The Impossible Cache

[+SkinGuy]

I've had a vague idea burning in the ol' dome for quite some time, and would love to hear any comments or suggestions from the crowd.

 

What is the "Impossible Cache?"

 

No -- not the tiny micro hidden at the bottom of a huge pile of rocks, or the puzzle which is too arcane for anyone to solve. The cache in mind is one that would cause cachers to think or say: "That CAN'T be a cache..." or "There CAN'T be a cache there..."

 

The hope is to place a cache that is so unlikely in it's placement or hiding that it doesn't seem possible for it to exist at all. Hanging in midair, perhaps? Or in a public (but hard to access) spot (e.g. on some part of Rushmore or the Statue of Liberty).

 

Before anyone yells -- I understand that those last two locations are not appropriate for caches, and I do not advocate putting caches there. It would be important for the "Impossible Cache" to follow all of the same rules for other caches. Hopefully those 'examples' will start the mental wheels rolling.

 

Any ideas? Anyone?

 

SkinGuy

[+norbu]

On some sort of pulley across a canyon that ONLY has a rushing river at the bottom. Coords planting it smack in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the river.

[+archaeor]

I've always had the idea to place a magnetic "hide-a-key" micro-cache on the bumper of a public bus. Kind of a "moving cache". The only co-ordinates you could give, though, would be at one of the bus's bus stops, and, perhaps give the time of the bus's arrival at that particular stop. Otherwise, you're on your own!

 

Rick

[+Renegade Knight]

I don't know a think a granite camoflaged booger in ol' Gorges nose in Mt. Rushmore would be a riot. Not so much a "I can't belive there is a cache there as a "I can't belive someone actually did that".

 

Didn't my kids already spray paint one of your caches because there was no way that was a cache?

[+welch]

How about in the whitehouse?

 

Under that coffee mug on Head Dude's desk in NPS center office?

 

On the floor of the ocean way way down deep, between the smokers and vent worms?

[+Renegade Knight]

In all honesty this is the kind of thing you have to keep at the back of your mind. Then while you are out and about doing someting else you will see something that causes a spark and it will all slam home. Then you won't be able to sleep until its done.

[+Bilder]

I was at an auction tonight and almost bought a fire hydrant. A genuine properly colored fire hydrant.

 

I was thinking cache container the first moment I saw it. Imagine putting it in a place where it would seem to fit, yet is slightly out of place.

 

My wife stopped me. That and the fact that it weighs over 100 pounds.

[+Seamus]

I was at an auction tonight and almost bought a fire hydrant.  A genuine properly colored fire hydrant.

 

I was thinking cache container the first moment I saw it.  Imagine putting it in a place where it would seem to fit, yet is slightly out of place.

 

My wife stopped me.  That and the fact that it weighs over 100 pounds.

Might cause issues with being a piece of public emergency equipment or something like that, were it to be placed where it would blend in (especially if the fire department tried to hook up to it during a real fire).

 

Now, if it were in the middle of the woods, three miles from the nearest road... That would be funny!

[uperdooper]

I was at an auction tonight and almost bought a fire hydrant.  A genuine properly colored fire hydrant.

 

I was thinking cache container the first moment I saw it.  Imagine putting it in a place where it would seem to fit, yet is slightly out of place.

 

My wife stopped me.  That and the fact that it weighs over 100 pounds.

my brother has one. you should have bought it. it makes a good yard ornament too.

Edited July 2, 2004 by uperdooper

[+SkinGuy]

RK Wrote:

Didn't my kids already spray paint one of your caches because there was no way that was a cache?

 

Actually that was my brother's cache (3geek). I guess sick and twisted must be genetic...

[+stu_and_sarah]

We placed a cache which isn't there.

 

The coordinates are correct, but there's no cache.

[+Team Perks]

I was at an auction tonight and almost bought a fire hydrant. A genuine properly colored fire hydrant.

 

I was thinking cache container the first moment I saw it. Imagine putting it in a place where it would seem to fit, yet is slightly out of place.

 

My wife stopped me. That and the fact that it weighs over 100 pounds.

You have much more self control than me. I actually DID buy one.

[+rutson]

No, read it again, his WIFE has more control than you

[Toron]

1) a cache in a small but forceful waterfall. The cache seeker would have to fight the force of the water while protecting the gps device, and the water would be so frothy that the cache would have to be found by touch instead of by sight. The cache "container" could be a well anchored chain or chord that would serve as a kind of key chain. The themed items would have to be impervious to water damage and be attachable (think d-rings). The log book would have to be one of those waterproof grease pencil tablets used by divers.

 

The impossible nature of this cache would be inhospitable nature of the location regarding the survival of a cache container.

 

2) Place one under a permanent porta-pottie. The coords would have the cache seeker looking into the blue water thinking "uh uh".

[adampierson]

I seem to recall that on one of the other threads a few months back had hidden a few caches by some active volcanoes. The special equipment needed was a gas mask and some flame retardant suite.

 

The only cache that I can see that is more impossible than this, is to hide one in a MINEFIELD!

 

Adam Pierson

[+The Cheeseheads]

Isn't there a little coffee shop or something in the open area in the middle of the Pentagon? Hide one in a bush there, then see who's brave enough to try walking through the Pentagon holding a GPSr...

[+Bilder]

No, read it again, his WIFE has more control than you

how true it is.

[+Snoogans]

I heard about a guy that dropped a container off of a cruise ship and marked the coords. The cache actually got approved. I think it got archived when someone realized that it couldn't be maintained. There's a thread on it somewhere.......

