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Extreme caches near New York City


Autorita

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While browsing through the general Geocaching topics section of the forums, I often find people looking for a great extreme cache anywhere in the US or world. I was wondering if there are any within 25 miles of New York City that someone knows about and is truly a fun extreme adventure??

 

For example Tube Torcher II is in NC and would be considered an extreme cache.

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While browsing through the general Geocaching topics section of the forums, I often find people looking for a great extreme cache anywhere in the US or world. I was wondering if there are any within 25 miles of New York City that someone knows about and is truly a fun extreme adventure??

 

For example Tube Torcher II is in NC and would be considered an extreme cache.

 

There are several big-time extreme caches right in NYC itself. They're all on Staten Island, and they're all by Splicing Dan. They are not listed on this geocaching website though. :yikes:

 

EDIT: Scratch that, isn't "fear" by him still listed here?

 

I think Melvin's Multiple Madness, currently being discussed in another thread would meet the criteria.

Edited by TheWhiteUrkel
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There's also talk of a 'Five Star New York' outing this October. That's probably more of a mental extreme than a physical one, though.

 

That one is definitely more mental.

 

Staten Island though huh? And not on this site? What other site is it on? :yikes:

 

Terracaching.com There's the whole thing where you'd have to be sponsored, but I believe they'd let you look at the cache descriptions wihout coords. Looks like he has three extreme ones, I thought there were more. There very well could have been, but they could have been archived. Then his cache here is Fear (GCKQE6), hasn't been found since 2005! I believe the last time I mentioned his extreme caches here in this forum, he checked in on the subject.

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Here is a cache with a 5/5 rating that is 25 miles from your profile location (Astoria, New York)

 

Called: "Tickle The Sky" by TheSurfcaster

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...43-09340fe3104e

 

MaitreMind

 

Haha! Crazy! I just did what I would call a smaller version of this one in PA called "Childhood Memories" that works in the same fashion...still scary! :yikes:

 

Anyone got anything else?

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There's also talk of a 'Five Star New York' outing this October. That's probably more of a mental extreme than a physical one, though.

 

That one is definitely more mental.

 

Staten Island though huh? And not on this site? What other site is it on? :yikes:

 

Terracaching.com There's the whole thing where you'd have to be sponsored, but I believe they'd let you look at the cache descriptions wihout coords. Looks like he has three extreme ones, I thought there were more. There very well could have been, but they could have been archived. Then his cache here is Fear (GCKQE6), hasn't been found since 2005! I believe the last time I mentioned his extreme caches here in this forum, he checked in on the subject.

 

I'd like to give this one a go for sure! Just that it's sketchy sounding that someone posted that the container has gone missing? Maybe that's preventing people from making the journey out recently. Maybe another owner check is needed?

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There is Fear, a 5/5 that is in NYC (well Staten Island, but that is NYC). Apparently the first stage is missing though.

This cache, hands down, would have been the one to do. The initial part is/was a puzzle which gave the coordinates to Stage 1. My guess is that someone took the puzzle home in an attempt to figure it out and never returned it. Dan doesn't seem to be active in the caching world right now, so it may never be recreated. It's a shame, since this was my all-time favorite cache and I would have loved seeing a third attempt on it completed.

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There's also talk of a 'Five Star New York' outing this October. That's probably more of a mental extreme than a physical one, though.

 

That one is definitely more mental.

 

Staten Island though huh? And not on this site? What other site is it on? :sad:

 

Terracaching.com There's the whole thing where you'd have to be sponsored, but I believe they'd let you look at the cache descriptions wihout coords. Looks like he has three extreme ones, I thought there were more. There very well could have been, but they could have been archived. Then his cache here is Fear (GCKQE6), hasn't been found since 2005! I believe the last time I mentioned his extreme caches here in this forum, he checked in on the subject.

 

Haha....that's funny. You're right. My last post was precisely about the same topic.

Thanks for the publicity!

 

Most of my caches are very lonely, but that's OK. I kinda like it that way.

 

I'll check on Fear when tick season starts subsiding. Besides, the cache has been reported missing several times before.

 

Penetrating Susan, Rust & Balls, Close To Heaven, Closer To Hell are all risky caches - if that's what you're looking for, Autorita.

 

My Monkey and iPoint's Revenge bring back some great memories, eh Harry?

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Sorry I missed you at the picnic yesterday, Autorita. I was in central Passaic County, and noticed this one nearby: Downstream/Upstream. I did not make an attempt.

