+Seth! Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Hey gang, over the years I've tossed around the term "extreme geocaching" in conversation and maybe you have, as well. The question before you is, what makes a geocache an "extreme geocache". At first blush, it might seem like a 5/5 would qualify. But are any and all 5/5's extreme? Can a geocache be a 1/5 or a 5/1 and be "extreme"? I'd like to know what you would expect if someone invited you to go on an "extreme geocache hunt". If you can cite specific, existing geocaches, that would be great. But hypothetical geocaches are also welcome. Let's go to extremes, people! - Seth! (A quick search tells me that there are ten 5/5's here in Washington and thirty in California--just as a point of reference. They make up a pretty small percentage of all geocaches.) Quote Link to comment
+Lil Devil Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 TMA-1 is a 3/5 in Salinas, California. It's an old bridge abutment in the middle of a river. You have to throw a rope over, secure the rope on the other side, and climb to the top of the 35'+ monolith. I made this my find #1,000. I'll be watching this thread closely as I'm coming up on 2,000 Quote Link to comment
+Robespierre Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Extreme geocaching would be after eating beans. The drive to the cache is only for the stoutest of heart, with a car full of cachers. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 5/5 isn't necesarily extreme because a 5 terrain rating includes caches that require "special" equipment. An easy paddle on a placid lake isn't particularly extreme. I think a cache can be 1/5 and be extreme. A cache on the top of Everest would be extreme, even if it was an easy find when you get there. Quote Link to comment
+Isonzo Karst Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Emptor Paradiso is a 1 star terrain 5 star difficulty extreme urban micro. Quote Link to comment
+Seth! Posted January 23, 2005 Author Share Posted January 23, 2005 TMA-1 is a 3/5 in Salinas, California. It's an old bridge abutment in the middle of a river. You have to throw a rope over, secure the rope on the other side, and climb to the top of the 35'+ monolith. Yeah, now that's what I'm talkin' about! What else have we got out there? I think that some scuba caches must qualify as extreme. Share some others! Does a person have to risk life and limb for a geocache to be extreme? Do painful mental challenges count? Quote Link to comment
+Fergus Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 I have one cache the is located in the top of a white pine tree. I gave it a terrain rating of 4 stars because you have to climb about 20 to 30 feet up a tree. I don’t find this very extreme, but there are a few of the people who have found it who did. I have another cache called Dark that has a rating of 5/5. The difficulty is rated 5 because once you find the coordinates you need to go over a hundred feet away from the spot then approach in a very different way. The terrain has a 5 star rating because portable light is required to find this cache. For many people this is an extreme geocache. I have never found a cache that I found to be extreme, but I guess I have a higher threshold for what I consider extreme. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 ...Does a person have to risk life and limb for a geocache to be extreme? Do painful mental challenges count? If the means of getting to the cache doesn't involve the potential for death but for your equipment, or training, it's not extreme. If your worst issue is you might get an eye strain migrain from staring at the puzzle print out too long, its not exreme. Quote Link to comment
Mighty Tiggers Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Now this one is extreme, and NOBODY has been there to collect the prize, yet... http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...5e-398b4fa817de Very cool! Quote Link to comment
TahoeJoe Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 (edited) There is nearby cache at a ski resort that sits on a double black diamond run that would be extreme to some. I also have a cache on a mountain top Family Ties where I live that has only been logged twice in two years due to the distance and steep climb involved in reaching it. Edited January 23, 2005 by TahoeJoe Quote Link to comment
+Touchstone Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 I thought this one was one of the most creative hunts I've seen: Quote Link to comment
+Ambrosia Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Do painful mental challenges count? Sigh... *painful memories* Quote Link to comment
CoyoteRed Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 TMA-1 is a 3/5 in Salinas, California. It's an old bridge abutment in the middle of a river. You have to throw a rope over, secure the rope on the other side, and climb to the top of the 35'+ monolith. I made this my find #1,000. I'll be watching this thread closely as I'm coming up on 2,000 We've been eyeing creating one like this, as well, except it is also in the middle of a lake! We've already scouted it and done most of the logistics. The wife's Sissy's Snarky Walk #1 might be the most extreme around here at the moment. There is one stage that some folks have a problem finding. I've been on the receiving end of more than a few expletives when they realize what is going to be required to proceed. We're planning more. Can we do better? You bet! Quote Link to comment
