TOTT what to use for caches far off the ground

[wheeldeal72]

I've been caching for many years but usually don't bring much other than bug spray and a pen, but lately I've been doing more caches with my kids and have been more and more frustrated by caches that are placed 20 feet up a tree, telephone pole or lite pole with no visible way up.   I've read logs that say previous successful finders have used their TTOT to reach a cache, but I can't find any magnetic telescoping rods much longer then 5 feet.   Do more determined people travel with a 30 foot extension ladder in their car and how to not been seen a parking lot by authorities making a move like that?  Is their a tool out there I can buy for these types of caches?

 

[+cerberus1]

I feel the bigger question is if you know whether the container is easily picked up with a tool, or are they secured in place.  

That varies by location, but most times it's mentioned somewhere in the description.

We've seen a lot of cache hides get ruined (multis mostly) because someone used a tool to pry it out, rather than climbing the tree.

We prefer rope (and ascenders/descenders) for trees without lower branches, but have carried everything from a web two-story escape ladder, a 40' cable cave ladder, and yes, to a 24' extension ladder.

Permission for the placement of that cache is key, as "stealth" ain't gonna happen.  

 

If you're simply picking things hanging unattached, a painters extension, or lightbulb pole should work (with a little rigging for the end).

A friend has a paint roller on the end of his painter pole.  The end plate for the roller cut off.  

Our bulb changer pole for the house reaches 24 feet, but ran 75 bucks.   Most we see are11-16' in length...

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2020 by cerberus1

[+ecanderson]

11 hours ago, wheeldeal72 said:

I've been caching for many years but usually don't bring much other than bug spray and a pen, but lately I've been doing more caches with my kids and have been more and more frustrated by caches that are placed 20 feet up a tree, telephone pole or lite pole with no visible way up.   I've read logs that say previous successful finders have used their TTOT to reach a cache, but I can't find any magnetic telescoping rods much longer then 5 feet.   Do more determined people travel with a 30 foot extension ladder in their car and how to not been seen a parking lot by authorities making a move like that?  Is their a tool out there I can buy for these types of caches?

 

No, we make our own telescoping magnetic (and add a coat hanger hook) using readily available telescoping rods (at any hardware store) a few magnets and wire and a bit of duct tape.

[+niraD]

I used to have a 20-foot telescoping fruit-picker that I used for a number of elevated caches. I never encountered one that required a magnet on the end, but if I had, I'm sure I could have figured out how to attach a magnet.

 

Edit to add: Actually, I think it was a 14-foot telescoping fruit picker, which had a 20-foot reach when held overhead by a six-foot-something person like me.

Edited August 17, 2023 by niraD

[+digby645]

So what is the easiest and cheapest way to make a TOTT that is 7 metres long with a coat hanger on the end for retrieving hanging containers in trees?  I would prefer something that folds up to carry easily or have in the boot of the car.

 

[+TeamRabbitRun]

7 hours ago, digby645 said:

So what is the easiest and cheapest way to make a TOTT that is 7 metres long with a coat hanger on the end for retrieving hanging containers in trees?  I would prefer something that folds up to carry easily or have in the boot of the car.

 

 

 

Nuthin' like overkill:

 

https://www.amazon.com/DOCAZOO-Extension-Telescopic-Retrieval-Telescoping/dp/B08159BMJH?th=1

[+Joe_L]

I’ve never tried this, but consider 1-inch Schedule 40 PVC pipe with threaded fittings.  The pipe can be cut to lengths that are easy to transport.  Smooth fittings (couplings) would also work for joining the pipe, but they can be difficult to pull apart.  

[+digby645]

The DOCAZOO tool sounds like exactly what I need! Thanks TeamRabbitRun, unfortunately not available atm on AMAZON.  The PVC pipe may be a cheaper and quicker option, I will investigate that first.

[+thebruce0]

@digby645 Yeah many of the older ones are out of stock. You could try this 24 foot pole, one of my go-tos.