Ah, yes. We miss SplicingDan. We did a few of his in the city that were quite challenging.

 

Sorry I missed you at the event as well but we'll meet up soon I hope! Looks lik a fun reccomendation to go after! Looking forward to more posts! :rolleyes:

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There's also talk of a 'Five Star New York' outing this October. That's probably more of a mental extreme than a physical one, though.

 

That one is definitely more mental.

 

Staten Island though huh? And not on this site? What other site is it on? :rolleyes:

 

Terracaching.com There's the whole thing where you'd have to be sponsored, but I believe they'd let you look at the cache descriptions wihout coords. Looks like he has three extreme ones, I thought there were more. There very well could have been, but they could have been archived. Then his cache here is Fear (GCKQE6), hasn't been found since 2005! I believe the last time I mentioned his extreme caches here in this forum, he checked in on the subject.

 

Haha....that's funny. You're right. My last post was precisely about the same topic.

Thanks for the publicity!

 

Most of my caches are very lonely, but that's OK. I kinda like it that way.

 

I'll check on Fear when tick season starts subsiding. Besides, the cache has been reported missing several times before.

 

Penetrating Susan, Rust & Balls, Close To Heaven, Closer To Hell are all risky caches - if that's what you're looking for, Autorita.

 

My Monkey and iPoint's Revenge bring back some great memories, eh Harry?

 

Great to see the "Dan" is still around! I look forward to taking on your caches and any others you may recommend!! Definitely keeping an eye on the infamous "FEAR"!

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There's also talk of a 'Five Star New York' outing this October. That's probably more of a mental extreme than a physical one, though.

 

That one is definitely more mental.

 

Staten Island though huh? And not on this site? What other site is it on? :laughing:

 

Terracaching.com There's the whole thing where you'd have to be sponsored, but I believe they'd let you look at the cache descriptions wihout coords. Looks like he has three extreme ones, I thought there were more. There very well could have been, but they could have been archived. Then his cache here is Fear (GCKQE6), hasn't been found since 2005! I believe the last time I mentioned his extreme caches here in this forum, he checked in on the subject.

 

Haha....that's funny. You're right. My last post was precisely about the same topic.

Thanks for the publicity!

 

Most of my caches are very lonely, but that's OK. I kinda like it that way.

 

I'll check on Fear when tick season starts subsiding. Besides, the cache has been reported missing several times before.

 

Penetrating Susan, Rust & Balls, Close To Heaven, Closer To Hell are all risky caches - if that's what you're looking for, Autorita.

 

My Monkey and iPoint's Revenge bring back some great memories, eh Harry?

 

I stay on Staten Island when in NYC, but never have time, as it's always with the family on vacation. But I am quite aware of them. Didn't even get a chance to get away for the CITO Terracache a couple of months ago, hopefully next time. Did manage to find 3 (which is a significant portion of the caches on the Island). B)

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I strongly remember from gossiping (at geo events, geo parties, etc.) with some of the more active and hardcore northern NJ cachers that there is a cache (listed at geocaching.com) in or near midtown Manhattan that, while it may bear a terrain rating of only about 3 or 3.5, is truly a major 5/5 cache, one that involves vertical work on long-abandoned urban infrastructure, and some other rather intimidating challenges as well. As I remember, it is a multi-stage cache, but may actually be listed as either a multi or a traditional, depending upon its exact age.

 

However, it is also true that the info about this "sleeper" is kept rather secret among NYC area and NNJ insiders in the geo world in order to keep it from getting archived (seems that there might be legal questions about accessing some of the abandoned urban infrastucture.) I no longer remember the cache name, and I was never given the waypoint ID for the cache, and, even if I did have that information at hand, I would not share it on the forums, as the entire package of information about this cache was given to me with the condition that cache name and waypoint ID be kept confidential. If, for some reason, you are interested in tracking this cache down, your next step would be to befriend some of the more active NYC cachers and NNJ cachers who are into caches with high terrain ratings, for at least some of them will know what you are talking about and will likely be happy to steer you in the right direction!

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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I strongly remember from gossiping (at geo events, geo parties, etc.) with some of the more active and hardcore northern NJ cachers that there is a cache (listed at geocaching.com) in or near midtown Manhattan that, while it may bear a terrain rating of only about 3 or 3.5, is truly a major 5/5 cache, one that involves vertical work on long-abandoned urban infrastructure, and some other rather intimidating challenges as well. As I remember, it is a multi-stage cache, but may actually be listed as either a multi or a traditional, depending upon its exact age.

