Dangerous caches

[+OZ2CPU]

here is happy me, picture is only 1hr old, and yes it was a FTF hunt, and I won..

this picture is taken where I am only halve way to the cache,

we always use alot of safety when we climb this high, and newer one sec up there with no protection at all !!

it is SO much fun when you got the right equipment, and training :-)

and know how to limit your efford so it is slow and safe, give your self time to think and re-think every little move

so no wrongs are made, like how to change robes, how to tie up extra harness up there when a new robe must be mounted to climb higher

and while container is open and solve final puzzle up there, wow !! very hard, so I ended taking the puzzle down for solve on the ground,

another 25 minutes to solve that hard one :-) even on ground, imagine the people who thinks they can solve it up there.

all in all, we spend 4½ hrs at that one tree today and had a GREAT day to remember.

[+outdoorsaddix]

Id like to put it this way, you never really know what it is like to feel truly alive unless you experience what it is like to be moments away from death. I love tree caches were I have to free climb up 30 feet, or caches along a cliff where I have to walk up or along a narrow path with a sheer drop inches away form me. For some people there is nothing like knowing that you are fully in control of if you come out of an adventure alive or not.

[+Mad Dawgg]

Ad would someone tell the bears to stop chewing on my caches!

 

Ahhh so now we know the answer to that age old question....

 

Bears do indeed "cache' in the woods...!

[hiplainsdrifter]

oh goodness. If people don't want to look for risky caches they do not have to. That is the whole point of the rating system. I have had to shut down one awesome cache because people kept complaining that it was too dangerous, even when I clearly listed the hazards, equipment to mitigate those hazards, and called it a 5/5. Safety and risk are relative concepts, and I for one appreciate it when people push the envelope a little, including in geocaching. Much more fun than another lamp post hide.

[+The Jester]

I've used rock climbing techniques to get to caches, I've hiked miles into the wild, solo, for a cache - and probably other "dangerous" things, but nothing comes close to the danger of driving to caches...

[+Anonymike7]

Life is dangerous. We face danger every day, whether we recognize it or not. You could be hit by a car, contract MRSA, eat some bad shellfish. A meteor could fall on your head or you could trip and fall down the stairs. Even if you isolate yourself to prevent all these things, you might be struck by an embolism, aneurysm, or infarction. There's no such thing as a "safe" life.

 

Recognizing that we take face danger every day, and being aware of how to avoid that danger, are key life skills. Awareness of the dangers inherent in geocaching is simply an extension of those skills. If I hadn't been willing to take the risks inherent in some of my cache hunts, I'd have missed amazing experiences. To wit:

 

* A cliff-side Earthcache. Stunning landscape and view, but I didn't get too close to the edge.

* A tree-climbing cache in the middle of a city. Careful planning and research got me up and down safely.

* Hacking through dense, untracked reeds to wind up on an amazing, cracked-earth floodplain. Someone knew exactly where I was at all times.

 

...and those are just the ones that I recall immediately. Never mind that I've seen deer out in the wild and the fact that they can be very dangerous, or exposing myself to possible infection (knock wood) after getting scratched on thorns and scraped by rocks. Insect-borne dangers include West Nile, EEE, and Lyme disease.

 

Life is risky and dangerous, but it's meant to be lived. As I said above, isolation and "playing it safe" are no guarantee of safety. Approach things sanely and take calculated risks. Common sense (a trait far too many people lack) is a powerful ally and as they say, prior planning prevents poor performance.

[+spiritwolf922]

As has been mentioned by others, "dangerous" is in the opinion of the seeker. That said, there are some urban caches I will not attempt to seek because they are in "bad neighborhoods". We're talking places where there people (usually bystanders) have been shot next to a nice, little inner city park where lots of children play. No thanks! Sorry, but I won't be going to those parks to seek caches, even though I know by the map that they are there.