[+niraD]

20 hours ago, Joe_L said:

I’ve never tried this, but consider 1-inch Schedule 40 PVC pipe with threaded fittings.  The pipe can be cut to lengths that are easy to transport.  Smooth fittings (couplings) would also work for joining the pipe, but they can be difficult to pull apart.  

My concern with a DIY pole made of PVC would be whether the finished pole ends up being rigid enough. By itself, 7m of schedule 40 PVC is going to have a fair amount of flex, and each joint is just going to add to that.

[+TeamRabbitRun]

...and of course, with any pole to be used to reach UP in to a tree, make sure it's non-electrically-conductive.

 

It would be nice to be remembered in these fora after we're gone, but not like that.

[+Mysterion604]

I have heard of some locals buying golf ball water trap retrieval net-poles  from outdoors / sports stores, and modifying them.

Edited September 16, 2023 by mysterion604

[+niraD]

3 hours ago, mysterion604 said:

gold ball water trap retrieval net-poles

By any chance, to you mean GOLF ball water trap retrieval net-poles?

[+Goldenwattle]

On 8/8/2023 at 11:38 PM, niraD said:

7m of schedule 40 PVC i

7m is not long enough. Last 'fishing' cache we attempted the 8m pole only reached about half way to the cache (if that). We tried to get three fishing caches that day. Only one we could (just) reach and retrieve. The others were WAY out of reach of the 8m pole. I think a long ladder will be needed and someone standing on the top with the pole. 'Naturally' only marked 2T. I hate fishing caches. They are getting higher and higher. The last one I mentioned was so high we could hardly see the tiny bison tube. I'm not sure that the long ladder we have with the pole will still reach high enough. I see a bunch of unfound caches on a map and think that will make a pleasant walk, and then discover they are all fishing caches. Too many of them.

Edited August 17, 2023 by Goldenwattle

[+niraD]

3 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

7m is not long enough.

If you need more, then feel free to get a longer pole, a longer ladder, or both. I think I came up with the 7m figure based on the OP's comment about "caches that are placed 20 feet up a tree, telephone pole or lite pole".

 

Although, to be fair, you'll get another 1-2m beyond the length of the pole just because the person using it will almost certainly have the lower end up in the air, not planted on the ground.

 

 

3 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

We tried to get three fishing caches that day. Only one we could (just) reach and retrieve. The others were WAY out of reach of the 8m pole.

 

 

My mind boggles at the idea of an 8m pole not being long enough. I'd hate to prune a tree or pick fruit or retrieve a geocache with a pole that long. Most of the extension poles I've used have been about half that, and they've been about as unwieldy as I'd want to deal with. And apparently, you need one that is even longer.

 

Maybe these aren't "fishing" caches at all. Maybe they're drone caches, or something else. Have you asked around to see how others are retrieving them? Is everyone really using crazy long extension poles?

[+Goldenwattle]

7 hours ago, niraD said:

Maybe these aren't "fishing" caches at all. Maybe they're drone caches, or something else. Have you asked around to see how others are retrieving them? Is everyone really using crazy long extension poles?

They are listed as fishing ones. One we can possibly reach with a ladder and a pole, but the other one I still doubt we would reach it with out present pole. I haven't asked around, but some others have managed to log them. The highest one though has a lot of "too high" logs.

[+barefootjeff]

11 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

7m is not long enough. Last 'fishing' cache we attempted the 8m pole only reached about half way to the cache (if that). We tried to get three fishing caches that day. Only one we could (just) reach and retrieve. The others were WAY out of reach of the 8m pole.

 

I bought a 9 metre pole but the top metre is too thin and flexible to be useful so effectively it's only 8 metres. I've only used it on one outing so far when I successfully hooked and returned four caches in the Newcastle area. There was a fifth cache in an urban park that looked touch and go whether it'd be long enough, but there there were too many muggles about for me to even attempt it. If people want to place caches higher than I can reach, that's fine, it's their perogative, I don't have to find them all.

