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Coeur d'Alene Cache Machine


travisl

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Wow, thanks for the quick replies everyone.

 

I will run this all by the wife (the real decision maker) and we will decide what to do :-)

 

Bringing my daughter sounds really fun, but so does waking up at 3 am and caching like a honeybadger for 16 hours straight.

 

Thanks,

 

ThaWeaz (Jim)

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Team HALT (HippyChick1620, Aviatrix22, Lindaja_5111 and theRubinator) is missing two team members for this event. HippyChick1620 and lindaja_5111 from the Seattle area are on our own for this one. So we have space for 2 more cachers if you would like to join us.

 

HippyChick1620 is taking a few days before and after the event to visit family -- so will not have any passangers. But lindaja_5111 is traveling from Kenmore on Friday morning and back home on Sunday if you would like to ride along. Or we could meet up on Friday night.

 

Looking forward to a wonderful time.

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Draft 2 of the route is up. I already see that I should probably remove stop #145, "GC1JTJK Caitlyn's Cache 19.5 The Crown", but other than that, any suggestions? I've shifted the route slightly east, adding more caches near the lunch stop, listing fewer caches, completely reorganizing the route, and making a lot more work for jholly. (*sheepish grin*)

 

I'm still kinda in shock that I'm non-chalantly saying things like "stop #145", as if getting 150 caches in a day is normal (or reasonable).

 

The letterbox #21 (GC34GC9 Tubbs Hill Coeur d'Alene's Jewel)on the route could be between stop #24 & #25. You can drive right to it. You can see the road on your map. We just did it a couple weeks ago. The end of the road has room for a few cars without blocking any of the neighbors that live down that road. There are marked trail entrances from that road too. Hope that helps.

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Problems:

#8, GCXNW2 - Last 4 were DNF, no logs since 1/8/12

#26, GC17WF7 - It's there, but yuck.

#47, GC1E3D0 - Last 4 are DNF, no logs since 12/11/11

#145, GC1JTJK - Disabled, missing container.

 

#8 is on the Do Not Enter list, so I shouldn't have listed that one. #47 and #145 I'll be removing from the route. #26 I'll keep; I'll try to remember to bring a replacement logbook for it.

 

Cardinal Flyer has #145 up again. We (Inland Empire Chapter of WSGA) have organized local cachers to check on the status of caches listed along the route to insure they are really there and are ready to go. If you have specific questions about any, please let me know.

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Cardinal Flyer has #145 up again. We (Inland Empire Chapter of WSGA) have organized local cachers to check on the status of caches listed along the route to insure they are really there and are ready to go. If you have specific questions about any, please let me know.

Way to go, Inland Empire! B) (Shameless WSGA plug) :ph34r: Looking forward to seeing y'all in a couple weeks!

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The letterbox #21 (GC34GC9 Tubbs Hill Coeur d'Alene's Jewel)on the route could be between stop #24 & #25. You can drive right to it.

Great tip - thanks! I'll update this in the final draft. What about GCYCY8 It's a Gamble!? Is that accessible from the same spot, or am I correct in navigating people up to it from the parking lot off of Front Avenue?

We didn't do It's a Gamble yet but there was a sign marking the trail about where the cache was at, so my guess would be that yes, you can access it easier from that road.

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The letterbox #21 (GC34GC9 Tubbs Hill Coeur d'Alene's Jewel)on the route could be between stop #24 & #25. You can drive right to it.

Great tip - thanks! I'll update this in the final draft. What about GCYCY8 It's a Gamble!? Is that accessible from the same spot, or am I correct in navigating people up to it from the parking lot off of Front Avenue?

It's a Gamble is accessed from the same parking lot off of Front, so include it that way.

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Problems:

#8, GCXNW2 - Last 4 were DNF, no logs since 1/8/12

#26, GC17WF7 - It's there, but yuck.

#47, GC1E3D0 - Last 4 are DNF, no logs since 12/11/11

#145, GC1JTJK - Disabled, missing container.

 

#8 is on the Do Not Enter list, so I shouldn't have listed that one. #47 and #145 I'll be removing from the route. #26 I'll keep; I'll try to remember to bring a replacement logbook for it.

 

#26, GC17WF7 and #145, GC1JTJK have had recent Owner Maintenance and appear like they are good to go.

Edited by Rathdrumid
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Problems:

#8, GCXNW2 - Last 4 were DNF, no logs since 1/8/12

#26, GC17WF7 - It's there, but yuck.

