travisl

My boundaries aren't set, although I'd like to avoid getting any closer to Portland. If they're quality caches or neat spots, I wouldn't mind adding a little distance. If you're thinking this area, that's definitely doable.

In that case, thanks. You've convinced me. I'll pull it off the route. Also, I heard back from the owner of #54, Pickleball with the A & W Family. We can keep it on the route.

Cool. Looking forward to it. Yep. Truth be told, I added it to get my auto-routing working. Looks like one spot at the end of the rail just south of the cache, and another few further south on the other side of the street. It's late enough in the day I think it'll be fine, especially if we stay on the safe side of the guardrail. Not only do other previous finders say that they had to find it quickly to avoid getting a ticket, but the last three logs are DNFs, after a string of 125 finds. That tells me the cache is missing. I'm taking it off the route. Yeah, I "drove" Germantown Road on Street View before I posted the route. The narrowness and bucolic-ness of it is why I added it to the route. I think it'll be fine, especially, as you point out, so late in the day. Removed. Thanks again for the suggestions. Keep them coming! I need to add another 10-20 caches to the route somewhere, so if you've got any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I'm aiming to have the second draft up just after Memorial Day.

Or use them both, as they are on the same trail. What if I were to also add GC1GZVV, Hoops Anyone? I looked at CH1JEJ9 (Killing the Urge give me more), and it's troublesome in its proximity to houses in a residential area so early in the day. But if I add F.F.T.E. and Hoops Anyone, I can suggest parking just outside the red-curbed area on Huntington, or even just uphill of the basketball court on Lanewood, and have folks walk the trail to Killing the Urge. What do you think? Thanks. I've modified the route to show the correct entrance. I'm looking forward to this one. #27: Keeping it, especially since I removed the last library cache on the route. #29: Yup. Added to break up the two mile drive between #28 and #30. #32: Tough choice on this one. Some of the logs say that there is a dry route in from the west, and that satellite views may help. Skimming the logs looks like it actually gets wetter as the summer goes on, which doesn't seem right. There's an earthcache 150 feet away, so folks will be in the area anyway. I think I'll leave it on, and leave it up to the participants as to whether they want to try for it or not. #52: Yoink. Removed. #54: Thanks. We're discussing it. #55: 10 AM to 6 PM only. Noted. I'm not too worried about groups of people, but thanks for the parking advice. Street view shows what looks to be legal parking on Aloclek, but the three parking spaces are also full. I'll point them to the given parking waypoint. (More in next post, because the message board doesn't like so many quotes in one message.)

Great suggestions. I'll address two of them now, and will take time to check the others before my second draft. Sure you're looking at the right one? It's Hungry Monkeys, GC4F7VT, not Happy Monkey, GC4F9XD. I emailed Jewlik1 through their profile page on April 26, but haven't heard back. It's my standard e-mail that I sent to 84(!) local cache owners over a two-day period, and includes the suggestion, "For example, if your cache container is a creative handcrafted puzzle with delicate parts, you may want to consider whether you're excited to have so many people see your work, or, alternatively, whether it would be better to keep it off of the route because it's unlikely to survive so many people people zipping in and out to log it." Unless I hear from them, I'd default to leaving their caches on the route.

These are exactly the kind of comments I'm looking for (as well as Jester's suggestion). I'm looking forward to seeing what else you've got for me.

Draft 1 is posted. It's an unexpectedly large file, about 23 MB, so I'll need to figure out how to reduce that before I post draft 2. If you're a local cache owner, or you know the area, or if you just want to help out, take a look and let me know if you see anything I've done that's just not right. Got better parking coordinates, know that I'm stopping in a dangerous spot, or see something else I can improve? Let me know!

