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Micros in trees.

The Schuttes

By The Schuttes
in General geocaching topics

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The Schuttes

+The Schuttes

Posted
Posted

It isn't that I hate a particular brand of cache, I just ask "Why hide a Micro in a tree." I've been to a couple micro caches where it is a needle in a haystack type thing, and enjoyed the experience, but trees just irritate the heck out of me. Tree sap on my fingers just ruins the experience...

 

Anybody out there enjoy finding micros in trees? opine please

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Castle Mischief

+Castle Mischief

Posted
Posted

It isn't that I hate a particular brand of cache, I just ask "Why hide a Micro in a tree." I've been to a couple micro caches where it is a needle in a haystack type thing, and enjoyed the experience, but trees just irritate the heck out of me. Tree sap on my fingers just ruins the experience...

 

Anybody out there enjoy finding micros in trees? opine please

 

I enjoy them more than hide-a-keys under a lampskirt, but less than an ammo can under a pile of stick in the woods.

 

I'm not a fan of any size cache in/under a holly bush.

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Team MacKenzie

+Team MacKenzie

Posted
Posted

 

Anybody out there enjoy finding micros in trees? opine please

 

Depends on where the tree is growing! :)

 

I have a couple of micros in trees. Both of them are at scenic spots that wouldn't support a larger cache.

 

One, the only place to put a larger cache would have been smack middle in a patch of PI...I chose a tree on the beach.

 

Another micro is in a tree because I hate soggy feet more than anything and anywhere else I looked at placing the cache, well, I'd have been wet to the knees....in a tree it went with a dare to everyone to find a way in that kept their feet dry!

 

Both of them get logs mentioning how nice the view was.

 

My thoughts are that the location is way more important than the size of the cache. OTOH, I do endeavour to place the largest cache a location will support.

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Skippermark

Skippermark

Posted
Posted (edited)

I seem to have pretty good luck with micros in pine/evergreen trees. Not sure why, but they usually jump out at me. Micros in bushes on the other hand, not so lucky. It can be a regular, and I still probably won't see it.

 

We carry a little bottle of alcohol hand sanitizer with us, which usually removes any sap we've gotten on us.

Edited by Skippermark
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Mr.Yuck

Mr.Yuck

Posted
Posted

They beat the heck out of micros in lamp post skirts.

 

This is the correct answer. :)

 

Micros in pine trees? Between being hard to spot, getting pricked, and pine sap, yep, they can be annoying. I'll give them 5 minutes before going with the DNF, usually. And I'd roll with the term Conifer. I've been corrected too many times referring to a Spruce as a Pine. :wub:

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e5c4p3artist

+e5c4p3artist

Posted
Posted (edited)

I seem to have pretty good luck with micros in pine/evergreen trees. Not sure why, but they usually jump out at me. Micros in bushes on the other hand, not so lucky. It can be a regular, and I still probably won't see it.

 

LOL! I thought I was the only one. I spent an hour searching under and around bushes for this one and couldn't find it: GC2BV74.

 

In my defense, Hint #2 had not been added at the time I was there and right in the middle of bushes is sure where the GPSr put me. I was also there prior to someone posting a picture of it. Now that someone has.... how did I not find that!!? Sadly I may never know...

Edited by e5c4p3artist
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Isonzo Karst

+Isonzo Karst

Posted
Posted

I own a number of multi-caches. Finding these might involve locating a micros in a tree. Though I do try to stay away from that predictable form of the stage - some stages are stainless geo-stakes, some are large mobiles made of bicycle parts hanging in trees, some are ammo cans, lock and locks, decons... more ammo cans.

 

But some are just micros in trees. Yep. They are.

 

On the other hand, I have decided that I will never again hunt a film can in the boot jack of a palm.

Sometimes I can't know that until I'm there, but once I realize that the cache is indeed a film can in the palm, I can call off the hunt, log my dnf and move along, no harm done.

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Chokecherry

+Chokecherry

Posted
Posted

Tree sap on my fingers just ruins the experience...

