Frozen caches

[+blb9556]

I was in NY and I did a cache (Visit link) and it was stuck to a bridge so I was trying to rip the thing off but I couldn't. I went with another person and one time I went down below the bridge. I saw rocks. I tossed one up and he bangged it. The cache had a dent in it but I got it. It was FROZEN to the bridge. Ever had this happen? have any pics?

[+smithdk]

I was in NY and I did a cache (Visit link) and it was stuck to a bridge so I was trying to rip the thing off but I couldn't. I went with another person and one time I went down below the bridge. I saw rocks. I tossed one up and he bangged it. The cache had a dent in it but I got it. It was FROZEN to the bridge. Ever had this happen? have any pics?

 

Here is a cache that I found frozen up in a tree. I was able to break it loose and sign the logbook.

 

http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/9e5502...71847604b46.jpg

[+Stellar Jr.]

I remember at one cache that me and my mom did in Pa was a pill container with a magnet on the back. There was one problem it was frozen to the guardrail so there we are in the back of a McDonalds with my mom pulling on something on the back of a guardrail with everyone in the drive thru looking at us. Then my mom pulls it off and it slips out of her hand and hits me in the head . Now that really hurt. Then to make matters even worse we couldn`t get the cache lid to open. After about 30 minutes we finally got it open.

[TinyMoon & The Pumpkin King]

GCR55N

 

This is a cache near a fishing hole that we found last weekend, it's a decon container that was frozen in place and we gently wiggled it free. You'll find that winter caching is quite different from summer caching, in that ...

 

A~ caches are buried under several feet of snow

 

B~ caches, once uncovered, are frozen solid in place anyway and sometimes unretrievable

 

We've found that a long-handled flathead screwdriver is great for chiseling and prying caches free of their icy tombs. However, if the cache is so frozen in place that you risk destroying it in order to get at it, just let it be. Log that you found the cache but were unable to sign the log due to Old Man Winter.

Edited November 26, 2007 by TinyMoon & The Pumpkin King

[knowschad]

I saw rocks. I tossed one up and he bangged it. The cache had a dent in it but I got it. It was FROZEN to the bridge. Ever had this happen? have any pics?

 

Sorry, but I have to say that what you did was totally uncool. There was no need to do that. Just log that you found it, but weren't able to access it.

[XC_Tracker]

We always take a camera along to snap a picture of the cache as proof we were there. No need to damage the container to get the log signed. Owners will be much happier to see a picture of the cache frozen in place and in good shape than have to make a maintenance run to a cache that was damaged.

[+MountainRacer]

The second cache I ever found was in the split of a tree, six feet off the ground. The tree had ice all around the base, so I had to be VERY careful to stretch up to it without slipping. Then I had to clear off an inch of snow, and then break the ice covering the cache, and then shake the cache til it came loose. All this while on one foot, fully stretched up, on a sheet of ice.

 

...And I was hooked.

[+Ed_S]

Anybody who's cached during winter has come across a frozen cache - I know I sure have!

[+StarBrand]

Found one under about 6" of snow once - then there was the ice. I could see the lid about 4 " under but no amount of kicking and scraping could free it. I logged my DNF as I could not prove the lid I was see was indeed the cache container.

 

One of mine was reported encased in ice and come spring time, I found the lid cracked from being pressed downward.

 

Last spring I found one under a walking bridge that was prozen to the ground. Just warm enough above during the day to melt the snow that dripped down and refroze in the shadows underneath. Freed it with the aid of a large rock and a good bang. No damage I could see except for my smashed finger.

[+joranda]

I just found a First to find after a ice storm and the nano was completely covered in ice. I had the chisel it out. That was fun!

[+escondido100]

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:n9dVCY...-oahuSunset.jpg i cache in the winter near my home every year...never found a frozen one. Edited February 9, 2008 by escondido100

[+CacheMiner72]

I'm caching here in Northern Ontario so there are a few months that have the possibility for iced up caches. My last find was the first one that I have found actually frozen in a block of ice. It was a micro in the crotch of a tree just above eye level.

[JASTA 11]

Funny that this topic came up. A few weeks ago we had a DNF on a cache placed in a swamp. Went back later and searched for over an hour in the blowing snow before we found it. There's pictures with our log entry.

[+The Pathman]

It hasn't happened to me yet, but there are still many weeks of winter left here and many winter caches to attempt to locate.

Time will tell

[+Renegade Knight]

Found then. Retreived them. All without beating on them with a rock. It's part of the challenge of winter caching.

[Thunder76]

Found then. Retreived them. All without beating on them with a rock. It's part of the challenge of winter caching.

 

I found one a few weeks ago the was slightly to the ground but with a little nudge with my foot it came free, only to find once I opened it is was a solid block of ice, still a fun find

[+WRASTRO]

We have found caches in December and January in Hawaii and none of them were frozen.

 

In our normal Seattle area hunts we do get a frozen cache from time to time but they usually aren't too bad. A couple of whacks and they break loose. If they don't, find the owner and give them a couple of whacks. A smiley should follow.

[Luckless]

Been there, done that.

I found a cache frozen to the ground. The container was a plastic bottle. I thought a few well placed kicks might loosen it from the ground (that always works to get the tops off my plastic garbage cans). Well I ended up kicking a big hole in the container. I offered to replace the container for the owner, but he said he'd do it, he'd been meaning to upgrade it. Anyways, I learned my lesson. No more banging on frozen containers to get them loose.

