Snowshoe Caches?

[+Difranco]

Would like to get to generate a list of caches here in Washington that would be great to go get with the help of snowshoes. So anyone know of any?

Edited January 10, 2008 by Difranco

[+hydnsek]

Have you checked out the Snowshoe & XC Ski caches bookmark list?

[+Difranco]

Have you checked out the Snowshoe & XC Ski caches bookmark list?

 

That is a great start... maybe we can add a few more to this hopefully on the southern of the Cascades?

[+hydnsek]

Have you checked out the Snowshoe & XC Ski caches bookmark list?

 

That is a great start... maybe we can add a few more to this hopefully on the southern of the Cascades?

Absolutely. If I know about the cache, I'll put it on the list. So, just let me know when you have one to add.

Edited January 10, 2008 by hydnsek

[+Babybackpackers]

Grumblecache IV: Caching Through the Snow

A cache by Team Grumblecakes & Frogtrotter Hidden: 12/30/2006

Size: (Regular) Difficulty: Terrain: (1 is easiest, 5 is hardest)

 

GC1036Y

 

I had a great time doing this one!

[+hydnsek]

Grumblecache IV: Caching Through the Snow

A cache by Team Grumblecakes & Frogtrotter Hidden: 12/30/2006

Size: (Regular) Difficulty: Terrain: (1 is easiest, 5 is hardest)

 

GC1036Y

 

I had a great time doing this one!

 

Me too! We were FTF. It's on the list!

 

And those are great photos!

[+Difranco]

This one looks like a possible Snow Cache

 

Packwood Lake Trailhead -- GC13A0V

Edited January 10, 2008 by Difranco

[+hydnsek]

This one looks like a possible Snow Cache

 

Packwood Lake Trailhead -- GC13A0V

Thanks. A lot of caches may be accessible in snow (often hard to know for sure), but my philosophy for the bookmark list is: they must be noted as winter-accessible and as snowshoe/ski caches in their writeups, or finders need to report they've done them that way and they are excellent for that purpose. I don't see any note about winter access for this cache, and there are no logs since September.

[+Prying Pandora]

The cache owner seems to think this one is snowshoe appropriate in the winter. Nobody has done it that way yet, though!

[+hydnsek]

The cache owner seems to think this one is snowshoe appropriate in the winter. Nobody has done it that way yet, though!

Yes, I've seen his note on that, cos i wanted to do the cache. Have to wonder about snowshoeing across the frozen lake though - how do you determine whether the ice is thick enough....

[+TotemLake]

The cache owner seems to think this one is snowshoe appropriate in the winter. Nobody has done it that way yet, though!

Yes, I've seen his note on that, cos i wanted to do the cache. Have to wonder about snowshoeing across the frozen lake though - how do you determine whether the ice is thick enough....

If you fall through... it isn't thick enough yet...

[+hydnsek]

The cache owner seems to think this one is snowshoe appropriate in the winter. Nobody has done it that way yet, though!

Yes, I've seen his note on that, cos i wanted to do the cache. Have to wonder about snowshoeing across the frozen lake though - how do you determine whether the ice is thick enough....

If you fall through... it isn't thick enough yet...

Yes, that would be the definitive test. I think that should be your next HOTM, and you can let us know.

[+Ladybug Kids]

A lot of Alaskan caches are snowshoe friendly this time of year. However, RidgeSeeker, goatwhisperer, and MTBoy just pulled off a near-epic climb to What is that anyway?

The trailhead is at essentially sea level and the cache is at 3200' or so up the flank of Penguin Peak in the Chugach Mountains. The hike is tough enough in the summer without adding a bunch of snow to it!

[+hydnsek]

A lot of Alaskan caches are snowshoe friendly this time of year. However, RidgeSeeker, goatwhisperer, and MTBoy just pulled off a near-epic climb to What is that anyway?

The trailhead is at essentially sea level and the cache is at 3200' or so up the flank of Penguin Peak in the Chugach Mountains. The hike is tough enough in the summer without adding a bunch of snow to it!

Wow, thanks for sharing! But why does the cache have the Not Available in Winter attribute? Clearly, not the case.

[+Prying Pandora]

A lot of Alaskan caches are snowshoe friendly this time of year. However, RidgeSeeker, goatwhisperer, and MTBoy just pulled off a near-epic climb to What is that anyway?

