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What's your area's toughest cache?

Polgara

By Polgara
in General geocaching topics

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Polgara

+Polgara

Posted
Posted

Everyone has that one cache or several caches in their country or state that barely get found due to their difficulty, whether it be due to next to impossible terrain or a brain busting mental puzzle. What caches in your area fit on this list?

 

"The more I study nature, the more I am amazed at the Creator."

- Louis Pasteur

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

In NJ, Melvin's Multiple Madness has to be up there. It's a multi cache in a tidal flat. You have to time it right, starting your search on the outgoing tide, or you may find yourself up to your neck (literally) in water. Foul, deep muck, numerous water filled ditches, thick stands of phragmites and two wide creeks add to the challenge. To top it off, the owner provided two sets of coordinates for each leg, one false and the other one correct.

 

Covert-002 is another tough one, simply because there are so many places to look. It took a team of seasoned geocachers close to an hour to grab it. Those who found it quickly were just plain lucky.

 

GC5 is a bear, chiefly because of the insane bushwack needed to get to it. The walk is a little over a mile, but it could take two hours as you negotiate your way through thick stands of mountain laurel, and blueberry bushes. The last 1/4 mile is the hardest.

 

But probably the toughest cache in the state is Alluvial Material because it's stumped a lot of veteran geocachers, many of them multiple times.

 

For some reason, there aren't a lot of puzzle caches caches in NJ that are serious mental challenges. The few we have are largely ignored.

 

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on June 17, 2003 at 01:36 PM.]

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Dinoprophet

Dinoprophet

Posted
Posted

We have the Not Tellin' series. Except for two of them, though, their bark really is worse than their bite. I've done harder ones in the area, but these have a mystique and reputation that keeps most people away. Number 9 is definitely the hardest of the series.

 

Flat_MiGeo_B88.gif

Well the mountain was so beautiful that this guy built a mall and a pizza shack

Yeah he built an ugly city because he wanted the mountain to love him back -- Dar Williams

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pater47

+pater47

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by ChrisfromMS:

There's two in North Mississippi that don't get hit very much because of the terrain.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=4390 is very underrated in terms of terrain and is one of the older caches in the state. Read the logs.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=51237 is just straight buchwhacking for .6-.7 miles through some pretty dense stuff.

 

Chris, you ain't seen nuthin' yet! Be on the watch-out for one coming not too far from these very loosely based on a Charles Bronson movie (I ain't giving away any more details than that and it's still at least a month or two away.) The terrain will be similar in spots to the two aforementioned, but the difficulty will likely be 4.5 or 5.

 

Visit the Mississippi Geocaching Forum at

http://pub98.ezboard.com/bgeocachingms

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Marky

+Marky

Posted
Posted

The most difficult one closest to us (just 6.5 miles from our house, as the crow flies) is Sombroso Spur. It's about 0.5 miles of tough bushwhacking at the end, but you have to hike 6 miles in and 2000+ feet up to get to that point.

 

There are also some tough ones in Henry Coe State Park that involve long distances (I think there is one now that is over 20 miles in).

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

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evergreenhiker!

+evergreenhiker!

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by Marky:

The most difficult one closest to us (just 6.5 miles from our house, as the crow flies) is http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=d391b0ce-a813-48f6-aa82-478fe8436d5b. It's about 0.5 miles of tough bushwhacking at the end, but you have to hike 6 miles in and 2000+ feet up to get to that point.

 

There are also some tough ones in Henry Coe State Park that involve long distances (I think there is one now that is over 20 miles in).

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

If we had been successful in getting to Dream Lake, that cache would have been comparable to that one. Come August, when we can go the stream route, cachers may have to hike 5 plus miles to the beginning of a very, very rough and very steep trail for .6 more miles to where it peters off in an devilish avalanche brush...devils club, vine maple, alder, and some other thick ****. The elusive Dream lake is just another .8 miles away, but you have to go through this stuff. It took John and I 4 hours to go through .58 miles and had to turn around though just .22 away. We got back to the car at 945 pm so it was a good call!

