Delorme San Juan Islands Trip

2.5k · October 7, 2005

I posted this post in another thread and thought it deserved a thread of its own. Anybody interested in doing a one day run that should net four or five of the DeLorme boxes. I would guess over 30 caches on the day. I think we can get 25 on San Juan alone and that would pick up 2 quads.

Allanon has alread responded as possibly interested in the other thread.

October 7, 2005

Depending on the timing, I would be interested. I will keep my eye on the thread and see what develops.

October 7, 2005

Should be able to meet up with you some were on the route depending on which day it is.

October 8, 2005

If it is on a Friday, then this working stiff could consider it. <_<

Edited October 8, 2005 by Kiersolvd

1.2k · October 8, 2005

I would be interested, but it would be very dependent on the day.

2.5k · October 8, 2005

If it is on a Friday, then this working stiff could consider it.

Today was probably the only Friday I have before December that I would not have to be working a football game that evening. I am scheduled through Nov. 4 and there will likely be a game the next Friday as well. That gets a little late in the year after we go back to standard time.

October 8, 2005

I'm interested. Anytime durring the week is fine with me. Or even a weekend if I don't have soccer.

October 8, 2005

I can't go but I grew up on San Juan Island (22+ years) and was over there last week to get my Dad's shotgun out of the Sheriffs evidence locker (long and funny story, Funny ha-ha, not funny bad), so if there are any pre-trip questions please feel free to send me an e-mail.

2.5k · October 8, 2005

Thanks to Moun10Bike's SNT file, I was able to take a closer look at box 108. The stop at Lopez Island is not needed. There are caches in Anacortes in that box. That eliminates a big potential problem. Box 109 could be picked up by going into Sedro Wooley as those caches seem to be closest to I-5 and Hwy 20. Since the 4:15 out of Friday Harbor gets into Anacortes at 5:35 there should be time to do some in both Anacortes and Sedro Wooley.

Since I won't be able to do this on a Friday, how about Tuesday, Oct. 18? We could go on Monday through Wednesday of the next week as well.

1.2k · October 8, 2005

The weekends are the only time that is good for me so I am out.

2.5k · October 8, 2005

By eliminating the stop at Lopez, Sunday is back in the picture. Perhaps Sunday, Oct. 16 or 23. We would probably have to make sure we were in line at Friday Harbor a bit earlier on a Sunday, but that is doable.

Edit to note that Saturday is out for me since I will not get home until late on Fridays.

Edited October 8, 2005 by WeightMan

October 9, 2005

I'm in for either one

2.5k · October 9, 2005

After a conversation with Silly Face and a better look at the pages thanks to Moun10Bike's SNT file, I have refined the trip somewhat. What follows is a list of the caches and a comment or two on some of them. These are basically in the order I would propose.

[Ferry Godmother - Saturday Cove This would probably be better to do waiting for the ferry to leave the island. P. 107

Pinedrona ola P. 108 If this one is done that eliminates the need to do any in Anacortes.

Jackson's Beach P. 107

Double Wide Runway Cache P. 107

Shady P. 107

San Juan Survey Marker P. 93

Eagle Cove P. 93

Hillside Hide P. 94 This one and the next do not need to be done if people have a find on Whidbey which is also on P. 94

Super Size Me! P. 94

Friday Harbor Labs Biological Preserve P. 93

Queen for a Day This is close to the border of P. 93 and P. 107

Left Coast View - Oh Canada! P. 107

Twice cooked hide P. 107

San Juan Sunset P. 107 In Lime Kiln State Park.

A Quarry With A View P. 107

Maggies cache 2 P. 107 This cache is a good decision point. Is there time to do more caches on the island or do we need to get to the ferry dock?

Space Camp Bug Exchange P. 107

Roche Harbor Micro P. 107

Willies house aka not much of a whales view P. 107

Mausoleum P. 107

Bushwacking Reuben Tarte P. 107

Sandwiched P. 107

Hidden Identity P. 107 This is a puzzle cache requiring some research before getting to San Juan island as well as answering some questions along the way. I am hoping the final is near the ferry dock.

Streets and Trips shows this route arriving back at the ferry dock at 2:42 for the boat leaving at 4:15. Silly Look advises that we should plan on getting in line at least an hour before the boat is scheduled to leave both at Anacortes and Friday Harbor. That gives about 30 minutes leeway. I have used the travisl average of seven minutes per cache to figure the timing on these caches.