[+Harry Dolphin]

As has been mentioned by others, "dangerous" is in the opinion of the seeker. That said, there are some urban caches I will not attempt to seek because they are in "bad neighborhoods". We're talking places where there people (usually bystanders) have been shot next to a nice, little inner city park where lots of children play. No thanks! Sorry, but I won't be going to those parks to seek caches, even though I know by the map that they are there.

 

Well, we were once known as the 'most fearless' cachers about. (That may have been due to running across a three-lane highway...) Been to a few parks where we didn't really feel too safe. The one that made us rethink what we were doing was in a nice enough park, with skateboarding park. It did rather look like the guy down the street from where we parked was selling drugs out of his trunk. But we thought nothing of that. Coming back, however, there was a car near the cachemobile. Driver seemed to be casing the cachemobile. We hurried toward her, and the other car drove off. That was what made us reconsider where we wanted to go geocaching. Not the neighborhood. Not the drug dealers. Not guys having sex on a Sunday morning in a park. (We refer to that as the church service.) Not cliffs. Not trees. Not swamps. It was our fear for the safety of the cachemobile!

[DannyCaffeine]

Some people like the adrenaline rush. That is why sports like rock climbing and bungee jumping are popular among thrill seekers.

[+The Jester]

Some people like the adrenaline rush. That is why sports like rock climbing and bungee jumping are popular among thrill seekers.

Rock climbing is too much work for an adrenaline rush. You only get one when you do something wrong and fall - and that's not much of a thrill, I'll tell you.

[+Vater_Araignee]

Q: What exactly is a dangerous cache?

A: One that is booby trapped.

 

The terrain does not mack a cache dangerous, inexperience and or lack of preparation make the trek to the cache dangerous.

I regularly travel across bogs where massasaugas are common with zero fear.

As far as I am concerned it is more dangerous to walk across a prairie with grass taller than 3 inches just because one is less likely to pay attention.

[Phantom0MG]

My issue isn't with dangerous caches, I do go after a few myself. I take issue when a dangerous cahce isn't listed properly as such - i.e. proper raitings, attributes, and listings of any special equipment one may need. Yes, I understand when you get ot a cacher or at least in the area of such you can then determine if it is beyond your ability or current gear, but that is a bit of a waste of time.

My point exactly it is better to go looking in areas that you're certain of but that's only my opinion other people think differently but again You can ever know what you need if you go looking for dangerous caches

Not true.

Read the description, read the logs, check the attributes, check the ratings. Then go back and do it again and if you're still not sure, it may not be for you.

sometimes the cache is placed years or moments ago and it can be possible that the terrain has changed meaning that the information is incorrect meaning DANGEROUS CACHES!!!!

[+bflentje]

Isn't it a bit odd that some caches are in places that are dangerous with harmful animals and unstable terrain ?

Although some people like adventure is it better/easier to get one in a safer place what do you think?

 

Biggest EYE-ROLL I'VE GIVEN THIS MONTH SO FAR.

[Phantom0MG]

>Going a bit off the original topic here. I looked at the 3 finds the OP has,

>saw there were photos posted, but they had nothing to do with the cache and nothing to do with geocaching at all.

>Printing cards with those pictures to leave in a cache as a signature item would be a great idea.

> But talking as a cache owner, they don't belong in the image gallery. just my opinion.

 

OMG !! well I like that opera too, alot actually..

but posting those pictures into cache logs, is just soo wrong.

please upload pictures you took your self, of your and your group

of things your saw or did at that very cache location,

such pictures are fun for you and others to look at,

sos but i put pictures up like that because:I dont expect anyone to be bothered about me or what i put,no one wastes their time because they cant be bothered and the phantom of the opera is AWESOME!! LOL but sorry i do see why you brought it up

[Phantom0MG]

Isn't it a bit odd that some caches are in places that are dangerous with harmful animals and unstable terrain ?

Although some people like adventure is it better/easier to get one in a safer place what do you think?

 

Biggest EYE-ROLL I'VE GIVEN THIS MONTH SO FAR.

HAHAHAHA not funny i dont appreciate sarcasm

[+bflentje]

Isn't it a bit odd that some caches are in places that are dangerous with harmful animals and unstable terrain ?