#47, GC1E3D0 - Last 4 are DNF, no logs since 12/11/11

#145, GC1JTJK - Disabled, missing container.

 

#8 is on the Do Not Enter list, so I shouldn't have listed that one. #47 and #145 I'll be removing from the route. #26 I'll keep; I'll try to remember to bring a replacement logbook for it.

 

#26, GC17WF7 and #145, GC1JTJK have had recent Owner Maintenance and appear like they are good to go.

(Sorry, double post of post #63.)

Edited by Rathdrumid
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Cache maintnance:

 

My caches are 62 to 82.

 

#79 ive been muggled out twice, so not sure if its there

#78 DNF twice :(

#74 DNF, but ive let jerry know

 

from #64 to #65 the Sunup Ave does not continue out to Government way, at the cache you must u-turn back to sunshine street and then back to Hanley. The order still works fine with just the left turn into the parking lot for #65.

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Cache maintnance:

 

My caches are 62 to 82.

 

#79 ive been muggled out twice, so not sure if its there

#78 DNF twice :(

#74 DNF, but ive let jerry know

 

from #64 to #65 the Sunup Ave does not continue out to Government way, at the cache you must u-turn back to sunshine street and then back to Hanley. The order still works fine with just the left turn into the parking lot for #65.

 

I drive by #78 and #79 most days. I can check #78 as I recently found it, and I"ll take a shot at #79, though I've been muggled out two different mornings on that one. I'll give them a shot tomorrow morning.

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Cache maintnance:

 

My caches are 62 to 82.

 

#79 ive been muggled out twice, so not sure if its there

#78 DNF twice :(

#74 DNF, but ive let jerry know

 

from #64 to #65 the Sunup Ave does not continue out to Government way, at the cache you must u-turn back to sunshine street and then back to Hanley. The order still works fine with just the left turn into the parking lot for #65.

 

I drive by #78 and #79 most days. I can check #78 as I recently found it, and I"ll take a shot at #79, though I've been muggled out two different mornings on that one. I'll give them a shot tomorrow morning.

 

#78 is there and has a fresh log that I'd actually put in last time I was there. If fact, I didn't see anyone else's signature so I was surprised two people logged it since. Anyway, this one is good to go. Just tough.

 

#79 is there and has a good log. There is now a clothing donation box for Make-A-Wish there so you can fake like you're donating clothes, OR you could actually drop off some clothes there. Either way, the cache is good to go. Lots of muggles even at 0600, but findable.

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<snip>

#79 is there and has a good log. There is now a clothing donation box for Make-A-Wish there so you can fake like you're donating clothes, OR you could actually drop off some clothes there. Either way, the cache is good to go. Lots of muggles even at 0600, but findable.

Whats the weather like out there? How deep is the snow?

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<snip>

#79 is there and has a good log. There is now a clothing donation box for Make-A-Wish there so you can fake like you're donating clothes, OR you could actually drop off some clothes there. Either way, the cache is good to go. Lots of muggles even at 0600, but findable.

Whats the weather like out there? How deep is the snow?

 

No real snow affecting caches on the ground in town. Everything seems bare at low elevations. Mountains still have some and people keep getting stuck thinking a short trip just up the hill won't be bad. Mostly rain right now so everything is soft and muddy.

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<snip>

#79 is there and has a good log. There is now a clothing donation box for Make-A-Wish there so you can fake like you're donating clothes, OR you could actually drop off some clothes there. Either way, the cache is good to go. Lots of muggles even at 0600, but findable.

Whats the weather like out there? How deep is the snow?

Its not perfect, but I did a search on webcams in Coeur d'Alene and came up with this.

 

Looks fairly good.

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my main worry is getting through that pass.

Yeah, that has been a bit dicey lately. Just didn't want to fight my way over the pass only to find out most of the caches on the ground were only accessible by 10 minute dig. That would lend a new meaning to leaving it as you found it. <_<

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my main worry is getting through that pass.

Yeah, that has been a bit dicey lately. Just didn't want to fight my way over the pass only to find out most of the caches on the ground were only accessible by 10 minute dig. That would lend a new meaning to leaving it as you found it. <_<

 

agree Jim, I have learned my lesson, I do not want to search for caches in the snow ever again. I probably destroyed too much vegetation for my taste because you can't see what you are digging up. Won't again.

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My biggest travel worry is Sunday afternoon. My hope is to get the seven Delorme pages in NE Washington that morning and early afternoon, but due to snow, the road wasn't even visible on the Sherman Pass WSDOT webcam today. If it's not passable in a car, I'll end up leaving page 22 uncollected, a vacant page that's a four hour roundtrip from the nearest point I have any chance of visiting in the next decade.

