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Methow Cache Machine


travisl

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(Note: circumstances may change after this initial posting. Look for my posts (with the icon13.gif icon) in this thread for all the important details and changes.)

(Link to dinner event cache.)

 

Some people come to Okanogan County for the skiing. Some come for the mountain biking. Some come for the fishing. But we're coming for the caching.

 

Fill up the tank, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early o'clock, and meet a mob of fellow cachers at sunrise on Saturday, September 17, at 6:15 a.m.

 

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.

 

If you're still out on the road at dinner time (7:30 p.m.), skip the rest of the route and come on in. Socializing at dinner is one of the best parts of machine events (and that's coming from me -- someone who usually hates socializing). There will be travel bugs to discover, the best Mexican food (and drinks) around, and more geocachers to commiserate with than you can shake a walking stick at. The most important rule:

 

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.

 

For any micro cache with a tiny logbook that we find on the event, one "MCM" log entry should suffice for the group. We tend to fill up log books too quickly, and our stickers tend to make micro log books hard to re-stash. For normal-sized caches, or even large micros (like key holders and pill bottles), everyone should sign in.

 

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 Methow Cache Machine FAQ:

 

When is it?

6:15 a.m., Saturday, September 17, 2011. Latecomers can track us down en route.

 

Will it be one large group, will we be split into teams, or what?

We start the day as one giant group. Then it's on to the next one as a group, which means we'll hopefully find each cache quickly. The group tends to fragment after the first few caches, though. The longer we can keep the big group together, the more fun it is!

 

Where does the route start?

GCDE99, in the heart of beautiful downtown Winthrop.

 

Is anything going on before, during, or after?

- Friday, September 16, at 6:00 p.m.: A pre-CM dinner is in the works. Details to come.

- Saturday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m., dinner will be at Carlos1800 (web, Facebook), 149 Riverside Avenue, Winthrop. (N 48° 28.704 W 120° 11.184). I've created an event page for this dinner event.

- Sunday, sleep in and then get the caches you didn't get on Saturday. Did I mention there's a lot of them?

 

A cache on your map shows the wrong place to park.

Let me know, and I'll incorporate it into the route.

 

It sounds fun, but I've already found some of them.

Then come laugh at us, or guess when we'll be at the caches you haven't hit yet.

 

You don't have X cache on the route. Why aren't we getting that one?

I'm skipping a lot. I'll be avoiding most multicaches, most puzzle caches, caches that appear to be overly time consuming, and caches that the owner has asked us to avoid.

 

You have X cache on the route, but it's disabled/archived/a two mile hike.

Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route (if archived) or will check with the owner (if disabled).

 

X cache is in an environmentally sensitive area.

By all means, let me know. I'll work with the cache owner to minimize our impact, or skip the cache altogether.

 

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?

Lunch: You should probably bring a sack lunch to eat on the road.

Breaks and Bathrooms: There's no breaks in cache machines! Just hold it. :-P Or find something on the way.

 

Rain? Snow? Landslides? Flooding?

Could be. 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?

ce16d180-40c2-423d-a3ab-b976b7b4a2b2.jpg

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Seabecktribe is planning to go. See about getting the Friday before off otherwise long night driving after work.

 

May have a hook up for sleeping (camping) in Winthrop area. If it works out and more availablility, I'll post more info. Have to wait for person to come back from camping.

 

Lori

Edited by SeabeckTribe
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There's a few cachers camping out @ Pearrygin State Park. We're camping (trailer) there & have another cacher in a tent at our site. There may be others who would be willing to add tents to their sites - that would be a good alternative to moteling it - but you have to consider the cooler nights - Just sayin' :anibad:. I am thrilled that the start is in Winthrop!!

Edited by Lizzy
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The bookmark is now up. You can get it on the event page.

 

PMO Caches:

 

#3 - GC30CVE

#6 - GC30TV6

#16 - GC2Z1A7

#26 - GC2TN7X

#35 - GC21TMG

#82 - GC26HX9

 

Regular members will be able to log these caches with geocachingadmin or Express Logger. Your on your own for coordinates.

 

Problem caches:

 

#21 - GC2C11D - Logs indicate bad coordinates. No one posted good coordinates.

#25 - GC15F3A - Bad coordinates, read logs for good coordinates.

#44 - GC24R6T - Problem posted and CO indicated he was going to check it out.

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Check out the 2:01 mark of

. Should this road be on the route, or should I avoid it?