Note: circumstances may change after this initial posting. Look for my posts (with the icon) in this thread for all the important details and changes. If you think you've seen this all before, focus on the unique-to-this-event information in red. (Link to dinner event cache.) Beaverton: Nike! Intel! Geocaches. So fill up the tank, grab your gear, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early o'clock, and start on the route at GC4F7VT, Hungry Monkeys, on Saturday, June 24 at 5:15 AM. From there, move at your own pace and get as many as you can. Dinner's at Pietro’s Pizza, 13281 SW Canyon Rd, Beaverton (N 45° 29.316', W 122° 48.780'). It’s listed as an event cache, GC755RQ. See its event page for details. Please log your "will attends" on the event page so I can let the restaurant know how many to expect. Yes, this is the same day as the Tri-Cities 2017 Geocoin Challenge. Take your pick! If you can't make Beaverton, there's always another cache machine around the corner. Note that some caches on the route map may be marked with a "do not enter" icon . Those cache owners have justifiably asked for their cache to not be on the route, and for the cache to not be sought during the cache machine. The cache is, in the owner's opinion, in a sensitive area, whether it's environmentally unwise, socially sensitive, or physically fragile. Just don't get it. It's not like there's a shortage of caches in the area. Rules: 1) Follow all traffic laws, and drive safely. This is not a race; there are no winners. The only loser will be someone who gets hurt. When someone asks what you're doing, the right answer is honesty: "geocaching". 2) Respect private property, even if the cache owner didn't. Post your DNFs proudly. 3) One logbook entry for "BCM2" is fine for most small and micros. Don't go filling up the logbook just because you want to mark your territory. 50 people's names and dates will fill up most one-sheets. Be kind and bring extra paper to add to caches with full logbooks. 4) As with all cache machines, if you find the cache, you'll be the one who has to re-hide it. Hide it as well as you found it. Handing it off to someone else and pointing down saying "it goes there" isn't good enough. Don't be a jerk. The extra 45 seconds isn't going to ruin your day. If you’ve already found a couple of these caches, that’s fine - give us a chance to find the cache, and then we may turn to you for a hint. Suggestions and ''Count me ins'' are welcome on the event page. ---- The Beaverton Cache Machine II FAQ: When is it? When is the start time? Saturday, June 24, 2017. Start time is 5:15 a.m. at GC4F7VT, Hungry Monkeys. Will it be one large group, will we be split into teams, or what? We'll start as one large group, but after a dozen caches or so, the large groups will likely fragment, and on a long day like this, you'll probably be on your own by the time most people in town are waking up. If you want to go off-route to find Munzees, letterboxes, Pokémon, portals, confluences, or Starbucks, well, you do you. Is anything going on before, during, or after? Friday, June 23, at 6:30 PM: An informal pre-event dinner will be at a location to be announced. Last-minute changes will be announced at this dinner and in the Groundspeak forum Saturday, 24, 5:15 AM: Cache machine! Kick-off is at stop number 1, GC4F7VT, Hungry Monkeys. Saturday, June 24, 7:30 PM: Dinner is at stop 85, Pietro’s Pizza, 13281 SW Canyon Rd, Beaverton (N 45° 29.316 W 122° 48.780). It’s listed as event cache GC755RQ. Sunday, June 25: Nothing's planned, but there's a lot of caches around here. We'll be skipping a lot of them. Hey, why aren't we getting that one? My standard answer here is that I try to avoid most multicaches, most puzzle caches, caches that appear to be overly time consuming, and caches that the owner has asked us to avoid. I'm also skipping caches that just seem at first glance to be a little lame, because there's so many caches and so little time. Most of the caches on this route have at least 15 favorite points. A cache on your map shows the wrong place to park. Hey, that road doesn't exist! What's with making us ford the creek? Thanks for catching that! Let me know, and I'll incorporate it your fix into the route. Why does the route go more than two hours past the dinner time? Is this a two-day event? The extra time is a buffer, in case you're so good that you'd run out of caches before you run out of daylight. I don't expect anyone would be able to hit all of them between sunrise and sunset. Of course, if you wanted to hit them after dinner, or on Sunday, I'm sure you'll be able to find folks to join you. It sounds fun, but I've already found some of them. Then come laugh at us, try to remember where they were, look at the old logbook signatures, or guess when we'll be at the caches you haven't hit yet. Maybe pass your phone number around for us to call when we get stumped. You have X cache on the route, but it's disabled/archived/a long hike. Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route (if archived) or may check with the owner (if disabled). X cache is in an environmentally sensitive area. My cache is physically fragile and I don't want it broken. By all means, let me know. I don't want to send 50 people there to stomp all over it. I disagree with the whole idea of cache machines. I don't want you finding my cache. Sorry to hear that. It's too bad you've got a neat place to show us that we won't be able to see. Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route. What's this gonna cost me? Nothing for the caching. Or, at least, nothing more than it would cost than if you did the trip solo (e.g., paying for your own gas, hotel, and dinner). I'm not collecting any money for this. Lunch? Breaks? Bathrooms? There's no breaks in cache machines! Just hold it. :-P Or find something on the way. Rain? Snow? Landslides? Flooding? Rattlesnakes? Probably, yes. Do what you safely can, and skip ahead when reality or your capabilities don't match the plan. Be prepared and flexible. What do the map symbols mean? Turquoise lines show my suggested route, but if there's a brown trail or grey road that I've drawn in, ignore the turquoise. Red car icons show places to park a car for a short time (usually a trailhead).

