I just completed the latest update to my geocaching statistics using a new geocaching tool called “My Geocaching Profile”. At this point I saw that I have a big gap in the hard terrain and hard difficulty area….this is the highlighted section below.
So what does it take to get a difficult geocache? I recently got a 1.5 Difficulty & 4 Terrain geocache at Sunset Cliffs Beach and thought I’d share the adventure….
We arrived at the site and were met with lots of Danger signs like this one? Does this mean you can’t go down there? The geocache logs state that kids are here all the time with their families…surely if a kid can do it, so can I? (I’m thinking I am terrible at peer pressure and this is just a really good example why!)
We decide to go down and boy is it tough. We have the GeoPuppy, Watson, with us which of course makes it more difficult. But if a kid can do this, so can I. That’s my mantra for this whole experience….Eventually we make it down and have to take a photo to show how great (or crazy?!) we are.
Then we have to find the geocache. The log stated that the GPS unit is not going to do very well and that you should expect it to bounce around a bit so if you get within 50 feet that is as good as it gets. Right then, so we are only left with this whole area here then?
The iPhone geocache app saves us as it includes photos from others and my Oregon 550t GPS unit only has the text. Without that we were going for a blind cache search (something you do find many cachers adamant about) but we take the hints and steer towards the wet, damp cave. Really, in there? Would they expect us to climb in all the way there? Of course they would….And I send in Bangers to save the day.
Hooray we found it and can add a find to the Terrain 4. Now we just have to combine with a Difficulty of 4 and we can get one of those quadrants marked off. There is another Terrain 4 further up from Sunset Cliffs Beach….but we’ll leave that for another day.
In case you want to go get this geocache, the GC Code is GC22A6Y Surf Rock. Have Fun!
Tags: difficult geocache, geocache app, geocache hide, iphone geocache, san diego, san diego geocache, sunset cliffs beach
Great job! It looks beautiful! I need to get those 4’s and 5’s too….
I know! I feel bad every time I look at this matrix.
They are tough for a reason….
Yup – we have a big glaring blank spot down in that corner of our grid too. We’ve got a few high difficulty caches, but no high terrains. I’m not the strongest/fittest person in the world – I can walk fairly long distances but am not a climber by any stretch of the imagination – and am usually caching with children – so I tend to assume that anything over a terrain 3.5 is going to be waaay out of our league.
But then I did see mention of a 5/5 recently – on Geocass’s blog I think – where the 5 terrain aspect was just because you had to wade through a river – I could do that!
So I guess I just need to research research research and find the higher starred caches that are within my capabilities…
Well done on climbing down that cliff – you wouldn’t catch me doing that for love or money
We didn’t plan ahead here, we just thought we’d grab the string of caches at the beach….is there an easy way to see the picture map view of caches with a difficulty aspect?