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We'll, Today I placed my fisrt cache!!!!!!!! Wish me luck on getting it approved. I put alot of thought into it and placed it already. I hope I don't have to go get it. It's quite a walk. It has much historical value. ;)
How will I know when It's approved??
They will send you an email letting you know it is either approved or disapproved.
Dave: This looks like an awesome hike. Any good camping in the area?
Lots of awesome camping and cheap to. I think it's 7 or 10 dollars anight and that includes the gate fee. My personal favorite is hig bridge # 2
Congrats Dave! Don't be discouraged if it doesn't get a lot of activity given it's location. My caches on Long Island are not visited a great deal, but I know that when they do get a visitor, they are greatly enjoyed and the special effort put into getting there has that much more meaning. Have fun watching the activity and hearing the comments!
I can't wait to do this cache. It is in a great area!
how do you all know what area it's in? and who has to approve the action?
you go to www.geocaching.com and you can find all the geocaches in your area. Then you use your GPS to find it.
This is a great one Dave!! :D All we can say is it's a very enjoyable day. Just go prepared. View the log. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache...2-4b9717bc2bdf
Wow Dave, that looks really cool. Can't wait to give it a go, though it may be a little while if this heat keep up! Congratulations!:D
Looks great, it has been a long time since I was there, look forward to going back.
The only question I would have is on rating. A 5 terrain would usually indicate special equipment required or an overnight stay and 10+ miles of hiking one way. Check out http://clayjar.com/gcrs/ to see if you should re-evaluate. Since it's been so long since I have been there I can't say what it should be.
Hey all,
I'm stuck. I did the test to see if the cache was in fact 5 in terrian. It came up as a 3.5, In my experiance it was more than a 3.5 in fact I've done some caches that where rated a 5 and I thought they where easy compared to this. So let me give you some details about this and you guys help me.
1. You have to ford a river. Right now the water is only 12 inches deep but in the spring it will be 3 to 4 feet deep.
2. At some [points the roots on the ground are 5 to 6 inches above the ground.
3. There are several places that require 3 points of contact to make it. (ex. one hand two feet or two hands and foot to get you up to the next level.)
4. The hike for some one from Portland would take over night or & hours hikings and 9 hours of driving. For us in the local Bangor area 10 hours round trip.
5. In the fall there will be hunters in the area so that means bullets flying. THat in itself should make it a five.
6. It's going to be an all day hike to do the loop.
These are the types of constructive critism I need (Brdad) for this cache to be a success. Thanks a bunch.
Dave
5.
Sounds like a 4 1/2 maybe? You don't need a boat and don't need any technical climbing apparatus like ropes or caribiners etc. But from what you described Dave I wouldn't worry about it being either a 4 or 5. Let's just say the darn thing is hard enough....lol. And from what Parmacheenee says the difficulty rating is prob a 3 cause once you get there it is not hard to find
There is also a west trail head with an even longer trip to the cache. The reason I mention this is that when I went it was nearly imposible to cross the way you went in, Dave. So, depending on when you go, it can be real hard.
Still, overall, I'd wouldn't rate it higher than 4. But, I would try to put into words exactly what the cacher can expect. Sometimes a number just doesn't explain enough.
This is very similar to my West Mt. Kenebago cache.
Alright, I bumped it down to a 3 and 4. I think that will work.
Using what you stated, I come up with a 3.5 or a 4.
You can't factor in someone coming from Portland or living next tot he parking area. Otherwise, all Maine caches would be a 5 since someone from Australia would have to use a boat to get to it. An overnight stay means on the trail heading to the cache. I suppose a long drive down a woods road could factor in a half a point as well.
Many caches are under or over rated, it's not always easy to judge. I've adjuasted the difficulty rating on Old470 3 or 4 times because I misjudged how easy I thought it was going to be.
IMO, terrain is a little more straighforward. 5 is left for special equipment which would include scuba gear, climbing gear, and boats. While I don't fully agree that a boat is special equipment since nearly anyone can use one in fair waters, that is the way the system was designed. scuba and climbing gear require additional training which I would agree was special equipment.
If I had to guess without going, and including the stream crossings and rugged trail, I'd still say a 4. You could also wait and adjust the numbers by the logs you get on it.
I would rate the terrain about a 4.5. To SAFELY do the hike, a good pair of hiking shoes is necessary. You can cross the streams in your bare feet but it's very risky due to the sharp and slippery rocks. We wore our kayaking wet shoes which were ideal. We saw many hikers double-poling across the streams. We only used one because that's all we had but found it sufficient with the wet shoes. Many parts of the Rim Trail are very slippery when wet which can happen quickly as I found out on my first visit there when a lightening storm blew through out of nowhere. As Dave mentioned, there are some places where hand stabilization is necessary...not rock climbing, but more of a descent or ascent than just walking up or downhill. A hiking stick is very helpful and we didn't meet many people without them. The trail is well-marked but very rough in places...primitive, as it should be. If you take your time and watch where you are going, you will be ok. One of the trickiest spots was just before arriving at the cache site. I found the coords to be as accurate as you can get...and that's using my Garmin 60cs, which has proven to be quite reliable in all 9 caches I've used it for. :D It only has 513 more to prove it's as good as my Vista. :eek: Regardless of how you rate it Dave...it's still a 10!!
wbdent I agree with parmachenee. I know the area very well and the crossing should be rated high. Even at low water the fotting going through those rocks you could very easly turn adn ankle and get hurt. So 4 or 4.5 is what I would rate it and make a note of it in the description.