and am all set to go. :D

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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Here is a quick update on PUC #13, followed by a quick note about the possible upcoming PUC #14:

 

A Few Updates on PUC #13

I learned tonite that an out-of-state team of climber-geocachers will be tackling PUC #13 tomorrow (Sunday), using aided climbing or vertical rope work (i.e., ascenders and rappelling techniques for ascent and descent.) Sue and I wish them the very best with their attempt! I will likely travel to the site to watch for a while, and maybe take some photos! This will be the first serious climbing attempt. If your recall, the FTF team employed sophisticated engineering methods, working from the ground, and there have ben no furthr finds subsequent to their FTF.

 

I have also learned this evening that two newcomer teams (i.e., teams of which I had never heard previously), one from Maryland and one from Virginia, plan to tackle this cache over the next month or two.

 

And, a Note on the Potential Upcoming PUC #14

You may remember that over the past two weeks, I mentioned briefly the possibility that I might be placing a new Psycho Urban cache, PUC #14, not too far from PUC #13, and that, if it was placed, it would be a cache container locacted in a small opening about 2/3 of the way up a sheer vertical cliff in a canyon with sheer vertical walls. Despite the fact that all the legal ducks are and were in order, and that I had cleared the site with the local sheriff's department, several potential technical complications have since arisen regarding that cliff face, and I need to do further on-site exploring before deciding whether to proceed with placing a cache at that site. In fact, the out-of-state team of rock climber-cachers who are in town to tackle PUC #13 tomorrow (Sunday) have offered to help me string gear and ropes at the top of the cliff (it is a nasty cliff top edge to rig with gear, because it is "dirty", with a steep slope and loose rocks) and descend it on rope to explore it further on Sunday afternoon after they complete PUC #13. I will post further updates to the MGS forum and to the Psychocache list group on Yahoo Groups as I learn more about the feasibility of placing a PUC #14 cache at the potential hide site.

 

In closing, I offer once again my best wishes for success to the out-of-state climbing team which will be tackling PUC #13 on Sunday, 10/15!

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Just a quick note as of Sunday AM: An out-of-state climbing team (the same team which scored a DNF after a long effort last weekend) will be attempting to climb this pylon to retrieve the cache late this morning. I will likely arrive on-site around 11:30 AM to shoot some fotos from the cliffside balustrade at Rumsey Memorial Park. I promise that any fotos of climber/cachers on the pylon will be posted to the site in due time!

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Just a quick note as of Sunday AM: An out-of-state climbing team (the same team which scored a DNF after a long effort last weekend) will be attempting to climb this pylon to retrieve the cache late this morning. I will likely arrive on-site around 11:30 AM to shoot some fotos from the cliffside balustrade at Rumsey Memorial Park. I promise that any fotos of climber/cachers on the pylon will be posted to the site in due time!

The out-of-state climbing team scored another DNF on the cache on Sunday, once again because they were unable to get a line over the top of the pylon using their chosen methods of line launching.

 

On a somewhat related note, this one about the upcoming potential PUC #14 hide not far from PUC #13, here is a quick update on that matter:

 

I visited the potential PUC 14 hide site yesterday with two out-of-state climbers/cavers. The cave-like opening in the cliff face turned out NOT to be a true phreatic cave, but rather just a 5-foot deep niche in the rock face, and it is definitely not a bat hibernarium nor a bear hibernarium. So, the site looks ready for a cache placement (this is the same site which I had previously cleared with the local sheriff's deparment)! I was unable to place a cache at the spot yesterday because a major thunderstorm moved into the area and started dumping tons of rain and lightning just as I started to rappel down the cliff on the climbing rope with the cache container hanging at my side, and so my two companions and I quickly abandoned our efforts for the day! We were all soaked from head to toe by the time we hiked back down the mountainside!

 

I suspect that this container will be placed sometime before the end of November, but it will likely not be in the next two weeks. I will be in Kalamazoo (aka Kazoo) Michigan from Wednesday of this week through Nov. 1., visiting my friend Taj (some of you met her when she stayed with us over the Christmas and New Year's holidays), and then, when I return, I have a consulting job in Pittsburgh in early November, and so I will be gone for a good part of the weekend of Nov. 4-5. So, placement will likely be sometime after Nov. 8.

 

By the way, my two companions on our rain-soaked visit to the potential PUC #14 hide site yesterday, both of whom are, like myself, trained rock climbers, felt that it would be totally impossible for any sane person to free-climb to the opening in the cliff face from above or below without gear; that had been my assessment as well. Of course, Sue still feels that she and also a few members of Team Psycho could easily and safely free-climb to the niche (the hide site) without gear, and I continue to disagree with that assessment! ;)

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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