[+Teamcoz]

We had this happen to us last winter. Cache was in a crevice in the top of a tree stump, completely encased in ice. Tried to chip away at it but was afraid of damaging the container. We took a picture and claimed our find. Emailed the pic to the cache owner. We were lucky that this one was close to home so in the spring we went back and actually signed the log.

[+the hermit crabs]

We had this happen to us last winter. Cache was in a crevice in the top of a tree stump, completely encased in ice. Tried to chip away at it but was afraid of damaging the container. We took a picture and claimed our find.

Our experience a week or so ago was similar -- except for the "claiming the find" part

 

We were looking for a micro which was frozen in the crotch of a tree about five and a half feet upl. The previous finders had freed it from the ice with a ski pole, but since then it had frozen over again after a storm of snow/sleet, and freezing rain. We didn't have any good ice-chipping tools with us, and when a tree branch didn't dislodge enough ice us for us to retrieve the cache, we gave up and continued on to the next cache. Logged it as one of four DNFs for the day

 

The owner went out the next day, freed it from the ice, and it has been found four times in the past 6 days. I hope we get back out there before it freezes in again

[+Haffy]

Read the latest post to one of my adopted caches here: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...2d-5a26585da05f

[+skeezicks]

I have had several of these that I have found.The worst one was one that I hiked to last winter.There was over a foot on the ground at the cache site ( it was a 3 mile hike to get there)I was movimg snow around looking for it when I found it.It was an ammo can that hadn't been found in almost a year and a half.It was on a hillside and was about halfway covered in frozen dirt from where the ground had moved from freezing and thawing out a few times or more.It took me about 30 minutes to dig it out,but all was fine once I got it open...which was a chore all its own.I filled in the hole where the cache had been buried with the dirt I had to dig it out from and rehid it in the same place.It has since been found by others.If it had been there through one more winter,it would have probably been gone for good.

[+TEAM GEOCHEF]

Started caching in Michigan in late 07. Most of the caches I have found were frozen. The best one I spent nearly an hour chipping it out of the ice. Finally got the case opened traded bugs and left. Got home logged everything for the day and couldnt find the camera. The next day, back to the cache to find my camera safe sound inside the cache where I had left it. Boy did I feel stupid.

[+mvigor]

Started caching in Michigan in late 07. Most of the caches I have found were frozen. The best one I spent nearly an hour chipping it out of the ice. Finally got the case opened traded bugs and left. Got home logged everything for the day and couldnt find the camera. The next day, back to the cache to find my camera safe sound inside the cache where I had left it. Boy did I feel stupid.

 

Next finder: "That's some great swag right there!"

[+MarshMonsters]

We came across our first frozen cache this past Sunday. It was on a little point that stuck out into a ravine. There was about three feet on each side. I tried to grab the cache but it was stuck in place, so I started chipping the ice under it. The ice broke and the cache went flying. It almost flew down into the ravine! . The hint on the log was no need for drastic elevation change. So in my found it log I said that the cache almost made a drastic elevation change. I don't know how we would have retrieved that one.

[+rock_rat]

Last winter I was hunting a cache in one of those orange plastic match cases. We found it between the roots of a tree with about 2 inches of iced up leaf clutter on top of it. It took me a half hour of chipping ice with my knife to free that dang thing.

 

I also had a cache of mine freeze last weekend. It's in a hollow log in the split of a tree and was frozen in there pretty good.

[+qlenfg]

Speaking as someone from the south who looks at frozen stuff with a different perspective -- just pee on the darned thing. <grin> It will thaw it out and let you retrieve it. Its cold enough to have gloves on, right? Let the spring cachers worry about getting contaminated.

[+bflentje]

Frozen caches will soon be a thing of the past with warming and all...

[fishdirt]

I've been fearing this. I didn't think they were placed where they could get frozen so I scoffed at a friend who suggested it might be buried under ice in a tree hole.

 

In my head I was going over possible solutions just in case. Fire? Bad idea in parks and possible damage. Then a great idea popped into my head while reading through these posts....

 

Warning: Noob advice

 

bring a small spray bottle of biodegradable de icer. Gallons cost under 3 dollars. Maybe even a mini water gun would work. Make sure it's bio degradable (I'm a nature considerate person) and that not too much is used.

[+bflentje]

I've been fearing this. I didn't think they were placed where they could get frozen so I scoffed at a friend who suggested it might be buried under ice in a tree hole.

 

In my head I was going over possible solutions just in case. Fire? Bad idea in parks and possible damage. Then a great idea popped into my head while reading through these posts....

 

Warning: Noob advice

 

bring a small spray bottle of biodegradable de icer. Gallons cost under 3 dollars. Maybe even a mini water gun would work. Make sure it's bio degradable (I'm a nature considerate person) and that not too much is used.

 

A screw driver for chipping is better and faster. Frozen caches are common place up here.

[+SnowBird690]

When I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska a couple of years ago I attempted to find one located at a spring, this was a spot where people, including myself, regularly filled up water containers. On the particular day I was out caching it was about 20 below zero temperature. I looked all around for it, but I couldn't find it. I loged a DNF because I can only assume that it was buried under the ice somewhere:

 

 

So I took a picture of it and left. When I was at this filling spot over the summer it the water level was well below the bridge. The ice must have formed a natural dam and blocked up the water where more froze causing ice to be all the way up to the birdge. I am thinking that the cache was under the bridge and you had to get under it to find it. But as you can see, that wasn't possible.

[+JRandJuju]

Had one earlier this year in Groom, Texas(GCZHMA) Had to use my foot to get the container loose from the ground.

[+joranda]

A couple good kicks will break them free!