Jump to content

StephenTravels

+Premium Members
  • Posts

    142
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by StephenTravels

  1. During the summer a few friends and I were backpacking up to Lake Ingalls in Central Washington State. We approached a ridge and planned to stop to find a geocache hidden there, but before we could perform the search a whole herd of mountain goats trotted over to check us out. There was a sign at the trail head that warned of aggressive goats and I'll admit, I was a bit nervous when they approached us. Fortunately, they were more curious than agressive. There were some times when they got a bit too close for comfort, but at least I was able to take some pretty good shots. They followed us around the whole two days we were up there. Needless to say, we never found the cache and I logged a DNF--a very memorable one at that. :)

     

    249361_1816037412301_1581060012_31337051_3401750_n.jpg

    267266_1816037652307_1581060012_31337053_3142730_n.jpg

    184020_1816038412326_1581060012_31337057_4803147_n.jpg

  2. Here's a few shots I took of "the locals" at Lake Ingalls this summer. It was amazing how unafraid they were of us and sometimes got a bit too close for comfort. They practically followed us around everywhere the whole two days we were up there.

     

    262941_1816037252297_1581060012_31337050_464578_n.jpg

     

    249361_1816037412301_1581060012_31337051_3401750_n.jpg

     

    267266_1816037652307_1581060012_31337053_3142730_n.jpg

     

    184020_1816038412326_1581060012_31337057_4803147_n.jpg

     

    285456_1816042732434_1581060012_31337083_8332040_n.jpg

  3. Just found one on my ankle here on Whidbey Island after walking the dog tonight. I thought Whidbey would be one of the last places I would find a tick. I guess there's no escaping from them!

  4. :unsure: Interesting fact......... 07-01-2011, Little Si Parking area & Mt Si Parking, signs are up and say Discovery Pass Required.

     

    I roamed in to check on all these REQUIRED PASSES. How about 80% did not have them and did not see any TICKETS on those without the PASS.

     

    Just maybe the 1st was a freebie day.

     

    Today, 07-02-2011, will be a true test as Saturday Morning these lots are packed, we shall see if anything is done to those without a PASS. <_<

     

    I was nearby at Mailbox Peak on the 1st. I thought the Discovery Pass was only for State Parks and did not know one would be needed for Mailbox Peak. When we got to the parking lot there was no sign indicating that a pass was required. Like what EraSeek said, it's confusing sometimes figuring out who operates the land. When we got back down the mountain there was a sign at both the gate and the kiosk at the trail head. No ticket on the car fortunately. Perhaps the 1st was a freebie day because they had not yet officially put up all the signs?

  5. Washington's Unfound Caches

     

    This list is dedicated to all those unfound and perhaps forgotten caches that have yet to be discovered. Whether it be on a remote mountaintop in the Cascades or an epic 5-star puzzle that continues to taunt us, they're all listed here just waiting for someone to log a smiley. These are all caches that are still active and have not yet been found for at least 6 months after publication. If you have any suggestions to add, feel free to send me a message!

  6. I'm from Washington State and will be in Miami on June 13th for a 9 hour layover at the airport. I don't know if I can handle being cooped up inside of the airport for that long so I'm thinking about heading out into the city to find some caches. I am hoping to visit Miami Beach or downtown for a little bit. Does anyone know how long it takes to get there by bus from the airport? Would you recommend this? Would 9 hours be long enough? If not, then I wouldn't mind doing some caches around the airport either. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

  7. I just heard about these eco-nazis today. I'm from Whidbey Island and went caching today in a nearby town and saw this flyer on a kiosk at Sharpe Park in Anacortes, WA. They must have left the geocaches in the park alone, since I still found a few but still...I don't see how removing caches (especially if they have been approved to be placed in the parks by the park ranger) is going to "save the forest". There are plenty of animals out there that trample on plants and make their own trails. Beavers cut down trees and dam up streams. Does that mean they should be destroyed too? :unsure:

     

    I would suggest to anyone who has caches in this area to temporarily set them as "members only" caches.

    59f4c14a-5c42-4e5b-833e-4a018a070f46.jpg

  8. A friend and I recently found the "Waiting for Ironman" (GCRM0Y) cache out there in Grays Harbor county. Finding the cache isn't really too hard, but I gotta say getting there is pretty crazy. You can read my log entry here. I think we approached the cache a little differently than what most people do, coming over from the side that requires you to walk over the catwalks to get to the cache. Just getting to the catwalks requires a 30-40 climb on the bridges support beams. Without ropes and the fact that the metal was slippery from rain, this probably put me out of my comfort zone more than any other cache I've found yet. I heard there are other caches like this in the area, but we haven't done them yet.

