Pullies

January 1, 2007

We have been thinking about placing a cache that has something to do with a pully for a long time. we just can't figure out how we could set it up so it would be somewhat difficult.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to do this?

Any help would be greatly appreiciated.

Natureboy56

6.7k · January 1, 2007

Pulleys would be cool. We have several hoisted caches that use the principle but not the pulley.

Tie a rock to a string (25lb test green braided fishing line) and throw it over a limb crotch close to the tree trunk. Tie the ground ends together to make a big loop and tie on a decon container. pull one side of the string and the cache can be hoisted up to sit in the crotch. If done right the string is almost invisible hanging down the tree trunk.

This way you don't have to climb the tree to secure the pulley.

January 1, 2007

Pulleys would be cool. We have several hoisted caches that use the principle but not the pulley.

Tie a rock to a string (25lb test green braided fishing line) and throw it over a limb crotch close to the tree trunk. Tie the ground ends together to make a big loop and tie on a decon container. pull one side of the string and the cache can be hoisted up to sit in the crotch. If done right the string is almost invisible hanging down the tree trunk.

This way you don't have to climb the tree to secure the pulley.

We have found a tree and it is fairly easy to climb. The only thing about using fishing line is that it might get cought in the side of the pullie. That is a good idea so we will keep that in mind.

Any other ideas? We were thinking of running a thin green rope down the side of the tree and then at the bottom, tie it is a couple knots so the cacher would have to undoe the knots, but then again, that wouldn't be much of a challenge

6.7k · January 1, 2007

Yup, that'll work - we have one locally like that, they threw a 1/8" brown rop over a limb, hoisted the cache and tied the ground end off to a boat cleat screwed to the tree and painted brown. Hard to see, especially as the rope is on the back side of a tree as approached from the trail.

January 1, 2007

Yup, that'll work - we have one locally like that, they threw a 1/8" brown rop over a limb, hoisted the cache and tied the ground end off to a boat cleat screwed to the tree and painted brown. Hard to see, especially as the rope is on the back side of a tree as approached from the trail.

That would work also.

Is there anything that might be just a bit more complex? I don't want a system of pullies, just one that would require you to do multiple task to get the container down.

9.2k · January 1, 2007

Rig a line that runs from one tree to another, a good distance apart. Tree one holds the cache, suspended on a line from a pulley that then sends the line over to tree two. The line then runs over a second pulley, and down the tree trunk to a tie-off.

I can't decide if I'd list the coordinates for the cache or for the rope. Either way would be amusing. I would probably list this as a "mystery/unknown" cache since something extra is required.

If you use pulleys, be sure to attach them to the tree in a manner that does not permanently mark the tree. Also, carabiners can be a decent substitute for pulleys.

2.6k · January 1, 2007

Wallyworld has camo cord in fifty foot packages in the sporting goods dept.

I used 2 of them on my old inbewteen cache, worked great kind of like Alabama Ramblers first post

January 1, 2007

Rig a line that runs from one tree to another, a good distance apart. Tree one holds the cache, suspended on a line from a pulley that then sends the line over to tree two. The line then runs over a second pulley, and down the tree trunk to a tie-off.

I can't decide if I'd list the coordinates for the cache or for the rope. Either way would be amusing. I would probably list this as a "mystery/unknown" cache since something extra is required.

If you use pulleys, be sure to attach them to the tree in a manner that does not permanently mark the tree. Also, carabiners can be a decent substitute for pulleys.

That is also an excellent idea.

We would use wire to attach the pullie to the tree, which I hope would do no harm.

Is there anything that complex you can do with one tree because we have found and excellent tree to set up a pullie on.

9.3k · January 1, 2007

One of the kewlest "pulley" caches I've seen was set up inside a live, yet mostly hollow tree. It utilized a counterweight which, when picked up, lowered the ammo can down to where it was visible. The counterweight remained hidden amongst the natural ground litter and the green paracord blended in to the inner trunk.

January 1, 2007

One of the kewlest "pulley" caches I've seen was set up inside a live, yet mostly hollow tree. It utilized a counterweight which, when picked up, lowered the ammo can down to where it was visible. The counterweight remained hidden amongst the natural ground litter and the green paracord blended in to the inner trunk.

Only if we could find the perfect hollow tree to do that. I really want to keep to the idea of the tree that we found.

January 1, 2007

Is there a way that anyone knows to run the rope or line down the tree?

January 1, 2007

Is there a way that anyone knows to run the rope or line down the tree?

If you pick a tree that has vines hanging from it (not the least bit uncommon in Alabama) mingle the cord in with the vines. Camo cord from Wally Whirled, brown rope, and green fishing line have all been suggested. Personally, I'm a fan of (7 strand twist core) parachute cord because it's strong, rot resistant, available in several colors, and relativly cheap. Depending on the predominate color of the foliage and bark, choose accordingly.

January 2, 2007

I recently found one very similar to one already described. A cache was suspended up inside a hollow tree, high enough into the hollow to be out of sight. A holes was drilled through the back of the tree for the line. The line was anchored on the outside back of the tree by a nail. Worked great.