 

If a little tree sap ruins the experience, I'd hate to think what mud, or stream crossings, or mountain laurel, or rose buses, or greenbriar (and more as desired) does to your experience!

 

My tree experiences usually include mud and all things thorny. Or the bogs. Seems like lots and lots bogs are involved in this. Not long ago stepped into a bog sunk in a little. Wasn't wearing appropriate shoes but big stupid sandals (because it was an afterwork deal) and I literally had the thought that if I fall on my butt in the bog that's ok because the stinky water and mud will just wash off when I get home and I'm already wet. My last concern was the tree sap that I got all over me. Can't imagine caching without getting dirty.

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Ecylram

+Ecylram

Posted
Posted (edited)

I can't say that micro's in tree's are my favorite. I have some color blindness so it makes even more challenging. In my area they are just overdone but they don't fall into my most hated category that includes cedar & juniper bushes.

 

While they are overdone in my area, I do come across some that have a twist. One was film canister stuck in the hole of a small birdhouse, others are cryo tubes wrapped to the branch of a deciduous tree that blends in, then there are the ones that were covered in bark and stuck in the hole of a tree. Another was built into a fake branch and yet another was a 3.5 star difficulty where it blended perfectly into a root. Oh...and the one that was a fake bee hive.

 

My favorite was inside the canopy of a tree where the branches looked like a spider web. The film container was stick inside a large oversized rubber spider tied to the branches. It spooked more than a few cachers.

 

Edited to add another one...

 

A cache that was part of a series. It had a great title and story that was (IIRC) built around 'Talk Like A Pirate Day'. It was attached to a glow in the dark skeleton. We really enjoyed that one.

Edited by Ecylram
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Isonzo Karst

+Isonzo Karst

Posted
Posted

...I just ask "Why hide a Micro in a tree."...

'Cause ammo cans are hard to tie to the branch.

 

One day I found an ammo can in a tree, stuck on a broken off branch about waist level. For some reason, I found this wonderful.

 

Why had I never seen this "hide" style before? Why had I never thought to "hide" an ammo can this way?

 

I dunno why it had never occurred to me before, but now I own an ammo can stuck on the side of the tree, about waist high.

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geodarts

+geodarts

Posted
Posted (edited)

Although Im not a huge fan of micros, 90% of the fun of geocaching is in the hunt, not the find. Personally I would enjoy finding more caches in trees, regardless of their size.

 

I am just the opposite. I can take or leave the hunt, but 90 percent of the fun is the find. Well, actually it is the location. But trees can be in a nice location and I have enjoyed climbing a few to retrieve an ammo box.

Edited by mulvaney
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KBLAST

+KBLAST

Posted
Posted (edited)

Terrain in the Columbus Area

 

Not sure if you mean THESE kinds of trees. I LOVE these. I plan on climbing them all. :laughing:

 

I just recently got called about some new life insurance. I was asked, "Do you climb cliffs or trees?" I said, "Yes I do." "How high do you typically climb?" "20-30 feet." "What is the highest you've ever climbed?" "50-60 feet." "How many trees have you climbed in the last year?" "15-20?" "How many will you climb in the next year?" "As many as I can." "Do you climb in groups and use equipment?" "Always."

 

I was initially denied life insurance for this stuff (it has since been resolved).

 

My favorite part was, "Have you lost over 25 pounds in the last year?" "Yes." "How did you do that?" "CLIMBING TREES!!!!"

 

As far as micros - most high climbs don't have branches big enough for anything bigger than a micro - however there are quite a few ammo boxes up 40-50 feet in the air in some pretty sweet trees!!!

Edited by KBLAST
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brslk

+brslk

Posted
Posted

They beat the heck out of micros in lamp post skirts.

 

This is the correct answer. :laughing:

 

Micros in pine trees? Between being hard to spot, getting pricked, and pine sap, yep, they can be annoying. I'll give them 5 minutes before going with the DNF, usually. And I'd roll with the term Conifer. I've been corrected too many times referring to a Spruce as a Pine. :D

 

The answer is 'evergreen' my friend.