Only one change to the route: stop 37, "Don't be grilled," is on the do not hunt list. Please do not hunt it on Saturday. Otherwise, all of the caches, including 41, 42, and 49 are, to the best of my knowledge, still available despite recent DNFs. See you in less than nine hours!

I just spotted it in this morning's pocket query. Thanks a ton! I've added it to the final route, which is now live. Any changes after this point will be announced at Friday's pre-event dinner and shortly after that, in this discussion. See you and everyone else this weekend!

It is a must Matt is correct on this one. You will not be disappointed. Also the snow is gone from most of the route! I've not received any request to keep it off, and it's, like, right on the existing path, too! Definitely adding it in tomorrow's final. And yay for no snow! I appreciate your offline offer of snow advice, QitM, and I'm glad it sounds like we won't need an alternate route. Current long range forecast (i.e., unreliable forecast) is for a 60% chance of showers, and a high of 59° in Pullman and 64° in Lewiston. Tropical!

Sweet. Sorry for the confusion. Sometimes I make interim edits to my version of the route between drafts, and then get mixed up.

Draft 2 is up! I'll post the next and final update on Monday, March 13. Thanks to each of you for the advice, including the folks below: Removed. Fixed. removed. Looks like it's still loggable. Too bad it's down -- I found it on QCCM1, and it was pretty cool. I'll keep an eye on it in case it gets archived pre-QCCM. This is totally a cache machine type of hide. Most cachers will have water with them and it normally the inexperienced cachers that break these types of hides. I'd leave it in my opinion. I've e-mailed the owner to find out. Edit: The owner has asked me to add it to the do not hunt list because it's been frequently damaged. Thanks for pointing it out. Again, thanks to all of you for your advice.

Excellent advice. I'll reroute #76 to #77 as mentioned, add Dinosaur Train, and avoid Campus Drive between #79 and W. University Ave. I created the route by choosing caches with 10 or more favorite points, and then filling in some of the long stretches. There's an unexpectedly high number of virts on this route. People just didn't favor the traditionals enough. If you know of some good traditionals that I'm missing, please let me know (and maybe toss them a favorite point for future seekers). Removed. Thanks! I'll add both. That also helps me avoid route around Campus Drive, so we're not driving on the sidewalk :-) You're so quick! Thanks as always for doing this.

(Edit: deleted "nothing yet" info. Page is awaiting approval.) I've posted the first draft of the route. As always, take a look and let me know if you see something I've done that is wrong or off or strange or quirky, like hitting a night cache at noon or fording the Snake River or parking a mile from a cache. Much thanks to QuadsInTheMudd for helping track down the dinner location!