     

    Another cache that comes to mind is at Liberty Bell Mountain along SR-20. It appears the FTF spot is still up for grabs, even though it was published in 2008.

     

    Hope you find what you're looking for!

  9. One thing I really like about caching in the Northwest is you can pretty much get outside comfortably year around without having to worry about extreme weather (snow storms, heat, humidity...). This weekend a few friends and I hiked the Boulder River Trail east of Arlington. It was sunny and beautiful with temps near 60...it was hard to believe it's only February! It was a pretty easy hike--a nice and easy warm up for the bigger spring and summer adventures <_<

     

    boulderfalls1.jpg

  10. I agree with ao318, the notification is very helpful. It's nice to now know in advance when the site will be down. Thanks! <_<

     

    Hopefully this will hinder the "angry" remarks I've read and heard in the past from cachers who were unable to make geocaching plans while the site underwent maintenance.

  11. Saw this turtle sunbathing in Golden Gardens Park in Seattle today. It's hard to believe that it's only the middle of winter right now, I usually don't see these guys until April!

     

    d9fd8b99-56f3-4c70-b498-11edb653151f.jpg

  12. Here are a few of my favs:

     

    My Earthcache @ Deception Pass Bridge in Oak Harbor, Washington (GC1E057)

    deception1.jpg

     

    Mount Shuksan from the Earthcache at Picture Lake, Washington (GC1EHB4)

    3ea9b682-77cf-4b50-8ed1-c2b4ffae626a.jpg

     

    Taboga Island from the "Taboga Cross" cache in Panama (GCZQJ0)

    c3a502ad-d5b6-46ac-a718-b3e53ef9caa7.jpg

     

    View of Seattle from my cache "Kerry's View of Seattle" (GC1D3Q8)

    kerry1.jpg

  13. Are those Black Oystercatchers really that rare? I recall seeing quite a few of them while looking for the cache on Little Deadman Island. They didn't seem to approve of my presence though...they're noisy little guys.

  14. Good evening fellow cachers! So a friend and I may be taking a mini-detour to SLC on our road trip to Denver in a few weeks and I was wondering if any locals know anything about the gravity hill near the capitol? Apparently, (on this hill) when you put your car in neutral it will appear to roll uphill due to an optical illusion from the surrounding scenery. If anyone knows the exact location of this place (coordinates would be great), I would greatly appreciate it if you could post them here. I've googled it, but the location descriptions are kind of vague only indicating that it is somewhere near the capitol. I know it kind of sounds like a silly request, but it's something I heard about when I was a kid and always thought it sounded like an interesting place to visit.

     

    And of course, any suggestions for good nearby caches would be appreciated as well :P Cheers!

  15. Resurrecting this one again. There's gotta be a ton of cool pics out there after a long beautiful summer! Here's a few from a backpacking trip up near Buckhorn Mountain and Marmot Pass last weekend. 24.5 mile trip, the weather was perfect, hiked up to nearly 7,000 feet, amazing views, great time spent with friends, and even found a few caches too :drama:

     

    10428_1097415687207_1581060012_30213538_2449028_n.jpg

    10428_1097415727208_1581060012_30213539_6955481_n.jpg

    10428_1097415767209_1581060012_30213540_102799_n.jpg

    10428_1097415807210_1581060012_30213541_3869336_n.jpg

    10428_1097415847211_1581060012_30213542_2273687_n.jpg

    10428_1097401686857_1581060012_30213511_1367231_n.jpg

  16. Hey there fellow Washingtonian! You might find more help if this was posted in the Northwest Forums--a lot of folks there can help point you in the right direction to some nice camping spots.

     

    A few weeks ago I went on an overnight backpacking trip up to Lake Ann and it was AWESOME. ~4 mile hike to an alpine lake nestled between Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan. It's considered to be out in the backcountry so if you're looking into going to the middle of nowhere this would qualify. There's a really nice area to set up a campsite right next to the cache hidden there with some killer views. However, it might be a bit far from where you are, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to mention it.

     

    You can also check out this website: http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes

     

    Hope you find what you're looking for!

×
×
  • Create New...