Worst thing you've ever grabbed while searching?

[+Buzzy204]

While out looking for a cache I reached up in a log and grabbed something that moved, yeah it was a possum and he didn't play dead at all. What's the worst thing you've grabbed?

[Space*Cadet]

I once grabbed a lizard that was sunning itself on top of the cache, when I reached for it!

I was relieved it wasn't a snake!

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

While out looking for a cache I reached up in a log and grabbed something that moved, yeah it was a possum and he didn't play dead at all. What's the worst thing you've grabbed?

WOW, Opossums are nasty. Did you get bit? I grabbed a field mouse from a hollow spot in a tree. Funny thing is I saw it and thought it was the cache. Things just look different at night and my flashlight must have froze him.

[+sgtzara]

Dog poo, at the base of a post. Opps - thank heaven for wet wipes.

[+wimseyguy]

A copperhead's fangs. Or more accurately it grabbed me.

[+Buzzy204]

(Note to self, carry wet wipes)I was wearing gloves and happily grabbed him by the non biting end but man was he upset. I turned loose faster than the speed of light, screamed likea little girl.

[+Buzzy204]

A copperhead's fangs. Or more accurately it grabbed me.

Oh crap. Bet you carry a stick now.

[+Chief301]

Wasp nest.....how I managed not to get stung is beyond me 😳

[+StarBrand]

I grabbed a Prairie Rattlesnake once early in my caching career - luckily it was like 38F degrees out so it was just trying to warm itself under a sagebrush near ground zero and was slow to move. I wasn't. I learned to use my staff to probe such areas.

[+Don_J]

While out looking for a cache I reached up in a log and grabbed something that moved, yeah it was a possum and he didn't play dead at all. What's the worst thing you've grabbed?

 

You didn't realize that it was a live possum when you poked it with your stick first?

 

I don't put my hands anywhere that I can't see without poking around first, and I don't assume that anything that could be alive, isn't. If a "fake" rattlesnake bites me five miles from the trail head with no cell coverage, I could die or lose a limb.

Edited March 12, 2013 by Don_J

[Clan Riffster]

In order of negative effects on the body?

 

1 ) Wasp nest. Multiple stings.

2 ) High voltage power connection. Knocked me about 5 feet.

3 ) Pygmy rattlesnake. No bite, just earned some gray hairs.

4 ) Dog poo. No wet wipes available.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

The Gummee half (more than) once thought that a prickly pear might have been a cache. Not living in a cactus producing climate, a few trips west have resulted in her "remembering" (albeit a bit late) a couple of times.

 

Nothing really any worse than that.

 

We have more trouble placing caches, early in the spring. Many times, the bears aren't out and about yet! Luckily, we ARE used to bears and where they hide/sleep/hibernate.

 

EDIT to add: Just remembered STEPPING on a hiding fawn soon after we started caching. It bleated loudly and blasted away. That just about made stuff run down my leg -- but, mama was watching -- and she blew past me about 60 miles per hour too! That DID make stuff run down my leg!

Edited March 12, 2013 by Gitchee-Gummee

[+Buzzy204]

Yeah, it is a Captain Hindsight type of thread

[+T.D.M.22]

Dog poo. The cache is(was? still is?) supposedly a fake piece of dog poo, at the entrance to an off leash area. I stopped looking for it after that...and that's why I make sure there are always sanitizer and alcohol pads in my first aid kit.

[+stijnhommes]

My worst grab was plain dirt (no wipes available) until I went for a cache that was disguised as a piece of gum on a gum wall....

[+JKMonkey]

frozen dog poop that I thought was a rock. luckily I had some hand sanitizer in the car.

[+the4dirtydogs]

I had grabbed some poison oak stems without leaves and then went to the bathroom behind a tree right after. Lets just say you can break out with just touching the stems . I have a bad reaction to PO. I carry alcohol wipes with me when I hike in these areas.

[+lamoracke]

was searching in a tree crotch, like 4 1/2 feet off the ground and inside, dog poo. Its not so much the dog poo itself, but who would think to watch out for it there?

[AZcachemeister]

Not sure if I actually *GRABBED* it or not, but I got a scorpion sting while reaching under a ground-level lampskirt.