 

By the way, I lugged a full ammo box all teh way to the turn around point adn back to the old campsite where it's resting:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=73113

I've posted some pics of the terrain on that cache page and someone els's pic of the elusive lake.

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Criminal

+Criminal

Posted
Posted

Evergreenhiker wrote:

quote:
If we had been successful in getting to Dream Lake, that cache would have been comparable to that one. Come August, when we can go the stream route, cachers may have to hike 5 plus miles to the beginning of a very, very rough and very steep trail for .6 more miles to where it peters off in an devilish avalanche brush...devils club, vine maple, alder, and some other thick ****. The elusive Dream lake is just another .8 miles away, but you have to go through this stuff. It took John and I 4 hours to go through .58 miles and had to turn around though just .22 away. We got back to the car at 945 pm so it was a good call!

 

That is what I would coinsider a hard cache. (Sounds like fun too.) Puzzle caches are not my idea of a hard cache.

 

http://fp1.centurytel.net/Criminal_Page/

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

quote:
Like a River In My Soul in central Vermont has proved to be a challenge. I've been working on it over a month. I think I may be approaching the last stage...but I don't know. Nobody has logged it as found yet.

 

That sure looks like a challenge. There doesn't seem to be a lot of geocachers (or caches) in Vt, which may explain why it hasn't been found. Then again, it's only been out 2 months.

 

Next time I come north, I may give it a shot. It's a bit of a ride from my brother's house in southern Vt, but looks like it's worth the trek.

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

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achstone

+achstone

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by BrianSnat:

quote:
Like a River In My Soul in central Vermont has proved to be a challenge. I've been working on it over a month. I think I may be approaching the last stage...but I don't know. Nobody has logged it as found yet.

 

That sure looks like a challenge. There doesn't seem to be a lot of geocachers (or caches) in Vt, which may explain why it hasn't been found. Then again, it's only been out 2 months.

 

Next time I come north, I may give it a shot. It's a bit of a ride from my brother's house in southern Vt, but looks like it's worth the trek.

 

_"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"_

 

Just don't expect to finish it in a day. I think it would be tough to accomplish in one weekend.

-encryption

-research

-clever hides

 

All told I'm sure I have close to 48 hours involved in this one.

 

I should also plug my cache

Mad mountain mystery multiple

 

AchStone

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Crazy Aaron

+Crazy Aaron

Posted
Posted

I am working on a few interesting caches for Philadelphia right now. They will be different and of various levels of difficulty.

 

From the discussion above, it seems that each person has various definitions of the term "difficult". It could mean:

 

a) Physically difficult to get to (bushwacking, inclines, etc)

B) Take a long time to do (maybe in multiple trips, maybe a multi-cache of unknown length)

c) Are hard to find (well hidden)

d) Need brainpower to solve (puzzles)

 

Am I missing any possible criteria?

 

Obviously everyone here is into geocaching for a different reason. Should a difficult cache stick to a criteria and thus only appeal to one type of cacher? Does a breadth of difficulty make a hard cache more fun?

 

I'm very interested in thoughts on this topic.

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Polgara

+Polgara

Posted
  • Author
Posted

quote:
From the discussion above, it seems that each person has various definitions of the term "difficult". It could mean:

 

a) Physically difficult to get to (bushwacking, inclines, etc)

B) Take a long time to do (maybe in multiple trips, maybe a multi-cache of unknown length)

c) Are hard to find (well hidden)

d) Need brainpower to solve (puzzles)

 

Am I missing any possible criteria?

 

Not necessarily a criteria here, but I feel the original topic does imply caches that are rated at least a 4. I was just curious about caches in other areas. Everyone knows of a cache or caches that immediately come to mind when they are asked, "what's the hardest cache in your state/ country?". I was just curious as to what these caches are in other parts of the world.

 

quote:
Obviously everyone here is into geocaching for a different reason. Should a difficult cache stick to a criteria and thus only appeal to one type of cacher?

