The infamous forest finds...

[+ConkDonk]

This post is about my most recurring finds. It's something I always look for when I'm caching on Long Island, especially in preserves and wooded areas.

 

Seeing as I've only been caching in 2 places - Long Island & Lake Worth, Florida - I've been noticing a trend, and I'd like to know if I'm not the only one.

 

Time after time AND cache after cache I've noticed a very visible trend. That trend is the <b>Suspicious Pile of Sticks and Wood</b>. Whenever me and my buddies (AKA Failsquad) go out to find caches we always keep a keen eye out for said suspicious piles. And I cannot express the amount of caches I've found that have been under suspicious piles of sticks (well I could probably approximate!).

 

I'm just wondering if anybody else has noticed this trend in wooded areas. I know I'm not the most veteran cacher around (with around 90 finds), and I haven't really been out of my locale, but I think this trend could be all around, and not just on Long Island.

 

So my question is, who else has noticed this? Am I alone in this? Or am I just too observant?

 

Lets hear it folks!

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Otherwise known as the UPS - Ubiquitous Pile o' Sticks.

 

Not a lot else you can do with an ammo can in the forest.

[+FunnyNose]

This post is about my most recurring finds. It's something I always look for when I'm caching on Long Island, especially in preserves and wooded areas.

 

Seeing as I've only been caching in 2 places - Long Island & Lake Worth, Florida - I've been noticing a trend, and I'd like to know if I'm not the only one.

 

Time after time AND cache after cache I've noticed a very visible trend. That trend is the <b>Suspicious Pile of Sticks and Wood</b>. Whenever me and my buddies (AKA Failsquad) go out to find caches we always keep a keen eye out for said suspicious piles. And I cannot express the amount of caches I've found that have been under suspicious piles of sticks (well I could probably approximate!).

 

I'm just wondering if anybody else has noticed this trend in wooded areas. I know I'm not the most veteran cacher around (with around 90 finds), and I haven't really been out of my locale, but I think this trend could be all around, and not just on Long Island.

 

So my question is, who else has noticed this? Am I alone in this? Or am I just too observant?

 

Lets hear it folks!

 

It's been going on for years.

[+42at42]

It is either a pile of sticks or an animal carcass. My vote is for the sticks.

[+MTGeoPirates]

When we first started caching we too noticed this trend and started looking for the Unusual Pile of Sticks. (UPS) Also known as the Unusual Pile of Rocks (UPR). We've now come to call them the Usual rather than the UNusual. Not that there's anything wrong with that. We've found that we'd much rather find an ammo can under the pile of sticks than a micro in an urban haystack. Our little cachers enjoy trading in the larger caches, and often the caches under the sticks are in areas that are worth going to, rather than an X-mart parking lot. Just our two cents.

[+NotThePainter]

I like finding the UPS, it means I can get back to hiking, which is more fun that looking under stuff.

[Mr.Yuck]

Piles of sticks in the woods rule!! I'm more partial to the hollow log though.

Edited March 7, 2010 by TheWhiteUrkel

[+ConkDonk]

Piles of sticks in the woods rule!! I'm more partial to the hollow log though.

 

Well sometimes they are in a hollow log......... Covered by a suspicious pile of sticks!

[+geodarts]

Better that than the micro in the woods with the hint that it's touching wood or rock.

[+simpjkee]

Down here in the Arizona desert it is all about the unnatural rock pile. If you're getting to gz and you see a large pile of rocks unnaturally stacked (especially at the base of a saguaro, boulder, or palo verde tree) it's probably a geocache.

[+simpjkee]

Piles of sticks in the woods rule!! I'm more partial to the hollow log though.

 

Well sometimes they are in a hollow log......... Covered by a suspicious pile of sticks!

 

or by a snake or other creature

[+Chrysalides]

I guess to add some "evil" into a hide, you can construct a pile of sticks, then hide the cache somewhere else.

 

Or construct 20 piles for that semi-NIH hide.

[jholly]

Otherwise known as the UPS - Ubiquitous Pile o' Sticks.

 

Not a lot else you can do with an ammo can in the forest.

 

Put them in a hollow stump and cover with moss or leaves, put them in a hollow log, put them under a big fallen log, hide them in a root ball, hide them under the ferns and there are many other ways I don't remember right now. Occasionally I get lucky and find a UPS, or in the eastern part of the state a UPR.

