Trail revival

[+Sol seaker]

The Rattlesnake Ledge Trail is up and running, with six caches confirmed in place and ready, including two new ones that haven't been found yet.

 

 

Last July we had a cache maggot steal a lot of caches, including the caches on the Rattlesnake Ledge trail.

 

I had been waiting for the caches to be replaced so I could go hike it. Eight months later things were still in disarray. I'd rather do something than complain. I emailed the cache owners telling them I would like to do a trail revival and asked if they'd like us to replace their caches if they were missing.

 

I got some responses, and Kennelbarb and I headed out with a number of new containers filled with swag, log books, pens, and travel bugs.

 

We were able to find two of the old caches still in place, but we didn't get as far up the trail as hoped, so we decided to place the last two containers on the way back rather than take them home.

 

So at this point, the Rattlesnake Ledge trail is back on line with six caches confirmed there and ready to find!!!

 

The two new caches have yet to be found.

 

If you get out on this trail and make it up farther than we did, then please post your DNF if you can't find a cache further up the trail. We desperately need info on those caches. Thanks very much!

Kennelbarb and I will try again once the snow has melted a bit.

 

This is a great trail that should be open and available to cachers.

I'm really excited about getting the trail going again to bring more cachers here.

 

If you haven't been there, I hope you are able to visit soon!!

[+TotemLake]

Sounds like a need for an HOTM for March if I can't find a good snowshoe spot to hit one more time.

[+JesandTodd]

Thank you for doing this! Rattlesnake has been on my radar so I'm gad there at finally caches to log!

[+hydnsek]

The Rattlesnake Ridge bookmark has been updated.

 

Thanks to Sol seaker and kennelbarb for doing cache maintenance on the trail! Just to clarify, the new caches are on the northern end of the trail, coming from the old Snoqualmie winery, not the southern end, where the actual ledges are.

Edited March 6, 2012 by hydnsek

[TheCacheSeeker]

Great work!

[+Sol seaker]

Boonie-Medic has now claimed FTF on the two new caches on this ridge.

 

But the important thing is now the trail is back for all hikers.

I hope a lot of people discover this trail who have never been here before.

 

Thanks for all the kind notes.

[+_Shaddow_]

Nice job! Thanks for your efforts. I took a look at the map to see which ones and it looked like you made it to the first 7 caches or about 1/3 of the way across.

 

Just out of curiosity, of the owners that didn't ok the replacements, were they non-responders or responded but not interested in the help? I'm wondering if some of them may need to get archived if they aren't going to be maintained or the CO's are out of the game. Sad but I'm sure the spots would be filled quickly with new placements.

[+Sol seaker]

Nice job! Thanks for your efforts. I took a look at the map to see which ones and it looked like you made it to the first 7 caches or about 1/3 of the way across.

 

Just out of curiosity, of the owners that didn't ok the replacements, were they non-responders or responded but not interested in the help? I'm wondering if some of them may need to get archived if they aren't going to be maintained or the CO's are out of the game. Sad but I'm sure the spots would be filled quickly with new placements.

 

There was no one who responded who didn't okay the replacement.

Everyone who responded said I could replace their cache, with the one exception being one of scouting4ever's caches. He said one of his containers (which was there, and appeared there by the logs) is special to that cache, so wouldn't make sense if it was just replaced (the cache container is very special and matches the name and description page of the cache). The other cache of his is the one that looks missing. He said that one could be replaced, but we didn't make it up that far. It may or may not be there and needs some good searching.

 

I only emailed the cache owners on the first half of the trail (from the end opposite the lake) because I knew I was not likely to make it farther than that.

 

Out of those, I only emailed those that it seemed certain that the cache was not there (by the logs). And then we always searched for the cache when we got there to be sure.

 

Of those that I emailed, I got four responses, one after I got back from the hike.

 

It is very possible I didn't get more responses because I emailed people on Friday night saying I was doing the hike on Saturday. Some people only get their email at work, and others just don't check it that often. Some may not have gotten it in time and then just not replied because it was too late by then. I just didn't know I was going to do this until then.

 

It turned out we were clear to replace all those we made it to (that were missing)and two beyond that.

 

As far as what to do from here,

The best thing would be is if we could get some more DNF's on those higher level caches to show that they're really not there (if they're not). If they are there, that's good to know too. I'll try to make it to one of the others I had permission to replace that I can reach, and the rest we should probably leave in the normal action of things. I'm not sure I can hike as far as scouting4ever's other cache, now that I'm more familiar with the terrain.

My point in contacting owners was to get this trail back in shape right away. The normal process of DNFing a cache, waiting for others to DNF it, then putting a "needs maintenance", then finally, months later, a NA, then waiting for the reviewer to archive it, is a lengthy process. Since the trail has been down for 8 months and hiking season is coming up fast, I wanted to expedite the procedure.

We've got part of the trail going.

Probably getting people to confirm the other caches as missing or there is most important now. Then some will get archived, and some will get replaced by the cache owner. Yes that is fine if some get archived. Hopefully enough will be found to encourage people to get farther than I did.

More logs on those caches are really important right now. One way or the other.

[+Sol seaker]

PS

I didn't contact the owner of the first cache on the trail that is already disabled because the process earlier described is already underway. If it's not replaced soon, it won't be long before it's archived. Speed is what I was aiming for, and that one didn't need to be sped up.

 

I agree a cache usually should be archived if not maintained, and that cache has been disabled for a while, and I believe a reviewer has put a note on it and is keeping an eye on it. If it's not replaced soon it will be archived and someone else can put one there.

 

I have no attachment to any of these caches carrying on, just the whole trail.

 

Of the owners who responded, none realized that the whole trail here was in disrepair. None were aware of the cache thief last year. None realized the extent of the problem.