I was sure where the cache was, and wasn't looking at my hands because I was watching the other park users.

Stung like hell for a minute or two, and the finger 'felt funny' for a couple of hours after.

I guess I was lucky it was a scorpion and not a Black Widow.

[+The_Incredibles_]

Dog poop.

[Space*Cadet]

was searching in a tree crotch, like 4 1/2 feet off the ground and inside, dog poo. Its not so much the dog poo itself, but who would think to watch out for it there?

What you probably found was Raccoon poo! They will usually defecate before climbing to their tree nest.

Edited March 13, 2013 by CachingHuntress

[+Too Tall John]

Hornet's nest here.

 

Somehow, I avoided being stung.

[+wmpastor]

I grabbed a Prairie Rattlesnake once early in my caching career - luckily it was like 38F degrees out so it was just trying to warm itself under a sagebrush near ground zero and was slow to move. I wasn't. I learned to use my staff to probe such areas.

"Staff" as in stick, or "staff" as in the posse of assistants you bring on your geocaching expeditions?

Edited March 13, 2013 by wmpastor

[+ByronForestPreserve]

Surprised no one has said poison ivy yet...there was a cache a bit west that required side stepping along a very narrow rock ledge 20 feet above a creek, and there were HUGE poison ivy vines growing along the cliff. Impossible to avoid. Can't say it was the worst thing, though, since (so far) I'm not allergic. I did find a raccoon sleeping right next to an ammo can under a burned out trunk--practically curled up around it. It was the middle of winter, and the thing just stared at me for a minute before scampering off. Sooo...Guess I'll have to go with "wasp nest" for the worst.

[+FunnyNose]

A dead raccoon

 

Raccoon poop

 

Mama Possum with babies

[+redwoodkestrel]

I poked a black widow once while looking for a bison that was stuck in a hole. No bite, luckily. Beyond that, just poison oak I think... I've already had it twice this winter. I'm good about watching for it, but it blends in so much more without the leaves...

[+Dgwphotos]

Stinging nettle... Unpleasant, but not as awful as some of the stuff others have described.

[+PeoriaBill]

Caching in No. Dallas, Tx. I stuck my hand in a hole in a tree to retrieve a cache. I saw the ants, but they were little ones, not fire ants, and I didn't figure they could hurt. When I withdrew my hand it was covered with ants. Ok for a second or two, then they started to bite in chorus. Hand swelled and itched for days.

[+StarBrand]

I grabbed a Prairie Rattlesnake once early in my caching career - luckily it was like 38F degrees out so it was just trying to warm itself under a sagebrush near ground zero and was slow to move. I wasn't. I learned to use my staff to probe such areas.

"Staff" as in stick, or "staff" as in the posse of assistants you bring on your geocaching expeditions?

 

 

[+Wintz50]

A syringe.....

[+Stryped2131]

A syringe.....

yuk! did it prick you? hope is so you got some blood work done.

[+Panda Inc]

A cactus on the 3rd or 4th stage of a 7 stage multi. Fortunately tweezers are a staple in the cache bag.

 

Cheers,

PandA Inc

[+Wintz50]

A syringe.....

yuk! did it prick you? hope is so you got some blood work done.

 

No luckily it didnt and im also glad that ive had my hep vaccines.

[+CamoriCouple]

Just this past Sunday I had some snow fall into my shoe whilst I crossed a small sno bank to get at a cache....it was COLD!

 

I think I've learned more with this thread than all the other combined.

 

Carry a pokie stick.

Carry wet-wipes.

Carry Black Widow anti-venom.

Carry scorpion anti-venom.

Carry rattlesnake ant-venom.

Carry honey. (To draw ants away from the cache)

Carry tweezers.

Carry a blindfold. (To keep the possum asleep)

Carry a smoke bomb.

Carry sugar cubes. (To draw coons away from the cache)

Carry calomine lotion.

Get my hep vaccine.

Get my tetnus vaccine.

 

NEW!!! Courtesy The Incredibles!

 

Carry extra batteries for my GPS.

Carry extra batteries for my I-Phone.

Carry salt. (For the cougar).

 

Get a bigger backpack.

 

Thanks everyone!!!