 

However, it is also true that the info about this "sleeper" is kept rather secret among NYC area and NNJ insiders in the geo world in order to keep it from getting archived (seems that there might be legal questions about accessing some of the abandoned urban infrastucture.) I no longer remember the cache name, and I was never given the waypoint ID for the cache, and, even if I did have that information at hand, I would not share it on the forums, as the entire package of information about this cache was given to me with the condition that cache name and waypoint ID be kept confidential. If, for some reason, you are interested in tracking this cache down, you next step would be to befriend some of the more active NYC cachers and NNJ cachers who are into caches with high terrain ratings, for at least some of them will know what you are talking about and will likely be happy to steer you in the right direction!

If such a cache exists, I'd like to hear about it. I can keep a secret and I'm always up for an extreme cache. E-mail me through my profile if you're in the know.

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I strongly remember from gossiping (at geo events, geo parties, etc.) with some of the more active and hardcore northern NJ cachers that there is a cache (listed at geocaching.com) in or near midtown Manhattan that, while it may bear a terrain rating of only about 3 or 3.5, is truly a major 5/5 cache, one that involves vertical work on long-abandoned urban infrastructure, and some other rather intimidating challenges as well. As I remember, it is a multi-stage cache, but may actually be listed as either a multi or a traditional, depending upon its exact age.

 

However, it is also true that the info about this "sleeper" is kept rather secret among NYC area and NNJ insiders in the geo world in order to keep it from getting archived (seems that there might be legal questions about accessing some of the abandoned urban infrastucture.) I no longer remember the cache name, and I was never given the waypoint ID for the cache, and, even if I did have that information at hand, I would not share it on the forums, as the entire package of information about this cache was given to me with the condition that cache name and waypoint ID be kept confidential. If, for some reason, you are interested in tracking this cache down, you next step would be to befriend some of the more active NYC cachers and NNJ cachers who are into caches with high terrain ratings, for at least some of them will know what you are talking about and will likely be happy to steer you in the right direction!

If such a cache exists, I'd like to hear about it. I can keep a secret and I'm always up for an extreme cache. E-mail me through my profile if you're in the know.

Okay, I have received memory-jogging feedback and updates from a few folks who were present at the conversation at the geo party a few years ago where I first heard this tale of the "extreme" Manhattan cache from a couple of veteran NJ geocachers. However, before I start, let me warn you that nothing is entirely certain here, because the interim identification of the cache is all based upon a conversation held over 3 years ago at a private geo party (no, none of you were invited! B):D:P ) held in Virginia, which was attended by several well-known and active NNJ cachers. So, here goes:

 

At this point in time, it appears that the cache which was mentioned to me at the private geo party was likely a cache named My Monkey, GCK1HM, hidden by splicingdan; it was rated 3/2.5 (you gotta remember that cache ratings were often grossly understated in the good old early days of geocaching, and there may have been other reasons for understating the Terrain rating as well!), and it was indeed located in Manhattan. Assuming for the moment that this was the cache in question, it turns out that it was archived on February 12, 2005 by New York Admin because of numerous reports that the final stage was located on restricted and posted (posted as in "No Trespassing" property, and yes, reaching the final did require making a climb to an elevated walkway or railroad bridge.

 

I note from reading the cache listing page that the cache owner, in a later log note, contested the assertion of Groundspeak and the reviewers that the cache was located on posted restricted property, but, in all fairness to Groundspeak, I must point out that when I was first told about the cache by the two NNJ cachers (and they did not yet know that it had been archived a short time before), one of the first things that they, along with a third NJ cacher who was standing nearby and overheard the conversation) advised me was that the final stage was not only elevated and required a climb, but was located behind "Posted - No Trespassing" signs. However, one of them suggested that there might be one way -- a way that involved lots of vertical climbing -- to access the cache whereby one would not technically pass any "No Trespassing" signs!

 

In any case, putting aside the legality issue for a moment, it appears that the hide was, in its time, a very daring and creative hide, and it appears that it was placed on an elevated portion of railway remaining

from an old and famed NYC railroad called the West Side Line, and the particular part of the elevated railway on which the cache was placed was universally called the "High Line". The cache was placed on a piece of the elevated railway located near the intersection of West 20th and 10th Avenue, on the West Side of lower Manhattan in the west Chelsea section, just a few blocks above the meatpacking district and just above the West Village.