The trailhead is at essentially sea level and the cache is at 3200' or so up the flank of Penguin Peak in the Chugach Mountains. The hike is tough enough in the summer without adding a bunch of snow to it!

And they did it in less than 4 hours! Those Alaskans are made of tough stuff!

Edited January 11, 2008 by Prying Pandora

[lucyandrickie]

The cache owner seems to think this one is snowshoe appropriate in the winter. Nobody has done it that way yet, though!

Yes, I've seen his note on that, cos i wanted to do the cache. Have to wonder about snowshoeing across the frozen lake though - how do you determine whether the ice is thick enough....

From the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (they know ice in Minnesota):

 

4" of new clear ice is the minimum thickness for travel on foot

5" is minimum for snowmobiles and ATVs

8"- 12" for cars or small trucks

[+TotemLake]

The cache owner seems to think this one is snowshoe appropriate in the winter. Nobody has done it that way yet, though!

Yes, I've seen his note on that, cos i wanted to do the cache. Have to wonder about snowshoeing across the frozen lake though - how do you determine whether the ice is thick enough....

From the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (they know ice in Minnesota):

 

4" of new clear ice is the minimum thickness for travel on foot

5" is minimum for snowmobiles and ATVs

8"- 12" for cars or small trucks

I'll add to that 24" for tractor rigs according to the Ice Trucker series I watched.

[luckykoi]

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...b5-52e0ac608a02

(mine) This is snowshoe cache and a chance for FTF. You will need chains or snow tires just to reach the parking spot.

 

Also the Lower Skokomish Trail has enough snow on it right now to make snowshoes useful for the first 2.5 miles and almost necessary after 2.5 miles but there are a lot of blow downs after 2.5 miles too. I had a blast snowshoeing out there today.

 

Also http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...5c-37c5fd66a02d is probably a snowshoe cache right now but makes for a long hike during these short winter days.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...e2-cca0b0894d0e is another one.

 

 

 

Then there is http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...b2-085d79ed037c and http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...b2-085d79ed037c (but that might be too ambitious)

 

Also http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...b2-085d79ed037c is sometimes a snow shoe cache. This one http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...e2-cca0b0894d0e is very snowbound but probably too ambitious.

Edited January 12, 2008 by luckykoi

[+intolerable]

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...b5-52e0ac608a02

(mine) This is snowshoe cache and a chance for FTF. You will need chains or snow tires just to reach the parking spot.

 

I was hoping to try for this next weekend but can't change a tire so figure chains would be too much of a challenge for me

[luckykoi]

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...b5-52e0ac608a02

(mine) This is snowshoe cache and a chance for FTF. You will need chains or snow tires just to reach the parking spot.

 

I was hoping to try for this next weekend but can't change a tire so figure chains would be too much of a challenge for me

 

Cable chains are a real PITA. True chains are not so bad to put on but are hard to find for smaller cars. I got snow tires for my Jeep, it needed new tires anyway. I let the tire store change my tires. I'm really having a blast with my snow tires.

 

Someone got stuck in the snow and had to be rescued from Spider Lake Just yesterday. I'm advising people not to go up there right now.

[+GeoRoo]

My Osprey Island cache that PP mentioned would not be a good snowshoe cache unless you wanted to walk 8 miles and dig down about 8 ft. The Miller River Rd is only plowed about 4 miles. I'm going up there tomorrow to snow camp for 3-4 days, so it's a great place to snowshoe.

 

It's possible to reach the island in spring when the trail is melting out and the lake is still snow/ice covered. With all the snow we have this winter I'd say that won't be happening till about June.

 

I'd caution everyone to be extremely careful this year as we've had an exceptional amount of low elevation snow and record deaths in avalanches. Many of my caches can be done in a normal winter, but none were setup specificaly as a snowshoe/winter cache. Be careful out there.

 

Edit: I see a group was trying to find the cache off the Smithbrook Rd. I was there snowshoeing the next day in bright blue skies and stopped off and pondered the freeway track going off in the direction of the cache. I had thought of going after it, so glad I didn't try. That was some of the deepest powder I've ever seen. The road was like hiking up a deep ditch. My hats off to the ones breaking trail in the direction of the cache! Also, my Skyline Ridge caches are buired way down deep with exception of Skyline the Top. That's the only one that gets blasted by wind and any possibility of reaching. I'd say that one isn't doable either and the avalanche danger is too high under most conditions. Don't go near that one unless the avi conditions are very stable.