Note: circumstances may change after this initial posting. Look for my posts (with the icon) in this thread for all the important details and changes. If you think you've seen this all before, focus on the unique-to-this-event information in red. (Link to dinner event cache.) The Quad Cities again! The Cougars of Pullman. The Vandals of Moscow. The Warriors of Lewiston. The barges of Clarkston. So fill up the tank, grab your gear, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early o'clock, and start on the route at GCXKK3, Sunnyside, on Saturday, March 18 at 6:45 AM. From there, move at your own pace and get as many as you can. Dinner's at 7:00 p.m. at Rancho Viejo, 170 S. Grand Ave, Pullman (N 46° 43.746’, W 117° 10.920’). It’s listed as an event cache, GC70VFN. See its event page for details. Please log your "will attends" on the event page so I can let the restaurant know how many to expect. Note that some caches on the route map may be marked with a "do not enter" icon . Those cache owners have justifiably asked for their cache to not be on the route, and for the cache to not be sought during the cache machine. The cache is, in the owner's opinion, in a sensitive area, whether it's environmentally unwise, socially sensitive, or physically fragile. Just don't get it. It's not like there's a shortage of caches in the area. Note the four Whereigos at stops 18-21. If you want to get these, you'll need to prepare. See their cache pages for details. Rules: 1) Follow all traffic laws, and drive safely. This is not a race; there are no winners. The only loser will be someone who gets hurt. When someone asks what you're doing, the right answer is honesty: "geocaching". 2) Respect private property, even if the cache owner didn't. Post your DNFs proudly. 3) One logbook entry for "QCCM" is fine for most small and micros. Don't go filling up the logbook just because you want to mark your territory. 50 people's names and dates will fill up most one-sheets. Be kind and bring extra paper to add to caches with full logbooks. 4) As with all cache machines, if you find the cache, you'll be the one who has to re-hide it. Hide it as well as you found it. Handing it off to someone else and pointing down saying "it goes there" isn't good enough. Don't be a jerk. The extra 45 seconds isn't going to ruin your day. If you’ve already found a couple of these caches, that’s fine - give us a chance to find the cache, and then we may turn to you for a hint. Suggestions and ''Count me ins'' are welcome on the event page. ---- The Quad Cities Cache Machine II FAQ: When is it? When is the start time? Saturday, March 18, 2017. Start time is 6:45 a.m. at GCXKK3, Sunnyside. Will it be one large group, will we be split into teams, or what? We'll start as one large group, but after a dozen caches or so, the large groups will likely fragment, and on a long day like this, you'll probably be on your own by the time most people in town are waking up. If you want to go off-route to find Munzees, letterboxes, Pokémon, portals, confluences, or Starbucks, well, you do you. Is anything going on before, during, or after? Friday, March 17, at 6:30 PM: An informal pre-event dinner will be Paradise Creek Brewery, 245 SE Paradise St., Pullman, N 46° 43.728’, W 117° 10.818’. Last-minute changes will be announced at this dinner and in the Groundspeak forum Saturday, March 18, 6:45 AM: Cache machine! Kick-off is at stop number 1, at GCXKK3, Sunnyside. Saturday, March 18, 7:00 PM: Dinner is at stop 90, Rancho Viejo, 170 S. Grand Ave, Pullman (N 46° 43.746’, W 117° 10.920’). It’s listed as event cache GC70FVN. Sunday, March 19: Nothing's planned, but you're welcome to get all of the caches we drove past on Saturday that made you say, "hey, why aren't we getting that one?" There’s a power trail out between Julietta and Kendrick, another on SR-270 between WSU and the state line, and two more south of Lewiston/Clarkston, if you’re into that kind of thing. Hey, why aren't we getting that one? My standard answer here is that I try to avoid most multicaches, most puzzle caches, caches that appear to be overly time consuming, and caches that the owner has asked us to avoid. I'm also skipping caches that just seem at first glance to be a little lame, because there's so many caches and so little time. I'm focusing heavily on caches that have a lot of favorite points, and I'm giving you an early morning loop trail hike in DuPont, so it's going to be a full, busy day. A cache on your map shows the wrong place to park. Hey, that road doesn't exist! What's with making us ford the creek? Thanks for catching that! Let me know, and I'll incorporate it your fix into the route. Why does the route go more than two hours past the dinner time? Is this a two-day event? The extra time is a buffer, in case you're so good that you'd run out of caches before you run out of daylight. I don't expect anyone would be able to hit all of them between sunrise and sunset. Of course, if you wanted to hit them after dinner, or on Sunday, I'm sure you'll be able to find folks to join you. It sounds fun, but I've already found some of them. Then come laugh at us, try to remember where they were, look at the old logbook signatures, or guess when we'll be at the caches you haven't hit yet. Maybe pass your phone number around for us to call when we get stumped. You have X cache on the route, but it's disabled/archived/a long hike. Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route (if archived) or may check with the owner (if disabled). X cache is in an environmentally sensitive area. My cache is physically fragile and I don't want it broken. By all means, let me know. I don't want to send 50 people there to stomp all over it. I disagree with the whole idea of cache machines. I don't want you finding my cache. Sorry to hear that. It's too bad you've got a neat place to show us that we won't be able to see. Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route. What's this gonna cost me? Nothing for the caching. Or, at least, nothing more than it would cost than if you did the trip solo (e.g., paying for your own gas, hotel, and dinner). I'm not collecting any money for this. Lunch? Breaks? Bathrooms? There's no breaks in cache machines! Just hold it. :-P Or find something on the way. Rain? Snow? Landslides? Flooding? Rattlesnakes? Probably, yes. Do what you safely can, and skip ahead when reality or your capabilities don't match the plan. Be prepared and flexible. What do the map symbols mean? Turquoise lines show my suggested route, but if there's a brown trail or grey road that I've drawn in, ignore the turquoise. Red car icons show places to park a car for a short time (usually a trailhead).