[+Cache O'Plenty]

Here in SoCal, we also have UPS hides, but the the "S" is for "Stones".

[+DENelson83]

Otherwise known as the UPS - Ubiquitous Pile o' Sticks.

Also called a SPOD - Suspicious pile o'debris.

[+power69]

Down here in the Arizona desert it is all about the unnatural rock pile. If you're getting to gz and you see a large pile of rocks unnaturally stacked (especially at the base of a saguaro, boulder, or palo verde tree) it's probably a geocache.

Ahhhhhhh the SPOR[suspicious pile of rocks], I have a few SPOR hides and one is even called SPOR.

SPOR can also be known as "arizona style"

[+simpjkee]

Down here in the Arizona desert it is all about the unnatural rock pile. If you're getting to gz and you see a large pile of rocks unnaturally stacked (especially at the base of a saguaro, boulder, or palo verde tree) it's probably a geocache.

Ahhhhhhh the SPOR[suspicious pile of rocks], I have a few SPOR hides and one is even called SPOR.

SPOR can also be known as "arizona style"

 

I never heard SPOR till this thread. Definately heard "Arizona Style".

[+J the Goat]

I guess to add some "evil" into a hide, you can construct a pile of sticks, then hide the cache somewhere else.

 

Or construct 20 piles for that semi-NIH hide.

 

I just DNF'd one where there were 3 SPORs. Talked the the owner and guess what? DECOYS! What a dirty trick...

[+tzipora]

We call them "geosticks" here.

[oakenwood]

Some call it a "geobeacon". I call it a "giveaway". I see bark used often around here.

 

Making a pile of stones, sticks, or whatever in a location near, but not at the cache is a red herring. The last time we discussed this topic, there was disagreement over whether red herrings were an acceptable part of the game or just being a jerk.

[+briansnat]

It's common enough that it has a name, "UPS" (un-natural pile of sticks). In some places it's the only way to hide larger caches. I don't like to use the method because it begs for passersby to "check me out, I don't belong here".

 

I found the MD Project A.P.E. cache, which was one of those huge, 3 ft tall ammo boxes, under an equally huge UPS not far from a trail. I recall being surprised it lasted that long. It went missing shortly after.

[oakenwood]

It's common enough that it has a name, "UPS" (un-natural pile of sticks). In some places it's the only way to hide larger caches. I don't like to use the method because it begs for passersby to "check me out, I don't belong here".

 

I found the MD Project A.P.E. cache, which was one of those huge, 3 ft tall ammo boxes, under an equally huge UPS not far from a trail. I recall being surprised it lasted that long. It went missing shortly after.

It (or one very like it) was replaced by Return to Project A.P.E.

 

I found it last year, and it's just as you describe. The new one's been there 2 1/2 years now.

[+briansnat]

It's common enough that it has a name, "UPS" (un-natural pile of sticks). In some places it's the only way to hide larger caches. I don't like to use the method because it begs for passersby to "check me out, I don't belong here".

 

I found the MD Project A.P.E. cache, which was one of those huge, 3 ft tall ammo boxes, under an equally huge UPS not far from a trail. I recall being surprised it lasted that long. It went missing shortly after.

It (or one very like it) was replaced by Return to Project A.P.E.

 

I found it last year, and it's just as you describe. The new one's been there 2 1/2 years now.

 

They probably last so long because they are too big to easily be carried out.

[+wimseyguy]

I guess to add some "evil" into a hide, you can construct a pile of sticks, then hide the cache somewhere else.

 

Or construct 20 piles for that semi-NIH hide.

 

I just DNF'd one where there were 3 SPORs. Talked the the owner and guess what? DECOYS! What a dirty trick...

 

Oh the humanity! Who would create such a ruse?

[Clan Riffster]

In a hollow stump and cover with moss or leaves, in a hollow log, under a big fallen log, in a root ball, under the ferns, etc

For my hides, these are what I prefer over a UPS. Wiggling the can down into the leaf litter is another favorite hide technique. Unfortunately, there appears to be a mindset among finders that "More is Better", as I often return to one of my hides to find a UPS has grown over top of it.