I have set up a few caches in Anacortes in case the one here on P. 108 is not findable although it sounds like an easy find. Also, I have set up a few in Sedro Wooley to pick up P. 109 since I have none that far north. If anyone that wants to go does not have a find on P. 95, that can be added without any trouble.

Unless there is serious need to change let us plan on Sunday, Oct. 16 for this trip.

Edit: Corrected error caught by CENT5. Thanks for catching that one.

Edited October 10, 2005 by WeightMan

October 10, 2005

Ferry Godmother: It's Upright Over There! Is on Lopez Island. I think you want Ferry Godmother - Saturday Cove Which is an easy 5 minute grab from the ferry waiting area in Friday Harbor.

Wish I could join Ya'll but thats the 2nd day of duck season.

Have fun.

1.2k · October 10, 2005

I will have to see if my wife is working on sunday. If she is going to be gone for most of the day I may be able to go.

October 10, 2005

I'm definitely interested...I'll keep watching this thread to see where I need to be at what time.

2.5k · October 10, 2005

Ferry Godmother: It's Upright Over There! Is on Lopez Island. I think you want Ferry Godmother - Saturday Cove Which is an easy 5 minute grab from the ferry waiting area in Friday Harbor.

Wish I could join Ya'll but thats the 2nd day of duck season.

Have fun.

Yeah, that's the one. I will edit my post to reflect that. There are too many with similar names, all near the ferry docks.

Thanks for catching my error.

October 10, 2005

I am interested however let me check with the War Office and I'll get back to you.

1.2k · October 10, 2005

I have officially been given permission to head north for the day. When we leavin'?

7.4k · October 10, 2005

Even though I have these pages complete, I would love to join you for the adventure. I am not sure of my weekend schedules, though. I will know more later.

2.8k · October 10, 2005

What day was decided upon?

2.5k · October 10, 2005

What day was decided upon?

Sunday, Oct. 16

We should plan on being in Anacortes and in line by 6:45 for the boat leaving at 7:45. I will probably be leaving south Seattle at about 4:45. Meeting places for car pools have yet to be determined.

October 11, 2005

We should plan on being in Anacortes and in line by 6:45 for the boat leaving at 7:45. I will probably be leaving south Seattle at about 4:45. Meeting places for car pools have yet to be determined.

This cache Ferry Godmother - Annie's Corsets Takes about 15-20 minutes to grab from the Anacortez Ferry waiting are.

2.8k · October 11, 2005

I'll be there if I'm recovered enough from yesterday to not hold everyone up.

2.5k · October 11, 2005

We should plan on being in Anacortes and in line by 6:45 for the boat leaving at 7:45. I will probably be leaving south Seattle at about 4:45. Meeting places for car pools have yet to be determined.

This cache Ferry Godmother - Annie's Corsets Takes about 15-20 minutes to grab from the Anacortez Ferry waiting are.

I had figured on that one that we could get while waiting for the ferry. I just didn't put it on the list since that just had ones for San Juan Island. On my routing I had it down for after arriving in Anacortes. I have several others in Anacortes as well, but time may be a problem.

1.5k · October 11, 2005

Waaaah! I wish I didn't have to work on weekends! <_<

October 11, 2005

I have several others in Anacortes as well, but time may be a problem.

If you want to grab a quickie in Anacortes, this one of mine is just off the main drag out to the ferry and really is a driveup cache and dash. It's also an amazing place to see --

Rock, Paper, Scissors

October 11, 2005

I don't know if I would call that a quick grab, :unsure: it took me a while to find but then again it was one of my first micros. How are we going to work out the car pool thing if any one has room once they get to the ferry terminal I can jump in there or if you need a local guide for any of the other let me know. RWW might have some thing say about my local guide abilities.

Edited October 11, 2005 by Square Bear

1.5k · October 11, 2005

RWW might have some thing say about my local guide abilities.

Hey... only two U-Turns on out of two possible on the way to a local cache in your home territory. Shoot... I might do that at home too! We did get ONE turn right! (or course... that was the one I picked :unsure: )

2.5k · October 12, 2005

To review:

At this point I show the following

Square Bear and Andrewrj for sure

Geek Girl, Recdiver, Moun10Bike, and Allanon are possible to probable.

We should pick some meeting points. I will be coming north on I-5 from the southend. I can take up to three more people in my car. Well, I could take four, but the three in the back seat would have to be really friendly.

By the way, the only real food establishments are in Friday Harbor and Roche Harbor and we will not be there at reasonable meal times. I don't know if the ferry system has food service on this run or not. I assume we will be back in the Anacortes area in time for a quick dinner at an establishment there, but have no ideas as to where. Square Bear should be able to help us with that.