 

11 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

I think a long ladder will be needed and someone standing on the top with the pole.

 

Hmm...

[+Goldenwattle]

37 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

Hmm...

Exactly!! 

[+thebruce0]

1 hour ago, barefootjeff said:

Hmm...

 

Hmm...

 

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by thebruce0

[+Goldenwattle]

🤔😲 I think I'll skip the drone idea...

[+cerberus1]

I was thinking about doing a Vinney & Sue cache with a drone, when my climbing partner did it solo without me (I was sick...).

Years ago it woulda been iffy, but drones these days will grab n carry it easily.  Thanks for the reminder...

[+Joe_L]

Please don’t stand on a step ladder like that….

[+vw_k]

On 8/17/2023 at 1:15 PM, barefootjeff said:

 

I bought a 9 metre pole but the top metre is too thin and flexible to be useful so effectively it's only 8 metres. I've only used it on one outing so far when I successfully hooked and returned four caches in the Newcastle area. There was a fifth cache in an urban park that looked touch and go whether it'd be long enough, but there there were too many muggles about for me to even attempt it. If people want to place caches higher than I can reach, that's fine, it's their perogative, I don't have to find them all.

 

 

I have an 9m extendable flagpole and also have this issue with the top section. It wiggles around a lot once it's 9m up in the air and once a cache container is picked up it bends too much due to the weight on it, I also leave the last section retracted to give me a less flexible end and what is in reality an 8m pole.

I've done one cache where I had to lift the base of the pole about chest high to retrieve the container meaning it was hard to control. Extendable flag/fishing poles are a lot more stable if you can keep the base end on the ground therefore I'd recommend that anyone considering one get the longest you can find. 10m ones are available.

[+Mysterion604]

On 8/16/2023 at 3:19 PM, niraD said:

By any chance, to you mean GOLF ball water trap retrieval net-poles?

 

Yes, golf. A much more disappointing thing than gold.

[+Viajero Perdido]

I carry a tool for creating a tool.  Often, around GZ you find tall slender poles sticking out of the ground everywhere, and with a little trimming, one can be made suitable for the task.

 

 

Bonus, if you leave the tool-you-adapted behind, other cachers may appreciate the gesture too.  And later, ants and fungi will be happy as the biodegradable thing slowly disappears.

 

So far, I haven't had to actually do this, as other well-equipped cachers were ahead of me, and indeed left something useful behind. 

 

(The tool pictured also rocks at turning tall slender dead poles into a campfire.)

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Viajero Perdido

[+wandersfar]

I am short to begin with, not getting any younger either. Snagging a cache up high in a tree is more about numbers - dragging around the equipment to grab what you can see from the ground…. If I read that I need tott I drive right by… I prefer unique locations and-sneaky hides even if I can’t find them a cool location makes up for giving up on a cache.. 

[+barefootjeff]

32 minutes ago, wandersfar said:

Snagging a cache up high in a tree is more about numbers

 

I bought a pole when one of my caching friends started hiding a few, but to date I've only used it about half a dozen times so it's hardly about numbers, for me it's just trying something different to broaden my caching experiences. Much like when I bought a kayak in 2014 in order to do the water access caches around here, I don't use it very often but it's still good fun getting out on the water, particularly with friends.

 

35 minutes ago, wandersfar said:

I prefer unique locations and-sneaky hides even if I can’t find them a cool location makes up for giving up on a cache.. 

 

Most of the caches I give FPs to are in awesome locations, but with few new caches being published around here I can't afford to be choosy. Anyway, I need the more mundane caches in order to get enough FPs to give out to those awesome ones.

 

But at the end of the day, caching covers a broad spectrum of interests and you don't have to do them all. Be happy with the ones you enjoy and ignore the rest.