January 2, 2007

Tie a rock to a string (25lb test green braided fishing line) and throw it over a limb crotch close to the tree trunk.

I can almost guarantee that I would smack myself in the head with the rock in the process :anitongue:

1.1k · January 2, 2007

depending on the size of the cache, you might want to consider using ice fishing line. you can get 100 pound test ice fishing line, it's black colored, very thin, and nearly impossible to see, and it will handle a really big load.

3.1k · January 2, 2007

If you use a knotted rope, don't count on finders being able to retie it properly. We weren't all in the Scouts, and many of us avoid even tying our shoes unless absolutely necessary.

The Metroparks near me have put out many caches using pulleys. They've always used wire. The most devious one had you looking down from a bluff at a birdhouse suspended 15 feet above the river below you. You had to spot the wire and track it a couple hundred feet through the woods and through a number of pulleys to find a hook that allowed you to let some slack out, lowering the birdhouse to a reachable level. There are some shots of it here.

January 2, 2007

I have used the fishing line though the caribiner trick, with good results.

January 2, 2007

I've seen one that was a camo-painted 5-gallon bucket (lots of swag fits in that!) suspended 100' up in a tree, with half-inch nylon rope wound on a "spool" and wedged between some trees a couple hundred feet away from the suspended cache. Not sure if it was on a pulley, but I suspect it was. The trickiest part was putting it all back!! Awesome cache, one of my favorites!

:anitongue:

38.2k · January 2, 2007

...we have one locally like that, they threw a 1/8" brown rop over a limb, hoisted the cache and tied the ground end off to a boat cleat screwed to the tree and painted brown

Which is a guideline violation. You can't go putting screws in trees (unless you own the tree). If the reviewer knows, he won't publish the cache. If he finds out, he will archive it.

January 2, 2007

...we have one locally like that, they threw a 1/8" brown rop over a limb, hoisted the cache and tied the ground end off to a boat cleat screwed to the tree and painted brown

Which is a guideline violation. You can't go putting screws in trees (unless you own the tree). If the reviewer knows, he won't publish the cache. If he finds out, he will archive it.

I'm glad someone brought this up...

My suggestion -

Have an ammo can cache suspended in the tree with a line that comes down and attaches to another ammo can secured on the ground in some fashion - wedged or whatever. Inside the can on the ground is a note that says "Let me go". When released, the ammo can (which weighs more with the included swag, log book, maybe a sandbag or two) then lowers to the ground. Trailing the empty can is 25 ft (or however much you need) of excess cord so it can be pulled back down. Just a thought. If I wanted to put that much work into a cache, that's what I'd do...

An alternative would be the second can is weighed down with sandbags with a note saying "Empty me".

Please Please be sure to tie the caribiners in place rather than attaching the pulley or what have you in some more damaging way. That's the kind of stuff that gets GC'ing looked down upon. Pulleys can be problematic since they require tension to stay int he track. Caribiners have the flexiblity to not get snagged.

--MGb

38.2k · January 2, 2007

Please Please be sure to tie the caribiners in place rather than attaching the pulley or what have you in some more damaging way. That's the kind of stuff that gets GC'ing looked down upon. Pulleys can be problematic since they require tension to stay int he track. Caribiners have the flexiblity to not get snagged.

Good advice on the carabiners vs pulleys. You can tie it in place or use something like a hose clamp. The hose clamp is a good choice because it is wide enough that it won't dig in to the tree and can be adjusted as the tree grows. You will be surprised how fast trees can grow.

January 2, 2007

I really like the idea of the 2 ammo cans, but here is what we have come up with so far...

Attach a pulley/carribeaner (haven't decided yet) to a tree about 30 ft up. We are using a extremely thin dark green rope and will attach a small match box container to one end, run the rope through the pulley/carribeaner,

and then run the rope the side of the tree by putting a washer on a piece of wire and tying it loosly araoun the tree in a couple spots. We will run the rope down through the washers and tangle it up and tie it to the tree. You will have to untie the rope for there to be enough to get the matchbox container down. Inside are instructions on how to set the pulley display back up and coordinates to the next stage, which, I will say, requires a magnet...

Natureboy56

19k · January 2, 2007

A word of caution about the rope being used... I have a cache that was attached to a cotton parachute cord, and a critter chewed through it. I think they like the salt from cacher's hands. I replaced the cord with wire and haven't had problems since.

January 2, 2007

A word of caution about the rope being used... I have a cache that was attached to a cotton parachute cord, and a critter chewed through it. I think they like the salt from cacher's hands. I replaced the cord with wire and haven't had problems since.

Thanks for the advice knowschad. How did you set up your cache?

38.2k · January 2, 2007

Wire or perhaps a strong mono fishing line will work. You'd have to replace the fishing line periodically but it will be practically invisible as long as you don't use of the florescent lines.

January 2, 2007

Wire or perhaps a strong mono fishing line will work. You'd have to replace the fishing line periodically but it will be practically invisible as long as you don't use of the florescent lines.

If oyu are using a pulley, wouldn't it slide to the side of the pulley though?