 

Edited March 13, 2013 by CamoriCouple

[+SoonerCardsFan]

I was near a multi-use trail by a river. Lifting rocks under a bridge looking for a cache. Lifted a rock and found the underside to be covered with poo. The animal leaving this poo used TP. Thank goodness I had gloves on. Gloves went in nearest trash can. The rock was the one the cache was under. Sent CO an email that this one probably needed to be archived. He thought so too.

[+JBnW]

Mexican free-tailed bat

[+Ike 13]

During a CITO I found a shopping bag with eggs. I wasn't careful enough and crushed one and it splattered everywhere. Rotten egg does not taste or smell pleasent.

[+cerberus1]

In Cito, what I thought was a hot water botle turned out to be a filled colostomy bag. I know the difference now...

 

Caching, I'm pretty careful, using my stick or shining a light in first.

[nonaeroterraqueous]

I saw the ants, but they were little ones, not fire ants, and I didn't figure they could hurt. When I withdrew my hand it was covered with ants. Ok for a second or two, then they started to bite in chorus.

 

I've noticed that about some ants. There's probably some kind of pheromone that they use to say, "On my mark...get ready...BITE!"

[+3isamagic#]

Just this past Sunday I had some snow fall into my shoe whilst I crossed a small sno bank to get at a cache....it was COLD!

 

I think I've learned more with this thread than all the other combined.

 

Carry a pokie stick.

Carry wet-wipes.

Carry Black Widow anti-venom.

Carry scorpion anti-venom.

Carry rattlesnake ant-venom.

Carry honey. (To draw ants away from the cache)

Carry tweezers.

Carry a blindfold. (To keep the possum asleep)

Carry a smoke bomb.

Carry sugar cubes. (To draw coons away from the cache)

Carry calomine lotion.

Get my hep vaccine.

Get my tenus vaccine.

 

Get a bigger backpack.

 

Thanks everyone!!!

 

 

lol!!!!

[+Apes77]

A crispy dead toooo long rat. It was gross!

[+The_Incredibles_]

Just this past Sunday I had some snow fall into my shoe whilst I crossed a small sno bank to get at a cache....it was COLD!

 

I think I've learned more with this thread than all the other combined.

 

Carry a pokie stick.

Carry wet-wipes.

Carry Black Widow anti-venom.

Carry scorpion anti-venom.

Carry rattlesnake ant-venom.

Carry honey. (To draw ants away from the cache)

Carry tweezers.

Carry a blindfold. (To keep the possum asleep)

Carry a smoke bomb.

Carry sugar cubes. (To draw coons away from the cache)

Carry calomine lotion.

Get my hep vaccine.

Get my tenus vaccine.

 

Get a bigger backpack.

 

Thanks everyone!!!

 

 

Plus extra batteries. If your GPS dies and you get lost, you may get eaten by a cougar.

[+EscapeFromFlatland]

Wasp nest.....how I managed not to get stung is beyond me 😳

 

Yeah, I've done that on a few guardrail caches.

[+nittany dave]

wasps, bees, bugs, spiders but the first thing that sprang to mind was a vibrator. It wasn't new.

[+fuzziebear3]

CITO -- a nice full diaper, several days old.

[mac367]

For me it was a toad I pulled out of a small hole in a tree thinking it was the cache. I am not sure which of us was more surprised.

[+Alkhalikoi]

I once decided to CITO a brown balloon that was dangling from the top of a barb wire fence. Except it was a long piece of freshly killed squirrel guts! Ugh!

[+Manville Possum]

Dog poo, at the base of a post. Opps - thank heaven for wet wipes.

Same here. The listing was called "That looks real" and is near a dog park. I think it was karma because of my fake turd cache called walking the dog.

[+Understandblue]

A rat skull.

 

And while reaching for a decoy on a cache I still haven't found, I stepped on a coral snake. Good times.

[+Off Grid]

While out looking for a cache I reached up in a log and grabbed something that moved, yeah it was a possum and he didn't play dead at all. What's the worst thing you've grabbed?

Worse thing we have walked into was two huge bears worse thing I've grabbed was something that made my hand smell had no idea what it was but the type of smell that makes your puking senses tingle