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SeekerOfTheWay

+SeekerOfTheWay

Posted
Posted

I own a number of multi-caches. Finding these might involve locating a micros in a tree. Though I do try to stay away from that predictable form of the stage - some stages are stainless geo-stakes, some are large mobiles made of bicycle parts hanging in trees, some are ammo cans, lock and locks, decons... more ammo cans.

 

But some are just micros in trees. Yep. They are.

 

On the other hand, I have decided that I will never again hunt a film can in the boot jack of a palm.

Sometimes I can't know that until I'm there, but once I realize that the cache is indeed a film can in the palm, I can call off the hunt, log my dnf and move along, no harm done.

 

i have a fake golf ball in the jack of a palm at a golf course. Would you hunt that? :laughing: i was being nice placing it there because the ground sand was full of fire ants!

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knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted

THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT. PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. NOT ALL EVERGREEN TREES ARE PINES!!! EDUCATE YOURSELVES SO YOU DON'T COME ACROSS AS AN EVERGREEN DUMMY!!

 

Spruce: notice the short, pointy, pointy needles that go all around the stem and the thin segments to the cone

 

sitka-spruce-cones_8873.jpg

 

Pine: Notice the nice, long, soft fragrant needles, the woody pinecone.

pine.jpg

 

Balsam Fir (oooh, they smell so sweet and good in the summer heat). Needles like a spruce, except they are on a flat plane and are soft, not prickly:

balsam_fir_branch.JPG

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PeoriaBill

+PeoriaBill

Posted
Posted

In response to the OP's question: I do not enjoy camouflaged nanos tucked under the branch of a huge pine tree. At some point the hunt has gone beyond geocaching and is a tedious search. I feel the same way about caches placed in the large rocks under bridges, rocks placed in rock piles, and caches under rip rap. The fun soon disappears and you have to decide how much time to put into finding the cache. I will give it a good try then record my DNF and move on. Peoria Bill :>)

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Ephemeral Moment

Ephemeral Moment

Posted
Posted

It isn't that I hate a particular brand of cache, I just ask "Why hide a Micro in a tree." I've been to a couple micro caches where it is a needle in a haystack type thing, and enjoyed the experience, but trees just irritate the heck out of me. Tree sap on my fingers just ruins the experience...

 

Anybody out there enjoy finding micros in trees? opine please

 

I'm not a fan of any size cache in/under a holly bush.

 

My third bloody cache was in a holly bush, not the best experience I've had :laughing:

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BAMBOOZLE

+BAMBOOZLE

Posted
Posted

I've found tons of them and like them fine, esp. in the woods. Most of my hides are micro's in trees....in areas where you get a huge amount of rain it's good to hide caches off the ground.

I will say I find the diff rating for most of these too low...many are 1-1 1/2 ( I find I tend to do this myself )

A camo'ed bison hidden in a thick tree can be tough.....you have to view it at just the right angle ( I've spent a long time on some that were silver and not camo'ed ).

I think a well done camo'ed bison in a tree is a 2 or 3 at min.

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terrkan78

+terrkan78

Posted
Posted

Anybody out there enjoy finding micros in trees? opine please

 

Depends on the type of tree. I never knew so many varieties of evil, bloodthirsty trees existed before I started geocaching! Bushes, yes - I learned the evils of holly and brambles at a young age. But trees? I always thought of trees as benign. No more! :laughing:

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DragonsWest

+DragonsWest

Posted
Posted

I'm ambivalent regarding micros, though they can become tedious, when that's all you can find in an area. I went out on Sunday with about 10 trackables to place and was only able to place 3 of them. :laughing:

 

In some instances I find a micro to be a cop-out, rather than put some real thought and effort into a cache. I've done a few and usually they are what the placement calls for. I try to place caches which are small to medium, as they accommodate trade items and trackables. :laughing:

 

What does test my patience is micros deep into the state and county parks, where there's an abundance of cover for larger hides. I certainly understand the micro and nano hides in urban environments, though expending a little time and exercising some ingenuity can still yield larger cache sizes with very clever cover. I find part of the fun of hiding caches is in trying to come up with the camouflage and for whatever success I've had, I know I can still do better. :laughing:

 

But I'll concede again the point that 'Geocaching is not the same thing to all geocachers.' Many are pleased to find the cache and move on to the next, no matter the size. Trying to impress one's values upon others is more regrettable than all the micros in the woods.