Keep the ideas coming please!!

18.9k · January 2, 2007

As soon as the weather gets better I have a similar one I will place. The rope hoding the cache some 25 feet off the gound runs across a 40 foot deep gulley to the other side where the camo rope is tied to another tree. Very remote little spot - coordinates to lead to the cache tree. Hard part will be getting to other side to lower the thing.

January 2, 2007

As soon as the weather gets better I have a similar one I will place. The rope hoding the cache some 25 feet off the gound runs across a 40 foot deep gulley to the other side where the camo rope is tied to another tree. Very remote little spot - coordinates to lead to the cache tree. Hard part will be getting to other side to lower the thing.

Sounds like a hard cache...

January 3, 2007

I have another question...

How high up should I place the pulley/carribeaner?

The tree is relitivaly small, 25 ft, and sturdy branches go to about 20 feet. I would like it to be high enough so people don't try to climb the tree to get it, but low enough so it doesn't get tangled up with any other branches.

Natureboy56

38.2k · January 3, 2007

Wire or perhaps a strong mono fishing line will work. You'd have to replace the fishing line periodically but it will be practically invisible as long as you don't use of the florescent lines.

If oyu are using a pulley, wouldn't it slide to the side of the pulley though?

Keep the ideas coming please!!

You don't use a pulley, you would use a carabiner.

How high up should I place the pulley/carribeaner?

That is totally up to you and how long your ladder is, or how gutsy a climber you are.

Edited January 3, 2007 by briansnat

2.3k · January 3, 2007

This thread, caches hoisted up in a tree, may be of interest. Particularly post #32 which includes a drawing for attaching a carabiner to a branch high up without having to climb the tree.

January 3, 2007

This thread, caches hoisted up in a tree, may be of interest. Particularly post #32 which includes a drawing for attaching a carabiner to a branch high up without having to climb the tree.

Thanks for the link to the thread. Very helpful.

Natureboy56

3.2k · January 5, 2007

Some observations after reading most of the above posts.

Some have suggested fishing line.... Ok on some trees, but it will cut through the bark on other species, allowing the sap to flow around the groove and then literally gum up the whole process.

Throwing a line over a limb with a rock is OK, but shooting it over with an arrow gets it a lot higher off the ground.

Going over a limb at GZ for the cache, then running the line down to a different tree well away from GZ to tie it off adds a bit to the hunt.

January 6, 2007

Ok, so I read this post with GREAT interest, and it just so happens that I have a similar, though not quite the same sort of situation. I am planning a hide in which the cache is DOWN at the bottom of a significantly impassable cliff (about 60ft straight drop, with a small stream at the bottom.)

I have given this a lot of thought, and done some not-so-scientific tests using the rafters in my basement as tree branches, and my washer/dryer as a "cliff". Obviously you will need to use your imagination to picture REALLY little people standing on the washer! The diagram is below.

Geopulley

In this image, Pulley 1 is suspended from a tree branch which overhangs the creekbed/ravine. Pulley 2 is suspended overhead of the edge of the ravine. The Cache will be VISIBLE fro the top o the ravine (it is private property with permission). This is important, because I don't want people to think that they need to descend into the ravine.

I plan to use white rope for the first 10 feet of the rope that leads from the cache to Pulley 1. The remainder of the rope will all be the ice fishing line mentioned above. All of the cord for Line 2 will be ice fishing line as well. As you see from the image, Line B goes from the cache, through Pulley B and to a counterweight, which will be a chunk of wood from the burn pile, no heavier than the weight of the cache.

In order to retreive the cache, they need to visually trace the line fromthe cache, up through pulley 1, and back to the tree behind them where it is tied off. To begin, they will hoist that line, lifting the cache straight up until it is over thier head. In doing so, they will ALSO be lowering the counterweight so that it is within thier reach. Once they grab the counterweight (it might be best with 2 or more cachers), they can then pull the cache over dry land.

I know it seems confusing, but I tried if many times in the basement, and tommorrow I will be setting it up for trial runs in the field. If, for some reason, it doesn't work, I won't use it, but I don't see any reason it wont. Oh, and just as an FYI, this will be an event only cache for an event coming up fairly soon, so I am not concerned about long term maintenance.

January 6, 2007

Geopulley

Excellent setup. I like it. Hope that cache works out for you! But where are you going to find a washing machine in the middle of the woods? :lol: :lol:

--MGb

January 7, 2007

Didn't I mention that this site is located in the local landfill? Don't most municipalities build landfills near the closest natural ravine? I just thought it was normal.

Anyway, I hope it works out as well as I THINK it will. I didn't get the chance to set it up this morning, as I ran into some other things I needed to do. BUT... It will go up. and hopefully soon!

January 12, 2007

Didn't I mention that this site is located in the local landfill? Don't most municipalities build landfills near the closest natural ravine? I just thought it was normal.

Anyway, I hope it works out as well as I THINK it will. I didn't get the chance to set it up this morning, as I ran into some other things I needed to do. BUT... It will go up. and hopefully soon!

I hope it works out for you. We are planning on getting this one published by next week

Pullies

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