The Haputo Challenge Dededo, Guam
By LowerLevelMafia on 23-Jan-10. Waypoint GC2381R

Hafa Adai:

Came prepared with duct tape & rope for improvement/shoring up duty, but alas the elusive bamboo ladder was no where to be found. Searched nearly the entire beach from shoreline to about 50-100' inland to no avail. Perhaps the previous GC'r hid too well, or not well enough? Found the likely bamboo leftover pile, but didn't feel quite up to re-creating a local masterpiece!

Regardless, made it to the stem of the shroom, and the rope was in hand, but I recalled the old saying: "Discretion is the better part of Valor!" Pics of me at stem will be uploaded later, as I used waterproof camera which I can't upload from on the road.

Good luck Next GC'r, bring an aluminum extension ladder and two helpers or learn how to make one out of bamboo! . Thanks BLYGOAT & all for the help, sure enjoyed my visit! Tweed's Cave has been on my list for many moons.

TFTH!

Holy cow....what an absolutely amazing place and cache. This has got to be my #1 of all times. Just being here and the trek out to mushroom rock was amazing. Was able to acquire the bamboo ladder and glad I did as the rope would not have been enough alone. Took medallion and left patch. Thanks for such an awesome adventure...will remember this for a lifetime!

I led a group of non-cachers (or maybe soon to be newbie cachers!) down to the beach today. We were able to use blygoat's ladder to send a light and limber one up to the top of the rock and slip a replacement cache in place!

New cache, new log, new swag; it's good to go!

HOWEVER, the cache is in quite a dangerous location and must only be attempted during LOW TIDE and with a GROUP! Teamwork is required and safety should be paramount!

The cache is very easy to find once you have managed to get to the top of the rock. As blygoat mentioned there is a rope (we even tied a few knots in the rope to assist w/ climbing) and tucked away in a cove is a field-made ladder. If you use the ladder (WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND), you will need to re-tape the rungs--they are loose now. If you use the rope, PLEASE USE EXTREME CAUTION, slipping would be highly dangerous!

TFTC SL

FOUND IT!!!
This is my first official log, and what a way to start it off! Thanks to LadyAllrin and Rhodeisland I make my entrance into the world of geocaching.
I was one of the newbies on Aug. 10.
The hike was beautiful, and became even more so with each step closer to the beach. We took a short break near the coconut groves while Rhodesisland gave us a detailed lesson on the finer points of geocaching. We then headed to the further end of Haputo to look for another cache, but alas, no such luck.
Oh well, at least we have the mushroom to look forward to.
The boys set up the ladder, and I came mosey-snorkeling along. One of them went up already, and it looked so exciting! The ladder looked kinda iffy, but they convinced me it would be okay. Only two rungs up, and I was already having doubts. If I fell, it would be a very jagged landing. Those coral rocks are sharp! Anyways with a simple cajole "You're already halfway up!" I ascended the mushroom. WOOO HOOOO!!!! I'M THE QUEEN OF THE GEOCACHING WORLD!!!
I had the honor of replacing the cache. I think I made it too easy to find. hehehe. I just wanted to wedge it in there so mother nature would have a hard time knocking it out.

I thought going up was hard. Going down was harder i.e. SCARIER!!! With the help of team, I managed to get down the rickety ladder safely.

We snorkeled some more where we gazed at fish, coral, sea anemones, clams, urchins, sea cucumbers, and other various marine wildlife. What a gorgeous place!

After some rest, and snacking we made our way out.
Here's a tip. Bring bug spray. Those mosquitoes are ravenous!

What a great hike! It totally made my weekend!

Found this on liberation day with blygoat and a few friends that were up to the challenge as well. Built a bamboo ladder, lashed it with duct tape and had a great team to get this cache. TFTC!