 

[+LETaylor]

I was at an auction tonight and almost bought a fire hydrant.  A genuine properly colored fire hydrant.

 

I was thinking cache container the first moment I saw it.  Imagine putting it in a place where it would seem to fit, yet is slightly out of place.

 

My wife stopped me.  That and the fact that it weighs over 100 pounds.

Might cause issues with being a piece of public emergency equipment or something like that, were it to be placed where it would blend in (especially if the fire department tried to hook up to it during a real fire).

 

Now, if it were in the middle of the woods, three miles from the nearest road... That would be funny!

Reminds me of a potted plant I had in my office several years ago. I went to the hardware store and purchased a sprikler head and a PVC riser and then stuck it in the dirt. You'd be surprised at how many people believed I really had a sprinkler system set up for that pot (about 10" diameter)

 

I add a second vote to putting a fire hydrant out in the middle of nowhere.

[Tahosa and Sons]

No problem, after caching with a vistor from Iowa today, we came to the solution that it is possible and it does exist that a cache can be in NPS or other forbidden lands. And it is a living breathing traveling cache, that all ready exists. And I'm the proud owner of this unique cache.

[73Shuler]

I've had a vague idea burning in the ol' dome for quite some time, and would love to hear any comments or suggestions from the crowd.

 

What is the "Impossible Cache?"

 

No -- not the tiny micro hidden at the bottom of a huge pile of rocks, or the puzzle which is too arcane for anyone to solve.  The cache in mind is one that would cause cachers to think or say:  "That CAN'T be a cache..." or "There CAN'T be a cache there..."

 

The hope is to place a cache that is so unlikely in it's placement or hiding that it doesn't seem possible for it to exist at all.  Hanging in midair, perhaps?  Or in a public (but hard to access) spot (e.g. on some part of Rushmore or the Statue of Liberty).

 

Before anyone yells -- I understand that those last two locations are not appropriate for caches, and I do not advocate putting caches there.  It would be important for the "Impossible Cache" to follow all of the same rules for other caches.  Hopefully those 'examples' will start the mental wheels rolling.

 

Any ideas?  Anyone?

 

SkinGuy

I'll have to use my newly created sock puppet because I don't want to spoil this for other cachers in my area, but I wanted to comment on two that I have seen that are virtually impossible.

 

One is a nail with a small tube epoxyed on the bottom of the head with a log book in the tube and an eraser to seal it. A hole was drilled in a wooden guard rail post and the nail/tube place in the hole. By all appearances it is just a nail in the post, along with a couple other nails nearby holding an unrelated sign!

 

The other was a 38 special bullet shell with a piece of bark glued on the end and inserted in a tree of the same type bark. Again, virtually impossible to spot!

Edited July 3, 2004 by Sock Puppet 101

[+Bilder]

I heard about a guy that dropped a container off of a cruise ship and marked the coords. The cache actually got approved. I think it got archived when someone realized that it couldn't be maintained. There's a thread on it somewhere.......

 

That happened up here last summer.

 

Guy from out of state dropped it off the side of a boat within the boundaries of a national park. He also placed another on a tree on national park land.

 

Got a few of us locals all wound up. We had just finished dealing with the city on cache permissions when it happened. Last thing we needed was for the city parks manager to see those while he was looking at the cache listings up here.

[+Robespierre]

Here's one that's never been found. Maybe it's impossible?

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...34-e53e074cf467

[CoyoteRed]

I've got a 1/5 planned. The natural instinct of the geocacher would be to get as close as they can by car (not hard) and walk the rest of the way (not far.)

 

The only thing is, as they approach the site the GPS will be giving them impossible directions...

 

..until they look over the edge.

 

The cache will be very easy to find. In fact, you will be able to spot it from 50-100 feet away. (That way you'll know what you've got to do.) Then the hard part is actually retrieving and returning it. I suspect this will be one of those like Sissy's Snarky Walk #1 that very few will accomplish.

[+Niss Feiner]

QUOTE (Seamus @ Jul 1 2004, 10:34 PM)

QUOTE (Bilder @ Jul 2 2004, 02:25 AM)

I was at an auction tonight and almost bought a fire hydrant.  A genuine properly colored fire hydrant.

 

I was thinking cache container the first moment I saw it.  Imagine putting it in a place where it would seem to fit, yet is slightly out of place.

 

My wife stopped me.  That and the fact that it weighs over 100 pounds.

 

Might cause issues with being a piece of public emergency equipment or something like that, were it to be placed where it would blend in (especially if the fire department tried to hook up to it during a real fire).

 

Now, if it were in the middle of the woods, three miles from the nearest road... That would be funny! 

 

Reminds me of a potted plant I had in my office several years ago. I went to the hardware store and purchased a sprikler head and a PVC riser and then stuck it in the dirt. You'd be surprised at how many people believed I really had a sprinkler system set up for that pot (about 10" diameter)

 

I add a second vote to putting a fire hydrant out in the middle of nowhere.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2004 by Niss Feiner

[OuttaHand]

How about a micro called "Nothing but bull". Find a farmer who has a bull penned up in a rather small pasture. Mark the coords for the center of the pasture. Attach the micro cache to the bull's nose-ring.

The encrypted clue could read something like:

"Coords are for center of fenced area. Actual location may vary by as much as 30' to 40' depending on his mood"

 

Lets see how many people try THAT one!! (and live to log it).