[+hurleyanne]

I've been to my share of hides where there are many natural piles of sticks which at first look like unnatural piles of sticks... all thanks to sticks washing down slopes, snagging on bushes, and stacking up there. Fun, fun!

[GOF and Bacall]

In a hollow stump and cover with moss or leaves, in a hollow log, under a big fallen log, in a root ball, under the ferns, etc

For my hides, these are what I prefer over a UPS. Wiggling the can down into the leaf litter is another favorite hide technique. Unfortunately, there appears to be a mindset among finders that "More is Better", as I often return to one of my hides to find a UPS has grown over top of it.

 

Not only do they insist on adding more they are often less than careful in how they place the added material. When I hide I try to make it look like the pile of sticks, bark, moss, whatever, looks like it belongs. Usually what I find on return trips is just another pile of sticks. Oh well, what are ya gonna do?

[+humboldt flier]

Better that than the micro in the woods with the hint that it's touching wood or rock.

 

10-4 to that. A pico or a nano in the middle of a redwood forest is a real hide chapper, right there with a rock in a gravel pit or those nasty hidden in ivy caches. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

have learned to appreciate a well executed Geo-pile

Edited March 7, 2010 by humboldt flier

[+ConkDonk]

Better that than the micro in the woods with the hint that it's touching wood or rock.

 

10-4 to that. A pico or a nano in the middle of a redwood forest is a real hide chapper, right there with a rock in a gravel pit or those nasty hidden in ivy caches. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

I just submitted one for an Ivy cache in my hometown. It's a dark-green bison tube!\

 

[GOF and Bacall]

Better that than the micro in the woods with the hint that it's touching wood or rock.

 

10-4 to that. A pico or a nano in the middle of a redwood forest is a real hide chapper, right there with a rock in a gravel pit or those nasty hidden in ivy caches. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

I just submitted one for an Ivy cache in my hometown. It's a dark-green bison tube!\

 

 

I hope your "backfire" backfires!

[+EscapeFromFlatland]

Some places around Portland have enough evil english ivy choking the trees that you can lose ammo cans under the stuff.

[+Bergie Bunch]

I guess to add some "evil" into a hide, you can construct a pile of sticks, then hide the cache somewhere else.

 

Or construct 20 piles for that semi-NIH hide.

I have one like that!!! 10 piles of sticks in a 50 foot area. The cache is an ammo can in tyhe crook of a tree, 10 feet up.

[+HawkLawless1]

Haven't seen too many UPS. Big one around this area is holes in trees. So much so that when I get to GZ, I immediately start looking for obvious holes (in the tree or around the roots) or dead stumps with holes. Either that or it's a pill bottle wrapped in green duct tape suspended from one of the branches.

[+StarBrand]

You can often find caches under:

 

unusual piles of ______________

 

sticks

logs

leaves

twigs

rocks

grass

tumbleweeds

combinations of above

[+California66er]

When we first started caching we too noticed this trend and started looking for the Unusual Pile of Sticks. (UPS) Also known as the Unusual Pile of Rocks (UPR). We've now come to call them the Usual rather than the UNusual. Not that there's anything wrong with that. We've found that we'd much rather find an ammo can under the pile of sticks than a micro in an urban haystack. Our little cachers enjoy trading in the larger caches, and often the caches under the sticks are in areas that are worth going to, rather than an X-mart parking lot. Just our two cents.

 

X-Mart is always worth going to - for the caches and for the great deals!

[+Anno Lynke]

It's common enough that it has a name, "UPS" (un-natural pile of sticks). In some places it's the only way to hide larger caches. I don't like to use the method because it begs for passersby to "check me out, I don't belong here".

 

I found the MD Project A.P.E. cache, which was one of those huge, 3 ft tall ammo boxes, under an equally huge UPS not far from a trail. I recall being surprised it lasted that long. It went missing shortly after.

 

A ups, geo beacon, or what ever you want to call it is still a good way to hide something if people dont know to look for it.

IE muggle walks past he sees a pile of sticks and thinks nothing of it why would it cross his mind there might be something under it. Who would hide something in the woods under a pile of sticks?

Only because you know something is near dose that pile of sticks stand out in your mind.

Even a 3 ft tall pile of sticks

 

Years ago when I was in HS I went to a party, some friends of mine, pushed my car 20 feet

threw a tarp over it, then some leaves, leaned a few lawn chairs against it.