 

 

 

I really appreciate all the kind words people have spoken, but my actions (replacing and then posting here on the forums) were not to get kudos but to get more people out on the trail.

 

 

So, GO GET 'EM!!

[+_Shaddow_]

Nice job! Thanks for your efforts. I took a look at the map to see which ones and it looked like you made it to the first 7 caches or about 1/3 of the way across.

 

Just out of curiosity, of the owners that didn't ok the replacements, were they non-responders or responded but not interested in the help? I'm wondering if some of them may need to get archived if they aren't going to be maintained or the CO's are out of the game. Sad but I'm sure the spots would be filled quickly with new placements.

 

There was no one who responded who didn't okay the replacement.

Everyone who responded said I could replace their cache, with the one exception being one of scouting4ever's caches. He said one of his containers (which was there, and appeared there by the logs) is special to that cache, so wouldn't make sense if it was just replaced (the cache container is very special and matches the name and description page of the cache). The other cache of his is the one that looks missing. He said that one could be replaced, but we didn't make it up that far. It may or may not be there and needs some good searching.

 

I only emailed the cache owners on the first half of the trail (from the end opposite the lake) because I knew I was not likely to make it farther than that.

 

Out of those, I only emailed those that it seemed certain that the cache was not there (by the logs). And then we always searched for the cache when we got there to be sure.

 

Of those that I emailed, I got four responses, one after I got back from the hike.

 

It is very possible I didn't get more responses because I emailed people on Friday night saying I was doing the hike on Saturday. Some people only get their email at work, and others just don't check it that often. Some may not have gotten it in time and then just not replied because it was too late by then. I just didn't know I was going to do this until then.

 

It turned out we were clear to replace all those we made it to (that were missing)and two beyond that.

 

As far as what to do from here,

The best thing would be is if we could get some more DNF's on those higher level caches to show that they're really not there (if they're not). If they are there, that's good to know too. I'll try to make it to one of the others I had permission to replace that I can reach, and the rest we should probably leave in the normal action of things. I'm not sure I can hike as far as scouting4ever's other cache, now that I'm more familiar with the terrain.

My point in contacting owners was to get this trail back in shape right away. The normal process of DNFing a cache, waiting for others to DNF it, then putting a "needs maintenance", then finally, months later, a NA, then waiting for the reviewer to archive it, is a lengthy process. Since the trail has been down for 8 months and hiking season is coming up fast, I wanted to expedite the procedure.

We've got part of the trail going.

Probably getting people to confirm the other caches as missing or there is most important now. Then some will get archived, and some will get replaced by the cache owner. Yes that is fine if some get archived. Hopefully enough will be found to encourage people to get farther than I did.

More logs on those caches are really important right now. One way or the other.

 

Yeah, hard to judge if the CO's are still interested based on that. It sounds like you got something close to 50% response which actually seems very good since it was a next day thing.

 

More DNF logs would be nice but unfortunately it's a circular problem, cacher's know that they have been DNFd at least once sometimes more and that the caches are probably missing, and it's a big deal to get there, so everyone is waiting for someone else to check it out.

 

At this point (and always), it's really on the cache owners to verify that their caches are there, not the community.

 

I think it'll come down to either 1) owner's maintenance checks 2) archival 3) someone taking the extraordinary effort of getting owner's permission, spending the time, money and physical effort to put together caches and going out to replace them.

 

I personally very much appreciate your proactive efforts to fix the issue via item #3 and generate momentum get the rest of the trail up and running.

[+Sol seaker]

Yes, I agree it is the cache owners job to do maintenance, which includes checking on the cache to see if it's there.

 

Unfortunately the reality is that these are harder to get to caches, and cache owners of hiking caches (and other caches) often wait for cachers to identify there is a problem before they check on them. We may very well not get a check until 5 cachers have placed DNF's. I also doubt we would get any reviewer action until we have had that many DNF's. That's the problem. It is a problem in a lot of areas (I'm waiting for a cache near my house to get more DNF's to find out if it is really there or not), but in the case of hiking caches it seems more pronounced.

It will be hard to get a reviewer to archive a cache with only one DNF on it, even though so many from the area have been taken.

 

I'll try to keep getting up there. As the snow melts it will get easier.

 

Meanwhile, anyone else who sees this can aid in the efforts of reviving that entire trail by going out and looking for them.

Just think of it as public service for the caching community.

Thanks!!!

[+JesandTodd]

I see recent DNFs on the upper level caches. Are there plans to get started on replacements again, or is it preferrable to wait for more DNFs?

 

I don't think I could make it up that high yet, but I have a spare ammo can I could donate to the cause if anybody is heading up that way...

[+Sol seaker]

I see recent DNFs on the upper level caches. Are there plans to get started on replacements again, or is it preferrable to wait for more DNFs?

 

I don't think I could make it up that high yet, but I have a spare ammo can I could donate to the cause if anybody is heading up that way...

 

Thanks!

I'm not sure how high I can make it either.

I've had plans to hit that trail again and see how far I can get, but haven't had a chance. Soon I hope. There was too much snow for us to make the attempt last time.

 

Last I checked, there weren't many DNF's on them yet. I guess we should get more to make sure they are indeed gone.

 

It would be good if those cache owners would come forward and check themselves. In general, I don't think it's a good idea to maintain a cache that the owner is not going to maintain.

I made the exception on the lower part to get the trail going again. To get the whole trail going again with the normal DNF process would have taken years. Now that we've got the lower part happening again, maybe we can DNF the upper ones and get the owners to check, maintain, adopt out, or archive. People now have use of the trail at least. People have incentive to get back on that trail.

Maybe we can all try to put some DNF's on them this summer to get them moving too.