+GeoBlank Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 The feast series in Ring Hill forest in washington I would have to say is extreme. We would love to see more cross country caches hidden. When you must use more than a GPSr to find them then it is getting extreme. Things to thing about though... Do you need special equipment beyond what a normal person may have? Is it difficult because of the terrain or just the thought process needed. The feast series is not hard to locate the finds once you fight your way through the terrain and wilderness to get to them. I honestly was glad that they weren't impossible to locate once fighting natures pieces of the puzzle. I guess with the new attributes option we could also help describe things such as this. Compass and life line required type of thing... If you know of difficult ones in western washington due to the land and location please let me know Quote Link to comment
+souperteam Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 I thought this one was one of the most creative hunts I've seen: That looks like a lot of fun! I love hot air ballooning. How fun would it be to combine both hobbies? I like it. Quote Link to comment
+cudlecub Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 (edited) I have an underwater virtual that sits in about 60' of water at S. Holston Lake. To me it isn't all that extreme but then again I'm a certified tech diver. Read all about it here Deep Dam Cache I plan on placing another one, only I'm figureing out some type of underwater container for it, in an area of the lake not far from the dam. This one will be in about 80' of water for the more adventuresome diver / cacher. Edited January 24, 2005 by cudlecub Quote Link to comment
+Seth! Posted January 24, 2005 Author Share Posted January 24, 2005 Isn't there one in an old car at the bottom of Lake Chelan (WA) at a depth of 150' or something like that? That sounds extreme. Quote Link to comment
+ironman114 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 Here is the one you are thinking of Seth. Chelan Scuba Cache. It has only been found 3 times in 2 1/2 years. Quote Link to comment
+AtoZ Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 The term EXTREME is abused quite a bit. I have been a avid mountaineer, rock climber, Ice climber, SCUBA diver and Cave diver, and skier, down hill and backcountry. I have come off mountians in whiteout conditions, reppeled out of helicopters, skiied across avalance fields dove in caves in floirda deep dives in the Ocean. So when does it bdcome extreme. The term extreme really applies ehen the folks at the TOP end of a sport push the limits a little more. On Backpacker people talk about extreme backpacking. To me as a mountaineer backpacking has been nothing more then to get my climbing bear from point A to point B. Extreme is not a relative term that applies to a person pusing their own personally limits as I have heard it said. No extreme is pushing the limits of the sport. Now What would extreme Geocaching be hummm.... you can incorperate a lot of other aspects into find a cache. I have done cache that require a 70 foot repel, another a scuba dive all rated 4/4 above but were they extreme NO! Did they push my limits NO! WOuld they push someone elses limits YES. So does taht make them extreme, NO! Personally do I do extreme sports NO, I am to safety concious and want to have a long enjoyable live, I have ahd friends that do exteme sports and some of them are not with us now. I tuess an extreme geocachw would be a really hard find, maybe combined with a hard approach. O'well jsut my 2 cents worth. But Then A micro in a rock pile can be conxicered extreme. cheers Quote Link to comment
CoyoteRed Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 As a kid I was into extreme tiddlywinks. You could put an eye out! Actually, I think when you talk about "extreme geocaching" it's not so much like letting go of your bike as you do a 60 feet jump, but more like something you have to go well beyond what you would normally do. Quote Link to comment
+RJFerret Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Agreed. I did a night cache last Fall that was VERY challenging. First I was attempting it pre-approval, so had less information/resources then normal. I was happy to successfully find the beginning! Then, it wasn't a easily followed trail but required faith and careful searching. Each reflector was like hunting for a 4-rated cache on it's own! After investing multiple hours, I'd completed the first leg--of who knows how many? (Including a unique hide technique in this area.) I then couldn't find the start of the next. I returned in daylight to no avail. I returned later with the cache page info and was able to pickup where I left off. After more searching than most caches, I found my offset and was able to go to the next leg's start--only to spend, again, more time than most caches trying to figure out where it headed. Halfway through that I got stumped. After a meal and more persistence, I was able to continue on. Ultimately I'd achieved it. That was the biggest caching accomplishment I've ever had (including many FTF's, several pre-approval finds, winning the Magellan contest in CT, winning Schnuffle's Silver Treasure...) The oft-abused "extreme" should apply as some of the prior posters have indicated, to a cache that goes beyond 99% of other caches in regards to geocaching. Such that excellant geocachers are significantly challenged by it regardless of other skills. (Yes, I have caches in trees, at the end of drainage tunnels, requiring puzzles/math, etc.) In over 300 caches I'd never had a favorite until that one--so I would nominate it for that over-hyped label. It's a geocache that requires geocaching skills to the extreme. Ironically, I don't think it's rated terribly high... (After all, the rating have nothing to do with required geocaching skill level--they pertain to terrain and depth of hide.) Enjoy, Randy Quote Link to comment
Napoleon_Dynamite Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 (edited) I would consider this extreme: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...80-9bdce718c44f And it is a micro?!? I don't know how this got approved. Idiots! ND Edited January 26, 2005 by Napoleon_Dynamite Quote Link to comment
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