2.8k · October 12, 2005

My participation now depends on delivery of hardware at work that I may have to set up and configure this weekend...I'll know more in the next few days...

October 12, 2005

I assume we will be back in the Anacortes area in time for a quick dinner at an establishment there, but have no ideas as to where.

Best bets in Anacortes area:

Esteban's Mexican Restaurant & Lounge (my top pick, on the main drag, cheap to moderate prices)

Phone: 360-299-1060

1506 Commercial Ave

Anacortes WA 98221-2235

El Jinete Mexican Restaurant (also good, right on main drag, moderate prices)

509 Commercial Avenue, Anacortes, WA 98221

19th Hole (may have changed its name, about 2 mi. east on Hwy. 20, traffic signal w/gas station and golf course on corner, good burgers and dinners, cheap to moderate prices)

12515 Christianson Rd, Anacortes, WA 98221

Farmhouse Restaurant (also on Hwy. 20, about 5 mi. east of Anacortes, traffic signal and gas station on corner, farm-style dinners, moderate price)

13724 La Conner Whitney Rd, Mount Vernon, WA 98273

(360) 466-4411

There's also the whole plethora of fast food joints on Commercial Ave in Anacortes -- McD's, Burger King, A&W, KFC, Taco Bell, Subway, Starbux...

October 12, 2005

My best bets are also on the main drag and in old town listed in order of beeralisciousness -

The Brown Lantern

Rockfish Grill

And El Jinente for Mexican.

Edited October 12, 2005 by soreyes

2.5k · October 12, 2005

beeralisciousness -

:mad: :mad:

October 12, 2005

I don't know if anybody has been communicating over the back channels but "San Juan Sunset" and "Hidden Identity" are time intensive multi's. "Jackson’s Beach" is tide dependant so make sure you check out the tide table for anything less then a +4 before going.

There is no food service on the boats right now but they do have vending machines for coffee, candy, and soda. For those interested, the coffee machine makes the worst coffee in the world, so if you have a thermos, bring it.

Good luck and good hunting!

1.2k · October 12, 2005

I don't know if anybody has been communicating over the back channels but "San Juan Sunset" and "Hidden Identity" are time intensive multi's. "Jackson’s Beach" is tide dependant so make sure you check out the tide table for anything less then a +4 before going.

There is no food service on the boats right now but they do have vending machines for coffee, candy, and soda. For those interested, the coffee machine makes the worst coffee in the world, so if you have a thermos, bring it.

Good luck and good hunting!

I went up to friday harbor a few weeks ago and the ferryI was on did have food. Not a full food service loke they used to but it was the galley area that was open.

October 12, 2005

I don't know if anybody has been communicating over the back channels but "San Juan Sunset" and "Hidden Identity" are time intensive multi's. "Jackson’s Beach" is tide dependant so make sure you check out the tide table for anything less then a +4 before going.

There is no food service on the boats right now but they do have vending machines for coffee, candy, and soda. For those interested, the coffee machine makes the worst coffee in the world, so if you have a thermos, bring it.

Good luck and good hunting!

I went up to friday harbor a few weeks ago and the ferryI was on did have food. Not a full food service loke they used to but it was the galley area that was open.

The onboard food service ended about two weeks ago. It was seasonal. However, there is coffee and food available at the terminal. Its not a vending machine either. A local cheesecake place stepped up to the plate when the onboard sodhexo food service was shuttered about two years ago.

Optimally, you should really allow 10 minutes on the way into town to stop at the Donut House. It is on the NE corner of Commercial and 28th street. They are open 24 hours and the donuts are a thing of wonder. They also have good coffee.

Edited October 12, 2005 by soreyes

2.5k · October 12, 2005

I don't know if anybody has been communicating over the back channels but "San Juan Sunset" and "Hidden Identity" are time intensive multi's. "Jackson’s Beach" is tide dependant so make sure you check out the tide table for anything less then a +4 before going.

There is no food service on the boats right now but they do have vending machines for coffee, candy, and soda. For those interested, the coffee machine makes the worst coffee in the world, so if you have a thermos, bring it.

Good luck and good hunting!

When I am traveling and caching, it doesn't take much for me to just skip a cache and move on. I have been known to miss a turn and just decide to skip that one. Note that this does not generate a DNF since I don't leave the car and/or give more than a cursory search.