From what I saw on the video I would probably drive it in my Pontiac. I would imagine a Subaru or other all wheel drive car would be just fine. Might have to make sure you bring a screwdriver along to pry your fingers off the steering wheel afterwards. :unsure: If the only driving experience is paved roads and nicely groomed gravel roads this one will be a new experience, but I don't have a problem with it. The one of more concern would be Loup Loup Road, those were some nice sized potholes and I would be concerned about high centering in my Pontiac, but it probably is not worse than the drive to Trinity Mines. If the whole road is like this it would take a while to drive. Nice video, by the way.

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I have a cache close to GC24R6T that I had pulled for flood season. It (GC2E4RG)will be going back into action this week if you want to add it to the Cache Machine list. I don't know if I'll be in town for the cache machine but there are some Methow Caches on the list that I'd like to visit.

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Regarding Loup Loup and Ruby Grade roads, I'll keep them on the route but am including a caution (and a alternate suggestion of taking US-97 to Riverside and picking up the route from there).

 

Three Fingers Jack... oooohhhh, Cold Beer, Burgers & Fries, Caches Oh My!

Thanks. I think you just found our informal pre-event dinner location. I'll contact them to warn them of the impending crowd and will post confirmation once I hear back.

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Anybody planning on heading home on Saturday night after dinner? If so, would you be willing to give me a ride to Wenatchee? It's that, or I gotta drop $100 on a rental car. I need to be at the airport by 9:30 Sunday morning, and I'd prefer to sleep-in in Wenatchee than to drive two hours out of Winthrop early in the morning.

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I've driven the Ruby Grade, and unless they have fixed it, it's not nearly as good as the video shows.

 

It's about 3/4 of a lane all the way up with some narrower patches, and sharp blind corners that scared the heck out of me. The whole road NEVER has a place to pull off to let someone pass, so if one vehicle becomes disabled, or someone comes the other way your screwed.

 

That said, I would probably drive it again, as I like that kind of thing, but I would NEVER attempt it in anything that did not have high-clearance and 4-wheel drive.

 

The China Wall cache is worth it! However it's much easier to approach from the south.

 

Edited to add, there are a number of places where it would be impossible to get out of the vehicle if you stopped as there would be a mountain on your left just inches from your door, and a 1000 foot drop on the right, also just inches away.

Edited by Right Wing Wacko
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Draft 2 of the route is up. Looking like it's gonna be a good one.

Routing question.

 

You mention dropping #24 - #27 if you don't want to attempt Ruby Grade, but instead go to GC1XB32, #34 The Biggest Bird in Town. What about #28 to #33? It looks like Conconully Road is paved, but Limebelt, LimeLakes, Poisen Lake and Evans Lake roads are gravel. I'm guessing the last four and not bad since there seems to be houses in the area.

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You mention dropping #24 - #27 if you don't want to attempt Ruby Grade, but instead go to GC1XB32, #34 The Biggest Bird in Town. What about #28 to #33?

If someone's skipping #24-#27, then #28-#33 will be a long way out of the way -- a 46 mile roundtrip drive from Biggest Bird to get six caches. I think it'd be better to connect to the route at Biggest Bird and start heading back towards Winthrop.

 

Getting Biggest Bird will give Delorme page 21. Skipping #24-#30 will miss page 20, but if someone's trying to get page 20, they'll have an easier time getting http://coord.info/GC2B5KY, a short drive out of Winthrop.

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I've driven the Ruby Grade, and unless they have fixed it, it's not nearly as good as the video shows.

 

It's about 3/4 of a lane all the way up with some narrower patches, and sharp blind corners that scared the heck out of me. The whole road NEVER has a place to pull off to let someone pass, so if one vehicle becomes disabled, or someone comes the other way your screwed.

 

That said, I would probably drive it again, as I like that kind of thing, but I would NEVER attempt it in anything that did not have high-clearance and 4-wheel drive.

 

The China Wall cache is worth it! However it's much easier to approach from the south.

 

Edited to add, there are a number of places where it would be impossible to get out of the vehicle if you stopped as there would be a mountain on your left just inches from your door, and a 1000 foot drop on the right, also just inches away.

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I agree with Right Wing, this is a fun, but dangerous road. I have driven it several times, once just recently not dealing with caching. The way that cache machines go, my only fear is that some people start at the beginning and some start at the end. There are few turnouts, and when I say tight road, I mean tight. There is no room for two trucks to pass, let alone five or six butting heads as they are reversing the route.

 

I do not want you to remove the route, and I see you have warnings, but everyone needs to know, when it comes to driving it, it is not a friendly road, and it is most definately going to create problems with passing.