 

(I had no idea where Sherman Pass even was, and had to look it up.)

 

0f9uT.gif

 

After the Yakima CM II on March 29, 2008, the passes were bad enough that I drove home from Yakima to Tacoma by way of Goldendale and Portland. It was a nice drive, but a lot longer than I'd planned.

 

Be prepared.

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We have finished the Delorme, County and Cities & Towns Challenge and that area is very rugged. While you are at it you might also try to get the caches you need for the County and the Cities & Towns Challenges. We are also keeping an eye on the Pass as while we are too old and too slow for the Cache Machine we want to do the power trail at Ritzville before it gets hot and the snakes come out.

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If it's not passable in a car, I'll end up leaving page 22 uncollected, a vacant page that's a four hour roundtrip from the nearest point I have any chance of visiting in the next decade.

 

Now, if you were inclined to join me on an HOTM, I might be persuaded to set one up... (just thinking out loud)

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If it's not passable in a car, I'll end up leaving page 22 uncollected, a vacant page that's a four hour roundtrip from the nearest point I have any chance of visiting in the next decade.

 

 

I drove up to Sherman Pass in March last year, and yes, the summit was covered with 6 to 8 feet of snow. The webcam is located very near where a cache used to be hidden, and there was no way I could have found it. But the highway was quite passable in my Tracker (in 2WD) Just usual winter driving.

 

When I arrived at Republic, there was almost no snow, so I was able to cache around town to get Page 22.

 

The rest of the way West to Tonasket is a bit winding and downhill, but I found that the snow disappeared quite fast. (at least last year)

 

Hope this helps!

Edited by Fuzzywhip
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My biggest travel worry is Sunday afternoon. My hope is to get the seven Delorme pages in NE Washington that morning and early afternoon, but due to snow, the road wasn't even visible on the Sherman Pass WSDOT webcam today. If it's not passable in a car, I'll end up leaving page 22 uncollected, a vacant page that's a four hour roundtrip from the nearest point I have any chance of visiting in the next decade.

Maybe a Kettle Falls Cache Machine is in order :anibad: I've been secretly hoping for one up in that area.

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My biggest travel worry is Sunday afternoon. My hope is to get the seven Delorme pages in NE Washington that morning and early afternoon, but due to snow, the road wasn't even visible on the Sherman Pass WSDOT webcam today. If it's not passable in a car, I'll end up leaving page 22 uncollected, a vacant page that's a four hour roundtrip from the nearest point I have any chance of visiting in the next decade.

Maybe a Kettle Falls Cache Machine is in order :anibad: I've been secretly hoping for one up in that area.

And hopefully not in March :)

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From 7am - 9am the WSGA will be having a COFFEE STOP on the cache machine route.

They will be serving up hot coffee & cocoa, along with juice & water.

Also some type of sweet treat & fruits.

This is at Sunset Park, so there is plenty of parking and restrooms.

Please come by & visit us !

 

N47° 42.0459', W116° 46.0615'

1289 E Best Ave, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815, USA

 

(Travis we did not get it setup in time to make it an event :( -

so could you please mention it on the Cache Machine page so others will know about it - Thank You )

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From 7am - 9am the WSGA will be having a COFFEE STOP on the cache machine route. ... N47° 42.0459', W116° 46.0615' ... could you please mention it on the Cache Machine page so others will know about it

Will do. I'll also call it out as a stop on the final route, which I expect to publish tomorrow.

 

Thanks for setting this up!

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The final route is posted here. Any further changes will be announced at dinner and as a note here on Friday night. Note the "do not enter" list. Don't get those caches. And don't start at stop #1, because lunch won't be served there until 11 a.m.

 

To recap in advance (pre-cap?) the events of the weekend:

 