 

No no no no. With the more criteria you add, a standard is developed and the more creativity you take away. That creative streak is the best part, allows for lots of variety. If its too hard for some cachers, like a cache that would require you to rapel down a cliff, or something that would require you to solve a physical chemistry equation, I don't feel it matters. There is a geocacher somewhere that will love that. There may not be a ton of finds on it, but the logs would probably be very interesting to read.

 

"The more I study nature, the more I am amazed at the Creator."

- Louis Pasteur

 

[This message was edited by Ce'Nedra on June 18, 2003 at 08:47 AM.]

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

quote:
From the discussion above, it seems that each person has various definitions of the term "difficult". It could mean:

 

a) Physically difficult to get to (bushwacking, inclines, etc)

B) Take a long time to do (maybe in multiple trips, maybe a multi-cache of unknown length)

c) Are hard to find (well hidden)

d) Need brainpower to solve (puzzles)

 

Am I missing any possible criteria?

 

Obviously everyone here is into geocaching for a different reason. Should a difficult cache stick to a criteria and thus only appeal to one type of cacher? Does a breadth of difficulty make a hard cache more fun?

 

I'm very interested in thoughts on this topic.

 

A truly great cache would have all 4 criteria. Just don't expect many people to log it.

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

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Divine

+Divine

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by BrianSnat:

quote:
From the discussion above, it seems that each person has various definitions of the term "difficult". It could mean:

 

a) Physically difficult to get to (bushwacking, inclines, etc)

B) Take a long time to do (maybe in multiple trips, maybe a multi-cache of unknown length)

c) Are hard to find (well hidden)

d) Need brainpower to solve (puzzles)

A truly great cache would have all 4 criteria. Just don't expect many people to log it.

This cache has all 4 of 'em. 'Toy meters'... jesus...icon_biggrin.gif

 

- I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory. -

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The Outlaw

+The Outlaw

Posted
Posted

Having completed the ACS #1 challenge in Austin, I would have to agree with TxHipowr. It has steep terrain (at least steep for central Texas), devious locations and requires a nimble mind. Come to think of it, how in the world did I finish it? icon_biggrin.gif

 

Wayne (The Outlaw) Geocacher, Poison Ivy magnet, and Chigger food.

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flask

+flask

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by achstone:

 

I should also plug my cache

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=70038

 

AchStone

 

i've done that one, and it took an entire week out of me. i don't mean i looked on and off for a week; i mean it swallowed me whole. i had charts and tables and, well, it was ugly.

 

all that and if i had gotten there an hour later, i wold have gotten to see a pretty sunset.

 

it doesn't matter if you get to camp at one or at six. dinner is still at six.

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Team VaxCave

Team VaxCave

Posted
Posted

The hardest one to find that I've done is PA Turnpike #2:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=65113

 

The cache is located inside an adandoned turnpike tunnel. The gimmick is that the tunnel crests in the middle so you can't see the light at the other end. It is the darkest place I've ever been. The tunnel is about 2 miles long and *cold*.

 

Hardest so far (only 40 finds right now), but also my favorite so far. icon_smile.gif

 

::+::=::+::=::+::=::+::=::+::=::+::=::+::=::+::=::+::=::+::=::+::=::+::

Searching through the cave. Team VaxCave.

87743_200.jpg

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carleenp

+carleenp

Posted
Posted

This is the hardest that I know of in Nebraska. It is a muti-cache where each finder adds a leg to it. When it was placed, the second stage was on an island in a shallow river (but with dangerous currents and holes), but there was a drought, so people could walk to it. The owner told me that when he started it, he road his mountain bike to it at the time because the river was so dried up! Even then, later finders tended to run out of daylight in one day to add the seventh stage! My parents and I intend to go for it, but since the drought is over (just the opposite, lots of rain) and we don't have a boat, we are waiting until late summer when we can wade. We might have to make a two day camping trip of it (and maybe rent a boat)!

 

pokeanim3.gif

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