 

(I for one claim mountain side in passing, you all can pass on the 1000 foot straight drops, thank you very much!) ;0

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Is there any way to put HUGE signage at each end of the road warning of the amount of vehicles that will be traveling through Saturday and advise people to "Enter Only" and Exit Only"? Just thinking about any rigs that by chance travel this road not related to caching. I am not from the area, so I have no idea if it is possible. Would love to travel the road, but the idea of coming across Grizwests and having to take the cliff side makes me nervous!

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By the way, I got a room at Best Western for 65 a night through Priceline.

 

Is that the Best Western in Omak, or the Americas Best Value Inn (formerly Best Western) in Winthrop? My (failed) Priceline bids are up to $55 for Winthrop, and I'm seeing rooms through ABV's site for $76, so it looks like I'm getting close.

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About the Loop Loop Road and Ruby Grade... I was hoping to get some input from someone that has previously driven the road. We would really like to do that road and get the caches out there but we don't really want to drive the big 4X4 Ram pickup. So can you compare it to Burma Road from the Belfair cache machine, if you have driven both? And is a high clearance 4X4 really necessary for loop loop and ruby grade? We are both well seasoned drivers that know how to drive on less than ideal roads. Do you think we could we get away with the minivan, or smaller Dakota pickup? both are higher than a car, and higher than a Subaru, but neither are 4X4. It is summer so I wouldn't think mud would be an issue?

 

Thanks for any input,

 

SirKarp ~ Rob

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About the Loop Loop Road and Ruby Grade... I was hoping to get some input from someone that has previously driven the road. We would really like to do that road and get the caches out there but we don't really want to drive the big 4X4 Ram pickup. So can you compare it to Burma Road from the Belfair cache machine, if you have driven both? And is a high clearance 4X4 really necessary for loop loop and ruby grade? We are both well seasoned drivers that know how to drive on less than ideal roads. Do you think we could we get away with the minivan, or smaller Dakota pickup? both are higher than a car, and higher than a Subaru, but neither are 4X4. It is summer so I wouldn't think mud would be an issue?

 

Thanks for any input,

 

SirKarp ~ Rob

The Burma road definitely does not need a high clearance vehicle, unless things have changed dramatically in the past couple years. I drove that road in my Pontiac G6. It was slow, dusty and practically nothing but washboard, but clearance was not an issue.

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About the Loop Loop Road and Ruby Grade... I was hoping to get some input from someone that has previously driven the road. We would really like to do that road and get the caches out there but we don't really want to drive the big 4X4 Ram pickup. So can you compare it to Burma Road from the Belfair cache machine, if you have driven both? And is a high clearance 4X4 really necessary for loop loop and ruby grade? We are both well seasoned drivers that know how to drive on less than ideal roads. Do you think we could we get away with the minivan, or smaller Dakota pickup? both are higher than a car, and higher than a Subaru, but neither are 4X4. It is summer so I wouldn't think mud would be an issue?

 

Thanks for any input,

 

SirKarp ~ Rob

The Burma road definitely does not need a high clearance vehicle, unless things have changed dramatically in the past couple years. I drove that road in my Pontiac G6. It was slow, dusty and practically nothing but washboard, but clearance was not an issue.

 

We did the Burma Road on the Belfair cache machine, so I to know the road, but I don't know Ruby Grade Road. I was looking for a comparison if someone has happened to have driven both. I was also looking for some input on vehicle choice for the Ruby Grade road, though I did find some information on a Washington Goast town website that calls it a 2WD medium clearance road, so I'm thinking the 2WD Dakota should be okay, but not sure if the minivan would be high enough. But I'd still like all the input I can get.

 

Thanks again,

 

SirKarp ~ Rob

Edited by SirKarp
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By the way, I got a room at Best Western for 65 a night through Priceline.

 

Is that the Best Western in Omak, or the Americas Best Value Inn (formerly Best Western) in Winthrop? My (failed) Priceline bids are up to $55 for Winthrop, and I'm seeing rooms through ABV's site for $76, so it looks like I'm getting close.

 

It is the one in Winthrop.

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The final route is up. The only change from the previous draft is the removal of GC1BQ8X.

 

As we've said earlier in this thread, avoid the route to stops 24-27 if you're not OK with a dangerous steep one-lane dirt road, and if you're making your own route or doing it backwards, please don't proceed southwest past GC1NZT0 Joy Ride, because I don't want to meet you coming the wrong way on this road.

 

A casual, come-when-you-want pre-event dinner will be at Three Fingered Jack's, 176 Riverside Ave, Winthrop. I'll be there at 6:00 with any last minute changes. I'll also post changes in this forum and as an announcement to the Saturday dinner event cache page.