Today was the day for us to do The Haputo Challenge. Since it was a Liberation Day holiday for me and Kiwika, and all of the conditions were perfect, we called one of our friends to see if she could sponsor us on base. With a crew consisting of Katherine, Scotty, Marthalina, Kiwika and me, we arrived at the trailhead at 9:00 am. I brought my rope, two machetes, and duct tape and we all headed down to the beach. It was a beautiful day today and the hike down was not too difficult. As we got down on the beach, we took a detour to see the latte stone site hidden in the jungle. If you want to view the site, it is located at N13 34.591 E144 49.917. We then went to cut a bamboo for the ladder we were going to make. We cut one that was over 50 feet tall and we all carried it out of the jungle. After we laid it on the beach, Katherine and I waded out to mushroom rock to see how tall of a ladder we needed to make. The tide was in the process of going out but we still hit areas that were almost chest deep. The ocean was also calm today with hardly any waves. Arrived on the rock and took a measurement on the ocean side of it where we thought the best place to ascend was. We eyeballed it and decided we would need a ladder of about 16 feet tall. Went back to the beach and measured off 16 feet and a bit and cut two pieces from the bamboo. Then, we cut 3 foot sections for the rungs. Used the duct tape to lash the rungs to the ladder and ran out on the first two and a half rungs. Katherine went to the store and brought back 2 more rolls. We were able to finish all of the rungs with what she brought. We then floated our ladder out to mushroom rock and the tide was pretty low by this time (we expected a negative low tide at about 1:30 pm). Got the ladder out to the rock and hoisted it up and it was perfect! Sent our lightest monkey up, Marthalina, with my rope and she attached it to a tree just over a foot in diameter. With the rope and ladder, Katherine was the next one to go up and then Scotty. I went up a few rungs and didn't want to risk breaking the ladder before they all came down so they had the assignment of finding the cache. Kiwika was our photographer for the entire ordeal. They found the cache in no time but the ammo can was totally rusted out and disintegrated as they picked it up. The contents were in very bad shape and the log was totally unsignable. Two hotwheels, two pens, two patches and a souvenir coin were in the cache but nothing was salvageable. We got everyone down safely, put what we could of the cache in a plastic bag and I made my way up the ladder. It held me just fine. We then took down the ladder and floated it to a nearby cove. The rope is still there and attached to a tree. We placed the ladder in the small cove on the way to the rock in case someone wants to go back up to replace the cache. Bring about 3 rolls of duct tape if you want to make sure the rungs are secure or if you want to add a few more. Didn't have a suitable sized cache with me so we couldn't replace it. If no one replaces it soon, then I would recommend that this cache be archived as there is no cache at the top now.Overall, we met the challenge and brought the perfect crew to achieve it with! We were back to the car at 2:30 pm. Now I can finally cross this one off of my list!

I begged and pleaded and cried and puppy-dog-eyed at/toward/in vicinty of/with Patrick to pllllleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeee let me attempt this cache. But the feedback my oh-so-mature-requests received were as follows: "I don't see any rope," "It's too dangerous," "If all the other cachers fell to their demise, would you still try?," "No, means NO!," "What am I suppose to tell your Mother if you maime yourself?!," {and finally the one that works} "HEY LOOK!!! SHINNYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" But truth be told when Patrick pointed out the sheer force of the waves hitting against the rock, I quickly misplaced my motivation and went back to snorkeling. TFTV(iew)!!!

Awesome cache!

Tried the Haputo challenge today along with cjpinaula, venaputi and lightning11. We could not reach the top. Underestimated the size and height of the rock and even with our own rope we could not get up. The rope that is there is good enough for someone who weighs less than 75 lbs or for some super human with abnormal upper body strength. I have decided to go back to the drawing board and come up with a plan that will make the climb easier. A rope ladder can do the job, but I'm thinking of making a bamboo ladder using the bamboo at Haputo. In any case, I will return to take on this challenge again. JIMP59

Ha, tried to tie our own rope on the peak, no joy. Going to try and make a rope ladder this week to reach it!

[This entry was edited by Walk the Plank on Tuesday, May 04, 2010 at 2:59:15 PM.]

Awesome hidding spot! But the rope leading up to the Mushroom Rock has been broken off... There is no way to reach the cache... I may put another rope in the next couple of days!

FTF! A challenging cache find on a beautiful day. Haputo Beach is a quiet slice of paradise - once you survive the trek down to the beach. The cache was a quick find, but getting to it was a real challenge. TNLN - SL.

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