Last minute announcements: Don't hunt these disabled caches: Stop 18, Riding the Rails vs. 2, GC2MVTG Stop 22, Revisiting the Red Hot Little Park, GC150WB Stop 23, Stop Monkeying Around (a tiny tin cache), GC202Y7 Stop 26, Addiction Cache #27 - A Dynamite Train, GC25DDD Stop 30, Paul Bunyan's Blue Bison, GC1F0M8 To get to stop 32, Paul Bunyan's Rip Repairer, GC1DXBC, walk from stop 31 or from its posted parking coordinates. You can't access stop 32 from the street. Like pictures? Here's the above, in map form: The road to stops 42-44 goes a lot further downhill than the map shows. Less walking, more driving, faster caching. Dinner is at 5:00 PM. Seating is limited. I told them in November to expect 35 people; I'm seeing 68 will-attend notes. If you arrive late, and there aren't any seats, I highly recommend Pizza Studio next door, or otherwise Five Guys or Panera nearby. Also, if you want to watch the 5:15 PM Seahawks playoff game, The Ram is located about 900 feet WNW, as the crow flies. The current weather forecast shows snow starting around 3 PM. Be careful.

Just got word from the cache owner that these stops need to be taken off the route. They're likely to be disabled and down for maintenance anyway: Stop 22, Revisiting the Red Hot Little Park, GC150WB Stop 23, Stop Monkeying Around (a tiny tin cache), GC202Y7 Stop 26, Addiction Cache #27 - A Dynamite Train, GC25DDD Stop 30, Paul Bunyan's Blue Bison, GC1F0M8

Saw that, but I think they're just tough hides. Several previous DNFs were followed by finds, and several finds indicated that it took a while, that it was a second attempt, or that it was a "clever" hide.