With that proviso in place, I am more than willing to take a quick look at any of the caches here and decide part way into it to just abandon that search. I included both of those realizing that they were not the quick cache and dash type. While the main objective of this trip is to add a few pages, I do want to pick up a few boxes as well. The ultimate decision will be made by the group with time in mind. Hidden Identity was always a probably deletion from the route. If we miss any one of the waypoints we would have to delete it anyhow. I had not read San Juan Sunset well enough to realize that it may start in Lime Kiln State Park, but requires several miles of travel between waypoints. That may well require backtracking and the time schedule does not allow for that. It may well be that doing that one will imply skipping several caches further on the list. In that case, the several boxes win out in my mind. Also, I really don't like paying $5 to make a quick stop to pick up a waypoint.

I will try to post a listing of other caches, not on the island, that I have on my list so people can set up their PDA's or print out the pages. I didn't do that before because I was spending too much time posting what I did and I had to get some other things done.

7.4k · October 12, 2005

Well, it unfortunately looks like I have to bow out of joining you. The good news is that my wife is interested in taking a drive to look at some fall foliage, so maybe I can talk her into a drive into a quad I haven't visited!

Keep me in mind for future DeLorme runs, though!

October 13, 2005

Don't let the fee stop us I can bring my State Park pass, didn't get a chance to ask about resturants at work today maybe soreyes could give us a sugestion.

2.5k · October 13, 2005

"Jackson’s Beach" is tide dependant so make sure you check out the tide table for anything less then a +4 before going.

I just checked a tide table for Sunday and we should be fine. The passes +4 on the way out at around 7:30 and will remain below that until early afternoon. This is set for one of our first caches so the tide should not be a problem.

October 13, 2005

Don't let the fee stop us I can bring my State Park pass, didn't get a chance to ask about resturants at work today maybe soreyes could give us a sugestion.

The first two I mentioned have good burgers and great selections of beer as well as a bunch of other pub type food such as fish n chips. The rockfish has good small pizzas and thats a high bar to jump for someone that was raised in chicagoland. The rockfish also brews its own beer. Both are pretty reasonable on the wallet.

What are the general food interests of the group?

H-C's suggestions are good as well.

I am still unsure if I will be able to join in the trip. I have a lot to get done around the house over the weekend. I also have an event on Sat night that could go pretty late. So it depends on how things go for me on Sat.

Edited October 13, 2005 by soreyes

October 13, 2005

Looks like I'm in for sure!

Weightman...from how far south will you be starting? I'm in Auburn...maybe there's someplace we can meet up and carpool?

2.5k · October 13, 2005

South Renton P&R. That is the one on Grady Way east of Rainier Ave. I can get coords if you need them.

I am just a bit north of there by about three miles so a swing by there would be easy to do.

With you, Andrewrj, Ray and myself and probably Allanon we have five people. I don't think anybody has a car that will comfortably seat five so it looks like we will be taking two cars. That means there are some available seats if anyone else wants to tag along.

October 13, 2005

South Renton P&R. That is the one on Grady Way east of Rainier Ave.

Sounds good...I can find that! Still planning on leaving there at 4:45 a.m.?

2.8k · October 13, 2005

Actually, with all the excitement of the last week (corn, APE, pizza), I've decided I need to spend some time at home and prepare for winter (or what we consider as winter here in the great PNW). So I'm going to pass on the Sunday trip.

Y'all have a good time.

2.5k · October 13, 2005

South Renton P&R. That is the one on Grady Way east of Rainier Ave.

Sounds good...I can find that! Still planning on leaving there at 4:45 a.m.?

4:45 it is. I will email my cell #

2.5k · October 13, 2005

With Allanon backing out, we are at four people. My car will handle that nicely.

Andrewrj, have you figured out where I can pick you up? Since I will be picking up Geek Girl in Renton, I can easly come up 405 if that would help you.

1.5k · October 13, 2005

With Allanon backing out, we are at four people. My car will handle that nicely.

Andrewrj, have you figured out where I can pick you up? Since I will be picking up Geek Girl in Renton, I can easly come up 405 if that would help you.

Well darn.... I can't go. I was hoping to make this. It appears I'm going to have to some router upgrades at work over the weekend, and Sunday is the only day with no production in the plant... so that means it's the only day I can have the equipment down for several hours.

Maybe next time

1.2k · October 13, 2005

With Allanon backing out, we are at four people. My car will handle that nicely.

Andrewrj, have you figured out where I can pick you up? Since I will be picking up Geek Girl in Renton, I can easly come up 405 if that would help you.

North of 520 on 405, the 70th street exit, there is a PnR at the top of the off ramp on the east side of the freeway. so that looks like 5 or 5:15 to pick me up then.

Delorme San Juan Islands Trip

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