 

Dinner on Saturday at Carlos1800 is at 7:30.

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Other than the Ruby Grade, are there any other parts of the route that would not be appropriate for a Midsize Cruiser (VStar-650)?

 

I've not actually seen the roads myself, but I am nearly certain that North Cook Mt. Rd., between US-97 and caches 21-22, is a dirt road. In fact, its probably safe to assume that it's dirt road anywhere that's a squiggly path outside the US-97 corridor.

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I soooo want to go get China Wall, so we will be making the attempt in my Santa Fe. It's higher clearance, but not 4WD. I've taken mtn roads you probably shouldn't in it & did ok. Is the road any worse than the one going to GC23AEX? Just hoping to be in a group of vehicles in case assistance is needed. Any updates on the road will be appreciated, especially at the pre-dinner dinner.

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I soooo want to go get China Wall, so we will be making the attempt in my Santa Fe. It's higher clearance, but not 4WD. I've taken mtn roads you probably shouldn't in it & did ok. Is the road any worse than the one going to GC23AEX? Just hoping to be in a group of vehicles in case assistance is needed. Any updates on the road will be appreciated, especially at the pre-dinner dinner.

 

I've done the road several years ago, although I did it from the opposite direction - coming UP, which in my opinion is much scarier :)

 

Your Santa Fe should be just fine.

 

I should add... One can still do China Wall without continuing on and going down the Ruby Grade. The road to China Wall from the south is (or at least was) real good!

 

Edit: I just checked my log... I came up Ruby Grade to find China Wall in the summer of 2004... 7 years ago. How time flies when you're having fun!

Edited by Right Wing Wacko
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Hey Travis,

 

On page 6 of the final draft - is there a cache for #20? It looks like directions are there but no cache.

 

Looking forward to Saturday! B)

There is no cache there. The note is important. Both S&T and your Nuvi will want you to go miles out of your way to get to the two caches down Cook Mountain Road. You will also note there is no #20 on my bookmark list. The stop #20 is an artificial stop for S&T so a note can be attached.

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Hey Travis,

 

On page 6 of the final draft - is there a cache for #20? It looks like directions are there but no cache.

 

Looking forward to Saturday! B)

There is no cache there. The note is important. Both S&T and your Nuvi will want you to go miles out of your way to get to the two caches down Cook Mountain Road. You will also note there is no #20 on my bookmark list. The stop #20 is an artificial stop for S&T so a note can be attached.

 

Ok got it, thanks jholly. :)

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Yeah, for some reason, none of the cartographers out there see the connecting road at #20. Not Google. Not Bing. Not S&T. And according to the cache pages for nearby caches, not Garmin or Magellan. (I assume there's only a couple mapping companies behind these outlets, so no surprise, really.) But the connection's there, both in Bing's birds-eye view (you can see the dirt connector road) and in Google Street View. Local cachers on the ground (Barnabirdys) tell me that you can get there this way, so I'm assuming there's no fence blocking the way.

 

Note the Google map in the lower right corner showing two parallel roads with a stream between them, and compare to the larger picture, showing the drive-right-through connection with several tire marks.bJ4ql.jpg

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I have a 4-wheel drive vehicle and empty seats. Anyone want to run the route with me? Your vehicle or mine. Just let me know.

I love making caching runs with others, but there's a sort of unwritten 'only us' rule between me & my friend Tessa - we do most of the cache machines together. We've been best friends for decades & we don't have to worry too much about offending one another with our back-handed, back seat driver comments :anibad: And she doesn't yell at me too loudly when I go the wrong way down one-way streets, or drive down trails that are NOT roads.

Edited by Lizzy
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I have a 4-wheel drive vehicle and empty seats. Anyone want to run the route with me? Your vehicle or mine. Just let me know.

I love making caching runs with others, but there's a sort of unwritten 'only us' rule between me & my friend Tessa - we do most of the cache machines together. We've been best friends for decades & we don't have to worry too much about offending one another with our back-handed, back seat driver comments :anibad: And she doesn't yell at me too loudly when I go the wrong way down one-way streets, or drive down trails that are NOT roads.

 

Lizzy - I understand that! My regular caching crew for cache machines all flaked out on me... but I still want to do the route. I'll do it by myself if I have to... it is just more fun with others.

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My regular caching crew for cache machines all flaked out on me... but I still want to do the route. I'll do it by myself if I have to... it is just more fun with others.

 

Cindy, you can ride with us if you like.

 

Thanks David, but I already told another cacher that he could ride with me! But thanks for much for the offer! Would have been fun!

 

cindy

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