The final route is live. I'll repeat here: the route through DuPont includes a 2.5-mile hike, if you can arrange transportation back to your car. It's 3.8 miles if you can't. If it's icy and slippery, the hike from the beach to the top of the bluff might range from challenging to dangerous. The forecast at this moment is for snow/rain mix, with a temperature of 27° to start the day, 29° at the time of that hike, and a high of 36° just before dinner. You can still get a couple of the hike's caches right at the trailhead. I'm also eyeing GCQRVP, "Dead End Crossing", as an off-route stop, just because it looks like a neat spot I haven't been to yet. It's just off the west side of page 7. On the page 1 overview map, it's the lone cache about a mile NE of the Nisqually earthcache. I also alluded to it in an earlier post above, but I'll restate it here: stops 42-44 are further downhill than the route shows, which is why the stops are labeled "entrance to..." instead of "parking for...". The parking lot roads go closer to Puget Sound than is shown on the map. You can see the three caches on the zoomed out view on page 13. Also, those forest-green splotchy icons you see scattered around, like the one ENE of stop 1? They're a badly rendered Starbucks logo. I know at least one cacher will be looking for these. See you Friday night and Saturday morning! And, by the way, I just realized I never mentioned it in this thread. This is the 50th cache machine I've organized, The first was in December 2002 in Bremerton, GCB295. Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me, given me constructive route feedback, or simply attended one or more of these crazy free-for-alls. I've already got the next 33 CMs into 2024 tentatively scheduled, and I'm already looking forward to seeing where CM100 takes us.

That's very cool -- back in the days when it was rare for someone to have internet access from the road, and we used FRS radios to communicate unexpected route events. In 2004, I think I just migrated away fromy my Handspring Visor with GPS cartridge, to the little yellow eTrex, pre-WAAS.

I plan to have the final route posted Monday. Terrible Ts will have to speak to the timing of the updated bookmark list, but it can't be done before the final route's up.

And also, Team Noltex is going to be hosting a lunch stop near the Chambers Bay stops. See Tacoma Cache Machine Lunch Stop for details. They've been amazingly helpful with routing, suggestions, advice, and keeping me on track. They've also got a bunch of caches on the route, so yeah, they're going above and beyond to help make this a good CM. A little more info on the Sequalitchew hike: my teammates have already done most of it, and I've hiked the trail twice, so I'm going to skip it myself, but I'm leaving it listed. If it's as cold and potentially snowy and icy as the long range forecasts predict, I'd suggest you skip it, too. The trail from the beach up to the top of the bluff can be a little difficult to find. Coming down, it's pretty obvious, but it not a maintained trail, so it can be hidden under ferns and salal and other typical northwest ground cover. My route has us going up the trail, so even if you find it, it could be slippery and challenging. Mind you, once you get to the top it's one of the flattest trails I've encountered, but that transition from beach to cliff-top might be a little sketchy in sub-freezing temperatures. Beyond that, as noted by Jester, two of the caches on that up-top trail are night caches, possibly workable in the daylight, but perhaps sending you hiking back the way you came. Someone also asked me about the Friday night unofficial dinner, January 6 at 6:30 PM. Carr's Restaurant is at 11006 Bridgeport Way SW in Lakewood, at N 47.1573°, W 122.5048°

Will do. Yup; I've been to that park several times. I can only place the parking spot on roads that Streets & Trips recognizes, or otherwise it generates instructions to go back to the car between each stop. It should be obvious to anyone seeking it, though. Excellent catch. I'll point it out. Too late in the route and closes at dusk. I've removed it from the route. Thanks to the cache owner and Team Noltex for pointing this out. #29 had its log replaed by Ms Marvelous. The other two will probably motivate the owners to get fixed when they receive several dozen logs mentioning the condition. :-) Good catch. It looks like it should be on the other side of the fence from the posted coords. I'll mention it. Unrelated, I've also moved it to the end of the route, due to the addition of caches in Fort Steilacoom Park causing a re-route. Expect to see the final route up on Monday.

Good catch -- I hadn't seen that. Several logs on each indicate some folks found them during the day, and it's marked as a traditional, not a multi, so I think they'll be OK to keep on the route. Looks like it's just a tough find. Almost 10 years old, with 154 finds and 208 DNFs. It looks as if it's just an evil, evil cache. Yup. Missed that when I did some last minute route reversal. It'll be fixed in the final. Thanks for bringing each of these to my attention. Keep 'em coming!