Edited January 16, 2008 by GeoRoo

[+GeoRoo]

I see a new Lucy and Rickie snowshoe cache was approved earlier today off the Mtn Loop. I grabbed a 50 cal can and a lok n lok, so I might put out a snowshoe cache in the next few days somewhere around Skykomish. I'm camping on the Miller River rd right now and there's about 3-5 ft. of snow in here. I had to dig out the road from a couple weeks ago to reach the camping spot.

 

If anyone is looking for a good place to snow camp and snow shoe, drop by and say hello. I'll be here for the next 3-4 days. I'm up about 1.5 miles on the Miller River Rd. Big grey tarp shelter on the river.

[+TotemLake]

That's just awesome. Camping and still keeping in touch. Sorry you didn't join us on the Hollow Tree hike!

[+yumitori]

Well, you specified Washington so I won't link to my first high terrain cache, which was placed on snowshoes. No one's ever found it that way, although a couple of folks tried. From their logs it doesn't sound like they picked the wisest approaches given the conditions. And even though I stated that the hiding place was specifically chosen for accessibility in deep snow some searchers seemed to get bogged down looking in potential locations that would have been under three feet of the white stuff in February.

 

Still, it seems to make a good anchor point for a day's caching loop through the area.

[+hydnsek]

Well, you specified Washington so I won't link to my first high terrain cache, which was placed on snowshoes. No one's ever found it that way, although a couple of folks tried. From their logs it doesn't sound like they picked the wisest approaches given the conditions. And even though I stated that the hiding place was specifically chosen for accessibility in deep snow some searchers seemed to get bogged down looking in potential locations that would have been under three feet of the white stuff in February.

 

Still, it seems to make a good anchor point for a day's caching loop through the area.

Please provide the link! It's a PNW list, and there are Oregon caches on there, we just haven't had any submissions from Idaho or Montana.

[+tomfuller & Quill]

Don't bother trying for my Oregon cache "Rock on' The way to Miller Time. I hiked out today to see if it could be found. I was digging with my hands under the right rock but my arms were too short. The snow is at least a foot deeper than when I hid it. I'll check again in early March. If you like sled dog races, the Chemult Sled Dog Races are this weekend and they run less than a half-mile from my cache.

Tom Fuller

Crescent, OR

[+yumitori]

Please provide the link! It's a PNW list, and there are Oregon caches on there, we just haven't had any submissions from Idaho or Montana.

 

Since you asked.

 

There's actually quite a few caches in Montana and Idaho that you can get to on snowshoes. Now finding them, that's another matter...

 

Glade Creek can easily be done on snowshoes as well. It's intended more as a cross-country ski cache, but that's just because I'm a little sadistic. Getting from the trail to the cache would be easier on snowshoes, though I placed it on skis.

 

So there you go. Two birds with one post.

[+hydnsek]

Please provide the link! It's a PNW list, and there are Oregon caches on there, we just haven't had any submissions from Idaho or Montana.

 

Since you asked.

 

There's actually quite a few caches in Montana and Idaho that you can get to on snowshoes. Now finding them, that's another matter...

 

Glade Creek can easily be done on snowshoes as well. It's intended more as a cross-country ski cache, but that's just because I'm a little sadistic. Getting from the trail to the cache would be easier on snowshoes, though I placed it on skis.

 

So there you go. Two birds with one post.

Thanks! And yes, we have many caches you can get to in the snow, but finding them....agreed. So my list only includes caches that were placed to actually be found in snow (i.e., not buried several feet down or with all landmarks covered).

[+GeoRoo]

I have 2 new ones that I put out the other day while camping on the Miller River. Both are snowshoe/xc ski accessable and hidden with snow in mind. GC18RM3 GC18RME I snowshoed into my Mohawk Falls and Mine GCMMED and updated the cords and checked on the cache. It's very doable in a heavy snow year and is protected by a over hanging cliff and hide location.