 

Strangely, although that section of elevated railway seems to have been repeatedly slated for removal since the mid-1990s, the latest satellite photos appear to indicate that this portion of the track is still in place above the West Chelsea neighborhood. And, the record seems to indicate that at the time of the cache placement, the elevated railway, although unused, was likely still considered legally to be railroad property.

 

Interestingly, although it appears that there has been talk of converting some of this property to public-access property, either an elevated greenway park, or under the Rails to Trails program, there is no evidence available on the web to indicate that this has yet happened for this stretch of the railway. However, there is a tantalizing note in the Wikipedia article on the High Line as follows:

...On June 13, 2005, the U.S. Federal Surface Transportation Board issued a certificate of interim trail use, allowing the city to remove most of the line from the national railway system. On April 10, 2006, Mayor Michael Bloomberg presided over a groundbreaking ceremony, marking the beginning of construction on the High Line project, turning it into an elevated park. The project is being undertaken by landscape firm Field Operations and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Hotel developer Andre Balazs, owner of the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, is building a 337-room hotel straddling the High Line at Little West 12th Street. As of spring 2007, most of the old rail tracks have been removed, making way for the park.[2] If work goes as planned, the southern section of the High Line, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, will open to the public in early 2009[3].

 

This southern section will include five access stairways and three elevators. The park will eventually extend from Gansevoort Street north to 30th Street where the elevated tracks turn west around the Hudson Yards development project[4] to the Javits Convention Center on 34nd Street. The northernmost section, from 30th to 34th Streets, is still owned by the CSX railroad company....

 

Please note that the proposed elevated greenway public park, on "the southern section of the High Line, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street", would apparently end at 20th Street on the north end, thus placig the site of the cache just 50 feet north of the northernmost terminus of the proposed elevated greenway park, and on a section of railway that is scheduled to be removed! Now, if only the owner wished to move the now-archived cache a couple of hundred feet to the southwest, into the greenway part of the line, and resurrect it once the park has been opened! :)

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For a quick update, I have heard back from a few more people who had visited the cache in question back when it was still active, and have also learned more about the elevated railway. It seems that most finders of the cache found that the best way to access the elevated railway was to hoof it about ten blocks southwest from the cache waypoint to the current southern terminus of the elevated line, in the meat district area near Gansevoort Street, and to then crawl under two fences (apparently complete with posted signs) in order to get up to the elevated railway, and then the finders faced a 10 block walk back in the northeast direction along the elevated railway in order to reach the cache site.

 

Interestingly, several finders reported that there must have been other and quicker ways to reach the elevated railway, as they found well-maintained vegetable and floral gardens planted all along its length by local residents. And, I remember that when we were first told about the cache years ago, we were told that there was a way to get up on the railway without technically passing any Posted/No Trespassing signs, but that it took some climbing skills and perhaps a bit of gear as well. And, it turns out that at the time that the cache was active, the abandoned elevated railway line was indeed still technically part of the national railroad system (the federal government released it in June 2005), but it appears that while it was technically RR property, no one ever bothered to enforce railroad trespassing laws on that portion of the railway, and indeed, many local neighborhood residents used it as a place to plant gardens and spend social time.

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For a quick update, I have heard back from a few more people who had visited the cache in question back when it was still active, and have also learned more about the elevated railway. It seems that most finders of the cache found that the best way to access the elevated railway was to hoof it about ten blocks southwest from the cache waypoint to the current southern terminus of the elevated line, in the meat district area near Gansevoort Street, and to then crawl under two fences (apparently complete with posted signs) in order to get up to the elevated railway, and then the finders faced a 10 block walk back in the northeast direction along the elevated railway in order to reach the cache site.

 

Interestingly, several finders reported that there must have been other and quicker ways to reach the elevated railway, as they found well-maintained vegetable and floral gardens planted all along its length by local residents. And, I remember that when we were first told about the cache years ago, we were told that there was a way to get up on the railway without technically passing any Posted/No Trespassing signs, but that it took some climbing skills and perhaps a bit of gear as well. And, it turns out that at the time that the cache was active, the abandoned elevated railway line was indeed still technically part of the national railroad system (the federal government released it in June 2005), but it appears that while it was technically RR property, no one ever bothered to enforce railroad trespassing laws on that portion of the railway, and indeed, many local neighborhood residents used it as a place to plant gardens and spend social time.

 

Not to resurrect this thread, but thanks for all the great info VS Team! Wish it would become active again!

 

If anyone else knows of any "Extreme caches" in NYC or throughout the NY State area, please let me know as I'm planning a trip to hit some up ASAP! Thanks for everyone's help!

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