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mountainman38

+mountainman38

Posted
Posted

I'm ambivalent regarding micros, though they can become tedious, when that's all you can find in an area. I went out on Sunday with about 10 trackables to place and was only able to place 3 of them. :laughing:

 

In some instances I find a micro to be a cop-out, rather than put some real thought and effort into a cache. I've done a few and usually they are what the placement calls for. I try to place caches which are small to medium, as they accommodate trade items and trackables. :laughing:

 

What does test my patience is micros deep into the state and county parks, where there's an abundance of cover for larger hides. I certainly understand the micro and nano hides in urban environments, though expending a little time and exercising some ingenuity can still yield larger cache sizes with very clever cover. I find part of the fun of hiding caches is in trying to come up with the camouflage and for whatever success I've had, I know I can still do better. :laughing:

 

But I'll concede again the point that 'Geocaching is not the same thing to all geocachers.' Many are pleased to find the cache and move on to the next, no matter the size. Trying to impress one's values upon others is more regrettable than all the micros in the woods.

While I don't share your viewpoint on the lower value of micros (I like a good hunt, and the size of the target doesn't really matter -- smaller just makes it more of a challenge!), I must say to the bolded part above: Bravo! This has to be one of the highest quality, most sensible statements I've seen on this forum (or any other).

 

Thanks for a good reminder.

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DragonsWest

+DragonsWest

Posted
Posted

I'm ambivalent regarding micros, though they can become tedious, when that's all you can find in an area. I went out on Sunday with about 10 trackables to place and was only able to place 3 of them. :laughing:

 

In some instances I find a micro to be a cop-out, rather than put some real thought and effort into a cache. I've done a few and usually they are what the placement calls for. I try to place caches which are small to medium, as they accommodate trade items and trackables. :laughing:

 

What does test my patience is micros deep into the state and county parks, where there's an abundance of cover for larger hides. I certainly understand the micro and nano hides in urban environments, though expending a little time and exercising some ingenuity can still yield larger cache sizes with very clever cover. I find part of the fun of hiding caches is in trying to come up with the camouflage and for whatever success I've had, I know I can still do better. :laughing:

 

But I'll concede again the point that 'Geocaching is not the same thing to all geocachers.' Many are pleased to find the cache and move on to the next, no matter the size. Trying to impress one's values upon others is more regrettable than all the micros in the woods.

While I don't share your viewpoint on the lower value of micros (I like a good hunt, and the size of the target doesn't really matter -- smaller just makes it more of a challenge!), I must say to the bolded part above: Bravo! This has to be one of the highest quality, most sensible statements I've seen on this forum (or any other).

 

Thanks for a good reminder.

 

That last bit became the enduring epiphany I brought back with me from Geowoodstock. It's a funny thing when, despite your best intentions, you learn something. :laughing:

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JohnX

JohnX

Posted
Posted

Conifers are trees that bear cones. Evergreens are trees that keep their leaves year round. Therefore, when calling spruce and pine as conifers you are being more exact than claiming they are both evergreens. Consider the Holly bush. They are evergreens but not conifers. Anyone ever see a magnolia cone? Thanks for reading this pedant rant.

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jamadad

+jamadad

Posted
Posted

As far as I'm concerned, ALL EVERGREENS SHOULD BE OFF LIMITS. Here in Colorado it seems like every cache is in a pine or a juniper. The fun-factor is greatly reduced when you know every time you geocache, you're going to come home bloody. I would appreciate the use of some imagination, for a change!

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