Although some people like adventure is it better/easier to get one in a safer place what do you think?

 

Biggest EYE-ROLL I'VE GIVEN THIS MONTH SO FAR.

HAHAHAHA not funny i dont appreciate sarcasm

 

You apparently don't appreciate anything more than a 1/1 cache either.

[+mountainman38]

We have dangerous animals in our yards here....

 

I prefer to be out in the woods than having a viewing party of mall parking lots. That's why I go for the caches I go for. There are some inherent dangers to that. But the reward far outweighs the risk.

 

It took me about 6 months of caching to reach this point. Now I generally get caches only if they're somewhere new (new state, for instance), or have some other interest factor. Just getting easy cache after easy cache is like watching the same television program over and over and over, just on different tv's.

[+mountainman38]

here is happy me, picture is only 1hr old, and yes it was a FTF hunt, and I won..

this picture is taken where I am only halve way to the cache,

we always use alot of safety when we climb this high, and newer one sec up there with no protection at all !!

it is SO much fun when you got the right equipment, and training :-)

and know how to limit your efford so it is slow and safe, give your self time to think and re-think every little move

so no wrongs are made, like how to change robes, how to tie up extra harness up there when a new robe must be mounted to climb higher

and while container is open and solve final puzzle up there, wow !! very hard, so I ended taking the puzzle down for solve on the ground,

another 25 minutes to solve that hard one :-) even on ground, imagine the people who thinks they can solve it up there.

all in all, we spend 4½ hrs at that one tree today and had a GREAT day to remember.

 

That is an AWESOME cache! I would love to do a tree cache someday -- especially one with a puzzle at the end.

[+littlegemsy]

As others have said. Geocaching can be combined with other outdoor activities which carry some "danger". Hiking in the woods/hills/mountains carries some risk. Some caches require boating, rock climbing, caving, etc - all which have some risk (but the risk can be minimised if you take precautions, have the right equipment, etc). The D/T ratings (especially the T) should give you an indication of what you are in for. Higher D/T caches tend to also have more information on the page explaining what is involved.

 

I found the bit about "harmful animals" interesting - as the OP is from the UK. The scariest animal I've come across are cattle. (Though we do have the occasional Adder - I've never seen one in the wild though). There are some places in the world where "harmful animals" are much more common. E.g. you could find a poisonous snake or spider in an otherwise very ordinary place; i.e. going outside exposes you to danger. Or lions and tigers and bears...

 

Ahhh yes, our dangerous british animals. Badgers, Foxes, Hedgehogs and Squirrels - they're all out for blood

 

I must admit I'm somewhat confused by the concept. I think in the UK the biggest thing to fear is other human beings. Actually... that may well be true of places with bears and poisonous snakes too.

 

 

As for danger in other senses - it's a choice. And very relative. If you're allergic to them, you're more likely to die from a wasp sting than you are falling out of a standard british tree, frankly. Or being ravaged by an angry hedgehog.

[+CanadianRockies]

Ahhh yes, our dangerous british animals. Badgers, Foxes, Hedgehogs and Squirrels - they're all out for blood

You're unlikely to see me trying to pet any badgers.

[Troutonthebrain]

Hey but those acorn-throwing squirrels are quite vicious!

 

[+littlegemsy]

Ahhh yes, our dangerous british animals. Badgers, Foxes, Hedgehogs and Squirrels - they're all out for blood

You're unlikely to see me trying to pet any badgers.

 

True, but they dont tend to hang around just to see if there's a stray human they can attack

[+stijnhommes]

I'm currently on holiday in the Belgian Ardennes and I found a cache near a ravine. It was relatively easy to get to if you kept your wits about you, but I wouldn't bring young kids with me to that point. Yet I found a TB in there that specifically asked to be put in kid-friendly caches...

 

There are also a lot of caches in the area that require bouldering and spelunking. I wouldn't even think about hunting those on my own without backup for safety.