  •  
  • Friday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m., A pre-event dinner will be at Pizza Factory, 503 W. Appleway, N 47° 42.072', W 116° 47.556'. $7 adults/$5 kids for all the pizza you can eat, including soda. Adding salad bar is a little more. This is not on the route, but is near stops #32 and #33. This is not an official event cache.
  • Saturday, March 24, between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., the WSGA will be having a coffee stop (coffee, cocoa, juice, water, fruits, and restrooms) at Sunset Park, 1289 E Best Ave , N 47° 42.046', W 116° 46.062'. This is listed on the route as stop #156. This is not an official event cache.
  • Saturday, March 24, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., the Inland Empire chapter of the WSGA is hosting a BBQ lunch at Cherry Hill Park, N. 15th & Hazel, N 47° 41.461, W 116° 45.714. This is listed on the route as stop #1 and #158. It is GC3DQNN.
  • Saturday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m., dinner will be at Elmers Restaurant, 300 W. Neider Ave, N 47° 42.372', W 116° 47.442'. In order to handle a group our size, the menu will be limited to burgers, fish & chips, or salad bar. You can order off of the regular menu if you have dietary restrictions, but it could take longer than usual. It’s across the street from stops #104 and #105. It’s GC3CCPX.
  • Sunday, March 25, between 7:00 a.m. and noon, meet up for a light breakfast (coffee, pastries, yogurt, fruit) at the Cache Advance Cache Cave in Spokane: N 47° 40.886' W 117° 21.497'. It’s GC3DZ40.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing you all there!

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<snip>

#79 is there and has a good log. There is now a clothing donation box for Make-A-Wish there so you can fake like you're donating clothes, OR you could actually drop off some clothes there. Either way, the cache is good to go. Lots of muggles even at 0600, but findable.

Whats the weather like out there? How deep is the snow?

 

We had a dusting snow last night (1"-3") but most of it has melted off already. Here is a link to the local weather Coeur d'Alene Weather at a Glance

 

Looks like this Sat. will be chilly in the morning temps around 34°F climbing to around 54°F for the high, with a 20% chance of rain all day. Here is a link to the Hourly Forecast for Saturday on this page it also shows the cloud cover % as well.

 

Should still be a great day caching out with friends.. and meeting new ones.. you can meet us (Alpha Male & Female Only) at the Lunch Event since we are one of the cooks for this event B)

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My biggest travel worry is Sunday afternoon. My hope is to get the seven Delorme pages in NE Washington that morning and early afternoon, but due to snow, the road wasn't even visible on the Sherman Pass WSDOT webcam today. If it's not passable in a car, I'll end up leaving page 22 uncollected, a vacant page that's a four hour roundtrip from the nearest point I have any chance of visiting in the next decade.

 

(I had no idea where Sherman Pass even was, and had to look it up.)

 

0f9uT.gif

 

After the Yakima CM II on March 29, 2008, the passes were bad enough that I drove home from Yakima to Tacoma by way of Goldendale and Portland. It was a nice drive, but a lot longer than I'd planned.

 

Be prepared.

 

I spoke with my cousin the other day who is stuck in Sandpoint, ID right now, apparently the roads in and out of Republic (at the time) were completely flooded, shutting off the town. Apparently it isn't only the passes in that area you need to worry about. If you want a more detailed report I can get one firsthand from her for you since I will be seeing her and can let you know what the roads are like.

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I spoke with my cousin the other day... the roads in and out of Republic (at the time) were completely flooded, shutting off the town. ... If you want a more detailed report I can get one firsthand from her for you since I will be seeing her and can let you know what the roads are like.

I'd appreciate it. It might be that she encountered unusual conditions in the March 15 downpour ("Minor lowland flooding was reported near Republic in Ferry County"), but the more info I have, the more comfortable I'd be making a go/no-go decision.

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[*]Sunday, March 25, between 7:00 a.m. and noon, meet up for a light breakfast (coffee, pastries, yogurt, fruit) at the Cache Advance Cache Cave in Spokane: N 47° 40.886' W 117° 21.497'. It’s GC3DZ40.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing you all there!

Thanks for the mention Travis. The event, however starts at 8am. If you show up at 7 you can help set up... B) !

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[*]Sunday, March 25, between 7:00 a.m. and noon, meet up for a light breakfast (coffee, pastries, yogurt, fruit) at the Cache Advance Cache Cave in Spokane: N 47° 40.886' W 117° 21.497'. It’s GC3DZ40.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing you all there!

Thanks for the mention Travis. The event, however starts at 8am. If you show up at 7 you can help set up... B) !

Maybe even wake up Lisa! :grin:

 

Sorry I'll miss the show, I'm going east to tag Montana before heading west and home.

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We arrived yesterday, Thursday in the late afternoon. Started the route. Snow cover on the ground made some caches a bit harder to find. Woke up ths morning wanting to get a full day of caching in. Looked out the window at 7AM and it was snowing with about an inch on the cars. Weather man on local news station says its going to be nice. Hopefully he is right. Its now a bit after 8AM and its not snowing but there is an inch or two on the ground.