I did not see it for about 5 minutes. Of course I was paniced because my car was gone, but still

[+42at42]

I guess to add some "evil" into a hide, you can construct a pile of sticks, then hide the cache somewhere else.

 

Or construct 20 piles for that semi-NIH hide.

 

I like this idea.

[+briansnat]

A ups, geo beacon, or what ever you want to call it is still a good way to hide something if people dont know to look for it. IE muggle walks past he sees a pile of sticks and thinks nothing of it why would it cross his mind there might be something under it. Who would hide something in the woods under a pile of sticks? Only because you know something is near dose that pile of sticks stand out in your mind. Even a 3 ft tall pile of sticks

 

I don't know about that. I've been wandering the woods and investigating things that looked out of place or unusual, including piles of sticks, long before I started geocaching. I'm sure I'm not alone.

 

As to who would hide things under sticks in the woods, a lot of people. I've found my share of oddities hidden under piles of sticks and rocks in the woods.

Edited March 8, 2010 by briansnat

[+spikerek]

Hi! I am a fellow geocacher from Massapequa Park. You have found at least 6 of my caches and not one of them has been under a pile of sticks. I would rather search a preserve for a pile of sticks instead of finding amicro in someones driveway or a parking lot. It seems like people don't use their imagination when hiding caches anymore. It is making this game boring. Hope you can place unique caches in beautiful places.

[Clan Riffster]

I've been wandering the woods and investigating things that looked out of place or unusual, including piles of sticks, long before I started geocaching. I'm sure I'm not alone.

You're not alone. As long as I can remember, I've been wandering the woods and swamps of whatever area I've called home. A pile of sticks, with no corresponding flood indicators would raise red flags for me, generating a look-see. From my experience, a pile of sticks or rocks just screams "Man Made", notching up my curiosity.

[+succotash]

In the Carolinas, a suspicious pile of sticks is so much more welcome than pine straw! We were worried about this one...

 

 

... but fortunately the cache was elsewhere.

[+Dread_Pirate_Bruce]

Gosh, I would never have thought to look for a cache under a pile of sticks or rocks in the forest, so I can't say it is a trend. Perhaps that is why I have so many DNFs when I'm in the forest.

 

Seriously, though, whether hiding a cache under a UPS or UPR is good or not depends on how one wants to play the game. If the idea is to hide the largest cache that won't be muggled and to make it as easy to find as it can be without being muggled, then a UPS or UPR is a good hide. If the idea is to hide the cache cleverly so cachers say "wow, that was clever," then UPS and UPR hides are not so good. If the idea is to make the cache just plain hard to find, then try a micro under a single leaf or rock somewhere.

 

(I'm reminded of the cache I found in St. Louis that was a fake rock in the woods. True, it was the only rock in the area, but I could have left a small car at GZ without it being muggled.)

[+Jeep4two]

UPS could mean an "unusual pile of shells", as in turtle shells. A cache in my region is aptly named for it's hiding style - under a turtle shell tucked nicely under a tree just far enough off a path.

 

I'll take just about any kind of small or regular (or even large) cache sized container along a nice trail. Makes for a great day out caching.

[+DragonsWest]

Around here the technique is A Laying of Sticks And considering how wonderful these GPSrs work in canyons, where the signals bounce all over the place, and under dense canopy of redwood trees, where signals come through like rays of sunlight, few and far between, lemme tell ya, you'll be beggin' for A Laying of Sticks or rocks or bark or moss or cow pies... because brother, with the wealth of natural cover, sometimes you're going to have a seriously bad day without some tell-tale clue something is there.

[+edscott]

Whether it be a pile of sticks, a pile of stones, a pile of pine needles, or a pile of palmettos... the trick is to know when there is just the right amount of covering. All too often the covering pile shouts about as loudly as would a blaze orange ammo can. I like to go with a combination of covering materials that match what is natural in the immediate area. A couple nice sized limbs holding down a thin layer of leaves is far less conspicuous than a pile of 15-20 parallel sticks that manage to hide every square millimeter of the can while looking like a funeral pyre.

[+Fiver1]

Piles of sticks or leaves don't last too long down here because of all the wild hogs in our woods areas. They can hide a cache better and quicker than any geocacher. Violates the do not bury rule, however.