 

There's 5-6 ft. of snow in the area, so an excellent time to get out for a snow shoe with zero avalanche danger on the road. If anyone is looking for a river side snow camping spot I have a good area cleared out to the river about 1.5 miles up the Miller River Rd. The Miller River Group campground would make a great camping spot too. Or at the turn around at the end of the plowed road. No passes are required.

Edited January 23, 2008 by GeoRoo

[+hydnsek]

I have 2 new ones that I put out the other day while camping on the Miller River. Both are snowshoe/xc ski accessable and hidden with snow in mind. GC18RM3 GC18RME I snowshoed into my Mohawk Falls and Mine GCMMED and updated the cords and checked on the cache. It's very doable in a heavy snow year and is protected by a over hanging cliff and hide location.

 

There's 5-6 ft. of snow in the area, so an excellent time to get out for a snow shoe with zero avalanche danger on the road. If anyone is looking for a river side snow camping spot I have a good area cleared out to the river about 1.5 miles up the Miller River Rd. The Miller River Group campground would make a great camping spot too. Or at the turn around at the end of the plowed road. No passes are required.

Excellent, thanks, and will add them to the bookmark list!

[+hydnsek]

The Snowshoe & Ski Caches bookmark list has doubled in size this winter! Everyone apparently got snowshoes for the holidays, and lots of great new caches being placed. There are currently 24 caches on the list: 20 in Washington, 2 in Oregon, 2 in Montana.

 

Please continue to update me here or by email when you place caches intended to be found using snowshoes or XC skis, and I'll add them to the list.

[+hydnsek]

The Snowshoe & Ski caches bookmark list now has 30 Washington caches on it. I added in some overlooked caches in Central Washington, including the three XC ski caches the Barnabirdy(s) have in Methow Valley, two new XC ski caches in the Loup Loup area (Hwy 20), and some overlooked Snoqualmie-area caches (placed for snow but more often done as hiking caches). Thanks to rickie for bringing some of them to my attention.

 

New caches continue to be added at a rapid clip. Here's lucy at Lake Keechelus, setting off for a FTF on Brainbumps' new Twin Lakes snowshoe cache yesterday:

 

[+TotemLake]

Nice shot! I'm jealous I can't get out more often!

[+yumitori]

Pssst. Hydnsek.

 

Glade Creek is up on the Montana/Idaho border, but it's actually on the Idaho side. So you have 1 in Montana and 1 in Idaho.

[+hydnsek]

Pssst. Hydnsek.

 

Glade Creek is up on the Montana/Idaho border, but it's actually on the Idaho side. So you have 1 in Montana and 1 in Idaho.

[whisper mode] Thanks, yumitori. I didn't look at the map that closely. [/whisper mode off]

[+yumitori]

Here. Let's give Montana more than Idaho.

 

We didn't use snowshoes to get to Ride The Rat but we should have. The cache is potentially findable even in deep snow, as we proved. And a bit of an epic adventure in the process.

 

Miniature Giant Space Capsule is intended to be found all year round and is away from the more commonly used trails in the area so it's a good candidate for this list. It's a much shorter hike but steep, so will be a good challenge nonetheless.

[+hydnsek]

Here. Let's give Montana more than Idaho.

 

We didn't use snowshoes to get to Ride The Rat but we should have. The cache is potentially findable even in deep snow, as we proved. And a bit of an epic adventure in the process.

 

Miniature Giant Space Capsule is intended to be found all year round and is away from the more commonly used trails in the area so it's a good candidate for this list. It's a much shorter hike but steep, so will be a good challenge nonetheless.

Thanks for the suggestions. To re-clarify: the Snowshoe & Ski caches bookmark list is for caches specifically intended to be done on snowshoes or skis. There are lots of caches that could potentially done on snowshoes or skis, this list is for caches placed with special winter equipment in mind.

Edited February 5, 2008 by hydnsek

[+yumitori]

Thanks for the suggestions. To re-clarify: the Snowshoe & Ski caches bookmark list is for caches specifically intended to be done on snowshoes or skis. There are lots of caches that could potentially done on snowshoes or skis, this list is for caches placed with special winter equipment in mind.

 

Ah. My mistake. I was just going off of the thread's original question.

 

In that case, I think I'm the only one around here crazy enough to hide such caches...