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The last minute changes announced at dinner tonight:

 

  • #44 GCQ5XR "Stop to Smell the Flowers" is possibly gone. The groundskeeper told a cacher last week that the flowerbed is going to be moved. Another cacher found it today. Your mileage may vary.
  • #52 GC2XHW3 "fergerberger 1" is archived, and a cacher was unable to find it today.
  • #59 GC39EWK "Not a Shortcut" is disabled due to construction
  • #96 GC1NCQ1 "Caitlyn's Cache 28.5 The drive-in" has been bulldozed.
  • #132 GC1NTMQ "Caitlyn's Cache 32.5 Not Another A.P.C. ?" is a two step multi, but the second step is much further back in the route than I expected. I suggest skipping it. If you do go for it, use extreme caution in traffic.

 

Also, breakfast on Sunday, as Lisa notes above, doesn't start until 8:00. Sleep in.

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If the goal is to spread out the horde and keep areas from being over run I think it has worked. There is the lacking of the social aspect that Lizzy mentioned. However I see a natural evolution of groups of people getting together and we will end up with several clusters of mini-hordes running around. I think the format is fine. I actually ran my own route and still came across other cachers along the way.

 

On a related note, I was thinking about the seeming recent rapid growth of the cache machines. I was struck by the thought that perhaps more are coming because the availability of the bookmark. Much easier and less daunting to load 150 caches on your gizmo with the bookmark instead of grinding through one at a time. Thoughts?

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We liked the start where you want format. It isn't as much fun when you pull up and a large group already has the cache in hand, and all you get to do us sign the log. Searching for the cache is half the fun! It doesn't really feel like a "find" if you didn't have to find it. With the groups spread out more, it helped avoid this problem and made it more fun

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If the goal is to spread out the horde and keep areas from being over run I think it has worked. There is the lacking of the social aspect that Lizzy mentioned. However I see a natural evolution of groups of people getting together and we will end up with several clusters of mini-hordes running around. I think the format is fine. I actually ran my own route and still came across other cachers along the way.

 

On a related note, I was thinking about the seeming recent rapid growth of the cache machines. I was struck by the thought that perhaps more are coming because the availability of the bookmark. Much easier and less daunting to load 150 caches on your gizmo with the bookmark instead of grinding through one at a time. Thoughts?

Having only been on one CM (Snolympia) and watching the evolution of this game from the sidelines, I think the bookmark is a major improvement. Also, the devices being used today are much more capable than those of earlier days. You're less likely to tussle with a laptop and a PDA along with the GPS for specific cache or routing information that one or the other didn't carry or manage.

Edited by TotemLake
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We liked the "start where you want" format. It isn't as much fun when you pull up and a large group already has the cache in hand, and all you get to do us sign the log. Searching for the cache is half the fun! It doesn't really feel like a "find" if you didn't have to find it. With the groups spread out more, it helped avoid this problem and made it more fun

+1. I much prefer the new format. Really disliked the huge hordes at one cache (didn't feel like caching), and in fact, my teams often made our own routes in previous years to avoid this. I enjoy the serendipity of running into various cachers along the route, and for mass socializing, I can visit with folks at the dinners on Friday and Saturday. And - crucially - the new format hopefully reduces impact in the cache areas, calls to the police, and complaints from landowners.

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We liked the "start where you want" format. It isn't as much fun when you pull up and a large group already has the cache in hand, and all you get to do us sign the log. Searching for the cache is half the fun! It doesn't really feel like a "find" if you didn't have to find it. With the groups spread out more, it helped avoid this problem and made it more fun

+1. I much prefer the new format. Really disliked the huge hordes at one cache (didn't feel like caching), and in fact, my teams often made our own routes in previous years to avoid this. I enjoy the serendipity of running into various cachers along the route, and for mass socializing, I can visit with folks at the dinners on Friday and Saturday. And - crucially - the new format hopefully reduces impact in the cache areas, calls to the police, and complaints from landowners.

 

+1.

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After talking to folks and reading the event logs and comments on this page... it's a split opinion. I suspect that for Longview, I'll try to build a route that starts out at an inconvenient spot with a dozen or so caches that are unlikely to suffer damage or irritate neighbors. Then, I'll suggest that folks start when and where they want, but won't discourage starting at stop #1. Maybe I'll toss in a longer hike towards the start to help spread out the group. We'll see... I'm still a few weeks from starting down that path.

 

Thanks to each of you for your feedback, and for continuing to show up in record numbers to these wacky events.

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